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Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy & Disclaimer

Last updated: May 4, 2026 Website: https://arnav.au Owner: Arnav Sharma

1. Who We Are

This website, arnav.au, is a personal blog covering cloud security, cybersecurity, AI, and DevOps. It is owned and operated by Arnav Sharma, based in Sydney, Australia. For any privacy-related questions, use the contact form at https://arnav.au/contact-me/.

2. What Data We Collect

Comments: When you leave a comment, we collect your name, email address, website (if provided), the comment content, your IP address, and browser user agent string. IP and user agent data help with spam detection.

Gravatar: If you comment, a hashed version of your email may be sent to the Gravatar service to retrieve your profile image. See Automattic’s privacy policy at https://automattic.com/privacy/.

Cookies: We use cookies for comment form convenience (name, email, website — stored for one year), login sessions (if applicable), and analytics/advertising (see Section 4 below).

Embedded Content: Posts may include embedded content from third-party sites (YouTube, Twitter, etc.). These services may collect data, set cookies, and track your interaction as if you visited them directly.

Contact Forms: If you use the contact form, we receive your name, email, and message content. This data is used only to respond to your enquiry.

Analytics: We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors use the site. This collects anonymised data such as pages visited, session duration, and approximate location. See Section 4 for details.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use collected data to respond to comments and enquiries, detect and prevent spam (via Akismet — https://akismet.com/privacy/), understand site traffic and improve content, and display relevant advertisements where applicable.

We do not sell your personal data to third parties. We do not use your data for automated decision-making or profiling.

4. Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookies: Session cookies for login, comment form cookies (1 year), and cookie consent preference cookies. These cannot be disabled.

Analytics Cookies: Google Analytics cookies (_ga, _gid, _gat) track anonymised usage data. These are set only with your consent.

Advertising Cookies: If Google AdSense or affiliate networks are active, third-party cookies may be set for personalised or non-personalised advertising. These are set only with your consent.

Managing Cookies: You can manage your cookie preferences through the consent banner displayed on your first visit, or at any time via the “Manage consent” button at the bottom of the page. You can also clear cookies through your browser settings.

5. Data Retention

Comment data (including metadata) is retained indefinitely to allow automatic approval of follow-up comments. Contact form submissions are retained for up to 12 months, then deleted. Analytics data is retained according to Google Analytics default settings (26 months).

6. Your Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the following rights regarding your personal data.

All visitors: You can request an export of your personal data, request deletion of your personal data (except data we must keep for legal or security purposes), and withdraw cookie consent at any time.

Australian residents (Privacy Act 1988): You have the right to access, correct, and complain about handling of your personal data. Complaints can be lodged with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) at https://www.oaic.gov.au/.

EU/EEA/UK residents (GDPR / UK GDPR): You have additional rights including the right to data portability, the right to restrict processing, and the right to object to processing. Our lawful bases for processing are consent (cookies, analytics) and legitimate interest (spam prevention, site security). You may lodge complaints with your local data protection authority.

US residents (CCPA / state privacy laws): You have the right to know what personal information is collected, request deletion, and opt out of the sale of personal information. We do not sell personal information. California residents may contact us for further details.

Brazilian residents (LGPD): You have rights to confirmation of processing, access, correction, anonymisation, portability, and deletion of personal data.

South African residents (POPIA): You have rights to access, correction, and deletion of personal information, and may lodge complaints with the Information Regulator.

Canadian residents (PIPEDA): You have rights to access, correction, and withdrawal of consent for collection and use of personal information.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at https://arnav.au/contact-me/.

7. Third-Party Services

This site uses the following third-party services that may process your data:

  • WordPress.com / Automattic — hosting, Gravatar, Akismet spam filtering
  • Google Analytics — anonymised site analytics
  • Google AdSense — advertising (if active)
  • Cloudflare — CDN, security, and performance
  • Buy Me a Coffee — voluntary donations (processed by their platform)

Each service has its own privacy policy. We encourage you to review them.

8. Image Uploads

If you upload images to the site (e.g. via comments), avoid uploading images with embedded EXIF GPS location data. Other visitors may be able to download and extract location data from those images.

9. Disclaimer

General: All information on arnav.au is provided in good faith for general informational and educational purposes. We make no guarantees regarding accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any content.

No Professional Advice: Content on this site does not constitute professional cybersecurity, legal, financial, or technical advice. It reflects personal opinions and experience. Before acting on any information from this site, consult a qualified professional. We are not liable for any actions taken based on content published here.

External Links: This site contains links to third-party websites. We do not control, endorse, or accept responsibility for the content, privacy practices, or availability of external sites.

Affiliate Disclosure: Some links on this site may be affiliate links. We may receive a small commission if you make a purchase through those links, at no additional cost to you. This does not influence our editorial content.

Views and Opinions: All views expressed on this blog are personal and do not represent the views of any employer, client, or organisation.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated “Last updated” date. Continued use of the site after changes constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

11. Contact

For any questions about this policy, contact us at: https://arnav.au/contact-me/