Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

In this Privacy Policy, the expressions "Open Investments”, "we", "us" or "our") are a reference to Open Investments Pty Ltd ACN 628 965 088  and its Related Bodies Corporate (as defined by the provisions of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Open Investments). Open Investments respects your right to privacy, and we are committed to safeguarding the privacy of our customers and visitors to the domain https://Open Investments.technology and all sub-domains (Website). This Privacy Policy applies to personal information collected by us.

We are bound by the Australian Privacy Principles and the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act) which govern the way private section organisations collect, use, keep secure and disclose personal information.If you have any concerns or complaints about the manner in which your personal information has been collected, used or disclosed by us, we have put in place an effective mechanism and procedure for you to contact us so that we can attempt to resolve the issue or complaint. Please see section 17 for further details.

This Privacy Policy is intended to inform you about how we treat Personal Information that we process about you. If you do not agree to any part of this Privacy Policy, then we cannot provide the Website or Services to you, and you should stop accessing the Website.

1. Definitions

Where the definition of a term does not appear in this Privacy Policy it shall be given its definition as outlined in our Terms and Conditions.

"Aggregated Information" means information about all of our users or specific groups or categories of users that we combine together so that it no longer identifies or references an individual user.

“Client” means a user of the Website.

"Data Controller" means Open Investments, the company responsible for the use and processing of Personal Information.

"Personal Information" means any information or opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable:

   • whether the information is true or not; and

   • whether the information is recorded in a material form or not.

“Services” means functionality provided by Open Investments or the Website.

“Terms and Conditions” means the terms and conditions applicable to the use of the Website as stated from time to time.

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2. The types of information Open Investments gathers about its users

   • Information that you give us

We will only use or disclose your personal information for the primary purposes for which it was collected or as consented to by you, unless an exception under the Privacy Act applies to that disclosure or use.

At or around the time we collect personal information from you, we will endeavour, if requested by you, to provide you with a notice which details how we will use and disclose that specific information.

We receive, store and process information that you make available to us when accessing or using our Website and Services. Examples include when you:

   • fill in any form on the Website, or when you supply ID verification information;

   • access or use the Website, and associated services that may be available, post comments or reviews, or communicate with other users; and

   • communicate with Open Investments.

   • Cookies and other Technologies

Open Investments’s Website may use cookies and other similar technologies, such as such as web beacons and tracking URLs, which enable us to monitor traffic patterns and trends, and to serve you more efficiently if you revisit our website. We may also use web beacons and tracking URLs in our messages to you to determine whether you have opened a certain message or accessed a certain link. In most cases, a cookie does not identify you personally but may identify your internet service provider or computer. However, in some cases, cookies may enable us to aggregate certain information with other personal information we collect and hold about you. We may also allow our business partners to use their cookies and other tracking technologies on the Website. Therefore, when you access or use the Website, you provide or make available certain information to us and to our business partners.

Open Investments extends the same privacy protection to your personal information, whether gathered by cookies or from other sources. Accordingly, our Privacy Policy will apply to our treatment of personal information we obtain via our cookies.

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Open Investments uses cookies for a number of purposes, including:

   • to enable, facilitate and streamline the functioning of the Website across different web pages and browser sessions;

   • to simplify your access to and use of the Website;

   • to monitor and analyse the performance, operation and effectiveness of the Website, so that we can improve it; and

   • to show you content (which may include advertisements) that is more relevant to you.

While you may disable the usage of cookies through your browser settings, our practices do not change in response to a "Do Not Track" signal in the HTTP header from your browser or mobile application. We track your activities if you click on advertisements for Open Investments services on third party platforms such as search engines and social networks, and may use analytics to track what you do in response to those advertisements.

We may, either directly or through third parties we engage to provide services to us, also continue to track your behaviour on our own Website for the purposes of our own customer support, analytics, research, product development, fraud prevention, risk assessment, regulatory compliance, investigation, as well as to enable you to use and access the Website and pay for your activities on the Website. We may also, either directly or through third parties we engage to provide services to us, track your behaviour on our own Website to market and advertise our services to you on the Website and third party websites.

Third parties may not collect information about users' online activities on the Website except as described in this policy and our Cookie Policy.

• Third-party social plugins

Our Website may use social plugins which are provided and operated by third-party companies, such as Facebook's Like Button. Consequently, you may send to the third-party company the information that you are viewing on a certain part of our Website and your interactions with the social plugin may be recorded by the third party.

Please refer to the third party's privacy policy to find out more about its data practices, such as what data is collected about you and how the third party uses such data.

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3. How Open Investments uses and processes the information that you provide or make available

   • Once we have collected your personal information, we will either hold it securely and store it on infrastructure owned or controlled by us or with a third party service provider who we have taken reasonable steps to ensure they have complied with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). We use, store and process Information about you for the following general purposes:

o to operate, protect, improve and optimise the Website, and our users' experience, including to perform analytics, conduct research, personalise or otherwise customise your experience, and for advertising and marketing;

o to help create and maintain a trusted and safe environment on the Website, including detecting and preventing fraud, conducting investigations and risk assessments, verifying the address of your listings, verifying any identification information you provide, and conducting checks against databases such as public government databases;

    o to send you service, support and administrative messages, reminders, technical notices, updates, security alerts, and information requested by you;

    o where we have your consent, to send you marketing and promotional material that may be of interest to you, including information about Open Investments or general promotions for partner campaigns and services;

    o to administer promotional activities or events sponsored or managed by Open Investments or our business partners, including referral programs, rewards, surveys, sweepstakes or contests; and

    o to comply with our legal obligations, resolve any disputes that we may have with any of our users, and enforce our agreements with third parties.

• We are continuously implementing and updating administrative, technical, and physical security measures to help protect your Personal Information against unauthorised access, destruction or alteration. However, no method of transmission over the Internet, and no method of storing electronic information, can be 100% secure. We cannot guarantee the absolute security of your Personal information or your transmissions to us.

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4. When Open Investments discloses or shares personal information, and to whom

• It may be necessary - by law, legal process, litigation, and/or requests from public and governmental authorities within or outside your country of residence − for Open Investments to disclose your personal information. You agree that Open Investments may access, preserve and disclose your information if required to do so by law or in a good faith belief that such access, preservation or disclosure is reasonably necessary to:

   o respond to claims asserted against Open Investments;

   o to comply with legal process (for example, subpoenas and warrants);

   o to enforce and administer our agreements with users, such as the Terms and Conditions, and this Privacy Policy;

   o for fraud prevention, risk assessment, investigation, customer support, product development and de-bugging purposes; or

   o to protect the rights, property or personal safety of Open Investments, its users or members of the public. We will use commercially reasonable efforts to notify users about law enforcement requests for their data unless:

         providing notice is prohibited by the legal process itself, by a court order we receive, or by applicable law; or

         based on information supplied by law enforcement, we, in our sole discretion, believe: (a) that providing notice could create a risk of injury or death to an individual or group of individuals; (b) that the case involves potential harm to minors; or (c) that harm or fraud could be directed to Open Investments, its Clients, the Website, or Services.

   o We may also disclose information about you if we determine that disclosure is reasonably necessary to enforce our terms and conditions or protect our operations or users.

   o We may allow a related entity, such as a subsidiary or holding company, and their employees, to use and process your Personal Information in the same way and to the same extent that we are permitted to under this Privacy Policy. These related entities will protect your information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

   o We may also engage third parties to provide services to us, including but not limited: to technology services and services to help verify your identification; to conduct checks against databases such as public government databases (where legally allowed); and to otherwise assist us with fraud prevention and risk assessment. We may provide Personal Information about you to these third parties, or give them access to this Personal Information, for the limited purpose of allowing them to provide these services. We will ensure that such third parties have contractual obligations to protect this Personal Information and to not use it for unrelated purposes.

   o We may also publish, disclose and use Aggregated Information and non-personal information for industry and market analysis, demographic profiling, marketing and advertising, and other business purposes.

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5. Your privacy when you leave the Website to access third-party websites and resources

The Website may contain links to other websites not owned or controlled by Open Investments. Open Investments does not have any control over third party websites and they are not covered by this Privacy Policy. These other websites may place their own cookies, web beacons or other files on your device, or collect and solicit Personal Information from you. They may have their own rules about the collection, use and disclosure of Personal Information.

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6. Integration with third party sites

We may integrate the Website with third party sites such as Facebook, so that you can send invitation messages or requests for references via the third party site itself. These messages will be sent by the third party site, and Open Investments does not collect or retain the contact information that is used by that site.

