Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

Auto Finance Brokers ("we," "us," or "our") operates the websites autofinancebrokers.ca and autofinancebrokers.com. We are a loan-matching broker and referral service. We are not a bank, credit union, or licensed lender. We connect applicants with third-party automotive lending partners across Canada.

Our primary operations are based in Ontario, Canada. For privacy inquiries, contact us at info@autofinancebrokers.ca or call 289 906 7864.

2. Applicable Legislation

This Privacy Policy is designed to comply with the following Canadian privacy laws and guidelines, as applicable:

• Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), S.C. 2000, c. 5 — Canada's federal private-sector privacy law governing how organizations collect, use, and disclose personal information in the course of commercial activities.
• Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL), S.C. 2010, c. 23 — governs the sending of commercial electronic messages (CEMs), including email and SMS, requiring express or implied consent.
• Ontario's Consumer Protection Act, 2002, S.O. 2002, c. 30, Sched. A — applicable Ontario consumer protection standards.
• Canada's Digital Charter Implementation Act, 2022 (Bill C-27 / CPPA) — anticipated successor legislation to PIPEDA; we monitor and intend to comply upon proclamation.

We follow the ten fair information principles under PIPEDA: Accountability, Identifying Purposes, Consent, Limiting Collection, Limiting Use / Disclosure / Retention, Accuracy, Safeguards, Openness, Individual Access, and Challenging Compliance.

3. Information We Collect

We collect only the personal information reasonably necessary to provide our matching service. This includes:

• Contact information: Full name, email address, phone number (mobile/cell)
• Residential information: Street address, city, province, postal code
• Employment information: Employment status (category only — not employer name, income amount, or SIN)
• Verification data: Phone verification status (via Twilio Verify SMS OTP — we store confirmation of verification, not the OTP code itself)
• Technical data: IP address, browser type, referring URL, pages visited (collected automatically via server logs and cookies)
• Communications data: Records of your consent to receive electronic messages

We do not collect Social Insurance Numbers (SIN), banking credentials, credit card numbers, or government-issued ID numbers through this website.

4. How We Use Your Information

We use the personal information you provide for the following purposes, which are identified to you at or before the time of collection:

• To match your application with third-party lending partners who may be suited to your financing needs
• To contact you by phone, email, or SMS regarding your inquiry and available financing options
• To verify your identity and phone number prior to transmitting your application
• To transmit your application details to matched lenders on your behalf
• To comply with applicable legal obligations
• To improve our website and services (aggregate, anonymized analytics only)
• To send transactional messages related to your application (with your express consent, as required by CASL)

We will not use your personal information for any purpose other than those listed above without your prior consent, unless required or permitted by law.

5. Consent & Express Consent for Electronic Messages

By submitting an application form and checking the opt-in consent checkbox, you expressly consent to:

• Receiving SMS/text messages from Auto Finance Brokers regarding your application, including verification codes and follow-up communications
• Receiving email communications from Auto Finance Brokers regarding your application status
• Auto Finance Brokers sharing your contact information with matched lending partners, who may also contact you directly

Withdrawing Consent: You may withdraw consent at any time by:

• Replying STOP to any SMS message from us
• Clicking the unsubscribe link in any email from us
• Contacting us directly at info@autofinancebrokers.ca

Withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out prior to withdrawal. Note that withdrawing consent may mean we are unable to continue facilitating your financing match.

Where we rely on implied consent (e.g., a prior business relationship), we treat that consent as valid for the period permitted under CASL (24 months from the last business transaction).

6. Sharing Your Information

We share your personal information only in the following limited circumstances:

• Lending partners: Third-party automotive lenders and financial institutions to whom we refer your application. These organizations will use your information to evaluate your financing request and are subject to their own privacy policies and applicable law.
• Service providers: Technology and communications service providers who process data on our behalf (including Cloudflare for hosting and security, Twilio for SMS verification, and Resend for transactional email). These providers are contractually bound to use your information only to provide services to us.
• Legal requirements: When required by law, court order, or lawful authority.
• Business transfers: In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, personal information may be transferred, subject to applicable privacy law requirements and notice to affected individuals.

