Privacy Policy

We collect the following categories of personal information to operate the Charzie platform:

Information you provide directly

• Account information: Name, email address, phone number, and password when you register.
• Identity verification: Government-issued ID documents, selfie photos, and date of birth for identity verification purposes.
• Payment information: Billing address and payment method details (processed and stored securely by Stripe; we do not store full card numbers).
• Vehicle information: Vehicle registration, make, model, and type (for Drivers).
• Listing information: Space details, photos, building address, availability, and pricing (for Hosts).
• Communications: Messages sent through the Platform, support enquiries, and dispute submissions.

Information collected automatically

• Usage data: Pages viewed, features used, search queries, and interaction patterns.
• Device information: Browser type, operating system, device identifiers, and IP address.
• Location data: Approximate location (derived from IP address or device GPS when you grant permission) to show nearby listings.
• Booking activity: Check-in/check-out timestamps, booking durations, and parking session data.

We use your personal information to:

• Provide, maintain, and improve the Charzie platform and its features.
• Process bookings, payments, refunds, and payouts between Drivers, Hosts, and building stakeholders.
• Verify your identity and prevent fraud, in compliance with our 7-gate security model.
• Communicate with you about bookings, account updates, service changes, and promotional offers (with your consent).
• Resolve disputes between users using booking records, timestamps, and blockchain-anchored proofs.
• Generate anonymised and aggregated analytics to improve pricing, availability, and platform performance.
• Comply with legal obligations, including Australian tax reporting and regulatory requirements.

We may share your personal information with:

• Other users: Limited information is shared between Drivers and Hosts to facilitate bookings (e.g., first name, vehicle type, building access details). Full addresses are only disclosed 1 hour before the booking start time.
• Strata Admins: Building managers can see booking activity for their building, including Driver first names and booking times, to manage building access.
• Payment processors: Stripe processes payments on our behalf. Your payment information is handled under Stripe's privacy policy and PCI-DSS compliance standards.
• Service providers: Trusted third-party providers that help us operate the platform (hosting, analytics, identity verification, email delivery). These providers are contractually bound to protect your data.
• Legal authorities: When required by law, court order, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Charzie, our users, or the public.

We do not sell your personal information to third parties.

We retain your personal information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide services. Specifically:

• Account data: Retained while your account is active. If you close your account, we delete or anonymise your data within 90 days, except where retention is required by law.
• Booking records: Retained for 7 years for tax, legal, and audit purposes in accordance with Australian record-keeping requirements.
• Blockchain proofs: Hashed, non-identifiable transaction proofs anchored on-chain are immutable and cannot be deleted. These proofs contain no personally identifiable information (PII).
• Identity verification documents: Deleted within 30 days of successful verification. We retain only the verification status, not the documents themselves.

Under the Australian Privacy Act 1988, you have the following rights:

• Access: You can request a copy of the personal information we hold about you at any time.
• Correction: You can request correction of inaccurate or outdated personal information. You can also update most information directly through your account settings.
• Deletion: You can request deletion of your personal information, subject to our legal retention obligations.
• Complaint: If you believe we have breached the Australian Privacy Principles, you may lodge a complaint with us. If unsatisfied with our response, you can escalate to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).
• Marketing opt-out: You can unsubscribe from marketing communications at any time using the link in our emails or through your account settings.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@charzie.com.au. We will respond within 30 days.

Charzie uses cookies and similar technologies to improve your experience:

• Essential cookies: Required for core platform functionality, including authentication and session management. These cannot be disabled.
• Analytics cookies: Help us understand how users interact with the platform so we can improve features and performance. You can opt out of analytics cookies.
• Preference cookies: Remember your settings, such as search filters and display preferences.

You can manage cookie preferences through your browser settings. Disabling certain cookies may affect platform functionality.

We take the security of your personal information seriously and implement appropriate measures including:

• Encryption of data in transit (TLS 1.3) and at rest (AES-256).
• Row-level security policies in our database, ensuring users can only access their own data.
• Regular security audits and penetration testing.
• Multi-factor authentication available for all accounts.
• Secure payment processing through PCI-DSS Level 1 compliant Stripe infrastructure.
• Blockchain-anchored audit trails for booking integrity, with no PII stored on-chain. Only cryptographic hashes of transaction data are recorded.

While we strive to protect your personal information, no method of electronic transmission or storage is 100% secure. We encourage you to use strong passwords and enable multi-factor authentication.