Privacy Policy


Who We Are

Our website address is: https://www.thesalvageco.co.za

We are committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal information in a safe and responsible manner.

What Personal Data We Collect and Why We Collect It

Comments

When visitors leave comments on the site, we collect:

  • The data shown in the comments form.
  • The visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help with spam detection.

An anonymized string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/. After approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment.

Media

If you upload images, avoid including embedded location data (EXIF GPS). Visitors may extract this data from the images.

Contact forms

We collect the information you submit through contact forms (e.g., name, email, message content). This data is retained for customer service purposes but is not used for marketing unless explicitly consented.

Cookies

We use cookies to:

  • Save your name, email, and website if you comment (for your convenience). These last one year.
  • Check if your browser accepts cookies upon visiting the login page (temporary cookie).
  • Remember your login and screen display preferences when logged in. Login cookies last two days (two weeks if “Remember Me” is selected); screen option cookies last a year.
  • Save post IDs of edited or published articles (expires after 1 day).

Embedded Content from Other Websites

Articles may include embedded content (e.g., videos, images). This behaves as if you visited the external site directly. These sites may collect data, use cookies, and track your interactions—especially if you’re logged in to those platforms.

Analytics

We use analytics tools (e.g., Google Analytics) to monitor website performance and user interaction.

Collected data may include:

  • IP address
  • Browser type
  • Time spent on pages
  • Pages visited
  • Referring sites

You can opt out of Google Analytics tracking via Google’s Opt-Out Browser Add-on.

We do not sell or rent your personal data. We may share data with:

  • Service providers (e.g., email service platforms, web hosting providers)
  • Legal authorities when required
  • Spam and abuse detection services (e.g., Akismet)

How Long We Retain Your Data

  • Comments and metadata are retained indefinitely.
  • Registered users: Personal information is stored in their user profile and can be edited or deleted (except for usernames).
  • We retain contact form submissions for up to [X months/years] for customer service, unless otherwise required by law

What Rights You Have Over Your Data

You may request:

  • An exported file of personal data we hold.
  • That we delete your data (excluding any we must keep for administrative, legal, or security reasons).

Requests can be made by contacting us at: martin@thesalvageco.co.za

Where We Send Your Data

  • Visitor comments may be checked through automated spam detection services (e.g., Akismet).
  • Data may be transferred to and processed in other countries where our third-party providers operate. Your Contact Information

For privacy-specific concerns, contact us at: martin@thesalavageco.co.za

Additional Information

How We Protect Your Data

  • SSL encryption
  • Secure hosting environments
  • Limited access to personal data
  • Regular security audits and updates

What Data Breach Procedures We Have in Place

In the event of a data breach:

  • We will notify affected users within 72 hours (as required by GDPR or applicable laws).
  • We will investigate and mitigate the breach, and report it to the appropriate authorities if necessary.

What Third Parties We Receive Data From

We may receive data from:

  • Social login providers (e.g., Google, Facebook) when used
  • Payment processors (if applicable)
  • Marketing platforms (if opted in)

What Automated Decision Making and/or Profiling We Do with User Data

We do not perform automated decision-making or profiling with your data beyond what’s required for:

  • Spam filtering
  • Basic personalization (e.g., language preference, location-based content)

Industry Regulatory Disclosure Requirements

If we are subject to industry-specific privacy laws (e.g., healthcare, finance), we will comply with all relevant disclosure and data protection requirements.