PRIVACY POLICY
This Privacy Policy, together with the Terms and Conditions and the Cookie Policy, governs and regulates the use of the Website as well as the offer and sale of Products on the Website. This Privacy Policy refers to the processing of all personal data about Users, collected when Users visit the Website and/ or Samsares social media accounts and use Samsares services (hereafter ”Personal Data”). Please read these Terms, Conditions, and Policies before using this Website and ordering Products and Services on the Website. Any continued use of the Website indicates that the User has acknowledged and fully accepted these Terms, Conditions, and Policies.
Users’ privacy is very important to us, and we are committed to protecting all Personal Data collected on the Website and on Samsares’ social media accounts by complying with Swiss law and regulations, which govern all aspects of dealing with users’ data. We make sure to regularly update our Privacy Policy to comply with the applicable laws.
The purpose of this Privacy Policy is to inform our users about how and why Samsares handles information collected about them.
1. SCOPE OF THE PRIVACY POLICY AND USER’S CONSENT
1.1 Data operator
The data operator of the website www.samsares.com is Samsares Fine Jewelry, registered in Binningen, Switzerland, and VAT number CHE-328.940.986, phone No: +417115640, Email: info@samsares.com.
1.2 User’s consent
By using the Website www.samsares.com or by submitting the user’s data to us, the user accepts the practices described in the Privacy Policy. If the user doesn’t agree to this Privacy Policy, the user should refrain from using or visiting the Website and/ or submitting the user’s data to us.
2. COLLECTION OF PERSONAL DATA
2.1 Data that is collected and methods of collection
We collect the following types of data:
(1) Surfing data
This type of data is collected automatically by computer tools, technologies and programs when Users visit and navigate the Website, with or without voluntarily revealing any personal information about themselves. Surfing data include User’s electronic identification data, such as information about geo-location, connection, device type, device ID or unique identifier, referral URL, IP address, traffic to and from the Website, statistics on page views, as well as information collected through cookies and web beacons.
(2) Personal Data
This data refers to all personal information that the User voluntarily provides to Samsares when the User:
– communicates with Samsares via email, online chats, applications or telephone;
– creates a customer account on the Website;
– orders Products;
– registers to Samsares Newsletter;
– publishes Submissions on the Website and via third party channels, such as social media accounts or communication platforms;
– fills and submits feedback forms.
Personal Data that we collect includes name, gender, age, email address, phone number, shipping address, billing address, and financial information required for payments. Additionally, we collect information relating to previous orders as well as data from communication between Customers and Samsares on the Website and any other third-party platform.
2.2.2 Cookies
The Website uses automatic tracking tools (cookies) that enable personalisation of certain functions of the Website based on the previous User’s experiences and preferences on the Website. All information about cookies is described in our Cookie Policy..
2.3 Purpose of personal data collection
We collect surfing data for statistical, market research, and technical purposes, such as to ensure the correct functioning of the Website and to optimise services, functions, and content provided on the Website.
We collect and use Personal Data for the following purposes:
a) Business purposes:
– to process orders, purchases, deliveries, returns, refunds and warranty claims.
b) Support purposes:
– to provide Customer with all services of the Customer Service;
– to manage and optimise customer relations;
c) Marketing purposes:
– with the Customer’s free and optional consent, to provide Customers with information about offers, news and events, which could be personalised and adapted to their interests and preferences;
– to optimise our marketing and communication strategies to better suit Customers’ needs, interests, and preferences.
d) Legal purposes:
– to comply with legal regulations;
– to prevent fraud and other prohibited or illegal activities;
e) Security purposes:
– to ensure data security and overall security of the Website.
We will collect and process the User’s Personal Data only if and to the extent that it is described in at least one of the following provisions:
– The User has given us an explicit consent to process certain User’s Personal Data for one or more specific purposes (e.g., to create a customer’s account or to receive newsletters);
– Processing of Personal Data is necessary for the performance of a contract (e.g., to process the purchase, return, or other services);
– Processing of Personal Data is necessary for compliance with legal obligations;
– Processing of Personal Data is necessary for the legitimate functions of the Website (e.g., security purposes, personalisation of offers and other services on the Website).
2.4 Newsletter
On the Website the User can subscribe to Samsares newsletter. To register to Samsares newsletter, the User has to provide a valid Email address. Samsares will use this Email address to send the newsletters. The User can revoke their consent at any time by clicking the ”Unsubscribe” link in every newsletter or by contacting our Customer Service.
Our newsletter contains cookie technologies which are associated with the corresponding newsletter subscriber’s digital ID. These cookies provide us with the following information about the sending of the newsletter: address files used, subjects and numbers of sent newsletters, information on the addresses that have or have not received the newsletter and on the addresses where delivery has failed, information on the addresses used to open the newsletter, information on the addresses that have been deleted, technical information like time of search, IP address, browser type and operating system. This information is used for statistical analysis of the sending of Samsares newsletter. The results of this analysis may be used to better tailor future newsletters to the preferences of the subscribers. These newsletter cookies are deleted when the User cancels the newsletter. The User can prevent use of newsletter cookies by setting their email program so that no HTML is displayed in message.
By subscribing to Samsares newsletter, the User gives us their consent:
– to process the data for the purpose of regularly sending the newsletter to the User’s Email address;
– to use the data for statistical evaluation of usage behaviours and optimisation of the newsletter.
This User’s consent constitutes the legal basis for data processing in accordance with the DPA and GDPR.
3. STORING OF PERSONAL DATA
All collected Personal Data will be stored and processed via our electronic system.
All Surfing data will be retained for as long as it is necessary to satisfy the purposes described in the article 2.
Insofar as the Customer does not withdraw their consent for processing of their Data nor exercise their right to be forgotten before the expiration of any of regular retainment periods, we will retain Customer’s Personal Data for 5 years from the last date of Customer’s active use of our services on the Website which require disclosure of the Personal Data (f.e. creating an customer’s account, purchasing, subscribing to the newsletter, opening newsletter emails, contacting Customer Care or making a Submission). After this period, the Customer’s account will be deactivated and the Customer’s Personal Data will be permanently erased. In some circumstances, Personal Data may be retained for longer periods of time, for instance when it is necessary to do so by legal, tax, and accounting requirements.
A Customer may close their account and/or unsubscribe from newsletters at any time. To close the Customer’s account, the Customer should contact the Customer Service in writing and ask to deactivate their account. In this case, the Customer’s account will be deactivated and all personal data about this Customer will be permanently erased. To unsubscribe from newsletters, the Customer should click on the “unsubscribe” link included in each newsletter or contact the Customer Service.
All financial information required to process payments will be transferred to our subcontractor for payment processing, retained on that subcontractor’s system for the period of time required to execute the payment, and then permanently destroyed.
4. PROTECTION OF PERSONAL DATA
4.1 Security measures to protect Personal Data
To protects User’s Personal Data and reduce the risk of unauthorised access, disclosure, amendment, misuse or loss, we implement all reasonable technical and administrative security measures such as authorisation controls to access the database, data encryption, firewalls, state-of-the-art physical and digital safeguards for the IT systems, strict non-disclosure obligations for the employees who may have access to the Personal Data and other security measures. All payments made on the Website are protected by SSL encryption. Users’ financial information provided for processing payments on the Website is stored on the secure system of our subcontractor for payment processing. However, we cannot guarantee 100% security of information contained within the Website due to general data security and privacy limitations inherent to the Internet. Except for cases of gross negligence, we cannot be held liable for any direct or indirect damages that may result to the Users from the fraudulent and unauthorised use of data saved on and extracted from the Website by third parties. Users browse, navigate, and use the Website at their own risk.
5. DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL DATA
Users’ Data will be accessible to the internal and external employees within our organisation who are bound by strict non-disclosure obligations.
Users’ Personal Data will not be sold and/or disclosed to any third parties, except to:
– Samsares partners and subcontractors for logistic and technical purposes, such as providers of the Website hosting and maintenance services, providers of payment processing services, carriers, independent consultants, credit bureaus, banks and financial institutions, fraud investigations, providers of bill collection services, providers of affiliate and rewards programs, etc.;
– other third parties which may be acting as communication intermediaries between the User and us, for example when the User contacts Customer Service via WhatsApp or when the User makes Submissions on Samsares social media accounts; in such case User’s Data will be disclosed to these third party entities and their terms, conditions and privacy policies will apply to the processing of the User’s Data by these third party entities;
– other third parties to whom Users explicitly ask us to send their information;
– other business entities, in case of Samsares’ merger with or acquisition by that business entity;
– the legal authorities, such as courts, crime investigators, regulators and any other third parties if it is required by law or in connection with a legal claim or to prevent fraud.
