Privacy Policy

BooksAfrrik respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains how BooksAfrrik collects, uses, stores, protects and otherwise processes personal information when you access or use our website, digital platforms, services, publishing services, author services, events, communications and other products or services.

BooksAfrrik is an African-focused platform with a continental and global outlook. Our services may be accessed by authors, readers, publishers, literary organisations, creative professionals, partners and other users located across Africa and in other parts of the world.

Accordingly, this Privacy Policy is intended to apply to our activities regardless of where you are located, subject to any mandatory privacy and data-protection requirements that apply in your jurisdiction.

1. Scope of This Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy applies to personal information processed by BooksAfrrik through our websites, online platforms, applications, accounts, forms, communications, events, publishing-related services, author programmes, reader services, partnerships and other interactions with BooksAfrrik.

It applies to individuals and organisations interacting with BooksAfrrik, including authors, readers, publishers, literary professionals, contributors, partners, service providers and visitors to our digital platforms.

Where a particular BooksAfrrik service has additional privacy terms, those terms may supplement this Privacy Policy.

2. Who We Are

BooksAfrrik is an African literary and publishing platform created to support the discovery, promotion, connection and development of African books, authors, publishers, readers and literary culture.

Our reach is not limited to any single African country. BooksAfrrik is designed to connect African literary communities across the continent while also serving readers, authors, publishers, organisations and audiences internationally.

For privacy-related enquiries, you can contact us at:

3. Personal Information We Collect

Depending on how you interact with BooksAfrrik, we may collect different categories of personal information.

3.1 Information You Provide Directly

• Name and other identifying information.
• Email address and contact information.
• Account login and profile information.
• Author, publisher or professional information.
• Biography, profile descriptions and professional credentials.
• Book, manuscript and publication information.
• Information submitted through forms or applications.
• Messages, enquiries and correspondence.
• Information provided when registering for events or programmes.
• Any other information you voluntarily provide to us.

3.2 Information Collected Automatically

When you use our website or digital services, certain technical information may be collected automatically, including:

• IP address.
• Browser type and version.
• Device type.
• Operating system.
• Language preferences.
• Pages visited and interactions with our website.
• Referring websites.
• Date and time of visits.
• General usage and diagnostic information.

3.3 Information From Third Parties

We may receive information from third parties where appropriate and lawful, including service providers, business partners, publishing partners, event partners, publicly available sources or organisations with which you have chosen to interact.

4. How We Collect Personal Information

We may collect personal information when you:

• Visit or browse BooksAfrrik platforms.
• Create or manage an account.
• Submit an author or publisher profile.
• Submit information about a book or publication.
• Contact us.
• Subscribe to communications.
• Register for an event, programme or service.
• Participate in campaigns, surveys or promotional activities.
• Interact with our digital content.
• Communicate with BooksAfrrik through third-party platforms.

5. How We Use Personal Information

BooksAfrrik may use personal information for legitimate business, operational, contractual and service-related purposes, including to:

• Provide and operate BooksAfrrik services.
• Create and manage user accounts.
• Publish and display author, publisher and book information.
• Connect readers with authors and literary content.
• Process applications and submissions.
• Organise events, programmes and literary activities.
• Respond to enquiries and customer-service requests.
• Communicate with users about services and activities.
• Improve our website, products and user experience.
• Monitor and analyse platform usage.
• Protect the security and integrity of our services.
• Prevent fraud, abuse and unauthorised activity.
• Comply with applicable legal and regulatory obligations.
• Develop and improve BooksAfrrik's services and operations.

6. Lawful Bases for Processing

Depending on the circumstances and the jurisdiction in which you are located, BooksAfrrik may process personal information on one or more lawful bases, including:

• Your consent.
• The performance of a contract or provision of a requested service.
• Compliance with a legal or regulatory obligation.
• Protection of legitimate interests where permitted by law.
• Other lawful grounds recognised by applicable data-protection legislation.

Where we rely on consent, you may generally withdraw your consent, subject to applicable legal limitations and the consequences of doing so.

7. Authors, Publishers and Publishing Content

BooksAfrrik may collect and publicly display information relating to authors, publishers, books and literary works where this is part of the service or where the information has been provided for publication or promotion.

This may include an author's name, biography, photograph, professional information, book title, publication details, cover image, description, links and other information voluntarily submitted for literary or promotional purposes.

Users should not submit personal information belonging to another person unless they are authorised to do so and have an appropriate legal basis for providing that information.

8. Sharing Personal Information

BooksAfrrik does not sell personal information as a general business practice. We may share information where necessary and lawful to operate our services, including with:

• Service providers that support our website and business operations.
• Technology and hosting providers.
• Payment and transaction providers where applicable.
• Professional advisers.
• Event, publishing or programme partners where appropriate.
• Government authorities or regulators where legally required.
• Other parties where you have given appropriate permission.

Where third parties process personal information on our behalf, we seek to require appropriate confidentiality, security and data-protection measures.

9. Payments and Financial Information

Where BooksAfrrik offers paid services, transactions may be processed through third-party payment providers.

BooksAfrrik should not require users to provide payment-card information directly through insecure channels. Payment information may be processed by authorised payment providers according to their own privacy policies, terms and security practices.

10. Cookies and Similar Technologies

BooksAfrrik may use cookies and similar technologies to support website functionality, remember preferences, understand usage and improve the user experience.

Depending on the technologies used on our website, cookies may include essential cookies, preference cookies, analytics technologies and other technologies necessary for particular services.

You may be able to control cookies through your browser or device settings. Disabling certain cookies may affect website functionality.

11. Communications and Marketing

BooksAfrrik may send service-related communications where necessary. Where required by applicable law, we will seek appropriate consent before sending promotional or direct-marketing communications.

You may unsubscribe from marketing communications by following the unsubscribe instructions included in the relevant communication or by contacting us.

12. Information Security

BooksAfrrik takes reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration, disclosure or destruction.

However, no internet transmission, website or electronic storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. Users should therefore take reasonable steps to protect their account credentials and personal information.

13. Security Incidents and Data Breaches

If BooksAfrrik becomes aware of a security incident involving personal information, we will assess the incident and take appropriate steps in accordance with applicable law.

Where notification is legally required, BooksAfrrik will notify the relevant authorities and/or affected individuals within the applicable timeframe and in the manner required by law.

14. International Data Transfers

Because BooksAfrrik serves users across Africa and internationally, personal information may be processed or stored in countries other than the country in which you live.

Where personal information is transferred across borders, BooksAfrrik will seek to use appropriate safeguards and comply with applicable data-protection and privacy requirements governing international transfers.

Different countries may have different privacy and data-protection laws. Where mandatory local requirements apply, BooksAfrrik will seek to comply with those requirements to the extent applicable to our activities.

15. Data Retention

BooksAfrrik retains personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including to provide services, maintain appropriate business records, resolve disputes, enforce agreements and comply with legal obligations.

Retention periods may vary depending on the type of information, the purpose for which it was collected and applicable legal requirements.

When personal information is no longer required, we will take reasonable steps to delete, anonymise or securely dispose of it, subject to applicable legal or operational requirements.

16. Your Privacy and Data-Protection Rights

Depending on your location and the law applicable to your personal information, you may have rights including:

• The right to request access to personal information we hold about you.
• The right to request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information.
• The right to request deletion where legally available.
• The right to object to certain processing.
• The right to object to direct marketing.
• The right to withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.
• The right to request restriction of certain processing where applicable.
• The right to request portability where applicable.
• The right to seek compensation or other remedies where provided by law.

These rights are not necessarily absolute and may be subject to legal exceptions and limitations.

To exercise a privacy right, contact us at:

privacy@booksafrrik.com

17. Account Closure and Deletion

Where BooksAfrrik provides account functionality, you may request closure or deletion of your account, subject to applicable requirements.

Closing an account does not necessarily mean that every record associated with the account can be immediately deleted. Certain information may need to be retained for legal, security, accounting, dispute-resolution or legitimate operational purposes.

18. Children and Minors

BooksAfrrik recognises the importance of protecting children's privacy. Where our services are directed at or accessible to children or minors, we will apply appropriate safeguards and comply with applicable laws concerning children's personal information and parental or guardian involvement.

If you believe that a child has provided personal information to BooksAfrrik in circumstances where this was not appropriate, please contact us so that we can review the matter.

19. Third-Party Websites and Services

Our platforms may contain links to third-party websites, services or platforms. BooksAfrrik is not responsible for the privacy practices, security or content of independent third parties.

We encourage users to review the privacy policies of third-party services before providing them with personal information.

20. Automated Processing and Recommendations

BooksAfrrik may use technology to analyse content, improve search, recommend books or content, personalise user experiences, identify trends or improve platform functionality.

Where applicable law provides rights concerning automated decision-making or profiling, BooksAfrrik will respect those rights and provide appropriate information or mechanisms required by law.

21. Changes to This Privacy Policy

BooksAfrrik may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, technology, business practices or applicable privacy laws.

When we make material changes, we may provide an appropriate notice through our website, services or other communication channels.

The updated policy will become effective on the date indicated at the beginning of the revised policy unless otherwise stated.

22. Contact BooksAfrrik

If you have questions, concerns, requests or complaints regarding this Privacy Policy or the way BooksAfrrik handles personal information, please contact us.