TheVisualNetwork

# Privacy Policy for The Visual Network

**Effective Date:** June 2025. This Privacy Policy explains how The Visual Network (“we”, “our”) collects, uses, and protects your personal data when you purchase from our Etsy shop (The Visual Network) or contact us (via Etsy or our website, cambridge.tours). It does **not** cover Etsy’s own data practices (see Etsy’s Privacy Policy for details). We are committed to respecting your privacy and complying with GDPR (EU and UK data protection law).

## Personal Data We Collect

When you place an order through Etsy or contact us directly, we receive only the information needed to process your order or respond to you. This typically includes:

* **Order and shipping details:** the items you ordered and where to send them. For example, Etsy provides your name and postal (shipping) address so we can ship your prints or products to you.
* **Contact information:** your email address (and phone number, if you provide it) for order confirmations or questions. (We do *not* see your full payment or credit card details; Etsy handles payment processing.)
* **Additional information you give us:** if you write to us (via Etsy Conversation or our website form), we collect any personal details you include (such as custom requests or photo references).

We do **not** collect any more data than necessary for these purposes. We do not have a mailing list and will not collect your data for unsolicited marketing.

## How We Use Your Data

We use your personal data only to fulfil and manage your order and to provide customer support. For example:

* **Order fulfilment:** We use your name and address to package and ship your order, and to communicate order status.
* **Customer service:** If you have questions or issues (e.g. changes to your order), we use your contact information to respond to you.
* **Legal compliance:** We may retain basic transaction records to comply with tax or business record-keeping laws.

We do **not** use your personal data for any other purposes (such as marketing) unless you give us clear permission. Under GDPR, we rely on legitimate interest to process your order and legal obligations (e.g. tax law) to keep records. We will not contact you for promotional purposes unless you explicitly opt in.

## Data Sharing with Third Parties

We share personal data only with trusted partners when necessary to provide our services. Specifically:

* **Etsy:** We share information with Etsy (our platform) as needed to process transactions and comply with Etsy’s seller requirements.
* **Print-on-demand partner (Gelato):** We use Gelato to produce and ship our prints, apparel and mugs. Gelato receives your shipping name and address so they can print and deliver your order. We provide Gelato only with the data needed for printing and delivery. Gelato’s privacy policy confirms that any personal data it handles (via its network of printers and carriers) is kept confidential and used only as required. Gelato and its suppliers are GDPR-compliant and have data agreements in place to protect your information.
* **Shipping carriers:** Your address will be shared with the courier (via Gelato) to deliver your package. They use your data only for shipping purposes.
* **Legal or safety reasons:** We may disclose personal data if required by law or to protect our rights (for example, responding to a lawful request or enforcing our policies).

We do **not** sell, rent, or trade your personal data. Any third party that receives your data (like Gelato) is limited to using it only for providing the service (e.g. printing/shipping).

## Data Security and Storage

We take reasonable steps to protect your information. Data from Etsy orders and our communications are stored on secure servers. For example, Gelato reports that it uses encryption (SSL/TLS) when transmitting sensitive information and keeps data on GDPR-compliant cloud servers in the EU and US. We also use strong passwords and secure networks to protect any customer information we hold. No system is 100% immune, but we follow industry best practices to keep your data safe from unauthorized access.

## Data Retention

We keep your personal data only as long as needed for legitimate purposes. Generally, we retain order and contact information for a few years in order to comply with legal and tax obligations and to handle any follow-up (such as returns or warranty issues). Once data is no longer needed, we securely delete or anonymize it. For example, Gelato’s policy states it **“deletes your personal data once no longer necessary in relation to the purposes for which they were collected or otherwise processed”**. We follow a similar approach and will dispose of personal data when it is no longer required.

## No Unsolicited Marketing

We will not use your personal data for marketing without your express consent. We do **not** have a newsletter, and we will not send you promotional emails or messages unless you explicitly sign up. In fact, Etsy’s policies prohibit sellers from sending unsolicited advertising via Etsy messaging. If in the future you do agree to receive marketing (for example, if we offer a newsletter), you can withdraw consent at any time. Otherwise, we only contact you about your purchases or customer service matters.

## Your GDPR Rights

If you are located in the EU or UK, you have rights under data protection law regarding the information we hold:

* **Right to access:** You can request a copy of the personal data we have about you.
* **Right to correct:** You can ask us to update or correct any inaccurate or incomplete information.
* **Right to delete:** You can request that we erase your personal data when it is no longer needed (subject to legal requirements).
* **Right to restrict or object:** You can ask us to restrict how we use your data or object to certain processing if it’s not needed for our legal interests.
* **Right to data portability:** You can ask for your data in a machine-readable format if applicable.
* **Right to complain:** You have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection authority if you believe we have not handled your data properly.

To exercise these rights, please **contact us** as described below. As Gelato notes, you may *“access, review, update, correct or delete”* your personal data by contacting us, and we will take action as required. (Exception: if you ask for your Etsy-related data that we don’t control, you may be referred to Etsy. For example, for account or payment info, you may contact Etsy support directly.)

## Contact Us

The Visual Network is the data controller for your personal information. If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or our handling of your data, please contact us:

* **By email:** [info@cambridge.tours](mailto:info@cambridge.tours)
* **By mail:** The Visual Network, Cambridge, United Kingdom

We will respond to your inquiry as soon as possible. Thank you for trusting The Visual Network with your order; we take your privacy seriously and will always handle your personal information with care.