Privacy Policy
Masala Deutsch (masaladeutsch.blogspot.com, "this site") is an independent publication written and edited by Umashankar Triplicane Dwarakanathan, based in Chennai, India. This page explains what information is collected when you read the site, who collects it, and what choices you have. It is written in plain language; where a third party's own policy governs, that policy is linked.
What this site itself collects
This site does not ask you to register, log in, or submit personal information to read it. There are no comment forms that store your data on this site's own servers; if you email the author, your email is handled as ordinary correspondence and is not added to any mailing list. This site does not sell, rent, or trade any reader information to anyone.
One small preference is stored in your own browser: if you change the text size using the accessibility bar at the top of an article, that choice is saved in your browser's localStorage so it persists on your next visit. It never leaves your device, contains no identifying information, and is cleared if you clear your browser's site data.
Hosting: Google Blogger
This site is hosted on Google's Blogger platform. Blogger, like most web hosts, records standard technical information when a page is requested — such as your IP address, browser type, referring page, and time of visit — and may set cookies required to serve the site (for example, to remember cookie-notice dismissals or to support Blogger's own features). This processing is governed by Google's Privacy Policy.
Advertising: Google AdSense
This site uses Google AdSense to display advertisements. Google, as a third-party vendor, uses cookies — including the DoubleClick/DART cookie — to serve ads based on your visits to this site and to other sites on the internet. Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to show you ads based on your browsing history. Personalised advertising may use information about your interests inferred from that history; non-personalised ads still use cookies for frequency capping, aggregated reporting, and fraud prevention.
You can opt out of personalised advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings. You can opt out of some third-party vendors' use of cookies for personalised advertising at www.aboutads.info/choices (Digital Advertising Alliance) or www.youronlinechoices.com (Europe). More detail on how Google uses data from sites that use its services is at policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites.
Analytics: Google Analytics 4
This site uses Google Analytics 4 to understand, in aggregate, which articles are read, from which countries, and on which kinds of devices. Google Analytics uses cookies and similar identifiers to do this. The author sees aggregated reports, not individual readers. IP anonymisation is applied by Google Analytics 4 by default. You can prevent Google Analytics from using your data by installing the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on.
Google Translate widget
Articles include a Google Translate widget offering translation into several Indian languages. If you use it, the text of the page is sent to Google's translation service and Google may set cookies to remember your language choice. This is governed by Google's Privacy Policy linked above. If you do not use the widget, no translation request is made.
Amazon Associates links
Some articles, and the site's "Books & things" page, link to books and products on Amazon. Masala Deutsch is a participant in the Amazon Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.in and Amazon.com. If you click such a link and make a qualifying purchase, this site earns a small commission at no extra cost to you. Amazon may set cookies when you follow an affiliate link; see Amazon's Privacy Notice. Every recommendation was chosen by the author; nothing on this site is a paid or sponsored placement, and no product was supplied free of charge.
Links to other sites
Articles link extensively to primary sources — government press releases, gazette notifications, regulators' data, company filings, and academic papers — and to a small number of assistive-technology tools in the accessibility bar. This site has no control over, and accepts no responsibility for, the content or privacy practices of any external site. Please review the privacy policy of any site you visit.
Cookies: managing them
Most browsers let you refuse or delete cookies through their settings. Doing so will not stop you reading this site, though some third-party features (personalised ads, translation, analytics) may behave differently. Instructions for common browsers are available from their vendors, or at allaboutcookies.org.
Children
This site publishes economic and policy analysis intended for a general adult readership. It does not knowingly collect any information from children under 13 (or the equivalent age of digital consent in your jurisdiction). If you believe a child has provided information to this site, please contact the author and it will be deleted.
Readers in the EU/EEA, UK and other jurisdictions
If you are in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, the third parties named above act as independent controllers for the data they collect through their cookies, and Google may show a consent notice before setting advertising cookies. You have rights of access, rectification, erasure, restriction, and objection in respect of personal data held about you; for data collected by Google or Amazon, exercise those rights with them directly via the policies linked above. For anything held by the author personally (which is limited to email correspondence you initiate), email the address below.
Changes to this policy
This policy may be updated to reflect changes in the site's tools or in the law. The effective date at the top of this page is updated whenever the text changes; material changes are also noted in the site's editorial log.
Contact
Questions about this policy, or requests concerning your data, can be sent to the author at umashankartd1991@gmail.com. See also the Contact page and the site's Editorial Policy & Disclaimer.
This page is provided for transparency and does not constitute legal advice. Third-party services named here may change their practices; their own linked policies are authoritative for the data they collect.
