Privacy Policy

Introduction

This website (“www.africanheartsconnect.info”) or its corresponding web and mobile application (collectively, the “Platform”) is set up by African Hearts Connect Inc. Anybody that views or uses this Platform should be aware of the following provisions.

By entering this Platform, or using any of the information herein, you are agreeing to these provisions. These provisions shall constitute a binding agreement between you (“you”, “your”, or “user”) and African Hearts Connect Inc. (“Company”, “we”, “us”, or “our”). IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH ALL OF THESE TERMS, THEN YOU ARE EXPRESSLY PROHIBITED FROM USING THE PLATFORM AND YOU MUST DISCONTINUE USE.‍ African Hearts Connect reserves the right to amend or update these provisions at any time without notification, and such revised provisions have the same binding force. This Privacy Policy shall apply to the following website: “www.africanheartsconnect.info” acknowledging however that some provisions may not apply, and may require reasonable adjustments to reflect the scope of that website. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect your information when you join our waitlist through the Platform.

Our privacy practices for the activities listed below are described in this privacy statement (the “Privacy Policy”). We provide you with information about how we collect, use, store, access, and otherwise use personal data about individuals in accordance with your rights. In this policy, “Personal Data” refers to any information that, taken alone or in conjunction with other pieces of information, can identify a specific person.

Our goals and our identity
This privacy Policy explains how African Hearts Connect, its affiliates, and its international branches (collectively, “African Hearts Connect,” “us,” “we,” or “our”) collect, use, and share information about you through our online interfaces (such as our website platforms and mobile applications) that we own and control, including but not limited to our mobile application (collectively referred to herein as the “Platform”). To understand what we do, please carefully read this Privacy Policy. Our Terms & Conditions also apply to your usage of our platform. In accordance with this Privacy Policy, African Hearts Connect is the data controller of all Personal Data (as defined below) collected through the Platform and of some Personal Data obtained from third parties if you live or are located in the European Economic Area (“EEA”).

What Information is Covered by This Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy applies to the data we obtain about you through our Platform. While some of the functions and services on our Platform can be utilized without disclosing any personal information, these features and services are necessary for the dating services. You might be required to provide “Personal Data” (also known as information that can be used to identify you or “personal information”) in order to use certain features and benefits on our Platform, or we could ask for it from you. Among other things, personal data can include details like your name, email address, IP address, and device identification. You are in charge of making sure that the Personal Data you give us is accurate. The Platform’s functionality, the information you obtain when using the Platform, and our ability to reach you may all be hampered by inaccurate information. For instance, since email is one of the key ways we contact with you, it should be kept up to date.

What is Acceptable Use on Our Platform?
As stated in this Privacy Policy, we believe that the following are the legal bases for using your personal information:
Our use of your personal information is necessary to carry out our obligations
Add you to the waitlist and notify you when access is available.
Send you relevant updates, newsletters, or promotional content (with your consent by joining the waitlist).
Improve our website, services, and user experience.
Monitor and analyze usage patterns and website performance.
Our legitimate interests include: a) managing, expanding, and developing our company; b) operating our Platform and offering our dating services; d) establishing connections with other users; e) conducting research and statistical analysis; f) managing marketing and development; and g) for internal administrative and auditing needs.
Consent is required when we need to rely on it to send you particular communications, when you give us specific information, or when local law requires it.

Depending on the kind of personal information utilized and the situation, a certain activity will have one or more legal bases.

If we rely on our (or another party’s) legitimate interests to use your personal information, we will conduct a balancing test to make sure that your interests or fundamental rights and freedoms that call for the protection of the personal information do not outweigh our (or the other party’s) legitimate interests.

On the basis of your consent, we may occasionally process your personal information for marketing reasons (which you may withdraw at any time as described below). You can revoke your consent at any time by unsubscribing from within emails we send you or sending us an email at contact@africanheartsconnect.com and instructing us to cease using your personal information in the manner for which we relied on it. If you refuse to give us your consent, it can be difficult for us to continue offering you some of our services.

