Privacy Policy
We collect as little as we can, tell you plainly what and why, and never sell your data.
Last updated October 28, 2026
Plain-English draft. This is written to be readable rather than legalistic, and it has not been reviewed by a lawyer. If anything here is unclear, email support@givolve.ca and we will explain it.
Who we are
Givolve is operated by GIVOLVE, an Ontario sole proprietorship, based in Guelph, Ontario. We run a platform where neighbours ask for things they need and pass on things they no longer use.
This policy explains what personal information we handle, why, how long we keep it, and what rights you have. It follows Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).
Our privacy contact is the Privacy Officer, reachable at support@givolve.ca. They are accountable for how personal information is handled here.
Your consent
When you create an account and use Givolve, you are agreeing to what this policy describes. We only collect and use personal information for the purposes set out here, and we will ask again if we ever want to use it for something different.
You can withdraw your consent at any time by asking us to delete your account. Some things cannot be undone by withdrawing: a handover that already happened, a report already filed, and records we have to keep. Withdrawing consent means you can no longer use Givolve, because we cannot run an account without the information above.
You can also withdraw consent for individual things without closing your account. Turning off an email notification in your settings is the everyday version of this.
What we collect, and why
Your account. Your name and email address, so you can sign in and so the other person in a handover knows who they are dealing with. You can choose a display name, and you can show a first name only.
Where you are, roughly. A city and the first three characters of your postal code, such as N1E. We never ask for your street address and never show it. You and the other person arrange a meeting place between yourselves.
What you post. The title, description, category and photos of an item you offer or request.
Why you need something, if you choose to say. When you ask for an item you can explain why. This is private. It is never shown on the public feed, and only someone who offers to help can see it, after they offer. You never have to give a reason, and we never ask you to prove one.
Photos. Images you upload for a listing. We remove location data from photos before storing them, so a picture taken at home does not reveal where you live.
Messages. Conversations between you and another member about an item. People often share a meeting place, a time, and sometimes a phone number or an address in these messages, so treat them as you would any private conversation. We do not read them routinely. We can read a specific conversation if it is reported to us, or if we need to look into a safety concern or a breach of our terms.
Reports. If you report a listing or a person, we keep what you tell us and who sent it, so we can act on it.
Basic technical data. Error reports and security logs, which can include an IP address and your account identifier. Used to keep the platform working and to prevent abuse.
What we do not collect
We do not collect your date of birth, your phone number, or your full street address. We do not use tracking cookies and we do not sell data to anyone, ever.
Automatic checks on what you post
When you write a listing, our software checks the title and description against a list of items that cannot be given away in Canada, and a list of items we do not allow. If it finds a match, it blocks the post and explains why.
This check is automatic. No person reads your listing before it goes live.
The check can be wrong. It is set to err on the side of caution, so it sometimes stops a post it should not. If that happens to you, email support@givolve.ca and a person will look at it.
We keep a record of what triggered a block, which is the matched word and which field it appeared in. We do not keep the text of a blocked post.
Cookies
We use cookies that are necessary for the site to work. They keep you signed in and keep your session secure. Without them you could not log in.
We do not use advertising cookies, tracking cookies, or third-party analytics that follow you across other websites.
Who can see what
| Information | Who sees it |
|---|---|
| Your display name and photo | Anyone |
| Your city and postal prefix | Anyone |
| An item you offer or request | Anyone |
| Why you need something | Only a person who offers to help, after they offer |
| Your email address | Only us. Never shown to other members |
| Your messages | You, the person you are writing to, and us if the conversation is reported |
| A report you file | Only us |
How we protect it
Everything you send to Givolve travels over an encrypted connection. Your password is never stored in a form anyone can read, including us.
Inside our database, access is restricted row by row, so one member's account cannot read another's. Sensitive fields such as email addresses are locked down further, so they are not readable by the public side of the platform at all.
We remove location data from listing photos before they are stored.
No system is perfectly secure. If something goes wrong in a way that puts you at real risk, we will tell you and report it as the law requires, and we keep a record of every breach whether or not it is reportable.
Who we share it with
We do not sell personal information. We share it only with the services we need to run the platform.
| Service | What it does | Necessary? | Where data may sit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supabase | Database, sign-in, photo storage | Strictly necessary | Canada (Montréal) |
| Vercel | Hosting | Strictly necessary | Outside Canada |
| Resend | Sending the emails you have asked for | Strictly necessary | Outside Canada |
| Sentry | Error reporting, so we can find and fix faults | Strictly necessary | Outside Canada |
| Cloudflare | Domain and email routing | Strictly necessary | Global network |
Each of these handles data on our instructions and is not permitted to use it for its own purposes.
We may also disclose information if the law requires it, or to investigate fraud or protect someone's safety.
Information held outside Canada
Most of the services above store data outside Canada, mainly in the United States. That means it is subject to the laws of the country it sits in, and courts or authorities there may be able to access it under their own rules.
PIPEDA allows this where the information is given comparable protection, and we tell you so here. If you would rather not have your information stored this way, the only option is not to use Givolve.
How long we keep it
Your account and your listings stay while your account is active. You can ask us to delete your account by emailing support@givolve.ca. We will remove your profile, listings and messages. Photos you uploaded may remain in storage for a period afterwards.
Messages are kept while both accounts are active, so you can look back at how a handover was arranged. They are deleted when your account is deleted.
Reports and what we did about them are kept for two years. Email delivery records are kept for 90 days. Records of blocked posts are kept for one year so we can improve the check.
Meeting in person
Givolve helps you arrange a handover, but the meeting itself is between you and the other person. Share only what you are comfortable sharing, arrange the meeting through Givolve rather than giving out a phone number, and read our safety guidance before you go.
Your rights
You can see and change your profile at any time, control which emails you receive, and ask us to delete your account.
Under PIPEDA you can ask what personal information we hold about you, ask us to correct it if it is wrong, and ask us to delete it. Email support@givolve.ca and we will respond within 30 days.
If we get it wrong
If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal information, email our Privacy Officer at support@givolve.ca. We will look into it and reply.
If you are still not satisfied, you can complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, which oversees PIPEDA. They can be reached at priv.gc.ca or 1-800-282-1376.
Children
Givolve is for adults. You must be 18 or older to use it. If we learn that an account belongs to someone younger, we will close it.
Changes
If we change this policy we will update the date at the top. If a change materially affects you, we will email you.
Contact
Questions about privacy, or want to use any of the rights above? Email support@givolve.ca.