Privacy Policy for Webcastle NZ

Last updated: 28 July 2025

We are committed to protecting your privacy. This policy outlines how we collect, use, share, and protect your personal information in compliance with New Zealand’s Privacy Act 2020.

 

Who We Are

Our website address is: https://webcastle.co.nz.

 

Information We Collect

We collect information in two main ways: information you provide to us directly as a client, and information collected automatically by our website.

Information You Provide:

• Your name

• Your contact information (such as email address and phone number)

• Login credentials for third-party platforms required to complete a project

• Any other information you choose to provide as part of a project

Information Our Website Collects:

• Comments: When you leave comments on the site, we collect the data shown in the comments form, your IP address, and browser user agent string to help with spam detection. An anonymized string from your email address (a hash) may be sent to the Gravatar service to display your profile picture.

• Cookies: Our site uses cookies to enhance your experience. For more details, please see the “Cookies” section below.

 

Cookies

If you leave a comment on our site you may opt-in to saving your name, email address and website in cookies. These are for your convenience so that you do not have to fill in your details again when you leave another comment. These cookies will last for one year.

If you visit our login page, we will set a temporary cookie to determine if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.

When you log in, we will also set up several cookies to save your login information and your screen display choices. Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for a year. If you select “Remember Me”, your login will persist for two weeks. If you log out of your account, the login cookies will be removed.

 

Embedded Content from Other Websites

Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g., videos, images, articles, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if you have visited the other website. These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, and monitor your interaction with that content.

 

How We Use Your Information

We use your personal information for the following purposes:

• To provide and manage our web design and development services.

• To issue invoices, process payments, and manage our financial records.

• To comply with our legal and tax record-keeping obligations in New Zealand.

• To contact you about new services or promotions, only with your explicit consent.

 

Sharing Your Information

We do not sell your personal information. We may share it with the following third parties for legitimate business purposes:

• Our professional advisors (such as our accountant), to manage our financial records and meet tax obligations.

• Third-party service providers that help us run our business, such as cloud-based email, document storage, and invoicing software.

• Subcontractors, to assist us in providing our services to you for a specific project.

• New Zealand government agencies, such as the Inland Revenue Department (IRD), to comply with our legal obligations.

• Spam detection services, which may check visitor comments to prevent spam.

• Gravatar service, to display your profile picture if you leave a comment.

Additionally, if you have a user account and request a password reset, your IP address will be included in the reset email.

 

Data Retention

We retain different types of information for different periods, depending on its purpose and our legal obligations.

• Website Data: If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely so we can recognize and approve any follow-up comments automatically. If you register for an account, we store your profile information for as long as your account is active.

• Client & Business Data: We are required by law to keep business records, such as invoices, for at least seven years. After this period, or when the information is no longer needed for ongoing support, we securely destroy it by deleting it from our digital systems.

 

Security

We keep your personal information safe by:

• Storing it securely using encrypted, reputable third-party services such as Google Workspace and LastPass.

• Limiting access to only authorised personnel who require it to perform their duties.

 

Your Choices and Responsibilities

Providing some information is optional. However, if you choose not to provide information that is essential for a service, we may be unable to proceed. For example:

• If you choose not to provide your name and contact information, we will be unable to issue valid invoices or enter into a formal service agreement with you.

• If you choose not to provide the content or materials required for your project, we will be unable to deliver the project as outlined.

• If you choose not to provide access credentials for your website or other platforms, we will be unable to perform services like website maintenance or integrations.

 

Your Rights

Under the Privacy Act 2020, you have the right to ask for a copy of any personal information we hold about you and to ask for it to be corrected if you think it is wrong.

If you have an account on this site or have left comments, you can request to receive an exported file of the personal data we hold about you. You can also request that we erase any personal data we hold about you. This does not include any data we are obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes.

If you’d like to exercise these rights, please contact us at:

webcastlenz@gmail.com