Welcome to Flamingo Books & Stationeries (Spintex Branch, Greater Accra, Ghana). We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting the personal data of our customers, website visitors, and store administrators. This Privacy Policy outlines how we collect, use, process, and safeguard your information when you access our e-commerce platform located at https://flamingobookshop.com and associated mobile web services.

1. User Accounts & Authentication

To provide a personalized shopping experience and fulfill educational book and stationery orders, we collect information when you create or log into an account:

• Google Authentication: When you sign in using Google Sign-In (OAuth 2.0), we receive your basic Google profile information, including your full name, email address, profile picture URL, and Google user ID. We use this to verify your identity and manage your customer account securely.
• Phone Authentication: When you choose to authenticate or register using your phone number, we collect your phone number and send a One-Time Passcode (OTP) via SMS or automated messaging. This ensures secure account access without requiring complex passwords.
• Account Credentials: Passwords, session tokens, and security state vectors are managed using Firebase Authentication encrypted protocols.

2. Customer Information

We collect and process customer personal details necessary to fulfill purchases and provide customer support:

• Full Name, Contact Email Address, and Mobile Phone Number
• Delivery Addresses (street name, landmark, Ghana Post Digital Address / GPS code, city, region)
• Order History, Saved Wishlist Items, and Shopping Cart Preferences
• Customer Support Communications and Feedback Enquiries

3. Administrator Information

For store managers, inventory supervisors, and administrative personnel operating the Flamingo Books Admin Portal:

• Staff Account Credentials, Admin Role Assignments (Super Admin, Inventory Manager, Cashier, Courier Dispatcher)
• System Activity Logs, Audit Trails, and Inventory Modification Records to prevent fraud and ensure operational integrity.

4. Orders & Fulfillment

When an order is placed, we store order details including selected textbook/stationery titles, quantities, unit prices, applied promotional discounts, delivery status, and courier assignment notes.

5. Payments & Financial Transactions

All payment transactions conducted via Mobile Money (MTN MoMo, Telecel Cash, AT Money) or Bank Card are processed through accredited, PCI-DSS compliant payment gateways (such as Paystack). We do not store your raw credit card numbers or Mobile Money PINs on our servers. We store transaction reference codes, payment status flags, and digital receipts for accounting and verification.

6. Delivery Information & Google Maps

To calculate delivery distances, provide accurate shipping quotes, and dispatch orders to courier drivers:

• We utilize Google Maps Platform APIs (Places Autocomplete, Geocoding, and Distance Matrix) to resolve addresses and calculate delivery routes.
• Your delivery address and recipient contact details are shared securely with assigned courier partners solely for delivering your items.

7. Push Notifications & Messaging

We may send push notifications or SMS alerts regarding your order status (e.g., Order Confirmed, Out for Delivery, Delivered) via Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) or SMS providers (e.g., Twilio). You may manage push notification permissions in your browser or device settings at any time.

8. Cookies & Local Storage

We use browser LocalStorage and essential session cookies to:

• Maintain your active login session and secure authentication state
• Persist your shopping cart contents across page refreshes
• Remember display preferences (such as light/dark mode and language settings)

9. Firebase Services & Infrastructure

Our platform infrastructure is powered by Google Cloud Platform and Firebase services:

• Firebase Firestore: Encrypted cloud database for customer profiles, orders, and product catalog data.
• Firebase Authentication: Secure OAuth and token management.
• Firebase Cloud Hosting: High-speed content delivery network (CDN) and SSL certificate encryption.

10. Data Security & Retention

We enforce strict technical and organizational measures, including HTTPS/TLS encryption in transit, Firestore Security Rules for role-based access control, and periodic security audits. Personal data is retained only as long as necessary to fulfill orders, meet legal/tax compliance obligations, and resolve customer support inquiries.

11. Your Data Rights

You have the right to access, update, correct, or request the deletion of your personal account data. To request data deletion or an extract of your stored records, please contact our privacy officer at support@flamingobookshop.com.

12. Contact Information

If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or your personal information, please reach out to us:

13. Policy Updates

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect operational, legal, or regulatory changes. Any modifications will be posted directly on this page with an updated "Effective Date".