Privacy Policy
Introduction
Boondok Technologies Inc. ("Boondok," "we," "us," or "our") is committed to protecting your privacy and personal information. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our camping discovery and availability alert service at boondok.app (the "Service"). The Service lets you explore campgrounds across British Columbia, Alberta, and Parks Canada, save favourites, and set alerts for when campsites become available.
We are a Canadian company operating under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and other applicable Canadian privacy laws. This policy describes your privacy rights and how the law protects you.
What Information We Collect
Information You Provide to Us
When you use Boondok, we collect information that you voluntarily provide:
Account Information
- Name
- Email address
- Phone number (optional). If you add a phone number to receive SMS alerts, we send a one-time verification code to confirm it is yours
- Language and region preference
- Avatar selection
Activity You Save
- Campgrounds you save as favourites
- Alert criteria: the campgrounds or map areas, dates, and preferences you ask us to watch, and the notification channels (email or SMS) you choose. This can reveal where and when you plan to travel
Reviews and Other Content You Post
- Reviews you write, including your star rating, review text, and the dates of your stay
- Photos you upload with a review
- Helpful votes, reports, and tag suggestions you submit
- Some information you provide with a review (such as private tags) is used only in anonymized, aggregated form and is never shown publicly next to your name
Contact Form Submissions
- Your name, email address, and the message you send us
- We also record your full IP address and browser information with each submission to prevent spam and abuse. Unlike our analytics, contact-form IP addresses are stored in full (not anonymized) so we can investigate abuse
The Boonies Newsletter
The Boonies is our free editorial publication. When you subscribe, we collect:
- Your email address and language preference
- The page you subscribed from
- A record of your consent: the exact consent statement you were shown, the date and time you subscribed, and the IP address you subscribed from. As with our other consent records, the IP address is kept in full (not anonymized) so we can demonstrate consent under Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL)
You do not need a Boondok account to subscribe. We only begin sending you the newsletter after you confirm your subscription by clicking the link in our confirmation email (double opt-in). Every newsletter includes an unsubscribe link, and unsubscribing takes effect immediately. If you have a Boondok account, you can also manage your subscription in Settings.
Information Collected Automatically
When you use our Service, we automatically collect:
Technical Information
- IP address
- Approximate location (country, region, and city) derived from your IP address
- Browser type and version
- Device type and operating system
- Time zone setting
- Date and time of access
Usage Information
- Pages visited and features used
- Searches you run (destinations, dates, and filters)
- Actions such as saving a favourite or creating an alert
- How you arrived at our site (referring page and marketing campaign parameters)
Cookies and Similar Technologies
- We use essential cookies for authentication and session management
- We use first-party analytics cookies (an anonymous visitor identifier, a session identifier, and marketing attribution data) only after you accept them through our consent banner; you can withdraw at any time via "Cookie preferences" in the footer
- We do not use third-party advertising or tracking cookies
- Read our Cookie Policy for a detailed breakdown of our site cookies
Abuse and Scraping Protection
To protect the Service against scraping, bulk data extraction, and abuse, we use automated systems that analyze request patterns, such as request volume, the pages requested, and browser characteristics. For this purpose, your IP address is stored only in a one-way hashed form that we cannot reverse; the raw address is not kept in these records. These systems may automatically limit or block access that appears to violate our Terms of Service. If you believe you have been limited or blocked in error, contact us at support@boondok.app and a person will review it.
Smart search and AI
Most searches are answered directly from our campground database. When a search needs interpretation, Boondok uses automated tools, including AI, as a last resort to understand what you are looking for. We use Anthropic's Claude model for this. AI is never used to generate campground information. All campground information is sourced from official park databases and verified by our team. Only the text of your search query is sent to the AI provider; no account or personal information is sent.
Data Sources
Park information for British Columbia includes information licensed under the Open Government Licence – British Columbia.
How We Use Your Information
We use your personal information only for the purposes for which it was collected and with your consent:
Primary Purposes
To Provide Our Service
- Create and manage your account
- Show you campground information, availability, and search results
- Save your favourites and alert preferences
- Send you the availability alerts you request
To Communicate With You
- Respond to your support requests
- Send important service updates and security notices
To Improve Our Service
- Monitor and analyze usage patterns
- Identify and fix technical issues
- Develop new features based on user needs
To Protect Our Service
- Prevent fraud and abuse
- Enforce our Terms of Service
- Detect and prevent security incidents
- Comply with legal obligations
Marketing Communications
We will only send you marketing emails if you have explicitly opted in, in compliance with Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL). You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in any marketing email or by contacting us at privacy@boondok.app.
How We Share Your Information
We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. We only share your information in the following limited circumstances:
Service Providers
We share information with trusted third-party service providers who help us operate our Service:
Authentication and Security
- Auth0 (identity and authentication services). Auth0 processes your sign-in credentials and profile and may also serve your avatar image.
Payments
- Stripe (payment processing). When you purchase an availability alert, Stripe processes your payment and receives your email address and the billing and card details you enter. Your card details go directly to Stripe; we never see or store your full card number. Stripe operates globally.
Maps
- Mapbox (interactive maps). When you view a map on our site, your browser connects directly to Mapbox servers in the United States, which receive your IP address and map usage data such as the map areas you load, including Mapbox's own usage telemetry. We also send the place name from your search to Mapbox to look up its location. Mapbox operates globally.
Notifications
- Amazon Simple Email Service (email delivery). Receives your email address and the content of the notifications we send you.
- Amazon Simple Notification Service (SMS delivery). If you opt in to SMS alerts, receives your phone number and the text-message content.
Search Interpretation
- Anthropic (AI query interpretation). When a search needs interpretation, we send only the text of your search query to Anthropic's Claude model to translate it into filters. No account or personal information is sent. Anthropic operates globally.
Content Storage
- Amazon S3 (file storage in Canada). When you upload a review photo, your browser uploads it directly to our storage.
Infrastructure
- Amazon Web Services (cloud hosting and data storage). Our primary database and stored account data reside in Canada (AWS ca-central-1). Our web application servers run in the United States (AWS us-west-2), so requests you make pass through US-based infrastructure.
All service providers are contractually required to protect your information and use it only for the purposes we specify.
Legal Requirements
We may disclose your information if required by law or if we believe in good faith that such disclosure is necessary to:
- Comply with legal obligations or court orders
- Protect our rights, property, or safety
- Protect the rights, property, or safety of our users or the public
- Investigate fraud or security issues
Business Transfers
If Boondok is involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your personal information may be transferred. We will notify you before your information is transferred and becomes subject to a different privacy policy.
Data Storage and Security
Where We Store Your Data
Your stored personal information, including your account, favourites, alerts, and reviews, is stored on secure servers in Canada (AWS ca-central-1 region), supporting Canadian data residency.
Some processing happens outside Canada, and by using the Service you consent to this cross-border processing:
- Our web application servers and content delivery run in the United States (AWS App Runner in us-west-2 and Amazon CloudFront). Requests to our site, including your IP address, pass through this US infrastructure and may appear in its operational logs.
- Some service providers operate globally and may process your information outside Canada, including Stripe (payments), Auth0 (authentication), Mapbox (maps), and Anthropic (search interpretation).
These transfers mean your information may be subject to the laws of other jurisdictions. We use providers that we believe offer comparable protection, and they are contractually required to safeguard your information.
How We Protect Your Data
We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your information:
Encryption
- All data is encrypted in transit using TLS 1.2 or higher
- Personal information is encrypted at rest using AWS Key Management Service
Access Controls
- Access to personal information is restricted to authorized personnel only
- We use role-based access controls and the principle of least privilege
- All access is logged and monitored
Network Security
- Our infrastructure runs in a private Virtual Private Cloud (VPC)
- Regular security monitoring and incident response procedures
While we take reasonable steps to protect your information, no method of transmission or storage is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security.
Data Retention
We retain your personal information no longer than necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, and we remove or anonymize it when it is no longer needed:
Active Accounts
- Account information: retained while your account is active
- Analytics data: IP addresses are anonymized at the point of collection. We retain analytics data only as long as it is useful for understanding and improving the Service.
Contact Form Submissions
- Retained only as long as necessary to handle your inquiry and to prevent spam and abuse.
Newsletter Subscribers
- If you subscribe to The Boonies but never confirm, your confirmation link expires and we do not email you the newsletter.
- When you unsubscribe, we stop sending immediately and retain a minimal record of your subscription and unsubscribe request so that we can continue to honour it and demonstrate CASL compliance.
- If you delete your Boondok account, your newsletter subscription record is deleted as part of the account deletion process described below.
Backups
- Our database backups are retained for up to 7 days on a rolling basis. Information you delete may persist in these backups until they age out.
Deleted Accounts
- When you delete your account, we stop displaying your reviews, photos, and other content on the Service right away, and you are signed out and your alerts are cancelled.
- We then anonymize your account information: your name, email address, phone number, avatar, and location are cleared so that any information we retain can no longer be tied back to you. This anonymization completes within 30 days of your deletion request.
- Your reviews and review photos are removed from view immediately when you delete your account. Within 30 days, your review photos are also permanently deleted from our storage. Copies in our database backups age out within a further 7 days (see the Backups note above).
- We retain minimal transaction records (such as payment records) for as long as tax and financial-recordkeeping laws require.
- Records of your consent choices (for example, accepting our Terms of Service, verifying your phone number, or subscribing to our newsletter) are kept as long as Canadian privacy law requires us to be able to demonstrate consent. For legal-proof purposes, these consent records include the IP address and time of the action and are not anonymized while they are retained.
Your Privacy Rights
Under PIPEDA and other Canadian privacy laws, you have the following rights:
Right to Access
You have the right to request a copy of the personal information we hold about you. You can access most of your information directly through your account dashboard, or you can contact us at privacy@boondok.app.
Right to Correction
You have the right to request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal information. You can update most information directly in your account settings.
Right to Deletion
You have the right to request deletion of your personal information. You can delete your account at any time through your account settings. When you do, we stop displaying your reviews and photos on the Service and anonymize your account information, subject to legal retention requirements. Consent records are retained as long as the law requires us to keep proof of consent, as described in the Data Retention section above.
Right to Withdraw Consent
You can withdraw your consent for us to process your personal information at any time by:
- Unsubscribing from marketing emails
- Deleting your account
- Contacting us at privacy@boondok.app
Withdrawing consent may affect our ability to provide certain services to you.
Right to Portability
You have the right to receive your personal information in a structured, commonly used format. You can download a copy of your data at any time from your account's Settings under Data & privacy. You can also contact us at privacy@boondok.app to request an export.
Right to Lodge a Complaint
If you believe we have not complied with Canadian privacy laws, you have the right to file a complaint with:
Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
Phone: 1-800-282-1376
Website: www.priv.gc.ca
We encourage you to contact us first at privacy@boondok.app so we can address your concerns.
How to Exercise Your Rights
To exercise any of your privacy rights, please:
- Email us at privacy@boondok.app
- Use the subject line "Privacy Rights Request"
- Include your name, email address, and account details
- Specify which right(s) you wish to exercise
We will respond to your request within 30 days and verify your identity before processing your request.
Children's Privacy
Our Service is not intended for children under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe we have collected information from a child under 13, please contact us immediately at privacy@boondok.app and we will delete such information.
International Users
Boondok is based in Canada and primarily serves Canadian users. If you access our Service from outside Canada, please be aware that your information will be transferred to and processed in Canada, where data protection laws may differ from those in your jurisdiction.
By using our Service, you consent to the transfer and processing of your information in Canada.
Third-Party Links
Our Service may contain links to third-party websites, including campground booking sites. This Privacy Policy does not apply to those websites. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party sites you visit.
Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or for legal or regulatory reasons. We will notify you of any material changes by:
- Posting the updated policy on our website
- Updating the "Last Updated" date at the top of this policy
- Sending you an email notification (for significant changes)
Your continued use of the Service after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated Privacy Policy.
Contact Us
If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, please contact us:
Boondok Technologies Inc.
Email: privacy@boondok.app
Support: support@boondok.app
For general privacy inquiries, we will respond within 5 business days. For formal privacy rights requests, we will respond within 30 days as required by PIPEDA.
PIPEDA Compliance Summary
This Privacy Policy complies with PIPEDA's ten fair information principles:
- Accountability – Boondok is responsible for personal information under our control
- Identifying Purposes – We clearly state why we collect information
- Consent – We obtain consent before collecting, using, or disclosing personal information
- Limiting Collection – We collect only what is necessary for our stated purposes
- Limiting Use, Disclosure, and Retention – We use information only for stated purposes and retain it only as long as necessary
- Accuracy – We ensure personal information is accurate and up-to-date
- Safeguards – We protect personal information with appropriate security measures
- Openness – We are transparent about our privacy practices
- Individual Access – You can access and correct your personal information
- Challenging Compliance – You can challenge our compliance with privacy principles