Tangiblee adds EU-based servers to support GDPR compliance for retail clients

In order to support its clients with eCommerce websites located in the European Union, Tangiblee has expanded its technical infrastructure and launched new European servers. 

In the fall of 2020, having garnered many EU-based enterprise clients - many of whom are using its Virtual Try-On feature - Tangiblee moved quickly to expand its service infrastructure. Tangiblee developed VTO - a web-based, markerless augmented reality (AR) experience - as a key feature for jewelry & luxury watch e-Commerce clients.

Tangiblee partners with online retailers to create personalized product experiences for their online customers. Virtual Try-On allows an online shopper to “try-on” jewelry pieces or watches using mobile devices - with no app or additional tech necessary.

Tangiblee launched its Virtual Try-On in the summer of 2020, giving its jewelry retail clients a unique offering for customers to “try-on” items digitally.  With just a few shots of their hand or face, online shoppers can view earrings and necklaces on their person. 

Of course, for items like earrings, this feature requires a user to snap a picture of their face. Because facial photos are considered Personally Identifiable Information (PII), Tangiblee wanted to ensure that users of the feature were safely protected and their retail clients were in strict compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).  

For online shoppers that use the Virtual Try-On experience on any of Tangiblee’s EU-based partner websites, that data will be stored in the EU and therefore protected under GDPR. 

Tangiblee only stores this data for a short period of time, so that users can re-use these photos as they shop.  Tangiblee does not collect any other PII such as user names or emails. All data is processed on the user's (shopper's) device and should they choose to save their photos for use later, those photos never leave the EU before they are erased permanently from Tangiblee’s servers.

By expanding its existing partnership with Microsoft Azure, Tangiblee was able to integrate the new EU-servers at a much faster pace than anticipated.  

Tangiblee’s retailer partner, Pandora (the global jewelry retailer), and its dozens of EU-based locales were among the first of Tangiblee’s retail clients to transition. Tangiblee is hoping to have all EU-based clients transitioned to the EU servers within the next few months.