Privacy policy
Effective 9 August 2026
Firstlook operates Firstlook, a rental alert service for Metro Vancouver. This policy explains what personal information we collect, why, who else sees it, and what you can do about it. We are subject to Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and British Columbia’s Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA).
1. Who is accountable
Questions, access requests and complaints go to our privacy contact: [email protected], or by post to Firstlook, 1255 International Mews, Kelowna, BC, Canada.
2. What we collect
| What | Why |
|---|---|
| Your email address | To send the alerts you asked for. It is the only thing we actually need. |
| Your search criteria — area, budget, bedrooms, minimum floor, must-haves, and the description you write or dictate | To decide which listings match you. |
| Consent record — the date and time you signed up, your IP address, your browser user-agent, the page you signed up from, and the wording you agreed to | Canada’s anti-spam law puts the burden on us to prove you consented. This is that proof. |
| Delivery records — which alerts we sent you and when | So we do not send you the same listing twice, and so we can show we honoured an unsubscribe. |
We do not ask for your name, phone number, address, income, or identity documents, and you should not send them to us.
Voice input
The description field has an optional microphone button. It uses your browser’s built-in speech recognition. Your audio is not sent to us and we never receive or store it. Depending on your browser, audio may be processed by your browser vendor under their own privacy policy. Only the resulting text is submitted, and only when you submit the form.
3. Cookies and analytics
We set no cookies and load no advertising or third-party trackers. Nothing is measured unless you say yes.
If you allow analytics, we load Vercel Web Analytics, which counts page views without cookies and without identifying you. If you decline, or ignore the prompt, it never loads and no analytics data about you exists.
Your choice is stored in your browser’s local storage under fl.consent.v1. That is first-party, never sent to us, and used only to remember your answer. Clear your browser storage and you will be asked again.
4. Legal basis
We rely on your consent, which you give by submitting the signup form. You can withdraw it at any time (see section 8). Withdrawing consent ends the alerts, since there is no service without them.
5. Who else sees your information
We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information, and we never share it with landlords, agents, or advertisers. We use a small number of service providers to run the service:
| Provider | Role | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Vercel | Website hosting | United States |
| Neon | Database — stores your email and criteria | United States |
| Resend | Sends the alert emails | United States |
Your information is stored and processed in the United States. While it is there it is subject to US law, and US courts and government agencies may be able to compel access to it under lawful process. PIPEDA requires us to tell you this plainly rather than bury it.
We may also disclose information where required by law, or to establish or defend a legal claim.
6. How long we keep it
- While you are subscribed: your email and criteria are kept so the service can run.
- After you unsubscribe: your criteria are deactivated immediately. We keep your email address and consent record for 3 years — anti-spam law requires us to be able to demonstrate consent and that we honoured your unsubscribe.
- On request: we will delete everything sooner if you ask, except the minimum needed to keep you unsubscribed.
7. How we protect it
Data is encrypted in transit (HTTPS) and at rest by our providers. Access is limited to the operator. We collect as little as possible, which is the most effective safeguard available. No system is perfectly secure; if a breach creates a real risk of significant harm we will notify you and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner as the law requires.
8. Your rights
- Access — ask what we hold about you. We respond within 30 days.
- Correction — ask us to fix anything inaccurate.
- Deletion — ask us to erase your information.
- Withdraw consent — click unsubscribe in any email, or email us. It takes effect immediately.
Email [email protected]. There is no charge.
9. Children
The Service is not intended for anyone under 16 and we do not knowingly collect their information. If you believe we have, contact us and we will delete it.
10. If you are not satisfied
Contact us first — we would rather fix it. You also have the right to complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada or, in British Columbia, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for BC.
11. Changes
We may update this policy. The effective date at the top will change, and we will email confirmed subscribers about material changes.
See also our Terms of use and Email consent.