Privacy Policy
Last updated: 17 September 2026
This policy explains what personal information NewsCentral collects, why we collect it, how we protect it and what rights you have over it. We keep this as plain as possible — no deliberate obscurity.
Who we are
NewsCentral is an independent digital news platform. For the purposes of this policy, "we", "us" and "NewsCentral" refer to the NewsCentral publication and its operators.
Contact: privacy@newscentral.co.za
Data we collect
When you submit a story
We collect your name, email address and the content of your submission (including any photos or documents you upload). We also log your IP address to detect spam and abuse.
When you submit an advertising enquiry
We collect your name, company name, email address, phone number (if provided) and the content of your message.
When you subscribe to the newsletter
We collect your email address. Nothing else.
When you report a correction
We collect the article reference, your name and email (both optional) and the description of the error.
When you create an account
We collect your email address, a display name and a password (stored as a one-way hash — we cannot read your password).
Automatically collected data
Our hosting provider (Cloudflare) collects standard web server logs: IP addresses, browser type, pages visited and time of visit. This is standard infrastructure logging and is governed by Cloudflare's privacy policy.
How we use your data
| Data | Purpose | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Story submission details | Editorial review and publication decision | Consent (given at submission) |
| Submitter email | Status updates on your submission | Consent |
| Advertising enquiry details | Responding to commercial enquiries | Legitimate interest (pre-contract) |
| Newsletter email | Sending the NewsCentral newsletter | Consent |
| Account details | Authentication and account management | Contract |
| IP addresses | Spam and abuse prevention | Legitimate interest |
We do not use your personal data for advertising profiling, behavioural tracking or sale to third parties.
Storage and security
Data is stored in Cloudflare's D1 database and R2 object storage, hosted on Cloudflare's global infrastructure. Cloudflare's data centres are ISO 27001 certified.
Passwords are hashed using PBKDF2 with SHA-256 and a unique random salt per account. Plain-text passwords are never stored.
All data transmission between your browser and NewsCentral is encrypted via HTTPS (TLS 1.2+).
We retain story submissions for as long as they are editorially relevant. Account data is retained until you request deletion.
Your rights
You have the right to:
- Access — Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
- Correction — Ask us to correct inaccurate data.
- Deletion — Ask us to delete your personal data (subject to legal obligations).
- Withdrawal of consent — Unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time. Withdraw consent for publication of a submitted story before it is published.
- Portability — Request your data in a portable format.
- Objection — Object to processing based on legitimate interest.
To exercise any of these rights, email us at privacy@newscentral.co.za. We will respond within 30 days.
Contact us
For any privacy-related questions or requests:
- Email: privacy@newscentral.co.za
If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant data protection authority in your jurisdiction.