Privacy Policy

Last updated: 23 October 2026

1. Who we are

Johns of Instow Ltd, trading as Johns of Instow and Johns of Appledore (“Johns”, “we”, “us” or “our”), is responsible for the personal information collected through our website and in connection with our business, where we determine how and why that information is used.

Registered/business address:
4 & 5 Marine Parade
Instow
Bideford
EX39 4HY
United Kingdom

Email: sales@johnsofinstow.co.uk
Website: https://www.johnsofinstow.co.uk

For the purposes of applicable UK data protection law, Johns of Instow Ltd acts as the data controller for the personal information covered by this policy, unless stated otherwise.

2. Personal information we collect

The information we collect depends on how you interact with us. It may include:

Contact information: your name, email address, telephone number and billing or delivery address.
Order information: products purchased, order details, transaction references, delivery or collection preferences, refunds and relevant correspondence.
Payment information: payment status, transaction references and other information provided through our payment provider. We do not intend to collect or store full payment card details ourselves where these are processed securely by an external payment provider.
Account information: login details and information associated with a customer account, if you choose to create one.
Communications: information you provide when contacting us with a question, feedback, complaint or enquiry.
Marketing preferences: whether you have chosen to receive marketing communications and your preferences or unsubscribe requests.
Website and technical information: information such as your IP address, device and browser information, pages visited, referral source and interactions with our website, where collected through website logs, analytics or cookies.
Other information you choose to provide: for example, information supplied when responding to a survey or contacting our team.

Please do not provide sensitive personal information through our website unless it is specifically requested and necessary.

3. How we use your personal information

We may use your personal information for the following purposes:

Processing and fulfilling orders

We use relevant contact, order and payment information to process payments, confirm purchases, provide products, arrange delivery or collection, respond to order enquiries and manage refunds, returns or complaints.

Lawful basis: taking steps at your request before entering into a contract and performing our contract with you.

Managing customer accounts and enquiries

We use your information to manage customer accounts, respond to enquiries, provide customer service and resolve issues.

Lawful basis: contract where necessary to provide a requested service, or our legitimate interests in operating our business and responding to customers.

Accounting, tax and legal obligations

We may use and retain transaction and customer information where necessary to maintain financial records, meet tax and accounting requirements, prevent fraud, establish or defend legal claims, and comply with applicable laws.

Lawful basis: compliance with legal obligations and, where appropriate, our legitimate interests in protecting our business and enforcing or defending legal claims.

Email marketing

If you sign up to receive marketing emails, we may use your email address and marketing preferences to send news, product information, offers and updates about Johns of Instow and Johns of Appledore.

We use Mailchimp as our email marketing platform. Your information may be processed by Mailchimp on our behalf to manage mailing lists and send communications.

Lawful basis: consent where you have opted in. We may rely on the applicable existing-customer exception for marketing similar products or services only where all legal requirements are met, including providing a clear opportunity to opt out when your details are collected and in every subsequent marketing email.

You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in our marketing emails or by contacting sales@johnsofinstow.co.uk. Unsubscribing from marketing will not stop essential messages about an existing order or transaction.

Website analytics and improvement

We may use Google Analytics to understand how visitors use our website, including which pages are visited and how people navigate the site. This helps us evaluate website performance and improve our online services.

Lawful basis: where personal data is processed, we will identify and document an appropriate lawful basis for the relevant analytics activity. Where consent is required for analytics cookies or similar technologies, we will seek consent before they are used.

Website security and fraud prevention

We may process technical, account and transaction information to protect our website, detect suspicious activity, prevent fraud and maintain the security of our services.

Lawful basis: our legitimate interests in operating a secure website and protecting our business and customers, or compliance with a legal obligation where applicable.

We will not use personal information for a new purpose that is incompatible with the purpose for which it was collected without providing any further information or obtaining consent where required by law.

4. Cookies and similar technologies

Our website uses cookies and may use similar technologies to make the website function, remember preferences and understand how visitors use our services.

Cookies are small files stored on your device. They may be used for purposes such as maintaining your shopping basket, remembering preferences or measuring website traffic.

Essential cookies

Some cookies are necessary for the website to function. For example, WooCommerce may use cookies to support shopping basket functionality, checkout and the ordering process.

Where these cookies are strictly necessary for a service you have requested, they may be used without consent where permitted by law.

Analytics cookies

We use Google Analytics, or intend to use it, to understand how visitors use our website. Analytics cookies and similar technologies will only be activated where required consent has been obtained.

Managing your preferences

Where our website uses non-essential cookies or similar technologies requiring consent, you should be able to accept or reject them and change your preferences later through our cookie settings, where available.

You can also manage cookies through your browser settings. Blocking certain cookies may affect website functionality, including the shopping basket or checkout.

Our cookie banner and cookie policy should explain the specific cookies and technologies in use, their purposes, their providers and how long they remain on your device.

5. Who we share personal information with

We may share relevant personal information with third parties where necessary for the purposes described in this policy, including:

Website and ecommerce providers: our website hosting provider, website administrators and WooCommerce-related service providers.
Payment providers: the provider or providers that process online payments and related transactions.
Mailchimp: to manage email marketing subscriptions and send marketing communications.
Google: in connection with Google Analytics and website measurement, where configured.
Professional advisers: such as accountants, auditors, insurers and legal advisers.
Public authorities and regulators: where disclosure is required by law or is necessary to protect legal rights.
Business purchasers or successors: if our business or part of it is sold, transferred, reorganised or merged, subject to applicable data protection requirements.

We do not sell customers’ personal information.

Third-party providers may process information on our behalf or act as independent controllers, depending on the service they provide. We take appropriate steps to ensure personal information is handled lawfully and securely.

6. International transfers

Some of our service providers may process or store personal information outside the United Kingdom.

Where personal information is transferred internationally, we will ensure that the transfer is permitted under applicable data protection law and that any required safeguards are in place.

The countries involved and the safeguards used depend on the providers and services configured on our website. We will provide further information about relevant transfers on request, where applicable.

7. How long we keep your information

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including meeting legal, accounting, tax and reporting requirements, resolving disputes and maintaining appropriate records.

Different categories of information may be retained for different periods. For example:

Order and financial records may be retained for the period required by applicable tax and accounting rules.
Customer account information may be kept while an account remains active and for an appropriate period afterwards.
Marketing information may be retained while you remain subscribed or until you unsubscribe, subject to any limited records needed to maintain suppression lists and demonstrate compliance.
Customer enquiries and complaints may be retained for a reasonable period to resolve the matter and deal with any related legal claims.
Analytics information may be retained in accordance with the settings and retention controls configured in Google Analytics.

We will delete or anonymise personal information when it is no longer required, unless we have a lawful reason to retain it for longer.

8. How we protect your information

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures designed to protect personal information against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration or disclosure.

These measures may include access controls, secure systems, software updates and the use of service providers that offer appropriate security protections.

No method of transmitting or storing information online is completely secure. However, this does not remove our responsibilities under applicable data protection law.

9. Your data protection rights

Depending on the circumstances and the lawful basis on which we process your information, you may have the right to:

Access your personal information.
Correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
Request erasure of your personal information where the law allows.
Restrict processing in certain circumstances.
Object to processing based on legitimate interests and, in particular, to direct marketing.
Data portability where the legal requirements for this right are met.
Withdraw consent at any time where we rely on consent. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.
Complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you are concerned about how your information is handled.

These rights are subject to legal conditions and exceptions. For example, we may need to retain certain transaction records to comply with legal obligations even if you request their deletion.

To exercise your rights, contact us at sales@johnsofinstow.co.uk. Please tell us what you are requesting and provide enough information for us to locate the relevant records. We may need to verify your identity before responding.

We will respond within the time limits required by law. We will not normally charge a fee for handling a request, although the law permits a reasonable fee or refusal in certain limited circumstances, such as a manifestly unfounded or excessive request.

You can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/ or visit https://ico.org.uk/ for further information.

10. Third-party websites

Our website may contain links to websites, services or applications operated by third parties. If you follow these links, those third parties may collect information about you in accordance with their own privacy policies.

We do not control the privacy practices of third-party websites and encourage you to read their privacy information before providing personal information.

11. Children’s privacy

Our website and online shop are intended for general customers and are not specifically directed at children. If we become aware that personal information has been collected in circumstances where it should not have been, we will take appropriate steps in accordance with applicable law.

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time to reflect changes to our business, website, service providers or legal requirements.

The latest version will be published on this page with its updated date. Where required, we will take additional steps to inform affected individuals about significant changes.

13. Contact us

If you have questions about this privacy policy or how we use your personal information, please contact:

Johns of Instow Ltd
Trading as Johns of Instow and Johns of Appledore
4 & 5 Marine Parade
Instow, Bideford
EX39 4HY
United Kingdom

Email: sales@johnsofinstow.co.uk