Building Trust, Brick by Brick: Your Privacy Matters to Us!

SECTION 1 - WHAT DO WE DO WITH YOUR INFORMATION?

When you purchase something from BrickTopia, as part of the buying and selling process, we collect the personal information you provide, such as your name, address, and email address. This is done in compliance with the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA).

When you browse our store, we also automatically receive your computer’s internet protocol (IP) address, which helps us understand your browser and operating system. This information is used in accordance with POPIA to ensure your privacy is respected.

Email marketing (if applicable): With your permission, we may send you emails about our store, new products, exclusive offers, and other updates related to BrickTopia. This communication will be done in line with POPIA, and you can withdraw your consent at any time.

SECTION 2 - CONSENT

How do you get my consent?

When you provide us with personal information to complete a transaction, verify your credit card, place an order, arrange for a delivery, or return a purchase, we imply that you consent to our collecting and using it for that specific reason only. This collection and use are in compliance with POPIA.

If we ask for your personal information for a secondary reason, such as marketing, we will either ask for your express consent directly or provide you with an opportunity to opt out. We will ensure that this is done in a POPIA-compliant manner.

How do I withdraw my consent?

If, after opting in, you change your mind, you may withdraw your consent for us to contact you, as well as for the continued collection, use, or disclosure of your information, at any time by contacting us atconnect@bricktopia.co.za. This withdrawal of consent will be handled according to the regulations set by POPIA.

SECTION 3 - DISCLOSURE

We may disclose your personal information if required by law or if you violate our Terms of Service. This includes adherence to both South African law and POPIA requirements to protect your personal information.

SECTION 4 - DATA STORAGE

Your data is stored securely on a server protected by a firewall, and we adhere to POPIA's standards on data protection.

Payment:

If you choose a direct payment gateway to complete your purchase, BrickTopia does not store your credit card information. It is encrypted through the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) and handled in line with POPIA’s principles of lawful processing. Your purchase transaction data is stored only as long as necessary to complete your purchase, after which it is deleted.

All direct payment gateways adhere to PCI-DSS standards, which ensure the secure handling of credit card information by our store and its service providers, as required by POPIA.

SECTION 5 - THIRD-PARTY SERVICES

In general, the third-party providers used by BrickTopia will only collect, use, and disclose your information to the extent necessary for them to perform their services, in line with POPIA’s principles of data minimization and purpose limitation.

However, some third-party service providers, such as payment gateways and other payment processors, have their own privacy policies regarding the information we must provide for your transactions. We recommend that you read their privacy policies to understand how your personal information will be handled in accordance with POPIA and other applicable laws.

Certain providers may be in jurisdictions different from yours or BrickTopia's. If you proceed with a transaction involving a third-party service provider, your information may become subject to the laws of the jurisdiction(s) where the provider or its facilities are located. POPIA requires us to inform you about this, and we ensure that your personal data will be treated with appropriate protection if transferred to other jurisdictions.

Once you leave BrickTopia’s website or are redirected to a third-party website or application, this Privacy Policy and our Terms of Service no longer apply.

SECTION 6 - SECURITY

To protect your personal information, BrickTopia takes reasonable precautions and follows industry best practices, including POPIA’s requirement to ensure the confidentiality and integrity of your data. We work to ensure it is not inappropriately lost, misused, accessed, disclosed, altered, or destroyed.

If you provide us with your credit card information, it is encrypted using secure socket layer technology (SSL) and stored using AES-256 encryption. While no method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is 100% secure, we follow PCI-DSS standards and POPIA requirements to implement additional security measures.

SECTION 7 - COOKIES

Here is a list of cookies that we use. We’ve listed them here so that you can choose whether to opt out of cookies or not, as required by POPIA.

• _session_id: unique token, sessional, allows BrickTopia to store information about your session (referrer, landing page, etc.).
• _shopify_visit: no data held, persistent for 30 minutes from the last visit, used by our website provider’s internal statistics tracker to record the number of visits.
• _shopify_uniq: no data held, expires midnight (relative to the visitor) the next day, counts the number of visits to a store by a single customer.
• cart: unique token, persistent for 2 weeks, stores information about the contents of your cart.
• _secure_session_id: unique token, sessional.
• storefront_digest: unique token, indefinite. If the shop has a password, this is used to determine if the current visitor has access.

SECTION 8 - AGE OF CONSENT

By using this site, you represent that you are at least the age of majority in your state or province of residence or that you are the age of majority in your state or province of residence and have given us your consent to allow any of your minor dependents to use this site. In line with POPIA, BrickTopia ensures that we do not process the personal information of minors without lawful consent.

SECTION 9 - CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

BrickTopia reserves the right to modify this privacy policy at any time, in compliance with POPIA. Please review it frequently, as changes will take effect immediately upon posting on our website. If we make significant changes, we will notify you of those updates, so you are aware of the information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances, if any, we disclose it.

If BrickTopia is acquired or merged with another company, your information may be transferred to the new owners to continue selling products to you, in compliance with POPIA.

QUESTIONS AND CONTACT INFORMATION

If you would like to access, correct, amend, or delete any personal information we have about you, or simply want more information, you may contact our Privacy Compliance Officer at connect@bricktopia.co.za. In compliance with POPIA, we will address your requests promptly and transparently.