Privacy Policy

Look, We Get It

Nobody actually likes reading these things, but we figured we'd make it straightforward. At BlightStormer, we're not in the business of selling your info or spamming you with junk. We're architects who care about buildings and the people who use 'em. That extends to how we treat your data too.

This policy covers what info we collect when you reach out to us or use our website, and what we actually do with it. Spoiler alert: it's pretty boring and responsible stuff.

What Information We Collect

When you contact us through our website or give us a call about a potential project, we collect the basics:

• Contact Details: Your name, email address, phone number - the usual stuff you'd put on a business card.
• Project Information: Whatever you tell us about your site, building, or urban renewal ideas. We keep notes from our conversations 'cause honestly, there's a lot to remember.
• Site Usage Data: Basic analytics about how people navigate our website. Nothing creepy, just helps us know if our portfolio page is loading too slowly or whatever.
• Cookies: Yeah, we use 'em. Mostly for keeping the site functional and remembering your preferences.

How We Use Your Information

We're not gonna beat around the bush here. Your info gets used for:

• Getting Back to You: When you reach out about a project, we use your contact info to actually respond. Revolutionary, right?
• Project Development: If we're working together, we keep your project details on file so we can deliver what you're looking for.
• Legal Stuff: Sometimes we gotta keep records for contracts, permits, and all that regulatory jazz that comes with architecture work in Ontario.
• Occasional Updates: If you've worked with us before, we might send you updates about similar projects or relevant urban regeneration developments. But we're not gonna flood your inbox - we're too busy for that anyway.

Who We Share It With (Spoiler: Almost Nobody)

Your information stays with us unless there's a legitimate reason to share it:

• Project Partners: If we're collaborating with engineers, contractors, or other specialists on your project, they'll need relevant details. That's just how construction works.
• Legal Requirements: If the government or courts require it, we have to comply. Hasn't happened yet in our studio's history, but legally we gotta mention it.
• Service Providers: Our email hosting, website platform, that sort of thing. They're bound by their own privacy agreements and don't get to do anything weird with your data.

We don't sell your info to marketing companies or data brokers. Period. That's not our business model and frankly, it's kinda gross.

How We Protect Your Information

We take reasonable precautions to keep your data secure. Our website uses SSL encryption (that's the little lock icon in your browser), and we don't store credit card info on our servers 'cause we don't process payments through the website.

Project files are kept in secure cloud storage with password protection and access limited to our team members who actually need it. We're not careless with this stuff - after all, some projects involve sensitive site information or proprietary designs.

Your Rights & Choices

Under Canadian privacy law (PIPEDA, if you're curious), you've got some solid rights:

• Access: You can ask us what information we have about you. Just shoot us an email.
• Correction: If something's wrong or outdated, let us know and we'll fix it.
• Deletion: Want us to delete your info? We can do that, unless we're legally required to keep it (like completed project records).
• Opt-Out: Don't want occasional updates? There's an unsubscribe link in every email we send, or just tell us directly.

Cookies & Tracking

Our website uses cookies to keep things running smoothly and to understand how people use the site. Most browsers let you control cookie settings if you're particular about that stuff.

We use Google Analytics to see things like which pages get the most traffic or how long people spend browsing our portfolio. It's anonymized data - we can't identify individual visitors from it, and honestly wouldn't want to. We're just trying to make sure the site works well.

Third-Party Links

Sometimes we link to other websites - maybe a supplier's site, a municipality's planning portal, or project partners. Once you click through to those sites, their privacy policies apply, not ours. We can't control what they do, so just be aware of that.

How Long We Keep Your Data

We keep information for as long as it's actually useful or required:

• Active Projects: Obviously we keep everything current while we're working together.
• Completed Projects: We maintain project records for at least 7 years after completion - that's partly for legal reasons and partly because it's good practice in architecture.
• Inquiries: If you reached out but we didn't end up working together, we typically keep that info for about a year, then delete it unless you've asked us to stay in touch.

Changes to This Policy

We might update this policy occasionally as our practice evolves or if privacy laws change. When we do, we'll update the date at the top of this page. If there are major changes that actually matter, we'll let active clients know directly.

Check back once in a while if you're curious, but we're not planning any dramatic shifts in how we handle data.

Questions or Concerns?

If you've got questions about this privacy policy or how we handle your information, just reach out. We're pretty approachable.

If you're not satisfied with our response, you've also got the right to file a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. But hopefully it won't come to that - we're reasonable people.