Banff Advisor ("Banff Advisor", "we", "us", "our") operates the website at www.banffadvisor.ca(the "Site"). We are based in Banff, Alberta, Canada.
We are committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal information in accordance with Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), Alberta's Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA), and other applicable privacy laws.
1. Information we collect
1.1 Information you provide
- Account information. If you sign in, we use Google Sign-In via Firebase Authentication. We receive your name, email address, profile photo URL, and a unique account identifier from Google.
- Saved favourites. When you save a special, event or restaurant, we store the item identifier alongside your account.
- Contact form submissions. If you contact us, we collect your name, email address, the subject you select, and the contents of your message.
- Newsletter subscriptions. If you subscribe to our weekly digest, we collect your email address.
- Notification preferences. If you opt in to push notifications, we collect a device token associated with your browser or device.
1.2 Information collected automatically
- Usage data. Pages viewed, links clicked, search terms entered, items favourited, time spent on the Site, and similar interaction events.
- Device and connection data. IP address, browser type and version, operating system, device type, screen size, referring URL, and timestamps.
- Approximate location. We may infer a coarse location from your IP address (e.g. country, region, city) to surface relevant content. We do not collect precise GPS location unless you explicitly grant browser permission.
- Cookies and similar technologies. See section 6 below.
2. How we use your information
We use personal information for the following purposes:
- To operate and maintain the Site, including authenticating you and storing your favourites and preferences.
- To respond to messages submitted through our contact form and other support requests.
- To send you newsletters, alerts, or notifications you have opted in to receive — you can unsubscribe at any time.
- To understand how the Site is used and to improve its content, performance and user experience.
- To detect, prevent and address security incidents, fraud, abuse, and violations of our Terms of Service.
- To display relevant advertising (see section 7) and to measure the effectiveness of that advertising.
- To comply with our legal obligations and enforce our legal rights.
We rely on your consent (which you may withdraw at any time), the performance of our contract with you, and our legitimate business interests as the legal bases for processing your personal information.
3. How we share your information
We do not sell your personal information. We share personal information only as described below.
3.1 Service providers
We use the following third-party service providers to operate the Site. Each is bound to handle personal information only on our behalf and in accordance with applicable law.
- Google Firebase (Authentication, Cloud Messaging, Analytics) — Google LLC.
- Google Analytics & Google AdSense — Google LLC.
- Sanity — Sanity.io. Stores content and account records (account ID, email, display name, photo URL, favourites).
- Vercel — Vercel Inc. Hosting and infrastructure.
- Resend — Resend.com. Transactional email delivery for contact-form submissions and account-related messages.
- OpenAI — OpenAI, L.L.C. Powers our AI-assisted search feature; search queries are processed by OpenAI under their data-processing terms.
- Twilio — Twilio Inc. SMS notifications, where applicable.
- MapLibre & map tile providers — to render interactive maps.
3.2 Legal requirements
We may disclose personal information when required by law, court order, or other valid legal process; to enforce our Terms of Service; to protect the rights, property, or safety of Banff Advisor, our users, or others; or in connection with an investigation of suspected illegal activity.
3.3 Business transfers
If Banff Advisor is involved in a merger, acquisition, financing or sale of assets, personal information may be transferred as part of that transaction, subject to standard confidentiality protections.
4. International transfers
Our service providers operate servers in Canada, the United States, and other countries. By using the Site, you acknowledge that your personal information may be processed and stored outside of Canada and may be subject to the laws of those jurisdictions, including lawful access by their governments, courts, law-enforcement and regulatory agencies.
5. Data retention
We retain personal information only for as long as necessary to provide the Site, comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements.
- Account data is retained for as long as your account is active, and is deleted (or anonymized) after you delete your account.
- Contact-form submissions are retained for up to 24 months for support and quality purposes.
- Newsletter subscriptions are retained until you unsubscribe.
- Analytics data is retained per the default retention settings of the underlying provider (typically up to 26 months for Google Analytics).
6. Cookies and tracking
We use cookies, local storage and similar technologies to keep you signed in, remember your preferences, measure analytics, and (where applicable) deliver advertising. The categories of cookies we use include:
- Strictly necessary — required for the Site to function (e.g. authentication session).
- Functional — remember preferences such as filters and dismissed banners.
- Analytics — measure traffic and feature usage (Google Analytics, Firebase Analytics).
- Advertising — used by Google AdSense to serve and measure ads.
You can control or block cookies through your browser settings. Blocking strictly necessary cookies may prevent parts of the Site from working. You can also opt out of personalized Google advertising at adssettings.google.com.
7. Advertising
We display advertising on the Site through Google AdSense. Google and its partners may use cookies, device identifiers, and similar technologies to serve ads based on your prior visits to our Site or other websites. You can review Google's privacy practices at policies.google.com/technologies/ads.
8. Your rights
Subject to applicable law, you have the right to:
- Access the personal information we hold about you.
- Request that inaccurate or incomplete information be corrected.
- Request deletion of your personal information, subject to legal retention requirements.
- Withdraw your consent at any time, where consent is the basis for processing.
- Unsubscribe from marketing communications at any time using the link in any email we send, or by contacting us.
- Lodge a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada or, if you are an Alberta resident, with the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta.
To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the details in section 12.
9. Security
We take reasonable administrative, technical and physical safeguards to protect personal information against unauthorized access, use, alteration and disclosure. These include encryption in transit (HTTPS), authenticated API access, server-side validation of authentication tokens, and limiting access to personal information to those who need it. No method of transmission or storage is perfectly secure, however, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
10. Children's privacy
The Site is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided personal information to us, please contact us and we will take steps to delete it.
11. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. Material changes will be brought to your attention through the Site or by email where appropriate. Your continued use of the Site after a change becomes effective constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.
12. Contact us
For privacy questions, requests, or complaints, contact our Privacy Officer at:
You can also reach us through our contact form.