Last updated: 10 October 2026
This Privacy Policy explains what personal data Saudi Life Guide (saudilifeguide.com, “we”, “us”) collects, why we collect it, how long we keep it and what rights you have. We have written it to meet the Saudi Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL) and its Implementing Regulations and, for visitors in the European Economic Area and the United Kingdom, the GDPR and UK GDPR.
1. Who we are
Saudi Life Guide is an independent information website run by Arslan Ahmad, an individual based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Arslan Ahmad is the controller of the personal data described here. Contact for all privacy matters: contact@saudilifeguide.com (subject line “Privacy request”).
2. The short version
- You can read the whole site without giving us your name or email.
- We collect personal data only when you email us or leave a comment, plus standard technical data when you visit.
- We use Google services (AdSense for ads, Analytics for statistics) that use cookies. In the EEA, UK and Switzerland we ask for your consent first.
- We do not sell your personal data.
3. Data we collect and why
| Data | When | Purpose | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name, email address, message content | You email us | To reply to you and handle your request | Your consent and our legitimate interest in answering messages |
| Name, email address, website (optional), comment text, IP address, browser user agent | You leave a comment | To publish and moderate comments and prevent spam | Your consent and our legitimate interest |
| IP address, browser and device type, pages visited, referring page, date and time | Every visit (server and security logs) | To run, secure and protect the website | Legitimate interest |
| Cookie and device identifiers, approximate location, pages viewed, ad interactions | Every visit, through Google Analytics and Google AdSense | Statistics, and showing and measuring ads | Consent where the law requires it, otherwise legitimate interest |
We do not ask for sensitive data such as iqama numbers, passport numbers, health or religious information. Please do not send these in messages or comments.
4. Cookies and similar technologies
Cookies are small files stored on your device. We use:
- Essential cookies set by WordPress and our security and caching tools, for example to remember the details you entered in a comment or to protect the site from attacks.
- Analytics cookies from Google Analytics, added through the Site Kit by Google plugin, to understand which pages are useful.
- Advertising cookies from Google AdSense and its partners (see section 5).
Visitors in the EEA, UK and Switzerland see a consent message from Google, a certified consent management platform, before cookies are used for personalised ads, and can change their choice later. You can also block or delete cookies in your browser settings, although some features may then not work.
5. Advertising (Google AdSense)
We use Google AdSense to show ads.
- Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on your previous visits to this website or 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 in Google Ads Settings. You can opt out of some third-party vendors’ use of cookies for personalised advertising at www.aboutads.info and, in Europe, at www.youronlinechoices.eu.
- Google may work with other certified ad technology providers. Read how Google uses information from sites that use its services and how Google uses cookies in advertising.
If you opt out, you will still see ads, but they will be less relevant to you.
6. Analytics
We use Google Analytics 4, connected through Site Kit by Google, to see how visitors use the site (for example which pages are read and for how long). Google Analytics data is kept for up to 14 months and then deleted automatically. You can opt out with the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on. We also use Google Search Console, which tells us how the site appears in Google Search. It does not place cookies on your device.
7. Comments
When you comment, we collect the data in section 3. Comments are checked by the Akismet anti-spam service, which receives the comment content, your IP address and browser details. An anonymised string created from your email address (a hash) may be sent to the Gravatar service to see whether you use a profile picture. Gravatar’s privacy policy is at automattic.com/privacy. After approval, your name, comment and profile picture are visible to the public.
8. Live rates and prayer times
Our gold rate, exchange rate and prayer time pages use data from metalrates.cloud, a data service we also run. The data is fetched by our own server, so your browser does not connect to metalrates.cloud and no personal data about you is sent to it.
9. Who we share data with
We share data only with service providers who help us run the site, and only as much as they need:
- Hostinger (web hosting, content delivery network, server logs and our email)
- Google (AdSense, Analytics, Search Console)
- Automattic (Akismet anti-spam and Gravatar)
- Wordfence (website security firewall, which records the IP addresses of visitors to block attacks)
We do not sell or rent your personal data. We may disclose data if Saudi law or a competent authority requires it.
10. Transfers outside Saudi Arabia
Some of these providers store or process data outside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, for example in the United States or Europe. Where this happens, we rely on the safeguards and conditions that the PDPL and its Regulation on Personal Data Transfer outside the Kingdom allow, and on the providers’ own data protection terms.
11. How long we keep data
- Emails: up to 24 months after our last reply, then deleted.
- Comments: for as long as the comment stays published. Spam comments are deleted automatically.
- Server and security logs: for a limited period set by our host and our security firewall, then deleted.
- Google Analytics: up to 14 months.
- Advertising cookies: as set by Google and its partners; see Google’s policies above.
12. Your rights
Under the PDPL you have the right to:
- be told how your personal data is collected and used (this policy)
- access your personal data and get a copy of it in a readable format
- ask us to correct incomplete or wrong data
- ask us to delete data we no longer need
- withdraw your consent at any time, without affecting earlier processing
If you are in the EEA or UK, you also have the rights to object, to restrict processing and to data portability.
To use any of these rights, email contact@saudilifeguide.com with the subject “Privacy request”. We will reply within 30 days. If you are not satisfied with our answer, you can complain to the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA) at sdaia.gov.sa or, in the EEA or UK, to your local data protection authority.
13. Security
The site uses HTTPS encryption, a security firewall and restricted administrator access. No website is completely secure, but if a personal data breach is likely to harm you, we will inform you and the competent authority as the law requires.
14. Children
Saudi Life Guide is written for adults and is not aimed at children. We do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 18. If you think a child has sent us personal data, contact us and we will delete it.
15. Links to other websites
We link to government portals and other websites. Their privacy practices are their own, so please read their policies.
16. Changes to this policy
We will update this page when our practices change and show the new “Last updated” date at the top.