Introduction
At Smart Tart® Candy, we respect the privacy of our visitors and customers. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, share, and protect personal information. By using our website, purchasing our products, or otherwise providing us with your personal information, you consent to the collection and use of information as outlined here.
We created this policy to be as clear and transparent as possible about our privacy practices. We encourage you to read this document in full to understand our policies and practices regarding your personal data and how we will treat it. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.
Information We Collect
We only collect information that helps us achieve the purpose set out in this Privacy Policy. We don’t collect or store personal information unless you voluntarily provide it. The types of personal information we collect generally include:
- Contact details like your name, email address, postal address, and phone number when you create an account, make an order, contact us with questions, or sign up for our newsletter.
- Payment information like your debit/credit card number, security code, and expiration date when you make a purchase.
- Preferences and interests like your favorite Smart Tart® flavors, so we can notify you about new products you might like.
- Communications between you and Smart Tart® Candy when you contact us or we contact you. We may record phone calls for training and quality assurance purposes.
- Social media information if you interact with us on social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter. This could include your social media username, profile pictures, and any information you choose to share with us.
- Website usage information like cookies, IP addresses, browser type, pages you visit, and how you interact with our website. See the Cookies section below for more details.
- Sweepstakes or contest information like your name, age, email address, and any other information needed to administer the promotion.
We generally collect your personal information directly from you, either through our website, over the phone, or in person. However, we may also collect information from other sources like public databases, social media platforms, and other third parties. We will obtain your consent before collecting information from outside sources.
Use of Personal Information
We use the personal information we collect for legitimate business purposes including:
- Fulfilling orders for Smart Tart® products and services you request.
- Improving customer experience by understanding your preferences and better serving your needs.
- Marketing and communications like sending promotional materials, newsletters, and information about new products you might like. You can opt-out of marketing communications at any time.
- Responding to inquiries and providing customer support.
- Protecting against fraud and securing our platform.
- Complying with legal obligations like paying taxes, customs duties, or tariffs.
- Enforcing our Terms of Service or other legal rights if necessary.
- Completing corporate transactions like mergers, acquisitions, or asset sales.
We only process your personal information for the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy or notified to you at the time of collection. We will ask for your consent before using your personal data for any unrelated purpose. You can withdraw consent at any time.
Data Retention
We retain your personal information for as long as reasonably necessary to fulfill the purposes described in this policy, while safeguarding your privacy rights. We maintain retention standards aligned with our legal obligations, industry standards, and business need.
Some retention periods include:
- Transactional records like orders, invoices, and payments are kept for 7 years.
- Website usage information like cookies is kept for 2 years.
- Marketing data like newsletter subscriptions are kept until you unsubscribe.
- Communications like support tickets are kept for 3 years.
- Legal dispute records are kept for 10 years after close of the case.
We may retain non-personal statistical data derived from your personal information indefinitely, but this cannot be linked back to you as an individual. We periodically review our data retention policy to optimize our data lifecycle management.
Data Security
We take all reasonable steps to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, misuse, or disclosure. Our security controls include:
- Encryption of data in transit and at rest using industry standard methods like TLS and AES-256 encryption.
- Restricting staff access to personal data on a need-to-know basis.
- Maintaining physical security of our premises, servers, and computing facilities.
- Using trusted payment providers like Stripe to secure financial transactions.
- Enforcing strict supplier agreements to protect any data shared with vendors.
While we follow generally accepted standards to protect your personal information, no method of transmission or storage is 100% secure. We cannot fully guarantee against security incidents affecting your data.
Cookies and Other Tracking Technologies
Our website uses cookies, web beacons, pixels, and other technologies to improve your browsing experience. These technologies allow us to recognize you, remember your preferences, monitor site analytics, and provide relevant advertising.
Cookies are small text files placed on your device that store data like unique identifiers, preferences, and activity. We use cookies to understand site usage, serve you relevant content, and improve your experience. You can review your cookie controls within your browser settings.
Web beacons (also called pixel tags or clear GIFs) are tiny graphics that allow us to track site analytics and user activity. We use web beacons to deliver cookies, monitor campaign effectiveness, and gather website metrics.
Pixels are small blocks of code on webpages that collect data about visitor activity. We use pixels to remarket ads, understand conversions, build target audiences for ads, and customize your experience.
You can opt-out of interest-based advertising through industry opt-out tools like www.networkadvertising.org. However, opting out does not mean you will no longer receive ads from us. It just means the ads will not be customized based on your interests.
Third Party Links
Our website and communications may contain links to other websites over which we have no control. We are not responsible for how those sites treat your personal information. Always review the privacy policies of any third party site that you access through our website or communication channels.
Children’s Privacy
Our website and products are not directed to children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 without parental consent. If you believe your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us immediately so we can delete their information.
Your Privacy Rights
You have certain rights related to the personal data we collect and use:
- You can request access to your personal data to review, correct, or update it.
- You can object to our use of your personal data for purposes you consider inappropriate.
- You can ask us to delete your personal data if we don’t have a compelling reason to retain it.
- You can restrict how we process your data in certain situations.
- You can export your personal data for portability to another platform.
- You can opt-out of marketing communications if you don’t want to receive them.
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the information below. We will process requests in accordance with applicable laws. There may be exceptions or exclusions to these rights based on legal, contractual, or technical constraints.
Changes to this Policy
We may occasionally update this Privacy Policy to adapt to changing business needs and privacy regulations. If we make significant changes, we will notify you through our website or other communication channels. The effective date at the top of this page indicates when this policy was last revised.
Please review any changes carefully. Your continued use of Smart Tart® products, services, or website after any changes constitutes your acceptance of the revised Privacy Policy.
How to Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or your personal information, please contact us at:
Smart Tart® Candy
[email protected]
123 Candy Lane
Nashville, TN 37205
We are committed to working with you to obtain a fair resolution of any privacy concern.