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Privacy Policy
Your Privacy Matters to Us
We want you to know exactly what happens to your personal information whenever you shop with Fone4U—whether that's browsing our website, buying a phone in one of our stores, trading in an old device, or getting something repaired.
This Privacy Policy explains, in plain language, what data we collect, why we collect it, how long we keep it, and the choices and rights you have over your own information. If anything here isn't clear, just email us at support@fone4u.ie, and we'll happily explain.
About Fone4U: Fone4U is registered in Ireland, with stores in Ballina, Sligo, and Bray, and a registered office at 19 Grattan Street, Sligo, Co. Sligo.
We handle your personal data in line with Irish and EU data protection law—specifically the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Privacy at a Glance
Here's the short version, before the full details below. If anything here differs from the rest of the policy, the full policy is what applies.
| What | Details |
|---|---|
| Who we are | Fone4U—stores in Ballina, Sligo & Bray; registered office at 19 Grattan Street, Sligo, Co. Sligo |
| What we collect | Your contact details, order history, trade-in or repair device information, basic browsing data, and marketing preferences (only if you've opted in) |
| Why | To sell you products, provide trade-in and repair services, answer your questions, prevent fraud, and—only with your consent—send you offers |
| Do we sell your data? | Never. We don't sell your personal information to anyone. |
| Do we see your card details? | No. Payments go through our secure payment provider—we never see or store your full card number. |
| How long do we keep it? | Only as long as we actually need it, or as long as the law requires (like tax records). |
| Your rights | You can ask to see, correct, delete, or transfer your data and opt out of marketing whenever you like. |
| Who to contact | support@fone4u.ie |
| Regulator | The Data Protection Commission—dataprotection.ie |
What Information We Collect
When you interact with Fone4U—whether that's buying a phone online, popping into one of our stores, or trading in your old device—we may collect:
Your Contact Details
Name, email address, phone number, and delivery or billing address.
Your Order History
What you've bought, past orders, returns, and warranty claims.
Trade-In & Repair Details
The make, model, IMEI, or serial number of your device, its condition, and confirmation that you've signed out of accounts like iCloud, Google, or Find My before handing it over.
Payment Confirmation
We never see or store your full card details ourselves.
Your Messages to Us
Anything you send us by email, phone, live chat, or our contact form, and our replies.
Basic Browsing Information
Your IP address, browser type, device, and which pages you visit on our site are picked up through cookies.
Marketing Preferences
Whether you've said yes to receiving offers by email or text, and how you engage with them.
We don't go looking for sensitive personal information like health data, and we'd only ever come across anything like that by accident during a repair or trade-in.
Why We Use Your Information, and Our Legal Basis for Doing So
Data protection law requires us to have a proper legal reason for everything we do with your information. Here's how that breaks down at Fone4U:
Wherever we're relying on your consent—marketing emails being the obvious example—you're free to change your mind and withdraw that consent whenever you like. See "Your Rights" below for how.
Trading In, Repairing, or Buying a Refurbished Phone
Because buying, repairing, and reselling phones is a core part of what we do, we want to be upfront about how that affects your data specifically:
Before You Trade In
When you trade in a phone, we'll ask you to sign out of your accounts—iCloud, Google, Find My, and similar—and factory reset it if you can before it changes hands.
Device Checks
Every traded-in device is checked against loss, theft, and blacklist databases, which is standard practice across the mobile phone trade and helps stop stolen phones being resold.
Refurbished Devices
Any phone we resell as refurbished goes through a proper data wipe first, so nothing from a previous owner ends up in the hands of the next.
If Accounts Remain Signed In
If a device does arrive with accounts still signed in, we'll still handle it carefully and wipe it thoroughly—but resetting it yourself beforehand is always the safer option.
If You Post a Review or Public Comment
We can't control who reads, screenshots, or shares information you've chosen to post publicly.
We may keep and display that content as part of our normal service—showing your review alongside a product, for example.
Want something you've posted taken down? Email support@fone4u.ie and we'll look into it, as long as there's no legal reason we need to keep it.
Concerns About Something Someone Else Has Posted
If another visitor's review or comment seems inaccurate, offensive, or breaches your rights, let us know at support@fone4u.ie. We'll look into it properly and may take the content down while we investigate.
