Privacy Policy

CanadaAsks ("we", "us", "our") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our website at canadaasks.com and our AI-powered assistant service (collectively, the "Service").

CanadaAsks is operated as a sole proprietorship based in Ontario, Canada. By using the Service, you consent to the practices described in this policy.

When you create an account, we collect:

• Email address — for account creation and communication.
• Name — as provided during registration or via Google Sign-In.
• Google account data — if you sign in with Google, we receive your name, email, and profile picture from Google. We do not access any other Google account data.

To provide personalized answers, you may optionally provide demographic information such as:

• Province/territory of residence
• Immigration status
• Marital status
• Date of birth
• Employment status
• Income range

This information is stored in your account profile and is used solely to tailor AI responses to your situation. You can update or delete this information at any time in your account settings.

We store the questions you ask through the chat interface. This data is used to:

• Provide your conversation history.
• Improve the quality of future AI responses.

Important: Do not submit sensitive personal information (such as Social Insurance Numbers, passport numbers, banking details, or medical records) in your conversations. You are solely responsible for the content you share through the chat. We are not liable for any personal information you voluntarily disclose.

Payment processing is handled entirely by Stripe. We do not store your credit card numbers, bank account details, or other financial information on our servers. We only receive from Stripe: a customer ID, subscription status, and billing history. For more information, see Stripe's Privacy Policy.

When you use the Service, we may automatically collect:

• IP address
• Browser type and version
• Device information (screen resolution, hardware characteristics, installed fonts)
• Pages visited and time spent
• Referring URL
• Device fingerprint — a unique identifier generated from your browser and device characteristics (such as screen resolution, GPU information, timezone, and font rendering). This fingerprint is used for:
  • Session security — detecting unauthorized access to your account from unfamiliar devices.
  • Abuse prevention — identifying and rate-limiting abusive behavior on contact forms and chat, even without an account.
  • Fraud detection — preventing abuse of welcome credits and free tier limits.

Device fingerprints are not used for advertising or cross-site tracking. They are stored only for security and abuse prevention purposes.

We use the information we collect to:

• Provide, operate, and maintain the Service.
• Process your subscriptions and payments.
• Personalize AI responses based on your optional profile data.
• Improve the accuracy and quality of AI-generated answers.
• Communicate with you about your account, updates, or support requests.
• Detect, prevent, and address fraud or security issues.
• Comply with legal obligations.

CanadaAsks uses third-party AI services to generate responses to your questions. When you submit a question, the content of your question (and optional profile context like province or immigration status) may be sent to these AI providers for processing.

We do NOT share your name, email address, account information, or any personally identifiable information with AI providers. Only the text of your questions and anonymized profile context are transmitted.

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties. We may share your information only in the following circumstances:

• Service providers: Stripe (payments), AI providers (question processing), and hosting providers — only as necessary to operate the Service.
• Legal requirements: If required by law, regulation, legal process, or governmental request.
• Safety: To protect the rights, property, or safety of CanadaAsks, our users, or the public.
• Business transfer: In connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred to the successor entity.

Your data is stored on secure servers. We use industry-standard security measures including encryption in transit (TLS/SSL), encrypted database connections, and secure authentication practices to protect your information.

However, no method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

We retain your account information and conversation history for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide the Service. If you delete your account, we will delete your personal data within 30 days, except where we are required to retain it for legal or regulatory purposes.

You have the right to:

• Access your personal data stored in your account.
• Update or correct your profile information at any time.
• Delete your account and all associated data through your account settings.
• Export your data by contacting us at [email protected].
• Withdraw consent for optional data collection at any time.

Under Canadian privacy law (PIPEDA), you have additional rights regarding your personal information. To exercise any of these rights, contact us at [email protected].

We use essential cookies for authentication and session management. We do not use third-party advertising cookies or tracking cookies. Your theme preference (light/dark) and language selection are stored locally in your browser.

The Service is not intended for individuals under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If we become aware that we have collected personal data from a person under 18, we will take steps to delete that information promptly.

Your information may be processed on servers located outside of Canada, including in the United States, where our hosting and AI service providers operate. By using the Service, you consent to such transfers. We ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place for any international data transfers.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of material changes by posting the updated policy on this page with a new "Last updated" date. Your continued use of the Service after such changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.

If you have questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your data, contact us at:

• Email: [email protected]
• General: [email protected]