This Privacy Statement discloses the privacy practices of Swapsity.ca.  If you have any questions or concerns regarding this statement, you may email us at privacy@swapsity.ca

Effective date: September 2, 2008 

1. Privacy Policy

Swapsity is committed to providing its Users with an Internet experience that respects and protects their personal privacy.  Our privacy policies and practices are detailed below, and we ask that you read them thoroughly.  Our policy is based on the following three pledges we make to our Users:

 (a)   We pledge that we will not release your Personal Information, as defined below, without your permission (except as needed to provide you the services you have expressly requested, as explained in greater detail below).

 (b)   We pledge that we will provide the means for you to manage and control the information that you have voluntarily provided to us.

 (c)    We pledge that we will provide the mechanisms for you to communicate your privacy questions and concerns to us and that we will respond to them thoroughly and thoughtfully.

We are constantly improving the tools you can use to manage the data that you provide to us.  Please refer to this page from time to time to see these new features.

2. Coverage

This policy applies to the URL site www.swapsity.ca (the “Site”).  Linked websites (the “Linked Sites”) may have their own privacy policy statements, which we encourage you to read.  References to “we” or “Swapsity” in this policy are to Swapsity and the Site.

3. Helpful Definitions

(1)   Personal Information is information such as your name, e-mail address or mailing address and province of residence.

(2)   Anonymous Information is not Personal Information.  Swapsity collects Anonymous Information such as: IP addresses, browser software, operating system, screen resolution, date, time and places visited, domain names, searches performed, average stay on the Site, average number of visits in a given period and other information of a similar nature.

(3) User Credibility Information is a set of indicators that summarize the User’s transaction credibility. It is found in the Profile, Feedback Card and User’s Item listings sections of the Site. User Credibility Information publicly reflects various credibility metrics about the User’s past transaction history. Such metrics may include average rating, duration of membership, feedback history and the number of past transactions.

PLEASE NOTE:  Although IP addresses are Anonymous Information, in some cases, we may use IP addresses to identify Users of our Site when we feel it is necessary to enforce compliance with our User Agreement or other applicable agreements, or to protect our service, or other Users.  Users should be aware that under certain circumstances, IP addresses and/or domain names may be linked to Personal Information, when such information is stored in databases managed by Internet registries.

4. Information We Collect

Once you give us Personal Information you are not anonymous to us.  At registration, Users provide the following Personal Information: full name, email, postal code and province of residence.

We also collect the following information from Users:

Log Files: We automatically collect some information on our server logs such as the User’s IP address, browser type, operating system, access times, referring website addresses, geographical location and other similar information.

User Activity Information: We may also collect and track information pertaining to User’s transaction activities, history and Site activity and access.

Email Correspondence: If you send us email correspondence, we may retain such information.

Email addresses [Tell-A-Friend and Group Invitations]: If you choose to use our referral service to tell a friend about the Site or the Group invitation package to invite your friends to a Swap Group, we will ask you for your friends email address(es). We will automatically send one or more emails inviting or reminding them to visit the Site. We may store this information for the sole purpose of sending such emails and tracking the success of our referral program. Note: Users may not use Tell-a-Friend or Group invites to send spam or otherwise send content that would violate our User Agreement.

5. Submitting other Personal Information

(1) During the registration process for the Site, Swapsity collects only the Personal Information referred to above.  However, the Site also provides tools (the “Transaction Tools”) for Users to provide personally identifiable information to other Users at their own discretion. Transaction Tools include, though may not be limited to: a) Shipping and Meeting Information form; b) Swap Transaction form (section on contact information); and c) internal messages to other Users. The tools are useful for completing your transactions and communicating with other Users. These tools allow you to share your personally identifiable information, including but not limited to your full name, contact number, mailing or meeting address, email or any other information you choose to disclose to your transacting party or other Users you communicate with. These tools are provided for your convenience and should be used solely at your discretion. Please note that if the other User’s email alerts are activated, certain information (e.g. shipping address, message content) transmitted though the Transaction Tools may be sent to the other transacting party’s email address.

(2) In addition, User may create and post submissions such as item descriptions, text, photos, images, messages, blog comments, public Profile, User wishlist, User feedbacks (“User Submissions”) and place them on the Site.  Once posted, such content cannot be modified.  Any personally identifiable information or User Submissions that you voluntarily submit to be disclosed online or provide to other Users is not protected as Personal Information and is not subject to this Privacy Policy.

6. Collection and Use of Personal Information

We may use your Personal Information for the following purposes:

(1)  To improve our service offerings or create new features, analyze statistics, User preferences and trends as well as to monitor compliance with our User Agreement. The data may be used individually or aggregated with other Anonymous Information. Please note that we may share such statistics or data in aggregated form with third parties.

(2)  From time to time we may run contests or offer promotions on our Site in which we ask participants for contact information, such as their names and e-mail address(es).  If you participate in contests or promotions, your contact information will be used primarily to reach you in connection with the contests. 

(3)  In certain special cases, we may disclose your Personal Information when we have reason to believe that disclosing this information is necessary to identify, contact, or bring legal action against someone who may be causing injury to you, or otherwise injuring or interfering with Swapsity’s rights, property or operation, other Swapsity Users, or anyone else who could be harmed by such activities.  We may also disclose your Personal Information when we believe the law requires it, or in response to any demand by law enforcement authorities in connection with a criminal investigation, or civil or administrative investigation.

Please Note: The Swapsity Site administrator has access to all Users accounts but does not have access to User passwords.

