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Privacy Policy

Last updated: 26 March 2026

1. Introduction

This Privacy Policy explains how Prelude Music (NZBN: 9429053433848), trading as Prelude ("we", "us", "our"), collects, uses, stores, and discloses your personal information when you use our website at prelude.co.nz ("Website") and our instrument rental services.

We are committed to protecting your privacy in accordance with the New Zealand Privacy Act 2020 and the Information Privacy Principles ("IPPs") set out in that Act.

2. Information we collect

2.1 Information you provide to us

When you use our services, we may collect the following personal information that you provide directly:

  • Account information: name, email address, phone number
  • Delivery information: street address, city, region, postcode
  • Payment information: payment method details are collected and processed by our payment provider Stripe — we do not store your full card number
  • Rental information: instrument preferences, rental plan selections, rental history
  • Enquiry information: any information you provide when contacting us, submitting a school enquiry, or requesting a teacher listing
  • Teacher directory information: if you register as a teacher, your professional profile including qualifications, instruments taught, biography, pricing, and profile photo

2.2 Information collected automatically

We use Matomo, a privacy-focused analytics platform, to understand how visitors use our Website. Matomo is configured to operate without cookies and does not track you across other websites. The information collected includes:

  • Pages visited and time spent on each page
  • Referring website or search engine
  • Browser type and device information
  • Anonymised IP address (your full IP address is not stored)

We do not use Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, or any other third-party tracking tools.

3. How we use your information

We use your personal information for the following purposes:

  • Providing our services: processing rental orders, managing your account, delivering and collecting instruments, processing payments
  • Communication: sending rental confirmations, payment receipts, renewal reminders, return instructions, and other transactional emails related to your rental
  • Enquiries: responding to your questions, school enquiries, or teacher registration requests
  • Teacher directory: displaying your teacher profile publicly if you have registered and been approved as a teacher on our platform
  • Website improvement: understanding how visitors use our Website through anonymised analytics to improve the experience
  • Legal compliance: complying with our legal obligations, including tax and accounting requirements

We will not use your personal information for purposes unrelated to the above without your consent.

4. Marketing communications

We may send you occasional marketing communications about our services, new instruments, or special offers. You can unsubscribe from marketing emails at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in the email or by contacting us.

We will always send transactional emails related to your rental (payment receipts, renewal reminders, return instructions) regardless of your marketing preferences, as these are necessary for the performance of your rental agreement.

5. Sharing your information

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties. We may share your information with the following parties only as necessary to provide our services:

5.1 Payment processing

Stripe: We use Stripe to process card payments. When you pay by card, your payment details are transmitted directly to Stripe and processed in accordance with their privacy policy. We do not store your full card number on our servers. Stripe may process and store your payment data on servers located outside New Zealand, including in the United States. Stripe provides comparable privacy safeguards through its Data Processing Agreement and compliance with international data protection frameworks. Stripe's privacy policy is available at stripe.com/nz/privacy.

5.2 Delivery services

We may share your name and delivery address with courier or postal services to deliver your instrument.

5.3 Legal requirements

We may disclose your information if required by law, regulation, legal process, or governmental request, or if we believe disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, your safety, or the safety of others.

6. Data storage and security

Your personal information is stored on secure servers. We take reasonable steps to protect your information from unauthorised access, modification, disclosure, or destruction, including:

  • Encrypting data in transit using HTTPS/TLS
  • Restricting access to personal information to authorised personnel only
  • Using secure, password-protected systems for data storage

While we take reasonable precautions, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security of your information.

6.1 Data breaches

In the event of a privacy breach that is likely to cause serious harm to affected individuals, we will notify the Office of the Privacy Commissioner and affected individuals as soon as practicable, in accordance with Part 6 of the Privacy Act 2020.

7. Data retention

We retain your personal information for as long as is necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including:

  • Active rentals: for the duration of your rental agreement and for a reasonable period afterwards
  • Account information: for as long as your account is active. You may request account deletion at any time
  • Financial records: for 7 years after the end of the financial year in which the transaction occurred, as required by New Zealand tax legislation
  • Teacher profiles: for as long as your teacher listing remains active. You may request removal at any time
  • Analytics data: anonymised analytics data is retained for up to 12 months

8. Your rights

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

  • Access: request a copy of the personal information we hold about you (IPP 6)
  • Correction: request that we correct any inaccurate or incomplete personal information (IPP 7)
  • Deletion: request that we delete your personal information, subject to our legal obligations to retain certain records
  • Withdraw consent: withdraw your consent for marketing communications at any time

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details in section 12 below. We will respond to your request within 20 working days, as required by the Privacy Act 2020.

9. Cookies

Our Website uses only essential cookies required for the site to function (such as session cookies for logged-in users and CSRF protection tokens). We do not use advertising cookies, tracking cookies, or third-party cookies.

Our analytics tool (Matomo) is configured to operate without cookies.

10. Children's privacy

Our services are intended for use by adults (parents, guardians, and teachers) on behalf of students. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16 without the consent of a parent or guardian. If you believe we have collected information from a child without appropriate consent, please contact us immediately.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated "last updated" date. We encourage you to review this page periodically.

12. Contact us and complaints

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, or wish to make a request about your personal information, please contact us:

If you are not satisfied with our response to a privacy concern, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner: