Privacy policy
We collect as little as we can. You can read the whole site without an account, and we never sell your data.
Last updated 22 October 2026
In short
- No accounts, no sign-up forms, no comments, no ads, no data sales.
- We use Google Analytics to see which stories people read. In the EU/EEA, UK and Switzerland it only stores cookies after you accept; elsewhere you can turn it off any time with Cookie settings.
- Fonts and images are served from our own site, so viewing a page doesn't contact other companies, apart from Google Analytics.
- You can ask us to access, correct or delete personal data, and complain if we don't respond. See Your rights.
Who is responsible
Connect the Dots (connectthedots.news) is run by the publisher of Connect the Dots, based in India. For the purposes of India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act) we are the Data Fiduciary, and under the EU and UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) we are the controller of the personal data described here.
Contact us through our About page.
What we collect and why
| Data | Why | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Technical request data (IP address, browser, page requested, time), handled by our host | To deliver pages, keep the site secure and stop abuse | Legitimate use for running the service (DPDP Act s.7); legitimate interests (GDPR Art. 6(1)(f)) |
| Usage analytics: pages viewed, approximate location, device, searches on our site, clicks on the network graph, sources and support links, page speed | To learn which stories and features are useful, and what readers look for that we haven't covered yet | Your consent (DPDP Act s.6; GDPR Art. 6(1)(a)), which you can withdraw at any time |
Your cookie choice, stored in your browser (ctd-consent) | To remember whether you accepted or declined analytics | Strictly necessary to respect your choice |
| Messages you send us (for example corrections), including your email address | To reply and fix errors | Your consent / legitimate interests |
We do not knowingly collect sensitive data, we do not build profiles of individual readers, and we do not use your data for advertising. Our Google Analytics setup always denies advertising storage, ad user data and ad personalisation (Google Consent Mode), whatever you choose for analytics.
Cookies and similar technologies
| Name | Set by | Purpose | Lasts |
|---|---|---|---|
_ga, _ga_* | Google Analytics | Tell visits apart and measure use | Up to 2 years |
ctd-consent (browser storage) | Connect the Dots | Remember your analytics choice | Until you clear it |
Change your choice any time with Cookie settings (also in the footer of every page). Declining stops analytics cookies; the site works the same.
Services we use (vendors)
These are every outside company involved in running the site, and what each one receives.
Cloudflare, Inc.
- Role
- Hosting and content delivery (Cloudflare Workers)
- Data
- Technical request data every website receives: IP address, browser type, the page requested, time. Used to deliver pages and protect against attacks.
- Location
- Global network; Cloudflare is based in the United States
Google LLC / Google Ireland Ltd (Google Analytics 4)
- Role
- Audience measurement
- Data
- Pages viewed, approximate location (from IP, which Google Analytics 4 does not store), device and browser, how you use the site (searches made on the site, graph interactions, source and support link clicks), page speed. Only if you have not declined, and in the EU/EEA, UK and Switzerland only after you accept.
- Location
- United States and other countries where Google operates
Patreon, Inc.
- Role
- Reader support (donations), on its own site
- Data
- Nothing from this site. If you follow the support link and pay, Patreon collects your payment and account details under its own policy. We see supporters' names and pledge levels, not card details.
- Location
- United States
GitHub, Inc.
- Role
- Stores the site's source code and content
- Data
- No visitor data.
- Location
- United States
Wikimedia Commons
- Role
- Source of freely licensed photos, which we copy to our own servers
- Data
- No visitor data. Your browser does not contact Wikimedia when you view our pages.
- Location
- Not applicable
Links to news sources, OpenStreetMap, Wikipedia and Patreon take you to other websites with their own privacy policies; we share nothing with them.
Transfers outside your country
Cloudflare and Google process data in the United States and other countries. Transfers from India are permitted under the DPDP Act unless the Government restricts a country. For readers in the EU/EEA and UK, Google and Cloudflare rely on the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and Standard Contractual Clauses.
How long we keep data
- Google Analytics event data is kept for the retention period set in our Analytics account (2 or 14 months), then deleted automatically.
- Cloudflare keeps request logs for a short period under its own policy.
- Messages to us are kept only as long as needed to deal with them.
Your rights
Under the DPDP Act you have the right to:
- get a summary of the personal data we process about you and who we share it with;
- have it corrected, completed, updated or erased;
- withdraw consent at any time, as easily as you gave it (use Cookie settings);
- have a grievance addressed by us, and then complain to the Data Protection Board of India;
- nominate another person to exercise your rights if you die or become incapable.
If you are in the EU/EEA or UK, the GDPR also gives you rights of access, rectification, erasure, restriction, portability and objection, and the right to complain to your local data protection authority.
Because we don't run accounts, analytics data is not linked to your name; to help us find it, tell us roughly when you visited and from which device.
Grievance Officer
the publisher of Connect the Dots. We aim to respond within 30 days.
Children
The site is a general news site and not directed at children. We do not knowingly process children's data, do not track children or target them with advertising, and ask that anyone under 18 in India not accept analytics cookies.
People in the news
Our pages describe public figures and events using published reporting, with every detail cited. We do not create pages about private individuals. If you are named on the site and believe something is wrong or should not be published, contact us and we will review it promptly.
Changes to this policy
We will update this page when our practices change and show the date at the top.