How AussieStart collects, uses, and protects your personal data — in compliance with GDPR.
AussieStart ("we", "us") is operated by Berkant Yazgan, Projensdorfer Straße 81a, 24106 Kiel, Germany. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and protect your personal data in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and German data protection law (BDSG).
The supervisory authority responsible for AussieStart is: Unabhängiges Landeszentrum für Datenschutz Schleswig-Holstein (ULD), Holstenstraße 98, 24103 Kiel.
Full name, email address, password (hashed), nationality, country of residence, phone number (optional).
Government-issued ID documents (passport, driver's licence, national ID) for identity verification purposes. These are processed securely and not stored longer than necessary.
Bio, skills, work experience, education, languages, LinkedIn URL, visa status, profile photo — all provided voluntarily.
Subscription plan, billing cycle, payment history. Payment card details are processed by Stripe Payments Europe Ltd and are never stored on our servers.
Job applications, accommodation bookings, saved items, community posts, messages, and interactions with the Platform.
IP address, browser type, device type, operating system, referral URLs, and page visit timestamps — collected via server logs and cookies.
| Purpose | Legal Basis |
|---|---|
| Providing the Platform and its services | Contract performance (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR) |
| Processing payments and subscriptions | Contract performance (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR) |
| Identity verification and fraud prevention | Legal obligation / Legitimate interest (Art. 6(1)(c/f) GDPR) |
| Sending transactional emails (bookings, applications) | Contract performance (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR) |
| Sending marketing emails (newsletter) | Consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR) |
| Improving the Platform | Legitimate interest (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR) |
| Legal compliance and record-keeping | Legal obligation (Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR) |
Payment processing is handled by Stripe Payments Europe, Ltd. (a PCI-DSS Level 1 certified processor). We receive only a transaction token and basic metadata — never your full card number, CVV, or bank details.
Email communications are sent via Sendinblue / Brevo (an EU-based email processor). We store only your email address and communication preferences with Brevo.
Platform hosting is provided by MC-Host24 on servers located in Germany.
We retain your data for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide services. Account data is deleted within 30 days of account deletion requests. Payment records are retained for 10 years under German tax law (§ 147 AO). Log files are deleted after 90 days.
You have the following rights regarding your personal data:
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@aussiestart.com. We will respond within 30 days. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the ULD Schleswig-Holstein.
You can delete your AussieStart account and all associated personal data at any time through one of the following methods:
What gets deleted: Account profile, name, contact details, profile photo, job applications, accommodation bookings, saved items, community posts, messages, ratings, and reviews.
What is retained (legal obligation): Payment records and invoices for 10 years under German tax law (§ 147 AO). All retained data is pseudonymised — your name is replaced with "Deleted User" once retention is no longer linked to your active account.
Account deletion is permanent and cannot be undone after the 30-day grace period.
The AussieStart Android app is a Trusted Web Activity (TWA) — a thin native wrapper that displays the same content and functionality as our website aussiestart.com. All data processing described in this Privacy Policy applies identically to the app.
The app may request the following Android permissions:
The app does not access your camera, microphone, contacts, SMS, call logs, files outside its own storage, or installed-apps list. Photo uploads (e.g. profile picture, accommodation photos) are initiated by you via the Android file picker — we only receive the file you select.
The app does not contain advertising SDKs, third-party analytics SDKs, or fingerprinting libraries. It does not collect or share unique device identifiers beyond what is required for push-notification delivery.
AussieStart is not intended for users under 18 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal data from minors. If we discover that a minor has created an account, it will be deleted promptly.
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify registered users of significant changes via email. Continued use of the Platform after notification constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.
For privacy enquiries or to exercise your rights:
AussieStart — Data Controller
Berkant Yazgan
Projensdorfer Straße 81a, 24106 Kiel, Germany
Email: privacy@aussiestart.com
Supervisory Authority: Unabhängiges Landeszentrum für Datenschutz Schleswig-Holstein (ULD), Holstenstraße 98, 24103 Kiel · datenschutzzentrum.de