All Customers must safeguard the security of their accounts on the Website by changing their passwords regularly and never sharing their usernames and passwords with any third parties. We cannot be held liable for disclosing personal information about the Customer to anyone who has logged into the Customer’s account by using the Customer’s login credentials.
6. USER’S RIGHTS REGARDING THEIR PERSONAL DATA
Users are entitled to the following rights:
1) The right to access their Personal Data and to be informed about how their Personal Data has been processed:
Users have the right to know what Personal Data has been collected about them and how this Personal Data has been processed;
2) The right to correct their Personal Data:
Users have the right to request correction of inaccurate Personal Data;
3) The right to object to the processing of their Personal Data (i.e. the right to be forgotten):
Users can at any time withdraw their consent to the processing of their Personal Data;
4) The right to restrict processing of their Personal Data:
Users have the right to limit the extend and the way of how their Personal Data is being processed;
5) The right to object to profiling and other automated decision making:
Users can declare their objection to being subject to profiling and other automated decision-making. This right can be executed by clicking ”Decline” of the marketing cookies on the cookie banner or by changing cookie preferences in the Cookie Settings.
6) The right to object to receiving newsletters and other communications:
Users may at any time revoke their consent to receive Samsares’ newsletters and/or other communications relating to offers, news, and events. This right can be exercised by clicking on the ”Unsubscribe” link included in every Samsares newsletter or by contacting Customer Service.
7) The right to data portability:
Users have the right to transfer or to request the transfer of their Personal Data from one system to another.
All these rights may be exercised by contacting Customer Service.
There may be exceptions or limitations of these rights, such as cases when the User’s Personal Data has been processed for security, legal, or accounting purposes.
7. MODIFICATIONS AND UPDATES OF THE PRIVACY POLICY
Samsares retains the right to modify and update the Privacy Policy at any time. The new updated version of Privacy Policy takes effect as soon as it is published on the Website. It is recommended that Customers read the “Privacy Policy” on a regular basis. Should we intend to disclose the Customer’s Personal Data to any third parties in a manner that was not set out in the Privacy Policy in force at the time of the Personal Data’s collection, we will inform the Customer in writing in advance of this intention, and will offer the Customer an option to refuse the disclosure of the Customer’s Personal Data.
8. COOKIES
We use cookies and other related technologies (for convenience, all these technologies are referred to as ”cookies”).
8.1. What are cookies?
Cookies are small digital files that are automatically downloaded by the user’s Internet browser into the user’s electronic device when the user first visits websites that use cookie technology. When the user revisits this website, cookies link the user’s electronic identity with the personal data that the user has provided on this website, as well as that user’s previous activities within these websites (such as choices and preferences, visited parts of the website, and other websites). In other words, cookies keep track of the user’s activity on the websites and, based on this activity, facilitate the use of these websites during subsequent visits. Cookies play an important role in making websites function more efficiently and make the use of these websites more convenient for the users. Cookie technology is used by almost every website. Information and data gathered by cookies are processed anonymously.
Scripts and beacons are examples of cookies. A script is a piece of program code that is used to make a website function properly and interactively. This code is executed either on the website’s server or on the user’s device. A web beacon (or a pixel tag) is a small, invisible piece of text or image on a website that is used to monitor traffic on a website. In order to do this, various data about a user is stored using web beacons.
8.2 Types of cookies
A.) Depending on their origin, cookies can be:
– Internal Cookies
These cookies are created by the website that the user visits.
– Third-party cookies
These cookies are created by other websites to improve the browsing experience on the website that uses these third-party cookies.
B.) Depending on how long they last, cookies can be:
– Permanent cookies
These cookies are stored on the user’s computer until they expire or the user deletes them.
– Session cookies
These cookies are automatically deleted after closing the user’s browser.
