Privacy Policy
Last updated: March 2026
Introduction
The Fragrance World ("we", "us", "our") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store and protect your personal data when you visit our website and purchase from us. We are a UK-based ecommerce business and comply fully with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.
What We Collect
We may collect the following personal data when you browse our site, create an account, or place an order:
- Full name and contact details (email address, phone number, delivery address)
- Payment information (processed securely by our payment providers; we do not store card details)
- Order history and transaction records
- Browsing behaviour, device information, and IP address
- Communication preferences and marketing consent
- Any information you provide via customer support, reviews, or the scent finder quiz
How We Use Your Data
We use your personal data for the following purposes:
- To process and fulfil your orders, including delivery and returns
- To send order confirmations, dispatch notifications, and delivery updates
- To provide customer support and respond to enquiries
- To personalise your shopping experience and product recommendations
- To send marketing emails (only with your explicit consent, and you can unsubscribe at any time)
- To improve our website, products, and services through analytics
- To detect and prevent fraud
Cookies
Our website uses cookies to enhance your browsing experience. Cookies are small text files stored on your device. We use the following types:
- Essential cookies: Required for the website to function (e.g. shopping cart, login sessions). These cannot be disabled.
- Analytics cookies: Help us understand how visitors use our site so we can improve it. We use Google Analytics 4 (GA4) for this purpose.
- Marketing cookies: Used to deliver relevant advertisements and track campaign performance.
You can manage your cookie preferences through your browser settings at any time. Disabling certain cookies may affect website functionality.
Third Parties
We share your data only with trusted third-party providers who are necessary to operate our business. All third parties are required to process your data in compliance with UK GDPR:
- Stripe: Secure payment processing for card transactions
- PayPal: Alternative payment processing
- Klarna: Buy now, pay later payment option
- Klaviyo: Email marketing platform (only if you have opted in to receive marketing)
- Google Analytics 4 (GA4): Website analytics and performance monitoring
- Anthropic: Powers our website chat assistant. Messages you type in the chat are processed by Anthropic's Claude AI to generate replies. Chat messages are not used to train AI models.
- Royal Mail / DPD / Evri: Order delivery and fulfilment
We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal data to any third party for their own marketing purposes.
Your Rights Under GDPR
Under the UK GDPR, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:
- Right of access: You can request a copy of all personal data we hold about you
- Right to rectification: You can ask us to correct any inaccurate or incomplete data
- Right to erasure: You can request that we delete your personal data (subject to legal obligations)
- Right to restrict processing: You can ask us to limit how we use your data
- Right to data portability: You can request your data in a structured, machine-readable format
- Right to object: You can object to our processing of your data, including for marketing purposes
- Right to withdraw consent: Where processing is based on consent, you can withdraw it at any time
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at customersupport@thefragranceworld.co.uk. We will respond within 30 days.
Data Retention
We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes outlined in this policy:
- Order data: Retained for 6 years to comply with UK tax and accounting obligations
- Account data: Retained for as long as your account is active, or until you request deletion
- Marketing data: Retained until you unsubscribe or withdraw consent
- Analytics data: Anonymised data may be retained indefinitely for statistical purposes
When data is no longer required, it is securely deleted or anonymised.
Data Security
We take the security of your personal data seriously. Our website uses SSL/TLS encryption to protect data in transit. Payment information is handled exclusively by PCI DSS-compliant payment processors (Stripe, PayPal, Klarna). We never store your card details on our servers.
We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction of your data.
Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, wish to exercise your data rights, or have a complaint about how we handle your data, please contact us:
THE FRAGRANCE WORLD LTD
Company Registration: 13826542
VAT Number: 437423594
Registered Address: The Fragrance World, Ditton Road, Widnes, England, WA8 0NP
Email: customersupport@thefragranceworld.co.uk
If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk.
