Privacy Policy

At the City of Vancouver, we care about protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we handle your personal information and ensures that we follow this policy in all our activities.
As a user of our website, you can explore most of our sites without providing any personally identifiable information or allowing us to contact you. However, there may be times when we need certain information to respond to your requests.
City of Vancouver collects, uses, shares, or processes personal information that you provide to us when you subscribe to our services or that we may obtain or generate. This statement clarifies what data we collect from you and how we use it.

1. What information do we collect and how do we use it?

1.1. Website users

When you visit our website, your computer is assigned a domain name (e.g., google.com) and an IP Address (e.g., 143.232.18.134). Our servers automatically identify and log the HTTP request made to our Web Server when you request a page from our site. We also use "cookies," which are small data files sent to your browser and stored on your system. These cookies are created for each session during your visit and are not associated with your individual identity. We do not use cookies to collect your email address or any personally identifying information.

In general, we collect minimal information automatically, which may include:

  • The date and time of your website access

  • The pages you view and any downloads you make

  • The success of your viewing or download

  • The IP address of the site that referred you to us

  • Your IP address

  • The operating system you are using (e.g., Windows 10)

  • The version and make of your browser (e.g., Internet Explorer 7.0)

  • Additional metrics provided by Google Analytics, Google AdWords, Google Publisher Tools, HotJar, and Facebook.


Collecting this information is a standard practice followed by most web servers on the internet today. City of Vancouver uses this data in an aggregate form to ensure compatibility with various browsers and operating systems used by our visitors.

If you wish to reject certain or all cookies used by our website, you can modify your web browser preferences accordingly. However, please note that rejecting all cookies may limit your access to some services on our website. You can also set your browser to inform you when you receive a cookie, providing you with an option to accept it. For instructions on changing your cookie settings, refer to your operating system's manual, the 'Help' section of your web browser, or contact your Internet Service Provider.

1.2. What other information does this site request?

This site may also ask for your email address, name, position, company, location, web address, services you may be interested in, and comments. They may also ask for optional information like your gender, birth date, wedding date, and contact number for marketing purposes. The site has a strict "No Spam" policy, which means they won't sell, rent, or give your email address to a third party without your permission. They will only communicate with you based on your preferences. If you want to contact a member of the site's staff, you'll need to provide specific information that will be forwarded to the appropriate person.
The site may also collect professional information about you from other sources, including publicly available sources. They may combine information from various sources, including the data you have provided.

The information which is collected through cookies can include-

  • The date and time you accessed the website.

  • The pages you viewed and any downloads you made.

  • Whether your viewing or download was successful.

  • The website's address or the computer's domain name from which you accessed the site.

  • The operating system and version of your web browser.

If you want to reject certain cookies used by the website, you can modify your web browser preferences. However, if you reject all cookies, you might not be able to use some services on the site. You can also set your browser to notify you when you receive a cookie, allowing you to choose whether to accept it. Instructions on how to change your cookie settings can usually be found in your operating system's manual or the 'Help' section of your web browser, or you can contact your Internet Service Provider.

What personal information do we collect and where do we get it from?

When you subscribe to one of our services, we may collect the following personal information about you-

  • Your name or the name of your representative.

  • Your email and mailing address.

  • Your phone number.

  • Your business hours.

  • Your business or professional details.

  • Your geolocation.

We collect and generate information about you when you provide it directly or interact with us. We may also collect your personal information as part of our normal business operations, which includes monitoring businesses and compiling data on them. Additionally, we may receive professional information about you from other sources, including publicly available sources. We may combine information from various sources, including the information you have provided.

2. Use of your personal information

our personal information that you provide on our website will be used for the purposes mentioned on the website and for any purposes for that you give your permission. We will handle your data according to data protection rules and as described in our Privacy Policy.
We may use your personal data for the following purposes:

  • Featuring your business or services on City of Vancouver's platforms when you subscribe to our services.

  • Communicating with you and providing information about our products and services, including marketing.

  • Responding to your questions and service requests, and getting your feedback.

  • Processing payments as agreed with you.

  • Sending important notices about changes to our terms, conditions, and policies.

  • Sending you technical notices, updates, security alerts, and support messages.

  • Using your data for internal purposes such as auditing, risk assessment, research, and improving our products and services.

  • Analyzing trends and activities to understand which parts of our platforms are most popular and improve their design and content.

  • Ensuring we have accurate contact information for you.

  • Preventing, detecting, and reporting any illegal or criminal activities as required by law.

  • Initiating, defending, or participating in legal actions.

  • Protecting our legitimate interests and ensuring proper business conduct.

