1. Who We Are
Dhaka Sydney Insider ("we", "our", "us") is an online news publication connecting the Bangladeshi community across Bangladesh and Australia. This policy explains what information we collect when you visit dhakasydneyinsider.com (the "Site"), how we use it, and the choices and rights you have. By using the Site you agree to this policy.
Data controller contact: Info@dhakasydneyinsider.com · 46 Dransfield Avenue, Mascot 2020, NSW, Australia.
2. Information We Collect
- Information you provide: name, email address, and content you submit through comments, polls, letters, columns, or obituary forms.
- Automatic information: IP address, browser type, device type, operating system, pages visited, referring URLs, and date/time of access, collected through server logs and cookies.
- Approximate location: your IP address may be used to estimate your city so we can show local weather and prayer times. We do not access your device's GPS and we do not store this location on our servers.
We do not knowingly collect sensitive personal data (such as health, religion, or political opinions) and we never sell your personal information.
3. How We Use Your Information
- To operate, maintain, and improve the Site and its features (e.g., popular-news rankings, reader polls).
- To publish and moderate reader submissions and comments.
- To personalise convenience features such as local weather and prayer times.
- To display advertising, including advertising served by third parties such as Google AdSense.
- To protect the Site against spam, abuse, and security threats, and to comply with legal obligations.
4. Legal Bases (GDPR)
Where the EU/UK General Data Protection Regulation applies, we process personal data on these bases:
- Consent — for non-essential cookies and for content you voluntarily submit.
- Legitimate interests — to run and secure a news website and measure readership.
- Legal obligation — where retention or disclosure is required by law.
5. Cookie Policy
Cookies are small text files stored on your device. We use the following categories:
Strictly Necessary
Required for core features — e.g., remembering your dark/light mode choice, poll participation, and form security tokens. These cannot be switched off.
Preferences
Remember convenience settings such as your detected city for weather and prayer times (stored only in your browser session).
Analytics
Help us understand which articles are read and how visitors move around the Site, so we can improve our journalism.
Advertising
Set by advertising partners such as Google AdSense to show relevant ads and measure ad performance. Google may use cookies to serve ads based on your visits to this and other websites. You can opt out at Google Ads Settings.
Managing cookies: you can delete or block cookies at any time in your browser settings (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge). Blocking some cookies may affect features such as polls or theme preference. Where required by law, we ask for your consent before setting non-essential cookies.
6. Third-Party Services
The Site relies on these trusted providers, which may receive limited technical data (such as your IP address) when their services load:
- Google AdSense — advertising (privacy policy).
- Google Fonts & Font Awesome CDN — typography and icons.
- OpenWeatherMap — weather data for your approximate city.
- Aladhan API — prayer-time calculations.
- GeoJS — IP-based approximate location lookup.
- Open Exchange Rate API — currency rates.
These providers process data under their own privacy policies. We do not share your submitted personal information with them.
7. Data Retention
We keep personal data only as long as necessary: published submissions remain as part of the journalistic record; unpublished submissions and form entries are reviewed and deleted periodically; server logs are rotated automatically. You may request deletion of your personal data at any time (see Section 8).
8. Your Rights
Depending on your location (including under the GDPR, UK GDPR, Australian Privacy Act 1988, and California CCPA/CPRA), you may have the right to:
- Access a copy of your personal data
- Correct inaccurate data
- Request deletion ("right to be forgotten")
- Object to or restrict processing
- Data portability
- Withdraw consent at any time
- Lodge a complaint with your local data-protection authority
To exercise any of these rights, email Info@dhakasydneyinsider.com. We respond within 30 days.
9. Children's Privacy
The Site is a general-audience news service and is not directed at children under 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us personal data, contact us and we will delete it promptly.
10. International Transfers & Security
As a publication serving readers in Bangladesh, Australia, and worldwide, your data may be processed on servers located outside your country. We use reputable hosting with industry-standard safeguards — HTTPS encryption in transit, access controls, and regular software updates. No method of transmission is 100% secure, but we work to protect your information appropriately.
11. Changes to This Policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The "Last updated" date at the top reflects the latest revision. Material changes will be announced on the Site. Continued use of the Site after changes means you accept the updated policy.
