Last Updated: May 29, 2025
Welcome to The Modes (TM). We are committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal information openly and transparently. This policy outlines how we collect, use, disclose, and manage your personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).
1. What is Personal Information?
Personal Information is information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable.
2. What Personal Information Do We Collect?
We collect personal information that is reasonably necessary for our business functions and activities as an online publication. This may include:
Contact Information: Your name, email address, and any other contact details you provide when you subscribe to our newsletter, contact us, or participate in surveys/competitions.
User Activity Data: Information about how you use our website, such as the pages you visit, content you view, time spent on pages, referring sites, and interactions with our content and advertisements.
Technical Data: Your IP address, browser type and version, device type, operating system, and other technical identifiers collected automatically when you visit our site.
Communications: Records of your correspondence with us.
Comments & Contributions: Any information you choose to submit when commenting on articles or contributing to the site (where applicable).
3. How We Collect Your Personal Information
We collect personal information in several ways:
Directly from you: When you voluntarily provide it to us through forms, registrations, subscriptions, emails, or other interactions.
Automatically: As you navigate and interact with our website through cookies, web beacons, analytics tools, and other tracking technologies.
From third parties: Occasionally, from our business partners or service providers, such as analytics providers or marketing services, where permitted by law.
4. Why We Collect, Use, and Disclose Personal Information
We collect, use, and disclose your personal information for the following purposes:
To provide and deliver the content and services you request (e.g., sending newsletters).
To operate, maintain, and improve our website and user experience.
To understand our audience, analyse trends, and measure the effectiveness of our content.
To personalise your experience on The Modes, such as recommending content.
To communicate with you, respond to your inquiries, and provide support.
For marketing and promotional purposes, including sending you information about our content, services, or offers we believe may interest you. This may include targeted advertising based on your activity.
To facilitate advertising and report on advertising performance to our partners.
To conduct research and analytics.
To comply with our legal obligations and protect our rights and property.
For other purposes you consent to, or that are notified to you at the time of collection.
5. Disclosure of Personal Information to Third Parties
We may disclose your personal information to third parties in connection with the purposes outlined above. These may include:
Service Providers: Companies that provide services on our behalf, such as website hosting, data analytics, email delivery (e.g., our selected EDM platform like Beehiiv or ConvertKit), marketing services, and customer support.
Advertising Partners: Advertisers, advertising networks, and exchanges who may use information about your visits to our site and other sites to provide relevant advertisements. This typically involves aggregated or non-personally identifiable information, but may involve tracking technologies linked to your activity.
Legal and Regulatory Authorities: Where required by law, court order, or to protect our legal rights or the safety of others.
Business Transfers: In connection with a merger, sale of assets, or other business transaction involving The Modes.
We require all third parties to respect the security of your personal information and to treat it in accordance with the law.
6. Overseas Disclosure
Some of the third parties to whom we disclose personal information (including service providers for hosting, analytics, and email) may be located outside of Australia or may have operations in countries other than Australia. While it is not practicable to list every country, these locations often include the United States and other regions where major cloud and technology providers operate.
By providing your personal information, you consent to its disclosure to these overseas entities. We take reasonable steps to ensure that overseas recipients handle your personal information in accordance with the APPs, where required.
7. Cookies and Tracking Technologies
We use cookies, web beacons, and other similar tracking technologies on our website. These are small data files stored on your device that help us:
Operate and improve the website.
Remember your preferences.
Understand how you use our site (analytics).
Deliver relevant advertising.
You can manage or disable cookies through your browser settings. However, note that disabling cookies may affect the functionality of the website.
8. Data Security
We take reasonable steps to protect your personal information from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification, or disclosure. We use technical and administrative security measures; however, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure.
9. Accessing and Correcting Your Personal Information
You have the right to request access to the personal information we hold about you and to request that it be corrected if it is inaccurate, incomplete, or outdated.
To request access or correction, please contact us using the details below. We may require identity verification and may charge a small fee for providing access if it involves significant effort. In certain circumstances, we may refuse access or correction as permitted by the Privacy Act.
10. Making a Privacy Complaint
If you believe we have breached the Privacy Act or the APPs, you have the right to make a complaint.
Please direct your complaint to us using the contact details below. We will investigate your complaint and respond to you within a reasonable timeframe.
11. Links to Other Websites
Our website may contain links to third-party websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of these sites. We encourage you to read the privacy policies of any linked websites you visit.
12. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. We will post the updated policy on our website and indicate the “Last Updated” date. Your continued use of the website after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.
13. Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, or wish to make an access or correction request or a complaint, please contact us at: contact@themodes.com