Privacy Policy

1.Who we are and what this policy covers

AKAI Solutions ("AKAI", "we", "us" or "our") is an IT consulting business based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. We help small and mid-sized organizations implement CRM, ERP, AI, automation and related technology.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose and safeguard personal information when you visit akaisolutions.ca (the "Site"), contact us, book a consultation, chat with our website assistant, subscribe to updates or work with us as a client. It is written to meet our obligations under Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and Alberta's Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA), as applicable.

"Personal information" means information about an identifiable individual. Business contact information used solely to communicate with you in your professional capacity may be treated differently under applicable law, but we protect it with the same care.

2.Accountability and our Privacy Officer

We are responsible for personal information under our control and have designated a Privacy Officer who is accountable for our compliance with this policy and applicable privacy laws.

3.Information we collect

Information you give us

• Contact and consultation requests: your name, email address and, if you choose to provide them, your company name, phone number, the services you are interested in and the contents of your message.
• Meeting bookings: when you schedule a consultation through our embedded Calendly calendar, the name, email address, meeting time and any answers you provide.
• Website chat: messages you type into the chat assistant on our Site, and any contact details you choose to share there.
• Communications: emails, phone calls, video meetings and messages you send us, including through LinkedIn or Facebook.
• Client engagements: contact details of your staff, project requirements and account or billing information needed to deliver and invoice our services.

Information collected automatically

• Analytics: we use Google Analytics 4 to understand how visitors use the Site: pages viewed, referring pages, approximate location (city or region), device and browser type, and interactions such as button clicks, scroll depth, time on page, form submissions (not form contents) and page performance measurements.
• Technical and security logs: our servers record information such as IP address, browser user agent, requested URLs and timestamps to keep the Site secure, reliable and free of abuse.
• Preferences: your light/dark display preference is stored locally in your browser. It is not sent to us.

We do not intentionally collect sensitive information (such as health, financial account or government ID numbers) through the Site. Please don't include sensitive information in forms or chat messages.

4.How we use personal information

We use personal information only for purposes a reasonable person would consider appropriate, including to:

• respond to your inquiries and requests, and schedule and hold consultations;
• prepare proposals, deliver our services, provide support and manage our client relationships;
• send transactional and service-related messages, such as meeting confirmations and project updates;
• send newsletters, event invitations or marketing messages where you have consented (you can unsubscribe at any time);
• operate, secure, troubleshoot and improve the Site, our content and our services;
• measure the performance of our website and marketing using aggregated analytics;
• invoice, keep business records and meet legal, tax, accounting and regulatory obligations; and
• detect, prevent and respond to fraud, abuse, security incidents and other harmful activity.

If we want to use personal information for a new purpose, we will describe that purpose and, where required, ask for your consent first. We do not sell personal information, and we do not use it for automated decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects about you.

5.Consent and your choices

We rely on meaningful consent. When you submit a form, book a meeting or email us, you consent to our use of your information to respond and follow up on that request. For optional uses such as marketing emails, we ask for express consent or rely on implied consent where permitted by Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL).

You may withdraw consent at any time, subject to legal or contractual restrictions and reasonable notice. Every marketing email includes an unsubscribe link, or you can email info@akaisolutions.ca. Withdrawing consent may affect our ability to provide certain services, and we will explain any consequences.

6.Cookies, analytics and similar technologies

Cookies are small files stored by your browser. We use a limited set of cookies and similar technologies, mainly for analytics and to power embedded tools:

You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings, and you can opt out of Google Analytics with Google's browser add-on. Blocking cookies may stop embedded tools such as the booking calendar from working, but the rest of the Site will continue to function.

7.Our AI chat assistant

The chat assistant on our Site is an automated tool powered by a third-party AI platform. It helps answer common questions and can pass your request to our team. Responses are generated automatically, may be incomplete or inaccurate, and do not create a client relationship or binding commitment.

