Privacy Policy

Who we are

waterfalls.com.au is a free guide to waterfalls across Australia. This policy explains what information we collect when you use the site, why we collect it and what we do with it. We aim to handle personal information in line with the Australian Privacy Principles.

What we collect

You can use the whole site without an account, and we don’t ask for your name unless you contact us. The information we do handle is:

• what you send us through the contact or correction forms, as described below
• your location, only if you choose to use the Near me button
• standard technical details your browser sends when it loads a page, such as your IP address, browser type and the page you asked for
• anonymous usage statistics, and Google Analytics data only if you accept analytics cookies

Location and the Near me button

When you tap Near me, your browser asks whether to share your location. If you agree, your browser gives us your approximate coordinates, which we use to find waterfalls close to you. We don’t store them in a database or link them to you.

On the search page, the coordinates appear in the page address so the results can be shared and reloaded. Like any page address, they may show up in our hosting provider’s request logs for a short time. If you would rather not share your location, type a town or postcode instead.

Forms and email

The contact form asks for your name, email address, a subject and your message. The correction form asks what has changed and, if you want a reply, your email address. We use these details only to read and answer your message and to keep waterfall pages accurate.

Form submissions are sent to our inbox by Resend, an email delivery service. Both forms use Cloudflare Turnstile to check that you are a person and not a bot, and Cloudflare processes some technical details about your browser to do this. We don’t add you to a mailing list or sell your details to anyone.

Analytics

We use Vercel Web Analytics to count page views and see which pages are most useful. It doesn’t use cookies and doesn’t identify individual visitors.

With your permission, we also use Google Analytics, which sets cookies to measure how people move through the site. The banner on your first visit asks whether you accept. If you decline, Google Analytics doesn’t set cookies, though the page may still send Google basic, cookie-free signals such as the fact that a page was viewed.

Third-party services

Some parts of the site rely on other services:

• Maps are drawn from OpenFreeMap map tiles, which your browser downloads directly from their servers.
• Photos come from Wikimedia Commons and may load from their servers.
• Google reviews load only when you tap to show them. The request goes through our server, so Google doesn’t see your IP address.
• Get directions opens Google Maps or Apple Maps, and tour links open Viator or GetYourGuide. Once you leave our site, that company’s own privacy policy applies, and partners may use cookies to record that you came from us.
• The site is hosted by Vercel, which processes page requests on our behalf.

Some of these companies are based outside Australia, so information they process may be handled overseas.

How long we keep information

We keep emails from the contact and correction forms while we deal with them and for as long as they help us keep the site accurate, then delete them. Hosting logs are kept by Vercel for a limited period and then removed automatically. Analytics data is kept in aggregate form.

Your choices

You can decline analytics cookies in the banner. To change your choice later, clear this site’s data in your browser settings and the banner will appear again. You can also block location access or cookies in your browser at any time.

You can ask us what personal information we hold about you, or ask us to correct or delete it, by emailing us. If you aren’t happy with how we have handled your information, you can complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.

Contact us

Questions about this policy can go to [email protected]. If we change how we handle information, we will update this page and the date at the top.