privacy

frequently asked questions

Why does TELUS collect personal information about its customers?
How does TELUS protect my personal information?
Why does TELUS ask me to provide personal information when I am online?
Does TELUS collect cookies or web beacons when I access TELUS Web sites?
As a TELUS customer, can I place restrictions on the collection, use and distribution of my personal information?
How can I best understand how TELUS deals with the collection, use and distribution of personal information?
How is personal information defined under the federal "Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act"?
Where can I obtain more information on privacy?
How can I obtain a copy of the federal privacy legislation - the "Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act."?
Why has TELUS sent out the TELUS Privacy Commitment?

Why does TELUS collect personal information about its customers?
We collect personal information for the following reasons:

To help us establish and maintain a responsible commercial relationship with you and provide ongoing service.
To help us better understand your communications needs and preferences.
To develop, enhance, market or provide products and services that meet the needs of our customers.
To manage and develop our business and operations.
To meet legal and regulatory requirements.

How does TELUS protect my personal information?
We store all personal account information in our secure databases, which use the latest in data protection systems. Our employees follow practices and procedures developed to ensure that your personal information is protected and safeguarded.

Why does TELUS ask me to provide personal information when I am online?
Depending on which areas of our Web site you access, you may be asked for information to help personalize your Web experience. For example, if you wish to access your bill online, we need to ensure we have the proper security measures in place. We promise to protect the information you provide online in the same way we protect all our customer information.

Does TELUS collect cookies or use web beacons when I access TELUS Web sites?

Cookies

TELUS may use a cookie (small, encrypted files that web browsers use to store your unique Username for our web site) to identify you during subsequent visits. This allows us to personalize your experience and provide you with better service. Cookies tell us nothing about you personally unless you choose to provide additional information.

We use cookies to:

Accumulate and report anonymous, aggregate, statistical information on web site usage.
Deliver content specific to your interests.
Save your password so you don't have to re-enter it each time you visit our sites.
Enhance the functionality of our Shopping Cart.
Target, sequence and limit ads served on our website.

You have control over cookies. By modifying your browser preferences, you have the choice to accept all cookies, to be notified when a cookie is set, or to reject all cookies. If you reject some or all cookies, your experience at our sites and on other sites may not be complete and this may limit some of the functionality available to you on our web site.

Web Beacons

A web beacon is an object that is embedded in a web page or e-mail and is usually invisible to the user. Typically, a web beacon is a small transparent image that is embedded in a web page, or in the content of an e-mail. Whenever the user opens the page with a graphical browser or e-mail reader, the image is downloaded. These web beacons allow us to count page views and to access cookies. They do not collect, gather, monitor or share any personal information about our visitors, they simply allow us to gather anonymous information about how visitors prefer to use our site. TELUS does not use web beacons to track personally identifiable information.

Users can block web beacons by configuring their web browsers to not display images, and by configuring their email programs to not display images in email messages.

Computer Profiles

Through Web beacons and cookies, we also collect and accumulate other anonymous data that helps us understand and analyze the Internet experience of our visitors. For example, we accumulate data relating to sites that have referred visitors to us, the browsers used, operating systems (e.g., Windows XP), language settings and other related information. We also note the number of visits, paths taken, and time spent on sites and pages. None of this information is personally identifiable.

Anonymous Information

Anonymous data collected by the technology utilized on our sites belongs exclusively to TELUS and may be stored in Canada or United States, in a secure location which meets other TELUS security standards, and is administered only by TELUS or agents acting on TELUS' behalf. We do not sell our information.

As a TELUS customer, can I place restrictions on the collection, use and disclosure of my personal information?
You may refuse to provide personal information to us. You may also withdraw your consent at any time, subject to legal or contractual restrictions and reasonable notice. However, in either case, this may limit our ability to serve you.

How can I best understand how TELUS deals with the collection, use and disclosure of personal information?
Our TELUS Privacy Commitment sets out our commitment to protecting your privacy. More detailed information can be found in our TELUS Privacy Code (116K PDF download).

How is personal information defined under the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act?
Personal information is defined as any information about an identifiable individual (as distinct from a corporation or other legal entity), other than the name, title or business address or telephone number of an employee of an organization.

Where can I obtain more information on privacy?
The Privacy Commissioner of Canada Web site is an excellent source of information on privacy.

How can I obtain a copy of the federal legislation on privacy - the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act - that comes into effect on January 1, 2001?
You can obtain a copy of this federal legislation at the Privacy Commissioner of Canada Web site.

Why has TELUS sent out the TELUS Privacy Commitment?
As stated in our Privacy Commitment we want you to understand the purposes for which we collect, use and disclose personal information about our customers. And we want to be sure that we have your consent to continue to collect, use and disclose your personal information for those purposes outlined in our Privacy Commitment brochure.