A Real Conversation About Your Data
Let’s cut through the noise.
Most privacy policies read like they were generated by a robot who’s never met a human being. They’re full of legalese, passive voice, and vague promises wrapped in layers of corporate defensiveness. You finish reading them not feeling informed—but exhausted, suspicious, or worse, resigned.
That’s not how we operate at Sun Joe.
We built our company because we believe everyday people deserve honest, reliable outdoor tools that don’t cost a fortune or require an engineering degree to use. That same belief extends to how we treat your personal information: with clarity, care, and respect.
This isn’t just a legal document. It’s a promise—written in plain English, from one human to another—about what we do with your data, why we need it, and how we protect it.
We won’t hide behind jargon. We won’t pretend we collect “anonymous” data while tracking your every click. And we’ll never sell your information to advertisers, data brokers, or anyone else looking to turn your life into a profit stream.
You own your data. We’re just temporary stewards of the small pieces you choose to share with us—and we take that responsibility seriously.
So take a breath. Grab a cup of coffee. And let’s talk honestly about privacy.
1. Who This Policy Applies To
This Privacy Policy covers all interactions you have with Sun Joe, including:
- Visiting our website (whether you browse, create an account, or make a purchase)
- Placing an order for any of our products—mowers, snow blowers, pressure washers, trimmers, and more
- Contacting our customer support team via email, phone, or contact form
- Subscribing to our email updates or newsletters
- Participating in product reviews, surveys, or feedback programs
- Using any future digital services we may offer (like order tracking or warranty registration)
If you engage with us in any way, this policy explains how we handle your information.
Important: This policy does not apply to third-party websites, payment processors (like PayPal or credit card companies), shipping carriers (like UPS or FedEx), or social media platforms—even if you reach them through links on our site. Those entities have their own privacy practices, and we encourage you to review them.
2. The Information We Collect (And Why)
We only collect what we need—and we’ll always tell you why.
A. Information You Choose to Give Us
When you interact with us directly, you might share:
- Your name – So we know who we’re helping.
- Email address – To confirm orders, answer questions, or send updates (only if you opt in).
- Shipping address – Because we can’t deliver your new pressure washer to “somewhere in Ohio.”
- Phone number – Optional, but helpful if there’s a delivery issue or urgent support need.
- Payment details – Credit card or PayPal info, processed securely by trusted third parties (we never see your full card number).
- Product registration info – If you register a warranty, we’ll ask for your model number and purchase date to honor our 2-year guarantee.
- Messages or feedback – When you email us, call us, or leave a review, we keep those notes to serve you better.
We don’t ask for your birthdate, Social Security number, income level, or anything else irrelevant to fulfilling your order or supporting your product.
B. Information Collected Automatically
When you visit our website, some technical data is gathered—not to spy on you, but to keep things running smoothly and securely. This includes:
- IP address – Used to detect fraud, prevent abuse, and comply with legal requests (e.g., if someone tries to place 100 fake orders from the same location).
- Browser type and device info – Helps us ensure our site works well on your phone, tablet, or laptop.
- Pages visited and time spent – Not to build a profile of your interests, but to understand what content is helpful (e.g., are people struggling to find the manual for Model XJ603E?).
- Cookies and similar technologies – We use essential cookies to remember your cart, keep you logged in, and prevent duplicate form submissions. We do not use tracking cookies for advertising or behavioral profiling.
We do not use pixel trackers, fingerprinting scripts, or hidden analytics tools that follow you across the web. Our analytics are limited, anonymized, and focused solely on improving your experience with us—not selling insights about you to others.
C. Information from Third Parties
Very rarely, we may receive data from trusted partners—for example:
- A shipping carrier might notify us that your package was delivered.
- A payment processor confirms whether a transaction succeeded.
- A warranty registration platform (if used) verifies your purchase date.
In all cases, we only accept the minimum data necessary—and never request sensitive details like browsing history or ad preferences.
3. How We Use Your Information
Transparency isn’t optional. Here’s exactly how we use what you share:
To Fulfill Orders and Deliver Products
This is the core reason we collect your name, address, and payment info. Without it, your snow blower stays in our warehouse. We use this data solely to:
- Process your payment securely
- Prepare your order for shipment
- Provide tracking updates
- Handle returns or replacements
We don’t reuse this data for marketing unless you explicitly say yes.
