Last updated: September 2026.

This page explains what happens to data when you read Ethiopia Unlocked. The short version: we do not ask you for anything, we do not run accounts, and we do not sell data. The longer version matters because we show advertising and use affiliate links, and both involve third parties.

What we collect directly

Nothing that identifies you. There are no accounts, no logins and no comment system. If you subscribe to our newsletter you give us an email address, which is stored with our email provider and used only to send the newsletter; every email carries an unsubscribe link, and unsubscribing deletes you from the list.

Server logs

Our hosting provider records standard access logs — IP address, browser user-agent, requested page, timestamp — for security, abuse prevention and diagnosing faults. These are processed by the host on our behalf and are not used to build a profile of you.

Advertising and cookies

We display advertising through Google AdSense. You should know the following:

  • Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this website or other websites.
  • Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to you based on your visit to this and/or other sites on the internet.
  • You may opt out of personalised advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings.
  • You can opt out of third-party vendors' use of cookies for personalised advertising at aboutads.info or, in Europe, youronlinechoices.eu.
  • Google's own explanation of how it uses data from sites that use its services is at policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites.

If you are in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom or Switzerland, you will be shown a consent choice before personalised advertising cookies are set, and you can change that choice at any time.

Affiliate links

Some outbound links are affiliate links, routed through /go/ and marked rel="sponsored". When you click one, the partner may set its own cookie to attribute a later booking to us. That happens on their site under their privacy policy, not ours. We receive only aggregate commission reporting — never your booking details, name or payment information. See our affiliate disclosure.

Analytics

If analytics is enabled it is configured without advertising personalisation, and we use it only to see which guides are read and where they fall short.

Children

This site is written for adults planning travel and is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect data from them.

Your rights

Because we hold almost nothing about you, most requests are simple: unsubscribing removes your email, and clearing your browser cookies removes advertising identifiers. If you are covered by the GDPR, UK GDPR or CCPA and want to ask what we hold, correct it or have it deleted, write to us and we will answer.

Changes

If this policy changes materially we will update the date at the top. Questions: see the contact page.