Privacy Policy

1.Who We Are

Sonaru (sonaru.net) is a music lesson marketplace operated in Perth, Western Australia. We are committed to protecting your personal information in accordance with the Australian Privacy Act 1988.

2.Information We Collect

• 2.1Account information: name, email address, account type (student or teacher).
• 2.2Profile information: bio, instruments, location, avatar image, and other profile details you choose to provide.
• 2.3Booking information: lesson requests, confirmed bookings, lesson history.
• 2.4Payment information: Sonaru does not store your card details. Payment cards are processed and stored securely by Stripe (stripe.com), our payment processor. Sonaru stores only a Stripe customer reference ID and payment status.
• 2.5Communications: messages sent between students and teachers on the platform.
• 2.6Usage data: pages visited, features used, and general platform activity.

3.How We Use Your Information

• 3.1To provide the service: matching students with teachers, processing bookings, and facilitating payments.
• 3.2Payment processing: when you submit a lesson request, your card details are sent directly to Stripe for authorisation. Sonaru does not handle or store raw card data.
• 3.3Communications: to send booking confirmations, lesson reminders, payment receipts, and dispute notifications.
• 3.4Platform improvement: to understand how users interact with the platform and improve our service.
• 3.5Legal compliance: to meet our obligations under Australian law.

4.Payment Data and Stripe

Stripe is our payment processor. When you enter card details on Sonaru, those details are transmitted directly to Stripe via encrypted connection. Stripe's privacy policy is available at stripe.com/privacy. Sonaru stores only a Stripe customer ID and payment intent reference — never your full card number, CVV, or expiry date.

5.Card Authorisation and Holds

When you submit a lesson request, a hold (authorisation) is placed on your card for the lesson amount. This hold is not a charge. Your card is only charged after a lesson is marked complete and a 24-hour dispute window has passed with no dispute raised. If a lesson is cancelled or disputed successfully, the hold is released and no charge applies.

6.Sharing Your Information

We do not sell your personal information. We share information only with your matched teacher or student (name, contact details for confirmed bookings), with Stripe for payment processing, and with authorities if required by law.

7.Data Retention

We retain your account data for as long as your account is active. If you close your account, we retain transaction records for 7 years as required by Australian tax law. You may request deletion of non-financial data at any time.

8.Your Rights

Under the Australian Privacy Act, you have the right to access, correct, or request deletion of your personal information. To exercise these rights, contact privacy@sonaru.net

9.Cookies

Sonaru uses essential cookies to keep you logged in and remember your preferences. We do not use advertising or tracking cookies.

10.Security

We use industry-standard encryption and security practices to protect your data. Payment data is handled exclusively by Stripe and never passes through Sonaru's servers in raw form.

11.Children

Sonaru is not intended for users under 18 without parental consent. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13.

12.Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify users of significant changes by email.

13.Contact

For privacy enquiries: privacy@sonaru.net — For legal matters: legal@sonaru.net