Needsey Privacy Policy

1. Who This Policy Covers

This policy explains how Needsey ("we", "our", "us") collects, holds, uses and discloses personal information about Clients and Service Providers who use the Needsey platform, in accordance with the New Zealand Privacy Act 2020 and its Information Privacy Principles (IPPs). It should be read alongside our Terms and Conditions, which remains the governing agreement for using the Platform.

2. What We Collect, and Why (IPP 1–3)

We only collect what's needed to run the marketplace safely and match Clients with Providers:

• Date of birth: to confirm you're 18 or older and, for providers, to match your ID and criminal record check. Only you and Needsey staff can see it. It's never shown on your profile.
• Account & contact details: name, email and phone number, collected at signup and before a job can be accepted or a phone-verified need can be posted. Your phone number is only ever shared with the other party to a booking once that job becomes active, so you can coordinate directly. It is never publicly listed on your profile.
• Location data: for Providers, a service/home-base location (used to place you on the Radar and Services map for nearby matching); for Clients, the location attached to a posted Need (used for provider matching, or omitted entirely for remote/online needs). Addresses are turned into coordinates using OpenStreetMap/Nominatim, which only ever receives the address text you search for. No account information is sent to it.
• Identity verification: every Provider completes an ID check through Stripe Identity before accepting jobs. Stripe handles your ID photos and face check, and Needsey never receives or stores those images. We receive the result (verified, pending or failed) and the name on your verified ID, and Needsey staff can view your verified date of birth in Stripe. We use these to show the ID-verified badge and to check that documents you give us are yours.
• Provider documents: before a Provider can accept jobs, we ask for a licence or registration number for regulated work (electrical, plumbing, gasfitting, drainlaying and restricted building work, driving instruction, celebrants and lawyers), and a public liability insurance certificate (required for electrical, plumbing, gas, drainlaying, heat pump, hot water cylinder, building and roofing work, optional for everyone else). We also ask for a Ministry of Justice criminal record check. It's required before taking jobs that often involve children, older people or people needing care, and recommended for every other Provider. To confirm a criminal record check is yours, we compare the name and date of birth on it with your verified ID and the date of birth you gave at signup. If a client asks a Provider for a criminal record check through Needsey, we keep a record of the request and tell the Provider how many clients asked and for which listing, not who. We use these only to decide whether you can accept jobs through Needsey and to show accurate badges on your profile. Only our verification team reviews them. If we accept your criminal record check, we keep the file securely for 12 months from the date the Ministry of Justice issued it, so we can refer back to it if there's a problem with a job, then we delete it. Only you and our verification team can see it. If we can't accept a check, we delete the file as soon as it has been reviewed. We keep the outcome, the date, who checked it and, for an accepted check, the date it was issued. The badge comes off your profile 12 months after the issue date. We add the badge only if the check lists no convictions. If it lists any, we don't add the badge and we never record what the conviction was, only that we couldn't accept the check. If it lists a conviction for violence, sexual offending or dishonesty, we may also pause your ability to take jobs while we talk with you. Licence numbers are checked against the relevant public register, where there is one. If your licence or registration is on a public register, its number is shown on your profile and listings, with a link to that register, so clients can check it themselves. Driving instructor licence numbers are never shown. Insurance certificates and copies of licences are kept until they expire or you send a newer one, then deleted. If we can't accept one, we delete it 30 days after we let you know. If you tell us you've applied for a document and are waiting on it, we keep the date you applied so we can pause reminders. We never ask you about convictions directly, and the Ministry of Justice check already leaves out anything covered by the Criminal Records (Clean Slate) Act 2004.
• Payment & payout details: handled by Stripe Connect. Providers enter their payout details (such as their name, date of birth, address and bank account) in a secure form from our payment provider, shown on needsey.co.nz. What you type into that form goes straight to Stripe, and Needsey can't read it. Needsey never sees or stores your full card number or bank account details; we retain only the transaction records, commission amounts, and your Stripe account's onboarding/payout status needed to hold payments until a job is confirmed done and to settle them.
• Provider tax details: we ask Providers whether they work as an individual (sole trader) or a business (company), and for their legal or registered business name, IRD number, NZBN (for a business), whether they're registered for GST, with their GST number, and a postal or physical address in New Zealand. We ask for these so we can meet our tax obligations as a marketplace, including any reporting Inland Revenue requires, and we may share them with Inland Revenue where the law requires it. We need them before we send a Provider's first payout. They're stored separately from your profile, are never shown to clients, and only you and Needsey staff can see them. In your settings we only ever show the last few digits of your numbers, and each time a Needsey staff member views the full numbers, we keep a record of it. Tax details are kept for 7 years after an account closes, because New Zealand tax law requires records to be kept, and then deleted.
