We help people in their homes, so we take the information you share with us seriously. This policy explains what we collect, why, who we share it with, how long we keep it, and your rights. We collect as little as we can: in particular, we do not collect medical information.
1. Who we are
Kept Close is operated by [Company legal name] Inc., [Street address], Ottawa, ON [Postal code] (“we”, “us”). We are responsible for the personal information we collect through this website and in providing our services in Ontario and Québec.
We follow the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and, for people in Québec, the Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector.
Person in charge of the protection of personal information: [Full name], Privacy Officer, privacy@keptclose.ca.
2. What we collect
When you register your interest
Your name, email address, phone number (optional), preferred way to be contacted and language, who the service is for, the general location of visits, the services, frequency and timing you’re interested in, any message you write, your consent choices, and the date.
When you become a client
- Name, address and phone number of the person receiving help;
- How to access the home (for example, a lockbox code, if you give us one);
- An emergency contact, and the people you authorize to receive visit updates;
- Household preferences: preferred stores, routines, recipes and likes and dislikes;
- Dietary restrictions and food allergies, only with your express consent and only so we can shop and cook safely;
- Confirmation of age (70 or older) when you ask us for receipts for Québec’s tax credit for home-support services for seniors;
- Billing contact and payment method (processed by our payment provider; we don’t store full card or bank numbers);
- Visit schedules, visit notes, invoices and photos of purchase receipts.
If someone arranges services for another person
Their name, contact details, relationship to the client and, where needed, proof of their authority (such as a power of attorney or protection mandate).
3. What we deliberately don’t collect
- Medical history, diagnoses, medications or other health records;
- Social insurance numbers;
- Banking passwords, PINs, or full credit card or bank account numbers;
- Information through advertising or analytics cookies (this website doesn’t use them).
4. Why we use it
- To respond to your inquiry and arrange a first visit;
- To plan and provide services, and keep the same helper and schedule;
- To send visit updates to the people you have authorized;
- To bill you, issue receipts (including tax credit receipts) and keep required accounting records;
- To act in an emergency, for example by calling 911 and your emergency contact;
- To meet our legal obligations;
- To send occasional news about Kept Close, only if you separately agreed. You can unsubscribe at any time.
5. Your consent
We ask for your consent before collecting personal information, and we use it only for the purposes above. We ask for express consent for sensitive information such as food allergies.
You can withdraw your consent at any time, subject to legal or contractual restrictions (for example, we must keep invoices for tax purposes). If you withdraw consent we need to provide a service, we will explain the consequences.
6. Who we share it with
We never sell or rent personal information. We share it only:
- With the family members or other people you authorize to receive visit updates;
- With service providers who help us run the business, such as website hosting, email, form processing, payment processing, scheduling and accounting software, and our accountant. They may use the information only to provide their service to us, under contracts that require them to protect it;
- With emergency services, when needed to protect someone’s life, health or safety;
- When required or permitted by law.
7. Where information is stored
Some of our service providers may store information outside Québec or outside Canada, for example in the United States. Before we communicate personal information outside Québec, we assess the privacy risks and put written agreements in place to protect it. Information stored in another country may be accessible to that country’s authorities under its laws.
8. This website
This website doesn’t use advertising, analytics or tracking cookies. It may remember your language choice with a small cookie. Our hosting provider keeps technical logs (such as IP address and browser type) for a short time for security. If we ever add analytics or any technology that can identify, locate or profile you, we will update this policy and it will be turned off by default until you choose to enable it.
9. How long we keep it
- Inquiries: up to 24 months after our last contact, unless you become a client or ask us to delete it sooner.
- Client records: while we provide services, then as long as tax law requires for invoices and receipts (generally six years after the end of the tax year they relate to).
- Visit notes and access information: up to three years after services end; lockbox codes and keys are deleted or returned as soon as services end.
10. How we protect it
Access is limited to the people who need it to provide your service. Our devices are encrypted and password-protected, our accounts use two-factor authentication, access information such as lockbox codes is stored separately from addresses, and everyone working with us signs a confidentiality agreement.
11. If something goes wrong
If a confidentiality incident occurs, we take steps to reduce the risk of harm, record the incident, and, where there is a risk of serious harm, notify the people affected as well as the Commission d’accès à l’information du Québec or the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, as required by law.
12. Your rights
You may ask us to:
- Tell you what personal information we hold about you and give you access to it;
- Correct information that is inaccurate, incomplete or ambiguous;
- Stop using or sharing your information, or delete it, where the law allows;
- In Québec, receive the computerized information you provided in a structured, commonly used technological format.
Send your request to the person in charge named above. We will reply within 30 days. Access and correction are free, although the law allows a reasonable fee for copies.
13. Questions and complaints
Please contact us first; we’ll do our best to resolve your concern. You may also contact the Commission d’accès à l’information du Québec (for Québec) or the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.
14. Children
Our website and services are intended for adults. We don’t knowingly collect information from people under 18.
15. Changes to this policy
We will post any update on this page with a new date. If a change significantly affects how we use your information, we will tell our clients directly before it takes effect.