Privacy Policy

In this policy, TechBuds, we, us and our refer to TechBuds Inc., operating as TechBuds at techbuds.ca. Our business mailing address is 6774 145A Street, Surrey, BC, Canada. This policy covers our public website, customer accounts, installed TechBuds apps, support requests, appointments, memberships, and optional tools such as Family Care and Subscription Checker. It also applies to information you give us by phone, email or during an appointment.

For privacy questions or requests, contact Malik at malik@techbuds.ca or 778-581-9070 and identify your message as a privacy request. We use this contact point to coordinate privacy enquiries. Please do not include passwords, bank login details, payment-card security codes or unnecessary health information in your message.

British Columbia's Personal Information Protection Act applies to relevant private-sector activities in BC. Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act may also apply, including to relevant interprovincial or international commercial activities. This policy explains our practices; it does not remove rights available under applicable law.

A third party's own website, app or account is also governed by that party's privacy terms. When a provider processes information for TechBuds, using that provider does not eliminate our responsibility for information under our control.

We receive information you enter when creating an account, requesting assistance, completing your profile or contacting us. The current account-setup flow asks for contact details and a home/service address; this can occur before you book a visit. Device descriptions help us diagnose a problem. Fields marked optional can be left blank. If you prefer to discuss the information needed before creating an account, contact us by phone or email.

Support records can contain information about other people if you include it in a message, screenshot or device. Share only what is needed, and obscure unrelated names, account numbers and sensitive content before uploading a file. You must have appropriate authority to provide someone else's information.

• Identity and contact details: preferred and last names, email address, telephone number, home/service address, account identifier and sign-in profile information.
• Service records: requests, messages, uploaded images or attachments, appointment details, device descriptions, technician notes, troubleshooting steps, saved fixes and support history.
• Account administration: household or trusted-helper relationships, membership entitlements, feature usage, notification preferences and relevant consent or permission records.
• Security and support context: sign-in activity, device or browser information, connection information, error details and records needed to investigate abuse or service problems.

We use personal information to authenticate you, deliver requested assistance, communicate about appointments and support, maintain your service history, process billing, administer plan allowances, operate optional features, prevent misuse, and resolve errors or disputes. We also use necessary records to meet legal and accounting obligations.

For ordinary service requests, the purpose of the relevant information is explained by the request and this policy. For sensitive or optional features, we seek the additional permissions described in the feature. Opening an account is not blanket permission for location tracking, bank access, wellness sharing, marketing or remote control of a device.

You may withhold optional information or withdraw consent, subject to lawful limitations. We will explain when a requested restriction prevents us from providing a particular feature. Withdrawal does not make earlier authorized processing unlawful and may not require deletion of records we must lawfully retain.

We do not sell personal information. We do not use precise family location, connected wellness readings or connected-bank information for advertising. We do not treat information submitted for support as permission to publish a testimonial or a customer's story.

Stripe provides the card-payment interface and processes payment credentials. TechBuds receives information needed to administer a purchase, such as customer and subscription identifiers, selected plans, amounts, currency, tax, payment status, invoice references and limited payment-method details made available by the processor. The TechBuds application does not collect your full card number or card security code into its own account forms.

Payment-related information can be shared with Stripe and the infrastructure used to connect our application to Stripe. Payment processors may also process information for their own fraud-prevention, regulatory and payment-network obligations. Receipts and billing records may need to be retained after an account or membership closes.

Cancelling a membership stops future renewal as described in our Refund & Cancellation Policy. It is a separate action from deleting an account, revoking device permissions or removing the app.

• Refund & Cancellation Policy
• Stripe Privacy Policy

When you request remote assistance, the selected workflow may use TeamViewer screen sharing or remote support, or Splashtop support software. Connection links, session identifiers, session status, start/end times and related support notes can be processed to arrange and manage the session. The remote-support provider processes the connection and the screen or control data involved.

Screen sharing can reveal whatever is visible in the shared screen or window, including notifications, documents and other applications. Remote control can allow a technician to interact with your device within the access you approve. Close unrelated applications and private documents before connecting, and remain available to approve relevant actions.

You may refuse or end a session using the remote-support controls. A support request or membership does not authorize unattended access to your device. We do not obtain permission to record a session merely through this policy; if recording is proposed, its purpose and any required separate consent must be addressed first.

Enter your own passwords and verification codes directly into the legitimate service when needed. Do not send them in support chat or disclose them to a technician. Ask to pause sharing while entering sensitive information, and close the remote-support application when the session is finished.

Caller Checker sends a submitted telephone number and relevant country/context information to the configured phone-reputation service, IPQualityScore, to obtain available risk indicators. A check is not a private investigation and does not establish a person's identity or prove that a call is safe. Do not use it to harass or profile another person.

Scam and safety checks can process pasted messages, URLs, uploaded screenshots, analysis results and support follow-up. Submitted URLs may be checked using Google Web Risk. Where AI analysis is configured, relevant submitted text, URL/context and screenshots may be sent through Lovable's AI gateway using a Google model, or to OpenAI as the configured alternative. The providers involved depend on the active configuration.

Only submit material you want analysed and have authority to provide. Remove bank details, passwords, verification codes, unrelated medical information and other unnecessary sensitive content. Analysis records can be saved with your support history and may be reviewed by authorized staff to help you.

Automated assessments can be incomplete or wrong. You may ask us to review a result. Do not rely on a risk label alone when deciding whether to send money, share information or allow remote access. These tools do not guarantee fraud prevention or financial recovery. Provider processing and retention are subject to the applicable service arrangements; this policy does not promise that third-party systems keep no logs.

Family Care can process precise coordinates, location accuracy, timestamps, movement information, battery status, safe-place locations, arrival/departure events, check-ins, alerts and location history. Background location requires the supported native app and the relevant device permission; it can continue while the app is not on screen when background sharing is enabled. Browser location and native background tracking have different capabilities.

Device permission to collect a location is distinct from permission to share it with a particular person. Family Care uses connection and sharing settings to determine which approved people can see selected information. Depending on the invitation choices, accepting a connection may activate the permissions selected in that invitation, so review them before accepting. A shared membership or family relationship alone is not permission to monitor someone.

Map display and address lookup use Google Maps/Places where configured. Coordinates or address search terms needed for those functions may be processed by Google. Alerts can also reveal information to recipients through email, in-app messages or device notifications, including a notification preview on a lock screen.

Use Family Care settings to review individual connections, pause or revoke sharing, and manage history choices. To stop device-level collection, also stop tracking and revoke the app's location permission in device settings. Removing a connection limits subsequent access; it cannot recall information a recipient has already seen, copied or captured.

Location-history features have configurable or plan-dependent viewing windows. A viewing window is not a guarantee that every related alert, current-location record, backup or operational record is erased at exactly that time. Contact us about removing retained information. Family Care is not an emergency-dispatch or guaranteed monitoring service.

Where supported and available under your plan, you may connect Android Health Connect or Apple Health and grant access to selected readings. The supported categories include heart rate, resting heart rate, step count and sleep duration, with their timestamps, units and source. Availability depends on your operating system, device, connected data sources and permissions.

Approved readings may be read from the device and uploaded to your TechBuds account to display wellness information and support the Family Care features you choose. Connecting a health source does not, by itself, authorize sharing all readings with another person. Person-by-person wellness sharing controls govern which approved loved ones may view the selected information. Ordinary technician status does not automatically grant family wellness access.

We use this information for the requested wellness and sharing functions, not for advertising, sale to data brokers, insurance eligibility or credit decisions. It is not used to train general-purpose AI models. The scam-analysis tool is separate; do not put health records into a screenshot submitted for a scam check.

You can deny individual permissions, revoke permissions in Health Connect or Apple Health, and change Family Care sharing choices. Revoking source access stops future authorized reads but does not itself delete readings already saved to TechBuds or copies already seen by recipients. Request deletion through our privacy contact. Wellness features provide information, not diagnosis, treatment, clinical interpretation or a promise that someone will notice an emergency.

Subscription Checker is an optional feature that uses Plaid, when configured, to connect a supported financial institution and identify recurring outgoing payments. You choose whether to start the connection and complete the authorization flow provided by Plaid or your financial institution. TechBuds does not ask you to send us your banking password.

The feature can receive institution identifiers and names, connection identifiers and access tokens, consent/synchronization timestamps, and recurring-transaction information such as merchant, description, amounts, currency, frequency, dates, category and status. It uses that information to estimate recurring costs and identify possible duplicates, price changes or upcoming charges. Estimates may be incomplete and do not replace bank statements.

The current integration keeps a server-side connection record and token to retrieve authorized information. Disconnecting through Subscription Checker asks Plaid to remove the connected item and deletes the corresponding TechBuds connection record. If disconnection fails, contact us and review the connection directly with Plaid or your bank. Disconnection does not cancel any underlying merchant subscription, close a bank account or erase records a provider must retain.

• Plaid End User Privacy Policy

Our website and apps use browser or device storage for functions such as keeping you signed in, remembering preferences, handling sign-in redirects, recording update attempts and remembering installation prompts. Service workers and cached application files may support installation and app updates. Clearing all storage can sign you out or reset preferences; it does not delete information already held on our servers.

