Privacy Policy

Last updated: February 25, 2026

1. Who We Are

Bidding Fever Inc. ("Bidding Fever", "we", "us") operates biddingfever.ca, an online auction platform for Canadian buyers and sellers. Our registered office is in Canada. This policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and protect your personal information in accordance with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and Quebec's Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector (Law 25).

2. Information We Collect

Account information

Name, email address, phone number, mailing address, and profile photo when you create an account through Clerk (our authentication provider).

Transaction data

Bid history, won items, invoices, payment amounts, and shipping details. Payment card details are collected and processed exclusively by Stripe — we never store card numbers on our servers.

Usage data

Pages visited, search queries, device type, browser, IP address, and interaction patterns to improve the platform experience.

Seller business information

Company name, business number (GST/HST/QST registration), bank account details (via Stripe Connect), and auction house details.

3. How We Use Your Information

  • Process bids, transactions, invoices, and payments.
  • Send auction notifications (outbid alerts, win confirmations, closing reminders).
  • Verify seller identity and business registration.
  • Enforce our Terms of Service and prevent fraud.
  • Provide customer support and resolve disputes.
  • Improve platform features, performance, and user experience.
  • Comply with Canadian tax reporting requirements (GST/HST/QST).
  • Send marketing communications with your express consent under CASL.

4. Legal Basis for Processing

Under PIPEDA, we process your personal information based on:

  • Consent. You provide consent when creating an account and opting in to communications.
  • Contractual necessity. Processing required to fulfill auction transactions, payments, and dispute resolution.
  • Legal obligation. Tax reporting, fraud prevention, and compliance with court orders.
  • Legitimate interest. Platform security, abuse prevention, and service improvement, balanced against your privacy rights.

5. Third-Party Services

We share personal information only with the following service providers, each bound by data processing agreements:

  • Stripe — Payment processing, seller payouts, and identity verification (PCI DSS Level 1 compliant).
  • Clerk — Authentication and identity management.
  • Ably — Real-time bidding notifications (processes only anonymized connection data).
  • Neon — PostgreSQL database hosting (data stored exclusively in Canadian region).
  • Vercel — Application hosting and edge network.
  • Sentry — Error monitoring and performance tracking (anonymized diagnostic data).

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to any third party.

6. Data Storage & Security

Your data is stored on Neon PostgreSQL servers located in Canada. We use encryption in transit (TLS 1.3) and at rest. Access to production systems is restricted to authorized personnel with multi-factor authentication.

Payment data is handled exclusively by Stripe under PCI DSS Level 1 compliance. Bidding Fever is PCI SAQ-A compliant — we never store, process, or transmit cardholder data on our infrastructure.

Authentication credentials are managed by Clerk and are not stored in our database.

7. Cookies & Tracking

We use essential cookies for authentication sessions and preferences. We do not use third-party advertising trackers or sell data to ad networks.

  • Session cookies — Required for login and security (managed by Clerk).
  • Preference cookies — Language selection (EN/FR), stored in localStorage.
  • Analytics — Anonymous usage data via Sentry for error monitoring and performance improvement.

8. Your Rights Under PIPEDA

You have the right to:

  • Access the personal information we hold about you.
  • Request correction of inaccurate information.
  • Withdraw consent for non-essential data processing.
  • Request deletion of your account and associated data.
  • File a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at support@biddingfever.ca. We will respond within 30 days.

9. Quebec Law 25 — Additional Rights

If you are a Quebec resident, you have additional rights under Quebec's Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector (commonly known as Law 25), including:

  • The right to data portability — receive your personal information in a commonly used technological format.
  • The right to be informed of automated decision-making and to have such decisions reviewed by a person.
  • The right to de-indexation — request that hyperlinks to your personal information be disabled.
  • Mandatory privacy impact assessments for any new project involving personal information.

Bidding Fever does not use automated decision-making that produces legal effects. We have appointed a privacy officer responsible for the protection of personal information as required by Law 25.

10. Bill 96 — Language Rights

In accordance with Quebec's Charter of the French Language as amended by Bill 96 (An Act respecting French, the official and common language of Québec):

  • This Privacy Policy is available in both English and French.
  • Quebec consumers have the right to receive all communications and contracts in French.
  • Auction listings targeting Quebec buyers must include French descriptions.
  • Our Platform interface is available in both official languages via the language toggle.

11. Data Retention

We retain account data for as long as your account is active. Transaction records (bids, invoices, payments) are retained for 7 years to comply with Canadian tax regulations (Income Tax Act, Excise Tax Act). You may request account deletion at any time — we will anonymize your personal data while preserving legally required financial records.

12. International Data Transfers

Your personal data is stored and processed in Canada. Some of our service providers (Vercel, Clerk, Stripe) may process limited data in the United States. Where data is transferred outside Canada, we ensure adequate protection through contractual safeguards consistent with PIPEDA requirements. We do not transfer data to jurisdictions that do not provide a comparable level of protection without appropriate safeguards.

13. Children's Privacy

Bidding Fever is not intended for individuals under 18 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from minors. If we become aware that a minor has provided us with personal information, we will delete it promptly.

14. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. Material changes will be communicated via email to registered users and posted on this page with an updated date. Continued use of the Platform after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

15. Contact Us

For privacy-related inquiries:
Bidding Fever Inc.
Privacy Officer
Email: support@biddingfever.ca
Or use our contact form.

You may also file a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (priv.gc.ca) or the Commission d'accès à l'information du Québec (cai.gouv.qc.ca).