Effective Date: 27 August 2026
Business Name: Louises Aquatic Nook

At Louises Aquatic Nook, we are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and safeguard your personal information when you visit our website and purchase live tropical fish from us.

Information We Collect

We only collect the personal data necessary to process your orders, ship your livestock safely, and communicate with you. This includes:

Contact details: Your name, billing address, delivery address, email address, and phone number.
Order details: Information about the live fish and aquatic supplies you purchase from us.
Payment data: Financial information processed securely by our third-party payment providers (we do not store your credit card details).
Technical data: Your IP address, browser type, and cookies used to improve your browsing experience and website functionality.

How We Use Your Information

We process your personal data under the lawful bases of contractual necessity (to fulfill your orders) and legitimate interests (to run our business safely and efficiently). Specifically, we use your data to:

Process your payments and fulfill livestock orders.
Arrange specialist courier delivery for your live fish.
Send you order confirmations, tracking updates, and support messages.
Respond to your inquiries sent via our contact forms or email.
Comply with UK legal, tax, and animal welfare record-keeping obligations.

Data Sharing & Third Parties

We never sell your personal data. We only share your information with trusted third parties essential to completing your order:

Payment Gateways: Secure processors who handle your transactions securely (such as Stripe or PayPal).
Livestock Couriers: Specialist delivery services that require your name, address, phone number, and email to ensure safe, timed arrival of live fish.
Website Hosting & Analytics: IONOS (1&1 IONOS SE), which hosts our website and processing servers, and any built-in IONOS WebAnalytics tools used to understand visitor traffic.

Data Retention

We keep your personal information only as long as necessary.

Order Records: Kept for up to 6 years to comply with UK tax law (HMRC) requirements.
General Inquiries: Deleted after 12 months if no business transaction occurs.

Your Rights

Under UK data protection laws (UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018), you have specific rights regarding your personal data:

Access: You can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Correction: You can ask us to change or fix inaccurate details.
Erasure: You can request that we delete your data (where we are not legally required to keep it for tax or regulatory purposes).
Object or Restrict: You can object to us processing your data for specific reasons.
Complaints: You have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy occasionally to reflect changes in our practices or legal obligations. The "Effective Date" at the top will be updated accordingly.

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to exercise your rights, please contact Louise directly:

Business Name: Louises Aquatic Nook
Email: louise@louisesaquaticnook.co.uk