Privacy Policy

Last updated: May 2026

Your privacy matters to us. This page explains, in plain language, what information UAE Explained collects when you use our website, why we collect it, how we use it, and what choices you have. If anything here is unclear, or if you have a question that this page does not answer, you are welcome to reach out through our Contact page.

1. Who We Are

UAE Explained is an independent information and media website operating at uaeexplained.com. We publish content about life, culture, travel, visas, business, and daily practicalities in the United Arab Emirates. We are not affiliated with the UAE government, any official tourism body, or any government-linked organisation.

When this Privacy Policy refers to “we,” “us,” or “our,” it means UAE Explained and the team that operates this website. “You” refers to any person who accesses or uses the site in any way.

2. What Information We Collect

We collect two broad categories of information: information you give us directly, and information collected automatically when you browse the site.

Information You Give Us Directly

This only happens when you choose to interact with us — for example, by filling in our contact form or signing up for email updates. In those cases, you may provide:

  • Your name (or whatever name you choose to use)
  • Your email address
  • The content of any message you send us
  • Any other details you choose to include when getting in touch

We will never ask for sensitive personal information through any form on this site — no financial details, no identification numbers, no passport information.

Information Collected Automatically

Like most websites, UAE Explained automatically collects certain technical data when you visit. This includes:

  • Your IP address and approximate location (usually at city or country level — not your street address)
  • Browser type and version
  • Device type (desktop, mobile, or tablet)
  • Operating system
  • The pages you visit and how long you spend on them
  • The site you came from before arriving here (the referrer URL)
  • Links you click on
  • Date and time of your visit

This data is collected through analytics tools (described below) and is used in aggregate to help us understand how people use the site. We do not use this data to identify individual visitors by name or contact details.

3. How We Use Your Information

Here is a clear breakdown of what we actually do with the data we collect:

To Respond to Your Messages

If you contact us via the contact form, we use your name and email address to reply to your message. That’s the only thing we use it for unless you explicitly ask us to do something else.

To Improve the Website

Analytics data helps us understand which articles are useful, which pages are confusing, where people drop off, and what topics we should cover more. It is used entirely to make the site better — not to track individuals.

To Send Email Updates (If You Have Opted In)

If you have signed up to receive email updates or a newsletter from us, we use your email address to send those. Every email includes a clear unsubscribe link. We will never send you emails you have not asked for.

To Serve Advertising

We use Google AdSense to display ads on this site. This involves Google using cookies to show ads that may be relevant to your browsing habits. You can read more about this in the section on Google AdSense below.

To Comply With Legal Obligations

In rare circumstances, we may need to retain or disclose certain information if required to do so by law. We will not do this voluntarily or beyond what is required.

We do not sell your personal data to anyone. We do not share your email address with advertisers. We do not build profiles for the purpose of marketing beyond what is described here.

4. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Cookies are small text files stored on your device when you visit a website. They are used across the internet to keep websites functional, remember preferences, and gather analytical data. UAE Explained uses the following categories of cookies.

Analytics Cookies

We use Google Analytics to understand visitor behaviour in aggregate — which articles attract the most readers, how long people stay, where traffic comes from. The data is anonymised. We cannot identify who you personally are from this data; we only see patterns and trends.

Advertising Cookies

Google AdSense places cookies on your device to serve personalised advertisements. These cookies are set by Google, not directly by us. See the section on Google AdSense below for more detail on how this works and how to manage it.

Functional Cookies

Some cookies simply make the site work correctly — for example, remembering whether you have dismissed a banner message, or preserving your settings as you navigate between pages. These are strictly necessary for normal site functionality.

How to Manage Cookies

Most browsers allow you to control cookie settings through the preferences or settings menu. You can block all cookies, block only third-party cookies, or choose to be prompted each time a cookie is set. Blocking some cookies may affect how certain parts of this site function.

You can also opt out of Google’s interest-based advertising by visiting Google’s Ad Settings, or opt out of third-party advertising networks via the Network Advertising Initiative.

5. Google AdSense and Third-Party Advertising

UAE Explained uses Google AdSense to display advertising. AdSense is a service run by Google LLC that allows websites to show relevant ads to their visitors and earn revenue from them. Here is what you should know about how it operates on this site:

  • The advertisements you see are served by Google — we do not control which specific ads appear.
  • Google may use cookies, web beacons, and similar technologies to collect data about your visit and use it alongside data from other sites where Google services are active, in order to show you more relevant ads.
  • We do not receive any personal information about you from Google in connection with ads served on this site.
  • You can review and adjust your ad personalisation settings through Google’s Ad Settings.
  • Google’s data practices are governed by Google’s Privacy Policy.

Participation in the AdSense programme means we may earn revenue when visitors interact with ads on the site. This does not influence our editorial decisions. We write what we write because it is genuinely useful to our readers, not because advertisers have asked us to.

6. Third-Party Links and Embedded Content

Our articles frequently link to external websites — official UAE government portals, news sources, visa application systems, and other useful references. When you click one of those links, you leave UAE Explained and enter a website governed by a different privacy policy. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of any third-party sites we link to.

We may occasionally embed content from external platforms such as YouTube. These embedded services may set their own cookies and collect data about how you interact with the embedded content. We recommend reviewing the relevant platform’s privacy policy if you have concerns.

7. Data Retention and Security

We take security seriously. All data transmitted between your browser and this website is encrypted via HTTPS. We limit access to any personally identifiable information to only those people who genuinely need it to operate the site.

We retain contact form submissions only for as long as is necessary to handle your enquiry. Email addresses collected through optional sign-up forms are retained until you unsubscribe. Aggregate analytics data is retained according to the default settings of Google Analytics.

No internet transmission is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. If you believe your interaction with this site has been compromised in any way, please contact us immediately via our Contact page.

8. Your Rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the following rights in relation to your personal data:

  • Right of access — to know what personal information we hold about you
  • Right to correction — to have inaccurate information corrected
  • Right to deletion — to request that we delete your data, in certain circumstances
  • Right to object — to certain types of data processing
  • Right to withdraw consent — at any time where we are processing your data based on consent, such as an email subscription

To exercise any of these rights, please get in touch via our Contact page. We will respond as promptly as we are able.

9. Children’s Privacy

UAE Explained is not aimed at children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has submitted personal information to this site, please contact us and we will remove it from our records promptly.

The content we publish — covering visas, employment law, financial matters, and adult life in the UAE — is intended for adults and older teenagers.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this policy from time to time to reflect changes in how the site operates, changes in technology, or changes in legal requirements. When we make significant changes, we will update the “Last updated” date at the top of this page. We encourage you to review it periodically.

Continuing to use the site after any updates to this policy means you accept the revised terms.

11. Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy, or about how your data is handled, please reach out through our Contact page. We take these matters seriously and will do our best to respond promptly.

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