Privacy Policy

Effective Date: 15 November 2025
Last Updated: 15 November 2025

1. Introduction

Stuff and Things (“we,” “us,” or “our”) is committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal information responsibly. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect your personal information in accordance with the New Zealand Privacy Act 2020.

By using our website (stuffandthings.co.nz) or engaging our services, you agree to the collection and use of information as described in this policy.

2. Who We Are

Business Name: Stuff and Things
Website Address: https://stuffandthings.co.nz
Location: Wanaka, Central Otago, New Zealand
Contact Email: sammy@stuffandthings.co.nz
Services: Business optimization, process automation, fractional client management, and ongoing systems support

3. What Personal Information We Collect

We may collect the following types of personal information:

3.1 Information You Provide Directly:

• Name and contact details (email address, phone number)
• Business information (company name, industry, business size)
• Communication content (messages sent through contact forms, emails, or discovery calls)
• Project details (information about your business processes, tools, and systems shared during audits or engagements)

3.2 Information We Collect Automatically:

• Website usage data (IP address, browser type, pages visited, time spent on site)
• Cookies and analytics (via tools like Google Analytics to understand how visitors use our website)

3.3 Comments:

If you leave a comment on our site, we collect the data shown in the comments form, your IP address, and browser user agent string to help with spam detection.

An anonymized string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/. After approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment.

4. How We Use Your Personal Information

We collect and use your personal information for the following purposes:

4.1 Service Delivery:

• To provide business optimization audits, process automation, client management services, and ongoing support
• To communicate with you about projects, deliverables, and service updates
• To understand your business needs and provide tailored recommendations

4.2 Business Operations:

• To respond to inquiries submitted through our website contact form
• To schedule and conduct discovery calls or consultations
• To send invoices and process payments
• To maintain records of our business relationship

4.3 Website Improvement:

• To analyze website traffic and improve user experience
• To understand which services are most relevant to our visitors

4.4 Marketing Communications (with your consent):

• To send occasional updates about our services (you can opt out at any time)

We will not use your personal information for any purpose other than those listed above without your explicit consent.

5. Legal Basis for Processing (Privacy Act 2020 Compliance)

We process your personal information under the following lawful bases:

• Consent: When you voluntarily provide information through our contact form or agree to receive communications
• Contract Performance: When necessary to deliver services you’ve engaged us for
• Legitimate Interests: To operate our business, improve our services, and communicate with potential clients
• Legal Obligation: When required by New Zealand law

6. How We Share Your Personal Information

We respect your privacy and will not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties.

We may share your information with:

6.1 Service Providers:

• CRM platform (HubSpot) for managing client relationships and communications
• Cloud storage providers (e.g., Google Workspace, Notion) for storing business records
• Payment processors (e.g., Stripe, bank transfers) for processing invoices
• Project management tools (e.g., Monday.com) for managing client projects
• Automation platforms (e.g., Zapier) when implementing integrations for your business

All third-party service providers are bound by confidentiality obligations and process data only as instructed.

6.2 Legal Requirements:

We may disclose your information if required by New Zealand law, court order, or government authority.

7. Data Security

We take the security of your personal information seriously and implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect it, including:

• Secure cloud storage with encryption
• Password-protected systems and access controls
• Regular security reviews of our processes and tools

However, no method of electronic storage or transmission is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your information, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

8. Data Retention

We retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this policy, unless a longer retention period is required by law.

• Active client data: Retained for the duration of our engagement and for up to 7 years after project completion (as required by NZ business and tax laws)
• Inquiry data: Retained for up to 2 years if no engagement occurs
• Website analytics data: Retained according to Google Analytics’ default retention settings (typically 26 months)
• Comments: Comments and their metadata are retained indefinitely so we can recognize and approve follow-up comments automatically

You can request deletion of your personal information at any time (see Section 11).

9. Cookies and Website Analytics

Our website uses cookies and analytics tools to improve user experience.

9.1 What Are Cookies?

Cookies are small text files stored on your device when you visit our website. They help us understand how you use our site.

9.2 What Cookies We Use:

• Google Analytics: To track website traffic and user behavior (anonymized data)
• Functional cookies: To remember your preferences (if applicable)

9.3 WordPress Cookies:

• If you leave a comment on our site, you may opt-in to saving your name, email address, and website in cookies for your convenience. These cookies last for one year.
• If you log into our site (admin access only), we will set temporary cookies to save your login information. Login cookies last for two days.

9.4 Managing Cookies:

You can disable cookies through your browser settings. Note that disabling cookies may affect website functionality.

10. Embedded Content from Other Websites

Articles or pages on this site may include embedded content (e.g., videos, images, social media posts). Embedded content from other websites behaves as if the visitor has visited that other website.

These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracking your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.

11. Your Privacy Rights (Privacy Act 2020)

Under the New Zealand Privacy Act 2020, you have the following rights:

11.1 Right to Access:

You can request a copy of the personal information we hold about you, including any data you have provided to us.

11.2 Right to Correction:

You can request that we correct any inaccurate or incomplete information.

11.3 Right to Deletion:

You can request that we delete your personal information (subject to legal retention requirements). This does not include any data we are obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes.

11.4 Right to Object:

You can object to the processing of your personal information for marketing purposes.

11.5 Right to Withdraw Consent:

You can withdraw your consent to data processing at any time (e.g., unsubscribe from marketing emails).

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at: sammy@stuffandthings.co.nz

We will respond to your request within 20 working days, as required by the Privacy Act 2020.

12. Third-Party Links

Our website may contain links to third-party websites (e.g., social media platforms, tool providers). We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these external sites. Please review their privacy policies before providing any personal information.

13. Uploaded Media

If you upload images to the website, you should avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS) included. Visitors to the website can download and extract any location data from images on the website.

14. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. We will notify you of significant changes by:

• Posting the updated policy on our website with a new “Last Updated” date
• Sending an email notification (if you are an active client)

We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

15. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or how we handle your personal information, please contact us:

Email: sammy@stuffandthings.co.nz
Location: Based in Wanaka, Central Otago, New Zealand

16. Privacy Commissioner (New Zealand)

If you believe your privacy rights have been breached, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the New Zealand Privacy Commissioner:

Office of the Privacy Commissioner
Website: privacy.org.nz
Email: enquiries@privacy.org.nz
Phone: 0800 803 909

This Privacy Policy is effective as of 15 November 2025 and applies to all personal information collected by Stuff and Things.