How the City of Vancouver uses your information
Purpose
The purpose of this statement is to inform users of the City of Vancouver’s Van311 Mobile App (the “App”) with regard to the collection and use of personal information and user data and non-personally identifiable user-submitted content or aggregate information.
This privacy statement covers the App that was developed by the City of Vancouver and incorporates privacy features of a web-based City of Vancouver citizen portal (the “Portal”) hosted in the United States of America and operated by Squiz on behalf of the City of Vancouver.
Review the City of Vancouver's Terms of Use
This statement is not intended and shouldn’t be interpreted as a contract of any nature, either stated or implied.
Definition of personal information
For the purposes of this statement, "personal information" means any information relating to an identified or identifiable individual.
Definition of user data
Information automatically collected by the App or service providers about your use of the App, the device you use the App on, or the device’s location.
Description of how the App works
The App allows you to:
- Report a service request to the City
- Check on the status of the service request you have submitted
- View a request that was submitted and shared by a third party user of the App (collectively, the “Submissions”)
- Receive notifications from the City
The App uses third party service providers to assist with providing notifications from the City to users as described below.
Collection of personal information
We collect only the minimum amount of information needed to meet the purpose of the App created. You don’t need to create an App account. If registered through the Portal, you can use your Portal account to log in to the App. Use of the Portal is subject to the Terms and conditions.
You also have the option to use the App, with limited functionalities, as an anonymous user. The App won’t store or track any information for anonymous users.
Instead of using the App or Portal, you can also contact the City of Vancouver by phoning:
- 3-1-1 within Vancouver
- 604-873-7000 from outside Vancouver
Surveys accessed through the App are meant to collect relevant information about service requests and City services only. Surveys containing open-ended questions could inadvertently collect personal information. If a survey has these questions, there will be a notice reminding you not to include any personal information in your answers.
Receiving push notifications from the mobile App
Push notifications through the App are provided by the service provider, Expo (“Expo”) , which is based in the United States of America. Expo doesn’t collect or store on their servers user data that is personally identifiable. As stated in the Expo Policy , the only info they collect are device tokens.
Expo isn’t provided access or information related to you from your App account. You are able to disable notifications by disabling notifications from the App on your device or opt-in/out of receiving various types of notifications in the App itself.
The City reserves the right to send urgent notifications through the App and add or remove features at any time.
Use of personal information
Survey responses can be linked to your service requests. The use of personal information in service requests by the City will be limited to what is necessary for responding to the service request, enhancing the service, or as permitted or required by law.
Disclosure of personal information or user data
We do not sell or rent your personal information or data to any outside company or organization and reveal specific information about you, your data, or other personal information to unaffiliated third parties for their independent use, except if required by law.
Location services
Location services are used for service request features because service requests are associated with locations. Individuals can use the App, with limited functionalities, if location services are disabled.
Access to camera or photos
The App needs access to your device’s camera and/or photos for you to attach photos or videos to new service requests. Individuals can use the App, with limited functionalities, if access to the camera or photos is disabled.
User submissions
Your personal information, including name and address, is only accessed by City of Vancouver staff or service contractors who process service requests.
Retention of personal information, user submissions, and user data
We only collect, retain and use personal information and user submissions submitted to the City through the App where we believe it is essential (and allowed by law) to administer our business and to provide products, services and other opportunities requested by you. Personal information and user submissions are retained and destroyed in accordance with the City’s Corporate Records and Information Management Policy, ADMIN-009, and Records Management By-Law No. 9067.
Self-deletion of your account is available; however, personal information will be retained for a longer period of time for business purposes.
Security of information
The App employs a number of safeguards intended to mitigate the risk of unauthorized access or disclosure of this information. For example, personal information included in service requests is sent to City of Vancouver servers using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption.
You need to prevent unauthorized access to your personal Information by selecting and protecting your portal account credentials and limiting access to your device. Unauthorized entry or use, hardware or software failure, and other factors may compromise the security of user information at any time.
Applicable law and updates to privacy statement
Any collection, use, or disclosure of personal information is in accordance with section 26(c) and 26(e) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
If you have questions about the collection, use or disclosure of this information, contact the Director of Access to Information and Privacy by:
- Email: privacy@vancouver.ca
- Phone 3-1-1
- Mail: 453 West 12th Avenue, Vancouver, BC, VSY 1V4
Any changes to this privacy statement will come into effect upon the City of Vancouver posting the updated version on the Portal.
In addition to this privacy statement, the vancouver.ca privacy statement applies.