Privacy policy

We are the data controller for personal information collected through SwaziMelo. Our contact details are shown at the bottom of this page, and you can reach us at any time through the Contact page.

Account information: your email address, display name and password (stored by our authentication provider in protected form; we never see or email your password).

Artist information: artist name, biography, country and city, photo, record label, and a contact email and phone number. Contact details are used for review and rights communication and are not shown publicly.

Submitted content: audio files, cover artwork, lyrics, credits, and your rights and licence declarations.

Usage information: when a song is played or downloaded we record the event together with a hashed device identifier (made from your network address and browser details). We do not store your raw network address in these records. We use this to prevent abuse and to count plays and downloads for administrators.

Messages and reports: anything you send through the contact form or the copyright, removal and counter-notice forms, including your name and email address.

Share button clicks: when you tap a share button we record only the type of item and the channel chosen, with no personal details.

We use personal information to: create and run accounts; review, publish and secure music; communicate with you about submissions and decisions; handle copyright and removal requests; prevent fraud and misuse; keep the service working; and meet legal obligations.

Our legal bases are your consent where you give it, performance of the agreement with you when you use an account, our legitimate interest in running a safe platform, and compliance with the law.

We do not sell your personal information. We share it only with service providers who help us run SwaziMelo, under appropriate safeguards: our database, file storage and authentication provider; our website hosting provider; and our email delivery provider. Some of these providers may process information outside Eswatini. We may also disclose information where required by law or to protect rights, safety and security.

If you file a copyright complaint, we may share the complaint details with the artist concerned so they can respond.

We use only what is needed to run the site, such as storing your sign-in session in your browser. We do not use advertising trackers. Browser settings let you block or clear this storage, but signing in will not work without it.

We keep account and artist information while your account is active. Records of submissions, review decisions, complaints and administrative actions are kept as long as needed for the legal record and to protect against abuse. Play and download events are kept in aggregate form. When you delete your account we remove your listener data and notifications, detach and restrict your releases, and delete your contact details, except where the law requires us to keep a record.

We use access controls, encrypted connections, private file storage, server-side permission checks and rate limits to protect your information. No system is perfectly secure. If a breach affecting your personal information occurs, we will notify the people and authorities required by law.

Under the Data Protection Act, 2022 you may ask to see the personal information we hold about you, ask us to correct it, ask us to delete it where we no longer need it, object to certain uses, and withdraw consent you have given. Artists can edit their profile in the dashboard, and any user can delete their account from their dashboard. To use other rights, contact us; we may need to confirm your identity first.

If you are unhappy with how we handle your information, you may complain to the Eswatini Communications Commission, which acts as the Eswatini Data Protection Authority.

SwaziMelo is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect their personal information. Under-18 artists need the consent of a parent or guardian. If you believe a child has given us personal information without consent, contact us and we will remove it.

We may update this policy. We will change the date at the top of this page and, for significant changes, take reasonable steps to let you know.

Send privacy questions and requests through the Contact page.