Southern is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your personal data when you visit our website. Please read this policy carefully to understand how we handle your data.
By accessing or using our Site, you consent to the collection, storage, use, and disclosure of your personal data as described in this Privacy Policy.
Data We Collect
We collect various types of personal data depending on how you interact with our website:
A. Personal Data You Provide
When you voluntarily use our Site, you may provide personal data such as:
- Name
- Email address (for example, you may provide this information when signing up for our newsletter or submitting inquiries.)
B. Data Collected Automatically
We may automatically collect certain data when you visit our Site, such as:
- IP address
- Browser type
- Operating system
- Referring website
- Pages you visited
- Time and date of access
- Device information
We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to collect this information. Additionally, we use Google Analytics to collect and analyse usage information about how visitors use our Site. This helps us understand user behaviour, improve performance, and enhance your experience. Google Analytics collects information such as:
- Your interaction with the pages of the Site
- The source of your visit (e.g., whether you came via a search engine or a direct link)
- General geographic location (based on your IP address)
The information collected through Google Analytics is anonymised and aggregated. Google Analytics may place its own cookies on your device. Please refer to our [Cookie Policy] for more information on cookies and how to manage them.
For further details on how Google collects and processes data through Google Analytics, you can refer to Google’s Privacy Policy.
C. Data from Third Parties
We may receive personal data about you from third parties, such as:
- Advertising networks
- Social media platforms
- Analytics providers (such as Google Analytics)
This helps us better understand your preferences and enhance your experience on our Site.
How We Use Your Data
We use the personal data we collect for the following purposes:
- Providing services: To process transactions, fulfil orders, and manage your account.
- Improving user experience: To analyse user interactions with the Site and improve functionality.
- Communicating with you: To send notifications, updates, newsletters, or respond to your inquiries.
- Marketing and promotions: To offer tailored promotions and information about our services (with your consent).
- Legal compliance: To comply with legal obligations and protect the rights and interests of Southern.ie.
Legal Basis for Processing
We process your personal data based on the following legal grounds:
- Consent: When you provide explicit consent, such as signing up for newsletters.
- Legitimate interest: For purposes like improving our services, fraud prevention, or safeguarding our Site, provided your rights do not override these interests.
- Legal obligation: When we are required by law or regulation to process your data.
Data Sharing and Disclosure
We may share your personal data with third parties in the following situations:
- Service providers: We work with trusted service providers who assist us with website hosting, payment processing, email delivery, and analytics.
For example, we use Google Analytics for website analytics. Google may have access to anonymised and aggregated data for the purpose of providing these services. - Legal requirements: We may disclose your data if required by law, such as to comply with court orders or legal requests.
- Business transfers: In the event of a merger, acquisition, or asset sale, your personal data may be transferred as part of the transaction.
We will never sell or rent your personal data to third parties for their marketing purposes without your explicit consent.
Data Retention
We retain your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes described in this Privacy Policy, unless a longer retention period is required by law. Once your data is no longer needed, we will securely delete or anonymise it.
Third-Party Links
Our Site may contain links to third-party websites or services not owned or controlled by us. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of these third-party websites. We recommend reviewing the privacy policies of these websites before providing any personal data.
Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our data practices, legal requirements, or for other operational reasons. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically.
Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us at: