Privacy, Terms & Cookies | Life in Malaysia

Effective date: 16 September 2025
Last updated: 16 September 2025

These documents are templates prepared for informational purposes and do not constitute legal advice. Please customise the details (company name, address, contact email) and seek independent legal counsel where appropriate.

1) Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

“Life in Malaysia”, accessible at https://lifeinmalaysia.com (the “Site”), is an informational blog about living, working and travelling in Malaysia. In this Privacy Policy, “we”, “us” or “our” refers to the Site operator and, if applicable, its legal entity.

Data Controller: [Dylan Goh]
Registered address: [23-06, Melody Homes, Lebuhraya Thean Teik, 11500, Ayer Itam, Penang, Malaysia]
Contact email for privacy matters: [privacy@lifeinmalaysia.com]

2. Scope of this Policy

This Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose and protect Personal Data (information relating to an identified or identifiable individual) when you access or use the Site, subscribe to our newsletter, participate in promotions, or interact with our content and advertisements. It applies to visitors from Malaysia and abroad.

3. Personal Data we collect

A. Data you provide directly

Contact details (e.g., name, email) when you subscribe, comment or contact us.
Content of messages you send to us (e.g., feedback, queries).
Preferences you select in our consent banner or settings.

B. Data collected automatically

Device and usage data (IP address, approximate location, device identifiers, browser type, operating system, pages viewed, referring URLs, date/time, session duration).
Cookie and similar technology data (pixels, local storage, SDKs) used for analytics, performance measurement and advertising (including personalised and non‑personalised ads).

C. Data from third parties

Advertising and analytics partners (e.g., aggregated insights, interest categories where permitted by law and consent).
Social platforms if you interact with our content via their plugins or log‑in tools.

4. Purposes and legal bases

We process Personal Data to:

Provide and operate the Site, including troubleshooting and performance (legitimate interests / contract where applicable).
Measure audience and improve content via analytics and A/B testing (consent where required; otherwise legitimate interests with safeguards).
Display advertising (including contextual, personalised or non‑personalised ads) and measure ad performance (consent where required under applicable laws).
Communicate with you, respond to enquiries, and send newsletters you opt into (consent / contract).
Ensure security and prevent fraud or abuse (legitimate interests / legal obligations).

5. Advertising (Google AdSense and other partners)

We work with advertising partners, including Google AdSense / Google Marketing Platform, which may use cookies or mobile identifiers to serve ads, limit ad frequency, detect fraud and measure performance. Where required, we ask for your consent before enabling personalised ads. If you decline personalised ads, you may still see ads, but they will be non‑personalised (contextual) and based on general site content or approximate location.

You can review or change your ad consent choices at any time via our Privacy Settings link in the footer or cookie banner.

6. Analytics (e.g., Google Analytics 4)

We use analytics tools to understand aggregate usage (e.g., page views, engagement). These tools may use IP addresses and cookies; where required, we obtain your consent and honour settings such as Consent Mode. You can withdraw consent at any time via Privacy Settings.

7. Cookies and similar technologies

We use:

Strictly necessary cookies to deliver the Site and manage consent preferences.
Performance/analytics cookies to understand visits and improve content.
Functional cookies to remember preferences.
Advertising cookies to deliver and measure ads (personalised or non‑personalised depending on your choice). For details, see our Cookie & Consent Policy below.

8. Disclosures of Personal Data

We may share Personal Data with:

Service providers (hosting, security, analytics, advertising, email delivery) under appropriate contracts.
Authorities where required by law or to protect rights, safety, or security.
Business transferees in connection with a merger, acquisition or asset transfer (subject to safeguards). We do not sell Personal Data for money. Where applicable laws treat targeted advertising or sharing with third parties for cross‑context behavioural advertising as a “sale” or “share”, we will honour your choices and provide opt‑out mechanisms.

9. International transfers

Our servers or service providers may be located outside your country. When we transfer Personal Data internationally, we use appropriate safeguards (e.g., contractual clauses) consistent with applicable laws.

10. Data retention

We retain Personal Data only for as long as necessary for the purposes described, including legal, accounting or reporting requirements. Retention periods vary by category and will be minimised where feasible.

11. Security

We implement reasonable technical and organisational measures designed to protect Personal Data (e.g., encryption in transit, access controls). No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure; you use the Site at your own risk.

12. Your rights

Your rights depend on your location. Subject to exemptions, you may have the right to access, correct, erase, restrict or object to processing, and to data portability.

Malaysia (PDPA 2010): right of access and correction to personal data we hold about you.
EEA/UK/Switzerland (GDPR/UK GDPR): rights including withdrawal of consent, objection to profiling, and lodging a complaint with a supervisory authority.
California and certain US states: rights to know/access, delete, correct, opt‑out of sale/share or targeted advertising, and limit use of sensitive data. We recognise Global Privacy Control (GPC) signals where legally required.

To exercise rights, contact us at [privacy@lifeinmalaysia.com]. We may need to verify your identity before responding.

13. Children’s privacy

The Site is not directed to children under 13 (or higher age as defined by local law). We do not knowingly collect Personal Data from children. If you believe a child has provided Personal Data, contact us to delete it.

14. Third‑party links

Our Site may link to third‑party sites or services. Their privacy practices are governed by their own policies; please review them separately.

