Privacy Policy

Introduction

TCMEAST ("we", "us", or "our") operates www.tcmeast.com, a website about traditional Chinese medicine and wellbeing. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and protect personal information when you visit or use our services.

We are committed to transparency and to respecting your privacy rights across Europe and the Americas. We design our practices to comply with applicable laws in your region, including—for example—the EU/UK GDPR, Swiss data protection law, Canadian privacy legislation, U.S. federal and state privacy laws, Brazil’s LGPD, and other national or local requirements where you access our site.

Scope

This policy applies to visitors who access our public website from Europe or the Americas. It does not cover third-party websites linked from TCMEAST.

Geographic scope: “Europe” includes all European countries and territories (e.g., EU/EEA member states, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and other European jurisdictions). “The Americas” includes North, Central, and South America and the Caribbean (e.g., the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, and other countries in the region). Where local law grants you additional rights, we honour those rights to the extent they apply to our processing.

If we add new features that collect personal information, we will update this policy before or when they go live.

Information we collect

Depending on how you use the site and your cookie choices, we may process the following categories of information:

• Usage and device data: pages viewed, approximate location (country/region), browser type, device type, referring URL, and similar technical logs.
• Cookie and similar technologies data: as described in our Cookie Policy, including analytics (Google Analytics 4) and advertising (Google AdSense) when you consent.
• Information you provide voluntarily: for example, when you email contact@tcmeast.com.

How we use information

We use personal information to:

• Operate, secure, and improve the website.
• Understand how visitors use our content (with your consent for analytics cookies).
• Display and measure advertising (with your consent for marketing cookies).
• Respond to inquiries you send us.
• Comply with legal obligations and enforce our terms.

Legal bases (Europe)

Where European data protection law applies—including the GDPR in the EU/EEA, the UK GDPR, Switzerland’s FADP, and comparable national laws—we rely on the following legal bases:

• Consent: non-essential cookies, analytics, and advertising.
• Legitimate interests: site security, fraud prevention, and improving our services, where not overridden by your rights.
• Contract: processing needed to provide services you request (e.g., future orders or accounts).
• Legal obligation: where required by law.

Privacy compliance (the Americas)

Where privacy law in the Americas applies, we align our practices with requirements in your country or state, including but not limited to:

• United States: federal guidance and comprehensive state privacy laws (e.g., California CCPA/CPRA, Colorado CPA, Connecticut CTDPA, Virginia VCDPA, Texas, Oregon, and other state statutes), including rights to know, delete, correct, and opt out of certain processing such as targeted advertising or “sale”/“sharing” of personal information as defined locally.
• Canada: the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and applicable provincial laws (e.g., Quebec Law 25, British Columbia and Alberta privacy acts), including rights of access, correction, and withdrawal of consent where required.
• Latin America and the Caribbean: national frameworks such as Brazil’s LGPD, Argentina’s Law 25.326, Mexico’s LFPDPPP, Colombia’s Law 1581, Chile’s privacy reforms, and other local laws granting rights of access, correction, deletion, portability, or objection.
• Caribbean territories: applicable local data protection or consumer protection rules where in force.

We do not sell personal information for money. Where local law treats advertising or analytics cookies as “sharing” or targeted advertising, you may opt out through Cookie Settings (reject non-essential or marketing cookies) or by contacting us.

Sharing with third parties

We do not sell your personal information for money. We may share information with service providers who help us run the site, subject to appropriate safeguards:

• Google LLC: Google Analytics 4 (website analytics) and Google AdSense (advertising), when you consent to the relevant cookie categories.
• Hosting and infrastructure providers that process server logs and deliver the website.

We may also disclose information if required by law or to protect our rights, users, or the public.

International transfers

TCMEAST serves visitors across Europe and the Americas. Your information may be processed in countries other than your own—including the United States and countries where Google or our hosting providers operate. Where required by European law, we use appropriate transfer tools such as Standard Contractual Clauses, adequacy decisions, or equivalent safeguards. For other regions, we apply reasonable contractual and organizational measures with our processors.

Data retention

We keep personal information only as long as necessary for the purposes described in this policy, unless a longer period is required by law. Cookie retention periods are listed in our Cookie Policy. Server logs and analytics data are retained according to our providers' settings and our internal retention schedule.

Your rights and choices

Depending on where you live in Europe or the Americas, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, restrict, or object to certain processing, to data portability, and to withdraw consent. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal.

• Everyone: manage Cookie preferences via Cookie Settings in the footer or our Cookie Policy; refuse non-essential cookies as easily as accepting them.
• Europe: lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority; request access, rectification, erasure, restriction, portability, or objection as provided under applicable European law.
• United States: exercise state-specific rights (e.g., know, delete, correct, opt out of sale/sharing or targeted advertising) by contacting us; use Cookie Settings to limit marketing/analytics cookies where opt-out is required.
• Canada: request access to and correction of your personal information, and withdraw consent subject to legal or contractual restrictions.
• Brazil and other Latin American jurisdictions: exercise rights such as confirmation, access, correction, anonymization, portability, deletion, and information about sharing under applicable local law.
• To submit a request: email contact@tcmeast.com with your country/region. We may verify your identity and respond within timelines required by local law.

Children

TCMEAST is intended for a general audience and is not directed at children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children below the age required by applicable law (e.g., under 16 in many European countries, under 13 in parts of the United States, or other ages set by local rules). If you believe a child has provided us data, please contact us and we will take appropriate steps to delete it.

Security

We implement reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect personal information. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure; we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The "Last updated" date at the top will change when we do. Material changes may be communicated on the site.

Contact us

For privacy questions or requests, email contact@tcmeast.com.

For cookie-specific details, see our Cookie Policy.

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