Privacy Policy
Effective Date: 2025-09-01
At Freeoak (freeoak.store), we respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal data. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and safeguard your information when you use our website, make purchases, or interact with our services, in compliance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other applicable laws.
1. Data Controller
- Contact: support@freeoak.store
2. Information We Collect
2.1 Personal Data You Provide
- Account Information: When creating an account, we collect your full name, email address, password (encrypted), phone number, and shipping/billing addresses.
- Purchase Data: When placing an order, we collect payment details (e.g., credit card number, expiry date, billing address), order history, and delivery preferences.
- Communications: When you contact us (via email, contact form, or social media), we collect your message content, contact details, and any information needed to resolve your inquiry.
- Marketing Consent: If you opt in to receive promotional emails, we store your consent status and preferences.
2.2 Automatically Collected Data
When you visit our website, we collect data via cookies, server logs, and tracking tools:
- Technical Data: IP address, browser type, operating system, device model, screen resolution, and network provider.
- Usage Data: Pages visited, time spent on each page, links clicked, search queries, and the date/time of your visit.
- Location Data: Approximate location based on your IP address (used to tailor shipping options and regional promotions).
3. How We Use Your Data
We process your personal data for the following purposes, based on legal grounds under the GDPR:
| Purpose | Legal Basis |
|---|---|
| Process and fulfill orders (e.g., shipping, payment processing) | Performance of a contract (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR) |
| Manage your account (e.g., update order status, track history) | Performance of a contract (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR) |
| Send marketing communications (e.g., promotions, new arrivals) | Your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR) – you can withdraw consent anytime |
| Improve website functionality and user experience | Legitimate interest (to enhance our services, Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR) |
| Detect and prevent fraud or unauthorized transactions | Legitimate interest (to protect our business and customers, Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR) |
| Comply with legal obligations (e.g., tax, accounting, or audit requirements) | Legal obligation (Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR) |
4. Sharing Your Data
We do not sell your personal data to third parties. We may share it with:
4.1 Service Providers
- Payment Processors: Companies like Stripe or PayPal to process payments securely. They receive only necessary payment details and are contractually bound to protect your data.
- Shipping Partners: Carriers (e.g., DHL, USPS) to deliver orders. They receive your name, shipping address, and order details to fulfill delivery.
- IT & Analytics Providers: Third parties that host our website (e.g., cloud services) or provide analytics tools (e.g., Google Analytics) to improve our services. These providers process data only as instructed by us.
4.2 Legal Disclosures
We may share your data if required by law (e.g., court order, tax audit) or to protect our legal rights (e.g., investigating fraud or intellectual property infringement).
5. Cookies & Tracking
We use cookies to enhance your browsing experience. You can manage cookie preferences via our cookie banner or browser settings:
- Strictly Necessary Cookies: Essential for website functionality (e.g., logging in, adding items to cart). These cannot be disabled.
- Functional Cookies: Remember your preferences (e.g., saved addresses) to personalize your experience.
- Analytics Cookies: Collect data on website usage (e.g., pages visited) to improve performance. We use Google Analytics for this – learn more about Google’s privacy practices and opt out using the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.
- Advertising Cookies: Track your activity to show relevant ads (e.g., retargeting). These are set by third-party ad networks (e.g., Google Ads) and require your consent.
6. Data Retention
- Account Data: Retained while your account is active. If you delete your account, we erase data unless required by law (e.g., tax records).
- Order Data: Retained for 7 years to comply with tax and accounting laws.
- Marketing Data: Retained until you withdraw consent or opt out of communications.
7. Your Rights
Under the GDPR, you have the following rights, which you can exercise by emailing support@freeoak.store:
- Access: Request a copy of the data we hold about you.
- Rectification: Correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
- Erasure: Request deletion of your data (if no legal reason to retain it).
- Restriction: Ask us to stop processing your data (e.g., while verifying accuracy).
- Portability: Receive your data in a machine-readable format (e.g., to transfer to another provider).
- Objection: Object to processing based on our legitimate interests (e.g., marketing).
8. Data Security
We use industry-standard measures to protect your data, including:
- Encryption of data in transit (SSL/TLS) and at rest.
- Secure access controls for staff.
- Regular security audits and updates.
No method is 100% secure, but we take all reasonable steps to prevent unauthorized access.
9. Changes to This Policy
We may update this policy periodically. Changes will be posted here with a revised effective date. Your continued use of our website after the update constitutes acceptance of the new policy.
For privacy inquiries, contact support@freeoak.store.