Last updated: 5th June 2026
This Privacy Policy describes the policies and procedures of The Hiwa Times on the collection, use, and disclosure of your information when you use our website and services. It explains your privacy rights and how the law protects you. By using our Service you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
Definitions
- The Hiwa Times (referred to as “we, “us” or “our”) refers to The Hiwa Times, an independent online publication based in the United Kingdom operating at hiwatimes.com.
- You means the individual accessing or using our website, whether as a visitor, registered user or paying subscriber.
- Service refers to the hiwatimes.com website, all content, features, and advertisement available through it.
- Personal Data means any information that can identify you as an individual, directly or indirectly.
- Usage Data means data collected automatically when you visit our website such as the pages you visit and the time you spend on them.
- Device means any technological device that can access the Service such as smartphones, tablets or computers.
- Service Provider means any third party engaged by us to process data or support the delivery of our Service.
- Subscriber means any individual who has purchased a paid membership to access exclusive content on The Hiwa Times.
Collection of Personal Data
Account and Subscription Data
When you create an account or subscribe to The Hiwa Times we collect your name, email address, location (such as address, city, or country), and payment information. Payment details are processed securely by Stripe and are never stored directly on our servers at any point.
Newsletter Data
When you sign up to our newsletter we collect your email address and your first name if provided. This information is used solely for the purposes of delivering our newsletter to you.
Contact Data
When you contact us through our contact or administrative email we collect your name, email address and the content of your message. This information is used only to respond to your enquiry.
Usage Data
When you browse our website we automatically collect anonymous data including the pages you visit, the time you spend on each page, your device type, and your general geographic location. This data does not identify you personally and is used only to help understand how our website is used.
Advertising Data
If you interact with advertisements on our site, they may collect data about your browsing behaviour in order to serve relevant ads. This process is governed entirely outside of The Hiwa Times and in the privacy policy of the advertisement’s Service Provider own privacy policy which we encourage you to review.
Use of Personal Data
Service and Account Management
We use your personal data to provide and maintain our website and services, to manage your account and subscription and to process your payments securely through Stripe. Without this data, we would be unable to deliver the Service to you.
Communications
We use your email address to send you our newsletter where you have opted in and to respond to any enquiries or requests you submit to us. We will only contact you for purposes directly related to your use of our Service.
Improvement and Advertising
We use anonymous Usage Data to analyse how our website is used and to make improvements to the Service. We will never use your personal data beyond these purposes without your explicit consent.
Retention of Personal Data
Subscriber Data
Subscriber account data is held for the duration of your active subscription and permanently deleted within 30 days of cancellation.
Newsletter Data
Newsletter subscriber data is retained until you choose to unsubscribe at which point it is removed from our records promptly.
Contact Data
Messages and enquiries submitted through email are retained for up to 12 months before being permanently deleted.
Usage Data
Anonymous Usage Data is retained in line with the default retention periods of the analytics tools we use.
Transfer of Personal Data
Your personal data may be processed on servers located outside the United Kingdom where data protection laws may differ from those applicable in the UK. Where such transfers occur we take all reasonable and necessary steps to ensure your data is handled securely and processed in full accordance with this Privacy Policy at all times.
Legal Disclosure of Personal Data
Law Enforcement
We may be required to disclose your personal data in response to a valid legal request from a public authority such as a court or government agency. We will only do so where we are legally obligated and will take all reasonable steps to ensure that any such disclosure is proportionate and necessary.
Legal Obligations
We may disclose your personal data where we believe doing so is necessary to comply with a legal obligation, to protect the rights or property of The Hiwa Times or to prevent or investigate suspected wrongdoing in connection with our Service.
Protection of Safety
We may disclose your personal data where we believe in good faith that doing so is necessary to protect the personal safety of our users or the wider public.
Security of Personal Data
Our Measures
We implement reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data from unauthorised access, loss, misuse or alteration. Access to personal data within our organisation is restricted to those who have a legitimate need to handle it.
Payment Security
All payments are handled exclusively by Stripe in full compliance with PCI DSS security standards, the global benchmark for payment security. We never have access to your full card details at any point.
Limitations
While we take the security of your personal data seriously it is important to acknowledge that no method of transmission over the internet is entirely secure. We cannot therefore guarantee the absolute security of your data and you use our Service at your own risk in this regard.
Links to Third Party Websites
Our website may from time to time contain links to third party websites that are not operated or controlled by us. We have no control over and accept no responsibility for the content, privacy practices or data handling of any third party website. We strongly encourage you to review the privacy policy of every website you visit before providing any personal information.
Amendments to this Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes in applicable law, our operations or the third party services we use. Any amendments will be published on this page with a revised date at the top. Your continued use of our website following the posting of any changes constitutes your acceptance of the amended policy. We encourage you to review this page periodically to stay informed.
Contact
For any questions relating to this Privacy Policy or the manner in which we handle your personal data please contact us at contact@hiwatimes.com.