privacy policy
Last updated: 9 October 2026
This policy explains what personal data Gulf Search Central (“we”, “us”) collects when you read, subscribe to or contribute to this website, why we collect it, how long we keep it and the rights you have. We have written it to meet the UAE Personal Data Protection Law (Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021), the Saudi Personal Data Protection Law and its implementing regulations, and, for readers in the European Union and the United Kingdom, the GDPR.
1. Who we are
Gulf Search Central is an independent publication about search marketing in the UAE and the GCC. We are the controller of the personal data described here. You can reach us about privacy at privacy@gulfsearchcentral.com.
2. The data we collect
Data you give us
- Newsletter: your email address and your consent, the language you signed up in and the page you signed up from.
- “Bring your idea”: your idea, name and email address, and your consent for us to reply.
- Write for Us pitches: your name, work email, company and role, the topic, working title and outline of your pitch, any links to published work you share, and your consent.
- Contributors and authors: if we publish your work, the name, photo, biography, job title and profile links you ask us to show on your author page.
- Emails you send us: whatever you choose to include.
Data collected automatically
- Usage data: pages viewed, time on page, scroll depth, clicks on links and buttons, the site that referred you and campaign tags in the link you followed.
- Device data: browser, operating system, screen size, language and an approximate location derived from your IP address (city level; we do not store full IP addresses in analytics).
- Performance data: anonymous page speed measurements (Core Web Vitals) that help us keep the site fast.
- Server logs: our hosting provider records IP address, time and requested URL for security and to keep the service running.
We do not ask for, and do not want, sensitive personal data such as health, religious or financial information. Please do not include it in forms or emails.
3. Why we use it and our legal basis
| Purpose | Data | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Sending The Gulf Search Brief | Email, language, sign-up page | Your consent, which you can withdraw at any time |
| Replying to ideas and pitches, and editing and publishing contributed articles | Name, email, pitch details, author profile | Your consent, and steps you ask us to take before an agreement with you |
| Measuring how the site is used and improving it | Usage, device and performance data | Your consent where the law requires it (analytics cookies), otherwise our legitimate interest in running a useful publication |
| Keeping the site secure and preventing spam and abuse | Server logs, form security tokens | Our legitimate interest and our legal obligations |
| Meeting legal obligations and defending legal claims | Any of the above, only as needed | Legal obligation |
We do not sell your personal data, we do not use it for automated decisions that have legal or similarly significant effects on you, and we do not build advertising profiles from it.
4. Cookies and similar technologies
We use a small number of cookies and browser storage entries:
- Strictly necessary: remembering your language and protecting our forms against spam. These do not need consent.
- Analytics: we use Google Tag Manager to load Google Analytics 4, which sets cookies (such as
_ga) to count visits and understand how pages are used, and Microsoft Clarity, which records anonymised interactions such as clicks and scrolling to help us fix usability problems. Clarity masks text you type. Google Analytics data is kept for 14 months. - Campaign attribution: your browser’s local storage keeps a note of the campaign or website that first and last brought you to us, so we can tell which channels work. It never leaves your browser except as part of a form you choose to submit.
Where the law requires consent, analytics only run after you accept them. You can withdraw consent or block cookies at any time in your browser settings, or install the Google Analytics opt-out add-on. Blocking cookies does not stop you reading the site.
5. Who we share it with
We share personal data only with service providers that help us run the site, under contracts that require them to protect it and use it only on our instructions:
- our web hosting provider (servers, backups and security);
- Google (Tag Manager and Analytics) and Microsoft (Clarity), for audience measurement;
- our email delivery provider, to send the newsletter and replies.
We may also disclose data if the law requires it, to protect our rights or the safety of others, or as part of a change of ownership of the publication, in which case this policy continues to apply.
6. International transfers
Some of our providers process data outside your country, including in the European Union and the United States. When data leaves the UAE, Saudi Arabia, the EU or the UK we rely on the safeguards those laws allow, such as adequacy decisions, standard contractual clauses or your consent, and we choose providers with recognised security certifications.
7. How long we keep it
- Newsletter subscriptions: until you unsubscribe, then a suppression record so we do not email you again.
- Ideas and pitches that we do not take forward: 24 months, then deleted.
- Published contributors: for as long as the article is published, plus 24 months.
- Analytics data: 14 months.
- Server logs: up to 90 days, unless needed to investigate a security incident.
8. Your rights
Depending on where you live, you have the right to:
- be told how your data is used (this policy) and get a copy of it;
- have inaccurate data corrected or completed;
- have your data deleted when we no longer need it or you withdraw consent;
- restrict or object to our use of it, including for direct marketing;
- receive your data in a portable format;
- withdraw consent at any time, without affecting what we did before;
- complain to a regulator.
In the UAE, the UAE Data Office oversees the Personal Data Protection Law. In Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA) oversees the Personal Data Protection Law. In the EU or UK, you can contact your local data protection authority, such as the UK Information Commissioner’s Office. We would appreciate the chance to resolve your concern first.
9. How to use your rights
Email privacy@gulfsearchcentral.com with your request. Every newsletter also has an unsubscribe link. We may ask you to confirm your identity, and we will reply within 30 days, or tell you if we need longer as the law allows. Using your rights is free.
10. Children
This site is written for marketing professionals. It is not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect data from anyone under 18. If you think a child has sent us personal data, contact us and we will delete it.
11. Security
We use encrypted connections (HTTPS), access controls, security updates and regular backups, and we limit access to personal data to the people who need it. No system is perfectly secure, so if we become aware of a breach that puts your rights at risk we will tell you and the relevant regulator as the law requires.
12. Other websites
Our articles link to other websites and embed content such as videos. Those sites have their own privacy policies, and we are not responsible for how they use your data.
13. Changes to this policy
We will update this page when our practices or the law change, and change the date at the top. If a change is significant we will tell newsletter subscribers by email.
14. Contact
Questions about this policy or your data: privacy@gulfsearchcentral.com. You can also read our editorial standards.