Connect MS Mobile App

Welcome to Connect MS! This mobile app was developed by Curatio Networks. An important feature of this app is the way in which we protect your personal information. This notice explains what happens to your personal information when you use Connect MS. If you have any questions, please contact Curatio’s Privacy Officer at privacy@curatio.me

1. Who makes Connect MS? 

Curatio makes and delivers Connect MS and supports users. 

Curatio Networks Inc.
1200 – 555 West Hastings Street
Vancouver, B.C.
V6B 1M1

Toll free 1-855-888-2031
International +1 778 985 7907

info@curatio.me 

Curatio Privacy Officer
Toll free 1-855-888-2031
International +1 778 985 7907

privacy@curatio.me

2. What kind of personal information does Connect MS collect?

Curatio knows who you are from the personal information you enter when you sign up and use Connect MS. 

Required:

• Account information - display name, email address

• Basic information - gender, age range, location (country, state/region)

Optional:

• Health condition

• GPS location 

• User story

• Interests

• Other conditions

• Height, weight

• Medications

• Allergies

• Wellness information - Stress, mood, pain, exercise activities, smoking activities, sleep 

• User activity - posts, comments, likes, survey participation, behavioural activity from use of the app
  

3. Do I have to provide my consent for Connect MS to use my personal information?

Yes, Curatio only collects, uses, and discloses your personal information when you give your consent (say it’s okay) and sign up for Connect MS. Curatio does not share personal information about users in Connect MS without the explicit consent of users.

4. What do we do with your personal information?

Curatio uses your personal information to:

• create your Connect MS account;

• match you with other users; 

• let you communicate with other users;

• let you track your mood, sleep, pain, and exercise activities over time;

• connect you with health providers (“Supporters”);

• create anonymous data about you and what you do in the Connect MS app;

• contact you with updates and information about Connect MS; 

• understand how you use Connect MS so we can improve it; 

• help you when you need it; and

• reply when you have questions or want to tell us something you like or don’t like about Connect MS.  

If you are part of a community involved in research activities and/or other projects to provide feedback about the community and the app, with your consent we also collect and share your personal information with researchers. Either you will know the researchers because they have invited you to join the app or we will identify the researchers when you join the community.

Curatio uses  information about you and what you do in your Connect MS community to create data that does not identify you or link to your personal information. This anonymous data is used to understand the needs of Connect MS communities and Curatio shares it with third parties. 

We do not sell your personal information.

5. How do Connect MS community members differ?

Some community members are involved in research activities and/or other projects to provide feedback about the community and the app. Prior to joining, these members consent to participate in projects with Curatio and researchers. Once these members provide consent to participate and are accepted into research and other projects, they are invited to join a Connect MS community. In some communities, researchers are also active and participating in the app along with members. 

While individuals who are participating in research activities and/or other projects will have their personal information and activity in the app shared with researchers, yours will not be shared with researchers if you did not provide consent to participate in a research study or project. 

If you are participating in research activities and/or other projects, please contact the researcher directly to learn more about how they handle your personal information, including how long they will keep your personal information and where it is stored. 

Curatio will anonymize data collected for evaluation purposes (surveys, interviews) so that it is not connected to members’ personal information. The anonymized data will be used for data analyses and evaluations to inform future programming.

6. Who can see your personal information? 

Only certain technical Curatio employees will be able to see your personal information. They will see it only if they need to support you or if their work on Connect MS requires them to see it. 

You decide which personal information other users can see. You can go to the “settings” tab on the app and choose to show your basic information, basic health information, story and interests to other users. You can also choose to share your Wellness information or keep it private. 

When you post something to Connect MS, you can choose to share it with the whole community, your circle, just one or two friends, or you can keep it private. 

Other users cannot see your Medications or Health passport information.

Curatio adds a Community Coach and/or Community Manager plus a Health Concierge to your circle when you set up your account. These Curatio staff members are there to support you. They can send private messages to the entire circle and can remove posts that are not appropriate or allowed in the Connect MS community. They will have access to personal information you share on the app and personal information, including personal health information, on your profile. 

If you are using Supporters or Services, they will be able to see your personal information. See 7 below for more information about Supporters and Services.

Curatio uses other companies to help deliver Connect MS to you. These other companies can see your personal information. They are only allowed to use your personal information to deliver Connect MS.

Curatio may make your personal information known to third parties if:

• the law says Curatio has to reveal it; 

• we believe it is necessary to protect your safety, the safety of other users, or the public; or

• we need to complete an investigation or legal proceeding.
  

