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Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy last updated: 27 Nov 2020

Please read our Cookie Policy as part of the GDPR

WhistleOut is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. You deserve the right to understand what information is required to have a useful experience on this site.

This policy explains how we use any personal information that you provide to us through our website. Please read it carefully. We may change and update this policy.

The website located at www.whistleout.com.au (this Site) and is operated under exclusive licence by WhistleOut Pty Ltd (ABN 14 130 446 267) (“WhistleOut”, “we” or “us”).

In terms of the data protection law, the controller is WHISTLEOUT PTY LTD with an address: 115 Alexander Street, Crows Nest NSW Australia 2065

Scope of Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy applies solely to this Site, and does not apply to third party websites that are linked from or to this Site. We encourage you to carefully read the privacy policies of such third party websites.

Information we collect

We collect information about your location to check wireless and internet coverage, your device, your IP address, and information about your visit. The majority of this is done via cookies and this is described in our Cookie Policy. We collect information about the usage of the Site and the preferences you have in the journey.

Information you may provide to us

You may provide us with personal information, either by filling in forms on our Site or by email. The personal information that you provide may include your name, address, email address and phone number. When you provide this information to us, we will ask for your consent.

Information we receive from other sources

We advertise with third parties (for example, business partners, advertising networks) and may receive anonymous information about you from them as you click to come over to our Site. For example if you clicked on a page about internet plans, that information would be passed to us. This anonymous information will relate to your likely interests. We may combine this information with other information you have provided to us or which we collected about you. 

Use of your information

We will use your information in the following ways:

To analyse and improve our services

We will use information about your visits to our Site and how you use our services so that we can devise ways of improving the layout of the Site and create new services to make the experience more enjoyable and the Site easier to use. This information also allows us to understand the demand for our services at different times of the day and to make sure it always performs quickly. Additionally, if you have provided your consent for us to do so, we may contact you by email, online, or via the phone to ask you for your direct feedback on your experience of using our Site and services.

To measure use of the site

In order to better understand our users, WhistleOut's partners utilise third party measurement companies such as Nielsen//NetRatings and Google Analytics to assess Site traffic.

A tracking code is used to collect the information on the usage of the WhistleOut site, including (but not limited to) the following:

  • The number of page views (or page impressions)
  • The number of unique visitors
  • How long these unique visitors (on average) spend on the Site
  • Common entry and exit points

To provide an internet or mobile availability check 

If you carry out a coverage check on our Site, we will use your address or postcode to carry out that check. Different internet providers and mobile carriers provide their services to different parts of the country and this is determined by postcode and address. This location check is essential to show you the suppliers that are available where you live.

To send you your comparison results or alerts

If you ask us to email you your comparison results or alerts on price changes/availability, we will use your email address to send them to you and we will keep a record of those results.

To fulfil a prize draw or competition entry

If you enter one of our prize draws or competitions, we will use your email address (or postal address) to notify you if you win. We may republish your name and town of residence if you win but we will not disclose your email address or any level of personal information that would enable any third party to contact or identify you (for example a full name and full area of residence).

To carry out research 

We will use information about your visits to our Site and your location (if you provide it) to perform research and analyse trends.

To fulfil a reward or special offer 

If you place an order for a product that qualifies for a reward or special offer, we will use your personal information so that you can redeem that reward or special offer.

To help you with an enquiry 

If you contact our team by email or chat or form, we will use your personal information to communicate with you and help sort out your enquiry.

To tell you about our products and any special offers that may be of interest

When you provide us with your personal information we may ask your consent (or give you an opportunity to tell us you do not consent) to use it to send you emails on other products and special offers from our company that we think will be of interest. Unless you tell us otherwise, you are agreeing that we can use it for these purposes.

To show you advertising

We may use some of your personal information (for example what articles you have viewed or products you have clicked on our Site) to show you advertising we think is relevant to your interests, both on our Site and elsewhere on the internet. This may include using your personal information to identify if you are a registered Facebook user to show you advertising that is relevant to your interests through Facebook. We may also use your personal information with information you have shared with Google or if you are signed into your Google account to show you advertising that is relevant to you.

For a link to each of those policies and for information about how to opt out, please read our Cookie Policy.

Purchases with Third Parties

Making an online application or purchase by using a link from the Site, or by using a phone number listed on the Site, is free and optional.

All information required by the seller of the product is collected from you by the seller using application forms on their site or on the phone call (as relevant), and not by WhistleOut.

The use of any information you provide to such third parties is not within the control of WhistleOut and WhistleOut cannot accept responsibility for the acts or omissions of such third parties.

We recommend you review their Privacy Policy before you sign up.

Consent

When you use our Site and services you are consenting to us sharing your information for the following purposes:

Email communications 

We use Campaign Monitor to help us manage our email communications. If you provide us with your personal information to send you additional information on other products and special offers, or if you ask us to email you your comparison results or alerts, we will share this information with these companies solely to provide this service.

These companies will not share your information with any other company or use it for any other purpose.

Customer services

We use Zendesk to help us manage customer service enquiries. If you provide us with your personal information when making an enquiry, we will share this information with Zendesk solely to provide this service.

Zendesk is a customer service software platform that helps us effectively categorise enquiries and respond to them as efficiently as possible. Zendesk is based in the US. They will not share your information with any other company or use it for any other purpose.

In some instances we may contact you to help you with an enquiry because one of our business partners has asked us to provide assistance. In this situation the business partner is the data controller with respect to your personal information and we will only use your information to solve your enquiry.

To solve some enquiries, we will need to share your personal information with the relevant Internet Service Provider.

Service analysis and improvement

We use a number of companies to help us monitor the use of our website so we can improve it.  We will share the information we collect with these companies only to provide the following services:

  • Service monitoring: We use external companies like Cloudflare to ensure our service is delivered as fast as possible and that we are alerted if there are any problems with it. These companies are based in the US.
  • Usability testing: We use three companies—Hotjar, Optimizely and Google Optimise—to allow us to simultaneously test different versions of the Site to make it more effective. All three companies are based in the US.
  • Reports and analysis: We use Google Analytics to analyse all the data that we collect through our Site.
  • Customer surveys: We use a company called HotJar to help us conduct customer surveys and better understand how people use our Site. If you agree to take part in one of our surveys and provide feedback about our Site then we will share this information with HotJar. HotJar is based in the US.

These companies will not share your information with any other company or use it for any other purpose.

Prize draws, competitions, special offers and rewards

Sometimes we use other companies to help us manage special offers. In those circumstances, we will make this clear to you and will provide a link to that company's Privacy Policy, which we advise you to read.

Broadband speed test

Our broadband speed tester is provided by Measurement Lab "M-Lab". If you test the speed of your broadband connection on our Site then we will share your computer's IP address with M-Lab solely to provide this service.

Website hosting 

Our Site is hosted by Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Cloudflare. Any information that we collect when you visit our Site or use our services will be shared with them.

These companies will not share your information with any other company or use it for any other purpose.

Where permitted by law, we may also disclose your personal information:

  • If we sell the group or any company or part of the group
  • To comply with any legal obligation, or to enforce or apply our rights and other agreements
  • To protect the rights, property, or safety of us, our group; our customers, or others

Where we transfer your information

Some of the personal information we collect may be transferred to, and stored at, a destination outside the European Union (EU). It may also be processed by staff operating outside the EU who work for WhistleOut or for one of our suppliers.

The only countries outside Australia to which we transfer your personal information is the United Sates (US). When your personal information is transferred we take steps to ensure that it is treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy and appropriate legal and regulatory requirements. 

Many of the companies we use like Microsoft Azure, Cloudflare and AWS are certified by the Privacy Shield framework, which ensures an adequate level of protection for your personal information and respect for your rights. By submitting your personal information to us, you agree to this transfer, storing or processing.

How we keep your information safe

We use a secure protocol (https://) to encrypt your information between your computer's browser and our Site. We protect our network with the latest firewall technology and we securely store personal information and encrypt it where necessary. We restrict the number of our staff that have access to any personal information and we have secure backup systems to ensure that any personal information cannot be lost or deleted.

Of course no information sent over the Internet can be guaranteed to be totally secure. Although we will do our best to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee the security of any personal information that you send to our Site and it is sent at your own risk.

How to change your preferences

Our group will only send you emails or marketing communications if you have agreed to this but you can ask us to stop at any time.