• Messages & booking activity: chat messages, offers, ratings and review text you exchange through the Platform, retained to operate the booking, resolve disputes, and maintain a review history. This includes questions you ask a provider before booking. If a question never becomes a booking, we keep it for 12 months after it closes, then delete it.
• Agreed scope, job photos and evidence: when a job is paid we keep the agreed scope (what's included, not included and the timing) and every later version, the Before and After photos either of you add (with the date and time each was added), and, if something's not right, the proposals, the side each of you adds, the photos, messages and files you choose to share, Needsey's decision and reasons, and any proof of a Disputes Tribunal filing. Only the two people on the job and Needsey can see them. We use them to run the job and to sort out problems fairly, and we can give either of you a copy to take to the Disputes Tribunal. Once a problem has been raised, nothing added before it can be deleted until it is closed. Admin notes about a dispute are seen only by Needsey staff.
• Listing views: when you view a service or provider profile we count it for that provider's own statistics. If you aren't logged in, a random identifier is stored in a cookie so each visitor is counted once a day. Providers only ever see totals, never who viewed.
• Searches: we count the words people search for and whether anything was found, so we know which services people are looking for. This count is never linked to you or your account, and phone numbers and email addresses are removed first.
• How you found us: if you arrive from one of our ads or from another website, a cookie remembers the ad or the website's name (not the page you were on) for 30 days. If you sign up or register your interest, we save it with your details so we can tell which ads and links work.
• Founding Provider page: we're testing two versions of this page. On your first visit a cookie records which version you see (kept for 60 days, so you see the same one each time), and the same random visitor identifier (kept for a year) lets us count each visitor once a day. We store the version, the ad you came from, and whether you used a phone, tablet or computer; this visit record never includes your name or email. If you register, we note which version you saw. We also include the version in the page and signup measurements we send to Google Analytics and Meta. We use it only to compare the two versions.
• Spotlight applications: if a Founding Provider applies to be featured, we keep their answers, photos and optional social handle to feature them on our Instagram and Facebook and, if they agree to it, as a Spotlight story on our website. We keep them until 6 months after the campaign, or until you ask us to delete them. A published website story stays up until the provider asks us to take it down.
• Featured listings (providers who choose to pay for one): our payment provider handles your card details and billing name and email; we keep only a customer reference, your subscription status, the dates and amounts of each invoice and any refunds, kept for 7 years for tax records. We count how often your Featured listing is shown and clicked (counts only, no details about who saw it) to send you monthly statistics. Whether you have a Featured listing also decides when you receive job alerts: Featured providers get alerts for jobs in their Featured category about 15 minutes before others.
• Profile and cover photos: when you upload one, we also keep the full original privately so you can re-frame it later. Only you can access it. It's replaced when you upload a new photo, and we delete it on request.
• Portfolio photos: providers can publish photos of past work. They must confirm they have their client's permission first, and clients are never named.
• Feedback: if you send us feedback in the app, we keep your message, the page you were on, a short description of your device (for example "Chrome on Android") and any screenshot you choose to add. Only Needsey sees it, and we delete it on request.
• Support chat: if you chat with the Needsey team in the app, we keep your messages and the replies, the page you were on when you sent each one, and when they were read. Only Needsey staff see them, and we delete them on request.
• Signup progress: while you sign up, we note which step you reached and any error message the page showed you, so we can help if you get stuck and fix what's confusing. We save your listing as you type it, so you can finish it later on any device; the draft is deleted once your listing is published or your account is closed. We sometimes show different versions of a signup screen to see which is easiest, and note which version you saw. We may email you a couple of times to help you finish. Only Needsey sees it.
• Early access requests: if you ask for early access as a client, we keep the category you chose, your city and suburb, when you need it, the job description you write (with any phone numbers or emails hidden), your name and email. You also give us your mobile number and an optional budget. We use these details (job details, suburb and phone) to create your account and post your request once we approve it, to invite you when local providers are ready, and to let providers in your area know a client is looking for their kind of work. Providers see only your suburb and the category, never your name, job description or contact details. We also note which ad or link brought you to the page. If someone uses your email address on the form again, we email you a link to change your request; nothing changes unless you use it.
• Email records: we keep a log of which job emails we sent you (not their content) so we don't send duplicates. You can turn off non-essential job emails in your settings; receipts and payment, completion and dispute emails always send.
• Device & notification data: if you opt in to push notifications, a browser-generated push subscription endpoint (no content is stored beyond what's needed to deliver that notification).

3. Who We Share It With (IPP 11)

We don't sell personal information to anyone, including data brokers. We share it only where necessary to operate the Platform:

• Stripe: for payment processing, holding payments until a job is confirmed done, payouts, and (if you complete it) identity verification.
• Supabase: our database and authentication infrastructure host.
• OpenStreetMap / Nominatim: for converting addresses you enter into map coordinates.
• Your browser or device's push notification service (e.g. the notification relay built into your browser or operating system), only if you opt in to push notifications.
• Google Analytics and Vercel Analytics: usage analytics (pages visited, general location such as city or country, device type) to help us understand how the Platform is used. When you sign up or ask for early access, Google Analytics also receives that event with the general type of help (for example "Pet Care"), left out for care work such as childcare, tutoring or health. This does not include your name, email, or other account details.
• Meta (Facebook and Instagram) Pixel: if you arrive from one of our ads, Meta's pixel tells Meta that you visited and whether you signed up (with the general type of help you asked about, left out for care work), so we can measure our ads. It can use cookies and your device information. When you create an account, post a job or pay for a booking, our server also tells Meta that it happened (and, for a payment, the amount), so our ad results are still counted if your browser blocks the pixel. With it we send your email address, phone number, first and last name and Needsey account ID in a scrambled (hashed) form that Meta can only use to match against accounts it already has, along with your IP address, browser type and Meta's ad cookies. While you're signed in, the pixel gets the same scrambled details for the same purpose. We never send your job details, messages or address. Meta's own privacy policy applies to what it collects.
• Microsoft Clarity: on our sign-up and ad landing pages only (the pages under /join and /get-help), Clarity records anonymous sessions of how the page is used, such as scrolling, taps and where people stop, so we can make those pages easier to use. Anything you type, and the details shown on the form steps, is masked and never recorded, and it never runs on your account, chats, bookings or other pages. Clarity sets cookies (kept for up to a year) to tell one visit from another. Microsoft's own privacy statement applies to what it collects.
• The other party to a booking: limited profile and contact information (such as your phone number) is shared with your Client or Provider counterpart once a job is active, so the work can actually be coordinated and completed.
• A provider you tell you're interested in: if you let a provider who isn't taking bookings yet know you want to book them, we share your suburb and the note you write with them, not your name or contact details.
• Needsey staff/administrators: where necessary to look into a problem raised through "Something's not right?" (including the agreed scope, job photos, messages and anything either person shares), and to review Provider documents (criminal record checks, licences and insurance certificates).
• The Disputes Tribunal or a court: the record of a job (agreed scope, photos, messages and the dispute record) if one of the two people asks us for it to take to the Tribunal, or if a Tribunal or court orders it.
• Card issuers: if a client disputes a card payment (a chargeback), the job record needed to answer it.
• Law enforcement or regulators, only where we're legally required to.