7. Who are Supporters and Services in the app?

Curatio enables users to sign up for one-on-one and group sessions with in-app Supporters (health providers). When you sign up for a session, you will be providing your personal information to the Supporter. If you would like more information about the Supporter’s privacy practices, please contact them directly outside of the app. 

Curatio also provides access to third party Services in the app. When you sign up for Services, you will be taken from Connect MS to a third party website which Curatio does not own or control.

Curatio’s privacy notice does not cover the privacy practices of third parties like Supporters and Services. You will be subject to the terms of use and privacy policies of these third parties. You are responsible for reviewing and agreeing to them. If you do not agree with Supporters’ or Services’ terms of use or privacy policies, you should not use their services.

Supporters and Services will know that you have contacted them through Connect MS but Curatio does not share personal information from the app with Supporters and Services without your consent.

Supporters and Services will provide information about how your personal information will be shared with Curatio and ask you for your consent before sharing your personal  information with Curatio.

If a Supporter or Service has been added to your Circle, you can remove them the same as you would any other friend match.

Supporters and Services may be located in countries other than Canada, so subject to different privacy laws than Curatio. If you would like more information about their privacy practices, please contact them directly outside of the app. 

8. How long do we keep your personal information? 

Curatio will keep your personal information while you are using Connect MS. If you don’t use Connect MS for five years, Curatio will remove your account and personal information from Connect MS.

You can go into settings to cancel your account and ask Curatio to remove your personal information from Connect MS. Curatio removes your personal information by erasing it from the active database. It will take 60 days for Curatio to do this. 

Curatio regularly makes copies of Connect MS for safe keeping. Curatio keeps these copies in a safe place for five years. It will take five years from the time your personal information is removed from Connect MS for Curatio to remove personal information from the copies. 

9. How do we protect your personal information?

Curatio follows privacy law in Canada, where Curatio is located, and other applicable privacy and information protection laws. We use technical and organizational ways to protect your personal information. Curatio:

• Puts your personal information into code (“encrypts it”) when moving and storing it. 

• Removes your personal information if there is no need to have your personal information. 

• Makes sure that only employees who need to see your personal information to do their jobs can see your personal information. 

• Makes companies that help us deliver Connect MS promise to protect your personal information. These companies may use personal information only under Curatio’s instructions to deliver Connect MS.
  

10. What rights do you have to your personal information? 

You have the right to see and edit your personal information and you can do this in the Connect MS settings tab. You can also request a copy of your personal information there. 

You also have the right to withdraw your consent for Curatio to keep using your information. You can do this by cancelling your account and asking Curatio to remove your personal information from Connect MS.

If you have questions about your rights and how to use them, please contact Curatio’s Privacy Officer.  

11. Are computers used to make decisions based on your personal information? 

Yes, when you sign up for Connect MS we get your consent for Curatio’s computers to use a set of rules to look at your personal information and match you to other users of Connect MS. Connect MS then suggests these friends to you in the app. You decide if you want to invite a suggested friend into your circle. 

Connect MS also suggests you as a friend to other users. The other users might send you an invite. You decide if you want to accept an invite into another user’s circle.

You decide how much personal information to give to Connect MS. When you provide more information, your friend suggestions will be better matches for you and more likely to accept you into their circles. Remember, you can always update your profile with more information when you are ready.

Curatio also uses a set of rules to identify profanity and inappropriate language in community posts and messages.

12. Is Connect MS for children? 

By design, Connect MS does not knowingly collect personal information from users who are under eighteen (18) years of age. In the event we find out that personal information has been collected from individuals under 18, we will take immediate steps to remove it from our databases.

13. Is your personal information moved to a country other than your own? 

Curatio uses service providers located in Canada and countries other than Canada, including the United States, to deliver Connect MS. These other countries may have different privacy laws than Canada and your personal information may not be protected in the same way as it is under Canadian privacy law.

Your Community Manager/Coach will be in Canada.  

Curatio employees who can see your personal information are in Canada.  

If you want more information about where Curatio’s service providers are located, please contact our Privacy Officer at privacy@curatio.me  

14. Where can you go to complain about how Connect MS treats your personal information?

You have the right to ask us about our privacy practices and complain if you are unhappy. Please tell Curatio’s Privacy Officer if you are worried about Connect MS and your personal information. 

If telling Curatio’s Privacy Officer doesn’t help, you can tell the Canadian Privacy Commissioner:

Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada