Privacy Policy

Effective date: 1 July 2026

Quick Summary

• We collect the info needed to process your order (name, address, email, payment details) via our store platform (Shopify) and its payment processor.
• We use various tools to run our business, email marketing, analytics, and (in future, potentially) advertising platforms, and we reserve the right to add or change these over time.
• We occasionally use some AI tools in our business, including for customer service responses, content/copywriting, design assistance, and data-checking tasks (like validating email addresses). Some of these tools may process personal information you've given us.
• We only email you for marketing if you opt in, you can unsubscribe anytime.
• We don't sell your personal information to anyone, ever.
• Because our store runs on Shopify, some of your data is also processed by Shopify directly as part of powering our store (e.g. checkout, fraud prevention, some personalised advertising features), more on that below.
• We ship worldwide, so if you're in the EU/UK or a similar jurisdiction, extra rights (e.g. under GDPR) may apply to you.
• You can ask us what data we hold about you, correct it, get a copy, or ask us to delete it, anytime.

Full Policy

1. Who we are

Always Friends © operates this store and website, including all related content, features, tools, products, and services, to give you a curated shopping experience (the "Services"). Always Friends © is a sole trader business based in Sydney, Australia, and our Services are powered by Shopify, which helps us provide the Services to you.

This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, and disclose your personal information when you visit, use, or make a purchase through our Services, or otherwise communicate with us. By using our Services, you acknowledge that you've read this Privacy Policy and understand how your information is collected, used, and disclosed as described here.

2. Personal information we collect

Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect the following categories of personal information:

• Contact details: name, address, billing/shipping address, phone number, email address
• Financial information: payment card details, transaction details, form of payment, and payment confirmation (processed by our payment provider, we don't see or store full card numbers)
• Account information: username, password, preferences, and settings, if you create an account
• Transaction information: items you view, add to cart, wish list, or purchase, return, exchange, or cancel, and your order history
• Communications: anything you send us directly, e.g. customer service enquiries or social media messages
• Device and usage information: IP address, browser/device type, and how you interact with our site, collected via cookies and similar technologies

3. Where we get this information

We may collect personal information:

• Directly from you, when you create an account, place an order, sign up for our newsletter, or contact us
• Automatically, through your use of our Services, including via cookies and similar technologies
• From our service providers, including Shopify and other tools we use to run our business (see Section 5)
• From partners or other third parties, where relevant

4. How we use your information

We use your personal information to:

• Provide and improve our Services, process payments, fulfil orders, arrange shipping, manage returns/exchanges, maintain your account, and generally provide a smooth shopping experience
• Market to you, but only where you've opted in, e.g. sending newsletters, promotions, or new release announcements
• Communicate with you, respond to enquiries and provide customer support
• Detect and prevent fraud, and keep our Services and payment processes secure
• Comply with legal obligations, e.g. tax and accounting record-keeping, or responding to valid legal requests

5. The platforms and tools we use

We run our business using a range of third-party platforms, which may include (but aren't limited to) our e-commerce platform (Shopify), payment processors, email marketing tools, analytics tools, and AI-powered tools (see Section 6). We reserve the right to add, change, or remove the platforms and tools we use at any time as our business evolves, including, potentially, advertising and retargeting platforms (e.g. Meta or Google Ads) in future.

Each provider has its own privacy practices, and your information is shared with them only as needed for them to perform their function (e.g. your address is shared with shipping tools to get your order to you). We choose providers we believe handle data responsibly, but we encourage you to review their own privacy policies for more detail.

We do not sell your personal information to third parties, and we never will.

6. Our use of AI tools

We occasionally use artificial intelligence (AI) tools as part of running Always Friends ©, including but not limited to:

• Customer service and support responses (e.g. 
• Content and copywriting (e.g. product descriptions, marketing materials)
• Data-checking tasks, for example, using AI tools to check email addresses for formatting errors or typos before they're saved to our systems

Some of these tools may process personal information you've given us (such as your name, email address, or order details) in order to carry out these tasks. We choose AI providers and tools that we believe handle data responsibly and don't use your information to train publicly available models without appropriate safeguards, where this is within our control.

We don't use AI tools to make fully automated decisions about you that have a legal or similarly significant effect (for example, automatically deciding to deny you service or a refund) without human review.

