Privacy Policy

We're not in the business of collecting data just for kicks. Everything we gather has a purpose tied to serving you better.

• Communication: Responding to your inquiries, sending project updates, and keeping you in the loop about your architectural journey with us. We won't ghost you.
• Service Delivery: Actually doing the work you hired us for - creating designs, preparing documentation, coordinating with contractors, all that good stuff.
• Improving Our Practice: Understanding what services people are interested in helps us know where to focus our expertise and what resources to develop.
• Legal Requirements: Sometimes we gotta keep records for regulatory compliance, building permits, and professional liability purposes. It's part of being a licensed architecture firm in Canada.
• Occasional Updates: If you've worked with us before, we might send you newsletters about our latest projects or services. But only if you're cool with it - you can opt out anytime.

We're not out here selling your info to random companies. Your data stays pretty locked down, but there are a few situations where we might share it:

Project Partners & Consultants

When we're working on your project, we sometimes need to bring in structural engineers, landscape architects, or other specialists. They'll only get the info relevant to their part of the work, and they're bound by their own professional standards to keep it confidential.

Service Providers

We use trusted third-party services for things like email hosting, cloud storage, and project management software. These companies have access to data but are contractually required to protect it and can't use it for their own purposes.

Legal Obligations

If we're legally required to disclose information - like responding to a court order or complying with building regulations - we'll do what's necessary. But we're not volunteering your info to authorities without good reason.

Portfolio & Marketing (With Permission)

We love showcasing our completed projects, but we'll always ask for your explicit permission before featuring your project in our portfolio or marketing materials. Your privacy comes first.

Yeah, we use cookies - and not the chocolate chip kind, unfortunately. These are small files that help our website remember you and work better.

Essential Cookies

These keep the site functioning properly. They remember if you're logged into a client portal or help maintain your session as you navigate between pages. Can't really turn these off without breaking stuff.

Analytics Cookies

We use these to understand how people use our site - which pages are popular, where folks are coming from, how long they stick around. It's all anonymized data that helps us make the site better. You can disable these through your browser settings if you want.

Your Browser Settings

Most browsers let you control cookies through their settings. You can block them entirely, get notified when they're set, or delete them afterward. Just know that blocking certain cookies might make parts of our site less functional.

Security's a big deal for us. We've got multiple layers of protection in place to keep your data safe from unauthorized access, disclosure, or loss.

• Encryption: Data transmitted to and from our site is encrypted using industry-standard SSL/TLS protocols. Same goes for sensitive files we store.
• Access Controls: Only team members who actually need access to your information get it. We use password protection, two-factor authentication, and regular access reviews.
• Secure Storage: Client files and project data are stored on secure servers with regular backups. We work with reputable hosting providers who maintain high security standards.
• Regular Updates: We keep our systems and software up to date with the latest security patches. Boring but necessary.
• Team Training: Everyone on our team understands the importance of data protection and follows our privacy protocols.

That said, no system is 100% bulletproof. We do everything reasonably possible to protect your data, but we can't guarantee absolute security. If we ever experience a data breach that affects your information, we'll let you know promptly and explain what happened.

It's your data, and you've got rights regarding how we use it. Here's what you can do:

Access Your Information

You can ask us what personal information we have about you. We'll provide a copy of the data we're holding, usually within 30 days of your request.

Correct Inaccuracies

If something we have on file is wrong or outdated, just let us know and we'll fix it. Happens more often than you'd think - people move, change phone numbers, all that.

Request Deletion

Want us to delete your information? In most cases, we can do that. However, we might need to keep certain records for legal or regulatory reasons - like completed project documentation that's required for building permits or professional liability purposes.

Opt Out of Communications

Not interested in our newsletters or updates anymore? No hard feelings - just click the unsubscribe link in any email we send, or shoot us a message asking to be removed from our mailing list.

Object to Processing

In certain situations, you can object to how we're processing your data. We'll review your request and stop the processing unless we have legitimate grounds to continue.

To exercise any of these rights, just contact us at info@halmorianquintho.info or call us at (416) 555-0182. We'll verify your identity and get back to you as soon as we can.

We don't keep your information forever - that'd be weird and unnecessary. But different types of data have different retention periods based on practical and legal requirements.

Active Project Data

While we're working on your project, we keep everything we need to deliver our services. This includes all communications, design files, technical drawings, and related documentation.

Completed Project Archives

After a project wraps up, we're required by professional regulations to maintain certain records for at least 10 years. This protects both you and us if questions come up down the road about the work we did.

Inquiry & Contact Information

If you reached out but didn't end up working with us, we'll typically keep your contact info for about 2 years. After that, it gets purged unless you've asked to stay on our mailing list.

Financial Records

Tax laws require us to keep financial documents for 7 years. Invoices, payment records, contracts - all that stuff sticks around for the duration.

We're based in Toronto, Canada, and most of our operations stay within Canadian borders. However, some of the services we use - like cloud storage or email platforms - might store data on servers located in other countries, including the United States.

Different countries have different privacy laws, and not all of them offer the same level of protection as Canada's privacy legislation. When we use services that transfer data internationally, we make sure they have appropriate safeguards in place - like standard contractual clauses or Privacy Shield certification (where applicable).

By using our services, you're acknowledging that your information might be processed outside Canada. If this concerns you, feel free to discuss it with us - we're always open to finding solutions that work for everyone.

Our website might include links to external sites - maybe a supplier's website, a building product manufacturer, or projects we've worked on that have their own sites. Once you click through to another site, you're subject to their privacy policy, not ours.

We try to only link to reputable sources, but we can't control what those sites do with your information or how they protect it. So if you're heading off to another site, it's worth checking out their privacy practices too.

Same goes for social media - if you're interacting with us on platforms like Instagram or LinkedIn, those companies have their own data policies that govern what happens with your information on their platforms.

Our services aren't directed at anyone under 18, and we don't knowingly collect information from kids. Architecture projects typically involve adults making decisions about property and investments, so this usually isn't an issue.

If we somehow find out we've collected personal information from someone under 18 without proper parental consent, we'll delete it as quickly as possible. If you're a parent and think your child has given us their information, please get in touch so we can sort it out.

Privacy laws evolve, our business practices change, and sometimes we need to update this policy to reflect that. When we make significant changes, we'll let you know - either through a notice on our website, an email if we have your address, or both.

We'll always post the "last updated" date at the top of this policy so you know when changes were made. For minor updates - like fixing typos or clarifying language - we might not send out notifications, but the date will still get updated.

We encourage you to check back occasionally, especially if it's been a while since you last reviewed it. Not the most exciting reading material, we know, but it's worth staying informed about how we're handling your data.

If you've got questions about this privacy policy or concerns about how we're handling your information, don't hesitate to reach out. We're real people here and we're happy to explain anything that seems unclear.

We'll do our best to respond within a few business days. For more urgent privacy concerns, call us directly and we'll prioritize your request.

If you're not satisfied with how we've addressed your privacy concerns, you also have the right to file a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. But hopefully it won't come to that - we take this stuff seriously and want to make things right if something's gone wrong.