7. Disclosure of Information by Swapsity

(1) Swapsity will not sell, rent or share your Personal Information.

(2) Swapsity does not disclose your Personal Information in the normal course of business as part of providing our service to you.

(3) The following information is displayed throughout the Site and is savailable to all other Users in the Swapsity community:

User Public Profiles: includes your username, User Credibility Information, traded Items, wishlist, photo or image (if included) and any other information you choose to provide in your Profile to all other Users.
User Feedback History: includes feedback comments and transaction ratings left by other Users subsequent to completing a swap or sale transaction.

(4) Advertisers/ Third Parties: We may aggregate your Personal Information and disclose such information in a non-personally identifiable manner to advertisers or other third parties.

8. Your Use of Other User’s Information

(1) User Information is available ‘publicly’ (to all members) through each User’s profile.  Users also provide various Personal Information and personally identifiable information to each other when finalizing a swap or a sale (“Transaction Information”).  Such Transaction Information is provided by each User at his or her own discretion.

(2)  Swapsity provides Transaction Tool such as Shipping/Meeting Information forms for Users to send Transaction Information to each other.  By providing Transaction Tools, Swapsity assumes no liability for the use of the Transaction Tools by Users to provide Transaction Information or any other information to each other.  Users are prohibited from using the Transaction Tools for any purpose unrelated to Swapsity transactions and may not use the Transaction Tools to transmit unsolicited commercial messages, to solicit Swapsity Users or attempt t obtain User information for commercial purposes.

(3) Under no circumstances may Users disclose Personal Information or Transaction Information about another User to a third party without the prior written consent of that User.

(4) You agree that other Users may use your Personal Information to communicate with you.

(5) Users may not add other Users’ emails to any mailing lists without their prior written permission.

9. Updating your Personal Information

Users can update their Personal Information at any time through the Edit Personal Information page. You must update your Information promptly if it changes. Shipping and Meeting information can be updated through Edit Shipping Information page.

10. Closing Accounts

Upon your written request we will de-active your account. Please note that Swapsity may retain some information about you on file even after your account is closed.  If you have any concerns about this, please contact us.

11. Cookies: How They Are Used and Opting-Out

 (1)   A “cookie” is a small piece of datum that is sent to your browser from a web server and stored on your computer’s hard drive.  Cookies do not damage your system or impair functioning in any way.  We use cookies to help us provide customizable services and to allow you to sign-in to our Site more quickly. Cookies also make web surfing easier for you by saving your preferences while you are on our Site.  Cookies may also be used by Linked Sites or third party sites linked to the Swapsity Site, so please be aware of this as you visit these web pages.

(2)   You can choose whether to accept cookies by changing the settings of your browser.  You can reset your browser to refuse all cookies, or allow your browser to show you when a cookie is being sent.  If you choose not to accept these cookies, your experience at our Site and other web sites may be diminished and some features may not work as intended.

REMEMBER:  Because your special cookie is associated with your Internet browser, your opt-out selection will last only as long as your computer’s cookie file is maintained intact.  If you switch to a new computer, or change or upgrade your browser, or clean out your computer’s cookie file, you will need to opt-out again with all relevant parties to ensure your “opt-out” status. 

IMPORTANT ADVICE ON USING PUBLIC OR SHARED COMPUTERS: When you sign-in to your existing account you have the option of checking the ‘Remember Me’ box. We caution you that using the ‘Remember Me’ feature may create risks to your account security especially if you using a shared computer. Checking that option can facilitate your sign-in process and allow you to login into your Swapsity account automatically without having to type in your password every time you visit our Site. If you wish to ‘cancel’ the ‘Remember Me’ option, please uncheck the box when you sign in and delete the cookie manually from your machine. Please be aware that using shared computers or public computers can create extra risks to your account security. We strongly advise you to check-off the ‘Remember Me’ option and to sign-out properly when you leave the computer.  If you inadvertently forget to disable the ‘Remember Me’ option or you leave it checked, make sure you manually delete the cookie after you log-out of your account. Ensuring your account security and safety is your responsibility.

12. Passwords

Your unique username and password enables Swapsity to verify your identity and membership and ensures your Personal Information is kept private and secure. You are solely responsible for all the actions (including Credit spending for the Premium Services) undertaken with your username and password.  To protect your Personal Information and account activity, we strongly recommend that you do not share your password with other parties. If your password has been compromised please change it immediately by accessing your Editing your Password Settings page.

13. Security

The security of your Personal Information is important to us. We take reasonable precautions and employ different security techniques and measures to protect your Personal Information. Only authorized parties have access to the information you provide to us. However ‘perfect security’ does not exist on the Internet and we cannot guarantee absolute security or that loss, misuse or alteration to data will not occur. As a result, we cannot guarantee the security of any information you provide or transmit to us, and you do so at your own risk. Please remember that you are also responsible for maintaining the confidentiality and security of your username and password.

Note: Swapsity does not handle any credit card transactions and does not store any credit card information. All user-to-user payments for items or uneven barter transactions are concluded between Users and are not overseen, approved, or guaranteed in any way by Swapsity.  Users provide financial information or payments to each other through the Site at their own risk. Swapsity cannot and does not assume liability for payments concluded through third party payment systems such as Paypal, online banking, or otherwise.

14. Contacting Us

If you have any questions or comments about this privacy policy or the practices of this Site, email us at privacy@swapsity.ca

If you would like to receive email notifications subsequent to any material changes in the User Agreement and the Privacy Policy please indicate that option in your Email Notifications settings.