This Privacy Policy explains how UAE Guides (“we”, “us” or “our”) collects, uses and protects information when you visit uaeguides.ae (the “Website”). By using the Website, you agree to the practices described in this policy. If you don’t agree, please stop using the Website.
UAE Guides is an independent information website. We publish guides and articles on everything related to the UAE, including services, banking, transport, public holidays, travel, lifestyle and daily life. We are not affiliated with any government authority, bank, exchange house or company we write about, and we never ask for your bank card numbers, PINs, OTPs, Emirates ID numbers or passwords.
1. Information We Collect
Information you give us
We only collect personal information that you choose to send us, for example when you:
- Fill in our contact form or email us
- Leave a comment on an article
- Subscribe to updates or a newsletter, if we offer one
This may include your name, email address and the content of your message or comment. Please don’t include sensitive details such as card numbers, Emirates ID numbers or passwords in any message.
Information collected automatically
When you visit the Website, some information is collected automatically by our servers and by the tools we use, including:
- Device and browser information, such as browser type, operating system and screen size
- Usage information, such as the pages you visit, time spent on pages and the website that referred you
- Approximate location, such as your country or city, based on your IP address
- IP address and log data, recorded by our hosting provider for security and performance
This information doesn’t identify you by name. We use it in aggregated form to understand how the Website is used.
2. How We Use Your Information
We use the information we collect to:
- Run, maintain and improve the Website and its content
- Reply to your messages, questions and correction requests
- Moderate and publish comments
- Understand which guides are most useful, so we can update and improve them
- Show advertising that helps keep the Website free to use
- Detect and prevent spam, abuse, fraud and security threats
- Meet our legal obligations
We do not sell your personal information.
3. Cookies and Similar Technologies
Cookies are small text files stored on your device when you visit a website. We and our partners use cookies to:
- Make the Website work, for example remembering your settings such as light or dark mode
- Measure traffic and performance, through analytics tools
- Show and measure advertising, through advertising partners
You can control or delete cookies through your browser settings. Blocking some cookies may affect how parts of the Website work. Most browsers let you:
- See which cookies are stored and delete them
- Block third-party cookies
- Block all cookies from specific websites
- Delete all cookies when you close the browser
4. Analytics
We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors use the Website. Google Analytics collects information such as the pages you visit, how long you stay and how you arrived at the Website. This helps us improve our content.
Google processes this information according to its own privacy policy. You can opt out of Google Analytics by installing the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on, available from Google.
5. Advertising
We may show advertisements on the Website through Google AdSense and other advertising partners. These partners may use cookies and similar technologies to show ads based on your previous visits to this Website and other websites.
- Google’s use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads based on your visits to this and other sites on the internet.
- You can opt out of personalised advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings.
- You can also opt out of some third-party vendors’ use of cookies for personalised advertising by visiting www.aboutads.info.
Advertisers don’t receive your name or contact details from us. Ads on the Website are provided by third parties, and we don’t endorse the products or services they promote.
6. Comments
If you leave a comment, we collect the name, email address and comment you submit, plus your IP address and browser details to help detect spam. Your email address is never shown publicly. Comments may be checked by an automated spam detection service. Approved comments and the name you entered are visible to the public.
7. Third-Party Links
Our guides link to official websites, such as government portals, banks and service providers, and to other useful resources. We are not responsible for the content or privacy practices of these websites. Please read the privacy policy of any website you visit, especially before entering personal or payment details.
8. How We Share Information
We only share information in these limited cases:
- Service providers that help us run the Website, such as our hosting provider, analytics provider, email tools and spam protection. They process data on our behalf and only for these purposes.
- Advertising partners, as described in Section 5.
- Legal requirements, when we must share information to comply with the law, a court order or a request from a competent authority in the UAE or elsewhere.
- Protection, when needed to protect the rights, safety or property of UAE Guides, our visitors or others.
Some of these providers may store or process data outside the UAE. Where this happens, we rely on providers that apply appropriate safeguards to protect your information.
9. How Long We Keep Your Information
- Messages and emails are kept for as long as needed to respond and follow up, and then deleted within a reasonable period.
- Comments stay on the Website until you ask us to remove them or we remove them.
- Analytics data is kept according to the retention settings of our analytics provider.
- Server logs are kept for a limited period for security purposes.
10. How We Protect Your Information
The Website uses HTTPS encryption, so information sent between your browser and our server is protected. We also keep our software up to date and limit who can access our systems. No website can guarantee complete security, but we take reasonable steps to protect the information we hold.
11. Your Rights
Under the UAE’s Personal Data Protection Law (Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021) and, where it applies, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), you may have the right to:
- Access the personal information we hold about you
- Correct information that is inaccurate or incomplete
- Delete your personal information
- Object to or restrict how we use your information
- Withdraw consent where we rely on your consent, such as for cookies
- Receive a copy of your information in a common format
To use any of these rights, contact us using the details in Section 14. We’ll reply within a reasonable time and may need to confirm your identity first.
12. Children’s Privacy
The Website is intended for a general adult audience. We don’t knowingly collect personal information from children under 18. If you believe a child has sent us personal information, please contact us and we’ll delete it.
13. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time, for example when we add new features or tools, or when the law changes. We’ll post the updated version on this page and change the “Last updated” date at the top. Please check this page occasionally.
14. Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your information, please contact us:
- Website: uaeguides.ae
- Email: contact@uaeguides.ae
- Contact page: Contact Us