Privacy policy

Quiet Witness Clothing ("Quiet Witness", "we", "us", or "our") is a small apparel company headquartered in Sydney, Australia

We operate primarily online through our website quietwitnessclothing.com (the "Site"), selling products internationally. We are committed to protecting your privacy and complying with applicable data protection laws, including the Australian Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the EU/UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, how we use and share it, the legal bases for processing, and your rights in relation to your information.

By using our Site or services, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with any part of this policy, please do not use the Site or provide us with your personal information.

What Information We Collect

We collect various types of personal information from you when you interact with our Site or use our services. The types of information we collect include:

Information You Provide Directly: When you make a purchase, create an account, fill out forms (such as our contact form), or subscribe to our newsletter, you provide personal details. This may include your name, email address, billing and shipping address, phone number, and payment information. For example, when you place an order, we collect information needed to process the transaction and deliver your items (name, address, payment details, etc.). If you contact us with an inquiry or request, we will collect the information you provide in that communication.

Payment Information: If you purchase products, your payment details (such as credit/debit card number or payment service details) will be processed by our third-party payment processors (e.g. credit card processors or PayPal). We do not store your full payment card information on our servers. Payment data is handled securely by these providers in compliance with industry standards. We only retain limited payment information such as a transaction ID or last four digits of your card for reference.

Information Collected Automatically: Like many websites, we automatically collect certain information about your device and browsing actions when you visit our Site. This Usage Data may include your IP address, browser type, device identifiers, pages or products viewed, referring websites, and how you interact with our Site (such as time spent on pages or links clicked). We collect this information through cookies, pixels, or similar tracking technologies. (See Cookies and Tracking Technologies below for more details.)

Information from Third Parties: We may receive information about you from third-party sources that help us operate our business. For example, if you log in via a social network account or use a social media plugin, we may receive your profile information from that service with your permission. We could also obtain updated delivery or address information from our shipping carriers or address verification services to correct our records. If someone purchases a gift for you on our Site, they might provide your name and address for delivery. Additionally, we use analytics providers (like Google Analytics) that collect information on our behalf about how users use the Site; this may include demographic or interest information in aggregate form.

 

We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 16. Our Site and services are intended for use by adults. If you are under 16 (or a higher minimum age in your jurisdiction), please do not provide your personal data. If we learn that we have inadvertently collected information from a child, we will delete it promptly.

 

How We Use Your Information

We use the collected personal information for the following purposes:

To Process Orders and Provide Services: We use your information to process transactions and fulfill your orders, which includes taking payment, shipping products to you, and handling returns or exchanges. We also use it to provide any other services or products you request, and to communicate with you about your purchase (e.g. order confirmations, shipping notifications, and customer support). We process this information to perform our contract with you – for example, delivering the goods you have purchased.

Account Management: If you create an account on our Site, we use your information to maintain and administer your account (e.g. to allow you to login, update your preferences, view order history, etc.), and to authenticate you as a user. This is also part of performing our contract with you or taking steps at your request to set up an account.

Communication and Customer Support: We may use your contact details (email, phone) to communicate with you regarding your inquiries, to respond to your questions or complaints, and to provide customer support. This includes sending service messages like password resets or notifications about your orders. We do this to effectively respond to you and maintain our relationship (which is in our legitimate interests as a business to ensure customer satisfaction).

Marketing and Promotional Communications: With your consent, we will use your email address (and/or other contact info you provide) to send you marketing communications. These may include newsletters, information about new products or special offers, or other news about Quiet Witness Clothing. You can opt out of marketing emails at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in any email or contacting us. If you are an existing customer, we may also send you marketing about similar products or services, but you will always have the opportunity to opt out. Using your data for direct marketing is based on your consent or our legitimate interest in keeping you informed of our products (as allowed by law).

Personalisation and Analytics: We use data about your interactions with our Site to personalise your experience and the marketing content you see. For example, we might remember your preferences (like language or currency) or show you products similar to those you viewed. We also analyze usage data (often aggregated or pseudonymised) to understand how our website is used, to improve our services, and to develop new features or products. This helps us optimize our Site and tailor our offerings to customer needs, which is our legitimate interest.

Advertising: We may partner with advertising networks (such as Facebook or Google Ads) to display ads for our products on other websites. These partners may use cookies and similar tracking technologies to collect information about your browsing on our Site in order to show you targeted advertisements. For example, if you visit our Site and view certain products, you may later see ads for our products on other platforms. We use and allow these tracking activities only in compliance with applicable law (for instance, obtaining consent for non-essential cookies where required). You can opt out of certain targeted advertising through the cookie preferences on our Site or via the third-party ad network settings.

Fraud Prevention and Security: We process personal information to maintain the security of our Site, to prevent fraud, illegal activities, or misuse of our services, and to protect our customers and business. For example, we may use certain information to verify accounts and transactions, monitor for suspicious activity, and enforce our terms and conditions. This use is necessary for our legitimate interests in protecting our business and customers from fraud and security threats.

Legal Compliance: We also use your information as necessary to comply with our legal obligations. For instance, we may retain transaction records to meet tax and accounting requirements, or use your data to satisfy obligations under consumer protection laws. If we are required by law enforcement or court order to disclose information, we will use and disclose data as mandated by law (see Data Sharing below for more on legal disclosures).

 

We will not use your personal information for purposes that are incompatible with those listed above without notifying you and, if required, obtaining your consent.

 

Legal Bases for Processing (GDPR Compliance)

If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA) or United Kingdom, we rely on the following legal bases under the GDPR/UK GDPR to process your personal data:

Performance of a Contract: We process certain personal data on the basis that it is necessary to fulfill our contract with you as a customer or to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract. For example, when you place an order, we must process your payment and address details to deliver the product you purchased.

Consent: In some cases, we rely on your consent to process personal data. For instance, we will obtain your consent before sending you promotional emails or using certain cookies and tracking technologies that are not strictly necessary. Where we rely on consent, you have the right to withdraw it at any time, which will not affect the lawfulness of processing already carried out.

Legitimate Interests: We process personal data as needed for our legitimate business interests, provided that those interests are not overridden by your data protection rights. We have a legitimate interest in using your data to ensure our Site and services operate securely and effectively, to improve and promote our products, to communicate with you, and to prevent fraud. For example, using analytics to understand usage of our Site or sending marketing to existing customers may be considered our legitimate interests. When we rely on this basis, we consider and balance any potential impact on you and your rights.

Legal Obligation: Where applicable, we process and retain personal information to comply with our legal obligations. For example, we may keep transaction records as required by tax law or disclose information if required by a lawful request from authorities.

 

We will always ensure that we have a valid legal ground to process your personal data. Note that we may process the same information under more than one legal basis depending on the specific context (e.g. we might process your email under contract basis to send you an order receipt and under consent to send marketing).

 

Data Sharing and Disclosure

We understand the importance of keeping your personal information confidential. We do not sell your personal data to third parties. However, we do share your information with certain third parties in the following circumstances, in order to run our business and provide services to you:

Service Providers: We share personal data with third-party service providers who perform functions on our behalf. This includes Shopify, which hosts our online store and platform, and thus processes your personal data to power our website. It also includes payment processors (e.g., credit card processing companies or payment gateways like PayPal) that handle your payment transactions, shipping companies or logistics partners that deliver your orders, email service providers that send out our emails, and IT or cloud storage providers that help us store and manage data. These companies are authorised to use personal information only as needed to provide their services to us and are contractually obligated to protect it.

Business Partners: We may share information with business partners or integrators that you use in connection with our services. For example, if our Site offers login via a social media account or an integration with a third-party app, we will send certain information to that third party at your direction (with your consent). Additionally, if you sign up for co-sponsored promotions or partnerships, your details may be shared with the partner involved, but we will inform you at the time of collection. We also share limited data with analytics and advertising partners (such as Google Analytics or advertising networks) to help us analyze usage and market our products (these partners typically process data under their own privacy policies as separate controllers). Any such sharing for advertising is done only with appropriate notices and choices given to you.

