Privacy Policy

BigChur Photography ("BigChur", "we", "our", or "us") is a photography and videography studio based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. We can be reached at info@bigchur.com.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and protect personal information in accordance with Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and, where applicable, the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

We collect personal information only when you voluntarily provide it. This includes:

• Booking and inquiry forms: your name, email address, phone number, event date, location, and any details you share about your project.
• Communications: emails, messages, or other correspondence you send us.
• Payment information: processed securely by our third-party payment processor. We do not store credit card numbers.
• Website usage data: anonymised analytics data such as pages visited, time on site, and device type, collected via cookies (see Section 6).

We do not knowingly collect personal information from individuals under 18 years of age.

We use the personal information we collect to:

• Respond to inquiries and provide quotes;
• Schedule and confirm bookings;
• Deliver your photos and videos;
• Process payments and issue receipts;
• Send booking reminders and follow-up messages directly related to your session;
• Comply with legal obligations.

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties for marketing purposes. We do not send unsolicited marketing emails without your explicit consent.

For individuals in the European Economic Area, our legal bases for processing are:

• Contract performance: processing necessary to deliver the services you have booked.
• Legitimate interests: improving our services and responding to inquiries.
• Legal obligation: retaining records as required by applicable law.
• Consent: for any optional communications you have opted into.

We retain personal information only as long as necessary:

• Active client records: retained for 7 years from the last transaction to comply with Quebec and federal tax obligations.
• Inquiry records (non-booked leads): deleted within 12 months of last contact.
• Delivered media files: kept on our backup systems for up to 90 days after delivery, after which they are permanently deleted unless a separate agreement exists.
• Analytics data: anonymised and aggregated — not subject to retention limits.

Our website uses the following types of cookies:

• Strictly necessary cookies: essential for the website to function. Cannot be disabled.
• Analytics cookies: help us understand how visitors interact with the site (e.g., Google Analytics). These are anonymised and do not identify you personally.

You may disable non-essential cookies at any time through your browser settings. Note that disabling cookies may affect certain website functionality.

We may share your personal information with:

• Payment processors (e.g., Stripe, PayPal) to complete transactions securely;
• Cloud storage providers for secure file delivery (e.g., Google Drive, Dropbox);
• Legal or government authorities if required by law or to protect our legal rights.

All third-party processors are contractually required to handle your data in compliance with applicable privacy law.

Under PIPEDA and, where applicable, the GDPR, you have the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you;
• Correct inaccurate or incomplete information;
• Delete your personal information, subject to legal retention requirements;
• Withdraw consent at any time, where processing is based on consent;
• Data portability (GDPR): receive a copy of your data in a structured, machine-readable format;
• Object to processing based on legitimate interests.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at info@bigchur.com. We will respond within 30 days.

If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada:

• Website: www.priv.gc.ca
• Phone: 1-800-282-1376
• 30 Victoria Street, Gatineau, Quebec, K1A 1H3

We encourage you to contact us first at info@bigchur.com so we can resolve any concerns directly.

We implement reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorised access, loss, or misuse. However, no internet transmission is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be posted on this page with an updated effective date. Continued use of our services after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.