Privacy Policy

At Barefoot Whale Watching Sydney, your privacy is important to us. This Privacy Policy outlines how we collect, use, disclose, and protect your personal information in compliance with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).

1. Who We Are

Our website address is: https://barefootwhalewatchingsydney.com.au. We are a locally owned and operated whale watching tour company offering small-group marine wildlife experiences along the Sydney coastline.

2. Comments

When visitors leave comments on the site, we collect the data shown in the comments form, as well as the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help with spam detection.

We may use an anonymised string (also called a hash) created from your email address to check against the Gravatar service to see if you use it. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/. After your comment is approved, your profile picture (if linked to Gravatar) may be publicly visible next to your comment.

3. Media

If you upload images to the website, you should avoid uploading images that contain embedded location data (EXIF GPS). Visitors to the site may be able to download and extract any location data from images.

4. Cookies

We use cookies to enhance your user experience.

  • If you leave a comment, you may opt-in to saving your name, email address, and website in cookies. These are for your convenience and will last for one year.

  • If you visit our login page (if applicable), we will set a temporary cookie to determine if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.

  • When you log in (for registered users), we will set several cookies to store your login information and screen display preferences. Login cookies last two days, screen options cookies last one year. If you select “Remember Me,” your login persists for two weeks.

  • If you log out, login cookies are removed.

  • If you edit or publish an article, an additional cookie is stored to record the post ID. It expires after one day.

Cookies help us monitor website traffic and improve content. You can disable cookies through your browser settings.

5. Embedded Content from Other Websites

Articles or pages on this site may include embedded content (e.g., videos, maps, social media feeds, or articles). Embedded content from other websites behaves the same way as if the visitor has visited the other site directly.

These websites may:

  • Collect data about you

  • Use cookies

  • Embed additional third-party tracking

  • Monitor your interaction with embedded content (especially if you’re logged into that third-party site)

We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of these external websites.

6. Who We Share Your Data With

We do not sell or rent your data. However, in some cases, we may share your personal information with trusted third-party services when required for functionality, such as:

  • Email marketing platforms (e.g., Mailchimp)

  • Website analytics tools (e.g., Google Analytics)

  • Third party booking agency Secure payment processors (e.g., Stripe or Square)

  • Spam detection services

  • Booking or scheduling systems

If you request a password reset, your IP address may be included in the reset email for security verification.

7. How Long We Retain Your Data

  • Comments: If you leave a comment, it and its metadata are retained indefinitely to help us recognise and approve follow-up comments automatically.

  • User Accounts: You cannot create an account on this website.

8. What Rights You Have Over Your Data

This website does not have account creation or data of clients stored on our servers. Customer data is through our secure third party booking agency.

You can request to:

  • Receive an exported file of your personal data

  • Request deletion of any personal data we hold about you

Please note: This does not include any data we are required to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes. To request data access or deletion, please contact us via email.

9. Where Your Data Is Sent

Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service such as Akismet. We may also use third-party hosting and email platforms based in Australia. All third-party platforms used are GDPR or APP-compliant where required.

10. Security of Your Data

We take reasonable steps to protect your personal information from misuse, loss, unauthorised access, and disclosure. This includes:

  • SSL encryption for secure connections

  • Secure third-party payment platforms

  • Access control for admin accounts

However, no method of transmission or storage is 100% secure. We recommend you take appropriate care when sharing personal data online.

11. Changes to This Policy

This Privacy Policy may be updated occasionally to reflect changes in legal or operational requirements. Updates will be posted to this page with the latest effective date at the top.

12. Contact Us

If you have questions, concerns, or would like to make a privacy complaint, please contact:

Barefoot Whale Watching Sydney
Email: info@barefootcharters.com.au
Website: https://barefootwhalewatchingsydney.com.au