Privacy policy

• You can read everything on NewsLead360 without an account.
• Story pages and lists show a small number of ads from Google AdSense and, when we run them, Adsterra, so those companies and their partners may use cookies on those pages. We use Google Analytics to see, in aggregate, which pages are read, and we don't sell your information. None of Google's services here (Analytics, ads and its newsletter prompt), and none of Adsterra's ads, starts until you have agreed (in Europe we ask you first, and anywhere you can say no from Cookie settings at the bottom of any page).
• We count how many people read a story in a way that cannot identify you.
• If you create an account, we keep what you give us and what you do with it: your saved stories, likes, follows, recently viewed stories and comments. You can delete all of it yourself, at any time.

NewsLead360 is an independent news publication from Pakistan, published at newslead360.com. We decide why and how your information is used on the site, so we are responsible for it. How to reach us is at the end of this page.

When you read. Our hosting provider keeps standard technical logs, such as your IP address, browser type, the pages requested and the time, so the site can run and stay secure. To count readers of a story, we also make a one-way code from your address and browser details, mixed with a secret and the date. The code changes every day, cannot be turned back into your address, is deleted within a few days and is never stored with your account. Automated visitors are not counted.

When you create an account. Your email address, which is how you sign in, and a display name. You can also add a username, a short bio and a photo. If you sign in with Google, Facebook or X, we receive your name, email address and profile photo from them, and we keep the link to your photo so your picture stays up to date. We never receive your password for those services.

What you do while signed in. The stories you save and like, the topics and sections you follow, the stories you have recently viewed and the comments you write.

Comments. A comment is public. It appears with your display name, your photo and the date. Our moderators can see everything that is submitted.

The newsletter. Your email address, the topics you chose, your language and when you confirmed. We only send newsletters after you confirm, and every email has an unsubscribe link and our postal address.

When you write to us. If you email us, we keep the message and our reply for as long as we need them. Tips are handled in line with our standards for sources.

• Signing in. A cookie keeps you signed in. It is needed for the account to work, and it is removed when you sign out.
• Your preferences and conveniences. Your browser stores your light or dark setting, the stories you save while signed out, your scroll position on pages you have visited, an unsent comment draft, and small markers that keep your open tabs in step when you sign in or out. These stay on your device and are not used for advertising.
• Advertising. The front page, story lists and stories show ads served by Google AdSense and, when we turn them on, by Adsterra. Google, Adsterra and their advertising partners may set cookies or use similar identifiers to show and measure ads, and, where you agree, to show ads based on your interests. The ads, and the scripts that serve them, do not load until you agree. If your device is in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom or Switzerland we ask you first, with a notice that gives "Accept" and "Decline" equal weight, and you see no ads until you accept. Everywhere else the ads load unless you decline. You can change your choice at any time from Cookie settings at the bottom of every page, and manage ad personalisation in Google's ad settings. Read how Google uses information from sites that use its services and Adsterra's privacy policy. We ourselves set no advertising cookies.
• Analytics. We use Google Analytics 4 to learn which pages are read and how people reach the site. It follows the same choice as the ads: it does not load until you agree, and it sets its own cookies (named `_ga`) to tell visits apart. We do not send it your name, email or account details. If you decline after having accepted, we remove those cookies and reload the page without it. The site works the same without it. See how Google uses data from Analytics.
• Google's newsletter prompt. On story pages, Google's Reader Revenue Manager can offer a newsletter sign-up. Its script is Google's, so it follows the same choice as the ads and Analytics: it does not load until you agree. If you sign up through it, Google shares your name and email address with us. We then send you our own confirmation email, and you only join the newsletter if you press it.
• Your cookie choice. What you pick in the cookie notice is kept in your browser's storage (`nl-consent`) so we do not ask again. It is not sent to us.
• Embedded video. Videos from YouTube use YouTube's privacy-enhanced mode. YouTube may still collect information when you play a video, under its own policy.

• To run the site and your account, and to show you what you saved, liked and followed.
• To show and moderate comments, and to protect the site from abuse and attacks.
• To understand which stories people read, so we can serve readers better.
• To send the newsletters you asked for, and the sign-in and confirmation emails you need.
• To meet our legal obligations.

We do not build advertising profiles of you, and we do not sell or rent your information. The ads on the site are chosen and measured by Google and, when we run its ads, Adsterra, each under its own policy.

Some companies handle information for us, only to provide their service:

• Our hosting provider (Fly.io) serves the site.
• Our database and sign-in provider stores accounts, saved stories, comments and profile photos.
• Our email provider (Google Workspace) delivers sign-in links and newsletters.
• Google AdSense serves and measures the ads on public pages.
• Adsterra, a second ad network, does the same for the ads it shows on public pages, when we run them.
• Google Reader Revenue Manager shows the newsletter sign-up prompt on stories and, if you use it, passes us your name and email address.
• Google, Facebook or X, only if you choose to sign in with them.

We may also disclose information when the law requires it, or when it is needed to protect someone's safety. Comments are public, so anyone can read them.

Our servers and database are in Sydney, Australia. You may be reading from somewhere else, so your information can pass through other countries on its way to you, and our providers may process some of it elsewhere under their own terms.

• Your account and everything attached to it stays until you delete the account.
• Newsletter subscriptions stay until you unsubscribe. We keep a record of the unsubscribe so we don't email you again.
• Daily reader codes are deleted within a few days. The count of views per story is kept, with nothing that identifies a reader.
• Technical logs are kept by our hosting provider for a short time.

After you delete an account, our database provider may keep backup copies for a limited time before they are overwritten.

• See and change your details in your account settings.
• Delete your account from your account settings. This permanently removes your account, profile, saved stories, likes, follows, recently viewed list and comments, and unsubscribes you from the newsletter.
• Unsubscribe with the link at the bottom of any newsletter, or the Unsubscribe button your mail app shows.
• Change your cookie choice from Cookie settings at the bottom of any page.
• Clear what your browser stores at any time from your browser's settings. You will be signed out and lose your local preferences.
• Ask us for a copy of what we hold about you, or for a change or deletion, by writing to us. If you think we have handled your information wrongly, tell us first and we will look into it.

Connections to the site are encrypted. Readers sign in with a one-time link sent to their email or through a provider, so there is no password for us to lose. Access to our systems is limited to the people who need it. No system is perfectly secure, so we cannot promise that nothing will ever go wrong, but we act quickly if it does.

NewsLead360 is written for a general audience and is not aimed at children under 13. You must be 13 or older to create an account, and you confirm this when you sign in. We do not knowingly collect information from children under 13. If you believe a child has created an account, tell us and we will remove it.

When we change this policy, we update the date at the top. If the change is significant, we will say so on the site and tell account holders by email.

Questions about your information, or a request to see, correct or delete it, can be sent to us at: