Privacy Policy

1. Who we are and what this policy covers

This Privacy Policy explains how Joyce African Hair Braiding & Beauty ("we," "us," "our," or "the studio") collects, uses, shares and protects personal information when you visit Joyce African Hair Braiding & Beauty, contact us, book an appointment, or visit our studio at 4700 Loyola Ln, Unit 106, Austin, TX 78723. This site and our services are intended for residents of the United States, and this policy is written for a US audience — it does not use European data-protection terminology because we are not subject to the EU General Data Protection Regulation.

2. Information we collect

We collect information in a few different ways:

• Information you give us directly — your name, phone number, email address, and any notes you share about the service you want (for example, hair length, style preference, or a skin/scalp concern).
• Appointment and service history — which services you've booked, when, and any stylist notes needed to serve you well next time.
• Deposit and payment information — when you pay a deposit or pay for a service, that transaction is processed by a third-party payment processor (such as Square, Stripe, or a similar provider). We do not store your full card number on our own systems — the processor handles that securely.
• Allergy or sensitivity notes — if you volunteer information about allergies, skin sensitivities, or scalp conditions so we can serve you safely, we keep a short note on file with your appointment record, used only to provide your service safely.
• Photos — with your consent, we may take before/after photos of finished work for our portfolio, website, or social media. We ask before we take or post any photo, and you can ask us to remove one at any time (see Section 11).
• Website and device information — like most websites, ours automatically collects some technical data when you visit, such as your browser type, device type, general location (city/region level, from your IP address), pages viewed, and how you arrived at the site, generally gathered through website analytics tools.

3. How we use your information

We use the information we collect to: schedule and manage your appointments; send booking confirmations and appointment reminders; process deposits and payments; communicate with you about your service or an order; keep a safe and accurate service record (including allergy/sensitivity notes you've shared); improve our services and website; and, only with your consent, market our services (for example, a text or email about a promotion) or share your photos for portfolio and marketing purposes.

As a matter of standard US business practice, we use your information because it's necessary to provide the service you've requested, because you've given us consent (for marketing texts, emails, or photos), or because we have a legitimate business interest in running and improving our studio — and in each case we try to collect only what we reasonably need.

4. Who we share information with

We do not sell your personal information. We share information only with the service providers who help us run the business, including: our online booking/scheduling platform; our payment processor; our email or text messaging provider; our website hosting provider; and analytics providers (such as Google Analytics) that help us understand how the website is used. These providers are only permitted to use your information to provide services to us, not for their own marketing.

5. How long we keep information

We keep appointment, service and contact records for as long as you remain an active client and for a reasonable period afterward for bookkeeping, tax, and quality-of-service purposes. Photos shared for portfolio or marketing purposes are kept until you ask us to take them down. You can ask us to delete your information at any time, subject to the exceptions described below.

6. Security

We take reasonable steps to protect the personal information we hold, including limiting who on our team can access client records and relying on reputable, secure third-party platforms for payment and booking. That said, no method of storage or transmission over the internet is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security of any information you share with us.

7. Children's privacy

We do provide services to minors, but only when a parent or guardian is present in the studio and has provided consent for the service. We do not knowingly collect personal information online from children under 13, and our website is not designed to create accounts for or otherwise directly collect data from children under 13, consistent with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). If you believe a child has provided us information online without appropriate consent, please contact us and we will delete it.

8. Your privacy rights — California residents (CCPA/CPRA)

If you are a California resident, the California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (CCPA/CPRA), gives you certain rights, including the right to: know what personal information we have collected about you; request deletion of your personal information; correct inaccurate personal information; and opt out of the "sale" or "sharing" of personal information (including for cross-context behavioral advertising). We do not sell personal information, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising. We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of these rights. To make a request, contact us using the details in Section 14.

9. Your privacy rights — Texas residents (TDPSA)

If you are a Texas resident, the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act (TDPSA) gives you the right to confirm whether we process your personal information, access it, correct it, delete it, obtain a copy of it, and opt out of certain processing (including targeted advertising, the sale of personal information, or profiling). To submit a request, email or call us using the contact details in Section 14 and let us know what you'd like us to do. We will respond within the time frame required by law. If we deny your request, you may appeal by replying to our denial and asking for a review; if we still deny it, we will explain how you may contact the Texas Attorney General.

10. Other state privacy laws

If you are a resident of Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, or another state with a comprehensive privacy law, we will honor requests to access, correct, delete, or obtain a copy of your personal information, and to opt out of targeted advertising or sale, consistent with the law that applies to you. Contact us using the details below and we will do our best to assist, even where a specific law may not formally apply to a small business of our size.

11. Do Not Track, Global Privacy Control, and photo removal

Some browsers offer a "Do Not Track" signal or Global Privacy Control (GPC). Because we do not sell or share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising, there is generally nothing additional for these signals to opt you out of, but where required by law we will treat a GPC signal as a valid request to opt out. If you'd like a photo of your work removed from our website or social media, just email or call us and we will take it down promptly.

12. SMS, email, and marketing consent

If you opt in to receive text messages or emails from us, we will only use them for the purposes you agreed to, such as appointment reminders, confirmations, and occasional promotions. Appointment reminders and confirmations are transactional messages related to a service you booked, not marketing. You can opt out of marketing texts at any time by replying STOP, and out of marketing emails using the unsubscribe link in any email. Message and data rates may apply.

13. Third-party links and changes to this policy

Our website may link to third-party sites (such as social media pages or map services) that have their own privacy practices; we are not responsible for those sites. We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time; the "Last updated" date at the top will reflect the most recent version, and significant changes will be posted here.

14. Contact us

Joyce African Hair Braiding & Beauty
4700 Loyola Ln, Unit 106
Austin, TX 78723
Email: joyceafricanhairbraiding@gmail.com
Phone: +1 737 292 1619