Privacy Policy

1. About Public Pulse

Public Pulse is a civic engagement and public opinion platform that enables Canadians to:

• Participate in public opinion questions;
• Participate in verified local civic issues;
• View public opinion trends;
• Report local community issues for review;
• Access aggregated public opinion insights.

Public Pulse is an independent technology platform.

The publication of public opinion questions, local issues, reports, statistics, or aggregated results does not constitute endorsement, factual verification, political support, or policy advocacy by Public Pulse.

2. Personal Information

For the purposes of this Privacy Policy, Personal Information means information about an identifiable individual, as defined under applicable Canadian privacy laws.

Personal Information does not include information that has been anonymized so that it can no longer reasonably identify an individual.

3. Our Privacy Principles

Public Pulse is committed to:

• Collecting only information reasonably necessary for our services;
• Being transparent about how information is used;
• Using appropriate safeguards to protect information;
• Respecting users' privacy rights;
• Using anonymized data whenever possible for analytics and research.

4. Information We Collect

Depending on how you use the Platform, we may collect the following information.

A. Account Information

• Name (if voluntarily provided)
• Email address
• Social login credentials (such as Google, Apple, or Facebook authentication)
• Account creation date
• Account preferences

B. Demographic Information

You may choose to provide:

• Age or age range
• Gender (optional)
• Province or territory
• City or municipality
• Other demographic information voluntarily submitted

C. Participation Information

We collect information relating to your participation, including:

• Responses to public opinion questions
• Voting activity
• Participation history
• Verified local issue participation
• Referral activity
• Survey responses
• Civic participation statistics

D. Local Issue Submissions

If you submit a local issue, we may collect:

• Issue descriptions
• Geographic location
• Municipality or neighbourhood
• Supporting information
• Photographs or other media (if enabled)
• Additional information voluntarily submitted

Local issue submissions may be reviewed, edited, verified, approved, declined, or removed before publication.

Users should avoid submitting unnecessary personal information about themselves or other individuals.

E. Location Information

Depending on your settings, we may collect:

• Province
• Municipality
• City
• Postal code (if voluntarily provided)
• Approximate geographic location (where permission is granted)

Location information helps us:

• Display relevant local issues;
• Improve regional public opinion insights;
• Deliver geographically relevant content.

Users may decline certain location permissions; however, some localized features may not function as intended.

F. Technical Information

We may automatically collect:

• IP address
• Browser type
• Device type
• Operating system
• Website usage information
• Cookies
• Analytics information
• Device identifiers
• Log files

5. How We Use Your Information

We use information to:

• Create and manage user accounts;
• Authenticate users;
• Prevent duplicate voting;
• Detect fraud, abuse, bots, and suspicious activity;
• Maintain platform integrity;
• Display local issues and relevant content;
• Improve platform functionality;
• Generate public opinion insights;
• Produce demographic and regional trend analysis;
• Communicate important updates;
• Comply with legal obligations;
• Protect Public Pulse, our users, and the public.

Public Pulse collects and uses personal information only for purposes that a reasonable person would consider appropriate in the circumstances and, where required, with your knowledge and consent.

6. Public Opinion Analytics

Public Pulse analyzes participation together with demographic information such as:

• Province
• Municipality
• City
• Region
• Age group
• Gender (where provided)

Examples include:

• Public support for specific issues;
• Regional opinion trends;
• Civic participation trends;
• Community engagement statistics.

Reports, dashboards, research, and commercial insights are produced only using aggregated and anonymized information.

7. Aggregated and Anonymized Data

Public Pulse may create, publish, distribute, license, or sell aggregated, anonymized, statistical, or research information derived from Platform participation.

Such information:

• Does not identify individual users;
• Does not contain Personal Information;
• Cannot reasonably be used to identify any individual.

Public Pulse does not sell or rent Personal Information to advertisers, political parties, marketers, or other third parties.

8. Use of Participation Data

By participating in Public Pulse, you grant Public Pulse the right to use your responses, participation data, and related information in anonymized and aggregated form for:

• Statistical analysis;
• Public reporting;
• Research;
• Academic collaboration;
• Commercial insights;
• Platform improvement;
• Civic engagement initiatives.

No published or licensed analytics will identify individual users.

9. Automated Fraud Detection

To protect the integrity of public participation, Public Pulse may use automated systems to detect:

• Duplicate accounts;
• Duplicate voting;
• Suspicious activity;
• Automated traffic;
• Fraudulent behaviour;
• Abuse of the Platform.

Accounts engaging in prohibited conduct may be suspended or removed.

10. Information Sharing

We may share information with trusted service providers, including:

• Cloud hosting providers;
• Authentication providers;
• Analytics providers;
• Mapping providers;
• Security providers;
• Professional advisers;
• Payment providers (if applicable);
• Government authorities where required by law.

These providers are required to protect Personal Information appropriately.

We do not sell Personal Information.

11. Business Transfers

If Public Pulse undergoes a merger, acquisition, financing, corporate restructuring, sale of assets, or similar transaction, Personal Information may be transferred as part of that transaction, subject to applicable law and appropriate safeguards.

12. Data Security

We implement reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards, including:

• SSL/TLS encryption;
• Secure hosting environments;
• Restricted employee access;
• Authentication controls;
• Security monitoring;
• System logging;
• Periodic security reviews;
• Administrative security procedures.

Although we take reasonable precautions, no method of electronic transmission or storage can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

13. Data Retention

We retain Personal Information only as long as reasonably necessary to:

• Provide our services;
• Maintain platform integrity;
• Prevent fraud;
• Comply with legal obligations;
• Resolve disputes;
• Enforce our agreements.

Where appropriate, information may be anonymized for research and statistical purposes.

Aggregated or anonymized datasets created before account deletion generally cannot be removed because they no longer identify individual users.

14. Your Privacy Rights

Subject to applicable law, you may:

• Request access to your Personal Information;
• Request correction of inaccurate information;
• Request deletion of your account;
• Withdraw consent where legally permitted;
• Ask questions regarding our privacy practices;
• Request information about how your Personal Information is used.

Requests should be submitted to our Privacy Officer.

15. Account Deletion

Users may request deletion of their account at any time.

Following deletion, certain information may be retained where necessary to:

• Comply with legal obligations;
• Detect fraud;
• Resolve disputes;
• Protect platform security;
• Enforce agreements.

Aggregated or anonymized information that cannot reasonably identify you may continue to be retained and used.

16. International Processing

Public Pulse and its service providers may process, store, or access Personal Information outside Canada.

When Personal Information is processed outside Canada, it may be subject to the laws of the jurisdiction in which it is stored, including lawful access by courts, regulators, or government authorities.

We take reasonable steps to ensure that service providers protect Personal Information appropriately.

17. Cookies and Similar Technologies

Public Pulse uses cookies and similar technologies to:

• Authenticate users;
• Maintain secure sessions;
• Remember user preferences;
• Improve platform functionality;
• Analyze usage patterns;
• Enhance security;
• Improve user experience.

For additional information, please review our Cookie Policy.

18. Third-Party Services

Public Pulse may integrate with third-party services, including:

• Google Sign-In
• Apple Sign-In
• Facebook Login
• Analytics providers
• Cloud hosting providers
• Mapping providers

Your use of these services may also be governed by their respective privacy policies.

19. Age Requirement

Public Pulse is intended only for individuals who are 18 years of age or older.

We do not knowingly collect Personal Information from individuals under 18.

If we become aware that such information has been collected, we may remove the account and associated information.

20. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time.

Updated versions will be posted on this page with a revised "Last Updated" date.

Where required by law, we will provide additional notice of material changes.

Your continued use of the Platform after changes become effective constitutes acceptance of the revised Privacy Policy.

21. Complaints

If you have questions or concerns about our privacy practices, please contact our Privacy Officer.

If your concern cannot be resolved, you may have the right to submit a complaint to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada or another applicable privacy regulator.

22. Contact Us