Last updated 27 October 2026
Who we are
Cinch Loans is a trading name of Additude Financial Services Pty Ltd (ABN 87 629 633 423), a credit representative (credit representative number 512780) authorised under Australian Credit Licence 389087 held by Australian Finance Group Ltd (ACN 066 385 822) (AFG). Additude is a member of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA member number 67907). In this policy, "we", "us" and "our" mean Cinch Loans.
This policy explains how we collect, hold, use and disclose personal information, including when you use cinch.loans, talk to cinchi (our AI assistant), book a chat or ask us to arrange finance. We handle personal information in line with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles.
AFG also handles some of your information as our licensee. Its own privacy and credit reporting policy explains how. Each lender we apply to has its own privacy policy too, which it will give you as part of the application.
You can contact us about privacy at admin@cinch.loans, on 0458 872 992, or at 56 Maple Street, Blackburn VIC 3130.
What we collect and how
We collect only what we need to help you, and mostly from you directly.
| When | What we collect |
|---|---|
| You visit cinch.loans | Pages viewed, how you got here, device and browser type, approximate location from your IP address, and clicks and scrolls (see Cookies and tracking below) |
| You fill in an enquiry or newsletter form | Name, phone, email, how you heard about us, your message and the page you were on |
| You book a chat | Name, email, phone, the time you pick and any notes you add |
| You use cinchi | Your questions, the answers, the page you were on, and any name or email you choose to give |
| You message us on WhatsApp, email or phone | Your contact details and what you tell us |
| We arrange finance for you | Identity documents, contact details, date of birth, residency, employment, income, assets, debts, expenses, credit history, the property or asset involved, and details of anyone applying with you |
Sometimes we collect information from other people, with your consent or where the law allows: a co-applicant, your accountant or employer, a referrer, a valuer, a lender, or AFG. With your consent, we, AFG and the lenders you apply to may also get your credit report from a credit reporting body (see Credit information below).
We only collect sensitive information, such as health details or a vulnerability you tell us about, when you give it to us and it's relevant, for example when you ask about financial hardship. With your consent, we may record video or phone meetings and give the recording to a lender, insurer or government agency as part of your application. We don't collect your tax file number.
You can talk to us without giving your name. To arrange finance, though, we need your full and accurate details. Without them we can't assess what suits you or apply to a lender.
Cookies and tracking on cinch.loans
We use cookies and similar tools (small files or browser storage, and tags that send data to the company that makes them) in three groups. You choose which groups run in the cookie banner, and you can change your choice any time through Cookie settings at the bottom of every page.
| Tool | Made by | What it does for us | Group | When it runs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Webflow | Webflow Inc. (US) | Hosts the site and receives form submissions | Essential | Always |
| Your cookie choice and cinchi history | Stored in your browser | Remembers your banner choice and your cinchi conversation on that device | Essential | Always |
| Google Analytics | Google (US) | Counts visits and shows which pages and articles help people | Analytics | On unless you switch it off |
| Hotjar | Hotjar Ltd (Malta) | Heatmaps and replays of how people move through pages, with everything typed into forms, calculators and cinchi hidden | Analytics | On unless you switch it off |
| Meta Pixel | Meta Platforms (US) | Measures visits from Facebook and Instagram and lets us show Cinch Loans content to people who've visited | Marketing | Only if you tap Accept |
| LinkedIn Insight Tag | LinkedIn (US) | Measures visits from LinkedIn and lets us show Cinch Loans content to people who've visited | Marketing | Only if you tap Accept |
| Microsoft Bookings | Microsoft (US) | The booking calendar on /book | Essential on that page | When you open /book |
If your device is in an EU or UK time zone, analytics also stays off until you choose. If your browser sends a Global Privacy Control signal, we treat it as a no to marketing.
We set these tools up to collect as little as possible:
- Meta and LinkedIn tags never load on the booking page or the calculator pages.
- We don't send anything you type into a form, calculator or cinchi to Google, Hotjar, Meta or LinkedIn.
- Google signals and ad personalisation are switched off in Google Analytics.
- We don't use Meta's automatic matching of personal details.
The sites we link to, including RateMyAgent, LinkedIn, news sites and lender sites, have their own privacy policies.
AI, calculators and automated decisions
We, AFG and the technology providers that support credit assistance, including AFG's broker platforms such as BrokerEngine, may use artificial intelligence and other automated tools. They help with tasks like reading documents, checking details and estimating what lenders might lend. They don't replace the people who look at your situation.
cinchi is an AI assistant that explains how Australian home loans and finance work. It gives general information, not credit advice, and it doesn't decide anything about you. We keep cinchi conversations so the team can follow up, keep records and improve the answers. cinchi may use an AI model from Anthropic PBC (US) to write its replies. When it does, your messages go to Anthropic to produce the answer, and under our agreement Anthropic doesn't use them to train its models. If you ask for a person, cinchi opens WhatsApp (run by Meta) with your question already typed in, and nothing is sent until you press send. You can ask us to delete a conversation at any time.
The calculators on our site run in your browser. They give estimates only, and we don't store what you enter.
From 10 December 2026, the law requires us to tell you about decisions made by computer programs. Here's how they're used:
- Decisions made only by a computer program: we don't make any decisions about you this way.
