Privacy Policy

Acouso Pty Ltd ACN 683 118 756 (Acouso, we, us or our) provides acoustic-analysis software, including Acouso-ROOM and Acouso-PLAN, and operates the website at https://www.acouso.com.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, hold, use and disclose personal information when people visit our website, contact us, apply for or participate in an evaluation or early-access programme, subscribe to or use our software, or otherwise interact with us.

We handle personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles where they apply. This Privacy Policy is a notice about our information-handling practices. It does not itself create consent for an unrelated use of personal information, Customer Project Data or Outputs. Where consent is required, we will seek it separately.

The personal information we collect depends on how you interact with us and may include:

• identity and contact information, such as your name, email address, telephone number, organisation, professional role and business address;
• business and application information, such as your ABN, product interests, intended use cases, project or workflow descriptions, waitlist information and responses provided in evaluation or early-access applications;
• subscription and transaction information, such as the selected plan, number of users, subscription status, billing address, tax information, invoices, records of agreement acceptance, and limited transaction and payment-method information made available by our payment provider. Full payment card numbers and card security codes are processed by our payment provider and are not stored by Acouso;
• account, licence and device information, such as account identifiers, licence entitlements, machine or device identifiers, device activations, authentication events and support records;
• website and technical information, such as browser and device type, operating system, pages visited, referral source, approximate location derived from network information, cookie or similar identifiers, and diagnostic information;
• security and audit information, such as network information and related identifiers used to record access and agreement acceptance, prevent abuse, investigate incidents and enforce usage controls; and
• communications, such as enquiries, correspondence, support requests, survey responses and Feedback.

We generally collect personal information directly from you. We may also collect it from your employer or organisation, an administrator who obtains access for you, our payment and service providers, or automatically when you use our website or software.

If you do not provide information that is reasonably required, we may be unable to respond to a request, provide an evaluation, create or administer an account, process a subscription or provide parts of the software.

Except where expressly requested and lawfully handled, we do not seek to collect sensitive information. Acouso-ROOM and Acouso-PLAN Early Access users must not submit sensitive personal information as part of Customer Project Data.

3.1 What these terms mean

Customer Project Data means models, files, geometry, parameters, materials, constructions, room information, analysis settings, standards, inputs and other project information submitted by or for a customer to our software.

Outputs means project-specific results, calculations, reports, schedules, visualisations, recommendations or other outputs generated through our software.

Customer Project Data and project-specific content in Outputs are not necessarily personal information. Where they contain personal information or can reasonably be linked to an identifiable individual, we handle that personal information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

Customers must have the rights, permissions and authority required to submit Customer Project Data. Customers should remove personal information that is not reasonably necessary for the intended use and must not submit information in breach of a law, confidentiality obligation, professional obligation or third-party right.

3.2 Acouso-ROOM

Acouso-ROOM may transmit building-model information and related acoustic-analysis inputs to Acouso's cloud infrastructure. We process Customer Project Data and project-specific content in Outputs as reasonably necessary to provide requested analysis and functionality and to operate, secure and support Acouso-ROOM, comply with law and enforce the applicable licence agreement.

The precise information processed, and whether information is stored for a period after processing, depends on the functionality used and the current architecture. Acouso-ROOM is not a backup, archival or disaster-recovery service unless a separate written agreement signed by both parties expressly provides otherwise. Customers must maintain independent, usable backups of their project information.

3.3 Acouso-PLAN Early Access

Acouso-PLAN Early Access may transmit models, files, parameters, inputs and other Customer Project Data, including information from an authorised test project, to our cloud infrastructure. We may process that information using our proprietary algorithms to provide analysis, classification, recommendation and related early-access functionality and to operate, secure and support the software.

Acouso-PLAN may also collect technical, feature-usage, diagnostic, error and crash information. Storage, export, compatibility and customer-backup requirements for the early-access software are addressed in the applicable licence agreement.