What Data Do We Collect?
Through the Platform, when you sign up for our waitlist, we collect the following information:

1. Details on how you use our Platform. When users visit our Platform, we may track, collect, and combine data about their visit, including information about which pages were seen, when they were accessed, in what sequence, and which links were clicked. We also Collect data from the URLs you used to access our Platform. Information collected automatically includes:  
Personal Information: such as your name, email address, and any other information you voluntarily provide.
Device Information: including IP address, browser type, device type, operating system, and pages visited (collected via cookies or analytics tools).
Usage Data: such as the date and time you joined the waitlist, referral sources, or other interactions with our site.
Geolocation. When you first sign up for African Hearts Connect waitlist, we or the third-party collecting the waitlist data may use your mobile device’s or laptop’s GPS location. Do not sign up if you don’t consent to your GPS location being known.
Device Specifications/Information. Technical details about your computer or mobile device, such as the model, web browser, and operating system, as well as your IP address, are collected to operate the site, analyze trends, stop fraud, track visitor movement over time in the aggregate, and compile general demographic data.
Utilization Details. What services and features you use, how long you use African Hearts Connect, how you use them, and what material you create and share on African Hearts Connect; browsing and search history are included (including profiles you have viewed). We use your email, phone number, or other details to link your subscriber information with your activity on African Hearts Connect across all of your devices.
Cookies/ Web Beacons. When you visit our Platform, we might potentially employ web beacons and cookies. Cookies are small files that are downloaded to your computer and provide us the ability to count the number of people who visit our website and separate repeat users from new ones. They also enable us and the third parties we collaborate with to track user trends, save user preferences, and target advertisements at you. Please see our Cookies Policy for additional details on how we utilize web beacons and cookies.

2. Personal information supplied by you or through third parties. When you sign up for email updates, send us an email, and/or take advantage of other services, we collect Personal Data from you. In order to react to your inquiries, supply you with the dating services and/or Services you choose, provide you updates and send you emails regarding Platform maintenance or changes, we may use the Personal Data that you provide.
Updates. You might be able to subscribe to updates from African Hearts Connect via email or by posting on areas of the Platform that are only accessible to registered users. You might need to give us Personal Data, including your name and email address, in order to sign up for these Services.
Communications with African Hearts Connect. When you email us or otherwise get in touch with us, we might get personal information from you.
Your Choices: Please note that YOU CAN
Opt-Out of Emails: by clicking “unsubscribe” in any marketing email we send.
Access or Delete Your Data: by contacting us at contact@africanheartsconnect.com

How We Make Use of the Data

1. Details on how you use our Platform. By undertaking statistical analyses of the collective traits and behavior of our users, as well as by assessing demographics and interests with regard to certain areas of our Platform, we use information about your use of the Platform to develop higher quality, more helpful Services. In order to protect the safety of our Services and the Platform, we might also use your information.

2. Information that can be used to identify you, either directly from you or through third parties. African Hearts Connect will not release any of your Personal Data unless it is directly permitted by you or as specified in this Privacy Policy. We may disclose and use Personal Data in the ways listed below, in addition to the other ways specified in this Privacy Policy, including:
Providing the Platform and our Services. We use the Personal Data you give us to give you access to and use of the Platform and to fulfill any requests you make for information, and/or services.
Technical assistance and security. When necessary, we may utilize personal data to assist you with technical issues while also preserving the safety of our services and the Platform.
Verification of Identity. We may use the Personal Data we collect to confirm your identity for Services that call for this, as well as to confirm that inputs made to the Platform came from you. A vendor for identity verification on the side of a third party could offer this service.
Communications with or from us. When you email us or contact us in any way, we may use the information you give to reply to your email and/or as stated in this privacy policy. If we are able to do so lawfully, we may also use your information to contact you in the future by archiving it or using it in other communications. Where we send you emails, we might keep track of how you respond to those emails (such when you open them or click on links inside of them). We use this data to enhance and more effectively personalize our conversations with you.
Governmental Authorities; Legal Actions and Rights. In order to establish or exercise our legal rights or to protect our property, respond to subpoenas, court orders, or other legal processes, or as otherwise required by law, we may disclose your Personal Data to various government agencies. We reserve the right to assert or waive any legal defenses or rights we may have in such circumstances. Additionally, we might divulge your Personal Data when we think it’s necessary to look into, stop, or do something about illegitimate or possibly unlawful activity; to safeguard the rights, safety, or security of African Hearts Connect, the Platform, our users, clients, or others; or in connection with our Terms and Conditions and other agreements.
Online Surveys. We might occasionally ask members for their opinions. We encourage our users to take part in these surveys since they give us crucial information for enhancing African Hearts Connect.
Disclosure to Potential Buyers. In the event that African Hearts Connect sells all or a substantial portion of its equity, business, or assets—to which your personal information relates—or merges with another company, transfers its assets, or both, African Hearts Connect may disclose and/or transfer your personal information to an acquirer, assignee, or other successor entity.
We may archive the Personal Data and use it for research, business, or other purposes.

