Comments
When visitors leave comments on our website, we collect the data shown in the comments form, as well as the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help with spam detection, fraud prevention, and security.
If you provide an email address, an anonymized string (also called a “hash”) may be shared with an avatar service (such as Gravatar) to check whether you use it. The avatar service may display your profile picture publicly next to your approved comment.
Please avoid sharing sensitive personal information in comments.
Media
If you upload images to the website, you should avoid uploading images that include embedded location data (EXIF GPS). Visitors to the website may be able to download and extract location data from images displayed on the site.
Cookies
If you leave a comment on our site, you may opt in to saving your name, email address, and website in cookies. These are for your convenience so that you do not have to fill in your details again when you leave another comment. These cookies will typically last for up to one year.
If you visit our login page, we will set a temporary cookie to determine whether your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.
When you log in, we will also set several cookies to save your login information and your screen display preferences. Login cookies may last up to two days, and screen options cookies may last up to one year. If you select “Remember Me”, your login will persist for two weeks. If you log out of your account, the login cookies will be removed.
If you edit or publish an article, an additional cookie will be saved in your browser. This cookie includes no personal data and simply indicates the post ID of the article you just edited. It expires after one day.
Where required under applicable UAE laws, we will request your consent for non-essential cookies via a cookie banner, and you can change your preferences at any time.
Embedded content from other websites
Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles, maps, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website.
These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with the embedded content, including tracking your interaction if you have an account and are logged in to that website.
Who we share your data with
We may share personal data with trusted service providers (“processors”) who help us operate our website and deliver our services, such as website hosting, email/SMS tools, analytics, spam protection, and security services. These providers are only permitted to process your data based on our instructions and for the purposes described in this policy.
If you request a password reset (if accounts are enabled), your IP address may be included in the reset email as a security measure.
We do not sell your personal data.
How long we retain your data
If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata may be retained to help us recognize and approve follow-up comments and to support security and moderation.
If you create an account on our website (if any), we store the personal information you provide in your user profile. You can request access to, update, or delete your personal information, subject to applicable UAE laws and our legitimate business needs (for example, security, fraud prevention, dispute handling, and legal compliance).
We retain personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted under UAE law.
What rights you have over your data
Subject to applicable UAE laws, you may request:
Access to the personal data we hold about you
Correction of inaccurate or incomplete information
Deletion of your personal data (where applicable)
A copy of your personal data (export), where technically feasible
You can submit requests by contacting us using the details provided on our website. Please note that some information may be retained where required for security, administrative, or legal purposes.
Where your data is sent
Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service.
Depending on the tools we use (such as hosting, email delivery, analytics, security, and spam filtering), your data may be processed on servers located in the UAE and/or in other countries. Where data is transferred outside the UAE, we take reasonable steps to ensure appropriate safeguards are in place in line with applicable UAE data protection requirements.