Privacy Policy

Effective date: 29 March 2026

This policy explains how Forge Money (forgemoney.co.nz) collects, uses, and protects your information. Forge Money is operated by Forge Money, based in New Zealand.

We respect your privacy. We collect as little data as possible and never sell your personal information.

What we collect

Information you provide

Calculator inputs. When you use our PAYE calculator or other tools, you enter information like your salary, KiwiSaver rate, and whether you have a student loan. This information is processed in your browser and is not sent to our servers unless you use the AI-powered features (salary parsing and insights), in which case the input is sent to our API for processing and is not stored after the response is returned.

Saved scenarios. If you create an account to save calculator scenarios, we store your email address or phone number and your saved calculation inputs. We do not store your name or any other personal information unless you choose to provide it.

Contact information. If you contact us by email, we retain your message and email address to respond to your enquiry.

Information collected automatically

Analytics. We use Vercel Analytics to understand how people use our site. Vercel Analytics is privacy-friendly and does not use cookies. It collects:

Vercel Analytics does not collect personal information, does not track individual users across sessions, and does not share data with third parties. See Vercel's privacy policy for more detail.

No other tracking. We do not use Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, or any other third-party tracking tools. We do not run retargeting ads. We do not use marketing cookies or cross-site tracking of any kind.

Information we do not collect

How we use your information

We use the information we collect to:

We do not use your information for:

Data storage and security

Calculator inputs are processed in your browser (client-side) or sent to our API and discarded after processing. They are not stored in a database.

Saved scenarios (if you create an account) are stored in a database hosted by a third-party provider with servers in the Asia-Pacific region. Data is encrypted in transit (TLS) and at rest.

Analytics data is processed by our hosting provider and retained according to their data retention policies.

Some of our service providers are located outside New Zealand and may process data in jurisdictions with different privacy laws. We select providers with strong privacy practices and appropriate security measures.

Cookies

Forge Money uses minimal cookies:

Your rights under the NZ Privacy Act 2020

Under the New Zealand Privacy Act 2020, you have the right to:

To exercise any of these rights, email us at hello@forgemoney.co.nz. We will respond within 20 working days as required by the Privacy Act.

Account deletion

Forge Money does not currently offer self-service account deletion. To delete your account and all associated data, email hello@forgemoney.co.nz with the subject line "Delete my account." We will process your request within 20 working days. Once processed, your account data will be retained for 30 days in case of accidental deletion, then permanently removed.

Data retention

Data breach notification

If a data breach occurs that poses a risk of serious harm, we will notify the Office of the Privacy Commissioner and affected individuals as required by the Privacy Act 2020. We will notify affected individuals as soon as practicable and provide details of what information was involved and what steps we are taking.

Children's privacy

Forge Money is not directed at children under 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete it.

Third-party services

We use a small number of third-party services to operate Forge Money. We do not share your personal information with any parties beyond those listed here.

ServicePurposeData shared
Hosting providerWebsite hosting and privacy-friendly analyticsPage views, device info (anonymised, no cookies)
Database providerAuthentication and data storage for saved scenariosEmail or phone number (if account created), saved calculation inputs
AI providerAI-powered calculator insights (salary parsing, educational explanations)Calculator inputs (processed in real-time, not stored by the provider)

Changes to this policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. The effective date at the top indicates when it was last updated. We will not materially reduce your privacy rights without notice.

Contact

If you have questions or concerns about your privacy, contact us at:

Email: hello@forgemoney.co.nz

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner if you believe your privacy has been breached.