iOS Privacy Policy

Who this policy covers

WHG is an independently operated local discovery and community service. It is not an official council service. This policy covers the WHG iOS app and the account, content and moderation services it connects to.

For privacy questions, access or correction requests, contact the WHG privacy contact at privacy@whg.nz. General support and listing corrections are on our Contact Us page.

Information you give us

• Account information: your first name, email address, account identifier and sign-in details. Firebase Authentication manages passwords; passwords are not shown to the WHG team in Studio.
• Preferences: your suburb or visitor choice, age band, food interests, going-out frequency, budget preferences, occasions, transport choices and discovery interests.
• Your activity and choices: saved places and events, Home layout, up to six recent searches, pickup interest, email choices and future notification preferences. Profile, preference and save changes can create account activity records.
• Content you submit: an optional profile photo, neighbourhood notices, volunteering opportunities, reports, business suggestions, feature requests and any contact information you choose to include.

The current app requires an account and completion of eight personalisation topics before entering the main app. These answers can be changed in Preferences. Photos, notices, suggestions and marketing choices are optional. If you do not complete the required topics, the current app keeps you in onboarding.

How we use this information

We use it to run and secure your account, sync your preferences and saved items, restore your Home layout, respond to requests, review notices and reports, and prevent misuse. The WHG owner can review account information and activity in Studio, along with aggregated audience insights, to understand use of WHG and plan future recommendations and business offerings. Personalisation answers are self-reported; WHG does not infer your income or actual spending from them.

Email choices are separate from future push preferences. Joining the pickup list includes pickup launch emails, as explained beside that choice. You can change these choices in Your Account → Updates & Emails. Saving a preference does not mean email or push delivery is currently active.

WHG does not sell your personal information or use the iOS app to track you across other companies’ apps and websites for advertising.

Location, photos and device permissions

With your permission, Explore uses your device location for the map and nearby discovery. Precise location is not saved in your WHG account. Place searches and directions use Apple Maps. The app requests weather for Whanganui’s city centre, rather than your precise location.

You can refuse or change location access in iOS Settings. Other sections work without location permission. Choosing a photo uses Apple’s system photo picker; WHG does not need access to your entire photo library.

WHG stores a small profile photo and a source image for recropping. Uploaded images are processed to remove location and other image metadata. A notice includes a separate small photo only when you choose to attach it.

Saving an event to your calendar uses Apple’s calendar interface and your final confirmation. WHG does not upload your calendar entries to your account.

What other people can see

Approved notices display your first name, selected area, submitted notice details and any photo you chose to attach. Organisation names and contact links you include are also public. Do not include someone else’s private information without permission.

Notices and edits require review. Submitting an edit removes the notice from the public board until it is approved again. Reviewer notes are private to you and authorised reviewers. Reports are available to reviewers; they are not displayed on the public board. You can withdraw notices, report content and hide authors.

Only authorised WHG staff have Studio access. Editors review content and requests; owner-level access is required to review consumer account details. Ordinary businesses do not receive access to your profile.

Service providers and information sent online

WHG uses Google Firebase and Google Cloud for authentication, databases, hosting, image storage and server processing. These services process information on WHG’s behalf. Network requests may include your IP address and technical information needed to deliver, secure and diagnose the service. Anti-spam controls also use connection-derived identifiers.

Our application functions run in Google Cloud’s Australia region. Other provider systems, support processes or infrastructure may process information outside New Zealand. WHG uses provider access controls and contractual protections for its service providers; we do not claim that all data stays in New Zealand.

Apple processes requests for Maps, WeatherKit and other system services under its own terms. Opening a publisher, venue, council or other external link connects you to that service, whose privacy policy applies. See Firebase privacy information and Apple’s privacy policy.

Storage and retention

Account data remains while your account is active unless you remove it or ask us to delete it. The app also keeps local caches, saved settings and unfinished onboarding information so it can restore your progress. Recent search history is limited to six searches and can be cleared.

Notices leave the public board when withdrawn, removed or expired. Expiry or withdrawal alone does not delete the private submission and moderation record. Account deletion removes your profile, photos, activity, saves and linked submissions, including published notices and associated reports.

Security logs, deletion markers, editorial audit records and support correspondence may remain where needed for security, handling a request or legal obligations. They are separate from the account content removed by the app; contact us if you want information about a retained record. Provider logs and backups follow their configured retention, so we do not promise that every technical copy disappears immediately.

Your access, correction and deletion choices

Edit account details and preferences in Your Account. Clear recent searches in Search or Privacy & Location. Delete your account through Your Account → Privacy & Security → Delete Account; you will be asked to confirm your password. Account deletion is also accessible from the privacy screen during incomplete onboarding.

You can request access to or correction of personal information, ask about retained information, or request help with deletion by emailing privacy@whg.nz. We may ask you to verify your identity before providing or changing account information. Never send your password or a verification code.

If you have a privacy concern, contact us first so we can investigate. You can also contact New Zealand’s Office of the Privacy Commissioner.

Changes to this policy

We will update this page when WHG’s data practices change and revise the date above. Where a change requires a new choice or permission, we will ask for it in the app.