The Waiting Room

    Privacy Policy

    Last updated: July 6, 2026

    This page is maintained by The Waiting Room Online Therapy to answer common privacy questions about WaitingRoom.ca. It describes our current practices and is not a legal agreement or certification. For clinical records, your therapist's professional privacy notice also applies and takes precedence for records they hold as a health-information custodian under Ontario's Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA).

    1. Who we are

    The Waiting Room Online Therapy ("we", "us", "The Waiting Room") is an online psychotherapy practice based in Ontario, Canada. We operate the website waitingroom.ca (also thewaitingroom.ca) and the client portal used to book and attend sessions. You can reach us at info@thewaitingroom.ca or 647-325-3136.

    2. Information we collect

    • Information you give us — name, email, phone, and messages you send through our contact form, chatbot, or booking flow.
    • Booking and clinical information — appointment details, intake forms, session notes, and payment information collected through our practice management platform (Jane App).
    • Usage information — pages viewed, links clicked, device and browser type, and approximate location derived from your IP address, collected through Google Analytics and Google Ads tags.

    3. How we use it

    • To respond to enquiries and match you with a therapist.
    • To schedule, deliver, and follow up on therapy sessions.
    • To process payments and issue insurance receipts.
    • To improve our website, understand which pages help clients, and measure ad performance.
    • To meet our professional, legal, and regulatory obligations.

    4. Clinical records and PHIPA

    Session notes and other personal health information are held by your treating therapist as a health-information custodian under PHIPA. They are stored in Jane App, a Canadian-hosted, PHIPA-aware practice management platform. Access is limited to your therapist and, where necessary, their clinical supervisor.

    5. Service providers we share with

    • Jane App — booking, intake, video sessions, payments, receipts.
    • Google Analytics & Google Ads — website analytics and ad measurement.
    • Email & hosting providers — to send transactional emails and serve this website.

    We do not sell your personal information. We share it only with providers who need it to deliver the services above, or where required by law.

    6. Cookies and analytics

    We use cookies and similar technologies to keep the site working and to measure how it is used. You can control cookies in your browser settings. Blocking analytics cookies will not affect your ability to book or attend sessions.

    7. How long we keep it

    Clinical records are retained for the period required by the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO) — currently at least 10 years after your last contact, or 10 years after a minor client turns 18. Website analytics data is retained on a rolling basis per Google's default retention settings.

    8. Your rights

    You can ask us to access, correct, or provide a copy of the personal information we hold about you, withdraw consent for non-essential processing, or raise a concern about how we handle your information. Email info@thewaitingroom.ca and we will respond within 30 days. You may also contact the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario at ipc.on.ca.

    9. Security

    We use encryption in transit (HTTPS), access controls, and vetted service providers. No online service can be guaranteed 100% secure — if you become aware of a security issue, please contact us right away.

    10. Changes to this policy

    We may update this policy from time to time. When we do, we will change the "Last updated" date above and, where appropriate, notify you by email.