To Provide Customer Support
When you contact us, we reference your order history, product model, and past messages to resolve issues faster. If you called last week about a loose blade guard, we don’t want you to repeat yourself today.
Support records are kept confidential and deleted after two years unless needed for warranty claims.
To Honor Warranties and Repairs
If your electric mower stops working within the warranty period, we’ll need your purchase proof and product details to send a replacement part or unit. This is why we encourage (but don’t require) registering your product.
To Improve Our Products and Services
We analyze anonymized trends—like which models get the most support requests or which pages have high bounce rates—to fix bugs, clarify instructions, or design better tools next time. But this analysis never identifies you personally.
For example: “30% of users abandon the checkout page on mobile” → we simplify the mobile checkout flow.
Not: “John D. from Chicago abandoned his cart because he saw shipping costs.”
To Communicate With You (Only If You Want)
If you subscribe to our emails, we’ll send:
- Order confirmations and shipping updates (transactional—you’ll get these even if you don’t subscribe)
- Occasional product tips (e.g., “How to winterize your pressure washer”)
- Rare announcements about major upgrades or recalls
You can unsubscribe anytime with one click. No guilt. No tricks. No “you’ll miss out!” pressure.
We never email you promotional offers unless you’ve opted in. And we never share your email with affiliates or partners.
4. What We Don’t Do (Our Hard Boundaries)
Some things are non-negotiable. Here’s what we will never do with your data:
- ❌ Sell your personal information – Not to advertisers, data brokers, market researchers, or “strategic partners.” Ever.
- ❌ Use your data for targeted advertising – We don’t track your behavior to show you ads for leaf blowers after you visited our site. In fact, we don’t run retargeting ads at all.
- ❌ Build detailed profiles about you – We don’t care what other websites you visit, what you buy elsewhere, or your political views. That’s none of our business.
- ❌ Share your data for commercial gain – Even if a big tech company offered us millions, we’d say no. Your trust is worth more.
- ❌ Keep data longer than necessary – We delete what we don’t need (more on retention below).
These aren’t loopholes waiting to be exploited. They’re principles etched into how we operate.
5. How We Protect Your Information
Security isn’t a buzzword for us—it’s a daily practice.
Technical Safeguards
- All data transmitted to our site uses TLS encryption (the same standard banks use).
- Payment processing is handled entirely by PCI-DSS compliant third parties (like Stripe or PayPal). We never store full credit card numbers.
- Our internal systems require multi-factor authentication for employee access.
- Regular security audits and vulnerability scans are performed by independent experts.
Organizational Practices
- Only employees who need access to your data (e.g., support staff handling your ticket) can view it.
- All team members undergo privacy training and sign confidentiality agreements.
- We follow the principle of least privilege: no one gets more access than required for their role.
Physical Security
Our servers are hosted in secure, access-controlled data centers with 24/7 monitoring, fire suppression, and backup power. Paper records (like signed repair logs) are stored in locked filing cabinets and shredded when no longer needed.
We know no system is 100% unhackable—but we treat your data as if it were our own family’s. Because in many ways, it is.
6. How Long We Keep Your Data
We don’t hoard data “just in case.” We keep it only as long as legally required or necessary to serve you.
- Order records: Kept for 7 years to comply with tax and consumer protection laws (U.S. federal requirement).
- Customer support messages: Retained for 2 years after resolution, then anonymized or deleted.
- Email subscriptions: Kept until you unsubscribe. After that, your email is removed from our list within 48 hours.
- Warranty registrations: Stored for the duration of the warranty plus 1 year (typically 3 years total).
- Website analytics: Aggregated and anonymized within 30 days; raw logs deleted after 90 days.
If you request deletion of your account or data (see Section 9), we’ll remove identifiable information immediately—except where retention is mandated by law (e.g., financial records).
7. Sharing Your Information (When and Why)
We share your data only in very limited, specific circumstances—and always with safeguards.
With Service Providers
We work with trusted partners to help us operate, such as:
- Shipping carriers (to deliver your order)
- Payment processors (to complete transactions)
- Cloud hosting providers (to store data securely)
- Email delivery services (to send order confirmations)
These providers are contractually obligated to:
- Use your data only as instructed
- Implement strong security measures
- Never retain, use, or disclose your data for their own purposes
We vet them carefully and monitor compliance.
