Privacy Policy
Last updated: 10 February 2025
Ferntec ("we", "us", "our") respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020 and the 13 Information Privacy Principles (IPPs).
This privacy policy explains what personal information we collect, how we use it, and your rights regarding your information.
What information we collect
When you enquire about our services or become a client, we may collect:
- Contact information: Name, email address, phone number, business name
- Business information: Business description, industry, current technology setup, service requirements
- Technical information: IP addresses for security purposes, browser type, device information
- Communication records: Emails, enquiry form submissions, support requests
- Service delivery data: Information necessary to provide and support our services, such as website content, hosting details, and system configurations
We only collect information that is necessary for our business relationship with you.
How we use your information
We use your personal information to:
- Respond to your enquiries and provide you with information about our services
- Deliver the services you've engaged us to provide
- Send service-related communications (invoices, updates, support responses)
- Improve our services and understand how our website is used
- Comply with legal and regulatory obligations
- Detect and prevent fraud or security issues
We do not sell, rent, or share your personal information with third parties for their marketing purposes.
We may share your information with service providers who help us operate our business (such as hosting infrastructure providers), but only to the extent necessary and under appropriate confidentiality obligations.
Website analytics
We use a privacy-respecting analytics service to understand how visitors use our website. Our analytics provider:
- Does not use cookies
- Does not collect personal data
- Does not track you across websites
- Provides only aggregated, anonymised usage statistics
- Is fully compliant with privacy regulations
The information collected is limited to page views, referral sources, and general location (country/city level only), and cannot be used to identify individual visitors.
AI processing
Our enquiry form uses artificial intelligence to help match your needs with relevant services. When you describe your business requirements, this information is processed by AI to generate appropriate service recommendations.
We do not store AI conversation data long-term beyond what is necessary to respond to your enquiry and provide services. Your business information is treated with the same privacy protections as all other personal information we collect.
Data storage and security
Your personal information is stored on servers we manage in New Zealand. We implement reasonable technical and organisational security measures to protect your information from unauthorised access, loss, or misuse, including:
- Encrypted connections (HTTPS) for all data transmission
- Secure server configurations and access controls
- Regular security updates and monitoring
- Limited access to personal information on a need-to-know basis
While we take appropriate measures to protect your information, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is completely secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security but commit to maintaining reasonable safeguards.
Your rights under the Privacy Act 2020
You have the following rights regarding your personal information:
- Right to access: You can request a copy of the personal information we hold about you
- Right to correction: You can request that we correct any inaccurate or incomplete information
- Right to know: You can ask how your information is being used and who it's been shared with
- Right to deletion: You can request deletion of your information (subject to any legal obligations we may have to retain certain records)
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at hello@ferntec.co. We will respond to your request within a reasonable timeframe, usually within 20 working days.
If you're not satisfied with our response, you have the right to make a complaint to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.
Data retention
We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to:
- Provide ongoing services to you
- Comply with legal, tax, and accounting obligations
- Resolve disputes or enforce our agreements
For enquiries that don't result in a service relationship, we typically retain contact information for up to 2 years unless you request earlier deletion.
For active clients, we retain information for the duration of the service relationship plus 7 years to meet New Zealand business record-keeping requirements.
You can request deletion of your information at any time by contacting us at hello@ferntec.co.
Cookies
We do not use tracking cookies or third-party advertising cookies.
Session cookies may be used for essential website functionality, such as maintaining your preferences during a browsing session or ensuring forms work correctly. These are temporary and are deleted when you close your browser.
Our analytics provider does not use cookies at all.
Data breach notification
In accordance with the Privacy Act 2020, if we experience a privacy breach that causes, or is likely to cause, serious harm to any individual, we will:
- Notify the Office of the Privacy Commissioner as soon as practicable
- Notify affected individuals unless doing so would be contrary to their interests or would cause unreasonable effort
- Take steps to contain and remediate the breach
Changes to this policy
We may update this privacy policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. When we make significant changes, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page.
For existing clients, we will notify you of material changes via email. Continued use of our services after notification constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.
Contact us
If you have any questions about this privacy policy or how we handle your personal information, please contact us: