PRIVACY & COOKIE POLICY
Last Updated: January 28, 2026
This Privacy Policy explains how East End Library (referred to as the "Site", "we", "us", or "our") handles the collection, use, and disclosure of your personal information. This applies whenever you visit the Site, utilize our services, make a purchase from eastendlibrary.com (the "Site"), or correspond with us regarding our Services.
Within this policy, "you" and "your" refers to you as the user—whether you are a customer placing an order, a casual visitor to our website, or an individual whose data we process in accordance with this policy.
As a retailer of age-restricted goods, we take our data responsibilities seriously. Please read this Privacy Policy carefully to understand how we manage your information.
Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may periodically update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in our data practices or for other operational, legal, or regulatory reasons (such as updates to UK data protection or alcohol licensing laws).
Whenever we make adjustments, we will publish the revised policy directly on the Site and update the "Last updated" date at the bottom of this page. We will also take any additional steps required by applicable law to ensure you are informed of significant changes. We encourage you to review this policy regularly to stay informed about how we are protecting your information.
What Personal Information We Collect
The specific types of personal information we gather depend entirely on how you engage with our Site and utilize our Services. When we refer to "personal information," we mean any data that identifies, relates to, describes, or can be reasonably linked to you as an individual.
To provide you with a transparent overview, the following sections detail the various categories and specific types of information we collect, ranging from the details required to process an order to the data needed to verify your age in compliance with UK law.
Information We Collect Directly from You
Information that you directly submit to us through our Services may include:
Contact details including your name, address, phone number, and email.
Order information including your name, billing address, shipping address, payment confirmation, email address, and phone number.
Account information including your username, password, security questions and other information used for account security purposes.
Customer support information including the information you choose to include in communications with us, for example, when sending a message through the Services.
Some features of the Services may require you to directly provide us with certain information about yourself. You may elect not to provide this information, but doing so may prevent you from using or accessing these features.
Information We Collect Regarding Your Usage
When you visit our Site, we may automatically gather specific details about how you interact with our Services ("Usage Data"). To collect this, we utilize cookies, pixels, and similar tracking technologies ("Cookies").
This Usage Data helps us understand how you access the Site and your account. It may include details such as:
Device & Browser Information: The type of hardware and software you use to visit our "Library."
Network & Connection: Details regarding your network connection and your IP address.
Interaction History: Information on how you navigate our pages, which products you view, and other diagnostic data regarding your engagement with our Services.
Information We Obtain from Third Parties
Finally, we may receive information about you from external partners and service providers who collect data on our behalf, including:
Platform & Technical Support: Companies that host and power our Site and Services, such as Squarespace.
Payment Processors: Our payment partners, who securely collect billing details (e.g., credit/debit card information and billing addresses). This data is processed to complete your transactions and fulfill our contract with you.
Marketing & Analytics: When you browse our Site, engage with our emails, or interact with our advertisements, we (or our third-party partners) may automatically collect data through tracking technologies such as pixels, web beacons, and third-party software libraries.
Age Verification Services: Independent providers who assist us in confirming your age to ensure we meet our legal obligations for the sale of alcohol.
How We Use Your Personal Information
Providing Products and Services: We process your personal information to fulfill our contract with you. This includes handling payments, processing orders, sending transactional updates (such as order confirmations and shipping notices), managing your account, and arranging deliveries. As part of this process, we perform mandatory age verification to ensure compliance with UK licensing laws.
Marketing and Advertising: We may use your details for promotional purposes, such as sending updates on new arrivals or exclusive offers via email, text, or post. We also use this data to tailor the advertisements you see on our Site and across the web. For residents of the UK and EEA, our legal basis for this is our legitimate interest in promoting our products (Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR). You may opt out of these communications at any time.
Security, Fraud Prevention, and Age Compliance: We use your data to monitor, investigate, and prevent fraudulent or illegal activity. This is particularly vital for age-restricted sales to ensure our Service is not accessed by minors. If you create an account, you are responsible for maintaining the security of your login credentials. If you suspect any unauthorized access, please contact us immediately. Our legal basis for this is our legitimate interest in maintaining a secure platform and our legal obligation to prevent underage sales.
Customer Support and Service Improvement: We utilize your information to provide support and refine our offerings. This falls under our legitimate interest in being responsive to your needs, improving our "Library" experience, and maintaining a positive business relationship with you.
Cookies
Like most modern websites, we use Cookies on our Site to enhance your experience. Since our store is powered by Squarespace, we use their standard cookies to ensure the Site functions correctly and securely. For detailed information on the specific cookies used by our platform provider, please visit Squarespace’s Cookie Policy.
We utilise Cookies to power and refine our Services—this includes remembering your preferences (such as items in your shopping basket) and running analytics to better understand how visitors interact with the "Library." These activities are conducted under our legitimate interest to administer, improve, and optimise our digital experience. We may also allow trusted third-party service providers to use Cookies on our Site to better tailor products and advertisements to your interests, both here and on other websites.
Most web browsers are set to accept Cookies by default, but you can adjust your settings to remove or reject them via your browser controls. Please be aware that disabling Cookies may negatively impact your user experience; certain features, such as the checkout process or personalised preferences, may no longer function correctly. Furthermore, blocking Cookies does not entirely prevent the sharing of information with our advertising partners through other digital means.
How We Disclose Personal Information
In certain circumstances, we may share your personal information with third parties to fulfill our contract with you, for legitimate business reasons, or to meet our legal obligations. These circumstances include:
Service Providers & Operations: Sharing with trusted partners who perform essential tasks on our behalf, such as platform management via Squarespace, payment processing, data analytics, cloud storage, and the secure fulfillment and shipping of your orders (e.g., our courier partners).
Age Verification & Compliance: Disclosing necessary details to independent verification services to ensure we are meeting our legal duty to prevent the sale of alcohol to minors.
Business & Marketing Partners: Collaborating with partners to provide tailored services and advertisements. These partners process your data in accordance with their own independent privacy notices.
Your Request or Consent: When you direct us to share information—for example, to facilitate a specific delivery request or when using social media integrations and login features on our Site.
Corporate & Legal Obligations: Sharing data with affiliates within our business group for operational purposes, or in the event of a merger or business sale. We also disclose information when legally required to do so—such as responding to lawful requests from authorities (including the police or HMRC), enforcing our Terms and Conditions, or protecting the safety and rights of our customers and the public.
We disclose the categories of personal information and sensitive data (such as age verification results) for the purposes outlined above in "How we Collect and Use your Personal Information" and "How we Disclose Personal Information."
Category of Personal Information
Identifiers: Basic contact details, name, delivery address, and specific order or account information.
Commercial Information: Purchase history, items in your "Library" basket, and customer support correspondence.
Network Activity: Usage Data, browser types, and your interactions with our website.
Geolocation Data: General location as determined by your IP address or other technical identifiers.
Categories of RecipientsVendors and third parties who perform services on our behalf (e.g., Squarespace, payment gateways, couriers, and age-verification services).
Business and marketing partners, data analytics providers, and internal administrative teams.
Internet service providers, website analytics partners, and advertising platforms.
Fulfilment partners (to calculate shipping) and marketing partners (to show local offers).
We do not use or disclose sensitive personal information without your consent or for the purposes of inferring characteristics about you.
With your consent we share personal information for the purpose of engaging in advertising and marketing activities, as follows.
User-Generated Content
Our Services may provide opportunities for you to share product reviews, tasting notes, and other user-generated content. Please be aware that if you choose to submit content to any public area of our Site, that information will be visible and accessible to the general public.
We cannot control who accesses the information you choose to share openly, nor can we guarantee that third parties who view this content will respect your privacy or maintain its security. East End Library is not responsible for the privacy, security, or accuracy of any information you make publicly available, nor for any subsequent use or misuse of that information by third parties.
External Links and Third-Party Platforms
Our Site may feature links to other websites or digital platforms operated by third parties—such as distilleries, guest bloggers, or partner brands. If you follow a link to a site not controlled by East End Library, we recommend reviewing their individual privacy and security policies.
We do not guarantee and are not responsible for the privacy practices, security, or the accuracy of information found on external sites. Please note that any information you share on public or semi-public forums, including social media platforms, may be viewable by other users. Our inclusion of these links does not imply an endorsement of the external content or its operators, except where explicitly stated.
Protection of Minors
The East End Library is strictly intended for use by adults of legal drinking age (18+ in the UK). Our services are not designed for children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from minors.
If we become aware that we have inadvertently collected data from an individual under the legal drinking age, we will take immediate steps to delete that information from our records. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal data, please contact us using the details provided below so we can remove it immediately.
As of the Effective Date of this policy, we do not "sell" or "share" personal information (as defined by applicable data protection laws) belonging to individuals under the age of 18.
Your Rights and Choices
Depending on your location, you possess specific rights regarding your personal data. These rights are not absolute and may only apply in certain situations; in some instances, we may decline a request if permitted or required by law (for example, to retain records of an alcohol sale for tax or licensing purposes).
Right to Access: You may request a copy of the personal data we hold about you, along with details on how we utilize and share that information.
Right to Erasure: You can request that we delete the personal information we maintain about you.
Right to Rectification: You may ask us to correct or update any inaccurate information in our records.
Right to Portability: You have the right to receive your data in a structured format and, where technically feasible, request its transfer to a third party.
Right to Restrict or Object: You may ask us to stop or limit the processing of your data, or object to our "legitimate interest" processing.
Right to Opt-Out of Marketing: You can withdraw your consent for promotional communications at any time by clicking the ‘unsubscribe’ link in our emails. Even if you opt out of marketing, we will still send essential service emails regarding your orders or account.
Right to Withdraw Consent: Where we rely on your specific consent to process data, you have the right to withdraw it at any time.
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details provided below. We will never discriminate against you for exercising your privacy rights. For security, we will verify your identity before fulfilling any request.
Complaints
If you have concerns regarding how we handle your data, please contact us directly so we can address them. If you remain dissatisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority. In the UK, this is the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) (www.ico.org.uk). For those in the EEA, you can find your local supervisory authority here.
International Data Transfers
As East End Library utilizes global partners (such as Squarespace for hosting), your personal information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in countries outside of your own.
When we transfer your data outside of the UK or EEA, we ensure it receives a similar level of protection by relying on recognized legal mechanisms. These include the UK International Data Transfer Agreement (IDTA), the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs), or transfers to countries that have been officially deemed to provide an "adequate" level of data protection.
Contact Us
If you have any questions regarding our privacy practices, wish to exercise your data rights, or would like more information on how we protect your information, please reach out to our team.
Email: info@eastendlibrary.com
Postal Address: 4th Floor, Silverstream House, 45 Fitzroy Street, Fitzrovia, London, W1T 6EB
For the purposes of applicable data protection laws, East End Library is the "data controller" of your personal information. This means we are responsible for deciding how and why your data is processed and ensuring it is handled securely and lawfully.