Welcome to Strings.ie! Your privacy is incredibly important to us. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and protect your personal information when you visit our website or make a purchase. Please take a moment to read through it to understand how your data is handled.
If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out to us at sales@strings.ie.
1. Who We Are
Strings.ie
The Music Shop
Kealkill, Bantry
Co. Cork, Ireland
Email: sales@strings.ie
We are committed to protecting your personal data and respecting your privacy. This policy outlines our practices regarding the collection, use, and safeguarding of your information.
2. What Information We Collect
Personal Information
When you interact with us, we may collect the following types of personal information:
- Contact Details: Name, email address, mailing address, phone number.
- Order Information: Details necessary to process your orders, such as products purchased, order history, and payment information.
- Account Information: If you create an account, we collect your username and password.
- Communication Preferences: Your preferences for receiving emails or newsletters.
Non-Personal Information
We also collect non-personal information to improve your experience:
- Cookies: Small files stored on your device to remember your preferences and enhance website functionality.
- Usage Data: Information about how you navigate and interact with our website (e.g., pages visited, time spent on site).
- Analytics: Data from third-party services like Google Analytics to help us understand website performance and user behavior.
3. How We Collect Information
We collect information in the following ways:
- When You Visit Our Website: Automatically collected data such as IP address, browser type, and device information through cookies and similar technologies.
- When You Register or Place an Order: Information you provide when creating an account, making a purchase, or subscribing to our newsletter.
- When You Subscribe to Our Newsletter: Your email address and preferences for receiving updates.
- When You Fill Out Forms: Information entered into forms on our site, such as contact forms or surveys.
4. How We Use Your Information
We use your personal information to:
- Process Transactions: Handle your orders, process payments, and provide order updates.
- Personalize Your Experience: Tailor content and product recommendations based on your preferences.
- Improve Our Services: Analyze usage data to enhance website functionality and user experience.
- Communicate with You: Send newsletters, promotional offers, and respond to your inquiries.
- Ensure Security: Protect against fraud and unauthorized access to our systems.
- Loyalty and Rewards Programs: Maintain a history of your interactions and purchases to provide rewards, discounts, and personalized offers as part of our loyalty programs.
5. Legal Basis for Processing
We process your personal data based on the following legal grounds:
- Contractual Necessity: To fulfill our contractual obligations to you when you make a purchase or create an account.
- Consent: When you subscribe to our newsletter or agree to receive marketing communications.
- Legitimate Interests: To improve our services, prevent fraud, ensure the security of our website, and maintain customer history for loyalty and rewards programs.
6. Sharing Your Information
Third-Party Service Providers
We may share your personal information with trusted third-party partners who assist us in operating our website and conducting our business. These partners fall into the following categories:
- Payment Processors: We use services like PayPal and Stripe, which are GDPR-compliant, to handle your payments securely.
- Shipping Partners: Our shipping is managed by trusted providers such as An Post and DPD to ensure your orders are delivered promptly.
- Analytics Providers: We utilize tools like Google Analytics to help us understand website performance and improve your browsing experience.
Confidentiality Obligations: All third-party partners are obligated to keep your information confidential and are prohibited from using it for any other purpose beyond the services they provide to us.
Additional Partners: From time to time, we may engage other third-party service providers as needed to support our business operations. These partners are similarly bound by confidentiality agreements and GDPR compliance.
Legal Requirements
We may disclose your information if required by law, such as to comply with a subpoena, or if we believe that disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, safety, or property, or that of our customers.
Business Transfers
In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of all or a portion of our assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you via email and/or a prominent notice on our website of any change in ownership or uses of your personal information.
7. International Transfers
Your information may be transferred to and maintained on servers located outside of your country. We ensure that any such transfers comply with applicable data protection laws, including implementing appropriate safeguards like Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the European Commission.
8. Data Retention
We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law. This includes:
- Order Information:
- Minimum Retention: Six (6) years to comply with Irish tax laws, accounting requirements, and to handle any potential disputes or audits.
- Extended Retention:
- Purpose: Retained beyond six years to maintain a history of your interactions and purchases for loyalty and rewards programs, enabling us to offer personalized rewards, discounts, and tailored offers.
- Legal Basis: Based on Article 6(1)(b) (compliance with legal obligations) and Article 6(1)(f) (legitimate interests) of the GDPR.
- Data Minimization: Only data that remains relevant and necessary for these extended purposes is retained.
- Security Measures: All retained data is secured with robust technical and organizational measures to prevent unauthorized access or breaches.
- Account Information: Retained until you choose to delete your account, subject to six-year retention of related order data as outlined above.
- Marketing Communications: Retained until you unsubscribe from our mailing list.
By retaining order information for six years and beyond where necessary, we comply with Irish legal requirements for accounting and record-keeping while also supporting our legitimate business interests in maintaining customer history for loyalty and rewards purposes.
Your Rights Regarding Retained Data
Under GDPR, you have the right to:
- Access: Request access to the personal data we hold about you.
- Rectification: Request correction of any inaccurate or incomplete personal data.
- Erasure: Request deletion of your personal data under certain conditions, such as when it is no longer necessary for the purposes it was collected.
- Restriction of Processing: Request the limitation of processing your personal data under certain circumstances.
- Data Portability: Request a copy of your personal data in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format.
- Objection: Object to the processing of your personal data based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
- Withdraw Consent: If we process your data based on consent, you can withdraw your consent at any time.
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at sales@strings.ie. For security reasons, we may require proof of identity before fulfilling your request.
9. Your Rights
Under GDPR, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:
Access
You can request access to the personal data we hold about you.
Rectification
You can request correction of any inaccurate or incomplete personal data.
Erasure
You can request deletion of your personal data under certain conditions, such as when it is no longer necessary for the purposes it was collected.
Restriction of Processing
You can request the limitation of processing your personal data under certain circumstances.
Data Portability
You can request a copy of your personal data in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format.
Objection
You can object to the processing of your personal data based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Withdraw Consent
If we process your data based on consent, you can withdraw your consent at any time.
How to Exercise Your Rights
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at sales@strings.ie. For security reasons, we may require proof of identity before fulfilling your request.
10. Cookies and Tracking Technologies
Do We Use Cookies?
Yes, we use cookies and similar tracking technologies to enhance your browsing experience, analyze site usage, and personalize content.
Types of Cookies We Use
- Essential Cookies: Necessary for the website to function properly (e.g., managing your shopping cart).
- Performance Cookies: Collect information about how you use our website (e.g., pages visited, time spent).
- Functional Cookies: Remember your preferences and settings.
- Advertising Cookies: Used to deliver relevant advertisements and measure their effectiveness.
Managing Cookies
You can control and manage cookies through your browser settings. Please note that disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of our website, such as account management and checkout processes.
For more information on how to manage cookies, visit Your Browser’s Help Page.
11. Do Not Track (DNT) Signals
Currently, our website does not respond to Do Not Track (DNT) signals. We rely on cookies and similar technologies to enhance user experience and improve our services.
12. Children's Privacy
We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 13. If you are a parent or guardian and believe that your child has provided us with personal data, please contact us at sales@strings.ie. We will take steps to remove such information from our servers.
For more information on child privacy, please visit the Federal Trade Commission’s COPPA page.
13. Data Security
We implement a variety of security measures to maintain the safety of your personal information. Your data is stored on secure networks and is accessible only by a limited number of authorized personnel who have special access rights.
Transaction Security
All transactions are processed through secure gateways and are not stored on our servers. We use Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology to encrypt sensitive information, ensuring that your data is protected during transmission.
Regular Monitoring
Our systems are regularly monitored for vulnerabilities and unauthorized access. We continuously update our security practices to safeguard your information against emerging threats.
14. Third-Party Links
Our website may contain links to third-party websites or services that are not operated by us. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of these external sites. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party websites you visit.
15. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or for legal compliance. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated "Effective Date." We encourage you to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how we are protecting your information.
16. Contact Us
If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us:
Email: sales@strings.ie
Address:
The Music Shop
Kealkill
Bantry, Co. Cork
Ireland