Privacy Policy | Gold FM

Gold FM 104.3 ("we", "us", or "our") is a community radio station based in Welkom, Free State, South Africa. We are committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal information in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) and other applicable South African data protection laws.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect your personal information when you visit our website at goldfm.co.za, subscribe to our newsletter, contact us, or use any of our online services.

Information We Collect

We collect the following types of personal information:

Newsletter subscriptions: Your email address when you subscribe to receive updates about events, shows, and news.
Contact form submissions: Your name, email address, phone number, and message when you contact us through our website.
Donation information: Your name, email address, and payment details when you make a donation to our community initiatives. Payment processing is handled securely by our payment provider (Paystack).
Technical data: Basic technical information such as browser type, device type, and pages visited, collected through cookies and similar technologies. See our Cookie Policy for details.

How We Use Your Information

We use your personal information for the following purposes:

To send you newsletter updates about new events, show changes, and news articles you have subscribed to.
To respond to your inquiries and messages submitted through our contact form.
To process donations and send you confirmation of your contribution.
To improve our website, content, and services based on how visitors use the site.
To comply with our legal obligations and protect our legitimate interests.

We never sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties. Your email address is kept private and is never visible to other subscribers. When we send newsletter updates, each email is sent individually — we do not CC or BCC multiple recipients, so no subscriber can see another subscriber's email address.

Legal Basis for Processing

We process your personal information based on your consent (when you subscribe to our newsletter or submit our contact form) and our legitimate interests (to operate and improve our website and services). You may withdraw your consent at any time by unsubscribing from our newsletter using the unsubscribe link in any email we send, or by contacting us at info@goldfm.co.za.

How We Store and Protect Your Data

Your personal information is stored securely on our platform's servers. We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your data against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. Access to your personal information is restricted to authorised Gold FM staff who need it to perform their duties.

Your subscriber email address is stored with a unique, randomly generated token rather than being exposed in plain text in links. Unsubscribe links use this token, not your email address, so your email is never visible in URLs or to other users.

Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party services to operate our website and deliver emails:

Email delivery: We use a platform-integrated email service to send newsletter updates. Each email is sent individually to protect subscriber privacy.
Payment processing: Donations are processed by Paystack, which handles your payment information securely. We do not store your full card or banking details on our servers.
Web hosting and analytics: Our website is hosted on a cloud platform that may collect basic analytics data about site usage.

These third parties are bound by their own privacy policies and are contractually obligated to protect your information. We only share the minimum data necessary for them to provide their services.

Data Retention

We retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected. If you unsubscribe from our newsletter, we will mark your subscription as inactive and stop sending you emails. You may also request that we permanently delete your personal information at any time by contacting us at info@goldfm.co.za.

Your Rights

Under POPIA and applicable data protection laws, you have the following rights:

Access: You may request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
Correction: You may request that we correct any inaccurate or incomplete personal information.
Deletion: You may request that we delete your personal information, subject to legal retention requirements.
Unsubscribe: You may unsubscribe from our newsletter at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in any email or contacting us.
Withdraw consent: You may withdraw your consent to data processing at any time.
Complaint: You may lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator (South Africa) if you believe your privacy rights have been violated.

Children's Privacy

Our website is not directed at children under the age of 18, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us so we can delete it.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or for legal reasons. We will post the updated policy on this page and update the "Last updated" date at the top. We encourage you to review this page periodically.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your personal information, please contact us:

Gold FM 104.3
Email: info@goldfm.co.za
Phone: 057 353 3500
Address: Welkom, Free State, South Africa