Privacy Policy

Elect NZ is provided by Māhanga Technologies Limited (“we”, “us”), a New Zealand company. This policy covers the Elect NZ website (elect-nz.web.app) and the Elect NZ apps for iPhone and Android. It is written to meet the New Zealand Privacy Act 2020.

1. Information we collect

Your account

Your email address, your name, and how you sign in (email, Apple or Google). If you sign in with Apple or Google, we use the name they give us. If you use Sign in with Apple and choose “Hide My Email”, we only receive Apple’s relay address. You can also give us a mobile number and a postal address; both are optional.

Your questions and answers

The text of each question (including the text of anything you ask by voice), the answer and sources we gave, whether you typed or spoke, how long it took, and your plan. We keep this linked to your account so we can count free searches, find wrong answers and improve accuracy.

Voice

When you tap the microphone, your recording is sent to OpenAI to turn it into text. In live voice, your voice is streamed to OpenAI for the conversation, together with your first name so the assistant can use it. We do not store your recordings. We keep a record of each live voice call (start and end time, length, plan and technical quality figures) to apply the time allowance. The app asks for your agreement before your first search or voice use.

Reports and feedback

If you report an answer or send feedback, we keep the question and answer, your note (including the transcript of a voice note), any photos you attach, and your device and browser type.

Purchases

If you subscribe in the app, Apple or Google handles the payment and tells us your subscription status and renewal date. We never receive your card details. On the website, Stripe handles payment.

Usage

Sign-ups, sign-ins and searches, linked to your account, and when you last used Elect NZ.

We do not collect your location, contacts or advertising identifiers, we do not show ads, and we do not track you across other companies’ apps or websites.

2. How we use your information

• To provide the service, manage your account and subscription, and apply plan limits
• To stop people creating duplicate free accounts (if you give a mobile number, we check your name and mobile)
• To find and fix wrong or missing answers
• To tell you in the app when a question you reported has been fixed
• Our own analytics: Māhanga uses usage information — how many people use Elect NZ, how many searches are made each day, which regulations and questions are asked (to judge whether the library holds the right information), and how often the service is used — to run and improve Elect NZ. This is first-party analytics only. It is not sold, not shared with anyone else for their own use, and not used for advertising or tracking.
• Licensing reports (only if you agree): we combine your email address and how much you use Elect NZ (number of searches, plan, sign-up and last-active dates) with our Certo app’s records, to report to the Electrical Workers Registration Board (EWRB). Your searches are never included. You can agree or withdraw at any time in Settings.

3. Where your information is stored and processed

Your account and history are stored in Google Firebase in Sydney, Australia. Our server code runs on Google Cloud in the United States, so your questions, recordings and account requests are processed there. OpenAI (United States) processes questions, recordings and answer text for us under its API terms, and may keep them for up to 30 days to check for abuse. Pinecone (United States) holds the regulation library and a cache of past questions and answers, without names or account details. Feedback photos are kept in a private Google Cloud storage bucket. Daily totals and, if you agree to licensing reports, your email address and usage counts are kept, encrypted, on Māhanga’s own analytics server, which may be outside New Zealand.

These providers are bound by their terms with us to protect your information. Australia and the United States may not protect personal information in the same way as New Zealand law; by using Elect NZ you agree to it being processed there (Privacy Act 2020, IPP 12).

4. Who we share it with

We do not sell your personal information. We share it only with:

• Google (Firebase, Google Cloud) — sign-in, storage and processing
• Apple and Google — app store payments, and Sign in with Apple / Google
• Stripe — website payments
• OpenAI — speech-to-text, live voice, spoken answers and writing answers. We send your question or recording, not your email address. Anything you say or type in a question is sent.
• Pinecone — question text in the answer cache, without account details
• The Electrical Workers Registration Board (EWRB) — only if you agree: your email address and usage counts, as part of our licensing reports. Not shared with anyone else.
• Your team administrator — if you join a team, the administrator sees your name and email
• Anyone we are required to share it with by law

5. Your rights

Under New Zealand’s Privacy Act 2020, you can:

• Ask for a copy of your personal information
• Ask us to correct it
• Delete your account: in the app or on the website, go to Settings → Delete account (see Delete your account). You can also email us. Deleting your account does not cancel an App Store or Google Play subscription — cancel that in your Apple or Google account.
• Withdraw your agreement to licensing reports at any time in Settings

If you are not happy with how we handle your information, you can complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (privacy.org.nz).

6. How long we keep it

We keep your account, profile and question history while your account is open; there is no separate time limit. When you delete your account, we delete your account and sign-in, profile, question history, usage records, live voice records, feedback, photos and reports straight away, and remove you from licensing reports. If you ask us by email, we do this within 30 days.

We keep: a note that an account was deleted and when, without your name, email or other details (so we can answer support questions); totals that do not identify you; and past questions and answers in the answer cache, which carry no account details. Our servers' fault logs (Google Cloud) record the first few words of each question, without your name or email, and are deleted automatically after 30 days. Apple, Google and Stripe keep their own purchase records under their own rules.

7. Cookies and on-device storage

ELECT NZ uses essential cookies for authentication session management only. The apps keep you signed in by storing a sign-in token on your device. We do not use advertising or tracking cookies.

8. Age

Elect NZ is for adults working in the electrical industry. It is not directed at children.

9. Contact

Privacy Officer, Māhanga Technologies Limited — [email protected]

© 2026 Māhanga Technologies Limited