Privacy Policy

EFFECTIVE DATE: 5 April 2018

1. PURPOSE

This Privacy Policy sets out the terms under which Senses Australia (“us,” “we,” or “Be My Guide”) will collect and use your personal information when you use the Be My Guide mobile application(s), service(s) and website(s) (each a “Service” and together, the “Services”).

We recognise the importance of protecting your personal information and we are bound by the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (“Privacy Act”) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).

By using the Services, you consent and agree to this Privacy Policy and give Be My Guide permission to use and disclose your personal information as part of the normal functioning of the Services and as described throughout this Privacy Policy.

We reserve the right, at our discretion, to modify or remove portions of this Privacy Policy from time to time. You should review this Privacy Policy periodically to ensure you are updated on any changes to the policy. Your continued use of the Services after a change will constitute your agreement to the new terms.

2. what personal Information do We Collect and how?

We may collect information about you from the following sources:

• Registration Information You Give Us. We collect the information you choose to share with us when you register for the Services. This may be via online registration forms that ask you to provide your name, e-mail address, and other contact information, as well as whether you are a user who is blind or vision impaired or a helper who is sighted.  In the future, we may also ask for other information.
• Registration Information You Allow Us to Collect via a Third Party. If you register with Be My Guide through a social networking account like Facebook or Google, then we will collect the information that you allow us to collect via the controls offered by your account with that provider.
• Device Identifiers. When you use a mobile device like a tablet or phone to access the Services, we may access, collect, monitor, store on your device, and/or remotely store one or more device identifiers. A device identifier may be data stored in connection with the device hardware, data stored in connection with the device’s operating system or other software, or data sent to the device by Be My Guide.

A device identifier may deliver information to us about how you use the Service and may help us provide reports. Some features of the Service may not function properly if use or availability of device identifiers is impaired or disabled. A device identifier may also deliver your location information to us, including through GPS, Bluetooth or WiFi.

• Traffic Data. The Services may also gather anonymous traffic data.  Traffic data  does not personally identify you but helps us improve our business and how we serve you.
• Video Streams and Other User Content. When you use the Services to create or transmit a video, post data, graphics or a written message of any kind, or interpret a video for another user, you are creating “User Content.”  We collect and store User Content as part of the normal functioning of the Services.
• Cookies and Similar Technologies. When you use the Services, we may use cookies and similar technologies like pixels, web beacons, and local storage to collect information about how you use the Services.  We learn which areas of the Services are useful and how to improve the Services with the help of these technologies. Most web browsers are set to accept cookies by default, but you can usually remove or reject browser cookies through the settings on your browser or device. Be aware that removing or rejecting cookies could affect the availability and functionality of the Services.
• Log Files. Log file information is automatically reported by your browser each time you make a request to access a web page or app. It can also be provided when the content of the webpage or app is downloaded to your browser or device. When you use the Services, our servers automatically record certain log file information, including your web request, Internet Protocol (IP) address, browser type, referring / exit pages and URLs, number of clicks and how you interact with any links on the Service, domain names, landing pages, pages viewed, and other such information. We may also collect similar information from emails sent to our Users which then help us track which emails are opened and which links are clicked by recipients. The information allows for more accurate reporting and improvement of the Service.
• Metadata. Metadata is the technical background information that is associated with User Content. For example, Metadata includes how, when and by whom User Content was collected, how that content is formatted, and where that content was created.
• Analytics Data. We may use third-party analytics tools to help us measure traffic, behavioural data, patterns and usage trends for the Services to help us enhance and improve the Services.

3. Children

The Services are not intended for users under the age of 18. We are committed to respecting children’s privacy online and if we learn or suspect a person under age 18 is using the Services, we may exercise our right to terminate their account.  If we learn or suspect that a Services user is under age 16, we will promptly delete any personal information in that user’s account.

Please contact us immediately if you believe that we might have any information from or about a child at feedback@senses.org.au.

4. How We Use Information

We aim to be a leader in the provision of quality and contemporary disability care services which are responsive to the goals and aspirations of people with disability.  We use the information we collect to provide, support and improve the Services to help us further this aim.  We may use information we receive to:

• verify your identity;
• help you efficiently access your information after you sign in;
• follow up on activities you initiate through the Services;
• remember information so you will not have to re-enter it during your visit or the next time you visit the Service;
• display content in accordance with your preferences;
• provide personalised content and information to you and others, which could include providing you with information on Be My Guide including newsletters and information about the Services and changes to the Services;
• provide, improve, test, and monitor the effectiveness of our Service;
• develop and test new products, features and services;
• monitor metrics such as total number of vision impaired and sighted users, traffic, and demographic patterns;
• diagnose or fix technology problems; and
• automatically update the Be My Guide application on your device.

