Privacy Policy
1. Introduction
Welcome to Ripples. We are a fashion destination for men, women, and children, offering a carefully curated range of clothing and accessories available both online at www.ripplesme.com and across our physical stores in Ajman, Sharjah, and Oman. Ripples is operated by Inaam General Trading LLC, a company incorporated and registered in the United Arab Emirates.
We are committed to maintaining your trust by being transparent about how we handle your personal information. This Privacy Policy describes what data we collect, why we collect it, how we use it, who we share it with, and the choices available to you.
This policy applies to all users of our website, mobile experience, and in-store services. It has been prepared in alignment with the UAE Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021 on the Protection of Personal Data (PDPL), and reflects internationally recognised privacy principles.
2. What Personal Data Do We Collect?
We collect personal data in several ways — when you provide it to us directly, when it is generated automatically as you use our website, and occasionally when it is shared with us by trusted third parties.
2.1 Information You Give Us Directly
When you register an account, make a purchase, contact us, or sign up for our communications, we may collect:
- Full name and title
- Email address
- Mobile phone number (including WhatsApp, where applicable)
- Delivery and billing address (including city, emirate/governorate, country, and postal code)
- Date of birth (where provided for loyalty or personalisation purposes)
- Gender preferences (to help personalise your product experience)
- Account login credentials (username and encrypted password)
- Your communications with us, including support queries, feedback, and complaints
2.2 Payment Information
When you make a purchase on www.ripplesme.com, your payment is securely processed by PCI DSS-compliant third-party payment gateways. Ripples does not store full card numbers on its servers. The payment-related data we may retain includes:
- Billing name and billing address as provided at checkout
- The last four digits of your payment card (for order reference only)
- Transaction identifiers and payment confirmation records
All payment data transmitted through our website is protected by SSL/TLS encryption.
2.3 Data Collected Automatically
When you browse our website, certain technical and behavioural data is collected automatically through cookies and similar technologies, including:
- IP address and inferred geographic location
- Browser type, version, and language settings
- Device type and operating system
- Pages visited, products viewed, and time spent on each page
- Search queries made on our website
- Source of your visit (e.g. search engine, social media link, advertisement)
- Cart additions, wish-list activity, and purchase history
Please refer to Section 6 for full details on how we use cookies and tracking technologies.
2.4 Information from Third Parties
On occasion, we may receive personal information from third-party sources, such as:
- Social media platforms, if you choose to log in or interact with us via those channels
- Marketing partners and analytics providers who help us reach relevant audiences
- Fraud prevention and identity verification services
3. How Do We Use Your Personal Data?
Ripples uses your personal data only for legitimate, clearly defined purposes. We do not use your information in ways that are incompatible with the reason it was originally collected. We use your data to:
- Process and fulfil your orders, including payment processing, packaging, and delivery
- Process refunds, cancellations, and returns in accordance with our policies
- Create, maintain, and secure your Ripples account
- Send transactional notifications — including order confirmations, payment receipts, and delivery updates
- Respond to your customer support enquiries, resolve complaints, and improve service quality
- Invite you to participate in surveys, questionnaires, and market research on our behalf
- Personalise your shopping experience and recommend products relevant to your preferences
- Send you marketing communications via email, SMS, or push notification — only where you have consented
- Measure and improve the effectiveness of our marketing campaigns across all channels
- Manage promotions, competitions, and prize draws that you choose to enter
- Provide personalised rewards, vouchers, gifts, and member-exclusive benefits
- Enhance access to loyalty programmes, membership offers, and rewards across our channels
- Collaborate with trusted business partners and service providers to deliver and improve our services
- Display online advertising that is relevant to your interests on our website and third-party platforms
- Analyse website traffic and user behaviour to improve site performance and product offerings
- Detect, investigate, and prevent fraudulent transactions or unauthorised account activity
- Comply with our legal obligations under UAE law and applicable regulations
4. Legal Basis for Processing
We only process your personal data when we have a lawful reason to do so. In line with the UAE Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021 (PDPL) and widely recognised data protection principles, we rely on the following legal grounds:
- Contractual performance: Processing is necessary to fulfil your order, manage your Ripples account, or provide a service you have requested from us.
- Your consent: Where you have explicitly agreed — for example, to receive marketing emails, SMS promotions, or for non-essential cookies. You may withdraw consent at any time.
- Legitimate interests: We may process data where we have a genuine and proportionate business reason, such as preventing fraud, improving our services, or understanding how customers use our website, provided this does not override your rights.
- Legal obligation: Where UAE law or a regulatory authority requires us to process or retain certain information (e.g. financial and tax records).
Where consent is the basis for processing, you have the right to withdraw it at any time without this affecting the lawfulness of any processing carried out prior to withdrawal.
5. Who Do We Share Your Data With?
Ripples does not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties for their own marketing purposes. We share your data only where necessary — with trusted partners who are bound by confidentiality obligations and data processing agreements.
5.1 Service Providers
We work with the following categories of service providers who process data on our behalf:
- Payment processors: To authorise and complete card payments securely.
- Logistics and delivery partners: To dispatch, track, and deliver your orders. Your name, address, and contact details are shared as required.
- Marketing and CRM platforms: To manage email newsletters, SMS campaigns, and customer communications you have opted into.
- Analytics providers: Such as Google Analytics, to help us understand how visitors use our website and improve our services.
- Customer support tools: To manage and track help desk enquiries and live chat interactions.
- IT infrastructure and cloud hosting: To securely store and manage our website, databases, and business systems.
- Fraud prevention services: To protect against unauthorised transactions and protect our customers.
5.2 Legal and Regulatory Disclosures
We may be required to disclose personal information to governmental authorities, regulators, or law enforcement agencies where required by UAE law, court order, or applicable regulation. We will only do so to the extent strictly necessary.
5.3 Business Transfers
In the event that Inaam General Trading LLC undergoes a merger, acquisition, restructuring, or sale of assets, your personal data may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will provide advance notice via email or a website notice, and your data will remain subject to the protections described in this policy.
6. Cookies & Tracking Technologies
Our website uses cookies and similar tracking technologies to provide you with a smooth and personalised browsing experience, and to help us understand how our website is used.
What Are Cookies?
Cookies are small text files stored on your device when you visit a website. They help the site remember your preferences, keep you logged in, and analyse how visitors interact with pages and products.
Types of Cookies We Use
- Essential cookies: Required for the website to function — including shopping cart, secure checkout, and account login. These cannot be disabled without affecting core functionality.
- Performance and analytics cookies: Help us understand visitor behaviour, page popularity, and site performance. Data is aggregated and anonymous.
- Functional cookies: Remember your preferences such as language, currency, recently viewed items, and size filters.
- Marketing and targeting cookies: Enable us to deliver relevant advertisements to you on our website and across third-party platforms, and to measure campaign effectiveness.
Managing Your Cookie Preferences
You can manage or withdraw your consent to non-essential cookies at any time through our cookie preference centre on the website, or through your browser settings. Please note that disabling certain cookies may affect how parts of our website work. For more information on opting out of specific third-party tracking tools such as Google Analytics, please visit the Google Analytics opt-out page.
7. How Long Do We Keep Your Data?
We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes described in this policy, or as required by UAE law. The following general retention periods apply:
- Account and profile data: Retained while your account is active, and for up to 3 years following account closure or inactivity.
- Order and transaction records: Retained for a minimum of 5 years to meet UAE commercial and financial record-keeping obligations.
- Marketing preferences and consent records: Retained until you unsubscribe or withdraw consent. Suppression records are kept to honour your opt-out.
- Customer support correspondence: Retained for up to 3 years to assist with future queries and quality review.
- Cookies and browsing data: Retained according to each cookie’s defined lifespan — typically between 30 days and 24 months.
When data is no longer required, we securely delete or anonymise it so that it can no longer be linked to you.
8. How Do We Protect Your Data?
Keeping your personal information secure is a priority for Ripples. We have implemented a range of technical and organisational safeguards designed to protect your data from unauthorised access, accidental loss, misuse, or disclosure.
Our security measures include:
- SSL/TLS encryption for all data transferred between your browser and our website
- PCI DSS-compliant payment processing via authorised third-party payment gateways
- Secure, access-controlled servers and cloud infrastructure
- Strict internal access policies — only authorised personnel can access personal data
- Regular security assessments, penetration testing, and system updates
- Staff training on data protection practices and responsibilities
While we apply industry-standard protections, no digital system can be guaranteed as completely secure. If you believe your Ripples account has been compromised, please notify us immediately at contact@ripplesme.com
9. Your Rights
Under the UAE PDPL and applicable data protection standards, you have the following rights in relation to your personal data. You may exercise these rights at any time by contacting us at contact@ripplesme.com
- Right of access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
- Right to rectification: Ask us to correct any information that is inaccurate or out of date.
- Right to erasure: Request deletion of your personal data where it is no longer necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, subject to legal retention obligations.
- Right to restriction: Ask us to pause the processing of your data in certain circumstances, for example if you dispute its accuracy.
- Right to data portability: Request a copy of your data in a commonly used, machine-readable format, where technically feasible.
- Right to object: Object to processing based on our legitimate interests, including any profiling for direct marketing purposes.
- Right to withdraw consent: Where we rely on your consent, you may withdraw it at any time. This does not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before your withdrawal.
We will respond to all requests within 30 days. We may need to verify your identity before processing your request.
10. Marketing Communications & How to Opt Out
With your consent, Ripples may contact you with personalised offers, new arrivals, seasonal promotions, and other marketing communications via email, SMS, WhatsApp, or push notification.
You can opt out of marketing communications at any time using any of the following methods:
- Click the “Unsubscribe” link in any marketing email we send you
- Reply “STOP” to any marketing SMS message
- Update your communication preferences in your Ripples account settings
- Contact our team directly at contact@ripplesme.com
Opting out of marketing will not affect essential service messages — such as order confirmations, shipping updates, and payment notifications — which are required to deliver the services you have requested. Opt-out requests are typically actioned within 5 to 10 business days.
11. International Data Transfers
Ripples and Inaam General Trading LLC are based in the UAE. Most of your personal data is stored and processed within the UAE or in data centres located in countries with equivalent data protection standards.
Some of our technology and service providers — including cloud hosting, analytics, and marketing platforms — may be based outside the UAE. When your data is transferred internationally, we ensure that:
- The recipient country provides an adequate level of data protection recognised under UAE law, or
- Appropriate contractual safeguards are in place, such as standard contractual clauses or equivalent legal mechanisms
By using our website and services, you acknowledge that your data may be processed in jurisdictions outside the UAE. We will always take appropriate steps to ensure your information remains protected in accordance with this Privacy Policy and applicable law.
12. Third-Party Websites & Links
Our website may include links to third-party websites, social media platforms (including Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube), partner brands, or external payment pages. These links are provided for your convenience.
Ripples has no control over and accepts no responsibility for the content, privacy practices, or security standards of any third-party website. We strongly encourage you to review the privacy policy of any external website before providing personal information. Once you navigate away from www.ripplesme.com, this Privacy Policy no longer applies.
13. Children's Privacy
Ripples’s website and e-commerce services are intended for use by adults aged 18 and over. While we offer a dedicated children’s clothing range, this is marketed to adult consumers — parents, guardians, and caregivers — and not directly to children.
We do not knowingly collect, use, or store personal information from individuals under the age of 18. If you are a parent or guardian and believe that your child has submitted personal information to us without your knowledge or consent, please contact us immediately at contact@ripplesme.com. Upon verification, we will take prompt steps to remove that information from our records.
14. Changes to This Privacy Policy
Ripples reserves the right to amend this Privacy Policy at any time to reflect updates to our business practices, services, legal requirements, or regulatory guidance. We review this policy regularly.
When we make material changes, we will:
- Update the “Last Updated” date displayed at the top of this page
- Display a clear notice on our website informing you of the update
- Send an email notification to registered account holders where the changes are significant
We encourage you to review this page periodically to stay informed. Your continued use of our website following any changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.
15. Contact Us
If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or how Ripples handles your personal data, our team is here to help. You can reach us through any of the following:
Data Controller | Inaam General Trading LLC (trading as Ripples) |
Website | www.ripplesme.com |
Locations | Ajman & Sharjah, UAE | Oman |
Response Time | We aim to respond within 10 business days |
If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to raise a complaint with the relevant data protection authority in the UAE.
