Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

Linda Ikeji's Blog (“we”, “us”, “our”) publishes news, entertainment and lifestyle stories at www.lindaikejisblog.com. We are the data controller for the personal information described in this policy. This policy explains what we collect when you visit our website or use our apps, why we collect it, and the choices you have.

2. Information we collect

Information you give us

• Comments. When you comment, we collect the name and email address you enter and the text of your comment. You can post anonymously, in which case we do not ask for your name or email. Your email address is never shown publicly. All comments are reviewed before they are published.
• Messages. If you email us with a news tip, advertising enquiry or other request, we receive your email address and whatever you choose to include.
• Push notifications. If you allow notifications in our app or browser, we store the notification token your device provides so we can send you breaking news. You can turn notifications off at any time in your device or browser settings.

Information collected automatically

• Usage and device information, such as the pages you read, your browser and device type, approximate location derived from your IP address, and the website that referred you. We count article views to show which stories are most read.
• Cookies and similar technologies set by us and by our advertising and measurement partners (see section 4).
• Server logs, which record IP addresses and requests for security, debugging and abuse prevention.

3. How we use your information

• To publish and moderate comments, and to prevent spam and abuse.
• To operate, secure and improve the website and apps, and to understand which stories readers find useful.
• To send push notifications you have asked for.
• To respond to your messages.
• To show advertising, which pays for our journalism, and to measure how that advertising performs.
• To comply with the law and respond to lawful requests.

Where data protection law requires a legal basis, we rely on your consent (for example, for personalised advertising and non-essential cookies, and for push notifications), on our legitimate interests in running and securing a free news service (for example, comment moderation, security logs and basic analytics), and on legal obligations where they apply.

4. Cookies and advertising

Cookies are small files stored on your device. We use:

• Essential cookies that keep the site working and secure (for example, session and security tokens, and remembering your consent choices).
• Advertising cookies set by our advertising partners to show ads, limit how often you see the same ad, detect fraud and, where you have consented, personalise ads to your interests.
• Local storage in your browser to remember the name and email you last used to comment and which comments you have liked, so you don't have to re-enter them. This stays on your device.

Our advertising partners include:

• Google (AdSense, Ad Manager and Funding Choices). Google and its partners use cookies to serve ads based on your visits to this and other websites. You can learn how Google uses information from sites that use its services and manage personalised ads in Google Ad Settings.
• Snigel (AdEngine) and the advertising exchanges it works with to fill ad space. See Snigel's privacy policy.
• Taboola, which recommends stories and sponsored content. See Taboola's privacy policy.

Advertisers who buy space directly from us may also display banners on the site; clicking a banner takes you to the advertiser's website, which has its own privacy policy.

5. Your choices and consent

Visitors from the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and other places where the law requires it are asked for consent through a consent message (provided by Google, certified under the IAB Transparency & Consent Framework) before advertising cookies are used for personalisation. You can change or withdraw your consent at any time:

Privacy and cookie settings

You can also block or delete cookies in your browser settings, opt out of personalised ads at Google Ad Settings or optout.aboutads.info, and turn off push notifications in your device settings. If you block all cookies, some parts of the site may not work as intended, and you will still see ads, but they will be less relevant to you.

6. Who we share information with

• Advertising partners listed in section 4, who receive information such as your IP address, device identifiers and cookie data when ads are requested, in line with your consent choices.
• Service providers that host the website, deliver content and send notifications on our behalf, under contracts that limit how they may use the information.
• Authorities, when we are required to by law, or to protect our rights, our readers or the public.

We do not sell or share the name or email address you give us when commenting, and we do not publish your email address.

7. How long we keep information

Published comments stay on the story they were posted to until you ask us to remove them or we remove them under our moderation rules. Comments we decline, server logs and notification tokens are kept only as long as needed for the purposes above, after which they are deleted or anonymised. Cookie lifetimes are set by the partner that sets them and can be cleared at any time in your browser.

8. Your rights

Depending on where you live, including under the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 and, for readers in Europe and the UK, the GDPR and UK GDPR, you may have the right to:

• access the personal information we hold about you;
• ask us to correct or delete it, including removing a comment you posted;
• object to or restrict how we use it;
• withdraw consent at any time, without affecting processing that already happened;
• receive your information in a portable format; and
• complain to a data protection authority. In Nigeria this is the Nigeria Data Protection Commission.

To make a request, contact us using the details below. We may need to verify your identity, for example by asking you to write from the email address you used to comment.

9. Children

Our website is intended for a general adult audience and is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has given us personal information, please contact us and we will delete it.

10. Security and international transfers

We use reasonable technical and organisational measures, including encrypted (HTTPS) connections, to protect your information. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security. Some of our partners and service providers process information outside Nigeria; where this happens, we rely on the safeguards required by applicable data protection law.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The “Last updated” date at the top shows when it last changed. If the changes are significant, we will make that clear on the website.

12. Contact us

For privacy questions or requests, email [email protected] with “Privacy” in the subject line.