Privacy Policy

Who this covers

This policy applies to consumers who browse venues and specials, and to venue owners and their teams who list and manage venues in Specialee.

Anonymous browsing

Consumers can browse venues and specials without creating an account. Some device-level information is still processed, as described in the analytics, location and diagnostics sections.

Venue accounts and sign-in

Venue owner authentication is provided through Replit-managed Clerk. This involves your email address, password (handled by the authentication provider), session data and account identifiers.

Optional consumer details

Consumers may optionally enter a name, mobile number and preferences, which are stored locally on the device. Information you submit in invitations, RSVPs or support requests is sent to our servers.

Business verification

Venue owners provide business contact details, address and ABN. ABNs are checked against the Australian Business Register (ABR), and venue/address details may be checked using Google Places.

Phone verification

Where configured, phone number verification and SMS messages are sent using Twilio Verify/SMS.

Location

If you grant foreground location permission, the app reads your device coordinates, which can be precise. Distance ranking of venues and specials is performed on your device.

You can browse without granting location permission: go to Profile › Location › Browse an Area and enter a suburb, for example Yokine WA. This changes the browsing area, not your device's GPS settings. To withdraw GPS permission, use device settings.

If you open directions, the selected maps service receives the destination information and handles information under its own privacy practices.

Favourites, preferences and notifications

Favourites and preferences are kept on your device. If you register for notifications, favourite venue IDs, notification preferences, a device ID, the push token and any account association may be synced to our servers.

Invitations and RSVPs

Invitations can contain names, RSVP choices, and meetup and link details. Anyone holding the invite link can view these details, so forward links only to the people you intend to invite.

Venue content

Photos, menus and venue details uploaded by venue owners are stored on our servers and become public once published.

First-party analytics

We collect first-party analytics using a persistent random device ID and a session ID, together with event names, timestamps and venue IDs. Venue dashboards show aggregated figures, but the underlying raw records are not fully anonymous.

Reports and support

Problem reports and support requests include the text you submit plus an account reference or pseudonymous reference. Email alerts about these are sent using SendGrid.

Push notifications

Where available and enabled with your permission, notifications use the Expo push service to send alerts, such as new specials at favourite venues. This involves your push token, notification preferences and notification content. You can turn notifications off in device settings.

Venue billing

Venue subscriptions use Stripe-hosted checkout. Stripe processes payment information you supply to it. Specialee stores customer and subscription identifiers, billing status and synchronised billing records to administer subscriptions. Consumers can browse without paying.

Operational diagnostics

Our servers log request paths, status codes, timing and errors to operate and secure the service. Hosting, authentication and other service providers may also process technical information such as IP addresses and browser or device information under their applicable practices.

Cookies and tracking

The web invite page uses an opaque cookie to measure invite opens, and web authentication uses session cookies. Specialee uses its own interaction analytics to understand and improve the service. Specialee does not currently share customer lists with advertisers or conduct off-platform retargeting. First-party analytics is distinct from combining information across other companies' services for targeted advertising.

No sale of personal information

Specialee does not sell customer information or share customer lists with advertisers.

Service providers

Depending on which features you use, information may be processed by:

• Replit (hosting and infrastructure; managed Clerk authentication)
• Clerk (venue sign-in)
• Twilio (phone verification and SMS)
• SendGrid (email alerts)
• Stripe (billing)
• Google (Places lookups)
• Australian Business Register (ABN checks)
• Expo (push notifications)

These providers may store, access or process information outside Australia. Locations and handling depend on the provider and service involved. We do not guarantee Australian-only storage or a particular processing country. Contact us with questions about international handling of your information.

How long we keep information

Archived venue accounts and venues have a 30-day waiting period before they become eligible for the automated purge process. Eligibility is not a guarantee of permanent deletion; unresolved billing matters or provider-side deletion processes can delay it. Other records, including analytics, invitations, support correspondence, notification records, logs, backups and payment records, are not covered by a universal 30-day deletion rule. Retention depends on the record, service operations, applicable legal obligations and legitimate retention requirements.

Deletion scope

The account purge process attempts to delete the authentication identity before deleting its remaining membership and archive records. Venue purge deletes the venue, its specials, entertainment and memberships after its safety checks pass. This does not establish deletion of every related invitation, analytics event, notification, support record, payment record or backup. An invitation expiring or a push token being deactivated is not the same as deleting its stored record.

Consumers who browse without a sign-in account can clear local saved information and request deletion of identifiable server records through the privacy contact. Venue owners can use the available account-deletion flow or contact us. Requests involving server records may require enough information to locate the records and verify authority; please do not send passwords.

Access, correction and deletion

Email support@specialee.com.au to request access, correction or deletion of your information, or to make a privacy complaint. Describe your request and provide enough information to identify the relevant account or records. We may need to verify your identity before acting. Requests are handled subject to applicable legal obligations and legitimate retention requirements; we do not promise an automatic deletion deadline. Never send passwords or payment details by email.

Clearing local preferences or favourites is not an account-deletion request. Notification registration may also update the server copy of your favourite venue choices; deleting other server records requires a separate request.

Permissions

You can grant or withdraw location and notification permissions at any time in your device settings. Without location, use Browse an Area; without notifications, the app continues to work without alerts.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as our services or practices change. The date above identifies the latest revision. Contact us if you have questions about a change or how this policy applies to your information.