Summary: Winngur collects personal information to connect homeowners with service professionals. We do not sell your personal data. You have the right to access, correct, and request deletion of your information at any time.
Introduction
Winngur Inc. ("Winngur", "we", "our", or "us") operates the Winngur platform — a marketplace that connects customers with independent home, repair, and auto service professionals across Canada. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard personal information in accordance with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and applicable provincial privacy legislation.
By accessing or using the Winngur website, mobile application, or any related services (collectively, the "Platform"), you consent to the practices described in this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with this policy, please do not use our Platform.
Our Privacy Policy applies to all users of the Platform, including homeowners ("Customers") and service providers ("Professionals").
Information We Collect
We collect information you provide directly, information collected automatically when you use our Platform, and information from third parties.
Information You Provide
- Account Information: Name, email address, phone number, province/city, and password when you create an account.
- Booking Information: Service type, address, preferred date, special instructions, and payment information when you book a service.
- Professional Application: For Professionals, we also collect your full name, gender (optional), government-issued ID type and number, skills, availability, and consent to a background verification check.
- Communications: Messages you send through our in-app chat or to our support team.
- Reviews & Ratings: Feedback you submit about completed jobs.
Information Collected Automatically
- Usage Data: Pages visited, features used, search queries, and interaction logs.
- Device Information: IP address, browser type, operating system, and device identifiers.
- Location Data: Province or city-level location based on your selection or IP address. We do not collect precise GPS location without explicit consent.
- Cookies & Similar Technologies: Session cookies, analytics cookies, and preference cookies.
Information from Third Parties
- Background verification results from our accredited background check partners.
- Payment processing data from our secure payment providers (we do not store full card numbers).
- Social login data if you choose to sign in using a third-party authentication service.
How We Use Your Information
We use the personal information we collect for the following purposes:
- Providing the Platform: Creating and managing your account, processing bookings, facilitating payments, and connecting you with Professionals.
- Safety & Verification: Conducting background checks on Professionals, verifying identity, and ensuring platform integrity.
- Customer Support: Responding to inquiries, resolving disputes, and addressing service issues.
- Communications: Sending booking confirmations, service updates, and important platform announcements. With your consent, we may also send promotional offers and newsletters (you may opt out at any time).
- Platform Improvement: Analyzing usage patterns, troubleshooting bugs, and developing new features.
- Legal Compliance: Meeting our obligations under applicable laws, responding to lawful government requests, and enforcing our Terms & Conditions.
- Fraud Prevention: Detecting and preventing fraudulent activity, unauthorized access, and abuse of the Platform.
We process your personal information only where we have a lawful basis to do so — typically because it is necessary to fulfil a contract with you, because you have given consent, or because we have a legitimate interest that is not overridden by your privacy rights.
Data Retention
We retain your personal information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you with our services. We also retain information as necessary to comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements.
Specifically:
- Account data is retained for the duration of your account and for up to 2 years after account closure, unless a longer period is required by law.
- Booking and payment records are retained for up to 7 years to comply with Canadian tax and financial record-keeping requirements.
- Background verification data is retained for the duration of a Professional's engagement with the Platform.
- Communications and support records are retained for up to 3 years.
When your personal information is no longer required, we securely delete or anonymize it.
Your Privacy Rights
Under PIPEDA and applicable Canadian privacy law, you have the following rights regarding your personal information:
- Right to Access: You may request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
- Right to Correction: You may request that we correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
- Right to Withdrawal of Consent: Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time. Withdrawal will not affect the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal.
- Right to Deletion: You may request that we delete your personal information, subject to legal retention obligations.
- Right to Opt Out of Marketing: You may unsubscribe from promotional emails at any time using the unsubscribe link in any email, or by contacting us directly.
- Right to Lodge a Complaint: You have the right to lodge a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) at www.priv.gc.ca.
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at [email protected]. We will respond within 30 days of receiving your request.
Cookies & Tracking Technologies
We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to enhance your experience on our Platform. Cookies are small text files stored on your device by your browser.
Types of Cookies We Use
- Essential Cookies: Required for the Platform to function (e.g., session management, language preference, province selection). These cannot be disabled.
- Analytics Cookies: Help us understand how users interact with our Platform (e.g., Google Analytics). Data collected is aggregated and anonymized.
- Preference Cookies: Remember your settings such as language and location preferences.
- Marketing Cookies: Used to deliver relevant advertising. We obtain your consent before setting these cookies.
Managing Cookies
You can control cookies through your browser settings. Disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of the Platform. For more information on managing cookies, visit www.allaboutcookies.org.
Security
We implement industry-standard technical, administrative, and physical safeguards to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These measures include:
- TLS/SSL encryption for all data in transit
- AES-256 encryption for sensitive data at rest
- Access controls and role-based permissions for internal systems
- Regular security audits and vulnerability assessments
- PCI-DSS compliant payment processing through third-party providers
While we take every reasonable precaution to protect your data, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security, but we are committed to promptly notifying affected users if a data breach occurs, in accordance with our obligations under PIPEDA.
Children's Privacy
The Winngur Platform is not intended for individuals under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from minors. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us immediately at [email protected] and we will take steps to remove that information from our systems.
Third-Party Links
Our Platform may contain links to third-party websites or services. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those third parties. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party sites you visit. This Privacy Policy applies solely to information collected by Winngur.
Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technologies, legal requirements, or other factors. We will notify you of material changes by:
- Posting the updated policy on this page with a revised "Last Updated" date
- Sending an email notification to the address associated with your account (for significant changes)
- Displaying a prominent notice on the Platform
Your continued use of the Platform after any changes indicates your acceptance of the updated Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with the changes, you should discontinue use and may request deletion of your account.
