Privacy Policy - thesoftpaws.com

Last updated: 29 April 2026

TheSoftPaws (“we”, “us”, “our”) respects your privacy and is committed to protecting the personal information you share with us. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect when you visit thesoftpaws.com or place an order with us, how we use and share it, and what rights you have.

1. Who We Are

TheSoftPaws is operated from:

8 Para Cl, Fairview Heights, Auckland 0632, New Zealand Email: sales@thesoftpaws.com Phone: +64 27 397 0990

For the purposes of New Zealand’s Privacy Act 2020 and, where applicable, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), TheSoftPaws is the entity responsible for deciding how and why your personal information is processed (the “controller”).

2. Information We Collect

a) Information you give us directly:

Name, email address, phone number
Billing and shipping address
Order details and purchase history
Messages you send us via our contact form or email (e.g. customer service enquiries, return requests)
Your email address if you sign up to our newsletter (including for the 10% discount offer)
Account details, if you create a customer account (username, password — stored securely/hashed)

We do not collect or store full payment card numbers ourselves — payments are handled directly by our payment processors (see Section 6).

b) Information collected automatically:

When you browse our website, we (and our service providers) may automatically collect:

IP address, approximate location (country/region level)
Browser type, device type, and operating system
Pages viewed, time spent on site, referring website/search terms
Cookies and similar tracking technologies (see Section 4)

c) Information from third parties:

Confirmation of successful payment from our payment processor (without full card details)
Delivery status updates from our shipping/courier partners

3. How We Use Your Information

We use your personal information to:

Process and fulfil your orders, including shipping and customer service
Communicate with you about your order (confirmations, shipping updates, support requests)
Send you marketing emails and promotions, where you’ve opted in (e.g. newsletter signup) — you can unsubscribe at any time
Improve our website, products, and customer experience
Detect and prevent fraud, abuse, or security issues
Comply with our legal and tax obligations (e.g. keeping order records)

4. Cookies & Similar Technologies

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to make the site work properly, remember your preferences (like items in your cart), and understand how visitors use our site.

Categories of cookies we may use:

Essential/functional cookies — required for core site features like the shopping cart and checkout
Analytics cookies — help us understand site traffic and usage (Google Analytics)
Marketing/advertising cookies — used for retargeting or measuring ad performance (e.g. [Meta/Facebook Pixel, Google Ads])

You can control or disable cookies through your browser settings. If you’re visiting from the EU/UK, you’ll see a cookie consent banner allowing you to accept or manage non-essential cookies before they’re set.

5. Legal Basis for Processing (EU/UK Visitors)

If you are located in the European Union or United Kingdom, we process your personal information on the following legal bases under GDPR:

Performance of a contract — to process and deliver your order
Consent — for marketing emails and non-essential cookies, which you can withdraw at any time
Legitimate interests — to improve our services, prevent fraud, and operate our business
Legal obligation — to comply with tax, accounting, and other applicable laws

For customers in New Zealand, we collect, use, and disclose personal information in accordance with the Information Privacy Principles set out in the Privacy Act 2020.

6. Who We Share Your Information With

We share personal information only where necessary, with:

Payment processors — Stripe, PayPal, and card payment networks (Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover), to securely process your payment
Shipping and courier partners — to deliver your order (domestic NZ couriers and international shipping partners — see our Shipping & Delivery Policy)
Email marketing platform — Omnisend
Website hosting & e-commerce platform — WordPress/WooCommerce
Analytics & advertising providers — Google Analytics、Meta etc.
Professional advisors and authorities — where required by law, or to protect our legal rights

We do not sell your personal information to third parties.

7. International Data Transfers

Because we ship internationally and use service providers that may be based outside New Zealand (for example, in the United States or the European Union), your personal information may be transferred to and processed in countries other than your own. Where this happens, we rely on our service providers’ own safeguards (such as standard contractual clauses, where applicable) to protect your information in line with this policy.

8. Data Retention

We keep your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes described in this policy, including:

Order and transaction records: 7 years
Newsletter/marketing data: until you unsubscribe or ask us to delete it
Customer account data: for as long as your account remains active, plus a reasonable period afterward

9. Data Security

We use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information against loss, misuse, and unauthorised access. However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

10. Your Rights

If you are in New Zealand: Under the Privacy Act 2020, you have the right to ask us for access to, and correction of, the personal information we hold about you.

If you are in the EU/UK: Under GDPR, you have the right to:

Access the personal information we hold about you
Request correction of inaccurate information
Request deletion of your information (“right to be forgotten”), in certain circumstances
Restrict or object to certain processing
Request a copy of your data in a portable format
Withdraw consent at any time (where processing is based on consent)
Lodge a complaint with your local data protection supervisory authority

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at sales@thesoftpaws.com. We may need to verify your identity before actioning your request.

If you’re not satisfied with our response, you can also contact:

New Zealand: Office of the Privacy Commissioner — privacy.org.nz, phone 0800 803 909
EU/UK: your local data protection authority

11. Children’s Privacy

While many of our products are designed for children, TheSoftPaws’ website and checkout process are intended for use by adults (18 years or older) making purchases on behalf of themselves or their family. We do not knowingly collect personal information directly from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will take steps to delete it.

12. Marketing Communications & Opt-Out

If you’ve opted in to receive marketing emails from us (e.g. via our newsletter signup), you can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of any marketing email, or by emailing sales@thesoftpaws.com. Even after opting out of marketing, we may still send you transactional emails related to your orders.

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. The version posted on this page is always the most current, and we encourage you to review it periodically.