3.4 Ownership, permitted processing and disclosure

Customers retain ownership of their Customer Project Data and pre-existing work. Ownership and permitted use of Outputs and Acouso technology are addressed in the applicable licence agreement.

Under the applicable licence agreement, customers grant Acouso a limited, non-exclusive permission to host, copy, transmit and process Customer Project Data and project-specific content contained in Outputs only as reasonably necessary to provide, operate, secure and support the applicable software, comply with law, enforce the applicable agreement, and obtain the advice, insurance, audit or claims assistance permitted under that agreement.

We do not sell Customer Project Data or project-specific content in Outputs. We disclose that information only to service providers reasonably required to provide, operate, secure or support our software under appropriate confidentiality and data-handling obligations; to professional advisers, insurers or auditors subject to appropriate confidentiality or professional duties where reasonably necessary for advice, compliance or claims; in connection with a lawful business transfer subject to appropriate protections; or where required or authorised by law.

3.5 Artificial intelligence and machine learning

Acouso does not use Customer Project Data or project-specific content in Outputs to train or fine-tune an artificial-intelligence or machine-learning model and does not authorise a service provider to use that information to train its own models, unless the customer separately and expressly agrees to that use.

This does not prevent Acouso from processing Customer Project Data through a model solely to provide functionality requested by the customer, where that processing is otherwise consistent with the applicable licence agreement and this Privacy Policy. It also does not restrict Acouso's use of its own technology, synthetic data or other material Acouso is lawfully entitled to use for development and training.

We may use technical, feature-usage, security and diagnostic information, and aggregated or de-identified statistics that do not identify a user, client, individual or specific project, to license, operate, secure, measure, test and improve our products, services and infrastructure. This paragraph does not authorise AI or machine-learning training using Customer Project Data or project-specific content in Outputs.

3.6 Retention of project information

We retain Customer Project Data and project-specific content in Outputs only for as long as reasonably necessary for an authorised processing, operational, security, support, contractual or legal purpose. Retention may vary by product, feature and support context, and may differ between active systems and backups, subject to applicable law.

Where project information contains personal information and is no longer required for a permitted purpose, we take reasonable steps to delete or de-identify it, subject to applicable legal requirements and routine backup cycles. The applicable licence agreement may contain additional customer backup and deletion obligations.

We may use personal information to:

• provide, administer, authenticate, secure and support our website, software, accounts and licence entitlements;
• process subscriptions, payments, tax information, renewals, cancellations and invoices;
• respond to enquiries, provide technical support and communicate about service, security or account matters;
• manage downloads, waitlists, evaluation access and invitation early-access programmes, including assessing applications and preventing repeated or unauthorised access;
• record acceptance of applicable agreements and enforce our legal rights;
• detect, investigate and prevent fraud, misuse, security incidents and unlawful activity;
• understand and improve the operation, reliability and usability of our website and products;
• send product information or marketing communications where permitted, subject to your communication preferences;
• comply with legal, regulatory, accounting and reporting obligations; and
• establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

We do not sell personal information. We may disclose it where reasonably necessary to:

• cloud infrastructure, hosting, identity, storage, database, email and security providers, including providers used for product processing and website operations;
• payment and subscription providers, including Stripe;
• website security providers, including Cloudflare Turnstile;
• analytics providers, including Google Analytics;
• professional advisers, insurers, auditors and prospective or actual parties to a lawful financing, restructure, merger or sale of the relevant business or assets;
• a customer's account administrator or organisation where that organisation obtained or manages the person's access; and
• regulators, courts, law-enforcement bodies or other persons where required or authorised by law.

Our current technology providers include services supplied by Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Stripe, Cloudflare and Google. The particular providers used may change as our systems develop. We take reasonable steps to select providers appropriate to the information and service involved and to require suitable confidentiality, privacy and security protections.

As at the date of this Privacy Policy, the primary cloud regions used by Acouso for Acouso-ROOM and Acouso-PLAN product processing are located in Australia. This does not mean that every Acouso system, service-provider operation, support function, telemetry record or backup is located only in Australia.

Some service providers operate globally and may process or make personal information accessible in Australia, the United States and other countries in which they or their subprocessors operate. The locations involved depend on the provider and service used and may change. Where the Australian Privacy Principles apply to an overseas disclosure, we take reasonable steps required by law before making that disclosure.

Customers with particular data-location requirements should contact us before submitting relevant information. A customer-specific location commitment applies only where expressly agreed in a separate written agreement signed by both parties.

We use reasonable technical and organisational safeguards designed to protect personal information, Customer Project Data and project-specific content in Outputs from misuse, interference, loss and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. Measures may include access controls, encryption in transit, authentication controls, logging, restricted administrative access and security monitoring appropriate to the service.

No data transmission or storage system is completely secure. Customers are responsible for protecting credentials, maintaining appropriate controls over their own systems and users, and keeping independent backups where required by the applicable licence agreement. If you believe an account, credential or information handled by Acouso may have been compromised, contact us promptly at support@acouso.com.

Our website uses essential cookies and similar technologies required for functions such as security, authentication and checkout. Where configured, we also use Google Analytics to understand website traffic and usage. Analytics information may include online identifiers, device and browser information, pages visited, session information and referral sources. We do not intentionally send form contents, Customer Project Data, payment card information or software credentials to Google Analytics.

Analytics identifiers are generally pseudonymous rather than directly identifying by name. Google may process analytics information in accordance with its own privacy terms and infrastructure arrangements.

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Blocking cookies may affect website functionality. You can also use Google's Analytics opt-out browser add-on at https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, a related permitted purpose, or as required by law. Relevant considerations include the duration of an account, licence, subscription or early-access programme; support and security needs; dispute and enforcement periods; and legal, tax and accounting requirements.

For example:

• account, contact, licence and authentication records may be retained while access remains active and for a reasonable period afterwards;
• waitlist and early-access application information may be retained while the programme is planned, operated and evaluated and for a reasonable period afterwards;
• agreement-acceptance, transaction and billing records may be retained for the periods required by applicable corporate, tax and accounting laws; and
• security and audit records may be retained for a period proportionate to fraud prevention, investigation, evidentiary and enforcement needs.

When personal information is no longer required, we take reasonable steps to delete or de-identify it, subject to applicable legal requirements and routine backup cycles.

We may send product news, invitations or marketing communications where you have requested them or where otherwise permitted by law. You may opt out at any time by using the unsubscribe facility in the communication or contacting us. We may still send service, security, transaction and account communications that are reasonably necessary for an existing relationship.

You may request access to personal information we hold about you or ask us to correct information that is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading. Contact us using the details in section 15.

We may need to verify your identity before responding. In circumstances permitted by law, we may refuse access or correction, in which case we will generally provide written reasons and information about available complaint mechanisms.

We investigate suspected data breaches and take steps appropriate to the circumstances. Where the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme applies, we assess suspected eligible data breaches and notify the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner and affected individuals as required by law.

If you have a question or complaint about how we handle personal information, contact us using the details in section 15. Please provide enough information for us to understand and investigate the issue. We will respond within a reasonable period.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at https://www.oaic.gov.au or on 1300 363 992.

We may update this Privacy Policy when our products, information-handling practices or legal obligations change. The current version will be posted at https://www.acouso.com/privacy with its last-updated date. Where a change is material, we will take reasonable steps to bring it to the attention of affected users.

An updated Privacy Policy does not by itself create consent for a materially different or unrelated use of personal information, Customer Project Data or Outputs where consent or another legal basis is required.

Acouso Pty Ltd ACN 683 118 756 PO Box 112, Ashgrove QLD 4060, Australia Email: support@acouso.com Website: https://www.acouso.com