Privacy policy

Aşkım ("we", "us", "our") sells Turkish modest fashion through askim.co.za and through our WhatsApp and social media channels. We respect your privacy and handle your personal information in line with the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA). This policy explains what we collect, why we collect it, who we share it with, how long we keep it and the rights you have. By using our website or buying from us, you acknowledge that you have read it.

Who is responsible for your information

Aşkım is the responsible party for the personal information described here. Our Information Officer is the owner, Meryem, who you can reach at meryem@askim.co.za or on WhatsApp at +27 79 781 7638.

What we collect

  • Contact details: your name, email address, phone number, and billing and delivery addresses.
  • Order details: what you buy, exchange or return, order numbers, delivery and tracking information, and your order history.
  • Payment information: your payment method and confirmation that a payment went through. Card payments are handled by Shopify's secure checkout and our payment providers. We never see or store your full card number.
  • Messages: what you tell us when you contact us by email, WhatsApp, social media or our contact form, for example sizing or styling questions.
  • Account and preferences: your login details if you create an account, and whether you have agreed to receive our news.
  • Device and usage information: your IP address, browser, device, and how you move around our website, collected through cookies and similar technology.

We collect this directly from you, automatically when you use our website, and from the service providers who help us run our store. We do not collect special personal information such as your religious beliefs, health or biometric information.

Why we use it

  • To process, deliver and support your orders, exchanges and store credit (to perform our contract with you).
  • To answer your questions and give you sizing and styling help.
  • To send you news about new collections, launches and offers, only if you have agreed to receive them. Every marketing message includes a way to unsubscribe, and you can opt out at any time.
  • To keep our website and checkout secure, and to prevent and investigate fraud.
  • To understand how our website is used so that we can improve it.
  • To meet our legal obligations, including tax, accounting and consumer protection law, and to establish or defend legal claims.

We do not sell your personal information.

Who we share it with

We share personal information only where it is needed for the purposes above:

  • Shopify, which hosts our website and checkout.
  • Payment providers, which process your payments securely.
  • Courier companies, which receive your name, phone number and delivery address so that they can deliver your order.
  • Email, messaging and marketing tools we use to communicate with you, including WhatsApp when you choose to message us there.
  • Professional advisers and authorities, such as our accountant, or a court, regulator or law enforcement body, where the law requires it or to protect our legal rights.

These providers may only use your information to provide their services to us, and must keep it secure and confidential.

Our relationship with Shopify

Our store is hosted by Shopify, which collects and processes personal information about your access to and use of our website in order to provide and improve its services. To learn how Shopify uses your personal information, and the rights you may have in relation to it, please read the Shopify Consumer Privacy Policy or visit the Shopify Privacy Portal.

Information sent outside South Africa

Some of our service providers, including Shopify, store and process information on servers outside South Africa. Where this happens, we use only providers that are bound by data protection laws or agreements that give your information a level of protection comparable to POPIA.

Cookies

Our website uses cookies and similar technology to keep your shopping bag working, to remember your preferences, to keep the website secure and to understand how it is used. You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings, although some parts of the website, such as the shopping bag and checkout, may then not work properly.

How we protect it

We use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information against loss, damage and unauthorised access, and our checkout is provided by Shopify, which is certified to the payment card industry security standard (PCI DSS). No system is completely secure, so please do not send sensitive information such as full card numbers by email or WhatsApp. If we become aware of a security breach that affects your personal information, we will notify you and the Information Regulator as POPIA requires.

How long we keep it

We keep personal information only for as long as we need it for the purposes above. Order, payment and invoice records are kept for as long as tax and accounting laws require, usually five years. If you unsubscribe from our news, we keep only what we need to make sure we do not contact you again.

Your rights

Under POPIA you have the right to:

  • ask whether we hold personal information about you, and request a copy of it;
  • ask us to correct or update information that is inaccurate or incomplete;
  • ask us to delete information we no longer have a lawful reason to keep;
  • object to us using your information in certain circumstances, including for marketing;
  • withdraw your consent at any time, where we rely on your consent; and
  • lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator.

To use any of these rights, email meryem@askim.co.za. We may need to confirm your identity before we act on a request, and we will respond within a reasonable time.

Children

Our website is not intended for anyone under 18, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has given us personal information, please contact us and we will delete it.

Other websites

Our website links to other platforms, such as Instagram, TikTok and WhatsApp. They have their own privacy policies, and we are not responsible for how they handle your information.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The current version is always available on this page.

Complaints

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal information, please contact us first so that we can put it right. You may also complain to the Information Regulator (South Africa):

Contact us

For any question about this policy or your personal information, email meryem@askim.co.za or message us on WhatsApp at +27 79 781 7638. Our physical address, and our address for the service of legal documents, is 13 Park Street, Bedfordview, 2007, Gauteng, South Africa. We do not take walk-in visits, collections or returns at this address; please arrange everything with us by email or WhatsApp.