Introduction
Welcome to StrataReports, an innovative platform powered by BLINQ Innovations Inc. ("StrataReports", "we", "us", "our"). At StrataReports, we deeply value your privacy and the trust you place in us. This Privacy Statement transparently outlines our practices related to the collection, use, protection, and responsible disclosure of your personal information, ensuring your privacy rights are respected and protected.
In our digital age, safeguarding personal information is more than a policy; it's a fundamental aspect of our ethical commitment to you, our valued users. Whether you're exploring real estate insights, leveraging our AI-driven analyses, or simply browsing our site, we want you to feel secure and informed every step of the way.
This statement outlines the types of personal information we may collect during your interaction with StrataReports, the rationale behind its collection, how we intend to use it to enhance your experience, and under what circumstances we might disclose it. We are dedicated to not only complying with the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) of British Columbia but also exceeding its standards to protect your privacy.
By accessing and using StrataReports, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to the terms outlined in this Privacy Statement. We encourage you to review this statement thoroughly and reach out to us with any questions or concerns.
For disputes specifically related to privacy concerns, we aim for amicable resolutions. However, if an agreement cannot be reached, disputes will be resolved through arbitration in British Columbia, Canada, as detailed in our Terms of Use, ensuring a fair and expedited process.
Scope of This Privacy Statement
This Privacy Statement extends to all facets of the StrataReports platform, managed by BLINQ Innovations Inc., including but not limited to our websites, mobile applications, and various services offered both online and offline. Specifically, it encompasses our interactions with you through:
Information Access Services: Including but not limited to the browsing of our website, accessing strata reports, and utilizing search functionalities.
Report Generation Services: Pertaining to the personalized creation of strata reports, depreciation assessments, and other AI-generated content tailored to your real estate needs.
Related Functionalities: Covering user account creation and management, customer support interactions, subscription services, and any other features designed to enhance your StrataReports experience.
This statement governs our practices related to the collection, processing, use, and safeguarding of your personal information within these contexts. It applies to all users of StrataReports, including individual consumers, real estate professionals, and enterprise clients, regardless of the method or medium through which you engage with our services.
Please note that this Privacy Statement does not apply to third-party websites, services, or applications, even if they are accessible through StrataReports. We encourage you to review the privacy statements of any third-party entities to understand their data handling practices.
By interacting with StrataReports in any capacity, you acknowledge the practices and policies outlined in this statement and consent to the collection, use, and sharing of your information as described herein.
Information Collection Practices
At StrataReports, our commitment to transparency extends to the way we collect and utilize your information. Here’s an outline of the types of personal data we may gather during your interaction with our services:
Account Information: When you create an account with StrataReports, we collect essential personal details such as your name, email address, and, if applicable, a profile picture. This information may be directly provided by you or obtained through third-party identity providers (such as Google or Facebook) if you choose to register using such services. This data helps us personalize your experience and ensure secure access to our platform.
User Submissions: To generate the insightful reports StrataReports is known for, we require you to upload specific documents related to strata properties. Rest assured, the documents you entrust to us are securely stored and protected. Your personal documents are treated with the utmost confidentiality and are not sold or externally shared. Aggregated data, devoid of personal identifiers, is used to enhance our services and contribute to industry insights, always respecting your privacy. This aggregated data, stripped of any personally identifiable information, may be utilized internally or sold to enhance our services and contribute to the broader real estate industry's knowledge base.
Usage Data: Understanding how you interact with our platform is crucial for continuous improvement. Therefore, we collect data regarding your activities and engagement with our services, such as the features you use, the reports you generate, and the time spent on our platform. This information aids in refining and tailoring our offerings to better meet your needs.
Aggregated Data: In our quest to drive innovation and contribute valuable insights to the real estate sector, we may aggregate and anonymize data derived from your submissions and interactions. This non-personally identifiable information might be used for research, development, and commercial purposes, helping to advance industry knowledge and practices.
How We Use Your Personal Information
At StrataReports, the personal information you provide is utilized with the utmost respect and care, strictly for purposes that enhance your experience and the quality of our services. Here's how we use your information:
Service Delivery and Enhancement: We use your personal information to provide you with the StrataReports services you've come to expect, including personalized report generation, property insights, and user support. This information also aids us in identifying areas for improvement, ensuring that our platform evolves to meet your needs more effectively.
Communication: Your contact details, such as your email address, enable us to send you important updates about your account, our services, and any changes to our policies. We also use this information to respond to your inquiries, offering you the support and guidance you need.
Research and Analysis: To stay at the forefront of the real estate industry, we continuously analyze data to understand market trends, user behavior, and the effectiveness of our services. This research helps us refine our offerings and develop new features that add value to your StrataReports experience.