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7. Cross Border Disclosure

• Any personal information collected and held by Open Investments may be disclosed to, and held at, a destination outside Australia, where we utilise third party service providers to assist Open Investments with providing our goods and services to you. Personal information may also be processed by staff or by other third parties operating outside Australia who work for us or one of our suppliers, agents, partners or related entities.

• As we use service providers and platforms which can be accessed from various countries via an Internet connection, it is not always practicable to know where your information may be held. If your information is stored in this way, disclosures may occur in countries other than Australia.

• In addition, we may utilise overseas IT services (including software, platforms and infrastructure), such as data storage facilities or other IT infrastructure. In such cases, we may own or control such overseas infrastructure or we may have entered into contractual arrangements with third party service providers to assist Open Investments with providing our products and services to you.

• By submitting your personal information to Open Investments, you expressly agree and consent to the disclosure, transfer, storing or processing of your personal information outside of Australia. In providing this consent, you understand and acknowledge that countries outside Australia do not always have the same privacy protection obligations as Australia in relation to personal information. However, we will take steps to ensure that your information is used by third parties securely and in accordance with the terms of this Privacy Policy.

• The Privacy Act requires us to take such steps as are reasonable in the circumstances to ensure that any recipients of your personal information outside of Australia do not breach the privacy principles contained within the Privacy Act. By providing your consent, under the Privacy Act, we are not required to take such steps as may be reasonable in the circumstances. However, despite this, we acknowledge the importance of protecting personal information and have taken reasonable steps to ensure that your information is used by third parties securely and in accordance with the terms of this Privacy Policy.

• If you do not consent to the disclosure of your personal information outside Australia by Open Investments, you should (after being informed of the cross border disclosure) tell Open Investments that you do not consent. To do this, either elect not to submit the personal information to Open Investments after being reasonably informed in a collection notification or please contact us via the details at the end of this document.

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8. Changes to this privacy policy

We may change how we collect and use Personal Information at any time and without prior notice, at our sole discretion. We may change this Privacy Policy at any time. If we make material changes to the Privacy Policy, we will notify you either by posting the changed Privacy Policy on the Website or by sending an email to you.

It's important that you review any changes to the Privacy Policy. If you do not wish to agree to the changed Privacy Policy, we will not be able to continue providing the Website and Services to you and you will have to stop accessing the Website and Services.

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9. Change in ownership of Open Investments

If Open Investments undertakes or is involved in any merger, acquisition, reorganisation, sale of assets or bankruptcy or insolvency event, then we may sell, transfer or share some or all of our assets, including your Personal Information. If this is to occur, we will notify you before your Personal Information is transferred and becomes subject to a different privacy policy.

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10. Access to your personal information

You may request details of personal information that we hold about you in accordance with this policy or applicable law. A small administrative fee may be payable for the provision of information.

If you would like a copy of the information which we hold about you or believe that any information we hold on you is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading, please email us at privacy@open.investments.

We reserve the right to refuse to provide you with information that we hold about you, in certain circumstances set out in this policy, or as permitted by law.

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11. Resolving Privacy Complaints

We have put in place an effective mechanism and procedure to resolve privacy complaints. We will ensure that all complaints are dealt with in a reasonably appropriate timeframe so that any decision (if any decision is required to be made) is made expeditiously and in a manner that does not compromise the integrity or quality of such decision. If you have any concerns or complaints about the manner in which we have collected, used or disclosed and stored your personal information, please contact us on privacy@open.investments.

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12. Consent, modifications and updates

• This Privacy Policy is a compliance document prescribed by law rather than a legal contract between two or more parties. However, certain contracts may incorporate all, or part, of this Privacy Policy into the terms of that contract. In such instances, Open Investments may incorporate the terms of this policy such that:

   o Certain sections or paragraphs in this policy are incorporated into that contract, but in such a way that they do not impose contractual obligations upon Open Investments, but do impose contractual obligations on the other party to the contract; and

   o The consent provided in this policy become contractual terms provided by the other party to the contract.

• By using our website, purchasing a product or service from Open Investments, where you have been provided with a copy of our Privacy Policy or had a copy of our Privacy Policy reasonably available to you, you are acknowledging and agreeing:

   o to the terms of this Privacy Policy;

   o that you have been informed of all the matters in this Privacy Policy; and

   o that you provide your consent, wherever necessary, in accordance with this Privacy Policy.