UrbanSway Ltd (“we”, “us”, “our”) is a South African news/media company that operates the website https://urbansway.co.za/ (“the website”) and provides various online services, such as news, entertainment, sports, lifestyle, and opinion articles, videos, podcasts, newsletters, and social media platforms (“the services”). This privacy policy explains how we collect, use, and protect your personal information when you visit our website or use our services. It also describes your rights and choices regarding your personal information and how you can contact us if you have any questions or concerns.
By visiting our website or using our services, you agree to the terms of this privacy policy and consent to our processing of your personal information as described herein. If you do not agree with this privacy policy, please do not use our website or services.
What personal information do we collect and why?
We collect personal information from you when you interact with our website or services, such as when you:
- Register for an account, subscribe to our newsletter, or participate in our surveys, polls, contests, or promotions;
- Post comments, reviews, ratings, or other user-generated content on our website or social media platforms;
- Contact us via email, phone, or social media, or request customer support or feedback;
- Access or view our content, such as articles, videos, podcasts, or advertisements;
- Click on links or buttons on our website or in our emails or other communications;
- Share our content with others via email, social media, or other platforms.
The types of personal information we collect from you may include:
- Your name, username, email address, phone number, password, and other contact details;
- Your demographic information, such as your age, gender, location, language, and preferences;
- Your social media account information, such as your profile name, picture, and public posts, if you choose to link your social media account with our website or services;
- Your payment information, such as your credit card number, billing address, and transaction history, if you make a purchase or donation on our website or services;
- Your technical information, such as your IP address, device type, browser type, operating system, internet service provider, and other information that may identify your device or network;
- Your usage information, such as your browsing history, search queries, page views, clicks, time spent, and other information that may indicate your interaction with our website or services;
- Your location information, such as your GPS coordinates, geolocation data, or other information that may indicate your physical location, if you enable location services on your device or browser;
- Your personal opinions, views, feedback, ratings, reviews, comments, or other user-generated content that you voluntarily provide or post on our website or social media platforms.
We collect your personal information for the following purposes:
- To provide you with our website and services, and to personalize and improve your experience and satisfaction;
- To communicate with you and respond to your inquiries, requests, feedback, or complaints;
- To send you newsletters, marketing materials, promotions, offers, or other information that may be of interest to you, based on your preferences and consent;
- To administer and manage your account, subscriptions, purchases, donations, or participation in our surveys, polls, contests, or promotions;
- To moderate and monitor your user-generated content and ensure compliance with our terms and conditions and community guidelines;
- To analyse and measure our website and services performance, effectiveness, and popularity, and to improve our content, features, and functionality;
- To protect and secure our website and services, and to prevent and detect fraud, abuse, illegal activity, or violations of our rights or policies;
- To comply with our legal obligations, such as tax, accounting, or reporting requirements, or to respond to lawful requests from authorities or courts;
- To exercise, defend, or enforce our legal rights, or to resolve disputes or claims with you or third parties;
- To fulfil any other purpose that is compatible with the above purposes, or that we notify you of at the time of collection, or that we obtain your consent for.
How do we share your personal information?
We may share your personal information with the following parties, for the purposes described above:
- Our affiliates, subsidiaries, or parent companies, who may use your personal information to provide you with our website and services, or to offer you their own products or services, subject to your consent;
- Our service providers, contractors, or agents, who perform functions on our behalf, such as hosting, storage, payment processing, analytics, marketing, advertising, or customer support;
- Our business partners, sponsors, or advertisers, who may use your personal information to provide you with relevant offers, promotions, or advertisements, subject to your consent;
- Our social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or YouTube, if you choose to link your social media account with our website or services, or if you share our content with others via social media;
- Other users or visitors of our website or services, if you post or share your personal information or user-generated content on our website or social media platforms, or if you participate in our surveys, polls, contests, or promotions;
- Other third parties, such as law enforcement, regulators, courts, or other parties, if we are required or permitted by law to disclose your personal information, or if we need to protect or enforce our rights or policies, or to resolve disputes or claims with you or third parties.
We may also share aggregated, anonymized, or de-identified information with any party, without restriction, as this information does not identify you or any other individual.
How do we protect your personal information?
We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, modification, or destruction. However, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee the absolute security of your personal information. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account and password, and for limiting access to your device or browser. You should also use a secure internet connection and a reputable antivirus software when accessing or using our website or services.
How long do we keep your personal information?
We keep your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which we collected it, or to comply with our legal obligations, or to exercise, defend, or enforce our legal rights, or to resolve disputes or claims with you or third parties. The retention period may vary depending on the type and nature of the personal information, the purpose and context of the collection, and the applicable legal or contractual requirements. When we no longer need your personal information, we will delete it or anonymize it in accordance with our data retention policy and applicable laws.
What are your rights and choices regarding your personal information?
You have the following rights and choices regarding your personal information, subject to applicable laws and limitations:
- You can access, review, update, correct, or delete your personal information that we hold, by logging into your account, or by contacting us at contact@urbansway.co.za;
- You can opt out of receiving newsletters, marketing materials, promotions, offers, or other information from us or our affiliates, subsidiaries, parent companies, business partners, sponsors, or advertisers, by clicking on the unsubscribe link in our emails or communications, or by contacting us at contact@urbansway.co.za;
- You can withdraw your consent to our processing of your personal information at any time, by contacting us at contact@urbansway.co.za, or by following the instructions in our communications or on our website or services;
- You can request a copy of your personal information that we hold, or request us to transfer it to another party, by contacting us at contact@urbansway.co.za;
- You can object to or restrict our processing of your personal information, or request us to rectify or erase your personal information, by contacting us at contact@urbansway.co.za;
- You can lodge a complaint with us or with the relevant data protection authority, if you are not satisfied with how we handle your personal information, by contacting us at contact@urbansway.co.za, or by contacting the Information Regulator of South Africa at inforeg@justice.gov.za, or by contacting the supervisory authority in your country or region, if you are located outside of South Africa.
How do we use cookies and other tracking technologies?
We use cookies and other tracking technologies, such as web beacons, pixels, or tags, to collect and store information about your device, browser, network, preferences, and behaviour when you visit our website or use our services. Cookies are small text files that are placed on your device or browser by our website or services, or by third parties that we work with, such as service providers, contractors, agents, business partners, sponsors, or advertisers. Cookies and other tracking technologies help us to:
- Provide you with our website and services, and to personalize and improve your experience and satisfaction;
- Remember your preferences and settings, such as your language, location, or login details;
- Analyse and measure our website and services performance, effectiveness, and popularity, and to improve our content, features, and functionality;
- Deliver relevant and targeted advertisements, offers, promotions, or information to you, based on your preferences and behaviour;
- Monitor and prevent fraud, abuse, illegal activity, or violations of our rights or policies.
You can manage your cookie preferences and settings by adjusting your device or browser settings, or by using third-party tools or extensions. You can also delete or block cookies at any time, by following the instructions on your device or browser. However, some cookies are essential for the functioning of our website or services, and disabling or deleting them may affect your access or use of our website.