7. How we disclose your information

We may disclose your personal information to third parties in certain circumstances, including:

• With Shopify and other service providers who perform functions on our behalf (e.g. payment processing, data analytics, customer support tools, cloud storage, AI tools, fulfilment, and shipping)
• With marketing and advertising partners, where relevant, to advertise to you, for example, Shopify may support personalised advertising based on your online activity across different merchants and websites. Depending on where you live, you may have a right to opt out of this, see Section 11.
• When you direct or consent to it, for example, to ship you a product, or through your use of social media integrations
• In connection with a business transaction, such as a sale of the business
• To comply with legal obligations, respond to lawful requests (e.g. from law enforcement), or protect our rights, safety, or the rights of our customers

8. Our relationship with Shopify

Our Services are hosted by Shopify, which also collects and processes personal information about your use of our store in order to provide and improve the Services (e.g. checkout, fraud prevention, and certain enhanced features). In these circumstances, Shopify is responsible for that processing, including responding to your requests to exercise your rights over that specific use.

To learn more about how Shopify handles your personal information, or to exercise rights related to Shopify's own processing, you can visit the Shopify Consumer Privacy Policy or the Shopify Privacy Portal.

9. Cookies

Our website uses cookies, small files stored on your device, to help the site function properly, remember your cart, and understand how visitors use our site. You can control or disable cookies through your browser settings, though some parts of our site may not work as well as a result.

10. Marketing communications

We'll only send you marketing emails (newsletters, promotions, new releases) if you've actively opted in, either at checkout or via a sign-up form. Every marketing email includes an unsubscribe link, and you can opt out anytime. Opting out of marketing won't affect transactional emails you need, like order and shipping confirmations.

11. Your rights and choices

Depending on where you live, you may have some or all of the following rights regarding your personal information. These rights aren't absolute and may not apply in every circumstance, but we'll do our best to honour them:

• Right to access/know, request what personal information we hold about you
• Right to correct, ask us to fix inaccurate or outdated information
• Right to delete, ask us to delete your information, subject to our legal obligations (e.g. we may need to retain order records for tax purposes)
• Right to portability, request a copy of your information in a portable format
• Right to opt out of targeted advertising, where applicable, you can opt out of your data being used for targeted advertising across merchants. If your browser sends a Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal, we'll treat this as an opt-out request where required by law.

If you're based in the UK or European Economic Area, you may also have the right to:

• Object to or restrict certain processing of your personal information
• Withdraw consent at any time, where we rely on consent to process your information (this won't affect the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal)

To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the details in Section 16. We may need to verify your identity before processing a request, and you're welcome to nominate an authorised agent to act on your behalf, subject to us verifying that authorisation.

We will never discriminate against you for exercising any of these rights.

12. Complaints

If you have concerns about how we handle your personal information, please contact us first using the details in Section 16, we'll do our best to resolve it. Depending on where you live, you may also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority (for the EEA, you can find a list of supervisory authorities via the European Commission's website).

13. International customers and data transfers

As we ship and sell worldwide, your personal information may be transferred, stored, and processed outside the country you live in, including in Australia and other countries where our service providers operate.

Where we transfer personal information out of the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, we rely on recognised transfer mechanisms (such as the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses, or UK equivalents), unless the destination country is deemed to provide an adequate level of protection.

If you're based in the EU, UK, or a similar jurisdiction, you may have additional rights over your data as described in Section 11.

14. Children's privacy

Our Services aren't intended for use by children, and we don't knowingly collect personal information from anyone under the age of majority in their jurisdiction (generally under 16 or 18, depending on location) without appropriate consent. If you're a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal information, contact us and we'll delete it.

15. How long we keep your information, and security

We keep your personal information for as long as necessary for the purposes described in this policy, including any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements (for example, Australian tax law generally requires financial records to be kept for 5 years).

We take reasonable steps to protect your personal information, including relying on secure, reputable third-party platforms for payment processing and data storage. However, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we can't guarantee absolute security, we recommend not sending highly sensitive information to us via unsecure channels (e.g. avoid emailing full card details).

16. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time, including to reflect new tools, platforms, or AI systems we adopt, or for legal/operational reasons. The updated version will be posted on our website with a revised "last updated" date.

17. Contact us

For any questions, requests, or complaints about this Privacy Policy or your personal information, contact us at:

Email: hello@alwaysfriends.shop
Address: 18-22 Sydney Street, Marrickville, NSW, 2044

For the purposes of applicable data protection laws, Always Friends © is the data controller of your personal information (except where Shopify is acting as controller for its own processing, as described in Section 8).