Privacy policy

1. Overview

Cowichan Paws ("we", "us") operates cowichanpaws.ca. This policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and your rights. We are committed to protecting your privacy and complying with the British Columbia Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) and applicable Canadian privacy law.

2. Information we collect

We collect minimal information:

• Park submissions: If you submit a park suggestion, we collect the information you voluntarily provide such as park name, location, and description. Contact details are optional.
• Usage data: We may collect anonymous analytics data such as pages visited and general geographic region via Vercel Analytics. This data cannot identify you personally.
• Cookies: We use a single session cookie for admin authentication only. We do not use advertising or tracking cookies.

3. How we use your information

Information you submit is used solely to review and potentially publish park listings. We do not sell, rent, or share your personal information with third parties for marketing purposes.

4. AI and automated data processing

Our automated scraping agent collects publicly available park data from OpenStreetMap and retrieves photos via the Google Places API. This process does not collect or process any personal information. Park descriptions are generated using the Anthropic Claude API from factual data only — no personal information is sent to AI services. All AI-generated content is reviewed by us before publication.

5. Third-party services

We use the following third-party services to operate the site:

• Vercel — website hosting (USA). Subject to Vercel's privacy policy.
• Supabase — database and file storage (Canada). Subject to Supabase's privacy policy.
• Google Places API — park photos and location data. Subject to Google's privacy policy. No personal user data is shared with Google.
• Anthropic Claude API — AI description generation. Only park factual data is sent — no personal information. Subject to Anthropic's privacy policy.
• OpenStreetMap — park location data (ODbL licence). No personal data is shared.

6. Data retention

Park submission data is retained for as long as necessary to operate the directory. You may request deletion of any information you submitted by contacting us at any time.

7. Your rights

Under PIPA (BC) you have the right to access personal information we hold about you and to request corrections or deletion. To exercise these rights contact us at hello@cowichanpaws.ca. We will respond within 30 days.

8. Children's privacy

This Service is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has submitted personal information, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.

9. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy occasionally. The date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision. Continued use of the Service constitutes acceptance of any changes.

10. Contact

Privacy questions or requests: hello@cowichanpaws.ca