Privacy Policy

Last revised: Jan 10th, 2021

ExpertFile Inc. (hereinafter, “ExpertFile”, “we”, or “us”) cares about privacy and wants you to be familiar with how we collect, use, process and disclose your information. This Privacy Policy covers your access or use of our websites and applications (“Platform”), when communicating with us or other ExpertFile users on any device (collectively “Services”), or when you otherwise provide us with information. ExpertFile Inc. acts as the data controller for the purpose of this Privacy Policy. This policy contains the following elements.

  • What we collect
  • How we use what we collect
  • Disclosure
  • Your preferences and choices
  • Security
  • Important information
  • Changes to this policy
  • Contact us
What We Collect

We collect three categories of information – information you give us and information automatically collected from your use of the Services.

i) Information you give us

Account information. When you register for an account with us, we require certain identifying information such as your name and email address.

Profile information. We may also ask you to provide additional profile information to use certain features of the ExpertFile Service which may include street addresses and phone numbers. Certain parts of your profile (like your profile photos, employer, city, school and biography) are part of your public profile page and will be publicly visible to others.

Payment information. We may collect your financial information (like your bank account or payment card numbers) in connection with a potential or actual transaction, which may be stored by one or more third party payment services providers or digital payments companies that may be located inside or outside of your country of residence including outside the European Economic Area (EEA).

Communications with ExpertFile and ExpertFile users. When you communicate with ExpertFile, whether via phone, email or chat, or use the Services to communicate with other users, we collect information about your communication and any information you choose to provide.

ii) Information we automatically collect when you use or access our Services.

Usage data. We collect information about your interactions with the Platform, such as the pages or other content you view, your searches, inquiries you have made and other actions on the Platform.

Location information. When you use certain features of the Platform we may collect information about your location (e.g., IP address) or more specific location information (e.g., more precise location information from your mobile device). Keep in mind that most mobile devices allow you to control or disable the use of location services by any application on your mobile device in the device’s settings menu.

Log data. We automatically collect log information when you use the Platform, even if you have not created an ExpertFile account or logged in. That information includes, among other things: details about how you’ve used the Platform, IP address, length of stay, frequency of visits, hardware and software information, device information, device event information (e.g., crashes, browser type) and the page you’ve viewed or engaged with before [or after] you’ve used the Platform.

Cookies and similar technology. When you access our Platform, we (including companies we work with) may place small data files on your computer or other device. These data files may be cookies, clear gifs, pixel tags, e-tags, “Flash cookies”, or other local storage provided by your browser or associated applications (collectively “Cookies”). For more detailed information on our use of these technologies, please see our policy on Cookies, Web Beacons, and Similar Technologies. At this time, we do not respond to browser ‘Do-Not-Track’ signals.

How we use what we collect

We use, store and process your information to provide and improve our Services and ensure a secure, safe and trusted experience. For example, we may use your information to:

i) Provide and improve our Services
  • enable you to access and use the ExpertFile Services
  • provide customer support
  • send you service, support and administrative messages, reminders, technical notices, updates, security alerts, and information requested by you and contact you at any telephone number, by placing a voice call or through text (SMS) or email messaging, as authorized by our Terms of Service
  • enable the processing of transactions and send notices about your transactions
  • improve the Services, including by personalizing or customizing your user experience
  • measure the performance of the Services and improve our content and layout
  • enable you to communicate with ExpertFile users, including by sending them messages or other information
ii) Ensure a secure, safe and trusted experience
  • verify your identity or authenticate information provided by you, including during account creation and password reset processes resolve disputes, collect fees, and troubleshoot problems
  • detect, prevent, and/or remediate fraud, abuse, security incidents or other potentially harmful, prohibited or illegal activities
  • detect, prevent or remediate violations of and enforce our Terms and Policies
  • manage and protect our information technology infrastructure
  • conducting investigations and risk assessments
  • comply with our legal obligations, resolve any disputes that we may have with any of our users, and enforce our agreements In this regard, we may do any or all of the foregoing with or without further notifying you where permitted by applicable law;
iii) Provide and improve our Services

provide targeted marketing, provide service update notices, and deliver promotional offers based on your communication preferences administer referral programs, rewards, surveys, contests, or other promotional activities or sponsored events We retain your information as long as it is reasonably necessary and relevant for our operations.

Disclosure i) With consent

You may direct us to share your information or consent to it as described at the time of sharing, such as when you authorize us to send to a third party marketing partner.

ii) Profiles, listings and other public information

Your public listing page (which may exist on expertfile.com and / or your organization’s website) will always include some basic information, such as your user ID/name associated with your account, your public profile photo, your biographical information, to allow our users to evaluate your suitability. Our Services allow your public profile and public listing pages to be included in search engines, in which case your public profile and public Listing pages may be indexed by search engines and may be published as search results.

iii) Inquiry Process

ExpertFile enables experts and their authorized agent or administrators representatives to share their biographical information with other individuals. If you or your organization lists personal contact information on your online profile this information will be provided to the other party as reasonably necessary to facilitate an inquiry. For example, ExpertFile may provide your email address or phone numbers to facilitate communication.

iv) Service providers

We may share Information with vendors and service providers who are engaged by, or working with, us in connection with the processing of payments, operation of our Services and customer support functions and who need access to such information to carry out their work for us. In some cases, the service provider may be directly collecting the information from you on our behalf. These service providers may be located inside or outside your country of residence, including outside the EEA. If you or your designated agent/administrator opts to use our writing services, your contact and biographical information will also be shared with outside contractors employed by ExpertFile who are assigned to write or update your profile. These providers have limited access to your information to perform these tasks on our behalf and are contractually obligated to use it consistent with this Privacy Policy.