For Legal or Safety Reasons
We may disclose information if required by law or to protect rights, such as:
- Responding to a valid subpoena or court order
- Preventing fraud or illegal activity (e.g., someone using stolen credit cards)
- Protecting the safety of our customers, employees, or the public
In such cases, we disclose only the minimum necessary information and challenge overly broad requests.
In the Event of a Business Transfer
If Sun Joe is ever acquired or merges with another company, customer data would be transferred as a business asset. However:
- We would notify you beforehand
- The new owner would be bound by this Privacy Policy (or one equally protective)
- You’d retain the right to request data deletion
This is a hypothetical scenario—we have no plans to sell the company—but we believe in full transparency.
We do not share your data with marketers, advertisers, analytics firms, or “data enrichment” services.
8. Your Rights and Choices
You’re in control. Here’s how you can exercise your privacy rights:
Access Your Data
You can request a copy of all personal information we hold about you. Just email us with “Data Access Request” in the subject line, and we’ll respond within 30 days.
Correct Inaccurate Information
Made a typo in your address? Changed your email? Let us know, and we’ll update it promptly.
Delete Your Data
You can ask us to delete your account and associated data. We’ll comply unless we’re legally required to retain certain records (like purchase history for tax purposes). Even then, we’ll anonymize what we can.
Opt Out of Marketing
Unsubscribe from promotional emails anytime using the link at the bottom of any message. Transactional emails (order confirmations, etc.) will continue until your order is complete.
Withdraw Consent
If you previously agreed to something (like product testing), you can withdraw consent at any time without penalty.
Limit Automated Processing
While we don’t use automated decision-making that affects your legal rights, you can object to any processing based on legitimate interest (e.g., fraud detection). We’ll review and respond fairly.
We don’t charge fees for these requests and won’t discriminate against you for exercising your rights.
9. Children’s Privacy
Our products and website are designed for adults managing home maintenance tasks. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16.
If we discover we’ve accidentally collected data from a child, we’ll delete it immediately upon verification. If you’re a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with information, please contact us so we can take action.
10. International Data Transfers
Sun Joe is based in the United States, and your data may be processed here—even if you live elsewhere.
We understand that countries like those in the EU, UK, or Canada have strong privacy laws. While we’re not currently certified under frameworks like GDPR or PIPEDA, we voluntarily apply their core principles to all users globally:
- Lawful, fair, and transparent processing
- Purpose limitation (no repurposing your data)
- Data minimization (only what’s needed)
- Accuracy and timely deletion
- Strong security measures
If you’re in a region with specific legal rights, we honor them as described in Section 8.
11. Changes to This Policy
The digital world evolves, and so might this policy. But we won’t sneak in changes.
If we update this Privacy Policy:
- We’ll post the new version here with a clear “Last Updated” date
- We’ll summarize key changes in plain language at the top
- For significant changes affecting your rights, we’ll notify active users via email
Your continued use after changes means you accept them. But if you disagree, you can stop using our services or request data deletion.
We’ll never retroactively weaken your privacy protections.
12. How to Contact Us
Privacy isn’t a department—it’s everyone’s job. But if you have questions, concerns, or requests, our dedicated privacy lead is ready to help.
You can reach us by email at privacy@sun-joe.com (yes, a real human checks this inbox).
We aim to respond within 48 business hours. For urgent issues (like suspected unauthorized access), please include “URGENT” in the subject line.
We also welcome feedback. If you think we’ve missed something, overreached, or could be clearer—tell us. We’re always learning.
A Final Word: Privacy Is About Trust
At Sun Joe, we don’t see data as an asset to monetize. We see it as a reflection of trust you’ve placed in us.
When you give us your address, you’re trusting us to deliver your new lawn mower.
When you email us about a broken part, you’re trusting us to listen and help.
When you subscribe to our emails, you’re trusting us not to spam or sell you out.
That trust is sacred.
We built this company to empower everyday people—not to exploit them. And that commitment extends to every byte of data you share.
So thank you—for choosing us, for trusting us, and for holding us accountable.
We’ll keep earning that trust, one honest interaction at a time.
With respect and gratitude,
The Sun Joe Team