Privacy Policy

Overview and scope

Muslim Malayalees Canada (MMC) operates muslimmalayali.ca as a volunteer community platform. We connect Malayali Muslims living in or moving to Canada with local community groups, events, and resources.

This Privacy Policy governs your use of muslimmalayali.ca and explains how MMC collects, uses, protects, and discloses your personal information. We handle personal data in accordance with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and applicable Canadian provincial privacy laws.

By visiting our website or submitting information through our forms, you accept the practices outlined in this policy.

Information we collect

We collect personal information through two channels: details you submit to us directly, and technical data our servers collect automatically.

Information you submit directly

When you submit a join request, fill out our registration or submission forms, leave a review, or contact an administrator, we may collect:

• Your full legal or preferred name
• Your WhatsApp phone number
• Your email address
• Your home district and town in Kerala
• Your immigration or residency status in Canada
• Your family situation
• Your current or planned Canadian settlement city
• The name of the community member who referred you
• Any personal details you include in message fields

We only collect what a given form asks for — not every field above applies to every form.

Information our website collects automatically

When you visit muslimmalayali.ca, our web hosting servers and analytics tools log basic technical data:

• Your Internet Protocol (IP) address
• Your browser type and version
• Your device operating system
• The specific pages you visit on our site
• The date, time, and length of your visit
• The external site address referring you to our page

We use cookies and basic browser storage to keep the site functioning properly and to measure aggregate traffic. You control cookie preferences directly through your web browser settings.

How we use your information

We process your personal details strictly for legitimate community purposes. We use your information to:

• Authenticate your request and confirm you represent a genuine individual
• Introduce you to local Malayali Muslim community leaders and city-specific groups across Canada
• Administer community events, announcements, and local group onboarding
• Run automated checks against our internal registry of flagged scam attempts
• Protect MMC community members against fraud, impersonation, bad actors, and harassment
• Maintain server health, improve website speed, and troubleshoot technical errors
• Comply with Canadian legal obligations

We do not sell, rent, lease, or monetize your personal information. We do not distribute your information to commercial advertisers.

Who accesses your information

We restrict access to your personal data. We disclose your details only to these authorized parties:

• Platform administrators: Vetted MMC central administrators inspect submissions to confirm authenticity.
• Local community leaders: When an administrator approves your join request, we forward your name, WhatsApp number, email, and settlement city to the designated volunteer coordinator for your local area. The coordinator uses this information solely to contact you and invite you into local community communication channels.
• Infrastructure service providers: We work with third-party vendors for website hosting, cloud storage, database management, and email transmission. These vendors process data under confidentiality requirements and security standards.
• Legal authorities: We disclose personal information if Canadian legislation or a valid court order compels disclosure, or if we need to protect the safety and legal rights of our community members.

Third-party messaging platforms

MMC coordinates community networking through external platforms, primarily WhatsApp, owned by Meta Platforms Inc.

You acknowledge and accept these operational conditions:

• Independent platforms: WhatsApp operates under its own legal terms and privacy policies. MMC does not own, run, or control WhatsApp or Meta servers.
• Shared contact information: When you enter an MMC WhatsApp community group, other group members see your phone number, your WhatsApp username, and your profile details. You participate in these groups at your own discretion and risk.
• External links: Our website links to outside community businesses, non-profit groups, and cultural events. We do not supervise external sites. MMC disclaims responsibility for the privacy practices or content on external websites.

Fraud prevention and PIPEDA exception

MMC takes community safety seriously. Bad actors, scammers, and impersonators target online diaspora communities. We maintain a fraud-screening process to protect our members.

Our fraud screening system:

• Record screening: We automatically check new submissions against our internal registry of flagged phone numbers and email addresses.
• Fraud flagging: When an administrator identifies a fraudulent, malicious, or abusive submission, the administrator logs the phone number, email address, applicant name, and claimed Kerala district into our fraud registry.
• PIPEDA legal authority: Section 7(3) of PIPEDA expressly permits organizations to collect, use, and retain personal information without an individual's knowledge or consent for investigating contraventions of law, breaches of agreement, or fraud prevention. We retain flagged records solely under this legal exception to stop repeat fraud attempts.
• Admin discretion: Administrators evaluate flagged records individually. Removal from the flagged registry requires an affirmative judgment call by an administrator.

Data storage and cross-border transfers

We store your personal data on secure cloud servers.

• Safeguards: We implement administrative controls, SSL encryption, and restricted database permissions to protect your information against unauthorized access, loss, theft, and unauthorized alteration.
• Cross-border transfers: Our website hosting infrastructure, cloud databases, and email service providers use servers located in Canada and the United States. Foreign laws, courts, and law enforcement agencies in the United States or other jurisdictions hold legal authority to access data stored within their borders.
• Transmission risks: Electronic storage and internet transmissions carry inherent security risks. We enforce robust safeguards, but we do not guarantee absolute protection against external security breaches or cyberattacks.

Your privacy rights and data deletion

Under Canadian privacy legislation, you hold clear rights over your personal information.

Your rights:

• Right to access: You have the right to review the personal details we hold about you.
• Right to rectify: You have the right to correct inaccurate or incomplete details in our records.
• Right to withdraw consent: You have the right to withdraw your consent to our data processing at any point, subject to legal limits.

Deletion requests and limitations:

To request deletion of your information, contact an MMC admin. We erase standard community submissions upon request, with one strict exception:

• Fraud registry exception: If an administrator flagged your contact information for fraud, impersonation, or platform abuse, we do not delete those specific records. Deleting flagged data defeats our fraud prevention safeguards. PIPEDA Section 7(3) legally permits us to retain these records without consent.

Limitation of liability

MMC operates as a volunteer community initiative. We provide our website, directory, and group coordination services on an "as is" and "as available" basis without express or implied warranties.

To the maximum extent permitted by Canadian law, you agree to these liability limitations:

• Volunteer autonomy: Local city coordinators and community leads act as independent community volunteers. They do not act as employees, partners, or legal agents of MMC. MMC disclaims all liability for the conduct, statements, omissions, or advice of any volunteer or community participant.
• Third-party platform failures: MMC disclaims liability for security breaches, outages, account suspensions, or data leaks occurring within WhatsApp, Meta platforms, email hosts, or web servers.
• Peer interactions: You interact with other community members entirely at your own risk. MMC bears zero liability for offline disputes, financial losses, personal injuries, property damage, fraud, or defamatory statements occurring between members.
• Total liability cap: MMC, its founders, operators, and volunteer administrators bear zero liability for indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages resulting from your use of muslimmalayali.ca or your participation in related community channels.

Age restriction

Our website and community programs serve individuals 14 years of age and older residing in or moving to Canada. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 14. If a child under 14 submits personal information to MMC without parental consent, contact an MMC admin immediately. We will delete the record from our active databases upon verification.

Policy updates

We update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in our community operations, technological tools, or Canadian legal standards. We post the revised document on this page alongside an updated effective date. Your continued use of muslimmalayali.ca or continued participation in MMC community groups constitutes acceptance of the modified terms.

Contact and privacy officer

MMC designates a Privacy Administrator to oversee data protection and respond to community privacy questions. Send your access requests, correction requests, or questions by contacting an MMC admin.

If MMC does not resolve your privacy concern, you have the right to file an official complaint with the federal privacy regulator: the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.