Privacy Policy
Last updated 4 October 2026. This policy explains how Appreci Pty Ltd (“Appreci”, “we”, “us”) handles personal information in the Appreci mobile apps for iOS and Android, the web application at portal.appreci.io, and the Verandah ordering site. It is written to meet the Australian Privacy Principles in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).
Who we are
Appreci Pty Ltd (ABN 29 631 324 804) of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. We are responsible for the personal information described here. Contact us at hello@appreci.io with the subject “Privacy”.
What we collect
| Information | When | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Name and email address | When you create an account, or when someone sends you a gift | To run your account and deliver gifts and replies to you |
| Sign-in identifiers | When you sign in with Google, Microsoft or Apple | To confirm it is you. We receive a token and your email and name from the provider; we never see your password for that provider |
| Phone number | Optional: if you add it, or if you receive gift or order alerts by SMS | Sign-in codes and order alerts by text message |
| Delivery address | If you give one for a physical gift | To ship the gift. It is passed to the store or courier fulfilling it |
| Payment details | When you pay | Cards are entered into Stripe's secure payment form. We receive a Stripe customer reference and the last four digits, never the full card number |
| Gifts, orders and credit | When you send, receive, redeem or bank a gift | To run the service and keep records of purchases |
| Messages and replies | When you write a message with a gift, record a voice or video message, attach a photo or GIF, tag a song, or reply | To deliver them to the other person on the gift |
| Location | Only while the app lists stores near you, and only if you allow it | To show nearby cafés. We use it for that one request and do not keep it |
| Device details | When you use the app | A push-notification token so we can notify you, an install identifier so sign-in codes reach the right device, and the device type and app version for support |
| Technical logs | When our servers handle a request | Error logs, and on our test systems a request log, to keep the service working and investigate problems. Passwords, cards and session keys are never written to logs |
| Web analytics | On portal.appreci.io only | Google Analytics tells us which pages are used. The mobile apps contain no analytics or advertising software |
Where you tell the Assistant about the person you are buying for (their interests, size, favourite team), that description is sent to the AI and search providers we use to find gift ideas. Give it only what you would be comfortable sharing with a shop assistant; it does not need the person's name.
How we use it
- To provide the service: accounts, sending and delivering gifts, redemption at stores, ordering ahead, replies, wallets and credit.
- To send you emails and notifications about your gifts, orders and account. These are part of the service.
- To prevent fraud and abuse, keep the service secure, and meet our legal obligations, including tax and consumer-law records.
- To improve the service, using aggregated information that does not identify you.
We do not sell personal information, and we do not use it for advertising or for tracking you across other companies' apps and websites.
Organisations and teams
When an organisation (an employer or a company) sends you a gift from its Appreci account, that organisation's administrators can see the gift, who it went to, and its message. If you choose Share with team on a gift or a reply, it appears in that organisation's recognition feed for its members. Messages that are not shared stay between the two people on the gift. People in an organisation see only what belongs to their own organisation.
Who we share it with
We share personal information only with providers that help us run the service, and only what each needs:
| Provider | What for | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Stripe | Card payments, saved cards, and paying stores | Australia / United States |
| Google (Firebase) | Sign-in with Google, Microsoft and Apple; push notifications | United States |
| Amazon Web Services | Sending email (Sydney) and storing attached media | Australia |
| Twilio | SMS codes and order alerts | United States |
| Railway | Hosting our servers and database | Netherlands (European Union) |
| Cloudflare | Delivering our websites and protecting them | Global network |
| Stores, cafés and gift partners | Fulfilling the gift: the store sees the order, the item, and for delivery the recipient's name and address. Our ordering partner and our gift-card partner receive the details needed to issue a code | Australia |
| Square | Sending order-ahead tickets to a café's point of sale, when the café uses Square | United States |
| Shopify | When a store connects its Shopify shop to Appreci, order details for that store's products | Canada / United States |
| AI and search providers (xAI, Anthropic, Google, Serper) | Finding gift ideas when you use the Assistant | United States |
| Spotify and Giphy | Looking up songs and GIFs you choose to attach | United States |
Some of these providers are outside Australia. By using Appreci you agree that your information may be stored and processed in those countries. We choose providers with recognised security practices and only send them what they need.
We will also disclose information where the law requires it, for example to a regulator or under a court order, and we may disclose it to a buyer if Appreci's business is sold, who would then be bound by this policy.
How long we keep it
- Account details, replies and gifts: while your account is open. A message sent with a gift stays with that gift for the person who received it.
- Purchase and payment records: seven years after the transaction, as Australian tax and consumer law require, even if the account is closed. These records are kept to the minimum needed and are not used for anything else.
- Error and request logs: up to 14 days.
- Database backups: kept for security and recovery and expired on a rolling basis; anything deleted is gone from them within 14 days.
- Unopened gifts: for the gift's validity period, so the recipient can still claim it.
Security
Information travels over encrypted connections (HTTPS) and is held in access-controlled systems. Passwords are stored hashed, never in plain text. Card numbers are handled by Stripe and never reach our servers. No system is perfectly secure; if we learn of a breach that is likely to cause you serious harm we will tell you and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, as the Privacy Act requires.
Your choices and rights
- Access and correction: your details are in the app under your avatar → Settings. You may also ask us for a copy of the personal information we hold about you, or to correct it, at hello@appreci.io. We respond within 30 days.
- Deletion: in the app, avatar → Settings → Delete my account, or by email as described on the deletion page. The page explains what is removed and what we must keep.
- Location: you can refuse or revoke the location permission in your phone's settings; the Stores list then shows a default area instead.
- Notifications: turn push notifications off in your phone's settings.
- Complaints: write to hello@appreci.io with the subject “Privacy complaint”. We will acknowledge it within 7 days and aim to resolve it within 30. If you are not satisfied, you can complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at oaic.gov.au.
Children
Appreci is not for people under 16, and we do not knowingly collect their information. Alcohol gifts require the sender and the recipient to be 18 or over. If you believe a child has given us personal information, contact us and we will remove it.
Cookies on the web app
portal.appreci.io uses a cookie or local storage to keep you signed in, and Google Analytics to measure which pages are used. The mobile apps do not use cookies or analytics.
Changes
When this policy changes we update the date at the top. For a change that affects how we use your information in a way you would not expect, we will tell you in the app or by email first.