Your privacy is important to us. Toronto Branch will not ask you for personal information unless we truly need it to provide you with services you have requested.
This page explains our policy on the collection and use of information on the Toronto Branch website (torontofamilyhistory.org). To find out about our general policies on privacy of information, see the Policy on Privacy of Information that has been adopted by our parent organization, the Ontario Genealogical Society.
By using our website, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
What is personal information?
Personal information is any information that identifies you or would enable someone to contact you. If at any time your personal information changes, please let us know and we will take appropriate steps to update or correct the information in our possession.
The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation and the privacy laws of Canada and other countries provide certain rights for you.
This page is intended to provide you with information about what personal information Toronto Branch collects about you and how it is used. If you have any questions, or wish to confirm that the Toronto Branch is processing your personal information, or to have access to the personal information we may have about you, please contact us.
Use this link to request the personal information we hold about you. You may also request the information by mail. Please write to: Toronto Branch OGS, 49 Bogert Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M2N 1K4
You may also request information about: the purpose of the processing; the categories of personal information concerned; who else outside Toronto Branch might have received the information from us; what the source of the information was (if you didn’t provide it directly to Toronto Branch); and how long it will be stored. You have a right to correct (rectify) the record of your personal information maintained by us if it is inaccurate. You may request that Toronto Branch erase that information or cease processing it, subject to certain exceptions. You may also request that we cease using your information for direct marketing purposes. In many countries, you have a right to lodge a complaint with the appropriate information protection authority if you have concerns about how Toronto Branch processes your personal information. When technically feasible, Toronto Branch will—at your request—provide your personal information to you or transmit it directly to another controller.
Reasonable access to your personal information will be provided at no cost to you. If for some reason access is denied, Toronto Branch will provide an explanation as to why access has been denied.
What information do we collect?
You can browse the Toronto Branch website without creating an account or disclosing any personal information. However, we collect information that you voluntarily provide to us through comments, feedback and questions. We also collect information when you access our programs and services through the Toronto Branch website.
If you choose to register for a Toronto Branch course, workshop or other event; purchase a publication from Toronto Branch; or subscribe to Toronto Branch news through our website, we will ask you to provide certain personal information that can be used to contact you, such as your name, email address, postal address and telephone number. In each case, we will collect only the information that is necessary to allow us to fulfill your request for services.
The Toronto Branch website is hosted by the web service provider HostPapa. We use Constant Contact and Eventbrite to manage our mailing lists and event registrations and keep track of information about your connection to Toronto Branch—your membership status, events you have attended in the past, your affiliation with any Branch Special Interest Groups, and your consent to receive e-mails from us. We never have access to your PayPal or credit card information when you register for a Toronto Branch event online. We deliver live webinars through Zoom which collects a screen name, email address, and phone number for those connecting by phone—which we can see. We may record the webinar (including questions and answers) and publish it on our public website and members-only website via our YouTube channel.
Like many other website operators, we also collect log data that your browser sends whenever you visit our website. This log data may include information such as your computer’s Internet Protocol (“IP”) address, browser type, browser version, times and dates of your visits, which pages of our website you visit, the time spent on those pages and other statistics. We may use “cookies” to facilitate the collection of this sort of information. “Cookies” are files with small amounts of data, which may include an anonymous unique identifier. They are sent to your browser from a web site and stored on your computer’s hard drive. You can instruct your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent.
How do we use your information?
We only use the personal information you provide to us to contact you about Toronto Branch events, activities, publications and services. For example, if you have registered for a Branch course, workshop or other event, we may use your personal information to provide you with details about that event and to ask for your feedback on it after it has taken place.
You may also receive occasional email messages from us about other Toronto Branch programs and services that may be of interest to you. If you do not wish us to send you information about other Toronto Branch programs and services, you may unsubscribe from future mailings.
We will not sell or disclose your personal information to third parties.
We may use log data gathered about website usage in the aggregate to help us with evaluation, planning and future website development.
Is my information secure?
No method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100% secure. While we cannot guarantee absolute security, we take all reasonable measures to ensure that your personal information is secured and kept confidential. We use Protection Power Pro SL to protect our website from malware that could be passed on to our users.
What about other linked websites?
The Toronto Branch website provides links to websites of some other organizations for informational purposes only. This Privacy Policy does not apply to the websites of those other organizations.
Toronto Branch uses social media (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube) as an extension of its presence on the Web. Social media accounts are public and are not hosted on the same server as the Toronto Branch website. If you choose to interact with Toronto Branch via social media, we encourage you to read the terms of service and privacy policies of those third-party service providers.
Changes to this policy
We reserve the right to update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We encourage you to check this page periodically for any changes. Your continued use of this website after any changes are made will constitute your acceptance of those changes.
Questions about privacy
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact the Toronto Branch Privacy Officer.