This Privacy Policy is a legally binding document that governs the relationship between you — as a user of the Check-In platform — and the operators of Check-In (“Check-In,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). It sets out, in clear and transparent terms, how we collect, use, store, disclose and protect your personal information when you access or use our website at thecheckin.ca and our mobile application (collectively, the “Platform”).
Check-In is a community safety reporting platform that allows residents of a neighbourhood to submit, view, and coordinate around local safety reports. The Platform works with Crime Stoppers of Halton, which in turn works with local police, to support timely and accountable community safety outcomes.
We are committed to processing your personal information lawfully, fairly and transparently, in accordance with Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), Ontario's Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA), and other applicable provincial privacy legislation. By accessing or using Check-In, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with any part of it, you should discontinue use of the Platform.
This Privacy Policy applies to all personal information that Check-In collects and processes through its website and mobile application. It governs every interaction you may have with the Platform — whether you are browsing as a visitor, registering and verifying your email address, submitting a community safety report, acting as a neighbourhood moderator, or contacting our team.
The purposes for which we collect your information are specific and limited to operating a safe, accountable community reporting platform. Check-In does not collect personal information for commercial advertising or marketing purposes and does not sell your personal information under any circumstances.
This Policy also governs the limited and specific circumstances in which we share information with Crime Stoppers of Halton, with law enforcement where required by law, and with third-party service providers who support the technical operation of the Platform. Such sharing is carried out only where necessary and in accordance with applicable law.
For clarity and consistency, the following terms carry the meanings set out below wherever they appear in this Privacy Policy:
Check-In collects only the information reasonably necessary to operate a safe, accountable community reporting platform. The categories of personal information we collect, and how each is collected, are described below.
When you register for an account, you provide us with:
We verify your email address by sending a one-time code at registration. We do not collect government-issued identification or other proof-of-identity documents. Your name and profile photo are visible to members of your neighbourhood; your email address and phone number are not (see Section 7).
Check-In is deliberate in what it does not collect. We do not:
The table below provides a structured overview of each category of personal information Check-In collects, how it is collected, the purpose for which it is processed, the parties with whom it may be shared, and the applicable retention period.
| Category | Data Collected | How Collected | Purpose | Shared With | Retention |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Identity & Account | First and last name, email address, phone number (if provided), password (managed by Firebase Authentication), profile photo (optional), neighbourhood/community association | Directly entered by user at registration; email verified with a one-time code | Account creation, email verification, secure/accountable use of the Platform | Check-In staff & moderators; neighbourhood members (name and profile photo only); Firebase (hosting); Gmail (account emails) | Duration of account; deleted immediately when you delete your account |
| Location Information | GPS coordinates at time of report submission; general neighbourhood location tied to account | Captured automatically when a report is submitted; neighbourhood set at registration | Attach accurate location context to reports; route reports to the correct neighbourhood | Neighbourhood members; neighbourhood moderators; Check-In staff; Crime Stoppers of Halton (where a report is escalated) | Tied to report retention — see below |
| Content You Submit | Photographs, videos, written incident descriptions, embedded date/time/location metadata, neighbourhood chat messages and files | Uploaded directly by the user when filing a report or posting in chat | Enable community safety reporting, review, and neighbourhood coordination | Neighbourhood members (with your name and profile photo); moderators; Crime Stoppers of Halton where a report is escalated | Retained indefinitely; if you delete your account, content remains but is no longer linked to your account |
| Technical & Device Data | Device type, operating system, app version, session logs, error logs | Automatically generated by the app | Platform stability, security, and troubleshooting | Firebase (hosting/processing) | No fixed period; kept only as needed for stability and security |
| Newsletter & Contact | Email address (newsletter); name, email address, and message (contact form) | Entered by the visitor on thecheckin.ca | Send the Check-In newsletter; respond to inquiries | Beehiiv (newsletter); Gmail (email delivery) | Newsletter: until you unsubscribe. Contact messages: no fixed period |
Check-In processes personal information only for lawful, specific, and clearly identified purposes. Under PIPEDA, we rely on your meaningful consent as the primary legal basis for collection and use. For certain processing activities — such as escalating reports to Crime Stoppers of Halton, or retaining reports as part of the neighbourhood safety record — we also rely on our legitimate interest in operating a safe and functional community safety platform, and, where applicable, on our legal obligations.
The principal purposes for which we process personal information are:
Check-In does not process personal information for marketing, targeted advertising, profiling for commercial gain, or any purpose unrelated to community safety reporting. We do not engage in automated decision-making that produces legal or similarly significant effects on Users.
By creating an account on Check-In, you provide meaningful consent for the collection, use, and disclosure of your personal information as described in this Privacy Policy. Before completing registration, you are presented with this Policy and asked to confirm your understanding. We do not collect personal information before this consent is given.
You may withdraw your consent at any time by closing your account through the Platform or by contacting us at team@thecheckin.ca. When you delete your account, your account information is deleted immediately (see Section 10). Reports and chat messages you submitted remain on the Platform but are no longer linked to your account, so as not to disrupt the safety record of other community members.
Please note that withdrawal of consent will result in the loss of access to all Platform features. Check-In does not discriminate against Users who choose to withdraw consent — the decision is yours to make freely and without penalty.
The Platform is not intended for use by persons under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from minors. If you believe we have inadvertently collected information from a minor, please contact us immediately at team@thecheckin.ca and we will take reasonable steps to remove such information.
