Privacy Policy | Lifting Africa

The Lifting Africa take the privacy of your personal information very seriously and are committed to safeguarding it. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and share your personal information.

About our Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy is issued on behalf of Lifting Africa. When we mention

“Lifting Africa,” “we,” “us,” or “our” in this Privacy Policy, we are referring to the relevant company in Lifting Africa responsible for processing your personal data (being the “data controller”).

This Privacy Policy relates to our websites, apps, and other services, including subscriptions and events, which refer to or link to this Privacy Policy (each is a “Service”). By using a Service, you are subject to the terms and conditions of this Policy. Different or additional privacy statements, terms or notices applicable to a specific product or Service may supplement this, Policy. If those terms conflict with this Privacy Policy, the terms specific to the product or Service apply instead.

Lifting Africa that owns or administers the Service, as identified here, is the data controller of your personal information provided to or collected by or for the Service.

This Privacy Policy will explain the following:

• What personal information we collect

• How we use your information

• How we share your information

• Your personal account

• Administrator data

• Your communication preferences

• Accessing and updating your information

• Data retention

• Data security

• Location of processing

• Changes

• Contacts

What Personal Information We Collect

Information You Provide Directly
The personal information we collect from you varies depending on the Service you use and how you interact with us. This may include:

Contact Details: Your name, email address, postal address, and phone number.
Account Credentials: Usernames, passwords, password hints, and other security information.
Profile Information: Data related to your education, profession, and interests, such as your field of study, current job title, practice area, gender, and ORCID ID.
Job Application Information: If you apply for a role with us or use our job sites, we may collect your CV and job preferences.
Uploaded Content: Any content you upload, share, or store in your account, including annotations, comments, contributions, and replies.
Payment Information: Credit or debit card numbers, or bank account details, if applicable.
Communications: Information you provide through customer support or other interactions, including queries and feedback.
Interaction Data: Information related to your use of the Service, such as your favorites, search queries, and other activity.
Communication Preferences: Your preferences for receiving alerts, including frequency, type, and format.

Please note that while some information is necessary for providing the Service, other information is optional and you are not required to provide it

Event Filming and Photography

We may photograph, film, broadcast, or record our events. If you are identifiable from such photographs, films, broadcasts, or recordings, we may process information including your voice, likeness, and image.

Financial Information

We record any financial transactions made with us. Payments made through our websites are processed securely by our third-party payment provider, iKhokha. We do not directly collect or store your debit or credit card information except in specific situations where you provide us with details via written order forms or over the phone. In these cases, we update iKhokha with your details but do not retain a copy of your debit or credit card information once the payment is processed.

Data from Your Institution or Organisation

We may receive information about you from the institution or organisation with which you are affiliated. This information may be used to activate and manage your access to the institution’s subscription to our Service, register you for an event, or subscribe you to our publications.

The data received may include:

Contact Details: Your name, institutional email address, postal address, and phone number.
Account Registration Information: Your job title.
Institutional User ID: Identifiers specific to your institution.

Information Collected Through Automated Technologies

We may automatically collect information when you use our Services, either directly or through third-party analytics providers such as Google Analytics (see Google Privacy Policy) and Microsoft Clarity (see Microsoft Privacy Statement).

This information may include:

IP address
Browser type and settings
Device identifier details
Internet Service Provider (ISP)
Referring and exit pages
Site content interacted with
Operating system
Clickstream data
Location data
Other usage information

We (and third parties acting on our behalf) may collect this information using tracking technologies, including cookies, web beacons (tracking pixels or tags), embedded scripts, location-identifying technologies, device recognition technologies, and session replay software. We may combine this information with other data we collect about you to enable website functionality, understand interaction trends, gather demographic insights, personalize your experience, and improve our sites and Services.

Data from Other Sources

We may obtain your contact details and other information from various third parties, including:

Business partners and data processors involved in technical, payment, or delivery services.
Advertising, marketing, digital, and social media agencies.
Data brokers and analytics providers.
Academic institutions, journal owners, societies, and similar organizations.
Search information providers.
Third parties who recommend you as a potential author, reviewer, editor, or contributor.
Credit reference agencies.

Suppose you choose to register or sign in using a social media account or other third-party identity service (e.g., Facebook or Google). In that case, the authentication is managed by that third party. When you link your Lifting Africa account to your third-party account, we collect your name, email address, and any other information you agree to share.

We may also gather information from publicly accessible sources such as public databases or social media platforms. When collecting publicly available data, we adhere to this Privacy Policy in storing and processing it.

Please note that any personal data (e.g., your name, social media handle, image, email address) that you voluntarily share online, such as on social media or forums, may be collected and disclosed by others. We cannot control or monitor the collection or disclosure of this publicly available information.

How We Use Your Information

In compliance with South African data protection laws, we process your personal data based on the following lawful bases:

Contractual Necessity: When processing is required to fulfill a contract with you.
Legal Obligation: When we must comply with a legal obligation.
Consent: When you have provided explicit consent, where applicable.
Legitimate Interests: When processing is necessary for our or a third party’s legitimate interests, provided these interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms.

We use your personal information to:

Manage Service Access: Provide, activate, and manage your use of the Service (necessary for contractual performance and our legitimate interests in ensuring service quality and security).
Process Transactions: Fulfill requests, orders, subscriptions, and other transactions (necessary for contractual performance).
Event Registration and Management: Register and manage your participation in events, including communicating special requirements to venues (necessary for contractual performance and legal compliance).
Personalized Communications: Send you tailored communications that may interest you, such as information about publications, webinars, events, surveys, and promotions (based on legitimate interests).
Payment Verification: Verify your identity and payment details (necessary to meet legal obligations).
Content Customization: Offer personalized content and experiences relevant to your interests and location (based on legitimate interests).
Service Improvement: Enhance and expand the Service by adding new features and content (based on legitimate interests).
Updates and Notifications: Inform you about changes and updates related to the Service (necessary for contractual performance and legitimate interests).
Targeted Advertising: Deliver targeted ads and promotional content relevant to your interests (based on legitimate interests).
Support and Security: Provide technical and customer support to maintain service functionality and security (necessary for contractual performance).
Regulatory Compliance: Meet legal, regulatory, and compliance requirements (necessary for legal obligations).
Data Aggregation: Aggregate your information with that of other users to understand service interests and trends (based on legitimate interests).
Usage Analysis: Identify usage trends and conduct data analysis for research, audits, reporting, and other business operations, including payments and effectiveness evaluations (based on legitimate interests and contractual necessity).

How We Use Your Information

We may use your personal information for the following purposes:

Respond to Your Inquiries: Address your requests, questions, comments, or concerns (necessary for contractual obligations).
Publishing Programs: Invite you to submit or review manuscripts or participate in our publishing programs (based on our legitimate interests to maintain and enhance our journals and magazines).
Payments and Statements: Issue payments and statements, such as for royalties and editorial fees (necessary for contractual obligations).
User Testing and Surveys: Conduct user testing and surveys to improve our services (based on our legitimate interests).
Competitions and Promotions: Administer competitions and promotions and deliver prizes (necessary for contractual obligations and based on our legitimate interests).

How We Share Your Information

With Our Group Companies and Service Providers
We share your personal information with various suppliers and service providers, including:

Editors, reviewers, and payment processors.
Customer support and website hosting services.
Email service providers, event venues, mailing houses, shipping agents, and IT service providers.

These parties process your information for us to provide the Service, complete transactions, or fulfill requests. We ensure that they comply with applicable laws, maintain strong data security, and process personal data only as instructed. They are prohibited from using your information for their marketing purposes or for any other reason beyond providing the contracted services.

With Partner Organizations

We may share your personal data with:

Your institution or organization, if you access the Service through their subscription. We may share usage data, such as downloaded items or assessment results, to help them understand their subscription use (based on legitimate interests).
Third-party partners for courses or events, such as webinars or conferences. We may share your information with event sponsors.
Event organizers or exhibitors if you allow your badge to be scanned (for contractual purposes).
Affiliated organizations, funders, or consortia, if you declare such affiliations, to facilitate service fulfillment.
Advertising partners to serve targeted ads and collect information for better advertisement relevance (based on legitimate interests).
Any other third parties where you have consented to such disclosures or where we have a legitimate business interest.

