Privacy Policy

At First Home Buyers Guide NZ, we take your privacy seriously. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect your personal information when you use our website and services.

We are committed to complying with the Privacy Act 2020 and the New Zealand Privacy Principles. We believe in transparency about how we handle your data and giving you control over your personal information.

This policy applies to all visitors, users, and others who access our Services.

**Information You Provide to Us:**

When you use our Services, we may collect:

• **Personal Details:** Name, email address, phone number
• **Financial Information:** Income, expenses, deposit amount (used only for calculator purposes)
• **Property Preferences:** Desired suburbs, property type, budget range
• **Communication Records:** Emails, messages, and feedback you send us
• **Lead Form Data:** Information submitted when requesting to connect with advisors

Information Automatically Collected:

When you visit our website, we automatically collect:

• **Device Information:** IP address, browser type, operating system
• **Usage Data:** Pages visited, time spent on site, clicks and interactions
• **Location Data:** General geographic location (city/region level)
• **Cookies and Similar Technologies:** See our Cookie Policy for details

Information from Third Parties:

We may receive information from: • Mortgage advisors you choose to connect with • Analytics providers (Google Analytics) • Social media platforms (if you interact with our content)

We use your personal information for the following purposes:

**To Provide Our Services:** • Operate and maintain our website and calculators • Connect you with mortgage advisors and other service providers • Send you information you've requested • Respond to your inquiries and support requests

**To Improve Our Services:** • Analyse how users interact with our website • Identify trends and improve user experience • Develop new features and tools • Fix technical issues

**To Communicate With You:** • Send updates about our services • Provide information about the home buying process • Share relevant guides and resources • Send administrative messages (e.g., account notifications)

**For Marketing (with your consent):** • Send newsletters and promotional materials • Share special offers from our partners • Notify you about new features or content

You can opt out of marketing communications at any time.

**Service Providers:**

We may share your information with:

• **Mortgage Advisors:** When you request to be connected, we share your contact details and requirements
• **Lenders:** If you request rate comparisons or pre-approval assistance
• **Legal and Financial Service Providers:** When you specifically request referrals
• **Technical Service Providers:** Hosting, analytics, and email service providers who help us operate our website

**Important:** We only share information necessary for the specific service you've requested. We require all service providers to protect your information and use it only for the intended purpose.

Legal Requirements:

We may disclose your information if required to: • Comply with legal obligations • Protect our rights, privacy, safety, or property • Prevent fraud or illegal activity • Respond to lawful requests from government authorities

Business Transfers:

If First Home Buyers Guide NZ is involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you of any such change.

We Do Not Sell Your Data:

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties for marketing purposes.

We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information:

Security Measures:

• **Encryption:** SSL/TLS encryption for data in transit
• **Secure Storage:** Data stored on secure servers with access controls
• **Access Controls:** Limited access to personal information on a need-to-know basis
• **Regular Security Reviews:** Ongoing assessment of our security practices
• **Staff Training:** Our team is trained on privacy and security best practices

Data Retention:

We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to: • Provide our Services • Comply with legal obligations • Resolve disputes • Enforce our agreements

Typically, we retain personal information for 7 years, after which it is securely deleted or anonymised.

Despite our efforts:

No method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Under the Privacy Act 2020, you have the following rights:

**Right to Access:** You have the right to request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.

**Right to Correction:** You can request that we correct any inaccurate or incomplete information.

**Right to Deletion:** You can request that we delete your personal information, subject to certain legal obligations.

**Right to Object:** You can object to certain uses of your information, such as direct marketing.

**Right to Data Portability:** You can request your information in a structured, commonly used format.

How to Exercise Your Rights:

To access, correct, or delete your information: • Email us at privacy@firsthomebuyersguide.co.nz • Include "Privacy Request" in the subject line • Provide sufficient information to verify your identity • Specify what action you're requesting

We will respond to your request within 20 working days, or notify you if we need more time.

Complaints:

If you're not satisfied with how we handle your privacy concerns, you can complain to the Privacy Commissioner:

Office of the Privacy Commissioner PO Box 10094 Wellington 6143 New Zealand Phone: 0800 803 909 Website: www.privacy.org.nz

We use cookies and similar technologies to enhance your experience on our website.

**What Are Cookies:** Cookies are small text files stored on your device that help us recognise you and remember your preferences.

Types of Cookies We Use:

• **Essential Cookies:** Required for the website to function properly
• **Analytics Cookies:** Help us understand how visitors use our site (Google Analytics)
• **Functionality Cookies:** Remember your preferences and settings
• **Marketing Cookies:** Used to deliver relevant advertisements (only with consent)

Managing Cookies:

You can control cookies through your browser settings: • Block all cookies • Delete existing cookies • Set preferences for certain websites

Please note that disabling cookies may affect the functionality of our website.

For more information, see our full Cookie Policy.

Our website may contain links to third-party websites and services:

• Mortgage lender websites
• Real estate listing sites
• Government resources (e.g., Kainga Ora)
• Financial service providers

Important:

• We are not responsible for the privacy practices of third-party websites
• We recommend reviewing the privacy policies of any site you visit
• Clicking a third-party link takes you outside our control
• We do not endorse or guarantee any third-party services

Embedded Content:

Articles on our site may include embedded content (e.g., videos, images, articles). Embedded content from other websites behaves as if you visited that website directly.

Our Services are not intended for children under 16 years of age.

We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us immediately.

If we become aware that we have collected personal information from a child under 16 without verification of parental consent, we will take steps to remove that information from our servers.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect:

• Changes in our practices
• New legal requirements
• Improvements to our services
• Feedback from users

How We Notify You:

• We will post the updated policy on this page
• We will update the "Last Updated" date
• For significant changes, we may send you an email notification
• We may display a notice on our website

Your Continued Use:

Your continued use of our Services after any changes to this Privacy Policy constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.

We encourage you to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your information.

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, please contact us:

**Privacy Officer** First Home Buyers Guide NZ

Email: privacy@firsthomebuyersguide.co.nz

**Postal Address:** First Home Buyers Guide NZ Attn: Privacy Officer PO Box [Number] Auckland [Postcode] New Zealand

**Response Time:** We aim to respond to all privacy-related inquiries within 5 business days.

**Serious Privacy Breaches:** If you believe there has been a serious breach of your privacy, you have the right to complain to the Privacy Commissioner.