Who this policy covers
GateBud™ (“we”, “us”) is a QR check-in and visitor management product for site-based teams, operated by GateBud Limited ( NZBN 9429053810656), a New Zealand business. This policy explains how we handle personal information under the Privacy Act 2020, for two different groups of people:
- Customers and their staff: the organisations (e.g. site operators, contractors) that sign up for GateBud and the admin/manager accounts they create. We collect this information directly and are responsible for it in the normal way.
- Contractors and visitors: people who check in at a customer's site via a QR code or check-in link. We collect this information on behalf of the customer, who decides what questions are asked and who has access to the answers. Under the Privacy Act 2020 (s11), GateBud holds this information as an agent of the customer, not as the agency responsible for it.
Contractors and visitors: what we collect and why
When you check in at a site using GateBud, we collect: your name, your company/organisation (if you provide one), your answers to any site questions (e.g. induction questions), acknowledgement that you were shown a site document (and which version), and the time you checked in and out. If a staff member signs you out from their dashboard, they may add a short note to your record (for example, why a long visit was closed); where that note names you, it is removed when the record is anonymised. This supports the site operator's visitor and induction record keeping, helps them identify recorded arrivals for an emergency roll call, and preserves evidence of the information shown. A check-in record alone does not establish that someone understood an induction or that all health and safety duties have been met.
When staff run an evacuation roll call, GateBud also records which visits were included, ticks and unticks, when these happened, which staff member made them, and when the roll call started and finished. These records support the operator's emergency and incident procedures.
The site operator controls which team members can access this information and which email recipients receive check-in alerts. Those recipients may be outside its organisation. GateBud staff may access it for authorised support, operations, security or legal purposes. Service providers process information on our behalf as described below.
Your check-in details are not used for advertising, not sold, and shared only with the operator's authorised users and alert recipients, where the law requires disclosure, or with a service provider processing it on our behalf (see “Where your information is stored” below).
Note on notification emails: if a check-in triggers an email alert to a site manager (a feature the operator can turn on), that email leaves our systems once sent. Anonymising a check-in record afterwards removes the name from GateBud's database, but it cannot recall or edit an email already delivered.
Contractors and visitors: how long we keep your details
Each site operator chooses how long visitor names are kept: from 1 to 20 whole years, or “Never remove names”. New organisations start at 2 years. The operator is responsible for checking that the period suits its obligations. A nightly process anonymises records older than that setting: your name is replaced with “Anonymised visitor”, your company is cleared, and free-text answers, sign-out notes and correction reasons are removed or replaced with placeholders. The visit, timestamps, document acknowledgements and other answer types remain. Remaining answers or context may still identify someone; operators should avoid personal details in choice options and number fields. This cannot be undone in the live record. It does not rewrite exports or delivered emails, and backup copies follow their own retention period.
A site operator can also anonymise records manually at any time, including in response to a request from you. If you want your check-in details removed and can't reach the site operator directly, contact us at privacy@gatebud.com with the site name and approximate date, and we will pass the request on or action it where we're able to.
Customers and staff accounts: what we collect
If you sign up for GateBud or are added as a team member, we collect your name, email address, and login credentials (stored securely, never in plain text), plus organisation details such as your company name and logo, site names, the questions and documents you configure, and your role/permissions within your organisation. We use this to operate your account, let you manage sites and check-in records, and to contact you about your account or the service.
Where your information is stored
GateBud is built on Supabase (database and file storage) and hosted on Vercel. Data may be stored or processed on servers located overseas (outside New Zealand): our primary database is hosted in Sydney, Australia, and some providers (for example email, backups and error monitoring) are in the United States and the European Union. Where information is held overseas, we take reasonable steps to ensure it is subject to safeguards comparable to the Privacy Act 2020 (consistent with Information Privacy Principle 12), and our service providers are contractually required to protect it. Data is encrypted in transit, and encrypted at rest where supported by our infrastructure providers. A full list of the service providers we use, what they do for us, and where they run is on our Subprocessors page.
We use Sentry for error monitoring, so that when something in the app breaks, we can see and fix it. Error reports may incidentally include technical details of the request that failed; we do not use Sentry for tracking or advertising.
Cookies and analytics
GateBud uses cookies necessary to keep you signed in and to operate the site securely. We also use PostHog, an EU-hosted analytics service, to understand how GateBud and our public website are used so we can improve them. Analytics collects usage events (pages viewed, features used, and clicks on demo and contact links) together with device and network identifiers, and may store a small identifier in your browser. For signed-in staff, analytics is linked to your account. For visitors checking in, analytics events never include your name, company, or answers. We do not use advertising or cross-site tracking cookies, and we do not sell analytics data.
On the signed-in staff dashboard only, we also use Microsoft Clarity to record how the dashboard is used (mouse movement, clicks, and heatmaps), so we can spot confusing screens and fix them. Clarity is configured to mask all text and images by default. Recordings are labelled with staff account identifiers, organisation name and role so we can investigate use by account; masking screen content does not make these labels anonymous. Clarity never runs on the public visitor check-in pages, and we do not record your screen or what you type there.
Your rights
Under the Privacy Act 2020 you have the right to ask for access to, and correction of, personal information we hold about you. If you're a customer or staff member, contact us directly at privacy@gatebud.com. If you're a contractor or visitor, your first port of call is the site operator you checked in with (see above); we'll help if you can't reach them.
If a requested correction is not made, you can ask for a statement of the correction sought to be attached to the information. The operator should contact us if it needs help handling a request beyond GateBud's time-correction and anonymisation actions.
If something goes wrong
If we become aware of a privacy or security breach that is likely to cause serious harm, we will notify the Office of the Privacy Commissioner and affected individuals, as required under the Privacy Act 2020.
If you have a complaint about how we've handled personal information and we haven't resolved it to your satisfaction, you can complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner: privacy.org.nz or 0800 803 909.
Contact
Questions about this policy or your information: privacy@gatebud.com.