Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy explains how 16183051 Canada Inc. ("we", "us", or "our") handles information in connection with the Essence Québec mobile application and any related services we make available for the app (collectively, the "App"). We handle personal information in accordance with applicable Canadian privacy law, including the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act ("PIPEDA") where applicable and Quebec's private-sector privacy law where applicable.
The App is intended to help users browse and compare fuel prices in Quebec. The App displays public fuel-price information sourced from Régie de l'énergie du Québec. Because the App may be offered on both iOS and Android, some data practices described below differ by platform and by the features available in the version you use.
1. Information We May Collect
Location Information
If you grant permission, the App may access your device location in order to show nearby stations, improve local search results, calculate distance, or help you start navigation. We do not operate our own servers to store your location history or search history.
Search and Map Information
If you use search, maps, or directions features, the App may send queries, destination details, and related request data to mapping or search providers used by the App on your platform. Those providers may process such information under their own privacy terms in order to return results or launch navigation.
Device, Usage, and Diagnostic Information
Depending on platform, version, and configuration, we and our service providers may collect information such as device model, operating system, app version, language, IP address, identifiers, general app interactions, crash logs, performance metrics, and similar diagnostic or analytics data.
Advertising and Measurement Information
If the App displays advertising, advertising partners may collect information such as advertising identifiers, device identifiers, IP address, app interactions, ad impressions, ad clicks, approximate location, and related measurement or anti-fraud data. Where permitted by applicable law and platform rules, some ads may be personalized or interest-based.
On iOS, we request permission through Apple's App Tracking Transparency (ATT) prompt before loading ads that may use your device's advertising identifier (IDFA) for personalized advertising. If you grant permission, our advertising partner (Google AdMob) may access your IDFA to serve personalized ads. If you deny or restrict permission, AdMob serves non-personalized ads instead; your IDFA is not used.
Purchase and Subscription Information
On iOS, the App offers an optional auto-renewable subscription that removes ads. The App remains fully functional and free to use without it. Purchases are processed by the Apple App Store, not by us. When you make a purchase, we and the App Store may process purchase-related information such as product identifiers, subscription status, transaction identifiers, and receipt or entitlement information. If an Android version of the App offers subscriptions in the future, purchases would be processed through Google Play.
On iOS, your subscription entitlement is determined on your device through Apple's StoreKit and is tied to the Apple Account used for the purchase. We do not operate our own servers for purchases, do not maintain an account-level database of your purchases, and do not receive your full payment card details. You can view, change, or cancel a subscription at any time in your Apple App Store account settings.
Information Stored Locally on Your Device
The App may store certain preferences locally on your device, such as display settings, selected filters, preferred directions or maps options, map viewport preferences, and similar app settings. This information may remain on your device until you change it, clear app data, or uninstall the App.
2. How We May Use Information
We may use information described in this policy to:
- provide the App's core functionality, including showing nearby stations and fuel prices;
- support search, maps, and directions features;
- operate, maintain, secure, and improve the App;
- understand usage trends and measure product performance;
- detect crashes, bugs, fraud, abuse, or misuse;
- display, limit, personalize, measure, or troubleshoot advertising where applicable;
- process and manage purchases, subscriptions, renewals, and entitlements; and
- comply with legal obligations and enforce our agreements.
3. Third-Party Services and Providers
Depending on platform and version, the App may rely on third-party services for ads, analytics, crash reporting, billing, maps, search, hosting, fraud prevention, or other operational purposes.
These third parties may include, for example, Google AdMob, Firebase Analytics, Firebase Cloud Messaging, Apple In-App Purchase, Google Play Billing, Apple mapping/search services, Google mapping/search services, and similar providers we may use from time to time.
These providers may collect or receive information according to their own roles, policies, and contractual terms. Their practices are not fully controlled by us. We encourage you to review the privacy terms of the providers that apply to your platform and app version.
4. How We May Share Information
We may share information:
- with vendors and service providers that help operate the App;
- with advertising, analytics, crash reporting, and billing partners as described above;
- when you intentionally use a third-party maps or directions feature;
- if required by law, regulation, legal process, or governmental request;
- to protect our rights, users, systems, or services; and
- in connection with a merger, financing, acquisition, reorganization, sale of assets, or similar business transaction.
We do not sell personal information. However, when we use third-party advertising or measurement services, identifiers or related data may be disclosed to those partners for ad delivery, ad measurement, analytics, fraud prevention, or similar purposes. Where applicable law requires specific notices or choices about targeted advertising, sale, sharing, or similar uses, we will provide those notices or choices.
5. Data Retention
We retain information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this policy, to comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, or enforce agreements. In many cases, we do not maintain account-level server-side records about you because the App does not require a user account.
Some information may be retained by our third-party providers according to their own retention schedules. Data stored locally on your device may remain there until removed by you or by normal app lifecycle events.
6. International and Cross-Border Processing
The App and its third-party service providers may process information outside Quebec or outside Canada, including in the United States. As a result, information may be subject to the laws of other jurisdictions and may be accessible to courts, law enforcement, or regulatory authorities in those jurisdictions.
7. Your Choices and Rights
- You can choose whether to grant location permission through your device settings.
- You can manage personalized advertising and tracking preferences through your device, platform, or app settings where available, including Apple's App Tracking Transparency controls on iOS.
- You can manage or cancel a subscription at any time through your Apple App Store account settings (or, for a future Android version, Google Play).
- You may request access to, correction of, or information about personal information we hold about you, subject to applicable law and our ability to reasonably identify the relevant records.
- Where our collection, use, or disclosure of personal information is based on your consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time, subject to legal or contractual restrictions and reasonable notice. Withdrawing consent may affect some App features.
- You may contact our Privacy Officer to ask questions about our privacy practices or to make a privacy-related complaint.
- If you believe we have not handled your personal information in accordance with applicable law, you may also have the right to file a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada or, where applicable, the Commission d'accès à l'information du Québec.
- Residents of certain U.S. states, including California, may have additional privacy rights under applicable law if those laws apply to us. You may contact our Privacy Officer to ask about those rights.
Because the App does not use traditional user accounts, our ability to identify, access, correct, or delete certain records may be limited unless you provide enough detail for us to locate them.
8. Children's Privacy
The App is intended for a general audience and is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly seek to collect personal information directly from children under 13 through the App. In Quebec, consent from a parent or holder of parental authority is generally required before collecting personal information from a child under 14. If you are a parent or guardian and believe a child has provided personal information without appropriate permission or consent, please contact us.
9. Security
We take reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational measures designed to protect information under our control. No system or transmission method is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
10. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the effective date above. Your continued use of the App after an updated policy becomes effective means the updated policy will apply to your use of the App, to the extent permitted by law.
11. Contact
Privacy Officer: Hoang Phan, 16183051 Canada Inc., me@hoangphan.ca.