Privacy policy
Your details, your choice.
Last updated 24 October 2026.
In short
- You can use the whole guide without telling us who you are. Your answers stay in your browser.
- We count visits anonymously, without cookies for advertising and without storing your internet address.
- If you ask for your detailed report, we keep your email and anything else you choose to give us, and what you agreed to.
- We never sell your details. They only go to a community if you choose that community and ask us to introduce you, and to no one else.
- Everything is stored in Australia. Ask us to delete it any time.
Who we are
Downsizing Untangled (“we”, “us”) runs this free guide to later-life living at downsizing-untangled.com. This policy explains what personal information we collect, why, and what you can do about it. We handle personal information in line with the Australian Privacy Principles in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).
Contact us about privacy at hello@downsizing-untangled.com.
Using the guide without giving us anything
You can answer every question and see your results without giving us your name or contact details. Your answers are worked through in your browser and aren’t sent to us. Some answers are personal (for example about your health, mobility or who helps you), and none of them leave your device unless you choose to get your detailed report, and even then only the short summary described below.
When you search for a suburb or ask for communities nearby, the place or distance you choose is sent to our website to look up the results, and isn’t stored or passed on.
What we collect
1. Anonymous statistics about how the guide is used
To see how many people use the guide and where they get stuck, we record:
- a random code kept in your browser, so a return visit counts as the same visitor, and a separate code for each browser tab;
- which pages you view and which questions you reach, and when;
- when you see your results, a few broad facts: who it’s for (you or someone else), age band, state, why you came, who’s answering, who you live with, your timing, which two options came up, and the style of wording the guide used;
- whether you look at nearby communities or ask for the report (not your details);
- your type of device (phone, tablet or computer), your country, and the name of the website that sent you here, if any (for example facebook.com).
We don’t record your name, email, phone number, suburb, internet address or anything you type, and these statistics are never linked to the details in the next section. Nothing is recorded until you interact with the page or keep it open for a few seconds, and automated programs are filtered out.
2. If you ask for your detailed report
We email you a 6-digit code to check your address. Once you type it in, we keep:
- your email address;
- if you give them: your first name, suburb or postcode, and what you’d like help with next;
- if you ask to be introduced to places: which places you chose, your phone number (if you give it), and how and when you’d like them to contact you;
- a short summary of your results: your closest fit and the other option suggested, who it’s for, your age band, state, timing and the areas you chose;
- what you agreed to, the version of the wording you were shown, and when;
- how many reports you’ve asked for, and when you first and last asked.
The code itself is never stored: we keep only a scrambled version for 15 minutes, to check it. The report is made in your browser. If you ask us to email it to you, the file passes through our website to our email provider to be sent, and we don’t keep a copy.
3. If you email us
We keep your email and our reply in our mailbox so we can help you, and delete them when they’re no longer needed.
4. Technical information
Like every website, ours receives your internet address and browser details with each request. Our hosting provider, Cloudflare, uses them to deliver the site and protect it from attacks. Our own error logs, kept by Cloudflare for 3 days, may include details of a request that went wrong. If someone tries to sign in to our private staff area, we keep a scrambled version of their internet address for 90 days to block repeated guessing.
Sensitive information
We don’t ask you to send us health information, and your answers about health stay in your browser. The summary we keep with a report (section 2) includes your closest fit, and if that is, for example, aged care, it may suggest something about your care needs. We only keep it if you choose to get your report, and you agree to that when you confirm your code. If you’d rather we didn’t keep it, you can download your report and ask us to delete your details straight away.
How we use it
- to send your code and your report;
- to introduce you to the places you chose, only if you asked us to;
- to understand, as totals, how the guide is used and improve it;
- to keep the site secure and stop misuse, such as limiting how many codes can be requested;
- where the law requires it.
We don’t sell personal information, show advertising, or use your details to train software. Our sister company kinHome, which makes software some operators use, has no access to your details and plays no part in your results.
Who we share it with
We don’t pass your details to any community, aged care home, adviser or other business unless you ask us to.
Introductions you ask for
If your results suggest a retirement village or land-lease community, you can choose up to three registered places near you and ask us to introduce you. Before you confirm your code, the form names each place and lists what it will receive: your first name, email, phone (if given), suburb or postcode, how and when to contact you, what you’d like help with, your timing and the kind of place you’re interested in. We send those details to the places you chose and no one else, keep a record of each introduction and what it contained, and email you a copy.
Places that receive your details handle them under their own privacy policies. If you change your mind before we’ve sent them, reply to that email and we won’t. After they’ve been sent, we can’t take them back, so please also contact the place directly. Places may pay us for introductions. That never changes which places we show you or the order they appear in.
We use these service providers to run the guide. They handle information only to provide their service to us:
| Provider | What they do | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Cloudflare, Inc. | Hosts the website and protects it from attacks | Global network (requests are usually handled in Australia); United States company |
| Supabase, Inc. | Our database: statistics, report details and agreement records | Stored in Sydney, Australia; United States company |
| Resend | Sends our emails: your code and your report | Japan and United States |
| Google LLC (Google Workspace) | Our mailbox, if you email us | United States and other countries |
We may also disclose information if the law requires it, for example to a court or regulator.
Overseas
Your report details are stored in Australia. Because our providers are based overseas, some information (such as your email address and the emails we send you) is handled in the United States and Japan, and our hosting and mailbox providers may handle it in other countries where they operate. We choose established providers bound by their own privacy and security commitments.
Browser storage and cookies
We use no advertising or third-party cookies. The site stores these small items in your browser:
| Name | What it’s for | How long |
|---|---|---|
| du-agreement | Remembers you’ve read the notice at the start | Until you clear your browser |
| du-v | The random visitor code for anonymous statistics | Until you clear your browser |
| du-s, du-r | The code for this tab, and whether we’ve noted which site sent you | Until you close the tab |
| du-internal, du_hq | Used only on our own staff devices | Not set for visitors |
Your answers to the questions aren’t stored: closing or refreshing the page clears them.
How long we keep it
| Report details (section 2) | 3 years after you last asked for a report, or until you ask us to delete them |
| Introduction records | 3 years after you asked, or until you ask us to delete your details |
| Records of what you agreed to | 3 years after you agreed, or until you ask us to delete your details |
| Codes | 15 minutes to use; removed within a day if unused |
| Anonymous statistics | 24 months |
| Error logs | 3 days |
Old information is deleted automatically every day. Our email provider keeps records of the emails it sends for a limited period under its own policy.
How we protect it
Information is sent over encrypted connections and stored in a database that only our website’s server can reach, separate from any other company’s systems, including kinHome’s. Only people working on Downsizing Untangled can see it, through a password-protected staff area. Codes and passwords are stored only in scrambled form, and repeated guessing is blocked. If a data breach is likely to cause you serious harm, we’ll tell you and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, as the law requires.
Seeing, correcting or deleting your details
Email hello@downsizing-untangled.com from the address you used, and we’ll send you a copy of what we hold, correct it, or delete it, within 30 days and at no cost. When we delete your details, we delete your record, your agreement history, your introduction records and any unused code. We can’t delete details already sent to a place you chose; contact them directly for that.
How the suggestions are worked out
A computer program in your browser compares your answers with published rules to suggest the options most likely to suit you, and adjusts some of its wording to how you answer, including how long you spend on a question. It doesn’t decide anything about you: the suggestions are general information to help you think, not a decision about what you can have, and they don’t affect your rights. No business can pay to change them. We don’t receive your full answers; we only see the broad facts described above.
Children
The guide is for adults. We don’t knowingly collect information from anyone under 18.
Questions and complaints
Email hello@downsizing-untangled.com. We’ll reply within 30 days. If you’re not happy with our answer, you can complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at oaic.gov.au or on 1300 363 992.
Changes
If we change this policy, we’ll update it here and change the date at the top. If a change affects details you’ve already given us, we’ll tell you before it applies.