1. Information We Collect

The information we collect depends on how you interact with us.

Information You Provide Directly

We may collect information that you provide when you:

• Create or maintain a customer account.
• Place or manage an order.
• Request a quote, product sample, technical information, or customer support.
• Submit a contact form.
• Communicate with us by email, telephone, or other means.
• Subscribe to newsletters, product updates, or promotional communications.
• Participate in surveys, promotions, or other website features.

This information may include:

• First and last name.
• Company or organization name.
• Job title or department.
• Billing and shipping addresses.
• Email address.
• Telephone number.
• Account username and password.
• Purchase history and product interests.
• Tax-exemption, resale, or business-account information.
• Quote requests, order instructions, and customer-service communications.
• Any other information you voluntarily provide.

Order and Transaction Information

When you place an order or request commercial services, we may collect:

• Products ordered.
• Order quantities and pricing.
• Purchase order information.
• Billing and shipping details.
• Transaction dates and order status.
• Shipping and delivery information.
• Returns, credits, and warranty information.
• Payment status and limited payment-related information.

Payment card information is generally submitted directly to our authorized payment processors. We do not intend to store complete payment card numbers or card security codes on our systems.

Information Collected Automatically

When you visit our website, we and our technology providers may automatically collect information such as:

• Internet Protocol address.
• Browser type and version.
• Device type and operating system.
• Approximate location derived from an IP address.
• Referring website or source.
• Pages and products viewed.
• Search terms and website interactions.
• Date and time of visits.
• Time spent on pages.
• Shopping-cart activity.
• Clickstream and navigation information.
• Cookie identifiers and similar device identifiers.
• Website performance, security, and diagnostic information.

Information from Other Sources

We may receive information from:

• Ecommerce and website-hosting providers.
• Payment processors.
• Shipping carriers and logistics providers.
• Manufacturers and suppliers.
• Sales representatives and authorized distributors.
• Marketing, advertising, and analytics providers.
• Fraud-prevention and identity-verification providers.
• Publicly available business sources.
• Your employer, organization, or purchasing department.

We may combine information obtained from these sources with information we collect directly.

2. Cookies and Similar Technologies

We use cookies, pixels, tags, scripts, local storage, and similar technologies to operate the website, maintain security, remember preferences, understand website usage, and support marketing activities.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

These cookies are required for essential website functions, including:

• Shopping-cart operation.
• Checkout and order processing.
• Account authentication.
• Security and fraud prevention.
• Load balancing and website availability.
• Remembering privacy selections.

Disabling these cookies may prevent portions of the website from functioning properly.

Functional Cookies

These cookies help remember choices such as account settings, location, language, and other preferences.

Analytics Cookies

These cookies help us understand website traffic, visitor interactions, product interest, and website performance so that we can improve our website and services.

We may use Google Analytics or similar analytics services. These providers may collect information about your device, browsing activity, and interaction with our website using cookies or similar technologies.

Advertising and Targeting Cookies

We may use advertising or remarketing technologies to:

• Measure advertising effectiveness.
• Understand whether an advertisement resulted in a website visit or purchase.
• Create audiences based on website activity.
• Display advertisements that may be relevant to previous website interactions.

Depending on your location and applicable law, the use of these technologies may be considered targeted advertising or the “sale” or “sharing” of personal information, even when no money is exchanged for the information.

Managing Cookies

You may manage nonessential cookies through any cookie-preference tool made available on our website. You may also configure your browser to block or delete cookies.

Blocking certain cookies may affect website features, saved preferences, shopping-cart functions, and other services.

3. How We Use Personal Information

We may use personal information to:

• Operate, maintain, secure, and improve our website.
• Create and administer customer accounts.
• Process and fulfill orders.
• Provide quotations, samples, and product information.
• Process payments, credits, refunds, and returns.
• Coordinate shipping, delivery, and order tracking.
• Communicate about orders, accounts, products, and services.
• Provide technical support and customer service.
• Respond to inquiries and requests.
• Verify business, purchasing, resale, or tax-exempt status.
• Maintain purchasing and transaction records.
• Personalize website content and product recommendations.
• Measure website usage and performance.
• Conduct internal analytics and business planning.
• Develop and improve products, services, content, and website functionality.
• Send newsletters and promotional communications where permitted.
• Measure and improve advertising campaigns.
• Detect and prevent fraud, abuse, security incidents, and unauthorized activity.
• Enforce our agreements, policies, and legal rights.
• Comply with legal, accounting, tax, regulatory, and recordkeeping obligations.
• Protect our customers, employees, business, and the public.
• Support a merger, acquisition, financing, sale, restructuring, or other corporate transaction.

We may also use aggregated or deidentified information that cannot reasonably be linked to an identifiable individual.

4. How We Disclose Personal Information

Ecommerce and Technology Providers

We may provide information to companies that host, operate, secure, maintain, or support our website, ecommerce platform, databases, communications, and information systems. Our ecommerce website is operated using BigCommerce and related services.