Conversations may be stored by the chat provider and reviewed by our team to respond to you and improve our service. Please don't share confidential or sensitive personal information in the chat.

8.When we share information

We share personal information only as described below and never sell it:

• Service providers: organizations that host or support our Site, email and communications, scheduling (Calendly), analytics (Google), chat (Botpress), file storage, accounting and payment processing. They may use your information only to provide services to us and must protect it with safeguards comparable to ours.
• Technology partners, with your direction: when you engage us to implement a platform such as a CRM or ERP, we may share information with that vendor as needed to set up and support your account.
• Professional advisors: lawyers, accountants, insurers and auditors bound by confidentiality obligations.
• Legal and safety reasons: when required or permitted by law, such as to comply with a subpoena or court order, protect our rights, or prevent fraud or harm.
• Business transactions: if we are involved in a merger, sale or reorganization, personal information may be disclosed to the parties involved, subject to confidentiality and applicable law.

9.Storage and processing outside Canada

Some of our service providers — including Google, Calendly and our chat platform — may store or process personal information outside Canada, including in the United States. While there, it is subject to the laws of that jurisdiction and may be accessible to courts, law enforcement and national security authorities there.

We use contractual and other measures to protect information handled by service providers. You may contact our Privacy Officer to obtain written information about our policies and practices regarding service providers outside Canada, or to ask questions about how they collect, use, disclose or store personal information for us. Where client projects require Canadian data residency, we recommend and configure Canadian hosting options.

10.Client data we handle during projects

When we implement or support systems for a client, we may access personal information that the client controls, such as customer records in a CRM. In those situations we act on the client's behalf and follow their instructions, our written agreement with them and applicable law. The client's own privacy policy governs how that information is collected and used.

We access client data only as needed for the engagement, use role-based access and multi-factor authentication, and return or securely delete it when the engagement ends, unless the agreement or law requires otherwise.

11.How long we keep information

We keep personal information only as long as needed to fulfil the purposes described in this policy, to maintain our business relationship with you, and to meet legal, tax, accounting and reporting requirements. When information is no longer needed, we securely destroy it or make it anonymous. Information used to make a decision about an individual is kept long enough to allow that person to request access to it, as required by law.

12.How we protect information

We use administrative, technical and physical safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information, including:

• encryption of data in transit (HTTPS/TLS) and security headers on our Site;
• multi-factor authentication, least-privilege access and access reviews for business systems;
• keeping software, devices and dependencies patched and up to date;
• confidentiality obligations for our team and contractors; and
• secure destruction of information we no longer need.

No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security. If a privacy breach creates a real risk of significant harm, we will notify affected individuals and report it to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada and/or the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta as required by law.

13.Your privacy rights

Subject to limited exceptions under applicable law, you have the right to:

• ask whether we hold personal information about you and request access to it;
• ask how we have used your information and to whom it has been disclosed;
• request that we correct information that is inaccurate or incomplete;
• withdraw your consent to certain uses, such as marketing; and
• challenge our compliance with this policy.

To make a request, contact our Privacy Officer using the details above. We may need to verify your identity before responding. We will respond within the time required by applicable law (generally 30 days for PIPEDA and 45 days for Alberta's PIPA) and will explain if an exception applies. Requests are usually handled free of charge; if a minimal fee is permitted and required, we will tell you in advance.

14.Questions and complaints

If you have a concern about how we handle personal information, please contact our Privacy Officer first — we take every concern seriously and will do our best to resolve it.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may contact the appropriate regulator:

• Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta: oipc.ab.ca
• Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada: priv.gc.ca

15.Children's privacy

Our Site and services are intended for businesses and adults. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

16.Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy as our services, technology or legal requirements change. The "Last updated" date at the top shows when it was last revised. If we make significant changes, we will highlight them on the Site or notify clients directly where appropriate. Related documents: our Terms of Service and Legal & Accessibility page.