Bloom Hypnotherapy & Counselling Privacy Policy
Bloom Hypnotherapy and Counselling is committed to providing quality services and respecting your rights. Your right to privacy and confidentiality will be recognised, respected, and protected in all aspects of your contact with us. This statement outlines our ongoing obligations to you in respect to how we manage your Personal Information – both through our counselling and hypnotherapy practice, and through our companion app, Seriously Us.
Bloom Hypnotherapy and Counselling complies with the requirements of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), as well as the Code of Conduct for Certain Health Care Workers (Community Services Complaints Regulations 2019).
Part A – Our Practice
What is Personal Information and why do we collect it?
Personal Information is information or an opinion that identifies an individual. Personal information includes health information, which is information about the physical or mental health or disability of an individual.
Examples of Personal Information we collect include: names, phone number, email address, residential addresses, date of birth, religious affiliation, and emergency contact.
We collect your Personal Information in many ways, including: intake forms, interviews, correspondence, by telephone, by email, via our website, from other publicly available sources and from third parties where applicable and with consent. Bloom Hypnotherapy and Counselling will only request and retain Personal Information that is necessary to the service we are providing.
When we collect Personal Information, we will explain to you why we are collecting the information and how we plan to use it.
Third Parties
Where reasonable and practicable to do so, we will collect your Personal Information only from you. However, in some circumstances we may be provided with information by third parties (such as other health services). In such cases we will take reasonable steps to ensure that you are made aware of the information provided to us by the third party.
Privacy and our website
Our website is hosted on an Australian-based server to comply with Australian data storage standards. The security of your personal information is important to us, but no method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100% secure. While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.
Cookies
To improve your experience on our site, we may use ‘cookies’. A cookie is a small text file that our site may place on your computer as a tool to remember your preferences. You may refuse the use of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your browser; however, please note that if you do this, you may not be able to use the full functionality of our website.
Links to other websites
Our website may contain links to other websites. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites, and these websites are not subject to our privacy policy. We are not responsible for the content of these websites or the privacy practices of these sites. If you navigate to other websites via our website, we advise you to read their privacy policy.
Disclosure of Personal Information
Your Personal Information will only be disclosed:
- to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to the life or health of you or another person;
- to outside agencies with your or your representative’s permission;
- with written consent from a person with lawful authority; or
- when required by law, or to fulfil legislative obligations such as mandatory reporting and court subpoena.
Security and Destruction of Personal Information
Your Personal and Health Information will be stored in a manner that reasonably protects it from misuse and loss and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.
When your Personal and Health Information is no longer needed for the purpose for which it was obtained, we will take reasonable steps to destroy or permanently de-identify it.
Access to your Personal Information
You may access the Personal or Health Information we hold about you, including to update or correct it, subject to certain exceptions. If you wish to access your Personal or Health Information, please speak to a staff member.
In order to protect your Personal or Health Information, we may require identification from you before releasing the requested information.
You have the right to:
- request access to personal information we hold about you;
- access this information; and
- make corrections if you consider the information is not accurate, complete or up to date.
However, access may be denied in part or in total where:
- the request is frivolous or vexatious;
- providing access would have an unreasonable impact on the privacy of other individuals;
- providing access would be likely to prejudice an investigation of possible unlawful activity;
- providing access would pose a serious and imminent threat to the life or health of any individual; and
- denying access is required or authorised by or under law.
We aim to address all requests to access or correct information within 14 days. We will not charge any fee for your access request but may charge an administrative fee for providing a copy of your information.
Maintaining the Quality of your Personal Information
It is important to us that your information is up to date. We will take all reasonable steps to make sure that your Personal Information is accurate and complete. If you find that the information we have is not up to date or is inaccurate, please advise us as soon as practicable so we can update our records and ensure we can continue to provide quality services to you.
Part B – Seriously Us App
Seriously Us is a couples communication and connection app developed by Bloom Hypnotherapy and Counselling. This section explains what information the app collects, how it’s used, and how it’s protected – in addition to the general commitments above.
Who this app is for
Seriously Us is intended for use by adults only. Users must confirm they are 18 years or older when setting up a profile. The app is not directed at, and should not be used by, anyone under 18.
What information we collect
When you use Seriously Us, we collect:
- Account and profile information: your name, date of birth, gender, relationship status, and anniversary date.
- Profile photos: a photo you choose to upload, if you use this optional feature.
- Your answers and results: responses to daily reflection questions, relationship surveys, compatibility quizzes, values exercises, and other in-app activities – some of which relate to intimacy and sexual compatibility, given the nature of the app.
- Messages: private chat messages sent between you and your paired partner within the app.
- Usage information: things like your daily streak, how many questions or quizzes you’ve completed on a given day, and timestamps of your activity.
- Device and notification information: a device token used to deliver push notifications (e.g. when your partner answers something or sends a message).
- Subscription information: your premium/subscription status, managed through Google Play Billing. We do not see or store your payment card details – these are handled entirely by Google Play.
How your information is used
Your information is used to:
- power the core function of the app – sharing your answers and results with your paired partner so you can compare and discuss them together;
- sync your data across your own devices;
- send you relevant push notifications;
- unlock premium features you’ve subscribed to;
- maintain your streak and daily activity tracking.
Who can see your information
Information you enter in Seriously Us – including your answers, quiz results, and photos – is visible only to you and the partner you are paired with. It is not visible to Bloom Hypnotherapy and Counselling staff, not used for any clinical purpose, and not shared with, sold to, or disclosed to any other third party, except as described below.
Third-party service providers
Seriously Us is built on Google’s Firebase platform. Firebase provides the infrastructure that stores your data and delivers notifications, including:
- Cloud Firestore – stores your account, answers, and results;
- Firebase Authentication -manages secure sign-in;
- Firebase Cloud Messaging – delivers push notifications;
- Firebase Storage – stores profile photos;
- Google Play Billing – processes subscription payments (Android users).
Your data is stored on Firebase servers located in Australia (australia-southeast1 region). Access to shared data between partners is restricted by security rules so that only you and your paired partner can access it.
Account deletion
If you delete your Seriously Us account, your personal data – including your answers, quiz results, photos, and messages – will be permanently deleted. If you are paired with a partner, your partner’s own account will not be deleted, but will be unpaired and returned to a single, unlinked state; they will not retain access to your shared data going forward.
Security
Your information is encrypted in transit and protected by Firebase’s standard security infrastructure. As with any online service, no method of electronic storage or transmission can be guaranteed 100% secure, but we take reasonable steps to protect your information from unauthorised access.
Contacting us about the app
If you have questions or concerns about your privacy within the Seriously Us app specifically, you can reach us at admin@bloomhypnotherapy.com.au.
Contact Us
If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices – whether relating to our counselling practice or the Seriously Us app – please contact us at:
Bloom Hypnotherapy and Counselling Email: admin@bloomhypnotherapy.com.au
By engaging our services or using the Seriously Us app, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy and consent to the collection, use, and disclosure of your personal information as described.