Privacy notice

Last updated: 12 October 2025

Who we are

This site is run by Dr Jay Varma and his small team. Website: https://drjayvarma.com

The site shares professional writing, talks, and updates. It is not a medical clinic. Please do not send personal health information.

What this notice covers

  • What we collect and why

  • Cookies and similar tech

  • Comments and media

  • Embedded content

  • Email and the contact form

  • Who we share data with

  • How long we keep data

  • Your rights

  • How to contact us

What we collect and why

We collect the minimum needed to run the site safely, fix issues, and understand what content is useful.

We collect:

  • Basic technical data when you visit, such as IP address, pages viewed, time on site, and your browser type

  • Data you choose to give us, such as a comment, your name, or your email address

  • Security logs that help us detect spam and abuse

Our legal bases include legitimate interests, security and fraud prevention, consent where you choose to give it, and compliance with the law.

Comments

When you leave a comment we collect the data shown in the comment form, your IP address, and your browser user agent to help with spam detection.

An anonymised string created from your email address may be sent to the Gravatar service to see if you use it. After your comment is approved, your profile picture is visible next to your comment. See Gravatar’s privacy policy for details.

Media

If you upload images, avoid images that contain location data. Visitors can download and extract location data from images on this site.

Cookies

Cookies are small files saved on your device. We use them to make the site work and to remember choices you make.

  • If you leave a comment you may opt in to saving your name, email, and website in cookies. This is for convenience so you do not have to retype details next time. These cookies last for one year.

  • If you visit the login page, we set a temporary cookie to check if your browser accepts cookies. It contains no personal data and is removed when you close your browser.

  • If you log in, we set cookies to save your login and screen display choices. Login cookies last for two days. Screen options cookies last for one year. If you select Remember Me, your login persists for two weeks. Logging out removes login cookies.

  • If you edit or publish an article, your browser stores an additional cookie that includes the post ID of the article you edited. It expires after one day.

You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings. Some features may not work as expected without them.

Embedded content from other websites

Articles may include embedded content such as videos, images, or posts. Embedded content from other websites behaves as if you visited those sites directly. They may collect data about you, use cookies, add third‑party tracking, and monitor your interaction with their content if you have an account with them and are logged in there.

Email and the contact form

If you use the site’s contact form to email Dr Jay, we apply enhanced security logging on that page to protect both senders and recipients.

What this really means is that, on the contact form pages only, we collect detailed technical and security information about the device and connection used to submit the form. This can include, for example:

  • IP address and approximate location at city or network level

  • Browser, operating system, and device details

  • Referrer, timestamps, and interaction patterns with the form

  • Cookie or local storage identifiers that help us recognise returning devices

  • Device and browser characteristics that can act as identifiers

  • Spam and abuse signals from security partners

Two important points:

  • This enhanced logging runs only on the contact form pages. It does not run on articles or other parts of the site.

  • We use these logs strictly for security, abuse prevention, and to respond to credible threats. We do not use them for advertising.

Please do not include sensitive personal information in your message. If you do, you consent to us processing it for the purpose of handling your enquiry and keeping the site secure.

Who we share your data with

We share data with trusted service providers who help us run the site, including:

  • Hosting, content delivery, and security providers

  • Anti‑spam and abuse prevention services

  • Analytics that help us understand what content is useful

  • Email delivery services for contact form messages

If the law requires it, or if it is necessary to protect people from harm, we may share relevant information with competent authorities.

We do not sell your personal data.

How long we keep data

  • Comments and their metadata are kept indefinitely so we can recognise and approve follow‑up comments automatically.

  • If you register for an account, we store the personal information in your profile. You can see, edit, or delete your personal information at any time, except your username. Site administrators can also see and edit that information.

  • Security logs from the contact form are kept for as long as needed for site safety, abuse prevention, and compliance.

Your rights

Your rights depend on where you live. If you are in the UK or EEA, you can:

  • Ask for a copy of your personal data

  • Ask us to correct or delete it

  • Object to or restrict certain processing

  • Withdraw consent where processing relies on consent

  • Complain to your data protection authority

Where these rights apply, we will honour them. We will also keep data we must retain for legal or security reasons.

To make a request, use the contact details on the site.

Where your data is processed

Your data may be processed in your country and in other countries where our service providers operate. When we transfer data, we use safeguards appropriate to the transfer.

Children

This site is for adults. Please do not use the contact form if you are under 16 without a parent or guardian.

Changes to this notice

We will update this notice when needed. If changes are material we will post a clear notice on the site.

How to contact us

For privacy questions or requests, use the contact details in the site footer or the contact form.