Who are we?

MARIA CHOCOLATE, LDA, is a company dedicated to the traditional confection of chocolate, guided by values of trust and honesty in the relationship with our customers. As such we assume as a priority the privacy and security in the treatment of our customers’ data following strictly the rules imposed by the General Regulation of Data Protection.

Thus, Maria Chocolate Ltd. commits itself, through this privacy policy
privacy and treatment of cookies, to transmit all relevant information regarding our objectives and how we treat personal data of our customers, from the collection to the storage and consequent disposal, having as a guiding principle the security and protection of our customers’ privacy throughout the process.

Whenever it is necessary to outsource services for the normal development of our
development of our activity, we will demand from the subcontracted entities the same level of security, accuracy and compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation.
Maria Chocolate Ltd. and all its employees are committed to use your personal data only for the purposes determined and always in a safe and transparent way.

Definition of Personal Data and its Categories

Under the present privacy policy are considered personal data all information related to the customer that allows to proceed to its identification, and may include name, TIN, contacts, address or even the record of the orders you have made.
Your personal data is collected, for example, when you make a purchase or use our site, and will be used to manage your subscription as a user of our Mailing List, manage the purchase of products or services online, answer your questions, process your orders and for other purposes legally required.

Maria Chocolate collects your data according to the following categories:
1. Customer data (name and email address, details of purchases, telephone contacts) at the time of subscription to the mailing list or when you place orders online for their preparation and home delivery.
2. Personal identification data (Name, Address, Telephone and E-mail and TIN) at the time of order processing and invoicing.
3. Data of users registered on our website:
a. User identification: name, e-mail address and contact details.
b. Credit card details: name of holder, card number, validity and security code of the card, if making payments by this means.
c. Images (photographs or artwork), names of natural or legal persons, brands and contacts provided for product customization.
d. Customer name and address for order expedition.

Why do we use your data?

We intend to make our Customers aware of the general rules on the processing of personal data, collected and processed according to guidelines provided for in the personal data protection legislation in force, namely Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 (RGPD) and Law no. 58/2019 of 8 August 2019.

As we are committed to the protection and confidentiality of your data, we are entitled to process them, primarily in order to ensure the execution of the contract you agree to enter into with us when registering, making a purchase or enjoying one of our services, and also to answer your questions. Therefore, we intend to use the measures deemed legally appropriate not only to ensure the accuracy, integrity and confidentiality of personal data, but also of all the other rights to which their holders are entitled.
With your data we can manage our invoicing, the logistical management of your orders and requests and the marketing and advertising management of our website.

With whom do we share your data?

We will share your data with service companies who provide assistance or support, these being external collaborators with whom we have concluded an agreement and who are therefore contracted by us.

How do we treat your data?

We are equipped with various information security measures that you provide us with, adopting administrative measures and technical procedures that enable us to guarantee the protection of the information we receive, protecting the misuse of your data and actively preventing unauthorised access, its loss or improper alteration.
To this end, we have adopted measures such as the restricted access of your data only by those who really need it at each moment of contact with our company and also the constant protection of the information systems where it is stored.

How long your data will be stored?

We save, protect and store your data only for as long as is strictly necessary to fulfil the purposes defined in advance and the legal obligations to which we are subject as a result of our activity.

Once this period of time has elapsed, all your data will be destroyed in a secure manner.

What are your rights as a holder and how can you exercise them?

Our commitment is to respect the confidentiality of your personal data and guarantee the exercise of your rights. As the holder of personal data, our Customer has the right to information, access, portability, rectification, limitation, opposition and erasure/forgetting.

The consent given for the processing of personal data may be withdrawn at any time.

To exercise your data protection rights or whenever you have any questions you can contact us at the following email address info@mariachocolate.pt

Alternatively, you can contact our Data Protection Officer at the following e-mail address dpo@schwalbach.pt by putting in the subject MC001

You can lodge a complaint with the National Commission for Data Protection (CNPD) – Address: Rua de São Bento, 148 – 3º, 1200-821 Lisboa – Telephone: +351213928400 – Fax: +351213976832 – E-mail address: geral@cnpd.pt.

Cookie Management

What is a Cookie?

Cookies are software files that are stored on the computer, or any similar electronic device, through the browser and retain small amounts of browsing information related to user preferences, not including your personal data.
There are several types of cookies, depending on the purpose for which they are intended, these being:

Depending on the owner:

a) Own cookies: when sent to the user’s device from a domain managed by the publisher itself and from which the requested platform or service is offered.
b) Third party cookies: They are sent to the user’s device by a domain not managed by the publisher, but by an entity that processes the data obtained through cookies. They are intended to measure the success of third-party applications and advertising effectiveness.

According to the purpose:

a) Strictly necessary cookies: They allow you to navigate, via your device, on a website, to use the applications and to access secure areas of the site. Without these cookies, the required services cannot be provided. Therefore, because they are strictly necessary, they are downloaded by default.
b) Analytics Cookies: Used in an anonymous form for the purpose of creation and statistical analysis (for example, quantifying the number of users, the sections visited and the mode of interaction with the platform), with a view to improving the functioning of the website.
c) Behavioural advertising cookies: Taking into account user interests, these cookies store information about user behaviour and target advertising to match user tastes. They also limit the number of times you see an advertisement.

What are Cookies used for?

As a fundamental part of the functioning of a website, cookies are intended to make the browsing experience simpler and more efficient, through the memorisation of the user’s preferences, which allows personalised advertising to be provided and also to improve the website’s services, thus eliminating the need for the user to constantly introduce the same information each time he accesses the website.
The information collected by the cookies enables the website to improve the provision of services to the user, through estimates on statistical data and user usage patterns.
Cookies may also be used to obtain information that allows us, through our website, to show third party platforms that match the user’s tastes.
Through the cookies used, sensitive user information is never stored, such as passwords, credit or debit card data, etc…moreover, cookies do not damage the equipment used by the user.

How to manage the use of Cookies?

Through the Cookies settings panel, all the information about the cookies used by the website can be obtained, as well as information regarding the purpose, duration and management of each one. In this way, the user can manage, at any time, the cookies that they wish to activate or deactivate and that are not strictly necessary for the functioning of the platform.
The “Do – Not – Track” functionality allows cookies to be deactivated, at any time, through the browser used by the user, however, acceptance of cookies is recommended for the correct functioning of the website in its entirety.

Who uses the information stored in the Cookies?

The information stored via Cookies is used exclusively by us, with the exception of third-party cookies, which are used by external entities that provide services to improve our services. For more information in this context, you may read the Privacy Policy available on our website, as well as the privacy policies of external third parties, accessible through their platforms.

Privacy policy update

Whenever our privacy policy and cookie management changes, these will be signalled and duly communicated.