Privacy Policy

Last updated: 30 October 2026

1. About This Policy

This privacy policy explains how SmartServe Prep ("we", "us", "our") handles personal information in accordance with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and its 10 fair information principles.

2. Information We Collect

We collect minimal information, all stored locally on your device via browser localStorage:

• First name (optional) -- used only for on-screen personalisation
• Study progress -- quiz scores, topic mastery, XP, streaks
• Preferences -- theme (light/dark), sound settings

Your name and study progress never leave your device — we operate no account system and no server-side database of users. Separately from that, this site uses Google Analytics and Google AdSense, which do send limited technical data to Google. Section 4 sets out exactly what those services do.

3. PIPEDA Compliance

We adhere to all 10 PIPEDA fair information principles:

• Accountability -- Contact us at formyrahul@yahoo.com
• Identifying Purposes -- Data used only for study personalisation
• Consent -- All data collection is optional and with your knowledge
• Limiting Collection -- Only first name and study progress
• Limiting Use & Disclosure -- Your name and study progress are never transmitted or shared. Analytics and advertising data handled by Google is described in section 4.
• Accuracy -- You can correct or delete your data at any time
• Safeguards -- HTTPS, HSTS, CSP headers; data stored only in your browser
• Openness -- This policy is publicly linked from every page
• Individual Access -- Your data is accessible in browser localStorage
• Challenging Compliance -- Complaints may be filed with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada

4. Third-Party Services, Cookies and Advertising

• Google Analytics 4 -- measures aggregate traffic: pages viewed, approximate location by country or city, device type, and how visitors arrive. It sets cookies and processes an abbreviated IP address. We use it to understand which study material is actually useful, not to identify individuals.
• Google AdSense -- serves the advertising on this site. Google and its partners use cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this and other websites.
• Google Fonts -- typography.
• Vercel -- hosting and content delivery; server logs may record IP address and user agent.

Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on a user's prior visits to this website or other websites. Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to you based on your visit to this site and/or other sites on the Internet.

You may opt out of personalised advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings. You can also opt out of a third-party vendor's use of cookies for personalised advertising at aboutads.info/choices. Blocking cookies in your browser will also prevent them being set, and the study tools on this site will continue to work normally because they rely on localStorage rather than cookies.

If you are in the EEA or UK, note that this site is aimed at people certifying to serve alcohol in Ontario and we do not target advertising to those regions. Google may still serve ads to visitors from the EEA or UK, and where it does, it does so under the consent message described in section 8.

5. How Google Uses Data

When you visit a page on this site, the Google Analytics and AdSense code on that page sends Google information such as the page address, your IP address and cookie or device identifiers. Google explains what it does with information from partner sites, and the controls available to you, in How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services. Google's handling of that data is governed by the Google Privacy Policy, not by this policy.

To stop Google Analytics from collecting data about your visits on any website, you can install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on. The study tools on this site keep working with it installed.

6. Your Choices in Canada

Most visitors to this site are in Ontario. In Canada you can opt out of interest-based advertising from participating companies through the Digital Advertising Alliance of Canada's YourAdChoices.ca program, and you can turn off personalised ads from Google in Google Ads Settings. Opting out does not remove ads; the ads you see will simply not be based on your interests. Your rights under PIPEDA, set out in section 3, apply whichever of these choices you make.

7. US State Privacy Rights

Some US states, including California, give residents the right to opt out of targeted advertising and of the "sale" or "sharing" of personal information as those laws define it. We do not sell your name or study progress, which never leave your device. The cookies and identifiers Google uses to personalise ads may count as sharing under some of those laws, so to opt out of personalised ads use Google Ads Settings and aboutads.info/choices, or block third-party cookies in your browser. You can also email us at the address in the Contact section to make a request about your information.

8. Consent (EEA, UK and Switzerland)

Visitors from the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland see Google's certified consent message before advertising cookies are used for personalised ads. You can accept or decline there, and if you decline, Google limits the ads you see to non-personalised or limited ads. You can change your choice later from the privacy and cookie settings link shown with that message, or by clearing this site's cookies so that the message is shown again.

9. Children

This site is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. The content is written for people preparing for responsible alcohol service certification and assumes the reader is of legal age to sell or serve alcohol in Ontario. If you believe a child has provided personal information through this site, contact us and we will help remove it.

10. Changes to This Policy

When this policy changes, we update the "Last updated" date at the top of the page.

11. Data Deletion

Visit the Progress page and click "Delete My Data", or clear your browser's site data.

12. Contact

For privacy enquiries: formyrahul@yahoo.com