Privacy Policy

We are committed to protecting the personal information that we hold, and to collecting, using and disclosing it in accordance with applicable privacy laws, including the Australian Privacy Principles in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act).

'We', 'us' or 'our' means WikiCamps Pty Ltd (WikiCamps). We respect the confidentiality of the personal information handled by WikiCamps and take steps to safeguard the privacy of the WikiCamps user community, as outlined below. We recognise that the independence of the WikiCamps community is of critical importance to our valued community members. We will only use or disclose personal information as outlined in this Privacy Policy, or where we have your consent.

To provide our services and conduct our business we handle personal information, including determining the purposes and means of processing personal data that we control. This Privacy Policy explains how we handle the personal information we hold, including how we collect, use and disclose personal information.

RECENT UPDATES

This Privacy Policy has been updated to:

• provide more detail about the personal information that we collect, including information about how we use cookies and related technologies for targeted advertising;
  
• explain how we use the personal information that we collect with specificity, such as how we use this information to better tailor our products and services, including the App and App Services;
  
• Include additional information about data protection rights in non- Australian jurisdictions that may apply in certain circumstances; and
  
• update language, descriptions and definitions for clarity.

These updates took effect in April 2023.

In May 2024, we updated this Privacy Policy, with immediate effect, to include more detail about the Service Providers that we use, and what personal information is disclosed by us to these Services Providers, including to provide our App Services. We also included new sections regarding personalised advertising and how we use data to provide personalised advertising.

Please review the updated, current version of our Privacy Policy below.

THE PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT (AND WHY)

To provide you with the App Services and for other purposes as described in this Privacy Policy we collect your personal information. We provide more detail about the personal information we collect and how we use and disclose it below.

The personal information we collect, and why we collect it

• We collect information provided by you when you register an Account with our App. This may contain some limited personal information depending on what you choose to provide, and includes username, email address and any uploaded photos. Please note that the username you select does not need to include your real name or any other information that identifies you.
  
  
• We also collect personal information that you choose to post within the App, including that contained in comments and photos, and in reviews. Please be aware that any comments and photos you post within the App, including to forums within the App, will be visible to others. We recommend that you do not post sensitive information (such as health information) to the App.
  
  
• By sharing your personal information to the publicly accessible forums you are accepting that personal information will necessarily be collected by us and used and disclosed in accordance with either this Privacy Policy, or the privacy policy of the site that hosts the forum (see 'Sharing on social media' below), whichever is applicable.
  
  
• Unactivated Android Devices will send information about your device, including your email addresses, to our server. This information is used to check if your Account has previously been activated.
  
  
• All payments are made via your payment service provider, such as the app store or PayPal (for Android devices), and we maintain access to transactional account information only via these services. We do not have access to your credit card details. Our Website uses Google Analytics which is a service offered by Google that generates detailed statistics about our Website's traffic and traffic sources (for more detail see ‘Analytical and Performance Cookies’).

Cookies and other technologies

We may collect information relating to your web activity when you access and browse our Website or use the App. Specifically, we may collect information using cookies, and similar technologies, designed to provide information to help us improve the use of our Website and the App and to customise the content we provide.

A cookie is a text file containing small amounts of information which is downloaded to your device when you access a website. This information may include your IP address, information and actions taken on the Website including details about when you accessed the Website. The text file is then sent back to our server each time your browser requests a page from the server. Information generated by the cookie about the use of our Website may be transferred to, and stored by, a web analytics service, which may be based overseas, that we use to help us improve our online services. This enables us to provide a better Website visitor experience by loading the Website so that it reflects your personal preferences as previously indicated last time you browsed. Some cookies also help with ensuring the functionality of the Website.

Additionally, emails we send to you use technology that allows us to understand the time and date that an email was opened and whether any links within the email were clicked. You can disable some of this technology by changing the settings in your email client.

We use web tracking/analytic tools, that may be provided by our Service Providers, that generate detailed statistics about traffic to our Website, traffic sources and how you interact with advertisements on our Website and in our App and also on third party websites. These tools can also measure and record conversions and sales.

The cookies and web-tracking tools we use allow our Website and App to operate more efficiently via the device you are using, customise our advertising and help us improve the content and functioning of our Website and App.

We also use cookies to help us and our Service Providers to present targeted and customised advertising to you on our Website and on third party websites, including social media platforms.

To help us deliver relevant and effective online advertising to you, we may also combine data we collect via cookies and similar technologies, including location data, on your devices with other data that we or our related entities have collected. We may share this data with our trusted Service Providers or related entities to assist with tailoring our products, services and/or advertising to you. We may also share this data in aggregate form with third parties, including Business Partners.

The types of cookies we use are set out below. You can configure your web browser to reject and delete cookies, but this may limit the functionality of our Website or App so that so that they do not operate properly.

Analytical and Performance Cookies

We use website analytics service providers, such as Google Analytics, that use cookies to analyse our Website traffic. These analytics Service Providers collect information and statistics about our Website, including by counting the number of visitors and tracking how visitors use the site. This type of analysis helps us make our Website more effective to use. Information supplied by analysis cookies helps us to understand how our visitors use our Website to improve the user experience.

Functionality Cookies

We may use functional cookies that record the choices you have made on our Website so that we can continue to provide you with information you are interested in during that visit and any subsequent visits. This allows us to provide content that is tailored and relevant, and to improve the Website experience for our Website users.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We collect cookies that are necessary for our Website to operate and load properly. You can set your web browser to block these cookies but without these cookies you may not be able to move around the Website and use its features.

Resettable device identifiers

If you use our App on a mobile device or tablet we may collect a ‘resettable device identifier' (Device Identifier) from that device. Device Identifiers are similar to cookies and we may use them to help us make our advertising more relevant (see also ‘To provide personalised advertising’) and/or for analytics and optimisation purposes; and for delivering ‘push notifications’ (messages that pop up to prompt action and/or notify you of important information) to your device. You can configure your mobile device or tablet to opt-out of personalised advertising from us in connection with a Device Identifier (usually by selecting the appropriate setting under ‘privacy' or ‘ads' in the device settings).

We may use the Device Identifier to notify you of important information, using ‘push notifications’. You can opt out of receiving some types of Push Notification messages from within our App.

Location data

If you have provided permission through your device, we may collect, and store pinpointed physical location information from technologies like GPS, Wi-Fi or mobile tower locations. You can withdraw your consent to the use of location data at any time through the settings of your mobile device. However, please note that this will significantly impact the App’s functionality including the provision of the App Services (including maps of Points of Interests etc.)

Personalised advertising and cookies

Unless you have paid for ad remover, third party vendors, including Google, use cookies to display ads within the App based on your prior visits to our App and Website.

Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to our App users based on your visits to our Apps and Website and/or other websites.

For more information about how Google uses this data please visit How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services.

Users may opt out of personalised advertising by visiting Google’s Ads Settings. Alternatively, you may request to opt out of a third-party vendor's use of cookies for personalised advertising by visiting www.aboutads.info.

The following third-party vendors and ad networks serve ads on the App. To opt out of the use of cookies for personalised advertising, please visit the website of the relevant third party or ad network. Alternatively, visit www.aboutads.info to opt-out of some third party vendor’s use of cookies for personalised advertising.

WHY WE USE AND/OR DISCLOSE THE PERSONAL INFORMATION THAT WE HOLD ABOUT YOU

To provide you with App Services

We use your email address to register your Account for use within the App and as a ‘username’ to enable access to your Account.

We may also use your email address to contact you, or request our Service Provider contact you on our behalf, about your Account, including to assist us to improve the App Services.

We use and disclose data about your device, including browser and device type, operating system, referring web page and the date and time of page visits and the the location of your device, with your permission, to provide you with a map of Points of Interest or other App Services. Some of this data may be disclosed to Service Providers that provide support for these App Services.

To provide the relevant App Services, WikiCamps uses map services provided by the OpenStreetMap Foundation, St John’s Innovation Centre, Cowley Road, Cambridge, CB4 0WS, United Kingdom (OSMF). To access map services via the App, an App user’s internet browser or application will connect to servers operated by the OSMF located in the United Kingdom and in other countries. WikiCamps has no control over such connections and processing of your data by the OSMF. You can find more information on the processing of user data by the OSMF here: https://osmfoundation.org/wiki/Privacy_Policy

For marketing analytics

We may also use de-identified data including location data, by combining it with other sources, including publicly available information or data that is held by other companies within our related group of companies, to better understand your preferences. Sharing this aggregated information allows us to better understand how our products and services can assist the WikiCamps community.

Where we share this type of aggregated, de-identified data with our related entities we only do so in the circumstances described in this Privacy Policy and in accordance with the Privacy Act or other applicable laws.

We may collect personal information regarding your activities using the App and our Websites to better understand your preferences and tailor our marketing communications.

We may also provide de-identified location data, in aggregate form, to third parties, for example to assist them to understand general travel trends.

To provide personalised advertising

As explained in the ‘Cookies and other technologies’ section of this Privacy Policy, we use Third party vendors, including our Service Providers, that use cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to our App. In particular, we use personalised advertising (formerly known as interest-based advertising) on the App which is served via the Google Mobile Ads SDK. This personalised advertising may involve use of the following data:

• device information (see Resettable Device Identifiers for more information) and network information (e.g. carrier and network type);
• advertising metrics such as details about how users interact with advertising, including clicks, impressions and views.
• App usage data, which includes information about user engagement, such as session length and frequency.
• user demographic and interest data, which may, depending on your App and/or device settings and permissions, along with any relevant Google Ad Settings, be inferred from App usage or data you have directly provided.

To meet our legal obligations

We may also use personal information for the purpose of:

• complying with any applicable laws (for example any obligations we may have under legislation, including but not limited to the Australian Consumer Law and the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth);
  
  
• to fulfill our obligations under contracts with you or third parties;
  
  
• where necessary to protect our rights or the rights of others, including for fraud or risk management purposes; and
  
  
• to comply with requests from government authorities and/or enforcement bodies.

When engaging with our Service Providers

We use third party suppliers (Service Providers) to provide us with services to support our business. These Service Providers may perform services on our behalf or assist us to provide services, including the App Services, to you. For example, we may engage Service Providers to provide us with IT services, servers, advertising, payment processing, marketing and marketing analytics services. Our Service Providers may need to access your personal information in connection with providing us with these services. The Service Providers we use may be based in Australia or overseas. We only disclose your personal information to our Service Providers in accordance with this Privacy Policy and applicable privacy laws.

Other purposes

We may use or disclose your personal information for other reasons which we will explain when we collect it, or for reasons that you have consented to us using or disclosing the information. We will only use or disclose your personal information in accordance with applicable privacy and data protection laws.

For marketing

We also use personal information to market and promote our products and services, including to:

• contact you about special offers or promotions we think may be of interest to you (where we have a legal basis to process your information in this way); and
  
• conduct marketing and web tracking analysis.
  

We may also collect personal information about you by accessing data from other sources and analysing that data together with the information we already hold about you to better understand your preferences. This information may be anonymised data that is shared with trusted Service Providers that help us to market products and services to you that are most relevant to your interests.

Sharing on social media

If you interact with us using your social media account, or post in our social media forums or on our social media pages, that personal information will be subject to the privacy policy of the social media website or Media Service Provider.

We may use your data to display targeted ads about our (or our related entities’) products, brands and services on the social media websites you are registered with, and for measuring advertising performance on those social media websites. If you do not object (see ‘Right to object to data processing’) to the use of your personal information for targeted advertising purposes, we may transfer data, including data that has been through a process of encryption (e.g. ‘hashing’), to a Service Provider, including a Media Service Provider. Once your data is shared in this way, it is used to:

• show you ads about our products, brands and services when you browse the relevant social media website; and
  
  
• help us to understand the effectiveness of our advertising to enable us to improve our marketing campaigns and tailor our advertising, products and services to your interests.
  
  

Reviews

Please note that the reviews that you choose to post via the App may be displayed within the App, on our Websites, or on third party websites and/or Apps, including those of our Business Partners or Service Providers. We may also provide these publicly available reviews to our Business Partners, Service Providers and/or related entities for use in their promotional and marketing materials.

Links to external websites or services

Our electronic messages or online services, including our Websites or the App, may contain links to other websites. We are not responsible for the handling of your personal information by those websites and recommend you review the privacy policy of those websites.

STORAGE AND SECURITY OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

We take all reasonable steps to protect the personal information we hold from misuse, interference and loss; and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. These steps involve taking electronic and physical security measures, including:

• storing personal information on secure networks consistent with industry standards;
  
  
• using encryption when transferring personal information to other servers;
  
  
• restricting access to personal information to employees, contractors and agents who need to know the information to process it for us; and
  
  
• authenticating App users before providing access to their Accounts.

HOW LONG DO WE KEEP YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION?

