Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

Ancient Jordan (ancientjordan.com) is an independent guide to Jordan’s ancient sites, written by Alex Bezrukov in Amman, Jordan. Alex Bezrukov is responsible for the personal data described on this page (the “controller”).

You can reach us at info@ancientjordan.com or on WhatsApp at +962 79 619 4350.

We follow Jordan’s Personal Data Protection Law (Law No. 24 of 2023). If you are in the European Union or the United Kingdom, this page also explains your rights under the data protection rules that apply there.

2. What we collect, why, and on what basis

When you contact us or ask about a tour

The contact form asks for your name, your email address, your WhatsApp number (optional), the topic and your message. We use these details only to answer you and, if you ask for a tour, to arrange it with you. We process them because you ask us to and agree to it when you send the form. Your message reaches us by email and is kept in our email inbox. Tour booking requests are also saved on the website, and those entries are cleared automatically after 2 years.

If you write to us on WhatsApp, WhatsApp’s own privacy policy covers how WhatsApp handles the conversation, and this policy covers how we use the messages we receive.

When you sign up for news

If you subscribe to our newsletter, your email address (and your name, if you give it) is stored with Mailchimp, the service we use to send it. We send it only with your consent. Every email has an unsubscribe link, and you can also ask us to remove you.

To keep the site safe and free of spam

Our forms are protected by Google reCAPTCHA, which checks that a person, not a robot, is sending the form. The site is also protected by CleanTalk, which checks IP addresses and form entries to block spam and attacks. Our host keeps standard server logs (IP address, browser and time of visit) for security.

To understand how the site is used

If you accept analytics cookies, we use Google Analytics to count visits and see which pages are read, from which countries and on which devices. If you don’t accept, Google Analytics does not run. We don’t use it to identify you, to build profiles of you or for advertising.

Maps, panoramas and videos

Many pages show Google Maps, Google 360° panoramas or YouTube videos. They load as part of the page, because the maps and panoramas are central to this guide. When they load, Google receives your IP address and may set its own cookies under its own privacy policy. Links to Facebook, Instagram, Flickr and WhatsApp share data with those services only if you click them.

Comments

Comments are closed. One older comment is still published under the name its writer chose.

We don’t make automated decisions about you and we don’t profile you.

3. Cookies

Cookies are small files that a website stores in your browser. Cookies that are needed for the site to work and stay secure are always on. Analytics cookies are set only if you accept them in our cookie banner. You can change your choice at any time with the “Cookie settings” link at the bottom of every page.

4. Who receives your data

We don’t sell or rent your data. We share it only with the services that run the site for us, and only what they need:

• Hostinger – web hosting and our email
• Google – Analytics (if you accept), reCAPTCHA, Maps and YouTube
• Mailchimp (Intuit) – newsletter
• CleanTalk – spam and security protection (data stored in the European Union)

Guides and drivers

If you book a tour, we pass the guide or driver only what they need to run it: usually the lead guest’s name, contact number, pickup place, date and the arrangements you asked for. We don’t forward your whole enquiry, passport copies or health information unless you ask us to and it is needed for your trip. Our guides and drivers use these details only for your booking, keep them safe and don’t use them for marketing.

We may also share data if the law requires it.

Data stored outside Jordan

Some of these services store data outside Jordan, for example in the European Union or the United States. Jordanian law allows this when the destination protects personal data to a level not lower than Jordan’s law, or when you explicitly agree after being told that the destination may not offer the same protection. For data from the European Union and the United Kingdom, our providers use recognised safeguards such as the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses or the EU–US Data Privacy Framework.

5. How long we keep it

• Messages and tour enquiries: we aim to keep them no longer than 2 years after the enquiry closes or our last real contact. Records of bookings, payments or disputes may be kept longer where we need them.
• Newsletter: until you unsubscribe
• Google Analytics: user-level and event-level data for 14 months. Summary reports without personal details are kept longer.
• Server logs: as long as our host keeps them for security

6. How we protect it

The site runs only over an encrypted connection (HTTPS). Access to messages and accounts is limited to us and protected by passwords, and the site is protected by a firewall and spam filters. If a data breach puts your data at risk, we will tell you and the authorities as the law requires.

7. Your rights

You can ask us to:

• tell you what personal data we hold about you and send you a copy
• correct, update or complete it
• delete it
• limit how we use it, or object to its use
• withdraw your consent at any time, for example to the newsletter or to analytics cookies

Using these rights costs nothing and won’t affect any booking. Write to info@ancientjordan.com and we will reply within 30 days.

If you are not happy with our answer, you can complain to Jordan’s Personal Data Protection Unit at the Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship. If you live in the European Union or the United Kingdom, you can also complain to your national data protection authority.

8. Children

Ancient Jordan is a guide for travellers of all ages, but we don’t ask children for personal data. Tour enquiries and bookings should come from an adult; for children travelling with their family, a parent or guardian gives us the details we need. If you think a child has sent us personal data, please tell us and we will delete it.

9. Changes to this policy

If we change how we handle personal data, we will update this page and the date at the top.