Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Doha Sawa Magazine ("we", "us", or "our") is committed to protecting the privacy and personal data of our readers, subscribers, and website visitors. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, share, and protect your personal information when you access or use our website at www.dohasawa.com and its associated services, including our subscription platform and newsletter.

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Doha Sawa Magazine is incorporated and operates under the laws of the Republic of Mauritius. Our data practices are governed by the Data Protection Act 2017 of Mauritius, which is aligned with internationally recognised privacy principles, including those of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Where our services are accessed by users in the European Union or other jurisdictions with specific data protection laws, we apply equivalent levels of protection.

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By using our Website or subscribing to our services, you agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, please discontinue use of our services.

 

2. Who We Are — Data Controller

For the purposes of applicable data protection legislation, the data controller responsible for your personal information is:

 

Doha Sawa Magazine

Registered in: Republic of Mauritius

Website: www.dohasawa.com

Email: privacy@dohasawa.com

 

3. Personal Data We Collect

We collect the following categories of personal data, depending on how you interact with our services:

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3.1 Identity and Contact Information

• Full name and email address — collected at account registration and newsletter sign-up;

• Username and password (stored in encrypted form) — created during account registration;

• Communication preferences — managed through your account settings.

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3.2 Payment Information

When you subscribe to a paid plan, payment transactions are processed by a third-party payment provider. We do not store your full credit or debit card details on our systems. We retain only the following for billing and accounting purposes:

• Subscription plan and billing cycle;

• Transaction reference numbers;

• Billing address, if provided at checkout;

• Partial card information (e.g. last four digits) as provided by our payment processor.

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3.3 Technical and Usage Data

• IP address and approximate geographic location derived from IP;

• Browser type and version, operating system, and device type;

• Pages visited, time spent on pages, and navigation paths;

• Referring URL and search terms used to reach the Website;

• Cookie identifiers and similar tracking technologies (see Section 7).

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3.4 Reading Behaviour and Content Preferences

• Articles read, categories browsed, and content saved or bookmarked;

• Newsletter open rates and link interactions;

• Subscription and content engagement patterns used to personalise your experience and improve our editorial offering.

 

4. How We Use Your Personal Data

We use the personal data we collect for the following purposes, each grounded in a legal basis:

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4.1 To Provide and Manage Your Subscription

Legal basis: Performance of a contract. We use your identity, contact, and payment information to process your subscription, manage your account, send billing confirmations, and provide access to premium content.

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4.2 To Send Newsletter and Editorial Communications

Legal basis: Consent. If you have opted in to receive our newsletter, we use your email address and content preferences to send you curated editorial content, magazine updates, and offers. You may withdraw your consent and unsubscribe at any time.

4.3 To Personalise Your Experience

Legal basis: Legitimate interest. We use your reading behaviour and content preferences to recommend relevant articles, tailor your content feed, and improve the relevance of our editorial communications.

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4.4 To Display Advertising and Support Partnerships

Legal basis: Consent or legitimate interest (depending on ad type). We may use general usage data and interest-based signals to serve contextual or targeted advertising on our platform. We do not sell your personal data to advertisers. Where consent is required for targeted advertising, we will seek it explicitly.

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4.5 To Ensure Security and Prevent Fraud

Legal basis: Legitimate interest and legal obligation. We use technical data including IP addresses and device identifiers to detect and prevent fraudulent activity, abuse of our services, and unauthorised access.

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4.6 To Comply with Legal Obligations

Legal basis: Legal obligation. We may process and retain certain data as required by Mauritian law, tax regulations, or in response to lawful requests from public authorities.

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4.7 To Improve Our Services

Legal basis: Legitimate interest. We analyse aggregated and anonymised usage data to understand how our platform is used, identify areas for improvement, and develop new features and content.

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5. Sharing of Personal Data

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal data to third parties. We may share your data only in the following limited circumstances:

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5.1 Service Providers

We engage trusted third-party service providers who process data on our behalf, including:

• Payment processors (e.g. Stripe or equivalent) for subscription billing;

• Email delivery platforms for newsletter distribution;

• Website hosting and cloud infrastructure providers;

• Analytics platforms for aggregated usage reporting;

• Customer support tools.

All service providers are contractually bound to process your data only on our instructions and in compliance with applicable data protection law.

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5.2 Advertising Partners

Where the Website displays third-party advertising, limited data (such as anonymised usage signals or cookie identifiers) may be shared with advertising partners for the purpose of serving relevant ads. We do not share your name, email, or payment details with advertisers.

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5.3 Legal Requirements

We may disclose your personal data if required to do so by law, court order, or at the request of a competent authority in Mauritius or any other jurisdiction with lawful authority.

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5.4 Business Transfers

In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of all or part of our business assets, your personal data may be transferred to the acquiring entity, subject to the same level of protection as described in this Policy.

 

6. International Data Transfers

As a magazine serving an international readership, your personal data may be transferred to and processed in countries other than Mauritius, including countries in Europe, the Middle East, or elsewhere where our service providers operate. Where such transfers occur, we ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as:

• Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) approved by relevant data protection authorities;

• Transfers to countries recognised as providing an adequate level of data protection;

• Binding corporate rules or other legally approved transfer mechanisms.

 

7. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Our Website uses cookies and similar technologies (such as pixels and local storage) to enhance your browsing experience, analyse site performance, and support advertising. Cookies we use include:

• Essential cookies — necessary for the Website to function, including session management and security;

• Analytics cookies — used to understand how visitors interact with the Website (e.g. Google Analytics);

• Preference cookies — used to remember your settings and personalise your experience;

• Advertising cookies — used to deliver relevant ads and measure campaign effectiveness.

You can manage your cookie preferences at any time via the cookie consent banner displayed on your first visit, or through your browser settings. Please note that disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of the Website.

 

8. Data Retention

We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by applicable law. Specifically:

• Account data is retained for the duration of your active subscription and for up to 3 years following account closure, for legal and accounting purposes;

• Payment records are retained for 7 years in accordance with Mauritian financial regulations;

• Newsletter subscription data is retained until you unsubscribe or withdraw consent;

• Technical and usage data (logs, IP addresses) are retained for up to 12 months;

• Reading behaviour and preference data is retained for up to 24 months and then anonymised.

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9. Your Rights

Under the Mauritius Data Protection Act 2017, and where applicable under GDPR or equivalent legislation, you have the following rights with respect to your personal data:

• Right of access — you may request a copy of the personal data we hold about you;

• Right to rectification — you may request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data;

• Right to erasure — you may request deletion of your data where it is no longer necessary or where consent is withdrawn;

• Right to restriction — you may request that we limit how we use your data in certain circumstances;

• Right to data portability — you may request your data in a structured, machine-readable format;

• Right to object — you may object to processing based on legitimate interest, including direct marketing;

• Right to withdraw consent — where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time without affecting prior processing.

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To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at privacy@dohasawa.com. We will respond within 30 days of receiving your request. We may require you to verify your identity before processing your request.

 

10. Children's Privacy

Our Website and services are not directed at children under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal data from minors. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data without parental consent, please contact us at privacy@dohasawa.com and we will promptly delete such data.

 

11. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, accidental loss, destruction, or disclosure. These measures include:

• Encryption of data in transit using TLS (HTTPS);

• Encrypted storage of passwords and sensitive credentials;

• Access controls limiting data access to authorised personnel only;

• Regular security assessments of our systems and third-party providers.

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While we take reasonable precautions, no method of transmission or storage over the internet is entirely secure. We encourage you to use a strong, unique password for your account and to notify us immediately of any suspected breach.

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12. Third-Party Websites

Our Website may contain links to external websites, social media platforms, or third-party services. This Privacy Policy does not apply to those third-party sites. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any external sites you visit, as we have no control over their data practices.

 

13. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements, or services. When we do, we will revise the "Last updated" date at the top of this document. For material changes, we will notify registered users by email or via a prominent notice on the Website. Your continued use of the Website following any update constitutes acceptance of the revised Policy.

 

14. Contact and Complaints

For any questions, requests, or concerns regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact our Privacy Team:

 

Privacy Team — Doha Sawa Magazine

Email: privacy@dohasawa.com

Website: www.dohasawa.com

Republic of Mauritius

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If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Data Protection Commissioner of Mauritius, the supervisory authority responsible for enforcing data protection law in Mauritius.

 

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