Privacy Policy

1. Scope

YAKK4.com ("YAKK4", "we", "us") is a community for Australian civil construction. This policy explains how we intend to handle personal information when you use the service.

The community has not yet been built. The practices below describe the planned first release and must be checked against the completed service before publication. No claim is made that the operator's legal status or Privacy Act obligations have been determined.

2. Information we collect

Depending on the features you use, we collect:

• Account information: email address, username, password authentication information, verification and account status, and registration dates. Passwords are handled by the authentication service and are not made readable to moderators.
• Optional profile information: real or display name, profile photo, biography, trade or role, and state or region, where these fields are offered.
• Community activity: posts, images, comments, community memberships, votes, saved posts and in-app notification records.
• Safety and support information: reports, blocks, moderation decisions, account restrictions and correspondence you send us.
• Technical information: IP address, browser and device details, session information and security or error logs to the extent generated by the hosting and authentication services.

We do not ask you to provide sensitive information, such as health information or identity documents, as part of ordinary community participation. Avoid putting this information in posts or messages to support unless it is necessary and appropriately requested.

3. How we collect information

We collect information you supply during registration, profile editing, posting, reporting and support requests. Some technical information is collected automatically when you use the service. Another member may include information about you in a post or report; contact us if you believe it should be removed.

4. Why we use it

We use information to:

• Create and secure accounts, verify email ownership and support password recovery.
• Display profiles and discussions and provide communities, voting, saved posts and notifications.
• Review reports, enforce rules, prevent abuse and record moderation actions.
• Respond to support and privacy requests.
• Diagnose problems and maintain service reliability and security.
• Meet applicable legal obligations and deal with disputes.

The first release is intended to use in-app notifications, plus essential account and service emails. Promotional emails, advertising tracking or additional analytics services are not assumed in this draft and require a policy review before introduction.

5. What other users can see

Your username, published posts, comments and public profile fields may be visible publicly and appear in search engines. Optional real names and profile details become public if you choose to publish them.

Account email addresses, saved-post lists, individual voting records, block lists and notification records are not intended to be publicly displayed. Vote totals may be public. Reports are restricted to authorised moderation personnel. Authorised staff may access relevant information when necessary to operate, secure or moderate the service; access must be limited appropriately.

6. Service providers and disclosures

We use Lovable Cloud and related hosting, authentication, database and storage services to operate YAKK4. The service's database, accounts and uploaded content are stored on servers located in Tokyo, Japan. Service providers may process information on our behalf for those purposes.

We may disclose relevant information to authorised moderators and administrators, professional advisers, or authorities when required or permitted by law. We may also disclose information when reasonably necessary to protect safety, investigate abuse or establish or defend legal claims.

We do not plan to sell members' personal information. Any business transfer involving personal information must be handled lawfully, with notice where required.

7. Overseas processing

Your personal information is stored on servers in Tokyo, Japan, and service providers or their support teams may process personal information outside Australia. Cross-border disclosure arrangements for this hosting need to be confirmed with legal advice before publication. Information on YAKK4 is not described as Australian-hosted.

8. Cookies and session storage

The service is expected to use cookies or similar browser storage for sign-in and session functionality. Technical services may also use security-related cookies. Blocking required storage may prevent sign-in or affect functionality.

A cookie and browser-storage audit, including expiry periods and any consent requirements, has not yet been completed for the finished service.

9. Security

We intend to use access controls, database permissions, protected authentication, secure connections and restricted moderation access to reduce unauthorised access. No online service is completely secure. Contact us if you suspect your account or information has been compromised.

If a breach occurs, we will assess it, take appropriate action and make notifications where legally required.

10. Retention and deletion

We retain information only as long as reasonably necessary for its purpose, legal obligations, security and dispute handling. Account closure and content-removal requests should be sent to the privacy contact once one is published.

A retention schedule covering closed accounts, removed content, reports and moderation logs, technical and security logs, support correspondence and backup expiry has not yet been approved.

Public copies held by search engines or other users may remain after removal from YAKK4. We will explain any lawful retention exceptions when responding to a deletion request.

11. Access and correction

Contact the privacy address to request access to or correction of personal information we hold about you. We may need to verify your identity using proportionate information. We will respond within a reasonable period and explain any lawful refusal and available review options. You can also change profile details through the account controls when available.

12. Privacy complaints

Send a privacy complaint to the privacy address, describing the concern and the outcome you want. We will acknowledge and investigate it and respond within a reasonable period. If unresolved, you may contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at https://www.oaic.gov.au where the matter falls within its jurisdiction.

Whether the Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles apply to the operator, and what other obligations may apply, needs legal confirmation. No exemption is assumed based solely on business size.

13. Children

YAKK4 is proposed for people aged 18 and over. This age rule has not yet been approved by the operator and must match the final eligibility rule. If you believe a child has supplied personal information in breach of the final rule, contact us so we can assess appropriate action.

14. Changes

We will publish policy updates with a revised effective date and give appropriate notice of material changes. We will review this policy before introducing new uses of personal information or features such as business profiles, sponsored content, jobs or paid memberships.