Privacy Policy

Effective date: August 17, 2020
Last updated: August 17, 2020

Tough Alliance respects your privacy and is committed to handling personal information responsibly.

This Privacy Policy explains how Tough Alliance collects, uses, communicates, retains, and protects personal information when you visit toughalliance.com, contact us, submit a proposal request, communicate with us about a project, or otherwise interact with our business.

1. Who We Are

Tough Alliance provides professional photography, video production, and related creative production services for brands, agencies, exhibitors, event producers, and corporate teams.

For the purposes of this Privacy Policy, “Tough Alliance,” “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to Tough Alliance.

2. Personal Information We Collect

The personal information we collect depends on how you interact with us.

Contact Information

We may collect information such as:

  • First and last name

  • Email address

  • Telephone number

  • Company or organization

  • Job title or professional role

  • Company website

Event & Project Information

When you request a proposal or discuss a production with us, we may collect information such as:

  • Event or project name

  • Event type

  • Event date

  • Venue

  • City or location

  • Coverage requirements

  • Photography requirements

  • Video requirements

  • Expected deliverables

  • Production budget or budget range

  • Delivery requirements

  • Project objectives

  • Marketing or content-use requirements

  • Other information you choose to provide

Communications

We may retain information contained in communications with you, including:

  • Emails

  • Contact-form submissions

  • Proposal requests

  • Telephone communications

  • Project correspondence

  • Feedback

  • Questions and support requests

Client & Business Information

If you become a client, we may also collect information reasonably required to administer the business relationship, such as:

  • Billing information

  • Company information

  • Contract information

  • Invoicing records

  • Payment records

  • Production contacts

  • Scheduling information

  • Project documentation

We do not ask you to submit full payment-card information through our general contact or proposal forms.

Production-Related Information

In connection with photography or video productions, we may receive or handle information relating to people participating in an event or production.

Depending on the project, this may include names, professional roles, schedules, interview information, images, likenesses, voices, or other production-related information.

Project-specific rights, permissions, licensing, and usage may also be governed by the applicable client agreement, release, event authorization, or other production documentation.

Website & Technical Information

When you visit our website, the website and our technology providers may automatically receive information such as:

  • IP address

  • Browser type

  • Device information

  • Network information

  • Pages visited

  • Referring pages or websites

  • Date and time of visits

  • Website interactions

  • Cookie and similar technology data

Our website is hosted by Squarespace, which processes certain website and visitor information in order to operate, secure, maintain, and provide the website and related services.

3. How We Collect Personal Information

We may collect personal information:

  • Directly from you

  • Through our contact forms

  • Through our Request a Proposal form

  • By email

  • By telephone

  • During project planning

  • Through contracts and production documentation

  • Through our website

  • Through cookies and similar technologies

  • Through Squarespace and other technology providers

  • From a company, agency, event organizer, client, or production partner where they are authorized to provide the information

  • Through other lawful business communications

We aim to collect only information reasonably necessary for the identified business or production purpose.

4. Why We Use Personal Information

We may use personal information to:

  • Respond to inquiries

  • Prepare proposals and estimates

  • Determine project availability

  • Plan photography and video productions

  • Communicate with clients and production partners

  • Schedule events and productions

  • Deliver contracted services

  • Prepare and deliver photography, video, and other content

  • Manage client relationships

  • Process invoices and business records

  • Provide customer service

  • Maintain project and business documentation

  • Operate and improve our website

  • Understand website traffic and performance

  • Maintain website and information security

  • Prevent fraud, abuse, or unauthorized activity

  • Respond to legal or regulatory requirements

  • Exercise or defend legal rights

  • Meet accounting, tax, insurance, or record-keeping obligations

  • Carry out other purposes disclosed to you when information is collected

Where consent is required for a particular use or communication, we will seek that consent as required by applicable law.

5. Cookies & Website Analytics

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies.

Some cookies are necessary for the website to operate properly. These may support functions such as website security, navigation, form functionality, and other essential Squarespace features.

We may also use analytics or performance technologies to understand how visitors interact with the website.

Depending on the technologies enabled on the website, these tools may collect information about:

  • Website visits

  • Traffic sources

  • Pages viewed

  • Browser and device information

  • Website interactions

  • Referring websites

  • General website performance

Where required by applicable law, non-essential cookies or similar technologies that require consent will be subject to the consent choices made available through the website.

You may also be able to control cookies through your browser settings. Disabling certain cookies may affect some website functionality.

6. Squarespace

Tough Alliance uses Squarespace to host and operate this website.

Squarespace may process information necessary to provide website hosting, forms, analytics, security, technical infrastructure, and other website functionality.

Information submitted through Squarespace forms may be processed through Squarespace systems before being delivered to Tough Alliance.

Squarespace may also collect certain technical information about website visitors for its own platform-security and operational purposes.

7. Who May Have Access to Personal Information

Access to personal information is limited to people and service providers who reasonably require the information for legitimate business or production purposes.

Depending on the circumstances, these may include:

  • Tough Alliance personnel

  • Authorized photographers, videographers, producers, editors, or production contractors

  • Website and hosting providers such as Squarespace

  • Email and communications providers

  • Cloud-storage providers

  • File-delivery platforms

  • Accounting and invoicing providers

  • Professional advisers

  • Legal counsel

  • Insurance providers

  • Technology and security providers

  • Analytics providers, where enabled

  • Other production or service providers required to complete a project

We expect service providers handling personal information on our behalf to use the information only for the purposes for which access is provided and to protect it appropriately.

8. When We May Communicate Personal Information

We may communicate personal information when reasonably necessary to:

  • Provide requested services

  • Respond to an inquiry

  • Prepare or administer a project

  • Coordinate a production

  • Deliver photography or video content

  • Operate our website

  • Use service providers acting on our behalf

  • Complete accounting, invoicing, insurance, or administrative functions

  • Protect Tough Alliance, our clients, or others from fraud, security threats, or unlawful activity

  • Comply with a legal obligation, court order, regulatory requirement, or lawful request

  • Establish, exercise, or defend legal rights

  • Carry out another purpose authorized or required by applicable law

Tough Alliance does not sell or rent personal information.

9. Information Processed Outside Québec

Some of the technology and service providers used by Tough Alliance may operate, process information, or maintain infrastructure outside Québec or outside Canada.

As a result, personal information may be processed or stored in another province, the United States, or another jurisdiction.

Information processed in another jurisdiction may be subject to the laws of that jurisdiction and may be accessible to courts, law-enforcement authorities, regulators, or other authorities where legally permitted.

Tough Alliance takes applicable privacy requirements into consideration when using service providers that may process personal information outside Québec.

10. Retention & Destruction

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected or as otherwise required or permitted by law.

Retention periods may depend on factors such as:

  • Whether an inquiry becomes a project

  • The nature of the client relationship

  • Contractual requirements

  • Production requirements

  • Accounting and tax obligations

  • Insurance requirements

  • Potential disputes or legal claims

  • Record-keeping requirements

  • The sensitivity of the information

When personal information is no longer required, we take reasonable steps to securely delete, destroy, or anonymize it, as appropriate and subject to applicable legal requirements.

11. How We Protect Personal Information

Tough Alliance uses reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards appropriate to the nature and sensitivity of the information we handle.

These measures may include:

  • Limiting access to people who require the information

  • Password protection

  • Account-access controls

  • Secure technology providers

  • Software and platform security measures

  • Appropriate file-storage practices

  • Controlled sharing of production files

  • Business and privacy procedures

  • Secure deletion or destruction practices

No website, electronic communication, storage system, or transmission method can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

We therefore cannot guarantee absolute security, but we take reasonable measures to protect personal information under our control.

12. Your Privacy Rights

Depending on the circumstances and applicable law, you may have the right to:

  • Ask whether Tough Alliance holds personal information about you

  • Request access to personal information we hold about you

  • Request correction of inaccurate, incomplete, or outdated personal information

  • Withdraw consent to certain uses or communications of personal information, subject to legal and contractual limitations

  • Ask questions about how your personal information has been used or communicated

  • Request computerized personal information you provided to us in a structured, commonly used technological format where that right applies

  • Request cessation of dissemination or de-indexing of personal information in circumstances provided by applicable law

  • Make a complaint about our handling of personal information

Some rights are subject to legal exceptions and limitations.

Requests should be made in writing to our Privacy Officer using the contact information below. We may need to verify your identity before responding to a request.

13. Withdrawing Consent

Where we rely on your consent to use or communicate personal information, you may withdraw that consent subject to applicable legal or contractual restrictions.

Withdrawing consent may affect our ability to provide a particular service where the information is reasonably necessary to perform that service.

You may contact our Privacy Officer to discuss a consent withdrawal request.

14. Children

The Tough Alliance website and services are primarily intended for businesses, organizations, agencies, professionals, and adult users.

We do not intentionally use our general website forms to collect personal information from children.

If you believe that personal information relating to a child has been submitted to us inappropriately, please contact our Privacy Officer.

15. Third-Party Websites & Embedded Content

Our website may contain links to or content from third-party websites, social platforms, video services, clients, venues, brands, or other external services.

Those third parties may have their own privacy practices and policies.

Tough Alliance does not control the privacy practices of independent third-party websites or platforms. We encourage you to review their privacy policies when leaving our website or interacting directly with their services.

16. Confidentiality Incidents

If Tough Alliance becomes aware of a confidentiality or security incident involving personal information, we will assess the circumstances and take reasonable measures to reduce the risk of harm and prevent similar incidents where appropriate.

We will provide notifications to affected individuals or privacy authorities where required by applicable law.

17. Privacy Complaints

If you have a question or concern about how Tough Alliance collects, uses, communicates, retains, or protects personal information, please contact our Privacy Officer.

We will review privacy complaints and take appropriate steps to investigate and address legitimate concerns.

Please provide enough information for us to understand the issue and respond appropriately.

18. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy when our website, technology, services, business practices, or legal obligations change.

The current version will be posted on this page.

When the policy is updated, the Last updated date at the top of the page will be revised.

Where applicable law requires additional notice or consent for a material change, we will take the steps required in the circumstances.

19. Privacy Officer

Questions, privacy requests, access or correction requests, consent-withdrawal requests, and privacy complaints may be directed to:

Privacy Officer / Person in Charge of the Protection of Personal Information
Tough Alliance
Email: office@toughalliance.com

20. Contact Tough Alliance

For general business, production, or project inquiries that are not privacy-related, please use our regular contact page.