1. Scope and accountability
This Policy applies to visitors, account holders, subscribers, blog publishers, and readers who interact with the Service. We are responsible for personal information under our control and designate a Privacy Officer to receive questions, access requests, corrections, and complaints at privacy@buildyourblogs.com.
2. Information we collect
Account information
First and last name, email address, phone number, date and place of birth, citizenship, occupation, age calculated from the date of birth, profile details, account identifiers, sign-in status, authentication events, and account security information. Authentication information is provided through Clerk, while the additional registration profile is stored in our protected application database.
Content and publishing information
Blogs, posts, pages, drafts, images, categories, tags, SEO settings, publication settings, comments, replies, and communications you submit to the Service. Published content, including comments made on an owner-enabled discussion, is intentionally public according to the applicable blog settings. A commenter's display name, comment, and posting time are visible to readers. When a publisher enables an author profile, its name, portrait, biography, and linked social-media profiles are also intentionally public on that blog's articles.
Subscription and transaction information
Plan, billing interval, subscription status, renewal date, Stripe customer and subscription identifiers, payment outcome, support contribution amount, and invoice-related information. Payment-card details are collected and processed by Stripe; we do not store full card numbers.
Usage and reader analytics
Page and article views, a pseudonymous visitor identifier, timestamps, referral source, browser or device information, IP-derived security signals, and operational logs. Publishers receive aggregated audience analytics and may see referral categories and pseudonymous counts, not a reader’s full payment or account information.
Support information
Information included in support requests, complaints, privacy requests, and other communications with us.
3. Why we use information
- Provide accounts, publishing, hosting, analytics, and support.
- Process subscriptions, payments, invoices, and plan limits.
- Authenticate users and protect accounts and infrastructure.
- Detect fraud, abuse, security incidents, and policy violations.
- Maintain, troubleshoot, measure, and improve the Service.
- Communicate service, billing, legal, and security notices.
- Comply with legal obligations and enforce our agreements.
We collect, use, and disclose personal information only for purposes that a reasonable person would consider appropriate in the circumstances and obtain consent when required.
4. Service providers and disclosures
We disclose information only as reasonably necessary to operate the Service, complete transactions, protect rights and safety, comply with law, or complete a business transaction with appropriate safeguards. Our principal service providers include:
- Clerk for authentication and account management.
- Supabase for databases and media storage.
- Stripe for payments, subscriptions, invoices, fraud prevention, and billing support.
- Vercel for application hosting and delivery.
- Cloudflare and related providers for DNS, reliability, and security where configured.
We do not sell personal information. Service providers may process information under their own privacy notices where they act as an independent controller, including Stripe for parts of its payment and fraud-prevention services.
5. Processing outside Canada
We and our service providers may process or store information in Canada, the United States, or other countries. Information processed outside Canada may be subject to the laws and lawful access requests of the jurisdiction where it is processed. We use contractual, organizational, and technical safeguards appropriate to the service and information involved.
6. Cookies and similar technologies
The Service and its providers use cookies, local storage, and similar technologies that are necessary for authentication, security, preferences, payments, and service operation. We may also use a pseudonymous browser identifier to distinguish article views and calculate unique readership. Browser settings can restrict some technologies, but doing so may prevent account or payment features from working correctly.
7. Retention
We retain personal information only as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described here, including providing the Service, maintaining transaction and audit records, resolving disputes, preventing abuse, enforcing agreements, and satisfying legal, accounting, or tax requirements. Published content may remain cached or archived by third parties after deletion.
8. Safeguards
We use administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information, including access controls, server-side authorization, database restrictions, encrypted transport, authentication, payment-provider tokenization, and audit logging. No internet service can guarantee absolute security.
9. Your choices and rights
Subject to applicable law, you may request access to personal information we hold about you, ask how it has been used or disclosed, request correction, withdraw consent for optional processing, or make a privacy complaint. Withdrawing consent may limit services that require the information.
Send a request to privacy@buildyourblogs.com. We may need to verify your identity and may retain information that law permits or requires us to keep. You may also update account and payment information through the account and Stripe billing portals.
10. Children
The Service is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. Users who are not old enough to form a binding contract in their jurisdiction must use the Service only with authorization from a parent or legal guardian.
11. Changes and complaints
We may update this Policy as practices or legal requirements change. Material changes will be communicated by a reasonable method. Contact our Privacy Officer first so we can investigate and respond to a concern. You may also have the right to complain to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta or the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, depending on the matter.