Last updated: 24 September 2026

At treads.nz, accessible from https://treads.nz, the privacy of our members and visitors is one of our main priorities. This Privacy Policy explains what information treads.nz collects, why we collect it, who can see it, and the choices you have.

If you have any questions about this policy or your information, please contact us.

1. Information We Collect

Information you give us when you create an account:

• Your username, display name and email address.
• Your password - we never store it as you typed it, only a one-way encrypted (hashed) version.
• Your date of birth, to confirm you're 18 or over.
• Your country, and anything else you choose to add to your profile, such as a bio, profile photo or header photo.

Content you post: statuses, photos and albums, comments, likes, Trader listings, message board posts, and direct messages you send to other members.

Information collected automatically when you use the site:

• Your IP address and a history of your logins, including the country your connection comes from (as reported by our hosting provider, Cloudflare), your browser type, and when you were last active.
• Which photos and profiles are viewed, and by which member account (views by visitors who aren't logged in are recorded without an account). We use this to show view counts and to understand how the site is used.
• Your notification and privacy settings.

If you choose to connect them: your Telegram account (if you link the Treads Telegram bot), and a browser push subscription (if you turn on push notifications).

We don't ask for your phone number, and we don't buy information about you from anyone else.

2. How We Use Your Information

• To run the site: your account, your profile, the content you post, and the features you use.
• To send emails you need or have asked for - for example a sign-up verification code, a password reset, or notifications you've switched on. Notifications are off until you turn them on in your account settings.
• To keep accounts and the site safe - for example spotting unusual logins, alerting you when your account is used from a new device, and preventing spam, fraud and abuse.
• To look into reports and moderate content that breaks our rules.
• To understand how the site is used (for example view counts and member statistics) so we can improve it.

We don't sell your information, we don't share it with advertisers, and we don't build advertising profiles.

3. Who Can See Your Information

• Other members and visitors can see your public profile and the content you post publicly. Private albums are only visible to the people you give access to.
• Direct messages are only visible to the people in the conversation.
• Treads.nz administrators can access stored information when it's needed to run the site, investigate a report or abuse, or respond to a lawful request.
• We may disclose information where the law requires it, or where it's needed to prevent a serious threat to someone's safety.

4. Photos

Every photo you upload is re-processed on our server into the sizes the site displays. This removes the hidden camera and location (GPS) details that phones and cameras often embed in photo files, so your photos don't reveal where they were taken.

5. Cookies

treads.nz only uses cookies that are needed for the site to work:

• A session cookie that keeps you signed in while you browse.
• A "remember me" cookie (30 days), only if you choose it when you log in.
• A cookie notice cookie that remembers you've seen our cookie notice.
• Our hosting provider, Cloudflare, may set a security cookie to protect the site from bots and attacks.

Our cookies are only ever set for treads.nz. We don't use advertising or analytics trackers, and we don't track you on other websites.

If a post includes a YouTube or Facebook video, nothing is loaded from those sites unless you press Play. Once you do, that site's own privacy and cookie policy applies.

6. Third-Party Services and Overseas Storage

• Cloudflare provides our DNS, security and content delivery. Your connection to treads.nz passes through Cloudflare's network, which operates outside New Zealand (including in the United States). See Cloudflare's Privacy Policy.
• Push notifications, if you turn them on, are delivered through your browser maker's push service (for example Google, Mozilla or Apple). The message content is encrypted.
• Telegram, if you link your account to the Treads Telegram bot, receives the messages the bot sends you and anything you send it.
• YouTube and Facebook only receive anything from you if you press Play on a video from their site.

Links to other websites are not covered by this policy - please check their own privacy policies.

7. How Long We Keep Information

We keep your account information and content for as long as your account is active. Login and security records are kept for as long as we need them to protect your account and the site. Some information may be kept longer where the law requires it, or where it's part of an active investigation, report, or legal request.

8. Your Choices and Rights

• You can see and update your profile and account details, and change your notification and privacy settings, at any time in your account settings.
• You can ask us to delete your account from your account settings or by contacting us. Information that's the subject of an active report, investigation or legal request (for example a subpoena) can't be deleted until that's resolved.
• Under the New Zealand Privacy Act 2020, you have the right to ask for a copy of the personal information we hold about you, and to ask us to correct it. Contact us and we'll respond within 20 working days.
• If you're not happy with how we've handled your information, please talk to us first. You can also complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.

9. Age Requirement

You must be 18 or older to create a treads.nz account.

10. Security

The whole site runs over an encrypted (HTTPS) connection, passwords are stored hashed, and our sign-in cookies are locked to treads.nz and protected from being read by scripts. No system is perfectly secure, but we work to protect your information and fix problems quickly.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The "Last updated" date at the top shows when it last changed. If we make a significant change, we'll let members know on the site.