PRIVACY POLICY

Effective Date: May 21, 2026

Welcome to Smelling Peace. We highly value your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal data. This Privacy Policy outlines how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our website, browse our candle collections, or make a purchase.

Information We Collect

Personal Information You Provide Voluntarily

Identity & Contact Data: Your name, shipping address, billing address, email address, and phone number when you place an order or create an account.
Payment Data: When you make a purchase, your payment details are processed directly by secure, PCI-compliant third-party payment gateways (such as Stripe or PayPal). We do not store or have access to your full credit card details.
Correspondence: Any information you provide if you contact us directly via email, contact forms, or customer support channels.

Information Collected Automatically

Technical & Usage Data: Our website platform automatically collects certain analytical data when you visit, including your IP address, browser type, operating system, pages viewed, and the dates/times of your visits. This is done to ensure the website runs securely and functions correctly.

How We Use Your Information

We process your data based on lawful grounds under the GDPR, primarily to execute our contract with you (fulfilling your order) and to satisfy our legitimate business interests. Specifically, we use it to:

Process, package, and ship your handcrafted candle orders.
Send you order confirmations, tracking details, and updates regarding your delivery.
Respond to your customer service questions, returns, or feedback.
Comply with legal, financial, and tax obligations (such as maintaining accurate sales records for tax authorities in Cyprus).
Send you marketing emails or newsletters, only if you have explicitly opted in to receive them. You can opt out at any time.

How We Share Your Data

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties. We only share the minimum necessary data with trusted service providers who help us operate our business:

Website Platform: Our store is hosted on the Wix platform. They provide the e-commerce framework that allows us to display and sell our products securely. Your data may be stored through Wix’s data storage and databases on secure servers behind a firewall.
Payment Processors: To complete transactions safely, your payment details are shared with our integrated payment gateways.
Delivery & Courier Services: Your name, phone number, and shipping address are shared with our local and international courier partners strictly to ensure your candles are delivered to your door.
Legal Obligations: We may disclose your information if required to do so by law or in response to valid requests by public authorities.

Cookies and Tracking

Our website uses cookies to improve your browsing experience. Cookies allow the site to remember items in your shopping cart as you browse, remember your login details, and analyze traffic patterns to improve our store design.

You can choose to disable cookies through your individual browser settings; however, doing so may prevent certain parts of our online store from functioning properly.

Data Retention

We will retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this policy, or as required by law (such as keeping financial transaction histories for tax reporting). When we no longer have a legitimate business need to process your data, we will securely delete or anonymize it.

Your Rights Under the GDPR

As a resident of the European Union, you hold specific data protection rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). You have the right to:

Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Correction: Request that we correct any inaccurate or incomplete information.
Deletion ("Right to be Forgotten"): Request that we erase your personal data from our systems, provided it does not conflict with legal record-keeping requirements.
Restriction & Objection: Object to or restrict the processing of your data, including direct marketing.
Data Portability: Request a digital copy of your personal data to transfer to another service.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the email address listed below.

Changes to This Policy

We reserve the right to modify this privacy policy at any time to reflect updates to our business practices or legal requirements. Any changes will take effect immediately upon their posting on this page. We encourage you to review this page periodically.

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, your data, or if you would like to exercise your user rights, please reach out to us