PRIVACY POLICY
1. Introduction
Afrique Noire (“we,” “our,” or “us”) operates an independent media platform and magazine celebrating African and diasporic art, fashion, and culture. This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, disclose, and protect personal information when you visit our website or interact with our services, including our email subscription list.
By using our website or submitting your information, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, please discontinue use of our website.
This policy is intended to comply with applicable privacy laws including the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), the CAN-SPAM Act, and, where applicable, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
2. Information We Collect
a. Information You Provide Directly
When you subscribe to our newsletter or mailing list, we collect:
- Email address
- Name (if voluntarily provided)
b. Information Collected Automatically
When you visit our website, we or our third-party service providers may automatically collect:
- IP address and approximate geographic location (city/region level)
- Browser type, operating system, and device information
- Pages visited, time spent on site, and click behavior
- Referring URLs or sources
This information is collected through standard web technologies including cookies, pixels, and analytics tools.
c. Sensitive Personal Information
We do not intentionally collect sensitive personal information such as government ID numbers, financial account details, health data, precise geolocation, or biometric data. Please do not submit such information through our website.
3. Legal Basis for Processing (Applicable to EEA/UK Visitors)
If you are located in the European Economic Area or United Kingdom, we process your personal data under the following legal bases:
- Consent — for sending you marketing emails and newsletters (you may withdraw consent at any time)
- Legitimate interests — for website analytics and improving our services
- Legal obligation — where required by applicable law
4. How We Use Your Information
We use the information we collect for the following purposes:
- To send newsletters, editorial updates, new issue announcements, and platform communications
- To notify you of events, partnerships, and offerings relevant to Afrique Noire
- To analyze website traffic and improve user experience
- To respond to inquiries and communications
- To comply with applicable laws and regulations
We do not use your personal information for automated profiling or automated decision-making that produces legal or similarly significant effects.
5. Disclosure of Your Information
We do not sell or rent your personal information to third parties. We may share your information in the following limited circumstances:
- Service Providers: We work with trusted third-party platforms (such as email marketing and analytics providers) that process data on our behalf. These providers are contractually obligated to protect your data and use it only for the purposes we specify.
- Legal Compliance: We may disclose information if required to do so by law, court order, or governmental authority, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Afrique Noire or others.
- 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 of any such change.
Under the CCPA, we do not “sell” or “share” personal information as those terms are defined under California law, including for cross-context behavioral advertising.
6. Email Communications
By providing your email address on our website, you consent to receiving communications from Afrique Noire. In compliance with the CAN-SPAM Act and applicable regulations:
- Every marketing email we send will clearly identify Afrique Noire as the sender
- Every email will include a clear and easy mechanism to unsubscribe
- We will honor all unsubscribe requests within 10 business days
- We will not send commercial emails to anyone who has opted out
To unsubscribe at any time, click the “Unsubscribe” link in any email or contact us directly at afriquenoirmagazine@gmail.com.
7. Your Privacy Rights
California Residents (CCPA/CPRA)
If you are a California resident, you have the following rights:
- Right to Know: Request disclosure of the categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you, the sources, the purposes, and the third parties with whom we share it
- Right to Delete: Request deletion of personal information we have collected, subject to certain exceptions
- Right to Correct: Request correction of inaccurate personal information
- Right to Opt-Out: Opt out of the sale or sharing of your personal information (note: we do not sell or share personal information)
- Right to Limit Use of Sensitive Personal Information: Limit our use of sensitive personal information to what is necessary to provide our services
- Right to Non-Discrimination: We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your privacy rights
To submit a privacy rights request, contact us at afriquenoirmagazine@gmail.com. We will respond within 45 days of receiving a verifiable request, as required by law.
EEA/UK Residents (GDPR)
If you are located in the EEA or UK, you have the right to access, rectify, erase, restrict, or object to the processing of your personal data, as well as the right to data portability. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.
8. Cookies and Tracking Technologies
Our website may use cookies and similar tracking technologies to enhance your browsing experience and gather analytics data. Cookies are small files stored on your device.
Types of cookies we may use:
- Essential cookies: Required for basic website functionality
- Analytics cookies: Used to understand how visitors interact with our site (e.g., Google Analytics)
You may control or disable cookies through your browser settings. Please note that disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of our website. If you use a Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal, we will honor it as an opt-out of data sharing to the extent required by applicable law.
9. Data Retention
We retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this policy or as required by law. Specifically:
- Email subscriber data is retained until you unsubscribe, after which it is removed from our active mailing list within 10 business days
- Website analytics data is retained in accordance with our analytics provider’s standard retention periods
You may request deletion of your data at any time by contacting us at afriquenoirmagazine@gmail.com.
10. Data Security
We take reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, loss, or misuse. However, no method of electronic transmission or storage is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your information, we cannot guarantee absolute security.
In the event of a data breach that affects your personal information, we will notify you as required by applicable law.
11. Children’s Privacy
Our website is not directed to children under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe we have inadvertently collected information from a minor, please contact us immediately at afriquenoirmagazine@gmail.com and we will promptly delete such information.
12. Third-Party Links
Our website may contain links to third-party websites or platforms (such as social media). This Privacy Policy applies only to information collected through our own website. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of third-party sites and encourage you to review their policies independently.
13. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, services, or applicable law. When we make material changes, we will update the “Last Updated” date at the top of this policy. We encourage you to review this page periodically. Your continued use of our website following any changes constitutes your acceptance of the revised policy.
14. Contact Us
If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or the handling of your personal information, please contact us at:
Afrique Noire
Email: afriquenoirmagazine@gmail.com
We will respond to all privacy-related inquiries within 45 days.
