This Privacy Policy explains how MEDIUM™ ("MEDIUM", "we", "us") collects, uses, discloses and protects personal information through mediumbrand.com and related communications. We are a Canadian business based in Calgary, Alberta, and we handle personal information in accordance with Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), Alberta's Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA), and Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL). MEDIUM is currently a pre-launch site: we are not yet processing orders or taking payment.
1. Information We Collect
Information you give us
| What | When and why |
|---|---|
| Email address | When you join the Founding List, so we can send you launch updates and stories. |
| Name | Optional. Used to personalise our emails and, if you choose, to attribute your story. |
| City or region | Optional. Displayed with a published story if you choose to share it. |
| Story content | The written answers you provide in the Story Builder. |
| Photograph | Optional. An image you upload to appear on your Story Board. |
| Correspondence | Anything you send us by email or through a contact form. |
Information collected automatically
When you visit the site, our hosting provider and analytics tools may record technical information such as your IP address, browser type, device type, referring page, pages viewed and time of visit. This is used to keep the site secure and to understand how it is used in aggregate.
What we do not collect
We do not collect payment information on this site, because we are not yet selling. We do not knowingly collect sensitive personal information such as health information, financial account details or government identifiers. Please do not include information of that kind in a story submission.
2. The Story Builder
The Story Builder is the heart of MEDIUM, and it deserves its own explanation. It invites you to describe a chapter of your life in your own words, and it generates a Story Board you can keep, print or share.
Nothing you write is published unless you ask us to publish it and we confirm with you first.
Completing the Story Builder does not make your story public. If you select the option to be considered for a feature, we will contact you and confirm the exact wording, the photograph and any reference to another person before anything appears on the site.
If your story is published
- We will show you the final version and obtain your written confirmation first.
- You choose how you are identified — full name, first name only, or a pseudonym.
- You choose whether a photograph appears, and which one.
- You may ask us to remove or amend your story at any time, and we will do so promptly.
If you mention someone else
Real stories often involve other people. If your story names or clearly identifies another individual, please make sure that person is comfortable being referred to before you submit it. We may ask you to confirm this, and we may decline to publish or may anonymise a reference where we are not satisfied that consent exists.
Photographs
By uploading a photograph you confirm that you own it or have permission to use it, and that any person shown in it consents to its use as described here. Published Story Board portraits are displayed in black and white. Do not upload photographs of children.
3. How We Use Information
- To send launch updates, stories and founding-member communications you have asked to receive.
- To create your Story Board and, with your confirmed consent, publish your story.
- To respond to questions, requests and correspondence.
- To operate, secure, measure and improve the website.
- To understand product interest in aggregate, so we can plan what to make.
- To meet legal and regulatory obligations.
We do not sell personal information. We do not rent or trade mailing lists. We do not use your story to train third-party artificial-intelligence models.
4. Consent
We collect, use and disclose personal information with your knowledge and consent, except where the law permits or requires otherwise. Consent may be express — for example, ticking a box to join the Founding List or confirming a story for publication — or implied by your voluntary provision of information for an obvious purpose, such as emailing us a question.
You may withdraw consent at any time, subject to legal and contractual restrictions and reasonable notice. Withdrawing consent to marketing will not affect information we are required to retain for legal purposes.
5. Email Marketing & CASL
We send commercial electronic messages only where we have consent under CASL. Every message we send includes a clear unsubscribe mechanism and identifies MEDIUM and how to reach us. Unsubscribe requests are honoured promptly and in any event within ten business days.
If you previously purchased a MEDIUM product and we contact you to re-establish a connection, that message will explain why you are receiving it and offer a one-click way to confirm your interest or to opt out permanently.
6. Service Providers
We use a small number of third-party providers to operate the site and our communications. They may process personal information on our behalf, and are permitted to use it only for the purposes we specify.
| Provider | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Netlify | Website hosting and form submissions |
| Klaviyo | Email list management and delivery |
| Microsoft 365 | Business email and correspondence |
| Google Analytics | Aggregate website analytics |
| Meta | Advertising measurement, where enabled |
| Shopify | Ecommerce platform, from launch onward |
We may also disclose personal information where required by law, to enforce our Terms of Use, to protect the rights or safety of any person, or in connection with a sale or reorganisation of our business — in which case the recipient would be bound to handle the information consistently with this policy.
7. Data Outside Canada
Some of our service providers store or process information on servers located outside Canada, including in the United States. While information is in another country it is subject to that country's laws, and may be accessible to its courts, law enforcement and national-security authorities. By using this site and submitting information, you acknowledge this transfer. We take reasonable steps to ensure our providers offer a comparable level of protection.
8. Cookies & Analytics
We use a limited set of cookies and similar technologies to keep the site working, remember your preferences and measure traffic in aggregate. Most browsers allow you to refuse or delete cookies through their settings. Blocking cookies may affect how parts of the site behave.
Where advertising measurement tools are enabled, they may set cookies that help us understand whether a visit followed from an advertisement. We do not use these tools to identify you personally.
9. Retention
- Email list information — retained until you unsubscribe or ask us to delete it.
- Unpublished story submissions — retained for up to twenty-four months, then deleted, unless you ask us to remove them sooner.
- Published stories — retained while published, and removed on request.
- Correspondence — retained as long as reasonably necessary to address the matter.
- Analytics data — retained in aggregate form.
10. Security
We use reasonable administrative, technical and physical safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information, including encrypted connections (HTTPS), access controls and reputable service providers. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
11. Your Rights
Subject to legal limitations, you may ask us to:
- Confirm what personal information we hold about you and how it has been used.
- Provide you with a copy of that information.
- Correct information that is inaccurate or incomplete.
- Delete your information, including any submitted or published story.
- Stop sending you marketing messages.
Write to us using the contact details below. We will respond within thirty days. We may need to verify your identity before acting on a request. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, or the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta.
12. Children
This site is intended for adults. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under the age of eighteen, and we do not accept story submissions or photographs from or depicting minors. If you believe a minor has provided us with personal information, contact us and we will delete it.
13. Changes to This Policy
We may update this policy as MEDIUM grows — particularly when we begin selling. The revision date at the top of this page will always reflect the current version. Material changes affecting how we use information already collected will be communicated to you directly where we hold your contact details.
14. Contact
Questions, requests and privacy concerns can be directed to our Privacy Officer: