Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

Disc Makers Limited, trading as USB Makers Intl, is the data controller for the personal information described in this policy, that is, the company that decides why and how the information is used. USB 4 Photographers is part of Disc Makers Limited. Company number: 05350646. VAT number: GB 880 6582 93. Registered office: Market House, 10 Market Walk, Saffron Walden, Essex, CB10 1JZ. Trading address: Unit G6, Allen House, The Maltings, Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, CM21 9JX.

We have not appointed a formal Data Protection Officer; privacy matters are handled by our data protection contact, reachable at [email protected] or 0800 130 3366.

Some organisations we work with process information on our instructions as processors, such as our website host and email delivery services. Others, such as payment providers, banks and couriers, are separate controllers of the information they need for their own services, and their own privacy notices apply to that processing.

2. Who this policy applies to

This policy covers website visitors; customers and prospective customers (most of whom are photographers, studios and other businesses, including sole traders); people who create an account; delivery recipients; newsletter subscribers; people who contact us; suppliers and their representatives; and individuals whose personal information appears in logos, artwork or photographs supplied to us for printing or engraving. It does not cover our own employees or job applicants, who receive separate information.

3. Personal information we collect

• Identity and contact information: name, business or studio name, email address, telephone number, billing and delivery addresses.
• Account information: your login details (your password is stored encrypted and we cannot see it), saved addresses, order history and preferences.
• Order information: products ordered, options, quantities, order values, invoices, payment status, returns, claims and support history.
• Logos, artwork and designs: logos and images you upload, designs you create in our product designer, text you add, and the visual proofs we make from them, together with any personal information they contain, such as names, photographs or signatures.
• Payment information: payment references, payment method type and status. Card details are collected by our payment providers, not by us (section 8).
• Technical information: IP address, browser and device type, pages viewed and, only if you allow it, how you arrived on the website, as described in our Cookie Policy.
• Communications: emails, contact form messages, telephone notes, complaints, feedback and marketing preferences. Telephone calls are not recorded.

4. How we collect information

Most information comes directly from you: when you create an account, design a product, place an order, sign up to our newsletter, use our contact form, email or telephone us. Some is generated while we work together, such as order, payment and delivery records. Some comes from third parties: payment providers confirming a payment, couriers confirming delivery, and publicly available business sources. Technical information is collected automatically when you use the website, subject to your cookie choices.

5. Why we use personal information and our lawful bases

UK data protection law requires a lawful basis for each use of personal information. The table below summarises our purposes and bases. Where we rely on legitimate interests, we have considered whether the processing is necessary and whether it is outweighed by your interests and rights, and you may object as described in section 17.

6. Orders and your account

You can order as a guest or create an account. If you create an account, we keep your details, saved addresses and order history so you can track orders and reorder quickly. When you place an order, we use your details to make, invoice, deliver and support it. Order emails such as confirmations, proofs and dispatch notices are part of your order, not marketing. You can ask us to close your account at any time; order records we must keep for tax purposes are kept for the period in section 14.

7. Logos, artwork and designs

Logos, images and designs you upload or create in our product designer are used to check them, prepare visual proofs and print or engrave your products. They sometimes contain personal information, such as names, photographs of people or signatures, and by supplying them you confirm you are entitled to use that content. Artwork and order details may be shared with the production partners who make your products, including manufacturing partners outside the UK, such as in China, where your order requires it. Logos, artwork and proofs are stored securely and kept for up to 5 years after your last order so we can reproduce repeat orders accurately, after which they are deleted.

We do not copy photographs, films or other files onto USB drives for customers. Please do not send us your clients’ photos or films; you load your own files onto the drives after delivery.

8. Payments

Card payments are processed by our payment providers: WooPayments (provided by Stripe, including Apple Pay and Google Pay, with fraud screening by Sift), Opayo (Elavon) and PayPal. Each provider collects your card or account details under its own terms and privacy notice, and full card numbers never enter our systems. We receive payment references and status, and we keep payment, invoice and refund records for accounting purposes. Payment providers may use information about your payment and device to prevent fraud.

9. Delivery and order tracking

To deliver your order we share the recipient’s name, company, address, telephone number, email and any delivery instructions with our couriers, and customs information with customs agents for deliveries outside the UK. We use AfterShip to send you delivery tracking updates, so AfterShip receives your name, email, order number and tracking details. Where you ask us to deliver to someone else, such as a client or a venue, you confirm you are entitled to give us their details, and we use them only for that delivery.

10. Emails and marketing

We send newsletters, offers and product news only in line with the rules that apply. If you sign up to our newsletter, we send it with your consent. For existing customers we may rely on the “soft opt-in”, which allows email about similar products where you were given the chance to opt out when we collected your details and in every message. Many photographers are sole traders, and we give sole traders and partnerships the same protection as individuals. Placing an order or contacting us does not by itself sign you up to the newsletter.