Place
Data is processed at our servers hosted by GoDaddy and at any other locations where
the parties involved in its processing are located.

Depending on the location of the User, data transfers may involve the transfer of User Data to a country outside of the User’s own country. For more information about the place of processing of such transferred Data, Users may refer to the section that provides details of the processing of Personal Data.

Third-Party Links
Our website may contain links to third-party sites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of those websites.

Retention of Personally Identifiable Information
Shelf life
Personal data must be processed and retained for as long as it is required for the
purposes for which it was collected. Your Personal Data is only retained for as long as is required to fulfill the reasons for which it was collected and processed. The duration for which we keep personal data depends on its intended use and whether it’s necessary to uphold, exercise, or defend our legal rights or to comply with legal obligations. African Hearts Connect may be permitted to retain Personal Data for a longer period of time if the User has consented to such processing until such consent is withdrawn.

Upon expiration of the retention period, the Personal Data shall be deleted. Therefore, the right of access, the right to erasure, the right to rectification and the right to data portability cannot be exercised after the expiry of the retention period.


Security and Confidentiality of Personally Identifiable Information
Except as otherwise provided in this Privacy Policy or unless such disclosure is required in particular circumstances, such as a physical threat to you or others, as permitted by applicable law, we will protect your Personal Data with industry-standard physical, technical, and administrative security measures. We will also not disclose it to third parties without your consent or except as otherwise provided in this Privacy Policy. We cannot guarantee the security of Personal Data since there is a small chance that an unauthorized third party will be able to get around our security measures or that your information will be intercepted during transmission over the Internet because it is not a completely secure environment. It is your duty to keep your login details secure. Please be aware that emails are frequently not encrypted and shouldn’t be regarded as secure.

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

Changing or Erasing Your Personal Information
Regarding your personal data, you are entitled to a number of rights. You have access to your personal data and can verify that it is still accurate and current. You can also decide whether or not you want to receive information from us or certain of our partners, as well as ask us to remove or provide you a copy of your personal information.

Email is another way to get in touch with us if you need more information about your rights or want to exercise any of them. These rights include:
• Right to Access if you live or are located in the EEA, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, or another area that provides comparable safeguards. You have the right to get a copy of the personal information about you that we are currently processing.
• The Right to Correction. You have the right to request that any incomplete or incorrect personal information about you that we process be corrected.
• The Right to Forget (right to erasure). You have the right to ask us to erase any personal information we may have about you, but we are not required to comply if we need to keep the information to meet legal requirements, carry out legal proceedings, or defend against legal claims.
• The Right to Limit Processing. Unless we are unable to delete the data due to a legal or other obligation or because you do not want us to delete it, you have the right to restrict our processing of your personal data if you believe it to be inaccurate, our processing is unlawful, or if we no longer need to process it for a particular purpose.
• Portability Rights. If you have provided us with personal information, and we are processing that information with your consent or to carry out a contract with you or a third party who uses our services, you have the right to receive that information in a structured, electronic format and to have it transferred to another data controller.
• The Ability to Object. You have the right to object to our use of your personal data when it is necessary to protect our legitimate interests, depending on the specifics of your situation. Unless we have compelling legitimate grounds for processing that outweigh your interests and rights, or unless we need to keep processing the data to establish, exercise, or defend a legal claim, we will abide by your request.
• The Right Against Discrimination. Due to the fact that you have exercised any of your rights, you are not entitled to be denied service or to have your experience changed.
Please be aware that under certain conditions, such as when we must keep your Personal Data to satisfy a legal requirement, your Personal Data may be exempt from such requests. We might need certain details from you when you email us with a request so that we can verify your identity.

If you have a concern about how we have processed your request or your personal data, you should contact us in the first instance via the contact details listed below.

If you feel we have not resolved your concern, you have the right to make a complaint at any time to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection issues (www.ico.org.uk). If you live in a country or territory located in the European Union (EU) or European Economic Area (EEA), you may also get in touch with your local Data Protection Regulator. If you live in a country outside the EU, you may have the right to lodge a complaint with your local privacy or data protection regulator.