Payment Processors and Financial Institutions

Payment information may be provided directly to payment processors, banks, card networks, fraud-prevention providers, and other parties necessary to authorize and complete transactions. Their handling of information is governed by their own privacy policies and contractual obligations.

Shipping and Logistics Providers

We may provide names, addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses, order details, and delivery instructions to carriers, freight companies, warehouses, and logistics providers to fulfill and deliver orders.

Manufacturers, Suppliers, and Business Partners

We may disclose information to manufacturers, suppliers, authorized distributors, sales representatives, and other business partners when reasonably necessary to:

• Obtain product availability or technical support.
• Fulfill an order.
• Process a warranty or product inquiry.
• Coordinate a special order or direct shipment.
• Respond to a quote request.
• Provide requested customer service.

Professional Advisers

We may disclose information to attorneys, accountants, auditors, insurers, consultants, financial advisers, and other professional advisers when reasonably necessary.

Analytics, Marketing, and Advertising Providers

We may disclose online identifiers, device information, website activity, transaction-related information, or similar data to analytics, marketing, advertising, and measurement providers.

Government Authorities and Legal Recipients

We may disclose information when we reasonably believe disclosure is necessary to:

• Comply with applicable law, regulation, legal process, or governmental request.
• Respond to a subpoena, court order, or lawful investigation.
• Protect our legal rights or property.
• Enforce contracts or policies.
• Detect, prevent, or investigate fraud, security incidents, or wrongdoing.
• Protect the safety of customers, employees, website users, or the public.

Corporate Transactions

Information may be disclosed or transferred in connection with a proposed or completed merger, acquisition, financing, reorganization, bankruptcy, sale of assets, change of control, or similar business transaction.

With Your Direction or Consent

We may disclose information for another purpose when you direct us to do so or provide consent.

5. Sale, Sharing, and Targeted Advertising

We may, however, use analytics, advertising, and remarketing technologies that disclose online identifiers and website activity to advertising or analytics providers. Some state privacy laws may define these disclosures as a “sale,” “sharing,” or processing for targeted advertising.

Where applicable, you may opt out by:

• Using the cookie-preference or “Cookie Settings” link available on our website.
• Configuring a legally recognized opt-out preference signal, where required by applicable law and supported by our systems.
• Contacting us using the information in the “Contact Us” section below.

We do not knowingly sell or share the personal information of individuals under 18 years of age.

6. Marketing Communications

We may use your contact information to send product announcements, newsletters, educational content, promotions, and other marketing communications that may be relevant to you or your organization.

You may opt out of promotional email communications at any time by:

• Using the unsubscribe link included in the email.
• Following the instructions provided in the communication.
• Contacting us directly.

Even after you opt out of marketing communications, we may continue to send nonpromotional communications concerning orders, accounts, transactions, customer-service matters, security notices, or our ongoing business relationship.

7. Payment Processing

We use third-party payment processors to process payment card and other payment transactions.

Payment card information is transmitted to the applicable payment processor and is subject to that provider’s privacy policy and security practices. Payment processors are generally required to comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, commonly referred to as PCI DSS.

We may retain limited transaction information, such as payment status, transaction identifiers, card type, expiration information, and the last digits of a payment card, where provided by the payment processor.

8. Data Retention

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy, including to:

• Fulfill orders and provide services.
• Maintain customer and transaction records.
• Manage warranties, returns, and product support.
• Meet tax, accounting, audit, and legal obligations.
• Resolve disputes.
• Prevent fraud and security incidents.
• Enforce contracts and policies.
• Maintain legitimate business records.

Retention periods vary according to the type of information, the nature of our relationship with you, legal requirements, contractual obligations, and operational needs.

When information is no longer reasonably required, we may delete, anonymize, or securely dispose of it, subject to applicable law and our backup and record-retention processes.

9. Data Security

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect personal information against unauthorized access, acquisition, disclosure, alteration, loss, or destruction.

These measures may include access controls, authentication procedures, encryption in transit, network and system protections, employee access limitations, vendor controls, and security monitoring.

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and for notifying us promptly if you believe your account or information has been compromised.

10. Your Privacy Rights

Depending on your state or country of residence and subject to applicable exceptions, you may have the right to:

• Confirm whether we process your personal information.
• Access personal information we maintain about you.
• Correct inaccuracies in your personal information.
• Request deletion of personal information.
• Obtain a portable copy of certain personal information.
• Opt out of targeted advertising.
• Opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information.
• Opt out of certain profiling that produces legal or similarly significant effects.
• Limit certain uses or disclosures of sensitive personal information.
• Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.
• Appeal a decision concerning a privacy request.
• Receive equal service and not be unlawfully discriminated against for exercising a privacy right.

These rights are not absolute. Applicable law may permit or require us to retain or continue processing information for purposes such as completing transactions, maintaining business records, preventing fraud, complying with law, exercising legal rights, or fulfilling contractual obligations.

