Who we are

Velena Lifestyle is a UK social media marketing agency, user generated content (UGC) studio, and digital products store based in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. Our website address is https://velenalifestyle.com.

For the purposes of UK data protection law, Velena Lifestyle is the data controller for the personal data described in this policy. If you have any questions about how we handle your data, you can reach us through our contact page.

The data we collect and why

We only collect the personal data we need to run our business, respond to you, and deliver the services and products you ask for. The table below sets out the main categories of data, why we use them, and the lawful basis we rely on under UK GDPR.

You do not have to give us personal data, but if you do not, we may not be able to answer your enquiry, complete your order, or provide a service you have requested.

Media you upload

If you upload images to the website, please avoid uploading images that contain embedded location data (EXIF GPS). Visitors to the website can download images and extract any location data held within them.

Cookies

Cookies are small text files stored on your device. We use them to keep the site working, to remember your choices, to keep your shopping basket, and to understand how the site is used so we can improve it.

• If you leave a comment, you may opt in to saving your name, email address, and website in cookies. These save you re-entering your details next time and last for one year.
• When you visit our login page, we set a temporary cookie to check whether your browser accepts cookies. It holds no personal data and is removed when you close your browser.
• When you log in, we set cookies to save your login and display choices. Login cookies last two days and screen option cookies last a year. If you choose "Remember Me", your login lasts two weeks. Logging out removes these cookies.
• Our shop uses cookies to remember the items in your basket and to complete checkout.
• We use security and performance cookies set by our content delivery provider to protect the site and keep it fast.
• With your consent, we use analytics cookies to measure how visitors use the site.

You can control or delete cookies through your browser settings. Blocking some cookies may affect how parts of the site work.

Embedded content from other sites

Articles and pages on this site may include embedded content, for example videos, images, or social posts. Embedded content from other websites behaves exactly as if you had visited that other website.

These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracking your interaction if you have an account and are logged in to that website.

Who we share your data with

We share personal data only with the trusted providers that help us run our website and business, and only as far as needed. The main categories are:

• Hosting and infrastructure: our website host stores the site and its data.
• Content delivery and security: Cloudflare protects the site and helps it load quickly.
• Payments: regulated payment providers process your payment securely.
• Analytics: Google Analytics helps us understand site usage, where you have consented.
• Email and productivity: Google Workspace handles our email and enquiry correspondence.
• Spam protection and avatars: Automattic provides spam detection and the Gravatar avatar service for comments. An anonymised string (a hash) created from your email address may be sent to Gravatar to check whether you use the service. The Gravatar privacy policy is available at https://automattic.com/privacy/. After your comment is approved, your profile picture is visible to the public alongside your comment.
• Professional advisers and authorities: we may share data with advisers, or with authorities, where we are legally required to do so.

International data transfers

Some of our providers process data outside the United Kingdom, for example in the United States. Where this happens, we rely on appropriate safeguards, such as UK adequacy regulations, the UK International Data Transfer Agreement, or Standard Contractual Clauses, so that your data continues to receive a similar level of protection.

How long we keep your data

• Enquiries: we keep enquiry correspondence for up to 24 months after our last contact, unless you ask us to delete it sooner.
• Orders and transactions: we keep order and accounting records for at least 6 years, as required by HMRC and UK tax law.
• Customer accounts: we keep account data until you ask us to close your account.
• Marketing: we keep your details until you unsubscribe or ask us to stop.
• Comments: comments and their metadata are kept indefinitely so we can recognise and approve any follow-up comments automatically rather than holding them in a moderation queue.

For users who register on our website, we store the personal information they provide in their user profile. All users can see, edit, or delete their personal information at any time, except they cannot change their username. Website administrators can also see and edit that information.

How we protect your data

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data. These include encrypted connections (SSL) across the site, security and firewall protection through Cloudflare, restricted access to personal data, and regular review of the providers we work with. No method of transmission over the internet is completely secure, but we work to protect your data and to deal quickly with any issues.

Your rights under UK GDPR

You have the following rights over the personal data we hold about you:

• Access: request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Rectification: ask us to correct data that is inaccurate or incomplete.
• Erasure: ask us to delete your data, where we are not required to keep it for legal, administrative, or security reasons.
• Restriction: ask us to limit how we use your data.
• Portability: ask us to provide your data in a portable format.
• Objection: object to processing based on our legitimate interests.
• Withdraw consent: withdraw your consent at any time, where we rely on consent.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us through our contact page. If you have an account or have left comments, you can request an exported file of the personal data we hold about you, and you can request that we erase it, subject to data we are obliged to keep.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority, at https://ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113. We would, however, appreciate the chance to address your concerns first.

Children's privacy

Our services and content are intended for adults and are not directed at children under 16. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us and we will remove it.

Comments and the blog

When visitors leave comments on the site, we collect the data shown in the comments form, along with the visitor's IP address and browser user agent string, to help with spam detection. Comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, technology, or the law. When we make material changes, we will update the date shown at the top of this page. Please check back from time to time to stay informed.