Shopify (Platform Hosting): Because our store is built on Shopify's platform, Shopify may have access to customer data in providing its services. Shopify acts as our data processor for most customer data, but it may also use certain data for its own legitimate purposes as described in Shopify’s privacy policy. For example, Shopify might use data to improve its platform or comply with legal requirements. We encourage you to review Shopify’s privacy policy for details on how they handle personal information. Rest assured, we have a data processing agreement with Shopify to safeguard our customers' information.

Legal Requirements and Protection: We may disclose personal information when required to do so by law or when such disclosure is necessary to comply with applicable laws, regulations, or legal processes. For example, we might have to provide information in response to a court order, subpoena, or a lawful request by government authorities. We may also disclose your information if we believe in good faith that it is necessary to: investigate or enforce our Terms of Service or other agreements; protect the rights, property, or safety of Quiet Witness, our customers, or others; or detect and prevent fraud or security issues.

Business Transfers: In the event that Quiet Witness Clothing undergoes a business transition such as a merger, acquisition by another company, sale of assets, or if we seek financing or go through bankruptcy, your personal information may be transferred as part of that transaction. If such a transfer occurs, we will ensure the recipient of the data is bound to respect your personal information in a manner consistent with this Privacy Policy and applicable law.

 

Other than the circumstances above, we will only share your personal information with third parties if you direct us to or give us consent. For instance, if you request that we share your information with a third-party service or you intentionally interact with third parties (such as through social media plugins on our Site), we will share information based on your request.

 

International Data Transfers

As an international business, we may need to transfer and store your personal information in countries outside of your own. Quiet Witness is based in Australia, and our website infrastructure (including Shopify’s servers) may be located in multiple countries. In particular, data collected from our customers in the EEA, UK, or other regions may be transferred to and processed in Australia, the United States, Canada, or other countries where our service providers operate. For example, Shopify’s primary data centers and our other cloud service providers might be in the US or other jurisdictions.

When we transfer personal data out of the EEA/UK, we take steps to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your information in accordance with GDPR requirements. These measures include:

Adequacy Decisions: Where applicable, we may transfer personal data to countries that the European Commission (or UK authorities) have recognized as providing an adequate level of data protection. (For instance, personal data sent to Canada may be protected under an adequacy decision for certain Canadian organisations.)

Standard Contractual Clauses: For transfers to countries without an adequacy decision (such as the United States), we rely on legally approved contract clauses, known as the Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs), to ensure your personal data has equivalent protection to that in the EU. These are contractual commitments between our company and the recipient of the data, binding them to protect the data to EU standards.

Other Safeguards: We may also rely on other permitted transfer mechanisms under data protection law, such as obtaining your explicit consent for certain cross-border transfers, or as otherwise allowed by GDPR (for example, transfers necessary for the performance of a contract with you).

 

We will inform you if we need to transfer your personal information in a manner that requires your consent under GDPR, and will only do so with your agreement. You can contact us (details below) for more information about the safeguards we have in place for international data transfers.

Please note that when your data is transferred to another country, it may be subject to the laws of that jurisdiction (including access by law enforcement and national security authorities, in certain circumstances). However, we will take all reasonable measures to protect your privacy.

 

Data Security

We take data security seriously and have implemented appropriate technical and organisational measures to safeguard your personal information. We use industry-standard security practices to protect data against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, or alteration. These measures include encryption of sensitive information in transit (for example, SSL/TLS security for our website to encrypt data you enter) and at rest where applicable, firewalls and network security controls to prevent external attacks, and access controls to ensure personal data is only accessible by staff and service providers who need it for their duties.

Our employees and contractors who handle personal data are bound by confidentiality obligations. We also select reputable service providers and require them to maintain adequate security standards (for example, through data processing agreements).

Despite our efforts, please be aware that no method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is completely secure. No security measure is perfect, and we cannot guarantee 100% security of data at all times. You should also take care with how you handle and disclose your personal information. We encourage you to choose strong passwords for any accounts and not share them. If you believe your interaction with us is no longer secure (for example, if you feel that the security of your account has been compromised), please contact us immediately.

 

Data Retention

We will retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. In general, this means:

Customer and Transaction Data: If you make a purchase or create an account, we will keep your personal information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you with services. Order information (such as your name, contact details, and order history) is typically kept for at least the duration of the warranty or return period and may be retained for several years to comply with legal obligations (e.g. maintaining records for tax and financial reporting, typically 5-7 years or as required by law). We may keep a record of your orders and communications with us for our business records unless you request deletion (and we have no legal obligation to keep it).

Marketing Data: We retain information used for marketing purposes until you opt-out or withdraw your consent. If you unsubscribe from our marketing communications, we will stop sending you emails and will remove or anonymise your contact information on our marketing list. However, we may keep a record of your opt-out request to ensure we honor it going forward.

Analytics Data: Usage data collected via cookies and similar technologies may be retained as long as necessary for the purposes it was collected (e.g. to analyze trends over time) or as required by our analytics providers. Often, this data is aggregated or anonymised over time, but where it contains personal data, we will follow applicable retention rules. You can typically delete cookie data via your browser, which will remove the associated data on your device (see Cookies and Tracking Technologies below).

Legal and Security Records: We may retain information that is needed to comply with legal obligations or to resolve disputes, enforce our agreements, or protect our legal rights. For instance, if we banned a user for fraud or abuse, we might keep certain information to prevent that person from opening a new account. Also, any information required for legal claims might be retained until the statute of limitations expires (the period during which a claim can be made).

 

Once the retention period expires or the purpose for processing your data is fulfilled, we will either securely delete or anonymise your personal information, or if that’s not possible (for example, if the data is stored in backup archives), we will securely store the data and isolate it from further use until deletion is possible.

 

Your Rights

You have certain rights regarding your personal data that we hold, especially if you are in the UK or EU (these rights may also be available under other jurisdictions' laws). We respect these rights and have processes in place to enable you to exercise them. Your principal rights are:

Right of Access: You have the right to request a copy of the personal information we hold about you, and to obtain information about how we process it. This allows you to confirm whether we are processing your data and to check that we are doing so lawfully.

Right to Rectification: If any of your personal data is inaccurate or incomplete, you have the right to ask us to correct or update it without undue delay. For example, you can ask us to update an incorrect email address or shipping address.

Right to Erasure: You have the right to request deletion of your personal data in certain circumstances (also known as the "right to be forgotten"). If there is no lawful reason for us to continue processing your information (for instance, if the data is no longer necessary for the purpose it was collected, or if you withdraw consent in cases where consent is the basis, etc.), you can request that we erase your information. We will do so unless an exception applies (for example, we may need to retain certain data to comply with a legal obligation).

Right to Restrict Processing: You can ask us to suspend or restrict the processing of your personal information in certain situations – for example, if you contest the accuracy of the data or object to us processing it, we will restrict processing until the issue is resolved.

Right to Object: You have the right to object to our processing of your personal information when we are relying on legitimate interests as the legal basis (including profiling based on legitimate interests). If you object, we will review whether our legitimate grounds override your rights and freedoms. You also have an absolute right to object to your data being used for direct marketing purposes at any time. If you object to marketing, we will stop using your data for that purpose immediately.

Right to Data Portability: For data that you have provided to us and that we process by automated means under consent or contract, you have the right to request a copy in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format, and you have the right to transmit that data to another controller where technically feasible. In plain terms, this right allows you to obtain and reuse your personal data across different services.

Right to Withdraw Consent: If we rely on your consent to process your personal information, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. For example, you can withdraw your consent to receive marketing emails by unsubscribing. Withdrawing consent will not affect the lawfulness of any processing we conducted prior to your withdrawal, and it will not affect processing of your data under other legal bases (such as processing your order under a contract basis).

Right not to be Subject to Automated Decisions: We do not currently use your personal data to make any decisions that have legal or similarly significant effects on you solely by automated means (without human involvement). In general, you have the right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing (including profiling) that produces legal effects or similarly significantly affects you, unless it is necessary for a contract with you, authorized by law, or based on your explicit consent. Should we ever engage in such activity, we will inform you and ensure we have a lawful basis to do so, including providing you with the opportunity to request human intervention or to contest the decision.

