Privacy Policy
SinoSource Ltd ("SinoSource", "we", "us", "our") is committed to protecting your personal data in accordance with the UK GDPR and the EU General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679). This policy explains what personal data we collect, why we collect it, how we use it, and your rights as a data subject.
Data controller: SinoSource Ltd, a limited company registered in England & Wales under Company No. 17216773. Registered office: Unit A 82 James Carter Road, Mildenhall, IP28 7DE. Contact: info@getsinosource.com.
1. Data We Collect
Information you provide directly
- Contact & enquiry forms: first name, email address, company name, country, plan interest.
- Lead magnet / free guide: email address and optionally company name.
- Onboarding form (post-purchase): name, company, email, language preference, niche, import volume, sales channel, compliance concerns, existing suppliers, and any freetext notes you choose to provide.
- Sourcing requests (client portal): request description and any supporting details you submit.
Information collected automatically
- Server logs: IP address, browser type, pages visited, referrer, timestamps. retained by our hosting provider in standard server logs.
- Optional analytics: if you accept optional cookies, Google Analytics receives usage events, device/browser information, approximate location, and shortened or otherwise processed network identifiers.
- Optional live chat: if you accept optional cookies, Crisp processes chat messages, contact details you provide, and technical connection data.
- Google Fonts: when you load pages that use Google Fonts, your browser makes a request to Google's servers. Google may log your IP address. See Google's Privacy Policy.
Payment data
All payment processing is handled by Stripe, Inc. We never see or store your full card number, CVC, or bank details. Stripe is a PCI-DSS Level 1 certified processor. See Stripe's Privacy Policy.
2. How We Use Your Data
- To fulfil and manage your subscription (deliver monthly reports, process payments, send access codes).
- To respond to contact and support enquiries.
- To send the free EU Compliance Guide you requested.
- To send transactional emails related to your account (e.g. new report available, request update).
- To improve the website and service based on aggregate, anonymised usage patterns.
- To comply with our legal obligations (e.g. invoice retention for tax purposes).
We do not sell your personal data, use it for profiling, or share it with advertisers.
3. Legal Basis Under GDPR
- Contract performance (Art. 6(1)(b)): processing necessary to deliver a subscription you have purchased.
- Legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f)): operating the website, preventing fraud, improving the service.
- Consent (Art. 6(1)(a)): optional cookies (beyond strictly necessary), and sending marketing or newsletter emails where you have opted in. You may withdraw consent at any time.
- Legal obligation (Art. 6(1)(c)): retaining financial records as required by applicable tax law.
4. Who We Share Data With
We share personal data only with the following processors and only to the extent necessary:
- Formspree (Formspree, Inc.): processes form submissions on our behalf. Data is transmitted to their servers when you submit a form. Formspree Privacy Policy.
- Stripe (Stripe, Inc.): payment processing and subscription management. Stripe Privacy Policy.
- Hostinger: website, application, email, and database hosting.
- Brevo: transactional and opted-in marketing email delivery.
- Google (Alphabet Inc.): Google Fonts, optional Google Analytics, and Google account sign-in. Google Privacy Policy.
- Crisp: optional live-chat support, loaded only after optional-cookie consent.
- Cloudflare and Anthropic: secure delivery and processing of AI-assisted supplier research requests. We minimise personal data included in research prompts.
All processors are bound by data processing agreements. Stripe and Google may process data outside the EEA under Standard Contractual Clauses.
We may disclose personal data if required to do so by law, or in response to a valid legal request by public authorities.
5. Cookies & Tracking
We use the following cookies:
- Strictly necessary: secure session cookies used by the client portal and admin panel. These are essential for service delivery and do not require consent.
- Functional: first-party cookies such as
sino_consent, sino_theme, sino_lang, and sino_currency store consent and interface preferences. Client, report, request, and admin data is served from the database.
- Optional analytics and chat: Google Analytics and Crisp are not loaded until you choose “Accept optional” in the cookie banner. Choosing “Essential only” prevents both services from loading.
You can change your choice by deleting the sino_consent cookie and reloading the site. Optional services will remain disabled until you consent again.
6. Data Retention
- Contact & lead magnet submissions: 24 months from submission, then deleted from Formspree.
- Client account data: retained for the duration of your subscription plus 12 months after cancellation, unless you request earlier deletion.
- Payment records: retained for the period required by applicable UK accounting and tax law.
- Server logs: typically 30–90 days depending on hosting provider configuration.
7. Your Rights
Under GDPR, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:
- Access: request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
- Rectification: ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
- Erasure ("right to be forgotten"): ask us to delete your personal data where there is no compelling reason for continued processing.
- Restriction: ask us to stop actively processing your data (while retaining it) in certain circumstances.
- Portability: receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
- Objection: object to processing based on legitimate interests.
- Withdraw consent: where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw at any time without affecting prior processing.
To exercise any right, email info@getsinosource.com. We will respond within 30 days.
For all privacy matters, contact us at: info@getsinosource.com.
If you are not satisfied with our response, you may lodge a complaint with the UK Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk, or with the supervisory authority in the EU/EEA country where you live or work.
Terms of Service
These Terms govern your use of the services provided by SinoSource Ltd, a company registered in England & Wales under Company No. 17216773 ("SinoSource", "we", "us", the "Service"). By purchasing a subscription or using the website, you agree to these Terms. Please read them carefully.
9. Service Description
SinoSource provides monthly supplier intelligence reports and associated tools (EU-Readiness Score, sourcing request portal) for European SME importers sourcing from China. Reports cover a single product niche per subscription and are published approximately once per calendar month.
The EU-Readiness Score is a comparative intelligence tool, not a legal certification. It reflects our assessment of suppliers based on available documentation and publicly available regulatory data at the time of publication. It does not constitute legal advice, and it does not guarantee that any supplier or product will pass conformity assessment, customs inspection, or market surveillance. You are solely responsible for ensuring your products comply with all applicable EU regulations. Always engage qualified testing laboratories and/or legal counsel for formal compliance verification.
10. Subscription & Billing
- Subscriptions are billed monthly or annually, according to the billing interval shown at checkout. They renew automatically until cancelled.
- You may cancel your subscription at any time via the Stripe Customer Portal link provided in your client dashboard. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period. you retain access until then.
- Digital content (PDF reports) is made available immediately upon the start of each billing period. In accordance with Article 16(m) of the EU Consumer Rights Directive, by requesting immediate access to digital content you acknowledge that you lose your right of withdrawal once the content has been delivered.
- Founding Member pricing is locked for the first 12 months. After that, we reserve the right to adjust pricing with 30 days' written notice.
- We reserve the right to discontinue the Service with 30 days' notice, in which case we will refund any unused portion of the current billing period.
11. Disclaimer & Limitation of Liability
The Service is provided "as is" and "as available." To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, SinoSource expressly disclaims all warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.
SinoSource shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, including but not limited to loss of profits, data, goodwill, or business opportunity, arising out of or in connection with your use of the Service. even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages.
Our total aggregate liability to you for any claim arising under these Terms shall not exceed the total fees paid by you in the three (3) calendar months preceding the event giving rise to the claim.
12. Governing Law & Disputes
These Terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales. The courts of England and Wales have jurisdiction, subject to any mandatory consumer protection rules that apply in your country of residence.
EU consumers may also use the EU Online Dispute Resolution platform.
Changes to These Terms
We may update these Terms and the Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify active subscribers of material changes by email at least 14 days before they take effect. Continued use of the Service after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.
Questions? Email us at info@getsinosource.com
