1. What Data We Collect and Why

Comments
When visitors leave comments on our site, we collect the data shown in the comments form, as well as the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help with spam detection. An anonymised string created from your email address (a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to check if you are using it. The Gravatar service Privacy Policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/. After approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment.

Media
If you upload images to the website, please avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS). Visitors to the website can download and extract any location data from images on the site.

Contact Forms
Information submitted through contact forms is used solely to respond to enquiries and provide information. We do not use the information submitted for marketing purposes unless explicitly stated.

Cookies

• Review Cookies: If you leave a review on our site, you may opt to save your name, email address, and website in cookies for convenience. These cookies last for one year.
• Login Cookies: When you log in, we set cookies to save your login information and screen display choices. Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for one year. Selecting “Remember Me” will extend your login for two weeks.
• Temporary Cookies: A temporary cookie is set if you visit our login page to determine if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.
• Checkout and Cart Cookies: We use cookies to keep track of basket contents while you’re browsing our site.

Embedded Content from Other Websites
Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g., videos, images, articles). Embedded content from other websites behaves as if you have visited those websites, which may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with the content if you are logged in to that website.

Analytics
We use analytics tools to monitor traffic and user behaviour on the site in aggregate form to improve the user experience.

2. WooCommerce & Subscriptions

What We Collect and Store
While you visit our site, we’ll track:

• Location, IP address, and browser type
• Billing address: to successfully process your payment.

If you make a purchase, we collect information including your name, billing address, email address, phone number, payment details, and any account information you choose to provide (e.g., username and password). We use this information for purposes such as:

• Sending account and order information.
• Responding to requests, including refunds and complaints.
• Processing payments and preventing fraud.
• Setting up your account for our store.
• Fulfilling legal obligations, like tax calculations.
• Improving our offerings.

If you create an account, we will store your name, address, email, and phone number for quicker checkout in the future. We retain order information for tax and accounting purposes for as long as legally required.

Subscriptions Data
When processing recurring subscription payments, we store the customer’s name, billing address, shipping address, email address, phone number, and payment details. Depending on the payment processor, some personal data may be shared with external sources. For example, if you use PayPal, please refer to their Privacy Policy: PayPal Privacy Policy.

Who on Our Team Has Access
GatherWhere Administrators have access to:

• Order information: including what was purchased and when.
• Customer information: such as your name, email address, and billing information. These details allow our team to fulfil orders, process refunds, and support users.

What We Share with Others
We share information with third parties who help us provide orders and store services. This includes payment processors like PayPal. When processing payments, certain data is shared with PayPal to complete your transaction, including purchase totals and billing information. Please consult their privacy policy for more information.

3. Data Retention

• Reviews: If you leave a review, it and its metadata are retained indefinitely. This allows us to recognise and approve follow-up comments automatically.
• User Accounts: For users who register on our site, we store the personal information provided in their profile. All users can see, edit, or delete their personal information at any time, except for their username. Administrators may also view and edit this information.

4. Your Data Rights

If you have an account on this site or have left comments, you may request an exported file of the personal data we hold about you. You can also request that we delete any personal data, excluding data we are required to retain for administrative, legal, or security purposes.

5. Data Security

We take reasonable measures to protect your data from unauthorised access and disclosure. However, no data transmission over the Internet or method of storage is entirely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.

6. Third-Party Services and Payment Processors

• Google reCAPTCHA: We use reCAPTCHA to prevent spam and abuse on forms. The reCAPTCHA API collects device and application data and sends it to Google for analysis. Please refer to the Google Privacy Policy for more information.
• PayPal: If you choose to pay via PayPal, personal data will be shared with PayPal to complete your purchase. Review PayPal’s Privacy Policy for more details.

7. International Data Transfers

We may store your information on servers located outside your country of residence. By using our site, you consent to the transfer of data to countries outside the EU, if applicable, where data protection laws may differ.

8. Children’s Privacy

Our services are not intended for individuals under the age of 18, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children.

9. Changes to Our Privacy Policy

GatherWhere may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Users are encouraged to review this policy periodically for updates. Continued use of our website after changes constitute acceptance of the modified policy.

10. Contact Information

If you have any questions or concerns about our Privacy Policy, please contact us through our contact form at gatherwhere.com/contact/.