Privacy
Privacy notice
This notice explains how Area Studios, a small web design and Google Ads studio in Richmond, BC, handles personal information collected through this website and through our ads. We follow Canada's federal privacy law (PIPEDA) and British Columbia's Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA).
What we collect
- Contact form on this website: your name and email, plus anything you choose to add — business name, website address, what you need help with, and your message.
- Lead forms in our Facebook and Instagram ads: if you fill in one of our ad forms on Meta (Facebook or Instagram), we receive what you enter — your name, email, phone number and business information (business name, website and what you need).
- If you call or email us: your phone number or email address and what you tell us.
- Your choices on this site: your privacy choice and the motion (pause) setting, stored in your own browser so we don't ask again.
How we use it
We use your information only to reply to you, give you a quote, prepare your homepage preview, and do the work you ask us to do. We don't sell your personal information. If you accept ad tags, limited information about your visit is shared with Meta and Google as described below.
Who else may handle it
We use service providers to run this website (hosting) and our email. They handle information only on our behalf. Our website and contact form are hosted by Netlify, Inc. (United States), which processes form submissions on our behalf and emails them to us. If you fill in one of our lead forms on Facebook or Instagram, Meta collects what you enter and passes it to us. Meta's own privacy policy also applies to what you share on its platforms. By submitting the form, you agree to us using these details to contact you about your request and send you a quote. Our service providers and Meta may store or process information outside Canada, including in the United States, where it may be accessed under the laws of that country.
Analytics, ad tags and your choice
No analytics or advertising tags run on this site today. If and when we add them, they may include the Meta Pixel and Google tags such as Google Analytics and Google Ads. These tags help us measure which ads bring people to this site and lead to enquiries, and, if you accept, let Meta and Google show our ads to people who have visited this site (remarketing).
Any such tag will load only after you choose “Accept” in the privacy banner. Nothing loads before you make a choice. If you choose “Essential only”, they stay off. You can change your choice at any time with the “Privacy choices” link at the bottom of every page, or the button below.
Meta and Google process the data these tags collect under their own policies: Meta Privacy Policy and Google Privacy Policy. You can also manage ad preferences in your Facebook, Instagram and Google account settings.
How long we keep it
If you don't become a client, we delete your enquiry or lead details within 12 months of our last contact. If you become a client, we keep project and billing records for 6 years after the work ends, as tax law requires. Leads from Meta ad forms are downloaded to our records and deleted from Meta's lead tools within 90 days. You can ask us to delete your information sooner at any time.
Privacy contact
The owner of Area Studios is responsible for how we handle personal information. Contact our privacy officer at contact@areastudioshq.com.
Your rights
You can ask to see, correct or delete the personal information we hold about you, or withdraw your consent. We'll reply within 30 days. Email contact@areastudioshq.com or call 778-985-6939. If you're not satisfied with our answer, you can contact the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia or the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.
Changes
If we change this notice, we'll update the date at the top of this page.