Privacy Policy

Last updated: 26 September 2026

Maple Linux is a Debian-based desktop Linux distribution built and maintained in Canada by Maple Open Tech (“we”, “us”), the partnership between SSP Media and Mika Software. This policy explains what personal information maplelinux.ca collects, why, how long we keep it, and what you can require us to do with it.

It is written to meet the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), Quebec’s Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector as amended by Law 25 (tabled as Bill 64), and Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) for the newsletter.

The distribution itself takes the same position this policy does: no telemetry, no phoning home, no ads. Maple Linux does not report anything to us once it is installed.

Who is responsible

Law 25 requires that one person be accountable for the protection of personal information, and that their title and contact details be published. For Maple Open Tech that is:

Person in charge of the protection of personal information: Rodolfo Martinez, Principal
Contact: hello@mapleopentech.ca
Post: Maple Open Tech, Southwold, Ontario, Canada

Write to that address for any request or complaint described below. We answer within 30 days, which is the deadline both statutes set.

What we collect

When you visit this site. Our web server records the request: the page asked for, the time, the browser and operating system, the referring page, and the IP address. This is ordinary server logging, and we cannot switch it off without losing the ability to detect abuse.

When you download Maple Linux. The ISO is served from object storage in Montreal, Canada, and that server logs the request in the same way. The checksum, signature, torrent and public key are served from this site. We do not ask who you are, and there is no registration, no account and no licence key.

When you subscribe to the newsletter. Your name and email address, when you signed up, and when you confirmed. The signup form and the list are run by Mailjet, our newsletter provider, which keeps that record for us. CASL requires us to be able to prove what you agreed to, so it is kept.

When you email us. Whatever you send, and our replies.

We do not collect payment details on this website, we do not buy personal information from anyone, and we do not ask you to create an account.

Cookies, tracking and profiling

This site sets no cookies at all. It runs no analytics, no advertising and no tracking pixels, and every other page loads nothing from a third party: no fonts, no scripts, no embedded players.

The one exception is the newsletter page. Its signup form is served by Mailjet, so opening that page makes your browser fetch the form from Mailjet before you type anything, and Mailjet receives your IP address and browser details the way any web server does. The form sets no cookies.

Because there is nothing to consent to, there is no cookie banner. Law 25 requires that any technology which identifies, locates or profiles a person be deactivated by default; we do not use any.

Automated decision-making

We do not use personal information to make any decision about you by automated means, and we do not profile visitors.

Why we collect it

To answer your message.
To send you the newsletter, if you asked for it.
To keep this website and our download servers working, and to detect and prevent abuse of them.
To meet legal and accounting obligations.

We do not use personal information for any purpose other than the one it was collected for, unless you consent or the law requires it.

Who else sees it

We share personal information only with service providers who need it to deliver something on our behalf, and only under contract. Where a provider operates outside Quebec or outside Canada, Law 25 requires us to assess the privacy protection the destination affords before transferring anything, and we do.

Provider	Purpose	Where
Our servers, and object storage in Montreal	Serving this site and the ISO	Canada
Mailjet	Serving the signup form, holding the subscriber list, and sending the confirmation and the newsletter	Outside Canada

So you should know: if you subscribe, your name and email address are held by Mailjet, outside Canada. Writing to us directly instead keeps them within our own mail.

We do not sell personal information. We have never received a government or law enforcement demand for it; were we to receive one, we would disclose only what the law compelled and would notify you unless prohibited from doing so.

How long we keep it

Server logs: 90 days, then deleted.
A subscription you never confirmed: never added to the list, and sent nothing after the one confirmation email. An unconfirmed signup is somebody who did not consent, and it may not even have been you who typed it.
Your newsletter subscription: until you unsubscribe.
The CASL consent record: kept for as long as the list exists, because its whole purpose is to prove what you agreed to and when.
Correspondence by email: for as long as the matter is open, then two years.

Nothing is added to the newsletter until you click the link in a confirmation email — double opt-in. If you did not ask for it, ignoring that email is enough.

Every newsletter carries a working unsubscribe link, which takes effect at once. You can also write to hello@mapleopentech.ca and we will do it for you.

How we protect it

Access is limited to the people who need it. Data is encrypted in transit and at rest.

We keep an internal register of confidentiality incidents, as Law 25 requires. If an incident presents a risk of serious injury we notify the affected people and, where Quebec residents are involved, the Commission d’accès à l’information, without delay.

Your rights

You may ask us to:

Tell you what personal information we hold about you, and why.
Correct anything inaccurate, incomplete or ambiguous.
Delete information we no longer have a reason to keep.
Withdraw consent you have given, at any time.
Give you a copy in a structured, commonly used technology format, or send it directly to another organisation — the portability right that took effect in Quebec in September 2024.
Stop disseminating information about you, or de-index it, where its distribution contravenes the law or a court order.

There is no charge, and we will not ask you why. If we refuse a request we will say so in writing, explain the reason and the provision we are relying on, and tell you how to challenge it.

If you are not satisfied

Write to the person named above first. If our answer does not satisfy you, you may complain to:

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada — priv.gc.ca (opens in a new tab)
The Commission d’accès à l’information du Québec, if you are in Quebec — cai.gouv.qc.ca (opens in a new tab)
The Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta or British Columbia, if you are in one of those provinces and the matter falls under their provincial legislation.

Children

This site is not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 14 — the age below which Law 25 requires a parent’s consent. If you believe we have, write to us and we will delete it.

Changes to this policy

We will post any change here and update the date at the top. Where a change materially affects how we handle information already collected, we will ask for your consent again rather than rely on the old one.