Coded Trades

Privacy Policy.

This policy explains what personal information Coded Trades collects when you use our website or buy a course, what we do with it, who we share it with, and the choices you have. We keep it short and in plain language. If anything is unclear, email us (section 12).

In this policy, "Coded Trades", "we", "us" and "our" mean Coded Trades, based in British Columbia, Canada. "You" means the person using the site or taking the course. This policy covers codedtrades.ca, plumbingredseal.ca and our course platform on Thinkific. It forms part of our Terms and Conditions.

We follow BC's Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA), Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) where it applies, and Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL).

By creating an account, buying a course or using the site, you consent to us collecting, using and sharing your information in the ways described here. You can withdraw that consent at any time (section 8), though it may mean we can no longer provide the course.

1. What we collect

We only collect what we need to run the course and the site.

Account details. Your name, email address and password when you create an account. If you sign in with Google or Apple, we receive your name and email from them.

Purchase details. What you bought, when, the price paid, and the last four digits and card type of your payment method. Full card numbers go straight to our payment processor and never reach us.

Course activity. Which lessons you have opened, your progress, quiz and practice exam results, and how long you spend in the course. This is how the platform tracks your completion and how we see which material needs work.

Support and renewal requests. Emails you send us, and any documents you attach. If you ask for a free renewal after an exam attempt, we will see your exam results letter, which includes your name, exam date and result.

Reviews and feedback. Anything you choose to send us or post, such as a review, testimonial or a correction to the Content.

Website and device data. Your IP address, browser and device type, rough location (city level), the pages you visit, how you got to our site, and cookie identifiers. See section 5 on cookies.

We do not ask for, and please do not send us, sensitive information such as government ID numbers, health details or financial account numbers. If you send them by mistake, we will delete them.

Anonymous data. We also use data that cannot identify you, such as how many students answered a question correctly or which lessons get the most views. We may combine your information with other students' and strip out anything that identifies you, and we do not try to re-identify it afterwards.

2. How we use it

We use your information to:

•    set up and run your account and give you access to the course you bought

•    process payments, send receipts, and deal with refund or billing problems

•    answer your emails and support requests

•    handle courtesy extensions and free renewals, including checking your exam results letter

•    send you emails about your purchase, access period, and changes to the course or our terms

•    send you study tips, updates and offers, if you have agreed to receive them

•    see which parts of the course students struggle with so we can improve the Content

•    publish reviews or testimonials you give us, in the way our Terms and Conditions describe

•    understand how people find and use the site, and measure whether our advertising works

•    keep the site secure, spot account sharing or copying, and enforce our Terms and Conditions

•    meet our legal obligations, such as tax and accounting records

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use it to make automated decisions that have a legal effect on you.

3. Who we share it with

We share information only with the services we need to run Coded Trades, and only what each one needs:

Thinkific hosts our course platform and your account. Thinkific is based in Vancouver, BC.

Payment processors (such as Stripe or PayPal, through Thinkific Payments) handle your card details and process payments.

Email services send our course emails, receipts and newsletters.

Analytics and advertising tools such as Google Analytics, Google Ads and Meta (Facebook and Instagram) help us measure site traffic and our ads. These tools use cookies and may link your visit to your account with them. See section 5.

Video and file hosting services deliver our video lessons and downloads.

Each of these companies has its own privacy policy and is responsible for how it handles data under its own terms. We choose providers that have reasonable security in place.

We may change providers from time to time. If we do, the replacement will fall into one of the same categories: course hosting, payments, email, analytics and advertising, video and file hosting, or customer support tools. Email us if you want to know the current list.

We may also share information if the law requires it, such as a court order or a request from a regulator, or to protect our rights, for example if someone is copying or reselling the Content.

If Coded Trades is sold or taken over by another business, your information may be transferred to the new owner so they can keep providing the course. We will tell you if that happens.

4. Where your information is stored

Some of the services we use store data outside Canada, including in the United States. This means your information may be subject to the laws of those countries, and their authorities may be able to access it under those laws. We only work with providers that commit to protecting your information, but we cannot promise the same protection as Canadian law in every case.

5. Cookies and tracking

Cookies are small files stored on your device by your browser. We use three kinds:

Essential cookies keep you logged in and make checkout work. The site will not work properly without them.

Analytics cookies tell us how many people visit, which pages they read and where they came from. We use this to improve the site.

Advertising cookies let us measure whether our Google and Meta ads lead to visits or purchases, and may show you our ads on other sites after you visit ours.

You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings. Blocking essential cookies will stop parts of the site working. You can also opt out of Google's ad personalization at adssettings.google.com and Meta's at facebook.com/ads/preferences.

Some browsers have a "Do Not Track" setting. There is no agreed standard for how websites should respond to it, so like most sites we do not change how the site works based on that signal. Use the cookie and ad settings above instead.

6. How long we keep it

•    Account and course activity: for as long as you have an account, and for up to 2 years after your access ends so we can restore it if you come back.

•    Purchase and payment records: 7 years, which is what Canadian tax law requires.

•    Exam results letters sent for a renewal: deleted within 90 days of the renewal being processed.

•    Support emails: up to 2 years after the matter is closed.

•    Marketing emails: until you unsubscribe. We keep a record of your unsubscribe so we don't email you again.

•    Website analytics: as set by the analytics provider, normally up to 26 months.

When we no longer need information, we delete it or make it anonymous.

Deleted information may stay in our providers' backups for a short time afterwards, normally no more than 90 days, until those backups are cleared on their regular schedule.

7. Keeping it safe

We use reasonable steps to protect your information, including secure (HTTPS) connections, password-protected accounts, and providers with their own security certifications. We never see or store your full card number. No system is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee that information will never be lost or accessed without permission. If a breach happens that could cause you real harm, we will tell you and the BC Privacy Commissioner as the law requires.

Please keep your password private and tell us straight away if you think someone has accessed your account.

8. Your choices and rights

You can:

•    see the personal information we hold about you and ask for a copy

•    ask us to correct anything that is wrong or out of date

•    unsubscribe from marketing emails at any time using the link in the email

•    withdraw your consent to how we use your information, though this may mean we can no longer provide the course

•    ask us to delete your account and personal information, except what we have to keep by law (such as purchase records)

•    ask how we handle any part of your information, or complain if you think we have got it wrong

You can update your name, email and password yourself in your account settings on the course platform. For anything else, email us (section 12) and we will reply within 30 days. We may ask you to confirm your identity first.

If you are not happy with our answer, you can contact the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia (oipc.bc.ca) or the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (priv.gc.ca).

9. Emails from us

We send two kinds of email. Service emails about your account, purchase, access period and changes to our terms are part of running the course and you cannot opt out of them while you have an account. Marketing emails with study tips, updates and offers are only sent if you agreed to them when you signed up or bought a course, and every one has an unsubscribe link. We follow Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation.

10. Children

Our courses are for adults. You must be at least 18 years old, or the age of majority where you live if that is higher, to create an account. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone younger. If you think a minor has given us information, email us and we will delete it.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time, for example if we change a service provider. We will post the new version on the site with a new "last updated" date, and email you about any major change.

12. Contact us

Questions about privacy, or a request to see, correct or delete your information:

•    Business name: Coded Trades

•    Email: [privacy or support email to confirm]

Last updated: [date of publishing]