Analytics
The services described in this section enable us to monitor and analyze web traffic and may be used to record User activity.
Google Analytics (Google LLC). Google Analytics is a web analytics service offered by Google LLC (“Google”). Google uses the collected Data to capture and analyze user activity in order to report on the activities that the Application performs and then share it with other Google services. Google may use the collected Data to generate advertisements for its own
advertising network based on the interests and preferences of the individual user.
Personal Data Processed include, Network usage data and Cookies.

California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)
In addition to those rights provided elsewhere in this Privacy Policy, California residents have the following rights under the California Consumer Protection Act:

Right to know what personal information about them is collected, to have that information deleted, to choose not to have that information sold, and to be treated fairly and without discrimination if they choose to exercise any of these rights, according to the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) in the preceding twelve months.
None of the information that we collect about you is sold.

California residents can find this information below:

Sensory data
Category of Personal Information Collected by African Hearts Connect: Categories of Third Parties Personal Information is Disclosed to for a Business Purpose
– Identifiers: Other users, Service providers, Advertising partners
– Personal information categories listed in
  Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.80(e): Other users, Service providers
– Protected classification characteristics under California or federal law: Other users, Service providers
– Commercial information: Other users, Service providers, Advertising partners
– Internet or other electronic network activity: Service providers, Advertising partners
– Geolocation data: Other users, Service providers, Advertising partners
– Professional or employment (related information: Other users, Service providers
– Inferences drawn from other personal information to create a profile about a consumer: Service providers, Advertising partners

The categories of sources from which we collect personal information and our business and commercial purposes for using personal information are set forth above.

Additional Privacy Rights for California Residents
California’s “Shine the Light” law, Civil Code section 1798.83, requires certain businesses to respond to requests from California customers asking about the businesses’ practices related to disclosing personal information to third parties for the third parties’ direct marketing purposes. If you wish to find out about any rights you may have under California Civil Code section 1798.83, you can write to us at contact@africanheartsconnect.com.

Additionally, under California law, operators of online services are required to disclose, to the extent they engage in the practice, how they respond to “do not track” signals or other similar mechanisms that give users the ability to exercise choice regarding the collection of their personal data over time and across different online services provided by third parties. We do not track the personal data of our Users over time or across different online services provided by third parties. Additionally, this law compels online service providers to notify users when they use their services that third parties may acquire personal data about those users’ online activities over time and across other online services. We do not knowingly permit third parties to collect personal information about an individual User’s online activities over time and across different online services when using the App.

International Data Protection Laws
The majority of the servers used to run and manage our Platforms are situated in the US. Your Personal Data may be sent outside of the nation in which you reside or are located, including to the United States, in order to provide our Services to you. As a result, if you live or are based outside of the United States, your personal information may be transferred to other countries, including those that might not offer the same degree of security for your personal information. We are dedicated to maintaining the privacy and secrecy of Personal Data throughout transit. To the extent permitted by applicable law, we take the necessary measures to offer the same level of protection for the processing carried out in any such countries as you would have within the EEA or other regions if you reside or are located in the EEA, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, or another region that offers comparable protections.

Changes to Our Privacy Policy
This Policy is subject to change at any time. A revised version of this Policy will be posted on this Platform if we decide to amend it. If needed by law, we may also notify you of changes in another method that we feel is fairly likely to reach you, such as via email (if we already have your contact information via an account you have with us) or another way through the Platform. Any changes to this privacy policy will take effect after we post them online and/or when they are implemented on the platform (or as otherwise indicated at the time of posting). In any situations, your continuing use of the Platform following the posting of an amended Privacy Policy signifies that you agree to its terms. We recommend checking our website regularly and viewing the ‘last updated’ date above the Privacy Policy to keep yourself abreast of our changes.

Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)
Children are not permitted to use the Platform. For the avoidance of doubt, the Platform is not intended for children under the age of 18. All users must be 18 years and above when registering for an account, and we do not voluntarily collect any personal information from children. Anyone younger than 18 is considered a “child” for purposes of this Privacy Policy. If we discover that we have obtained a child’s personal information without getting permission from the child’s parent or legal guardian, we will delete it as soon as reasonably practicable.  If you have reason to believe a child provided Personal Data on the Platform, please notify us by email or via a notice on the Platform. We invite concerned parents to get in touch with us.


Contact Us
If you are seeking to: (i) obtain a copy of your personal information, (ii) unsubscribe from our email list, (iii) ask a question regarding the privacy of your data, or (iv) request that your data be deleted, please contact us by email to contact@africanheartsconnect.com. We strive to review and respond to all requests as soon as possible.