Privacy policy
Privacy Policy
Planet of the Vapes ("we," "us," or "our") operates the website planetofthevapes.com. This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, disclose, and protect your personal information when you visit our website, create an account, make a purchase, or otherwise interact with us.
We respect your privacy and are committed to handling your personal information responsibly. This policy applies to information collected through our U.S. website and related services.
Information We Collect
We collect personal information in the following ways:
Information you provide directly.
When you create an account, place an order, sign up for emails, submit a product review, contact customer support, or request a return, you provide information such as your name, email address, shipping and billing addresses, phone number, payment information, and the content of your communications or reviews.
Information collected automatically.
When you visit our website, we automatically collect certain information from your device and browser, including your IP address, device identifiers, browser type and settings, operating system, referring URLs, pages viewed, products browsed, time spent on pages, and other browsing and interaction data. This information is collected through cookies and similar tracking technologies.
Information from third parties.
We may receive information about you from our service providers, such as fraud risk assessments, payment verification results, and delivery status updates.
Categories of Personal Information
Under California law, the personal information we have collected in the preceding 12 months falls into the following categories:
| Category | Examples | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Identifiers | Name, email address, postal address, phone number, IP address, device identifiers, account name | You directly; your device automatically; service providers |
| Customer records (Cal. Civ. Code §1798.80(e)) | Payment card information, billing address, phone number | You directly |
| Commercial information | Order history, products purchased and viewed, cart contents, return history, payment plan information | You directly; automatically from your browsing activity |
| Internet or electronic network activity | Browsing history, pages viewed, search queries, interactions with our website and emails | Automatically from your device; cookies and tracking technologies |
| Geolocation data | Approximate location derived from IP address | Automatically from your device |
| Sensory data | Photos submitted with product reviews; customer service communications | You directly |
| Inferences | Customer preferences, engagement profiles, product interest predictions, fraud risk scores | Derived from the categories above |
| Sensitive personal information | Account login credentials (username and password) | You directly |
How We Use Your Information
We use the personal information we collect for the following purposes:
- Fulfilling orders and providing services. Processing and shipping your orders, managing your account, handling returns and warranty claims, and communicating with you about your purchases.
- Payment processing. Completing transactions, processing installment payment plans, and managing billing.
- Customer support. Responding to your questions, resolving issues, and managing support communications.
- Fraud prevention and security. Detecting and preventing fraudulent transactions, verifying identities, and protecting the security of our website and systems.
- Marketing communications. Sending you emails and text messages about new products, promotions, and other updates, if you have opted in to receive them.
- Website analytics and improvement. Understanding how visitors use our website, measuring the effectiveness of our content, and improving our products and services.
- Affiliate tracking. Identifying which affiliate partner referred you to our website so we can fulfill our contractual obligations to our affiliate partners.
- Legal compliance. Complying with applicable laws, tax obligations, accounting requirements, and legal processes.
We do not collect or use personal information for purposes that are incompatible with those described above without providing you additional notice.
How We Disclose Your Information
We do not sell your personal information. We do not receive monetary or other valuable consideration in exchange for your personal information.
We do not share your personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising. We do not make your personal information available to third parties for the purpose of displaying targeted advertisements to you across other websites or services.
Personal information disclosed to service providers. We disclose personal information to the following categories of service providers who process data on our behalf, under contracts that restrict them from using your information for any purpose other than providing services to us:
- Payment processors — to process your transactions securely
- Fraud prevention services — to detect and prevent fraudulent orders
- Shipping and fulfillment providers — to deliver your orders
- Customer support platform — to manage support communications
- Email and SMS marketing platform — to send marketing messages you have opted into
- Product review platform — to collect and display product reviews
- Returns processor — to handle returns and exchanges
- Tax and accounting services — to calculate sales tax and maintain financial records
- Analytics services — to measure website performance and understand usage patterns
- Affiliate tracking platform — to track referrals from affiliate partners for commission purposes
We may also disclose your personal information when required by law, to comply with legal process, to protect our rights, or in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.
Sensitive Personal Information
We collect sensitive personal information limited to account login credentials (username and password). We use this information only to provide account access and maintain security. We do not use or disclose sensitive personal information for purposes beyond providing our services, ensuring security, and preventing fraud.
How Long We Keep Your Information
We retain personal information only as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this policy. Our retention periods are:
| Category | Retention Period | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Account and transaction data (identifiers, customer records, commercial information) | Duration of your account plus 7 years after your last transaction | Tax, accounting, and legal compliance; warranty obligations |
| Internet and network activity (browsing data, analytics) | Up to 26 months from collection | Website analytics and improvement |
| Geolocation data | Up to 26 months from collection | Analytics |
| Sensory data (review photos, support communications) | 2 years | Customer service quality; review integrity |
| Inferences | Refreshed regularly; deleted upon account deletion or request | Marketing relevance |
| Sensitive personal information (login credentials) | Duration of your account | Account access and security |
When personal information is no longer needed, we delete it or anonymize it so it can no longer be associated with you.
Cookies and Tracking Technologies
We use cookies and similar technologies to operate our website, remember your preferences, and analyze traffic. These include:
- Essential cookies set by Shopify to manage your session, shopping cart, and checkout. These are necessary for the website to function and cannot be disabled.
- Analytics cookies that help us understand how visitors interact with our website, including which pages are visited and how long visitors spend on the site.
- Affiliate tracking cookies that identify which affiliate partner referred you to our website, so we can pay commissions to our partners.
You can configure your browser to block or delete cookies, though this may affect website functionality.
Notice at Collection
At or before the time we collect your personal information, we provide this notice describing the categories of personal information we collect, the purposes for which they are used, and whether they are sold or shared. We do not sell or share your personal information. The table under "Categories of Personal Information" above serves as our Notice at Collection. This notice also applies to information collected at checkout, account creation, email signup, product review submission, customer support interactions, and installment payment applications.
For each category of personal information we collect, we retain it for the period described in "How Long We Keep Your Information." We do not collect additional categories of personal information or use the information we collect for materially different purposes without providing you a new notice.
Your California Privacy Rights
If you are a California resident, you have the following rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA):
Right to Know. You may request that we disclose the categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you, the sources, the purposes for collection, and the categories of third parties to whom we have disclosed it. You may make this request up to twice in a 12-month period.
Right to Delete. You may request that we delete the personal information we have collected about you. We will also direct our service providers to delete your information. Certain information may be retained where permitted by law, such as transaction records required for tax compliance, data needed to complete an ongoing transaction or warranty, or information necessary to detect fraud or security incidents. If we retain any information, we will tell you what was kept and the legal basis for retaining it.
Where a service provider is required to retain transaction records for tax or accounting compliance, they may fulfill a deletion request by anonymizing your personal information rather than fully deleting the underlying record. In these cases, identifying information such as your name, email address, and contact details will be removed, while non-identifying transaction data, such as order numbers, amounts, and timestamps, may be retained for up to 7 years as required by law.
Right to Correct. You may request that we correct inaccurate personal information we maintain about you.
Right to Non-Discrimination. We will not deny you goods or services, charge you different prices, or provide a different level of quality because you exercised any of these rights.
How to Submit a Request
You may submit a request by:
- Visiting planetofthevapes.com/pages/privacy-request and completing the request form
- Emailing privacy@planetofthevapes.com
We will acknowledge your request within 10 business days and respond within 45 calendar days. If we need additional time, we will notify you of a delay and the reason, and will respond within 90 calendar days total.
How We Verify Your Identity
To protect your information from unauthorized access, we verify your identity before fulfilling requests to know, delete, or correct. For most requests, we will ask you to confirm information we already have on file, such as your email address and a recent order number. For requests to access specific pieces of personal information or to delete sensitive data, we may require additional verification, including a signed declaration under penalty of perjury. We will never ask you for sensitive information we do not already hold (such as a government ID or Social Security Number) for verification purposes.
Authorized Agents
You may designate an authorized agent to submit a request on your behalf. We may require the agent to provide signed written permission from you or a valid power of attorney. We may also verify your identity directly to confirm the authorization.
Notice of Financial Incentive
We offer a discount on your first purchase when you subscribe to our email marketing list. This constitutes a "financial incentive" under California law because we collect your email address in exchange for the discount.
Program terms. You provide your email address and receive a one-time discount code. The code is valid for 30 days.
How to opt in. Enter your email address in the signup form on our website.
How to withdraw. You may unsubscribe at any time by clicking "unsubscribe" in any marketing email, or by submitting a deletion request through the methods described above. Withdrawing will not affect any discount already applied.
Value of your data. We estimate the value of the personal information collected through this program in good faith based on the average revenue attributable to email subscribers over a trailing 12-month period, divided by the number of subscribers, minus the cost of providing the discount and maintaining the email marketing program. The discount offered is reasonably related to this value.
Non-discrimination. You will not receive different prices or quality of service based on whether you participate in this program, other than the offered discount itself.
Consumers Under 16
We do not have actual knowledge that we sell or share the personal information of consumers under the age of 16. Our products are intended for adults, and our website uses age verification technology (BlueCheck) to help prevent underage access. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13.
Automated Decision-Making
We use third-party fraud detection technology that evaluates order and device information to help identify potentially fraudulent transactions. This technology may contribute to an order being flagged or declined. If your order is declined and you believe this was in error, please contact our customer support team at hello@planetofthevapes.com for assistance.
Data Security
We implement reasonable security measures to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction. These include encryption of data in transit, secure payment processing that complies with PCI-DSS standards, access controls that limit who can view personal information, and regular review of our security practices. No method of transmission over the internet is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, or legal requirements. When we make material changes, we will update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page and, where appropriate, notify you by email or through a notice on our website. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.
Contact Us
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to exercise your privacy rights, you may contact us:
Email: privacy@planetofthevapes.com
Web form: planetofthevapes.com/pages/privacy-request
Mail:
Planet of the Vapes
Attn: Privacy
2028 East Ben White Blvd., #240-4201
Austin, TX 78741