Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Firefighter Academy ("we", "us", "our") collects, uses, discloses, and protects your personal information when you use our website and test-preparation service (the "Service"). Firefighter Academy is based in Ontario, Canada and is the organization responsible for the personal information under its control.

Information we collect

We collect the personal information that you provide directly to us through the Service, or that is generated automatically when you use it. We do not collect personal information from third-party data brokers, public directories, or other outside sources.

• Account information — name, email address, and login credentials you create.
• Profile information — target tests, test date, and study preferences you choose to provide.
• Usage information — practice attempts, answers, scores, progress, and how you interact with the Service.
• Support and enquiry information — messages you send us through the contact form or by email.
• Technical information — IP address, browser and device type, and similar information collected automatically.
• Purchase information — order confirmation details we receive from our payment processor. We do not collect or store your full payment card number.

How we use your information

• to create and manage your account (performance of our contract with you);
• to provide the Service, track progress, and personalize study recommendations (performance of contract);
• to process purchases and provide receipts and access (performance of contract);
• to maintain security and prevent fraud or abuse (legitimate interests);
• to measure and improve the Service (legitimate interests);
• to provide customer support (performance of contract / legitimate interests);
• to send service or marketing communications where permitted (consent or legitimate interests).

Where we rely on consent — for example marketing email — you may withdraw it at any time. In Canada, we collect, use, and disclose personal information with your knowledge and consent except where the law permits otherwise.

Cookies and similar technologies

We use essential cookies and storage that are required to operate the Service, such as keeping you signed in and remembering your privacy choice. Everything else — analytics and measurement, whether our own or a third party's — stays switched off until you accept it. We ask once through the notice shown on your first visit, and your choice applies until you change it.

You can change or withdraw your choice at any time using the Cookie settings link in our website footer, or under Privacy & Data in your profile settings. Withdrawing is as easy as accepting: we stop the analytics immediately and clear the related cookies. You can also clear or block cookies through your browser settings. Disabling essential cookies may prevent parts of the Service from working. We keep a record of each privacy choice — the date, the option selected, and the wording you were shown — so we can demonstrate the basis on which we collected information.

Usage analytics we run ourselves

If you accept analytics, we record how the Service is used in our own database so we can improve it. This includes:

• Page activity — which pages of the Service you view, when you arrive and leave, and how long you spend, grouped into a session.
• Milestone events — actions such as creating an account, starting or finishing a practice test, viewing results or pricing, and completing a purchase, together with the page they happened on.
• How you found us — the campaign tags in the link you clicked, the referring website, the page you landed on, and a general description of your browser, operating system, and device type. We do not store your full browser fingerprint string.

For signed-in members this information is linked to the account. If you decline analytics, none of it is recorded. We delete page-activity and milestone records after 12 months and how-you-found-us records after 24 months, automatically.

Third-party analytics and measurement

With your consent, we also use third-party analytics and advertising measurement tools (such as Google Analytics and conversion tracking tags) to see which pages are visited, how the Service performs, and how effective our marketing is. These tools may collect device and usage information, including IP address, and may set cookies. They do not load at all until you accept, and we signal your choice to them using Google's consent controls. We use the resulting information in aggregate to improve the Service, and we do not use it to make automated decisions that have legal effects about you.

Email communications

We send transactional emails that are necessary to operate your account — for example account confirmation, password reset, purchase receipts, and important service notices. With your consent, we also send optional emails such as study tips, new practice test announcements, and offers. Every marketing email includes an unsubscribe link, and you can opt out at any time without affecting your access to the Service. Our email practices are intended to comply with Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL).

Payment processing

We use Stripe as our payment processor. Payment and billing information is submitted to Stripe to complete transactions and support payment security, fraud prevention, and refunds. We receive transaction information needed to confirm purchases, provide access, keep accounting records, and assist customers, such as purchase email, product, amount, and payment status. We do not collect or store your full payment card number. Stripe handles personal information in accordance with its Privacy Policy. For payment or refund questions about your Firefighter Academy purchase, use our contact page.

How we share your information

We share personal information with:

• Service providers — hosting, database, email delivery, analytics, and support tools that operate the Service on our behalf under contract.
• Our payment processor — to sell our products and handle payments, tax, invoicing, and refunds.
• Professional advisers — such as legal and accounting advisers, where necessary.
• Authorities — where required or permitted by law.

We do not sell your personal information.

Data retention

We keep your personal information for as long as your account is active and as needed to provide the Service. Specific periods we apply:

• Account, profile, and practice results — while your account is active, and deleted on request.
• Page activity and milestone events — 12 months, then deleted automatically.
• How-you-found-us records — 24 months, then deleted automatically.
• Email consent and unsubscribe records — kept while needed to prove consent and honour opt-outs under CASL.
• Purchase and tax records — as required by Canadian tax and accounting law.

When information is no longer needed, we delete or anonymise it. You can ask us to delete your account and associated data at any time.

Children

The Service is intended for adults preparing for firefighter recruitment and is not directed at children under 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

Your rights and how to exercise them

Subject to applicable law, you may request access to, correction of, or deletion of your personal information, restrict or object to certain processing, request portability, and withdraw consent to analytics or marketing at any time.

• Analytics consent — use the Cookie settings link in the footer, or Privacy & Data in your profile settings.
• Marketing email — use the unsubscribe link in any marketing message.
• Access, correction, or deletion — use the request buttons under Privacy & Data in your profile settings, or email us.

You can also email firefighteracademy.ca@gmail.com or use our contact page. We respond to Canadian access requests within 30 days, and within one month where the GDPR applies.

Canadian privacy (PIPEDA)

If you are located in Canada, we handle your personal information in accordance with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). If you are not satisfied with our response to a privacy concern, you have the right to complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.

Quebec residents (Law 25)

If you are in Quebec, the Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector, as amended by Law 25, also applies. We use technology that can identify, locate, or profile you — specifically cookies and the usage analytics described above — only after you activate it by accepting analytics; it is deactivated by default. You may ask for your information to be communicated to you in a structured, commonly used technological format, and you may complain to the Commission d'accès à l'information du Québec.

Who is accountable

Our Privacy Officer is responsible for our compliance with this policy and can be reached at firefighteracademy.ca@gmail.com (subject line: Privacy Officer), or through our contact page. Firefighter Academy operates from Ontario, Canada.

International transfers

Our service providers may store or process information outside your province or country, including in the United States and the European Union. In those cases the information may be accessible to courts and authorities in that jurisdiction, and we use appropriate contractual safeguards (such as Standard Contractual Clauses or equivalent terms) to protect it.

Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures, including encryption in transit, access controls, and row-level database permissions, to protect your personal information. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, but we work to protect your information and will notify you and the appropriate authorities of a breach where required by law.

Contact us

Privacy questions, requests, or complaints: firefighteracademy.ca@gmail.com or our contact page. Firefighter Academy, Ontario, Canada.

Changes

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be reflected by the "Last updated" date above.