If we no longer need the personal information we hold about you, we take steps to delete, destroy or de-identify that information. We may need to retain personal information for insurance and/or audit purposes, or to comply with obligations under law, including under the Australian Consumer Law and/or the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth). We will also consider whether we need to retain your data to meet any other relevant legal obligations.

Deletion of Accounts

If you submit a request to delete your personal information, including via our App, we will take all reasonable steps to process your request in accordance with this Privacy Policy and our obligations under the Privacy Act and other applicable laws.

For unregistered App users: to submit a request to delete your Account via the App, select the ‘Permanently Delete Account’ button within the main home menu of the ‘Community Guidelines’ section of the App. For registered App users: to submit a request to delete your Account, select the ‘Permanently Delete Account’ toggle via the ‘My Account’ screen of the App.

We will automatically confirm your request via the App before actioning it, to assist you to avoid unintentional deletion of your important Account data (e.g. trip plans, checklists and photos).

We aim to action Account deletion immediately upon request by the Account user, but it may take up to 30 days. Where an Account deletion is not completed within 24 hours, we will notify you on completion. Once deleted, you will be able to create a new Account, but please be aware that a previous Account deletion is permanent and cannot be reversed.

How to unsubscribe, 'opt-out' or withdraw consent

You may unsubscribe or opt-out of receiving communications from us by:

• clicking on the 'unsubscribe' link in any electronic messages you receive from us; and/or
  
  
• contacting us using the details in the 'Contact Details' section of this Privacy Policy.

OTHER DATA PROTECTION RIGHTS

In some circumstances, your personal information (or personal data) may be subject to privacy laws in other jurisdictions. Where applicable, depending on the jurisdiction, in some circumstances you may be able to exercise additional specific rights, or make additional requests, in regard to your personal data. These may include:

Right to object to data processing and/or withdraw consent

In certain circumstances, you can object at any time to your personal data being processed for direct marketing purposes; for marketing purposes based on profiling; or for the purposes of targeted advertising on social media.

In some cases, depending on the circumstances and whether your personal data is being processed on the basis of your consent, you may be able to withdraw consent for the processing at any time.

Right to restriction of data processing

In certain circumstances you can request the restriction of the processing of your personal data, including while we investigate your concerns with the processing or personal data.

Right to data portability;

You may, in some circumstances, request the portability of your personal data, particularly where the processing of that personal data is based on consent or the performance of a contract.

Right to erasure

You can request the erasure of your personal data, for example whether it is no longer necessary for the purpose of the data processing. See also: ‘How long do we keep your personal information’; and ‘Account deletion’.

CONTACT US

You can:

• request access to, or correction of, the personal information that we hold about you;
  
  
• request to 'opt-out' or 'unsubscribe' from communication from us; or
  
  
• make a privacy complaint or inquiry (including regarding applicable data protection rights) by contacting us at: support@wikicamps.co

How to make a privacy complaint

If you have any concerns about how we have handled your personal information and wish to make a privacy complaint, please contact us using the contact details above.

If we are unable to resolve your privacy complaint, you may contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at:

GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW, 2001, www.oaic.gov.au (telephone 1300 363 992).

LAST UPDATED

This Privacy Policy was last updated in May 2024.

DEFINED TERMS

"App" means any application for use on a mobile device (e.g. telephone, tablet or similar device) operated by WikiCamps Pty Ltd.

"App Services" mean services provided via the Apps to Users including (but not limited to) map services, reviews, ratings, photos and locations of Points of Interest and access to checklists, tutorials, trip planning, satellite dish pointer, forum, offline maps and editable site content.

"Account" means an account registered via the App using an email address.

“Business Partner” means a third party that we collaborate with to offer joint promotions, products or services;

“Media Service Provider” means a Service Provider that provides media, including social media, services, including but not limited to Facebook and Meta Platforms Inc, and Google Ads.;

"Points of Interest" include (but are not limited to) campgrounds, caravan parks, backpacker hostels, local points of interest, dump stations, visitor information centres, water taps, toilets and showers.

"Service Provider" means a third party that provides us with services to support our business, including the provision of the App Services. This includes, but is not limited to, Microsoft, Google (including,, but not limited to Google Analytics and Google Adsense) and OpenStreetMap Foundation.

"Website" means www.wikicamps.com.au

"We" or "us" means WikiCamps Pty Ltd.