Site policies
Privacy Policy
What personal information UnderWaterGreen collects, why, who sees it, how long it is kept, and the rights you have wherever you live.
Last updated: 8 November 2026
This Privacy Policy explains what personal information UnderWaterGreen collects, why, who it is shared with, how long it is kept, and the rights you have. UnderWaterGreen is a personal website run by one person, so “I” and “me” below mean the person who runs it. This Policy applies wherever you are.
1. The short version
- You can read the website, use the tools and contact sellers without an account.
- When you browse without signing in, the website sets no cookies, stores nothing in your browser, and uses no analytics or advertising trackers.
- If a search on the site finds nothing, the words you typed are kept, with nothing that identifies you, so that I can see which profiles are missing.
- If you send a message, or a note or photo for a profile, I keep what you send so that I can reply or publish it. The name you give is shown with a published note; your email address never is.
- If you are a seller, I keep your account and shop details. Your shop name, location, logo, cover photo, WhatsApp number, Facebook link and Google Maps link are public, because buyers need them to find and contact you.
- I do not sell personal information, share it for advertising, or build profiles about you.
2. Who is responsible for your information
UnderWaterGreen is run by one person, an aquarium keeper based in Nepal, who decides how personal information is used (in the language of some laws, the “data controller”). For anything about your privacy, contact me through the contact page.
3. Information collected
When you browse the website
- Technical information that every website receives, such as your IP address, browser, device, and the pages you visit and when. The hosting provider records this in server logs to keep the website running and secure.
- Your country. The hosting or network provider works it out from your IP address, so that the website only shows online-shop offers available where you are. It is used for the page you are viewing and is not stored.
Cookies and browser storage
When you browse without signing in, the website sets no cookies and stores nothing in your browser.
Sellers who sign in, and I when I sign in to manage the site, receive the cookies WordPress needs to keep an account signed in. They are strictly necessary for the account to work:
| Cookie | Purpose | How long |
|---|---|---|
| wordpress_sec_… and wordpress_logged_in_… | Keep you signed in securely | Until you sign out or close the browser, or 14 days if you choose “Keep me signed in” |
| wp-settings-… | Remember screen preferences in My Shop | Up to 1 year |
If I ever add analytics, advertising or other non-essential cookies, I will update this Policy first and, where the law requires it, ask for your consent.
Searches that find nothing
When a search on the site finds nothing, the words typed and how many times they have been searched are kept, with nothing that identifies who searched.
When you contact me
Through the contact form: your name and email address, the topic and page you choose, your message, and anything else you include. If you report a seller, also the details you give about the seller and what happened. Your IP address is not stored with your message.
When you send a note or photo for a profile
- The name you want shown with your note, your email address (never shown), your note, your photograph if you add one, and the profile it is for.
- Your IP address is used for one hour, in scrambled form, to limit how many submissions can be sent, and is not stored with your submission.
- The photograph is kept as you send it. Photos can carry hidden details, such as the place where they were taken, so please switch off or remove location data before sending one.
When you have a seller account
- Account details: your username, email address, and a scrambled (hashed) version of your password. I cannot see your password.
- Shop details: shop name, introduction, city or municipality, district, delivery or collection arrangements, WhatsApp number, Facebook link, Google Maps link, seller type, plan and membership dates.
- Logo and cover photo: the images you upload. They are resized and saved again, which removes hidden photo data such as the camera’s location.
- Listings: the catalog items you show, stock levels, notes, display order, and when you last confirmed stock.
- Records: when you accepted the Seller Terms (the date, the version and the IP address used), changes you submit and my review decisions, and messages between us, including complaints about your shop.
When buyers contact sellers
The WhatsApp button opens WhatsApp with a message ready to send, including the item name and the page address. The Facebook button opens the seller’s Messenger chat or Facebook page, and Get directions opens the shop in Google Maps. The conversation then happens on those services, between you and the seller. I do not see it, and the privacy policies of WhatsApp, Meta and Google apply.
I do not ask for sensitive information, such as about health, religion, ethnicity, political opinions or financial accounts. Please do not send it.
