Privacy Policy for Services Hilo inc.’s Website

LATEST UPDATE: May 28, 2025

PREVIOUS VERSION: May 10, 2021 (PDF) – November 13, 2019 (PDF)

What does this Privacy Policy apply to?

This Privacy Policy (the “Policy”) applies to the personal information collected, used or communicated by or on behalf of Hydro-Québec when you visit the website of our subsidiary, Services Hilo inc. (referred to below collectively as “we ” or “our” and individually as the “Subsidiary”).

The practices set out in this Policy concerning the collection, use and communication of your personal information are an integral part of the Website Terms of Use. However, they do not apply to other websites that you may use or consult, in particular through the hyperlinks on our site. The information collected or transmitted in these cases is covered by the privacy policies of the external sites. It is your responsibility to ensure that your personal information is protected.

By using the website, you agree that your personal information will be processed in accordance with the practices described in this Policy, including those set out in the document “Our Commitment to Your Privacy,” which forms part of this Policy.

You are under no obligation to agree to have your personal information collected and processed according to these practices. If you refuse, however, you might not benefit from all services offered by our Subsidiary. 

What personal information is collected?

Personal information is information concerning a natural person that allows this person to be identified.. All personal information that may be collected when you use the website is listed below. This information may be collected by our Subsidiary on our behalf and in our name for the purposes mentioned in the section “Why do we use your personal information?”

We collect the following personal information:

• Last name
• First name
• Email address
• Mailing address
• Cell phone number
• Information about your electricity account (Hydro-Québec customer, contract and invoice numbers, and Hilo account and identification numbers)
• Payment information (token)
• Browsing data

We also collect information about you through the interaction of your device (computer, tablet or phone) and our website. For more information, refer to the section “Why do we use cookies or invisible pixels?”

How is your personal information collected?

Your personal information is collected in various ways: 

• newsletter registration form
• Hilo smart home service application form
• “Contact us” form
• cookies and invisible pixels

We also collect information about your electricity account from Hydro-Québec. More specifically, in order to assess your eligibility for the Hilo smart home service, we verify the accuracy of the following information with Hydro-Québec: your account number, invoice number of your most recent electricity bill, account holder status, Hydro-Québec contract number, address, telephone number, email address and the type of heating in your home.

How do we use your personal information?

In accordance with “Our Commitment to Your Privacy,” we will only use personal information for the purposes for which it was collected. Generally, we use your personal information as follows: 

• To send you information about our offers, products and services if you have agreed to receive our newsletters
• To contact you about your order, your account and to offer you customer support when needed
• To determine your identity, customer type (individual, group, organization) and customer category (residential, business)
• For payment of your order, if applicable
• To supply products and services
• To understand your experience as a customer and ensure that it is a positive one
• To analyze your electricity consumption to conduct studies, do research or produce statistics
• For any other purpose that we may determine from time to time and that is authorized by law

The information collected is used solely for the purposes set out in this Policy.

Why do we use cookies or invisible pixels?

When you use our website, cookies and invisible pixels are placed on your device (computer, tablet or phone). They collect or store certain information while you navigate our website. Only the cookie issuer can read this file.

You can manage the cookies on your device at any time using this link: https://www.hiloenergie.com/en-ca/legal/manage-cookies/.

Your preferences will apply for up to 365 days. It is important to note that your settings apply to the browser and device you are using. Therefore, if you use another device or another browser the next time you visit the website, the cookie banner prompting you to manage your cookie settings will reappear.

Strictly necessary cookies (always active)

These cookies are required to ensure the website operates properly. They cannot be disabled in our systems. They are typically generated by an action you take, such as selecting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in a form.

They allow you to:

• Use the main functionality of the website and secure your connection (e.g., when accessing your account)
• Access areas that are restricted or contain personal information, such as your account, through usernames or data you provided in the past, and display those pages correctly
• Implement security measures (For example, we request that you log back in to a service or to content after a certain period of inactivity.)

We collect the following information:

• Your IP address
• Your browser language
• Your browser type and version
• Your operating system type and version
• Your device type and model (phone, tablet or computer)
• Your device’s screen resolution

Functionality cookies

These cookies help improve and personalize the website’s features. They may be enabled by our teams or third parties whose services are used on our web pages. If you block these cookies, some or all of these services may not operate properly.

Performance cookies

Performance cookies are used to measure and improve our website’s performance, for instance by calculating the number of visitors and determining the traffic sources. They help us assess browsing habits on the website and identify the most and least frequently visited pages.

Hydro-Québec and its service providers may also use this data to develop, improve or commercialize its products and services. These data are collected and stored by Google on servers that may be located outside of Canada. However, Hydro-Québec does not share this information with external parties, except in limited circumstances outlined in Our Commitment to Your Privacy or to allow a third party to perform tasks on behalf of Google (e.g., billing or data storage).

Hydro-Québec also uses Google Analytics to analyze how Hydro-Québec’s digital platforms are used, in order to compile statistics and improve the websites.

Cookies are used to collect the following data:

• Your IP address
• Your geographical location (from your IP address)
• Your Internet service provider
• Your browsing session date and start and end times
• The domain of the previous website you visited
• URL addresses and titles of Hydro-Québec pages you visited
• Your activities on Hydro-Québec websites (e.g., clicks and scrolling)
• The point of entry of your visit (e.g., banner, email, social media or advertiser’s website)
• Your customer type (e.g., individual, group or organization)
• Your customer category (e.g., residential or business)
• Status of your registration with our online self-service features (e.g., Online Billing or Equalized Payments Plan)
• Number of contracts associated with your account (single or multiple)
• Searches you perform with our website search tool

If you wish, you can prevent Google from collecting data on your use of Hydro-Québec websites by downloading the browser add-on to disable Google Analytics.