Where Google Analytics is enabled on public marketing pages, the optional analytics controls allow you to accept or decline it. Our marketing integration does not load Analytics before an affirmative choice. The measured events include public-page visits and interactions such as selecting a phone, email or booking link. The integration is designed to exclude private account routes and query-string contents. You can change the choice through Analytics preferences in the public footer when that feature is enabled.

Declining optional analytics does not disable services necessary to load requested features. Hosting, sign-in, payments, Google-hosted fonts, maps and other providers may receive network information, such as an IP address and browser details, when their resources are requested. Security and operational logs are separate from optional marketing analytics.

We use account contact details and notification preferences for relevant service updates, family alerts, sign-in messages, appointment communications and payment-related notices. Email delivery can use Resend and authentication-provider mail services. Notification content may be visible to anyone with access to your email or device. Browser or app notification permissions can be changed in device settings.

Account registration is not blanket consent to promotional email or text messages. If we send commercial marketing messages, we will rely on an appropriate consent or other lawful basis and provide an unsubscribe method. You can also ask our contact to stop marketing. Necessary account or transaction communications may continue where permitted; declining marketing does not cancel an appointment or membership.

Information needed to provide support may be available to authorized TechBuds staff and service providers. Access depends on the relevant role, assigned work and feature permissions. Trusted helpers, household members and Family Care connections have different permissions; review the access you grant rather than assuming all family tools share the same information.

Providers supporting the current service include Supabase for authentication, database and file storage; Lovable for application hosting and connected infrastructure; Stripe for payments; Resend for notification email; Google for maps, address lookup, fonts, URL-risk services and optional analytics; and the optional remote-support, AI and Plaid services described above. A provider is involved when the corresponding function is used or enabled, not necessarily on every visit.

We may also disclose relevant information when legally required or permitted, to investigate security incidents or fraud, obtain professional advice, establish or defend legal claims, or handle a lawful business transfer with appropriate protections. We do not grant an unrestricted right to use your account information simply by listing these circumstances.

TechBuds uses cloud and external services that may process or store information outside British Columbia or Canada, including in the United States and other locations used by their infrastructure. Information processed abroad may be accessible to authorities under the laws of those jurisdictions. We do not promise Canadian-only data residency. Contact us for information about the arrangements relevant to your service.

How long information is needed depends on its purpose, the service relationship, dispute or fraud-prevention needs, and applicable legal or accounting requirements. Account and support records can remain after a particular request closes. Permission revocation, membership cancellation and app removal are not automatic deletion requests for all records.

Our retention approach is to remove or de-identify information when its purpose and legitimate legal or business need have ended. Certain information used to make a decision directly affecting you must be kept for at least one year under BC PIPA so that you have an opportunity to access it. Other legal obligations can require longer retention. Backups and provider-held records may follow separate retention cycles rather than immediate erasure.

We use account authentication, role-based permissions and database access controls as part of protecting information. Administrative access and service credentials require additional care, and no internet service or device can be guaranteed completely secure. This policy is not a claim that TechBuds has a particular independent security certification.

If you suspect unauthorized access, contact us promptly and secure your email and affected accounts. We will assess a reported incident and take appropriate steps, including any notifications required by applicable law. Do not post private account information publicly to report a problem.

Contact malik@techbuds.ca or 778-581-9070 to request access to your personal information, ask how it is used or disclosed, correct an inaccuracy, withdraw consent, request deletion, or raise a privacy concern. For account deletion, say that you want your TechBuds account and associated personal information reviewed for deletion. You do not need to buy a service or use a particular form to make a request.

Include enough information for us to locate the records and understand what you want. We may reasonably verify identity or authority before releasing or changing information. Please start with your account email and a description rather than sending identity documents unsolicited. We can help clarify a request or arrange an accessible way to make it.

We will respond within the time required by the applicable privacy law. Under BC PIPA, the ordinary response period is 30 days as calculated under that Act, subject to lawful extensions or pauses. If access is restricted, an extension is needed, or a permitted fee would apply, we will provide the explanation or estimate required by law. Requests involving other people's information, legal privilege or records we must retain may require a limited or partial response.

If you remain concerned, you may contact the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia. For matters within federal jurisdiction, you may contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. You do not waive the right to complain by using TechBuds.

• BC privacy commissioner: how to make a complaint
• Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada

Family membership does not give someone unlimited authority over another person's information. A parent, guardian or representative must have the legal authority needed for the particular decision; a capable person's privacy choices still matter. Do not install tracking, connect a bank account or approve wellness sharing for another person without appropriate authorization. Contact us if you believe a child's information or another person's information has been provided without authority.

We may update this policy to explain changes in services, providers or legal requirements. The date and version identify the published text. A policy update does not itself supply consent for a new sensitive use: we will provide additional notice and obtain consent where required. You can save or print a copy for your records and contact us about the policy applicable to an earlier interaction.