Privacy Policy

Who We Are

Our website address is: https://howaboutthisgroup.com. How About This? Group is a creative business collective offering innovative solutions across retail, tech, and e-commerce. For privacy-related concerns, you may contact us at privacy@howaboutthisgroup.com.


What Personal Data We Collect and Why We Collect It

Comments

When visitors leave comments on the site, we collect the data shown in the comments form, as well as the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to aid spam detection.

An anonymised string (hash) created from your email address 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/. Once your comment is approved, your profile picture is publicly visible in the context of your comment.

Media

If you upload images to the website, please avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS), as visitors can download and extract this data.

Contact Forms

If you submit a contact form, we collect the personal data you provide (such as name and email address) for customer service purposes. We do not use this information for marketing purposes. Form submissions are retained for six months and then securely deleted.

Cookies

  • If you leave a comment, you may opt-in to saving your name, email, and website in cookies. These last for one year.
  • A temporary cookie is set when visiting the login page to determine if your browser accepts cookies. It contains no personal data and is discarded upon closing the browser.
  • Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for one year. Selecting “Remember Me” extends login cookies for two weeks. Logging out removes these cookies.
  • If you edit or publish an article, an additional cookie is saved, expiring after one day.

Read more about our Cookie Policy here.

Analytics

We use Google Analytics to track website traffic. Users can opt out by adjusting their browser settings or using browser-based opt-out tools. For more details, visit Google’s Privacy Policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy.


Who We Share Your Data With

We do not sell or rent your data. However, we may share your data with:

  • Payment processors for transactions (e.g., PayPal, Stripe).
  • Cloud storage and hosting providers (e.g., Google Cloud, QUIC.cloud for caching).
  • Third-party plugins necessary for website functionality.

Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service.


How Long We Retain Your Data

  • Comments and metadata are retained indefinitely to allow automated approval of follow-ups.
  • Registered users’ information is stored in their user profile. Users can edit or delete personal data, except for usernames.
  • Contact form entries are retained for six months, analytics records for one year, and customer purchase records for ten years.

What Rights You Have Over Your Data

If you have an account or have left comments, you can request an exported file of the personal data we hold about you. You can also request the deletion of your data, except for information retained for administrative, legal, or security purposes. To make a request, contact privacy@howaboutthisgroup.com.


Where Your Data is Sent

  • Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service.
  • QUIC.cloud services may temporarily process and cache your data. Their privacy policy is available at: https://quic.cloud/privacy-policy/.
  • Data may be transferred to service providers outside the EU, but we ensure GDPR compliance by using service providers that adhere to Privacy Shield, model contractual clauses, or similar safeguards.

How We Protect Your Data

We implement the following security measures:

  • Encryption of sensitive data.
  • Secure password policies and two-factor authentication.
  • Regular security audits and monitoring.
  • Staff training on data protection best practices.
  • Restricted access to personal data based on role requirements.

Data Breach Procedure

In the event of a data breach, we follow this procedure:

  1. Identify and contain the breach immediately.
  2. Assess the scope and impact of the breach.
  3. Notify affected users within 72 hours if required under GDPR.
  4. Implement corrective measures to prevent future breaches.
  5. Document the incident and report to regulatory authorities if necessary.

What Third Parties We Receive Data From

We may receive anonymised user data from third-party services to enhance website functionality and improve user experience. This data is not used for targeted advertising.


Automated Decision Making and Profiling

We do not engage in automated decision-making or profiling that significantly affects users.


Industry Regulatory Disclosure Requirements

We comply with applicable data protection laws, including GDPR for EU users. If additional industry-specific regulations apply, they will be outlined here.

For privacy concerns, contact us at privacy@howaboutthisgroup.com.