v) Aggregated data

ExpertFile may compile aggregate information about the use of the Services. In other words, information about how you use our service may be collected and combined with information about how others use the same service. Aggregate data helps us understand trends and our users’ needs so that we can better consider new features or otherwise tailor our Services. ExpertFile may also share aggregate demographic information with partners. This policy in no way restricts or limits our collection and use of aggregate information that does not identify any individual.

vi) Corporate family

We may disclose your information to third parties, who may or may not be in the EEA, as we believe to be necessary or appropriate: under applicable law, including laws outside your country of residence to comply with legal process; to respond to requests from public and government authorities including public and government authorities outside your country of residence; to enforce our Terms of Service and related Policies; to protect our operations or those of any of our affiliates or users; to protect our rights, privacy, safety, or property, and/or that of our affiliates, you, or others; and to allow us to pursue available remedies or limit the damages that we or our users may sustain.

Your preferences and choices i) Communication preferences

You or your agent/administrator can log in and control the methods by which we may contact you about your account and how you wish to receive inquiries within your ExpertFile account.

ii) Correct and update

You can review, correct, update, and edit certain information that has been previously provided to us by you at any time by logging into your account and reviewing your account settings and profile. You can also access or request a correction of your information by contacting us at support@expertfile.com For your protection, we may need to verify your identity before implementing your request.

iii) Account closure

If you wish to close your account and request deletion of your personal information, please send an email to support@expertfile.com. For your protection, we may need to verify your identity before implementing your request.

iv) Access

You may request a copy of your personal information provided to us by visiting your profile page on the web. We will send you a copy of the personal information to the email address provided in your account as soon as is reasonably practicable. We may request proof of identification or re-authentication to verify your access request.

v) Lodging a complaint

Subject to applicable law, you also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority or the European Data Protection Supervisor. If you are a resident of the EEA and believe we maintain your information within the scope of the General Data Protection Regulation, you may direct questions or complaints to:

European Data Protection Supervisor ExpertFile Inc. Office: 33 Bloor St., Floor 5, Toronto, ON Canada Tel. 1-800-693-9126 Email: rcarter@expertfile.com

Security

We have endeavored to put into place reasonable security measures in an effort to protect information against unauthorized access, destruction, or alteration while it is under our control. However, no method of transmission over the Internet, and no method of storing information, can be 100% secure. So, we cannot guarantee the absolute security of your transmissions to us and of your information that we store.

Important information

This section describes some additional important privacy information related to your use of our Services.

i) Change of ownership

If we merge with or are acquired by another company, we may share information with them in accordance with our privacy standards and applicable law.

ii) Cross border transfer

The Services are controlled and operated by us from Canada and are not intended to subject us to the laws or jurisdiction of any state, country, or territory other than that of Canada. Your information may be used, stored and processed in any country where we have facilities or in which we engage service providers, and by using the Services you consent to the transfer of information to countries outside of your country of residence, including Canada and the United States, which may have different data protection rules than those of your country. As a result, this information may be subject to access requests from governments, courts, regulatory agencies, security authorities or law enforcement in those jurisdictions according to the laws in those jurisdictions.

iii) Sensitive information

We ask that you not send us, and you not disclose, any sensitive information unless specifically requested (e.g., Social Security numbers, social insurance numbers, passports, information related to racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religion, trade union membership or other beliefs, health, biometrics, or genetic characteristics) and subject to applicable law on or through the Services or otherwise to us.

iv) Children’s privacy

Our websites are general audience websites, and our Services are not intended for anyone under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect information from users under the age of 18. If a child has already provided us with information, his or her parent or guardian may contact us for the purpose of deleting this information or closing an account.

v) Third party privacy practices

This Privacy Policy addresses only the use and disclosure of information collected by ExpertFile. This Privacy Policy does not address, and we are not responsible for, the privacy, information, or other practices of any third parties, including any third party operating any site or service to which the Services link. The inclusion of a link on the Services does not imply endorsement of the linked site or service by us or by our affiliates. If you disclose your information to others, or if you are directed to a third party website, their privacy notices and practices will apply.

vi) Signed in

If you sign in to our Platform using an email address and password, your session will expire after 10 hours unless you log out. If you are using a public or shared computer you should sign out and/or clear your Cookies when you are done using our Platform in order to protect your account and your information. If you do not sign out, you or any other user of the computer/browser you signed in on will be able to view and access your account.

vii) Translations

Where ExpertFile has provided you with a translation of the English language version of this Privacy Policy, in case of any wording discrepancies between the English and any other versions of the Privacy Policy, the English wording takes precedence.

Changes to this privacy policy

We may change this Privacy Policy. Please take a look at the “Last revised” legend at the top of this page to see when this Privacy Policy was last revised. Any changes to this Privacy Policy will become effective when we post the revised Privacy Policy on the Services. Your use of the Services following these changes means that you accept the revised Privacy Policy. If you don’t agree to these changes, you can contact us to close your account and you will only be bound by the prior version of the Privacy Policy.

Contact Us ExpertFile welcomes your questions and comments about privacy, and what we do. Please feel free to contact us at support@expertfile.com Thanks for using ExpertFile.