Privacy and cookies

Last updated 21 Oct 2026.

The short version: this site counts visits with Google Analytics only if you say yes. Newsletter sign-ups go to Substack. Nothing else tracks you here.

Who is responsible

bahiya.org is published by Bahiya, written under the pen name Bark Cloth. For anything about your data, contact me through Bahiya on Substack, or reply to any newsletter email.

Analytics and cookies

When you first visit, a small banner asks whether the site may use Google Analytics. The Google Analytics script loads on every page, a few seconds after the page itself or as soon as you scroll or click, but it runs in Google Consent Mode with every setting denied by default: until you click Accept it sets no cookies and stores nothing on your device. In that state Google may receive a cookieless signal that a page was viewed, without any identifier that could link visits to you.

If you accept, Google Analytics 4 can set its cookies and count visits properly, so I can see which pages are read. The cookies are named _ga and _ga_BBE4QK0DD4 and last up to two years. Advertising features, Google signals and ad personalisation are switched off in the site's code. Google processes this data on its servers, which may be outside the UK, under its own safeguards. The legal basis is your consent.

Your choice is saved in your browser's local storage under the name bahiya-consent, so the banner doesn't keep coming back. It isn't sent anywhere. You can change your mind at any time with Cookie settings, also in the footer. If you reject after accepting, the site removes the Analytics cookies it set.

If you enter your email in a signup form, your browser opens Substack's subscribe page with the address filled in, and you confirm there. This site doesn't store it. Substack runs the newsletter: it stores your address and sends the letters, under its own privacy policy. The legal basis is your consent, and every email has a one-click unsubscribe link.

Hosting

The site is hosted by Hostinger. Like any web host, its servers keep short-lived access logs (IP address, page requested, browser) to run and secure the service. Fonts are served from this site. There are no other third-party scripts, embeds, pixels or trackers.

Your rights

Under UK GDPR you can ask for a copy of your data, ask for it to be corrected or deleted, object to its use, and withdraw consent at any time. For newsletter data, Substack can act on most of these directly. If you're unhappy with how your data is handled, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk.