Privacy Policy
What we collect, why we collect it and how we look after it.
The short version
01Who we are
This Privacy Policy explains how TIPSTA ("we", "us", "our") collects, uses, shares and protects personal information through tipsta.au. We handle personal information in line with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles.
02Information we collect
When you create an account
- Your name and email address.
- Your date of birth, so we can confirm you are 18 or over.
- Your password. We only store it in scrambled (salted and hashed) form, so no one at TIPSTA can read it.
- Your mobile number, if you choose to add one. You can use it to log in.
- That you agreed to our Terms and this Policy, when you signed up, and whether your account has Founding Member pricing.
Email verification and password resets
- One-time links we email you to confirm your address or reset your password. They expire and can only be used once.
Membership and payments
- Your plan, its status, start and end dates, and changes such as cancellations or refunds.
- Payment references from Stripe, such as customer, subscription and payment IDs, amounts and dates.
- Card details are entered directly with Stripe. Stripe may also collect your billing address. TIPSTA never receives or stores your full card number.
How you use TIPSTA
- For everyone: the pages you visit, the page that referred you, the time of each visit, and your approximate location (country and city). We work out location from your IP address at the time of the visit. We do not save your IP address in our visit records.
- A random visitor ID stored in a cookie, so we can count unique visitors.
- If you are logged in, those visits are linked to your account. We also record when you log in and which parts of TIPSTA you use each day, such as tips, results or the archive.
When you contact us
- Your email and anything you send us. If you make an optional support payment and leave a contact email, we keep that too.
03How we use it
- To create and run your account, and to check you are 18 or over.
- To process payments and manage your membership, including access, renewals, cancellations and refunds.
- To send you emails you need, such as verification links, password resets, membership confirmations and changes to your membership.
- To answer your questions and give support.
- To understand how TIPSTA is used so we can improve it, for example which pages and features are popular.
- To keep TIPSTA secure and stop fraud, account sharing and misuse.
- To meet our legal, tax and accounting obligations.
We will not use your information for a purpose you would not reasonably expect.
04Emails we send
Our emails are sent through Resend, an email delivery service. Account and membership emails are part of the Service, so you will receive them while you have an account.
We only send marketing emails, such as race day previews or offers, where you have agreed to receive them. Every marketing email has an unsubscribe link, and you can also opt out by emailing tipsta.au@gmail.com.
06Storage outside Australia
Some of these providers store or process information outside Australia, including in the United States. We use well-established providers that protect personal information and take reasonable steps to make sure they handle it in a way consistent with the Australian Privacy Principles.
07Cookies and local storage
We keep cookies to a minimum and use no advertising or third-party tracking cookies.
- tipsta_session keeps you logged in. It lasts up to 30 days and cannot be read by scripts on the page.
- tipsta_vid is a random ID used only to count unique visitors. It lasts up to 12 months.
- Your browser's local storage keeps small settings, such as whether this device has been used to sign up.
- Stripe sets its own cookies on its checkout page to process payments securely and prevent fraud.
You can block or clear cookies in your browser settings, but you will not be able to stay logged in without the session cookie.
08Keeping it secure
We protect your information with encrypted connections (HTTPS), scrambled passwords, signed login sessions and restricted access to our systems and admin tools. Card payments are handled by Stripe, which is certified to the PCI DSS payment security standard.
No system is perfectly secure. If a data breach is likely to cause you serious harm, we will tell you and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner as the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme requires.
09How long we keep it
We keep your information for as long as your account is open. If you ask us to close your account, we delete or de-identify your personal information within a reasonable time, except records we must keep by law. Payment and tax records are generally kept for five years.
10Your rights
- Ask for a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
- Ask us to correct anything that is wrong or out of date.
- Ask us to close your account and delete your information.
- Opt out of marketing emails at any time.
Email tipsta.au@gmail.com from the address on your account. We will reply within 30 days.
11Under 18s
TIPSTA is only for people aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 18. If we learn that we have, we will close the account and delete the information.
12Complaints
If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal information, please email tipsta.au@gmail.com and we will look into it and reply within 30 days. If you are not satisfied with our response, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at oaic.gov.au.
13Changes to this Policy
We may update this Policy as TIPSTA changes. The date at the top of this page shows when it last changed. If we make a significant change to how we use your information, we will tell members by email.
14Contact us
For anything about your privacy, email tipsta.au@gmail.com or use our Contact page.