Who looks after your information
SO AI is a trading name of Howlett Creative, a business partnership operated by Elizabeth Howlett and Duncan Howlett.
For privacy enquiries, contact hello@soai.org.uk.
Information we collect
When you place an order or contact us, we may collect your name, email address, billing and delivery details, order information and any messages you send us.
If you sign up to our mailing list (Cathy’s burner phone), we collect your email address, the date you signed up and confirmation that you agreed to receive our emails.
Our website also processes technical information needed for security, shopping basket functions and payment processing.
How we use your information
- Process and deliver orders.
- Respond to questions and provide customer support.
- Handle cancellations, returns and refunds.
- Maintain accounting and tax records.
- Protect the website and prevent fraud.
- Send mailing-list emails about new SO AI products and releases, only if you have signed up.
We process order information to fulfil our contract with you, maintain records to meet legal obligations, and use necessary security information for our legitimate interests in running a safe and reliable shop.
We send mailing-list emails only with your consent. Buying from us does not add you to the mailing list.
Mailing list (Cathy’s burner phone)
- Signing up is optional. It is never required to buy anything.
- After you sign up, we email you a link to confirm. You are not added until you click it.
- Every email has an unsubscribe link. You can also email hello@soai.org.uk to be removed.
- We do not sell or share your email address with anyone except the provider that sends our emails.
- We may record whether our emails are opened or links are clicked, so we know what works. You can avoid this by blocking images in your email app, or by unsubscribing.
Service providers
We use trusted services to operate the shop:
- Krystal — website hosting.
- WooCommerce — shop and order management.
- Square — secure payment processing.
- Printful — printing, fulfilment and delivery.
- Brevo — mailing-list sign-ups and emails.
Information is shared only as needed to provide these services or meet legal requirements.
Card payment details are handled through our payment provider rather than stored directly by SO AI.
Some providers may process information outside the UK. Where this occurs, applicable data protection safeguards must be used.
Cookies
Our website uses cookies and similar technology necessary for functions such as shopping baskets, checkout, account access and security.
If we introduce optional advertising or analytics cookies, we will update our information and request consent where required.
Somewhere (soai.org.uk/somewhere)
When you visit Somewhere, the page tells our website which parts you used: for example, which door you came through, which numbered question you asked Cathy and which receipt you got. It does not record anything you type (including anything you say at the door), it does not use cookies, and nothing is stored on your device for this. Each visit gets a random code that only lasts while the page is open, so we cannot tell who you are or link your visits together, and this feature does not keep your IP address. (Like every website, our web host keeps standard server logs for a short time.)
If your browser sends a Global Privacy Control or Do Not Track signal, we do not record your visit at all. We do not use these signals for advertising or to build a profile of you. We use this only to see how people find their way around Somewhere and to make it better. Only the SO AI team can see it, and it is deleted automatically after 72 hours.
How long we keep information
We keep order and accounting information for as long as necessary to meet our legal and business obligations, generally up to six years after the relevant tax year.
We keep your mailing-list details until you unsubscribe. If you unsubscribe, we keep only your email address on a do-not-contact list, so that we do not email you again. We remove unconfirmed sign-ups after 30 days.
Other correspondence is retained only as long as reasonably necessary to deal with enquiries and related issues.
Your rights
Under UK data protection law, you may have the right to access, correct, erase or restrict the use of your personal information, and to exercise other applicable rights.
Where we rely on your consent, you can withdraw it at any time. This does not affect anything we did before you withdrew it.
Some records must be retained where required by law.
To make a request, contact hello@soai.org.uk.
You can also raise concerns with the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Contact
For any questions about your information, email hello@soai.org.uk.
Optional Somewhere Bar Wall notes
The numbered visit recorder does not collect what you type. Separately, if you tick the Bar Wall consent box and press Pin a note, SO AI saves that note, its topic, time, a random short-lived visit identifier and an automated-browser flag. Notes are visible only to SO AI administrators in the private visualiser, not to other visitors. They are kept for up to 72 hours and removed automatically. No IP address, email, password or name is requested for this feature. Do not include private details. You can remove your last note while that page remains open using Remove my note. Closing or reloading the page clears that control; for other privacy requests, contact hello@soai.org.uk. You can enjoy Somewhere without pinning anything.