Who I am
Kove is an AI automation consultancy operated by Balu Premkumar, based in Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand. You can reach me at balu@kove.nz.
This policy explains what personal information I collect, how I use it, and your rights under the Privacy Act 2020 (New Zealand) and the Information Privacy Principles (IPPs) contained in it.
What information I collect
Contact form and landing pages: name, email address, phone number (optional), business name (optional), and the message you write. The free tools' Ask Balu to check it form sends your answers to that tool, your name, your email and any note you add, the same way as the contact form. Your enquiry also tells me which page you first landed on, which site referred you, and how many pages you looked at, so I know which part of this site was useful. I use all of it to reply to you.
Email correspondence: any information you include when you email me directly.
Second opinion requests: the quote or document you send, and anything in it about other people, such as the vendor's staff. Send only what I need, which is the scope and the price. You can black out names, phone numbers and bank details first. I use it only to write your reply. I may use an AI tool to help me read it, and that tool may process it outside New Zealand. If your document names other people, send it only if you are comfortable doing so; I use their details only to read the quote.
Website analytics: I use Google Analytics 4. It sets cookies and collects usage data such as pages visited, approximate location, device and browser, and how you arrived. Google processes this on my behalf. If Cloudflare Web Analytics is active alongside it, that collects aggregate traffic data with no cookies.
Business contact details for outreach: separately from this website, I compile publicly listed business contact details from directories and company websites in order to introduce my services by email. If I have contacted you and you would rather I had not, reply to say so or email balu@kove.nz, and I will delete your details and not contact you again.
I do not use Meta Pixel or any advertising tracker, and I do not sell or share your information with anyone for marketing.
Cold email
I sometimes email NZ businesses I have not dealt with before, to introduce what I do.
Where I get the address: from the business's own public website or from public business listings. I use work addresses only, never personal ones.
What the links log: the short links in those emails carry Google Analytics campaign tags. They log counts only, such as how many people clicked. Nothing is tracked per person.
How to opt out: reply "no thanks" or email balu@kove.nz. I will not email you again.
Information privacy principles 3 and 3A of the Privacy Act 2020 apply to this collection. They cover telling you why I hold your details and where they came from.
How I use your information
I use your information to:
- respond to your enquiry or booking request
- send you information you've asked for about my services
- fulfil any contract I enter into with you
I do not sell, rent, or share your personal information with third parties for marketing purposes. I do not add you to any mailing list without your explicit consent.
Storage and security
The forms use Cloudflare Turnstile to tell people from spam bots. It loads from Cloudflare when a form is on the page and checks your browser and IP address with Cloudflare; it sets no advertising cookies.
Contact form submissions are delivered by email via Resend (a transactional email service) to balu@kove.nz. Your data is processed in transit through Cloudflare's global network and Resend's infrastructure, then stored in my email account (Google Workspace). These services may store or process data outside New Zealand. I do not maintain a separate marketing database.
I take reasonable steps to protect personal information from loss, misuse, or unauthorised access consistent with IPP 5.
Retention
I keep email correspondence for as long as the business relationship is active or as required for legal and tax purposes, and no longer than 7 years after the relationship ends, consistent with New Zealand tax record-keeping requirements. If a second opinion request does not turn into paid work, I keep it, any document you sent with it and my reply only as long as I need them, and I delete them the same week if you ask. If you hire me, I keep the correspondence under the retention above from the day you hire me. Copies held by my email provider and Resend's delivery logs are removed on their own schedules, which I don't control.
Your rights
Under the Privacy Act 2020 you have the right to:
Access: request a copy of the personal information I hold about you (IPP 6).
Correction: ask me to correct information that is wrong or out of date (IPP 7).
Complaint: if you believe I have breached the Act, you can complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.
To exercise any of these rights, email balu@kove.nz with the subject line "Privacy request". I will respond within 20 working days as required by the Act.
Cookies
Google Analytics sets cookies to tell repeat visits apart and to measure how the site is used. I do not use cookies for advertising, and nothing here follows you around other websites. The remaining cookies are strictly functional, such as Cloudflare security challenge cookies and the one that remembers whether you chose the light or dark theme.
If you would rather not be measured at all, browser do-not-track settings, an ad blocker, or Google's Analytics opt-out add-on will all stop it. Nothing on this site stops working if you do.
Links to other sites
This site may link to external websites (e.g. Cal.com for booking, LinkedIn). I am not responsible for the privacy practices of those sites and encourage you to read their privacy policies.
Changes to this policy
I may update this policy from time to time. The effective date at the top of this page will reflect when it was last changed. Continued use of the site after a change means you accept the updated policy.
Contact
Questions about this policy: balu@kove.nz · Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand.