Effective Date: June 6, 2026

This Privacy Policy describes how Austin’s Violin Shop (“we,” “us,” or “our”), operating at www.austinsviolinshop.com, collects, uses, and shares information about you when you visit our website or make a purchase. By using our website, you agree to the practices described in this policy.

1. Information We Collect

Information You Provide Directly

When you place an order, create an account, or contact us, we may collect:

• Name, email address, phone number, and shipping/billing address
• Payment information (processed securely through our payment processor; we do not store full card numbers)
• Order history and preferences
• Messages or inquiries you send to us
• For instrument rentals: the student’s name, grade level, school name, and school district — collected from the parent or guardian as part of the rental enrollment process

Information Collected Automatically

When you visit our website, we automatically collect certain information through cookies and similar technologies, including:

• IP address and general location (city/state level)
• Browser type and operating system
• Pages visited, links clicked, and time spent on the site
• Session recordings and heatmap data (collected via Microsoft Clarity — see Section 4)
• Referring website or search query that brought you to our site

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Process and fulfill your orders and send order confirmations
• Communicate with you about your account or purchases
• Improve our website, products, and customer experience
• Analyze how visitors use our site (via analytics tools) to fix problems and optimize the shopping experience
• Detect and prevent fraud or unauthorized access
• Comply with legal obligations
• Send marketing emails if you have opted in (you may unsubscribe at any time)

3. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Our website uses cookies — small text files stored on your device — and similar tracking technologies. We use the following categories of cookies:

• Strictly Necessary Cookies: Required for the website and shopping cart to function. These cannot be disabled.
• Analytics/Performance Cookies: Help us understand how visitors interact with our site (e.g., which pages are most visited). This includes Microsoft Clarity.
• Functional Cookies: Remember your preferences (e.g., saved cart, login status).
• Marketing Cookies: Used to deliver relevant ads or track marketing campaign performance (if applicable).

When you first visit our site, you will be asked to accept or decline non-essential cookies via our cookie consent banner. You can change your preferences at any time by clicking the “Cookie Settings” link in our website footer.

You can also control cookies through your browser settings. Note that disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of our site.

4. Microsoft Clarity

We use Microsoft Clarity, a behavioral analytics tool provided by Microsoft Corporation, to understand how users interact with our website. Microsoft Clarity may collect:

• Mouse movements, clicks, and scroll behavior
• Session recordings (video replays of your browsing session on our site)
• Heatmap data (aggregated visual maps of where users click and scroll)
• Device and browser information

This data is used solely to improve our website usability and your shopping experience. Microsoft Clarity data is subject to Microsoft’s Privacy Statement, available at https://privacy.microsoft.com/privacystatement.

Microsoft Clarity is activated only after you consent to analytics cookies via our cookie banner. You may opt out at any time by updating your cookie preferences.

5. Sharing Your Information

We do not sell your personal information. We may share your information with:

• Service Providers: Third-party vendors who help us operate our business (e.g., payment processors, shipping carriers, email marketing platforms, and analytics tools like Microsoft Clarity). These parties are contractually required to protect your information and may only use it for the services they provide to us.
• Legal Compliance: When required by law, subpoena, or other legal process, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Austin’s Violin Shop, our customers, or others.
• Business Transfers: In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred to the acquiring entity.

6. WooCommerce and Payment Processing

Our store is powered by WooCommerce, a plugin for WordPress. WooCommerce may collect and store order data, customer information, and transaction records necessary to process sales. Payment transactions are handled by our payment processor (e.g., Stripe, PayPal, or similar), which has its own privacy policy governing the handling of payment data.

7. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes described in this policy, including:

• Order records: Retained for a minimum of 7 years for tax and legal compliance purposes.
• Account information: Retained while your account is active and for a reasonable period afterward.
• Analytics data: Microsoft Clarity retains session data per Microsoft’s own retention schedule (typically 13 months).
• Marketing preferences: Retained until you unsubscribe or request deletion.

8. Your Privacy Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the following rights regarding your personal information:

• Access: Request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
• Correction: Request that we correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
• Deletion: Request that we delete your personal information, subject to legal retention requirements.
• Opt-Out of Marketing: Unsubscribe from marketing emails at any time using the “unsubscribe” link in any email, or by contacting us directly.
• Cookie Preferences: Update your cookie consent preferences at any time via the Cookie Settings link in our footer.

California Residents: Under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), you have additional rights including the right to know what personal information is collected, the right to delete it, and the right to opt out of the “sale” or “sharing” of personal information. We do not sell or share your personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the information in Section 11 below.

9. Children’s Privacy and Instrument Rental Program

Our instrument rental program is designed for school-age students, and as a result we collect limited information about minors as part of the rental enrollment process. This section explains how we handle that information.

Information Collected About Students

When a parent or guardian enrolls a student in our rental program, we collect the following information about the student:

• Student’s first and last name
• School name and school district
• Grade level

This information is collected directly from the parent or guardian — not from the child — and is used only to process the rental, communicate with the school if needed, and maintain accurate rental records.

COPPA Notice

We comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). We do not knowingly collect personal information directly from children under the age of 13 through our website. All rental enrollment information pertaining to a minor is submitted by a parent or guardian who is at least 18 years of age.

We do not use student information for marketing purposes, and we do not share it with third parties except as necessary to process the rental (e.g., payment processors or shipping carriers).

Parental Rights

Parents and guardians have the right to:

• Review the personal information we have collected about their child
• Request correction or deletion of that information
• Refuse further collection or use of their child’s information (note: this may affect the ability to maintain an active rental)

To exercise these rights, please contact us using the information in Section 11.

10. Security

We implement reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, disclosure, or loss. However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

11. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, wish to exercise your privacy rights, or need to report a privacy concern, please contact us:

Austin’s Violin Shop

Website: www.austinsviolinshop.com

Email: info@austinsviolinshop.com

Mailing Address: 316 Wheeler Road, Sugar Grove, IL 60554

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or applicable law. When we do, we will revise the “Effective Date” at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

Continued use of our website after any changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.