Legal

Privacy Policy

Last updated: 1 June 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how Humbird handles your personal information. Please read it together with our Terms & Conditions.

1. Who we are

Humbird (“we”, “us”, “our”) is operated by Charles Watson (ABN 97 858 102 106). Humbird is a private, building-only app that lets residents of a single apartment building or complex share items, offer and request services, and use a building noticeboard. We are based in Queensland, Australia.

We are committed to protecting your privacy and complying with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs). If you have any questions, contact us at support@humbird.com.au.

2. You must be 18 or over

Humbird is intended only for people aged 18 years or older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If you believe a person under 18 has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will take reasonable steps to delete it.

3. What personal information we collect

We collect only the information we need to run a building-only community app. This includes:

• Email address - used to create your account and to sign you in using a passwordless “magic link”.
• First name - shown to other residents in your building so they know who they are dealing with.
• Unit / apartment number - collected to confirm you live in the building. This is not shown automatically to other residents (see section 5).
• Your building - which building or complex you belong to.
• Item photos and listing content - photos and descriptions you upload for items, services, or noticeboard posts.
• Chat messages - messages you exchange with other residents through the app.
• Push notification tokens - a device identifier used to send you notifications, if you enable them.
• Basic usage information - limited technical and activity data (such as log data and app interactions) that helps us operate, secure, and improve the app.

We do not collect or store any card, bank account, or other payment details. All money for sales or services is arranged and paid directly between residents, away from Humbird (see our Terms & Conditions).

We do not ask for or collect sensitive information (such as health, racial or ethnic origin, religious or political beliefs, or sexual orientation). Please do not post sensitive information about yourself or others in listings, chat, or noticeboard posts.

Because Humbird is a verified, building-only community, you cannot use it anonymously or under a pseudonym - we need your email address, your first name, and confirmation that you live in the building. Identifying you in this limited way is reasonably necessary for Humbird to work, which the Australian Privacy Principles allow.

4. How we use your personal information

We use your personal information to:

• Create and manage your account and sign you in;
• Connect you with other residents of your building and let you list, request, and coordinate items and services;
• Operate the in-app chat and noticeboard;
• Send you notifications you have asked for;
• Verify that joiners genuinely live in the building, and keep the community safe;
• Respond to your enquiries, reports, and complaints;
• Maintain the security of, and improve, the app; and
• Comply with our legal obligations.

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use it for third-party advertising.

5. Who can see your information

Humbird is built around data minimisation. Different people see different amounts of information:

Other residents in your building

Other residents see your first name only, along with the items, services, and noticeboard posts you choose to publish. Your unit / apartment number is never shown to other residents automatically. You may choose to share your unit number with another resident in chat - if you do, that is your choice and within your control.

Founding members and building managers

The person who set up your building (the “founding member”) and, where one exists, the building manager can see the full resident roster including unit numbers. This is so they can verify that new joiners genuinely live in the building and remove anyone who does not. They may also remove reported posts. They are expected to use this information only for these purposes.

The Humbird team

Our operator team can access information where reasonably necessary to run the service, provide support, investigate reports, maintain security, and meet our legal obligations.

Service providers

We use trusted third parties to provide the infrastructure behind Humbird. In particular, we use Supabase for database hosting and file storage, and we use email and push-notification providers to deliver messages to you. These providers process information on our behalf under their own security and privacy obligations.

Legal and safety disclosures

We may disclose personal information where required or authorised by law, or where reasonably necessary to protect the safety, rights, or property of residents, the public, or Humbird.

6. Where your information is stored

Your personal information is stored in Australia. We host our database and file storage on Supabase, in its Sydney region (ap-southeast-2).

Some of our other service providers - for example, the providers we use to send emails and push notifications - may process limited information (such as your email address or a device token) on servers outside Australia. Where that happens, we take reasonable steps to ensure your information is handled consistently with the Australian Privacy Principles.

7. Storage and security

We take reasonable steps to protect your personal information from misuse, interference, loss, and unauthorised access, modification, or disclosure. These steps include access controls, encryption of data in transit, passwordless authentication (so there is no password for you to lose or reuse), and reliance on infrastructure providers that maintain their own security measures.

No method of transmission or storage is completely secure. While we work to protect your information, we cannot guarantee absolute security. If a data breach occurs that is likely to result in serious harm, we will notify affected individuals and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) as required by the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme.

8. Cookies and analytics

Our website (humbird.com.au) may use cookies and similar technologies, and we may use analytics tools to understand how the site is used so we can improve it. These tools may collect information such as your IP address, device and browser type, and the pages you visit. You can control or block cookies through your browser settings, though some parts of the site may not work properly if you do. The Humbird app does not use advertising cookies, and we do not use your information for third-party advertising.

9. How long we keep your information

We keep personal information only for as long as we reasonably need it for the purposes described in this policy, or as required by law. In particular:

• Account information is kept while your account is active.
• Chat for a transaction remains open for approximately 7 days after that transaction closes, so neighbours can finalise details, then is closed.
• Transaction records are kept for approximately 21 days after hand-over, to help resolve any issues, before being removed.

When information is no longer needed, we take reasonable steps to delete or de-identify it. Some information may remain in backups for a limited period before being overwritten.

10. Aggregated and de-identified information

We may produce aggregated, de-identified insights about how buildings use Humbird - for example, patterns like how many items a typical building shares in a year. We may share or disclose these insights with third parties, including property developers, researchers, and partners, and we may do so for commercial purposes.

These insights are always de-identified and are only reported for groups of at least ten people (k-anonymity, k≥10), so that no individual resident can be identified from them. They never include your name, unit, contact details, or the content of your messages.

This use is covered by your agreement to this Privacy Policy. You can opt out at any time in Profile → Privacy; opting out excludes you from future insights (we don’t recompute past ones).

11. Accessing, correcting, and deleting your information

You can view and update much of your information directly in the app. You may also ask us to:

• Give you access to the personal information we hold about you;
• Correct information that is inaccurate, out of date, or incomplete; or
• Delete your account and associated personal information, subject to any information we are required to keep by law.

To make a request, email us at support@humbird.com.au. We will respond within a reasonable time. There is normally no charge, and if we ever cannot meet your request we will explain why. Please note that messages you have already sent may remain visible in other residents’ chat histories, and limited information may persist in backups, after your account is deleted.

12. Complaints

If you think we have breached the Australian Privacy Principles or mishandled your personal information, please contact us first at support@humbird.com.au so we can try to resolve it. We will acknowledge your complaint and aim to respond within 30 days.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) at www.oaic.gov.au or on 1300 363 992.

13. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will change the “Last updated” date above and, where the changes are significant, take reasonable steps to let you know. Continuing to use Humbird after a change means you accept the updated policy.