Australian Product Guide is designed to minimise personal information collection. Browsing, search, comparison and recommendation tools remain available without an account. If you create an optional My Australian Product Guide account, APG processes your email address, authentication records and the workspace items you choose to sync.
1. Scope
This policy describes the current Australian Product Guide website and the data practices Australian Product Guide controls. Retailers, hosting providers and other third parties operate under their own terms and privacy practices.
2. Information you actively enter
You can enter search terms and finder preferences such as product category, use case, budget or feature priorities. These inputs are used to deliver the requested result. Australian Product Guide does not currently present them as a registered customer profile.
3. Optional My Australian Product Guide accounts
If you choose to create a My Australian Product Guide account, Australian Product Guide processes your email address, authentication records and the workspace items you choose to sync. Authentication and synced workspace data are provided through Australian Product Guide's Supabase project hosted in the Sydney region. Account data is not used to change product suitability scores or affiliate rankings.
4. Information Australian Product Guide does not ask you to provide
Australian Product Guide does not operate checkout or payment-card capture. It provides an optional account and a separate optional preference for future Australian Product Guide product-research emails; neither is required to browse, search, compare or use Decision Lab. APG does not currently operate a public free-text contact form.
Optional accounts and update preferences
My Australian Product Guide accounts use APG's Supabase project hosted in the Sydney region. Synced workspace records are stored against the authenticated account and protected by per-user Row Level Security. Account status does not change product suitability or retailer ranking.
Update emails are a separate optional choice. Creating an account does not subscribe you automatically. If you opt in, APG records the preference, the time and source of consent, and any later withdrawal. No marketing-email delivery service is currently active; the preference is being recorded so future delivery can be introduced only after its sender identity, unsubscribe process and operational controls are verified. You can switch the preference off in My Australian Product Guide at any time.
Deleting the account removes the authenticated account and cascades deletion of synced APG workspace and communication-preference records. Browser-local history remains until you clear it separately.
5. Browser local storage and sync
Optional convenience data stored on the device can include products selected for comparison, recently viewed products, saved products and recent Australian Product Guide search terms. These records remain in that browser unless cleared by the user/browser or changed by a future release. If you remain signed out, they stay browser-local. If you sign in and request sync, selected workspace records are copied to your Australian Product Guide account so they can be available on another signed-in device.
6. Cookies and analytics
Australian Product Guide uses Google Analytics 4 (GA4) to understand aggregate website usage and improve navigation, content and product-decision journeys. GA4 can use a first-party analytics identifier cookie and collect technical usage information such as page views, browser/device information and coarse location derived from network information. Australian Product Guide configures the Google tag to disable Google Signals and advertising-personalisation signals, keeps advertising consent types denied, and sends the page path without query-string values so search terms, finder inputs and URL parameters are not intentionally included in the Analytics page-location field. Google states that IP addresses used for GA4 location derivation are discarded before being logged. Analytics data does not alter Australian Product Guide product-suitability scores, retailer ranking or affiliate ranking. Broader advertising, remarketing or materially expanded tracking requires a fresh privacy and consent-control review before activation.
Australian Product Guide also samples first-party browser performance measurements such as Largest Contentful Paint, Cumulative Layout Shift, Interaction to Next Paint, First Contentful Paint and Time to First Byte. That performance payload contains the page path, broad viewport class and navigation type, but no query string, account identifier or persistent Australian Product Guide analytics identifier. It is sent to Australian Product Guide's own endpoint and recorded in hosting logs for performance diagnosis. Hosting, security infrastructure and third-party services may also process technical data required to operate their services.
7. Technical and usage information
Infrastructure providers can process technical request data such as IP address, timestamps, requested URLs, browser/device information and server logs to deliver and secure the website. Australian Product Guide should minimise access and retention consistent with operational needs and provider controls.
8. Search, comparison and recent activity
Recent searches, comparison selections, recent/saved products, Decision Lab history, saved comparisons and guides are stored locally by default. If you create an account and sync, those selected workspace records can also be stored against your authenticated user ID.
9. Affiliate click-outs and retailer relationships
Outbound Amazon affiliate URLs include attribution parameters. Once a shopper leaves Australian Product Guide, Amazon or another retailer controls its own cookies, account information, purchases and privacy practices. Australian Product Guide does not process the retailer checkout.
10. Third-party services and disclosure
Australian Product Guide uses infrastructure required to host and deliver the website and may link to manufacturers and retailers. Australian Product Guide should not disclose identifiable user data for unrelated purposes without an appropriate basis and notice.
11. Overseas processing
Cloud and third-party services can involve processing in other countries depending on provider configuration. Australian Product Guide does not currently represent that all technical processing occurs only in Australia. Any future handling of personal information under the Australian Privacy Principles would require assessment of applicable cross-border obligations.
12. Retention and deletion
Device-local Australian Product Guide convenience data remains until it is cleared or overwritten in the browser. Synced workspace data remains while the account exists or until the relevant records are replaced or deleted. My Australian Product Guide includes a self-service Delete account action that deletes the authenticated Supabase user and cascades deletion of synced Australian Product Guide workspace data. Performance measurements are retained only within applicable hosting-log retention and are not linked by Australian Product Guide to an account ID. Infrastructure logs remain subject to provider configuration and operational need.
13. Security
Australian Product Guide uses HTTPS through its hosting platform, security headers, data minimisation and a deliberately small application surface. No website can promise absolute security. Secrets and API credentials must not be embedded in public source code or browser-delivered content.
14. Access, correction and complaints
Signed-in users can inspect and manage the Australian Product Guide workspace associated with their account and can delete the account from My Australian Product Guide. Australian Product Guide provides self-service account and update-preference controls. A dedicated venture privacy contact and documented access/correction/complaint process remains a planned governance uplift as identifiable information collection grows.
15. Australian Privacy Act position
The Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) does not apply to every Australian small business. Applicability depends on turnover and relevant exceptions/activities. Australian Product Guide should not assume permanent exemption; the position must be reassessed as turnover, data practices, contracts and services change.
16. Policy updates
This policy should change when the technology or operating model changes materially. The effective and last-updated date appears at the top of the page.
17. Contact
The current Contact page explains the present contact limitation. A dedicated venture privacy channel should be activated before material identifiable data collection.