Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how IKESON Technology Solutions (“HalalNearby,” “we,” “us,” or “our”), the operator of halalnearby.com, collects, uses, discloses, and protects your personal information when you use the HalalNearby website and services (the “Service”). We are based in Ontario, Canada, and we handle personal information under Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). The person responsible for privacy questions is reachable at info@ikeson.com.

1. Information we collect

We collect the following categories of information:

• Account data. If you create an account, we collect your name, email address, whether your email address has been verified, an optional profile image, and basic account records such as when the account was created. If you sign in with a password, we store only a securely hashed version of it — never the password itself — along with short-lived verification and password-reset tokens. If you sign in with Google, Google provides us your name, email address, and profile image. We do not store passwords from the legacy 2019 platform. Those were never migrated, and returning users must sign in again or reset their password.
• Sign-in session data. While you are signed in, we keep a session record with a session token, its expiry time, and the IP address and browser it was created from. We use this to keep you signed in, protect accounts, and investigate abuse.
• Community content. Reviews, ratings, owner or staff replies, halal-status confirmations, hours confirmations, issue reports, restaurant suggestions, contact messages, newsletter signups, and saved favorites. Reviews require a verified email address, are moderated before publication, and are limited to one review per user per restaurant. Confirmations require a verified email address, are one-way, and cannot be undone. Issue reports may be sent anonymously; if you are signed in, the report is attributed to your account, and the email field remains optional.
• Restaurant-owner information. Ownership claims and the details you include with them, the email and website domains we compare when checking a claim, records of which listings your account manages, the edits you make to a listing, owner self-reported halal status, photos, replies, and halal certificates submitted for review. Certificates are kept private for our review team and do not automatically verify a restaurant.
• Location, country, and device data.The country you select, an approximate country we may detect once from your IP address, browser and device information, and your precise location only when you choose a “near me” search. Near-me coordinates are used to sort results by distance; they are not saved to your account.
• First-party analytics events. We record restaurant page views and outbound actions such as link clicks, calls, and directions. Each record stores only the restaurant, the type of action (for a link click, which link), and the time — not who you are, your IP address, your browser identity, or any third-party advertising identifier.

2. How we use your information

We use your information to:

• provide, operate, and maintain the Service and your account;
• authenticate you and keep your account secure;
• verify email addresses before trust-sensitive actions such as reviews, confirmations, and claims;
• display, attribute, moderate, edit, reject, remove, or respond to submitted content;
• improve the quality of our listings and search results;
• review owner claims, including automatic approval when a verified email domain matches a restaurant website domain;
• manage newsletter subscriptions and unsubscribe requests;
• prevent fraud, abuse, and misuse of the Service;
• send service email, such as email verification, password reset, sign-in links, owner notices, moderation notices, or account notices;
• show clearly labelled ads.

3. Cookies & tracking

We use essential first-party cookies and browser storage to keep you signed in, remember your country and cookie-banner choices, save signed-out favorites on your device, and operate the Service. We use first-party analytics events for listing views and outbound actions. We do not use third-party analytics cookies. If Google AdSense is enabled, Google may set or read advertising cookies or similar identifiers. For full detail, see our Cookie Policy.

4. Third-party services

We rely on a limited set of third parties to run the Service:

• Google — for Google sign-in (where offered), Google Maps directions, and Google AdSense if we enable ads.
• Email providers — to deliver verification, password-reset, sign-in-link, owner, and newsletter email.
• Country lookup providers — to detect your approximate country from your IP address once, so the site can show the right country view.
• Map, delivery, and external-link destinations — restaurant pages may embed a map or link to third-party websites, menus, delivery platforms, social profiles, and directions. Those services handle your information under their own policies when you load or click them.

Our application, database, and uploaded media are hosted on infrastructure we manage ourselves rather than on third-party application platforms.

5. Hosting & international transfers

We operate from Canada and store core Service data on infrastructure we control. If you access the Service from outside Canada, your information may be processed in Canada. Some providers we use, such as Google, email providers, map services, or ad providers when enabled, may process information in other countries.

6. Data retention & deletion

We keep personal information only as long as necessary to operate the Service, maintain listing integrity, protect users, resolve disputes, satisfy legal obligations, and keep audit records. Account sessions expire. Newsletter subscribers remain in the list until they unsubscribe or are removed. Published or moderated content may remain until removed, anonymized, or deleted. Backups may retain data for a limited period.

You may request deletion or a copy of your personal information by contacting us at info@ikeson.com. We may need to verify your identity. We may retain limited records where needed for security, abuse prevention, legal compliance, accounting, audit trails, or unresolved disputes.

7. Your privacy rights (PIPEDA)

Subject to applicable law, you have the right to:

• access the personal information we hold about you;
• request correction of inaccurate information;
• request deletion of personal information we no longer need;
• withdraw consent to certain processing, subject to legal or operational consequences;
• unsubscribe from newsletter email using the link in an email or by contacting us;
• challenge our privacy practices and file a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) if you believe your privacy rights have not been respected.

The OPC generally expects you to raise your concern with us first. Contact us at info@ikeson.com and we will do our best to resolve it.

8. Security

We protect account credentials with modern password hashing, store data on infrastructure we manage, restrict staff and owner areas with access controls, and keep audit records of material changes. No system is perfectly secure, but we work to safeguard your information against unauthorized access, loss, or misuse.

9. Children

The Service is not directed to children under 16, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child has provided us information, contact us and we will delete it.

10. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time, including when product features, providers, advertising, or legal requirements change. When we do, we will revise the “Last updated” date above. If a change materially affects how we handle personal information, we will take reasonable steps to bring it to users’ attention.

11. Contact

For privacy questions, requests, or complaints, contact us at info@ikeson.com, or write to IKESON Technology Solutions, 231 Oak Park Blvd Suite 301, Oakville ON L6H 7S8, Canada. You may also file a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.