Privacy Policy

Introduction

WhatIsCredit.ca ("we," "our," or "us") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our website whatiscredit.ca, including any other media form, media channel, mobile website, or mobile application related or connected thereto.

This policy complies with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and applicable Canadian provincial privacy legislation.

Information We Collect

Information You Provide

We may collect information you voluntarily provide when using our calculators, tools, or contact forms, including:

• Email address (when subscribing to updates or using email features)
• Calculations run in your browser. Your figures stay on your device unless you choose to save them to Saved Items, or share a link that contains them.
• Feedback and correspondence

Automatically Collected Information

When you access our website, we may automatically collect:

• Device and browser type
• IP address (anonymized for analytics)
• Pages visited and time spent
• Referring website
• General geographic location (country/province level)

How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Provide and maintain our educational content and calculators
• Respond to your inquiries and support requests
• Analyze website usage to improve our services
• Detect and prevent fraud or abuse

Email addresses

We do not run a newsletter. We store an email address only if you ask us to save items or to be told about a feature.

Calculator Data

Calculations run in your browser. Your figures stay on your device unless you choose to save them to Saved Items, or share a link that contains them.

Saved Items and Your Email Address

If you use "My Saved Items", we store the following on our servers:

• Your email address, which is the label your saved items are filed under
• The items you chose to save: a title, a short description, the page they came from, and the figures you entered in that tool
• A scrambled (hashed) copy of the single-use codes and access passes used to verify you, so the codes themselves are never readable in our records

We store your email address. We do not send you email from this feature other than the one-time verification code you request, and we never use the address for marketing, newsletters, or partner offers.

Saved items can only be opened after you enter a 6-digit code we email to that address. Knowing or guessing someone's email address is not enough to open their saved items.

Deleting your data: open My Saved Items, verify your email, and choose "Delete everything and my email address". That removes every saved item and your stored address immediately. You can also email privacy@whatiscredit.ca from the address in question and we will delete it for you.

Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies to:

• Remember your preferences (such as theme settings)
• Understand how you use our website
• Improve our services based on aggregate usage data

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Disabling cookies may limit some website functionality.

Cookie Consent

When you first visit WhatIsCredit.ca, we show a cookie consent banner at the bottom of the screen. This banner lets you choose whether to allow non-essential analytics cookies. Page fonts load from Google Fonts either way.

• If you click Accept, we load Google Analytics to collect anonymized usage data that helps us improve the site.
• If you click Decline, Google Analytics is not loaded and no non-essential analytics cookies are placed.
• Your choice is remembered on this device until you clear your browser data for whatiscredit.ca.

To change your choice at any time, clear site data or cookies for whatiscredit.ca in your browser settings. The consent banner will then appear again on your next visit.

Third-Party Services

We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors use our website. Google Analytics collects anonymized information such as pages visited, time spent on site, and general device/browser type. Google operates its own privacy policy and may process data in accordance with that policy. We do not sell your personal information to third parties.

Affiliate Partnerships

We have no paid partnerships today. If that changes, we'll say so on every affiliated page. If we enter a paid partnership and you click an affiliate link and apply for a product, that partner may collect information directly from you according to their own privacy policies. We encourage you to review their policies before providing personal information.

Data Retention

We retain personal information only as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this policy, comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements. Analytics data is retained in anonymized form.

Your Rights Under Canadian Law

Under PIPEDA and applicable provincial legislation, you have the right to:

• Access your personal information held by us
• Request correction of inaccurate information
• Withdraw consent for future collection or use
• File a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada

To exercise these rights, contact us at hello@whatiscredit.ca.

Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. However, no method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure.

Children's Privacy

Our website is not intended for children under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe we have collected such information, please contact us immediately.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The updated version will be indicated by an updated "Last Updated" date at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, please contact us at: