Privacy Policy

Who we are

Current Theory is a theory practice app for electrical apprentices and pre-trade learners. It is run by Trade Theory Group Ltd, a New Zealand company ("we", "us"). This policy covers the Current Theory app (on Android and the web) and the currenttheory.co.nz website.

We follow the New Zealand Privacy Act 2020. If you have a question about your information, contact our privacy officer at support@currenttheory.co.nz.

What we collect

When you create an account

• Your first name and email address. If you sign in with Google, we receive your name and email address from Google.
• Your password, which is handled by Google Firebase Authentication. We never see or store it.
• Your apprenticeship stage, the exam you are preparing for and your exam date, if you add one.
• Your choices about terms, privacy, notifications and marketing emails, and when you made them.

When you practise

• Which questions you answer, whether each answer was right or wrong, when, and in which practice mode.
• Your sessions, progress, XP, streak, achievements, and the questions waiting in your Mistake Repair list.
• Some practice details, such as your Exam Sprint history, are kept only on your device.

When you use other features

• Crews: the display name you use in a crew and your weekly practice score.
• Feedback and support: your message, your email address, and a screenshot if you choose to attach one.
• Training provider sharing: the organisation and group you connect to, if you enter a code from your tutor (see "Who can see your information").

Automatically, from your device

• A notification token, so we can send the reminders you turn on.
• When you last used the app.
• Crash reports and error details, including your device model, operating system and app version, so we can fix problems.
• App usage events, such as when the app is opened and which screens are used, with a random app identifier, your device type and your approximate region based on your internet address.
• A check from Google Play that requests come from the genuine Current Theory app (Firebase App Check), which helps stop misuse of our service.

On our website

• If you fill in a form: your name, email address, organisation and message.

What we do not collect

• We do not show ads and we do not use your device advertising identifier.
• We do not collect your precise location, your contacts, or your photos (other than a screenshot you choose to attach to feedback).
• We do not sell your information.

How we use it

• To run your account and keep your progress, including restoring it if you reinstall the app or change phones.
• To choose what you practise next, schedule reviews, and build your Skill Map and Mistake Repair list.
• To run crews and weekly crew boards.
• To send the study reminders you turn on, and marketing emails only if you opt in.
• To answer feedback and support requests.
• To find and fix bugs, keep the service secure, and understand which parts of the app are used so we can improve it.

We do not use your information to make automated decisions that have legal or similarly significant effects on you. Readiness and progress indicators in the app are practice guidance only.

Who can see your information

• You.
• Your crew members see your crew display name and weekly practice score, and nothing else.
• A small number of Current Theory staff, when needed to run the service, help you, or fix a problem.

Your training provider, only if you choose

If your tutor gives you a code and you agree to share, your training provider can see when you last practised and how much, your weaker topics, and your exam preparation status. A weekly summary naming you may be emailed to your tutor. They never see your individual answers, your confidence ratings, your streaks or XP, or anything outside your practice. Your tutor may keep brief support notes about you; you can ask us for any information held about you. You can stop sharing at any time in the app, and new sharing stops immediately.

Service providers

We use Google to run Current Theory: Firebase Authentication, Cloud Firestore, Cloud Functions, Cloud Storage, Cloud Messaging, Crashlytics, Google Analytics for Firebase and App Check. Google processes information on our behalf under its data processing terms and may not use it for its own purposes. Emails from our website forms are sent through our email provider.

We only disclose information to anyone else when the law requires it, or to prevent a serious threat to someone’s safety.

Where it is stored

Your account and practice information is stored in Google Cloud in Sydney, Australia. Crash reports and app usage events are processed by Google and may be stored in the United States. We rely on Google’s contractual safeguards to protect information stored outside New Zealand in a way comparable to the Privacy Act 2020.

Information is encrypted in transit. Access rules mean each learner can only read their own information, and staff access is limited to what is needed.

How long we keep it

We keep your information while you have an account. When you delete your account, your information is removed from our database straight away. Copies may remain for a limited time in Google’s backups, logs, crash reports and usage reports before they are deleted in the normal course.

Website enquiries are kept for as long as we need them to respond to you and follow up.

Deleting your account

You can delete your account at any time in the app: open Profile and choose Delete account. This permanently deletes your account, answers, progress, streak, achievements and crew memberships. If you own a crew, it passes to the member who joined first, or closes if you are the only member.

If you cannot get into the app, request deletion through our support page or by emailing support@currenttheory.co.nz from the address on your account. We will confirm once it is done. Support notes kept by a training provider you shared with are that provider’s records; ask us and we will help you contact them.

Your rights

You can ask for a copy of the information we hold about you, and ask us to correct it. Email support@currenttheory.co.nz. We will respond within 20 working days. We may need to confirm who you are first.

You can turn off notifications and marketing emails at any time, in the app or your device settings.

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

Young people

Current Theory is for people aged 13 and over. We collect only what the app needs to work, we do not show ads, and we do not sell information. If you are a parent or guardian and have a question about a young person’s account, contact us. If we learn that someone under 13 has an account, we will delete it.

Changes to this policy

We will update this page when the way we handle information changes, and change the date below. If a change is significant, we will also tell you in the app.