Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Zen Car Wash Studio ("we", "us", "our") operates a premium hand-wash car care service from our studio in Minato-ku, Tokyo, and through our mobile visit service across greater Tokyo. We are committed to protecting the personal information of everyone who contacts us, books a service, or uses our website at zencarwash.online.

This Privacy Policy explains what personal data we collect, why we collect it, how we use it, and what rights you have over it. By contacting us or using our website, you acknowledge this policy.

2. Data We Collect

We collect personal data in the following ways:

2.1 Information You Provide Directly

• Name — when you call or email to make a booking.
• Phone number — when you call us or leave a callback request.
• Email address — when you contact us via email.
• Address or location — only if you book a mobile visit, so our team can travel to you.
• Vehicle details — make, model, colour, and registration — to prepare the correct products and equipment for your car.
• Service preferences and notes — any special instructions you share with us.

2.2 Information Collected Automatically

• IP address — collected by our web hosting provider for security and server operation logs.
• Browser type and device information — collected via standard server logs.
• Pages visited and time spent — collected if analytics cookies are accepted (see our Cookie Policy).
• Referring URL — how you arrived at our website.

2.3 Information We Do Not Collect

• We do not collect or store payment card details. All payments are made in person on the day of service (cash or bank transfer).
• We do not operate any online booking forms that collect sensitive data.
• We do not collect biometric data or government identification.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use your personal data strictly to:

• Confirm, manage, and fulfil your booking or service enquiry.
• Dispatch our mobile team to your location when a mobile visit is requested.
• Contact you about scheduling changes, follow-up care, or booking confirmations.
• Maintain service records so we can advise on repeat treatments.
• Respond to complaints or warranty enquiries about our work.
• Improve our website and services using aggregated, anonymised analytics data.
• Comply with applicable Japanese and international legal obligations.

We will never use your data for unsolicited marketing unless you have explicitly asked to receive updates from us. You may opt out of any communications at any time by contacting us.

4. Legal Basis for Processing

We process personal data under the following legal bases as recognised under Japan's Act on the Protection of Personal Information (APPI) and, where applicable, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR):

• Contractual necessity — processing your name, contact details, and vehicle information is necessary to provide the service you have requested.
• Legitimate interests — using server logs to maintain website security and using analytics data to improve our service.
• Consent — for non-essential cookies, where you have given explicit consent via our cookie banner.
• Legal obligation — retaining certain records as required by Japanese tax and business law.

5. Data Sharing

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. We may share data in the following limited circumstances:

• Service providers — our web hosting provider processes server logs. They act as a data processor under a contractual agreement and may not use data for their own purposes.
• Analytics providers — if you consent to analytics cookies, anonymised usage data may be processed by a third-party analytics platform.
• Legal requirement — we may disclose data if required by a court order, regulatory authority, or applicable law in Japan.
• Business transfer — if Zen Car Wash Studio is acquired or merges with another entity, your data may be transferred as part of that transaction, and you will be notified.

In all cases, we share only the minimum necessary data and require third parties to maintain appropriate security standards.

6. Data Retention

We retain personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purpose for which it was collected:

• Booking and service records — retained for 5 years to support warranty claims, repeat service history, and tax compliance requirements under Japanese law.
• Email correspondence — retained for 2 years unless the content relates to an ongoing matter.
• Server and access logs — retained for up to 90 days for security purposes.
• Analytics data — aggregated and anonymised; retained for up to 26 months.

After the applicable retention period, data is securely deleted or anonymised.

7. Your Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Right of access — request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Right to rectification — ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Right to erasure — request deletion of your data, subject to legal retention requirements.
• Right to restriction — ask us to limit how we use your data in certain circumstances.
• Right to object — object to processing based on legitimate interests.
• Right to data portability — receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format where applicable.
• Right to withdraw consent — where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time without affecting prior processing.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details in Section 11. We will respond within 30 days.

8. Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data from unauthorised access, loss, misuse, or disclosure. These include:

• HTTPS encryption on our website.
• Restricted access to customer records — only authorised staff may access booking data.
• Secure email practices and password-protected internal systems.
• Regular review of third-party service providers for compliance.

No method of electronic transmission or storage is 100% secure. If you believe your data has been compromised, please contact us immediately at hello@zencarwash.online.

9. Children's Privacy

Our services are intended for adults aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect personal data from individuals under 18. If you believe a minor has provided us with personal data, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or applicable law. When we make material changes, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

Continued use of our website or services after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

11. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or your personal data, please contact us: