Privacy Policy

Last updated: 19.07.2025

At Semblu, accessible from semblu.com, the privacy of our visitors is extremely important to us. This Privacy Policy outlines what information we collect, how we use it, and your rights regarding that data – ensuring transparency and compliance with global privacy laws such as GDPR, CCPA, and applicable Indian laws. We have crafted this policy to be ad-friendly (meeting Google AdSense requirements) and to facilitate swift removal of any content upon valid request.

1. Who We Are

Semblu is a tech blog that publishes content related to smartphones, reviews, laptops, smartwatches, and other smart gadgets. Our team consists of two individuals who handle the blog management, SEO, and content creation. We are based in India, and our content is accessible worldwide.

If you have any privacy questions or concerns, you can reach us at 📧 lalansayyed180@gmail.com

2. What Data We Collect

We only collect personal information that is necessary to provide our services or respond to you. This includes:

Contact Form Submissions: When you reach out via our contact form, we collect your name and email address, along with your message. This information is used only to reply to your inquiry or request.
Newsletter Signups: If you subscribe to our newsletter, we collect your email address (handled through Mailchimp). You will have double opt-in (confirmation email) and can unsubscribe anytime.
Comments: If you leave a comment on a blog post, we collect the name and email address you provide, along with your comment text. All comments are manually reviewed and moderated for appropriateness (no spam or offensive content) before being approved. Your email is collected to potentially contact you about your comment and to filter spam, but it is not published.
Usage Data (Analytics): We use third-party analytics (like Google Analytics and Jetpack by Automattic) to gather anonymized information about how visitors use our site. This may include pages viewed, time spent, browser type, and general location (via IP address). This data does not directly identify you, and we use it only to understand our audience and improve our content.
Cookies and Tracking Technologies: We do not use any first-party cookies for our own tracking. However, third-party services (such as analytics and advertisers) may use cookies or similar technologies on our site to function (see Section 4 below for details).
No Account Data: We do not allow user registration or account creation on our website. We will never ask you to create a password or store any account credentials, as we simply don’t have accounts on our site.

We make a conscious effort to limit the personal data we collect. We do not collect any sensitive personal data such as government ID numbers, financial information, or biometric data. If you just browse our site without interacting (no comments or forms), the only data collected would be basic analytics and advertising cookies (handled by third parties as described below).

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect strictly for the following purposes:

To Respond to Inquiries: If you contact us, we use your provided email/name to respond directly to you regarding your question or feedback.
To Send Newsletters: If you have subscribed to our newsletter, we will use your email to send you our updates. Each email will contain an unsubscribe link allowing you to opt out at any time.
To Publish and Moderate Comments: The name and comment you provide are used to display your comment on our blog (after approval). We use the email to manage the comment (e.g., to notify you of responses or to verify that you’re a real person and not a bot).
To Improve Our Website: Aggregated data from analytics helps us understand what content is popular, how users navigate the site, and other user behavior. This insight is used to improve our articles, site layout, and overall user experience.
Advertising Performance: Information such as cookies and browsing behavior (collected by advertisers like Google AdSense) helps ensure that the ads you see are relevant. We do not receive personally identifiable info from ads, but we may see anonymized reports (e.g., an ad was clicked or how many views an ad got) to gauge ad performance.
Compliance and Protection: In rare cases, we may use data to enforce our site policies, comply with legal obligations, or protect our rights, privacy, safety, or property (for example, analyzing logs in case of malicious attacks).

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal data to any third parties. All usage of data is for the operation of our blog and providing a good experience to you.

4. Third-Party Services and Tracking

We use several trusted third-party services to run Semblu effectively. These partners may collect information via cookies or similar tracking technologies on our site. Below we list these services and what they do:

Google Analytics: Provides insight on website traffic and user behavior. Google Analytics may set cookies to collect data about your site usage (as mentioned in Section 2). We have configured Google Analytics to anonymize IP addresses where applicable. Data collected by Google Analytics is subject to Google’s Privacy Policy. If you wish, you can opt-out of Google Analytics tracking by using the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.
Jetpack (by Automattic): Jetpack is a plugin for WordPress that offers features like site statistics, security, and performance. It may collect non-personal data about visits (similar to Google Analytics) and use cookies for functions like preventing brute-force attacks. Automattic’s privacy policy can be found here.
Google AdSense & AdX: These are advertising services we use to display ads on our site. Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to our site and other websites. Google’s use of advertising cookies (such as the DoubleClick DART cookie) enables it and its partners to serve ads to you based on your visit to our site and/or other sites on the Internet. These cookies may track things like your browser, approximate location, and interests (based on browsing) to show you more relevant ads. Users may opt out of personalized advertising from Google by visiting their Ads Settings . Alternatively, you can opt out of third-party vendors’ use of cookies for personalized ads by visiting the NAI’s opt-out page .
- We also want to inform you of other ad networks or third-party vendors that may be serving ads on Semblu. These may include Google’s certified ad partners and possibly other advertisers. While we primarily use Google AdSense, if any other ad network is used, we will disclose it here. (As of now, all display ads are delivered by Google).
- Please note: Advertising partners automatically receive your IP address and certain browser/device info when ads are loaded. This is generally used for geotargeting (showing relevant ads based on region) or limiting the number of times you see an ad.
Affiliate Programs (Amazon & Flipkart): We participate in affiliate marketing programs (explained in Section 5). When you click an affiliate product link (for example, to Amazon or Flipkart), cookies may be placed on your device by the respective e-commerce site to track the referral. These cookies allow the merchant to know that our site sent you and to credit any commission to us if you make a purchase. We do not see personal details of your purchase; we only get summary information (e.g., an item was purchased and we earned a commission).
Mailchimp (Email Newsletter): When you sign up for our newsletter, your email address is stored securely on Mailchimp’s servers. Mailchimp may use cookies in the email signup forms (for example, to remember if you already subscribed). We have a Data Processing Agreement with Mailchimp to ensure GDPR compliance, as they might transfer data (your email) to their servers outside India (usually the USA). Mailchimp’s privacy policy is available here.

Each of these third-party services has its own privacy policy and compliance mechanisms. We encourage you to review their policies for more details on how they handle your data. Importantly, we do not control these third-party cookies or tracking technologies, but we do our best to ensure that we only work with reputable providers.

If you prefer to block cookies entirely, you can do so through your browser settings. However, note that some site features (especially ads or embedded content) may not function properly without cookies.

5. Affiliate Disclosure

Some posts on Semblu contain affiliate links. This means that if you click on a product link and end up making a purchase, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We want to be fully transparent about this:

Honest Recommendations: We only affiliate-link to products or services that we have reviewed or genuinely believe could be of value to our readers. Our opinions are not influenced by these commissions – we strive to keep our reviews and comparisons unbiased.
Amazon Associates Program: Semblu is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program (Amazon.in). This is an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon’s website. In simpler terms, when we link to products on Amazon.in and you buy something, we might earn a commission.
Flipkart Affiliate Program: Similarly, we participate in the Flipkart Affiliate Program. This program allows us to earn fees by linking to products on Flipkart.com. Again, if you purchase through our Flipkart links, a small percentage may be credited to us.
No Influence on Prices: Whether you buy through our affiliate link or directly, your price remains the same. Using our links does not make your purchase more expensive. Any commission we earn is paid by the merchant (Amazon, Flipkart, etc.) as a reward for referring a customer.
Identification: In line with guidelines, we make sure to disclose affiliate links within our content (for example, with a note like “(affiliate link)” or an appropriate disclosure statement on the page). This Privacy Policy section serves as an overall disclosure of our affiliate relationships.

By using our site, you acknowledge that we have these affiliate partnerships. We appreciate when you use our affiliate links, as it helps support our blog, but there is absolutely no obligation to do so.

6. Data Removal Requests

If you are the legal owner of any content featured on our site (for example, an image or text that we inadvertently used without proper authorization), or if you believe that any material on our site violates your rights or privacy, you have the right to request its removal. We take such requests very seriously.

