Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Al Waha Books collects, uses, and protects information when you use our site or other services. We are committed to protecting your privacy and handling your data in a transparent and lawful manner, in accordance with applicable data protection laws, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Who We Are

Al Waha Books is a company specializing in book retail and distribution. Our services include physical and online book sales, importing, exporting, distribution, library supply, literary events, educational book supply, and corporate gift services.

Our registered address is:
Al Waha Books
101 Sheikh Zayed Road
5th Floor
Dubai, Dubai
PO Box 12345
UAE

Information We Collect

We collect information from you when you use our site or services. This may include:

• Personal Identification Information: Such as your name, address, email address, phone number, and payment information when you place an order or create an account.
• Transaction Data: Details about products you purchase, your order history, and information relating to payments.
• Technical Data: Including your IP address, browser type and version, time zone setting and location, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system and platform, and other technology on the devices you use to access our site.
• Usage Data: Information about how you use our site, products, and services.
• Marketing and Communications Data: Your preferences in receiving marketing from us and your communication preferences.

How We Collect Information

We collect information in several ways:

• Directly from you: When you register for an account, place an order, subscribe to newsletters, fill out forms, or communicate with us directly.
• Automatically: As you interact with our site, we may automatically collect Technical and Usage Data using cookies, server logs, and other similar technologies.
• From third parties: We may receive information about you from third parties such as analytics providers or payment service providers.

How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for various purposes, including:

• To provide and manage our services: Processing your orders, managing your account, and delivering purchased items.
• To improve our site and services: Analyzing usage data to understand how our site is used and to enhance user experience, functionality, and performance.
• To communicate with you: Responding to your inquiries, providing customer support, and sending service-related communications.
• For marketing: Sending you information about products, services, offers, and events that may be of interest to you, where you have consented to receive such communications or where we have a legitimate interest to do so. You can opt out at any time.
• To ensure security: Protecting our site, services, and users from fraud and unauthorized access.
• For legal and compliance purposes: Meeting our legal or regulatory obligations.

Legal Basis for Processing

We process your personal data based on the following legal grounds:

• Performance of a Contract: Where we need to process your data to fulfill a contract we have with you (e.g., processing your order).
• Legal Obligation: Where processing is necessary for compliance with a legal or regulatory obligation.
• Legitimate Interests: Where processing is necessary for our legitimate interests (or those of a third party), provided your fundamental rights do not override these interests (e.g., improving our services, preventing fraud).
• Consent: Where you have given us clear consent to process your personal data for a specific purpose (e.g., sending marketing emails). You have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.

Sharing Your Information

We may share your personal data with trusted third parties, including:

• Service providers: Companies that provide services to us, such as payment processing, order fulfillment, delivery, IT support, and marketing services. These providers are obligated to protect your information and use it only for the purposes for which they provide services to us.
• Business partners: In connection with joint ventures or partnerships.
• Legal and regulatory authorities: When required by law, such as in response to a court order or other legal process.
• In the event of a business transfer: If we are involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction.

We ensure that any third parties who process your data on our behalf adhere to strict data protection standards.

International Data Transfers

Your information may be transferred to, and stored at, destinations outside of your country or the European Economic Area (EEA). Where we transfer your data to a country that does not offer an equivalent level of data protection, we will take steps to ensure your data is protected, such as using standard contractual clauses approved by the European Commission or other appropriate safeguards.

Data Retention

We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which we collected it, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. To determine the appropriate retention period, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorized use or disclosure of your personal data, the purposes for which we process your personal data and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal requirements.

Your Data Protection Rights

Under applicable data protection laws, you have certain rights regarding your personal data. These rights may include:

• The Right to Access: You have the right to request access to your personal data.
• The Right to Rectification: You have the right to request that we correct any inaccurate or incomplete personal data we hold about you.
• The Right to Erasure: You have the right to request the deletion of your personal data under certain conditions.
• The Right to Restrict Processing: You have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your personal data under certain conditions.
• The Right to Object to Processing: You have the right to object to our processing of your personal data under certain conditions, particularly where we process data based on legitimate interests or for direct marketing.
• The Right to Data Portability: You have the right to request that we transfer the data that we have collected to another organization, or directly to you, under certain conditions.
• The Right to Withdraw Consent: If we are relying on your consent to process your personal data, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the contact information provided below. We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and ensure your right to access your personal data or to exercise any of your other rights.

Data Security

We have implemented appropriate security measures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used or accessed in an unauthorized way, altered or disclosed. In addition, we limit access to your personal data to those employees, agents, contractors, and other third parties who have a business need to know. They will only process your personal data on our instructions and are subject to a duty of confidentiality.

Third-Party Links

Our site may include links to third-party websites, plug-ins, and applications. Clicking on those links or enabling those connections may allow third parties to collect or share data about you. We do not control these third-party websites and are not responsible for their privacy statements. When you leave our site, we encourage you to read the privacy policy of every website you visit.

Children's Privacy

Our site and services are not intended for children under the age of 16, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children under this age. If we become aware that we have collected personal data from a child under 16 without verification of parental consent, we will take steps to remove that information from our servers.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes.

Contacting Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, the data we hold on you, or you would like to exercise one of your data protection rights, please do not hesitate to contact us at our physical address:
Al Waha Books
101 Sheikh Zayed Road
5th Floor
Dubai, Dubai
PO Box 12345
UAE

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, particularly if you are in the European Economic Area, if you believe that our processing of your personal data infringes applicable data protection laws.