Last updated: July 24, 2026
sfshaw.com is operated by Syed Fawad Hussain, who publishes under the pen name S. F. Shaw. This Privacy Policy explains how information is collected, used, stored, and shared when you visit sfshaw.com.
In this policy, the words we, us, and our refer to the person or business that operates sfshaw.com. The word Site refers to sfshaw.com and its public pages.
By using the Site, you acknowledge the practices explained in this policy.
Please also read our Cookies Policy, Terms and Conditions, Disclaimer, and DMCA Policy.
Who Operates the Site
S. F. Shaw is the public name used on this Site.
The legal operator of the Site is
FULL LEGAL NAME: Syed Fawad Hussain
PEN NAME: S. F. Shaw or S F Shaw or SF Shaw
The legal operator is responsible for deciding how personal information collected through the Site is used.
Privacy questions and requests may be sent to info@sfshaw.com.
You may also contact us through the Contact page.
Information Covered by This Policy
This policy applies to information collected through the Site.
It covers information collected when you visit a page, send a message, join the newsletter, change a cookie choice, submit a comment, or interact with an advertisement or embedded feature.
This policy does not control the privacy practices of outside bookstores, social networks, video platforms, payment services, or other websites.
An outside service applies its own privacy policy after you visit or use that service.
Information You Give Us
You may choose to give us personal information.
The information we receive depends on the feature you use.
When you use the contact form, we may receive your name, email address, subject, message, and any other details you include.
When you join the newsletter, we may receive your name, email address, country, marketing choice, and signup details.
When you submit a comment, review, or other public response, we may receive the name you provide, your message, the date of submission, and technical information used to prevent spam.
When you make a privacy request, we receive the information needed to understand, verify, and answer that request.
Please do not send sensitive information through the Site unless we have asked for it and it is necessary.
Sensitive information may include government identification numbers, financial account details, passwords, medical information, precise location information, or private information about another person.
Information Collected Automatically
Some information may be collected when your browser connects to the Site.
This may include your internet address, browser type, device type, operating system, screen size, general location based on your internet address, page address, referring page, visit time, and pages viewed.
The Site may also collect information about page speed, errors, security events, form activity, cookie choices, and interactions with buttons or links.
Cookies and similar tools may create identifiers that help a service recognize a browser or device.
The exact information collected depends on the services active on the Site and the cookie choices you make.
Our Cookies Policy explains these tools in more detail.
Where Information Comes From
Most personal information comes directly from you or from the browser and device you use.
We may also receive limited information from companies that help operate the Site.
These companies may include the website host, security provider, form provider, newsletter provider, analytics provider, advertising provider, or embedded media provider.
For example, a newsletter provider may tell us whether an email was delivered, rejected, opened, or selected.
An advertising or analytics provider may give us combined reports about visits and activity.
We may also receive public information when you interact with an official S. F. Shaw social media page.
Why We Use Information
We use personal information only when we have a valid reason.
We use it to operate the Site, keep it secure, answer messages, provide requested information, send newsletters, understand how pages perform, prevent spam, display and measure advertising, follow the law, and protect our rights.
We do not use personal information for a purpose that is not reasonably connected with the reason it was collected unless we provide a new notice or obtain permission when required.
Legal Reasons for Processing
Privacy laws in some regions require us to explain the legal reasons for using personal information.
We rely on consent when you join the newsletter, allow optional cookies, choose personalized advertising, or give permission for another optional activity.
You may withdraw consent at any time. Withdrawing consent does not make earlier lawful processing invalid.
We rely on legitimate interests when we need to protect the Site, prevent fraud, stop spam, understand basic Site performance, answer ordinary questions, maintain records, or defend legal rights.
Our legitimate interests do not override your rights where those rights have greater weight.
We may process information to perform a contract or take a step you request before entering a contract.
We may also process information when the law requires us to do so.
Contact Messages
When you send a message through the contact form or by email, we use the information to read, understand, and answer your message.
We may also use it to keep a record of the conversation, prevent misuse, and deal with a legal or safety issue.
Sending a message does not place you on the marketing list unless you separately choose to join it.
Contact messages are kept only for as long as reasonably needed to answer the request, handle follow-up questions, maintain necessary records, or protect legal rights.
Do not send a private manuscript, confidential business plan, password, banking detail, or other sensitive material through the general contact form.
Newsletter Information
You may choose to receive news about S. F. Shaw, books, stories, releases, events, articles, and related work.
We use the name and email address you provide to send these messages.
We may use your country to send information that is relevant to your region or to understand the general location of subscribers.
We may keep a record of the date, time, form, consent wording, and technical details connected with the signup. This helps us show that the signup was valid.
The newsletter service may record delivery, rejected messages, opens, and link selections. We use this information to understand whether messages work and to protect the mailing list from abuse.
You may unsubscribe at any time by using the unsubscribe link in an email or by contacting info@sfshaw.com.
After you unsubscribe, we may keep a limited suppression record so that we do not add the same address back to the mailing list by mistake.
Cookies and Similar Tools
The Site may use cookies, pixels, tags, scripts, local storage, and similar technology.
These tools may help the Site work, remember a privacy choice, protect forms, measure visits, load outside content, or display advertising.
Strictly necessary technology may be used when it is required to provide a feature requested by you or to protect the Site.
Where the law requires consent, optional analytics, advertising, preference, and embedded media tools will remain off until you make a choice.
You may review or change your choices through the Cookie Settings control.
More information appears in our Cookies Policy.
Analytics
We may use an analytics service to understand how visitors use the Site.
Analytics information may include pages viewed, visit length, general location, browser type, device type, referral source, page speed, and Site errors.
We use this information to improve navigation, fix technical problems, and understand which pages readers find useful.
Where consent is required, optional analytics tools will not be used until you allow them.
Analytics reports are generally reviewed as combined information about groups of visits. The analytics provider may still process device, browser, cookie, and internet address information under its own terms.
Google AdSense and Advertising
The Site may use Google AdSense to display and measure advertisements.
Third party vendors, including Google, may use cookies to serve ads based on a visitor’s earlier visits to this Site or other websites.
Google advertising cookies allow Google and its partners to serve advertisements based on visits to this Site and other places on the internet.
Google may receive information such as the address of the page you visit, your internet address, browser information, device information, advertising identifiers, cookie information, and your interaction with an advertisement.
Google may use this information to provide advertising services, measure ad performance, limit repeated ads, protect against fraud and abuse, and personalize ads where permission and law allow.
Personalized advertising may use earlier activity, interests, or visits to select an advertisement.
Nonpersonalized advertising is selected mainly from the current page, general location, or other limited information. Cookies or similar technology may still be used for security, fraud prevention, frequency limits, and measurement.
You may control personalized Google advertising through Google My Ad Center or Google Ads Settings.
Google also provides information called How Google Uses Information From Sites or Apps That Use Our Services.
Other advertising vendors may be allowed to serve or measure ads. The current vendors and their purposes should be shown in the consent message or Cookie Settings panel.
Where consent is required, advertising cookies and personalized advertising will remain off until you make a valid choice.
Advertising Choices in the United States
We do not sell personal information in exchange for money.
Some United States privacy laws may define certain advertising disclosures as a sale, sharing, or targeted advertising even when no money is exchanged for the information.
Where an applicable law gives you the right to opt out, you may use the Cookie Settings control or the Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information control provided on the Site.
Where required and properly configured, the Site will also treat a recognized browser privacy signal, such as Global Privacy Control, as an opt-out request for that browser and device.
After an opt-out request, you may still see advertising. The advertising should not use the restricted information for personalized or cross-site selection where the opt-out applies.
Information We Share
We may share limited information with companies that help us operate the Site.
These companies may provide hosting, website maintenance, security, spam protection, email delivery, newsletter management, analytics, consent management, advertising, embedded media, or technical support.
They may process information only for the service they provide or as otherwise allowed by their own legal duties.
We may also share information with a lawyer, accountant, insurer, auditor, or other professional adviser when reasonably necessary.
Information may be shared with a court, regulator, law enforcement body, or other authority when the law requires it or when it is reasonably necessary to protect a person, the Site, or a legal right.
If ownership or control of the Site changes, relevant records may be transferred as part of that change. The new operator would remain responsible for protecting the information under applicable law.
We do not rent newsletter addresses to other businesses.
Outside Stores and Payment Services
The Site may link to an outside bookstore, publisher, marketplace, ticket provider, or payment service.
When you buy something from an outside seller, that seller normally collects and controls the payment, billing, delivery, and account information.
We do not receive your full payment card number merely because the Site links to an outside store.
We may receive limited information from a seller or affiliate service, such as confirmation that a referral or purchase occurred.
Please review the seller’s privacy policy on the seller’s own website before providing personal or payment information.
Social Media and Embedded Content
The Site may contain links to social media pages or may display videos, posts, audio, or other content from outside platforms.
An outside platform may receive your internet address, page address, browser details, cookie information, and interaction data when its content loads.
The platform may connect that activity with an account you hold with it.
Where consent is required, nonessential embedded content should remain blocked until you allow the relevant cookie category.
Outside platforms control their own use of information.
How Long We Keep Information
We keep personal information only for as long as reasonably needed for the purpose described in this policy.
Contact messages are kept while the request is active and for a reasonable follow-up period.
Newsletter records are kept while you remain subscribed. A limited suppression record may be kept after you unsubscribe.
Consent records are kept for as long as needed to record and respect your choices.
Security logs are kept for as long as needed to detect abuse, investigate problems, and protect the Site.
Public comments may remain on the Site until they are removed by us or through a valid request.
Records needed for legal, tax, fraud prevention, or dispute purposes may be kept for a longer period when the law permits or requires it.
When information is no longer needed, we delete it, anonymize it, or allow it to expire under the relevant service settings.
International Processing
The Site and its service providers may process information in countries other than the country where you live.
Privacy laws and government access rules may differ between countries.
Where the law requires safeguards for an international transfer, we use a recognized legal method or require the relevant provider to use one.
This may include approved contract terms, an adequacy decision, or another lawful transfer method.
You may contact us for more information about safeguards that apply to your information.
Your Privacy Rights
Your rights depend on where you live and which law applies.
You may have the right to ask whether we hold personal information about you.
You may also have the right to request access, correction, deletion, restriction, portability, or a copy of certain information.
You may have the right to object to processing based on legitimate interests.
You may withdraw consent when processing is based on consent.
You may opt out of direct marketing at any time.
You may also have the right to appeal a decision made in response to a privacy request.
Some rights have legal limits. We may need to keep information when required by law, needed to protect another person, or necessary to establish or defend a legal claim.
How to Make a Privacy Request
Send your request to info@sfshaw.com or use the Contact page.
Tell us which right you wish to use and provide enough detail for us to understand the request.
We may ask for reasonable information to confirm your identity. We will not request more verification information than necessary.
An authorized agent may submit a request where the law allows it. We may ask for proof that the agent has permission to act for you.
We will respond within the period required by the law that applies.
We will not treat you unfairly because you made a valid privacy request.
Rights in the EEA, United Kingdom, and Switzerland
People in the European Economic Area, United Kingdom, and Switzerland may have rights over access, correction, deletion, restriction, portability, objection, and consent withdrawal.
You also have the right to object to direct marketing at any time.
Where Google advertising is used in these regions, the Site uses a Google certified consent management platform when required.
The consent message explains the purposes of processing and the advertising providers involved. It also allows you to accept, reject, or change relevant choices.
You may complain to the data protection authority in the country where you live or work if you believe your information has been handled unlawfully.
We would appreciate the chance to address your concern first.
California and Other United States Privacy Rights
Residents of California and certain other states may have rights when the relevant privacy law applies to the Site operator.
These rights may include knowing which categories of personal information are collected, requesting access, correcting inaccurate information, requesting deletion, obtaining a portable copy, and opting out of sale, sharing, or targeted advertising.
You may also have the right to limit certain uses of sensitive personal information and to appeal a request decision.
We do not knowingly use sensitive personal information to build advertising profiles.
The categories of information that may be collected are identifiers, internet or network activity, approximate location, communication content, preference information, and inferences created by advertising or analytics providers.
The business purposes may include operating the Site, answering messages, sending requested email, maintaining security, measuring performance, and displaying advertising.
The categories of recipients may include hosting, security, newsletter, analytics, consent, advertising, and professional service providers.
We do not knowingly sell or share the personal information of children under 16 for personalized advertising.
Children’s Privacy
The Site is intended for a general audience. It is not directed to children under 13 years old.
We do not knowingly ask children under 13 to provide personal information.
A child under 13 should not use the contact form, join the newsletter, or submit personal information without the involvement of a parent or legal guardian.
A parent or guardian may contact info@sfshaw.com if they believe a child has sent us personal information.
After a valid request, we will review and delete the information when required.
Security
We use reasonable measures designed to protect information against loss, misuse, unauthorized access, alteration, or disclosure.
These measures may include encrypted connections, access controls, software updates, spam protection, backups, and limits on who can access records.
No website, email service, or storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.
Please do not send passwords, full payment card details, or highly sensitive information through an ordinary Site form.
Automated Decisions and Profiling
We do not use information collected directly through the Site to make a decision that produces a legal or similarly serious effect on you.
Advertising providers may use automated systems to select, limit, measure, or personalize advertisements.
Your cookie and privacy choices may limit this activity.
Changes to This Policy
We may update this policy when the Site, its services, providers, or legal duties change.
The date at the top shows when the policy was last updated.
When a change is important, we may provide an additional notice on the Site or through another suitable method.
We will not use information for a materially different purpose without providing the notice or choice required by law.
Contact Us
Questions, complaints, and privacy requests may be sent to info@sfshaw.com.
You may also use the Contact page on sfshaw.com.