On this page
- Who we are
- What information we collect
- How we use your information, and why
- Messaging us on WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger & Instagram
- Who we share information with
- How long we keep information
- How to request deletion of your data
- Your rights
- How we protect your information
- Cookies & website analytics
- Children's privacy
- Changes to this policy
- How to contact us
1.Who we are
Body First Wellness Centre (“Body First”, “we”, “us”) is a multidisciplinary health clinic operating in Ontario, Canada, providing registered massage therapy, physiotherapy, chiropractic care, acupuncture and related services from two locations:
- North York — 2040 Sheppard Ave E, Unit A201, North York, ON M2J 5B3
- Scarborough — 4865 Sheppard Ave East, Unit 3, Toronto, ON M1S 3V8
As a health information custodian in Ontario, we handle personal health information in accordance with the Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004 (PHIPA), and other personal information in accordance with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). This policy covers our website, our online booking, our advertising, and the messaging channels we use to talk with you — including WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, SMS and phone.
2.What information we collect
Information you give us directly
- Contact details — your name, phone number and email address when you book an appointment, call us, or message us.
- Messages — the content of conversations you have with our team on WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, SMS, email, or by phone, including any attachments you choose to send.
- Booking information — appointment dates, the service and practitioner you book with, and scheduling preferences, managed through our booking system.
- Health information — clinical information you provide to your practitioner as part of your care. Clinical records are kept in your patient chart and are governed by PHIPA and our practitioners' regulatory colleges; our messaging channels are used for scheduling and general enquiries, not for detailed clinical care.
Information we receive from the platforms you contact us on
- From Meta (Facebook Messenger & Instagram) — when you message our Page or reply to one of our ads, Meta's APIs provide us with your public profile name, your profile picture, your message content, and, where applicable, a reference to the ad or post your conversation started from.
- From WhatsApp — your phone number, your WhatsApp display name, and the messages you send us.
- Call information — if you phone our clinic line, we receive your phone number and call details; calls may be recorded for quality and accuracy of bookings, and you will be informed where recording applies.
Information collected automatically
- Website usage data — pages visited, approximate location, device and browser type, collected through cookies and analytics tools when you use bodyfirstwc.com (see section 10).
- Advertising interactions — whether you arrived from one of our ads, so we can understand which of our services people are interested in.
3.How we use your information, and why
We collect and process the information above for these purposes:
- To respond to you — answering your questions and enquiries on whichever channel you contacted us.
- To book and manage appointments — scheduling, confirmations, reminders and follow-ups about your visits, sent by WhatsApp, SMS, email or phone.
- To provide your care — sharing relevant scheduling information with the practitioner you are booked with.
- To run our clinic well — training our front desk team, reviewing the quality and accuracy of bookings, and keeping an internal record of who handled a conversation.
- To improve our advertising — understanding, in aggregate, which services and campaigns people respond to. We do not sell your information to advertisers.
- To meet our legal obligations — including record-keeping requirements that apply to regulated health professionals in Ontario.
4.Messaging us on WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger & Instagram
We use a secure team inbox so that our front desk can reply to your WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram messages promptly during clinic hours. When you message us:
- Your messages are delivered to us by the platform you used (Meta Platforms, Inc. for Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp) and by our messaging provider (Twilio Inc. for WhatsApp), under their own privacy policies, then stored securely in our system so our team can respond and keep context for your bookings.
- Messaging platforms are convenient, but no chat platform is a medical record. Please keep detailed health information for your appointment or a phone call — we use these channels for scheduling, reminders and general questions.
- Appointment reminders and confirmations are sent using message templates approved by the platform. You can opt out of reminders at any time by telling us in the chat or contacting the clinic.
6.How long we keep information
- Clinical records are retained for the minimum periods required of Ontario's regulated health professionals (generally at least 10 years from your last visit, or from age 18 for minors).
- Messages and booking communications are retained while you remain a patient or enquirer and for as long as needed for the purposes above, after which they are deleted or anonymised.
- Website analytics are retained on the schedules of the analytics tools we use, in aggregate form.
7.How to request deletion of your data
You can ask us to delete the personal information we hold about you — including conversations you have had with us on WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger or Instagram — at any time:
Email us at info@bodyfirstwc.com with the subject line “Data deletion request”, or call either clinic location, or ask at the front desk. Tell us the name and phone number or email you contacted us with, so we can find your information.
We will confirm your request, act on it within 30 days, and let you know when it is done. Please note one legal limit: where information forms part of a clinical health record, Ontario law requires us to retain it for the mandated retention period — in that case we will delete everything we lawfully can (such as messaging history) and tell you what must be retained and until when.
8.Your rights
Under PHIPA and PIPEDA you have the right to:
- Access the personal information and personal health information we hold about you;
- Correct information that is inaccurate or incomplete;
- Withdraw consent to communications like appointment reminders, at any time;
- Request deletion as described in section 7;
- Complain — first to us (we would genuinely like the chance to fix it), and also to the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (for health information) or the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.
9.How we protect your information
- Conversations and records are held in access-controlled systems: every staff member signs in with an individual account protected by two-step verification, and access is limited by role.
- Data is encrypted in transit, and our messaging channels (including WhatsApp) use the transport security of their platforms.
- Staff actions in our messaging system are logged, so access to your information is accountable.
- We keep the personal information in our messaging tools to the minimum needed — detailed clinical information belongs in your patient chart, not in a chat thread.
11.Children's privacy
Our services are booked by adults. Where we treat minors, we collect their information from and with the consent of a parent or guardian, and it is protected in the same way as any other patient information.
12.Changes to this policy
When our practices change, we will update this page and the “Last updated” date at the top. Significant changes will be highlighted on this page. This policy is always available at this address, publicly and without restriction.
13.How to contact us
For any question about this policy or how your information is handled — including access, correction or deletion requests — contact our privacy contact:
Body First Wellness Centre — Privacy
North York, ON M2J 5B3
Toronto, ON M1S 3V8