Privacy policy
Privacy Policy
Last updated: July 30, 2026
This policy explains what personal information Smartbookdeal collects when you visit smartbookdeal.com or buy from us, why we collect it, who we share it with, and what control you have over it.
Smartbookdeal is a sole proprietorship based in Escondido, California. We're the business responsible for the information described here. Our store runs on Shopify, which processes data on our behalf.
The short version: we collect what we need to take your order, ship your books, and answer your emails. We don't sell your personal information. We don't send marketing you didn't ask for.
1. Information You Give Us
When you place an order:
- Name
- Email address
- Shipping address
- Billing address
- Phone number, if you provide one
- What you ordered
When you pay: your card or payment details go directly to our payment processor. We never receive or store your full card number, CVV, or bank credentials. We see only the last four digits, the card brand, and whether the payment succeeded.
When you contact us: whatever you include in your email or tell us on the phone — your order number, the problem, any photos you send.
When you create an account: your email address and a password, which is stored encrypted. We cannot see your password.
When you leave a review: the name you choose to display and what you write.
2. Information Collected Automatically
When you browse the site, we and Shopify automatically receive:
- Your IP address and rough location derived from it (usually city-level)
- Browser type, device type, and operating system
- Pages you viewed, what you searched for, and how you arrived at our site
- Cookie identifiers
Cookies Shopify sets to make the store work. These are necessary — the site can't function without them:
| Cookie | What it does |
|---|---|
_shopify_y, _shopify_s
|
Distinguishes visitors and sessions |
cart, cart_ts, cart_ver
|
Remembers what's in your basket |
_secure_session_id |
Keeps you logged in through checkout |
_tracking_consent |
Records your cookie preferences |
You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings, but checkout and your basket will stop working properly.
Google Analytics. We use Google Analytics to understand how people find and use the site, so we can improve it. Google receives your IP address and browsing behaviour and processes it under Google's privacy policy. You can opt out with the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.
Meta Pixel and advertising cookies. We use the Meta (Facebook) Pixel to measure our advertising and show ads to people who've visited our site. This involves sharing limited information about your visit with Meta for cross-context behavioural advertising. Under California law this may count as "sharing" your personal information. To opt out, see Section 8 — Your Choices.
3. Why We Use Your Information
| Purpose | What we use |
|---|---|
| Taking and fulfilling your order | Name, addresses, contact details, order contents |
| Taking payment and preventing fraud | Payment confirmation, billing address, IP address |
| Shipping and delivery updates | Name, shipping address, email, phone |
| Answering your emails and calls | Whatever you tell us, plus your order history |
| Processing returns and refunds | Order details, payment method, correspondence |
| Tax, accounting, and legal records | Order and payment records |
| Improving the site | Aggregated, usually de-identified browsing data |
We rely on the fact that we need this information to perform the contract you entered into when you ordered, to comply with tax and consumer law, and to run the business responsibly.
Marketing emails. If you subscribe to our newsletter, we use your email address to send occasional offers and new-arrival notices. We only do this if you opted in. Every email has an unsubscribe link, and unsubscribing takes effect immediately. You can also just email us and we'll remove you. We never add customers to marketing lists automatically because they bought something.
4. Who We Share It With
We share your information only with parties who need it to help us run the business. Each is bound to protect it and to use it only for the purpose we've engaged them for.
| Who | Why | What they get |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify | Hosts our store, processes orders, provides checkout | Order and account data, browsing data |
| Payment processors (Shopify Payments and any gateway you choose at checkout, such as PayPal) | Take and verify payment | Payment and billing details |
| Carriers — USPS, UPS, FedEx | Deliver your order and provide tracking | Name, shipping address, phone, package details |
| Email provider | Sends order confirmations and shipping notices | Name, email, order details |
| Accountant and tax authorities | Bookkeeping and tax compliance | Order and payment records |
We may also disclose information where the law requires it — a subpoena, court order, or lawful government request — or to establish, exercise, or defend a legal claim, or to protect our rights, safety, or property, or someone else's.
If the business is sold or reorganised, customer records may transfer to the new owner as part of it. We'd notify you and any new owner would remain bound by this policy or one at least as protective.
5. What We Don't Do
- We don't sell your personal information. We have not sold personal information in the past 12 months and have no plans to.
- We don't share your information with data brokers.
- We don't send marketing to people who didn't opt in.
- We don't store your full card number — our payment processors handle that.
- We don't collect more than we need. We don't ask for your date of birth, gender, income, or social security number, and you should be suspicious of any book retailer who does.
6. How Long We Keep It
| Data | Retention |
|---|---|
| Order and payment records | 7 years, for tax and accounting law |
| Customer support emails | 3 years from the last message |
| Account details | Until you close your account, then deleted apart from order records above |
| Marketing subscription | Until you unsubscribe, then we keep a suppression record so we don't email you again by mistake |
| Analytics and browsing data | Typically 14 months, or per the tool's default |
Where the law requires us to keep records longer, we do.
7. How We Protect It
Our store runs over HTTPS, so information you send us is encrypted in transit. Shopify maintains PCI-DSS Level 1 compliance for payment handling, and card data is tokenised so it never sits on our systems.
Access to customer data is limited to people who need it to do their job. Passwords are stored hashed, not in readable form.
No system is perfectly secure, and we can't promise absolute security. If a breach affects your personal information, we'll notify you and the relevant authorities as required by California law and any other law that applies to you.
8. Your Choices and Rights
You can exercise any of these by emailing support@smartbookdeal.com with "Privacy Request" in the subject line. We'll respond within 30 days. We may need to verify your identity first — usually by confirming details of a recent order — so we don't disclose your data to someone else.
Everyone, regardless of where you live:
- See what we hold about you
- Correct anything inaccurate
- Delete your information, subject to records we must keep for tax and legal reasons
- Get a copy of your data in a portable format
- Unsubscribe from marketing at any time
- Opt out of targeted advertising — email us, or use your browser's Global Privacy Control signal, which we honour
California residents. California's privacy laws give residents specific rights, including the right to know what personal information is collected and why, the right to delete it, the right to correct it, the right to opt out of sale or sharing for cross-context behavioural advertising, and the right not to be discriminated against for exercising any of them.
We honour these requests from California residents as a matter of practice, whether or not our business currently meets the revenue and volume thresholds that make the statute mandatory. We will never charge you more, give you worse service, or refuse to sell to you because you made a privacy request.
You may use an authorised agent to make a request on your behalf; we'll ask for proof of their authority.
Do Not Track. Browsers vary in how they send Do Not Track signals and there's no agreed standard, so we don't respond to DNT specifically. We do honour Global Privacy Control.
9. Children
Our store is intended for adults. We don't knowingly collect personal information from children under 13, and children under 13 should not use the site or provide us information.
We're aware that we sell textbooks and study guides that students use. If you're under 18, please have a parent or guardian place the order — see Section 1 of our Terms of Service.
If you believe a child under 13 has given us personal information, email support@smartbookdeal.com and we'll delete it promptly.
10. Links to Other Sites
We sometimes link to publisher pages, carrier tracking pages, and other third-party sites. This policy doesn't cover them. Once you follow a link, you're subject to that site's privacy policy, and we'd encourage you to read it.
11. Where Your Information Is Processed
We ship only within the United States, and your information is generally processed in the US. Some of our service providers, including Shopify, operate infrastructure in other countries, so your data may be processed outside the US under contractual safeguards requiring protection equivalent to what's described here.
12. Changes to This Policy
We may update this policy as our business or the law changes. The "last updated" date above always reflects the current version. If we make a change that materially affects how we handle information we already hold about you, we'll notify you by email or with a prominent notice on the site before it takes effect.
13. Contact Us
Questions about this policy, or want to make a privacy request?
Put "Privacy Request" in your subject line and we'll route it correctly. We reply within 1 business day and complete requests within 30 days.