Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

The Opinion Times (“we”, “us”, “our”) is a moderated digital opinion publishing platform. Our registered contact for privacy matters is privacy@opiniontimes.com.

2. Data we collect

We collect the following categories of personal data:

• Account data: full name, email address, country, preferred language.
• Content data: opinion pieces, responses, and any other content you submit.
• Usage data: pages visited, articles read, search queries, device and browser type, IP address.
• Payment data: processed by Stripe or PayPal — we do not store card numbers.
• LinkedIn verification data: public profile information used solely for identity verification.

3. How we use your data

• To provide and operate the platform.
• To verify your identity and moderate content.
• To process payments for subscriptions and ad placements.
• To send transactional emails (verification, approval, rejection notices).
• To personalise your reading experience based on your language and country preferences.
• To comply with legal obligations and prevent abuse.

4. Legal basis (GDPR)

Where GDPR applies, we process your data under the following legal bases: contract performance (account and subscription), legitimate interests (security, fraud prevention, platform improvement), consent (marketing emails), and legal obligation (compliance requests).

5. Data sharing

We do not sell your personal data. We share it only with:

• Payment processors (Stripe, PayPal) under their own privacy policies.
• Cloud infrastructure providers (AWS) under data processing agreements.
• Analytics tools, used in aggregate and anonymised form only.
• Law enforcement, when required by a valid legal order.

6. Your rights

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the right to:

• Access, correct, or delete your personal data.
• Object to or restrict certain processing.
• Data portability (receive your data in a machine-readable format).
• Withdraw consent at any time (without affecting prior processing).
• Lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.

To exercise any of these rights, email privacy@opiniontimes.com. We will respond within 30 days.

7. Retention

We retain account data for as long as your account is active, plus 90 days after deletion to allow recovery. Published opinions may be retained indefinitely as public record unless you formally request removal. Usage logs are retained for 12 months.

8. Cookies

We use strictly necessary cookies (authentication session), functional cookies (language preference), and optional analytics cookies. See our Cookie Policy for full details.

9. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy periodically. Material changes will be communicated by email to registered users at least 14 days before they take effect. Continued use after that date constitutes acceptance.

10. Contact

For privacy questions or requests, contact us at privacy@opiniontimes.com.