4. Overseas Disclosure (IPP 12)

Some of the providers above (notably Stripe, Supabase, Google Analytics, Meta and Microsoft Clarity) process or store data on infrastructure located outside New Zealand, including in the United States. Under IPP 12, we only disclose personal information overseas where the recipient is subject to privacy safeguards comparable to the Privacy Act 2020, including via their own data processing agreements and certifications (e.g. Stripe's, Supabase's, Google's, Meta's and Microsoft's published compliance and security documentation), or another exception under the Act applies. We review these arrangements periodically as our provider list changes.

5. How Long We Keep It (IPP 9)

We keep personal information for as long as your account is active, and for a reasonable period afterwards where we have a legitimate reason to: for example, financial and transaction records that New Zealand tax law requires businesses to retain, or records relevant to an unresolved dispute. Provider document files have their own limits: a criminal record check is kept for 12 months from the date it was issued, then deleted (or as soon as it has been reviewed, if we can't accept it); insurance certificates and copies of licences are kept until they expire or are replaced, then deleted; and all of a Provider's document files are deleted when they close their account. If a Provider is in an open dispute when an expired or replaced document file is due to be deleted, we keep it until the dispute is resolved. Agreed scopes and dispute records are kept for 7 years after the job is paid out or refunded, with the job's financial records. Job photos are kept for 2 years after the job is paid out or refunded, or with the dispute record if they were part of a dispute. Where we no longer need information for these purposes, we delete it or de-identify it.

When you delete your account (in Settings, or by asking us), we delete your personal information straight away: your name, email address, phone number, date of birth, location, profile and cover photos, bio, what you wrote in your jobs and listings and their photos, your portfolio, the files you uploaded and the attachments you sent in chats, any early access request or waitlist sign-up, saved drafts, notifications, feedback and support chats, and your tax details if you were never paid through Needsey. You're signed out everywhere and the account can't be logged in to again. You can sign up later with the same email address as a new account.

We keep only what we still need: your bookings, the messages you sent in them, offers, quotes, reviews, reports and any disputes, so the other person's history still makes sense (your name shows as "Deleted user"); each job's title, category, dates, budget and suburb or town, without its description, photos or exact location; payment, payout and invoice records, and your tax details if you were paid through Needsey, for 7 years because New Zealand tax law requires it; Before and After photos, and photos sent with an Add to job request, on a paid job, for 2 years after it was paid out; and anything that is part of a dispute, with the dispute record. We also keep a log of which emails we sent your account (not their content, and no longer linked to your address) so our sending limits keep working. Copies in our routine database backups are removed as those backups are replaced, and our payment provider keeps its own payment records under its legal obligations.

6. Your Rights: Access, Correction & Deletion (IPP 6–7)

You can review and update most of your own information at any time from your account Settings and Profile pages. Under the Privacy Act 2020, you also have the right to request access to the personal information we hold about you, ask us to correct it if it's wrong, or request that your account and associated personal information be deleted.

To make a request, contact us at privacy@needsey.co.nz. We'll respond within the timeframe required by the Act. You can also delete your account yourself in Settings. Section 5 lists what deleting your account removes and the few records we have to keep (such as payment and tax records, and anything that is part of a dispute). If you have a paid job that hasn't been paid out yet, you can delete your account once it has been.

7. Complaints

If you're unhappy with how we've handled your personal information, please contact us first at privacy@needsey.co.nz so we can try to resolve it directly. If you're not satisfied with our response, you have the right to complain to New Zealand's Office of the Privacy Commissioner (privacy.org.nz).

8. Security

We restrict access to personal information to what's needed to operate the Platform, use row-level access controls on our database, and rely on Stripe's PCI-compliant infrastructure for payment data rather than handling card or bank details ourselves. No online platform can guarantee absolute security, but we continue to review and tighten these controls as the Platform grows.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy as the Platform changes. Material changes will be reflected in the "Last Updated" date above, and where appropriate, communicated in-app.