This policy explains, in plain language, what data UAE Inform collects when you read the site, what happens to that data, and how to reach us about it. It covers uaeinform.com only. The short version: there are no user accounts and no newsletter, the site keeps standard server logs and uses Google Analytics 4 for usage statistics, and advertising cookies appear only if and when Google AdSense advertising is enabled — the advertising sections below apply from the day that happens. This version is effective 14 August 2026 and reflects Google's published Analytics and AdSense policies as of August 2026.
At a Glance
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| User accounts or logins | None — nothing on the site requires registration |
| Newsletter or email list | None today |
| What we collect | Standard server logs; Google Analytics 4 usage statistics |
| IP addresses in analytics | Not stored — GA4 discards them after deriving approximate location |
| Cookies | Google Analytics 4 cookies; advertising cookies only if AdSense ads are enabled |
| Is data sold | Never |
| Processors | Google (Analytics; AdSense if advertising is enabled) |
| Analytics retention | User- and event-level data: maximum 14 months, then deleted automatically |
| Your rights | Access and deletion requests via the contact page |
| Children | The site is not directed at children under 13 |
| Effective date | 14 August 2026 |
Who We Are
UAE Inform is an independent, English-language guide to living, working and doing business in the United Arab Emirates — the about page explains who runs it and how it is made. For anything in this policy, contact us through the contact page.
What We Collect
Server logs
Like almost every website, the server that delivers UAE Inform keeps standard access logs: the IP address a request came from, the page requested, the date and time, and the browser's user-agent string. These logs exist for security, abuse prevention and troubleshooting, and for nothing else. They are not used to build profiles of readers.
Google Analytics 4
The site uses Google Analytics 4 (GA4) to understand, in aggregate, how it is used: which pages are read, roughly where visitors are (country or city level), what devices they use, and how they arrived. GA4 does not log or store visitor IP addresses — it uses the IP address briefly to derive an approximate location, then discards it, and this behaviour is built into GA4 rather than a setting we could turn off. What we see is aggregate: page counts, regions, device categories — not who you are.
What we do not collect
There are no user accounts, no login, no newsletter and no paywall — nothing on the site asks you to register or hand over your email address to read it. If you choose to write to us through the contact page, we receive what you send and use it only to reply and to act on what you raised (for example, correcting an error you reported).
Cookies
Analytics cookies
GA4 sets first-party cookies (such as _ga) that distinguish one browser from another, so repeat visits are not counted as new visitors. They do not contain your name, email address or anything you typed.
Advertising cookies — only if AdSense ads are enabled
As of the effective date of this policy, UAE Inform shows no advertising. If Google AdSense advertising is enabled on the site, the following applies from that day:
- Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on a user's prior visits to this website or to other websites.
- Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to you based on your visits to this site and/or other sites on the internet.
- You can opt out of personalised advertising from Google by visiting Google's Ads Settings, and you can opt out of some other third-party vendors' use of cookies for personalised advertising at www.aboutads.info.
For a fuller picture of what Google does with data collected on sites that use its services, see How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services.
Consent for EEA, UK and Swiss Visitors
Since 16 January 2024, Google has required publishers serving personalised ads to visitors in the European Economic Area and the United Kingdom to use a Google-certified consent management platform (CMP) that integrates with the IAB's Transparency and Consent Framework; the same requirement has applied to Switzerland since 31 July 2024. If and when advertising is enabled on UAE Inform, visitors in those regions will see a consent banner from a certified CMP before any personalised ad is served, with a genuine choice: decline, and you will receive non-personalised ads or none at all. Until advertising is enabled, Google's certified-CMP requirement does not apply to this site, because it serves no personalised ads.
Data Sharing
UAE Inform does not sell, rent or trade any visitor data, and never will under this policy. The data described above is shared only with the processors that make the site work: Google LLC processes analytics data (and, if advertising is enabled, ad-serving data) under Google's own privacy policy. Beyond that, data would be disclosed only if the law required it.
Data Retention
- Server logs are kept only as long as they are useful for security and troubleshooting, and are then deleted in routine log rotation.
- Google Analytics 4 data: user-level and event-level data is retained for a maximum of 14 months — the longest retention available on a standard GA4 property — after which Google deletes it automatically. Aggregate reports (for example, monthly page-view totals) do not identify anyone.
- Contact messages are kept for as long as needed to deal with what you raised, then deleted.
Your Rights
You can ask what data we hold about you, and ask for it to be deleted, by writing to us via the contact page. One honest caveat: because the site has no accounts and GA4 stores no IP addresses, analytics data usually cannot be linked back to a specific person — if we cannot identify any data as yours, we will tell you exactly that rather than pretending to delete something. Visitors in the EEA and UK additionally have the rights the GDPR and UK GDPR give them — access, rectification, erasure and objection — and the right to complain to their local supervisory authority.
Children
UAE Inform is a guide to visas, employment, tax and daily life in the UAE; it is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child has sent us personal information through the contact page, contact us and we will delete it.
Changes to This Policy
When this policy changes, the updated version is published on this page with a new effective date, and material changes (for example, advertising going live) will be flagged at the top of the policy rather than buried. This version is effective 14 August 2026.
