Privacy Policy
Last updated: 22 October 2026
1. Introduction
This Is Africa (TIA) is an independent pan-African digital media platform committed to informing, educating, and connecting audiences through credible journalism, informed opinion, and stories about Africa and the wider world.
We respect your privacy and are committed to handling personal information responsibly. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, share, and protect personal information when you visit our website, contact our team, subscribe to our communications, contribute content, or interact with our digital platforms.
This Is Africa operates as a Community Trust in Kenya. For privacy-related questions, please contact us using the contact details provided at the end of this policy.
By using our website, you acknowledge that you have had the opportunity to read this Privacy Policy. Where consent is required by law, we will seek it appropriately.
2. Information We Collect
We may collect the following categories of information, depending on how you interact with our platform.
Information You Provide
You may provide personal information when you:
- Contact us with questions, feedback, complaints, or media enquiries.
- Subscribe to newsletters or other communications.
- Submit articles, photographs, videos, pitches, or other contributions.
- Apply to become a contributor, partner, advertiser, or collaborator.
- Participate in surveys, campaigns, competitions, or other activities.
- Leave comments or interact with features that request personal information.
This information may include your name, email address, professional affiliation, biography, organisation, and any information you choose to include in your communication or submission.
Please avoid submitting sensitive personal information unless it is necessary for your interaction with us and appropriate safeguards have been discussed.
Information Collected Automatically
When you visit our website, certain technical information may be collected automatically, depending on the website configuration and technologies in use.
This may include:
- IP address and approximate location derived from it.
- Browser type, operating system, and device information.
- Pages visited, links clicked, and referring websites.
- Visit dates, times, and general usage patterns.
- Cookies and similar technologies used for website functionality, analytics, security, or advertising.
We aim to collect only information that is reasonably necessary for legitimate operational, editorial, analytical, and security purposes.
3. How We Use Your Information
We may use personal information to:
- Operate, maintain, and improve our website and digital services.
- Respond to enquiries, complaints, correction requests, and feedback.
- Review submissions and communicate with writers and contributors.
- Send newsletters or updates where you have subscribed or where another lawful basis applies.
- Manage partnerships, advertising enquiries, and professional relationships.
- Understand audience interests and improve the relevance and usability of our content.
- Detect spam, fraudulent activity, security threats, and misuse of our services.
- Comply with applicable legal obligations and respond to lawful requests.
- Protect our rights, readers, contributors, and the integrity of our platform.
We will not use personal information for purposes that are incompatible with the reasons for which it was collected without an appropriate lawful basis.
4. Legal Basis for Processing
Where applicable, we process personal information under one or more lawful grounds, including:
- Consent: When you agree to a specific use of your information, such as certain newsletter or cookie preferences.
- Legitimate interests: When processing is reasonably necessary for activities such as operating our publication, responding to enquiries, maintaining security, and understanding website performance, provided your rights are respected.
- Contractual necessity: When information is required to take steps requested by you or fulfil an agreement.
- Legal obligations: When processing is necessary to comply with applicable law.
The appropriate legal basis depends on the circumstances and the information involved.
5. Cookies and Similar Technologies
Our website may use cookies and similar technologies to support essential functions, remember preferences, analyse website traffic, and, where enabled, support advertising.
Cookies are small files stored on your device that can help a website recognise a browser or remember certain settings.
Depending on our website configuration, we may use:
- Essential cookies to support security and core website functions.
- Preference cookies to remember selected settings.
- Analytics cookies to understand website usage and performance.
- Advertising cookies to measure or personalise advertising, where applicable.
Where required by law, we will request consent before placing non-essential cookies or using similar technologies. You may also manage cookies through your browser settings and any cookie preference tool available on our website.
Disabling certain cookies may affect some website features.
6. Newsletters and Email Communications
If you subscribe to our newsletter or other updates, we may use your email address to deliver the communications you requested.
You can unsubscribe using the link provided in a newsletter, where available, or contact us to request removal from our mailing list.
We may retain limited information about your subscription and unsubscribe request to manage your preferences and demonstrate compliance with applicable requirements.
We will not knowingly add you to a marketing mailing list without an appropriate lawful basis.
7. Contributors, Writers, and Submissions
This Is Africa welcomes contributions from journalists, researchers, writers, and other voices across Africa and the diaspora.
When you submit an article, pitch, photograph, video, or other material, we may process the personal information needed to review the submission, communicate with you, verify relevant details, and manage publication.
If your work is published, your name, professional biography, photograph, or other byline information may appear publicly, depending on the publication arrangement.
Please do not send confidential source identities, sensitive documents, or information that could put a person at risk through ordinary unsecured submission channels. Contact our editorial team to discuss appropriate handling before sending such material.
Editorial confidentiality and source protection will be handled in accordance with our editorial standards and applicable law. This Privacy Policy does not promise absolute confidentiality in circumstances where disclosure is legally required or otherwise lawfully justified.
8. Comments and Public Interactions
If our website allows comments or other public contributions, information you choose to publish may be visible to other users and may be copied, indexed, or shared by third parties.