- Where programs help us decide: our software, including servicing calculators such as Quickli, uses your income, expenses, debts and loan details to estimate what each lender might lend. A broker reviews those results, and a person makes every recommendation we give you.
- Lenders' decisions: lenders may use automated systems, including credit scoring, to approve or decline your application. Their privacy policies explain how.
- Asking for a person to review: if a decision about you involved an automated tool, you can ask for a person to review it. Email admin@cinch.loans, or contact AFG at compliance@afgonline.com.au.
How we use and share your information
We use your information to:
- answer your enquiry and book chats
- work out which loans suit you, prepare a credit proposal and apply to lenders for you
- manage your loan afterwards, including rate reviews and refinancing
- meet our legal obligations, including responsible lending, identity checks, record keeping and complaints handling
- improve our website, cinchi and our service
- send you updates you've asked for (see Marketing below)
We share it only where it's needed for those purposes:
- lenders, lenders' mortgage insurers, valuers and settlement agents involved in your loan
- AFG, our licensee, and its related companies, which oversee our compliance and process loan applications
- your real estate agent, lawyer or conveyancer, only to tell them whether your loan is approved and on what terms, when you've authorised it
- your referees, such as your employer, to check details you've given us
- identity verification services that check your ID online
- service providers we use to run the business, such as BrokerEngine for client files, Microsoft 365 for email and calendar, Quickli for servicing calculations, Webflow for the website, WhatsApp for messages, and the analytics and marketing tools listed above
- your co-applicant, guarantor, accountant, financial adviser, lawyer or anyone else you authorise
- a referral partner, such as an insurer, if you ask us to introduce you. We or AFG may be paid for the referral, and we'll tell you first
- regulators, courts, tribunals, AFCA, industry bodies and anyone else where the law requires or allows it
- anyone considering buying our business, under confidentiality
We don't sell or rent your personal information.
Credit information. With your consent, we act as your agent to get your consumer and commercial credit report from a credit reporting body such as Equifax, Experian or illion. We use it to work out which loans suit you and to help you apply, and lenders may exchange information about you with credit reporting bodies too. Credit information includes your identity details, the credit you hold or have applied for, repayment history, defaults, court and insolvency information, and any hardship arrangements. AFG's policy explains how credit reporting bodies handle it and how to get a copy of your report or have it corrected.
Overseas. The website and cinchi tools we use store or process information in the United States (Google, Meta, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Webflow and Anthropic) and the European Union (Hotjar). AFG and its service providers may also hold your information overseas. AFG's privacy consent, which you'll sign before we apply for a loan, lists those countries. We take reasonable steps to make sure overseas providers protect your information to the standard Australian privacy law requires.
Marketing
We send newsletters, rate updates and articles only to people who've signed up or are clients. Every email has an unsubscribe link, or you can tell us to stop at admin@cinch.loans. If you agreed in AFG's privacy consent, AFG and its related companies may also contact you about their products, and you can withdraw that consent in writing at any time. Unsubscribing doesn't affect messages about a loan we're working on. To turn off Meta and LinkedIn ads from us, choose "Only essential" in Cookie settings.
Keeping it safe and how long we keep it
We store information in secure cloud systems with access limited to the people who need it, password-protected accounts and encrypted connections. Paper documents are kept secure and shredded when no longer needed.
We keep client files for at least seven years after we last act for you, because credit law requires it. We keep enquiries and cinchi conversations that don't lead to a loan for up to two years, then delete them. After that, we delete or de-identify the information.
Data breaches
If a data breach is likely to cause you serious harm, we'll tell you and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), as the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme requires, and explain what you can do to protect yourself.
Electronic documents
With your consent, we send credit documents and loan application information by email or online instead of on paper, so please check your inbox regularly. You can withdraw this consent at any time.
Seeing, correcting or deleting your information
Email admin@cinch.loans to ask for a copy of the information we hold about you, to correct it, or to delete a cinchi conversation. We'll confirm who you are first and reply within 30 days. There's no charge. If we can't give you access or make a change, we'll explain why in writing and tell you how to complain.
Complaints
If you're unhappy with how we've handled your information, there are three steps. Our Complaints & Feedback page has the full process.
- Talk to us. Contact Suvidh at admin@cinch.loans or on 0458 872 992. Most concerns are sorted quickly, and you can ask for a written response.
- Our Complaints Officer. If it isn't resolved within five business days, or you'd rather go straight there, contact AFG's Complaints Officer at compliance@afgonline.com.au, on (08) 9420 7888, or at Level 11, 905 Hay Street, Perth WA 6000. You'll get a final written response within 30 days.
- Outside help. If you're not satisfied, or haven't had a response within 30 days, contact either of these at no cost:
- Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA), member number 67907: afca.org.au, info@afca.org.au, 1800 931 678, GPO Box 3, Melbourne VIC 3001
- Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC): oaic.gov.au, 1300 363 992, GPO Box 5288, Sydney NSW 2001
Changes to this policy
We'll update this policy when our practices or the law change, and the date at the top will show when. The current version is always at cinch.loans/privacy-policy, and we'll email you a copy on request.
