1. Overview
SocketCanada Inc. (“SocketCanada”, “we”, “our”, or “us”) is a Canadian corporation operating at the intersection of enterprise software engineering and cloud-native architecture consulting. We are committed to protecting the personal information of our clients, prospective clients, website visitors, and job applicants (“you”) in accordance with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), applicable provincial privacy legislation, and global best practices.
This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, why we collect it, how we use and disclose it, and how you can access, correct, or request deletion of your information.
2. Information We Collect
We collect personal information only when it is necessary for a legitimate business purpose. The categories of information we may collect include:
2.1 Information You Provide Directly
- Contact information: name, email address, phone number, company name, and job title (submitted via our contact form or communications).
- Project inquiry details: technical requirements, budget ranges, and project descriptions you share with us.
- Employment information: résumés, cover letters, work history, and references submitted through job applications.
- Communications: emails, messages, and any other content you send us directly.
2.2 Information Collected Automatically
- Usage data: pages visited, time on site, referring URL, and general navigation patterns.
- Device and browser information: IP address (anonymized where possible), browser type and version, operating system, and screen resolution.
- Cookies and similar technologies: as described in Section 6 below.
2.3 Information from Third Parties
We do not purchase or acquire personal information from data brokers. We may receive limited professional information (such as LinkedIn profile data) when you interact with our content on third- party platforms.
3. How We Use Your Information
We use the personal information we collect for the following purposes:
- Service delivery: responding to project inquiries, providing consulting and engineering services, and managing client relationships.
- Communications: sending service-related updates, proposals, invoices, and project communications.
- Recruitment: evaluating job applications and contacting candidates about employment opportunities.
- Website improvement: analyzing aggregate usage data to improve site performance and user experience.
- Legal compliance: meeting obligations under Canadian law, including tax reporting and anti-fraud measures.
- Marketing (with consent): sending newsletters or thought-leadership content where you have opted in under Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL).
We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties for their marketing purposes.
4. Legal Basis for Processing
Under PIPEDA, we process personal information based on your express or implied consent, or where processing is necessary to fulfil a contract, comply with a legal obligation, or for our legitimate business interests where those interests are not overridden by your privacy rights. You may withdraw consent at any time by contacting us at privacy@socketcanada.com, subject to legal and contractual restrictions.
5. Disclosure of Your Information
We do not disclose personal information to third parties except in the following circumstances:
- Service providers: trusted vendors who assist us in operating our business (e.g., cloud hosting on Microsoft Azure, email delivery, analytics), bound by confidentiality and data processing agreements.
- Legal requirements: where required by applicable law, court order, or governmental authority.
- Business transfers: in the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, subject to standard confidentiality protections.
- With your explicit consent.
When we transfer data outside of Canada (e.g., to Azure data centres), we ensure comparable privacy protections are in place through contractual safeguards.
7. Data Retention
We retain personal information only as long as necessary for the purposes described in this policy, or as required by law. Client project records are retained for a minimum of seven (7) years for tax and legal purposes. Marketing contact data is retained until you withdraw consent. Job application data is retained for up to twelve (12) months after a hiring decision unless you request earlier deletion.
8. Your Rights
Under PIPEDA and applicable provincial law, you have the right to:
- Access the personal information we hold about you.
- Correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
- Withdraw consent for any processing based on consent, subject to legal restrictions.
- Request deletion of your personal information where no legal obligation requires its retention.
- File a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) at priv.gc.ca.
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@socketcanada.com. We will respond within 30 days.
9. Security
We implement industry-standard technical and organizational security measures appropriate to the sensitivity of your information. These include encryption in transit (TLS 1.2+), access controls, regular security audits, and secure development practices aligned with OWASP standards. However, no transmission over the internet is 100% secure. If you believe your information has been compromised, contact us immediately at privacy@socketcanada.com.
10. Children's Privacy
Our website and services are directed at businesses and professionals. We do not knowingly collect personal information from individuals under the age of 18. If you believe we have inadvertently collected such information, please contact us immediately and we will delete it promptly.
11. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The “Last Updated” date at the top of this page indicates when the most recent changes were made. We will provide prominent notice of material changes on our website. Continued use of our site following such notice constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.
12. Contact Us
For all privacy-related inquiries, access requests, or complaints, please contact our Privacy Officer:
This document was prepared in accordance with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (S.C. 2000, c. 5) and the Canada Anti-Spam Legislation (S.C. 2010, c. 23).