Development of New Offerings: Insights gained from your usage of our services and your feedback contribute to the development of new features, services, and products. Our goal is to innovate continuously, providing you with tools that empower your real estate decisions.
Legal Compliance and Claims: In certain circumstances, we may use your information to comply with legal obligations, such as responding to legal requests or court orders. Additionally, your information may be used to address claims or disputes related to our services, ensuring the protection of our rights and the rights of our users.
Generating FAQs and Support Content: Interactions you have with our platform, including questions you pose to our GPT-driven chatbot, may be used to generate Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and other support content. This helps us build a comprehensive knowledge base that benefits all users by providing quick and accurate answers to common queries.
Disclosure of Your Personal Information: Guidelines and Safeguards
At StrataReports, we are committed to maintaining the confidentiality and security of your personal information. Below are the circumstances under which your information may be shared:
Third-Party Service Providers: To enhance the functionality and efficiency of our services, we may share your personal information with trusted third-party service providers. These entities provide essential services such as cloud hosting, customer support, and data analysis on our behalf. We require all third-party providers to adhere to strict confidentiality agreements and to use your information solely for the purpose of delivering the contracted services, ensuring your data is protected at all times.
User-Requested Sharing: In instances where you request the sharing of reports or other information generated by StrataReports, we may include your name as part of the shared content, but only with your explicit consent. This ensures that your identity is associated with your work or inquiries only when you choose.
Enterprise User Collaboration: For users affiliated with enterprise accounts, such as real estate brokerages or professional organizations, we may share certain details (e.g., usage metrics or account status) with your affiliated organization for administrative and management purposes. This sharing is designed to facilitate seamless collaboration and account management within your organization.
Aggregated Data Utilization: To contribute to industry insights and advance the field of real estate analysis, we may use or sell aggregated data derived from your submissions and interactions with our services. This data is thoroughly anonymized, ensuring that no personally identifiable information is included. The utilization of aggregated data supports industry research, development, and the creation of new and improved services.
Please note that in certain exceptional circumstances, we may be required by law to disclose your personal information in response to lawful requests by public authorities, including meeting national security or law enforcement requirements.
Use of Cookies and Tracking Technologies
At StrataReports, we employ cookies and other similar tracking technologies to improve your experience on our platform and to understand how our services are used. This section explains what cookies are, how we use them, and the choices you have.
What Are Cookies? Cookies are small text files that are placed on your device (computer, phone, or tablet) by websites that you visit. They are widely used to make websites work more efficiently, as well as to provide information to the owners of the site.
How We Use Cookies: We employ cookies and tracking technologies to personalize your experience and improve service effectiveness. You have control over these technologies via your browser settings, understanding that this may affect certain functionalities. Here's how we use them:
Essential Cookies: These are necessary for the operation of our platform, enabling basic functions like page navigation and access to secure areas. The website cannot function properly without these cookies.
Performance and Analytics Cookies: These cookies help us understand how visitors interact with our website by collecting and reporting information anonymously. This includes data on pages visited, time spent on the site, and any issues encountered, such as error messages. This information helps us improve our website's performance and your user experience.
Functionality Cookies: These are used to recognize you when you return to our website, allowing us to personalize content for you and remember your preferences (for example, your choice of language or region).
Your Choices: Most web browsers allow some control of most cookies through the browser settings. You can set your browser to refuse all or some cookies, or to alert you when websites set or access cookies. If you disable or refuse cookies, please note that some parts of this website may become inaccessible or not function properly.
Other Tracking Technologies: In addition to cookies, we may use web beacons, pixel tags, and other tracking technologies to collect information about your interaction with our site and emails, including information about your browsing and purchasing behavior.
We encourage you to review the cookie settings and privacy policies of your browser and those of third-party websites to understand your options better.
By using our site, you agree to the use of cookies and similar technologies as described in this section. For more information on managing cookies, please consult your browser's help function.
Protection of Minors
At StrataReports, we recognize the importance of safeguarding the privacy of children and young individuals. Our platform and services are not designed for, targeted at, nor intended to attract individuals under the age of 16. In line with this commitment:
No Knowingly Collected Data from Minors: We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under the age of 16. Our services are designed for a general audience and are aimed at adult users involved in real estate transactions and analysis.
Measures to Prevent Collection from Minors: Should we become aware that we have inadvertently received personal information from an individual under the age of 16, we will take appropriate steps to delete such information from our records promptly.
Parental or Guardian Involvement: We encourage parents and guardians to take an active role in their children's online activities and interests. If a parent or guardian believes that their child has provided us with personal information without their consent, they should contact us immediately. We will work diligently to remove such information and ensure the child's privacy is maintained.
Age Verification and Consent: In instances where we need to collect personal information, we may take additional steps to verify the user's age and, in the case of minors, obtain consent from a parent or guardian before proceeding with data collection.
By using StrataReports, users affirm they are at least 16 years of age. We ask all users to adhere to this requirement in respect of our efforts to protect the privacy of minors.
Data Retention Policy
At StrataReports, we are committed to only retaining personal information that is necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, and for complying with our legal obligations. Here’s an outline of our data retention practices:
Types of Data Retained: While interacting with our services, the primary pieces of personal information we retain are your name and email address. These are essential for maintaining your account, providing our services, and communicating with you.
Retention Duration: Your personal information is retained for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Statement, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law. This includes retaining information for the duration of your account’s existence and for a reasonable period thereafter in case you decide to reactivate your services or need access to historical information.
Data Retention for Specific Purposes: Certain data may be retained for longer periods when necessary for specific purposes, such as compliance with legal obligations (for example, tax and accounting requirements), dispute resolution, and the enforcement of our agreements.
Your Rights: You have the right to request the deletion of your personal information at any time. If you wish to exercise this right, please contact us using the contact information provided in this Privacy Statement. Upon receiving a deletion request, we will take steps to remove your personal information from our active databases and, where applicable, from our backup systems, in accordance with applicable legal requirements and our data retention policy.
Deletion of Inactive Accounts: In the interest of efficient data management, we may also periodically review and delete inactive user accounts and the information associated with them.
It's important to note that the deletion of your personal information may result in the loss of access to our services, and we may retain certain information as necessary for our legitimate business interests, such as fraud prevention and enhancing users' safety and security.
Consent to Data Practices and the Right to Withdraw Consent
By engaging with StrataReports and utilizing our services, you acknowledge and consent to the collection, use, and disclosure of your personal information as outlined in this Privacy Statement. We are committed to respecting your choices and ensuring that consent is freely given, informed, and easy to withdraw.
Granting Consent: Your active engagement with our services, coupled with the provision of your personal information where required, is interpreted as your consent to our data practices. This includes, but is not limited to, the collection, use, and sharing of your information as detailed in the preceding sections of this Privacy Statement.
Withdrawing Consent: We recognize that your circumstances and perspectives may change. As such, you retain the right to withdraw your consent at any time, subject to any legal or contractual restrictions and upon providing us with reasonable notice. Withdrawal of consent may limit our ability to provide you with certain services or functionalities, but it will not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal.
How to Withdraw Consent: If you wish to withdraw your consent, please contact us directly using the contact information provided in this Privacy Statement. We will provide you with information on the implications of such withdrawal and guide you through the process.
Exceptions to Consent Withdrawal: It’s important to note that in some cases, we may continue to process your information even after you have withdrawn consent, if there are valid legal or operational reasons. These exceptions might include situations where processing is necessary to comply with a legal obligation, to protect your vital interests or those of another person, or for the establishment, exercise, or defense of legal claims.
Data Security
We implement reasonable safeguards for your personal information, although absolute security cannot be guaranteed.
Access and Correction Rights
You have the right to access, update, and correct your personal information in our records.
International Data Transfers and Protections
In our interconnected digital world, StrataReports operates on a global scale, which means your personal information may be stored, processed, and transferred to and between various locations around the world, including places outside of your country of residence. These international transfers are necessary to provide you with seamless services and to maintain the high level of functionality you expect from us.
Consent to International Transfers: By utilizing StrataReports services, you acknowledge and consent to the transfer of your personal information across international borders. We want to assure you that regardless of where your information is processed, we take significant steps to ensure that it is protected with a level of security appropriate to the risk.
Safeguarding Your Information: We implement robust safeguards and adhere to established legal frameworks and standards to ensure the protection of your data. This includes:
Data Protection Agreements: Wherever your information is transferred, we ensure that our partners and service providers are bound by data protection agreements that require them to maintain the confidentiality and security of your personal information.
Compliance with Legal Standards: We comply with applicable legal standards and regulations regarding international data transfers, including mechanisms like Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the European Commission, the Privacy Shield Framework, or other equivalent frameworks where necessary.
Exclusions
This statement does not extend to third-party websites and services linked through our platform.
Changes to This Privacy Statement
We reserve the right to update or modify this Privacy Statement at any time. Changes will become effective immediately upon posting on the StrataReports website. Your continued use of our services after such changes signifies your acceptance of the updated Privacy Statement. We encourage you to review this statement periodically to stay informed about how we protect your information.
Contact
For inquiries regarding this Privacy Statement, contact support@stratareports.ca
Your use of StrataReports signifies your acceptance of this Privacy Statement.
Effective Date: March 31, 2024