PRIVACY POLICIES

Polite Society is a Mumbai-based fashion and lifestyle brand operated by Surmai Design Studio LLP (“Polite Society”, “we”, “us” or “our”).

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, disclose and otherwise process your personal information when you visit, browse or make a purchase through www.politesocietyshop.com (the “Website”), interact with us online or offline, contact our customer support, or otherwise engage with our services.

By accessing or using our Website, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.

1. WHO WE ARE

Polite Society is operated by:

Surmai Design Studio LLP
Registered Office: A-105, Trade Square, Saki Naka, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Email: hi@politesociety.in
Website: www.politesocietyshop.com

For the purposes of applicable data protection and privacy laws, Surmai Design Studio LLP is responsible for determining how and why your personal information is processed.

2. PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT

The information we collect depends on how you interact with us.

A. Information You Provide Directly

When you place an order, create an account, contact us, subscribe to our communications, request an exchange or return, use store credit, participate in a promotion or otherwise interact with us, we may collect:

Full name
Email address
Mobile or telephone number
Billing address
Shipping and delivery address
Payment and transaction information
Order history and details of products purchased
Return, exchange and refund information
Store credit information
Customer service communications and correspondence
Information provided when participating in surveys, contests, promotions or other brand activities
Information you voluntarily provide to us through forms, messages, emails or other interactions

We do not generally store complete payment card details ourselves. Payments may be processed by third-party payment gateways and payment service providers. Those providers may collect and process payment information in accordance with their own privacy policies.

B. Information Collected Automatically

When you visit or use our Website, certain information may be collected automatically, including:

IP address
Browser type and version
Device type and operating system
Time zone
Approximate location
Language preferences
Pages and products viewed
Search queries
Referring and exit pages
Date and time of visits
Information about how you interact with the Website
Information about how you interact with emails, advertisements and other communications
Cookies and similar technologies

We refer to this information collectively as “Device Information.”

C. Cookies, Pixels and Similar Technologies

We use cookies, pixels, tags, web beacons and similar technologies on our Website.

These technologies may be used to:

Keep the Website functioning properly
Remember items in your shopping cart
Remember your preferences
Understand Website traffic and usage
Analyse how customers browse and interact with the Website
Measure advertising and marketing performance
Provide relevant advertising and marketing communications
Improve Website functionality and security
Detect and prevent fraudulent or suspicious activity

You can control or disable cookies through your browser or device settings. If you disable certain cookies, some features of the Website may not function properly.

3. HOW WE USE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

We use personal information for legitimate business and operational purposes, including the following.

To Fulfil Your Orders

We use your information to:

Process and confirm your orders
Process payments
Arrange shipping and delivery
Provide invoices and order confirmations
Process returns and exchanges
Process refunds
Provide store credit where applicable
Communicate with you about your order
Provide customer support relating to your purchase

To Communicate With You

We may use your contact information to:

Respond to customer service enquiries
Answer questions about our products or services
Provide information about your orders
Communicate regarding returns, exchanges or refunds
Communicate regarding store credit
Respond to feedback or complaints
Send service-related notifications

Marketing and Communications

Where permitted by applicable law and in accordance with your preferences, we may use your information to send you:

New collection announcements
Product updates
Offers and promotions
Editorial and brand communications
Events and invitations
Other marketing communications from Polite Society

You can unsubscribe from marketing communications at any time by following the unsubscribe instructions contained in the communication or by contacting us at hi@politesociety.in.

To Improve Our Website and Business

We may analyse information about how customers use our Website to:

Improve the Website and shopping experience
Understand customer preferences
Improve our products and services
Analyse sales and Website performance
Understand customer behaviour and trends
Measure marketing and advertising effectiveness
Develop new products, services and experiences

To Prevent Fraud and Protect Our Business

We may process personal information to:

Detect and prevent fraudulent transactions
Identify suspicious activity
Protect our Website, systems and customers
Investigate potential misuse of our services
Enforce our terms, policies and agreements
Protect the rights, property and safety of Polite Society, our customers and others

To Comply With Legal Obligations

We may collect, use or retain personal information where reasonably necessary to comply with applicable laws, regulations, legal proceedings, governmental requests or other lawful obligations.

4. HOW WE SHARE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

We do not sell your personal information as a standalone commercial product.

We may share personal information with trusted third parties where reasonably necessary to operate our business, fulfil your orders, provide our services or otherwise process information for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy.

These third parties may include:

E-commerce and Technology Providers

We use third-party technology providers, including Shopify, to operate our Website, provide e-commerce functionality, process orders and support our online store.

Payment Providers

Payment information may be processed by third-party payment gateways and payment service providers to securely process transactions.

Shipping and Logistics Providers

We may share information such as your name, phone number, shipping address and order details with courier, shipping and logistics providers to enable delivery of your order and manage returns or exchanges.

Analytics and Advertising Providers

We may use third-party analytics and advertising services, including Google Analytics and advertising platforms, to understand Website usage, measure marketing campaigns, improve our Website and provide relevant advertising.

Customer Service and Communication Providers

We may use third-party service providers to manage customer enquiries and communications, including email, SMS, WhatsApp and other communication channels.

Professional Advisers and Service Providers

We may share information with service providers and professional advisers such as accountants, lawyers, auditors, consultants, technology providers and other contractors where reasonably necessary to operate our business or comply with our legal obligations.

Legal and Regulatory Authorities

We may disclose personal information where required or permitted by applicable law, court order, governmental authority or other lawful process.

We may also disclose information where reasonably necessary to protect our legal rights, property, safety or the safety of our customers or others.

Business Transfers

If Polite Society or Surmai Design Studio LLP is involved in a merger, acquisition, restructuring, sale of assets, financing, investment, reorganisation or other business transaction, personal information may be transferred as part of that transaction, subject to applicable law.

5. INTERNATIONAL DATA TRANSFERS

Some of our technology, e-commerce, payment, analytics, advertising, communication and other service providers may process personal information outside India.

Where personal information is transferred outside India, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that such processing is carried out in accordance with applicable data protection and privacy laws.

If you are located outside India, including in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom or another jurisdiction with its own data protection laws, your information may be transferred to and processed in India and other countries in which our service providers operate.

6. DATA RETENTION

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including to:

Complete transactions
Provide customer support
Manage returns and exchanges
Manage refunds and store credit
Maintain business and financial records
Meet legal, accounting and regulatory requirements
Resolve disputes
Prevent fraud
Enforce our agreements and policies

When personal information is no longer reasonably required, we may delete, anonymise or otherwise securely dispose of it, subject to applicable legal and regulatory requirements.

7. YOUR PRIVACY RIGHTS

Depending on your location and the laws applicable to you, you may have certain rights in relation to your personal information.

These rights may include the right to:

Request information about the personal information we process about you
Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal information
Request deletion of personal information where applicable
Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent
Request information about how your personal information is being processed
Raise a grievance regarding the processing of your personal information
Opt out of marketing communications
Exercise any other rights available to you under applicable law

For individuals whose personal information is governed by India's Digital Personal Data Protection framework, applicable rights will be provided in accordance with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, the Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025, and other applicable requirements as and when they come into force.

You may exercise applicable privacy rights by contacting us at:

hi@politesociety.in

We may need to verify your identity before processing certain requests to protect your personal information from unauthorised access or misuse.

8. MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS

If you have opted to receive marketing communications from us, we may contact you by email, SMS, WhatsApp or other communication channels for which you have provided your contact information.

You may opt out of marketing communications at any time.

You can unsubscribe by:

Following the unsubscribe instructions included in marketing emails or other communications; or
Contacting us at hi@politesociety.in

Please note that opting out of marketing communications will not prevent us from sending essential transactional or service-related communications, including order confirmations, payment confirmations, shipping updates, return or exchange updates and other communications necessary to provide our services.

9. THIRD-PARTY WEBSITES AND SERVICES

Our Website may contain links to third-party websites, applications, social media platforms or other services.

We are not responsible for the privacy practices, security or content of third-party websites or services.

If you access a third-party website or service through a link on our Website, we encourage you to review its privacy policy before providing personal information.

10. CHILDREN'S PRIVACY

Our Website and services are intended for a general audience and are not specifically directed at children.

We do not knowingly collect personal information from children where such collection is prohibited by applicable law.

If you believe that a child has provided personal information to us in circumstances where such collection is not permitted, please contact us at hi@politesociety.in.

11. DO NOT TRACK

Some web browsers may provide a “Do Not Track” setting.

Because there is currently no universally accepted standard for responding to such signals, our Website may not respond to all Do Not Track signals.

12. DATA SECURITY

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures designed to protect personal information against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration, disclosure or destruction.

However, no method of electronic transmission or storage is completely secure. While we take reasonable steps to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee the absolute security of information transmitted to or stored by us or our service providers.

13. PERSONAL DATA BREACHES

If we become aware of a personal data breach affecting your personal information, we will take reasonable and appropriate steps to investigate, contain and mitigate the breach.

Where required by applicable law, we will also provide notifications to affected individuals and/or relevant authorities within the applicable time periods and in the manner prescribed by law.

14. CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to:

Our business practices
Our Website or services
Our technology and service providers
Applicable laws and regulations
Our data processing practices
Our privacy and security practices

When we make changes, we will update the “Last Updated” date at the top of this Privacy Policy.

We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to remain informed about how we process personal information.

15. CONTACT US

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, wish to exercise an applicable privacy right, or wish to raise a complaint or grievance regarding our handling of your personal information, please contact us.