Privacy Notice
Last updated: October 5, 2026
HODGEAR respects the privacy of website visitors and customers. This Privacy Notice explains how we may collect, use, process, and protect information when you visit the HODGEAR website, use website chat, send us an inquiry, or do business with us.
We process information only to the extent reasonably necessary to provide website services, respond to inquiries, handle purchasing requests, complete transactions, protect website security, and support other legitimate business purposes.
1. Information We May Collect
Depending on how you interact with HODGEAR, we may collect the following types of information.
Information you choose to provide
When you contact us through the website chatbot, email, an inquiry process, or another contact method, you may choose to provide:
- Your name and email address;
- Your company name and country or region;
- Contact details;
- Products of interest, product models, or specifications;
- Estimated order quantities and customization requirements;
- Sample requests, target delivery dates, and intended use;
- Quotation or purchasing requirements; and
- Other information you choose to share in a chat, email, or inquiry.
Ordinary website visitors do not have to provide all of this information to browse the site or ask general product questions. We collect information based on actual business needs and do not ask you to provide information unrelated to your inquiry or transaction.
2. Website Chat and AI-Assisted Customer Service
HODGEAR may offer website chat and may use automated systems or artificial intelligence to assist with visitor inquiries.
The chat system may be used to:
- Answer questions about products, specifications, shipping, returns, and website policies;
- Identify purchasing or other commercial inquiries;
- Ask follow-up questions when necessary to understand your needs;
- Organize purchasing requirements you choose to provide;
- Create customer inquiry or information records; and
- Refer inquiries that need further handling to appropriate HODGEAR personnel or internal business workflows.
If you are making a general inquiry, we will not require you to provide your name or email address before using chat. If you request a formal quotation, contact from a staff member, purchasing follow-up, or another service that requires a reply, we may ask for contact details and business information necessary to provide that service.
Please do not send unnecessary sensitive personal information, passwords, full payment-card details, account credentials, or other confidential information unrelated to your inquiry through website chat.
3. Customer Inquiries and Business Follow-Up
If you express a specific purchasing, quotation, sample, customization, or other commercial need, we may create a customer inquiry record using information you choose to provide. Such a record may include:
- Your basic contact information, company, and country or region;
- Products of interest and estimated quantities;
- Specifications and customization requirements;
- Purchasing timelines;
- A summary of chat or inquiry content;
- The inquiry source and creation date; and
- Other business information needed to handle the inquiry.
HODGEAR personnel and systems responsible for customer service, inquiry review, sales, marketing, or related business work may process this information to respond to and follow up on your request. We will not deliberately guess personal information that you have not provided in order to complete a customer record.
4. Email
If you contact us using an email link on the website or by email, your message will be processed through the relevant email services. We may use your email address and message to respond to your inquiry, provide requested information, handle a quotation or purchasing request, contact you about the business need you raised, and maintain necessary business correspondence records.
Your email may also be processed by your email provider and by email services used by HODGEAR.
5. Payments and Checkout
HODGEAR may offer purchasing, payment, or checkout features on the website in the future and may use third-party payment service providers to process transactions.
When those features are enabled, a payment provider may process your name, billing and contact information, transaction amount, order information, payment credentials, or other payment-related data as needed to complete a transaction, prevent fraud, and meet legal obligations.
Unless the payment flow clearly states otherwise, HODGEAR does not plan to store full payment-card numbers or card security codes. Those sensitive payment credentials will instead be handled by the relevant payment provider under its security and privacy practices. This Notice should be reviewed and updated to reflect the actual payment process once a provider has been selected and enabled.
6. Website Operations and Technical Information
HODGEAR uses infrastructure and security services such as Cloudflare. When you visit the website, these services may automatically process technical information needed to deliver, protect, and maintain the site, such as your IP address, browser type, device and network information, requested pages or resources, request times, security and network logs, and information needed to prevent abuse, attacks, or unusual access.
This information is primarily used to provide website content, protect the site, prevent fraud and abuse, troubleshoot technical issues, and maintain reliability.
7. Cookies, Analytics, and Similar Technologies
HODGEAR may use cookies or similar technologies that are necessary for the website to operate, remain secure, and provide basic functionality.
If we add website analytics, advertising, marketing tracking, or other non-essential cookies in the future, we will update this Notice to reflect their actual use and, where applicable, provide an appropriate notice or choice mechanism. This Notice does not describe advertising, analytics, or tracking services that have not actually been deployed as if they were already active.
8. How We Use Information
We may process information to operate and maintain the HODGEAR website; respond to questions; provide product and business information; handle purchasing, quotation, and sample requests; create and manage customer inquiries; communicate with customers as needed; provide customer service; process orders and payments; improve the website and customer-service workflows; protect website and system security; prevent fraud, abuse, and unauthorized access; keep reasonably necessary business records; and meet applicable legal obligations.
We will not use collected information for a purpose clearly unrelated to the purpose for which it was collected without appropriate handling.
9. Service Providers and Information Processing
To operate the website and provide related services, HODGEAR may use service providers such as website hosting and network infrastructure providers, security providers, AI or automation providers, email providers, data storage or database providers, payment processors, and other technology providers necessary to support the website and customer service.
These providers may process information only to the extent needed to provide their services and are subject to their own contracts, privacy policies, and applicable legal requirements. We may update this Notice as HODGEAR enables new significant third-party services.
10. Information Security
HODGEAR uses reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect information we process and reduce the risk of unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, misuse, or loss. However, no method of internet transmission or electronic storage can be guaranteed to be completely secure.
Please do not send passwords, account credentials, full payment-card details, or other highly sensitive information that is not necessary through public chat or ordinary email.
11. Information Retention
Website chat messages and related session records are retained for up to 90 days after the last chat activity, then deleted. If a chat creates a customer inquiry, the inquiry record may be retained for up to 12 months after its last update so HODGEAR can review and follow up on the business request. Inquiry records are kept separately from chat transcripts, so deleting a transcript does not prematurely delete an inquiry.
Information may be retained longer only when reasonably necessary to resolve an active dispute, protect security, maintain required business records, or comply with applicable legal obligations. Information that is no longer needed will be deleted, anonymized, or otherwise handled appropriately under applicable business and security processes.
12. Your Privacy Choices and Requests
Depending on where you live and which laws apply, you may have rights regarding your personal information, such as requesting access to information we process, correction of inaccurate information, deletion of eligible information, objecting to or restricting certain processing, or exercising other rights provided by applicable law. The rights available and the conditions for exercising them may vary by location and applicable law.
To ask a privacy question or make a request, contact us using the HODGEAR contact details published on this website. To protect customer information, we may take reasonable steps to verify your identity before handling certain requests.
13. Children's Privacy
The HODGEAR website and related business services are intended for general business customers and product visitors and are not specifically directed to children. If we discover that information requires special handling under applicable children's privacy laws, we will take appropriate steps as required.
14. Third-Party Websites and Services
The HODGEAR website may link to third-party websites or services. Once you visit or use a third-party service, its information practices may be governed by that provider's own privacy notice and terms. We recommend reviewing those notices before providing personal information to a third party.
15. International Data Processing
Internet infrastructure, cloud services, email, AI services, and other technology services may be operated by providers in different countries or regions. Providing these services may therefore involve processing information across regions. Where applicable law requires it, we will take appropriate measures to address relevant data-protection requirements.
16. Updates to This Privacy Notice
We may update this Notice as the HODGEAR website, chatbot, AI-assisted customer service, customer inquiry process, payment features, or third-party services change. Updated versions will be published on the website with a revised last-updated date. If a change materially affects how personal information is processed, we will take appropriate notice measures based on the circumstances and applicable requirements.
17. Contact Us
If you have questions about this Notice, how HODGEAR processes information, or your privacy rights, contact us using the contact details published on the HODGEAR website.
HODGEAR
Privacy contact: [email protected]
About This Notice
This version was prepared for HODGEAR's planned website chatbot, AI-assisted customer service, customer inquiry collection, and potential future third-party payment features. Before enabling a new payment provider, analytics tool, advertising tracker, or another service that materially changes how information is processed, this Notice should be reviewed against the actual implementation and updated as needed.
This Notice is a draft website privacy policy and does not replace legal advice for any specific jurisdiction.