Last updated: September 2026
Who runs this blog
Mind Soup is a personal blog written by Mohammad Hijazi. It is hosted using Blogger, a service operated by Google.
This Privacy Policy explains how information may be collected, stored and processed when you visit Mind Soup, including information used by the site's reading features, narration tools, analytics, search, sharing, subscription options and other interactive features.
Information collected
I do not directly ask readers to provide names, email addresses or other personal details simply to read Mind Soup. There is no reader registration system, membership account or newsletter signup required to use the site.
Because Mind Soup is hosted on Blogger and uses Google services including Google Analytics 4, certain technical and usage information may be collected automatically when you visit the site. This can include information such as your browser and device type, approximate geographic information, referring page, pages viewed, interactions with the site and other technical information associated with your visit.
You can read the Google Privacy Policy for more information about how Google handles information across its services. Google also explains how it uses information from sites and apps that use its services.
Google Analytics
Mind Soup uses Google Analytics 4 (GA4) to understand how people use the site, which content is useful and how the site's features are being used.
In addition to standard information such as page views, Mind Soup may send interaction events to Google Analytics when you use certain features. These interactions may include:
Performing a search and the search term used
Selecting a search result
Saving or removing an article from Saved Articles
Undoing the removal of a saved article
Opening Saved Articles or Recently Read
Clearing or restoring Recently Read history
Resuming an unfinished article
Reaching certain reading-progress milestones
Opening or selecting an item from an article's Contents
Changing Reading Mode settings
Enabling or disabling Focus Mode
Starting, pausing or completing article or page narration
Changing narration voice, speed or volume
Opening or using the Share feature
Selecting a sharing method
Opening or using subscription options
Selecting an RSS, Atom or third-party feed-reading option
Opening or using the Command Center
Opening Command Help or keyboard shortcuts
Using Surprise Me
Selecting related or recommended articles
Changing between light and dark themes
Some analytics events may contain contextual information needed to understand the interaction, such as the article title or path, search term, reading-progress percentage, number of search results, feature used, sharing method, subscription method or reading setting changed.
These analytics events help me understand whether people are actually reading articles, which features are useful, how readers discover other content and where the site can be improved.
Google Analytics uses cookies and similar technologies to measure interactions with websites. More information is available in Google's documentation about Google Analytics data privacy and security and how Google uses cookies.
Mind Soup is not intended to send personally identifiable information to Google Analytics. Please do not enter personal, confidential or sensitive information into site search or other fields where the information could be included in analytics events.
Local reading features
Mind Soup includes several reading and personalization features that are primarily processed locally in your browser.
Depending on which features you use, your browser may store information relating to:
Your light or dark theme preference
Saved Articles
Recently Read articles
Approximate reading progress
Resume or last-read position
Reading Mode preferences
Text size
Reading width
Typeface
Line spacing
Contrast
Page tone
Narration voice
Narration speed
Narration volume
Narration or listening position where supported
Search or content-index cache information
Other interface preferences needed to provide these features
This allows Mind Soup to remember your preferences and provide features such as returning to an unfinished article, maintaining a Saved Articles list, remembering narration settings and adapting the reading experience without requiring you to create an account.
The site's complete locally stored Saved Articles list, Recently Read history, listening position and locally generated reading-interest information are not uploaded to Google Analytics as complete lists or profiles.
However, as explained in the Google Analytics section above, individual interactions with these features may be measured. For example, Analytics may record that an article was saved, that a reading-progress milestone was reached or that the narration feature was used.
Saved Articles
The Saved Articles feature allows you to create a personal reading list without creating a Mind Soup account.
The information necessary to maintain your Saved Articles list is stored locally in your browser. You can remove individual articles from the list at any time, and the site may provide an Undo option immediately after removing an article.
Your complete Saved Articles library is not maintained as a Mind Soup account or synchronized by me between devices.
Google Analytics may record an event when you save, remove or restore an article so that I can understand how the feature is being used.
Because your actual Saved Articles list is stored locally, using another browser or device will not necessarily give you access to the same saved list.
Recently Read and reading progress
Mind Soup can locally remember articles you have recently opened and approximately how far you progressed through them.
This information allows features such as Recently Read and resuming an unfinished article from approximately where you stopped.
You can clear your Recently Read history using the controls provided on the site. Where available, an Undo option allows recently cleared information to be restored immediately.
Your complete Recently Read history is not uploaded to Google Analytics.
Mind Soup may, however, send individual analytics events relating to the use of the feature, such as opening Recently Read, clearing the history, resuming an article or reaching a reading-progress milestone.
Reading progress measurement
Mind Soup may measure whether a reader reaches certain points in an article, such as 25%, 50%, 75%, 90% or 100% of the article.
These milestones may be sent to Google Analytics as individual events. They are used to understand whether articles are actually being read rather than relying only on page-view numbers.
The site does not need to continuously transmit your exact scroll position to Google Analytics in order to provide this measurement.
Article and page narration
Mind Soup includes a Listen feature that can read articles and certain pages aloud using speech-synthesis capabilities provided by your browser or device.
The voices available to you depend on your browser, operating system and device. Mind Soup does not use your microphone, record your voice or require microphone access for narration.
Your selected narration voice, speed and volume may be stored locally in your browser so that these preferences can be remembered when you return to the site. Where supported, Mind Soup may also store a local listening position so that narration can resume from approximately where you stopped.
