LEGAL
Privacy Policy
Effective date: [insert publication date]
Applies to: smthg.us
SMTHG Inc., a Delaware corporation (“SMTHG”, “we”, “us”, or “our”), respects your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, share, and protect personal information when you visit smthg.us, including its pages such as smthg.us/for-designers (the “Website”), join our waitlist, or apply to our designer programme.
This Policy applies to the Website only. It does not apply to SMTHG shops hosted on subdomains (for example, manifest.smthg.us) or on other domains, or to the SMTHG community hosted on Circle. Those services display their own privacy information.
Please also read our Cookie Policy, which explains how we use cookies and similar technologies.
1. Personal information we collect
Information you provide
Waitlist sign-up. If you sign up on the Website, we collect your email address. We use it to invite you to a SMTHG So-Me-Space (our community) and to send you news about drops and SMTHG updates.
Designer applications. If you apply through our Founding Brand programme on smthg.us/for-designers, we collect your email address and use it to review your application and contact you about the programme.
Messages to us. If you email us, we collect your email address and the content of your message.
Providing your email address is optional, but we cannot send you invitations or updates, or review your application, without it.
Information collected automatically
When you visit the Website, our hosting provider and we may collect technical information such as your IP address, browser type, device information, pages viewed, referring page, the date and time of your visit, and security or diagnostic logs. Our hosting provider, Framer, also provides basic site statistics that do not use cookies.
If you consent to analytics cookies, we also collect online identifiers and information about how you use the Website through Google Analytics 4 and, if enabled, PostHog. See our Cookie Policy for details and choices.
2. How we use personal information
We use personal information to:
operate, secure, and improve the Website;
invite you to a SMTHG So-Me-Space and send you drop news and updates you signed up for;
review designer applications and communicate with applicants;
understand how the Website is used, through cookieless site statistics and, with your consent, analytics cookies;
respond to your questions and requests; and
comply with legal obligations and protect our rights.
Where the GDPR, UK GDPR, or similar law applies, our legal bases are:
Consent for waitlist emails and optional analytics cookies;
Steps taken at your request before entering into a contract for reviewing designer applications;
Legitimate interests for Website security, fraud prevention, technical maintenance, and cookieless site statistics, where these interests are not overridden by your rights; and
Legal obligations where we must keep or disclose information under applicable law.
You can withdraw consent to emails at any time using the unsubscribe link in any email, and to analytics cookies through Cookie Settings on the Website. Withdrawing consent does not affect processing carried out before you withdrew it.
3. How we share personal information
We share personal information only as needed for the purposes above, with:
Framer, which hosts the Website, processes form submissions, and provides cookieless site statistics;
Circle, which we use to send emails to waitlist subscribers and to invite them to the SMTHG community;
Google (Google Analytics 4) and PostHog, only if you consent to analytics cookies and the relevant service is enabled;
other service providers that help us run the Website and our communications, such as email and workflow-automation tools, under contract and only on our instructions; and
legal, regulatory, or professional advisers and authorities when required by law or necessary to protect our rights, users, or the Website.
If SMTHG is involved in a merger, acquisition, financing, or sale of assets, personal information may be transferred as part of that transaction, subject to this Policy.
We do not sell personal information or share it for cross-context behavioural advertising.
4. International transfers
SMTHG and our service providers may process personal information outside your country, including in the United States. Where data-protection law requires it, we use a lawful transfer mechanism and appropriate safeguards, such as the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses. Contact us for more information about these safeguards.
5. Data retention
We keep personal information only as long as needed for the purposes in this Policy:
Waitlist information: while you remain subscribed. After you unsubscribe, we may keep limited information needed to honour your opt-out and demonstrate compliance.
Designer applications: as long as reasonably needed to review your application and follow up. If you join the programme, we keep it for the duration of our relationship.
Analytics information: according to the retention settings of the relevant provider, and no longer than reasonably needed to understand and improve the Website.
Technical and security logs: as long as reasonably needed for security, troubleshooting, and legal compliance.
6. Your privacy rights
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, delete, restrict, or object to our processing of your personal information, to data portability, and to withdraw consent.
If you are in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, you may also lodge a complaint with your local data-protection authority.
If a U.S. state privacy law applies to you, you may have rights to know, access, correct, delete, or obtain a portable copy of your personal information, and to opt out of sale, sharing, or targeted advertising. We do not sell or share personal information for cross-context behavioural advertising. We will not discriminate against you for exercising your rights.
To exercise a right, email contact@smthg.us. We may need to verify your identity before completing a request, and we will respond within the time required by applicable law.
7. Do Not Track and Global Privacy Control
The Website does not currently respond to browser “Do Not Track” signals, because there is no common industry standard for them. We honour Global Privacy Control signals as described in our Cookie Policy.
8. Children’s privacy
The Website is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child has provided personal information to us, please contact us and we will delete it.
9. Data security
We use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
10. Changes to this Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will post the revised version here and update the effective date. If a change materially affects how we use your personal information, we will give additional notice where required by law.
11. Contact us
For questions about this Privacy Policy or to exercise your rights, contact us at:
SMTHG Inc.
[insert mailing address]
contact@smthg.us