Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

At Tone Alchemy, we are committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and manage your personal information in compliance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).

By visiting tonealchemy.com (the “Website”), using our services, or purchasing our products, you agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy.

Who We Are

Our Website address is: https://tonealchemy.com .

Tone Alchemy operates from Queensland, Australia, providing sound design services for game audio and selling boutique handmade guitar effects.

What Personal Information We Collect and Why

We collect personal information that is reasonably necessary for us to carry out our business functions and activities.

  • When you make a purchase or engage our services: We collect personal details such as your name, email address, billing address, shipping address, phone number, and payment information. This is necessary to process your orders, fulfil services, manage payments, and provide customer support.
  • When you leave comments on the Website: When you leave a comment, we collect the data shown in the comments form, your IP address, and your browser user agent string. This helps us detect and prevent spam. An anonymised string created from your email address (a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to check if you’re using it. If your comment is approved, your profile picture will be visible to the public alongside your comment. You can find the Gravatar service privacy policy here: https://automattic.com/privacy/.
  • When you create an account: If you choose to register on our Website, we store the personal information you provide in your user profile, such as your name and email address. You can view, edit, or delete your personal information at any time (except your username). Website administrators can also access and edit this information.
  • When you contact us: If you send us an email or use a contact form, we collect your name, email address, and the content of your message to respond to your inquiry.
  • If you upload images to the Website: Please avoid uploading images that include embedded location data (EXIF GPS). Other visitors can download and extract this location data from images on the Website.

How We Collect Your Personal Information

We collect personal information directly from you when you:

  • Place an order for products.
  • Enquire about or engage our sound design services.
  • Create an account on our Website.
  • Leave comments on our Website.
  • Contact us via email or contact forms.

Cookies

Our Website uses cookies to enhance your Browse experience. Cookies are small text files stored on your device that help our Website function.

  • Comment Cookies: If you leave a comment on our site, you may choose to save your name, email address, and website in cookies. These are for your convenience, so you don’t have to re-enter your details for future comments. These cookies last for one year.
  • Temporary Cookies (Login Page): If you visit our login page, a temporary cookie is set to check if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is deleted when you close your browser.
  • Login and Display Cookies: When you log in, several cookies are set to save your login information and screen display preferences. Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for a year. If you select “Remember Me,” your login will persist for two weeks. Logging out will remove the login cookies.
  • Article Editing Cookies: If you edit or publish an article (relevant if you’re a contributor or administrator), an additional cookie is saved in your browser. This cookie contains no personal data and simply indicates the post ID of the article you just edited. It expires after 1 day.

You can manage your cookie preferences through your browser settings. However, disabling cookies may affect the functionality of our Website.

Embedded Content from Other Websites

Articles or pages on this Website may include embedded content (e.g., videos from YouTube, images, articles from other sources). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if you had visited the other website directly.

These external websites may:

  • Collect data about you.
  • Use cookies.
  • Embed additional third-party tracking.
  • Monitor your interaction with that embedded content, especially if you have an account and are logged in to that website.

We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party websites you interact with via embedded content.

Who We Share Your Data With

We only share your personal information with third parties when necessary to provide our services or products, or when legally required. This may include:

  • Payment Processors: To process your transactions securely.
  • Shipping Carriers: To deliver your physical products.
  • Spam Detection Services: Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service.
  • Service Providers: For website hosting, analytics, or other operational support.
  • Legal Requirements: If required by law, such as in response to a court order or subpoena, or to protect our rights, property, or safety, or the rights, property, or safety of others.
  • Password Resets: If you request a password reset, your IP address will be included in the reset email for security purposes.

We take reasonable steps to ensure that third-party service providers are obligated to protect the privacy and security of your personal information and use it only for the purposes for which it is disclosed.

How Long We Retain Your Data

We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by law.

  • Comments: If you leave a comment, the comment and its associated metadata are retained indefinitely. This allows us to recognise and approve any follow-up comments automatically, rather than holding them in a moderation queue.
  • Registered Users: For users who register on our Website, we store the personal information they provide in their user profile indefinitely unless a deletion request is made.
  • Order Data: Information related to product orders and service engagements will be retained for a period necessary for accounting, warranty, and legal obligations, typically 7 years after the transaction.

Security of Your Personal Information

We take reasonable steps to protect the personal information we hold from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification, or disclosure. This includes:

  • Using secure server infrastructure for our Website.
  • Implementing encryption (SSL/TLS) for data transmission.
  • Restricting access to personal information to authorised personnel only.
  • Regularly reviewing our security practices.

However, no data transmission over the internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. While we strive to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee the security of any information you transmit to us or receive from us.

Your Rights Over Your Data

Under the Australian Privacy Principles, you have certain rights regarding your personal information:

  • Access: You can request to receive an exported file of the personal data we hold about you, including any data you have provided to us.
  • Correction: You can request that we correct any inaccurate or outdated personal information we hold about you. For registered users, you can often edit your personal information directly through your user profile.
  • Erasure (Right to be Forgotten): You can request that we erase any personal data we hold about you. This does not include any data we are obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes.
  • Complaints: If you believe we have breached the Australian Privacy Principles, you have the right to make a complaint. Please contact us in the first instance, and we will do our best to resolve your concern. If you are not satisfied with our response, you can lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details below.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. We encourage you to review this page periodically for the latest information on our privacy practices. Your continued use of the Website after any changes indicates your acceptance of the updated Privacy Policy.

Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or our handling of your personal information, please contact us at:

Tone Alchemy at info@tonealchemy.com