Privacy Policy

WatchDawg ("WatchDawg," "we," "us," or "our") operates a community safety platform that enables users to submit, view, and explore location-based reports about incidents, observations, and community safety concerns.

We take privacy seriously. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, why we collect it, how it may be used or disclosed, how long it may be retained, and the choices and rights available to you.

This Privacy Policy applies to the WatchDawg mobile application, website, and related services (collectively, the "Service").

By using the Service, you acknowledge the practices described in this Privacy Policy. Where consent is required by applicable law, we will obtain consent appropriate to the nature and sensitivity of the information and the purpose for which it is collected, used, or disclosed.

Our handling of personal information is intended to comply with applicable Canadian privacy law, including the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) where applicable.

Our separate Data Policy provides additional information concerning the use of report information, aggregated information, de-identified information, analytics, and data made available through WatchDawg.

1. Accountability and Privacy Contact

WatchDawg is responsible for personal information under its control.

We designate a Privacy Officer, or another authorized representative, to oversee our privacy practices and compliance with applicable privacy requirements.

Questions, requests, complaints, or concerns concerning this Privacy Policy or our handling of personal information may be submitted using the privacy or support contact information provided within the Service or on our website.

Our Privacy Officer is responsible for receiving and responding to privacy-related inquiries, access and correction requests, deletion requests, and complaints.

2. Information We Collect

The information we collect depends on how you use WatchDawg.

A. Account Information

When you create or maintain a WatchDawg account, we collect limited account information, including:

• email address, used to create, authenticate, secure, and manage your account and to provide essential service-related communications;
• province, used to understand geographic adoption and usage trends across Canada and to evaluate, improve, and expand the Service;
• date of birth, used for age attestation and to determine whether you meet WatchDawg's minimum age requirement of 16 years;
• account identifier;
• account role and status;
• account creation and modification information;
• acceptance of applicable terms, policies, or consent records; and
• information necessary to authenticate and secure your account.

Your email address, province, date of birth, and other private account information are not displayed publicly through reports.

B. Report Information

When you submit a report, we may collect information you voluntarily provide, including:

• report category;
• report description;
• date and time of the reported observation or incident;
• geographic location associated with the report;
• community, municipality, neighbourhood, or area;
• vehicle make, model, colour, approximate year, licence plate information, direction of travel, or distinguishing characteristics;
• property type or property-related information;
• damage or incident indicators;
• whether police or another authority was contacted;
• other structured information relevant to the report; and
• a police occurrence or reference number, if you choose to provide one.

Police occurrence or reference numbers submitted through fields designated as private are not displayed publicly.

C. Photos and Videos

You may choose to upload photographs or videos in connection with a report.

Media may contain personal information about other individuals, including faces, vehicles, licence plates, residences, belongings, or other identifying details.

WatchDawg does not automatically guarantee that faces, licence plates, addresses, or other identifying information contained in uploaded media will be blurred, redacted, or removed before publication.

You are responsible for reviewing media before submitting it and for complying with our Reporting Guidelines and Terms and Conditions.

D. Location Information

WatchDawg uses geographic information to provide location-based community safety features.

Depending on how you use the Service, we may collect:

• a location manually selected or entered by you;
• latitude and longitude associated with a submitted report; and
• your device's location when you expressly authorize location access for features such as "My Location."

WatchDawg does not require continuous background location tracking unless a feature expressly states otherwise and you provide the required permission.

You may disable device location access through your device settings. Some location-based features may not function correctly if location permission is disabled.

E. Device, Technical and Usage Information

We may automatically collect limited technical and usage information necessary to operate, secure, maintain, and improve the Service, which may include:

• device and browser type;
• operating system;
• application version;
• IP address;
• login and authentication events;
• error, diagnostic, and security logs;
• feature interactions;
• timestamps;
• approximate geographic information derived from technical information where applicable; and
• aggregated application usage statistics.

The specific information collected may vary depending on the technologies and service providers used by WatchDawg.

F. Moderation and Flagging Information

If you report or flag content, or if another user flags content you submitted, we may collect:

• the report or content involved;
• reason for the flag;
• moderation category;
• moderation decisions;
• related communications;
• timestamps; and
• administrative notes necessary to investigate and resolve the matter.

G. Communications With Us

If you contact WatchDawg for support, privacy requests, complaints, or other inquiries, we may collect the information contained in those communications and information necessary to respond to your request.

3. Why We Collect and Use Information

We collect and use information only for identified and appropriate purposes, including to:

• create, authenticate, secure, and administer user accounts;
• use email addresses for account creation, authentication, account management, security, and essential service communications;
• use province information to measure geographic adoption, usage patterns, and user adoption trends across Canada;
• use date of birth for age attestation and to determine whether users meet WatchDawg's minimum age requirement of 16;
• allow users to create, edit, manage, and delete reports;
• display eligible reports on the WatchDawg community map;
• provide geographic search and map functionality;
• provide real-time or near-real-time report updates;
• operate community safety and awareness features;
• identify potentially related reports, observations, locations, or trends;
• perform automated similarity analysis;
• moderate reports and uploaded content;
• detect potentially prohibited, abusive, fraudulent, misleading, threatening, harassing, or unlawful activity;
• review user flags and complaints;
• enforce our Terms and Conditions and Reporting Guidelines;
• maintain the security and integrity of the Service;
• investigate suspected misuse or security incidents;
• respond to support and privacy requests;
• produce aggregated or de-identified statistics, analytics, and trend information;
• develop and improve WatchDawg's features and services;
• comply with applicable legal requirements; and
• protect the rights, property, safety, and security of WatchDawg, our users, and others.

We will not use personal information for a materially new purpose without providing appropriate notice and obtaining additional consent where required by law.

4. Consent and Your Choices

We seek meaningful consent for the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information where consent is required.

Certain information is necessary to provide the Service. An email address, province, and date of birth are required to create and maintain a WatchDawg account. Date of birth is used to determine whether the user satisfies WatchDawg's 16+ age requirement.

Other information and permissions are optional. For example:

• you choose whether to upload photos or videos;
• you choose whether to permit device location access;
• you choose what optional report details to provide; and
• you choose whether to provide certain private information, such as a police occurrence number.

Where appropriate, we may request consent at the time information is collected or when a particular feature is activated.

You may withdraw consent to certain optional processing at any time, subject to legal or contractual restrictions and reasonable notice. Withdrawal may prevent certain features from functioning.

Device permissions, including location, camera, and photo-library permissions, can also be managed through your device settings.

5. Public Reports and Information Visible to Others

WatchDawg is designed around community-submitted reports. Information submitted into fields identified as public may therefore be visible to other WatchDawg users and, depending on the Service configuration, potentially other visitors to the Service.

Public report information may include:

• report category;
• report description;
• report location;
• date and time;
• vehicle or property information;
• photographs or videos; and
• other information intentionally included in the public portion of a report.

Your email address, province, date of birth, private account information, and information specifically designated by WatchDawg as private are not displayed as part of a public report.

Do not include information in a public report that you do not want others to see.

Users must not use WatchDawg to publish unnecessary personal information, private contact information, unsupported accusations against identifiable individuals, or other content prohibited by our Terms and Conditions or Reporting Guidelines.

Public reports are user-submitted observations and should not be interpreted as verified findings of fact, criminal records, police reports, or determinations that any person committed wrongdoing.

6. Automated Processing and Artificial Intelligence

WatchDawg may use automated systems and artificial intelligence to assist with functions such as:

• content moderation;
• detecting potentially prohibited content;
• identifying similarities between reports;
• categorizing reports;
• detecting trends or patterns; and
• assisting administrators in reviewing content.

Automated similarity or pattern analysis does not establish that the same individual, vehicle, property, or event was involved in multiple reports and should not be interpreted as a determination of guilt, responsibility, or identity.

Where appropriate, administrative review may be used before action is taken on flagged content.

We do not use automated processing to make legal determinations about whether an individual has committed a crime.

7. How We Share Information

We do not disclose personal information except for identified purposes, with consent where required, or as otherwise permitted or required by law.

Information may be disclosed in the following circumstances.

Service Providers

We may use third-party service providers to operate portions of WatchDawg, including providers of:

• cloud hosting and database infrastructure;
• authentication;
• mapping and geocoding;
• application infrastructure;
• analytics;
• security;
• artificial intelligence;
• content moderation;
• email or communications; and
• technical support.

These providers may process information only as necessary to provide services to WatchDawg and are expected to protect information using safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information.

Some service providers may process or store information outside Canada, including in the United States, as further described under Cross-Border Processing below.

Public Display

Information that you intentionally submit as part of a public report may be made available through the WatchDawg platform as described in this Privacy Policy.

Enterprise, Institutional, and Data Services

WatchDawg may provide organizations, municipalities, public agencies, researchers, businesses, community organizations, or other customers with access to aggregated, statistical, trend-based, or de-identified information derived from activity on the platform.

Such information may be licensed, sold, or otherwise provided commercially.

Our objective is that commercially provided datasets and analytics do not directly identify a WatchDawg account holder unless the individual has provided appropriate consent or disclosure is otherwise permitted or required by law.

Publicly submitted report information may also be incorporated into analytics, trends, maps, statistics, or other data products in accordance with our Terms, Data Policy, this Privacy Policy, and applicable law.

We do not sell users' private account credentials, email addresses, provinces, dates of birth, or other non-public account information to data brokers or advertisers.

Legal and Safety Disclosures

We may preserve or disclose information where we reasonably believe doing so is necessary or permitted to:

• comply with applicable law;
• respond to a court order, warrant, subpoena, or other valid legal process;
• investigate fraud, abuse, threats, or unlawful conduct;
• enforce our legal rights or agreements;
• protect the security of the Service; or
• address a situation involving a serious threat to the safety of an individual or the public where disclosure is permitted or required by law.

Business Transactions

Information may be transferred as part of a proposed or completed merger, acquisition, financing, restructuring, sale of assets, or similar business transaction, subject to applicable legal requirements and appropriate safeguards.

8. We Do Not Sell Personal Information for Advertising

WatchDawg does not sell private account information, email addresses, provinces, dates of birth, precise device location information, or other non-public personal information to third parties for targeted advertising.

Unless expressly disclosed and appropriate consent is obtained, we do not use information collected through WatchDawg to track users across unrelated third-party applications or websites for targeted advertising.

If these practices change in the future, this Privacy Policy and any applicable app-store privacy disclosures will be updated and consent will be obtained where required.

9. Third-Party Services

WatchDawg may rely on third-party platforms and infrastructure to operate the Service.

These may include mapping or geocoding services such as OpenStreetMap or Nominatim, hosting and database providers, application infrastructure providers, and artificial intelligence or content-processing services.

When information is processed by a service provider on our behalf, WatchDawg remains responsible for personal information under its control as required by applicable law.

Third-party services may maintain their own privacy and security practices. We assess service providers as appropriate based on the nature and sensitivity of information they process.

Some third-party service providers may operate infrastructure outside Canada, including in the United States.

10. Data Retention

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, for legitimate operational or security requirements, or as required or permitted by law.

Generally:

• account information is retained while your account remains active;
• public reports are retained while they remain active or available through the Service;
• media is generally retained while the associated report is retained;
• authentication, security, and technical logs may be retained for a limited period for security, fraud prevention, troubleshooting, and legal purposes;
• moderation records may be retained where reasonably necessary to enforce our policies, investigate misuse, maintain platform integrity, or establish a record of enforcement actions;
• transaction or legally required records may be retained for applicable statutory periods; and
• aggregated or irreversibly de-identified information may be retained for longer periods because it no longer reasonably identifies an individual.

We periodically review retained information and delete, anonymize, or securely dispose of information when it is no longer reasonably required.

11. Account and Data Deletion

You may request deletion of your WatchDawg account and associated personal information.

WatchDawg provides an account deletion option from within the Service. We also provide, or will provide where required for distribution through an application marketplace, an external method for initiating an account deletion request through our website.

When an account deletion request is completed, we will delete or de-identify personal information associated with the account except where retention is reasonably necessary or legally permitted or required, including for:

• legal compliance;
• fraud or security investigations;
• resolving disputes;
• enforcing agreements;
• responding to legal claims or proceedings;
• maintaining records of serious platform abuse or moderation where necessary and lawful; or
• other purposes permitted or required by applicable law.

Where information must be retained, it will be limited to what is reasonably necessary for the applicable purpose and will not be used for unrelated purposes.

Deletion from active systems may not immediately remove information from encrypted backups. Backup copies may remain until they are overwritten or deleted according to our ordinary backup-retention procedures.

Where reasonably possible, public reports associated with a deleted account will be deleted or de-identified unless WatchDawg has a lawful and appropriate reason to retain them.

12. Access and Correction

Subject to applicable law and applicable exceptions, you may request:

• confirmation of whether we hold personal information about you;
• access to personal information under our control;
• information about how that information has been used or disclosed; and
• correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal information.

Some account information may be reviewed or updated directly through your WatchDawg account.

For other requests, contact our Privacy Officer through the privacy contact information provided in the Service or on our website.

We may need to verify your identity before providing access to, correcting, or deleting personal information.

13. Security

We use administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards designed to protect personal information against loss, theft, unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use, or modification.

Depending on the nature and sensitivity of the information, safeguards may include:

• encryption of information in transit;
• authentication controls;
• role-based or restricted administrative access;
• database and infrastructure security controls;
• logging and monitoring;
• access limitations;
• service-provider security controls; and
• procedures for responding to security incidents.

No electronic system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. Accordingly, we cannot guarantee that unauthorized access, disclosure, loss, or misuse will never occur.

Users are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of their account credentials.

14. Privacy and Security Breaches

If WatchDawg becomes aware of a breach involving personal information, we will investigate and respond in accordance with applicable law.

Where required by PIPEDA or other applicable legislation, we will report breaches of security safeguards to the appropriate privacy regulator and notify affected individuals where the breach creates a real risk of significant harm.

We will maintain records of qualifying privacy breaches as required by applicable law.

15. Cross-Border Processing

WatchDawg uses third-party technology and infrastructure providers to operate the Service. Personal information may be stored or processed outside Canada, including in the United States.

This may include information processed through cloud hosting, database, authentication, application infrastructure, analytics, artificial intelligence, communications, security, or other technology service providers.

When personal information is processed or stored outside Canada, it may be subject to the laws of the jurisdiction in which it is processed or stored and may be accessible to courts, law-enforcement agencies, or governmental authorities in accordance with applicable law.

The use of service providers outside Canada does not remove WatchDawg's responsibility for personal information under its control. Where personal information is transferred to service providers for processing, WatchDawg uses contractual, administrative, organizational, technical, or other safeguards appropriate to the circumstances and sensitivity of the information.

16. Children's Privacy and Age Requirement

WatchDawg is intended for individuals 16 years of age or older. Individuals under 16 are not permitted to create a WatchDawg account.

We collect a user's date of birth during account registration for age-attestation purposes, including to determine whether the user meets WatchDawg's minimum age requirement.

We do not knowingly permit children under 16 to maintain WatchDawg user accounts.

If we learn that an individual under 16 has created an account or provided personal information contrary to this requirement, we may suspend or delete the account and take reasonable steps to delete the associated personal information, subject to applicable legal requirements.

If you believe a child under 16 has provided personal information to WatchDawg, please contact us.

17. Cookies, Local Storage and Similar Technologies

The WatchDawg website or application may use cookies, local storage, tokens, or similar technologies for:

• authentication;
• maintaining sessions;
• remembering preferences;
• security;
• application functionality; and
• limited analytics.

We do not use these technologies to track users across unrelated websites or applications for targeted advertising unless we expressly disclose that practice and obtain any consent required by applicable law.

18. Push Notifications

If WatchDawg offers push notifications, notifications will only be delivered where permitted by your device settings.

You may disable push notifications at any time through your device settings or applicable WatchDawg settings.

Disabling notifications does not delete your account or prevent you from otherwise using available WatchDawg features.

19. Accuracy of Information

We take reasonable steps to ensure personal information under our control is as accurate, complete, and current as necessary for the purposes for which it is used.

WatchDawg cannot guarantee the accuracy of information contained in community-submitted reports.

Users are responsible for submitting information honestly and in accordance with our Reporting Guidelines and Terms and Conditions.

20. User-Generated Content and Third-Party Personal Information

Reports may contain information concerning people who are not WatchDawg users.

Users must exercise caution when submitting information about identifiable individuals and must comply with our Terms and Conditions and Reporting Guidelines.

WatchDawg may moderate, restrict, remove, or otherwise take action concerning reports that contain inappropriate personal information, harassment, threats, doxxing, unsupported personal accusations, or other prohibited content.

The availability of a report through WatchDawg does not mean that WatchDawg has independently verified the report or endorses its contents.

21. Your Privacy Choices and Rights

Depending on applicable law and the circumstances, you may have the ability to:

• access personal information held about you;
• request correction of inaccurate information;
• delete your account;
• request deletion of eligible personal information;
• withdraw consent to optional collection, use, or disclosure;
• disable device permissions such as location, camera, or photo access;
• control push notifications; and
• make a complaint about our privacy practices.

Certain rights may be subject to exceptions under applicable law.

Withdrawing consent does not invalidate collection, use, or disclosure that occurred before consent was withdrawn.

22. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes to WatchDawg, our information-handling practices, applicable law, or regulatory requirements.

The date at the top of this Privacy Policy indicates when it was most recently updated.

If we make a material change involving a new collection, use, or disclosure of personal information, we will provide appropriate notice and obtain additional consent where required by law.

We will not rely solely on continued use of WatchDawg as consent to a materially new use of sensitive personal information where applicable law requires express consent.

23. Complaints

If you have a concern about WatchDawg's handling of personal information, we encourage you to contact our Privacy Officer first so that we can investigate and respond.

You may also have the right to make a complaint to the:

Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
30 Victoria Street
Gatineau, Quebec K1A 1H3
Canada

Nothing in this Privacy Policy limits any rights available to you under applicable privacy law.

24. Contact Us

For privacy questions, access or correction requests, deletion requests, complaints, or questions about this Privacy Policy, contact:

WatchDawg Privacy Officer

Email: support@watchdawg.ca

Website: www.watchdawg.ca

You may also use the privacy or support functionality available within WatchDawg.

25. Relationship to Other WatchDawg Policies

This Privacy Policy should be read together with our:

• Terms and Conditions;
• Reporting Guidelines; and
• Data Policy.

If there is a conflict concerning the handling of personal information, this Privacy Policy will govern to the extent required by applicable privacy law.