Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Welcome to Forum6.

Forum6 is operated by Forum6 Global Limited, a company incorporated in New Zealand with its headquarters in Auckland ("Forum6", "we", "our" or "us").

Forum6 is a professional networking platform that helps people build meaningful connections through curated small-group, in-person events.

This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, how we use it, when we share it, how we protect it, and the choices you have regarding your information.

By creating a Forum6 account or using our website, applications or services (collectively, the "Platform"), you acknowledge that you have read this Privacy Policy.

2. Definitions

Display Name means your first name together with the initial of your surname (for example, "Nick R.").
Member means a person who has registered a Forum6 account.
Event means any networking event organised or hosted through the Platform.

3. Information We Collect

Depending on how you use Forum6, we may collect:

Account Information

name
email address
encrypted password
month and year of birth
account preferences

Professional Profile Information

Information you choose to provide, including:

profile photograph
Display Name
job title or professional role
sector or industry
professional biography
interests
suburb
city
LinkedIn profile link

Event Information

Information relating to Events, including:

Events you create
Events you request to attend
Events you attend
attendance history
cancellations
no-show history
organiser status

Communications

We collect information relating to communications made through Forum6, including:

private messages
support enquiries
event invitations
responses to invitations

Ratings and Feedback

We collect ratings, reviews and written feedback that Members voluntarily submit.

Calendar Information

Only if you choose to connect your Google or Microsoft Outlook calendar, we collect:

an encrypted authorisation token that lets Forum6 add and update Event entries in your calendar;
the calendar account email address and the permissions you granted;
a record of which Forum6 Events have been added to your calendar.

Payment Information

If you purchase a membership or other paid service, payments will be processed by trusted third-party payment providers. Forum6 does not store complete payment card details.

Technical Information

We may automatically collect information such as:

device type
browser type
operating system
IP address
approximate location derived from IP address
pages viewed
actions taken within the Platform
cookies and similar technologies
diagnostic information

4. How We Use Your Information

We use personal information to:

create and manage your account;
provide and improve the Platform;
recommend Members, Events and networking opportunities;
personalise your experience;
facilitate Event invitations and attendance;
add and update confirmed Events in a calendar you have chosen to connect;
enable private messaging between eligible Members;
administer memberships and subscriptions;
process payments;
communicate with you regarding your account;
send Event confirmations, reminders and updates;
provide newsletters, product updates and networking recommendations (with the ability to unsubscribe from marketing communications);
respond to enquiries and support requests;
maintain the safety and integrity of the Platform;
detect fraud, misuse or breaches of our Terms of Use;
administer attendance standards, including repeated no-shows;
comply with legal obligations; and
improve Forum6 through research, analytics and product development.

5. Artificial Intelligence

Forum6 may use artificial intelligence and other automated technologies to improve the Platform.

This may include recommending:

Members you may wish to meet;
Events you may be interested in;
networking opportunities;
relevant content; and
improvements to the Member experience.

We may also use automated systems to help detect spam, fraud, inappropriate behaviour and misuse of the Platform.

These technologies assist Forum6 in providing recommendations but do not make legally significant decisions regarding your membership.

6. Information Visible to Others

Forum6 has been designed to balance professional networking with Member privacy.

Public

Before registering, visitors cannot view Member profiles or Member information.

Registered Members

Registered Members can view:

profile photograph;
Display Name;
professional role;
sector;
biography;
suburb;
city;
interests;
Member ratings; and
Member feedback visible within the Platform.

Registered Members cannot view your email address, full name, month and year of birth or LinkedIn profile.

Members Attending the Same Event

Once Members have both confirmed attendance at the same Event, they may also view each other's LinkedIn profile link to assist professional networking before the Event.

Organisers

Members with approved Organiser status can view your meeting preferences (preferred location, times, and days) and your non-available dates, to assist with event planning and selecting suitable members to invite.

7. Events

Forum6 facilitates introductions between Members through in-person networking Events.

By attending an Event you acknowledge that:

other attendees will be able to view the information described in this Privacy Policy;
attendees may remember information voluntarily shared during conversations;
Forum6 cannot control information voluntarily disclosed by Members during in-person discussions; and
Members should exercise appropriate professional judgement when sharing personal, commercial or confidential information.

8. Ratings, Reviews and Testimonials

Members may submit ratings and feedback relating to Events.

Ratings and reviews may be visible to other registered Members.

Forum6 may also publish selected ratings, testimonials or feedback on public websites, promotional material or marketing channels to help prospective Members understand the Forum6 experience.

Where reasonably practicable, publicly displayed testimonials will identify Members only by their Display Name unless the Member has separately agreed to wider identification.

Forum6 reserves the right to moderate, edit or remove ratings or feedback that breach our Terms of Use or Community Guidelines.

9. Event Photography

Event organisers or Forum6 may take photographs or other media during Events.

These photographs may be used:

within the Platform;
on our website;
in newsletters;
on social media;
in promotional material; and
for other marketing purposes.

Where reasonably practicable, attendees will be informed before photographs are taken.

If you believe a published image of you should be removed, please contact us and we will consider your request in accordance with applicable law.

10. Connected Calendars (Google and Microsoft)

Connecting a calendar is entirely optional. If you connect a Google Calendar or a Microsoft Outlook calendar, you authorise Forum6 to view and edit calendar events so that confirmed Forum6 Events are added to your calendar automatically, and updated or removed if the Event changes, is cancelled, or you decline, withdraw from, or are removed from it.

