Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains what information Smart Books Stationery and Supplies Ltd collects through our website and related tools, how it is stored, how we use it, and which third-party services help us operate. It applies from the effective date above.

1. What we collect

Depending on how you use the Service, we may collect:

• Account details — name, email address, password (stored as a secure hash, not plain text), and optional profile fields you provide.
• Google sign-in — if you choose Google login, we receive identity information from our auth provider (such as email and name) needed to create or link your customer account.
• Order / quote details — items selected, quantities, contact email, phone number, notes, school/grade context where provided, and order status history.
• Booklist scans — photos or images you upload for title extraction, plus titles/authors you confirm or edit before matching to our catalog.
• Mailing list — email addresses submitted for store updates.
• Ratings & messages — product ratings/comments and in-app notifications related to your account or orders.
• Device / browser storage — items such as your signed-in session token and recent search terms stored locally in your browser to make the site work.
• Operational logs — basic technical logs from hosting (for example request errors) needed to keep the Service running.

2. What we store

• Account, catalog, cart, order, notification, mailing-list, and related business data in our application database (hosted with our cloud database provider).
• Product, avatar, carousel, and similar images with our media host when uploads are enabled.
• Authentication sessions via our auth / API stack (including tokens used by the website after you sign in).
• Email content we send (order updates, mailing-list messages) through our configured email automation path.

We keep information for as long as needed to run the store, fulfill orders, meet legal or accounting needs, and resolve disputes, then delete or anonymize when appropriate.

3. How we use information

• Provide catalog browsing, accounts, carts, and order requests.
• Contact you about pickup, order status, and store updates you opted into.
• Match scanned or typed book titles to inventory.
• Improve stock operations and customer support for staff users.
• Secure the Service and prevent abuse.

We do not sell your personal information. We do not use booklist photos for advertising networks.

4. AI use

We use automated / AI-assisted features for:

• Booklist photo reading — extracting likely book titles and authors from images you upload (third-party AI model, with OCR fallback in some cases).
• Catalog matching suggestions — comparing those titles (and your edits) to products in our inventory using matching logic on our servers.

AI is an assistant only. Staff and customers should verify results. Do not upload images that contain sensitive personal data unrelated to shopping (for example IDs or private documents).

5. Third-party applications we use to host and operate

We use reputable third-party services. Categories include:

• Website hosting — front-end application hosting (e.g. Vercel).
• API / server hosting — backend application hosting (e.g. Render).
• Database & auth — cloud Postgres and optional Google sign-in brokerage (e.g. Supabase; Google as identity provider).
• Media storage — product and carousel image hosting (e.g. Cloudinary when configured).
• AI processing — booklist image understanding (e.g. Google Gemini when configured).
• Email delivery — transactional and mailing-list email via automation connected to our store mailbox (e.g. n8n → Gmail when configured).

Those providers process data under their own terms and security practices, on our instructions, to deliver the Service.

6. What we do not approve of

• Using the Service to harm others, commit fraud, or break the law.
• Uploading illegal or abusive content, or photos that invade others’ privacy.
• Attempting to access other customers’ accounts, staff tools, or raw databases.
• Harvesting emails or personal data from the Service for spam or unrelated marketing.

7. Your choices

• Update profile details while signed in.
• Ask us to remove you from the mailing list (or use unsubscribe when provided).
• Request access, correction, or deletion of personal data we hold, subject to orders we must retain for legitimate business or legal reasons.
• Clear browser storage / sign out to remove local session and recent search data on your device.

8. Children

The Service is aimed at parents, guardians, and students shopping for school materials with adult involvement as needed. If you believe we have collected a child’s data inappropriately, contact us and we will address it.

9. Changes

We may update this Policy. The effective date at the top will be revised when material changes are made.

10. Contact

Privacy questions: contact Smart Books Stationery and Supplies Ltd through the channels listed on our website or Instagram, or ask in store.

Last updated: 29 July 2026