Privacy Policy

Last Updated: September 5, 2026

Introduction

TechVerse ("we," "our," or "us") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our website and use our services. Please read this privacy policy carefully. If you do not agree with the terms of this privacy policy, please do not access the site.

Information We Collect

1. Personal Information
•Contact Information: When you submit contact forms or engage with our chat service, we collect your name, email address, phone number (optional), company name, and any messages you provide.
•Authentication Data: For customer accounts, we use email verification with business email addresses. We collect your email address, name, company, and role. Email verification codes (6-digit OTP) are SHA-256 hashed and expire after 10 minutes. We do not accept free email providers (Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc.) for customer accounts. For employee accounts, we collect email addresses and securely hashed passwords using bcrypt.
2. Automatically Collected Information
•Google Analytics: We use Google Analytics 4 to collect information about your visit, including pages viewed, time spent on pages, device information, browser type, operating system, and referring websites.
•Session Data: We store session identifiers, IP addresses, and user agent information for security and functionality purposes.
•Local Storage: We use browser local storage to maintain your authentication session for up to 7 days, improving your user experience by keeping you logged in between visits.
3. Communication Data
Chat conversations, contact form submissions, and email communications are stored in our SQLite database and sent to our team via Hostinger SMTP, our email service provider. These communications include timestamps, content, and any metadata associated with your inquiries. Email verification codes (6-digit OTP) are sent via Hostinger SMTP and expire after 10 minutes.

How We Use Your Information

•To provide, maintain, and improve our services
•To respond to your inquiries and provide customer support
•To authenticate users and maintain secure access to accounts
•To process payments and fulfill service requests
•To send administrative communications and service updates
•To analyze usage patterns and improve website functionality
•To detect, prevent, and address technical issues and security threats
•To comply with legal obligations and enforce our terms of service

Third-Party Service Providers

We work with the following third-party service providers who may process your data:
•Google Analytics: For website analytics and visitor tracking
•Hostinger SMTP: For transactional email delivery, email verification, and notifications via Nodemailer
•Google Gemini AI: For AI-powered chatbot responses and assistance
Each of these providers has their own privacy policy governing how they handle your data. We encourage you to review their privacy policies.

Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this privacy policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law. All data is stored in our SQLite database. Specifically:
•Authentication sessions: Up to 7 days or until logout (stored in browser local storage)
•Email verification codes: 10 minutes (SHA-256 hashed in database)
•Customer accounts: Stored in customer_accounts table until account deletion requested
•Chat conversations: Stored indefinitely in chat_conversations and chat_messages tables for service quality and training purposes
•Contact submissions: Stored indefinitely in contact_submissions table for customer relationship management
•Analytics data: Aggregated and stored according to Google Analytics retention policies

Our Commitment to Privacy

We respect the privacy of our customers and are committed to protecting your personal information.

Your Rights (Data Subject Rights)

Depending on your location, you may have certain rights regarding your personal data, including:
•Access: Request access to the personal data we hold about you
•Rectification: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data
•Erasure: Request deletion of your personal data ("right to be forgotten")
•Data Portability: Request a copy of your data in a structured, machine-readable format
•Objection: Object to processing of your personal data for certain purposes
•Restriction: Request restriction of processing your personal data
•Withdraw Consent: Withdraw consent at any time where processing is based on consent
To exercise these rights, please email us at contact@techverse.com.au with your request.We will respond to your request within 30 days as required by applicable privacy laws. We may need to verify your identity before processing certain requests.

Geographic Restrictions

Our services are not available to users located in the European Union or China due to regional compliance requirements. We use geolocation technology to detect and restrict access from these regions. If you are located in these regions and believe you have accessed our site in error, please discontinue use immediately.

Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational security measures to protect your personal data, including:
•Encryption of data in transit using HTTPS/TLS
•Bcrypt password hashing for employee accounts
•Secure session management with time-based expiration
•Regular security updates and vulnerability assessments
•Access controls and authentication mechanisms
However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your data, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Children's Privacy

Our services are not directed to individuals under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If we become aware that we have collected personal data from a child without parental consent, we will take steps to delete that information.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page and updating the "Last Updated" date. You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes. Changes are effective when posted on this page.

Contact Us

If you have questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us:contact@techverse.com.au