Privacy policy
Effective August 25, 2026. This policy replaces all earlier versions.
Our promise
We value your privacy. Under no circumstances will we share your order details, photos, videos or any other media, other than what would be required by law enforcement or valid legal process. All photos and promotional content are shared only with the written consent of the client.
The short version
We collect what we need to quote your job, make it, take payment and ship it — and nothing else. We do not sell your information. We do not run advertising trackers. We do not send marketing email. We do not post your work without asking you first, in writing. Your artwork files are deleted after 12 months unless you tell us to keep them. Your serial numbers never appear in a photograph we publish.
Who we are
Apex Coatings & Engraving ("Apex", "we", "us") is a custom engraving, Cerakote and finishing business in Greenbrier, Tennessee, operating the website apexcoatingstn.com. For the purposes of state privacy law we are the "controller" of the personal information described here — we decide what is collected and why.
This policy covers our website, our quote and contact forms, our email and phone correspondence, and the handling of items and files you send us. It works alongside our Terms of Service.
Our online store runs on Shopify. Shopify processes personal information on our behalf in order to host the store, run checkout and take payment, and it has its own privacy practices for the parts of the service it controls.
What we collect
| Category | Examples | Why we have it |
|---|---|---|
| Contact details | Name, email, phone, billing and shipping address | To quote, invoice, ship and reach you about your job |
| Order information | Items, quantities, prices, order history, discount codes, invoices, correspondence | To fulfill the order and keep required business records |
| Payment information | Card type, last four digits, authorization result, billing ZIP code | To take and reconcile payment. We never see or store your full card number — the payment processor handles it directly |
| Project information | Artwork, logos, photographs, reference links, text to be engraved, names, dates, unit and badge details, item make, model and condition | To design and produce your job |
| Item information | Make, model, caliber, finish condition and — where visible — serial numbers on parts you send us | To identify your property while it is in our shop and return the right item to the right person |
| Communications | Emails, texts, voicemails, form submissions, notes from phone calls | To answer you and keep an accurate record of what was agreed |
| Technical information | IP address, browser and device type, pages viewed, referring site, cookie identifiers | To keep the site working, secure and free of fraud |
We do not ask for, and you should never send us, your Social Security number, driver's license number, financial account credentials, health information, or a photograph of an identity document. If you send one anyway, we will delete it.
Where it comes from
- From you — when you fill in the quote or contact form, email or call us, place an order, create an account, or ship us an item.
- Automatically — from cookies and similar technology when you browse the site.
- From our service providers — Shopify tells us an order was paid; a carrier tells us a package was delivered; a payment processor tells us a card was declined.
We do not buy personal information from data brokers, and we do not enrich or append to your record from outside sources.
Why we use it
- To prepare quotes and answer your questions
- To produce, finish, pack and ship your order
- To take payment, issue invoices and handle refunds and chargebacks
- To keep you updated on your job's progress
- To keep accounting, tax and warranty records the law requires us to keep
- To detect and prevent fraud, abuse and unlawful orders
- To reply to you about your quote, your order and your job
- To improve the site and understand which pages people actually use
We do not use your information to make automated decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects about you. We do not profile you.
Your project, your photos, your media
This is the part of the policy most of our customers care about, so it is set out in full.
What we will never do
- We will never sell, rent, license or trade your order details, artwork, photographs, videos or any other media about your project.
- We will never publish, post or use your project in marketing, on social media, in our gallery, in advertising or in a portfolio without your written consent, given for that project.
- We will never publish a serial number, an address, a document, or an identifying marking that appears on or with your item. Where a serial number is visible in a photograph we have permission to use, we crop or obscure it before anything is published.
- We will never share your details with another customer, a competitor, a manufacturer, an insurer or a marketing company.
How consent works
- Consent is asked for per project. Saying yes to one job is not a standing permission for the next one.
- Email or text confirmation counts as written consent, and we keep the record of it.
- Consent is specific: tell us if you want your name credited, withheld, or replaced with a first name or callsign, and we will follow that.
- You can withdraw consent at any time. Email us and we will remove the images from anything we control — our website, our gallery pages, our Facebook and TikTok accounts — promptly. We cannot force third parties to delete a copy they already saved or reshared, which is one of the reasons we ask before posting rather than after.
- Saying no has no effect on your order, your price or your place in the queue, and we do not ask twice.
Photographs we take for our own records
We photograph incoming items to document their condition before work begins, and finished work before it ships. These records protect both of us if there is a dispute about damage or about what was approved. They are stored privately, are never published, and are deleted with your other order records on the schedule below.
Who we share information with
We share personal information only with providers who need it to run the business, and only for that purpose. Each is bound to protect it and may not use it for their own marketing.
- Shopify — store hosting, checkout, order management and Shopify Forms, which powers the quote and contact forms
- Payment processors — Shopify Payments, Shop Pay, PayPal, Apple Pay and Google Pay, which handle card data directly so we never hold it
- Shipping carriers — USPS, UPS and FedEx receive the name and address needed to deliver your package
- Our email provider — Namecheap Private Email, which carries our correspondence
- Google Search Console — aggregate, non-identifying data about how the site performs in search
- Professional advisors — our accountant, and a lawyer or insurer if a claim requires it
If we ever sell or reorganize the business, customer records may transfer to the buyer as part of it. The buyer would be bound by this policy for information collected under it, and we would post notice here before any transfer took effect.
We do not sell or share your information
We do not sell personal information for money or other valuable consideration, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising or targeted advertising, as those terms are defined by California, Tennessee, Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut and other state privacy laws. We have not done so in the preceding twelve months, and we do not sell or share the personal information of anyone under 16.
You can record your preference at any time on our Your Privacy Choices page. If we ever begin using advertising tools, we will update this policy first and honor opt-outs from the day they go live.
Law enforcement and legal requests
We will disclose information where we are legally required to — in response to a subpoena, warrant, court order or other valid legal process, to a law enforcement agency acting under lawful authority, to a regulator with jurisdiction over us, or where disclosure is necessary to prevent imminent physical harm.
Where we lawfully can, we will require valid legal process before disclosing anything, provide only the specific records demanded rather than your whole file, and notify you that a request was made — unless we are legally barred from telling you.
Cookies and tracking
Cookies are small files a website stores in your browser. Ours fall into three groups:
- Necessary — keep your cart, your session and checkout working, and protect against fraud. The site does not function without these.
- Preferences — remember choices such as your region or dismissed notices.
- Analytics — Shopify's built-in, aggregated store analytics, which tell us which pages are visited and which products are viewed.
We do not currently run Google Analytics, a Meta pixel, a TikTok pixel or any third-party advertising tracker on this site. Where a consent banner is shown, your choice is respected. We honor the Global Privacy Control browser signal as a valid opt-out request. You can also block or delete cookies in your browser settings, at the cost of some site functionality.
We do not send marketing email
No campaigns, no newsletters, no blasts
We do not run email marketing. We do not send newsletters, promotions, drop announcements or automated campaigns, and we have no plans to start. Your email address is used to do your job and nothing else.
The only email we send you is about work you asked for: a reply to your question, a quote, a proof to approve, an invoice, a shipping notice, or a message about an order in progress. Those are not marketing and there is nothing to unsubscribe from — when your job is finished, the emails stop.
We do not run SMS marketing either. If you text or call us, we use your number to answer you and for nothing else. We do not add customers to a list, and we do not give your address to any email marketing platform.
If this ever changes, we will update this policy first, ask you to opt in before sending anything, and make unsubscribing a single click.
How long we keep things
| Record | Kept for |
|---|---|
| Order and invoice records, including item and serial details | 7 years, for tax and warranty purposes |
| Quote requests that did not become orders | 24 months, then deleted |
| Artwork and reference files you sent us | 12 months after the job closes, then deleted — tell us if you want them kept on file for reorders |
| Condition and quality-control photographs | With the order record, then deleted |
| Photographs you consented to for promotion | Until you withdraw consent |
| Website analytics | As retained by Shopify, in aggregate |
You can ask us to delete your information earlier, and we will, except where we must keep a record by law.
How we protect it
Access to customer records is limited to the people who need it to do the work. Our store, email and file storage are protected by strong unique passwords and multi-factor authentication. Payment card data never touches our systems. Files sent to us are stored in access-controlled accounts, not on shared drives or public links.
No system is perfectly secure, and we will not claim otherwise. If a breach affects your personal information, we will notify you and the relevant authorities as required by Tennessee law and any other law that applies to you, without unreasonable delay.
Your rights
Depending on where you live, you have some or all of the following rights. We extend them to every customer regardless of state.
- Know and access — what we hold about you, where it came from, and who we shared it with
- Correct — fix anything inaccurate
- Delete — remove your information, subject to records we must legally keep
- Portability — receive a copy in a usable format
- Opt out — of sale, of targeted advertising and of profiling (we do none of these)
- Withdraw consent — including consent to use your project photographs
- No retaliation — exercising a right never affects your price, your service or your place in the queue
These rights are recognized under the Tennessee Information Protection Act and comparable laws in California, Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, Texas, Oregon, Montana and other states as they take effect.
How to make a request
Email contact@apexcoatingstn.com with the subject line "Privacy Request", or call (615) 862-1660. Tell us what you want and give us enough detail — usually an order number and the email address you used — to confirm it is really you. We will not ask for a government ID to verify a request.
We respond within 45 days, and may extend once by another 45 days if the request is complex, telling you why. An authorized agent may act for you with written proof of authority.
If you disagree with our answer
You may appeal by replying with "Privacy Appeal" in the subject line. We will review and give you a written decision within 45 days. If we deny the appeal, you may complain to the Tennessee Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division or to the attorney general of your own state.
Children
This site is not directed to children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 16. You must be at least 18 to place an order. If you believe a child has given us personal information, email us and we will delete it.
Where your information is held
We operate in the United States and store information here. We sell and ship within the United States only, and we do not intentionally collect information from people outside it. If you visit this site from another country, understand that your information is processed under U.S. law, which may offer different protections from your own.
Other sites
Our site links to third-party sites, including our Facebook and TikTok pages and manufacturers' websites. We do not control them and are not responsible for their privacy practices. Read their policies before giving them information.
Changes to this policy
If we change this policy, we publish the revised version here with a new effective date. Material changes — such as a new category of information, a new recipient or a new use — will be highlighted at the top of this page for at least 30 days. Continuing to use the site after a change takes effect means you accept the updated policy.
Contact
Apex Coatings & Engraving
Attn: Privacy
Greenbrier, Tennessee 37073, United States
Email: contact@apexcoatingstn.com
Phone: (615) 862-1660
Hours: Monday–Friday 8:00–17:00, Saturday 9:00–14:00 Central
If something in this policy is unclear, ask us. We would rather explain it than have you guess.