Privacy policy

1. Who we are and what we collect

Pure Tide Labs (hereafter “the Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) operates puretidelabs.co.uk and is the data controller for the personal information collected through it. We only collect personal data that you provide to us through account registration, checkout, contact and newsletter forms, email, or other direct communication, together with limited technical data gathered automatically when you use the site.

This information is used to respond to your enquiries and to process, verify, and deliver your orders. We do not sell or rent your personal information, and we share it with third parties only where needed to complete your transaction, for example passing your address to our delivery carrier or payment details to our payment provider.

2. Order and financial information

When placing an order, you will be asked to provide contact and payment information, including:

• Full name and organisation or laboratory affiliation, where applicable
• Billing and delivery addresses, email address and phone number
• Payment details, which are entered into and processed by our payment provider

We do not store full card numbers on our systems. Order information is used for billing, identity verification, fraud prevention, and fulfilment. If there is a problem with your order, or a lot or compliance query is raised, we will use these contact details to reach you directly.

3. Age and eligibility information

Sale of our products is restricted to persons aged 18 or over who are qualified researchers, or who purchase on behalf of a research institution, laboratory or business. To operate that restriction we may collect and retain:

• Your confirmation of age and researcher status given at checkout
• Organisation or institutional affiliation, where you provide it
• A record of the date and time that confirmation was given

This information is kept as part of your order record. This website is not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If you believe a minor has provided us with personal data, contact us and we will delete it.

4. Our lawful basis for using your data

Under UK GDPR we must have a lawful basis for each use of your personal data. We rely on:

• Contract. To take, process, and deliver your order and manage your account.
• Legal obligation. To keep tax and accounting records and meet other legal requirements.
• Legitimate interests. To prevent fraud, verify purchaser eligibility, secure our website, and improve our service, where those interests are not overridden by your rights.
• Consent. For marketing email where consent is required, and for non-essential cookies. You can withdraw consent at any time.

5. Communications and marketing

We send marketing email only where you have subscribed, or where you are an existing customer and did not opt out when you gave us your details. These communications may cover:

• Laboratory product updates and newly released reference compounds
• Technical documentation and lot records
• Promotions and store announcements
• Material updates to this Privacy Policy

Our email covers stock and documentation only. We do not send research guidance, handling instruction, or usage advice by email. Every marketing email includes an unsubscribe link.

Note: opting out of marketing email does not stop essential order-related or legal communications.

6. Your rights under UK data protection law

You have the following rights over your personal data:

• The right to be informed about how your data is used
• The right of access to a copy of the data we hold about you
• The right to have inaccurate or incomplete data corrected
• The right to have your data erased, subject to our legal record-keeping obligations
• The right to restrict or object to how we use your data, including for direct marketing
• The right to data portability, and the right to withdraw consent at any time

To exercise any of these rights, email us using the details below. We will respond within one month and there is normally no charge. If you are unhappy with how we handle your data, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113, though we would welcome the chance to resolve your concern first.

7. Security measures

We take the security of your information seriously. When you submit personal data through our website, it is protected both online and offline:

• Online protection. Data such as payment details and account passwords is encrypted in transit using industry-standard protocols. You can confirm this by checking for the padlock icon in your browser and that the address begins with “https”.
• Offline protection. Access to personal information is restricted to personnel who need it to carry out specific tasks, such as order processing, documentation queries, or customer support.
• Infrastructure security. The servers and storage holding personal information are maintained in a secure, monitored environment with modern firewall protection.

While we take every reasonable step to protect your information, no online system is completely secure. If a data breach occurs that is likely to put your rights at risk, we will notify you and the ICO as the law requires.

8. Third-party service providers

To run our store, fulfil orders, and maintain our records, we work with third-party service providers. These include payment processors, delivery carriers, email service providers, and website hosting and analytics providers.

These providers act on our instructions and may not use your personal information for any other purpose. Where a provider processes data outside the UK, we make sure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as UK adequacy regulations or the ICO’s approved international data transfer agreement.

9. How long we keep your data

We keep personal data only for as long as we need it:

• Order and transaction records, including eligibility confirmations, are kept for six years to meet HMRC and accounting requirements
• Account information is kept until you close your account
• Marketing data is kept until you unsubscribe
• Enquiries sent through our contact form are kept for up to two years

10. Cookies and site analytics

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies. Some are strictly necessary for the site to work, including those that keep your basket, keep you signed in, and record that you have confirmed your eligibility to purchase. These do not require consent and cannot be switched off without the store ceasing to work correctly.

Analytics and other non-essential cookies are used only with your consent, which you can give or withdraw at any time. You can also refuse or delete cookies through your browser settings, although this may affect checkout and account functions.

11. Policy updates

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the law, in our services, or in the providers we use. Any changes will be posted on this page with a revised “Last updated” date, and where a change is significant we will let you know by email.

12. Contact us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, want to exercise your rights, or want to know how your purchase data is processed, please contact:

• Company: Pure Tide Labs
• Email: sales@puretidelabs.co.uk

Effective date: September 2026. Last updated by Pure Tide Labs.