Legal
Privacy
The short version
- Consultant profiles show only what the CICC public register publishes. We never show register email addresses or phone numbers.
- If you send a consultant a message, only that consultant can read it, once they've claimed their profile.
- We use two sign-in cookies for consultants, and nothing else: no advertising or tracking cookies.
- We don't sell personal information. Ask us any time to see, correct or delete yours: info.findmyconsultant@gmail.com.
Who we are
FindMyConsultant is an independent directory that helps people find licensed Canadian immigration consultants (RCICs). We are not the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC), Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) or a law firm, and nothing on the site is legal advice. This policy explains how we handle personal information under Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).
What we collect
About licensed consultants, from the CICC public register
Name, licence number, licence class and status, entitlement to practise, licence history, employer, city and province. This is public professional information, shown so people can check who they are dealing with. The register also lists contact email addresses and phone numbers: we store those privately and never publish them. We use the register email only to confirm a consultant's identity when they claim their profile, and to tell an unclaimed consultant that someone has messaged them.
When you send a consultant a message
Your name, email address, phone number (optional), case type, your message, which consultant you wrote to, and whether you wrote from their profile or your match results.
When you use the match questions
Your answers (case type, area, stage, languages, how you'd like to meet) are kept in the page address so results can be shared and the back button works. We don't save them to an account or a database.
Consultant accounts
When a consultant claims their profile or signs in: their email address, when the account was created and last signed in, and which profile they manage, including the email address used to claim it.
Emails we send
One-time sign-in codes, and, for unclaimed profiles, a note that someone is waiting (at most once a week, with a link to stop them). We keep a record of when each note was sent and who asked us to stop.
Technical information
Like any website, our hosting provider processes your IP address and basic request details to deliver pages and protect the service from abuse. We don't use analytics or advertising trackers.
How we use it
- To show licensed consultants and match them to the cases people describe.
- To deliver your message to the consultant you chose, and only to them.
- To confirm a consultant's identity before they can manage a profile.
- To let an unclaimed consultant know that a message is waiting. The note never includes your message or anything about you.
- To keep the service secure, prevent spam and abuse, and comply with the law.
We don't sell or rent personal information, and we don't use it for advertising.
Cookies
| Cookie | Why | How long |
|---|---|---|
fmc_at | Keeps a signed-in consultant signed in (only set after signing in) | About an hour |
fmc_rt | Renews that sign-in without a new code | 30 days, or until sign-out |
Both are essential, can't be read by page scripts, and are only ever set for consultants who sign in. If we turn on Cloudflare's bot check on sign-in forms, Cloudflare may process technical data to tell people from bots.
Who processes it for us
We use a small number of service providers who process information on our behalf and under their own security obligations:
- Supabase: our database and consultant sign-in.
- Cloudflare: hosting and protection of the website.
- Google (Gmail): sending sign-in codes and notification emails.
These providers may store or process information outside Canada, including in the United States, where it may be subject to the laws of that country. We share a message you send only with the consultant you sent it to. We may disclose information if the law requires it.
How long we keep it
- Register data is refreshed from the CICC register. A consultant who is no longer active and entitled to practise is removed from public view.
- Messages are kept so the consultant can read them, until either of you asks us to delete them.
- Consultant accounts are kept until the consultant asks us to close them.
- Email records and opt-outs are kept so we respect your choice not to be emailed.
Your choices
- See, correct or delete your personal information: email us and we'll reply within 30 days.
- Consultants: licence details come from the CICC register; to change them, correct them with the CICC and we'll pick up the change. To ask us to hide your profile, email us from the address on your register entry.
- Stop our emails: use the link at the bottom of any note we send.
- Complaints: tell us first. You can also contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.
Contact
Questions or requests about privacy: info.findmyconsultant@gmail.com.
If we change this policy, we'll update the date at the top of this page.