Privacy Policy

La Vie au Québec (vieauqc.com) is a free bilingual site helping newcomers understand everyday Quebec life — RAMQ, SAAQ, francisation, schools, housing, transit, etc. The site is operated from Quebec, Canada.

This policy explains how we collect, use, and protect your personal information. It complies with Quebec's Law 25 (in force since September 2023) and Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL).

We collect only the information needed to operate the site and improve your experience. Specifically:

• Newsletter signup: your email address, signup date, and a unique unsubscribe token.
• User account (if you sign in): email and name, managed by our authentication provider Clerk.
• Site activity (signed-in users): bookmarks, albums, guide-viewing history, completed checklist items, flashcard progress, useful-votes.
• Content reports: if you report a guide error, we keep your message and, if provided, your email for follow-up.
• Technical data: anonymized IP, device and browser type, page visited. Collected by our host Cloudflare and the analytics tools below.

We never ask for your date of birth, social insurance number, or any financial information. No third-party ads are served on the site.

• Provide the service: display guides, save bookmarks and preferences, track flashcard progress, etc.
• Send the newsletter: weekly email with new guides, including an unsubscribe link in every send.
• Improve the site: understand which pages help, spot outages, prioritize future guides.
• Security: detect and block abuse, fraud, and spam.

We never sell your data and never share it with advertisers.

• Newsletter emails: kept while subscribed. After unsubscribe, the address is marked "unsubscribed" but retained for audit purposes (proof of original consent) for the minimum CASL-required period.
• User account: kept while your account exists. You can request deletion at any time (see "Your rights").
• Site activity: kept while your account exists. Deleted with your account.
• Content reports: kept up to 24 months after resolution, then deleted.
• Technical logs (host): Cloudflare retains raw access logs for ~7 days per their own policy.

The site relies on several third-party services. Each receives only the data needed for its role and is bound by its own privacy policy.

• Cloudflare (host, US): serves all pages and runs the D1 database. Receives IP, HTTP headers, and request bodies.
• Clerk (authentication, US): handles login, account creation, and session. Receives your email and name when you sign up.
• MailerSend (newsletter sender, US/EU): receives your email only at the moment of a weekly send.
• Cloudflare Web Analytics: anonymous traffic stats, no cookies or persistent ID.
• Google Analytics 4: currently configured in default-deny Consent Mode v2 per Law 25 — no cookies set until explicit consent (banner forthcoming).

No other third party receives your data. We participate in no ad networks, affiliate programs, or data brokers.

Under Quebec's Law 25, you have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you.
• Correct any inaccurate information.
• Delete your data (right to be forgotten), subject to legal retention requirements.
• Withdraw consent at any time (e.g., unsubscribe via the link in every email).
• Portability: receive your data in a structured, commonly-used format.
• File a complaint with Quebec's Commission d'accès à l'information (CAI) if you believe we've mishandled your data.

To exercise any of these rights, email us at [email protected]. We respond within a maximum of 30 days.

The site sets a minimal number of cookies:

• Clerk session cookies (essential): keep you signed in after authentication.
• Local preference: if you pick a region in the city selector, your choice is saved in your browser's local storage for next time.
• Analytics: by default, no analytics cookies are set. A consent banner (forthcoming) will allow GA4 to set cookies if you explicitly agree.

All data is transmitted over HTTPS. Passwords are never stored in plaintext — authentication is delegated to Clerk, a specialized provider. The D1 database is hosted by Cloudflare with encryption at rest.

We may update this policy to reflect changes in our practices or regulation. The last-updated date is shown at the top of this page. Material changes will be announced by email to newsletter subscribers.

For any question about this policy or how your data is handled, contact us at [email protected].