Who We Are
The National is a news website available at https://thenational.co.ke. We publish news and information covering Kenya and international affairs, including politics, business, education, health, sports, technology and other matters of public interest.
This Privacy Policy explains how information may be collected, used, stored and handled when you visit or interact with our website.
Comments
When visitors leave comments on The National, we collect the information provided in the comments form, together with the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string, to help detect spam and maintain the security of our website.
An anonymised string generated from your email address, also known as a hash, may be provided to the Gravatar service to determine whether you use it. Gravatar’s Privacy Policy is available at https://automattic.com/privacy/.
After a comment is approved, your profile picture may be visible to the public alongside your comment, depending on your Gravatar settings.
Media
If you upload images to The National, we recommend removing embedded location data, including EXIF GPS information, before uploading them.
Visitors may be able to download images from our website and extract any location information embedded in those files.
Cookies
The National uses cookies and similar technologies to support website functionality, improve the browsing experience and maintain website security.
If you leave a comment on our website, you may choose to save your name, email address and website in cookies for convenience. These cookies may last for up to one year, allowing you to avoid entering the same details when submitting another comment.
When you visit the login page, a temporary cookie may be set to determine whether your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal information and is discarded when you close your browser.
When you log in, cookies may be used to save your login information and screen display preferences. Login cookies generally last for two days, while screen preference cookies may last for one year. If you select “Remember Me”, your login may remain active for up to two weeks. Logging out removes the relevant login cookies.
If you edit or publish an article, an additional cookie may be stored in your browser. It contains no personal information and records the post ID of the article you edited. It expires after one day.
Additional cookies may be used by analytics, advertising or other third-party services integrated into our website, where applicable. You can manage cookies through your browser settings. Where required by applicable law, appropriate consent options will be provided for non-essential cookies.
Embedded Content from Other Websites
Articles published on The National may include embedded content, such as videos, images, social media posts and articles from other websites.
Embedded content behaves in much the same way as if you visited the external website directly. These third-party websites may collect information about you, use cookies, incorporate tracking technologies and monitor your interaction with the embedded content.
If you have an account and are logged in to a third-party website, that service may associate your interaction with your account. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of external websites before interacting with their content.
Who We Share Your Data With
The National does not require visitors to provide personal information simply to read publicly available news articles. However, certain website features, such as comments, account registration and password recovery, may require information to be processed.
If you request a password reset, your IP address may be included in the password reset email as part of the standard WordPress process.
Information may also be processed by service providers that help us operate, secure and maintain our website, including spam detection services and other technical providers, where applicable.
We do not sell visitors’ personal information. Any sharing of information is subject to applicable legal requirements and the purposes for which the information was collected.
How Long We Retain Your Data
If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata may be retained indefinitely. This helps us recognise and approve follow-up comments automatically rather than holding every subsequent comment for moderation.
For visitors who register for an account on our website, we store the personal information provided in their user profiles. Registered users can view, edit or delete their personal information at any time, except for their usernames, which may not be changeable. Website administrators may also access and edit user profile information when necessary for website administration.
We may retain certain information for longer periods where necessary for security, legal compliance, dispute resolution or legitimate website administration purposes.
Your Rights Over Your Data
Depending on applicable law, you may have the right to request access to the personal information we hold about you, obtain a copy of that information, request corrections or ask us to delete your personal data.
If you have an account on The National or have left comments, you may request an exported file containing the personal information we hold about you, including information you have provided.
You may also request the deletion of personal information we hold about you. However, this does not include information we are required to retain for administrative, legal, security or other lawful purposes.
To exercise these rights, please contact us through the Contact Us page on https://thenational.co.ke/.
Where Your Data Is Sent
Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service to help prevent spam and protect the website.
Depending on the services and technologies used on our website, certain information may also be processed by third-party service providers, including hosting, analytics, advertising and security providers.
Such processing is subject to the applicable providers’ policies and relevant data protection requirements.
How We Protect Your Information
We take reasonable steps to protect information handled through The National against unauthorised access, misuse, loss or disclosure. These measures may include website security tools, access controls and technical safeguards provided by our hosting and service providers.
However, no method of transmitting or storing information electronically can be guaranteed to be completely secure.
Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our website, the services we use or applicable legal requirements.
Any revisions will be published on this page, together with the updated date. Visitors are encouraged to review this page periodically.
Contact Us
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, the information we collect or how your personal data is handled, please contact us through the Contact Us page on our website.