4. How information is used, and why
Personal information is used only for the purposes below. Some laws, including the EU and UK GDPR, ask for the legal reason (the “legal basis”) for each purpose; it is in the last column.
| Purpose | Information used | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Running, securing and improving the website, and preventing abuse | Technical information | My legitimate interest in a safe, working website |
| Showing online-shop offers available in your country | Country | My legitimate interest in showing offers you can actually use |
| Answering messages, and handling complaints and reports about sellers | Contact details and messages | My legitimate interest in answering you and keeping the marketplace safe |
| Publishing keeper notes and photos | Your name, note and photo; your email to contact you about it | Your consent, given when you tick the box on the form |
| Running seller accounts and shops, and showing public shop details | Seller account, shop and listing details | My agreement with the seller (the Seller Terms) |
| Recording acceptance of the Seller Terms, reviewing shops, and suspending or closing shops | Seller records and reports | My legitimate interest in enforcing the terms and protecting buyers |
| Meeting legal obligations and dealing with legal claims | Any of the above, as needed | Legal obligations; my legitimate interest in defending legal claims |
Where I rely on legitimate interests, I have weighed them against your rights, and you can object (see section 9). Where I rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time, for example by asking me to remove your note or photo.
No decisions with legal or similarly significant effects are made about you by automated means alone.
5. Who information is shared with
Personal information is shared only:
- with service providers that run parts of the website, such as hosting, backup and email providers. They must protect it and may use it only to provide their service;
- with Lordicon (cdn.lordicon.com), which sends some animated icons to your browser on the homepage and on profiles. Like any server your browser loads content from, it receives your IP address and browser details;
- publicly, for the shop details that sellers choose to publish, and the name shown with a published keeper note;
- with police, courts and other authorities when the law requires it, or when I reasonably believe it is needed to prevent fraud or harm or to protect people or animals, including, where appropriate, with buyers affected by a seller’s conduct; and
- with someone who takes over UnderWaterGreen, who must then keep the protections in this Policy.
I do not sell personal information, and I do not share it for targeted advertising.
6. Information stored in other countries
I am based in Nepal, and the hosting and email providers may store or process information in other countries. If you live outside Nepal, your information is therefore handled in countries whose data protection laws may differ from yours. Where the law requires safeguards for this, such as the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses, I use them in my agreements with those providers. You can ask me about them.
7. How long information is kept
- Contact messages and reports: deleted automatically 2 years after they are sent, unless I need one longer for a complaint or legal claim.
- Keeper notes and photos: for as long as they are shown on the website, or until you ask me to remove them. Your email address is deleted with your submission.
- Seller accounts and shop records: while the shop is open, and afterwards for up to 5 years if they are needed to deal with complaints or legal claims. Public shop pages are removed when a shop closes.
- Server logs: for a short period set by the hosting provider.
- Backups: replaced on a rolling basis.
8. Security
I take reasonable steps to protect personal information, including encrypted connections, hashed passwords, limited administrator access and backups. No system is completely secure. If a security breach affects your information, I will tell you, and the authorities where the law requires it.
9. Your rights
Wherever you live, you can ask me to:
- tell you whether I hold personal information about you, and give you a copy;
- correct information that is wrong or incomplete (sellers can also change most shop details in My Shop);
- delete your information, unless I need to keep it for legal reasons;
- stop using it for a particular purpose, or object to my use of it;
- give you the information you provided in a common, machine-readable format, where your law gives you this right; and
- withdraw any consent you gave, without affecting what was done before.
To use any of these rights, contact me through the contact page. I may need to confirm who you are first. I aim to reply within 15 days, and always within the time your law sets (for example one month under the GDPR). It is free, and you will not be treated differently for using your rights.
10. Complaining to an authority
If you are not happy with my answer, you can complain to the data protection or privacy authority where you live. For example: in the EU and EEA, the national data protection authorities; in the UK, the Information Commissioner’s Office; in Switzerland, the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner; in Canada, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner; and in Australia, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. In Nepal, the Individual Privacy Act, 2075 (2018) gives you the right to see and correct your information.
11. Children
The website is meant for adults and older teenagers interested in aquariums. It is not aimed at children under 13, and I do not knowingly collect personal information from them. In some countries the age is higher (up to 16 in parts of Europe) without a parent’s consent. Sellers must be 18 or older. If you believe a child has sent me personal information, contact me and I will delete it.
12. Changes to this Policy
Any changes will appear here with a new “Last updated” date. If a change is significant, sellers will be told in My Shop or by email, and I will ask for consent again where the law requires it.
13. Contact
For any question about this Policy or your information, contact me through the contact page.