Legal
Privacy Policy
How we collect, use and protect your personal data when you visit bbasalama.com, sign up for the Cosmic Dossier or contact us.
1. Who we are
This website, bbasalama.com, is the official site of author Badr Basalama (“we”, “us”). We are the controller of the personal data described in this policy.
Contact for privacy questions: info@bbasalama.com. Postal address: [POSTAL ADDRESS].
2. What we collect
Information you give us
- Email sign-up (the Cosmic Dossier and our letters): your email address, and the date and source of your sign-up.
- Contact messages: your name, email address and whatever you choose to write.
- Comments on blog posts: the name, email address and website you enter, your comment, and your IP address.
- Chat widget: the questions you type into the chat assistant on the site.
Information collected automatically
- Usage data: pages visited, links clicked (including clicks to Amazon), approximate location, device and browser type, and referring website, collected through analytics and advertising tools.
- Cookies and similar technologies, described in our Cookie Policy.
We do not ask for payment details. Books are sold by Amazon, not by this website; anything you buy there is covered by Amazon’s own privacy notice.
3. How we use it, and why
| Purpose | Data | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Sending the Cosmic Dossier and our letters about new books and articles | Email address | Your consent, which you can withdraw at any time |
| Answering your messages and interview or event requests | Name, email, message | Our legitimate interest in replying to you |
| Publishing and moderating comments | Comment details, IP address | Our legitimate interest in running a safe comment section |
| Understanding how the site is used and improving it | Usage data | Your consent (analytics cookies) |
| Measuring and showing relevant ads on social platforms | Usage data, advertising identifiers | Your consent (marketing cookies) |
| Keeping the site secure and meeting legal duties | Technical logs | Legitimate interest and legal obligation |
4. Who we share it with
We do not sell your personal data. We share it only with service providers that help us run the site, under their own data-processing terms:
- Kit (ConvertKit): stores our email list and sends our emails.
- Google: Google Analytics for site statistics, and Google Fonts for the typefaces on the site.
- Meta: the Meta Pixel, to measure visits from Facebook and Instagram and show relevant ads.
- Chatbase: runs the chat assistant.
- Our web host [HOSTING PROVIDER]: stores the website and its data.
We may also disclose data if the law requires it, or to protect our rights or the safety of others.
5. International transfers
Some of these providers are based in the United States or other countries outside your own. Where the law requires it, transfers rely on appropriate safeguards such as the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses or an adequacy decision.
6. How long we keep it
- Email list: until you unsubscribe, plus a short period to make sure we honour that choice.
- Contact messages: up to [24 months] after our last exchange.
- Comments: for as long as the comment stays published.
- Analytics data: according to the retention set in Google Analytics, [14 months].
7. Your rights
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access the data we hold about you, correct it, delete it, restrict or object to its use, receive it in a portable format, and withdraw consent at any time. You can unsubscribe from our emails with the link at the bottom of every email.
To use any of these rights, email info@bbasalama.com. You can also complain to the data protection authority in your country.
8. Children
This site is not directed at children under 16, and we do not knowingly collect their personal data. If you believe a child has given us personal data, contact us and we will delete it.
9. Security
We use reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your data, including encrypted connections (HTTPS). No method of transmission over the internet is completely secure.
10. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The date at the top shows when it last changed. Significant changes will be announced on this page.