Privacy policy

This policy explains how Dhaka Debates (“we”, “us”) handles personal information when you visit dhakadebates.com, read our stories and reviews, use our calculators, vote in a debate, sign up for our newsletter or contact us.

Who we are

Dhaka Debates is a story-driven financial media platform based in Dhaka, Bangladesh. We are responsible for the personal information described in this policy.

• Address: Lake City, Khilkhet, Dhaka 1229, Bangladesh
• Privacy and general questions: generalenquiry@dhakadebates.com

Information we collect

Information you give us

• Newsletter sign-ups: your email address, and the date you signed up.
• Messages to us: your name, email address and anything you include when you email us, send a story tip, pitch, correction or reader story.
• Reader stories: if you send us your money story and agree to publication, the details you choose to share. We publish only first names or descriptions you approve.

Information collected automatically

• Debate votes: when you vote in the weekly debate we add one to the total and store a small cookie so you are not counted twice. We do not record who voted for which side.
• Page views: we count how many times each story and review is read so we can show “Most read” lists. The count is a number per page and is not linked to you.
• Affiliate link clicks: when you click a “Visit site” button, the link passes through dhakadebates.com/go/ so we can count clicks per product. We do not record who clicked.
• Server logs: our hosting provider records technical data such as IP address, browser type, the page requested and the time of the request, to keep the site secure and working. These logs are kept for a limited period.
• Cookies and similar technologies: used by us and by advertising partners such as Google. See our Cookie policy.

We do not run user accounts for readers, and comments are turned off on this site.

How we use your information

• To send the newsletter you asked for, and to stop sending it when you unsubscribe.
• To reply to your messages, tips and correction requests.
• To publish reader stories you have agreed to share.
• To show advertising that helps keep Dhaka Debates free to read.
• To understand which stories and reviews are useful, using counts that do not identify you.
• To keep the site secure, prevent abuse and fix problems.
• To meet our legal obligations.

Legal bases

Where data protection laws require a legal basis (for example, for readers in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom), we rely on your consent (newsletter, personalised advertising cookies, reader story publication), our legitimate interests (running and securing a free news site, measuring readership, replying to messages) and legal obligations. You can withdraw consent at any time.

Advertising and Google

We use Google AdSense to show advertising. Google and other third-party vendors use cookies to serve ads based on your previous visits to this website and to other websites. Google’s use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to you based on your visits to Dhaka Debates and other sites on the internet.

• You can opt out of personalised advertising from Google by visiting Google Ads Settings.
• You can opt out of some third-party vendors’ use of cookies for personalised advertising at aboutads.info or, in Europe, youronlinechoices.eu.
• To learn how Google uses information from sites that use its services, see How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services.

Where the law requires it, we ask for your consent before personalised advertising cookies are used. If you do not consent, you may still see non-personalised ads.

Affiliate partners

Some links on Dhaka Debates are affiliate links. If you click one and sign up for a product, the partner may set its own cookies on its own website to record that you came from us. That happens on the partner’s site and is covered by the partner’s privacy policy. We receive commission reports from partners, which normally do not identify you. See our Affiliate disclosure.

Other services we use

• Google Fonts: our typefaces are loaded from Google’s servers, which receive your IP address.
• Gravatar: author photos may be loaded from Gravatar (Automattic).
• Embedded media: videos and podcasts may be embedded from YouTube, Spotify or similar services. Embedded content behaves as if you had visited the other site and may set cookies.
• Email: if we use an email service provider for the newsletter, your email address is stored with that provider on our behalf.
• Hosting and security: our hosting, content delivery and security providers process technical data to deliver and protect the site.

Sharing your information

We do not sell your personal information. We share it only with service providers who help us run Dhaka Debates (as listed above), when the law requires it, or to protect our rights, our readers or the public. Service providers may only use your information to provide their service to us.

International transfers

Some of our providers, including Google, store data outside Bangladesh. When information is transferred, we rely on the provider’s own safeguards and contractual commitments to protect it.

How long we keep information

• Newsletter email addresses: until you unsubscribe, then removed within 30 days.
• Emails and tips: as long as needed to respond and for our editorial records, normally no longer than three years.
• Debate vote cookie: 30 days.
• Server logs: as set by our hosting provider, normally no longer than 90 days.

Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct or delete your personal information, to object to or restrict how we use it, to withdraw consent, and to receive a copy of it. To use these rights, email generalenquiry@dhakadebates.com. We will reply within 30 days. You can unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time using the link in every email.

Children

Dhaka Debates is written for adults and is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has sent us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

Security

We use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information, including encrypted connections (HTTPS) and restricted access to our systems. No method of transmission over the internet is completely secure.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy when our services or the law change. The date at the top of this page shows when it was last updated. Significant changes will be highlighted on this page.

Contact us

Questions about privacy go to generalenquiry@dhakadebates.com or by post to Dhaka Debates, Lake City, Khilkhet, Dhaka 1229, Bangladesh.