Privacy Policy
This policy explains what we collect, why, and who else can see it. It covers three separate things: this website, the software we build and run for client businesses, and the phone apps that go with that software. They work differently, so we have kept them apart.
Who we are
Ivara Technologies builds and operates business software, mainly for trade and construction businesses. We are based in Sydney, Australia. For anything in this policy you can reach us at zac@ivara.tech.
This website
The website sets no cookies. There is no analytics, no advertising pixel, no session tracking and no contact form. We do not know who visits.
Two things still happen that you should know about:
- Fonts. Pages load typefaces from Google Fonts (fonts.googleapis.com and fonts.gstatic.com). Your browser makes that request directly to Google, which means Google receives your IP address and browser details. That is Google's collection, under Google's terms, not ours. We receive nothing from it.
- Server logs. Our web server keeps standard request logs (IP address, time, page requested, browser string) for security and fault-finding. They are kept on our own infrastructure and are not used to build any profile of you.
If you email us, we hold that email and your address so we can reply and keep a record of what was discussed.
The client platform
Client software runs on a private platform. Access requires an account, which is created by us at a client's request. We do not offer self sign-up.
Account information
For each user we hold an email address, an optional username, a role, which client or clients the account can reach, and a password stored as an argon2id hash. We cannot read your password and cannot recover it, only reset it. Sign-in is rate limited.
Signing in sets one cookie, ivara_session. It is strictly necessary, marked HttpOnly and Secure, and expires after 12 hours. There are no other cookies and none used for tracking or advertising.
We keep an audit record of significant actions taken in the platform, including who did what and when. This exists so a client can answer questions about their own data.
Mobile apps
Some clients get a phone app as part of their system. ACOT Crew is the first of them. An app is never open to the public: it is for that client's own workers, and it shows a worker their roster, their hours, their tickets and their site paperwork.
There is no sign-up and there is no password. The client's office issues an eight character activation code, and the app trades it once for a token tied to that handset. A lost phone is handled by the office revoking the device rather than by changing a password.
For each activated handset we hold:
- a device identifier given to us by the phone (identifierForVendor on iOS, the Android ID), or a random one we generate if the phone will not supply either. It is kept for one reason, so that a copied token can be spotted and shut off
- whether the handset is iOS or Android, and when it last contacted us
- a push notification token, if the worker allowed notifications
We do not collect location. There is no analytics, no advertising identifier and no third party tracking in the app. Nothing it holds is used to build a profile of anybody, and nothing is sold to anyone.
The app asks for the camera or the photo library only at the moment it needs them: to photograph a sign on sheet or a ticket, to attach a photo already taken, or to save a roster picture to the phone. A photo sent this way becomes part of the client's own records, the same as any other site photograph described below. The app does not otherwise read what is on the phone.
Notifications go through Expo's push service and then through Apple or Google, who deliver them to the handset. A notification can name a job or say that hours were sent back, so its text is visible to those services in the way an SMS is visible to a carrier. Turning notifications off in the phone's settings stops it, and nothing else in the app depends on them. The app also checks Expo's update service for new versions of itself, which means Expo sees that request.
Deleting the app removes the token from the phone, and "Sign this phone out" inside the app does the same. To have the device record removed at our end, ask the client's office to revoke the device, or email us and we will ask them. The employment record behind it belongs to the employer, so see the note below.
Information we hold on behalf of clients
Most of the personal information on our systems is not ours. It belongs to the client business using the software, and it is usually about their employees and contractors. Depending on what a client uses, that can include names, contact details, dates of birth, addresses, emergency contacts and next of kin, employment type and status, pay and cost rates, licences and certifications with their expiry dates, timesheets and hours, site inductions, and photographs taken on site.
For this information the client is the organisation that decides what is collected and why. We hold and process it under their instructions, as their service provider. If you are an employee of one of our clients and you want to see, correct or remove your information, ask your employer first. We will help them do it, but we will not change or hand over their records on request from someone else.
Where it is held
Client data is held on servers we control in Sydney, Australia. It is not moved offshore by us. Backups are taken nightly and kept for 14 days, on the same infrastructure.
Who else can see it
We do not sell personal information and we do not disclose it for advertising. Data leaves our systems only where a client has asked us to connect a service they already use. Depending on the client, that can include:
- Microsoft 365: sending email and filing documents into the client's own tenancy
- Xero: invoices, bills, projects and payroll
Each of those is configured per client and only for clients who ask for it.
Where a client has a phone app, two more are involved by necessity rather than by choice:
- Expo: delivers push notifications and app updates. It receives the push token and the text of a notification. Based in the United States
- Apple and Google: carry a notification the last step to the handset, the way a carrier carries an SMS
Some of these providers, and all of the app services, process data outside Australia under their own terms. Before we connect one we satisfy ourselves that it handles personal information to a standard comparable to the Australian Privacy Principles. We will also disclose information where the law requires it.
How long we keep it
Client data is kept for as long as we are providing the service, and then in line with what we have agreed with that client. Backups roll off after 14 days. Website server logs are kept only as long as they are useful for security and diagnostics. Emails to us are kept as business records.
Security
Traffic is encrypted in transit. Passwords are hashed, never stored in readable form. Access to a client's system requires an account that has been granted that specific client, and staff access is recorded. Sign-in attempts are rate limited. We keep nightly backups and have restored from them to confirm they work.
No system is perfect. If a data breach happens that is likely to cause serious harm, we will notify the affected client and, where the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme applies, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.
Your rights
You can ask us what personal information we hold about you, ask us to correct it, and complain if you think we have mishandled it. Email zac@ivara.tech and we will respond within a reasonable time. If your information sits inside a client's system, see the note above: we will point you to that client and help them action it.
You can also ask us to delete what we hold. Where it is ours to delete, such as an app device record or an email you sent us, we will. Where it sits inside a client's system it is their record and their decision, and we will put the request to them.
If you are not satisfied with our response you can complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at oaic.gov.au.
Changes
If this policy changes we will update the date at the top. Material changes affecting client data will be raised with the client directly rather than left to a website update.
Questions: zac@ivara.tech · See also our Terms of Use.