Effective Date: 18 June 2026
Website: uKwazi Life
Website URL: https://www.ukwazilife.co.za/
Responsible Party: uKwazi Life
Information Officer: Greg Arde
Email: editor@thelifemag.co.za / greg@gregarde.com
1. Introduction
uKwazi Life respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal information in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013, commonly known as POPIA, the Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000, commonly known as PAIA, and other applicable South African laws.
This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, share, protect, and process your personal information when you visit our website, subscribe to our newsletters, contact us, submit content, enter competitions, interact with our social media platforms, or otherwise communicate with us.
By using this website, you agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with this policy, please do not use the website or submit personal information to us.
2. Purpose of this Privacy Policy
The purpose of this Privacy Policy is to tell you:
- what personal information we collect;
- why we collect it;
- how we use it;
- when we may share it;
- how long we keep it;
- how we protect it;
- what your rights are under POPIA; and
- how you can contact our Information Officer.
3. Definitions
For the purposes of this Privacy Policy:
“Personal Information” means information relating to an identifiable, living natural person and, where applicable, an identifiable juristic person, including but not limited to names, contact details, email addresses, location information, online identifiers, photographs, opinions, correspondence, and any other information that can identify a person or organisation.
“Processing” means any operation or activity concerning personal information, including collecting, receiving, recording, organising, storing, updating, retrieving, using, sharing, distributing, deleting, or destroying information.
“Responsible Party” means the party that determines why and how personal information is processed. For this website, the Responsible Party is uKwazi Life.
“Data Subject” means the person to whom personal information relates.
“Operator” means a third party that processes personal information on behalf of uKwazi Life.
“Special Personal Information” means sensitive personal information as defined by POPIA, including information relating to health, race, ethnicity, religious or philosophical beliefs, political persuasion, trade union membership, biometric information, or criminal behaviour.
4. Information Officer
The Information Officer is responsible for encouraging and monitoring compliance with POPIA and dealing with requests relating to personal information.
Information Officer: Greg Arde
Email: editor@thelifemag.co.za / greg@gregarde.com
You may contact the Information Officer if you:
- want to access your personal information;
- want to correct or update your personal information;
- want us to delete your personal information where legally permitted;
- want to object to the processing of your personal information;
- want to withdraw consent;
- have a privacy-related complaint;
- have a question about how your personal information is processed.
5. What Personal Information We Collect
Depending on how you interact with uKwazi Life, we may collect the following categories of personal information.
5.1 Information you provide directly
This may include:
- your name and surname;
- email address;
- telephone number;
- company, publication, or organisation name;
- job title or role;
- message content when you contact us;
- newsletter subscription information;
- competition, campaign, or giveaway entry details;
- event registration or RSVP details;
- comments, article submissions, letters, media releases, photographs, videos, or other content you submit;
- social media handles or profile information if you interact with us through social platforms;
- billing, payment, or advertising-related information where applicable;
- any other information you choose to provide.
5.2 Information collected automatically
When you visit our website, we may automatically collect certain technical and usage information, including:
- IP address;
- browser type and version;
- device type;
- operating system;
- pages visited;
- time spent on pages;
- referring website or search engine;
- general location data;
- cookies and similar tracking technologies;
- website usage and analytics data.
5.3 Information from third parties
We may receive information from third parties where lawful, including:
- social media platforms;
- analytics providers;
- advertising partners;
- public relations agencies;
- event organisers;
- contributors, journalists, photographers, or media partners;
- publicly available sources;
- service providers that help us operate our website and communications.
6. Why We Collect and Process Personal Information
We collect and process personal information for legitimate and lawful purposes, including to:
- operate, maintain, and improve our website;
- respond to enquiries, requests, and messages;
- publish editorial, lifestyle, news, opinion, interview, event, or magazine-related content;
- manage newsletter subscriptions;
- send marketing or promotional communications where permitted;
- administer competitions, campaigns, giveaways, surveys, or events;
- communicate with contributors, advertisers, readers, partners, and service providers;
- manage advertising, sponsorship, or partnership enquiries;
- analyse website traffic and improve user experience;
- protect the security and integrity of our website;
- comply with applicable laws, regulations, and legal obligations;
- keep internal records;
- prevent fraud, misuse, unlawful activity, or security threats.
7. Legal Basis for Processing Personal Information
uKwazi Life will only process your personal information where there is a lawful basis to do so. This may include where:
- you have given consent;
- processing is necessary to perform a contract or take steps before entering into a contract;
- processing is necessary to comply with a legal obligation;
- processing protects a legitimate interest of uKwazi Life, a third party, or the data subject;
- processing is necessary for the proper performance of a public law duty, where applicable;
- processing is necessary for journalistic, literary, artistic, media, or editorial purposes, where permitted by law.
8. Consent
Where we rely on consent to process your personal information, you may withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us.
Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing that took place before consent was withdrawn. It may, however, affect our ability to provide certain services, communications, or features to you.
9. Newsletter and Marketing Communications
If you subscribe to our newsletter or agree to receive marketing communications, we may use your contact details to send you updates, articles, event information, promotions, offers, or other communications related to uKwazi Life.
You may unsubscribe from marketing communications at any time by:
- clicking the unsubscribe link in an email, where available;
- contacting us at editor@thelifemag.co.za; or
- contacting Greg Arde at greg@gregarde.com.
We will not send you unsolicited direct marketing by electronic communication unless permitted by law.
10. Editorial, Media, and Published Content
uKwazi Life may collect and process personal information for journalistic, editorial, media, creative, cultural, educational, or public-interest purposes.
This may include names, photographs, interviews, opinions, business information, event details, and other content submitted to us or obtained lawfully from contributors, sources, interviewees, photographers, public platforms, media releases, or publicly available records.
Where content is submitted to us for publication, we may edit, publish, archive, share, syndicate, promote, or distribute that content in connection with uKwazi Life’s editorial and media activities.
If you believe that published content contains inaccurate personal information about you, you may contact our Information Officer.
11. Competitions, Giveaways, Campaigns, and Events
If you enter a competition, giveaway, campaign, survey, or event hosted or promoted by uKwazi Life, we may process your personal information to:
- verify your entry;
- contact you about the competition, campaign, or event;
- select and announce winners;
- deliver prizes or benefits;
- comply with competition rules and legal obligations;
- publish winner names or related content where permitted.
Additional terms and conditions may apply to specific competitions, campaigns, or events.
12. Cookies and Tracking Technologies
Our website may use cookies, pixels, tags, analytics tools, and similar technologies to improve website functionality, understand website traffic, personalise user experience, and support advertising or marketing activities.
Cookies may collect information such as:
- your IP address;
- browser and device details;
- pages visited;
- time spent on the website;
- links clicked;
- referral sources;
- general location information.
You can manage or disable cookies through your browser settings. Please note that disabling cookies may affect website functionality and user experience.
13. Website Analytics
We may use analytics tools, such as Google Analytics or similar services, to understand how visitors use our website. These tools may collect technical and usage information to help us improve content, navigation, performance, and user experience.
Analytics providers may process information according to their own privacy policies and terms.
14. Advertising and Third-Party Content
Our website may include advertising, sponsored content, affiliate links, embedded content, or links to third-party websites.
Third-party websites and platforms may collect personal information independently from us. uKwazi Life is not responsible for the privacy practices, policies, or content of third-party websites.
We encourage you to read the privacy policies of any third-party websites or services you use.
15. Sharing of Personal Information
We do not sell your personal information.
We may share personal information where lawful and necessary with:
- website hosting providers;
- IT and security service providers;
- email newsletter and communication platforms;
- analytics providers;
- payment processors, where applicable;
- professional advisers, including legal, accounting, or compliance advisers;
- advertisers, sponsors, or campaign partners where relevant and lawful;
- event organisers or prize fulfilment partners where applicable;
- contributors, editors, photographers, designers, or production partners where necessary;
- regulators, courts, law enforcement, or government authorities where required by law.
Where we appoint third-party operators to process personal information on our behalf, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that they process personal information securely and only according to our instructions.
16. Cross-Border Transfers of Personal Information
Some of our service providers, platforms, or technology systems may be located outside South Africa or may store information on servers outside South Africa.
Where personal information is transferred outside South Africa, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place and that the transfer complies with POPIA and applicable law.
17. Security of Personal Information
We take reasonable and appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against:
- loss;
- unauthorised access;
- unlawful processing;
- unauthorised disclosure;
- damage;
- alteration;
- destruction.
These measures may include access controls, secure hosting, password protection, encryption where appropriate, staff awareness, system monitoring, and limiting access to personal information to those who need it.
However, no website, email system, or online transmission is completely secure. You use the website and submit information at your own risk.
18. Data Breaches
If we become aware of a security compromise involving your personal information, we will take reasonable steps to investigate the incident, limit potential harm, and notify affected persons and/or the Information Regulator where required by law.
19. Retention of Personal Information
We will not keep personal information for longer than necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law.
We may retain personal information where necessary to:
- comply with legal or regulatory obligations;
- maintain business and editorial records;
- resolve disputes;
- enforce agreements;
- protect our rights;
- maintain archives;
- support legitimate operational, historical, statistical, or journalistic purposes.
When personal information is no longer required, we will take reasonable steps to delete, destroy, de-identify, or archive it securely.
20. Your Rights Under POPIA
As a data subject, you have the right to:
- know what personal information we hold about you;
- request access to your personal information;
- request correction or updating of inaccurate, irrelevant, excessive, outdated, incomplete, misleading, or unlawfully obtained information;
- request deletion or destruction of personal information where legally permitted;
- object to the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances;
- withdraw consent where processing is based on consent;
- object to direct marketing;
- lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator;
- institute civil proceedings where permitted by law.
To exercise your rights, please contact our Information Officer.
21. Access to Personal Information and PAIA
You may request access to records held by uKwazi Life in accordance with PAIA and POPIA.
Requests for access to records or personal information should be sent to:
Information Officer: Greg Arde
Email: editor@thelifemag.co.za / greg@gregarde.com
We may require proof of identity before processing your request. We may also refuse access to certain records where permitted or required by law.
22. Correction or Deletion of Personal Information
You may ask us to correct, update, or delete your personal information where it is inaccurate, outdated, incomplete, irrelevant, excessive, misleading, or unlawfully obtained.
We will consider your request in accordance with POPIA and other applicable laws.
In some cases, we may not be able to delete certain information immediately, for example where we are required to keep it for legal, accounting, contractual, archival, editorial, or legitimate business reasons.
23. Objection to Processing
You may object to the processing of your personal information where POPIA allows you to do so.
If you object, we will stop processing the relevant personal information unless the law allows or requires us to continue processing it.
24. Children’s Personal Information
We do not knowingly collect personal information from children without appropriate consent from a parent, guardian, or competent person, unless permitted by law.
If you believe that a child has provided us with personal information without appropriate consent, please contact our Information Officer.
25. Special Personal Information
We will only process special personal information where permitted by law, where you have given consent, where it has been made public by you, where it is necessary for journalistic, literary, artistic, legal, or public-interest purposes, or where another lawful basis applies.
26. User-Submitted Content
If you submit comments, articles, photographs, videos, opinions, reviews, media releases, or other content to uKwazi Life, you confirm that:
- the information you provide is accurate to the best of your knowledge;
- you have the right to submit the content;
- the content does not unlawfully infringe the rights of any third party;
- you understand that submitted content may be reviewed, edited, published, archived, promoted, or removed at our discretion.
Please do not submit personal information about another person unless you have the right or permission to do so.
27. Social Media
If you interact with uKwazi Life on social media platforms, those platforms may collect and process your personal information according to their own privacy policies.
We may view, respond to, share, repost, or engage with public comments, tags, messages, or content relating to uKwazi Life, subject to applicable laws and platform rules.
28. Links to Other Websites
Our website may contain links to external websites, advertisers, partners, contributors, or third-party platforms.
uKwazi Life is not responsible for the privacy practices, security, content, or policies of external websites. You access third-party websites at your own risk.
29. Accuracy of Personal Information
We will take reasonable steps to ensure that personal information in our possession is accurate, complete, and up to date where necessary.
You are responsible for ensuring that any personal information you provide to us is accurate and current.
30. Complaints
If you believe that your personal information has been processed unlawfully or that your privacy rights have been infringed, please contact us first so that we can try to resolve the matter.
Information Officer: Greg Arde
Email: editor@thelifemag.co.za / greg@gregarde.com
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa.
Information Regulator South Africa
Website: https://inforegulator.org.za/
Complaints information: https://inforegulator.org.za/complaints/
General enquiries: enquiries@inforegulator.org.za
31. Changes to this Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our operations, legal obligations, website functionality, or privacy practices.
The latest version of this Privacy Policy will be published on our website. The effective date at the top of the policy will indicate when it was last updated.
Your continued use of the website after changes are published means that you accept the updated Privacy Policy.
32. Contact Details
For privacy-related queries, requests, or complaints, please contact:
uKwazi Life
Website: https://www.ukwazilife.co.za/
Information Officer: Greg Arde
Email: editor@thelifemag.co.za / greg@gregarde.com
33. Legal Disclaimer
This Privacy Policy is intended to provide general information about how uKwazi Life processes personal information. It does not constitute legal advice.
uKwazi Life may update, adapt, or supplement this Privacy Policy as required to comply with applicable laws, operational requirements, or guidance from the Information Regulator.
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