Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

Maria Smith Financial Planning ("we," "us," or "our") is an advice-only financial planning practice based in Alberta, Canada. Our website is https://mariasmithfinancialplanning.com (the "Site").

This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, and the choices and rights you have. We take your privacy seriously — especially because financial planning involves sensitive personal and financial details.

We comply with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), Alberta's Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA), Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL), and — where applicable — the EU/UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and U.S. state privacy laws such as the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA/CPRA).

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information You Provide Directly

We collect information you voluntarily provide when you interact with the Site or with Maria. Depending on the activity, this may include:

• Name and email address (when you subscribe to our newsletter, request a clarity call, complete an intake form, or contact us).
• Phone number, mailing address, and scheduling preferences (when you book a consultation).
• Financial and household information you share during the planning engagement — for example income, debts, savings, investments, pension details, employment status, family situation, and financial goals. This information is collected through our secure intake process and engagement materials, not through the public website.
• Testimonials, comments, responses, or other content you choose to submit.

2.2 Information Collected Automatically

When you visit the Site, we and our analytics providers may automatically collect technical information about your visit, including:

• IP address (typically truncated/anonymized for analytics), approximate location (country/region/city level), and time zone.
• Browser type and version, device type, operating system, screen size, and language settings.
• Referring URL, pages visited, links clicked, time spent on pages, and the date and time of your visit.
• Cookie identifiers and similar technologies (see Section 6).

2.3 Information from Third Parties

We may receive limited information from third-party services we use to run the practice — for example, confirmation that you booked a clarity call through our scheduling provider, or that you subscribed via a third-party landing page or referral partner.

2.4 Sensitive Information

Because we are a financial planning practice, some of the information you provide during an engagement is sensitive (e.g., income, debt levels, household financial position). We collect this information only with your consent, only for the purpose of delivering the planning services you have engaged us for, and we treat it with the safeguards described in Section 11.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information described above for the following purposes:

• To operate, maintain, and improve the Site and the services we provide.
• To respond to inquiries, schedule clarity calls, and communicate with prospective and current clients.
• To prepare and deliver financial plans, ongoing planning support, and related advice.
• To send transactional messages such as engagement confirmations, plan documents, follow-up reminders, and billing information.
• To send marketing communications (newsletter, educational content, calculator results, occasional offers) where you have opted in. You can unsubscribe at any time — see Section 14.
• To understand how visitors use the Site, measure the effectiveness of content, and improve user experience.
• To comply with applicable laws, regulations, professional standards, and lawful requests from authorities.
• To detect, prevent, and respond to fraud, abuse, security incidents, and technical issues.

4. Legal Basis for Processing

Where Canadian privacy law applies, we rely on your knowledge and consent (express or implied, as appropriate to the sensitivity of the information). Where the GDPR applies, we rely on one or more of the following lawful bases: your consent; performance of a contract with you; compliance with a legal obligation; or our legitimate interests in operating a small advisory practice, communicating with prospects and clients, and protecting our Site — balanced against your rights and freedoms.

5. Cookies and Similar Technologies

A cookie is a small text file placed on your device that helps a website remember information about your visit. We use cookies and similar technologies (such as pixels and local storage) for the purposes described below.

Strictly necessary

These are required for the Site to function (for example, remembering your cookie-preference choice or keeping a form session active). The Site will not work properly without them.

Analytics and performance

We use analytics tools (such as Google Analytics 4) to understand aggregate Site usage. These tools may set cookies that help us count visitors and see which pages are most useful. We configure analytics with IP anonymization and the shortest practical data-retention setting.

Functional and preference

These remember choices you make (such as your time zone for booking a call or your preferred newsletter segment) so you don't have to re-enter them.

Managing cookies

You can control cookies through your browser settings (block, delete, or warn before accepting). You can also opt out of Google Analytics tracking across all sites by installing the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on. Blocking cookies may affect how parts of the Site function.

6. Do Not Track and Global Privacy Control

Some browsers transmit a "Do Not Track" (DNT) signal. Because there is no consistent industry standard for DNT, we currently do not respond to DNT signals. Where required by law, we honour Global Privacy Control (GPC) signals as a valid opt-out of "sale" or "sharing" of personal information for cross-context behavioural advertising. We do not sell your personal information.

7. Third-Party Services We Use

We rely on a small set of reputable third-party providers to operate the practice. Each provider only receives the information necessary for its function, and each maintains its own privacy policy.

• Email marketing — Stores your name, email address, segment, and engagement metrics (opens, clicks). Used to send our newsletter and educational content.
• Scheduling — Stores your name, email, time zone, and meeting details when you book a clarity call.
• Web analytics — Provides aggregate, de-identified usage statistics.
• Website hosting. Our hosting provider stores Site files and server logs (which may include IP addresses) for the purpose of serving the Site and protecting it from abuse.
• Productivity and document tools. We use mainstream cloud-based productivity tools to communicate with clients, store engagement documents, and run the practice.
• Payment processing. Where applicable, payments are processed by a PCI-compliant third-party processor. We do not store credit card numbers on our systems.

