Privacy policy

This policy explains how GuruFinder (“we”, operator of GuruFinder) collects, uses and protects personal information when you use this website. We only collect what we need to run the marketplace.

What we collect

• Account details: your name, email address and a securely hashed password.
• Technician profiles: the information you choose to publish, such as your business name, photo link, skills, rates, city and service area.
• Street address: if a technician provides one, we use it only to place their pin on the map. It is never shown on their public profile.
• Messages: messages you send to other users through the site, and reports you make.
• Payments: handled by Stripe. We receive confirmation of payment and subscription status, but we do not see or store your full card details.
• Contact form: your name, email and message.

How we use it

• To run your account and show technician profiles to clients.
• To deliver messages and send notifications about them.
• To process listing payments and keep listings active.
• To keep the site safe, including investigating reports and suspending accounts that break our terms.
• To reply when you contact us.

We do not sell personal information, and we do not use advertising trackers.

Cookies

We use one essential cookie to keep you signed in. It is removed when you log out or after 30 days. We do not use analytics or advertising cookies.

Who we share it with

We use trusted providers to run the site. They process information on our behalf:

• Vercel hosts the website.
• Neon hosts the database.
• Stripe processes payments.
• OpenStreetMap (Nominatim) receives the location a technician enters, to look up map coordinates. Map tiles are also loaded from OpenStreetMap.
• An email provider, if enabled, sends notification emails.

Some of these providers store information outside New Zealand. We may also disclose information if required by law.

How long we keep it

We keep account information while your account is open. If you ask us to close your account, we delete or anonymise your personal information unless we need to keep some of it for legal, accounting or safety reasons.

Your rights

You can ask to see the personal information we hold about you and ask us to correct it. Depending on where you live, you may have other rights, such as asking us to delete it. Contact us at our contact form.

If you are in New Zealand and are not happy with how we handle your request, you can complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.

Security

Passwords are stored as one-way hashes, connections use HTTPS, and payment details are handled by Stripe. No system is perfectly secure, so please use a strong password that you do not use elsewhere.

Changes

We may update this policy. The date at the top shows when it last changed.