News
Prophet's Mosque Library Opens Rare Manuscripts to Pilgrims (5h ago) Madinah Equips 19,000 Square Meters of Walkways for Pilgrims (5h ago) Saudi Arabia Suspends 21 Umrah Companies Over Service Failures (5h ago) Pakistan to Open Mandatory Hajj 2027 Registration This Month (5h ago) Saudi Arabia Hits Record 18 Million Umrah Pilgrims in Vision 2030 Report (11h ago) Rare 1707 Gold Kaaba Gate Plaque Goes on Display in Makkah Exhibition (23h ago) Sun Aligns Almost Perfectly Over the Kaaba, Marking Qibla for Worldwide Muslims (23h ago) Foreign Capital Flows Into Makkah and Madinah as Saudi Arabia Opens Investment (23h ago) Makkah Route Initiative Served 388,694 Pilgrims in 2026 Season (Yesterday) India Opens Preliminary Phase for Hajj 2027 Registration (Yesterday) Prophet's Mosque Library Opens Rare Manuscripts to Pilgrims (5h ago) Madinah Equips 19,000 Square Meters of Walkways for Pilgrims (5h ago) Saudi Arabia Suspends 21 Umrah Companies Over Service Failures (5h ago) Pakistan to Open Mandatory Hajj 2027 Registration This Month (5h ago) Saudi Arabia Hits Record 18 Million Umrah Pilgrims in Vision 2030 Report (11h ago) Rare 1707 Gold Kaaba Gate Plaque Goes on Display in Makkah Exhibition (23h ago) Sun Aligns Almost Perfectly Over the Kaaba, Marking Qibla for Worldwide Muslims (23h ago) Foreign Capital Flows Into Makkah and Madinah as Saudi Arabia Opens Investment (23h ago) Makkah Route Initiative Served 388,694 Pilgrims in 2026 Season (Yesterday) India Opens Preliminary Phase for Hajj 2027 Registration (Yesterday)

Privacy Policy

Last updated: April 2026

This privacy policy explains how thehajj.guide ("the Site", "we", "us") collects, uses, and protects information when you visit our website. We are committed to respecting your privacy and being transparent about everything we do with data.

The Site is operated by Abdul Akbar. If you have any questions about this policy, you can reach us at akbur@thehajj.guide.

What Data We Collect

Anonymous Analytics

We collect basic, anonymous usage data to understand how visitors use the Site and to improve the content. This data is session-based and cannot be used to identify you personally. The analytics we collect include:

  • Pageviews – which pages are visited and in what order
  • Session ID – a temporary, anonymous identifier stored in sessionStorage (not a cookie) that groups page visits within a single browsing session
  • Device type – whether you are using a desktop, tablet, or mobile device (derived from screen size, not device fingerprinting)
  • Country – your approximate country, determined by a one-time IP lookup via ipapi.co (your IP address is not stored by us)
  • Scroll depth – how far down a page you scroll, to help us understand which content is being read
  • Engagement events – interactions such as clicking navigation links, expanding sections, or completing quizzes

All analytics data is stored in our own database (MariaDB). We do not use Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, or any third-party analytics service.

Feedback Form

If you choose to submit feedback through our feedback form, we collect:

  • Your name
  • Your email address
  • Your message
  • The type of feedback (correction, suggestion, bug report, or general)
  • The page you were on when you submitted it

This information is used solely to read and respond to your feedback. We do not add you to any mailing list, and we do not share this data with anyone.

Quiz Leaderboard

If you complete a quiz and choose to submit your score to the leaderboard, we collect:

  • The alias (display name) you provide
  • Your score
  • Your country (detected automatically via IP lookup)

This information is voluntarily submitted and is displayed publicly on the leaderboard. Do not submit any information you would not want others to see.

News Articles

The news section of this site displays articles aggregated from public RSS feeds of third-party news sources. We store article titles, summaries, source names, and links in our database. We do not collect any personal data in connection with the news feature.

What We Do NOT Collect

We want to be explicit about what this site does not do:

  • No tracking or advertising cookies – we do not use advertising, social media, or cross-site tracking cookies. Google Analytics sets analytics cookies, we set a language preference cookie, and if you choose to sign in for cross-device backup a sign-in cookie and a session cookie are set. See our Cookie & Storage Policy for the full list.
  • No personal data from browsing – we do not collect your name, email, or any identifying information unless you voluntarily provide it
  • No tracking pixels – we do not embed invisible images or beacons to track you
  • No third-party advertising trackers – there are no ads on this site and no advertising networks have access to your data
  • No cross-site tracking – we do not track your activity across other websites
  • No IP address storage – your IP address is used momentarily for country detection and is not stored in our database

External Services

Google Analytics

This site uses Google Analytics 4 (measurement ID: G-SKMK6X9Y00) to understand how visitors use the site. Google Analytics collects information such as pages visited, time spent, approximate geographic location (country/city level), device type, browser, and referral source. This data is aggregated and anonymised. Google Analytics may set cookies (such as _ga and _ga_*) on your device to distinguish unique visitors and sessions. You can opt out of Google Analytics by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on. See Google's Privacy Policy for full details on how Google processes this data.

Google Fonts

This site loads fonts from Google Fonts (fonts.google.com). When your browser requests these fonts, Google may receive your IP address and standard browser information. Google's privacy policy applies to this data. See Google's Privacy Policy for details.

ipapi.co

We use ipapi.co to perform a one-time IP-to-country lookup when you visit the site. This is used to record your approximate country for anonymous analytics and the quiz leaderboard. Your IP address is sent to ipapi.co for this purpose. See ipapi.co's Privacy Policy for how they handle this data.

Local Storage (Client-Side Only)

This site uses your browser's localStorage and sessionStorage to save preferences and progress locally on your device. This data is never sent to our servers. It includes:

  • hajjTheme – your selected colour theme (light/dark)
  • hajjFontSize – your preferred font size
  • hajjProgress_* – your reading progress on each page
  • hajjQuiz_* – your quiz progress and answers
  • hajj_sid (sessionStorage) – a temporary anonymous session identifier used for analytics grouping

You can clear this data at any time through your browser settings. See our Cookie & Storage Policy for full details.

Optional Account Backup (My Journey)

The My Journey page works entirely on your device by default. If you choose to sign in with Google to back up your progress and sync it across devices, we store the following on our server:

  • Your Google account identifier and email address – used only to recognise you when you sign in. We never send you emails and never share this data.
  • Your journey progress – which guide sections you have read, your best quiz scores, and which checklist items you have ticked.

Signing in is entirely optional and is never required to use any part of this site. You can delete your account and all backed-up data at any time using the "Delete my data" button on the My Journey page; deletion is immediate and permanent. Signing in uses Google Sign-In, which is subject to Google's Privacy Policy.

Data Retention

  • Analytics data is retained indefinitely in aggregate form. Individual session records may be purged periodically.
  • Feedback submissions are retained for as long as necessary to action them and are then deleted.
  • Leaderboard entries are retained for as long as the leaderboard is active.
  • localStorage data remains on your device until you clear it yourself.
  • Account backup data (My Journey) is retained until you delete your account, which you can do yourself at any time from the My Journey page.

Your Rights (GDPR)

If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA) or the United Kingdom, you have the following rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR):

  • Right of access – you can request a copy of any personal data we hold about you
  • Right to rectification – you can ask us to correct inaccurate data
  • Right to erasure – you can ask us to delete your personal data (e.g., feedback submissions, leaderboard entries)
  • Right to data portability – you can request your data in a structured, machine-readable format
  • Right to object – you can object to the processing of your data

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at akbur@thehajj.guide. We will respond within 30 days.

Data Sharing

We do not sell, trade, rent, or otherwise share your personal data with any third party. The only exception is the use of external services described above (Google Fonts and ipapi.co), which operate under their own privacy policies.

Children's Privacy

This site is an educational resource and is not directed at children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has submitted personal data through our feedback form or leaderboard, please contact us at akbur@thehajj.guide and we will promptly delete it.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated "Last updated" date. We encourage you to review this page periodically.

Contact

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests related to this privacy policy or your data, please contact:

Abdul Akbar
Email: akbur@thehajj.guide
Website: thehajj.guide