5. How We Share information

We may share your information with the following parties, in the following ways:

• Third-party service providers. We may share your information (including but not limited to, information from cookies, log files, device identifiers, location data, and usage data) with third parties who help us provide the Services. Third-party service providers will be given access to your information as required to provide the Services, under reasonable confidentiality terms. Third-parties may use this information to help provide, understand, and improve the Service (including by providing analytics, so we can provide you with better and more relevant Services).
• With other Be My Guide Users. Your video chats will be shared with the Be My Guide user receiving the video or audio stream and may be accessible by Be My Guide and any others in accordance with this Policy. Other User Content may be shared with other users of Be My Guide and how widely it is shared will depend on what aspect of the Services you use. We cannot control how other users of the Services share, disclose or use information which you make available to them, for example by posting to a public area of the Services.
• With Support Organisations. We may share information with third-parties who provide support or services, or who are developing new technologies, for blind and vision impaired people to help them identify and develop other services and technologies which assist blind and vision impaired people. We may also combine your information with other information in a way that it is no longer associated with you and share that aggregated information and we may remove parts of data that can identify you and share anonymised data with other parties.
• We may not be able to alter the content of video chats so that you are not identifiable if you share your name, image, location or other personal information in the video chat.
• If we share video chats with third-parties, the third party will be required to keep the video streams confidential, and not share them with any other parties.
• With others, if required by Law. We may disclose your personal information:
  • if required by law or if we reasonably believe that such action is necessary to comply with the law;
  • to comply with legal processes served on Be My Guide;
  • to protect and defend the rights, property and the safety of Be My Guide, users of the Services or others; or
  • to investigate any potential breaches of our Terms of Use.

6. Data Storage and security

Be My Guide provides Services from Australia. All personal information collected by the Services is sent to and stored in our servers in Australia.  If you access the Services from anywhere outside of Australia, you expressly agree to your information being transferred to, processed in and stored in Australia.

We will use commercially reasonable safeguards to keep the Services secure and prevent unauthorised use or disclosure of your personal information.  However, we will not be held responsible for events arising from any unauthorised use or access to your Personal Information.

We will notify you if the following apply:

• there is unauthorised access to or disclosure of the personal information we hold on you, or your information is lost in circumstances where unauthorised access or disclosure is likely to occur; and
• this is likely to result in serious harm to you; and
• we have been unable to prevent the likely risk of serious harm with remedial action; and
• we are required to notify you under the Privacy Act.

7. Protecting Your Privacy

To protect your privacy, be aware of the information you share with other users when using the Services.  We do not actively monitor all parts of the Services, you should be aware of the following areas which we do not control:

• Video chats. We cannot control what information users share via video chats. Our Terms of Use specifically prohibit you from sharing certain personal information via the Services.  Be careful not to share personal information with other users in violation of our Terms of Use and:
  • never display identifying documents like a passport, driver’s license or other government-issued ID card;
  • never share credit card, bank information, tax file numbers, insurance or other financial information;
  • do not share mail that displays your personal address; and
  • do not share information about your medicines or health conditions.

• Public areas of the Services. The Services may include interactive forums such as message boards and chat rooms. Users are responsible for their User Content.  We do not actively monitor User Content although we may access, review, screen and delete User Content at our discretion, including where it violates our Terms of Use.
• Third Party Services.  We are not responsible for their privacy practices or content of other services, including any third-party services you use to log in or register for the Services or any links to third party services which you access from the Services. If you visit or use a third-party website through a third-party link or integration with Be My Guide, it is your responsibility to review the applicable privacy policies to confirm that you understand and agree with them.

8. How to Contact Us

Your privacy is very important to us and we take the matter very seriously. Please contact us at feedback@senses.org.au if you have any questions about this Policy or our the Services, or, if you would like to review the information that we collect about you or have us correct any of your information or remove your information from our database.

9. Making a Complaint

If you have a complaint about how we have handled your personal information, or, if you believe we have breached this Privacy Policy or the APPs, please contact us at feedback@senses.org.au with the details of your complaint and any supporting information.

We will investigate then contact you to let you know the outcome of our investigation and any steps we are taking to resolve your complaint.