Submitting a Privacy Request

To submit a privacy request, contact us using one of the following methods:

• Email: sales@sossupply.com
• Telephone: 1-800-443-7101
• Online: Online Customer Service

Please describe the nature of your request and provide sufficient information for us to identify the relevant records.

Verification

We may need to verify your identity before completing a request. Verification may require information that reasonably matches information already maintained in our records. We will use information provided for verification only to verify and respond to the request.

Authorized Agents

Where permitted by law, you may designate an authorized agent to submit a request on your behalf. We may require proof that the agent is authorized to act for you, verification of your identity directly with us, and confirmation that you authorized the request.

Appeals

If applicable law gives you the right to appeal a decision concerning your privacy request, you may submit an appeal using the contact information above and clearly state that you are appealing a privacy-request decision.

11. California Privacy Notice

This section applies only to California residents where the California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended, applies to our processing activities.

During the preceding 12 months, we may have collected the following categories of personal information:

• Identifiers, such as names, email addresses, postal addresses, telephone numbers, IP addresses, and account identifiers.
• Customer-record information, such as billing details, shipping details, and transaction information.
• Commercial information, such as products purchased, considered, or requested.
• Internet or electronic activity information, such as browsing, search, shopping-cart, and website interaction data.
• Approximate geolocation information derived from an IP address.
• Professional or employment-related information, such as employer, company, job title, or department.
• Inferences concerning product preferences or purchasing interests.
• Account credentials and other information that may be treated as sensitive personal information under applicable law.

We collect these categories from you, your organization, our website and ecommerce systems, service providers, business partners, and other sources described in this Privacy Policy.

We use and disclose these categories for the business and commercial purposes described in the “How We Use Personal Information” and “How We Disclose Personal Information” sections.

We do not sell personal information for direct monetary compensation. Certain uses of advertising or remarketing technologies may constitute selling or sharing under California law.

Subject to applicability and exceptions, California residents may request access, correction, deletion, or information about collection and disclosure practices, and may opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information.

We do not use or disclose sensitive personal information for purposes that require a separate right to limit under California law, except as reasonably necessary to provide requested goods or services, protect security, process transactions, or comply with law.

We do not unlawfully discriminate against California residents for exercising their privacy rights.

12. Texas and Other U.S. State Privacy Rights

Residents of Texas and certain other states may have rights concerning:

• Access.
• Correction.
• Deletion.
• Data portability.
• Targeted advertising.
• Sale of personal data.
• Certain profiling activities.
• Appeals of privacy-request decisions.

The availability and scope of these rights depend on the applicable law, whether the law applies to our business or the particular processing activity, and any statutory exceptions.

Requests may be submitted using the methods described in the “Your Privacy Rights” section.

13. International Visitors and Data Transfers

Specialty Optical Systems is located in the United States. If you access our website or provide information from outside the United States, your information may be transferred to, stored in, and processed in the United States or other countries where we or our service providers operate.

Privacy and data-protection laws in those countries may differ from the laws in your jurisdiction.

Where required, we take reasonable steps to use appropriate safeguards for international transfers of personal information.

14. Children’s Privacy

Our website and services are intended for business customers and adults and are not directed to children under 13 years of age.

We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. We also do not knowingly sell or share personal information belonging to individuals under 18 for targeted advertising.

If you are a parent or legal guardian and believe a child has provided personal information to us, please contact us. We will take reasonable steps to investigate and delete the information when appropriate.

15. Third-Party Websites and Services

Our website may contain links to websites or services operated by manufacturers, suppliers, payment providers, shipping providers, social-media services, or other third parties.

We do not control and are not responsible for the privacy, security, content, or practices of third-party websites or services. Your interaction with a third party is governed by that third party’s terms and privacy policy.

We encourage you to review the privacy policy of each third-party website or service you use.

16. Business-to-Business Information

Many of our customers interact with us in a professional or business capacity.

We may collect and use business contact information, such as your name, company, job title, department, work email address, work telephone number, purchasing responsibility, and communications with us.

We use this information to manage customer and supplier relationships, process transactions, provide product information, respond to requests, maintain records, and conduct ordinary business operations.

Depending on applicable law, some business contact information may be treated as personal information and may be subject to the rights described in this Privacy Policy.

17. Do Not Track and Opt-Out Preference Signals

Some browsers offer a “Do Not Track” setting. Because there is not currently a single, universally accepted standard for responding to traditional Do Not Track signals, our website may not respond to those signals.

Certain jurisdictions recognize browser-based opt-out preference signals, such as Global Privacy Control, for specific privacy rights. Where required by applicable law and supported by our systems, we will process recognized opt-out preference signals as requests to opt out of applicable selling, sharing, or targeted advertising activities.

18. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes in our business, technologies, services, legal requirements, or privacy practices.

When we update the policy, we will revise the “Last Updated” date at the top of the page. Material changes may also be communicated through a prominent website notice, email, or another appropriate method.

Your continued use of the website after an updated Privacy Policy is posted constitutes acknowledgment of the revised policy to the extent permitted by law.