HS Herbs ("we," "our," or "us") is committed to protecting the privacy of our business partners, website visitors, and customers. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our website hs-herbs.com or engage with our B2B export services.
By using our website or services, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with the terms of this policy, please do not access or use our services.
2. Information We Collect
Personal Information
When you interact with us through contact forms, sample requests, or trade inquiries, we may collect:
Full name and job title
Company name and business registration details
Email address and phone number
Business address and shipping address
Product interest and order specifications
Payment and banking information (for transactions)
Automatically Collected Information
When you visit our website, we automatically collect certain technical information:
IP address and browser type
Device information and operating system
Pages visited, time spent, and navigation patterns
Referring website or source
Geographic location (country/region level)
3. How We Use Your Information
We use collected information for the following purposes:
Business Communication: Responding to inquiries, sending quotations, and managing B2B relationships
Order Fulfillment: Processing orders, arranging shipments, and providing export documentation
Sample Requests: Preparing and shipping product samples to qualified buyers
Website Improvement: Analyzing usage patterns to enhance user experience
Marketing: Sending product catalogs, market updates, and trade show information (with consent)
Legal Compliance: Meeting regulatory requirements for international trade and export documentation
4. Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR)
For individuals in the European Economic Area (EEA), we process personal data based on the following legal grounds:
Contractual Necessity: Processing required to fulfill B2B trade contracts and pre-contractual inquiries
Legitimate Interest: Processing necessary for our legitimate business interests, such as managing client relationships, improving our services, and marketing to business contacts
Consent: Where required, we obtain explicit consent for marketing communications and non-essential cookies
Legal Obligation: Processing required to comply with export regulations, customs requirements, and tax obligations
5. Cookies & Tracking Technologies
Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to enhance your browsing experience:
Essential Cookies
Required for website functionality, including session management and security features. These cannot be disabled.
Analytics Cookies
We use Google Analytics (GA4) to understand how visitors interact with our website. These cookies collect anonymous, aggregated data about page views, traffic sources, and user behavior. You can opt out using the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on.
Our Own Visitor Analytics
In addition to Google Analytics, we run our own visitor analytics on our own server. It stays off until you choose Accept in the cookie banner. If you choose Decline, or your browser sends a Do Not Track or Global Privacy Control signal, nothing is recorded and no identifier is set.
When you accept, we record:
the pages you view (the address without its query string, and the page title), how long each page is visible, and how far you scroll;
the website that referred you (its address without the query string) and any campaign tags (utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign) in the link you followed;
your browser, operating system and device type, worked out from your browser's user-agent string (the string itself is not stored), and your browser language;
clicks on our phone, email, WhatsApp and social media links, datasheet and document downloads, and whether you opened or started filling in the inquiry form;
your IP address in shortened form: the last part of an IPv4 address, and everything after the first 48 bits of an IPv6 address, is removed before it is stored. Where enabled, your approximate country is determined on our server before the address is shortened;
if you send an inquiry or subscribe to our newsletter during the visit, a link between that visit and your inquiry or subscription, so we can see which pages lead to inquiries.
What is stored on your device:
hs_consent (cookie, 180 days): remembers your choice, so the banner is not shown again;
hs_vid (cookie, 365 days, set only after you accept): a random identifier that lets us recognise a returning browser. It contains no personal details;
hs_sid, hs_sid_ts and hs_utm (session storage, set only after you accept): identify the current visit and its campaign tags. A visit ends after 30 minutes without activity, and session storage is cleared when you close the tab.
We process this data on the basis of your consent, only to understand which pages and products are useful to buyers and to improve the website. It is kept in our own database, is not sold, and is not shared with advertising or analytics companies. Visits by our own staff and by known bots are not recorded. We delete it automatically after 395 days (about 13 months).
You can withdraw your consent at any time: . This deletes the hs_consent and hs_vid cookies and the session-storage entries from your browser, and shows the banner again.
Managing Cookies
You can control cookies through your browser settings. Please note that disabling cookies may affect website functionality. Most browsers allow you to:
View and delete cookies
Block third-party cookies
Block all cookies
Clear cookies when closing the browser
6. Data Sharing & Third Parties
We do not sell your personal data. We may share information with:
Shipping & Logistics Partners: Freight forwarders, shipping lines, and courier services necessary for order delivery
Payment Processors: Banks and financial institutions for processing international payments
Regulatory Authorities: Customs agencies, health authorities, and trade regulators as required by law
Certification Bodies: SGS, Bureau Veritas, and other inspection agencies engaged by the buyer
Analytics Providers: Google Analytics for anonymized website usage data
All third-party partners are contractually required to protect your data and use it only for the specified purposes.
7. Data Retention
We retain personal data only as long as necessary:
Trade inquiries: 3 years from last contact
Active client records: Duration of business relationship + 7 years (for regulatory compliance)
Our own visitor analytics: 395 days (about 13 months), then deleted automatically
Marketing consent records: Until withdrawal of consent + 1 year
8. Your Rights
Under GDPR and applicable data protection laws, you have the following rights:
Right of Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
Right to Rectification: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data
Right to Erasure: Request deletion of your personal data ("right to be forgotten")
Right to Restrict Processing: Request limitation of how we use your data
Right to Data Portability: Receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format
Right to Object: Object to processing based on legitimate interest or direct marketing
Right to Withdraw Consent: Withdraw consent at any time where consent is the legal basis
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at info@hs-herbs.com. We will respond within 30 days.
9. International Data Transfers
As an international B2B exporter based in Egypt, your data may be transferred to and processed in countries outside the EEA. We ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, including:
Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) approved by the European Commission
Adequacy decisions where applicable
Binding corporate agreements with service providers
10. Data Security
We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal data, including:
SSL/TLS encryption for data in transit
Access controls and authentication systems
Regular security assessments and updates
Employee training on data protection
While we strive to protect your data, no electronic transmission or storage method is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security.
11. Children's Privacy
Our website and services are designed for B2B trade professionals. We do not knowingly collect personal data from individuals under the age of 18. If you believe we have inadvertently collected such data, please contact us immediately.
12. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes in our practices, technology, or legal requirements. We will post the updated policy on this page with a revised "Last Updated" date. We encourage you to review this page regularly.
13. Contact Us
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to exercise your data rights, please contact us: