1. Scope of this Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy explains how Echo Effect collects, uses, stores, discloses, and protects personal information when you access our website, create an account, use document workflows, purchase packages, activate vault storage, or otherwise interact with our estate planning platform.
Echo Effect is designed to help users organize estate planning information, prepare guided legal document drafts, manage family and financial records, and receive product and account communications related to those activities.
2. Information we collect
We collect information you provide directly, information generated through your use of the service, and information received from selected third-party providers involved in payments, storage, security, and communications.
- account information, such as name, email address, password hash, package purchase details, vault access details, and profile information
- document and planning content, including details you enter into wills, powers of attorney, asset lists, family legacy records, digital asset records, insurance details, and related notes
- payment and billing information supplied through our payment provider, including package purchase status, vault renewal status, customer identifiers, promo-code usage, and payment transaction metadata
- security and support information, including login events, password reset requests, reCAPTCHA status, notifications, email delivery activity, and support-related communications
- technical information, such as IP address, device information, browser type, session data, local storage entries, and activity logs needed to operate and secure the service
3. How we use personal information
We use personal information to provide, maintain, secure, and improve Echo Effect and to manage our relationship with users. Our use of information depends on the specific features you access and the choices you make in the platform.
- create and manage user accounts, package entitlements, vault access, and secure access controls
- render document workflows, save your progress, store uploaded records, and generate document outputs
- process payments, confirm purchases, and administer package benefits, discounts, and restrictions
- send essential service messages, reminders, account notices, password reset emails, and security communications
- monitor for abuse, fraud, unauthorized access, policy violations, and operational risk
- comply with legal obligations, enforce our terms, and resolve disputes or support requests
4. Legal basis and consent
Depending on your location and the circumstances, we may process personal information based on your consent, the need to perform our contract with you, our legitimate interests in operating and securing the platform, or compliance with legal obligations.
Where consent is required, you may withdraw it subject to legal and contractual restrictions. Withdrawing consent may affect our ability to provide some features of the service.
6. AI-assisted features and sensitive content
Certain guidance features in Echo Effect may use automated systems to provide drafting help, prompts, explanations, or organizational support. Those features are intended to assist your workflow and do not replace professional legal advice.
Because the platform may contain sensitive personal, family, financial, and estate information, we recommend that users review entries carefully and avoid including unnecessary third-party data unless they have a lawful basis to do so.
7. Data retention
We retain personal information for as long as reasonably necessary to provide the service, maintain account records, enforce our agreements, meet legal obligations, resolve disputes, and protect the integrity of the platform.
Retention periods may vary depending on the type of information involved. For example, password reset tokens expire automatically, billing records may be retained for accounting and compliance purposes, and document records may remain available while your account is active unless you delete them or applicable law requires otherwise.
8. Security measures
We use administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards designed to protect personal information against unauthorized access, disclosure, loss, misuse, or alteration. These measures include authentication controls, password protection, hashed credentials, role-based access patterns, email verification flows, document access protections, and secure third-party services.
No system can be guaranteed completely secure. You are responsible for protecting your own credentials, devices, and email account and for informing us promptly if you believe your account or information has been compromised.
9. Your rights and choices
Subject to applicable law, you may have rights to request access to personal information we hold about you, request correction of inaccurate information, request deletion of certain information, or object to or restrict particular processing activities.
You may also update profile information from within your account, manage certain notifications, and request account-level assistance through our support channels. We may need to verify your identity before responding to a request.
10. International and third-party processing
Echo Effect may use service providers that process or store information outside your province, territory, or country. When that occurs, personal information may be subject to the laws of the jurisdiction where it is processed.
We take reasonable steps to work with service providers that offer appropriate contractual, technical, and organizational safeguards for the information they handle on our behalf.
11. Children and family information
Echo Effect is intended for adult users managing their own planning records or their authorized household information. It is not directed to children as a standalone service.
If you enter information about dependants, beneficiaries, attorneys, executors, or other family members, you are responsible for ensuring you have an appropriate lawful basis to provide that information to the platform.
12. Policy updates and contact information
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our service, technology, legal obligations, or business practices. When we do, we will update the effective date at the top of this page and may provide additional notice where appropriate.
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or want to make a privacy-related request, you may contact Echo Effect at info@echoeffect.ca.