  • Sharing your business listing information with third-party search engines and relevant websites to promote your business.

  • Recording phone conversations for training purposes.

  • We may also process your personal data to comply with applicable laws, regulations, and requests from authorities and courts, or in connection with legal proceedings.

3. Why do we collect your personal information?

For providing services- We use your personal data to give you the services you requested when you order advertising space in our publications, websites, and mobile apps.

With your permission- We process your personal information when you agree to let us use it for specific purposes. You have certain rights if we use your information based on your consent. For instance, if you no longer want to receive our promotional emails, you can unsubscribe by following the instructions at the bottom of the email. If you have an online account, you can also update your preferences to opt-out.

For legitimate business reasons- Using your personal information helps us run and improve our business and provide current information about businesses in Vancouver, Canada. We include your business on our platforms alongside other businesses in Vancouver, Canada. When we use your personal information for this purpose, we take steps to keep it safe.

To meet legal requirements- There may be situations where we have a legal obligation to process your personal information.

4. Recipients and sharing of your personal information

Your personal information will be received by representatives and employees of City of Vancouver. We may also share your personal information with the following:

  • Other companies within the City of Vancouver group, affiliated companies, or companies with the same ownership as City of Vancouver LLC, for valid business reasons.

  • Our agents, suppliers, and business partners, but only as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this privacy notice

  • Our professional advisors and auditors, but only as required for consultation or to comply with legal obligations.

  • Regulators, governments, and law enforcement authorities when required by applicable laws and regulations.

  • Courts, tribunals, arbitrators, or other authorized bodies that have the power to request such personal information.

  • Other third parties in connection with selling, merging, buying, or reorganizing our business, or any similar changes (including potential or actual buyers of the business or their advisors).

5. Transfers outside Vancouver, Canada

We might send your personal information to other countries. Those countries might not protect your personal information as well as Vancouver does. If needed, we will make sure your information is protected by using special agreements for transferring data. If you contact us through the "Advertise" link at the top, we might be able to give you a copy of these agreements or other protections we have in place.

6. How long will we keep your personal information?

We have a policy that decides how long we keep your information. This policy considers the kind of information, why we collected it, and the digital platforms we use to store it. Generally, we keep your personal information as long as we need it for the purposes we collected it.

7. Security

We make sure to protect your personal data from unauthorized access, misuse, modification, destruction, or accidental loss. We have security measures in place to protect your data and our employees and data processors are required to keep your information confidential. However, please note that the Internet is not completely secure, and any data transmitted through it may be accessed by unauthorized third parties. We cannot guarantee the privacy or confidentiality of information transmitted through our website. Additionally, your data may be transferred across international borders, even if the sender and receiver are in the same country, and the level of data protection may be lower in the country it passes through. We are not responsible for the security of your data while it is being transmitted over the Internet.

8. Third party links

Our website may have links to other websites. We want to make it clear that these links do not mean we endorse the information, products, or services on those websites. We are not responsible for the content, use, availability, privacy practices, or any other aspect of those websites. When you click on these links, you will leave our website and be subject to the privacy policy of the other website. We encourage you to read the terms and conditions and privacy notices of these third-party websites. Any other website that wants to link to our website needs to get our written permission first.

9. Your Rights

You have the right to-

  • Revoke your consent for processing your personal data based on your consent. The withdrawal of consent does not affect the legality of processing done prior to the withdrawal.

  • Ask City of Vancouver about the processing of your personal information. You can request a copy of your personal information held by City of Vancouver.

  • Request correction, deletion, restriction, or objection to the processing of your personal information

  • Request to obtain and reuse your personal information for your own purposes across different services.

  • Lodge a complaint with a competent supervisory authority or a court of law if your data protection rights are violated or if you have suffered because of the unlawful processing of your private information.

If you want access to the information we hold about you, if any of the information is incorrect or outdated, or if you wish to withdraw consent, restrict processing, or object to processing, please contact us using one of the methods provided under the "Advertise" link above.

If you object to our processing of your personal information, we will honor your request as required by law. However, your objection may prevent us from carrying out actions necessary to achieve the purposes stated above.

City of Vancouver may need to retain your information to comply with legal and regulatory obligations, as well as to protect and exercise our legal rights and legitimate interests.

In addition to the rights mentioned above, you also have an unconditional right to object to the processing of your personal information for direct marketing purposes at any time. Please contact us using one of the methods provided under the "Advertise" link above.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

If we make any changes to this Privacy Policy, we will let you know by posting them on this page. This way, you can always stay informed about the information we collect, how we use it, and when we share it.