Privacy Policy

Last updated: August 7, 2026

OPIRG Windsor respects the privacy of the people who visit our website, subscribe to our newsletter, contact us, volunteer with us, or participate in our work. This policy explains what information we collect through opirgwindsor.org, why we use it, when it may be shared, and the choices available to you.

OPIRG Windsor is a community-based nonprofit organization. Privacy-law coverage can depend on the activity involved. Whether or not a particular activity is governed by a specific privacy statute, we aim to follow fair-information practices: accountability, meaningful consent, limited collection, appropriate use and disclosure, reasonable retention, safeguards, openness, and access.

Information we collect

Information you provide

Newsletter subscriptions: your email address and any name information you provide, along with subscription status and records needed to document consent, confirmation, delivery, and unsubscription.
Messages and requests: information you choose to provide when you contact us by email, telephone, or another published contact route.
Participation and administration: information provided to us in connection with membership, volunteering, employment, governance, events, projects, or website administration. Additional notices may apply when a program needs information beyond ordinary contact details.

Information collected automatically

When you use the website, our hosting, security, and caching systems may record technical information such as your IP address, browser and device type, requested pages, referring page, date and time, and information about suspected malicious activity. We use this information to operate, secure, troubleshoot, and improve the website.

WordPress uses essential cookies for administrators and other signed-in users, including cookies that support authentication, preferences, and account security. The newsletter service may use links or technical records needed to confirm a subscription, manage a subscriber profile, measure delivery or interaction, and process an unsubscribe request. You can control cookies through your browser, although disabling essential cookies may prevent sign-in or other features from working.

Embedded and third-party content

Pages may include links to or content from third-party services, such as social-media platforms, video or audio services, maps, documents, or other websites. When you open or interact with third-party content, that provider may receive technical information and apply its own privacy policy. OPIRG Windsor does not control the privacy practices of independent third parties.

How we use information

We use personal information only for reasonable purposes connected with our work, including to:

send newsletters and organizational updates that a person requested;
respond to inquiries and requests;
administer membership, volunteering, events, projects, governance, employment, or organizational operations;
maintain subscriptions, consent records, suppression records, and unsubscribe requests;
operate, secure, back up, troubleshoot, and improve the website and related systems;
prevent spam, fraud, abuse, and unauthorized access; and
meet legal, financial, governance, safety, or recordkeeping obligations.

We do not sell or rent personal information or subscriber lists. We do not add people to the newsletter merely because they contacted OPIRG Windsor for another reason.

Newsletter consent and unsubscribing

Newsletter sign-up uses an express opt-in process. A subscriber must actively request the newsletter and confirm the request by email before the subscription becomes active. We retain information needed to demonstrate and manage that consent.

Every newsletter should identify OPIRG Windsor and provide a working unsubscribe option. You may unsubscribe using the personal unsubscribe link in a newsletter or by contacting us. We will honour unsubscribe requests promptly and no later than any deadline required by applicable law. A limited suppression record may be retained so that we do not accidentally resubscribe or email an address that opted out.

When information may be shared

We limit access to people who need information for authorized OPIRG Windsor work. We may also use service providers that support our website, hosting, email, backups, security, and technical maintenance. These currently include our web host and the WordPress services and plugins used to operate the site, including Wordfence for website security and The Newsletter Plugin for self-hosted subscriber management.

Service providers may process information on OPIRG Windsor’s behalf or receive technical information needed to provide their service. Information may also be disclosed when required by law, to respond to a valid legal process, to protect the rights or safety of people or the organization, or to investigate misuse of our systems. We do not permit service providers to use OPIRG Windsor information for unrelated purposes merely because they support our systems.

Retention

We retain personal information only as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected and for legal, financial, governance, security, continuity, or dispute-resolution needs. Newsletter information is normally retained while a subscription is active. When a person unsubscribes, we stop ordinary newsletter delivery and may retain a limited suppression and consent record.

Security logs, correspondence, program records, and administrative records are reviewed or removed according to operational need and applicable requirements. Website backups are retained on a rotating schedule for recovery and may temporarily contain information that has since been removed from the active website. When restored, current deletion and suppression decisions must be reapplied where appropriate.

Safeguards

We use reasonable administrative and technical safeguards appropriate to the information and the risks involved. Current controls include encrypted HTTPS connections, access controls, software updates, backups, security monitoring, firewall protection, and restricted administrative access. No internet service can guarantee absolute security. If we identify a privacy or security incident, we will investigate, contain, document, and respond to it as appropriate.

Your choices and access requests

You may ask us to explain how we handle your information, provide access to personal information we hold about you, correct inaccurate information, withdraw consent where consent is the basis for processing, or request deletion where continued retention is not required. We may need to verify your identity and may retain information when required for legal, governance, security, financial, or legitimate operational reasons.

You can also use WordPress privacy tools, where applicable, to request an export or erasure of information associated with the website. These tools do not automatically override information that must be retained for another valid reason.

Contact us about privacy

Questions, concerns, access requests, corrections, or unsubscribe requests can be directed to:

OPIRG Windsor
Attention: Privacy
401 Sunset Avenue
Windsor, Ontario
Email: opirg@uwindsor.ca
Telephone: 519-253-3000 ext. 3872

Please do not send sensitive personal information by ordinary email unless it is necessary and you understand the risks.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy when our programs, website, service providers, or legal responsibilities change. The date at the top identifies the latest revision. Material changes should be reviewed by an authorized OPIRG Windsor representative.