Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

GuildBuild ("we," "our," or "us") is a Business Intelligence and Artificial Intelligence consulting firm headquartered in Ontario, Canada. We are committed to protecting the privacy and security of the personal information entrusted to us by our clients, prospects, and website visitors.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, retain, and safeguard personal information through our website at guildbuild.ca and its associated services, in compliance with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA, S.C. 2000, c. 5) and Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL, S.C. 2010, c. 23).

By accessing and using our website, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.

2. Definitions

• "Personal Information" means information about an identifiable individual, as defined under PIPEDA. This includes, but is not limited to, a person's name, email address, phone number, company name, and business operational details.
• "Commercial Electronic Message" (CEM) means an electronic message (e.g., email) that encourages participation in a commercial activity, as defined under CASL.
• "Services" refers to the consulting, implementation, and managed technology services described on our website, including enterprise data architecture, AI agent deployment, Microsoft Fabric migration, and SMB productized packages.

3. Information We Collect

We collect only the minimum personal information necessary to fulfill the purposes identified at the time of collection, consistent with PIPEDA's principle of Limiting Collection.

3.1 Information You Provide Directly

3.2 Information Collected Automatically

4. How We Use Your Information

In accordance with PIPEDA's principle of Identifying Purposes, we use your personal information exclusively for the following purposes:

1. Service Delivery: To provide, personalize, and improve the consulting and technology services you have requested or inquired about.
2. Communication: To respond to your inquiries, send requested BRD documents, discuss project scopes, and coordinate engagements.
3. Lead Management: To log and track incoming service requests so that our team can follow up with relevant information in a timely manner.
4. Website Improvement: To analyze aggregated, anonymized usage data to improve our website content, navigation, and performance.
5. Legal Compliance: To comply with applicable laws, regulations, and legal processes.

We do not use your personal information for automated decision-making that produces legal or similarly significant effects on you without human oversight.

5. Consent

In accordance with PIPEDA's principle of Consent, we rely on the following forms of consent:

• Express Consent: When you voluntarily submit your contact information through the Build Architect form, SMB inquiry, or Storefront quote, you are expressly consenting to GuildBuild collecting and using that information for the purposes stated at the time of collection.
• Implied Consent: When you voluntarily engage with our AI Chat Widget and share business or personal details in the conversation, consent is implied for the purpose of responding to your inquiry.
• Deemed Consent (Analytics): Vercel Web Analytics collects only anonymized, non-personally-identifiable data and does not require individual consent under PIPEDA.

You may withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us at contact@guildbuild.ca. Upon withdrawal, we will cease collecting, using, or disclosing your personal information, except where required by law. Please note that withdrawal of consent may limit our ability to provide certain services.

6. Disclosure to Third Parties

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to any third party.

We may share personal information with the following categories of service providers, strictly as necessary to deliver our services:

Each of these providers is bound by their own privacy policies and industry-standard data protection practices. We require that they use personal information solely for the purposes of performing services on our behalf.

We may also disclose personal information where required to do so by law, regulation, court order, or governmental authority.

7. Data Retention

In accordance with PIPEDA's principle of Limiting Use, Disclosure, and Retention, we retain personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected:

• Architect BRD submissions: Retained in our database for up to 24 months from the date of submission, after which they are purged.
• Chat Widget conversations: Not persistently stored. Chat sessions are transient and exist only in server memory during the active session. No chat logs are stored to our database.
• Email communications (via mailto links): Retained in our email systems in accordance with standard business correspondence retention practices (typically 24 months after last activity).
• Analytics data: Vercel Web Analytics retains anonymized data according to Vercel's own retention policy.

You may request early deletion of your data at any time by contacting us.

