Privacy policy

Stephen Milner Photography: Privacy Policy

At Stephen Milner Photography, we respect your privacy and are committed to protecting the personal information you share with us, particularly when handling complaints. This policy explains how we collect, use, and safeguard your data when you file a complaint, in compliance with global privacy regulations.

1. Information We Collect

We collect personal information that you provide to us directly, including when you:

  • Place an Order: When you purchase artwork or books, we collect details necessary to process your order, such as your name, billing and shipping addresses, email address, phone number, and payment information.
  • Contact Us or File a Complaint: We collect your contact details and any additional information you provide (e.g., order number, complaint details).
  • Browse Our Website: We may collect data about your device and browsing behavior, such as IP address, browser type, and cookies, to improve your experience and ensure site functionality.

When you file a complaint or inquiry with us, we may collect the following personal information to process and resolve your complaint:

  • Name
  • Contact details (email address, phone number, postal address)
  • Order information (order number, product details)
  • Description of the complaint
  • Photos or other relevant evidence related to the complaint (if applicable)

2. How We Use Your Information

We collect and process your personal information solely for the purpose of addressing and resolving your complaint. This includes:

  • Investigating the issue you raised and assessing any necessary actions (e.g., refunds, replacements)
  • Communicating with you regarding the progress and resolution of your complaint
  • Improving our products and services based on your feedback

3. Legal Basis for Processing Your Data

We process your personal information under the following legal bases, depending on your location:

  • Legitimate Interests: To handle and resolve your complaint efficiently
  • Contractual Obligations: When necessary to fulfill our obligations to you (e.g., providing a refund or replacement)
  • Consent: Where required by law, we may ask for your consent to process certain types of data

4. Sharing Your Information

We do not sell your personal data, but we may share your information with trusted third-party platforms and service providers to help us operate our business effectively and deliver an optimal customer experience. This includes:

  • Payment Processors: Securely handling payments and transactions (e.g., Stripe, PayPal).
  • Fulfilment and Shipping Partners: Fulfilling and delivering your orders.
  • Marketing and Advertising Platforms: We may share limited data with advertising and social media platforms to deliver personalized ads and optimize marketing campaigns, including:
    • Meta (Facebook and Instagram)
    • Google (including YouTube)
    • TikTok
    • Pinterest

These platforms may use tracking technologies like pixels or cookies to deliver targeted ads based on your browsing behavior or interactions with our website.

  • Analytics Providers: We use analytics services, such as Google Analytics, to understand how users interact with our website, improve performance, and optimize your experience.
  • Customer Service Providers: Third-party tools that help us manage customer inquiries, complaints, or returns.

We ensure that all third-party service providers comply with applicable data protection regulations and only process your personal data according to our instructions.

5. International Data Transfers

As a global company, we may transfer your personal information to our service providers or affiliates in other countries. These transfers will always comply with applicable data protection laws. For transfers from the European Economic Area (EEA), United Kingdom (UK), or other regions with strict data protection laws, we ensure adequate protection through appropriate safeguards, such as Standard Contractual Clauses or equivalent mechanisms.

6. Data Security

We take the security of your personal information seriously. We implement industry-standard measures to protect your data from unauthorized access, loss, misuse, or alteration. However, please be aware that no method of transmission over the internet is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee the absolute security of your data.

7. Data Retention

We will retain your personal information for as long as necessary to resolve your complaint and comply with legal, accounting, or reporting obligations. Once your complaint is resolved, we will securely delete or anonymize your data unless retention is required by law.

8. Your Privacy Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the following rights regarding your personal information:

  • Access: You can request access to the personal data we hold about you.
  • Correction: You can request that we correct any inaccurate or incomplete information.
  • Deletion: You can request that we delete your personal data, subject to legal and contractual requirements.
  • Objection or Restriction: You can object to or request a restriction on certain processing activities.
  • Data Portability: You can request that we transfer your data to another service provider in a structured, machine-readable format.

To exercise these rights, please contact us at stephen@stephen-milner.com.

9. Filing a Complaint

If you believe that we have not handled your personal data in accordance with this policy or applicable data protection laws, you have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.

For European Union (EU) and UK residents, you may contact your national Data Protection Authority (DPA) or the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time to reflect changes in our privacy practices or legal requirements. We will notify you of any significant updates on our website or via email, where appropriate.

11. Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns about this policy or your privacy rights, please reach out to us: