The short version
- ✓We only collect information that is necessary to provide our service.
- ✓We never sell your personal information to anyone — ever.
- ✓We never share your phone number or email with service providers outside our platform.
- ✓Your data is stored on Canadian servers and subject to Canadian law.
- ✓You can request, correct, or delete your data at any time.
- ✓We are fully compliant with PIPEDA and CASL.
1. Who We Are
LocalScout Canada Inc. (“LocalScout,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) operates the LocalScout website and mobile application (the “Platform”) — a marketplace that connects Canadians with local, verified service professionals across all service categories, operating nationwide across all Canadian provinces and territories.
We are incorporated under the laws of Canada and our operations are entirely Canadian. We are the “organization” responsible for personal information we collect, as defined under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), S.C. 2000, c. 5.
Questions about this policy can be directed to our Privacy Officer at privacy@localscout.ca.
2. What We Collect and Why
We apply the PIPEDA principle of limiting collection: we only gather personal information that is directly necessary to deliver our service.
Account information
What: Full name, email address, password (hashed — never stored in plain text), and optional phone number.
Why: To create and manage your account and to contact you about your bookings.
Profile information
What: Service address (customers), business name and service area (providers), profile photo (optional).
Why: To match you with relevant local service professionals or service requests.
Booking information
What: Service type, preferred dates, job description, and booking history.
Why: To facilitate bookings between customers and providers, and to resolve disputes.
Reviews
What: Written review text and star rating you submit after a completed booking.
Why: To maintain the integrity of our review system. Only customers who completed a booking through LocalScout may leave a review.
Provider verification documents
What: Trade licence number, liability insurance certificate, and identity verification documents (providers only).
Why: To verify that service providers meet our trust and safety standards before they are listed on the Platform.
Usage data
What: Pages visited, search queries, device type, browser type, and IP address.
Why: To improve our Platform performance and user experience. This data is anonymised and aggregated wherever possible.
Communications
What: Messages sent between customers and providers within our in-platform messaging system.
Why: To facilitate service coordination and to investigate complaints or disputes.
3. How We Use Your Information
We use personal information only for the purposes for which it was collected, consistent with the PIPEDA principle of limiting use, disclosure, and retention.
- ✓Providing the Platform: Creating your account, processing bookings, enabling in-platform messaging, and displaying verified provider profiles.
- ✓Trust & safety: Verifying provider licences, insurance, and background. Investigating complaints, resolving disputes, and removing fraudulent accounts.
- ✓Service communications: Sending transactional emails about your bookings, account, and security (e.g., booking confirmations, email verification). These are not marketing emails and cannot be turned off while your account is active.
- ✓Platform improvement: Analysing anonymised, aggregated usage data to improve search relevance, booking flows, and overall user experience.
- ✓Legal compliance: Retaining records as required by Canadian law, responding to lawful government requests, and enforcing our Terms of Use.
- ✓Marketing (with your explicit consent only): If you opted in during registration or later, we may send you product updates, tips, and promotions from LocalScout. You can unsubscribe at any time — see Section 7.
5. Your Data Stays in Canada
LocalScout stores all personal information on servers located within Canada. We do not transfer your personal data outside of Canada.
This is a deliberate policy decision. Many competing platforms are owned by US corporations and transfer Canadian consumer data to servers in the United States, where it is subject to US law — including broad government surveillance authorities. Your data with LocalScout is governed exclusively by Canadian law, including PIPEDA.
If any future infrastructure change would involve transferring data internationally, we will update this Privacy Policy and notify affected users before the change takes effect.
6. Your Rights Under PIPEDA
PIPEDA gives you meaningful rights over your personal information. You can exercise any of these rights by contacting us at privacy@localscout.ca. We will respond within 30 days.
Right of access
Request a copy of the personal information we hold about you and learn how it has been used.
Right to correction
Ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete personal information. You can also update most information directly in your account settings.
Right to withdraw consent
Withdraw your consent for us to process your personal information for discretionary purposes (e.g., marketing). Note that withdrawing consent for essential processing may prevent us from providing the service.
Right to deletion
Request deletion of your account and associated personal information. Some data may be retained as required by law or for legitimate business purposes (e.g., completed transaction records).
Right to complain
If you believe we have violated your privacy rights, you may file a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada at priv.gc.ca.
Right to know about automated decisions
If we make any automated decisions that significantly affect you, you have the right to know the logic involved and to request human review.
7. Email & CASL Compliance
Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) requires us to obtain your express consent before sending commercial electronic messages. We take this obligation seriously.
Transactional emails (booking confirmations, email verification, password resets, security alerts) are sent as part of providing the service you requested. These do not require separate marketing consent.
Marketing emails (product updates, promotions, tips) are sent only if you explicitly opted in — either during registration or through your account notification settings. We never pre-tick this box for you.
Unsubscribing is instant. Every marketing email contains a one-click unsubscribe link that removes you from our marketing list immediately. You can also manage preferences in your account settings at any time.
We will never share your email address with service providers on the Platform. Providers can only contact you through LocalScout’s in-platform messaging system, for the duration of an active booking.
9. Children’s Privacy
LocalScout is intended for users who are 18 years of age or older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from individuals under 18. If you believe a minor has created an account, please contact us at privacy@localscout.ca and we will promptly delete the account and associated data.
10. How Long We Keep Your Data
We retain personal information only as long as necessary for the purposes it was collected, consistent with PIPEDA’s principle of limiting retention.
11. Security
We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorised access, loss, disclosure, or destruction.
- ✓All data is encrypted in transit (TLS 1.2+) and at rest (AES-256).
- ✓Passwords are hashed using industry-standard algorithms — we never store your password in plain text.
- ✓Access to personal data is restricted to staff who need it to perform their role.
- ✓We use JWT-based authentication with short-lived access tokens and secure refresh token rotation.
- ✓We conduct regular security reviews of our infrastructure and code.
If you discover a security vulnerability, please report it responsibly to security@localscout.ca.
12. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to our practices or applicable law. When we make material changes, we will notify you by email (if you have an account) and post a notice on the Platform at least 14 days before the change takes effect. The “Last updated” date at the top of this page always reflects the most recent revision. Continued use of the Platform after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.
13. Contact Us / Privacy Officer
If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or your personal information, please contact our Privacy Officer:
LocalScout Canada Inc.
If you are not satisfied with our response, you may file a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.