Privacy policy

01Who we are

This Privacy Policy explains how Mohammed S Ali ("we", "us", "our") collects and uses personal data when you use www.askthequran.com, including the Quran reader, search, audio recitations, stories, newsletter and the Quran AI assistant (the "Services").

Data controller: Mohammed S Ali (sole trader)

Postal address: MATW P 77268, PO Box 6945, London W1A 6US, England, United Kingdom

Privacy contact: [email protected]

We follow the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018 as amended by the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR).

You can read and listen to the Quran without giving us your name or email address. We only ask for personal details if you sign in to the AI assistant, join the newsletter or contact us.

02What we collect

2.1 Information you give us

AI assistant sign-in: your name and email address, the one-time codes we email you, and a record that you accepted the Terms of Service and this policy

AI assistant conversations: the questions you ask and the answers the assistant gives

Newsletter: your email address, the nickname you give us and a record of your consent

Messages: your name, email address and anything you write when you email us

Rights requests and complaints: the details needed to deal with your request

We do not use passwords. You sign in to the AI assistant with a code sent to your email address.

2.2 Information collected automatically

When you visit the Services, we and the providers we use collect technical information such as:

Your IP address and approximate location (city or country level)
Browser, device and operating system details
Pages viewed, links clicked, time on site and the website that referred you

We also keep simple daily logs of the words people search for on the site and of the verse references that are opened (for example 2:255). These logs do not include your IP address, name or email address, and we use them to improve search and to see which content is useful.

Some information is collected using cookies and similar technologies. Our Cookie Policy explains which ones, and you can choose which non-essential cookies to allow.

2.3 Religious beliefs (special category data)

Questions you ask the AI assistant, and the fact that you use a Quran website, may reveal your religious or philosophical beliefs. UK law treats this as special category data that needs extra protection.

We only process the content of your AI assistant conversations with your explicit consent, which you give when you accept the AI assistant notice and sign in
We do not use your conversations to build a profile of your beliefs, and we do not use them for advertising
You can withdraw your consent at any time by asking us to delete your AI assistant account and conversations

Please do not share health, financial or other sensitive personal details with the AI assistant. It is designed for questions about the Quran and Islamic teaching, not for personal counselling.

03Why we use your data and our lawful basis

3.1 Running the website securely

Purpose: delivering pages and audio, keeping the site secure and preventing abuse

Lawful basis: legitimate interests (running a safe, working website)

3.2 The AI assistant

Purpose: signing you in with an email code, sending your questions to our AI provider and showing you the answers

Lawful basis: performance of our agreement with you (the Terms of Service), and explicit consent for any religious beliefs revealed in your questions

3.3 Improving the AI assistant

Purpose: reviewing a small number of conversations, with names and email addresses removed, to check the quality and safety of answers and to improve our instructions to the AI

Lawful basis: legitimate interests, and the explicit consent described in section 2.3. You can object at any time. We do not train AI models on your conversations.

3.4 Understanding how the site is used

Purpose: measuring visits and popular content with Google Analytics and our search logs, so we can improve the Services

Lawful basis: legitimate interests for the search logs; consent for analytics cookies (through our cookie settings)

3.5 Advertising

Purpose: showing adverts through Google AdSense, which may be personalised to your interests

Lawful basis: consent for personalised advertising cookies; where you do not consent, Google may show non-personalised adverts

3.6 Affiliate links

Purpose: when you click an affiliate link (for example for flights, hotels or activities), the partner records the click so they can pay us a commission if you book

Lawful basis: legitimate interests (keeping the Services free), and consent where the partner sets cookies on your device

3.7 Newsletter

Purpose: sending updates, new features and reminders from AskTheQuran

Lawful basis: consent, which you can withdraw at any time using the unsubscribe link in every email

3.8 Replying to you

Purpose: answering your emails, questions, rights requests and complaints

Lawful basis: legitimate interests, or legal obligation for rights requests and complaints

3.9 Legal and tax

Purpose: keeping business and tax records and responding to lawful requests from authorities

Lawful basis: legal obligation

04The AI assistant in more detail

The Quran AI assistant uses a large language model provided by Groq, Inc. When you send a question, the text of your conversation is sent to Groq so that it can generate an answer. Your name and email address are not sent with your questions.

Answers are produced automatically by AI and are not checked by a scholar before you see them
Answers can be wrong or incomplete, so please check religious guidance with authentic sources and qualified scholars
The assistant does not make decisions about you, and its answers have no legal or similarly significant effect on you
You can ask us for a copy of your conversations or ask us to delete them at any time

We do not make decisions about you based solely on automated processing that have legal or similarly significant effects.

We do not sell your personal data. We share it only with the following, and only as far as needed:

Website hosting and email providers, who store data and send sign-in codes for us
Groq, which runs the AI model that answers your questions
Mailchimp (Intuit), which sends our newsletter
Google (Analytics, AdSense, Fonts and YouTube video embeds)
Embedded tools on some pages, such as the GetYourGuide activity widget, the Stay22 accommodation links and the ShareThis share buttons
Pexels, which supplies some photographs on our stories pages directly to your browser
Affiliate partners and networks, which record clicks and bookings made through our links
Professional advisers, and authorities such as HMRC or the police where the law requires it

Service providers that act on our behalf (processors) may only use your data on our instructions and must keep it secure. Some partners, such as Google and affiliate networks, are independent controllers for the data they collect, and their own privacy policies apply.

06International transfers

Some of our providers, including Groq, Google and Mailchimp, are based outside the UK, mainly in the United States. When personal data is transferred outside the UK, we rely on UK adequacy regulations (including the UK–US Data Bridge for certified US companies) or on the International Data Transfer Agreement or UK Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses, so that your data stays protected to a standard that is not materially lower than in the UK. You can ask us for more information about these safeguards.

07How long we keep data

AI assistant account (name and email): while you use the assistant, and deleted 30 days after you ask us to close it or after 2 years without use

AI assistant conversations: up to 2 years, or sooner if you ask us to delete them

Sign-in codes: until they expire or are used, and never longer than 24 hours

Newsletter: until you unsubscribe; we then keep your email address on a suppression list so we do not email you again

Search and verse logs: up to 24 months

Emails and enquiries: up to 24 months after our last contact

Rights requests and complaints: up to 3 years after the matter is closed

Business and tax records: 6 years after the end of the tax year, as HMRC requires

Analytics data: up to 14 months, then deleted by Google Analytics

Server security logs: up to 12 months

When we no longer need data we delete it or make it anonymous so that it can no longer identify you.

08How we protect data

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data, including encrypted connections (HTTPS), sign-in by one-time email codes instead of passwords, restricted access to systems, and choosing providers that meet recognised security standards. No website is completely secure, but if a personal data breach happens that is likely to put you at risk, we will report it to the Information Commission within 72 hours where required and tell you without undue delay if the risk is high.

09Your rights

Under UK data protection law you have the right to:

Be informed about how we use your data (this policy)
Access your data and receive a copy, including your AI assistant conversations
Have inaccurate data corrected
Have your data erased in certain circumstances
Restrict how we use your data in certain circumstances
Receive your data in a portable format, where processing is based on consent or contract and is automated
Object to processing based on legitimate interests, and to direct marketing at any time
Withdraw consent at any time, without affecting processing that took place before

9.1 How to use your rights

Email [email protected] or write to the postal address above. We will respond within one month. This can be extended by up to two further months for complex requests, and the time limit pauses while we wait for information we reasonably need, such as confirmation that the request comes from the owner of the email address. We will carry out a reasonable and proportionate search for your data. Requests are free unless they are clearly unfounded or excessive.

10Cookies

We use cookies and similar technologies. Strictly necessary cookies, and cookies that only collect statistics to improve the site where the law allows this without consent, are set with a clear way to object. Advertising and other non-essential cookies are only set with your consent. You can change your choices at any time through the privacy and cookie settings link on the site or in your browser. Full details are in our Cookie Policy.

11Children

Anyone can read and listen to the Quran on this website. The AI assistant and the newsletter are for people aged 13 and over, and we recommend that anyone under 18 uses the AI assistant with a parent or guardian's knowledge. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has given us personal data, please contact us and we will delete it.

12Marketing

We only send marketing emails to people who have opted in. Every email includes an unsubscribe link, and you can also unsubscribe by emailing [email protected]. Signing in to the AI assistant does not sign you up to the newsletter, and we do not share your email address with partners for their own marketing.

13Complaints

13.1 Complain to us first

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal data, please email [email protected] with "Data protection complaint" in the subject line. We will acknowledge your complaint within 30 days, look into it without undue delay and tell you the outcome.

13.2 The Information Commission

You can also complain to the UK regulator, the Information Commission (still known as the ICO), although it will usually expect you to have raised the complaint with us first.

Website: ico.org.uk

Phone: 0303 123 1113

Post: Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF

14Visitors outside the UK

This policy is written for UK law. If you live in the European Economic Area or elsewhere, you may have additional rights under your local law, and we will respect them where they apply to us. Contact [email protected] with any request.

15Changes to this policy

We review this policy regularly and will update it when the law or our practices change. The date at the top shows the latest version. If we make significant changes, we will show a notice on the website, and AI assistant users and newsletter subscribers will be told by email.

16Contact us

Data controller: Mohammed S Ali