LCBO Customer Privacy Notice

OVERVIEW

The LCBO is committed to protecting the privacy of its customers and the confidentiality of their personal information.

This Customer Privacy Notice describes some of the ways in which the LCBO collects your personal information, and how it uses, shares, retains, and manages the personal information that it collects. It also describes how the LCBO protects the personal information it collects from you, as a customer. Although this Notice cannot describe every situation in which the LCBO collects personal information, customers are informed about the purposes for the collection of personal information in Notices of Collection at the time of collection, other than as permitted or required by law.

CONTENTS

• "Personal information" definition
• The LCBO's statutory authority for collecting personal information
• How the LCBO collects, uses, and shares personal information
  • Shopping at the LCBO
    • Product purchase
    • Online Fraud Protection
    • Loyalty
      
    • Product return
    • Video cameras
  • Email and other communications
  • Online registration
  • Contests, competitions, co-branded participation, and promotions
  • Market research
  • Customer service
  • Call recording
  • Social Media
  • Third parties acting on LCBO's behalf
  • Data aggregation
  • Cookies and tracking technology
• Third party links
• How we secure and protect your information 
• Accuracy and retention of personal information
• Changes
• Contacting us

 

“PERSONAL INFORMATION” DEFINITION

The term “personal information” refers to recorded information about an identifiable individual. Generally, personal information is any information that is or can be about an identifiable individual, excluding information related to their professional, business, or official capacity. Examples of personal information may include your name, address, gender, date of birth, email address, telephone number, credit/debit card information, purchase history, personal opinions, and social media usernames. Personal information may also include information about your personal device(s), such as your Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, browser information, and/or browsing data, such as LCBO Website pages that you have visited.

THE LCBO’S STATUTORY AUTHORITY FOR COLLECTING PERSONAL INFORMATION

Personal information collected on LCBO Websites (including but not limited to lcbo.com, vintagesshoponline.com, hellolcbo.com, and foodanddrink.com), LCBO mobile applications, or when you purchase or return products, visit LCBO premises, or interact with LCBO personnel, is collected under the authority of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario Act, 2019, SO 2019, c 15, Sch 21, s 3.

HOW THE LCBO COLLECTS, USES, AND SHARES PERSONAL INFORMATION

The LCBO, and its service providers (third parties engaged to support our business operations), may collect personal information from customers or visitors through various channels, including in person, by telephone, email, mail, or electronically when using LCBO Websites, LCBO mobile applications, contacting LCBO Customer Care, or using our own or a third party’s technologies.

The LCBO, and service providers acting on behalf of the LCBO, use your personal information, including your activity and use of LCBO Websites or mobile applications for various purposes, including to:

The LCBO may share personal information with its service providers as permitted by law, with your consent, or with other third parties as permitted or required by law.

Some examples of situations where we may collect and use your personal information are set out below.

SHOPPING AT THE LCBO

Product Purchase

You are not required to provide any personal information when you purchase products in person at our stores. Although you may be asked to show your valid, government-issued photo identification to verify your age when making a purchase, this information is not recorded.

You may be required to provide personal information when you order products from the LCBO including, for example, when products are ordered online, through our catalogues, or through our Specialty Services Department. In these situations, we collect personal information to process the transactions, verify your identification, and to protect against errors or fraud.

If you choose to pay by credit card or with a debit card, information related to your credit card or debit card and your signature may be required to process your payment.

Online Fraud Protection

To help prevent online fraud, the LCBO shares personal information with a third-party service provider that specializes in fraud prevention for online retailers. In these circumstances, the LCBO requires your consent as the provider uses personal information to improve its fraud detection capabilities for both the LCBO and its other online retail clients. Similarly, the third-party service provider uses, but does not send, information that it has collected from its other clients to report potentially suspicious online transactions to the LCBO before the LCBO processes the transaction. This indirect collection of personal information also requires your consent.

When you attempt to place an online order, the LCBO may share the following information with the fraud prevention provider:

If you do not wish the fraud prevention service provider to continue to use or retain your personal information beyond your transaction with the LCBO, you may request that it be securely destroyed by contacting LCBO Customer Care. Upon confirming your identity, the LCBO will forward your request and provide confirmation once your information has been securely destroyed.

To make such a request, please contact LCBO Customer Care:

1-800-668-5226
416-365-5900
TTY: 1-800-361-3291

Loyalty

If you provide your Aeroplan number during an LCBO transaction to collect points, the LCBO discloses information to, and collects information from, Aeroplan to facilitate the issuance of the Aeroplan points. When redeeming Aeroplan points in store, you will be asked to present valid government-issued photo identification to confirm that you are the account holder and authorized to redeem points. This helps protect account security and prevent fraudulent activity. Please note that personal information is not recorded directly from your photo identification.

Product Returns

When returning a product, the LCBO collects the customer’s personal information (including name, address, telephone number, and signature) to process the return and help prevent fraud. Returns cannot be processed without this information. Valid, government-issued photo identification is required only to verify the information provided in writing on a return slip or, if you indicate this as your preference, verbally. No personal information will be recorded directly from photo identification. If a customer is returning a defective or recalled product, the LCBO may use your personal information to contact you regarding potential health and safety matters, if necessary.

Video Cameras

The LCBO operates video cameras in our stores and other facilities for safety, security and protection of all LCBO assets, staff, visitors, and customers, for the prevention and detection of criminal activity, and for claims management.

EMAIL AND OTHER COMMUNICATIONS

Occasionally, we may obtain your consent to send you emails and other communications regarding products, services, promotions, surveys, customer feedback, events, or administrative functions. 

You can opt-out of receiving promotional emails from us at any time by doing any one of the following:

If you unsubscribe from LCBO Offers, myLCBO Newsletter, and Vintages Latest, your personal information will be retained for three (3) months. After that, all your personal information will be deleted except for your email address, which will be retained for a total of two (2) years to ensure we are able to comply with your indicated preferences.

ONLINE REGISTRATION

You are not required to register for an LCBO.com account to visit LCBO Websites, or to make an online purchase. However, you may need to register and provide your personal information to be able to use or benefit from some of the features offered through our online services such as personalized content, search results, or offers. Your registration information is used to provide and administer the service you requested as well as for fraud prevention purposes.

CONTESTS, COMPETITIONS, CO-BRANDED PARTICIPATION, AND PROMOTIONS

When you enter a contest, competition, or participate in a promotion, we may collect your personal information to administer the contest, competition, or promotion. This may include contacting, announcing, and/or promoting prize winners. At the time of entry to the contest, competition, or promotion, we may obtain your consent to:

(i) send you future promotional communications; and/or, 

(ii) disclose your personal information to a third party sponsor of the contest, competition, or promotion, as specified at the time of the collection of your personal information.

We do not control the use, disclosure, or security of your personal information by third-party sponsors, and we recommend reviewing their privacy notices, statements, or policies before you share your personal information.

MARKET RESEARCH

We may collect personal information to enable customer centered decision making through market research. For example, we may ask for your postal code or invite you to participate in surveys or other customer research initiatives to better understand geographical product and service needs. Participation is voluntary. The information obtained through market research is compiled into Aggregate Data, which cannot be used independently to identify individuals. We use Aggregate Data to gain insights into consumer needs and to enhance our product and service offerings, promotions, events, and assist in decisions related to store locations.

CUSTOMER SERVICE AND CUSTOMER FEEDBACK

When you contact the LCBO with a comment, question, or complaint, you may be asked for your name and contact information (such as address, email address and/or phone number), as well as any details we may need to answer your questions or respond to your comments or complaints. If you submit this information online, your IP address and other device information are also automatically collected. We may also aggregate your comments, questions, or complaints with those of other customers to identify trends to help us improve our service.

CALL RECORDING

When you contact the LCBO by phone, we may monitor and/or record calls to enhance customer service, for training purposes, and to verify our conversations with you.

SOCIAL MEDIA

LCBO uses social media platforms, such as Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube to share information and to promote our products and services.

LCBO social media accounts are publicly accessible, and your posts, comments, replies to, and mentions of LCBO may be publicly visible, depending on your privacy settings. Your privacy and the retention of information on your social media accounts are governed by the privacy policies of the parties operating these social networks. Some social media platforms may allow you to control what information is shared with the LCBO and other social media users. We encourage you to review and agree to the privacy policies and the terms and conditions of each platform before participating. The LCBO does not have any control over such social media networks and, therefore, we do not have responsibility or liability for the way in which such platforms collect, use, disclose, secure and/or otherwise manage your personal information. 

In accordance with the terms of use of each social media platform, the LCBO may collect and analyze information available to us regarding user activity on LCBO social media accounts to provide relevant content.

