Privacy Policy

QELVARN is a business and project integration studio. In this policy, "QELVARN", "we", "us" and "our" refer to the company operating the QELVARN studio and this website.

We are the controller of the personal information described here: we decide why and how it is used. Where we process information only on the documented instructions of a business client, the data processing terms in our agreement with that client also apply.

• Privacy contact: QELVARN Studio
• Email: info@qelvarn.com (subject: "Privacy Request")

Information you give us

• Brief and contact form: your name, email address, phone number (optional), the type of commission and the project description you write.
• Correspondence: messages you send us by email, phone or social media, and our replies.
• Project information: brand materials, spatial briefs, budgets, specifications, preferences and decisions recorded during discovery, design coordination and delivery.
• Contract and billing information: names of authorised signatories, billing details, invoices, payment references, approvals, delivery records and aftercare requests.
• Permissions: your choices about marketing messages, project photography, publication and cookies.

Information collected automatically

• Technical and security data: IP address, browser and device type, pages requested, referring page, date and time, and security logs. Our hosting provider processes this to deliver and protect the website.
• Cookies and similar technologies: only with your consent for anything that is not strictly necessary. See the cookies section below.

Information from others

We may receive information about you from your authorised representative, partners, consultants or other project participants who are entitled to share it with us.

Please share only what is relevant to your enquiry or project, and make sure you are entitled to share information about anyone else. Do not send us bank passwords, card security codes or identity documents unless we ask for them for a specific, stated reason.

Visiting the website, sending a brief or signing a contract does not by itself mean you consent to marketing, analytics or advertising cookies, or to publication of your project. If information we need for a quotation or service is not provided, we will tell you what we cannot do as a result.

We share personal information only as far as needed for the purposes above:

• Our team and appointed consultants working on your enquiry or project.
• Project partners: designers, contractors, suppliers, manufacturers, installers and delivery teams, limited to what each needs for their role.
• Cloudflare, Inc.: website hosting, content delivery, security, and sending the confirmation email when you submit a brief.
• Our business email and document storage providers.
• Google LLC: Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics and Google Ads, only if you accept analytics or marketing cookies.
• Meta Platforms: the Meta Pixel for Facebook and Instagram advertising, only if you accept marketing cookies.
• Professional advisers, insurers, banks and payment providers where reasonably necessary.
• Courts, regulators and public authorities where the law requires it.

Providers acting on our behalf must follow our instructions and keep your information confidential and secure. Advisers and authorities that act as independent controllers are responsible for their own processing.

We do not sell or rent your personal information, and we do not allow project suppliers to use your details for their own marketing. If you accept marketing cookies, advertising platforms such as Google and Meta receive data about your visit, for example pages viewed and a cookie identifier, so they can measure our ads and show them to relevant audiences. Some laws treat this as "sharing" for advertising. You can stop it at any time by turning marketing off in Cookie settings.

We treat private project information with discretion, including brand strategies, drawings, budgets, access arrangements and unpublished designs. Only people who need it for an assigned task can see it.

Photographs and videos taken for surveys, progress reports, quality control or handover are used for those project purposes. We only use them in our portfolio, website, advertising or social media with your separate written approval that identifies the material and the intended use. Saying no will not affect our services to you.

We never publish your identity, exact address, identifying plans, private possessions or security details without specific permission. You can withdraw approval for future promotional use at any time; we will remove the material from channels we control and explain any limits for printed matter or copies held by others.

We only send promotional emails or messages if you have agreed to receive them. Every marketing message identifies QELVARN and includes a free, simple way to opt out. You can also opt out by emailing info@qelvarn.com.

Opting out does not stop necessary messages about your enquiry, contract, payments, workshops or service issues. We keep a record of your choice so we can respect it.

Cookies are small files stored on your device. Similar technologies, such as your browser's session storage, work in the same way. We group them as follows:

When you first visit, a small cookie notice lets you accept all, reject all, or choose by category. Rejecting is as easy as accepting, and rejecting optional cookies does not stop you browsing or sending a brief. Until you choose, only necessary technologies are used and no Google or Meta script is loaded. You can change your mind at any time with the Cookie settings link in the website footer. We ask again after 12 months, or sooner if the way we use cookies changes.

We use Google Consent Mode, which tells Google's tags whether you have allowed analytics and advertising storage.

What we use

Google Tag Manager, which loads the Google and Meta tags above, only runs after you accept analytics or marketing. You can also block or delete cookies in your browser settings, although some features may then not work as intended.

Some of our service providers, including Cloudflare, Google and Meta, process information on servers outside Egypt, including in the United States and the European Union. Where information leaves Egypt, we do so only in line with Egyptian law, including any licence, authorisation, safeguards or consent it requires, and we use providers that commit to appropriate protection. You can contact us for details of the safeguards that apply to your information.

A legal hold may require us to keep specific records longer. When information is no longer needed, we securely delete or irreversibly anonymise it.

We use proportionate technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against unauthorised access, loss, misuse or disclosure, including encrypted connections, access limited to people who need it, confidentiality obligations and reputable service providers. No transmission or storage method is perfectly secure.

If a personal data breach occurs, we will investigate, contain it, and notify Egypt's Personal Data Protection Center and the people affected within the deadlines the law sets, where required. Please report any suspected privacy or security issue to info@qelvarn.com.

Subject to applicable law, you have the right to:

• know what personal information we hold about you and obtain a copy;
• correct or update it;
• ask us to delete it;
• withdraw consent at any time, including for cookies and marketing;
• restrict processing to a specific purpose;
• object to processing in the cases the law allows;
• be told about any personal data breach that affects you.

To use these rights, email info@qelvarn.com with the subject "Privacy Request" and tell us what information or processing it concerns. We may ask for reasonable information to confirm your identity, or a representative's authority, before we act. We will respond within the deadlines set by law and explain any reason we cannot fully comply.

Withdrawing consent does not affect processing that was lawful before you withdrew. Some information may still need to be kept under another legal basis, such as a tax obligation.

If you are unhappy with how we handle your information, please contact us first. You also have the right to complain to Egypt's Personal Data Protection Center at www.pdpc.gov.eg (opens in a new tab). If you live outside Egypt, you may have additional rights under your local law and may contact your local data protection authority.

Our website links to LinkedIn and other platforms. When you follow those links, or message us on those platforms, the platform processes your information under its own privacy policy. Please send confidential project files through a channel we agree with you, not by public post.

Our website and services are intended for adults and authorised business representatives. We do not knowingly collect personal information directly from children. If you believe a child has sent us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

We may update this policy when our services, tools or legal obligations change. The current version and its dates are always on this page. If we make significant changes, we will highlight them on the website and, where required, ask for your consent again.

This policy is governed by the laws of the Arab Republic of Egypt, including the Personal Data Protection Law No. 151 of 2020 and its executive regulations. Nothing in this policy limits rights you have under the law.

• QELVARN
• Privacy contact: QELVARN Studio
• info@qelvarn.com