Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy — Everest Forge

At Everest Forge, we are committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal information in a safe, transparent, and responsible manner. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, why we collect it, how we use it, who we share it with, how we protect it, and what rights you have over your data.

This policy applies to everestforge.com, all our subdomains, and any communications you have with us by email, contact form, or messaging platforms. By using our website or placing an order, you agree to the practices described in this Privacy Policy.

Everest Forge — Your Privacy, Our Responsibility

We Don't Sell Your Data. We Don't Rent It. We Protect It.

Your personal information is collected only for order fulfilment, customer service, and legitimate business purposes. We never sell or rent customer data to third parties. All checkout transactions are processed through encrypted, PCI-compliant gateways with 256-bit SSL.

How We Protect Your Order → Contact Us →

1. Who We Are

Everest Forge is a hand-forging workshop based in Kathmandu, Nepal, operating the website everestforge.com. We are the data controller for any personal information you provide through our website, by email, or through any of our communication channels. You can read more about our team and operations on our Meet the Maker page or contact us directly at [email protected].

2. Information We Collect

Personal Information you provide directly:

Order information — name, billing address, shipping address, phone number, email address
Payment information — processed through secure third-party payment gateways (we do not store full card details on our servers)
Account information — if you create an account, your username, password (encrypted), and saved preferences
Communications — messages you send through our contact form, email, or WhatsApp
Customisation details — any specifications, designs, photographs, or text you submit for custom forge or personalized blade orders

Non-personal information collected automatically:

Technical data — browser type, device type, operating system, screen size
Usage data — pages visited, time spent on pages, navigation paths, referring website
Location data — approximate location based on IP address (country and city only, not precise location)
Cookies & analytics — data collected via cookies and analytics services like Google Analytics (see Section 6 below)

3. How We Use Your Information

Order processing & fulfilment — To process your order, take payment, forge your blade, prepare it for shipment, and deliver it to your specified address. This includes sharing your shipping details with our courier partners (DHL Express, FedEx International).

Customer service — To respond to your enquiries, provide order updates, handle returns, and resolve any issues. Full shipping and returns details are on our shipping page.

Custom and personalized orders — To design, confirm, and produce blades made to your specification. Specifications and reference images you provide are used only for your order and are not shared publicly.

Marketing communications — With your consent (typically opt-in via newsletter signup or order checkout), we may send you product updates, new releases, special offers, and behind-the-scenes content from the forge. You can unsubscribe from any marketing email at any time using the unsubscribe link in the email.

Website improvement — To analyse how visitors use our website, identify problems, and improve content, navigation, and performance.

Fraud prevention & security — To detect and prevent fraudulent transactions, unauthorised access, or other illegal activity.

Legal compliance — To comply with applicable laws, including international shipping declarations, tax reporting, and customs documentation.

4. How We Protect Your Information

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction.

Encryption — All data transmitted to and from our website is encrypted using 256-bit SSL/TLS technology. Sensitive data including payment details and account passwords is encrypted in transit.

Secure payment processing — Payment transactions are handled exclusively by trusted, PCI-compliant third-party payment gateways (Stripe, PayPal, and similar). We do not store full credit card details on our servers. For full details, see our Secure Shopping page.

Secure servers — Your personal information is stored on protected servers with restricted access. Only authorised staff with a legitimate business need can access customer data.

Limited access — Internal access to customer data is limited to staff who need it to fulfil their role (e.g. order processing, customer service, accounting).

While we take strong measures to protect your information, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security but we work hard to maintain industry-standard protection at all times.

5. Sharing Your Information

We do not sell, trade, or rent your personal information. Period. Your data is collected only for the legitimate business purposes described above.

We may share your information only with the following categories of trusted third parties, and only to the extent necessary for them to perform their role:

Payment processors (Stripe, PayPal, etc.) — to process your payment securely
Shipping couriers (DHL Express, FedEx International) — to deliver your order; they receive your name, shipping address, and phone number only
Email and communication tools — to send order confirmations, tracking updates, and (with consent) marketing communications
Analytics providers (Google Analytics, etc.) — to understand website usage; data is aggregated and anonymised where possible
Hosting and IT providers — to host our website, store data securely, and maintain our systems

All third-party providers are contractually required to maintain the confidentiality and security of your data and to use it only for the specific purpose for which it was shared.

We may also disclose your information if required by law — for example, to comply with a court order, customs declaration, tax authority request, or legitimate law enforcement investigation. We will only disclose what is legally required.

6. Cookies & Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to enhance your experience on our website, remember your preferences, analyse traffic, and personalise content.

Types of cookies we use:

Essential cookies — required for the website to function (shopping cart, login session, checkout). These cannot be disabled.
Preference cookies — remember your settings such as language, currency, and recently viewed products
Analytics cookies — help us understand how visitors use our website (Google Analytics and similar services)
Marketing cookies — used (with consent) to show relevant ads and measure ad performance on platforms like Google Ads, Meta Ads, and Pinterest

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Most browsers allow you to refuse cookies or delete existing ones. Please note that disabling certain cookies may limit website functionality, including your ability to add items to the cart or check out.

7. Your Rights & Choices

Depending on your country of residence, you may have the following rights regarding your personal data. Where applicable laws (such as the EU GDPR, UK GDPR, California CCPA, or similar) apply, we honour these rights for all customers regardless of location.

Right of access — You can request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.

Right to correction — You can request that we correct any inaccurate or incomplete personal data.

Right to deletion — You can request that we delete your personal data, subject to our legal obligations to retain order records, tax records, and warranty records for legally required periods.

Right to data portability — You can request a copy of your data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format.

Right to object — You can object to our processing of your personal data for marketing purposes at any time.

Right to withdraw consent — Where we process data based on your consent, you can withdraw that consent at any time.

Right to lodge a complaint — You can lodge a complaint with your country's data protection authority if you believe your rights have been violated.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us or email [email protected] with the subject "Privacy Request". We will respond within 30 days.

8. Marketing Communications

If you opt in to receive marketing communications (newsletter signup, special offers, new product announcements), we will only send you content related to Everest Forge and our products.

You can unsubscribe at any time by:

Clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of any marketing email
Replying to a marketing email with "unsubscribe"
Contacting us at [email protected]

Unsubscribing from marketing emails will not affect order confirmation, shipping, or customer service emails — these are essential for fulfilling your order and will continue regardless.

9. Data Retention

We retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes described in this Privacy Policy, comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements.

Order records — retained for 7 years for tax and accounting purposes (legal requirement)
Account information — retained for as long as your account is active. Inactive accounts may be deleted after 5 years of inactivity
Marketing data — retained until you unsubscribe or request deletion
Customer service correspondence — retained for 3 years
Custom order specifications — retained for 5 years to honour warranty claims and reprint requests

10. International Data Transfers

Everest Forge is based in Nepal. If you are ordering from another country, your personal data will be transferred to and processed in Nepal. Some of our service providers (payment processors, courier partners, analytics tools) may also process your data in other countries including the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, Singapore, and India.

Where data is transferred internationally, we take steps to ensure that an appropriate level of protection applies, in accordance with applicable data protection laws.

11. Children's Privacy

Our products are not directed at children, and our website is not intended for use by anyone under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from minors. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete it.

12. Third-Party Links

Our website may contain links to third-party websites — for example, our DHL and FedEx tracking links, social media pages, payment provider pages, or articles featuring our work. These external websites are operated independently and have their own privacy policies. We are not responsible for the content or privacy practices of these sites. We encourage you to review the privacy policy of any third-party website before providing personal information.

13. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technologies, legal requirements, or other reasons. When we make changes, we will update the "Last updated" date at the bottom of this page. For significant changes, we will notify you by email (if you have provided one) or through a notice on our website before the changes take effect.

We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your information.

14. Contact Us About Privacy

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests about this Privacy Policy or your personal data, please contact us. We respond within a few hours during Nepal business hours (GMT+5:45) and within 30 days for formal data requests.

Email: [email protected]
Subject line: "Privacy Request" (for fastest routing)
Contact form: everestforge.com/contact
Workshop location: Kathmandu, Nepal

Last updated: [Insert date when you publish]

Everest Forge — Hand-Forged in Nepal Since 2012

Have a Privacy Question or Want to Make a Data Request?

Our team is here to help with any privacy concern, data access request, or correction. Email us with the subject "Privacy Request" and we will respond within 30 days.