Privacy

Last updated: 20 August 2026

Privacy Policy

Claire’s Customs respects your privacy and takes the protection of personal information seriously.

This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, why we collect it, how it is used, how long it may be retained, who it may be shared with and the rights available to you.

A privacy notice should explain the reasons for processing data, retention and sharing arrangements, and UK GDPR requires businesses including small businesses and sole traders to provide appropriate privacy information.

1. Who is responsible for your information?

The data controller is:

[LEGAL NAME], sole trader trading as Claire’s Customs

Business address:

[BUSINESS ADDRESS]

Email:

[EMAIL ADDRESS]

Telephone:

[PHONE NUMBER]

2. Information we may collect

Depending on how you use our website, we may collect:

Identity information

Such as your name.

Contact information

Such as your:

• email address;
• telephone number;
• billing address; and
• delivery address.

Order information

Including:

• products ordered;
• personalisation choices;
• order value;
• delivery information;
• correspondence;
• refunds;
• returns; and
• customer-service history.

Customer artwork

Including:

• photographs;
• graphics;
• logos;
• names;
• messages;
• text;
• drawings; and
• other content uploaded or supplied for personalisation.

Account information

If customer accounts are offered, this may include account identifiers, saved addresses, saved designs and account preferences.

Passwords should be stored using appropriate one-way security measures rather than in readable form.

Payment information

Payment transactions may be processed by third-party payment providers.

We do not intend to store complete payment-card details on our own systems where payment is handled by those providers.

Technical information

Our website and security systems may collect information such as:

• IP address;
• browser type;
• device type;
• operating system;
• pages visited;
• timestamps;
• security logs;
• cookie identifiers; and
• other technical information required to operate and protect the website.

Communications

We may retain emails, contact-form submissions and other messages you send to us.

3. How we obtain information

Most personal information is provided directly by you when you:

• place an order;
• create an account;
• upload artwork;
• contact us;
• request customer support;
• subscribe to marketing; or
• otherwise interact with our website.

Some technical information is collected automatically when you use the website.

We may also receive limited information from delivery companies, payment processors and other providers involved in completing your transaction.

4. Why we use your information

We may process personal information to:

• create and fulfil your order;
• produce personalised products;
• take and administer payment;
• dispatch and deliver purchases;
• communicate about an order;
• manage returns, refunds and complaints;
• operate customer accounts;
• provide customer service;
• detect and prevent fraud;
• protect our website and systems;
• maintain accounting and tax records;
• comply with legal obligations;
• establish, exercise or defend legal claims;
• improve our business and website; and
• send marketing where we are legally permitted to do so.

5. Our lawful bases

Depending on the activity, we may rely on:

Contract

Where using information is necessary to take steps at your request or fulfil our contract with you.

For example, we need your name, delivery address and personalised artwork to make and deliver your order.

Legal obligation

Where information must be retained or used to comply with legal requirements such as tax, accounting and consumer-law obligations.

Legitimate interests

Where processing is reasonably necessary for our legitimate business interests and those interests are not overridden by your rights.

This may include:

• website security;
• fraud prevention;
• maintaining appropriate records;
• responding to enquiries;
• improving our services; and
• defending legal claims.

Consent

Where consent is the appropriate lawful basis, for example certain marketing activities or use of non-essential cookies.

You may withdraw consent at any time where processing is based on consent.

6. Customer photographs and artwork

Photographs and artwork submitted for personalisation are used to produce your order and provide related customer support.

They may be:

• resized;
• cropped;
• converted between file formats;
• positioned;
• temporarily copied to production equipment; or
• otherwise technically processed where necessary to make your product.

We do not acquire ownership of your customer-supplied photographs simply because you upload them.

We will not use private customer photographs for advertising or promotional purposes without appropriate permission.

7. Photographs of other people

If you supply photographs or other personal information relating to another person, you should ensure you are entitled to provide that information to us for the intended purpose.

This is particularly important when submitting private family photographs or photographs of children.

8. How long we keep information

We do not intend to keep personal information for longer than reasonably necessary.

Different information may be retained for different periods.

Order, transaction and accounting information may be retained for the period required to comply with applicable tax, accounting and legal obligations.

Sole traders are required to retain relevant business tax records for prescribed periods; current HMRC guidance generally requires self-employed records to be retained for at least five years after the relevant Self Assessment filing deadline.

Customer-production artwork will normally be retained only for as long as reasonably necessary to:

• produce the order;
• complete quality checks;
• deal with a delivery problem;
• arrange a remake;
• handle a complaint; or
• resolve a dispute.

Once it is no longer reasonably required, we will delete, anonymise or securely dispose of it unless you have deliberately chosen to retain the design through a saved-design feature.

Security logs may be retained for a reasonable period to investigate abuse, attempted attacks or fraudulent activity.

9. Who we share information with

We may share the minimum necessary personal information with trusted service providers involved in running Claire’s Customs.

These may include:

• payment processors;
• banks and financial institutions;
• delivery companies;
• postal services;
• website hosting providers;
• cloud-storage providers;
• email providers;
• IT and security providers;
• accounting providers;
• professional advisers; and
• government or law-enforcement bodies where legally required.

We do not sell customer personal information to advertisers.

10. Payment processors

Payments may be handled by payment service providers displayed during checkout.

Those providers process payment information under their own privacy arrangements.

Before launch, this section should be updated to identify the actual providers you use, for example Stripe or PayPal.

11. Delivery providers

Where necessary, we provide information such as your:

• name;
• delivery address;
• email address; and
• telephone number

to the postal or courier provider responsible for delivering your order.

They use that information to provide the delivery service and related notifications.

12. Cookies

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies.

Some cookies are necessary for features such as:

• shopping baskets;
• checkout;
• account login;
• fraud prevention;
• website security; and
• remembering essential preferences.

Where cookies or similar technologies are not strictly necessary, we will obtain consent where required before using them.

ICO guidance states that website users need to be informed about cookies and that consent is needed for cookies that are not strictly necessary.

A separate Cookie Policy may be provided if appropriate.

13. Analytics and advertising

If we introduce analytics, advertising pixels or similar non-essential tracking technologies, this Privacy Policy and our cookie controls will be updated to identify them.

Non-essential technologies will not be treated as strictly necessary merely because they are commercially useful.

14. Marketing

We may send marketing where you have consented or where applicable law otherwise permits it.

You can unsubscribe at any time.

Marketing emails will contain an appropriate method to opt out.

UK electronic-marketing rules generally require consent for marketing to individuals unless an applicable exception such as the existing-customer “soft opt-in” is satisfied, including providing an opt-out when details are collected and in subsequent messages.

We will not use pre-ticked boxes as evidence of consent where consent is required.

15. International processing

Some technology, payment, hosting or other service providers may process information outside the United Kingdom.

Where personal information is transferred internationally, we will take appropriate steps required by applicable data-protection law, such as relying on an adequacy decision or appropriate contractual safeguards where necessary.

16. Security

We use reasonable technical and organisational measures intended to protect personal information against:

• unauthorised access;
• alteration;
• loss;
• misuse;
• disclosure; and
• destruction.

No online system can guarantee absolute security, but we will take proportionate measures appropriate to the information we process.

17. Your data-protection rights

Depending on the circumstances, you may have rights including:

• access to your personal information;
• correction of inaccurate information;
• deletion of information;
• restriction of processing;
• objection to certain processing;
• data portability; and
• withdrawal of consent.

These rights are subject to legal conditions and exceptions.

The ICO requires privacy notices to explain relevant rights and how individuals can exercise them.

To make a request, contact:

[EMAIL ADDRESS]

We may need to verify your identity before releasing personal information.

18. Complaints

If you have concerns about how your information has been handled, please contact us first so we can investigate.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection.

19. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy when our services, suppliers, technology or legal obligations change.

The latest version will be published on this website together with its revision date.