Privacy Policy

Last updated: 24 August 2026

Important notice: This policy is written to reflect E12’s current product behaviour for operational use. Before public launch, qualified legal counsel should still review the operating entity, governing law, data-processing agreements, and cross-border arrangements.

E12 (“Platform”, “we”, “us”, or “our”) is a business discovery and engagement platform connecting Canada and Hong Kong, available at e12.ca and e12.hk. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, retain, and protect personal information when you use the Platform.

By using the Platform, creating an account, or submitting information, you acknowledge that you have read this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the Platform.

1. Who we are

E12 is operated by the team responsible for the E12 business discovery ecosystem. For privacy enquiries, contact us through our contact form. The legal operating entity name and dedicated privacy contact should be inserted here when finalized by counsel.

2. Scope

This Privacy Policy applies to personal information processed through the E12 website, account features, business dashboard, administrative tools, and related services—including search, company profiles, bookings, quotes, messaging, reviews, AI features, and the partner API.

This Privacy Policy does not apply to:

third-party websites or services you visit after leaving E12 (including external websites linked from listings);
processing by independent businesses when they communicate with or serve you directly in their own name;
third-party applications’ treatment of their own end users when those applications access public directory data through E12’s partner API (those applications must comply with applicable law independently).

3. Information we collect

Depending on how you use E12, we may process the following categories of information:

3.1 Account and identity information

name, email address, and phone number (if provided);
account role (for example customer, business, or administrator);
password stored as a one-way hash (we do not store plaintext passwords);
market preference (Canada or Hong Kong), language preference, and notification settings;
intended plan selection at business registration, where applicable.

3.2 Content and transaction information you submit

Listings and claims: business name, address, contact details, descriptions, services, hours, photos, videos, posts, and related business information;
Onboarding requests: claim or new-listing submissions and review status;
Bookings: name, email, phone, selected service, date, time slot, notes, and booking status;
Quote requests: project description, budget, timeline, attachments, and selected providers;
Messages: content exchanged with businesses through the Platform and related lead records;
Reviews: rating, review text, display name, and related service tags;
Contact form: enquiries you send to us.

3.3 Automatically collected technical and usage information

IP address, browser type, device and operating system data, referrer URL, access times, and request logs;
session identifiers and security cookies to maintain login state, prevent cross-site request forgery (CSRF), and support core functionality;
aggregated usage metrics such as profile views and AI interaction counts (for business analytics, not behavioural advertising profiling);
error, maintenance, and security-related logs.

3.4 AI and automated processing information

questions or descriptions you submit to AI features (including company “Ask AI”, the E12 AI Assistant, homepage AI Business Match, and quote brief tools);
where enabled and a response completes successfully, stored question-and-answer records (business owners may view and delete records relating to their company);
embedding vectors and index data derived from public company information for semantic search and matching.

AI outputs are generated automatically, may be incomplete or inaccurate, and do not constitute professional, legal, financial, or medical advice.

3.5 Payment-related information (if enabled)

If you purchase a paid plan, payment is processed by third-party payment providers such as Stripe. We typically receive subscription status, plan details, billing period information, and Stripe-provided customer/subscription identifiers. We do not store full payment card numbers.

4. Sources of information

We obtain information from:

you directly: registration, login, forms, listing edits, messages, and reviews;
automatic generation: sessions, security logs, usage metrics, and geocoding results from addresses;
public and licensed sources: some directory listings may originate from public business datasets or authorized imports for businesses to claim and improve;
service providers: email, hosting, CDN, geocoding, AI, and payment providers processing information as needed to deliver their services.

5. How we use information

We use personal information to:

create, authenticate, and manage accounts;
provide search, browse, compare, booking, quote, messaging, and review features;
display, review, manage, and promote business listings (including badges such as “Verified”);
share booking, quote, and message details with relevant businesses and, where configured, send service emails to you;
operate AI matching, the E12 AI Assistant, Q&A, and quote-brief automation features;
process payments, subscriptions, and billing where enabled;
maintain platform security, detect abuse, investigate complaints, and enforce our Terms of Use;
comply with legal obligations, respond to lawful requests, and resolve disputes;
improve reliability, performance, and user experience (primarily in aggregated or de-identified form).

We do not sell your personal information. We do not use personal information for unrelated third-party marketing without appropriate legal basis or consent.

6. Legal bases (where applicable)

Depending on your jurisdiction, our legal bases for processing may include: performing our contract with you, processing necessary to provide the service, compliance with legal obligations, protection of vital interests, pursuit of legitimate interests (such as platform security and fraud prevention), and, where appropriate, your consent (for example certain cookies or notification preferences).

Users in Canada may have rights under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). Users in Hong Kong may have rights under the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (PDPO). See Section 12 for available rights.

7. Sharing and disclosure

We may share information in the following circumstances:

Public display: listings, reviews, and public profile content you choose to publish may be visible to other users and search engines;
Relevant businesses: when you book, request a quote, or send a message, we provide the business and its authorized users with information necessary to fulfil the transaction;
Service providers: including website hosting, databases, email delivery, CDN/security (such as Cloudflare), geocoding (such as OpenStreetMap Nominatim or Google Geocoding), AI/embedding services, vector-search infrastructure, and Stripe payment processing. These providers may process information only as needed to deliver services and are subject to contractual confidentiality and security obligations;
Partner API users: authorized partners with valid API keys may access controlled public directory data (not account passwords or private messages);
Legal and safety: disclosure to law enforcement, regulators, or legal advisers when reasonably necessary to protect rights, safety, and legal compliance;
Business transfers: in connection with a merger, acquisition, or asset sale, information may transfer subject to this Privacy Policy or equivalent protections.

8. International transfers

E12 serves users in Canada and Hong Kong. Your information may be stored or processed outside your country or region (including in Canada, Hong Kong, or other locations where servers or providers operate). We take reasonable steps to ensure cross-border transfers comply with applicable law and, where required, are protected by contractual or other safeguards.

9. Cookies and similar technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies to:

maintain login sessions and security tokens;
remember language and market preferences;
support CSRF protection and core platform functionality.

You may restrict cookies through your browser settings, but some features (such as staying signed in) may not work properly. We do not currently use third-party advertising tracking cookies for cross-site targeted advertising.

Where Cloudflare or similar CDN/security services are used, they may process IP addresses and request metadata to provide security and performance features (including suggesting a market based on IP country).

10. Retention

We retain information only as long as necessary for the purposes described, including:

the life of your account and a reasonable period thereafter;
records needed for transactions, bookings, quotes, messaging, and business analytics;
periods required for security, audit, dispute resolution, and legal compliance;
short-lived security tokens such as password-reset links (which expire).

When retention periods end, we delete or anonymize information unless a longer period is required by law.

11. Security

We use reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect personal information, including access controls, password hashing, transport encryption (HTTPS), session protections, and restrictions on direct access to sensitive directories. However, no method of transmission or storage over the internet is completely secure. If we become aware of a security incident that may affect your account, we will take reasonable steps to notify and remediate in accordance with applicable law.

12. Your rights and choices

Depending on applicable law, you may have the right to:

access personal information we hold about you;
request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information;
request deletion (subject to legal and legitimate retention obligations);
object to or restrict certain processing;
withdraw consent where processing is based on consent (without affecting other lawful processing);
manage notification preferences in account settings, where available.

To exercise these rights, contact us through the contact form with enough information for us to verify your identity. We may charge a reasonable fee or refuse manifestly unfounded or excessive requests where permitted by law.

13. Children

E12 is not directed to children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children below the age at which they can consent to online services in their location. If we learn that we have collected such information, we will take reasonable steps to delete it.

14. Third-party links and business responsibility

Listings may link to third-party websites. E12 is not responsible for the privacy practices of those sites. When you transact directly with an independent business, that business may collect and process your information in its own name, and you should review its privacy policy.

15. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in our services, legal requirements, or operations. We will update the “Last updated” date on this page. For material changes, we will provide notice through the Platform or other reasonable means. Continued use after an update constitutes acceptance of the revised Privacy Policy.

16. Contact us

For privacy questions, complaints, or data requests, use our contact form. We aim to respond within a reasonable timeframe.