nitty gritty

Last updated: 01/11/2025

1. Introduction

Welcome to unithrift.shop (“we,” “our,” “us”). We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, share, and safeguard your personal information when you visit or make a purchase on https://unithrift.shop.

By using our website, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy.

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2. Definitions

• Personal Information / Personal Data: Any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person.

• Processing: Any operation or set of operations performed on Personal Information (collection, storage, use, disclosure, etc.).

• Data Subject: You, as a visitor or customer of unithrift.shop.

• Responsible Party: unithrift.shop (or the business entity that owns and operates the site).

• Information Officer: The person designated by us to be responsible for data protection compliance under POPIA.

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3. What Information We Collect

We collect several types of information from and about users of our website, including:

1. Personal Information You Provide

   • Name

   • Email address

   • Postal/address (for delivery)

   • Telephone number

   • Payment information (processed through secure third-party payment processors)

   • Billing information

   • Account credentials (if you register an account)

2. Automatically Collected Information

   • IP address

   • Browser type and version

   • Operating system

   • Pages of our site you visit

   • Referring / exit pages

   • Date/time stamps

   • Cookie and tracking data (see “Cookies” below)

3. Third-Party Data

   • If you use third-party payment or analytics services, they may pass us data (in accordance with their own privacy practices).

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4. How We Use Your Information

We use the personal information we collect for the following purposes:

• To process and fulfill your orders (shipping, billing, customer service)

• To communicate with you (order confirmations, updates, customer support)

• To improve our website, products, and services

• To provide you with marketing, promotional offers, and newsletters (only if you have opted in)

• To comply with legal obligations (e.g. tax, record-keeping)

• To detect and prevent fraud or other prohibited or illegal activities

• To personalize your experience (recommendations, user interface)

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5. Legal Bases for Processing (If Applicable / For International Customers)

• Under POPIA (Protection of Personal Information Act, South Africa), we process your data lawfully, fairly, and in a transparent manner in line with the conditions set out in the Act.

• If we have customers from the EU or other GDPR-regulated jurisdictions, some processing is done on the basis of:

  • Contract (processing necessary to fulfill your order)

  • Legitimate interests (improving our service, preventing fraud)

  • Consent, where required (e.g. for marketing emails or non-essential cookies)

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6. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

• We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to track activity on our website and hold certain information.

• Types of cookies we may use: essential cookies, performance cookies, functionality cookies, and possibly advertising cookies.

• You can control or disable cookies through your browser settings, but note that disabling some cookies may affect your experience on our site.

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7. Data Sharing and Disclosure

We may share your personal information with:

• Service Providers: third-party companies that perform services on our behalf (e.g., payment processors, shipping partners, email services)

• Business Partners: if you opt into co-marketing or partner offers

• Legal Authorities: when required by law (e.g. court order, regulatory request)

• Successors: in the event of a merger, sale, or other business transaction involving unithrift.shop

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

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8. Data Security

• We implement reasonable and appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure or destruction. 

• Examples: use of secure (HTTPS) communication, access controls, and data encryption where applicable.

• While we strive to protect your data, no method of transmission over the Internet or method of electronic storage is 100% secure.

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9. Data Retention

• We will retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which we collected it (e.g. order processing, customer service) and to comply with our legal obligations.

• When your data is no longer required, we will securely delete or anonymize it.

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10. Your Rights

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have rights regarding your personal data, including (but not limited to):

• Right to Access: You can request a copy of your personal data that we hold.

• Right to Correction: You can ask us to correct or update inaccurate or incomplete data.

• Right to Deletion: You can request that we delete your personal data in certain circumstances.

• Right to Object / Restrict Processing: You may object to or ask us to restrict certain types of processing (e.g. direct marketing).

• Right to Withdraw Consent: Where processing is based on consent, you can withdraw your consent at any time (this does not affect processing already done).

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us (see “Contact Us” below).

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11. Cross-Border Data Transfers

• If we transfer your data outside South Africa (for example, to cloud service providers), we will ensure appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your data in accordance with applicable laws (e.g. POPIA’s cross-border requirements). 
  

• We will only transfer data to jurisdictions that provide an adequate level of protection or via binding agreements.

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12. Children’s Privacy

• Our site is not intended for children under the age of 18.

• We do not knowingly collect personal information from children without parental/guardian consent.

• If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child without verification of parental consent, we will take steps to delete that data.

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13. Changes to This Privacy Policy

• We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or for legal, operational, or regulatory reasons.

• When we update the policy, we will revise the “Last Updated” date at the top and, where appropriate, notify you (e.g., via email or site banner).

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14. Contact Us / Information Officer

• If you have any questions, concerns, or requests about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, you can contact our Information Officer at:
  Email: info@unithrift.shop