Privacy Policy

Sound Scouts HQ Pty Ltd (“Sound Scouts”, “we”, “us” or “our”) is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy tells you about our collection of personal information through our mobile application, Sound Scouts (the “App”), and the Sound Scouts APD Suite (the APD Suite) and how we store, use and disclose that information. By downloading and using the App, or by agreeing to use The APD Suite, you agree to the terms of this privacy policy.

We collect Personal Information from parents, guardians, clinicians and caregivers (including schools and health organisations) with the App & The APD Suite. We will not solicit or collect personal information directly from anyone under the age of 18.

Personal information that you give to us:

When you use the App or The APD Suite we request and collect limited personal information to assist with the screening and/or testing procedures and communication of each client’s results.

Information requested and collected includes:

  1. Email address of parent/caregiver (for sending results), (optional)
  2. Client’s gender (for statistical analysis), (optional)
  3. Client’s age (month and year only, results are age dependent)
  4. Supervising adults decade of birth (optional)
  5. Postcode (to assess area health trends), (optional)
  6. School details (optional)
  7. Health information about hearing loss (optional)
  8. Client’s test results (as determined by the App or the APD Suite)

The sensitive information we request, relating to details of racial or ethnic origin, or health information, is optional. The ethnicity information is requested in line with some government policies. The health information may assist in providing you with additional information concerning the client’s results.

As you may be giving us information about another person ie. a child in your custody or care, your giving us the information is an acknowledgement that you have the right to disclose that information to us and that you give or have obtained all consents necessary for us to collect, store, use and disclose that information as set out below.

Information automatically collected:

We also collect information about your device that is limited to statistical information about how the App and APD Suite is used, such as the screens viewed, duration viewed, exit screens and actions taken.

We use an online service. This service stores the App and APD Suite data securely and does not share it. All the statistical data generated by the App and the APD Suite is anonymous and is used by us to improve the tests.

When you visit our website, we may send cookies to your computer that uniquely identify your browser. We use cookies to improve the quality of our service by storing user preferences and tracking usage information. Most browsers however allow you to disable cookies or you can set your browser to alert you when cookies are being sent to your computer.

In some cases, our third-party service providers may use cookies on our sites. We have no access to or control over these cookies. This Privacy Policy covers the use of cookies by Sound Scouts only and does not cover the use of cookies by third parties.

Use of personal information:

We use the personal information you have given us for purposes which are consistent with the reason you provided the personal information, or for a directly related purpose. Such purposes for which we may use your personal information include:

  1. responding to support requests;
  2. effectively communicating with you;
  3. operating and improving the App and the APD Suite;
  4. providing services to you using the App and the APD Suite, including assessing the client’s results;
  5. performing research and analysis, in association with our research partners, aimed at enhancing and improving our products and services.

We may also use your personal information where you have consented to the use, either expressly or by implication.

Information Sharing and Disclosure

We do not sell, rent or trade your personal information to or with any third parties. We may disclose your personal information to external service providers in the circumstances discussed below.

We may share personal information with external service providers who perform services on our behalf eg we may share personal information with clinicians so they may provide clinical analysis and related services and we may share personal information with other companies to handle the processing of payments, to provide data storage, to provide customer support or support the internal operations of our website and App.

Those external service providers will be permitted to obtain only the personal information they need to provide the services on our behalf. They are required to maintain the confidentiality of the information and are prohibited from using it for any other purpose. We will take all reasonable steps to make sure they comply with the same privacy principles that govern our collection of your personal information.

Some of these service providers may be overseas in countries whose privacy laws may be different and less protective than those of Australia. While we will take reasonable steps to make sure that overseas service providers to whom we give your personal information will comply with the same privacy standards as those required by Australian privacy laws we cannot guarantee it. By giving us personal information you consent to the disclosure of personal information to overseas service providers who may not comply with Australian privacy laws and you agree that we are not responsible for the acts and omissions of those overseas service providers that are not in compliance with Australian privacy laws.

We may disclose personal information if required to do so by law, or in the good-faith belief that such action is reasonably necessary to comply with legal process, respond to claims, or protect the rights, property or safety of our company, employees, customers, or the public.

Links to Third Party Sites

We may provide links and/or connections to third-party web sites or services from our website. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of these third-party sites.

How To Manage Your Personal Information

You have, subject to certain exceptions allowed for by law, the right to access, review and correct your personal information that we hold. If you would like to get access to, review or correct any of your personal information, please email us at contact@soundscouts.com

We can provide you with a copy of personal information held on our current records at no charge. However, if we need to access archived records, such as personal information backed up or stored offsite, then we may impose reasonable charges for the cost of providing such access.

If personal information has been disclosed to a third party, in accordance with this Privacy Policy, we will take reasonable steps to notify the third party of the updated information.

Where your information is stored

Personal information that we collect may be stored and processed in Australia and/or the United States in addition to other countries. We take reasonable steps to protect personal information no matter what country it is stored in. However, information collected may be retained, and may be stored, processed, accessed, and used in jurisdictions whose privacy laws may be different and less protective than those of in Australia. By using the App or giving us the personal information requested, you consent to any such transfer, processing and storage of personal information outside of Australia in this manner and you agree that we are not responsible for any retention, storage, processing, access and use of your personal information that is not in compliance with Australian privacy laws.

Security of Your Personal Information

The security of your personal information is important to us. We follow accepted industry standards to help protect your personal information. No method of transmission over the internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100% secure. Therefore, while we take reasonable steps to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

Complaints

If you have questions, complaints or concerns regarding this Privacy Policy, please contact us by writing to us at contact@soundscouts.com. We treat all complaints about a breach of the Australian Privacy Principles seriously. We will investigate your complaint and respond to you within a reasonable time.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may amend this Privacy Policy from time to time. Use of information we collect is subject to the Privacy Policy in effect at the time such information is collected. If we make changes in the way we use your email address, we will notify you in advance of posting by email. Such modifications will become effective on the date set forth in the email.

Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns regarding this Privacy Policy, please send us an email at contact@soundscouts.com.

Last updated Last updated 27th July 2023