Privacy Policy

Last updated: 20 October 2026

This page explains what personal data adityashah.blog collects, why, who else handles it, how long it is kept and how you can use your rights. It describes what this site actually runs, checked on the date above.

Who runs this site

adityashah.blog is the personal blog of Aditya Shah, based in Bhopal, India. I decide what data the site collects and why, so I am responsible for it. You can reach me at [email protected] or through the contact page.

What is collected and why

Contact form

The form on the contact page asks for your first name and email address (required), and a phone number and message (both optional). I use them only to read and reply to your message. When you send the form, the details are emailed to me and saved in this site’s database by the Forminator form plugin. The form is checked for spam by Akismet (see below). Your details are not added to any mailing list and are not sold or shared for marketing.

Email subscription

The “New articles, by email” form on the home page sends your email address to WordPress.com (run by Automattic), which manages the subscription and emails you new posts. Every email has an unsubscribe link, and unsubscribing stops the emails.

Comments

Posts do not currently show a comment form. Older comments that were left on the blog keep the name and website the commenter gave. If comments are turned back on, a comment stores the name, email address, website and IP address you submit, is checked for spam by Akismet, and may show your Gravatar image.

Visiting the site

Like most websites, every visit sends standard technical information: your IP address, browser and device type, the page you asked for, the page you came from and the time. The services below receive this information when your browser loads their files, and some of them set cookies or similar identifiers. I use it to keep the site secure and working, to understand which posts are read, and to show ads that pay for the site.

Services that process data for this site

• WordPress.com and Jetpack (Automattic). The site is hosted on WordPress.com. Jetpack Stats counts visits, WordPress.com measures page performance, Jetpack security features protect logins, and Gravatar shows author pictures. Automattic privacy policy.
• Akismet (Automattic). Checks contact form entries and comments for spam. It receives what you submit plus your IP address and browser details. Akismet privacy notice.
• Google Analytics (Google). Measures how visitors use the site, using the cookies _ga and _ga_*. It is added through Google’s Site Kit plugin. You can block it with Google’s Analytics opt-out add-on.
• Google AdSense (Google). Shows ads. Google and its partners use cookies and similar identifiers to show ads based on your visits to this and other sites, and to measure them. See how Google uses information from sites or apps that use its services and how Google uses cookies in advertising. You can turn off personalised ads in Google’s ad settings.
• WordAds (Automattic) and its advertising partners. WordAds also shows ads here and runs an auction among ad companies for each ad space. On the date above, a visit to this site contacted, among others, Google Ad Manager, Amazon Publisher Services, Criteo, ID5, Smart AdServer, 33Across, Prebid and Aditude. These companies may set cookies or store identifiers in your browser (for example cto_bundle and id5id) to choose, cap and measure ads. See Automattic’s cookie policy.
• Cloudflare. Traffic to the site passes through Cloudflare, which protects it from attacks, hides email addresses from spam bots and collects basic visit statistics. Cloudflare privacy policy.
• WP Defender (WPMU DEV). A security plugin that runs on this site. It logs IP addresses involved in failed logins or blocked requests so attacks can be stopped.

Links to LinkedIn, GitHub and other sites are plain links. This site does not load LinkedIn or social media tracking code.

Cookies and how to control them

Cookies are small files your browser stores for a website. This site uses cookies and similar browser storage for analytics (Google Analytics) and advertising (Google and the WordAds partners listed above). The site works without them.

• Visitors in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland see a “Privacy & Cookies” consent banner from WordAds before advertising partners use their data, and can change that choice later through the “Privacy” link shown under ads.
• You can turn off personalised Google ads in Google’s ad settings, and opt out of many other ad companies at Your Online Choices.
• You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings, or use a browser or extension that blocks trackers.

How long data is kept

• Contact form messages stay in my email and the site’s database until I delete them. Ask me and I will delete yours.
• Email subscriptions are kept by WordPress.com until you unsubscribe.
• Analytics and advertising data is kept by Google, Automattic and the ad partners for the periods set out in their own policies, linked above.
• Security logs on this site are kept for a limited time; the activity audit log is kept for six months.

Your rights under India’s DPDP Act, 2023

Under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 you can:

• ask what personal data of yours I hold and how it is processed, and who it has been shared with (access);
• ask me to correct, complete or update it (correction);
• ask me to delete it (erasure);
• withdraw consent you gave, for example to a contact form message being kept. Withdrawing is as easy as giving it: send one email. It does not affect what was done before;
• nominate another person to use these rights for you if you die or become unable to (nomination);
• raise a grievance with me about how your data is handled.

To use any of these rights, email [email protected] from the address you used with this site, and say what you want. I will reply within 30 days. Data held by Google, Automattic or the ad partners can also be managed directly with them through the links above.

Grievance contact

Aditya Shah, [email protected]. If you are not satisfied with my response to a grievance, you can complain to the Data Protection Board of India set up under the DPDP Act.

Data processed outside India

The services named above are run by companies based mainly in the United States (Automattic, Google, Cloudflare and several ad partners) and in other countries, so your data is processed and stored outside India, on their servers around the world.

Children

This blog is written for working professionals and is not directed at anyone under 18. Please do not use the contact or subscription forms if you are under 18. If you believe a child has sent me personal data, email me and I will delete it.

Changes to this policy

When the site adds or removes a form, tracker or service, this page is updated and the “Last updated” date above changes.