We also use Hotjar to better understand your experience (for example, how much time you spend on some of our web pages and which links you click on) so that we can improve our services. Hotjar pseudonymizes this data and stores it on servers that may be located outside Canada, including Ireland. To deactivate these cookies (where applicable), you can refer to this page.

Advertising cookies

These cookies may be added to our website by our advertising partners to analyze the effectiveness of our ad campaigns. They may also be used by these partners to profile your interests and target you with relevant advertising on other websites.

This practice applies solely to your navigation of our informational web pages and EXCLUDES navigation in your Customer Space.

These cookies allow us to:

• Adapt the advertising content displayed on your device based on your profile, your device’s browsing history on our site or your location data
• Provide personalized tips and offers
• Adapt our advertising to your device’s display characteristics (e.g., language, display resolution and operating system)

Cookies are used to collect the following data:

• Your IP address
• An encrypted username when you connect to your Customer Space
• An anonymized username generated by Google if you are connected to your Google account and have enabled the option to personalize advertising
• Your browsing session date and start and end times
• Your browser language
• Your region or municipality, determined through your IP address
• Your browser type and version
• Your operating system type and version
• Your device type and model (phone, tablet or computer)
• The domain of the previous website you visited
• The address of the Hydro-Québec web pages you visited
• Your activity (e.g., clicking, scrolling) on Hydro-Québec websites
• The point of entry of your visit (e.g., banner, email, social media, print publication, advertiser’s website)
• Your customer type (e.g., individual, group or organization)
• Your customer category (e.g., residential or business) 
• Status of your registration with our online self-service features (e.g., Online Billing, Equalized Payments Plan)
• Your account type (single or multiple contracts)
• Your device’s screen resolution

Do we communicate your personal information?

The personal information collected by our Subsidiary is accessible by Hydro-Québec employees, service providers and suppliers within the scope of their duties. Your personal information will not be shared or marketed without your prior consent, except if required for the application of a law or a court order, or to allow the provision of services by our suppliers or service providers who undertake to comply with requirements concerning confidentiality and the protection of personal information.

For more information on our privacy practices, please read Our Commitment to Your Privacy.

How long do we keep your personal information?

Your information is kept as long as necessary for the purposes of this Policy and to enable us to meet our legal and regulatory obligations. After this time, the personal information we have is destroyed in accordance with our retention schedule and subject to applicable legislation.

For more information on our practices concerning the retention of personal information, please read Our Commitment to Your Privacy.

Will your personal information be sent outside Québec?

Personal information we collect is stored in secure systems hosted on servers that may be located outside Québec, specifically elsewhere in Canada or in the United States. In this case, we may require that our suppliers enter into agreements to safeguard your confidentiality and personal information in order to guarantee an appropriate level of protection.

How do we protect the confidentiality of your personal information?

All personal information we collect is kept confidential in accordance with the laws in force concerning privacy matters and the protection of personal information in the jurisdictions in which we do business. We take reasonable administrative, technical and physical measures to protect your personal information from loss and theft as well as from unauthorized access, use, modifications and destruction.

For more information about our practices concerning the security of your personal information, please read Our Commitment to Your Privacy.

Use of email 

Hilo may contact you by email. However, no personal information or confidential data will be collected or transmitted using this method of communication, which is not completely secure. We also request that you not transmit your personal information to us by email.

How can I exercise my rights?

You have the right to access your personal information. Only you may exercise this right, unless you consent to your personal information being disclosed to a third party.

In addition, if you believe that we have inaccurate, incomplete or ambiguous personal information about you, or if you believe that we have collected, used, disclosed or retained it in contravention of the Act respecting Access to documents held by public bodies and the Protection of personal information, you have the right to request that the information be corrected or that its unlawful collection, use, disclosure or retention cease.

You are also have the right to portability of your personal information, to request that your email address be removed from our newsletter mailing list or to withdraw your consent to the communication or use of your personal information, as applicable.

However, there are certain grounds in the Act that limit the exercise of those rights. We will inform you of these as needed.

If you send us a request to that effect, we could require that you identify yourself and provide us with proof of identity to ensure that the request actually comes from you.

You may exercise your rights at any time by contacting one of Hydro-Québec’s access to information and privacy officers in writing, as indicated in the “Contact us” section.

How to submit a complaint concerning the protection of personal information

You have the right to submit a complaint if you believe your personal information is being managed in a way that contravenes this Policy or “Our Commitment to Your Privacy.” 

To do this, you must submit your complaint in writing to one of Hydro-Québec’s access to information and privacy officers, as indicated in the “Contact us” section.

We will diligently process your complaint once we receive all information required to examine it. You will receive a written response after your complaint has been examined.

Policy update

This Policy may be amended from time to time, including following the publication of a notice of amendment. The is the date of the last amendment. You should therefore review the notice of amendment to this Policy to be aware of the changes in its most recent version.

By continuing to use our website after a period of fifteen (15) days following the publication of the notice of amendment of the Policy or after the period specified in the notice, you agree to the changes made to the Policy.

Contact us

Questions about the protection of your personal information

If you have any questions about this Policy or if you wish to update your personal information, exercise your rights or submit a complaint concerning the management of your personal information, you can contact one of Hydro-Québec’s access to information and privacy officers: