Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

Ad Pretzel (“we”, “us”) is a digital studio in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. We build websites, brands, and custom platforms, and we run related marketing, support, and AI-assisted production for clients. This policy explains how we collect, use, store, and share personal information under PIPEDA and Quebec’s Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector (Law 25).

The person responsible for the protection of personal information can be reached at hello@adpretzel.com.

2. Scope

This policy covers adpretzel.com, client portals, Pretzel OS tools, support chat, and forms we operate. Client websites we host or build may have their own notices when they collect data for that business. Staff and contractor access to internal tools is covered here as well.

3. Information we collect

We collect only what we need to reply, deliver work, bill, secure the systems, and improve the site.

• Identity and contact: name, email, phone, company, city, and the message you send on a form.
• Project files: logos, copy, photos, brand guidelines, and credentials you give us to do the job.
• Portal and CRM records: leads, tasks, time, proposals, invoices, chat transcripts, and support tickets.
• Email marketing records in Brevo: list membership, opens and clicks on mail we send, unsubscribe status.
• Technical data: IP address, browser, device, pages viewed, language, and approximate location from the network.
• Preferences: language, theme, and cookie consent stored on your device.
• Payment data handled by Stripe or your bank. We do not store full card numbers on our servers.

Schema.org and other structured data on our pages describe the public business (name, logo, URL, phone). That markup is not a profile of you as a visitor and is not used to identify an individual.

4. How we use it

• Reply to inquiries and quote, build, and support the work you asked for.
• Operate Pretzel OS, client portals, hosting, and real-time support.
• Send transactional mail (confirmations, tickets, invoices) and, with consent, commercial mail.
• Measure the site, fix errors, and prevent spam, fraud, and abuse.
• Meet tax, accounting, and legal duties, and defend our rights.
• Show portfolio work where you have allowed it.

5. Consent

Where Law 25 or CASL requires consent, we ask for it in clear language. Sending a contact form is consent to use that information to follow up on the request. Newsletter or campaign signup is express consent to commercial electronic messages. You may withdraw consent at any time, subject to legal or contractual holds (for example invoices). Withdrawing consent does not affect work already done.

Analytics and advertising tags (Google Tag Manager and tags it loads) run only after you accept them in the cookie banner. Essential storage for language, theme, security, and logged-in sessions does not wait on that banner.

6. Email marketing and Brevo

We use Brevo (Sendinblue) to store contacts, send mail, and see delivery, opens, and clicks. Commercial messages follow CASL: identification of Ad Pretzel, a working unsubscribe, and a mailing address or other valid contact. Unsubscribing stops marketing mail. It does not stop invoices, security notices, or replies to a live job.

We do not sell lists. We do not rent your address. We do not add you to a marketing list from a one-off quote form unless you also opt in.

7. Artificial intelligence

We use AI tools (including models from Google, Anthropic, OpenAI, and similar providers, and our own PretzelAgent workflows) to draft copy, images, code, and internal summaries. Prompts may include material you gave us for the job. We do not use AI to make a fully automated decision that produces legal or similarly significant effects about you without human review.

• You remain responsible for facts, claims, and rights in content we generate for you before you publish it.
• We do not grant you a warranty that AI output is unique, error-free, or free of third-party claims.
• Do not send us health, financial account, or other sensitive data unless the contract requires it and we agree in writing.
• Providers may process data on servers outside Quebec. See section 10.

8. Cookies, pixels, and similar technology

See the Cookie Policy for types, consent, and how to change your choice.

9. Who we share with

We share personal information only with processors who need it to run the service, or if the law requires it.

• Vercel: hosting, edge network, and optional privacy-oriented analytics.
• Brevo: email and contact lists.
• Google Firebase and related Google Cloud services: auth, database, and files for portals and CRM.
• Stripe: payments when a proposal or invoice is paid online.
• Google, Meta, and similar ad platforms: only if you accept marketing tags, or on a client property we manage under that client’s instructions.
• AI providers named above, only as needed to produce work.
• Accountants, insurers, and counsel bound to confidentiality.

We do not sell personal information. If we transfer the business, information may move with it under the same duties.

10. Storage, retention, and transfers

Data may be stored in Canada, the United States, and the European Union (Brevo and some AI providers). When we use a provider outside Quebec, we take contractual and technical steps that are reasonable in the circumstances. We keep inquiry records as long as the relationship lasts and then for a limited archive period needed for tax, disputes, and security (typically up to 7 years for financial records). Marketing lists are kept until you unsubscribe or we delete inactive contacts. Portal accounts are removed when the client offboards, except for records we must keep.

11. Security

We use HTTPS, access controls, least-privilege staff logins, and vendor security features. No method of transmission or storage is perfectly secure. Report a suspected incident to hello@adpretzel.com. Where Law 25 requires notice of a confidentiality incident, we will notify the Commission d’accès à l’information and affected persons as required.

12. Your rights

Subject to legal limits, you may ask us to:

• Confirm whether we hold personal information about you and access it.
• Correct inaccurate information.
• Delete information when the law allows.
• Withdraw consent for marketing or non-essential tags.
• Receive an explanation of automated processing that concerns you, if any.

Write to hello@adpretzel.com. We may need to verify who you are. You may also complain to the Commission d’accès à l’information du Québec or the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.

13. Children

Our public site and services are for businesses and adults. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 14. If you believe we have, contact hello@adpretzel.com and we will delete it.

14. Changes

We will post updates on this page and change the date above. Continued use of the site after a material change means you accept the updated policy, except where a new consent is required by law.

15. Contact

Ad Pretzel, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. hello@adpretzel.com. (514) 827 2026. https://adpretzel.com.

Related: Terms of Service and Cookie Policy.