Privacy Policy
This privacy policy explains how The Public Herbarium collects, uses, and protects your personal information in accordance with New Zealand privacy law, including the Privacy Act 2020.
Last Updated: December 2025
What Information We Collect
The Public Herbarium collects minimal personal information. We believe in transparency and only collect what is necessary to operate this educational website.
Information You Provide Directly
When you contact us through our contact form, you provide:
- Your name
- Your email address
- The content of your message
This information is provided voluntarily and only when you choose to contact us.
Information Collected Automatically
Like most websites, we may automatically collect certain technical information when you visit:
- Browser type and version
- Device type (mobile, tablet, desktop)
- Pages you visit on our site
- Time and date of your visit
- Referring website (if you clicked a link to reach us)
This information is collected anonymously and cannot identify you personally.
What We Do NOT Collect
The Public Herbarium does not collect:
- User accounts or login credentials (we don’t have user accounts)
- Payment information (the site is completely free)
- Health or medical information
- Location data beyond general geographic region
- Social media information
How We Use Your Information
We use the information we collect for the following purposes:
Contact Form Data
- To respond to your questions or feedback
- To consider content suggestions you provide
We do not use contact form data for marketing, newsletters, or any other purpose without your explicit consent.
Website Analytics
We may use website analytics to understand:
- Which pages are most visited
- How people navigate the site
- What devices people use
- Where technical problems occur
This helps us improve the website and create better content for visitors.
Cookies
This website may use cookies – small text files stored on your device – to:
- Remember your preferences (if any)
- Ensure the website functions properly
- Collect anonymous analytics data
You can disable cookies in your browser settings, though some website features may not work properly without them.
Third-Party Services
This website may use the following third-party services:
Website Hosting
This site is hosted on WordPress.com. WordPress.com may collect technical information about your visit. See WordPress.com’s privacy policy for details.
Analytics (If Applicable)
If we use website analytics services in the future, we will update this policy to reflect that. Any analytics would use anonymized data only.
We do not use advertising services or social media tracking.
Data Sharing & Disclosure
We do not sell, rent, or share your personal information with third parties for marketing purposes. Ever.
We may disclose your information only in these limited circumstances:
- If required by law or legal process
- To protect our rights or safety
- To prevent fraud or abuse
- With your explicit consent
Requesting Your Information
To request access to or deletion of any personal information we hold about you (which is limited to contact form submissions only), please contact us using the contact form.
We will respond to your request within 20 working days and:
- Provide you with a copy of any messages you sent us, or
- Confirm deletion of your information from our records
Since we only collect information when you contact us directly, we have very minimal data to access or delete.
Links to Other Websites
This website may contain links to external websites (research sources, NZ suppliers, organizations, etc.). We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these external sites.
We encourage you to read the privacy policies of any website you visit.
Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this privacy policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. When we make changes:
- We will update the “Last Updated” date at the top of this page
- We will notify visitors of significant changes
- Your continued use of the website after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy
For more information about privacy law in New Zealand, visit the Office of the Privacy Commissioner: privacy.org.nz
The Public Herbarium 