Privacy Policy

Introduction

So Surprised ("we," "us," or "our") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our platform.

Information We Collect

Personal Information

Name, email address, phone number
Payment information (processed securely via Stripe; your card may be saved by Stripe for charges you approve, and we never store full card numbers)
Delivery addresses for gift boxes and experiences
Profile information for sellers (business name, credentials)
Seller tax information (GST/HST registration number and business number, where provided) used for tax calculation, receipts, and reporting required by Canadian law

Surprise Information

Recipient details you provide in surprise briefs
Booking details, preferences, and special requests
Photos uploaded by sellers after experience completion

Automatically Collected Information

Device information and IP address
Usage data and analytics
GPS location data for live tracking (with your consent)

Location Information

Customer location (optional):When you tap "Use my location" to search nearby, your browser asks for permission to share your device's coordinates. We use them only to find relevant listings near you and to show approximate distances. We do not store these coordinates or track your location in the background — the search runs and the coordinates are discarded.
Search addresses: When you type a city or address into search, we convert it to coordinates (geocoding) to match nearby listings.
Seller service location: Sellers provide a business/origin address so we can match them to nearby customers. This precise address is used only for distance and service-area matching and is never shown publicly— other users only ever see a seller's city and province.

How We Use Your Information

To process bookings and facilitate surprise experiences
To communicate with you about your bookings and account
To process payments and prevent fraud
To verify seller credentials and approve listings
To show listings and sellers near you and estimate distances (location search)
To calculate and collect applicable Canadian sales taxes (GST/HST/PST) and to prepare tax receipts, invoices, and reports
To provide customer support and resolve disputes
To improve our platform and user experience
To send marketing communications (with your consent)

Information Sharing

We do not sell your personal information. We share your information only in the following circumstances:

With Sellers: Recipient details are shared after booking confirmation to enable experience fulfillment
Service Providers: Stripe (payments), AWS (hosting), Twilio (SMS), SendGrid (email), and a mapping/geocoding provider (OpenStreetMap Nominatim by default, or Google Maps) to convert addresses and coordinates for location search
Tax Authorities: Where required by Canadian law, we may report seller identification and earnings information to the Canada Revenue Agency, including under the reporting rules for digital platform operators
Legal Requirements: When required by law or to protect our rights
Business Transfers: In the event of a merger or acquisition

Data Security

We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your information:

Encrypted data transmission (SSL/TLS)
Secure payment processing via Stripe (PCI-DSS compliant)
Access controls and authentication requirements
Regular security audits and monitoring

Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at privacy@sosurprised.ca