Privacy Policy for Baksteen Mel

At Baksteen Mel, accessible from https://baksteenmel.co.za/, one of our main priorities is the privacy of our visitors. This Privacy Policy document contains types of information collected and recorded by Baksteen Mel and how we use it.

If you have additional questions or require more information about our Privacy Policy, please contact us.

This Privacy Policy applies only to our online activities and is valid for visitors to our website with regards to the information that they shared and/or collect in Baksteen Mel. This policy does not apply to any information collected offline or via channels other than this website.

Consent

By using our website, you hereby consent to our Privacy Policy and agree to its terms.

Information we collect

The personal information that you are asked to provide, and the reasons why you are asked to provide it, will be made clear to you at the point we ask you to provide your personal information.

If you contact us directly, we may receive additional information about you such as your name, email address, phone number, the contents of the message and/or attachments you may send us, and any other information you may choose to provide.

When you register for an Account, we may ask for your contact information, including items such as name, company name, address, email address, and telephone number.

How we use your information

We use the information we collect in various ways, including:

• Provide, operate, and maintain our website
• Improve, personalize, and expand our website
• Understand and analyze how you use our website
• Develop new products, services, features, and functionality
• Communicate with you, either directly or through one of our partners, including for customer service, to provide you with updates and other information relating to the website, and for marketing and promotional purposes
• Send you emails
• Find and prevent fraud
• Targeted Ads on Google Ads

Log Files

Baksteen Mel follows a standard procedure of using log files. These files log visitors when they visit websites. All hosting companies do this and a part of hosting services’ analytics. The information collected by log files include internet protocol (IP) addresses, browser type, Internet Service Provider (ISP), date and time stamp, referring/exit pages, and possibly the number of clicks. These are not linked to any personally identifiable information. The purpose of the information is to analyze trends, administer the site, track users’ movement on the website, and gather demographic information for targeted ads.

Cookies and Web Beacons

Like any other website, Baksteen Mel uses ‘cookies’. These cookies are used to store information including visitors’ preferences, and the pages on the website that the visitor accessed or visited. The information is used to optimize the users’ experience by customizing our web page content based on visitors’ browser type and/or other information.

Google DoubleClick DART Cookie

You may consult this list to find the Privacy Policy for each of the advertising partners of BaksteenMel

• We use a third-party partner, Google: Google ads, Google Maps & search, Google Analytics, Google Search Console and Google Merchandise for marketing and remarketing purposes.
• We use a third-party partner, Microsoft Clarity: We use Microsoft Clarity to track the user journey on our website, by using this website you give consent to tracking through Microsoft Clarity

Google is one of the third-party vendors on our site. It also uses cookies, known as DART cookies, to serve ads to our site visitors based on their visit to www.baksteenmel.co.za and other sites on the internet. However, visitors may choose to decline the use of DART cookies by visiting the Google ad and content network Privacy Policy at the following URL – https://policies.google.com/technologies/ads

WordPress and WP Forms Plug-In Data Collection

We use third-party partners, namely WordPress and WP Forms plugin to collect your data when you enquire about a quote submission on our website. You may access their privacy policy by visiting their site https://wpforms.com/privacy-policy/

Advertising Partners Privacy Policies

You may consult this list to find the Privacy Policy for each of the advertising partners of Baksteen Mel.

Third-party ad servers or ad networks uses technologies like cookies, JavaScript, or Web Beacons that are used in their respective advertisements and links that appear on Baksteen Mel, which are sent directly to users’ browser. They automatically receive your IP address when this occurs. These technologies are used to measure the effectiveness of their advertising campaigns and/or to personalize the advertising content that you see on websites that you visit.

Note that Baksteen Mel has no access to or control over these cookies that are used by third-party advertisers.

Third-Party Privacy Policies

Baksteen Mel’s Privacy Policy does not apply to other advertisers or websites. Thus, we are advising you to consult the respective Privacy Policies of these third-party ad servers for more detailed information. It may include their practices and instructions about how to opt out of certain options.

You can choose to disable cookies through your individual browser options. To know more detailed information about cookie management with specific web browsers, it can be found at the browsers’ respective websites.

Data Anonymization for Targeted Advertising

Baksteen Mel utilizes a privacy-preserving approach to improve ad targeting within South Africa by employing hashed data collected from various sources, including WhatsApp interactions and information provided through our online forms.

Here’s how this process works:

• Data Collection: When you interact with us via WhatsApp or fill out our online forms, we may collect certain information, such as your name, email address, phone number, and details about your inquiry.
• Hashing: This collected data is then hashed using a cryptographic algorithm. Hashing transforms the data into a unique, irreversible string of characters (the hash value) that cannot be traced back to the original information.
• Data Sharing: The hashed data, in an anonymized form, may be shared with our advertising partners (e.g., Google Ads) to enhance ad targeting.
• Targeted Advertising: These partners utilize the hashed data to identify patterns and preferences among different user groups. This information is then employed to display advertisements that are more likely to be relevant to you based on your inferred characteristics.

By leveraging hashed data from both WhatsApp communications and online form submissions, we can deliver more personalized advertising experiences while ensuring the confidentiality of your personal information. This approach adheres to South African data protection laws and demonstrates our commitment to responsible data handling.

Children’s Information

Another part of our priority is adding protection for children while using the internet. We encourage parents and guardians to observe, participate in, and/or monitor and guide their online activity.

Baksteen Mel does not knowingly collect any Personal Identifiable Information from children under the age of 13. If you think that your child provided this kind of information on our website, we strongly encourage you to contact us immediately and we will do our best efforts to promptly remove such information from our records.

Conclusion

By contacting us and providing your personal information through our website, online channels and whatsapp, you consent to its collection and processing by the terms outlined in this Privacy Policy. We will use this information to improve our advertising efforts and deliver more relevant content to you. Our commitment to data transparency and privacy ensures that your information will be handled responsibly and in compliance with applicable South African laws.