Privacy Policy

HOJO Classifieds (“HOJO”, “we”, “us”, or “our”) is operated by the Concordia Student Union (CSU) Off-Campus Housing & Job Resource Centre. We are committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal information responsibly.

This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect when you use our platform at hojo.csu.qc.ca, how we use it, and the choices you have. By using HOJO, you agree to the practices described in this policy.

If you have questions about this policy, you can reach us at hojo@csu.qc.ca.

Information you provide directly

• Account information: name, email address, and password when you register.
• Listings: title, description, price, photos, and category when you post a listing.
• Messages: content of messages exchanged with other users through our platform.
• Contact form: name, email, and message content submitted through our contact page.

Information collected automatically

• Usage data: pages visited, features used, time spent on the platform, and referring URLs.
• Device information: browser type, operating system, screen size, and IP address.
• Cookies and similar technologies: see our Cookies Policy for details.

Information we do not collect

We do not collect payment information. HOJO is a free platform and does not process any financial transactions. We also do not collect your Concordia student ID number.

We use the information we collect to:

• Provide, operate, and maintain the HOJO platform.
• Create and manage your account.
• Publish and display your listings to other users.
• Facilitate communication between buyers, sellers, and job seekers.
• Send transactional emails (e.g. account verification, listing confirmations).
• Respond to your support requests and contact form submissions.
• Monitor and improve platform performance, security, and user experience.
• Detect and prevent fraud, spam, or policy violations.
• Comply with legal obligations applicable to the CSU and Concordia University.

We will never sell your personal information to third parties or use it for targeted advertising.

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. We may share information only in the following limited circumstances:

• With other users: Information you include in a public listing (title, description, price, photos, and your chosen display name) is visible to all visitors. Your email address is never shown publicly.
• Service providers: We may share data with trusted third-party services (e.g. hosting, analytics) solely to operate the platform. These providers are contractually bound to keep your data confidential.
• Legal requirements: We may disclose information if required by law, court order, or to protect the safety of users or the public.
• CSU administration: As a service of the CSU, aggregated, non-identifying usage data may be shared with CSU staff for reporting purposes.

We retain your personal information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you with our services. Specifically:

• Account data is retained until you delete your account.
• Listings are retained for 90 days after expiry unless you delete them sooner.
• Messages are retained for 12 months after the conversation ends.
• Contact form submissions are retained for up to 2 years for administrative purposes.
• Log and analytics data is retained for up to 12 months.

You may request deletion of your account and associated data at any time by emailing hojo@csu.qc.ca.

Under applicable privacy law (including Québec's Law 25 / Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector), you have the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you.
• Correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
• Delete your account and personal data.
• Withdraw consent to optional processing at any time.
• Data portability: receive a copy of your data in a structured format.
• Lodge a complaint with the Commission d'accès à l'information du Québec (CAI).

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at hojo@csu.qc.ca. We will respond within 30 days.

We implement reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These include:

• HTTPS encryption for all data transmitted to and from our platform.
• Hashed and salted password storage — we never store passwords in plain text.
• Access controls limiting who within HOJO staff can view user data.
• Regular security reviews of our infrastructure.

No method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your data, we cannot guarantee absolute security. If you believe your account has been compromised, contact us immediately at hojo@csu.qc.ca.

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 notify registered users by email or by placing a prominent notice on the platform.

Your continued use of HOJO after any changes constitutes your acceptance of the revised policy. We encourage you to review this page periodically.

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or your personal data, please reach out:

• Email: hojo@csu.qc.ca
• Phone: (514) 848-7474, Ext. 7935
• Office: Hall Building, Room H-224, 1455 De Maisonneuve West, Montréal