Privacy Policy

This policy explains how MASS MEDIA AGENCY LTD (“we”), the publisher of Sowika at sowika.com, handles personal data. We have tried to keep it short and accurate by describing what the site actually does.

Who is responsible

The controller is MASS MEDIA AGENCY LTD, a Private Limited Company registered in England and Wales (company number 16526249), registered office 62 Wanlip Road, London, E13 8QP, United Kingdom. Contact: [email protected]. Company details can be checked on the Companies House record.

What the site does and does not do

• The site is a set of static pages. It has no accounts, comments or search that sends data to a server. Its only form is the newsletter sign-up described below.
• The site itself sets no cookies and does not use browser storage. It does load Google Tag Manager (from googletagmanager.com, operated by Google), which can set cookies or read browser information depending on how the tags inside its container are configured. The publisher manages that container separately from this website.
• Fonts and the site's own scripts are served from the site itself; the exception is Google Tag Manager. The tags and measurement that run inside the container, and the data they collect, are set up by the publisher outside this website and are not listed on these pages.
• We do not build profiles of visitors, and we do not sell personal data.

Hosting and technical logs

Like any website, requests for pages reach a hosting platform. Hosting infrastructure commonly keeps standard technical request logs, which may include IP addresses, the date and time, the page requested and browser details. These logs are generated and controlled by the hosting platform, not by us, and we do not use them to identify or track individual visitors. We have not independently verified the platform’s logging, retention or server locations; its own privacy documentation governs that processing.

Newsletter sign-up

The newsletter form asks for your email address and for your confirmation (a ticked consent box). When you submit it, your browser sends those details, together with a note that the request is a newsletter request and the version of this policy shown at the time, to the form handler on the site’s hosting runtime. That handler records the submission and routes it to the [email protected] mailbox, which MASS MEDIA AGENCY LTD operates. We have not named the hosting or mail providers involved here; see the hosting section above.

• Purpose: to send you the Sowika newsletter about new stories, and to keep a record that you asked for it. We do not use your email address for anything else.
• Basis: your consent. You can withdraw it at any time by emailing [email protected]; withdrawing does not affect what we did before.
• Consent is not checked by the form handler itself. We intend to disregard and delete any submission that does not show consent, and we do not use such submissions.
• We do not share newsletter email addresses with advertisers or other third parties, except service providers that deliver our email, and where we are legally required to.
• Retention: we keep your address only while it is needed for the newsletter and delete it after you unsubscribe or ask us to. The exact retention period and the email service we will use to send the newsletter have not yet been confirmed, and we will update this policy when they are.
• We do not promise a particular frequency of emails, and a confirmation email is not guaranteed after you submit the form.

We are a UK company, so UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 apply to this processing, as do the UK rules on electronic marketing (PECR). The newsletter is also offered to readers in Australia. To the extent the Spam Act 2001 (Cth) applies, we will only send commercial electronic messages with your express consent, will identify MASS MEDIA AGENCY LTD as the sender and will include a way to unsubscribe. Whether the Privacy Act 1988 applies to us has not been confirmed, as explained below.

If you email us

If you email us we will receive your email address, any name or details you include and the content of your message. We use it to read and reply to your message, handle corrections or requests and keep a record of that correspondence. Our basis under UK data protection law is our legitimate interest in responding to enquiries, or, for rights requests, compliance with legal obligations. We keep emails only as long as needed for that purpose and any follow-up, then delete them. We do not share them except where we are legally required to, or with service providers that supply our email system. Your email may be stored by those providers on servers outside the UK or Australia.

Links to other sites

Articles link to official and other third-party websites. Those sites have their own privacy practices, which we do not control. Following a link means your browser connects to that site.

Which laws apply

We are established in the United Kingdom, so we handle personal data in line with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. The site is aimed at readers in Australia. Australian privacy law, including the Privacy Act 1988, applies only to organisations within its scope, which depends on factors such as turnover and a connection to Australia. We have not treated any Australian law as applying automatically; where it does apply to us, we will comply with it, and the practices described here are designed to collect as little personal information as possible.

Your rights

Under UK data protection law you may ask us for access to personal data we hold about you, correction, erasure, restriction or to object to processing, to withdraw consent at any time and, where relevant, to receive it in a portable format. Email us with your request and we will respond within one month. You can also complain to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ico.org.uk). If you are in Australia you may also raise a privacy concern with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (oaic.gov.au); we ask you to contact us first so we can try to resolve it.

Children

The site is a general-audience magazine and is not directed at children. We do not knowingly collect data from them.

Changes

If our practices change, for example if we add further forms or advertising technology, we will update this policy first. The date at the top shows the latest update. See also our Terms of Use and Contact page.