Easy Removal: Upon receiving a verified request (proof that you are the owner or the individual concerned), we will remove the specified content or personal data immediately, without resistance or unnecessary delay. Our goal is to respect your rights and comply with the law; we have no interest in hosting content that infringes someone’s rights or privacy.
How to Request Removal: Please contact us at 📧 lalansayyed180@gmail.com with the details of your request. Provide sufficient information so we can identify the content/data in question (for example, the URL of the page and what content needs removal, and proof of ownership or identity if applicable).
No Retaliation: We will not question or challenge legitimate removal requests. Your request will be handled confidentially and courteously.
DMCA (Copyright) Requests: If your request is about copyrighted material that you believe was used without permission, you may label it as a “DMCA Request.” We will follow the requirements of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) where applicable, which includes removing the content and responding to you once taken down.

In summary, you are in control of your data and content rights – and we are here to honor that swiftly.

7. Data Retention

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this policy. Here’s how it works for different types of data:

Contact Form Messages: If you send us a message, we will retain that correspondence until your issue is resolved or your question is fully answered. We may keep the email thread for a short period in case you follow up, but generally we do not store contact form submissions long-term. If you want your email/query deleted earlier, just let us know.
Newsletter Emails: We keep your email on our mailing list until you unsubscribe. If you unsubscribe (or request deletion), your email is removed from our active mailing list immediately. Backup copies or logs might persist for a short period, but we ensure complete removal from all systems in a reasonable time frame.
Comments: Approved blog comments and their associated data (name, email) remain on our site as long as the post is live, since they are part of the public discussion. If you wish to remove a comment you wrote, you can contact us and we can delete or anonymize it. Unapproved or spam comments are periodically purged.
Analytics Data: Analytics records are typically aggregated and retained by our analytics providers. For example, Google Analytics retains aggregated data for a period (e.g., 14 months) that we use for trend analysis. This data is not personally identifiable. We do not store raw analytics logs on our own servers.
Server Logs: Our web hosting provider may keep server logs (which include IP addresses) for security and debugging purposes. These logs are usually auto-deleted after a short period (usually a few weeks) unless needed for investigation of security incidents.

When data is no longer needed, we ensure it is deleted or anonymized in a secure manner. If you have specific questions about our data retention practices for any type of data, feel free to reach out.

8. Children’s Privacy

We do not knowingly collect or solicit any personal information from children under the age of 13. The content on Semblu is not directed at children. In fact, our content (tech reviews and gadget news) is generally intended for a general audience or tech enthusiasts, and not likely to be of interest to young children.

If you are a parent or guardian and believe that your child under 13 has somehow provided personal data to our site (for example, by submitting a comment or a contact form), please contact us immediately. We will take prompt action to remove that information from our records and not allow the child to use those features of our site.

In some regions (such as the EU), the age threshold may be higher (e.g., 16) for requiring parental consent. We do not knowingly collect data from minors under the applicable age of consent in those regions either.

Our commitment: Protecting children’s privacy is paramount. If we discover any data from a child that we shouldn’t have, we will delete it without delay.

9. Your Privacy Rights (GDPR, CCPA, and Others)

Because Semblu is accessible worldwide, we strive to uphold the privacy rights of all our users, regardless of location. If you are located in certain regions (such as the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, California, or India), you may have specific privacy rights under local laws. We aim to extend these rights to all users as a matter of good practice.

For EU/EEA (GDPR): If you are in the European Union or a similar jurisdiction with GDPR-equivalent laws:

Right to Access: You can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you (if any) and information on how we process it.
Right to Rectification: If any personal data we have is incorrect or incomplete, you have the right to have it corrected or updated.
Right to Erasure: You can request that we delete your personal data. (This is also known as the “right to be forgotten.”) Note: This is not absolute – for example, we may need to keep certain records for legal reasons – but we will honor this right to the fullest extent applicable.
Right to Restrict Processing: You can ask us to limit how we use your data (for instance, to just store it but not use it).
Right to Data Portability: You can request that your data be provided to you or another controller in a commonly used format (applicable to data you provided that we process by automated means, like if in the future we had account data – which we currently do not).
Right to Object: You may object to certain processing, such as for direct marketing. For example, you can opt out of our newsletter anytime, and you can object to any data processing that is based on legitimate interests.
Right not to be subject to Automated Decisions: We do not make any automated decisions or profiling that would have legal or significant effects on you.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, please contact us via email. We may need to verify your identity before fulfilling the request (to protect your data from unauthorized access).

For California Residents (CCPA/CPRA): If you are a resident of California, USA, you have rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and its amendment CPRA:

Right to Know: You can request that we disclose what personal information we have collected about you, including the categories of sources, the purpose for collecting it, and any third parties with whom we share it. In this Privacy Policy, we already outline these points: the categories of data (Section 2), purposes (Section 3), and third parties (Section 4). But you can also request a more detailed report of your specific data.
Right to Delete: You can request that we delete any personal information collected from you and retained by us, subject to certain exceptions (for example, if the information is needed to complete a transaction, detect security incidents, comply with legal obligations, etc.). As noted, we generally only hold minimal personal info (like your email if you contacted us), and we already offer you the ability to have it removed. We will comply with verified deletion requests for Californians and inform any service providers (e.g., if your email was in Mailchimp, we’ll also ensure it’s deleted there).
Right to Opt-Out of Sale/Sharing: We do not sell personal information. We also do not “share” personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising in the sense of CCPA/CPRA. The only context where third parties get data is through cookies for ads/analytics, which you can opt out of as described in Section 4. If you still want to formally record an opt-out request with us, contact us and we will record that preference.
Right to Non-Discrimination: We will not deny you service or provide a different level of service if you exercise any of your privacy rights. Our content is free and open to all, and that remains the case whether or not you choose to exercise your data rights.

We have a Do Not Sell or Share policy by default (since we don’t sell data), but California law also allows you to use a browser-based opt-out signal (like the Global Privacy Control (GPC)). Our site will honor such signals to the extent applicable (though, again, we don’t sell data anyway).

For India and Other Regions: As noted earlier, we comply with India’s requirements for privacy policies under the Information Technology Act and related rules. India’s new Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDP) is also on our radar – we align our practices with its principles of consent, data minimization, and user rights. In general, regardless of your location, you can:

Ask what information we have about you.
Request correction or deletion of your information.
Withdraw consent if we ever sought it (for example, you can unsubscribe from the newsletter, which withdraws your consent for that).
Reach out with any privacy concern, and we’ll do our best to address it in line with applicable laws.

We believe privacy is a fundamental right everywhere. We will not require you to be in the EU or California to honor, for instance, a request to delete your data or provide a copy of it. We extend these courtesies to all our users.

To exercise any rights or ask questions, simply contact us via the email provided in the Contact section (Section 11). We will respond as soon as possible, and certainly within any timeframe required by law (e.g., within 30 days for most requests).

10. Updates to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, to clarify our wording, or to ensure compliance with new laws or regulations. Whenever we make a significant change, we will:

Post the Updated Policy: The revised Privacy Policy will be posted on this same page [or a clearly linked page] with a new “Last updated” date at the top.
Notification: If the changes are material, we may provide a more prominent notice (such as a banner on our website or an email notification if you are a subscriber) to inform you of the update.
Version History: For transparency, we may keep an archive of previous privacy policy versions (available upon request), so you can see what changed.

Continued use of Semblu after any changes to the Privacy Policy implies acceptance of the revised terms. However, if we were to change something in a way that affects how we handle your personal data, we would either seek your consent or give you a chance to opt-out (where applicable) before the change applies to you.

In summary, we won’t surprise you with sneaky changes – any updates are meant to improve clarity or comply with the law, and we’ll make sure you’re informed.

11. Contact Us

Your feedback and questions regarding privacy are important to us. If you have any questions, concerns, or requests related to this Privacy Policy or your personal data, please do not hesitate to reach out:

Email: lalansayyed180@gmail.com – (Replace with our actual contact email. This is the primary and fastest way to reach us.)
Mailing Address: [If applicable, you can provide a physical address here for official correspondence. This is optional but sometimes recommended for GDPR compliance – e.g., your company address or just “Semblu, City, Country”. Since we are based in India, an address in India could be provided.]

We will respond to your inquiry as soon as possible, typically within a few business days.

By using Semblu, you acknowledge that you have read and agree to this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with any part of this Policy, please discontinue use of our site or reach out to us to express your concerns. We are committed to resolving any issues and making sure your experience is safe and enjoyable.

Thank you for trusting Semblu. Your privacy is our priority, and we will continue working hard to protect it while providing you with quality tech content.