8. Safeguards

In accordance with PIPEDA's principle of Safeguards, we protect your personal information with security measures appropriate to its sensitivity:

• Encryption in Transit: All data transmitted between your browser and our servers is encrypted using TLS (HTTPS). Our website enforces HTTPS on all pages.
• Serverless Architecture: Our backend runs on Vercel's serverless infrastructure, which provides isolation, automatic patching, and SOC 2 Type II compliance.
• Database Security: Our Vercel Postgres database is encrypted at rest, access-controlled, and not publicly accessible.
• Access Controls: Access to personal information is limited to authorized GuildBuild personnel who require it for legitimate business purposes.
• Security Headers: Our website implements industry-standard security headers including X-Content-Type-Options, X-Frame-Options, X-XSS-Protection, and Referrer-Policy.

9. Your Rights

Under PIPEDA, you have the following rights regarding your personal information:

1. Right of Access: You may request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
2. Right of Correction: You may request that we correct any inaccurate or incomplete personal information.
3. Right to Withdraw Consent: You may withdraw your consent to the collection, use, or disclosure of your personal information at any time, subject to legal or contractual restrictions.
4. Right to Challenge Compliance: You may challenge our compliance with this policy by contacting our Privacy Officer.
5. Right to Complain: If you are not satisfied with our response to your privacy concern, you have the right to file a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada at priv.gc.ca.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at contact@guildbuild.ca. We will respond to access and correction requests within 30 calendar days, as required by PIPEDA.

10. Cookies & Analytics

GuildBuild uses Vercel Web Analytics, a privacy-focused analytics solution that:

• Does not use cookies
• Does not collect personally identifiable information
• Does not track users across websites
• Complies with GDPR, CCPA, and PIPEDA without requiring a cookie consent banner

No additional third-party tracking cookies, advertising pixels, or cross-site trackers are used on this website.

11. AI-Powered Services

GuildBuild uses artificial intelligence to power certain features on this website:

• Build Architect: AI generates a draft Business Requirement Document (BRD) based on your questionnaire responses. The generated content is a preliminary analysis tool, not a binding recommendation.
• Chat Widget: An AI-powered assistant answers questions about GuildBuild's services. The chat is designed with strict guardrails to discuss only GuildBuild-related topics.

When interacting with AI-powered features:

• Your inputs may be processed by third-party AI providers (Groq, Google Gemini, OpenAI) via their secure APIs.
• We do not send your name, email, or phone number to AI providers. Only questionnaire responses and chat messages are transmitted.
• AI providers may process your inputs in accordance with their own privacy policies. We select providers with strong data protection commitments and do not permit them to use GuildBuild user data for training purposes.
• AI-generated outputs may contain errors or inaccuracies. They are provided "as is" and should not be relied upon as professional advice without consulting our human team.

12. Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL)

GuildBuild complies with CASL (S.C. 2010, c. 23) with respect to commercial electronic messages:

• Consent: We only send commercial electronic messages to individuals who have provided express or implied consent, or where an applicable exemption under CASL applies (e.g., responding to an inquiry initiated by the individual).
• Identification: All commercial electronic messages from GuildBuild clearly identify us as the sender and include our contact information.
• Unsubscribe: All commercial electronic messages include a clear, functional, and free-of-charge mechanism to withdraw consent. Unsubscribe requests are honoured within 10 business days.

When you use our Build Architect or SMB Storefront to send an inquiry via email (mailto), you are initiating the contact. Our subsequent follow-up communications are consistent with the implied consent provisions of CASL for inquiries (valid for 6 months from the date of inquiry).

13. Children's Privacy

GuildBuild's services are designed for businesses and professionals. We do not knowingly collect personal information from individuals under the age of 18. If we become aware that we have inadvertently collected such information, we will take immediate steps to delete it.

14. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technologies, or legal requirements. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated "Last Updated" date. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

If we make material changes that significantly affect how we handle your personal information, we will provide notice on our website prior to the change taking effect.

15. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our handling of your personal information, please contact our Privacy Officer:

If you are unsatisfied with our response, you may file a complaint with: