Privacy Policy

1. About This Policy

Balvora Gazette is an independent editorial publication focused on everyday wellness practices. The publication is not affiliated with any commercial, governmental, or institutional body.

This Privacy Policy explains how Balvora Gazette collects, uses, stores, and shares personal data when you visit the website at balvora.info, contact the editorial desk, or submit content through any form on the site.

This policy is governed by the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. The data controller for this website is Balvora Gazette, 68 Compton Street

2. Data We Collect

We collect personal data in the following circumstances:

• Contact form submissions: When you write to us using the contact form on contact.php, we collect your name, email address, and the content of your message. If you select a subject category, that selection is also recorded.
• Email correspondence: When you write to [email protected] directly, we retain the email and any personal data contained within it for the purposes of responding to your correspondence.
• Website analytics: We collect anonymised information about how visitors interact with the website, including pages visited, time spent on the site, browser type, and referral source. This data does not identify individuals.
• Cookies: We use cookies to support website functionality and to gather anonymised analytics. See our Cookie Policy for full details.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

• To respond to correspondence submitted via the contact form or by email.
• To review article pitches and contributor enquiries.
• To understand how the website is being used, in order to improve the editorial experience for readers.
• To fulfil any legal obligations to which the publication is subject.

We do not use personal data for automated profiling, direct marketing, or sale to third parties. We do not share personal data with any third party except where required by law or where a third-party service provider processes data on our behalf under a data processing agreement.

4. Legal Basis for Processing

The legal basis for processing personal data submitted via the contact form is legitimate interest — specifically, the legitimate interest of the publication in responding to reader and contributor correspondence.

The legal basis for processing anonymised analytics data is legitimate interest in understanding website performance.

Where cookies that are not strictly necessary for website function are placed on your device, we rely on your consent, obtained through the cookie consent banner on first visit.

5. Data Retention

Contact form submissions and email correspondence are retained for a period of 24 months from the date of receipt, after which they are deleted unless there is an ongoing correspondence thread or a legal reason to retain the data.

Anonymised analytics data is retained in aggregated form and is not subject to a fixed deletion schedule, as it cannot be used to identify individuals.

6. Your Rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the following rights in relation to personal data we hold about you:

• Right of access: You may request a copy of any personal data we hold about you.
• Right to rectification: You may ask us to correct inaccurate data.
• Right to erasure: You may ask us to delete personal data we hold about you, subject to legal obligations.
• Right to restrict processing: You may ask us to limit the way we use your data.
• Right to object: You may object to processing carried out on the basis of legitimate interest.
• Right to withdraw consent: Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

To exercise any of these rights, write to us at [email protected]. We will respond within one calendar month.

7. Third-Party Services

The website uses a number of third-party services that may set cookies or collect data:

• Google Fonts: Font files are loaded from Google's servers. Google's privacy policy applies to this data transfer.
• Google Maps: The contact page embeds a Google Maps iframe. If you interact with the map, Google may collect data subject to Google's privacy policy.
• CDN providers: JavaScript and CSS libraries are loaded from CDN providers including jsDelivr, unpkg, cdnjs, and code.jquery.com. These providers may log requests as part of their standard activities.

We do not have control over the data practices of these third-party services. We encourage you to review their privacy policies independently.

8. Security

The website is served over HTTPS. Personal data submitted via forms is transmitted over an encrypted connection. We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal data from unauthorised access, disclosure, or loss.

No data transmission over the internet can be assured to be entirely secure. If you have concerns about the security of personal data you have submitted, please contact us at [email protected].

9. Complaints

If you have a concern about how we have handled your personal data, please contact us in the first instance at [email protected]. If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection.

ICO contact details: Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF. Website: ico.org.uk.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, the revised version will be published on this page with a new "Last updated" date at the top. We encourage you to review this page periodically.

Continued use of the website following the publication of a revised Privacy Policy constitutes acceptance of the revised terms.