With Other Third Parties

We may disclose your personal data if required to comply with legal obligations or legal processes, to protect our rights and property, to ensure user and public safety, or to prevent misuse of our Services. We may also share your data in connection with corporate transactions, such as mergers, acquisitions, or transfers of assets.

Ad Targeting

Digital advertising supports our content and allows us to keep some content accessible for free. We and third-party advertisers use ad management platforms to deliver tailored ads based on your interests and preferences. Cookies are used to manage and analyze the delivery of ads, and to track advertising performance.

While these services use cookies to create anonymous profiles for targeting ads, they do not have access to your personal details like your name, email address, or phone number. We only share anonymous data with them. You can manage your cookie preferences via the ‘cookie settings’ link at the bottom of our webpages. If you do not consent to personalized advertising, you will still see ads, but they will not be tailored to your interests.

You have the right to withdraw your consent or opt out of this type of data processing at any time through our Cookie Management Platform.

Data Matching

We may utilize advertising services from Google, LinkedIn, and Meta (which owns Facebook and Instagram) to show you personalized ads across various websites, provided you have consented to personalized advertising. When you use our Services and provide your email address (e.g., for login or registration), we may share it with these companies.

Google and Meta use hashed and pseudonymized data to create secure online identifiers for cross-channel advertising. These identifiers do not contain personal details about you and will not be used to identify you directly but may be shared with our advertising partners for interest-based or targeted advertising. LinkedIn uses the information provided by us to enable personalized messaging on and off their platform.

You can withdraw your consent or opt out of this data processing at any time through your Google, Meta, or LinkedIn account settings.

Marketing Communications

We may occasionally contact you via email, SMS, telephone, or post with information about our products and services (including those from all brands within our business) that may be of interest to you. This is based on our legitimate interests to promote our products and services and keep you updated with relevant promotions, events, and subscriptions related to your profession.

From the Brand You Registered With: We will use your personal information to send marketing materials related to the brand with whose website or event you registered.
From Other Brands Within Our Business: We may also send marketing information about relevant products, services, and events from other brands within our business that we believe may interest you.

Third-Party Data Sharing

We may share your personal information with sponsors, joint venture partners, and other third parties with whom we have commercial relationships. This includes entities for which we act as an agent, licensee, application host, or publisher, and who may wish to send you information about their products and services, in accordance with data protection legislation.

You can opt out of having your information shared with third parties at the time you provide it or when you receive communications from us.

Other Reasons

We process personal data of individuals featured in our publications, content, and products, including information from publicly available sources, for journalistic purposes and legitimate interests. We also use publicly available data to identify prospective customers for relevant marketing (based on our legitimate interests).

If you submit personal data on behalf of another person or for public use in our products, you must ensure you have their consent and inform them of this Privacy Policy and our data processing practices.

Data Security

We protect your personal information using appropriate technical and organizational measures against loss, theft, misuse, unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction. We employ encryption, such as Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol, to safeguard data transmission. Our websites aim to use SSL protocol for enhanced security.

Administrator Data

If you are an administrator for an institution or organization with a subscription to our Service, we will use your contact details to communicate about the subscription and related services. If you provide contact information for your colleagues, we may reference you in communications sent to them about the Service.

Your Communication Preferences

You can customize your communication preferences or opt out of marketing communications at any time. To update your preferences or unsubscribe, please use the link at the bottom of any email you receive. We may still notify you of important changes or updates to the Service.

Accessing and Updating Your Information

Registered users can access and update their account information directly through the Service. It is the user’s responsibility to keep their information current. To close your account, contact customer support.

Data Retention

We retain your personal information as long as necessary to provide the Service, complete transactions, comply with legal obligations, and maintain business records. Personal data used for direct marketing purposes will be retained as long as it remains accurate and relevant, or for up to 5 years.

Locations of Processing

Your personal information may be stored and processed in your region or in other countries where Lifting Africa or our service providers operate. These countries may have privacy laws different from those of your country of residence. We take reasonable steps to make sure your information is handled securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy and applicable data protection laws.

Changes

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated revision date. Significant changes may be communicated through the Service or other means.