Template — review before launch. This text is a generic starting point written for an Australian community app. It is not legal advice. Fill in the bracketed details and have it reviewed.

Privacy policy

Last updated: [DATE]. Operator: [LEGAL NAME / ABN], [CONTACT EMAIL].

This policy explains how Burbline (“we”) handles personal information. We aim to handle it in line with the Australian Privacy Principles in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), where they apply to us.

What we collect

Google sign-in: you sign in with your Google account. Google shares your name, email address and profile picture with us (and nothing else — we never see your Google password). We use your name only to suggest a display name, which you can change; your email is used to identify your account and is never shown to other users. Your profile picture is kept in our sign-in records but is not displayed in the app. We never post for you and can’t see your Gmail.
Email sign-in (alternative to Google): if you choose “Continue with email”, we use your email address to send you a one-time sign-in link (sent by our sign-in provider, Supabase). No password is created or stored. The first time you use a link we create your account with that email address.
Account details: email address, display name, your chosen home suburb, and the date you joined.
Content you post: posts, comments, listings, lost & found alerts, messages, photos and RSVPs.
Approximate location: the suburb you pick and an approximate map point (rounded/offset by a few hundred metres) for listings and alerts. We don’t use GPS tracking.
Safety records: reports you make, people you block, and moderation actions.
Preferences: notification and digest settings. If you turn on push notifications, a browser push token.
Technical data: basic logs our hosting providers keep (such as IP address and browser type) for security.
Analytics (optional): only if you accept — see “Analytics” below.

Photos are re-encoded on your device before upload, which removes embedded camera and GPS (EXIF) data.

How we use it

To run the service: show your posts to neighbours, deliver messages and notifications.
To keep the community safe: review reports, prevent spam and enforce the guidelines.
To send you emails you’ve asked for: one-time sign-in links and optional digests.

We don’t sell personal information and we don’t use it for third-party advertising.

Analytics (Google Analytics 4)

We use Google Analytics 4 to understand which pages and features are useful, so we can improve Burbline. It only runs if you choose Accept on the analytics bar. Until then — and if you choose Decline — the Google Analytics script isn’t loaded and no analytics cookies are set (Google Consent Mode defaults to “denied”).

What’s collected if you accept: pages and app screens viewed (with item IDs removed), approximate location derived by Google from your IP address (city level; Google doesn’t store the IP address itself), device and browser type, referring site, and session timing. Google sets first-party cookies (_ga, _ga_*) to recognise repeat visits.
What’s never sent: your name, email address, account ID, messages or anything you post. Advertising features and Google signals are switched off.
Your choice: it’s remembered on this device. You can change it at any time or with the “Analytics choice” link in the footer, which clears the analytics cookies if you decline. You can also use Google’s opt-out browser add-on.
Google processes this data on our behalf, including outside Australia. See how Google uses data from sites that use its services.

Who can see what

Posts, listings and alerts are visible to other users, along with your display name and suburb.
Visitors who aren’t signed in can read the feed, marketplace, lost & found and Lend a Hand, with your display name and suburb. They never see your email, profile, messages, the contact details or “last seen” place on lost & found alerts, or event locations, and map positions are shown only as an approximate area (about 1 km). They can’t post, reply, message or react.
Direct messages are visible only to the people in the conversation, and to moderators if a message is reported.
Your email address is not shown to other users.

Service providers and overseas storage

We use [Supabase] for the database, sign-in and file storage, Google for sign-in, [Cloudflare Pages] for hosting, Google Analytics for optional usage statistics, and map tiles from CARTO/OpenStreetMap. Data may be stored or processed outside Australia, including in [REGION]. [Update to match your project region.]

Keeping and deleting your information

You can download a copy of your data, or delete your account and the content you posted, from Profile & settings at any time. Some records may be kept for a short time in backups or where needed for safety or legal reasons.

Access, correction and complaints

You can access or correct your information in the app, or contact us at [CONTACT EMAIL]. If you’re not happy with our response, you can complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (oaic.gov.au).

Children

Burbline is intended for people aged [16]+.

Changes

We’ll update this page and the date above if this policy changes.