Right to Complain: If you have any concerns or complaints about how we are handling your personal information, please contact us so we can try to resolve the issue. If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory data protection authority. For example, if you are in Australia, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC); if you are in the UK, you can contact the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO); if you are in the EU, you can reach out to your local Data Protection Authority in your country of residence.

To exercise any of your rights, please contact us using the information in the Contact Us section below. We will respond to your request in accordance with applicable law, typically within one month. Please note that for security, we may need to verify your identity before fulfilling certain requests (such as access or deletion requests) to ensure we do not disclose data to the wrong person or delete data improperly.

There may be exceptions or limitations to these rights under applicable law – for example, we might not be able to delete data that we are required to keep by law, or we might deny an access request if granting it would adversely affect the rights and freedoms of others. We will explain if any such exceptions apply when responding to your request.

 

Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Cookies are small text files that websites place on your device to store data that can be recalled by the web server in the domain that placed the cookie. We and our partners use cookies and similar tracking technologies (such as pixel tags/beacons and local storage) on our Site to provide and enhance our services.

Types of Cookies We Use: Our Site uses both first-party cookies (set by us) and third-party cookies (set by others) for various purposes. Some cookies are essential to make our Site work (for example, to remember items in your shopping cart and enable checkout). We also use functional cookies to remember your preferences and provide enhanced features. Analytics cookies (such as those from Google Analytics) help us understand how visitors use our Site, which pages are popular, or if certain emails led to a purchase, so we can improve our offerings. Advertising cookies may be used by third-party partners to track your browsing activities and show you ads that are more relevant to your interests, as described in the Advertising section above.

How We Use Cookies: We use cookies and similar tools to remember your preferences (e.g., language, currency), keep you logged in (for account users), analyse traffic and usage of our Site, and personalise content and ads. Cookies allow us to recognize your device and provide a better experience (for example, by not showing you the same pop-up repeatedly, or by loading the Site faster based on your last visit). We also allow certain third parties to set cookies on our Site for analytics and advertising, as mentioned. These third parties may collect information about your online activities over time and across different websites.

Your Choices: You have the ability to control or limit how cookies are used. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies by default, but you can usually modify your browser settings to decline cookies or alert you when a cookie is being placed on your device. You can also delete cookies that have already been set. Please note that if you disable or reject cookies, some features of our Site may not function properly or you may not be able to complete a purchase (for instance, the shopping cart may not remember your items).

 If required by law (for example, in EU/UK), our Site will display a cookie consent banner on your first visit, allowing you to accept or reject non-essential cookies. You can adjust your cookie preferences at any time via that tool or by contacting us. Additionally, to opt out of Google Analytics, you can use Google's opt-out browser add-on. For targeted advertising cookies, you can often opt-out through industry websites (such as the Network Advertising Initiative or Digital Advertising Alliance sites) or via settings on the advertising platform.

Do Not Track: Some browsers have a "Do Not Track" (DNT) feature that signals to websites that you do not want to be tracked. Currently, there is no uniform standard for how to respond to DNT signals. While our Site may not respond to every DNT signal, we treat all users’ data in accordance with this Privacy Policy. You can manage tracking preferences as described above.

 

For more detailed information about the cookies and tracking technologies we use, you may review our separate Cookies Policy (if available) or contact us. By using our Site, you consent to our use of cookies as described (unless you disable them via your browser or preferences).

 

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update or modify this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technologies, legal requirements, or for other operational reasons. When we make changes, we will post the updated Privacy Policy on our Site and update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. If the changes are significant, we may also provide a more prominent notice (such as by email notification or a banner on our website). We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we are protecting your information.

 

Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or your personal information, please contact us:

Quiet Witness Clothing

 Email: quietwitnessclothing@gmail.com

Mailing Address: Sydney, NSW, Australia (contact us for full mailing details)

We are responsible for the processing of your personal data as described in this policy. You can reach out to us at the email above for any privacy-related inquiries, including to exercise your rights or to lodge a complaint. We will be happy to assist you and will respond as soon as reasonably possible, and no later than required by applicable law.