THIRD PARTIES ACTING ON LCBO'S BEHALF

The LCBO only shares personal information with third parties or allows third parties to collect personal information when necessary to deliver services on behalf of the LCBO (e.g., purchase delivery, email distribution, direct mail, research and surveys, credit card processing, customer feedback, etc.), and when they meet or exceed LCBO’s privacy and security standards. The LCBO does not sell or rent our customer lists to external agencies and/or our trade partners. Personal information collected by the LCBO will not be used to add you to any mailing lists without your knowledge and consent, unless otherwise permitted by law.

AGGREGATE DATA

The LCBO and authorized service providers acting on behalf of the LCBO may use the personal information that you provide, as well as personal information collected automatically through your interactions with LCBO Websites and/or LCBO mobile applications for research purposes, to inform operations, and for communications planning. This data may be aggregated by combining it with data pertaining to other individuals. Aggregate Data refers to information compiled and expressed in a summary format where no personal identifiers are included and cannot be linked back to an individual.

DATA COLLECTED BY COOKIES AND OTHER TRACKING TECHNOLOGIES

To provide a modern, personalized electronic commerce experience that supports the sale of beverage alcohol both online and in stores, the LCBO and its service providers use cookies and web beacons (also known as tags or pixels) to enable functionality and to collect information about the use of LCBO Websites. Cookies are used to improve the content and usability of LCBO Websites and, in combination with web beacons, to help us understand what actions users take on LCBO Websites and mobile applications to ensure they work correctly.

Cookies

Cookies are small data files sent to and stored on your browser to enable and improve website functionality, content, and usability. Session cookies are cleared when you close your browser or your session ends, while persistent cookies remain stored on your device until you delete them. Cookies facilitate your use and navigation of our websites, and some cookies may collect information that in certain cases may be considered personal information, but they do not collect information such as your name, address, or credit/debit card data. LCBO Websites use both ‘first party’ and ‘third party’ cookies. The LCBO creates first party cookies directly while third party cookies are created by LCBO service providers.

Information captured through cookies may be used for marketing or advertising purposes. You can configure your Internet browser to refuse to accept cookies from LCBO Websites. Some browsers can be configured to accept all cookies, reject all cookies, or notify you when you receive cookies. If you choose to modify your browser’s cookie settings, some pages or features of LCBO’s Website may not function properly. LCBO also may use web analytics tools to analyze data collected through third party cookies. This aggregated data is then used to inform operational purposes.

Web Beacons

Web beacons are small transparent images or script files that are downloaded when you visit a website or open an email. They capture activity and interactions on websites and mobile applications.

THIRD PARTY LINKS

LCBO Websites may include links to external websites not owned or operated by the LCBO, provided for user convenience. However, we do not share any of your personal information with these third parties without your consent. These third-party links are not intended to be an endorsement of, or a referral to, the linked website. Each linked website has separate and independent privacy policies, notices, and terms of use, which we encourage you to review carefully. As the LCBO does not have control over these external websites, we are not responsible or liable for how those organizations may collect, use, or protect your personal information.

HOW WE SECURE AND PROTECT YOUR INFORMATION

The LCBO and its service providers retain your personal information in both paper and electronic formats. Reasonable technical, physical, and administrative controls are used to protect your personal information. However, it is impossible to guarantee security since "perfect security" does not exist. As such, the LCBO does not represent, warrant, covenant or guarantee the full security of the personal information that it or its service providers collect. In some cases, personal information is stored outside of Canada and, in exceptional circumstances, may be available to government authorities under lawful orders and laws applicable in the relevant jurisdictions.

ACCURACY AND RETENTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

The LCBO will make reasonable efforts to ensure the accuracy of your personal information provided that doing so does not compromise the LCBO’s privacy or security obligations or interests. You may request access to your personal information by submitting a Freedom of Information Request. To update your account preferences, please contact LCBO Customer Care.

Personal information is retained for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, to meet legal and regulatory requirements, or in accordance with LCBO’s retention schedules, which may extend beyond the end of your relationship with the LCBO. 

CHANGES

The LCBO reserves the right to change this Customer Privacy Notice by posting an update on lcbo.com/privacy. The LCBO recommends reviewing this Notice regularly for any changes. This Customer Privacy Notice was last updated on October 17th, 2025.

CONTACTING US

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your privacy, or wish to file an access to information or correction to personal information request, please contact:

Freedom of Information and Privacy Office
100 Queens Quay East, 9th Floor
Toronto, Ontario M5E 0C7
Telephone: 416 864-2462 
E-mail: foi.privacy@lcbo.com

®Aeroplan is a registered trademark of Aeroplan Inc., used under license.