1. Introduction
This Privacy Policy explains how Vapour Auto (referred to as "we," "us," or "our") collects, uses, and protects personal information when you visit vapourauto.com or use our services.
We are based in Ottawa, Ontario and we operate under Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL).
By using our website or services, you agree to the practices described here. If you do not agree, please do not use our website or services.
2. Information We Collect
We collect information in three ways: you give it to us, your device shares it automatically, and we observe it through cookies.
Information you give us
- Your name, email address, and phone number when you contact us or request a quote.
- Vehicle details such as make, model, condition, and photos you share when you book a service.
- Your address if you request mobile service or directions.
- Any other information you choose to include in messages, calls, or forms.
Information collected automatically
- Technical data such as your IP address, browser type, device type, and operating system.
- Usage data such as the pages you visit, time spent on each, and the link or search you used to reach us.
Information from cookies and similar technologies
See section 4 below, or read our Cookie Policy for the full list and how to manage them.
3. How We Use Your Information
We use your information to:
- Respond to your enquiries and provide quotes.
- Schedule, prepare for, and deliver the services you book.
- Send booking confirmations, reminders, and follow-up messages.
- Keep records for warranty, insurance, and accounting purposes.
- Send marketing communications, only with your consent under CASL, and only until you opt out.
- Improve our website and services based on how visitors use them.
- Comply with legal obligations such as tax law and lawful requests from authorities.
We do not use your information for automated decision-making or profiling that produces legal effects on you.
4. Cookies and Tracking Technologies
We use cookies and similar technologies on vapourauto.com. Cookies are small text files stored on your device that help the site function, remember your preferences, and let us understand how the site is used.
We use the following categories:
- Strictly necessary cookies for core site functions. You cannot disable these.
- Analytics cookies to count visits and measure how the site performs.
- Marketing cookies to measure our advertising on Google.
You can manage or disable cookies in your browser settings. Disabling some cookies may affect how the site works for you.
When you arrive from one of our Google ads, the site also keeps the details of that ad click in your browser for up to 90 days: Google's click id, the campaign tags in the ad's link and the page you landed on. That lets an enquiry or booking be linked to the ad that brought you. It holds no name, email address or phone number.
For full details, including every cookie and storage item and how long each is kept, see our Cookie Policy.
5. Sharing Your Information
We do not sell your personal information. Ever.
We share your information only in these specific situations:
- Service providers who help us run our business, such as our email host, website host, booking platform, payment processor (if applicable), and analytics provider. These providers are bound by confidentiality and may only use your data for the purpose we share it for.
- Our booking system, OrbisX. Booking requests and enquiry forms go to OrbisX, the booking and customer system we use. Any ad click details from your visit and the service you chose go with them.
- Google Ads, to measure our advertising. When an enquiry becomes a booked job, we send Google Ads the ad click id and the booking reference, the email address and phone number on the booking in hashed form (scrambled one way, so Google can match them but not read them), and, for calls that came from our ads, the phone numbers on booked jobs with the times of those calls. We use this only to see which ads lead to booked work.
- Legal compliance. If a court order, subpoena, or law requires us to disclose information, we will. We will tell you if we are legally allowed to.
- Business transfers. If Vapour Auto is ever sold, merged, or reorganised, your information may transfer as part of that transaction. The new owner must honour this policy or notify you before changing it.
- With your consent. Any other sharing happens only when you ask us to or agree to it.
6. Data Retention
We keep your personal information only as long as we need it for the purpose it was collected:
- Enquiries that did not become services: up to 12 months, then deleted.
- Customer records: for the life of the warranty plus 7 years for tax and insurance purposes.
- Marketing contacts: until you unsubscribe, then removed from active lists.
- Website analytics: anonymised aggregates are retained indefinitely. Personal identifiers are kept according to the analytics provider's default retention, typically 14 months.
When retention ends, your data is securely deleted or anonymised.
7. Your Rights Under PIPEDA
Under Canadian privacy law you have the right to:
- Access the personal information we hold about you.
- Correct any information that is inaccurate or incomplete.
- Withdraw consent at any time, subject to legal or contractual restrictions. Withdrawing consent may mean we can no longer provide certain services to you.
- Lodge a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada if you believe we have not handled your information properly. You can reach them at priv.gc.ca.
To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the details in section 11. We will respond within 30 days.
8. Children's Privacy
Our website and services are not directed at children under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them.
If you are a parent or guardian and you believe your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us so we can delete it.
9. Third-Party Services
Our website uses the following third-party services:
- Google Maps for embedded location maps. Google's own privacy policy applies to data collected through these embeds.
- Google Fonts for typography. Font requests may share your IP address with Google.
- Social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok when you click our social links. These platforms have their own privacy policies.
- A payment processor if you book and pay online. Payment details are handled directly by the processor and we do not store full card numbers on our servers.
We carefully select third parties and require them to meet privacy standards equivalent to our own. However, we are not responsible for the privacy practices of third-party sites or services you reach through our links.
10. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, services, or legal obligations. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page shows the most recent revision.
For material changes that affect how we collect or use your information, we will notify you by posting a prominent notice on our website and, where appropriate, by email.
We encourage you to review this policy periodically.
11. Contact Us
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, want to exercise your rights, or want to make a complaint, contact us: