Privacy Policy

1 Introduction & Scope

Welcome to Venkateswara Books Corner ("we", "our", or "us"). We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting the personal data you share with us when you visit our website at venkateswarabookscorner.com (the "Site") or make a purchase from our online store.

This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, why we collect it, how we use and share it, and the choices you have regarding your data. It applies to all visitors, customers, and registered users of the Site.

By accessing or using the Site you agree to the practices described in this Policy. If you do not agree, please refrain from using the Site.

2 Information We Collect

We collect information in the following ways:

Information you give us directly:

• Name, email address, phone number, and billing/shipping address when you place an order or create an account.
• Payment card details — processed and stored securely by our payment processor; we do not store full card numbers on our servers.
• Messages and attachments you send us via contact forms, email, or live chat.
• Reviews, ratings, or other content you submit to the Site.

Information collected automatically:

• IP address, browser type, operating system, referring URLs, and pages visited (via server logs and analytics tools).
• Device identifiers and approximate geographic location derived from your IP address.
• Cookie identifiers and similar tracking data (see Section 5).
• Purchase history and browsing behaviour on the Site.

Information from third parties:

• If you log in via a social account (e.g. Google), we receive the basic profile data that account shares.
• Fraud-prevention and identity-verification data from service providers.

3 How We Use Your Information

We use the data we collect to:

• Process and fulfil orders — including sending confirmations, invoices, and shipping updates.
• Manage your account — authentication, address book, order history, and wishlist.
• Provide customer support — responding to queries, returns, and complaints.
• Improve the Site — analysing usage patterns, fixing bugs, and testing new features.
• Send marketing communications — only if you have opted in; you can unsubscribe at any time.
• Prevent fraud and abuse — verifying identities and monitoring suspicious activity.
• Comply with legal obligations — including tax, accounting, and regulatory requirements.

Our legal bases for processing under applicable data-protection law include: performance of a contract (fulfilment), legitimate interests (fraud prevention, analytics), legal obligation (tax records), and consent (marketing emails).

4 Sharing of Information

We do not sell your personal data. We share it only in the following limited circumstances:

• Service providers — payment processors, shipping couriers, email-service providers, analytics platforms, and cloud-hosting companies that help us operate the Site under binding confidentiality agreements.
• Business transfers — in the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your data may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you before your data is transferred and becomes subject to a different privacy policy.
• Legal requirements — when required by law, court order, or government authority, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of ourselves, our customers, or the public.
• With your consent — in any other case where you have given us explicit permission.

5 Cookies & Tracking Technologies

We use cookies, pixels, and similar technologies to keep your session alive, remember your preferences, and understand how you use the Site.

• Essential cookies — required for the shopping cart, checkout session, and account login to function.
• Analytics cookies — help us count visits, understand traffic sources, and improve the Site (e.g. Google Analytics with IP anonymisation enabled).
• Marketing cookies — used for remarketing and measuring the effectiveness of advertising, only with your consent.

You can control non-essential cookies through your browser settings or our cookie-consent banner. Disabling essential cookies will impair the checkout experience.

6 Data Retention

We retain your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes described in this Policy, or as required by applicable law:

• Order records — at least 7 years for tax and accounting purposes.
• Account data — for the life of your account, plus 30 days after deletion.
• Marketing preferences and consent records — 3 years from your last interaction.
• Server logs and analytics — up to 26 months, then anonymised or deleted.

7 Your Rights & Choices

Depending on where you are located, you may have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Access — request a copy of the data we hold about you.
• Rectification — ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Erasure — request deletion of your data where it is no longer necessary.
• Restriction — ask us to limit how we process your data in certain circumstances.
• Portability — receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
• Objection — object to processing based on our legitimate interests or for direct marketing.
• Withdraw consent — where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at the address in Section 12. We will respond within 30 days. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data-protection authority.

You can unsubscribe from marketing emails at any time via the "Unsubscribe" link in any email we send, or by contacting us directly.

8 Security

We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures — including TLS encryption in transit, hashed passwords, and restricted staff access — to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, disclosure, or destruction.

No method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your data, we cannot guarantee absolute security. If you suspect unauthorised access to your account, please contact us immediately.

9 Third-Party Links

The Site may contain links to third-party websites or services. Once you leave our Site, this Privacy Policy no longer applies. We encourage you to read the privacy policies of every website you visit. We are not responsible for the content or privacy practices of any linked site.

10 Children's Privacy

Our Site is not directed at children under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe we have inadvertently collected data from a child, please contact us immediately so we can delete it.

11 Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, or legal requirements. When we do, we will revise the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. For significant changes, we will notify you by email or by placing a prominent notice on the Site.

Your continued use of the Site after the effective date of any changes constitutes your acceptance of the revised Policy.

12 Contact Us

If you have questions, concerns, or requests relating to this Privacy Policy or your personal data, please reach out to us:

We will acknowledge your request promptly and aim to respond within 30 days.