Privacy Policy
1. Overview
LayeredGeo Pty Ltd (ABN 23 695 076 745) ("we", "us", "our") is committed to protecting your privacy in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs). This policy explains what personal information we collect, how we use it, and your rights regarding that information.
By using the LayeredGeo website and service ("Service"), you consent to the collection and use of your information as described in this policy.
2. Information We Collect
Account information
When you create an account we collect your email address and a securely hashed password.
Guest purchases
If you buy a report without an account, we collect the email address you give at checkout and the property address you ordered. We use them to deliver the report, send your receipt and answer any question about the order. The report file can be downloaded for 48 hours and is then removed from our download service. We keep the order record itself (email address, property address, amount and payment reference) as a financial record.
Agency plans
If you subscribe to an Agency plan, we store the business name and logo you upload so we can print them on your reports, and we keep the reports generated under the plan in your account for 12 months.
Payment information
Payments are processed by Stripe. We do not store your card number or full card details. We store a Stripe customer ID and subscription status so we can manage your account.
Usage data
We log the street addresses you submit for report generation, the time of each request, and whether the report succeeded. We use this to operate the Service and diagnose issues.
Technical data
We collect standard server logs including IP address, browser type, and pages visited. This information is used for security monitoring and service improvement.
Site analytics
We run our own first-party analytics. When you visit the site we record page views, the page you arrived from, campaign parameters included in the LayeredGeo URL (such as UTM parameters and advertising click identifiers), your browser's user-agent string, and, if you are signed in, your account. These events are grouped using a randomly generated session identifier stored in your browser (see Cookies below). The identifier is not derived from your name, email address, or any other detail about you, and we do not share it with anyone or use it to track you across other websites.
Where you use a free tool without signing in, we also record the IP address the request came from, so we can apply daily usage limits and prevent abuse of the free tier.
Address searches
To offer address suggestions as you type, the partial address you enter is sent to Mappify, an address-matching service, and to Australian government address services. Only the address text is sent - not your name, email address, or account details.
Free tool uploads
Files you upload to our free tools (e.g. the 12d to DXF and PDF markup to DXF converters) are processed in memory and on temporary disk only, and are automatically deleted within 30 minutes. The contents of your files are never retained, shared, or used for any purpose other than producing your download. We keep a processing log to operate and improve the tools. That log records the file name, file size and processing outcome, the IP address the upload came from, and, where the file itself contains it, the approximate part of Australia the survey data covers and the organisation name recorded in the file. We use this to understand who the tools are useful to and to prevent abuse of the free tier. IP addresses in these logs are cleared after 24 months. The one exception is a 12d file that fails to convert: unless you untick "Keep a copy if it fails to convert" on the 12d tool page before uploading, we keep that copy so we can diagnose the failure and fix the converter. It is deleted as soon as the same file converts for you, and after 60 days at most. Email us and we will delete it sooner.
Values you enter into free calculators
Our free calculators (for example the AS 2870 site classification calculator) record the values you enter, together with the result, so we can operate the tool, apply free-tier limits, and see where the tool is confusing or failing people. Where you choose to supply a site address, we record that too.
We also use this information, in de-identified and aggregated form, to improve our regional soil and geotechnical datasets - for example, to build a picture of typical soil reactivity across a mapped geology unit. Supplying a site address is always optional and the calculator works fully without one. Aggregated results are only ever published at a level that cannot identify an individual site, submitter, or organisation, and we suppress any grouping too small to be de-identified. We do not sell this information, and we do not publish, share, or attribute the individual values you enter.
If you would like the entries associated with your account, email address or IP address removed, email us at hello@layeredgeo.com.au and we will delete them.
AI assistant connector (MCP server)
We run a free Model Context Protocol server at https://layeredgeo.com.au/mcp that AI assistants such as Claude and ChatGPT can call on your behalf. It needs no account or key, and it receives only what the assistant sends in the call - for the property check, the street address. We do not receive your name, email address, your conversation with the assistant, or anything else from your assistant account. We look the address up in our own planning, geology, terrain and flood datasets (using Australian government address services to match it) and send the answer back to the assistant.
We log each call with the address checked, the result, the time, the assistant's user-agent string and the IP address the request came from (usually the AI provider's server, not your device). We use this to operate the server, apply rate limits, prevent abuse and see how often it is used. It is kept as server logs and analytics events, as described under Retention, and is not sold or shared. Links in the answer carry a utm_source=mcp tag so we can tell visits that came from an assistant.
Scout Chrome Extension
Scout is a Chrome extension that surfaces flood, elevation, terrain and road data on property listings. When you view a listing on realestate.com.au, Scout sends the property's street address to our API at api.layeredgeo.com.au to retrieve pre-computed risk data. Each request also carries a randomly generated identifier for that browser, which Scout creates when it is installed. We use the identifier, together with the IP address the request comes from, to run the free trial and to stop it being repeated, and to limit a subscription key to three devices. We keep a log of the listing addresses looked up against that identifier or key so we can operate and improve Scout. We do not collect your name, your location, or any browsing history other than those listing addresses through the extension.
If you purchase a Scout subscription, we receive your email address from Stripe so we can send you your key and manage the subscription. Your API key is stored locally in your browser using Chrome's storage.local API. It is sent with each data request solely to authenticate your account. Address lookups are cached locally in your browser for up to 7 days to reduce repeat requests. This cached data never leaves your device.
3. How We Use Your Information
- To create and manage your account;
- To generate the reports and data exports you order for the addresses you provide;
- To process payments and manage subscriptions;
- To send transactional emails (e.g. report delivery, billing receipts, account security);
- To send occasional emails about the Service itself, such as a reminder about a purchase you did not finish or an offer of credits;
- To respond to support enquiries;
- To improve and maintain the Service;
- To comply with legal obligations.
We do not sell your personal information to third parties. We do not use your data for advertising.
Every marketing or follow-up email we send carries an unsubscribe link, and you can also unsubscribe at any time at layeredgeo.com.au/email/unsubscribe or by emailing hello@layeredgeo.com.au. Unsubscribing stops marketing email only. We will still send you emails about things you have ordered, such as report delivery, receipts and account security notices, for as long as your account is open.
4. Disclosure of Your Information
We share personal information only with:
- Stripe - payment processing (subject to Stripe's Privacy Policy);
- Supabase - authentication and database hosting (data stored in Australia or the US);
- Resend - delivery of the emails we send you (receives your email address and the content of the message);
- Mappify and Australian government address services - address autocomplete (receives only the address text you type);
- Law enforcement or regulatory bodies where required by law.
Some of these providers store or process information outside Australia, including in the United States. By using the Service you consent to that disclosure. We take reasonable steps to use providers that handle personal information to a standard comparable to the Australian Privacy Principles, but we are not able to control how an overseas recipient handles information once it is disclosed, and overseas recipients may not be subject to the Privacy Act.
We do not sell or rent personal information, and we do not disclose it to advertisers or data brokers.
5. Data Storage and Security
Your data is stored in a PostgreSQL database. We implement reasonable technical and organisational safeguards including encrypted connections (TLS), hashed passwords, and access controls.
No method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure. While we take all reasonable steps to protect your information, we cannot guarantee absolute security.
6. Retention
We retain account data for as long as your account is active. If you request deletion of your account, we will delete or anonymise your personal information within 30 days, except where we are required by law to retain it (e.g. financial records for 7 years under Australian tax law).
Other categories are kept for shorter periods: server logs and analytics events are retained for up to 24 months, then deleted or aggregated so they no longer identify a session; free tool uploads are deleted within 30 minutes, other than a file that failed to convert as described above; and the record that an address was searched is kept with the account that searched it.
If you unsubscribe from our marketing email we keep a record of your email address on a suppression list indefinitely. We do this so we do not email you again by mistake, and it is the only reason we keep it.
7. Cookies and Similar Technologies
We use the following, all set by us on our own domain:
- Authentication - session cookies and browser storage managed by Supabase, which keep you signed in. Short-lived signed cookies are also used during email verification.
- Analytics session identifier - a randomly generated identifier (
_lg_sid) stored in your browser's local storage and in a cookie that expires after twelve months. It lets us count a visit as one session rather than a series of unrelated page views, and tells us which pages lead to a purchase. - Campaign attribution - first- and last-touch campaign details (
_lg_attr) stored in your browser and in a first-party cookie for up to 90 days from your first visit, after which the record is discarded and started again. It records only the referring page, the LayeredGeo landing page, and campaign or advertising click parameters that were included in the URL, so we can tell which of our campaigns led to a purchase.
We do not use advertising cookies, and we do not allow third-party advertising or tracking networks to set cookies on our site. Nothing we set is used to track you across other websites.
You can block or delete these cookies in your browser settings. Blocking the analytics identifier will not affect your use of the Service; blocking authentication cookies will prevent you from signing in.
8. Your Rights
Under the Australian Privacy Act you have the right to:
- Access the personal information we hold about you;
- Request correction of inaccurate information;
- Request deletion of your account and associated data;
- Complain about a breach of the APPs.
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at hello@layeredgeo.com.au. We will respond within 30 days.
9. Complaints
If you believe we have breached the Australian Privacy Principles and are not satisfied with our response, you may lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) at oaic.gov.au.
10. Changes to This Policy
We may update this policy from time to time. Material changes will be communicated by email or by notice on the website. The updated policy will take effect from the date shown at the top of this page.
11. Contact
For any privacy enquiry, contact us at:
LayeredGeo Pty Ltd (ABN 23 695 076 745)
hello@layeredgeo.com.au