Privacy Policy

Lokals respects the privacy of workers and employers. This Policy explains how Benske & Co. Inc., which operates Lokals, collects, uses, discloses and protects personal information.

Canadian privacy principles require organizations to explain what information is collected, why it is used, who it is shared with and how individuals can access or correct it.

Information we collect

For workers, this may include contact information, location, employment history, occupations, skills, credentials, compensation expectations, shift preferences, commute preferences, availability, work authorization, Work Interview answers, references, profile activity, employer interactions and communication history.

For employer users, this may include name, company, contact information, Hiring Needs, hiring requirements, payment and transaction information, invitations, bookings and account activity.

We also collect technical information such as browser/device information, IP address, security logs, analytics events, referral information and advertising attribution.

Why we use information

We use information to operate Lokals, create profiles, understand experience and expectations, identify potential matches, make recommendations, facilitate employer Invitations, obtain candidate consent, schedule Pre-Interviews, communicate with users, process payments, prevent misuse, improve the service and comply with legal obligations.

AI processing

Lokals uses artificial intelligence and automated tools to assist with Work Interviews, extract structured information, summarize experience and evidence, and identify potential matches.

AI output may contain errors. It is used as decision-support information and does not replace the employer's responsibility to make employment decisions.

Sharing with employers

Lokals may show an employer limited or anonymized information about potential candidates before an introduction.

When a candidate accepts an employer's Invitation or otherwise agrees to an introduction, Lokals may share additional profile and contact information necessary to facilitate the hiring conversation.

We do not sell candidate personal information to employers as a standalone contact database.

Service providers

We use service providers to operate Lokals, including providers for hosting and infrastructure, databases, file storage, authentication, communications, payments, analytics and AI processing.

Current infrastructure may include services provided by Vercel, Neon, Cloudflare, Clerk, Bird, Stripe, PostHog and Google (Analytics), as well as AI model/infrastructure providers. Each provider processes information only to help run Lokals; we do not sell your information.

We never share your phone number, or your consent to receive text messages, with any third party for that third party's own marketing or advertising.

Some providers may process information outside Canada, including in the United States. Information processed in another country may be subject to the laws and lawful-access requirements of that jurisdiction. Canadian privacy guidance recommends transparency about cross-border processing and safeguards around service providers.

Advertising and analytics

Where permitted and subject to your settings, we send Meta (Facebook/Instagram) a scrambled (hashed) version of your email address and name — never in plain text, and never your phone number — so Meta can match it against its own records and measure whether its ads led you to sign up. We also use analytics to understand website performance and which pages and referral sources are working. PostHog session recordings show how people use our pages, such as clicks and scrolling. Recordings hide everything typed into forms, and we turn them off on pages that show your own details.

You can manage optional tracking through our cookie preferences.

Consent

We seek consent appropriate to the sensitivity and purpose of the information.

Where information is sensitive or disclosure falls outside what a person would reasonably expect, we may request express consent.

You may withdraw consent for optional processing, subject to legal or contractual limitations and the consequences of withdrawing consent.

Retention

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this Policy, legal obligations, security, dispute resolution and legitimate recordkeeping.

Inactive profiles and supporting information may be deleted, anonymized or archived according to Lokals' retention schedule.

Security

We use administrative, technical and organizational safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information we hold.

No system can guarantee absolute security.

Access and correction

You may request access to personal information Lokals holds about you and request corrections where it is inaccurate or incomplete, subject to lawful exceptions.

Deletion

You may request deletion of your account and personal information.

Some information may be retained where legally required or reasonably necessary for security, fraud prevention, transaction records, dispute resolution or other lawful purposes.

Marketing communications

Where required, marketing email and SMS messages from Lokals are sent with consent or another lawful basis and include a way to unsubscribe. We send these messages ourselves; your phone number and messaging consent are never given to any other company to send you their own marketing.

Each text message from Lokals identifies Lokals. Message frequency varies — we don't commit to a fixed number of messages. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP at any time to stop text messages, or HELP for help.

Canadian anti-spam rules generally require consent, identification and an unsubscribe mechanism for commercial electronic messages, including SMS. We keep a record of the consent you give — including the disclosure shown, the date, and its source — so we can honour it.

Operational messages such as account security, Invitations, booking confirmations and service notifications may still be sent where necessary to provide the service, even if you've opted out of marketing or opportunity text messages.

Privacy contact

Lokals has designated a person responsible for privacy matters.

Requests, questions or complaints can be sent to:

Privacy Officer
Benske & Co. Inc.
support@lokals.ca