If you no longer wish to be contacted by us, then you can let us know by emailing our customer services team ([email protected]) or by writing to us at the address below.

All group marketing emails have a clear unsubscribe link. Clicking this link will automatically unsubscribe you from our mailing list and you will not receive any further marketing emails, unless you resubscribe.

In addition, all group marketing emails have a clear preferences link which will take you to a page where you can update your marketing preferences and your personal details.

How to get your information corrected or request we stop using it

If you have any concerns about the accuracy of your personal information then you can contact us in writing by post or email (details below) and we will correct it.

If you want us to stop using your personal information then please contact us in writing by post or email (details below) explaining why you object to its use and what you want us to do. We will then respond appropriately to your request.

Please note that if you do not provide us with your personal information or object to us using it then this may prevent us from fulfilling certain requests (for example we cannot provide accurate information on the broadband services where you live without your postcode and we cannot help you with certain enquiries without your contact details).

How to find out what information we hold

You have the right to get a copy of the information we hold about you. This is known as a subject access request.

If you wish to make a subject access request then please contact us in writing by post or email (details below). You must provide your full name, address and a contact telephone number.

If we hold information about you we will:

  • give you a description of it;
  • tell you the legal basis for us holding it;
  • tell you what we are using it for;
  • tell you who it could be disclosed to;
  • tell you how long we keep it; and
  • let you have a printed copy of the information or, if you prefer, provide it to you in a commonly used electronic format.

This is a free service and you will not be charged for making an information request. 

Please contact:

WhistleOut Privacy Officer
115 Alexander Street
Crows Nest, NSW
Australia 2065

Email: [email protected]

Cookie Policy

The following section explains Cookies and how WhistleOut uses them

What is a cookie?

A cookie a small digital file that is written to your web browser. It is like a crumb on a plate, where the small digital file is the cookie crumb and the plate is your web browser. 

It is a piece of information that provides evidence that you as a user visited a website and what happened. A cookie can also store some of the steps you took on the website and store the things that you searched for. On this Site, we use cookies to try and be more helpful to you.

Why and how we use cookies

From the most basic features of searching on our Site, WhistleOut relies on cookies to work effectively and to present you the right information. We also use cookies to try to understand real users from fake users.

By allowing us to know more about our customers and the pages they use, we can then link this information with the buying decisions that occur with carriers, providing information on which carriers are winning and which carriers are losing. Cookies give us the information we need to track events like use of a carrier’s website and even the purchase of products. The WhistleOut Sites are decision tools therefore the outcome of the decision is important to the success of the business. 

We use cookies on our Site for the following reasons:

Tracking and performance & monitoring purchases

It’s important for all websites to know what happens in customer journeys. 

Did you research the flight and book it? Did you see an ad for a new movie and buy a ticket online?

Cookies mean we can monitor how consumers use our service and what happens next. We use cookies so that our platform remembers where you are located to filter coverage checks for mobile and internet providers, or remember your current provider when you tell us on the homepage search form so that we can surface switching deals in your search results and trigger those special offers across the Site.

Personalisation

Understanding things like data amounts, phone selection and your location are important to your personalised price quotation. Cookies allow us to personalise your service and only highlight products that are appropriate for you.

With mobiles and internet, where you live defines which providers can service you and the price you’ll pay.

Still don't like cookies?

Cookies are an essential part of many web services. At this Site, we don’t collect personal information in cookies and everything is anonymous. However, some sites may do this. You can learn more at www.aboutcookies.org.

Cookies used on WhistleOut

The following list provides information on the cookies used on WhistleOut, including through third party providers.

WhistleOut

The following cookies are used to personalize your experience on the site, including your location and selected products in your journey:

  • coveragecookie
  • woCountrySelector
  • address
  • whistleout.co.uk
  • __woui
  • __zlcmid
  • CurrentSupplierMobilePhones

Microsoft Azure

Azure is a hosting platform for delivering the web service. The following cookies are used:

  • ai_session
  • ai_user
  • ARRAffinity

Cloudflare

A hosting and security service to deliver our Site to you faster and to prevent fraud and cyber attacks. The following cookies are used:

  • __cfduid

Analytics

Used to understand what happens on our site. The following cookies are used:

  • _hp2_id

Adobe Analytics

Used to understand what happens on our site. The following cookies are used:

  • s_lv

Hotjar

Used to obtain analytics and feedback from users in order to improve the usability and features of the website. The following cookies are used:

  • _hjIncludedInSample

Google Analytics

Used to obtain analytics and feedback from users in order to improve the usability and features of the website. The following cookies are used:

  • _ga
  • _gat
  • _gat_common
  • _gali
  • _gat_partner
  • __utmc
  • __utma
  • _gaexp
  • __utmz
  • __utmb
  • _gid 

Optimizely

Enable the optimisation platform to improve the Site. The following cookies are used:

  • end_user_id
  • optimizelyEndUserId
  • optimizelySegments
  • optimizelyBuckets

Facebook

User for Facebook comments to allow you to comment on the Site:

  • sb

DoubleClick

Used to track events on the Site and sales events. The following cookies are used:

  • id
  • _drt_
  • _gads
  • __context
  • __context
  • __ar_v4

Google

The following cookies are used:

  • AID
  • SIDCC
  • NID
  • OTZ
  • .DDMMUI-PROFILE

NEUSTAR

Identity management and cross-channel experiences. The following cookies are used:

  • aa
  • ab
  • u

ZOPIM

Used for chat services. The following cookies are used:

  • AWSALB

ADROLL

Used for creating and an advertising audience. The following cookies are used:

  • __adroll
  • CS1
  • IDSYNC
  • APID
  • CMID
  • CMPS
  • CMPRO
  • CMSUM
  • CMST
  • CMRUM3
  • khaos
  • __gads (Rubicon Project)
  • km_lv
  • adrl
  • __adroll
  • f5_cspm
  • KRTBCOOKIE_10
  • PugT
  • PUBMDCID
  • t_gid
  • taboola_usg
  • tlcookieable
  • AO
  • tuuid
  • mlUserID
  • anj
  • uuid2
  • rlas3
  • rtn1-z
  • i

Other cookies

When you use our Site you may notice some cookies that are not related to us. For example, when you visit a page on our Site with content embedded from Twitter, Facebook, YouTube or Flickr, you may be presented with cookies from those websites. Our Site does not control the use of those cookies. We recommend that you visit those sites for more information on the cookies they use and how they use them. You can find more information here:

Opting out of cookies

While continued use of the WhistleOut website assumes compliance with our current cookie policy, you can change your privacy settings at any time. 

If you wish to remove cookies from your computer, blocking or turning them off depends on the web browser that you are currently using.

Adjusting your browser's cookie settings

Most web browsers automatically accept cookies but you can alter your browser settings to prevent automatic acceptance or you can manually delete your cookie history whenever you wish.

Below is a list of popular web browsers and how you can adjust the cookie settings together with links for additional information:

Additional information about cookies

More information on cookies can be found here: www.aboutcookies.org/

Google Analytics and Cookies

Our Site uses Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google Inc. ("Google"). Google Analytics uses cookies to help us analyse how users use the Site. The information generated by the cookies about your use of the Site (including your IP address) will be transmitted to and stored by Google on servers in the United States. Google will use this information to evaluate your use of the Site, to produce reports for us on Site activities, and to provide additional services associated with the use of the Internet and our Site. Google may also pass on this information to third parties where required to do so by law or where third parties process this data on Google's behalf. Under no circumstances will Google associate your IP address with any other data held by Google.

In addition, this Site utilises Google Analytics Demographics and Interest Reporting which allows us to use aggregated user data (such as age, gender and interests) to better understand our audience and provide more relevant and targeted communications and content.

We also utilise Google Analytics Remarketing Audiences functionality. If you are signed into your Google account this allows us to identify the type of device through which you access the Site (e.g., smartphone, PC, etc.) and track you across multiple devices to show more relevant ads. This functionality does not incorporate any personally identifiable data. 

You can change your Google account settings at: https://myaccount.google.com/intro/privacy#
You may refuse the use of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your browser as more fully explained above. Furthermore, you can opt-out of Google Analytics for display advertising and customise Google Display Network ads and you can prevent Google Analytics collecting IP addresses and using other cookies by downloading and installing the Google browser plug-in.

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