This Privacy Policy explains how OntarioHighwayTrafficAct.com (also known as “OHTA.ca”) (collectively, “we”, “us”, “our”) collects, uses, discloses, and safeguards personal information when you access or use our website, forum, and related services (the “Services”).

We strive to follow the principles of Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and other applicable Canadian privacy laws. This Privacy Policy should be read together with our forum Terms of Use and any other terms presented to you during registration or when using specific features.

1. Accountability & Contact

We are responsible for personal information under our control. To contact us about privacy, access requests, corrections, or complaints:

2. What We Collect

Depending on how you use the Services, we may collect:

• Account information (e.g., username, email address, password hash, profile settings).
• User-generated content you submit (e.g., posts, comments, messages, attachments, reports, feedback).
• Technical and log data (e.g., IP address, device and browser information, timestamps, pages viewed, error logs).
• Cookies and similar technologies used to operate the forum and remember preferences (see Section 8).
• Information you provide via forms (e.g., “contact us” or advertiser/agent inquiry forms).

You should not post sensitive personal information (e.g., medical details, government IDs, full addresses) to public areas of the forum. If you choose to do so, you do so at your own risk.

3. Purposes for Collection & Use

We collect and use personal information for purposes that a reasonable person would consider appropriate, including:

• Providing, operating, maintaining, and securing the Services.
• Creating and managing accounts, authentication, and user preferences.
• Enabling forum participation and displaying content you submit.
• Moderation, trust & safety, fraud prevention, and enforcement of rules and policies.
• Communicating with you about your account, administrative notices, and support requests.
• Measuring performance and improving the Services (including analytics and diagnostics).
• Advertising, sponsorship, and affiliate operations (where applicable).
• Complying with legal obligations and protecting our rights and the safety of users and the public.

4. AI, Machine Learning & Automated Processing

The Services include public discussion areas. If you post, upload, or otherwise submit content to the Services (your “User Content”), you acknowledge and agree that, subject to applicable law, we may use that User Content to operate, secure, improve, and develop the Services.

AI and product development using non-identifying content. Where feasible and appropriate, we may use aggregated, de-identified, and/or otherwise non-identifying versions of public User Content to develop and improve features and tools across the Site and our related products and services (our “Network”), including (without limitation) search and discovery tools, spam and abuse detection, moderation assistance, AI chatbots, AI-powered summaries, recommendations, and other automation.

• We may process, analyze, and transform public User Content for research, statistical, quality-assurance, and product-improvement purposes, including training, fine-tuning, and evaluating machine-learning and AI models used by us or by our service providers acting on our behalf.
• We will take reasonable steps to minimize the amount of personal information used in these workflows and, where appropriate, apply de-identification techniques; however, if you include personal information in public posts, that information may remain visible to others.
• We do not use automated processing to make decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects about you based solely on automated processing, except to the extent permitted by applicable law and with any required notice/consent.

Your choices. You may request that we exclude your future public posts from being used for certain internal AI training or product-development workflows where feasible (for example, by contacting us). Please note that it may not be technically feasible to remove the influence of content that has already been incorporated into aggregated datasets, analytics, or trained models, and we may retain content as required for security, integrity, or legal compliance.

You retain ownership of your User Content. By submitting User Content, you grant us the rights described in our Terms of Service to host, display, moderate, and use your content to provide and improve the Services.

5. Consent

We seek consent for collection, use, and disclosure of personal information as required by applicable law:

• Express consent where appropriate (e.g., account registration, non-essential cookies where presented).
• Implied consent may apply where you voluntarily provide information for an obvious purpose (e.g., posting on a public forum).

You may withdraw consent at any time by contacting us, subject to legal or contractual restrictions. Withdrawing consent may limit your ability to use certain features (for example, account features that require cookies or email communications).

6. Disclosure to Service Providers & Third Parties

We may share personal information with third parties only as necessary to operate the Services, such as:

• Hosting, content delivery networks, and security providers.
• Email delivery and account notification providers.
• Analytics and advertising partners (e.g., measurement and ad delivery technologies) where enabled.
• Professional advisors (e.g., legal, accounting) and parties involved in investigations or dispute resolution.

We may also disclose information where required by law or where we believe, in good faith, that disclosure is necessary to comply with legal process, enforce our policies, protect our rights or property, or protect the safety of users and the public.

We do not sell personal information.

7. Retention

We retain personal information only as long as necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy, to comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce agreements. Public forum posts may remain visible unless removed, anonymized, or deleted (where available).

8. Cookie Policy (Cookies & Similar Technologies)

We use cookies and similar technologies (such as pixels, tags, local storage, and device identifiers) (collectively, “Cookies”) to operate, secure, and improve the Services. Some Cookies are set by us (“first‑party Cookies”) and some may be set by service providers we use (“third‑party Cookies”). Depending on the context, certain Cookie data (such as online identifiers or IP address) may be considered “personal information” under Canadian privacy laws.

8.1 What Cookies Are

Cookies are small text files or pieces of code stored on your browser or device. We also use similar technologies such as pixels/web beacons and local storage. These technologies help websites remember your preferences, keep you signed in, provide security features, measure performance, and (where enabled) support analytics and advertising.

8.2 Categories of Cookies We Use

• Essential (Strictly Necessary) Cookies: Required to provide core site functionality you request, such as account login sessions, security protections, load balancing, and basic preferences. If you block these Cookies, some parts of the Services may not work.
• Functional / Preference Cookies: Help remember choices you make (for example, language, display settings, or other forum preferences) to improve your experience.
• Analytics / Performance Cookies: Help us understand how the Services are used (for example, which pages are visited, which features are used, and performance diagnostics) so we can improve reliability and user experience. This may include third‑party analytics services (for example, Google Analytics) or similar tools.
• Advertising / Targeting Cookies: May be used to deliver and measure advertisements (for example, through third‑party ad networks such as Google AdSense or other advertising networks), limit how often you see an ad, and (where applicable) support interest‑based advertising.

8.3 phpBB Forum Cookies (Typical Examples)

Because our forum is powered by phpBB, first‑party Cookies commonly include session and login Cookies (using a configurable cookie name/prefix) and preference Cookies. Cookie names and durations can vary depending on configuration.

Typical examples include:

• [cookie_prefix]_sid – session identifier used to keep you logged in during a browsing session and to protect against misuse.
• [cookie_prefix]_u – user identifier (for example, to distinguish logged‑in users from guests).
• [cookie_prefix]_k – “remember me” / auto‑login key (only set if you enable the remember‑me feature).
• [cookie_prefix]_track – may be used to store which forums/topics/posts you have already read (read‑tracking).
• [cookie_prefix]_lang – may be used to store a selected language preference (in certain circumstances).
• Style / theme cookie – may be used to remember display/theme preferences.

If you want to see the Cookies currently set on your device (including their expiry), you can review them in your browser settings.

8.4 Third‑Party Cookies

We use (and may change over time) third‑party services such as analytics providers, advertising networks, embedded media, and security services. For example, we may use analytics services such as Google Analytics (or similar tools), and we may display advertising served by third‑party ad networks (which may include Google AdSense or other networks). We may also use pixels/tags for measurement and conversion tracking (for example, a social media pixel such as Meta Pixel or similar technologies), where enabled. These third parties may set their own Cookies or collect information through similar technologies when you interact with the Services, and they process information under their own privacy policies. Where required, we aim to provide notice and obtain your consent before enabling non‑essential third‑party Cookies.

8.5 Your Choices and How to Control Cookies

• Cookie consent banner / settings: When presented, you can accept, reject, or manage non‑essential Cookies. You can also withdraw consent at any time by adjusting your cookie preferences (for example, through the cookie settings link, where available).
• Browser controls: Most browsers let you block or delete Cookies, and configure settings for specific sites.
• Device controls: Your device may provide controls for advertising identifiers and interest‑based advertising (especially on mobile devices).

Scope of your choices: Cookie choices are typically browser‑ and device‑specific. If you use multiple browsers or devices, you may need to set your preferences on each.

Do Not Track: Some browsers offer a “Do Not Track” (DNT) signal. Because there is no consistent industry standard for DNT, the Services may not respond to DNT signals. You can use cookie settings and your browser controls instead.

Please note: disabling or deleting Cookies may sign you out, reset preferences, or limit certain features.

8.6 Consent (PIPEDA)

Under PIPEDA and related Canadian privacy guidance, consent should be meaningful. We aim to provide clear information about what Cookies do and give you choices that are appropriate to the sensitivity of the information and the purpose. Essential Cookies are used to provide the Services you request (for example, account login and security). For non‑essential Cookies (such as certain analytics or advertising Cookies), we aim to obtain appropriate consent through our cookie consent banner or settings where required. We do not require you to accept non‑essential Cookies as a condition of accessing core forum functionality. You can withdraw consent at any time by updating your preferences.

9. Safeguards

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information, including access controls, monitoring, and security practices designed to protect against unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction.

No system can be guaranteed 100% secure. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and for any activity occurring under your account.

Privacy breaches. If we become aware of a breach of security safeguards involving personal information under our control, we will assess and respond in accordance with applicable law, including (where required) notifying affected individuals and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, and maintaining breach records.

10. Access, Correction & Deletion

You may request access to personal information we hold about you, request corrections, or request deletion where applicable, subject to legal limitations and operational requirements. To make a request, contact the Privacy Officer (Section 1). We aim to respond within 30 calendar days, subject to any lawful extensions.

11. International Data Transfers

Our service providers or systems may process or store information outside of Canada. When information is processed outside Canada, it may be subject to the laws of the jurisdiction where it is processed. We take reasonable steps to require service providers to protect information in a manner consistent with this Privacy Policy.

12. Third-Party Links, Ads & User Posts

The Services may contain links, advertisements, or embedded content provided by third parties. We are not responsible for third-party privacy practices. Your interactions with third-party sites and services are governed by their policies.

User Content is posted by users and reflects their views. We do not endorse user content, and we do not guarantee its accuracy. We may moderate or remove content at our discretion, but we do not have an obligation to monitor all content.

13. Children

The Services are not intended for children under 13. If you believe a child has provided personal information to us, contact us so we can take appropriate steps.

14. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make changes, we will update the effective date at the top of this page. Your continued use of the Services after changes means you accept the updated policy to the extent permitted by law.

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