C.) Depending on their function and performance, cookies can be:
– Functional Cookies
Functional cookies enable essential functions and security on the Website. These cookies are placed without the user’s consent and can’t be switched off. There are several types of functional cookies. There are strictly necessary technical cookies that ensure that certain parts of the website work properly. Some cookies are important for the security of a website. Analytical and performance cookies enhance the functionality of a website by providing personalisation of the users’ subsequent experiences on these websites. These cookies make it easier for users to visit and use websites. They allow websites to remember users’ choices made previously when visiting these websites.
– Marketing/ Tracking Cookies
Marketing/ tracking cookies (also called targeting or profiling cookies) are used for analytical and targeted advertising purposes. They can be internal or set by other parties. Companies, such as Google Analytics, set these cookies through the websites of their advertising partners. These cookies collect information about the user’s activity on the Internet and build a profile of that user’s interests. This profile is used to show targeted advertising that relates to the particular user’s interests. Targeting cookies do not store data about users’ identities, but track users’ browsers and internet devices. These types of cookies can be placed only with the user’s consent.
8.3 Cookies and social media plugins that are used on the Website
There are functional and marketing cookies used on the Website. Some of these cookies are internal cookies, and some are third-party cookies.
Internal cookies are used exclusively by us and are usually only stored on the User’s computer while the User is browsing the Website.
Third-party cookies are generated and placed on the User’s device by other websites, elements of which are used on the Website. We have no control over and cannot be held liable for the ways of processing of the Users’ data collected by the third-party cookies. The User may at any time decide to block the third-party cookies or to withdraw any previously given consent without affecting the User’s ability to use the Website.
Plugins for YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram are used on the Website, which is indicated by displaying relevant icons of these social media platforms on the footer of each page of the Website. These plugins allow direct linking of the Website with these social media platforms. By clicking on the relevant icon, the User will be directed to the Samsares account on the corresponding social media platform. We do not influence the extent of the personal data that these social media platforms collect through these plugins, nor on the ways that this personal data is used by the providers of these platforms.
All detailed information about the scope, type, purpose, and further processing of Users’ data and Users’ rights to the protection of their privacy is described in the privacy policy of the relevant social media platform.
8.4 How to initially set cookie preferences
Upon the User’s first visit to the Website, the User will be presented with a pop-up cookie banner which offers an option to accept or to deny marketing cookies that are used on the Website. Cookie categories can be viewed and managed by clicking the banner’s button ”View preferences”. There are two cookie categories used on the Website: functional cookies and marketing cookies. Functional cookies are always active and can’t be switched off. Marketing cookies are optional and will only be used if the User gives their consent to us to use these cookies. The User has an option to accept or deny marketing cookies used on the Website. By selecting the option ”Accept”, the User gives us their consent to use all cookies set on the Website. By selecting the option ”Deny,” the User rejects their consent to use marketing cookies set on the Website. If the User denies their consent to use marketing cookies, these cookies will not be used during the User’s visits to the Website. If the User decides to withdraw consent that was given previously, relevant cookies will no longer be used during the User’s subsequent visits to the Website.
The User can at any time change the previously chosen settings of cookies by clicking our Cookie Policy link below. After clicking the link, a page will open displaying our Cookie Policy. In the ”Consent” section of this policy, the User can manage their consent settings.
8.5 How to change cookie preferences
The User can change cookie preferences by:
1) Using our cookie consent tool
The User can change cookie preferences by visiting the Cookie Settings page.
2) Modifying the settings of the User’s browser
Cookie preferences may also be managed (enabled/disabled and deleted) by modifying the User’s browser settings. In this case, unwanted cookies will not be placed on the User’s device. Depending on the browser, the mechanism for disabling cookies may vary. Usually, cookie settings can be found in the “options”, “tools,” or “preferences” menu or in the browser’s integrated help function. Here are some links to information on how to manage cookie settings:
-Internet Explorer:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/278835/how-to-delete-cookie-files-in-internet-explorer
-Chrome:
https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95647?hl=en
-Safari:
https://support.apple.com/kb/index?page=search&locale=en_GB&q=cookie
–Opera:
https://help.opera.com/en/latest/web-preferences/#cookies
-Firefox:
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/products/firefox/protect-your-privacy/cookies