Introduction
At Shining Services, we respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our website, our mobile app and our cleaning services.
By using our services, you consent to the data practices described in this policy. If you do not agree with our policies and practices, please do not use our services.
Our commitment
We are committed to complying with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles to ensure your personal information is handled responsibly and securely.
Information we collect
Personal information
We collect personal information that you provide directly to us, including:
- Full name and contact details
- Email address and phone number
- Residential or business address
- Service preferences and requirements
- Payment information (processed securely)
- Communication history and feedback
Usage information
We automatically collect certain information when you visit our website:
- IP address and device information
- Browser type and version
- Pages visited and time spent
- Referring website information
- Cookies and similar technologies
Service-related information
During service delivery, we may collect:
- Property access information
- Service completion photos (with consent)
- Quality assurance documentation
- Customer feedback and reviews
How we use your information
We use your personal information for the following purposes:
Service delivery
- Schedule and provide cleaning services
- Process payments and invoices
- Send service confirmations
- Handle customer support requests
Communication
- Respond to inquiries and requests
- Send service updates and reminders
- Provide customer support
- Share relevant promotions (with consent)
- Contact you about your quote request, including follow-ups, feedback and review requests
Business operations
- Improve our services and website
- Analyze usage patterns and trends
- Ensure quality and safety standards
- Comply with legal obligations
- Recording calls for quality, training and record keeping (see Call recording)
Security & safety
- Verify customer identity
- Prevent fraud and abuse
- Ensure staff safety
- Maintain service quality
Contact about your request
When you submit a quote request or a site inspection booking form on our website or website chat, the notice under the submit button tells you that we may contact you by phone, SMS and email about your request. Submitting the form is your consent to that contact. We keep a record of when you gave it and which wording of the notice you saw.
You can withdraw this consent at any time by contacting us using the details at the end of this policy. Our quote follow-up emails also include an unsubscribe link. You can reply STOP to any of our text messages to stop our follow-up, feedback and review texts, and reply START to turn them back on. If you have a booking with us, we may still contact you about it by phone or email.
Mobile app
This section applies to the Shining Services app for iPhone and Android. The rest of this policy applies to the app as well. The app is not intended for children under 18 (see Children's privacy below).
What the app collects
- Your account and contact details: name, email address and phone number
- The addresses you save or enter for quotes and bookings
- Quote requests, quotes, booking details and invoices, and your payment history
- Photos you choose to attach (see Microphone, camera and photos below)
- Messages you send to our office through the app
- Call recordings and transcripts (see below)
- Device and usage information: push notification tokens, device identifiers, how the app is used, and crash and performance data
Location
Customers are not asked for their location. The app asks for location only on the phones of cleaners and sub-contractors. It reads the phone's position only while the app is open and only when they are working on a job: to check them in at the job site, and, while they are travelling to a job, to show the customer that the cleaner is on the way. The position is sent to us when they check in or start travelling, and about every 15 seconds while a trip is in progress. The app does not track location in the background.
Phones used by our staff to take in-person card payments with Tap to Pay also ask for location when a payment is taken. Stripe uses it to verify where the payment was taken.
Calls
Calls you make or receive through the app, and calls through our company phone line, are connected by Twilio. Phone numbers stay private: a customer does not see the cleaner's number and the cleaner does not see the customer's. These calls are recorded. See Call recording below.
Microphone, camera and photos
The app uses the microphone only for calls. It uses the camera and your photo library only when you choose to: to attach photos to a quote request or an issue or complaint, to set your profile photo, or, for cleaners, to take photos of a visit. The camera can also be used to scan a payment card in Stripe's payment sheet. You can turn off any of these permissions in your phone's settings.
Push notifications
If you allow notifications, we use a device token, through Firebase Cloud Messaging and the Apple Push Notification service, to send you updates about your quotes, bookings and invoices. We delete your device tokens when you delete your account.
Analytics and crash reports
The app uses Firebase Analytics, Crashlytics and Performance Monitoring to measure how it is used and to find and fix crashes and slow screens. This involves device identifiers and information about your device and how the app behaves. We do not use this data for advertising, and we do not use it to track you across other companies' apps or websites.
AI tools
We use third-party AI model providers to help run our service. The text they receive is sent to them for processing. We use them to:
- analyse the transcripts of recorded calls;
- power the quote assistant on our website's free-quote page, when it is offered. It receives what you type, including any contact details. We save the chat, with your IP address and browser details, so staff can read it and follow up, even if you do not finish your request;
- score quote requests to help us spot fraud; and
- help our staff draft quotes.
Please do not put information in the quote assistant that you would not want us to process in this way.
Payments
When you pay an invoice in the app, your card details go directly to Stripe. We do not see or store your full card number. We keep a record of the payment itself, such as the amount, date and invoice.
Address lookup
When you type an address in the app, what you type is sent to Google Places so it can suggest matching addresses.
Deleting your account
In the app: customers and property managers can delete their account under Account → Delete account. The account is closed straight away. After a grace period of 30 days (during which we can restore it if you ask), we permanently remove your name, email address, phone number, profile photo, date of birth, saved addresses, device notification tokens and any notes and company details on your profile, and the change history of those details. An account with an upcoming booking or an unpaid invoice can be deleted once those are settled. Accounts for cleaners and our staff are closed by our office on request.
On our website: you can ask us to delete your account on our account deletion page. This sends your request to our office. We confirm it with you and then close the account. The page does not delete anything by itself.
What we keep: deleting your account does not remove the details recorded on your quote requests, quotes, orders, invoices and reviews, which can include your name, email address, phone number and address. We keep these as business records. Call recordings and transcripts are also kept. See Data retention below.
Call recording
We record phone calls to and from our company phone lines, and calls made through our mobile app. This covers calls with customers, leads, property managers, cleaners, sub-contractors, suppliers and our own staff. Voicemails left for us are also recorded. Customers and other callers hear a short message at the start of a call telling them it may be recorded.
Why we record calls
- To check and improve the quality of our service, including staff training and manager reviews of calls
- To keep an accurate record of what was discussed and agreed, such as quotes, bookings and changes to a job
- To follow up on what you asked for and pass your request to the right person
- To look into complaints, disputes and incidents
- To help keep our staff and customers safe, and to meet our legal obligations
How recordings are handled
We store the recording and have it transcribed. Calls may also be transcribed live while they are in progress, and managers can read that transcript during the call. We may analyse the transcript automatically, using a third-party AI model provider, to summarise the call, assess sentiment and interest, score the enquiry, record objections and next steps on your enquiry, and prepare a first draft of a quality review. A manager makes the final decision on any quality review. If you ask to be contacted later, the analysis can also create a follow-up task and reminders for our staff. These do not send you anything automatically. Voicemails are transcribed and analysed the same way.
Staff whose role gives them access to call records can listen to the recording and read the transcript. This includes staff handling your enquiry or booking, telemarketing and operations staff, and managers who review calls. Managers can also see live call activity, and call reviews are used to report on and coach individual staff. Twilio, our file storage provider and our AI model providers process calls for us. See Service providers below.
Your choices
Recording cannot be switched off for an individual call. If you would rather not be recorded, contact us by email or text message instead. You can ask for access to a recording of you, or ask us to correct or delete it, using the contact details at the end of this policy. We handle these requests individually and may need to keep a recording where we have a legal or business reason to, such as an open complaint or dispute.
We keep recordings and transcripts as business records. They have no fixed deletion date and are not removed when you delete your account. See Data retention below.
Information sharing & disclosure
We do not sell, trade, or rent your personal information to third parties. We may share your information only in the following circumstances:
Service providers
We may share information with trusted third-party service providers who assist us in operating our business, such as payment processors and IT support. They act on our behalf and only for the purposes described in this policy. The providers behind our website and mobile app include:
- Stripe for card payments.
- Twilio for calls (including in-app calls and call recordings and transcripts), text messages and phone number verification.
- Google Firebase for push notifications (Firebase Cloud Messaging), analytics (Firebase Analytics) and crash and performance reporting (Crashlytics and Performance Monitoring).
- Google Places for address suggestions as you type.
- Google Sign-In and Google Pay on Android, if you choose to use them.
- Third-party AI model providers to analyse call transcripts, power the quote assistant on our website's free-quote page, when it is offered, score quote requests for fraud and help draft quotes (see Mobile app above).
- Apple for delivering push notifications to iPhones (Apple Push Notification service).
Legal requirements
We may disclose information when required by law, court order, or government request, or to protect our rights and safety.
Business transfers
In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred as part of the business transaction.
With your consent
We may share your information with third parties when you have given us explicit consent to do so.
Data security
We implement appropriate technical and organizational security measures to protect your personal information:
Security measures
- Encryption of sensitive data in transit and at rest
- Secure payment processing systems
- Regular security audits and updates
- Limited access to personal information on a need-to-know basis
- Employee training on data protection practices
- Secure disposal of information when no longer needed
Data retention
We keep personal information only for as long as we need it for the purpose it was collected, or for as long as the law requires us to keep it (for example, tax and business records). When information is no longer needed, we delete or de-identify it.
- Unverified accounts: if you create an account but never confirm your email address, we automatically delete that account and its sign-up details 48 hours after registration. You can simply sign up again, or ask us to resend the verification email before then.
- Quote requests, quotes, bookings and invoices are retained as business records even if the related account is deleted, and are kept for the period required by Australian law.
- Deleting your account: you can delete your account at any time in the app (Account → Delete account) or by asking us on our account deletion page. The account is closed straight away, and your name, email address, phone number, photo and saved addresses are permanently removed 30 days later. Until then you can ask us to restore it. An account with an upcoming booking or an unpaid invoice can be deleted once those are settled.
- Call recordings and transcripts are kept as business records with no fixed deletion date. They are not removed when an account is deleted.
Data breach response
In the unlikely event of a data breach, we will notify affected individuals and relevant authorities in accordance with legal requirements and take immediate steps to contain and remediate the breach.
Your privacy rights
You have the following rights regarding your personal information:
Access & correction
- Request access to your personal information
- Request correction of inaccurate information
- Request deletion of your information
- Object to processing of your information
Communication preferences
- Opt-out of marketing communications
- Update your contact preferences
- Request data portability
- Withdraw consent at any time
To exercise these rights, please contact us using the information provided at the end of this policy. We will respond to your request within 30 days.
International data transfers
Your personal information is primarily stored and processed in Australia. However, some of our service providers may be located in other countries. When we transfer your information internationally, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your privacy.
Safeguards include
- Data processing agreements with service providers
- Standard contractual clauses for international transfers
- Regular security assessments of third-party providers
- Compliance with applicable data protection laws
Children's privacy
Our services are not intended for children under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 18. If you believe we have collected information from a child under 18, please contact us immediately, and we will take steps to remove such information.
Changes to this privacy policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or applicable laws. We will notify you of any material changes by:
- Posting the updated policy on our website
- Sending you an email notification
- Displaying a notice on our website
We encourage you to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your information.
Contact us
If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us:
Phone
Service area
Darwin, Northern Territory
