Security & trust
Your security is our foundation.
Notarial work runs on trust. Here is the plain-language version of how this office protects your documents, your identity, and your personal information, at every step.
Encrypted & access-controlled
Last updated
On this page
- 01Built for peace of mind
- 02Where your documents live
- 03Safe, verified access
- 04Only the right people, only what they need
- 05A hardened website and platform
- 06Securing remote appointments
- 07Signing and document integrity
- 08Protection with every click
- 09Keeping your data only as long as needed
- 10Security questions, answered
- 11Questions about security?
01Our promise
Built for peace of mind
A short, honest look at how this office keeps your documents and details safe.
Minute Notary is a notary public office in Ottawa, Ontario. When you book an appointment, upload a document, or sign in to an account, you are trusting us with sensitive information. We take that seriously, and we build security into every step rather than bolting it on at the end.
This page explains the safeguards in plain language, so you can understand what happens behind the scenes without needing a security background. No single safeguard is ever perfect, so we layer several together, and we keep this page honest about what we do and do not do.
Quick summary
We have handpicked trusted technologies so your data stays safe, private, and within your control. Connections are encrypted, admin access is protected by two-factor sign-in, notary documents live in controlled Google Drive folders, and working files are kept only as long as the service and the law require.
Security questions?
Call or email the office. We will answer in plain language.
02Document storage
Where your documents live
Notary files stay in controlled Google Drive folders, not in public website storage.
Your documents are the most sensitive thing you hand us, so they get the most careful handling. Files tied to an appointment, including unsigned documents, signer ID photos, and completed notarized PDFs, are routed into controlled Google Drive folders, organized per appointment, and reachable only by authorized notary/admin staff.
- Connections to this website are encrypted in transit (HTTPS), so files are scrambled as they move between your device and us.
- Notary documents are stored in access-controlled Google Drive folders, organized per appointment.
- Download links for private files are temporary and expire after about an hour, so a stale link cannot be reused.
- Public website assets such as blog images may use Cloudflare R2, but your appointment documents and ID photos do not live there.
03Account access
Safe, verified access
Passwords are never stored in plain text, and admin access is protected by two-factor.
Access to accounts is protected with industry-standard identity safeguards. We use secure digital keys to verify each sign-in, so only the right person reaches an account:
- Passwords are never stored in plain text. They are protected using a strong one-way hashing method (scrypt), so even we cannot read them.
- Two-factor authentication (an authenticator app plus backup codes) is available to every account, and it is required for staff and admin access.
- Sign-in is rate-limited and protected by an anti-abuse check, so automated guessing attacks are slowed down and blocked.
- Email verification confirms that a new account belongs to a real, reachable address before it is fully active.
04Access controls
Only the right people, only what they need
Role-based controls and audit logging keep your files limited to authorized staff.
Once someone is signed in, role-based access controls decide what they can see and do. Each person gets only the access their job needs, and nothing more:
- Only authorized notary/admin users can view or manage your documents. Regular accounts cannot reach another client’s files.
- Every admin page and every sensitive admin action re-checks who you are and whether you are allowed, on the server, not just in the browser.
- Sensitive actions such as viewing, resending, delivering, or changing the status of a file are logged, so there is an audit trail.
05Platform
A hardened website and platform
Encrypted connections and a layered set of browser security headers protect every page.
Behind the scenes, the website itself is hardened. We lock down the connection so nobody can read your information while it travels, and we set a layered group of browser security rules on every page:
- HTTPS encryption keeps your information private while it travels online, and HSTS tells browsers to only ever connect securely.
- A Content-Security-Policy and related headers (such as anti-clickjacking and no-sniff rules) reduce the room for common web attacks.
- Cross-origin requests are restricted to a trusted allowlist, so other websites cannot quietly make requests on your behalf.
06Appointments
Securing remote appointments
Remote appointments run over Google Meet, and confirmation emails travel encrypted.
Remote appointments mean talking face to face over video, so the meeting itself needs to be protected too:
Online notary appointments are held over Google Meet, which encrypts the video and audio of your call in transit.
Appointment confirmations and completed-document emails are sent over encrypted (TLS) connections while they are in transit.
07E-signing
Signing and document integrity
Documents are signed on our own site and sealed with a tamper-evident, independently timestamped signature.
When a document is signed online, the signing normally happens right here on the Minute Notary website, not on a third-party signing platform. We built our own signing and document-integrity system so the whole experience stays on our brand and under our control:
In normal operation you sign on our own branded signing page: you draw your signature or upload an image of it over an encrypted connection.
