ProgramFinder ("we", "us", "our") is committed to protecting the privacy of the students, parents, and guidance counsellors who use the Program Finder tool. This policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and what choices you have. We comply with Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) and applicable provincial privacy laws.
1. Information We Collect
Information you provide directly
When you submit the shortlist request form on the Program Finder tool, we collect:
- Your name
- Your email address
- Your stated career interest or area of study
- Your risk tolerance preference
- Your preferred work style
- The programs you saved to your shortlist
Submission of this form is entirely voluntary. You can browse and use the full Program Finder tool without submitting any personal information.
Information collected automatically
When you use the tool, we may automatically collect:
- Anonymised click data (which program Apply buttons were clicked, which programs were compared or shortlisted)
- Basic browser and device information (browser type, operating system, screen size)
- Referring page and session duration
- IP address (anonymised for analytics)
Click data is associated with program and college IDs — not with your identity — unless you also submit the lead form.
2. How We Use Your Information
We use the information you provide to:
Email you the list of programs you saved, matched to your preferences.
Use your stated preferences to surface the most relevant programs from our dataset.
With your explicit CASL consent, share your interest with Growth and Premium partner colleges whose programs you shortlisted.
Aggregated, anonymised data helps us improve program scoring, UI design, and data quality.
We do not use your information for advertising, behavioural profiling, or sale to third-party data brokers.
3. CASL Compliance & Consent
ProgramFinder operates in compliance with Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL, S.C. 2010, c. 23). When you submit the shortlist form:
- You provide express consent to receive your program shortlist by email.
- You may separately consent to having your program interest forwarded to Ontario colleges whose programs appear in your shortlist. This consent is clearly labelled and optional.
- Every commercial email we send includes a clear, one-click unsubscribe mechanism.
- We record the timestamp, IP address, and form version at the time of consent, which we retain as proof of consent under CASL.
6. Information Shared with College Partners
Growth and Premium tier Ontario college partners receive lead packets containing:
- Your name and email address
- Your stated career interest and work style preference
- The names of programs from that college that appeared in your shortlist
- The date and time of your submission
College partners are contractually required to:
- Use your information only to respond to your stated program interest.
- Comply with CASL in all communications they send you.
- Not re-sell or share your information with unrelated third parties.
- Honour unsubscribe requests within the CASL-mandated timeframe.
7. Data Retention
| Data | Retention period |
|---|---|
| Lead form submissions (name, email, preferences, shortlist) | 24 months from submission, then deleted |
| Anonymised click data (program and college IDs) | Retained indefinitely for aggregate analytics |
| Consent records (CASL proof of consent) | 3 years from last contact, as required by CASL |
| Session storage (shortlist in browser) | Cleared when you close the tab |
8. Your Rights
Under Canadian privacy law (PIPEDA and applicable provincial legislation) you have the right to:
- Access — request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
- Correction — ask us to correct inaccurate information.
- Deletion — request deletion of your personal information (subject to legal retention requirements).
- Withdrawal of consent — unsubscribe from emails at any time using the link in any email we send, or by contacting us directly.
- Complaint — file a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (priv.gc.ca) if you believe your rights have been violated.
To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the details in Section 10. We will respond within 30 days.
9. Security
We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information, including:
- HTTPS encryption for all data in transit
- Database access controls limiting who can read lead data
- Webhook payloads transmitted over HTTPS to partner college systems
- Access tokens for college portal logins (random, unguessable, revocable)
No transmission over the internet is completely secure. While we take all reasonable precautions, we cannot guarantee absolute security.
10. Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, want to exercise your rights, or wish to withdraw consent, please contact:
To unsubscribe from all emails, click the unsubscribe link in any email we have sent you, or contact us directly.