Privacy Policy

1 Information We Collect

• a. User Information: When you sign up for NOEL, we collect basic information such as your name, email address, physical address (optional, for gift shipping), and other details necessary for account creation.
• b. Group Data: To facilitate the purpose of the platform, we store the names of the groups you create, the rules you set (budget, dates), and the wishlist items you add.
• c. Usage Data & Cookies: We use cookies and similar technologies to collect information about your activity on NOEL. This includes technical data like your IP address, browser type, and device information to improve the performance and security of our platform.

2 How We Use Your Information

• a. Secret Santa Matching: Your user information and groups are used exclusively to match participants in the Secret Santa exchange, ensuring a delightful and personalised experience.
• b. Communication: We may use your email address to send important updates, assignment notifications, and information related to the NOEL platform (e.g., password resets or group invites).
• c. Improvement of Services: Anonymous and aggregated data may be used to analyse user trends, enhance our services, and improve the overall user experience.

3 Data Security

• a. Encryption: NOEL employs industry-standard encryption protocols (SSL/TLS) to protect your data during transmission. Passwords are hashed and salted before storage.
• b. Secure Storage: Your personal information is securely stored on our servers (hosted via secure providers), and we implement robust measures to prevent unauthorised access.

4 Sharing Your Information

• a. Secret Santa Participants: Only the necessary information required for Secret Santa matching is shared with other participants in your specific group (e.g., your wishlist and mailing address are visible to the person assigned to gift you).
• b. Service Providers: We may share data with trusted third-party service providers who assist us in operating our website (e.g., email delivery services, hosting providers, and analytics tools). These providers are contractually obligated to keep your information confidential.
• c. Affiliate Partners: We participate in affiliate advertising programs (such as the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program). If you follow a link to a third-party retailer, that third party may collect data about your visit to attribute the sale to us. We do not share your personal account details (name/email) with Amazon.
• d. Legal Requirements: We may disclose your information if required to do so by law or in response to valid requests by public authorities.

5 Your Rights & Choices

• a. Access & Correction: You have the right to access the personal information we hold about you and to ask that your personal information be corrected, updated, or deleted. You can manage most of this via your Profile settings.
• b. Account Deactivation: If you choose to deactivate your account, your personal information will be securely deleted from our live servers within 48 hours.
• c. Marketing Communications: You can opt out of marketing emails at any time by clicking the "unsubscribe" link in the email footer.

6 Policy Updates

NOEL may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes in our practices. We will notify users of any significant updates via email or through a notice on the platform.

7 Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your privacy or this Privacy Policy, please contact us.