Every completed document is sealed with a “Verified by Minute Notary” digital signature and stamped with an independent, trusted timestamp, so any later change to the file can be detected.
The proof for each sealed document is recorded in a tamper-evident, append-only ledger, and the signing key itself is held in a dedicated key vault, never on the website server.
You can confirm a completed document is genuine on our public Verify page using the verification link or code we provide, without revealing the document’s contents. Completed documents are also routed back into the appointment’s controlled Google Drive folder.
As a backup only, if our own signing system is temporarily unavailable, we may fall back to a trusted third-party e-signature provider (SignNow) so your appointment is not delayed. This is a contingency; the normal path is our own platform.
08Every request
Protection with every click
Secure sessions, anti-forgery checks, bot protection, and rate limiting guard each action.
Security is built into each step, from sign-in to submitting a form. Several protections work together on every request:
Secure sessions: when you sign in, we issue a signed, secure session cookie that is unique to you and cannot be quietly forged.
Anti-forgery protection: sensitive actions are accepted only from trusted origins, so a malicious site cannot act in your name.
Bot protection: forms such as sign-up, login, contact, booking, and chat are guarded by a Cloudflare Turnstile human check.
Rate limiting: repeated requests to sensitive actions are capped, which slows down abuse and automated attacks.
With these layers working together, your information stays protected while you focus on getting your document notarized.
09Data & retention
Keeping your data only as long as needed
Working files are short-lived, AI chats are scrubbed of personal details and auto-deleted.
Holding data longer than necessary is a risk in itself, so we keep working files for a short time and clean up automatically:
- The disposable pre-signing working file (the unsigned PDF prepared for signing) in Google Drive is normally deleted after a short post-appointment period (currently up to 7 days). Client identification photos and the completed, notarized documents are retained longer, as Ontario law and notarial practice require.
- If you use the website AI chat assistant, messages are scrubbed of detectable personal details before they are stored, and conversations are automatically deleted after about 90 days. Chat messages are processed by Anthropic to generate the assistant’s replies.
- When our office uses AI to lay out a document for signing, a notary checks every box before anyone signs. The AI never signs, dates or seals anything, and it never overwrites boxes a person placed. ID images, signatures, seals and signed copies are never sent to it, and the AI service keeps what it reads only briefly.
- Abandoned, unpaid booking drafts are automatically cleared after a short checkout window.
The formal notarial record may be kept longer where Ontario law or notarial practice requires it. For the full picture of what we collect and why, see our Privacy Policy.
10Common questions
Security questions, answered
The questions people ask before sending a sensitive document, answered from the sections above.
- How do you store and delete my documents?
- Notary documents live in controlled Google Drive folders, not in public website storage, and uploads travel encrypted. If you start a booking and do not finish it, the draft and its uploaded files are cleared after a short checkout window. After the appointment, the unsigned working copy prepared for signing is normally deleted within 7 days; ID photos and the completed, notarized documents are kept longer, as Ontario law and notarial practice require. Website chat messages are scrubbed of detectable personal details and deleted after about 90 days.
- Who can see my documents?
- Only authorized staff doing the work. Role-based access controls and audit logging limit client files to the people who need them, and card details go to the payment processor, so Minute Notary never sees or stores a full card number.
- Is it safe to send medical or financial documents?
- Yes. A medical, financial or family document is handled exactly like any other file: encrypted in transit, stored in controlled Google Drive folders, visible only to authorized staff, and used to prepare and verify your appointment and for nothing else.
- Do you use two-factor authentication?
- Yes. Admin access to the office systems requires two-factor sign-in, and passwords are never stored in plain text. Your own identity is checked twice: the ID you upload when booking, and the same ID shown to the notary on camera at the appointment.
- How is my identity verified online?
- With valid, unexpired government-issued photo identification; a driver’s licence, passport, permanent resident card or Ontario photo card are the usual ones. You upload a clear image of the front when you book, and the notary compares it with the person on camera and the name on the document. If identity cannot be verified to the notary’s satisfaction, the notary must decline.
11Questions
Questions about security?
Reach the office any time and we will walk you through how your data is kept safe.
We have done the hard work so you can have a stress-free notary experience. If you have any question about how your data, privacy, or documents are protected, the office is happy to walk you through it in plain language.
- Office
- Minute Notary
- Phone
- (613) 434-5555
- info@minutenotary.ca
See also our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.