Last updated: May 4, 2026
At Gist of Light, your privacy matters to us as much as the quality of every candle we pour. This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, how we use it, and your rights regarding that information. We comply with Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and applicable British Columbia privacy laws.
By using our website at gistoflight.com or placing an order with us, you consent to the practices described in this policy.
1. Who We Are
Gist of Light is a sole proprietorship operating out of Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. We make coconut-soy candles and sell them online through gistoflight.com and at local markets in the Okanagan.
For questions about this policy or your personal information, contact us at:
Email: gistoflight@gmail.com
Website: gistoflight.com
2. Information We Collect
We collect only the information we genuinely need to operate our store and serve you well. This includes:
Information you give us directly:
- Name, email address, shipping address, and billing address when you place an order
- Phone number, if provided
- Payment information — processed securely through Stripe; we never store your full card details
- Messages you send us through our contact form or by email
- Reviews or feedback you submit
Information collected automatically:
- IP address, browser type, and device information when you visit our site
- Pages viewed, time spent on site, and referring URLs (via Google Analytics 4)
- Cookies and similar tracking technologies (see Section 7 below)
Information from third parties:
- If you purchase through Etsy, Etsy’s privacy policy governs that transaction. We may receive your shipping address and order details from Etsy to fulfill your order.
3. How We Use Your Information
We use your personal information to:
- Process and fulfill your orders, including shipping and sending order confirmations
- Communicate with you about your order, including updates and tracking information
- Respond to your questions, custom order requests, or customer service inquiries
- Send marketing emails, newsletters, and promotions — only with your consent, and only if you opt in
- Improve our website and understand how visitors use it (via analytics)
- Comply with legal obligations, including tax records under Canadian law
- Detect and prevent fraud or unauthorized access
We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties for their marketing purposes. Ever.
4. Our Legal Basis for Processing (PIPEDA)
Under PIPEDA, we collect and use your personal information based on:
- Consent — for marketing communications, you opt in explicitly. You may withdraw consent at any time.
- Contractual necessity — to process and fulfill your order, we need your name, address, and payment details.
- Legitimate interests — for fraud prevention, site security, and analytics that help us improve your experience.
- Legal obligation — to keep financial and tax records as required by Canadian law.
5. Who We Share Your Information With
We share your information only with trusted third-party service providers who help us run our store. All providers are bound by data processing agreements and may only use your information to provide their service to us.
Current service providers include:
- Stripe — payment processing (stripe.com/privacy)
- WooCommerce / WordPress — store platform and order management
- Canada Post — shipping and order fulfillment
- Google Analytics — website analytics (data is anonymized and aggregated)
- Klaviyo or Resend — email marketing (only if you have subscribed to our list)
- Cloudflare — website security and content delivery
If required by law, we may also disclose your information to government authorities or law enforcement. We will notify you to the extent permitted by law before doing so.
6. How Long We Keep Your Information
We retain your personal information only as long as necessary for the purposes described in this policy:
- Order records — 7 years, as required by Canadian tax and business law
- Marketing email list — until you unsubscribe or request removal
- Contact form messages — up to 2 years, unless needed for an ongoing inquiry
- Analytics data — aggregated and anonymized; individual session data is retained per Google’s standard retention settings (up to 14 months by default)
When information is no longer needed, we securely delete or anonymize it.
7. Cookies and Tracking
Our website uses cookies — small text files stored on your device — to make the site work properly and to help us understand how it’s being used.
Types of cookies we use:
- Essential cookies — required for the store to function (shopping cart, checkout, account login)
- Analytics cookies — Google Analytics 4 uses cookies to track page views and user behaviour anonymously
- Marketing cookies — only set if you opt in to email marketing via our signup form
You can control cookies through your browser settings. Disabling essential cookies will prevent the store from functioning correctly. For more information, visit allaboutcookies.org.
We do not use cookies to track you across other websites or to build advertising profiles.
8. Your Rights Under PIPEDA
As a Canadian resident, you have the right to:
- Access — request a copy of the personal information we hold about you
- Correction — ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information
- Withdrawal of consent — opt out of marketing communications at any time by clicking ‘Unsubscribe’ in any email or contacting us directly
- Deletion — request that we delete your personal information, subject to our legal retention obligations
- Complaint — file a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada at priv.gc.ca if you believe your privacy rights have been violated
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at gistoflight@gmail.com. We will respond within 30 days.
9. Children’s Privacy
Our website is not directed at children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with their information, please contact us, and we will delete it promptly.
10. Links to Other Websites
Our website may contain links to third-party websites, including our Etsy shop, social media profiles, and payment processors. Once you leave gistoflight.com, this privacy policy no longer applies. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any site you visit.
11. Security
We take reasonable precautions to protect your personal information from loss, theft, unauthorized access, disclosure, and misuse. Our website uses SSL encryption (HTTPS), and payment processing is handled entirely by Stripe — we never store your full card number on our servers.
No method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure. If you have concerns about the security of your information, please contact us.
12. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or applicable law. When we do, we will update the ‘Last updated’ date at the top of this page. For significant changes, we will notify you by email (if you are on our list) or by a prominent notice on our website.
Your continued use of gistoflight.com after any changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.
13. Contact Us
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your personal information, please get in touch at gistoflight@gmail.com
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