Privacy Policy

Last updated: November 1st, 2026

The Portrait Dept. (“we,” “us,” or “our”) operates portraitdept.com. This policy explains what personal information we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, and the choices you have. We respect your privacy and handle your information in line with Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and applicable Ontario law.

Information We Collect

When you contact us, book a session, or buy a product, we collect your name, email address, phone number, mailing address, session details, and any notes you share about your goals or preferences. For payments, our payment processor (Stripe) collects your card details directly. We don’t store full card numbers. We receive only a transaction record and the last four digits.

When you visit our website, we may collect basic technical information, such as your IP address, browser type, pages viewed, and how you arrived at the site. We use analytics tools for this, and they may place cookies on your device.

Photographs

During a session, we create photographs of you, and of anyone who attends with you. Our usage rights are described in your session agreement. We will never publish identifiable photos of you in marketing without your consent. If you’d like to be removed from any portfolio or social post, contact us and we’ll take it down.

For clients under 18, we require a parent or guardian to provide consent before the session.

How We Use Your Information

We use your information to respond to your enquiries, book and deliver your sessions, process payments, send your image gallery, provide customer support, and improve our website. With your consent, we may also send marketing emails about new sessions, seasonal offers, and studio news. You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in any message.

Who We Share It With

We don’t sell your personal information. We share it only with service providers who help us run the business, including our booking and client management platform, our payment processor (Stripe), our online gallery provider, our email provider, and our website host. These providers may process your information in Canada, the United States, or other countries, and they’re required to protect it.

We may also disclose information if the law requires it.

Cookies

Our website uses cookies to remember your preferences and measure how the site is used. You can turn cookies off in your browser settings, though some features may not work as expected.

How Long We Keep Your Information

We keep client information for as long as needed to provide our services, meet legal and tax obligations, and resolve disputes. Session images are kept in your gallery for [X] months after delivery, unless you ask us to remove them sooner.

Your Choices and Rights

You can ask to see the personal information we hold about you, ask us to correct it, withdraw your consent for marketing, or ask us to delete your information, subject to legal requirements. To make a request, email portraitdept@gmail.com. We’ll respond within 30 days.

Security

We protect your information with reasonable safeguards, including secure systems and limited staff access. No system is completely secure, so we can’t guarantee absolute security.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The date at the top shows when it was last changed.

Contact Us

The Portrait Dept.
4006 Kilmer Drive, Burlington, Ontario
Email: portraitdept@gmail.com