Privacy Policy

Festra (“we”, “us”) is a free tool that compiles Australian government open data into a liveability map of Greater Melbourne. This policy explains what personal information we handle and how, consistent with the Australian Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).

• On-device preferences (no account needed). Your chosen lens/persona, priority weights, suburb shortlist, and recently viewed areas are stored in your browser's localStorage only. They stay on your device, are not transmitted to us, and you can clear them any time from the Your data page or your browser settings.
• Email address - only if you provide it. If you send feedback, we collect the email address you enter (it is optional), along with your message and the page you were on. We use it solely to respond. Email update alerts are not yet available - they will arrive with optional accounts, and we will update this policy before launching them.
• Standard server logs. Our static host and content-delivery / map-tile providers may log technical data (IP address, browser type, timestamps) to deliver and secure the site, as is standard for any website.

We do not run user accounts or logins, do not collect payment information, do not show advertising, and do not run behavioural ad-tracking.

• Form handling. When configured, feedback is delivered via Formspree, a third-party form processor based in the United States, which receives the email and message you submit in order to forward it to us. When no form processor is configured, the feedback button may instead open your own email app (a local mailto link), in which case nothing passes through a third party.
• Hosting & map tiles. The site is served as static files by our host; the base map is loaded from a map-tile provider and © OpenStreetMap contributors. These providers may receive your IP address to serve content.

We never sell your personal information. We only share it with the processors above to provide the features you request.

We may run privacy-friendly, cookieless analytics (Plausible-style) to count page views in aggregate. If enabled: no cookies, no personal data stored, no cross-site tracking, no behavioural profiles - just anonymous, aggregate counts (e.g. how many people viewed a page), which cannot identify you. If it is not enabled, no analytics run at all.

To send the update alerts or feedback responses you request, to operate and secure the site, and to improve the data and features (for example, acting on a data-problem report). On-device preferences exist purely to personalise your own view.

On-device preferences persist until you clear them. Email addresses provided for alerts are kept until you unsubscribe or ask us to delete them; feedback messages are kept while we act on them.

Under the APPs you may request access to, correction of, or deletion of personal information we hold about you, and you can unsubscribe from alerts at any time. To exercise these, use the Feedback button or the contact below. You can delete all on-device data yourself from the Your data page.

The service is intended for a general adult audience (movers / renters) and is not directed at children.

We may update this policy; the “last updated” date above will change. Questions or privacy requests: use the in-app Feedback button. If a complaint is not resolved, you may contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).