Stone Houz operates an integrated digital marketplace and on-ground services platform specialising in flooring, stone, and surface materials. This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, store, share, and protect your personal and business information when you use our Platform.
1. Introduction
Welcome to Stone Houz ("we," "us," or "our"). Stone Houz operates an integrated digital marketplace and on-ground services platform specialising in flooring, stone, and surface materials. We bring together business-to-business (B2B) trade partners and business-to-consumer (B2C) customers under one roof — connecting them with products, professional services, design tools, and international sourcing solutions. This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, store, share, and protect your personal and business information when you use our website, mobile application, and related services (collectively, the "Platform"). By accessing or using Stone Houz, you agree to the practices described herein.
2. Who We Serve — Platform User Categories
Stone Houz serves two primary categories of users. Understanding your category helps clarify how your data is collected and used. 2.1 B2B Users — Trade & Supply Partners Business users who supply, manufacture, or trade in flooring and surface materials, including: • Flooring material suppliers and distributors • Quarry owners and natural stone extractors • Factory owners and manufacturers of tiles, marble, wood, and composite flooring • International traders and import/export companies dealing in surface materials • Wholesale distributors and material stockists B2B users register as trade partners or merchants on the Platform, list their products or catalogues, respond to sourcing inquiries, and manage bulk transactions. 2.2 B2C Users — Buyers & Service Professionals Individual and professional buyers who source, specify, or install flooring and surface materials, including: • Standard customers (homeowners, property developers, private individuals) • Interior designers and interior architects specifying materials for projects • Contracting companies managing construction, fit-out, and renovation projects • Maintenance companies providing flooring care, restoration, and repair services B2C users browse the marketplace, request quotations, place orders, book on-ground services, and access design visualization tools.
3. Information We Collect
3.1 Information You Provide Directly Account registration: Full name, email address, phone number, password, and account type (B2B trade partner or B2C buyer/professional). B2B business profile: Company name, trade licence number, VAT/tax registration, type of business (supplier, quarry, factory, trader), product categories offered, country of origin, export capabilities, minimum order quantities, and certifications. B2C professional profile: Business name, professional category (designer, contractor, maintenance company), portfolio links, service regions, and company registration details where applicable. Transaction & order data: Product selections, quantities, project specifications, delivery addresses, payment method information (processed by PCI-DSS-certified gateways — we never store full card numbers), invoices, and order history. Sourcing & RFQ data: Request-for-quotation details submitted to our international sourcing mediation service, including material specifications, target pricing, project timelines, destination country, and preferred supplier type. Design & visualisation inputs: Room images, dimensions, surface measurements, material preferences, mood boards, and project notes entered into our material visualisation tool. Service bookings: Installation or maintenance addresses, site access instructions, scheduling preferences, scope of work, and post-service feedback. Communications: Messages exchanged with merchants, suppliers, or our support team via the Platform's chat, email, or support-ticket system; reviews and ratings submitted. 3.2 Information Collected Automatically Device & access data: IP address, browser type and version, operating system, device identifiers, and referring URLs. Usage data: Pages and product listings visited, search queries, items saved to wishlists, time spent, click paths, and feature usage. Location data: Approximate location inferred from IP address. Precise GPS location is requested only when you enable delivery tracking or on-ground service booking features. Cookies & tracking: See Section 9 for full details on cookie types and your controls. 3.3 Information from Third Parties Payment processors: Transaction status, authorisation codes, and fraud-signal data. Logistics & shipping partners: Shipment tracking updates, customs documentation status, and delivery confirmations. International suppliers: Product catalogues, pricing, availability, and compliance documents shared with us in our capacity as sourcing mediator. Trade verification services: Know-Your-Business (KYB) verification data, company registry information, and trade-licence validation results for B2B merchant onboarding. Social login providers: Basic profile data (name, email, profile picture) when you register or sign in via Google, Apple, or LinkedIn.
