At AfrofestHQ, we believe in full transparency. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, share, and protect your personal information when you use our platform to discover and celebrate African festivals. By using AfrofestHQ, you agree to the practices described here.
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1. Information We Collect
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Account Information: When you create an account, we collect your name, email address, and password (securely hashed). If you sign up via a third-party service, we receive the information you grant access to.
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Usage Data: We automatically collect information about how you interact with AfrofestHQ, including pages viewed, festivals browsed, search queries, click patterns, and session duration. This data is always anonymised.
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Device & Technical Data: IP address, browser type and version, operating system, and referring URLs. This helps us maintain security and improve platform performance.
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Communications: If you contact us via our contact form or by email, we retain the content of those communications to respond to you and improve our service.
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2. How We Use Your Information
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To provide, maintain, and continuously improve the AfrofestHQ platform.
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To personalise your experience — for example, surfacing festivals relevant to your region or interests.
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To send you important service communications, such as account verification, security alerts, and policy updates.
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To send you optional newsletters and festival announcements (only if you opt in).
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To analyse usage patterns and improve features through aggregated, anonymised analytics.
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To protect the security and integrity of our platform and prevent fraud.
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3. Information Sharing
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We do not sell your personal data. Full stop.
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Service Providers: We work with carefully vetted third-party service providers (hosting, email delivery, analytics) who process data on our behalf under strict data protection agreements.
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Legal Requirements: We may disclose information if required to do so by law or in response to valid legal processes, such as a court order.
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Business Transfers: In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you via email and/or a prominent notice on our site before this happens.
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4. Cookies & Tracking Technologies
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AfrofestHQ uses cookies and similar technologies to enhance your browsing experience, understand usage patterns, and deliver relevant content. These include essential cookies (required for the site to function), analytics cookies (to understand how visitors use the site), and preference cookies (to remember your settings).
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You can manage or withdraw your consent to non-essential cookies at any time via the cookie settings panel (accessible from our footer). Withdrawing consent will not affect cookies already placed or the lawfulness of processing based on prior consent.
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5. Data Retention
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We retain your personal data for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you services. If you delete your account, we will delete or anonymise your personal data within 30 days, except where retention is required by law.
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Usage logs and analytics data are retained in anonymised form for up to 24 months to help us understand long-term trends.
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6. Security
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We implement industry-standard security measures including TLS encryption for data in transit, encrypted storage for sensitive data, and regular security audits. However, no method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.
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If you discover a security vulnerability, please contact us immediately at [email protected].
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7. Your Rights
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Access: You have the right to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
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Correction: You can update or correct inaccurate information through your account settings or by contacting us.
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Deletion: You can request deletion of your account and associated personal data at any time.
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Data Portability: You can request your data in a machine-readable format.
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Objection: You can object to our processing of your data where we rely on legitimate interests as the lawful basis.
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To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at [email protected].
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8. Children's Privacy
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AfrofestHQ is not directed to children under 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If we become aware that a child under 16 has provided us with personal information, we will take steps to delete it promptly.
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9. Changes to This Policy
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We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or for legal reasons. We will notify you of significant changes via email or a prominent notice on our platform. The 'Last Updated' date at the top of this page will always reflect the most recent revision.
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10. Contact Us
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If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please reach out to us at [email protected] or through our contact page.