Privacy Policy

Our commitment under the Privacy Act 2020

12Steps.nz is a New Zealand-focused gambling comparison website. We collect and handle personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020 and its 13 Information Privacy Principles (IPPs). Those principles govern how agencies in New Zealand may collect, store, use, disclose and give access to personal information. In short: we only collect information we genuinely need, we tell you why, we keep it secure, we use it only for the purpose we collected it, and we let you see and correct it. This policy is written to satisfy IPP 3 (being open about our practices) so you always know where you stand.

What personal information we collect

We aim to keep data collection to a minimum, consistent with IPP 1 (only collect what is necessary). The information we may collect includes:

• Analytics and cookie data — when you visit the site, our analytics tools (for example Google Analytics 4) collect non-identifying technical data such as your device type, browser, approximate region, pages viewed, referring site and time on page. This helps us understand which guides are useful and where to improve.
• Contact-form data — if you email us or use our contact form, we collect the name, email address and message you choose to provide, so we can respond.
• Affiliate tracking data — when you click a link to an operator, a tracking identifier (a click ID) may be recorded by the operator's affiliate system so any resulting sign-up can be attributed to us. This is described in more detail in our Cookie Policy.

We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 18, and we do not collect sensitive information such as health data. In line with IPP 2, we collect information directly from you wherever practicable.

How and why we use your information

Consistent with IPP 10 (use) and IPP 11 (disclosure), we use personal information only for the purposes for which it was collected, namely: to respond to your enquiries; to operate, secure and improve the website; to measure the performance of our content; and to attribute affiliate referrals. We do not sell your personal information. We will not use or disclose it for an unrelated purpose unless you consent, or the law requires or permits it.

Third-party affiliate tracking and analytics

Some of our partners — analytics providers and gambling operators' affiliate networks — set their own cookies and receive data when you interact with the site. These third parties act as separate agencies with their own privacy policies. Where any transfer of information overseas occurs (for example to analytics servers outside New Zealand), we take reasonable steps, in line with IPP 12, to ensure comparable privacy protections apply. You can limit much of this tracking through the controls described in our Cookie Policy and your browser settings.

How we store and protect your information

We take the security of your information seriously, as required by IPP 5. Our website is served over encrypted HTTPS connections, and access to any contact data we hold is restricted to people who need it to respond to you. We use reputable service providers and apply reasonable technical and organisational safeguards to protect against loss, misuse and unauthorised access. No system is perfectly secure, but we work to reduce risk and to keep only what we need.

How long we keep it (retention)

In line with IPP 9, we do not keep personal information for longer than we need it for the purpose it was collected. Contact-form correspondence is retained only as long as necessary to handle your enquiry and any reasonable follow-up, then deleted. Analytics data is retained for a limited period according to our analytics provider's settings and is aggregated so that it does not identify you.

Your rights: access and correction

Under IPP 6 and IPP 7 of the Privacy Act 2020 you have the right to ask us whether we hold any personal information about you, to request access to that information, and to ask us to correct it if it is wrong or out of date. To make a request, email hello@12steps.nz with the subject line "Privacy request". We will respond as soon as reasonably practicable and, in any case, within the timeframes set by the Act (generally 20 working days). There is normally no charge for a request.

Cookies and consent

We use cookies and similar technologies as set out in our Cookie Policy. Essential cookies keep the site working; analytics and affiliate cookies are used with your consent, which you can manage or withdraw at any time through your browser or our cookie controls.

Complaints and the Privacy Commissioner

If you are concerned about how we have handled your personal information, please contact us first at hello@12steps.nz so we can try to put things right. You also have the right to complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (Te Mana Mātāpono Matatapu), the independent body that oversees the Privacy Act 2020 in New Zealand. You can reach the Commissioner at privacy.org.nz or on 0800 803 909.

Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or the law. Any updates take effect when published here, and we will change the "last updated" date accordingly.

Contact for privacy requests

For any privacy question, access or correction request, or complaint, email our team at hello@12steps.nz. We are based in New Zealand.