Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

Living on Denman is a community resource website created to help Denman Island residents, visitors, community groups, service providers, and local organizations find and share useful information about life on Denman Island.

For the purposes of this Privacy Policy, “Living on Denman,” “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to the people and organizations responsible for operating and maintaining the website at livingondenman.ca.

2. Personal information we collect

We collect personal information only when it is reasonably necessary for the operation of the website and related community services.

Personal information may include:

• Your name
• Email address
• Phone number
• Mailing address, if you choose to provide it
• Organization, business, or group name
• Information submitted for inclusion in a community directory or skills directory
• Comments, corrections, additions, or inquiries submitted through website forms
• Membership or donation information
• Communications you send to us by email or through website forms
• Questions or prompts entered into any AI chat or “Denman Doorway” feature, where applicable
• Basic technical information such as IP address, browser type, device type, pages visited, referral links, and date/time of visits

We do not intentionally collect sensitive personal information unless you choose to provide it. Please do not submit private, sensitive, medical, financial, legal, or emergency information through general website forms or AI/chat features.

3. Directory listings and public information

Living on Denman includes community-facing directories and resource listings. If you submit information for a listing, we may publish the information you provide, including your name, organization name, service description, phone number, email address, website, or other listing details.

Please only submit information that you are comfortable having made public. Published directory information may be visible to website visitors and may be indexed by search engines.

If you want to update, correct, or remove a listing, please contact us at info@livingondenman.ca or use the relevant contribution/correction form on the website.

4. How we use personal information

We may use personal information to:

• Respond to questions, comments, corrections, and requests
• Create, update, verify, or remove directory listings
• Maintain the accuracy and usefulness of community resource information
• Process memberships, donations, or other voluntary contributions
• Send updates or communications where you have requested or consented to receive them
• Improve website content, navigation, accessibility, and functionality
• Maintain website security and prevent misuse
• Administer forms, directories, maps, chat tools, and related website features
• Meet legal, regulatory, accounting, or administrative requirements

We do not sell personal information.

5. Consent

We collect, use, and disclose personal information with your consent, except where otherwise permitted or required by law. Consent may be given directly, such as when you submit a form, send an email, request a listing, make a contribution, or sign up for communications.

You may withdraw consent at any time, subject to legal or operational limitations. If you withdraw consent, we may not be able to provide certain services, such as maintaining a directory listing or responding to a request.

6. Website forms and email communications

When you submit a form on the website, we collect the information included in that form. This may include your contact information, your message, and any details required to process your request.

If you contact us by email, we may retain your email address, message content, and related correspondence so that we can respond, maintain records, and follow up where appropriate.

We may use email lists or broadcast tools to send updates only to people who have subscribed, requested information, or otherwise consented to receive communications. You may unsubscribe or ask to be removed from such communications at any time.

7. Memberships, donations, and payment processing

Living on Denman may use third-party services, such as Zeffy or similar platforms, to process memberships, donations, and voluntary contributions.

When you use a third-party payment or membership form, your information is also handled according to that third party’s privacy policy and terms of use. Living on Denman does not receive or store full credit card numbers. We may receive transaction-related information such as your name, contact information, amount contributed, payment status, and other details needed for membership, donation, administrative, or record-keeping purposes.

8. AI chat and “Denman Doorway” features

Living on Denman may provide an AI-assisted question-and-answer feature to help visitors find information on the website or navigate local resources.

If you use this feature, please do not enter private, sensitive, confidential, medical, legal, financial, or emergency information. Questions submitted through AI/chat tools may be processed by third-party technology providers and may be logged or reviewed for technical maintenance, quality improvement, safety, or troubleshooting.

The AI/chat feature is intended for general information only. It should not be relied on as a substitute for professional advice, emergency services, official government information, or direct confirmation from a relevant organization or service provider.

9. Cookies, analytics, and technical information

Like many websites, Living on Denman may use cookies, server logs, analytics tools, and similar technologies to understand how visitors use the site and to improve performance, security, and usability.

This information may include:

• IP address
• Browser and device type
• Pages visited
• Time spent on pages
• Referring websites or search terms
• General location information inferred from technical data

You can adjust your browser settings to refuse or delete cookies. Some website features may not function properly if cookies are disabled.

10. Disclosure of personal information

We may disclose personal information only where reasonably necessary, including to:

• Website administrators, contractors, consultants, or volunteers who help operate the website
• Service providers that host, maintain, secure, or support the website
• Email, form, analytics, payment, donation, membership, mapping, or AI/chat service providers
• Organizations or individuals involved in responding to your request, where you have asked us to share information
• Legal, regulatory, or government authorities where required by law
• Others where necessary to protect the security, rights, or integrity of the website, its users, or the community

We require service providers to handle personal information responsibly and only for the purposes for which it was provided to them.

11. Storage and processing outside British Columbia or Canada

Some website, payment, email, analytics, hosting, or AI/chat service providers may store or process information outside British Columbia or outside Canada. When personal information is processed in another jurisdiction, it may be subject to the laws of that jurisdiction.

We aim to use reputable service providers and reasonable contractual, technical, and administrative safeguards to protect personal information.

12. Security safeguards

We take reasonable steps to protect personal information against unauthorized access, collection, use, disclosure, copying, modification, loss, or disposal.

These safeguards may include password-protected systems, restricted access, website security tools, secure hosting practices, software updates, administrative controls, and careful handling of information by those who help maintain the website.

No website or electronic system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. Please use care when submitting information online.

13. Retention and disposal

We keep personal information only as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy, or as required for legal, accounting, administrative, or operational reasons.

When information is no longer needed, we will delete, anonymize, or securely dispose of it where reasonably possible.

Directory listing information may remain published until it is updated, replaced, removed at the request of the person or organization responsible for the listing, or removed as part of website maintenance.

14. Access, correction, and removal requests

You may request access to personal information we hold about you. You may also ask us to correct, update, or remove your personal information, including public directory information.

To make a request, please contact Tony Gregson at info@livingondenman.ca.

We may need to verify your identity before responding to certain requests. We will respond within a reasonable time and in accordance with applicable privacy laws.

15. Links to other websites

Living on Denman may link to third-party websites, community organizations, businesses, government services, donation platforms, event pages, maps, and external resources.

We are not responsible for the privacy practices, content, accuracy, or security of third-party websites. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any external websites you visit.

16. Children and youth

Living on Denman is intended as a general community information resource. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children without appropriate consent.

If a parent or guardian believes that a child has submitted personal information and would like it removed, please contact us at info@livingondenman.ca.

17. Privacy questions or complaints

If you have a question, concern, correction request, or complaint about how Living on Denman handles personal information, please contact us first so we can review and respond.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may contact the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia.

18. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the website, our practices, service providers, or legal requirements.

The updated version will be posted on this page with a revised “Last updated” date. Your continued use of the website after changes are posted means you accept the updated Privacy Policy.