This Privacy Policy explains how I, Akhil Aniyan ("I", "me"), handle information when you visit akhilaniyan.com (the "Site"). On this Site I publish writing, describe my work, and provide a way to get in touch. I collect as little as possible, and I never sell your data.
Updated September 27, 2026: added details on the automated bot protection that now screens the contact and newsletter forms and on the confirmation email you receive when you contact me, and clarified your rights, including how to complain to a data protection authority.
1. Information I collect
Information you give me. If you use the contact form, you provide your name, email address, a subject, and your message. Your message is delivered to me as an email through an email delivery provider — it is not stored in a database by this Site. If you subscribe to the newsletter, you provide your email address.
Information collected automatically. Like most websites, the Site may use analytics tools to understand how it is used — pages visited, approximate location (city level), device and browser type, and how you arrived here. This data is aggregated and does not identify you personally.
Spam and bot protection. When you open the contact page, and when you submit the contact or newsletter form, bot-protection services evaluate technical signals from your browser and device — such as browser and device characteristics, your IP address, and details of the request — to tell people apart from automated software. I use these checks only to protect the forms, never for advertising, and I don't use them to build a profile of you. The bot-protection providers may also use the signals to improve their bot detection, under their own privacy policies.
Preferences stored on your device. The Site stores small preference values (such as display settings) in your browser's local storage. These never leave your device and can be cleared at any time through your browser settings.
2. How I use information
- To reply to messages you send me, and to send you an automatic confirmation that your message arrived.
- To send the newsletter you subscribed to — and nothing else.
- To understand what content is useful, so I can write more of it.
- To keep the Site secure and working properly — including detecting and blocking automated spam on the forms.
3. Legal basis
Where applicable law (such as the GDPR or India's DPDP Act) requires a legal basis for processing, I rely on your consent (for the newsletter and contact form) and my legitimate interest in operating, improving, and securing this website (for analytics, and for bot protection on the forms).
4. Cookies & local storage
The Site does not use advertising or tracking cookies. Analytics tools, where used, may set a minimal cookie or use cookieless measurement. The bot-protection services may set a strictly necessary security cookie to detect automated abuse of the forms. The Site itself uses local storage only for your display preferences. You can block or clear cookies and local storage in your browser without losing access to any content.
5. Third-party services
The Site relies on a small number of third-party services, each with its own privacy policy:
- Fonts — typefaces are self-hosted by the Site; no font requests are sent to third-party CDNs.
- Analytics provider — if enabled, used solely for aggregate usage statistics.
- Email & newsletter provider — used to receive your messages and deliver the newsletter.
- Hosting — the Site is hosted on Vercel, which processes technical request data (such as IP addresses) to deliver pages securely.
- Bot protection — Vercel BotID (powered by Kasada) screens the contact and newsletter forms, and Cloudflare Turnstile adds a check on the contact form, to block automated spam.
- Social platforms — links to LinkedIn, X, and Instagram lead to external sites governed by their own policies.
6. Sharing of information
I do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. Ever. Information is shared only with the service providers above (to the extent needed to operate the Site), or if I am legally required to disclose it.
7. Data retention
Emails you send me are kept for as long as needed to maintain our correspondence. Newsletter addresses are kept until you unsubscribe. Aggregate analytics data is retained per the analytics provider's standard settings. Bot-protection signals are not stored by this Site; the bot-protection providers handle them under their own privacy policies.
8. Your rights
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, export, or delete your personal information, to object to or restrict its processing, to withdraw consent at any time, and — in India — to nominate someone to exercise these rights if you die or become incapacitated. To exercise any of these rights, or to raise a grievance about how I handle your data, email me at hi@akhilaniyan.com — I'll respond within 30 days. You also have the right to complain to a data protection authority: in the EU or UK, the supervisory authority where you live; in India, the Data Protection Board of India, after first raising the grievance with me. Every newsletter email also contains a one-click unsubscribe link.
9. Children's privacy
The Site is not directed at children under 16, and I do not knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child has provided me information, contact me and I will delete it.
10. Security
The Site is served over HTTPS, stores no account data, and screens form submissions with automated bot protection. For information handled by third-party providers, I choose reputable services with strong security practices. No method of transmission is 100% secure, but the surface area here is deliberately tiny.
11. International visitors
I am based in India. If you visit from elsewhere, you understand that your information may be processed in India and in the countries where the third-party services above operate.
12. Changes to this policy
If this policy changes, the updated version will be posted on this page with a new effective date. Material changes will be noted prominently.
13. Contact
Questions about this policy or your data: hi@akhilaniyan.com.