We review this list periodically. If we add, remove, or materially change a sub-processor, we will update this Privacy Policy.

8. Embedded Content from Other Websites

Pages on the Site may include embedded content (such as videos, images, calculators, or social media posts). Embedded content from other websites behaves exactly as if you had visited that other website directly. Those websites may collect data about you, set their own cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with the embedded content — including tracking your interaction if you have an account and are logged in to that website.

9. How We Share Your Information

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. We share information only as described below:

• Service providers. With the third parties listed in Section 7, strictly for the purpose of running the practice, and only to the extent necessary.
• Referred professionals. Where you ask us to refer you out (for example, to a lawyer for wills, an insurance specialist, or a cross-border tax professional), we share only the information needed to make the introduction, and only with your prior knowledge.
• Legal and regulatory. Where required by law, regulation, court order, or to protect our rights, property, or safety, or that of our clients or others.
• Business transfers. In the unlikely event of a business merger, acquisition, restructuring, or sale of assets, information may be transferred to the successor entity, subject to commitments at least as protective as this policy.
• With your consent. For any other purpose, with your explicit consent.

10. International Data Transfers

Some of our service providers are located outside Canada (for example, in the United States or the European Union). When your information is transferred to or stored in another country, it becomes subject to the laws of that country, which may differ from the laws of your home jurisdiction. We choose providers that maintain appropriate safeguards, and where required, we rely on contractual protections (such as Standard Contractual Clauses) to protect your information.

11. How We Protect Your Information

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect personal information from loss, theft, unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use, or modification. Measures include:

• TLS/HTTPS encryption for traffic between your browser and the Site.
• Encryption of sensitive client documents in transit and at rest within our document storage.
• Multi-factor authentication on the accounts we use to run the practice.
• Access controls so only authorized personnel can view client information.
• Regular review of third-party providers, software updates, and security practices.

No method of transmission over the Internet or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. While we take privacy and security seriously, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

12. How Long We Keep Your Information

We retain personal information only as long as necessary for the purposes described in this policy or as required by law or professional standards.

• Newsletter subscriber data is retained while you remain subscribed and for a reasonable period after unsubscribing for audit and suppression-list purposes.
• Clarity-call booking data is retained for a reasonable period to allow follow-up and record-keeping.
• Client engagement records, financial plans, and supporting documentation are retained for the period required by professional practice standards and applicable tax and recordkeeping laws (generally a minimum of seven years from the end of the engagement).
• Website analytics data is retained at the shortest practical interval supported by our analytics provider.
• Comment data, where applicable, is retained as described in Section 16.

13. Your Privacy Rights

Subject to applicable law, you have rights with respect to your personal information. These may include:

• Access. Request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
• Correction. Ask us to correct information that is inaccurate or incomplete.
• Deletion / Erasure. Ask us to delete information we no longer need to keep, subject to legal and professional retention obligations.
• Withdrawal of consent. Withdraw your consent to our use of your information at any time (this will not affect processing that has already taken place, and it may limit our ability to continue providing services).
• Portability. Where applicable, receive a copy of certain information in a structured, commonly used format.
• Opt out of marketing. Unsubscribe from marketing emails at any time.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at hello@mariasmithfinancialplanning.com. We will respond within the timeframes required by applicable law. We may need to verify your identity before acting on a request.

14. Children's Privacy

The Site and our services are intended for adults. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 (or under 16 where required by local law). If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will take steps to delete it.

15. Marketing Communications and CASL

We send commercial electronic messages (such as our newsletter) only to people who have given us express or implied consent under Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL). Every marketing email includes:

• Identification of the sender;
• A current mailing or email address; and
• A clear, working unsubscribe mechanism that takes effect within 10 business days.

Transactional and engagement-related emails (e.g., appointment confirmations, plan delivery, billing) may be sent regardless of marketing preferences while you have an active engagement with us.

16. Links to Other Websites

The Site may contain links to other websites (for example, articles we recommend, partner organizations, or referred professionals). We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those websites. We encourage you to read the privacy policy of every website you visit.

17. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. For material changes, we will provide a more prominent notice (for example, by posting a notification on the Site or by sending you an email). Your continued use of the Site after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the revised policy.

18. How to Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, want to exercise a privacy right, or wish to make a complaint, please contact us at hello@mariasmithfinancialplanning.com.

Maria Smith Financial Planning

Email: hello@mariasmithfinancialplanning.com

Website: https://mariasmithfinancialplanning.com

By using the Site, you signify your acceptance of this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to this Privacy Policy, please do not use the Site.