4. How We Use Your Information
4.1 Platform Operations & Service Delivery • Creating and managing your account and profile. • Processing orders, payments, and refunds for flooring and surface material purchases. • Connecting B2C buyers and professionals with B2B suppliers, quarries, and factories. • Facilitating RFQ submissions and mediating international sourcing negotiations. • Coordinating logistics and customs documentation for cross-border material orders. • Scheduling and dispatching on-ground services (installation, maintenance, restoration). • Powering the material visualisation tool using your room data and preferences. 4.2 Communication • Sending order confirmations, shipping notifications, and delivery updates. • Notifying B2B merchants of new inquiries, RFQs, or purchase orders. • Sending appointment confirmations and reminders for on-ground service bookings. • Responding to customer support and dispute-resolution requests. • Sending promotional content, new product alerts, and platform updates — with your consent where required. 4.3 Trust, Safety & Legal Compliance • Verifying merchant, factory, and supplier identities through KYB processes. • Detecting and preventing fraudulent transactions, fake listings, and platform abuse. • Complying with trade regulations, customs requirements, anti-money-laundering laws, and tax obligations. • Resolving disputes between buyers, sellers, contractors, and service providers. • Responding to lawful requests from regulatory authorities. 4.4 Analytics & Platform Improvement • Analysing search trends, popular materials, and buyer behaviour to improve product discovery. • Monitoring platform performance, uptime, and technical issues. • Developing new features such as expanded visualisation tools, B2B pricing tiers, and contractor portals. 4.5 Personalisation & Marketing • Displaying material recommendations tailored to your project type (residential, commercial, hospitality). • Showing relevant suppliers or factories based on your sourcing history and preferences. • Serving targeted advertisements on our Platform and partner channels, subject to your consent.
5. Legal Bases for Processing
Where applicable data-protection law requires a lawful basis, we rely on the following: Contract performance: Processing necessary to execute your orders, deliver services, onboard you as a merchant, or fulfil our sourcing mediation obligations. Legitimate interests: Fraud prevention, platform security, analytics, improving our marketplace, and direct marketing to existing users — balanced against your rights. Legal obligation: Compliance with customs, tax, trade-licence verification, and anti-money-laundering regulations applicable in the jurisdictions we operate. Consent: Marketing communications to new contacts, non-essential cookies, and precise location access. You may withdraw consent at any time without affecting prior processing.
6. How We Share Your Information
We do not sell your personal data. We share information only as described below. 6.1 Within the Stone Houz Marketplace Ecosystem Buyers to Suppliers: When you submit an order or RFQ, your contact details, project specifications, and delivery information are shared with the relevant B2B supplier, quarry owner, or factory to fulfil the transaction. Suppliers to Buyers: Merchant business profiles, product listings, certifications, and ratings are visible to B2C buyers and professionals browsing the Platform. Service bookings: Your name, service address, and project scope are shared with the assigned installation, contracting, or maintenance professional. International sourcing: Your RFQ details are shared with shortlisted international suppliers as part of our mediation service. You will be informed before your details are disclosed. 6.2 Service Providers (Data Processors) We engage trusted third-party processors who act solely on our instructions, including cloud hosting providers, payment gateways, SMS and email delivery services, analytics platforms, customer-support tools, logistics tracking systems, and KYB/identity verification services. 6.3 Legal & Regulatory Disclosures We may disclose data to law-enforcement agencies, customs authorities, tax regulators, or courts when required by applicable law, or when necessary to prevent fraud, protect safety, or enforce our Terms of Service. 6.4 Business Transfers In the event of a merger, acquisition, or asset sale, your data may be transferred to the successor entity. We will notify you before your data becomes subject to a different privacy policy.
7. International Data Transfers
Stone Houz operates an international sourcing and logistics network connecting buyers with suppliers across multiple countries. As a result, your data may be transferred to and processed in countries outside your country of residence. We ensure appropriate safeguards are in place — such as Standard Contractual Clauses, adequacy decisions, or equivalent legal mechanisms — to protect your data in accordance with applicable data-protection law.
8. Data Retention
We retain your data only for as long as necessary for the purposes stated in this Policy, or as required by law. Key retention periods include: • Account & profile data: Duration of account plus 3 years after closure. • Order & transaction records: 7 years (tax, customs, and audit requirements). • RFQ and sourcing records: 5 years from transaction completion. • Design & visualisation files: Duration of account; deletable on request. • Support communications: 3 years from last interaction. • KYB verification records: As required by applicable AML and trade-compliance regulations (typically 5–7 years). • Marketing consent records: Until consent is withdrawn, plus 1 year. When data is no longer needed, we securely delete or irreversibly anonymise it.
