Suburb Says Privacy Policy
Effective date: 30 June 2026

Suburb Says respects your privacy and is committed to handling personal information carefully, transparently and responsibly. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, why we collect it, how we use artificial intelligence, when information may be shared or published, and how you can access, correct or raise concerns about your information.

1. Who we are

Suburb Says is a community-led platform that helps people discover local businesses, trades and service providers recommended by people nearby.

Suburb Says does not independently recommend, certify or guarantee businesses. The information presented through our website and AI experience is based on genuine community submissions and other information held by Suburb Says.

Suburb Says operates under ABN 85 982 765 005.

2. Information we may collect

Depending on how you use Suburb Says, we may collect:

• your first and last name

• email address

• phone number

• suburb, street name or general location

• account and login details

• information you provide when recommending a business

• the name, category, contact details and location of a business you recommend

• comments about your experience with a business

• messages and questions submitted through our AI chat experience

• communications you send to us

• technical information such as IP address, browser, device and website usage

• information about suspected duplicate, misleading or unusual submissions.

We generally do not need your exact street number for public recommendation purposes. Where it is collected for verification, it will not be published.

Some information about sole traders, business owners or individual service providers may also constitute personal information.

3. How we collect information

We may collect information:

• directly from you when you create an account

• when you submit or discuss a recommendation

• when you use our AI chat experience

• when you contact us

• through website analytics, cookies and similar technologies

• from publicly available business information

• from community interviews or other recommendation-gathering activities.

Where practical, we will tell you at or before the time of collection why the information is being requested.

4. Why we collect and use information

We may collect, hold and use information to:

• create and manage user accounts

• provide local recommendation search results

• receive, review and moderate recommendations

• verify that recommendations appear genuine

• detect duplicate submissions, spam, fraud, conflicts of interest or manipulation

• contact you about a recommendation or enquiry

• create summaries and stories explaining why businesses are recommended

• maintain and improve the website and AI experience

• understand how people use Suburb Says

• protect the safety, integrity and proper operation of the platform

• comply with legal obligations

• communicate relevant service updates.

We do not sell personal information. We do not knowingly provide personal information to third parties for their own direct-marketing purposes.

5. How we use artificial intelligence

Suburb Says uses artificial intelligence to make genuine community recommendations easier to search, understand and use.

AI may help us:

• understand questions submitted by users

• identify relevant locations, business types and recommendation details

• organise and compare community submissions

• identify themes across multiple recommendations

• create concise summaries explaining who is recommended and why

• identify missing information or possible duplicate submissions

• assist with moderation and suspicious-pattern detection.

AI does not create the underlying recommendations and does not independently decide that a business deserves to be recommended. The recommendation source remains real community input.

AI-generated summaries may simplify, combine or paraphrase information provided by multiple people. We take reasonable steps to ensure that published summaries remain faithful to the underlying recommendation data, but AI-generated content may occasionally be incomplete or inaccurate.

Our AI and technology providers may process chat messages, recommendation content and related information as necessary to provide their services. Users should not submit sensitive personal information through the chat unless it is genuinely required.

The OAIC recommends that organisations using commercial AI products consider what personal information enters the system, how it is used, where it is processed and the privacy practices of the provider.

6. What recommendation information may be published

Recommendations are not published automatically.

We may review, verify, moderate, combine, summarise, delay, reject or remove a recommendation before it appears publicly.

Public content may include:

• the recommended business’s name

• business category

• suburb, cluster or region

• business contact information

• the number of approved recommendations received

• a quotation, summary or paraphrase of recommendation comments

• limited recommender attribution, such as a first name and suburb, where appropriate.

We will not ordinarily publish a recommender’s:

• surname

• email address

• phone number

• exact residential address

• login or account details

• IP address.
   

We may remove or further de-identify details where publication could identify someone unnecessarily or create a privacy, safety or legal concern.

7. Businesses and recommendations

Businesses cannot pay to be recommended or influence the underlying community recommendation data.

Sponsorship is separate from recommendation status. Sponsored content or sponsor placement will be identified as such and does not mean that Suburb Says or the community recommends that sponsor.

A business may contact us to request correction of inaccurate business details or raise a concern about published content. We may retain legitimate community recommendations even where a business would prefer not to be mentioned, subject to our legal obligations and moderation standards.

8. When we may share information

We may share information with service providers that help us operate Suburb Says, including providers of:

• website hosting and content management

• databases and authentication

• AI and conversational technology

• analytics

• email and communications

• payment processing

• cybersecurity and technical support

• professional legal, accounting or advisory services.
   

These providers may only receive information reasonably required to perform their role.
We may also disclose information where:

• you have consented

• disclosure is required or authorised by law

• it is necessary to investigate fraud, misuse or a safety concern

• it is necessary to protect our rights, users or the public

• the ownership or operation of Suburb Says is transferred, subject to appropriate privacy protections.
   

9. Overseas processing

Some technology and cloud-service providers used by Suburb Says may store or process information outside Australia, including in the United States and other countries in which those providers operate.

Privacy protections in those countries may differ from Australian law. We take reasonable steps when selecting and working with providers to ensure that personal information is handled appropriately.

Australian privacy guidance requires organisations to explain likely overseas disclosures and, where practicable, the countries involved.

10. Website analytics and cookies

Suburb Says may use cookies, analytics tools and similar technologies to:

• keep users signed in

• remember preferences

• understand website traffic and usage

• identify errors

• improve page and feature performance

• protect the website from misuse.
   

These tools may collect information such as device type, browser, pages visited, approximate location, IP address and interaction data.

You may be able to block or delete cookies through your browser settings, although some features may not work properly afterward.

11. Marketing communications

We may occasionally contact you about material service changes, account matters, recommendations you submitted, new features or relevant Suburb Says updates.
Where a communication is promotional, you may unsubscribe using the option provided or contact us directly.

We will still send essential account, security or service communications where necessary.

12. Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational steps to protect personal information from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification and disclosure.

These measures may include controlled access, authentication, reputable cloud providers, database security, monitoring and moderation.

However, no website, transmission or storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

13. Retention and deletion

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably required to:

• provide the service

• verify and maintain recommendation integrity

• resolve complaints or disputes

• detect repeat misuse

• meet legal, accounting or operational requirements.
   

We may retain de-identified or aggregated information after identifiable personal information has been deleted.

You may request deletion of your account or personal information. Some information may need to be retained where reasonably required for fraud prevention, legal compliance, dispute resolution or the integrity of previously published recommendations.

14. Access and correction

You may ask us to:

• confirm whether we hold personal information about you

• provide access to that information

• correct information that is inaccurate, incomplete or out of date

• update or delete your account details

• review how a recommendation has been attributed to you.
   

We may need to verify your identity before actioning a request. Contact us using the details below. We will respond within a reasonable period and explain if we cannot fully comply with a request.

15. Privacy concerns and complaints

If you believe we have mishandled your personal information, please contact us and include:

• your name and contact details

• a description of the issue

• what outcome you are seeking

• any relevant supporting information.
   

We will acknowledge and investigate the concern and aim to respond within a reasonable timeframe.

If you are not satisfied with our response and the Privacy Act applies, you may be entitled to contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.

16. Children

Suburb Says is not designed for children to create independent user accounts or submit recommendations without appropriate adult involvement.

If we learn that personal information about a child has been collected inappropriately, we will take reasonable steps to review and, where appropriate, delete it.

17. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy when our services, technologies or legal obligations change.
The current version will be published on our website with its effective date. Material changes may also be communicated through the website, user account or email.

18. Contact us
Suburb Says
ABN: 85 982 765 005
Email: andrew@suburbsays.com.au
Phone: 0408 845 101
Location: Northern Beaches, Sydney, NSW