Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

Ask Pearl ("Ask Pearl", "we", "our", "us") is operated by Ask Pearl Inc., a Canadian company. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and protect personal information when you use our service at askpearl.ca.

We are committed to complying with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and applicable provincial privacy laws.

2. Information We Collect

Account information (caregivers):

• Email address — used for login and communications
• Password (stored as a secure hash — we never see your actual password)
• IP address at time of account creation — for fraud prevention
• Agreement timestamp — when you accepted our Terms of Service

Senior profile information:

• Senior's first name — displayed on their companion screen
• City/location — used only for weather and local information in Pearl's responses
• Phone numbers for contact buttons — stored securely, never shared
• Uploaded support photo (optional) — stored on our servers
• Customized messages and screen settings

Usage information:

• Conversations with Pearl (the AI companion) — used only to generate responses in real time; we do not store the content of Pearl conversations
• Payment information — processed by Stripe; we never see or store your full card number

3. How We Use Your Information

We use your information solely to:

• Provide and improve the Ask Pearl service
• Send important account and billing notifications
• Respond to your support requests
• Comply with legal obligations
• Detect and prevent fraud or abuse

We do not sell your personal information to third parties. We do not use your data for advertising purposes.

4. Pearl AI Conversations

When a senior speaks with Pearl, their message is sent to our AI provider (OpenAI) to generate a response. We do not store the content of these conversations in our database. The senior's name and city may be included in the AI prompt to personalize responses.

OpenAI's privacy policy applies to their processing of this data. We have configured our integration to minimize data retention.

5. Voice Synthesis

Pearl's voice is generated using ElevenLabs text-to-speech technology. Text sent for voice synthesis is not stored by us. ElevenLabs' privacy policy applies to their processing.

6. Weather and News Data

When Pearl is asked about weather, the senior's city is sent to a weather service (wttr.in) to retrieve current conditions. No personal identifying information other than the city name is transmitted. News headlines are fetched from public RSS feeds (BBC, CBC) and are not personalized.

7. Cookies and Session Data

We use session cookies to keep caregivers logged into their dashboard. These are strictly necessary for the service to function. We do not use advertising or tracking cookies. Senior companion screens (the elderly user's view) do not require login and do not set account cookies.

8. Data Storage and Security

Your data is stored in a secure PostgreSQL database hosted on Neon (a US-based cloud provider). We use industry-standard encryption for data in transit (HTTPS/TLS). Uploaded photos are stored on our servers in Canada/US.

We implement reasonable technical and organizational safeguards to protect your information, but no system is 100% secure. We will notify you promptly in the event of a data breach affecting your personal information.

9. Data Retention

• Active accounts: retained for as long as you maintain your subscription
• Cancelled accounts: data is retained for 30 days then permanently deleted
• Payment records: retained as required by law (typically 7 years)
• AI conversation content: not retained at all — processed in real time only

10. Your Rights

Under PIPEDA and applicable law, you have the right to:

• Access — request a copy of the personal information we hold about you
• Correction — request correction of inaccurate information
• Deletion — request deletion of your account and all associated data
• Withdrawal of consent — you may withdraw consent at any time by cancelling your account

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at hello@askpearl.ca.

11. Children's Privacy

Ask Pearl is intended for use by adults (caregivers aged 18+) on behalf of elderly individuals. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18.

12. Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party providers. Each has their own privacy policy:

• Stripe — payment processing (stripe.com/privacy)
• OpenAI — AI conversation responses (openai.com/privacy)
• ElevenLabs — voice synthesis (elevenlabs.io/privacy)
• Neon — database hosting (neon.tech/privacy)
• Resend — transactional email (resend.com/legal/privacy-policy)

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of material changes by email. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page will reflect any changes.

14. Contact Our Privacy Officer

For privacy-related questions or to exercise your rights:

• Email: hello@askpearl.ca
• Website: askpearl.ca

We will respond to all privacy requests within 30 days.