Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Househouse Systems (“we,” “us,” “our”) collects, uses, discloses, and protects personal information when you visit househousesystems.com and its subdomains, use our hosted applications, contact us, or engage our services. We follow Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and applicable provincial privacy laws.

“Personal information” means information about an identifiable individual. Business contact information used to communicate with you in your professional capacity is treated as personal information where the law requires.

1. Information we collect

Information you give us

Contact and inquiry details: name, firm, role, email, phone, and the content of messages you send through forms, email, or booking links.
Proposal and client onboarding information: firm details, billing contact, team member names and emails (for seat provisioning and training), signatures on proposals or agreements.
Account information: login credentials, profile details, and preferences for client portals and hosted applications.
Content you upload: project data, files, images, and notes you place in a hosted application. This may include personal information about your staff, clients, or consultants — you are responsible for having the right to share it.
Newsletter / updates sign-ups: email address and any preferences you set.

Information collected automatically

Usage and device data: IP address, browser type, device type, operating system, referring URLs, pages visited, time on page, and interaction events.
Cookies and similar technologies: see our Cookie Policy.
Application logs: error logs, automation run logs, and audit trails in hosted applications, which may include user identifiers and timestamps.

Information from third parties

Platform providers we build on (e.g. Airtable, Teable, Google Workspace) may share account or usage data with us as part of delivering the service.
Publicly available professional information (e.g. firm website, LinkedIn) when we research prospective clients or prepare proposals.

2. How we use personal information

We use personal information to:

respond to inquiries and provide quotes or proposals;
set up, deliver, support, and improve our services and hosted applications;
provision user seats, run training, and manage client relationships;
invoice and collect payment, and keep required financial records;
send service notices, updates, and — with your consent where required — marketing communications;
monitor, secure, and troubleshoot the Site and hosted applications;
analyze how the Site is used so we can improve it;
comply with legal obligations and enforce our agreements.

We do not sell personal information.

3. Legal basis and consent

Under PIPEDA, we collect, use, and disclose personal information with your knowledge and consent, except where the law permits or requires otherwise. Consent may be express (e.g. ticking a box to receive our newsletter) or implied by the context (e.g. providing your email so we can reply to you). You may withdraw consent at any time, subject to legal or contractual restrictions and reasonable notice; withdrawing consent may limit our ability to provide certain services.

4. Commercial electronic messages (CASL)

We comply with Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation. We only send marketing emails to people who have given express consent or with whom we have an existing business relationship as defined by CASL. Every marketing email includes an unsubscribe link. Transactional and service messages (invoices, support replies, security notices, account information) are not marketing and may be sent without a separate opt-in.

5. AI and automated processing

Some hosted applications use AI services (large language models, image generation, 3D generation, document generation). When you use those features, the content you submit may be sent to a third-party AI provider for processing. We select providers with contractual commitments not to train on customer data where such commitments are available, but you should not submit sensitive personal information to AI features unless your Client Agreement specifically covers it. We do not use AI to make decisions that have legal or similarly significant effects on individuals.

6. How we share personal information

We share personal information only as needed to run our business and deliver services:

Service providers and platforms that host, process, or support our Site and applications — for example: website hosting and CMS ([e.g. Framer, Netlify, Cloudflare]), databases and app platforms ([e.g. Airtable, Teable, Supabase]), email and productivity ([e.g. Google Workspace]), analytics ([e.g. Google Analytics / Plausible]), scheduling ([e.g. Calendly / Google Calendar]), e-signature and document tools, payment and accounting providers, and AI model providers ([e.g. Anthropic, OpenAI, fal.ai]). These providers may only use personal information to provide services to us.
Your own organization: where you use a client portal or application provisioned for your firm, administrators at your firm may see your account and activity data.
Professional advisors: lawyers, accountants, and insurers, under confidentiality.
Legal and safety: where required by law, court order, or a lawful request, or to protect our rights, property, or safety or those of others.
Business transfers: if we sell, merge, or reorganize the business, personal information may be transferred to the successor, subject to this policy.

7. Cross-border transfers

Our service providers may store or process personal information outside Canada, including in the United States and the European Union. While outside Canada, information is subject to the laws of that jurisdiction and may be accessible to foreign governments, courts, or law enforcement. We use contractual and technical safeguards designed to protect it regardless of location.

8. Retention

We keep personal information only as long as needed for the purposes it was collected, to meet legal, accounting, and reporting obligations, and to resolve disputes. Typical retention periods:

Inquiry emails and proposals not resulting in an engagement: [e.g. 24 months]
Client project data in hosted applications: for the term of the Client Agreement plus [e.g. 90 days] for hand-off or export, unless otherwise agreed
Financial and tax records: 7 years, as required by Canadian law
Marketing consent records: for as long as you are subscribed, plus [e.g. 3 years] as proof of consent

When information is no longer needed, we delete or anonymize it.

9. Security

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information — including access controls, encryption in transit, least-privilege permissions on platforms we manage, and secure handling of credentials and attachment links. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. If we become aware of a breach of security safeguards involving personal information that creates a real risk of significant harm, we will notify affected individuals and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada as required by law.

10. Your rights

Subject to legal exceptions, you have the right to:

Access the personal information we hold about you and learn how it has been used and disclosed;
Correct inaccurate or incomplete information;
Withdraw consent to further collection, use, or disclosure;
Unsubscribe from marketing at any time;
Request deletion of personal information we no longer have a legitimate reason to keep;
Ask questions or complain about our privacy practices.

To exercise any of these rights, contact our Privacy Officer at [PRIVACY EMAIL]. We may need to verify your identity. We will respond within 30 days, or tell you if we need more time and why.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you can contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (priv.gc.ca) or the privacy regulator in your province.

11. Data you upload about others

If you upload personal information about your firm’s staff, clients, consultants, contractors, or other third parties into a hosted application, you are the organization responsible for that information under privacy law and we process it on your behalf and under your instructions. You are responsible for having the necessary consents and legal authority. Our obligations as your service provider are set out in your Client Agreement.

12. Children

The Site and our services are intended for businesses and professionals. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If you believe a minor has provided us with personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

13. Third-party sites

The Site links to third-party websites and services. This policy does not apply to them. Review their privacy policies before providing personal information.

14. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. We will post the revised policy with a new “Last updated” date. Material changes will be highlighted on the Site or sent to you directly where appropriate.