Introduction
Paper Ballards is committed to protecting and respecting the privacy of all those who use our website and our services.
In line with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) it is important to us that our visitors and customers understand what personal data we collect or hold from you and how it will be processed.
What personal data do we collect?
Information provided by you:

You provide us with personal details, your name, address and email, if you purchase from us via Etsy, Instagram or our own website.
When purchasing from our website we will ask you to set a password to create an account. We are not able to access this password at any time.
When purchasing you will also provide your payment details.
If you make an enquiry to use you will give us your name and email.
Due to the nature of our business, it may be necessary for you to give us personal details of relevant parties.
Information we collect from you:

Cookies

When you first visit our website, we will ask for your permission to use analytical tracking software to monitor your activity on our site. This helps us to better understand how our site is being accessed so that we can improve our visitor’s experience and our customer service.
This software is provided by Google Analytics and Hotjar which uses cookies to track visitor usage.
Cookies are small, harmless files saved to the user’s computer’s hard drive that track, collect and store information about the user’s interactions and usage of the website.
There are two types of cookies. Essential and non essential.
Essential cookies do not require consent as they are necessary to ensure the working of the site. For example, the shopping basket requires essential cookies so that you can choose and purchase your items.
Non essential cookies refer to marketing and analytical cookies. If you grant permission, the software will save a cookie to your computer’s hard drive to track and monitor your engagement and navigation of the website each time you visit.
Google Analytics and Hotjar uses your IP user address and tells us about the pages you have accessed and how long you stayed on these pages. It also remembers if you return to our website.
When you first access our site you will be asked about your preferences and will be able to decline the marketing/analytical cookies.
If you do not grant permission, we do not receive this information.
If you wish to block the use of cookies on your hard drive at a later date, you can select ‘cookie settings’ under the privacy settings in your browser options and add our domain name (www.mida.co.uk) to the list of websites you deny access.
Google Analytics and Hotjar provides information to us in an anonymised format (general summary rather than individualised) and this information is stored on the respective platforms.
Google and Hotjar take your privacy very seriously. For further information, please visit http://www.google.com/privacy.html and https://www.hotjar.com/legal/policies/privacy
Emailers

If you sign up to our emailers and newsletters you will consent to us storing and processing your email address.
Our email marketing campaigns may contain tracking facilities within the actual email. Subscriber activity is tracked and stored in a database for future analysis and evaluation. Such monitored activity may include things like the opening of emails, forwarding of emails, the clicking of links within the email content, times, dates and frequency of activity. This information is used to refine our future email campaigns and supply the user with more relevant content based on their activity.
We make that the electronic mailer system has an up to date privacy policy and adheres to all data protection laws and regulations. A simple and easy to use ‘unsubscribe’ feature will always be included in our emails and newsletters incase you no longer wish to hear from us.
Payment

At the time you purchase we collect your payment type, transaction number (supplied by payment gateway), IP address (your computers ‘address’), the web browser and version and the full user-agent string. This information is taken to help secure the platform you are using.
We do not store any card details from the user. All payments are forwarded to the payment gateways and processed by Stripe.
For more information about how Stripe protect your data please visit https://stripe.com/gb/privacy
Order History

When you order from Paper Ballards website you will create a customer account. This account keeps a record of all of your orders, refunds and transactions.
Your address and name is stored within this database.
If you purchase from Etsy, please refer to their privacy policy and procedures https://www.etsy.com/legal/privacy/
Why do we hold your data?
We only hold personal data that we need to provide our customers and prospects with relevant information about new products or special offers and to fulfil contractual obligations, e.g. allow you to make a payment to buy item(s) and for us to be able to send it to you or refund you. You will have consented to us holding this data.
The data from Google Analytics and Hotjar help us to develop and improve our customer experience and to create a desirable product range. You will have also consented to us receiving this data.
There is certain information we will need to hold for legal reasons or to ensure we can fulfill our contract with you for our services. For example, we hold past members’ details for 7 years for accounting purposes and legitimate interests.
If you enquire to us we hold your data so that we can respond to you.
How do we use your data?
The details we take when you purchase from our online shop, or place an order, are used to create an account (to make future purchases easier for you), pay, deliver your products to your chosen delivery address, verify and secure your payment transaction and send you newsletters and emails about our offers and products.
Your email addresses are used to communicate with you during the order process, particularly for our bespoke customers and to let you know about special offers/new products in the future.
Who uses your data at Paper Ballards?
Jess and Chris Ballard use your data to fulfill our client orders and to respond to your enquiries.
Sharing your information
Unless required to so by the law (or for reasons of Vital Interests) we only share your data with, if appropriate::
Delivery companies like Royal Mail, UPS, Parcelforce (names and addresses)
Etsy (if you place your order through Etsy)
Payment providers eg Paypal and Stripe
Our accountants
Data Retention
We will only hold personal data for as long as we need to. Additional personal details that we need for your orders will be deleted on completion and delivery of your order eg photos, guests name and addresses etc.
We retain your order history and contact details for 7 years for accounting purposes. Upon expiry of this necessity we will delete your information.
If you have enquired to us by email your details will remain in our email system.
Information Security
We take a proactive approach to user privacy and ensure the necessary steps are taken to protect the privacy of our website users and the personal information that we hold. Our website complies with all UK national laws and requirements for user privacy and uses a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificate.
We have checked to the best of our knowledge that our website and hosting company have taken all steps possible to protect our site and data. The personal information you provide us with and we collect is stored on the shared hosting provided by Adventure Graphics Ltd within a secured MySQL database. For further details please visit https://adventuregraphics.co.uk/privacy-policy/.
To further protect the data and sensitive data we use virus protection software, passwords and firewalls where appropriate.
While we do take all applicable technical and organisational measures to safeguard your data, it is impossible for us to secure the whole internet entirely. As a user, it is your responsibility to acknowledge this and to understand that the personal details you give to us by your own choice across the internet are transferred at your own risk.
Social Media Platforms
Our social media engagement is subject to the customs and privacy policies of each social media platform. Social media may have their own tracking cookies in place.
While we take great care to ensure the security and safety of our follower’s personal information it is up to the individual to use the platforms with due care and caution in regard to their own privacy and personal details.
Paper Ballards will never ask for personal or sensitive information through social media platforms and encourage users wishing to discuss sensitive details to contact them through primary communication channels such as telephone or email.
If we use social sharing buttons which help share web content directly from web pages to the social media platform in question, users do so at their own discretion. By default, some social media platforms shorten lengthy URL’s (web addresses) so that they look like this; http://bit.ly/wkDTpk18. These shortened URL’s can be prone to spam and hacking. Adventure Graphics cannot not take any liability for damages/implications caused by visiting any shortened links.
The right to be forgotten
We will always include a clear and straightforward opt-out method on all of our marketing email communication in the future with you so that you have an easy to follow route if you decide you no longer wish to be contacted by Paper Ballards. Upon this request, your details will be removed from the database.
You are able to manage the data stored in your online customer account and there is a ‘delete’ button that you can use. This will delete your personal details, however, Paper Ballards still needs to retain your order history and transactions for 7 years for accounting purposes.
Your Data Protection Rights
Your personal information is kept private and stored securely until a time it is no longer required, is no longer relevant or you ask us to remove your details.
You may request a copy of the personal data we hold for you or ask us to amend or delete your details free of charge. If you would like to make a request, please email info@paperballards.co.uk
We will respond to your request within 30 days providing you provide us with proof of identity.
Questions about this Privacy Policy
It is important to us that our visitors and customers fully understand the privacy implications and this policy aims to outline the obligations and requirements of the users, the website and the website owners as openly and transparently as possible. If there is an area you are unsure about, please do not hesitate to contact us so we can talk you through it.
Updates to this Privacy Policy
We will update this policy in response to legal, technical or business developments. This policy was last updated in January 2020.
Paper Ballards