Privacy Policy

1. Data Controller

The Friends of Hwange Trust (FOHT) [You don’t need to include the physical address as it’s an online policy] Email: Website: https://www.friendsofhwange.com

2. Personal Data We Collect

FOHT may collect the following types of personal data from you:

• Contact Information: If you subscribe to our mailing list, we will collect your email address.
• Website Usage Data: Through Google Analytics, we collect anonymized information about how you use our website, such as the pages you visit, the duration of your visit, your general geographic location, your browser type and version, operating system, referral source, and other technical information. This data is aggregated and does not directly identify you.

3. Purposes of Processing Your Personal Data

We process your personal data for the following purposes:

• Mailing List: To send you updates, newsletters, and other information related to FOHT’s conservation work at Hwange National Park, provided you have subscribed to our mailing list.
• Website Analytics: To analyze website usage trends, improve our website’s functionality and user experience, and understand the effectiveness of our online presence. This data helps us make informed decisions about our website content and design.

4. Legal Basis for Processing

Our legal basis for processing your personal data is as follows:

• Consent: For the mailing list, we rely on your explicit consent when you subscribe. You have the right to withdraw your consent at any time (see section 7).
• Legitimate Interests: For website analytics, we rely on our legitimate interests in understanding how users interact with our website to improve it and provide relevant content. We have carefully balanced our interests with your privacy rights, and the data collected is anonymized.

5. Recipients of Your Personal Data

We may share your personal data with the following categories of recipients:

• MailChimp: If you subscribe to our mailing list, your email address will be stored and processed by MailChimp, our email marketing platform. MailChimp’s privacy policy is available at https://mailchimp.com/gdpr/.
• Google Analytics: Website usage data is processed by Google Analytics. Google’s privacy policy is available at https://policies.google.com/privacy. Google may also use this data as described in their privacy policy.

We will not share your personal data with any other third parties unless required by law.

6. International Data Transfers

Your personal data may be transferred to and processed in countries outside of the European Economic Area (EEA). Specifically:  

• MailChimp: Data may be transferred to the United States. MailChimp participates in and has certified its compliance with the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework.
• Google Analytics: Data may be transferred to the United States. Google participates in and has certified its compliance with the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework.

We ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your personal data in accordance with GDPR requirements.

7. Your Rights Under the GDPR

Under the GDPR, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Right to Access: You have the right to request access to the personal data we hold about you.  
• Right to Rectification: You have the right to request that we correct any inaccurate or incomplete personal data we hold about you.  
• Right to Erasure (“Right to be Forgotten”): You have the right to request that we delete your personal data under certain circumstances.  
• Right to Restriction of Processing: You have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your personal data under certain circumstances. 
• Right to Data Portability: You have the right to receive the personal data you have provided to us in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format and to transmit that data to another controller. 
• Right to Object: You have the right to object to the processing of your personal data for certain purposes, including direct marketing.  
• Right to Withdraw Consent: If we are processing your personal data based on your consent (e.g., for the mailing list), you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. To unsubscribe from our mailing list, please use the unsubscribe link provided in our emails or contact us directly at .
• Right to Lodge a Complaint: You have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority if you believe that our processing of your personal data infringes the GDPR.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at . We will respond to your request within the timeframes specified by the GDPR.

8. Data Security

We take reasonable measures to protect your personal data from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These measures include [You can add specific technical and organizational measures if you have them, e.g., encryption, secure servers, access controls]. However, please be aware that no method of transmission over the internet or method of electronic storage is completely secure.  

9. Data Retention

We will retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.  

• Mailing List Data: If you subscribe to our mailing list, we will retain your email address until you unsubscribe.
• Google Analytics Data: Google Analytics retains data for a period determined by their policies. Please refer to Google’s privacy policy for more information.

10. Cookies and Similar Technologies

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to collect information about your browsing activities and enhance your experience. Cookies are small text files that are placed on your device when you visit our website.

We utilize Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, which uses cookies to collect information such as:

• Performance Cookies (or Analytics Cookies): These cookies collect information about how visitors use our website, such as which pages they visit most often, how long they stay on each page, and if they encounter any error messages. This information is aggregated and anonymized, meaning it does not directly identify individual users. We use this data to understand website trends, monitor performance, and improve the functionality and content of our website. Examples of these cookies might include those that help us count website visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve our site’s performance.  

By using our website, you consent to the use of these Google Analytics cookies.

Managing Your Cookie Preferences:

You have the ability to control and manage cookies through your web browser settings. Most web browsers allow you to:

• View cookies: See what cookies are active and manage them individually.
• Enable or disable cookies: Block all or specific cookies.
• Delete cookies: Remove cookies that have already been stored.
• Set cookie preferences for specific websites.

You can usually find these settings in the “Options,” “Preferences,” or “Privacy” section of your browser’s menu. For detailed instructions on how to manage cookies, please refer to your browser’s help documentation or the website of your browser provider.

Please note that if you disable cookies, it may affect the functionality and user experience of our website.

11. Links to Other Websites

Our website may contain links to other websites that are not operated by us. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these third-party websites. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any website you visit.  

12. Updates to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal obligations. We will post any changes on this page and, if the changes are significant, we may provide a more prominent notice. The “Last Updated” date at the bottom of this page indicates when this Privacy Policy was last revised.  

13. Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us at:

The Friends of Hwange Trust (FOHT)
Email:

Last Updated: May 10, 2025