Balance^® Privacy Statement

What is Balance^®?

Balance^® is a health management program providing lifestyle, fitness and wellness information. Balance^® is operated by us or by third-party licensors, under a contract with us.

Balance^® is designed to collect personal information directly from you. The information you provide through Balance^® does not impact your Alberta Blue Cross^® coverage. Your use of Balance^® is voluntary, even if you have access to it through your benefit plan.

When we collect and use personal information:

• When you use Balance^® trackers or take part in Balance^® challenges, you provide information to track your progress.
• We may use your personal information without your knowledge or consent to comply with, or when permitted by, applicable law or regulation.
• In addition, we may use your personal information to improve the site and develop and improve our services for you.
• We will get your permission before using your personal information for new or unrelated purposes.

When you first access Balance^®, we collect the following information to create your profile, personalize your experience, communicate with you and respond to questions:

• Name;
• Date of birth;
• Gender;
• Address;
• Postal code;
• Email address; and
• Username and password.

If you have Balance^® as part of your Alberta Blue Cross^® benefits, the personal information listed above will be shared from your plan to Balance^®, so you don’t have to re-enter information.

When you complete the health risk assessment (the “HRA”) in Balance^®, Balance^® creates an action plan for you. The personal information collected in the HRA includes

• fitness and wellness information;
• activity level;
• dietary concerns;
• fitness goals;
• stress levels;
• environmental factors;
• height and weight;
• sleep activity; and
• other bodily-process information.

When you choose to connect your fitness tracker to Balance^®, the information collected will help you track your activity.

You can revoke the permissions for your fitness tracker at any time in the device’s account settings.

When you communicate with us or sign up for reminders, we will use your email address to send you notifications.

You can change the type of emails you receive from Balance^® with the user preferences under “Manage my email subscriptions”.

When you choose to connect to social media services, you can share badges you earn in Balance^®.

Your use of social networks is subject to the terms and conditions and any policies you agreed to with them.

When we share your personal information for Balance^®:

We share your personal information with third parties in limited circumstances:

• For health reward redemption, only the information needed to send you the reward will be shared, for example, your mailing address or email address.
• To third party service providers who require information to assist us in managing Balance^®.
• We may also share your personal information for the following purposes where required or permitted by applicable law.
• To abide by legal obligations or valid legal and regulatory requirements;
• During emergency situations or where necessary to protect the safety of others;
• If a business transfer or change in ownership occurs; or
• For additional purposes with your consent where your consent is required by law.

How you can withdraw your consent:

You may withdraw your consent to participate in certain aspects of Balance^® by:

• controlling your communication preferences;
• managing cookie preferences; and
• removing access on your fitness tracker.

How you access and correct errors in Balance^®:

• As Balance^® is a user driven website with the information coming from you, you can access your information by accessing the site. You can correct errors entered by you within the site to ensure it remains up-to-date and accurate.
• If the errors relate to your name or coverage number, please contact the Alberta Blue Cross^® office to correct the errors by phone, the member site or in person.

You have the legal right to withdraw your consent to the collection, use and sharing of your personal information under the Balance^® program at any time. By withdrawing your consent, you may no longer be able to use certain services, earn points or redeem rewards.

If you would like to fully withdraw your consent, please contact our privacy office.

How long we keep your personal information:

• We keep your information for as long as it is needed to:
• manage the services we provide to you in Balance^®;
• fulfil any reporting or accounting requirements; and
• comply with legal and regulatory requirements.
• We destroy your information in a secure way, when it is no longer needed for the reasons identified or where it is no longer reasonably required for legal or business purposes.
• We will remove personal identifiers on all personal information associated with terminated Balance^® accounts where it is no longer reasonably required for legal or business purposes. Examples of personal identifiers removed are your name, address and email address.