This Privacy Policy explains how Burstbytes (“the Site”, “we”, “us”, or “our”), accessible at https://blog.burstbytes.com.au, collects, uses, stores, and discloses your personal information when you visit or interact with the Site.

We are committed to protecting your privacy and complying with the Australian Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), as well as the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for visitors located in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom.

By using the Site, you consent to the practices described in this Policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the Site.

1. Information We Collect

We collect personal information only where it is reasonably necessary for, or directly related to, our activities. The categories of information we may collect include:

1.1 Information you provide directly

• Contact form submissions: When you use our contact form, we collect your name, email address, and the contents of your message.
• Email subscriptions: When you subscribe to blog updates, we collect your email address.
• Comments (if enabled): Any name, email address, website URL, or comment content you submit.

1.2 Information collected automatically

When you visit the Site, certain information is collected automatically by us or by third-party services we use, including:

• IP address (often partially anonymised)
• Browser type and version
• Operating system
• Device type
• Referring URL
• Pages viewed and time spent on each page
• Date and time of access
• Approximate geographic location (derived from IP)
• Cookies and similar tracking technologies (see our Cookie Policy)

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for the following purposes:

• To respond to your enquiries submitted via the contact form
• To send you blog updates and newsletters you have subscribed to
• To operate, maintain, and improve the Site
• To analyse traffic, content performance, and reader interests
• To serve and measure advertisements (see Section 4)
• To detect, prevent, and address technical issues, abuse, and security incidents
• To comply with legal obligations

We will not use your personal information for any purpose that is unrelated to those listed above without first obtaining your consent, unless required or permitted by law.

3. Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR)

If you are located in the EEA or UK, our legal bases for processing your personal information are:

• Consent — for marketing emails, non-essential cookies, and personalised advertising.
• Legitimate interests — for analytics, site security, and improving content, where your rights do not override these interests.
• Contractual necessity — to deliver the newsletter you have subscribed to.
• Legal obligation — where processing is required to comply with applicable law.

You may withdraw consent at any time by contacting us (see Section 11) or unsubscribing via the link in any email.

4. Third-Party Services and Advertising

The Site uses the following third-party services, which may collect or process information about you under their own privacy policies:

4.1 Google AdSense / Google Ad Manager

We use Google AdSense and/or Google Ad Manager to display advertisements. Google and its advertising partners use cookies and similar technologies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this Site and other websites.

• Google’s use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to our users based on their visits to the Site and/or other sites on the Internet.
• You may opt out of personalised advertising by visiting Google’s Ads Settings or www.aboutads.info.
• Some of Google’s advertising partners may also use cookies and web beacons. You can learn about these partners and their privacy practices at Google’s Advertising Privacy & Terms.

4.2 Google Analytics

We may use Google Analytics to understand how visitors use the Site. Google Analytics collects information such as how often users visit, what pages they view, and what other sites they used prior to visiting. We use this information solely to improve the Site. You can opt out by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

4.3 Email subscription service

The Site uses MailPoet to manage email subscriptions. Your email address is stored by this provider for the purpose of sending you the content you subscribed to.

4.4 Web hosting and CDN

The Site is self-hosted. Images are served via the ShortPixel image optimisation CDN, which may log standard server access information.

4.5 Social media

The Site links to LinkedIn. Visiting these external sites is governed by their own privacy policies.

5. Cookies

The Site uses cookies and similar technologies. For full details, including the categories of cookies used and how to manage them, please see our Cookie Policy.

For visitors in the EEA, UK, or other regions requiring prior consent, we display a cookie consent banner that allows you to accept or decline non-essential cookies before they are set.

6. Disclosure of Personal Information

We do not sell your personal information. We may disclose your personal information in the following limited circumstances:

• Service providers: To trusted third parties that help us operate the Site (hosting, email delivery, analytics, advertising), under appropriate confidentiality obligations.
• Legal requirements: Where required by law, court order, or to protect our rights, property, or safety, or the rights, property, or safety of others.
• Business transfers: In the event of a merger, sale, or transfer of assets, your information may be transferred to the new owner.

Some of these recipients (including Google) may be located outside Australia, including in the United States and the European Union. By using the Site, you consent to these international transfers.

7. Data Retention

We retain personal information only for as long as necessary for the purposes set out in this Policy:

• Contact form messages: Retained for up to 24 months after the matter is resolved.
• Newsletter subscriptions: Retained until you unsubscribe.
• Analytics data: Retained according to Google Analytics’ default retention settings.
• Server logs: Typically retained for up to 12 months.

8. Your Rights

Depending on your location, you have the following rights regarding your personal information:

• Access — to request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
• Correction — to request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information.
• Deletion — to request deletion of your personal information (“right to be forgotten” under GDPR).
• Restriction — to request that we restrict processing of your personal information.
• Objection — to object to processing based on legitimate interests, including direct marketing.
• Data portability — to receive your information in a structured, machine-readable format (GDPR).
• Withdraw consent — at any time, where processing is based on consent.
• Lodge a complaint — with a supervisory authority. In Australia, this is the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) at https://www.oaic.gov.au. In the EU/UK, your local Data Protection Authority.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the details in Section 11.

9. Data Security

We take reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification, or disclosure. These steps include the use of HTTPS encryption, access controls, and reputable third-party providers. However, no internet transmission is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

10. Children’s Privacy

The Site is not directed to children under 16 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us so we can delete it.

11. Contact Us

For any questions, requests, or complaints about this Privacy Policy or your personal information, contact:

Contact: https://burstbytes.com.au/contact/

We will respond to your enquiry within 30 days.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be communicated via a notice on the Site. We encourage you to review this Policy periodically.

Google Advertising Cookies

If advertising is enabled on the Site, third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on a user’s prior visits to this website or other websites. Google’s use of advertising cookies enables Google and its partners to serve ads based on visits to this Site and/or other sites on the Internet.

Users may opt out of personalised advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings. Users may also opt out of some third-party vendors’ use of cookies for personalised advertising by visiting aboutads.info.

If third-party ad vendors or ad networks serve ads on the Site, visitors may use those vendors’ websites to opt out of cookies for personalised advertising where the vendor offers that option.