Privacy policy

Last updated: DRAFT, not yet in effect

DRAFT: needs legal review. This page is a working draft and is not yet in effect. Items [in brackets] are placeholders. Have a Canadian privacy lawyer review before launch or before any personal information is collected.

The short version

Who we are

RedSkillTrade (redskilltrade.ca) is operated by [BUSINESS LEGAL NAME]. We are responsible for personal information under our control and have named a privacy officer who is accountable for our compliance. Contact: [PRIVACY OFFICER EMAIL].

Laws we follow

We handle personal information under Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and, where they apply, British Columbia's and Alberta's Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA). If we offer RedSkillTrade to people in Quebec, we will also meet Quebec's private-sector privacy law as amended by Law 25 (including a published privacy officer, privacy impact assessments for transfers outside Quebec, and French-language versions of this policy and our consent forms).

What we collect, and why

InformationWhyWhen
Email address, name you choose to show, password (stored hashed)To create and secure your accountWhen accounts launch
Trade, exam timeline (optional)To show the right questionsWhen accounts launch
Payment detailsHandled by our payment processor; we don't store full card numbersWhen you start a paid plan
Quiz answers, scores and streaksTo show your progress and unlock rewardsWhen accounts launch
Answers, wrong answers and questions you ask the AI tutor, for improving the service and training modelsOnly if you opt in. Stripped of your name, email and other identifiers before useOnly after you opt in
Plan preference stored on your own device (localStorage)To show or hide ads and remember which plan you clickedNow. Stays on your device; not sent to us
How many free questions you've answered (a number stored on your own device)To count your 6 free questions before we ask you to sign upNow. Stays on your device; not sent to us
Referral code from a friend's link (?ref=CODE), stored on your own device for up to 60 daysSo your friend gets credit if you sign upNow. Stays on your device until you create an account
Email list: your email, where you signed up (homepage, signup or referral), whether you agreed to marketing emails, when, which version of the consent wording you saw, and optionally your IP address and browser typeTo send the emails you asked for and to keep a record of your consent, as Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) requiresWhen accounts launch, only if you tick the box
Referral records: your referral code, which accounts signed up with it, their status (pending, rewarded or not eligible) and the free days earnedTo run the referral program and prevent abuse (for example self-referrals or duplicate accounts)When accounts launch
Invite and promo codes: the code you used, when, and which account redeemed it (plus a simplified form of your email so each person can only use one invite). An invite code from a link is kept on your own device for up to 90 days until you sign upTo give you the free access the invite offers, and to stop codes being used twiceWhen accounts launch
Consent records: the version of the terms and privacy policy you accepted, when, and your age confirmationTo show what you agreed toWhen accounts launch

Consent

We ask for your consent in plain language when you sign up. Agreeing to the terms and this policy is required to make an account. Using your learning data to improve RedSkillTrade or train models is a separate, unchecked box; leaving it unchecked doesn't limit your access. You can withdraw consent anytime in your account settings or by emailing [PRIVACY OFFICER EMAIL].

Marketing emails (CASL)

We only send marketing emails, like study tips, new question banks, new formulas, tool deals and offers, if you tick the unticked box that says so. Ticking it is never required to make an account or to practise. Every marketing email names RedSkillTrade, gives our mailing address ([BUSINESS MAILING ADDRESS]) and contact ([PRIVACY OFFICER EMAIL]), and has an unsubscribe link that works for at least 60 days. We act on unsubscribes within 10 business days. We keep a record of when and how you agreed, including the exact wording you saw and where you signed up (for example the sign-up page or the job-site reference). Account emails you need, such as sign-in links and receipts, aren't marketing and may still be sent.

Referral program

If you sign up through a friend's link, we record that their code referred you and whether your account was verified. Your friend can see how many people joined with their link and how many free weeks they've earned. They can't see your name or email. We use a simplified form of your email address (for example, ignoring capital letters and "+tags") only to stop self-referrals and repeat rewards. We keep that check even if an account is deleted, so the same address can't earn a second reward.

Invite and promo codes

Some people get a personal invite code from us, and we sometimes share a promo code (such as JOURNEYMAN). When you use one, we store the code, when you used it and which account used it. Invite codes and who they were made for are visible only to us, never to other users.

Sign-in and service providers

Accounts and the email list will be stored with our database and sign-in provider, Supabase, in [HOSTING REGION, e.g. Canada (Montreal) or Canada (Toronto)]. Passwords are stored hashed by the provider; we never see them. When you sign in, a session token is saved in your browser's localStorage so you stay logged in; logging out removes it.

Young apprentices

Some apprentices are under 18. Our policy: [MINIMUM AGE POLICY, e.g. 16 with parent/guardian consent under 18]. We don't knowingly collect personal information from children under 13.

Where your data is stored

Your information is stored in [HOSTING REGION, e.g. Canada (Montreal) or Canada (Toronto)]. Some service providers (for example payment, email or AI model providers) may process data outside your province or outside Canada; when that happens, it is protected by contract, and it may be subject to the laws of that country. We'll list our main service providers here before launch.

How long we keep it

Ads

Free plans show sponsored tool placements, clearly labelled. Today these are placeholders that don't track you. If we add an ad network that uses cookies, we'll update this policy and ask for consent where required.

Affiliate links

Some links are affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Tool links on our reference pages go to stores such as Amazon.ca. We don't send the store any of your personal information. When you click, the store may set its own cookies to credit the referral to us, under its own privacy policy. We only learn about orders in totals (for example, number of items and commission), not who bought them.

Your rights

You can ask to see, correct, or delete your personal information, or withdraw consent, by contacting [PRIVACY OFFICER EMAIL]. We'll answer within 30 days. If you're not satisfied, you can contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, or the provincial commissioner in BC, Alberta or Quebec.

Security and breaches

We use reasonable safeguards such as encryption in transit, hashed passwords and limited staff access. If a breach creates a real risk of significant harm, we will notify you and the Privacy Commissioner as the law requires.

Changes

We'll post changes here and tell account holders about significant ones before they take effect.