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third-party marketers or data brokers.

Some of our service providers (including Twilio and Cloudflare) may process or store data in the United States. When your information is transferred outside Canada, it may be subject to the laws of that jurisdiction, including possible disclosure to foreign authorities. We take contractual steps to ensure comparable protections apply.

7. SMS / Text Messaging

When you provide your mobile phone number and check the SMS consent box, you agree to receive text messages from Auto Finance Brokers. Specifically:

• Verification messages: One-time password (OTP) codes sent via Twilio Verify to confirm your phone number before your application is submitted
• Transactional messages: Follow-up messages related to your application status from Auto Finance Brokers or matched lending partners

Message & data rates may apply. Message frequency varies based on your application activity. Standard carrier rates apply for messages sent and received.

To stop receiving SMS messages from Auto Finance Brokers, reply STOP at any time. For help, reply HELP or contact us at info@autofinancebrokers.ca.

Opting out of our SMS messages does not automatically opt you out of communications from lending partners who may have independently collected your contact information as part of the matching process.

8. Retention & Security

We retain personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by law. Typical retention periods are:

• Application data transmitted to a lender: retained for up to 2 years for our records and compliance purposes
• Rate-limiting and OTP verification data: purged within 1 hour of generation (stored in Cloudflare KV with automatic expiry)
• Email correspondence: retained for up to 3 years
• Website server logs: retained for up to 90 days

We use administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, modification, or destruction. These include SSL/TLS encryption for data in transit, Cloudflare's enterprise-grade security infrastructure, restricted staff access, and secure email transmission.

No method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure. In the event of a security breach that poses a real risk of significant harm to you, we will notify you and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada as required under PIPEDA's mandatory breach reporting provisions.

9. Your Rights

Under PIPEDA (and anticipated rights under the CPPA), you have the right to:

• Access: Request access to the personal information we hold about you
• Correction: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal information
• Withdrawal of consent: Withdraw consent to the collection, use, or disclosure of your information at any time, subject to legal or contractual restrictions
• Complaint: Lodge a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) if you believe your privacy rights have been violated

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at:

• Email: info@autofinancebrokers.ca
• Phone: 289 906 7864

We will respond to access or correction requests within 30 days as required by PIPEDA. If we cannot comply, we will provide written reasons.

If you are unsatisfied with our response, you may contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada at www.priv.gc.ca or 1-800-282-1376.

10. Cookies & Tracking

Our website uses cookies and similar tracking technologies to improve your experience and analyze site usage. Specifically:

• Essential cookies: Necessary for basic site functionality (e.g., Cloudflare security cookies)
• Analytics cookies: Used to understand how visitors interact with the site (aggregate, anonymized data only)
• Cloudflare Turnstile: A privacy-first bot-detection service that does not use cookies for tracking and complies with GDPR/PIPEDA requirements

You may disable cookies through your browser settings. Disabling essential cookies may affect site functionality. We do not use cookies for advertising or cross-site tracking purposes.

11. Minors

This website and our services are intended solely for individuals who are at least 18 years of age and who are legally eligible to enter into a financial contract under applicable Canadian law. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under the age of 18. If you believe a minor has submitted personal information through our website, please contact us immediately at info@autofinancebrokers.ca and we will promptly delete it.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or other factors. When we make material changes, we will update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this page periodically. Your continued use of our website or services after a change constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.

If changes are significant, we will provide more prominent notice (e.g., a notification banner on the website).

13. Contact & Complaints

For any privacy-related questions, access requests, corrections, or complaints, please contact our Privacy Officer:

• Organization: Auto Finance Brokers
• Email: info@autofinancebrokers.ca
• Phone: 289 906 7864
• Website: autofinancebrokers.ca
• Province: Ontario, Canada

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may file a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC):

• Website: www.priv.gc.ca
• Telephone: 1-800-282-1376 (toll-free)
• Address: 30 Victoria Street, Gatineau, Quebec K1A 1H3