This Privacy Policy explains how Zilwa ("we," "us," or "our") collects, uses, discloses, and protects personal information when you visit our website at zilwa.net or engage with our services. We are committed to protecting your privacy in accordance with Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and Quebec's Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector (Law 25).
1. Who We Are
Zilwa is a business growth and technology services provider based in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada, serving businesses in the Ottawa region. We offer NFC-based review systems, custom websites, social media landing pages, and related software solutions.
For the purposes of this policy, Zilwa is the "organization" responsible for the personal information described below.
2. Information We Collect
Information you provide directly
When you contact us through our website's inquiry form, we collect:
- Your full name
- Your business email address
- Your business or brand name
- The package or service you are interested in
- The content of your message or project details
Information collected automatically
When you visit our website, we may collect limited technical information, including your IP address, browser type, device type, and pages visited. This information is used only for site security, performance monitoring, and aggregate analytics.
Information from NFC tap interactions
Our NFC cards and stands, when deployed by our business clients, may record the total number of taps and general geographic region (via IP address). We do not collect the identity, name, email address, or device identifier of individual customers who tap our clients' NFC cards.
We do not collect: payment card details, government identification numbers, biometric data, or any sensitive personal information as defined under applicable privacy law.
3. How We Use Your Information
We use the personal information we collect to:
- Respond to your inquiries and provide requested services
- Communicate with you about your project, contract, or account
- Send you service-related updates and invoices
- Improve our website, services, and customer experience
- Comply with applicable legal and regulatory obligations
- Prevent fraud and ensure the security of our systems
We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties for marketing purposes.
4. Legal Basis for Processing
We process personal information on the basis of:
- Your consent — when you submit our contact form or request services
- Contract performance — when we deliver services you have engaged us for
- Legitimate business interest — for security, fraud prevention, and service improvement
- Legal obligation — where we are required by law to retain or disclose information
5. Who We Share Information With
We use trusted third-party service providers to operate our business. These providers process personal information only on our behalf and only for the purposes we specify:
- Cloudflare, Inc. — website hosting and content delivery
- Web3Forms — secure transmission of contact form submissions
- Proton AG — secure email hosting for our business correspondence
We may also disclose personal information if required by law, court order, or to protect the safety, rights, or property of Zilwa or others.
6. Data Retention
We retain personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes described in this policy, or as required by applicable law:
- Inquiries that do not lead to a contract: up to 24 months
- Active client records: for the duration of the business relationship, plus 7 years for tax and legal compliance
- Website analytics: aggregate data retained indefinitely; identifiable data retained up to 14 months
7. Your Rights
Under Canadian privacy law, you have the right to:
- Access the personal information we hold about you
- Request correction of inaccurate information
- Request deletion of your personal information (subject to legal retention requirements)
- Withdraw consent for future processing
- Lodge a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada or the Commission d'accès à l'information du Québec
To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the details in Section 13.
8. Cookies and Tracking
Our website may use a minimal set of cookies or similar technologies for essential functionality and aggregate analytics. We do not use third-party advertising cookies or cross-site tracking scripts.
You can control cookies through your browser settings. Disabling cookies may affect certain features of the site.
9. Security
We use industry-standard security practices to protect your personal information, including:
- HTTPS encryption for all website traffic (TLS 1.2+)
- Encrypted email storage through Proton Mail
- Access controls and authentication for our internal systems
- Regular review of our third-party providers' security practices
While no system is 100% secure, we take reasonable measures to protect your information. If a breach occurs that poses a real risk of significant harm, we will notify affected individuals and the relevant privacy authority as required by law.
10. Children's Privacy
Our services are intended for businesses and are not directed at individuals under 16 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from minors. If you believe a minor has provided us with personal information, please contact us so we can remove it.
11. International Transfers
Some of our service providers (such as Cloudflare and Web3Forms) may process or store data outside of Canada, including in the United States. We select providers that maintain strong privacy and security practices, and we require them to protect personal information in a manner consistent with this policy.
12. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The "Last Updated" date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision. Continued use of our website after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.
13. Contact Us
For questions about this Privacy Policy, to exercise your privacy rights, or to raise a concern:
Zilwa
Gatineau, Quebec, Canada
Email: privacy@zilwa.net
If you are not satisfied with our response, you may contact:
- Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada — priv.gc.ca
- Commission d'accès à l'information du Québec — cai.gouv.qc.ca