Waikuku Beach Online — Privacy Statement

Last updated: 29 October 2026

1. Who is responsible

Amo Technology Ltd is responsible for personal information collected through the website and follows the Privacy Act 2020. Our privacy officer can be contacted at janine@waikukubeach.co.nz.

2. What we collect

We only collect personal information you choose to send us. This is usually your name, email address, phone number (if given), your message, and any photographs, videos or material you send, which may include information about other people. When people are copied into an email to give permission, we also collect their name, email address and permission response.

If a photograph or video shows an identifiable child under 18, we also collect the parent or legal guardian's name, contact details, relationship to the child, their written consent, and a note of the steps we took to verify it. Permission from a school, club or event organiser alone is not enough.

3. Why we collect it

We use it to:

• reply to your enquiry;
• review, publish and credit contributions you have agreed to share;
• check permissions, correct information and handle removal requests;
• obtain and verify written consent from a parent or legal guardian before any photograph or video showing an identifiable child is published; and
• keep a record of permissions and consents given.

Website only. Photographs and videos, whether they show adults or children, are collected for publication on the Waikuku Beach Online website only. Amo Technology Ltd will not repost, share or publish them on its own social media accounts or on any social media account associated with the website. Permission or consent to publish on the website is not permission to publish on social media. The website may link to external social media pages, but that does not authorise anyone to reuse photographs or videos sent to us.

If we cannot verify a parent or legal guardian's consent, we will not publish the photograph or video.

4. Who sees it

Your information is seen only by Amo Technology Ltd staff who run the website. Our staff sign confidentiality agreements. We do not sell, rent or share your information for marketing. We will only disclose it where you agree or where the law requires.

5. Publishing contact details

Your contact details are never published unless you clearly agree, for example as the contact for a group or event.

6. Storage and security

Amo Technology Ltd intends to use a dedicated Google account for Waikuku Beach Online, separate from the owner's personal Google account. Google Drive is intended to hold private working files, submitted photographs and videos, and permission and consent records, including parental or guardian consent for children.

The intended arrangement is to restrict access to authorised Amo Technology Ltd personnel and protect personal information against unauthorised access, loss, misuse and disclosure. Private review files and consent records must not be stored on, or shared through, social media accounts. The website-only publication permissions in section 3 continue to apply.

The intended publication process is to hold optimised copies of approved photographs and videos with the website hosting provider. Original high-resolution files are not intended to be retained indefinitely; the intended retention periods are set out in section 7. Email, storage and website service providers may store or process information on servers outside New Zealand.

Implementation status. The dedicated Google account, restricted folders, access arrangements, image-optimisation process and deletion procedures have not yet been confirmed as operational. These arrangements require owner verification and final approval before public launch.

7. How long we keep it

We keep information only for as long as we need it for the purposes in section 3, or as the law requires. The owner-selected retention policy below is intended to minimise the personal information held. Its implementation remains subject to verification that the necessary procedures can be carried out.

• Routine enquiries: retain for up to 30 calendar days after resolution, then delete.
• Photographs and videos not approved for publication: delete within 10 working days of the decision not to publish.
• Original high-resolution photographs and videos approved for publication: delete within 30 calendar days after publication.
• Optimised published photographs and videos: retain while approved for website publication.
• Working copies after website removal: delete within 10 working days of removal from the website.
• Submission emails: delete within 30 calendar days after processing, once the necessary permission and consent evidence has been retained.
• Permission and consent records: retain only the minimal evidence needed while the related material remains published; delete within 30 calendar days after its removal. Consent evidence must not be deleted while the relevant photograph or video remains published.

If we receive a verified removal request, or a parent or legal guardian withdraws consent, we remove the material from the website as soon as reasonably practicable, and no later than 10 working days.

An exception to the retention periods applies where information is reasonably required for an unresolved complaint, legal obligation or legal claim. Any such information is retained only for as long as reasonably required for that purpose.

Deleting private files from Google Drive is separate from removing published photographs or videos from the website, deleting working copies, and deleting unnecessary submission emails. These actions need to be carried out in the relevant systems. Google Drive Trash handling, permanent deletion and the procedures needed to meet these periods still require owner verification; their configuration has not been confirmed. Deletion from active systems does not promise immediate deletion from provider-controlled backups.

Backups. Our email, storage and website service providers may retain backup copies of information as part of their normal operations. Information that has been deleted from our active systems may remain in those backups for a period determined by each provider's retention policies before being permanently removed. We do not ordinarily access or restore deleted information from backups, except where necessary for legal, security or operational reasons.

8. Website data

Delivering website pages involves technical request information, such as an IP address and browser request details, being received by the website hosting provider. The hosting provider's logging, analytics, cookie settings and retention arrangements have not yet been fully verified for this website.

Google Maps. The Local Map loads Google Maps satellite imagery when you select Load satellite map. Your browser then connects to Google, which may process technical information such as your IP address, browser or device details and information about your use of its services. Google's own privacy practices, including any cookies or similar technologies it uses, apply. See Google's Privacy Policy.

Weather, surf and other external information. Selecting Weather opens Weather Underground, and selecting Surf opens SurfCheck NZ. Tides and safe-swimming links also open external provider websites. These are external links rather than embedded weather or surf feeds in the current website package. When you open those sites, their own privacy policies and any cookies, analytics or tracking they use apply.

Ocean sounds. The ocean-sound control uses browser session storage to remember playback position during the browsing session. This is separate from provider-controlled cookies and backups.

Verification status. A complete live-browser check of analytics, cookies, tracking, hosting settings and third-party behaviour has not yet been completed. This section requires owner review before public launch; it does not assert that the website or its providers use no analytics, cookies or tracking.

9. Your rights

You can ask to see the personal information we hold about you, ask us to correct it, or ask us to delete it, by emailing our privacy officer. We will respond within 20 working days. If you are not satisfied, you can complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner at privacy.org.nz or 0800 803 909.