What we access

Forum6 only ever creates, updates or removes the calendar entries it placed there itself for Forum6 Events, using a reference it stored when each entry was created. We do not list, scan, read, copy or analyse your other calendar entries, including when you connect or reconnect a calendar or when a calendar update fails.

How we use and protect calendar data

calendar data is used only to place confirmed Events in your calendar and keep those entries accurate;
your authorisation token is stored in encrypted form, is never displayed in the app or included in any email, and is used only to call Google's or Microsoft's own calendar service on your behalf; it is not shared with anyone else;
we keep a reference to each entry we created so the same Event is never added twice;
if you delete an entry yourself, Forum6 does not add it back straight away, but will recreate it if that Event is later updated in Forum6 so your calendar stays in step with the Event.

What we do not do

we do not sell calendar data or share it with advertisers;
we do not use calendar data for advertising, advertising personalisation or retargeting;
we do not use calendar data to determine creditworthiness or for lending purposes;
we do not allow Forum6 personnel to read your calendar data, except where you have asked us to resolve a specific issue, where it is necessary for security purposes or to comply with law, or where the data has been aggregated and de-identified for internal operations.

Forum6's use and transfer to any other app of information received from Google APIs will adhere to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.

Disconnecting and deleting calendar data

you can disconnect your calendar at any time in your Forum6 profile settings, which deletes the stored authorisation, cancels any calendar updates still queued, and stops any further calendar updates;
you can also revoke Forum6's access at any time from your Google Account (Security > Third-party apps with account access) or your Microsoft Account (App permissions);
after you disconnect we keep a limited operational record that an Event was synced (the Event, a reference to the calendar entry, and any error message) for support, security and audit purposes; this holds no calendar content and gives no access to your calendar;
Events already placed in your calendar remain in your own calendar and can be deleted by you at any time.

Google and Microsoft each process information under their own privacy policies in addition to this Privacy Policy.

11. How We Share Information

Forum6 does not sell your personal information.

We may share information only in the following circumstances.

Other Members

As described in Section 6.

Event Organisers

Organisers receive information reasonably necessary to manage their Events, including attendance status and the profile information available under this Privacy Policy.

Forum6 does not share your email address with Event organisers solely because you attend an Event.

Service Providers

We may use trusted third-party providers for services including:

cloud hosting;
payment processing;
email delivery;
calendar synchronisation, where you have connected a calendar;
analytics;
customer support;
security;
artificial intelligence; and
software development.

These providers process personal information only on our instructions and subject to appropriate confidentiality and security obligations.

Legal Requirements

We may disclose information where required or permitted by law, including to:

comply with legal obligations;
respond to lawful requests;
protect the rights, safety or property of Forum6 or others;
investigate fraud or unlawful activity; or
enforce our legal rights.

12. International Transfers

Forum6 operates internationally.

Your personal information may be processed or stored in New Zealand or in other countries where Forum6 or our trusted service providers operate.

Where personal information is transferred internationally, we take reasonable steps to ensure it receives appropriate protection consistent with applicable privacy laws.

13. Marketing Communications

Forum6 may send:

newsletters;
Event recommendations;
networking suggestions;
product updates;
service announcements; and
other information relating to the Platform.

You may unsubscribe from marketing communications at any time using the unsubscribe link included in those communications or by contacting us.

Operational communications relating to your account or Events will continue where necessary.

14. Cookies and Analytics

Forum6 uses cookies and similar technologies to:

keep you signed in;
maintain security;
remember your preferences;
understand how the Platform is used;
improve performance; and
enhance the Member experience.

You may manage cookies through your browser settings. Some Platform features may not function correctly if essential cookies are disabled.

15. Security

We take reasonable technical, organisational and administrative measures to protect personal information against unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, misuse or loss.

Despite these measures, no internet transmission or electronic storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

16. Data Retention

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary to provide our services, comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes and protect the integrity of the Platform.

If you close your account, Forum6 will delete or anonymise your personal information within a reasonable period unless retention is required by law or for legitimate business purposes.

Some information, including messages, attendance records or Event history, may be retained in anonymised form where necessary to preserve the integrity of records affecting other Members.

17. Your Privacy Rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights under applicable privacy laws, including rights to:

request access to your personal information;
request correction of inaccurate information;
request deletion where applicable;
object to or restrict certain processing;
request a portable copy of your information where required by law; and
withdraw consent where processing relies on consent.

Nothing in this Privacy Policy limits any rights you may have under applicable privacy legislation.

18. Adults Only

Forum6 is intended only for adults aged 18 years or older.

We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18 years of age.

If we become aware that personal information has been collected from someone under 18, we will take reasonable steps to delete it as soon as practicable.

19. International Users

Forum6 aims to comply with the privacy laws applicable in the countries where it operates, including the New Zealand Privacy Act 2020 and other applicable privacy laws.

If you access Forum6 from another country, you acknowledge that your personal information may be transferred to and processed in New Zealand or other jurisdictions in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

20. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time.

Where changes are material, we will provide appropriate notice through the Platform, by email or by other reasonable means.

The "Last updated" date at the beginning of this Privacy Policy indicates when it was most recently revised.

21. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how Forum6 handles personal information, please contact:

Forum6 Global Limited

Auckland, New Zealand

Email: hello@joinforum6.com