Terms of Use & Privacy Policy

Terms of Use #

These Terms of Use govern your access and use of the IMAGE Project Components, henceforth “Our Software”, which includes the IMAGE browser extension and any other IMAGE client applications or tools, IMAGE Services, and the IMAGE Website. For more information please visit the IMAGE Project website: https://image.a11y.mcgill.ca.

Changes to the Terms of Use #

We may revise and update these Terms of Use from time to time in our sole discretion. All changes are effective immediately when posted.

Your continued use of Our Software following the posting of revised Terms of Use means that you accept and agree to the changes. You are expected to check the https://image.a11y.mcgill.ca webpage so you are aware of any changes, as they are binding on you.

Indemnification #

User shall indemnify, defend and hold the developers of Our Software and McGill University, harmless from and against any and all liability, demands, damages, losses, and expenses (including attorney fees), for death, personal injury, illness, property damage, non-compliance with applicable laws and any other claim, proceeding, demand, expense and liability of any kind whatsoever in connection with or arising out of the use by or on behalf of the User of Our Software.

Privacy Policy #

We are committed to ensuring your privacy is protected. This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, process and distribute the information collected while using the IMAGE Project Components (e.g., IMAGE browser extension and IMAGE Services), henceforth “Our Software”. We will not use or share your information with anyone except as described in this Privacy Policy. Please read this Privacy Policy carefully. By using Our Software you acknowledge having read and agreed to the terms and conditions of this Privacy Policy.

Definitions #

We define “Personally Identifiable Information”, henceforth “PII” as any information, recorded in any form, about an identified individual, or an individual whose identity may be inferred or determined from the information, (e.g., name, title, business address, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail address).

We define Non Personally Identifiable Information, henceforth “NPII”, as aggregated data from which the identity of an individual cannot be determined.

Collection of Information Through Our Software #

By using Our Software, you agree that we may collect, use and disclose any information we collect about you through Our Software as described in this Policy.

Our Software automatically collects user information such as the actual graphic/web item you selected, the URL of the site the item comes from, the surrounding information from the webpage where the selected item is embedded, metadata concerning the item (e.g., image size), date and time of request, web logs including IP address, and user information as gathered in the browser extension settings.

How We Use Collected Information #

Our use of PII is limited to the purposes described in this Policy, unless we expressly tell you otherwise. We do not otherwise sell, trade, barter, exchange or disclose for consideration any PII we have obtained from you.

We may not disclose PII that we collect through Our Software or that you provide as described in this privacy policy except for core functionality as described below. However, we may disclose your personal information to comply with any court order, law, or legal process, including to respond to any government or regulatory request.

We retain the right to use NPII in any way that we determine appropriate, typically to understand usage patterns, improve Our Software, and help identify and fix problems. In addition, we may use NPII in academic publications, presentations and reports, or to secure additional funding via research grants or commercial opportunities. We may share and disclose aggregated information about our users and information that does not identify any individual, without restriction among the partners of the IMAGE Project: McGill Shared Reality Lab, Gateway Navigation CCC Ltd, the Canadian Council of the Blind (CCB), and Technologies HumanWare Inc..

Third-Party Services #

This privacy policy only applies to how Our Software deals with PII. It does not apply to any other organization or to any other organization’s websites even if you access them through Our Software. If you disclose your personal information to other organizations, your information will be dealt with according to their privacy policy.

We rely on third party services in certain cases. To function, these third-party services will come in contact with some of your data. We carefully select which third party services we use and take great care to make sure they meet our rigorous standards.

Below, we list the third-party services used by Our Software, and how they relate to your personal information:

We make use of third-party machine learning services to help interpret the graphics we receive. Only the graphic itself is sent to the Microsoft Azure Cognitive Services API, with their privacy policy here: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/support/legal/cognitive-services-compliance-and-privacy/.
Locations associated with maps sent in a request to Our Software may be sent to third parties as part of queries to determine points of interest near the locations. Currently, this information is sent to the Autour server. Autour’s privacy policy is located at: http://autour.mcgill.ca/en/privacy.html.
When we need to look up a location to determine its latitude and longitude, we may use the Google Places API. This use is subject to, and you are bound by, their Terms of Service and their Privacy Policy.
When interpreting graphics uploaded to our server, we use artificial intelligence models supplied by third parties, such as llama Large Language Models (LLMs) provided by Meta, Inc. These models run on our own server, and the data is not transmitted externally. This use is subject to their Acceptable Use Policy and License).

Limited Uses of Personal or Sensitive User Data #

As per Google’s Data Privacy and Secure Data Handling Requirements, we are limited in how we can use your PII. “Allowed use” and “allowed transfer” are both covered in other sections of these terms. We do not use any PII to “serve users personalized, re-targeted, or interest-based advertisements.” We follow the “prohibited human interaction” requirements from Google for all PII, with the limited exceptions stated at: https://developer.chrome.com/docs/webstore/user_data/#6-what-is-the-prohibited-human-interaction-element-of-the-limited-use-requirements.

Data Security #

We have implemented measures, including TLS encryption of data when sent between the IMAGE server and browser extension, and storing PII “encrypted at rest” on our server. Data transiting the internet or stored outside of our client applications in non-private locations is encrypted using industry standard algorithms. Content selected using the IMAGE browser extension may be sent not only to our server and the third-party services listed above, but also to client applications such as the Humanware Monarch Braille tablet, as well as to web-based tools we have created to edit and transfer the IMAGE experiences between various devices. Any material you manually edit or create with our software will be treated the same way. These measures are designed to secure your personal information from accidental loss and from unauthorized access, use, alteration, and disclosure. Unfortunately, the storage and transmission of information via the internet are not completely secure. Although we do our best to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee the security of your personal information transmitted to Our Software. Any transmission of personal information is at your own risk. We are not responsible for circumvention of any privacy settings or security measures contained in Our Software.

By using Our Software, you consent to the level of protection set out in this privacy policy.

Changes to this Privacy Policy #

We may amend this privacy policy at any time. If we make any material changes to this Policy or in the way we process data, we will notify you by prominently posting notice of the changes on the IMAGE Project website https://image.a11y.mcgill.ca.

Contact Information #

If you have questions about our Privacy Policy or our treatment for your PII, please contact us {image [at] cim [dot] mcgill [dot] ca}. The personal information you may provide, including your email address, will be used only to respond to your message or deliver the requested service.

This Privacy Policy was last modified on March 28, 2025.