Please consider carefully what you post publicly. Avoid publishing private contact details, confidential information, or personal information about other people without an appropriate basis.
We may moderate, restrict, or remove comments that violate our applicable community rules or create legal, safety, or security concerns.
9. Sharing Personal Information
We do not sell personal information to third parties.
We may share limited personal information when necessary with:
- Service providers: Companies that provide website hosting, technical maintenance, email delivery, security, analytics, or other operational services.
- Professional advisers: Legal, accounting, or other advisers where reasonably necessary.
- Editorial partners: Relevant parties involved in a submission, collaboration, or publication arrangement, where appropriate.
- Authorities and other parties: Where disclosure is required by law, a valid legal process, or necessary to protect rights, safety, or security.
We expect service providers handling personal information on our behalf to apply appropriate safeguards and use information only for authorised purposes.
Where content is submitted for publication, we may share information with editors or relevant reviewers to assess the submission. We will not treat submission as unrestricted permission to disclose confidential information.
10. Third-Party Websites and Social Media
Our website may contain links to external websites, embedded content, social media platforms, and third-party services.
These services may collect information about you according to their own privacy policies and settings. We do not control the privacy practices of external websites and are not responsible for their independent processing of your information.
When you interact with This Is Africa through social media platforms, your activity may also be governed by the privacy policies and terms of those platforms.
We encourage you to review the privacy settings and policies of any external service you use.
11. Data Security
We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure.
Depending on the information and systems involved, these measures may include access controls, password protection, software updates, secure connections, backups, and appropriate handling procedures.
No website, email service, or electronic transmission can be guaranteed to be completely secure. We therefore encourage contributors and readers to exercise caution when sending confidential or sensitive information.
Where a personal data breach occurs, we will assess the circumstances and take the steps required by applicable law, including notification where legally necessary.
12. Data Retention
We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, subject to applicable legal, editorial, contractual, and operational requirements.
Retention periods may vary according to the type of information and its purpose. For example:
- Enquiry records may be retained for a reasonable period to manage follow-up communications.
- Contributor records may be retained while submissions or professional relationships remain active and for an appropriate period afterwards.
- Newsletter information may be retained while you remain subscribed, with limited records kept where necessary to honour unsubscribe requests.
- Security and technical logs may be retained for a limited period for operational and security purposes.
- Published articles and associated editorial records may be retained as part of the publication’s archive and accountability practices.
When information is no longer required, we will take reasonable steps to delete it, anonymise it, or securely dispose of it where appropriate.
13. International Data Transfers
As a pan-African digital media platform with readers, contributors, and service providers potentially located in different countries, personal information may be processed or stored outside Kenya.
Where personal information is transferred across borders, we will take steps required by applicable law to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place.
The protections available to you may depend on the relevant countries, services, and circumstances.
14. Your Privacy Rights
Depending on applicable law and the circumstances, you may have the right to:
- Request access to personal information we hold about you.
- Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information.
- Request deletion of personal information where legally appropriate.
- Object to or request restrictions on certain processing activities.
- Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.
- Request information about how your personal information is handled.
- Exercise applicable rights relating to direct marketing.
- Lodge a complaint with the relevant data protection authority.
To exercise a privacy right, please contact us using the details at the end of this policy. We may need to verify your identity before responding.
Some requests may be subject to lawful exceptions, including requirements relating to freedom of expression, journalism, public-interest reporting, legal obligations, or the protection of other individuals’ rights.
15. Children’s Privacy
Our content may be read by people of different ages, but our website is not intended to collect children’s personal information unnecessarily.
Where an activity involves children, we will take appropriate steps to protect their privacy and safety, taking account of their age, the circumstances, and applicable law.
We will not knowingly collect children’s personal information for purposes requiring parental or guardian consent without obtaining the consent required by law.
If you believe a child has provided personal information inappropriately, please contact us so that we can review the matter.
16. Privacy and Editorial Journalism
As a digital media organisation, we recognise that privacy rights must be considered alongside freedom of expression, public-interest journalism, and the public’s right to receive information.
We aim to handle personal information in a manner that respects individual rights while allowing legitimate reporting, fact-checking, archiving, and accountability.
Information relating to journalistic sources, unpublished submissions, and editorial investigations may require additional protections. Any processing or disclosure will be assessed in accordance with our editorial standards and applicable legal requirements.
Nothing in this policy is intended to remove rights or protections provided by applicable law.
17. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in our operations, website features, technology, or applicable law.
When we make material changes, we will update the date at the top of this page and take any additional notification steps required by law.
We encourage readers, contributors, and subscribers to review this policy periodically.
18. Contact Us
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, wish to exercise your privacy rights, or have concerns about how your personal information is handled, please contact This Is Africa through our official website’s contact page or designated privacy contact.
Organisation: This Is Africa (TIA)
Location: Kenya
Privacy contact: info@thisisafrica.me
Website: https://thisisafrica.me
We will review privacy enquiries and respond in accordance with applicable law and our internal procedures.
This Privacy Policy is intended to explain our approach to privacy and personal information. It should be read alongside our Editorial Policy, Corrections Policy, and Submission Guidelines.
