Privacy Policy

Effective October 24, 2026. This policy explains what personal information Hand-Me-Down Market (handmedownmarket.ca, “we”, “us”) collects, why, who it's shared with, and the choices you have. It's written to meet Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).

1. Who is responsible

Hand-Me-Down Market is responsible for the personal information it holds. Questions, requests or complaints go to our privacy contact at privacy@handmedownmarket.ca. We'll respond within 30 days.

2. What we collect

• Your account: your name, email address, city or neighbourhood (optional), and password. Passwords are stored only in scrambled (hashed) form; we can't see them. We also record when you joined and when you agreed to our Terms.
• Your listings: what you post about an item: title, description, photos, category, size, age range, condition, price, pickup area and the handoff options you offer.
• Your sales and purchases: what was bought, the price, our fee, the seller's payout, payment status, and the handoff plan you and the other member agree on (method, place and time).
• Messages: what you and the other member write to each other on an order page, and any problem a buyer reports.
• Ratings and reviews: star ratings, whether an item matched its description, and comments you leave or receive.
• Directory suggestions: stores and sales you suggest for the Local stores & sales page.
• Payment information: card payments are handled entirely by our payment processor, Stripe. We never see or store your card number. We keep only Stripe's reference numbers for each payment, refund and payout. Sellers give their banking and identity details directly to Stripe, not to us.
• Technical information: like most websites, our servers automatically log basic request details (IP address, browser type, the page requested and the time) to keep the site running and secure.

We don't ask for, and you shouldn't post, information about your children. Please don't include children's faces, names or schools in listing photos or descriptions.

3. Why we use it

• To run your account and let you buy, sell, message and rate other members.
• To process payments, hold them until a sale is confirmed, and release or refund them.
• To show public profiles and ratings so members can trade with confidence.
• To keep the site safe: preventing fraud, spam and misuse, and enforcing our Terms.
• To review a sale when a buyer reports a problem (see section 5).
• To meet legal, tax and accounting requirements.

We don't sell your personal information, rent it out, or use it for advertising. We don't use analytics, advertising or tracking tools from other companies.

4. What other members can see

• Public (anyone visiting the site): your name as you entered it, your city if you gave one, when you joined, how many items you've sold and bought, your listings, your ratings and the reviews you've received (including the reviewer's name).
• Only the other member in a sale: your messages, the handoff plan, and any pickup or meeting address you choose to share.
• Never shown to other members: your email address and password.

Tip: you can use just your first name and last initial (for example “Sarah M.”) as your name.

5. When the site owner looks at your information

We don't read members' messages as a matter of routine. The site owner may view an order's details and messages only when needed to decide a reported problem, investigate fraud, abuse or a safety concern, respond to a request you make, or comply with the law.

6. Who we share it with

We share personal information only with service providers who help us run the site, and only what they need:

• Render (render.com): hosts the website and stores its database and photos, on servers in the United States.
• Stripe (stripe.com): processes payments, refunds and seller payouts. Stripe has its own privacy policy.
• Namecheap (namecheap.com): manages our domain name and forwards email sent to our addresses.

We may also disclose information if required by law (for example a court order), or to protect someone's safety. If Hand-Me-Down Market is ever sold or merged, your information would transfer to the new owner under this policy.

7. Storage outside Canada

Our website is hosted in the United States, and Stripe may process information in Canada, the United States and elsewhere. While it's stored outside Canada, your information is protected by contracts with these providers but may be accessible to courts, law enforcement and national security authorities in those countries under their laws.

8. Cookies

We use one essential cookie that keeps you logged in and protects forms from misuse. It contains no advertising or tracking information and expires when you close your browser. The site doesn't work without it, so there's no option to turn it off.

9. How long we keep it

• Your account and listings: until you ask us to delete your account.
• Sales records (prices, fees, payment references): 7 years, because Canadian tax law requires us to keep business records.
• Messages, ratings and reviews tied to a sale: as long as the sale record, so disputes and ratings stay accurate.
• Server logs: kept by our host for a limited time, then deleted automatically.

When you delete your account, we remove your profile and listings and replace your name on past sales, messages and reviews with “Former member”, except where we must keep information to meet legal requirements or resolve an open issue.

10. Your choices and rights

• Access and correction: you can ask what personal information we hold about you and have it corrected.
• Deletion: you can ask us to delete your account by emailing privacy@handmedownmarket.ca from the email address on your account.
• Withdrawing consent: you can stop using the site and delete your account at any time. Some features can't work without certain information (for example, we can't process a sale without recording it).

To protect your account, we may ask you to confirm your identity before acting on a request.

11. How we protect it

The site uses HTTPS encryption, passwords are stored hashed, payment details stay with Stripe, and access to member information is limited to the site owner. No system is perfectly secure. If a breach creates a real risk of significant harm, we'll notify affected members and the Privacy Commissioner of Canada as the law requires.

12. Age

Hand-Me-Down Market is for adults buying and selling for their families. You must be 18 or older (or the age of majority where you live) to create an account.

13. Changes to this policy

If we make important changes, we'll update the date above and post a notice on the site before they take effect.

14. Questions or complaints

Contact privacy@handmedownmarket.ca. If you're not satisfied with our answer, you can complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.