Privacy Policy
Last updated: 02 September 2025
At Builder Reviews New Zealand (“Builder Reviews”, “we”, “our”, or “us”), available at builderreviews.co.nz, we are committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal information responsibly in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020 (New Zealand). This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and your rights.
By using this website, you agree to this Privacy Policy.
1. Who We Are
Builder Reviews New Zealand is an independent website that allows homeowners and members of the public to:
- Read builder reviews
- Submit reviews
- Ask questions
- Participate in discussions
- Upload photographs
- Access building information and articles
Our goal is to help New Zealand homeowners make informed decisions before choosing a builder.
2. Information We Collect
Depending on how you use the website, we may collect the following information.
Information You Provide
When submitting a review, discussion, enquiry or contacting us, you may provide:
- Name
- Email address
- Builder or company name
- Location
- Photos or attachments
- Review or discussion content
- Any information voluntarily included within your submission
You are responsible for ensuring any information you submit is accurate and that you have permission to share it.
Anonymous Posts
You may choose to submit content anonymously.
Although your name may not appear publicly, we may still collect information such as:
- Email address
- IP address
- Browser information
This information is used solely for security, moderation, fraud prevention and legal compliance.
Automatically Collected Information
When visiting our website we may automatically collect:
- IP address
- Browser type
- Device information
- Operating system
- Referring website
- Pages viewed
- Time spent on pages
- Date and time of visits
- General location (city or country)
This information helps improve the website and detect abuse.
3. Cookies
Builder Reviews uses cookies and similar technologies.
Cookies may be used to:
- Remember preferences
- Improve website functionality
- Analyse website traffic
- Measure visitor behaviour
- Detect spam or fraudulent activity
- Improve website performance
You may disable cookies through your browser settings, although some features of the website may not function correctly.
4. Analytics
We may use third-party analytics services including:
- Google Analytics
- Google Search Console
- Microsoft Clarity
- Other website analytics providers
These services help us understand how visitors use our website.
These providers may collect information using cookies and similar technologies.
5. Advertising
If advertising is displayed on Builder Reviews, third-party advertising providers (including Google) may use cookies to display personalised or non-personalised advertisements.
These providers may collect anonymous usage information.
You can manage advertising preferences through your browser or Google Ads Settings.
6. Reviews and Public Content
Builder Reviews is a public platform.
Information submitted as:
- Reviews
- Questions
- Discussions
- Replies
- Uploaded images
may become publicly visible.
Please do not submit confidential information, financial information, passwords or other sensitive personal information within reviews or discussions.
Once content is published it may:
- Be indexed by search engines
- Appear in search results
- Be quoted by other websites
- Be archived by internet archive services
7. Review Moderation
We reserve the right to:
- Review submissions before publication
- Remove or edit content
- Request additional information from reviewers
- Decline to publish content
- Remove content that breaches our Terms of Use
If a builder disputes a review, we may contact the reviewer requesting further supporting information.
We may also ask the builder to provide documentation supporting their position.
This helps us maintain a fair platform for both homeowners and builders.
8. Verification
To help maintain trustworthy reviews, we may request supporting information including:
- Building contracts
- Invoices
- Photographs
- Emails
- Council documentation
- Other relevant evidence
Providing this information is voluntary.
Verification documents are not published unless permission is given or disclosure is required by law.
9. How We Use Information
We use information to:
- Operate the website
- Publish reviews
- Moderate submissions
- Respond to enquiries
- Investigate disputed reviews
- Improve our services
- Detect spam and abuse
- Maintain website security
- Comply with legal obligations
- Protect the rights of Builder Reviews and its users
10. Sharing Information
We do not sell personal information.
We may share information only when necessary with:
- Website hosting providers
- Email service providers
- Analytics providers
- Spam prevention services
- Legal advisers
- Law enforcement or government agencies where required by law
11. Data Security
We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your information.
However, no website or internet transmission is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
12. Data Retention
We retain information only as long as necessary to:
- Operate the website
- Resolve disputes
- Comply with legal obligations
- Maintain historical review records
- Protect against fraudulent activity
Reviews may remain publicly available indefinitely unless removed in accordance with our policies.
13. Your Rights
Under the New Zealand Privacy Act 2020 you may request:
- Access to personal information we hold about you
- Correction of inaccurate information
- Information about how your personal information has been used
Requests can be made by contacting us using the details below.
14. Removal Requests
If you believe:
- Personal information has been published without permission;
- A review contains incorrect personal information;
- Your privacy has been affected;
please contact us.
We will review each request individually.
Removal requests do not automatically result in content being removed where there is a legitimate public interest in publication.
15. Children’s Privacy
Builder Reviews is not intended for children under 16 years of age.
We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.
If we become aware that information has been submitted by a child without appropriate consent, we will remove it where appropriate.
16. Third-Party Links
Our website may contain links to third-party websites.
We are not responsible for their privacy practices or content.
Please review the privacy policies of any external websites you visit.
17. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time.
The updated version will always be published on this page together with the revised “Last Updated” date.
Continued use of the website after changes are published constitutes acceptance of the updated Privacy Policy.
18. Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or your personal information, please contact us:
Builder Reviews New Zealand