Privacy Policy - tasteofsweets.co.uk

Who We Are

Taste of Sweets is a sweets and snacks retailer based at:

[UNIT NUMBER], Park Centre, Donegall Road, Belfast, BT12 6HN, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

Contact email: [YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS] Contact phone: [YOUR PHONE NUMBER]

We are the “data controller” for the personal information we collect through this Website.

Information We Collect

We collect the following types of information:

Information you give us directly:

Name
Billing and delivery address
Email address
Phone number
Order details and order history
Payment information (processed securely by our payment provider — see Section 5)
Any information you send us via contact forms, email, or WhatsApp

Information collected automatically:

IP address
Browser type and device information
Pages visited and time spent on the Website
Referring website
Cookie data (see Section 7)

Account information (if you create an account):

Username and password (stored securely, encrypted)
Order history and saved addresses

How We Use Your Information

We use your personal information to:

Process and fulfil your orders, including local delivery
Communicate with you about your order (confirmation, delivery updates, issues)
Verify your delivery address falls within our current delivery area
Respond to enquiries, including via WhatsApp
Improve our Website, products, and customer experience
Send you marketing communications, but only if you have opted in (see Section 8)
Prevent fraud and ensure the security of our Website
Comply with our legal obligations, including tax and accounting requirements

Our Legal Basis for Processing

We only process your personal data where we have a valid legal basis to do so, which includes:

Contract: to fulfil an order you have placed with us
Consent: where you have opted in to marketing communications or non-essential cookies
Legitimate interests: to improve our Website and prevent fraud, where this does not override your rights
Legal obligation: to meet accounting, tax, and consumer protection requirements

Sharing Your Information

We do not sell your personal information. We only share your data with trusted third parties where necessary to run our business:

Payment processors: [NAME YOUR PAYMENT PROVIDER — e.g. Stripe, PayPal, or your bank for direct bank transfer] to securely process payments. We do not store full card details ourselves.
Delivery: information necessary to deliver your order locally within Belfast.
Website hosting and technical providers: [YOUR HOSTING PROVIDER], who store data on our behalf.
WhatsApp / messaging: if you contact us via WhatsApp, your phone number and message content are handled according to WhatsApp’s own privacy policy in addition to ours.
Analytics providers: such as Google Analytics, to understand Website usage (only if enabled — see Section 7).
Law enforcement or regulators: where we are legally required to disclose information.

We require all third parties to respect the security of your data and treat it in accordance with the law.

6Data Retention

We keep your personal information only for as long as necessary:

Order and transaction records: retained for [6 years] to meet UK tax and accounting obligations.
Account information: retained while your account is active, or until you ask us to delete it.
Marketing consent: retained until you unsubscribe or withdraw consent.

Cookies

Our Website uses cookies and similar technologies to:

Keep your cart and checkout working correctly (essential cookies)
Remember your preferences
Understand how visitors use our Website (analytics cookies, if enabled)
Support advertising, if we run any in future (only with your consent)

You can control or disable cookies through your browser settings. Please note that disabling essential cookies may affect the functionality of our Website, including checkout.

Marketing Communications

We will only send you marketing emails or messages if you have actively opted in, for example by ticking a box at checkout or subscribing to a newsletter.

You can unsubscribe at any time by:

Clicking the “unsubscribe” link in any marketing email
Contacting us at [YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS]

We will never share your details with third parties for their own marketing purposes without your explicit consent.

Your Rights Under UK GDPR

You have the right to:

Access the personal data we hold about you
Correct inaccurate or incomplete data
Erase your data (“right to be forgotten”), subject to legal retention requirements
Restrict how we use your data
Object to certain types of processing, including direct marketing
Data portability — receive your data in a portable format
Withdraw consent at any time, where processing is based on consent

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at [YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS]. We will respond within one month, as required by law.

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your data, you have the right to complain to the UK’s data protection regulator:

Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) Website: ico.org.uk Telephone: 0303 123 1113

Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, loss, or misuse, including secure hosting, encrypted checkout, and restricted access to customer data. However, no method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Children’s Privacy

Our Website is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us so we can delete it.

International Transfers

We do not knowingly transfer your personal data outside the UK. If any third-party service we use (such as analytics or hosting) stores data outside the UK, we will ensure appropriate safeguards are in place as required by UK GDPR.