Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

The HouseHunter.nz browser extension is operated by Shan Ming Yang Limited, a company registered in New Zealand. We are committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring you have a positive experience using our extension.

We comply with the Privacy Act 2020 and the 13 Privacy Principles set out by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (NZ). This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, protect and disclose your personal information.

2. What Personal Information Do We Collect?

Extension Data (Local Storage)

All property comparison data is stored locally in your browser using the Chrome Storage API (or Firefox equivalent). We do not have access to this data. This includes:

• Property listings you add to your comparison
• Property details (address, price, features, images)
• Your comparison list and preferences

Important: This data never leaves your device and is not transmitted to our servers for storage.

Backend Processing Data

When you add a property to your comparison, the extension sends the following to our backend API for extraction:

• HTML content of the property listing page
• Property URL
• Source site identifier (e.g., TradeMe, RealEstate.co.nz)

Important: This data is processed immediately by our AI system and is not stored on our servers. It is discarded after extraction is complete.

Analytics

We use Plausible Analytics - a privacy-focused, cookie-free analytics service hosted in the EU - to understand how this website and the extension are used. Plausible does not use cookies and does not track individuals across sites. The website and the extension are measured differently, so they are described separately below.

On this website, Plausible's script runs in your browser and counts page views. As with any request you make to any website, Plausible sees your IP address; it uses it only to generate a daily, non-reversible visitor count and does not store it.

In the extension, a small, anonymous usage event is sent to our server (which passes it on to Plausible) when you install it, add a property to your watchlist, open the comparison view, or export. Each event contains only:

• What happened, as a fixed label (e.g. "property added", "exported")
• Which listing site it related to (TradeMe, RealEstate.co.nz, Homes.co.nz or OneRoof.co.nz)
• Whether the listing details were read successfully, and whether it was a retry
• For an export, whether it was Excel or PDF; for an install, whether it was a new install or an update
• Whether this was the first time you had done that particular thing
• Whether you use Chrome or Firefox, and the extension version
• How long ago the extension was installed, as a rough band (e.g. "1-7 days")

What extension events never contain: property data, addresses, listing URLs, prices, your comparison list, your IP address, or any account, device or installation identifier. These events reach Plausible through our server, so your IP address is never disclosed to it - it only ever sees ours. The one other detail passed on is your browser's User-Agent, which Plausible requires.

You can turn this off at any time using the "Share anonymous usage statistics" checkbox in the extension popup. On Firefox you are also asked to choose whether to share technical and interaction data when you install the extension.

3. Why Do We Collect This Information?

• HTML Processing: To extract property data from listing pages using AI services
• Local Storage: To maintain your comparison list across browser sessions (stored on your device)
• Usage Events: To understand, in aggregate, which features are used and which listing sites work well, so we can improve the extension

4. Who Do We Share Your Information With?

We share property listing HTML with the following third parties for processing:

• AI Service Providers - Third-party AI providers that process HTML to extract property data. HTML is sent to AI service APIs for analysis.
• Fly.io - Backend hosting provider that processes but does not store HTML content.
• Plausible Analytics - EU-hosted, cookie-free analytics provider that receives the anonymous usage events described in Section 2.

We do not sell your personal information to any third parties.

5. How Do We Protect Your Information?

We take the security of your information seriously:

• All data transmission is encrypted using HTTPS
• Local-first architecture - comparison data stays on your device
• Temporary backend processing - HTML is discarded immediately after extraction
• No tracking cookies or persistent identifiers

However, no method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your information, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

6. How Long Do We Keep Your Information?

Browser Storage: Your comparison data is stored in your browser until you uninstall the extension or manually clear the data. We have no access to this data.

Backend Processing: HTML content sent for AI extraction is discarded immediately after processing. We do not retain this data.

Usage Events: Anonymous usage events are retained by Plausible as aggregate statistics. They contain no personal information and cannot be traced back to you.

7. Your Privacy Rights

Under the Privacy Act 2020, you have the right to:

• Access: Request access to personal information we hold about you (note: comparison data is stored only on your device)
• Deletion: Uninstall the extension to delete all local comparison data
• Inquiry: Contact us regarding backend data processing
• Complaint: Lodge a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner if you believe your privacy rights have been breached

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details in Section 9.

8. External Links and Third-Party Services

The extension works with the following property listing websites:

• TradeMe Property (trademe.co.nz)
• RealEstate.co.nz
• Homes.co.nz
• OneRoof.co.nz

We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these external sites. We encourage you to review their privacy policies.

We use third-party AI service APIs for property data extraction.

9. How to Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, wish to exercise your privacy rights, or have a privacy complaint, please contact us:

We will respond to your inquiry within 20 working days.

10. Complaint to the Privacy Commissioner

If you are not satisfied with our response to a privacy complaint, you may lodge a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner:

11. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or applicable laws. We will notify you of any material changes by updating the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. Your continued use of the extension constitutes your acceptance of the updated Privacy Policy.