Privacy Policy
Last updated: 4 October 2026 · Version 4
This Privacy Policy explains how Cute Apple, operated by [Company name] (ABN [ABN]), collects, holds, uses and discloses personal information, in line with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs). It also covers information about children that a parent or guardian adds to their own account.
1. Information we collect
Account information: name, email address, phone number (if you add one) and country, collected when you sign up or sign in with an emailed code, a password, Google or Apple.
Your agreement: a record of when you agreed to our Terms of Service and this Privacy Policy, and which version you agreed to.
Family information you choose to add: your family profile, your children's first names, ages, school or care service and interests, co-parent details, and groups you join.
Health and safety information (sensitive information): if you choose, allergies and medical notes for a child, and one family emergency contact (name, phone, relationship). This is optional. It is collected only because you enter it.
Identity verification: where we have switched it on, government ID images and a selfie, submitted voluntarily and reviewed by our staff.
Location: your suburb or area, at the precision you choose in your privacy settings (exact, approximate or hidden). The "Near me" playdate search uses your device's location inside your browser to sort the list; that location is not stored by us.
Payments: handled by Stripe (donations, auction payments, playdate shares and organiser payouts). If you give as a guest we keep the email address you give, to send your receipt. Cute Apple does not see or store full card numbers. Organisers who receive payouts give their identity and bank details to Stripe, not to us.
Photos and messages: photos organisers add after a playdate, and messages you send in chats. Artwork you give us: if a parent or guardian submits a child's artwork, a photo of it, the artist's first name or initials and age, and the parent's contact and return address, so we can review, list and sell it and return it if asked. These photos stay private until a staff member accepts the artwork. We use the child's name or likeness only as the Terms allow.
Invitations: the email address of a friend you invite, so we can send the invitation and honour an unsubscribe.
Forms: if you use the contact form, the Help Cute Apple form, the Partner with us form or a volunteer enquiry, the name, email, message and any optional details (such as a LinkedIn link or location) you give. For volunteers and ambassadors we also keep the date and version of the acknowledgement you ticked.
Feedback Board: posts and comments you write.
Help assistant: the questions you type to Appy.
Usage information: device and log data, and (only if you accept analytics) analytics data, needed to keep the platform working and secure.
Browser storage: your cookie choice, and an invite code if you arrive from a friend's invitation link.
2. Why we collect and use it
To operate the platform: sign-in, family profiles, playdates and chats, donations, the art auction, groups, badges, Early Access and the Feedback Board.
To keep the community safe: verification, moderation, safety reports and keeping the safety information a playdate needs.
To process payments, refunds and payouts, send receipts and keep the financial records the law requires.
To contact you about your account, to send notices you are owed (for example a change to our Terms or Privacy Policy), and, only where you have chosen to receive them, other updates. You control most notification types in Settings.
To improve the platform and answer your questions.
3. Health and safety information
We collect allergy, medical and emergency-contact information only with your consent, to help keep a child safe at a playdate. It is private by default. A playdate organiser sees it only for families that said Yes and left the sharing tick on when they replied. Other attending families see only an anonymous list of allergens, never a name. It is never shown publicly. You can edit or remove it at any time in Manage Kids.
4. Who we share it with
Service providers that help us run the platform. Some are outside Australia, and in those cases we take reasonable steps to make sure they handle information consistently with the APPs: - DigitalOcean: hosting, database and file storage (Sydney, Australia). - ClickSend: text-message verification (Australia). - Stripe: payments and payouts (United States and other countries). - Resend: email delivery (United States). - Vercel: website hosting (United States). - Sentry: error monitoring (United States). - Google: sign-in, address suggestions, analytics if you accept it, and the help assistant (United States). - Apple: Sign in with Apple (United States).
Other users, only as your privacy settings allow, such as first names, suburb and your family description, or an abbreviated name in a public bid history.
Police or regulators when the law requires it or to protect a child's safety.
We do not sell personal information.
Information you choose to share with other users, for example in a chat, in a group or with a playdate organiser, is then also held by them. We do not control what other users do with it. Share only what you are comfortable with.
5. The help assistant
Appy answers from our Help Center articles. If rewording is switched on, the matched article text and your question are sent to Google's Gemini service to be rephrased in simpler English. No account information is sent. Please don't type sensitive personal details into the assistant.
6. Email and marketing
We send invitation emails only when a member asks us to, with a one-click unsubscribe, and we keep an unsubscribe list so we do not email that address again (Spam Act 2003). You can switch off most notification emails in Settings. Notices about your account, payments, safety and changes to our policies are always sent.
7. Cookies and similar technologies
We use essential cookies to keep you signed in, and, only if you accept them, analytics cookies. See our Cookie Policy at /cookie-policy.
8. Children's information
Cute Apple accounts are for adults. A child's information is added and controlled by their parent or guardian, and child-profile visibility defaults to the most private setting. Parents can review, change or remove their child's information at any time. Other parents see only first names, suburb and your family description unless you choose to share more.
9. Photos of children
Photos added after a playdate can be seen only by the organising family and the families that said Yes. The organiser must confirm they have permission from every family pictured. A parent can ask us to remove a photo of their child at any time through the contact form.
10. Security and data breaches
We use encrypted connections, restricted access to identity documents and sensitive information, and access controls for staff. If a data breach is likely to cause serious harm, we will notify affected people and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) as the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme requires.
No system is completely secure. We take reasonable steps to protect your information, but we cannot promise that information sent over the internet or stored electronically will never be accessed without permission. Keep your sign-in details safe and tell us straight away if you think your account has been misused.
11. How long we keep information
While your account is active we keep your information to run the platform. After you close your account we delete or de-identify personal information within 90 days, except records we must keep: payment, donation and tax records for 7 years, the record of the Terms you agreed to (including a volunteer or ambassador acknowledgement), and safety reports for as long as needed to protect people or meet legal duties.
12. Your rights
You can ask to see or correct the personal information we hold about you, and you can change most of it yourself in your account settings. Send requests through cuteapple.org/contact. We will respond within 30 days.
13. Complaints
If you have a privacy concern, contact us first through cuteapple.org/contact and we will investigate and reply. If you are not satisfied, you can complain to the OAIC at oaic.gov.au.
14. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy as the platform evolves. We show the effective date and version at the top of this page. When we make a material change we will ask members to agree to the updated policy before they continue to use their account, and we may also tell you by email and in the app.
15. Contact
Privacy questions and requests can be sent through cuteapple.org/contact, or by post to [Company name], [Registered address].
See also our Terms of Service and Cookie Policy.