Getting in Touch With Our Support Team
Whenever you contact us—by phone, email, live chat, or through the website—we'll naturally collect whatever information you share so we can actually help you. We also keep a record of that conversation, mainly so we can give you better, faster support if you get back in touch about the same thing later.
How We Handle Payments
We never see or store your full card details. When you pay, you're taken to the secure payment page of our payment providers, Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, American Express, Maestro, and Discover, who process the transaction under their own privacy and security standards.
Fone4U staff simply don't have access to your complete card information at any point.
Helping Prevent Fraud
Occasionally, a customer will ask their card issuer to reverse a payment without giving us the chance to sort out the issue first. In those cases, we may share relevant details with credit reference or fraud-prevention agencies, purely to help protect our business from fraudulent chargebacks.
Cookies and Similar Technology
Like most websites, ours uses cookies—small files that help us keep the website working properly, understand how visitors use our site, remember your preferences, and provide certain features.
Site Functionality
Keep the site working properly and keep you signed in where needed.
Website Improvement
Help us understand, in a general sense, how people use our site so we can improve it.
Your Preferences
Remember the cookie choices you've already made so we don't repeatedly ask you.
Live Chat
Support live WhatsApp chat functionality where this service is available on our website.
Your Cookie Choices
The first time you visit, we'll ask what you're happy for us to use. You can change your mind at any point through your cookie settings or your browser itself. Please note that blocking certain cookies might mean parts of the site don't work quite as smoothly.
For the full breakdown of individual cookies, see our Cookie Policy.
Analytics and Online Advertising
With your consent, we may use analytics tools to understand how our website is performing overall and remarketing tools to show you ads for our products elsewhere online. We don't control what these third-party tools do behind the scenes, so it's worth checking their own privacy policies if you want the full picture of how they handle data.
Sending Data Outside Ireland or the EU
Some of the tools and services we rely on may process data outside the European Economic Area, including in the US. When that happens, we make sure proper safeguards are in place—either through an approved data protection framework or Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the European Commission—so your information stays properly protected wherever it travels.
Your Rights Over Your Own Data
If you have an account with us, the quickest way to check or update most of your details—like your name, address, or contact info—is simply to log in and edit them yourself. For anything not available there, or to exercise any of the rights below, email support@fone4u.ie. Under GDPR, you have the right to:
See
The personal data we hold about you.
Correct
Anything that's wrong or out of date.
Delete
Your data is where we don't have a legal reason to keep it.
Restrict or Object
How we use your data, including for marketing.
Data Portability
Take your data elsewhere in a portable format, where that applies.
Change Your Mind
Change your consent at any time.
To use any of these rights, just email support@fone4u.ie. We'll get back to you within the legally required timeframe, and we might ask a couple of questions first just to confirm it's really you asking.
You always have the right to lodge a complaint with the Data Protection Commission at dataprotection.ie, whether or not you've raised the issue with us first.
How Long We Hold On to Your Information
We only keep personal data for as long as we genuinely need it—to provide the product or service you've asked for, to meet our tax and consumer protection obligations, or to defend a legal claim if one ever arose. Once none of those reasons apply, we don't have a reason to keep it, and we won't.
If You're Under 18
Our products are meant for adults to purchase. If you're under 18, we ask that you only use our website with a parent or guardian involved and that any purchase be made by them or with their clear agreement. We don't set out to market directly to children.
Keeping Your Data Secure
We use industry-standard protections, including SSL/TLS encryption, to keep information safe as it travels between your browser and our website—you'll see this as the padlock icon in your browser's address bar.
No system is completely risk-free, but we take this seriously and do what we reasonably can to protect your information from being lost, misused, or accessed without permission.
Updates to This Policy
We may update this policy from time to time, whether because our practices change or the law does. Whatever's published here applies to you at the time, so it's worth checking back occasionally, especially before sharing new personal information with us.
How to Complain
If you're ever unhappy with this policy or how we've handled your personal information, tell us first—email support@fone4u.ie, and we'll look into it properly.
If we can't resolve things between us, we're happy to try to sort it out through good-faith mediation or arbitration before it goes any further.
And whatever happens, you always have the right to complain directly to the Data Protection Commission at dataprotection.ie .