Your Privacy

Who we are

Can I Afford This...? (caniaffordthis.nz) is a New Zealand affordability calculator tool. We help Kiwis understand whether they can afford mortgages, cars, holidays, and purchases by running honest, unbiased calculations.

What data we collect

Account data (optional)

If you create an account, we store your email address and any financial defaults you choose to save (income, expenses, deposit). This is stored in Supabase and used only to pre-fill your calculator inputs on future visits.

Calculation data

When you save a search, we store the inputs and results you chose to bookmark. The figures you type into a calculator are never stored unless you explicitly save that search. Run as many calculations as you like — the numbers stay in your browser.

Share links

If you create a share link, the figures from that calculation are stored so the link can be opened later. The link is the key: anyone you send it to can see those figures, so treat it like the numbers themselves. Share links are not tied to your name or email, and we do not index or publish them. Ask us and we will delete one.

Usage analytics

We run our own analytics rather than using a third-party tracker. When you use the site we record:

• That an action happened — a calculation was run, a search was saved, a link was shared — along with which calculator, and coarse flags like whether you were signed in or which buyer type you selected. We do not record the figures you entered.
• Approximate location — city, region and country, supplied by our host (Vercel) from your connection. This is not precise, and we do not store your IP address in any form.
• A device identifier — a value stored in your browser's local storage, derived from non-unique device settings such as screen size, timezone and language. It lets us count returning visitors without requiring an account. It is not a cookie, but it is a tracking technology, and we would rather say so plainly than hide behind the distinction. Clearing your browser storage removes it.
• Your account ID, if you are signed in, so we can tell signed-in usage from anonymous usage. We do not put your email address into analytics.

Feedback and reviews

If you send feedback or leave a review, we receive your message, your rating, the display name and reply email you provide, the page you were on, and any screenshot you attach. This is emailed to us and, for reviews, stored so it can be shown on the site. Screenshots may contain whatever was on your screen at the time — take a look before you attach one.

How we use your data

• To pre-fill calculator inputs for a faster experience
• To allow you to save and compare multiple searches
• To understand which calculators get used and where the site is breaking, so we can improve it
• To read and act on the feedback you send us
• To email you when rate changes alter a saved search's verdict — only if you turned alerts on for that search. It fires when the verdict changes, not on every rate movement, and every email carries a one-click off switch

We do not sell your data, share it with advertisers, or use it for any purpose beyond operating this calculator. We are not aligned with any bank or lender, and we do not pass your information to one.

Third-party services

Running this site means some of your data passes through other companies. These are all of them:

• Vercel — hosting. Serves every page and supplies the approximate location described above (Privacy Policy)
• Supabase — database. Accounts, saved searches, analytics and reviews (Privacy Policy)
• Google Gemini AI — reads property and vehicle listings you paste in, and generates cost estimates for holidays and other purchases. Your saved figures are not sent to it (Privacy Policy)
• ScrapingBee — fetches the listing pages you paste in, so we can read them (Privacy Policy)
• SerpAPI — looks up flight and destination costs, and official rate data (Privacy Policy)
• Resend — sends email, including your feedback and any enquiry you submit (Privacy Policy)
• Stripe — processes tips and donations, if you choose to leave one. Your card details go directly to Stripe; we never see or store them (Privacy Policy)

Where your information goes

Every provider listed above is based outside New Zealand, so information handled by them is stored and processed overseas — mostly in the United States and the European Union. Under principle 12 of the Privacy Act 2020 we only use providers that are subject to comparable privacy safeguards. If you would rather your information stayed onshore, the honest answer is that using this site is not the right choice for you.

Data retention

• Account data and saved searches — kept until you delete them or ask us to close your account.
• Analytics — kept for 24 months, then deleted.
• Feedback and reviews — kept while they are useful to us; reviews stay up until you ask us to remove yours.

You can delete your account and all associated data at any time by contacting us. When you do, we remove your account, your saved searches, and the account ID linking any analytics records to you.

Cookies and browser storage

We do not use advertising cookies, and we do not let anyone else track you across other websites. We do store things in your browser: your saved preferences, a per-tab session ID, and the device identifier described under Usage analytics. Clearing your site data removes all of it.

Your rights (NZ Privacy Act 2020)

You have the right to access, correct, or delete any personal information we hold about you. To exercise these rights, contact us at the email below.

If you are not happy with how we have handled your information, you can complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner at privacy.org.nz.

Contact

For privacy questions, email us at privacy@caniaffordthis.nz