HireOMate Privacy Policy

Last updated: on first publication

HireOMate is a peer-to-peer rental marketplace operated by HireOMate (“we”, “us”). This policy explains what we collect, why, who we share it with, and what you can do about it. It covers the HireOMate website and the HireOMate mobile app.

We handle personal information under the Australian Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles.

What we collect, and why

When you create an account

• Your email address and password. Needed to have an account at all.
• Your name. Shown to the other party once a booking is confirmed, and printed on the rental agreement — the other person is handing property to a named individual.
• Your phone number, if you choose to verify it. Used to send a one-time code, and shared with the other party to a confirmed booking so you can reach each other on the day.

Your profile

• Display name, short bio and profile photo, if you add them. These are public on your member page.
• Your suburb and its coordinates. Used to show you things nearby. You can give it by picking a suburb, or by letting the app read your device location — either way we store the suburb’s coordinates, not a precise position.

When you use the app

• Listings you create: photos, description, price, and the suburb you hand the item over in.
• Bookings you make or receive, and the amounts on them.
• Messages between you and the other party to a booking.
• Photographs of an item’s condition at pickup and return, and any photos you attach to a dispute.
• Which listings you have viewed, so owners can see how many people looked at theirs. Owners see a count, never who.

Verification

• If you verify your identity, that happens in a page hosted by Stripe. Your identity document goes to Stripe, not to us. We receive only the result — verified or not.
• If you upload a driver’s licence (needed to hire anything with wheels), we store it. It is never shown to other members: only our team can see it, to check it.

Payments

• Card payments are handled by Stripe. Your card number never reaches our servers. We store the amount, the status, and Stripe’s reference.
• If you pay by bank transfer, we store the receipt image you upload so we can match the payment. Only you and our team can see it.
• If you receive payouts, we store either your bank details or a reference to your Stripe account.

Technical

• Standard server logs, including your IP address, used to keep the service working and to rate-limit abuse.
• If you turn on push notifications, a device token so we can send them.

What we do not do

• We do not sell your personal information.
• We do not use it for advertising, and there are no third-party advertising or analytics trackers in the app.
• We do not share your email address or phone number with other members before a booking is confirmed.

Who else sees it

• The other party to a booking. Once a booking is confirmed, you and they see each other’s name and, if verified, phone number. That is the point: you are meeting to hand over property.
• Anyone, for the public parts of your profile. Display name, photo, bio, suburb, rating and reviews are visible to anyone browsing.
• Stripe, for payments and identity verification. (Stripe’s privacy policy.)
• Twilio, to send verification codes by SMS, if you verify your phone.
• Our email provider, to send you account and booking emails.
• Law enforcement or a regulator, where we are legally required to.

Where it is kept

On servers and in services that may be outside Australia — Stripe and our hosting provider both operate internationally. Personal information is transmitted over HTTPS. Identity documents, driver’s licences, signed agreements, condition photos, dispute evidence and payment receipts are stored privately and served only to people entitled to see them, never through a public link.

How long we keep it

• Your account information, until you delete your account.
• Records of completed bookings and their payments, for seven years after the booking, because they are financial records we are required to keep. Your name is removed from them when you delete your account.
• Server logs, for a short period, and then discarded.

Deleting your account

You can delete your account:

• In the app: Account → Delete my account.
• On the web: https://hireomate.com/account/delete/
• By email: support@hireomate.com, from the address on the account.

When you do, we remove your name, email, phone number, profile photo, bio, location, any driver’s licence you uploaded, and any linked Google or Apple sign-in. You are signed out everywhere and cannot sign back in.

We keep the record of completed bookings, with your name removed. Those records belong to the other party as well, and the payment history behind them is something we are required to retain.

You cannot delete your account while a booking is still in progress or a dispute is open. Doing so would strand the other person. Finish those first and the option becomes available.

Your other rights

You can ask us for a copy of the personal information we hold about you, and ask us to correct anything wrong. Email support@hireomate.com and we will respond within 30 days.

If you think we have mishandled your personal information, tell us first at support@hireomate.com. If you are not satisfied with our response, you can complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at oaic.gov.au.

Children

HireOMate is not for people under 18. Renting involves a contract and a payment card. We do not knowingly collect information from children, and we will delete any account we find that belongs to one.

Changes

If we change this policy we will update the date at the top and, for anything significant, tell you in the app or by email.

Contact

HireOMate

support@hireomate.com