9. Cookies & Tracking Technologies
We use cookies, web beacons, and similar technologies to operate our Platform, remember your preferences, and improve your experience. Strictly necessary: Authentication, security, and core marketplace functionality. Always active. Performance & analytics: Anonymous usage statistics to improve platform performance and product discovery. Functional: Saved material preferences, recently viewed products, currency and language settings. Targeting & advertising: Relevant advertisements on our Platform and partner channels. Require your consent. Manage your preferences via our Cookie Consent Banner or browser settings. Disabling certain cookies may limit Platform features.
10. Your Privacy Rights
Depending on your location, you may have the following rights: • Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you. • Rectification: Correct inaccurate or incomplete information. • Erasure: Request deletion of your data where no overriding legal basis applies. • Restriction: Limit how we process your data in certain circumstances. • Portability: Receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format. • Objection: Object to processing based on legitimate interests or for direct marketing. • Withdraw consent: Withdraw consent at any time without affecting prior lawful processing. • Complaint: Lodge a complaint with your local data-protection supervisory authority. To exercise your rights, contact us as set out in Section 15. We will respond within the legally required timeframe (typically 30 days) after verifying your identity.
11. B2B Trade Partner Provisions
The following additional terms apply to flooring material suppliers, quarry owners, factory owners, international traders, and other B2B merchants registered on Stone Houz: • Your business profile — including company name, product categories, country of origin, certifications, and ratings — will be publicly visible to B2C buyers and professionals on the Platform. • Contact details of your nominated representatives will be shared with buyers and sourcing inquirers for transactional communication. • We will conduct Know-Your-Business (KYB) verification during onboarding. This may include trade-licence checks, company registry lookups, and identity verification of authorised signatories. • Transaction volumes, product pricing (where not marked confidential), and order history may be used in anonymised, aggregate form for market intelligence and platform analytics. • Quarry and factory partners providing material origin documentation consent to those documents being shared with end buyers as part of product transparency obligations. • B2B merchants are independently responsible for complying with applicable data-protection laws when processing customer data obtained through the Stone Houz Platform. • International traders using our logistics mediation service acknowledge that shipment data including consignee details, customs values, and HS codes may be shared with freight forwarders, customs authorities, and financial institutions as required.
12. B2C Professional User Provisions
The following additional terms apply to interior designers, contracting companies, and maintenance companies registered on Stone Houz as professional buyers: • Your professional profile — including company name, service category, and region of operation — may be displayed to B2B suppliers so they can tailor quotations and offers. • Project-level data (material specifications, quantities, site addresses) submitted through RFQs or service bookings will be shared with relevant suppliers and service professionals to enable project fulfilment. • Designers using the material visualisation tool: uploaded room images and project files are stored securely and are not shared with third parties without your consent, except as needed to operate the visualisation service. • Contracting and maintenance companies may be asked to provide trade licences or professional certifications during registration for quality-assurance purposes. • Your transaction history, preferred materials, and repeat-order patterns may be used to personalise your experience and provide tailored product recommendations.
13. Data Security
We implement robust technical and organisational measures to protect your personal and business data, including: • TLS/HTTPS encryption for all data in transit between your device and our servers. • AES-256 encryption for sensitive data stored at rest. • Role-based access controls ensuring staff access only the data needed for their function. • PCI-DSS-compliant payment processing via certified third-party gateways. • Regular security assessments, penetration testing, and vulnerability management. • Audit logging of access to sensitive B2B merchant and financial data. No system is entirely immune to security risks. In the event of a data breach likely to affect your rights, we will notify you and the relevant supervisory authority as required by applicable law.
14. Children's Privacy
Stone Houz is a trade and consumer marketplace intended for users aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect personal data from minors. If we become aware that a child has registered or provided data, we will promptly delete that information. Please contact us if you believe a minor has submitted data to our Platform.
15. Contact Us
For questions, requests, or concerns about this Privacy Policy or your personal data, please contact our Privacy team: Stone Houz — Privacy & Data Protection Email: support@stonehouz.com Data Protection Officer: support@stonehouz.com Website: www.stonehouz.com/privacy We acknowledge all privacy requests within 5 business days and aim to resolve them within the period required by applicable law.
16. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may revise this Policy periodically to reflect changes in our services, business model, technology, or legal obligations. When material changes are made, we will update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this document and notify users by email or in-app notification where required. Your continued use of the Platform after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the revised Policy.
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