Privacy policy

Who we are

Arab Canada operates this website as a Canadian community directory. We publish listings by city, province, and category, plus community hubs, events, and editorial guides. You can reach the platform team through the Contact us page (WhatsApp, Instagram, or Facebook). Do not use those channels to message a restaurant or clinic listed in the directory; use the listing’s own message form.

Information we collect

We collect only what we need to run the directory, keep accounts safe, and deliver paid Featured placement.

• Account data: name, email, password hash, role (member, business owner, or staff), preferred language, and whether the account is active.
• Owner listings: business name, descriptions, slugs, address, phone, email, hours, website, photos, city, category, community tags, and optional halal flag. Staff—not owners—set publish status, Featured, and verified badges.
• Claims: your message and optional proof files when you ask to take over an existing listing.
• Reviews: star rating and text. Reviews stay hidden until staff approve them.
• Leads: name, contact details, and message that a visitor sends to a listing. Leads are not published on the page.
• Job applications: phone, city, optional street address, resume (PDF or DOCX on a private disk), and a cover note. Employers who posted the job can view the snapshot and resume; we do not publish a public resume bank.
• Job alerts: only if you opt in on your account. Weekly email of new openings in a chosen industry and/or city, with a signed unsubscribe link. Off by default.
• Payments: Stripe processes Featured checkout. We store Stripe customer and payment references, not full card numbers.
• Sign-in with Google or Apple: we receive the name and email the provider shares so we can create or link a member account.
• Technical data: IP address, session cookies, security logs, and the theme preference stored in your browser.

How we use it

We use personal information to operate and moderate the directory, create and secure accounts, show your listing or review after approval, send claim and lead notices, process Featured payments, remember language and theme, improve search, and meet Canadian law. We do not sell personal information. We do not use listing content to impersonate a business in search results: Featured is a sort boost of the same public page.

Consent and Canadian privacy law

We follow the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and, for people in Quebec, Law 25 (Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector). Creating an account, submitting a listing or claim, posting a review, or sending a lead is consent for the purposes described here. You may withdraw consent for optional uses by contacting us, subject to records we must keep for security, payments, or disputes. Quebec residents may complain to the Commission d’accès à l’information. Anyone in Canada may contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.

Sharing and processors

We share information with service providers who help us run the site, under contracts that limit their use of it: hosting and database, Redis cache, Meilisearch for listing search text, Stripe for payments, Google and Apple for social sign-in, and email delivery for notices. Staff see listings, claims, reviews, and leads in order to moderate them. When you send a lead, we email the listing owner. Published listing details, approved reviews, events, and posts are public. We may disclose information if the law requires it.

Cookies, maps, and the app

We use a session cookie and CSRF protection to keep forms and login safe. Your theme choice is stored in the browser (localStorage), not as a tracking cookie. We do not run third-party advertising or analytics pixels. Listing maps use MapLibre with coordinates you or staff provided. The installable PWA caches pages with a network-first strategy so Googlebot and visitors still receive full HTML; it does not collect extra personal data.

A privacy notice appears on your first visit. Essential cookies always run; optional technology stays off until you accept. Reopen Privacy settings from the footer — there is no separate cookies URL.

Retention and security

We keep account, listing, claim, review, lead, and payment records while the service needs them, including while a record is inactive or soft-deleted so slugs and emails stay unique. Staff may restore or permanently delete according to our lifecycle rules. We use hashed passwords, HTTPS, role checks, rate limits on public forms, and signed Stripe webhooks. No method of transmission is perfectly secure.

Your rights

You may ask to access or correct personal information we hold about you, deactivate your account, or request deletion where the law allows. Owners edit their own listings in the owner panel; they cannot publish themselves or force a page into search indexes. To exercise rights, use the Contact us page and tell us which email belongs to the account. We may need to verify you before we act.

Children

Arab Canada is meant for adults finding businesses in Canada. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 14. If you believe a child created an account, contact us and we will delete it.

Changes

We may update this policy when the product or the law changes. The date at the top is the current version. Material changes will be posted on this page. Continued use of the site after an update means you accept the revised policy.