Privacy policy
Effective date: July 14, 2026 | Last updated: July 14, 2026
Plain-English Note: This policy explains exactly what information we collect when you shop at Yarn World, how we use it, who we share it with, and what rights you have. We have written it to be readable by anyone — no legal degree required. The legal citations at the bottom are there so you can verify every statement yourself.
1. Who This Policy Covers
This Privacy Policy applies to all visitors and customers of yarnworldhaven.com, a Shopify-powered online store owned and operated by Yarn World, a family-owned business based in Andover, Minnesota.
We sell and ship within the United States only. This policy applies to personal information we collect from customers located in any U.S. state.
Questions about this policy? Email: info@yarnworldhaven.com — Monday–Friday, 9 AM–5 PM Central Time.
2. Information We Collect
We collect information in three ways: information you give us directly, information collected automatically when you visit our site, and information we receive from third-party services we use to run our store.
2a. Information You Give Us Directly
When you place an order, create an account, or contact us, you may provide:
| Information Type | When It Is Collected |
|---|---|
| Full name | At checkout |
| Shipping and billing address | At checkout |
| Email address | At checkout, account creation, or newsletter signup |
| Payment information | At checkout (processed by Shopify Payments — see Section 4) |
| Order details | At checkout |
| Messages and correspondence | When you email us |
| Product reviews | When you submit a review through Judge.me |
2b. Information Collected Automatically
When you visit yarnworldhaven.com, certain information is collected automatically by our platform (Shopify) and standard web technologies, including:
- Your IP address
- Browser type and version
- Device type (desktop, mobile, tablet)
- Pages you visit and how long you spend on them
- Items you view, add to your cart, or purchase
- Referring website (how you found us)
- Cookies and similar tracking technologies (see Section 9)
2c. Information We Receive from Third Parties
We use a small number of trusted third-party services to operate our store. Those services may provide us with information, such as:
- Shopify: Order processing, payment handling, fraud screening, and analytics data
- Shipping carriers (e.g., USPS, UPS, FedEx): Delivery confirmation and tracking information
- Partner suppliers: Fulfillment and tracking information for items shipped directly from a supplier
- Judge.me: Review platform data (your review content and the name or identifier you submit with it)
3. How We Use Your Information
We use the information we collect for the following purposes only:
To process and fulfill your order:
- Verify your identity and payment
- Process your purchase and send order confirmations
- Coordinate shipping with carriers and, where applicable, partner suppliers
- Handle returns, exchanges, and refund requests
To communicate with you:
- Respond to your emails and customer service inquiries
- Send order confirmation, shipping, and delivery updates
- Send our email newsletter, if and only if you opted in (you can unsubscribe at any time — see Section 8)
To operate and improve our store:
- Analyze how customers use our site to improve product selection and the shopping experience
- Detect and prevent fraud
- Comply with legal obligations
We do not use your personal information for any automated decision-making, profiling, or targeted advertising that would affect your legal rights.
4. How Shopify Processes Your Data
Yarn World operates on the Shopify e-commerce platform. Shopify acts as a data processor on our behalf — meaning it handles your personal information according to our instructions and for the purposes described in this policy.
Shopify processes your payment information, stores your order history, and runs the technical infrastructure of our store. Yarn World does not directly store your full credit card number — payment data is handled by Shopify Payments and its underlying payment processors, which maintain their own security certifications (PCI-DSS compliance).
Shopify's own privacy policy, which governs how Shopify handles data at the platform level, is available at shopify.com/legal/privacy. Shopify's Data Processing Addendum is incorporated by reference into the Shopify Terms of Service and applies to our store.
5. How We Share Your Information
We do not sell your personal information. We do not rent it. We do not share it with advertisers or data brokers.
We share your information only in the following limited circumstances:
5a. Shipping Carriers
To deliver your order, we must share your name, shipping address, and order contents with the shipping carrier (USPS, UPS, FedEx, or similar). This is necessary to complete your purchase.
5b. Partner Suppliers
Some items in our store ship directly from our partner suppliers. When your order includes such an item, we share the information necessary for fulfillment — your name, shipping address, and the item ordered — with that supplier. Our suppliers are not permitted to use your information for any purpose other than fulfilling your order.
What this means for you: A single order may arrive in multiple packages, potentially from different senders. This is normal and does not mean your information has been misused.
5c. Shopify and Service Providers
As described in Section 4, Shopify and its contracted service providers process data on our behalf to operate our store. These relationships are governed by Shopify's data processing agreements.
5d. Judge.me (Product Reviews)
If you submit a product review, that review is processed through Judge.me, a third-party review platform integrated with our Shopify store. The content of your review and the name you submit with it may be publicly displayed on our product pages. Judge.me's privacy policy governs their handling of your data.
5e. Legal Requirements
We may disclose your information if we are required to do so by law, court order, or valid legal process, or to protect the safety, rights, or property of Yarn World or others.
6. Data Retention
We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to:
- Fulfill the purposes described in this policy
- Comply with our legal obligations (e.g., tax records)
- Resolve disputes and enforce our agreements
Order records are generally retained for a minimum of five years for accounting and tax compliance purposes. You may request deletion of your data subject to these retention requirements — see Section 10.
7. Data Security
We take reasonable steps to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure, including:
- Our store runs on Shopify's secure, encrypted platform (TLS/HTTPS)
- Payment data is handled by PCI-DSS compliant processors through Shopify Payments
- Access to order and customer data is limited to authorized personnel only
- We do not store full payment card numbers
No data transmission over the internet can be guaranteed 100% secure. While we use industry-standard protections, we cannot guarantee absolute security. If you believe your information has been compromised, please contact us immediately at info@yarnworldhaven.com.
If a breach happens: If we learn that a security breach has exposed your personal information, we will notify affected customers by email in the most expedient time possible and without unreasonable delay, consistent with Minnesota's data breach notification law (Minn. Stat. § 325E.61) and the needs of any law-enforcement investigation. The notice will explain what happened, what information was involved, and what we are doing about it.
8. Email Newsletter and CAN-SPAM Compliance
If you have subscribed to the Yarn World email newsletter, we will send you periodic emails about new products, promotions, and crafting inspiration.
We comply with the federal CAN-SPAM Act (15 U.S.C. § 7701 et seq.), which means:
- We will never send you promotional email without your consent
- Every marketing email will clearly identify Yarn World as the sender
- Every marketing email will include a clear, easy unsubscribe link
- We will honor all unsubscribe requests within 10 business days, after which you will receive no further marketing emails from us
- We will never use deceptive subject lines
To unsubscribe at any time: Click the unsubscribe link at the bottom of any Yarn World email, or email us at info@yarnworldhaven.com with Unsubscribe in the subject line.
Transactional emails — such as order confirmations and shipping notifications — are not marketing emails and will be sent regardless of your newsletter subscription status, as they are necessary to complete your purchase.
9. Cookies and Tracking Technologies
Our store uses cookies — small text files stored on your device — and similar tracking technologies. These are primarily managed by Shopify and fall into the following categories:
| Cookie Type | Purpose | Can You Opt Out? |
|---|---|---|
| Essential / Functional | Keeping items in your cart, session security, checkout process | No — these are required for the store to function |
| Analytics | Understanding how visitors use our site (e.g., which pages are most visited) | Yes — via your browser settings |
| Preference | Remembering your settings (e.g., currency, language) | Yes — via your browser settings |
You can control cookies through your browser settings. Note that disabling essential cookies may prevent you from completing a purchase. We do not use third-party advertising cookies or behavioral targeting cookies.
10. Your Rights
Even though Yarn World is not currently subject to the mandatory thresholds of the Minnesota Consumer Data Privacy Act (Minn. Stat. § 325O.01 et seq.), we voluntarily extend the following rights to all our customers as a matter of good business practice — and because deceiving customers about data practices would violate Minnesota's Consumer Fraud Act (Minn. Stat. § 325F.69) and Deceptive Trade Practices Act (Minn. Stat. § 325D.44) regardless.
You have the right to:
- Know what personal information we hold about you
- Access a copy of the personal information we hold about you
- Correct inaccurate personal information
- Delete your personal information (subject to legal retention requirements — see Section 6)
- Opt out of our email newsletter at any time
- Know that we do not sell your personal data to anyone
To exercise any of these rights, email us at info@yarnworldhaven.com. We will respond within 30 days. We will not discriminate against you — in pricing, service, or any other way — for exercising any of these rights.
A Note for California Customers: The CCPA (Cal. Civil Code § 1798.100 et seq.) applies to businesses meeting specific revenue and data volume thresholds. Yarn World does not currently meet those thresholds. However, we are happy to respond to data access or deletion requests from California customers on the same good-faith basis described above.
11. Children's Privacy
Yarn World does not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 13. Our site is not directed at children. If you believe a child under 13 has provided us with personal information, please contact us at info@yarnworldhaven.com and we will promptly delete it.
This is consistent with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, 15 U.S.C. § 6501 et seq. (COPPA), which applies to all commercial websites regardless of size.
12. Links to Third-Party Sites
Our website may contain links to third-party websites (for example, to yarn manufacturers or pattern designers). This Privacy Policy does not cover those sites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of any third-party website. We encourage you to read the privacy policy of any site you visit.
13. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the Last Updated date at the top of this page. If we make material changes that significantly affect how we handle your data, we will notify customers by email (if you have provided one) or by posting a prominent notice on our website.
Continued use of yarnworldhaven.com after a policy change constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.
14. Contact Us
For any privacy-related questions, requests, or concerns:
Email: info@yarnworldhaven.com
Hours: Monday–Friday, 9 AM–5 PM Central Time
We will respond to all privacy inquiries within 30 days.
Legal Citations — For Your Own Verification
| Law | Citation | What It Does |
|---|---|---|
| Minnesota Consumer Data Privacy Act | Minn. Stat. § 325O.01 et seq. (eff. July 31, 2025) | Minnesota's comprehensive consumer data privacy law; size thresholds apply |
| Minnesota Consumer Fraud Act | Minn. Stat. § 325F.69 | Prohibits deceptive acts in commerce; applies regardless of size |
| Minnesota Deceptive Trade Practices Act | Minn. Stat. § 325D.44 | Prohibits deceptive trade practices; applies regardless of size |
| Minnesota Data Breach Notification Law | Minn. Stat. § 325E.61 | Requires breach notification to Minnesota residents; applies regardless of size |
| California Consumer Privacy Act / CPRA | Cal. Civil Code § 1798.100 et seq.; Proposition 24 (2020) | California's comprehensive privacy law; size thresholds apply |
| CAN-SPAM Act | 15 U.S.C. § 7701 et seq. | Federal law governing all commercial email; no size threshold |
| Children's Online Privacy Protection Act | 15 U.S.C. § 6501 et seq. | Federal law protecting children under 13 online; no size threshold |