Check-In is, by its nature, a community platform. Reports and chat messages you submit are visible to verified members of your neighbourhood community within the Platform, together with your name and profile photo, so that neighbours can stay informed and coordinate around local safety.
Your email address and phone number are never displayed publicly or shared with other Platform users. They are available only to Check-In staff and appointed neighbourhood moderators for accountability purposes, and are disclosed outside Check-In only in the specific circumstances set out in Section 8.2.
You are solely responsible for the information you choose to include in a written report description. Check-In advises Users to exercise care and to avoid including unnecessary sensitive personal information about themselves or others in report content.
Check-In does not sell, trade, or commercially exploit your personal information in any manner. We share your information only in the limited circumstances described below.
Employees, contractors, and appointed neighbourhood moderators who require access to fulfill their roles in managing the Platform may access relevant personal information and report data. All such individuals are bound by confidentiality obligations.
Check-In works with Crime Stoppers of Halton, which in turn works with local police. Check-In does not have a direct data-sharing relationship with Halton Regional Police Service or any other police service. We may share reports and associated information in the following circumstances:
When we escalate a report, we share the report content (description, photos, location, and time). We do not share your email address or phone number unless required by law or necessary to respond to an imminent threat to safety. Reports are never shared automatically upon submission.
We use the following third-party vendors, who process your personal information on our behalf as data processors:
All third-party vendors are required to process personal information only as instructed by us and are prohibited from using it for any other purpose. Where data is stored outside Canada, we take reasonable steps to ensure comparable privacy protections are in place (see Section 9).
Check-In may disclose personal information where required to do so by applicable law, court order, regulatory directive, or the lawful request of a government authority. Any such disclosure will be carried out only to the extent required and will, where legally permissible, be communicated to you.
Beyond the parties listed above, Check-In does not share your personal information with any other third party. Your report content visible to neighbourhood members is not transmitted to any external system beyond the service providers listed in Section 8.3.
Check-In is committed to complying with PIPEDA's requirements for the transfer of personal information across borders. Your data is stored on Google Firebase infrastructure and processed by the service providers listed in Section 8.3, which may be located outside Canada, including in the United States. By using the Platform, you acknowledge that your personal information may be transferred to and processed in a jurisdiction outside Canada.
Check-In takes appropriate steps to ensure that cross-border transfers are carried out with adequate protections in place. Our service providers maintain contractual commitments to data security and confidentiality. We do not authorize overseas recipients to use your information for any purpose other than the one for which it was transferred.
We retain personal information for as long as it is needed for the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by law. In summary:
We do not currently apply fixed retention periods to other records. If we adopt specific retention periods, we will update this Policy.
You may request early deletion of your personal information as described in Section 12 below.
Check-In takes the security of your personal information seriously and has implemented technical and administrative safeguards appropriate to the nature and sensitivity of the data we hold, including:
No security system is impenetrable. In the event of a data breach affecting your personal information, we will notify you and applicable regulatory authorities as required by PIPEDA.
Subject to applicable law, you have the right to:
You may request access to the personal information Check-In holds about you, including your account details and report history.
If any personal information we hold about you is inaccurate or incomplete, you may request that it be corrected or updated.
You may request deletion of your personal information (“right to erasure”), subject to our legal obligations to retain certain records, such as reports under an active legal hold.
As described in Section 6.2, you may withdraw your consent to our processing of your personal information at any time.
You may file a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) or Ontario's Information and Privacy Commissioner (IPC) if you believe your privacy rights have not been respected.
To exercise any of the rights described above, please contact us at team@thecheckin.ca or through thecheckin.ca. We will respond to all access and correction requests within 30 days. Where we are unable to fulfill a request, we will explain the reason in writing.
Our website at thecheckin.ca does not use analytics, advertising, or tracking tools, and we do not set tracking cookies. The site uses your browser’s session storage only to remember whether you have dismissed the newsletter sign-up prompt.
Some pages load content from third parties, such as maps from Mapbox and an embedded YouTube video. These services may set their own cookies or collect technical information, such as your IP address, under their own privacy policies. You can clear stored data and block third-party cookies through your browser settings.
The Platform is not intended for use by persons under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from minors. If you believe we have inadvertently collected information from a minor, please contact us immediately at team@thecheckin.ca.
Check-In may update or revise this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, applicable law, regulatory requirements, or operational practices. Where changes are material, we will notify Users through the Platform or by email prior to the change taking effect.
Your continued use of the Platform following the publication of an updated Privacy Policy constitutes your acceptance of the revised terms, except in circumstances where applicable law requires your explicit consent for specific changes. If you do not agree with a revised Policy, you may close your account and discontinue use of the Platform.
Check-In is committed to addressing privacy-related concerns promptly and in good faith. If you have any questions, concerns, or complaints regarding this Privacy Policy or the way in which your personal information is handled, or if you wish to exercise any of the rights described in Section 12, please contact us:
Email: team@thecheckin.ca
Website: thecheckin.ca
We will acknowledge all privacy inquiries within a reasonable period and will make every effort to resolve your concern within thirty (30) days of receipt.
This Privacy Policy becomes effective on August 22, 2026 and supersedes all previous privacy notices or statements published by Check-In. It remains in force until amended or replaced in accordance with the procedure described in Section 15.
