Privacy Policy | Svalara

1. Who We Are

Svalara (svalara.store) is an Australian-based online retailer specialising in premium stainless steel tea infusers. We are committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal information responsibly.

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to exercise your privacy rights, please contact us via the contact form on our website.

2. Information We Collect

We collect personal information only when it is necessary to provide our products and services. The types of information we may collect include:

Identity information: first name, last name
Contact information: email address, phone number, shipping address
Order information: items purchased, order history, transaction records
Payment information: processed securely via PayPal — we never store card details
Communication information: messages you send us through our contact form or by email
Technical information: IP address, browser type, device type, pages visited, and time spent on our site (via cookies and analytics tools)

We collect information directly from you (e.g. when you place an order or fill out a contact form) and automatically through cookies and similar technologies when you browse our website.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use your personal information for the following purposes:

Processing and fulfilling your orders, including shipping and payment
Communicating with you about your orders, returns, or enquiries
Sending order confirmation and shipping notifications
Improving our website, products, and customer experience
Detecting and preventing fraud or other illegal activities
Complying with our legal obligations under Australian law
Sending marketing communications — only with your consent, and you may unsubscribe at any time

4. Legal Basis for Processing

We process your personal information on the following grounds:

Contractual necessity: to fulfil orders you have placed with us.
Legitimate interests: to improve our services, prevent fraud, and communicate with you about your purchases.
Legal obligation: to comply with Australian tax, consumer law, and other applicable regulations.
Consent: for marketing communications and non-essential cookies — you may withdraw consent at any time.

5. Sharing Your Information

We do not sell, trade, or rent your personal information to third parties. We may share your information only in the following limited circumstances:

Delivery carriers (e.g. Post Office, Aramex) — to fulfil shipping
PayPal — to securely process your payment
Cloud services provider — our web hosting and database provider
Analytics providers — in anonymised or aggregated form only
Law enforcement or regulators — where required by law or to protect our legal rights

All third-party service providers are required to handle your information securely and only for the purposes we specify. Where data is transferred outside Australia, we take reasonable steps to ensure it receives equivalent protection.

6. Cookies & Tracking Technologies

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to enhance your browsing experience and analyse site usage. Cookies are small text files stored on your device.

We use the following types of cookies:

Essential cookies: required for the website to function (e.g. shopping cart, session management)
Analytics cookies: help us understand how visitors use our site so we can improve it (e.g. page views, time on site)
Marketing cookies: used to deliver relevant advertising — only with your consent

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Disabling cookies may affect the functionality of certain parts of our website.

7. Data Retention

We retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes described in this policy, or as required by law. Specifically:

Order records are retained for 5 years to comply with Australian tax and financial record-keeping obligations.
Contact form submissions are retained for up to 3 years.
Marketing consent records are retained until you withdraw consent.

When data is no longer required, it is securely deleted or anonymised.

8. Your Privacy Rights

Under the Australian Privacy Act 1988, you have the right to:

Access the personal information we hold about you
Correct inaccurate or out-of-date information
Request deletion of your personal information (subject to legal retention obligations)
Opt out of marketing communications at any time by clicking "Unsubscribe" in any email or contacting us directly
Complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) at oaic.gov.au if you believe your privacy rights have been breached

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us via the contact form on our website. We will respond within 30 days.

9. Security

We take reasonable steps to protect your personal information from misuse, interference, loss, and unauthorised access, modification, or disclosure. These measures include:

SSL/TLS encryption for all data transmitted between your browser and our website
Secure, password-protected database storage on cloud servers
Restricted internal access — only authorised personnel can access personal data
Payment processing handled entirely by PayPal — we never see or store your card details

While we implement best-practice security measures, no method of internet transmission is 100% secure. We encourage you to use a strong, unique password and to keep your account credentials confidential all the time.

10. Third-Party Links

Our website may contain links to third-party websites (e.g. PayPal, social media platforms). We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those sites and encourage you to review their privacy policies before providing any personal information.

11. 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. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will promptly delete it.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal obligations. The updated version will always be available on this page with a revised "Last updated" date. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

Continued use of our website after any changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated Privacy Policy.

13. Governing Law

This Privacy Policy is governed by the laws of Victoria, Australia. Any disputes arising in connection with this policy shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Victoria.