Privacy Policy

Last updated: 4 November 2026

1. Introduction

Explore Timaru ("we", "our", or "us") respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, and the rights you have under the New Zealand Privacy Act 2020. It applies to our website at exploretimaru.co.nz and the services we provide through it.

By using our website or services, you agree to the collection and use of information in line with this policy.

2. Information We Collect

We collect information in the following ways:

Information you give us directly

• Contact details such as your name, business name, email address and phone number, for example when you submit an enquiry, request a listing, or contact us.
• Business information used to create or manage a directory listing or top spot (for example your services, opening hours, website, address and images).
• Details you send us to add to the site, such as Local Offers and events.
• Messages you send through the forms on the site. A message sent from a business's page goes to that business. A message sent through our Contact page comes to us: we usually reply ourselves, but if it is meant for a business in our directory we may pass it on so they can reply. Write "do not share" in your message if you'd rather we didn't.

Information collected automatically

• Usage data such as your IP address, browser type, device information, the pages you visit and the time and date of your visit.
• Cookies and similar technologies used to operate the site, remember your preferences, and understand how the site is used. You can control cookies through your browser settings.
• Anonymous counts of how often listings, guides and pages are shown, opened and clicked on this site. These counts use no cookies and store nothing that identifies you.

Payment information

• When you pay for a service, your card payment is processed securely by our payment provider, Stripe. We do not collect or store your full card number or security code. We may retain limited transaction records (such as the amount, date, and a receipt reference) for accounting and support.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• provide, maintain and improve our website and services;
• create, publish and manage your directory listing, top spot, Local Offers, events and the articles we write about your business;
• pass your messages to the businesses you contact through the site;
• process payments and manage subscriptions, renewals and invoices;
• communicate with you about your listing, enquiries, renewals and support;
• send you service updates and, where you have opted in, occasional news and offers (you can opt out at any time);
• keep our website secure and prevent misuse; and
• meet our legal and tax obligations.

4. Sharing and Third-Party Providers

We do not sell your personal information. We share it only where necessary to run our services, including with:

• Stripe (card payment processing and subscription billing);
• our website hosting and email providers, which store and transmit data on our behalf;
• businesses in our directory, when you send them a message through the site, or when a Contact page message is meant for them (see section 2);
• Google services, for the live business reviews shown on listings and for website analytics;
• Mapbox, which draws the maps on the site (it receives your IP address and the area of the map you view);
• CleanTalk, which checks form submissions for spam (it receives what you type into a form, with your IP address);
• our email delivery and outreach tools, used to send and manage communications; and
• authorities or advisors where we are required to by law, or to protect our legal rights.

Some of these providers may store or process information outside New Zealand. Where they do, we take reasonable steps to ensure your information is handled in line with the Privacy Act 2020.

5. Data Security

We use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your information from loss, misuse and unauthorised access. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so while we work to protect your information, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

6. Data Retention

We keep personal information only for as long as needed for the purposes described in this policy, including to provide your services, meet our legal and tax obligations, resolve disputes and enforce our agreements. When it is no longer needed, we take reasonable steps to delete or de-identify it.

7. Your Rights

Under the Privacy Act 2020, you have the right to:

• ask what personal information we hold about you and request access to it;
• ask us to correct information that is wrong or out of date;
• ask us to delete your personal information, where we are not required to keep it; and
• opt out of marketing communications at any time.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at admin@exploretimaru.co.nz. If you are not satisfied with how we handle your request, you can raise a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (privacy.org.nz).

8. Children

Our services are intended for businesses and adults. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will post the updated version on this page and change the "Last updated" date above. We encourage you to review it periodically.

10. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your information, contact us at admin@exploretimaru.co.nz.