15. Changes to this Policy

We may update this Policy from time to time. Material changes will be indicated by updating the “Effective date” above and, where appropriate, by additional notice. Continued use of the Site after changes means you accept the updated Policy.

16. Contact

For privacy questions or requests: [privacy@lifeinmalaysia.com]
For general enquiries: [hello@lifeinmalaysia.com]

2) Terms of Use

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using LifeInMalaysia.com (the “Site”), you agree to these Terms of Use (the “Terms”). If you do not agree, please do not use the Site.

2. About the Site

The Site provides general‑interest information about living in Malaysia, including guides, reviews and commentary. We may change, suspend or discontinue any part of the Site at any time without notice.

3. No professional advice

Content on the Site is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, immigration, medical, financial or other professional advice. Always verify information with official sources or a qualified professional.

4. User conduct

You agree not to:

Use the Site for unlawful purposes or to violate any laws or regulations.
Interfere with or disrupt the Site, servers or networks.
Crawl, scrape or use automated means to access the Site without our prior written permission.
Upload or transmit malware or harmful code.
Post unlawful, defamatory, infringing, obscene, or abusive content.

5. Accounts (if applicable)

If you create an account or subscribe to services, you must provide accurate information and keep your credentials confidential. You are responsible for activity under your account.

6. Intellectual property

Unless otherwise stated, the Site and its content (text, graphics, logos, images, videos and software) are owned by us or our licensors and are protected by intellectual property laws. You may view and print reasonable portions for personal use only. Any other use (including reproduction, distribution, modification, republication) requires our prior written consent.

7. User‑generated content (UGC)

If the Site allows comments or submissions:

You retain ownership of your content but grant us a worldwide, non‑exclusive, royalty‑free licence to use, reproduce, distribute, display and make derivative works of your content for operating and promoting the Site.
You represent and warrant that you have the rights to post the content and that it does not infringe third‑party rights or violate any law.
We may moderate, edit or remove content at our discretion.

8. Third‑party links, tools and ads

The Site may include links to third‑party sites, tools (e.g., maps) and advertisements (e.g., Google AdSense). We are not responsible for third‑party content or practices. Your interactions with third parties are solely between you and them.

9. Disclaimer of warranties

The Site is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non‑infringement. We do not warrant that the Site will be uninterrupted, error‑free, secure or free of viruses.

10. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, we shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages, or any loss of profits, revenue, data or goodwill, arising from or related to your use of the Site, even if advised of the possibility of such damages. Our total liability for any claims shall not exceed RM500 or the amount you paid (if any) in the 12 months preceding the claim, whichever is lower.

11. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold us harmless from any claims, liabilities, damages, losses and expenses (including legal fees) arising from or related to your use of the Site or violation of these Terms.

12. Governing law and venue

These Terms are governed by the laws of Malaysia. You agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for the resolution of any disputes.

13. Changes to the Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. The “Effective date” at the top will indicate the latest version. Continued use of the Site after changes means you accept the updated Terms.

14. Contact

Questions about these Terms: [legal@lifeinmalaysia.com]

3) Cookie & Consent Policy

1. About this Notice

This Cookie & Consent Policy explains how LifeInMalaysia.com uses cookies and similar technologies (collectively, “cookies”), and how you can manage your preferences. This Notice works together with our Privacy Policy.

2. What are cookies?

Cookies are small text files placed on your device to store information. Related technologies include pixels, local storage, SDKs and device identifiers.

3. Types of cookies we use

Strictly necessary — required for core functionality (e.g., load balancing, security, consent storage). These cannot be switched off.
Performance/analytics — help us measure visits and improve the Site (e.g., page views, reading time). We use these only with your consent where required.
Functional — remember your choices (e.g., language, region).
Advertising — used by us and our partners to deliver, cap frequency, personalise and measure ads. If you do not consent to personalised ads, you may still receive non‑personalised (contextual) ads.
Social media — enable sharing and may track interactions with our content across services.

4. Our adtech and analytics partners

We work with partners including Google AdSense / Google Marketing Platform and Google Analytics 4. These partners may set their own cookies and act as independent controllers for certain processing. Please refer to their privacy policies for more information.

5. Consent management

We use a consent banner and/or privacy settings page to collect and record your choices, including for Consent Mode. Where required by law (e.g., EEA/UK/Switzerland), cookies other than strictly necessary will only run after you give consent. You can withdraw or change your consent anytime via the Privacy Settings link in our footer.

We also respect Global Privacy Control (GPC) signals where legally required. If you send a valid GPC signal, we will treat it as an opt‑out of sale/share or targeted advertising for that browser, to the extent required by applicable laws.

6. Managing cookies

Use our on‑site Privacy Settings to toggle categories (performance, advertising, etc.).
Adjust your browser settings to block or delete cookies. Note: blocking certain cookies may impact Site functionality.
For Google ads, you can manage preferences via your Google account Ad Settings. Opt‑out choices are browser‑ and device‑specific.

7. Cookie retention

Cookie lifespans vary: some expire when you close your browser (session cookies), others last longer (persistent cookies). We aim to set reasonable durations aligned with their purposes and applicable laws. Consent records may be retained to demonstrate compliance.

8. Updates

We may update this Cookie & Consent Policy from time to time. Material changes will be communicated via the banner or this page.

9. Contact

For questions about this Notice or your choices: [privacy@lifeinmalaysia.com]