Privacy policy
Who we are
HVAC Xchanger Magazine, London, Ontario. Our privacy officer is responsible for how we handle personal information. Reach them at dave@hvacxchanger.com.
Forms
When you use a form on this site we collect what you type in: your name, email address, and optionally your company, phone number, mailing address and message. We use it only to answer you, mail you the magazine, or set up copies for your counter.
Reader accounts
An account is created when you first ask to be notified about a category, brand or advertiser, using only your email address and a one-time code. We keep the email, what you ask to be notified about and save, and any questionnaire answers you choose to give. If you tick the box for it, what you read on the site is linked to your account and used to personalize your picks and improve the magazine. It's kept with your account, deleted when you untick the box or delete your account, and never shown to advertisers, who only see totals. You can see, download or delete everything from your account page at any time.
To stop sign-up codes being misused, we keep a scrambled code made from your network address for up to two days after you ask for one. Accounts don't keep your network address or device. Sign-ins from before October 2026 may still hold the network address and browser they started from until you sign out, or 90 days after you last use the site.
Our staff can see your account details (your email, your answers, what you ask to be notified about and save, and when you last used your account), and which emails we sent you and whether you clicked a link in each. We use this to run the service and help you when you get in touch. If you ticked the box to link what you read, our team can see that too. Your details are never sold or shown to advertisers, who only ever see totals.
Giveaways
When we run a giveaway, you enter with your email, which signs you in to My Xchanger or makes you a free account. We keep your entry with your account: when you entered and which version of the rules you accepted. We use your entry only to run the draw, check that the winner is eligible, and contact and award the winner by email. With the winner's approval, their first name and city may be announced, and nothing else about them. Agreeing to our emails is a box of its own on the entry form, and the rules say when a giveaway needs it. Every email has a link to unsubscribe, and unsubscribing does not cancel your entry. You can withdraw an entry from your account at any time.
We only email you if you ask us to, and we record when and how you agreed, as Canada's anti-spam law requires. Every email says who it's from and has a one-click unsubscribe that works straight away. If our email to you can't be delivered, or you mark one as spam, we stop emailing that address, the same as if you'd unsubscribed.
Edition emails contain a tiny image that tells us when an email was opened, and their links pass through our site so we can count which parts of the email get clicked. Opens and clicks are kept with your account, and our staff can see whether you clicked a link in each email we sent you. Everywhere else, including anything advertisers see, we use them only as totals, to see how many readers the email reaches and what's worth keeping in it. Some mail apps load images on their own, so an open isn't always you. To stop it, turn off images in your mail app. On emails we send to businesses, we also note the browser or mail app each open and click came from, so we can tell people from the security systems that check email automatically, and delete it after 90 days.
Counting visits
We count which pages and ads are read so we can tell advertisers how their ads did. The counting is anonymous: no cookies, no ad trackers, no stored IP addresses, and a daily code for unique visitors that's deleted each night. If you have an account and ticked the box to link what you read, it's linked to your account as described above. Advertisers only ever see totals. You can switch it off, and we honour the Global Privacy Control signal. How we count visits has the details and the switch.
Where data is stored
The site runs on Vercel, files and visit counts are stored with Cloudflare, the reader database is hosted by Neon, and email is sent through Resend. These companies store data in the United States, where it may be subject to US law. Each is bound by contract to use it only to provide its service to us.
How long we keep it
- Form messages: as long as we need to answer you, and no more than two years.
- Account information: until you delete your account. Backups roll off within 7 days.
- Email opens and clicks: kept with your account and deleted with it.
- Giveaway entries: kept with your account and deleted with it.
- What you read on the site, if you ticked the box for it: kept with your account, and deleted when you untick the box or delete your account.
- The scrambled network code from asking for a sign-up code: up to two days.
- After you unsubscribe or delete your account, we keep only a scrambled copy of your email so we never email you by mistake.
- Anonymous visit counts: kept, because they can't be traced to anyone.
Embedded videos
Training videos are played from YouTube in privacy-enhanced mode. YouTube may collect data when you play one, under its own privacy policy.
What we never do
We don't sell or rent personal information, and we never give advertisers a list of readers.
Your rights
You can ask to see, correct or delete the personal information we hold about you, or withdraw your consent. Email dave@hvacxchanger.com and we'll respond within 30 days. If a security breach puts you at real risk, we'll tell you and the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. If you're not satisfied with our answer, you can complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.