PeerOnCall Support is a tool for peer supporters to connect with PeerOnCall for PSP users from the public safety community. Trained peer support providers in participating organizations can use the app to create their profiles, indicate their availability, and track their peer support encounters. The app enables private, secure connections with PeerOnCall for PSP users who reach out for peer support via text or phone. The app is owned and operated by McMaster University (“McMaster”, “we”, “us”, or “our”).
This privacy statement describes how your information is collected, used and disclosed when using the app.
Accountability for Personal Information
As a public body in Ontario, McMaster has implemented a privacy program for the protection of personal information that includes policies and procedures to address the following: limiting collection, use and disclosure of personal information to the minimum necessary amount; limiting access to personal information to employees who require access for their role; privacy breach response and mitigation; data retention and secure destruction of personal information; and a process for responding to privacy-related complaints and inquiries. McMaster President’s Office has appointed a Privacy Officer, Andrea Thyret-Kidd, as the person responsible for oversight of our privacy program, in compliance with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA). All employees are responsible for compliance with our privacy policies and procedures and are required to protect personal information throughout its lifecycle. Employees undergo mandatory privacy training and may be subject to disciplinary action for non-compliance with privacy policies and procedures. Inquiries related to privacy can be directed to privacy@mcmaster.ca.
Information we collect
PeerOnCall Support is designed to maintain your anonymity to the extent possible minimizing the amount of information that we process. Behavioural activity within the PeerOnCall Support app is collected to support app functionality, improve user experience, and ensure system performance and reliability. We collect the following information when you use the app:
We may also ask you to provide us with the following information. This information is optional and is used solely to support matching between support seekers and a peer supporter of their choice.
The following information is mandatory if you register as a Peer Support provider in the App:
A mobile device with calling capability is required if you wish to connect to the peer seeker support by phone. Your number is masked using a third party provider (Twilio). Twilio’s conferencing service masks participants’ personal phone numbers by routing calls through temporary Twilio-managed phone numbers, preventing participants from seeing each other’s direct contact information.
How we use your information
We use your information to:
We also use and share certain information to evaluate how the app is used, consisting only of non-identifiable statistical information about app usage. Any information shared with a third-party researcher for these purposes cannot be used to identify you.
Storage and Retention of Information
Your information is stored in a data centre hosted by Amazon Web Services in the central region (Montreal) in Canada with physical (restricted access, surveillance, and 24/7 monitoring), administrative (role-based, least-privilege access with approvals and regular reviews), and technical (multi-factor authentication, continuous logging and monitoring, and secure infrastructure operations) safeguards in place, with further details available here: https://aws.amazon.com/trust-center/data-center/our-controls/. Text messages exchanged with the peer support seekers will be deleted every 30 days and cannot be retrieved on either your personal device or the server.
Disclosure of Information
Your personal information may be disclosed in following circumstances:
Your rights to access and delete your information
Most of the personal information that you provide when using the app can be accessed through the app. You can stop all collection of your personal information by uninstalling the App. To delete your account, select ‘Request to Delete My Data’ found in the app under ‘Account’.
Contact Us
If you have any questions about this privacy statement or our personal information handling practices, please contact us at oncall@mcmaster.ca.