Privacy Policy

Smart Choice Shop ("we," "us," "our") operates the website at smart-choice.shop. We are an independent product curation service that publishes buying guides and product roundups.

For questions about this Privacy Policy, contact us at hello@smart-choice.shop.

We collect information in two ways: information you give us directly, and information collected automatically when you visit our site.

Information you provide:

• Email address — only if you subscribe to our newsletter. We don't require registration to use the site.
• Messages — if you contact us via email, we retain that correspondence.

Information collected automatically:

• Log data — your IP address, browser type, operating system, referring URL, pages visited, and time of visit. This is standard web server logging.
• Analytics data — aggregated usage statistics such as which pages are popular and how long visitors stay. We use this to improve content.
• Cookies — small text files stored by your browser. See Section 4 for details.

We do not collect: payment information, government ID, sensitive personal data, or any information from children under 16.

We use the information we collect only for the following purposes:

• Operating the site — delivering pages, troubleshooting technical issues, and maintaining security.
• Improving content — understanding which product guides are useful, which topics to cover next, and how people navigate the site.
• Sending newsletters — if you subscribed, we use your email to send periodic roundups of new product guides. Frequency is typically once per week or less.
• Responding to enquiries — if you contact us, we use your email address to reply.
• Legal compliance — where required by applicable law.

We do not use your information for advertising profiling, automated decision-making, or sale to third parties.

Cookies are small text files placed on your device by websites you visit. We use the following categories of cookies:

• Strictly necessary cookies — required for the site to function. These cannot be disabled. Examples: session cookies, security tokens.
• Analytics cookies — help us understand aggregate traffic patterns. We use privacy-friendly analytics that anonymise IP addresses and do not share data with advertising networks. You may opt out of analytics using your browser's Do Not Track setting or a browser extension such as uBlock Origin.
• Third-party cookies — set by external services we embed or link to (see Section 5). We do not control these cookies.

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Disabling cookies may affect some site functionality but will not prevent you from reading our content or accessing product links.

We do not use advertising cookies, retargeting pixels, or social media tracking pixels on this site.

We use the following third-party services that may process data about your visit:

• Google Fonts — we load fonts from Google's CDN. Google may log your IP address when fonts are requested. See Google's Privacy Policy.
• Tilda — our website is built and hosted on the Tilda platform. Tilda processes server logs and may set functional cookies. See Tilda's Privacy Policy.
• Email newsletter provider — if you subscribe to our newsletter, your email is stored with our email service provider. You may unsubscribe at any time via the link in any email we send.

We do not embed social media widgets, advertising networks, or behavioural tracking scripts on our pages.

Many links on this site are affiliate links. When you click one, you are redirected through rzekl.com — a tracking domain operated by Admitad GmbH, our affiliate network. Admitad sets a tracking cookie on your device to attribute any resulting purchase to our account so we receive a commission.

After the Admitad redirect, you land on AliExpress, which operates under its own privacy policy and may set additional cookies. AliExpress is operated by Alibaba Group.

• Clicking an affiliate link does not share your name, email, or any personal data from our site with Admitad or AliExpress.
• Admitad's tracking cookie typically expires after 30 days. If you purchase within that period after clicking our link, we receive a commission.
• You can prevent affiliate tracking by using a browser extension that blocks tracking redirects, or by copying the product URL from the AliExpress page directly.
• The price you pay on AliExpress is identical whether you arrive through our link or directly.

Relevant privacy policies: Admitad Privacy Policy · AliExpress Privacy Policy.

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to any third party for their own marketing purposes.

We may share information only in the following limited circumstances:

• Service providers — companies that help us operate the site (hosting, email delivery, analytics) under strict data processing agreements. They may not use your data for their own purposes.
• Legal requirements — if required by law, court order, or governmental authority, we may disclose information. We will notify you of such requests unless legally prohibited from doing so.
• Business transfers — if Smart Choice Shop is acquired or its assets transferred, your information may be part of that transfer. We will notify affected users in advance where possible.
• Protection of rights — to enforce our terms, protect the security of the site, or prevent fraud.

• Server logs — retained for up to 90 days, then automatically deleted.
• Newsletter subscriptions — retained until you unsubscribe. Upon unsubscription, your email is deleted from our active list within 30 days.
• Contact messages — retained for up to 2 years in case of follow-up, then deleted.
• Analytics data — retained in aggregated, anonymised form indefinitely. No individual-level data is retained long-term.

Depending on where you are located, you may have the following rights regarding your personal data. We honour these rights regardless of your country of residence.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at hello@smart-choice.shop. We will respond within 30 days. We may need to verify your identity before processing your request.

California residents (CCPA): You have the right to know what personal information we collect, to opt out of the sale of personal information (we do not sell it), and to non-discrimination for exercising these rights.

EU/UK residents (GDPR/UK GDPR): Our legal bases for processing are: legitimate interests (analytics, site operation), consent (newsletter), and legal obligation. You have the right to lodge a complaint with your national data protection authority.

Smart Choice Shop is not directed at children under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.

In jurisdictions where a higher age threshold applies (e.g. 18 in some contexts), we apply that higher threshold.

Smart Choice Shop is accessible worldwide. Our website infrastructure may involve servers located in different countries. By using this site, you acknowledge that your information may be processed in countries other than your own, which may have different data protection standards.

Where we transfer data internationally, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place (such as standard contractual clauses or reliance on adequacy decisions) in accordance with applicable law.

This policy is designed to comply with major privacy frameworks including GDPR (EU/EEA), UK GDPR, CCPA (California), PIPEDA (Canada), LGPD (Brazil), and PDPA (Thailand/Singapore). If you have questions about compliance with your local law, contact us.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. For significant changes, we will notify newsletter subscribers via email.

Your continued use of Smart Choice Shop after any changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy. If you disagree with any changes, please stop using the site and, if applicable, unsubscribe from our newsletter.

We recommend reviewing this page periodically, especially if you have an active newsletter subscription.

For any questions, concerns, or requests related to this Privacy Policy or your personal data, please contact us: