Privacy Policy

We are Bamboo Charcoal Computing, a youth-driven web development, cloud computing, and creative technology company based in South Africa.

We provide affordable solutions including websites, web applications, cloud computing consultations, copywriting, data analytics, chatbots, and virtual assistants.

Our website address is: https://bamboocharcoal.co.za/.

This privacy policy outlines how we collect, use, store, and protect your personal information when you interact with our website and services.

We are committed to safeguarding your privacy and handling your data with transparency and care, in accordance with applicable South African data protection legislation.

Policy

Comments

How We Collect Comments

When visitors leave comments on the site we collect the data shown in the comments form, and also the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help spam detection.

An anonymized string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it.

The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/.

After approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment.

Policy

Media

How We Collect Media

If you upload images to our website, we advise you to avoid including images that contain embedded location data, also known as EXIF GPS metadata.

This is because visitors to the website may be able to download those images and extract the location data contained within them.

To protect your privacy and personal safety, we recommend stripping any geolocation information from your images before uploading them to our platform.

Policy

Forms

How We Collect Data From Forms

When you submit a contact form on our website, we collect and store all the information you provide within that form.

This data is used solely for the purposes stated on the contact form in question.

For example, if you subscribe to our newsletter, we will retain your email address in order to send you our latest posts, updates, and relevant communications.

We will not use your information for purposes beyond what was indicated at the time of collection, and you may request removal of your data at any time by contacting us directly.

Policy

How We Use Cookies

If you leave a comment on our site, you may opt in to saving your name, email address, and website in cookies. These are provided for your convenience so that you do not have to re-enter your details each time you leave a comment. These cookies will remain on your device for one year.

When you visit our login page, we set a temporary cookie to determine whether your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is automatically discarded when you close your browser.

Upon logging in, we set several additional cookies to save your login information and screen display preferences. Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for one year. If you select the “Remember Me” option, your login session will persist for two weeks. When you log out of your account, the login cookies are removed from your device.

If you edit or publish an article, an additional cookie will be saved in your browser. This cookie contains no personal data and simply indicates the post ID of the article you edited. It expires after one day.

Embedded

Content

Embedded Content From Other Websites

Articles and pages on our site may include embedded content from external sources, such as videos, images, articles, and other media.

When this embedded content is displayed, it behaves in exactly the same way as if you had visited the originating website directly.

These third-party websites may collect data about you, place cookies on your device, embed additional tracking from other parties, and monitor your interaction with the embedded content.

This includes tracking your activity if you have an account with that website and are currently logged in.

We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party services whose content appears on our site to understand how your data may be used.

Policy

Analytics

How We Collect Anonymised Data

We use Google Analytics to collect anonymised data about visitors who land on our website.

This information helps us understand how our site is being used, which pages are most visited, and where we can make improvements to better serve our users.

The data collected through Google Analytics is used solely for internal purposes to enhance our website and business operations.

We do not share this information with any third parties.

You can learn more about how Google handles your data by reviewing Google’s privacy policy at https://policies.google.com/privacy

Policy

Data

When you submit a contact form on our website, we collect and store all the information you provide. This data is used solely for the purposes stated on the form in question. For example, if you subscribe to our newsletter, we will retain your email address in order to send you our latest posts and updates.

We also use your contact information to keep you informed about your purchases, including order confirmations, shipping updates, and delivery notifications. In order to fulfil deliveries, your contact details and physical address may be shared with the courier service we use to dispatch your order. This information is provided to the courier solely for the purpose of completing your delivery and is not used for any other purpose.

Who We Share Your Data With

We do not share your personal data with any third parties.

Your information remains strictly within Bamboo Charcoal Computing and is used only for the purposes outlined in this privacy policy.

We will never sell, rent, or distribute your personal information to external organisations, marketers, or any other entities without your explicit consent.

Where We Send Your Data

Visitor comments submitted on our site may be processed through an automated spam detection service to help protect the integrity of our platform and prevent malicious or unwanted content.

This is the only instance in which your data may be transmitted to an external service, and it is done solely for the purpose of maintaining site security and quality.

No other personal data is sent to third parties.

Your Contact Information

When you submit a contact form on our website, we collect and store all the information you provide.

This data is used solely for the purposes stated on the form in question.

For example, if you subscribe to our newsletter, we will retain your email address in order to send you our latest posts and updates.

We also use your contact information to keep you informed about your purchases, including order confirmations, shipping updates, and delivery notifications.

In order to fulfil deliveries, your contact details and physical address may be shared with the courier service we use to dispatch your order.

This information is provided to the courier solely for the purpose of completing your delivery and is not used for any other purpose.

How We Protect Your Data

We take the security of your personal information seriously and have implemented multiple layers of protection to keep it safe.

Our systems use multi-factor authentication, data encryption both in transit and at rest, and secure databases to ensure that your information is protected from unauthorised access, loss, or misuse.

We regularly review and update our security practices to stay aligned with industry standards, so you can trust that your personal data remains in safe hands at all times.

What Data Breach Procedures We Have in Place

We safeguard your data through multi-factor authentication systems, encryption, and secure databases to minimise the risk of any unauthorised access.

However, in the unlikely event of a data breach or a distributed denial-of-service attack, we have procedures in place to respond swiftly and effectively.

We will alert affected users immediately, informing you of the nature of the breach and providing clear steps to follow to protect your accounts and limit any potential ramifications.

Our team will work to contain the incident, assess the extent of any exposure, and take corrective action to prevent future occurrences.

Where required by law, we will also notify the relevant authorities in accordance with South African data protection regulations.

What Third Parties We Receive Data From

We do not receive any personal data about you from third-party sources.

The only information we hold is what you have provided to us directly, whether through our website, contact forms, or during the course of a business transaction.

We only store personal data for paying customers and clients, and we do not purchase, acquire, or otherwise obtain personal information from external databases, data brokers, or any other third-party providers.

What Automated Decision Making and/or Profiling We Do with User Data

WIn certain cases, we may use automated processes to collect and analyse site data in order to provide you with continuous, up-to-date insights about your business performance.

This applies only to premium or enterprise development clients, or clients who have specifically engaged our data analytics services.

In these instances, we may implement automated tools or bots on your site to gather the information needed to deliver accurate and timely analysis.

This automation is carried out solely for the purpose of fulfilling the service you have paid for and is not used for profiling, targeted advertising, or any purpose beyond what has been agreed upon in your service contract.

Data Retention

Policy

How Long We Retain Your Data

If you leave a comment on our site, the comment and its associated metadata are retained indefinitely.

This allows us to recognise and automatically approve any follow-up comments you may leave in the future, rather than holding them in a moderation queue each time.

For users who register on our website, we store the personal information provided in their user profile for as long as their account remains active.

All registered users can view, edit, or delete their personal information at any time, with the exception of their username, which cannot be changed.

Website administrators also have the ability to view and edit user profile information where necessary for site management purposes.

Your Data

Rights

What Rights You Have Over Your Data

If you have an account on our site or have left comments, you have the right to request an exported file of all the personal data we hold about you, including any information you have provided to us.

You also have the right to request that we erase any personal data we hold about you.

We will honour such requests promptly, with the exception of any data we are legally obliged to retain for administrative, legal, or security purposes.

To make a data export or erasure request, please contact us at and we will respond within a reasonable timeframe.