1.       Purpose

As part of offering our products, we collect certain personal data about you to facilitate our relationship with you and to provide you with the best possible shopping experience. Through this Privacy Statement, we aim to explain our practices and policies regarding the collection, use, and sharing of data and cookies collected from or about you.

2. How We Collect Data

We collect your data when you contact us via our contact form, order form, newsletter subscription, phone, email, or any other method through which you send us your information.

3. What Data We Collect and Why

The table below outlines the data we collect from you, the purpose of its use, and why it is necessary in each case.

Purpose of Data Processing	Personal Data	Why Data is Necessary
Managing inquiries, complaints, problem resolution	Personal identification data (full name), contact details (shipping address, phone number, email), tax identification data (TIN, Tax Office), login information	To properly handle inquiries, complaints, and problems. We have a legitimate interest in providing the best customer experience and resolving any issues.
Newsletter subscription	Personal identification data (full name), contact details (shipping address, phone number, email)	To allow you to receive updates and offers from our company after providing your consent.

4. How Long We Retain Your Data

Our policy is to retain your data only for as long as necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, in accordance with the principles of data minimization and storage limitation. For all the above reasons, your data will be retained for at least five (5) years after the termination of our customer relationship. Additionally, we align data retention with any potential changes arising from the exercise of your data protection rights.

5. Disclosure of Personal Data to Third Parties

We do not transfer, disclose, or rent your personal information to any third party/entity.

For the purposes of executing the sales contract, data is transmitted to collaborating companies that have been assigned the execution of part of the contract, such as shipping companies or pickup points selected by you. Finally, access to data is granted to independent service providers who have developed our website, as well as those who provide technical support or hosting services for its operation.

We strive to ensure that all these third-party/independent service providers do not use your personal data for any purpose other than providing the services they are contractually bound to deliver.

We reserve the right to disclose your personal information to third parties if we are required to do so by law or regulatory obligations.

6. Data Security

We make great efforts to protect our users from unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction of the data we hold. Specifically:

• We encrypt data transmission to and from the website using SSL.
• We review data collection, storage, and processing practices, including physical security measures, to protect against unauthorized access to systems.
• Access to personal information is limited to our employees and collaborating entities who need to know this information to provide services to us. These collaborating entities and the security measures for your data are explicitly stated in this privacy statement (Section 5: Disclosure of Personal Data to Third Parties).

7. Access by Minors

The products we offer are intended exclusively for purchase by adults and not by children or minors under 16 years old.

If you are under 16 years old, you may use our website only with the participation and approval of a parent or guardian.

8. Use of Cookies

A “cookie” is a small text file that is downloaded to your device when you visit a website and allows the website to obtain certain information from your browser, such as your preferences. We consider it important that you know what cookies are used on our website and why they are used. The two main categories of cookies used on our website are essential cookies and third-party cookies:

Essential Cookies

These cookies are necessary for the proper functioning of our website and to allow you to navigate and use its features, such as accessing secure areas. Without these cookies, some website services and features, such as the shopping cart or online payment, cannot function.

Third-Party Cookies

Third-party cookies include performance, functionality, and marketing/targeting cookies.

• Performance Cookies: Collect information about how visitors use the website, such as which pages they visit most often and whether they receive error messages. These cookies do not collect information that identifies the visitor. All information collected is aggregated and therefore anonymous. They are used solely to improve website functionality.
• Functionality Cookies: Allow the website to remember choices you make (such as username or location) and provide enhanced, more personalized features. They may also be used to remember changes you have made to the website or to provide requested services such as chat or social media integration. The information these cookies collect may be anonymized and cannot track your browsing activity on other websites.
• Marketing/Targeting Cookies: Used to deliver content that is more relevant to you and your interests. They are also used to send targeted advertising or offers, limit the number of times an ad is displayed, and help measure the effectiveness of advertising campaigns. These cookies can also store websites you have visited to determine the most effective digital marketing channels and reward external websites and partners who directed you to our site.

9. Your Data Protection Rights

At any time during the retention or processing of your data, you have the following rights and may submit the relevant requests:

• Right of access – You have the right to access the personal data we hold about you.
• Right of rectification – You have the right to correct inaccurate or incomplete data we hold about you.
• Right of erasure – You can request the deletion of your data from our records, and we are obligated to comply with your request under specific circumstances.
• Right to restrict processing – You have the right to request a restriction on the processing of your personal data, which we must fulfill under certain conditions.
• Right to data portability – You have the right to request that your data be transferred to another organization.
• Right to object – You have the right to object to the processing of your personal data under specific conditions.
• Right to withdraw consent – Where the legal basis for processing your data is “Consent,” you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.

All requests related to these rights can be submitted via our contact form.

The procedure for handling any request related to the above rights is as follows: We will evaluate your request and respond regarding its progress (approval, partial approval, or rejection) as soon as possible and within one month from submission. If our company rejects your request, we will communicate the reasons for the rejection. You have the right to file a complaint directly with the regulatory authority and our Data Protection Officer.

We reserve the right to reject requests that are unreasonably repetitive, require disproportionate technical efforts or consequences, jeopardize the privacy of others, or are otherwise infeasible to implement.

10. Changes to the Privacy Statement

Our Privacy Statement may change from time to time. We strive to continually review and update this Statement to comply with legal and regulatory requirements while providing optimal data protection. Any changes to the privacy statement will be posted on this page.

11. Contact for Data-Related Matters

If at any time you believe we are not complying with the provisions set out in this Statement or have any other concerns regarding data protection, please contact us via email at info@vitachem.gr. The Data Protection Officer is Mr. Panagiotis Kostas.