1. Introduction:

Welcome to Haat India (“Haat India,” “we,” “us,” “our”). We are committed to protecting the privacy of our customers and website users (“you,” “your”). This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, how we collect it, why we collect it, how we use and share it, and the steps we take to protect it. This Policy also outlines your rights regarding your personal information.

This Privacy Policy applies to information we collect through our website www.haatindia.in (the “Site”) and any related services. By using our Site or providing us with your personal information, you agree to the collection, use, disclosure, and procedures this Privacy Policy describes.

2. Information We Collect:

We collect various types of information in connection with the services we provide, including:

a. Personal Information You Provide to Us:

• • Identity and Contact Data: Including your name, email address, phone number, shipping address, and billing address. This information is typically collected when you create an account, place an order, subscribe to our newsletter, or communicate with us.
  • Payment Information: When you make a purchase, your payment is processed by our secure third-party payment gateways. We do not directly collect or store your full credit/debit card numbers or other sensitive payment credentials. However, we may have access to limited payment information such as transaction IDs, masked card details (e.g., last 4 digits), or payment status for order verification, customer support, and fraud prevention purposes.
  • Account Information: If you create an account, your username, password (encrypted), and preferences.
  • Communications: Records of your communications with us, including emails, chat messages, or customer support inquiries.

b. Information We Collect Automatically (Non-Personal or Technical Information):

When you visit or interact with our Site, we may automatically collect certain information about your device and browsing activity. This may include:

• • Device Information: Your device’s IP address, browser type and version, operating system, device identifiers.
  • Usage Data: Information about how you use our Site, such as pages visited, time spent on pages, links clicked, products viewed and searched for, and referring websites or sources.

This information is generally used to analyze trends, administer the Site, track user movements around the Site, gather demographic information, and improve our Site functionality and user experience. Some of this data may be PII under certain laws.

c. Children’s Data:

Our Site is intended for a general audience and is not directed at children under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from children under 18. If you are a parent or guardian and you are aware that your child has provided us with Personal Information without your consent, please contact us. If we become aware that we have collected Personal Information from children without verification of parental consent, we take steps to remove that information from our servers.

3. How We Collect Information:

a. Directly from You:

• • When you create an account or update your profile.
  • When you place an order for our products.
  • When you subscribe to our newsletter or marketing communications.
  • When you fill out a contact form, participate in surveys, or request customer support.
  • When you submit a product review or other user-generated content.
  • When you otherwise communicate directly with us.

b. Automatically Through Tracking Technologies:

• • Cookies and Similar Technologies: We use cookies (small text files placed on your device) and similar tracking technologies (like web beacons, pixels, and log files) to collect information about your Browse activities, preferences, and device. Cookies help us provide a better user experience, such as remembering your login details, items in your shopping cart, and your preferences. For more details, please see Section 6 (Cookies and Tracking Technologies).
  • Analytics Tools: We use third-party analytics tools (e.g., Google Analytics) to help us measure traffic and usage trends for the Site. These tools collect information sent by your device or our Site to assist us in improving our service.

4. How We Use Your Information:

We use the information we collect for various legitimate business purposes, including:

• To process and fulfill your orders, including processing payments and arranging for shipping.
• To create and manage your account and provide you with customer support.
• To communicate with you about your orders, account, respond to your inquiries, and send you service-related announcements or administrative messages.
• To send you newsletters, marketing, or promotional materials, and other information that may be of interest to you, only with your explicit prior consent. You may opt-out of receiving any, or all, of these marketing communications from us by following the unsubscribe link or instructions provided in any email we send or by contacting us.
• To improve and optimize our Site, products, services, and overall user experience, including through data analysis, research, and understanding user preferences.
• To personalize your experience on our Site by presenting products and offers tailored to your interests.
• To maintain the security and integrity of our Site, prevent fraud, detect security incidents, and enforce our Terms & Conditions.
• To comply with applicable legal obligations, legal processes, or governmental requests, and to protect our rights and the rights of others.

5. How We Share Your Information:

We respect your privacy and do not sell your personal information to third parties. We may share your information in the following limited circumstances and with appropriate safeguards:

a. Third-Party Service Providers: We may share your information with trusted thirdparty vendors, service providers, contractors, or agents who perform essential services for us or on our behalf and require access to such information to do that work. Examples include:

• • Payment gateways/processors to facilitate secure payments.
  • Shipping and logistics partners to deliver your orders.
  • Email marketing service providers to send communications (with your consent).
  • Analytics providers to help us understand website usage and improve services.
  • IT service providers for website hosting, maintenance, and security.
  • We take steps to ensure these third parties have adequate data protection measures in place and they are typically bound by contractual obligations to keep personal information confidential and use it only for the purposes for which we disclose it to them.

b. Artisans/Suppliers: We generally do not share your personally identifiable customer information with individual artisans or suppliers. In rare cases where it may be necessary for fulfilling a custom order or a specific direct-shipment scenario, we will do so only with your explicit prior consent for that specific purpose and only share the minimum information required.

c. Legal Obligations and Rights: We may disclose your information where we are legally required to do so in order to comply with applicable law, governmental requests, a judicial proceeding, court order, or other legal process, or to protect our rights, property, or safety, or that of our users or others.

d. Business Transfers: We may share or transfer your information in connection with, or during negotiations of, any merger, sale of company assets, financing, or acquisition of all or a portion of our business to another company. You will be notified via email and/or a prominent notice on our Site of any change in ownership or uses of your personal information, as well as any choices you may have regarding your personal information.

6. Cookies and Tracking Technologies:

• We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to track the activity on our Site, hold certain information, and improve your Browse experience.
• Types of Cookies We May Use:
  • Essential Cookies (Strictly Necessary): These cookies are necessary for the Site to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in, or filling in forms.
  • Performance/Analytics Cookies: These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our Site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the Site.
  • Functionality Cookies: These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalization.
  • Marketing/Targeting Cookies: These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant advertisements on other sites.
• Your Choices Regarding Cookies: Most web browsers are set to accept cookies by default. You can usually instruct your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent by modifying your browser settings. However, if you do not accept cookies or disable them, you may not be able to use some portions or features of our Site effectively. We will also provide a cookie consent banner on our Site for you to manage your preferences for non-essential cookies.

7. Data Security:

• We implement reasonable administrative, technical, and physical security measures designed to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, use, alteration, loss, and disclosure. This includes measures such as SSL/TLS encryption for data transmission, secure servers, access controls within our organization, and regular security assessments.
• However, please remember that no method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100% secure. While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your Personal Information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

8. Data Retention:

• We will retain your Personal Information only for as long as is necessary for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy. This includes retaining your information as needed to fulfill our contractual obligations, comply with our legal obligations (for example, if we are required to retain your data to comply with applicable tax or accounting laws), resolve disputes, maintain your active user account, and enforce our legal agreements and policies.
• When we no longer need to retain your personal information, we will securely delete or anonymize it.

9. Your Rights and Choices (Under Indian Law):

You have certain rights regarding your personal information, subject to applicable local data protection laws. These may include the right to:

• Access: Request access to the personal information we hold about you and receive a copy of it.
• Correction (Rectification): Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal information we hold about you.
• Withdraw Consent: Withdraw your consent at any time where we rely on your consent to process your personal information (e.g., for marketing communications). Withdrawing consent will not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal.
• Erasure (Deletion): Request deletion of your personal information, subject to certain exceptions (e.g., where we need to retain data for legal compliance, to complete transactions, or for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims).
• Opt-Out of Marketing Communications: You can opt-out of receiving marketing emails from us at any time by clicking the “unsubscribe” link provided in such emails or by contacting us directly. To exercise any of these rights, or if you have questions about your rights, please contact us using the contact details provided in Section 13. You may also be able to manage some of your information and communication preferences directly through your account settings on the Site. We will respond to your request consistent with applicable law.

10. International Data Transfers:

Your information, including Personal Information, is primarily processed and stored on servers located in India. We do not routinely transfer your personal data to countries outside of India. If, in the future, we do transfer your personal data to service providers located outside of India, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your data in accordance with applicable data protection laws (e.g., by ensuring the country offers an adequate level of data protection or by using standard contractual clauses).

11. Third-Party Websites:

Our Site may contain links to other websites that are not operated by us (e.g., payment gateways, social media sites). If you click on a third-party link, you will be directed to that third party’s site. We strongly advise you to review the Privacy Policy of every site you visit. We have no control over and assume no responsibility for the content, privacy policies, or practices of any third-party sites or services.

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy:

We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, service offerings, or legal requirements. We will notify you of any material changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page and updating the “Last Updated” date at the top. For significant changes, we may also provide a more prominent notice (such as by adding a statement to our homepage or sending you a notification via email). You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes. Changes to this Privacy Policy are effective when they are posted on this page.

13. Grievance Officer & Contact Us:

In accordance with the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the rules made thereunder, the name and contact details of the Grievance Officer are provided below. If you have any questions, concerns, or complaints about this Privacy Policy, your rights, or our data protection practices, or if you wish to exercise your rights, please contact our Grievance Officer:

Name of Grievance Officer: Jamuna Giri
Email: jamuna.giri@haatindia.in
Address: 3rd floor, 75C, Park St, Park Street area, Kolkata, West Bengal 700016
For any other general queries regarding this Privacy Policy, please contact us at: customer.service@haatindia.in or via our Contact Us page: www.haatindia.in/contact-us