Newsletters are sent from our own website system, with delivery through Amazon Web Services (Amazon Simple Email Service). We do not buy, sell or rent mailing lists, and we do not make unsolicited marketing calls. Every marketing email contains an unsubscribe link, and you can opt out at any time by contacting us.

11. Cookies

The website uses essential cookies to run the basket, checkout, card payments and product designer. Optional technologies, such as recording how you found us, are used only if you allow them through the cookie banner, and you can change your choice at any time through Cookie Settings in the footer. Full details are in our Cookie Policy.

12. Who we share information with

We share personal information only where needed, with: our website host and IT providers; Cloudflare, which protects and speeds up the website; email delivery providers (Postmark for order emails and Amazon Web Services for newsletters); payment providers and banks; manufacturers and production partners; couriers, customs agents and AfterShip; accountants, auditors, insurers and legal advisers; and regulators, government bodies or law enforcement where the law requires. If the business were ever sold or restructured, information could be shared with prospective purchasers under confidentiality obligations.

Providers acting on our instructions do so under contracts restricting their use of the information. Payment providers, banks and couriers are separate controllers for parts of their processing and have their own privacy notices. We do not sell personal information.

13. International transfers

Some of the organisations we work with process information outside the United Kingdom. This includes manufacturing partners in China who receive order and artwork information, and technology and payment providers whose services run in the United States or elsewhere, such as Cloudflare, Stripe, PayPal, AfterShip, Postmark and Amazon Web Services. Our United States office operates separately and does not access UK customer data.

Where information leaves the UK, we use a lawful transfer route: the UK adequacy regulations where the destination is covered; the UK Extension to the EU-US Data Privacy Framework for participating US providers; or the International Data Transfer Agreement or UK Addendum with additional safeguards where needed. You can ask our privacy contact for more information about the safeguards used for a particular transfer.

14. How long we keep information

We keep personal information only as long as needed for the purpose it was collected. Typical periods are below; do not read this table as a promise to delete information we are legally required to keep.

15. Security

We take proportionate technical and organisational measures to protect personal information, including serving the whole website over HTTPS, protecting it with Cloudflare, encrypting account passwords, restricting access to the staff who need it, and holding our providers to contractual security obligations. No online system is entirely risk-free, so we do not claim that security incidents are impossible; we work to prevent them and to respond properly if one occurs.

16. Personal data breaches

We maintain a process for assessing suspected personal data breaches. Where a breach is notifiable, we report it to the Information Commissioner’s Office without undue delay and, where feasible, within 72 hours of becoming aware of it. Where a breach is likely to result in a high risk to individuals, we inform those affected without undue delay.

17. Your rights

Depending on the circumstances, you have the right to: be informed about how your information is used; access a copy of your information; correct inaccurate information; have information erased; restrict processing; object to processing based on legitimate interests, and to direct marketing at any time; receive certain information in a portable format; not be subject to solely automated decisions with legal or similarly significant effects; and withdraw consent where consent is the basis, without affecting earlier processing.

These rights are not absolute. For example, we cannot erase records we must keep for tax, contract, claims or fraud-prevention purposes, and suppression-list entries are kept so that opt-outs keep working. We may need to verify your identity before acting. We normally respond within one month; the law allows an extension of up to two further months for complex or numerous requests, and we will tell you within the first month if that applies. To exercise any right, contact [email protected] or write to our registered office.

18. Marketing objections and suppression lists

You can object to direct marketing at any time, using the unsubscribe link in any marketing email or by contacting us, and we will stop. To make the opt-out stick, we keep a minimal suppression record (typically just your email address and the date) rather than deleting every trace of you, because deleting it would risk marketing starting again. Order emails are not affected by marketing opt-outs.

19. Automated decisions and profiling

We do not make decisions about you based solely on automated processing that produce legal or similarly significant effects. Payment providers run automated fraud checks on payments; if a payment is declined you can contact us and a person will look at it.

20. Children’s information

Our website and products are intended for photographers and other businesses, 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 deal with it.

21. Other websites and reviews

Our website links to other websites, such as our Trustpilot reviews and social media pages. Those services have their own privacy practices, which we do not control. Nothing is loaded from Trustpilot unless you click through to it.

22. Changes to this policy

We review and update this policy from time to time, and change the last-reviewed date whenever we do. If we make a material change to how we use personal information, we will highlight it on this page and, where appropriate, tell affected customers directly or ask for consent where the law requires it.

23. Complaints

If you have a concern about how we handle your information, we would welcome the chance to resolve it: contact [email protected] and we will investigate and respond. If you remain unhappy, you can ask for the matter to be escalated within the company. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at any time, at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113. You do not have to contact us first.

24. Contact information