Depending on your browser, device and selected voice, speech synthesis may be performed locally on your device or may involve services provided by your browser, operating-system provider or another speech provider. Any processing performed by those providers is subject to their own privacy practices.
Mind Soup may send general interaction events to Google Analytics when narration is started, paused or completed, or when narration settings such as voice, speed or volume are changed. These events are used to understand whether the feature is useful. Mind Soup does not use Analytics to record the spoken audio.
Search
Mind Soup includes a custom search system for finding articles and other content.
When you search the site, the search term and information such as the number of results may be sent to Google Analytics. If you select a result, that interaction may also be measured.
Search information is used to understand what readers are looking for and whether the site's search system is helping them find relevant content.
Do not enter personal, confidential or sensitive information into the Mind Soup search box.
Search and article index
To make search, navigation, related articles, recommendations and other discovery features faster, Mind Soup may temporarily create or store an index of published Mind Soup content in your browser.
This index can contain information that is already publicly available on the blog, including article titles, publication dates, labels or topics, URLs, images and portions of article text.
This index exists to make the site's interactive features faster and does not represent a personal profile of you.
Some temporary information may use browser session storage and normally disappears when the relevant browser session ends. Other reading preferences use local storage so they can remain available when you return to the site.
Recommendations and related articles
Mind Soup may recommend other articles based on factors such as the article you are currently reading, shared topics between articles and locally available reading activity.
Some personalization can therefore take place directly in your browser.
Your complete local reading history or locally generated interest profile is not sent to Google Analytics for this purpose.
Mind Soup may measure whether you select a recommended or related article. This allows me to understand whether these recommendations are actually useful to readers.
Reading Mode
Mind Soup includes Reading Mode controls that allow you to adjust how articles appear on your device.
Depending on the current version of the site, these controls may include options for text size, article width, typeface, line spacing, contrast and page tone.
Your selected reading preferences may be stored locally in your browser so that Mind Soup can remember how you prefer to read.
Google Analytics may record that a particular type of reading setting was changed so that I can understand which accessibility and reading controls are useful.
Focus Mode
Focus Mode temporarily changes the interface to provide a less distracting reading experience.
Focus Mode is designed as a temporary page state rather than a permanent reader profile.
Google Analytics may record when Focus Mode is enabled or disabled so that I can understand whether the feature is useful.
Sharing
Mind Soup includes tools that allow you to share articles through services such as LinkedIn, Facebook, X, WhatsApp and email, as well as your browser or device's native sharing functionality where supported.
When you choose a third-party sharing option, you may be taken to or interact with that service. The third-party service may receive information necessary to process the action, such as the URL of the article you are sharing. Its own privacy policy and terms apply to your use of that service.
Mind Soup does not automatically send your complete reading history, Saved Articles list, narration preferences or other locally stored reading information to social platforms simply because the Share feature is available.
Google Analytics may record that the Share feature was used and the sharing method selected so that I can understand how articles are shared. This does not tell me what you subsequently say or do on the third-party platform.
RSS, Atom and subscription options
Mind Soup provides RSS and Atom feeds that allow you to follow newly published content using compatible feed readers and other services.
The site's Subscribe feature may provide direct access to Mind Soup's RSS or Atom feed, allow you to copy a feed URL, or offer links that make it easier to subscribe through third-party feed-reading services such as Feedly or Inoreader.
Accessing a Mind Soup feed directly is similar to requesting other publicly available content from the site. If you choose to use a third-party feed reader, that service may process information according to its own privacy policy and terms.
You can review the privacy information provided by Feedly and Inoreader if you choose to use those services.
Mind Soup does not require you to provide an email address or create a Mind Soup account to subscribe through RSS or Atom.
Google Analytics may record interaction with subscription controls, such as which subscription option was selected, where technically available. It does not provide Mind Soup with access to your account or reading activity within a third-party feed reader.
Command Center and keyboard shortcuts
Mind Soup includes a Command Center, keyboard shortcuts and related navigation tools.
Google Analytics may record interactions such as opening the Command Center, using a command, opening Command Help or viewing the keyboard-shortcut guide.
These events are used to understand how readers navigate the site and whether these features are useful.
Cookies and similar technologies
Cookies are small pieces of information stored by your browser. Similar browser technologies, including local storage and session storage, can also store information or preferences.
Mind Soup uses browser storage for its own reading and interface features, while Blogger, Google Analytics and other Google services may use cookies or similar technologies as part of providing their services, measuring traffic, maintaining security and understanding site usage.
You can learn more about how Google uses cookies and similar technologies.
Your browser generally allows you to view, block or delete cookies and locally stored site information. Blocking or deleting this information may cause some Mind Soup or Blogger features to stop working or forget your preferences.
Blogger and Google services
Mind Soup is hosted on Blogger, which is operated by Google.
As part of operating the Blogger platform, Google may process technical information necessary to provide the service, maintain security, analyze traffic and prevent abuse.
Google provides additional information about cookies used with Blogger in its Blogger guidance on cookies.
Google's handling of information across its services is governed by the Google Privacy Policy and applicable Google Terms of Service.
Comments
If comments are enabled and you leave a comment on Mind Soup, the commenting system is provided by Blogger and may require or allow you to use a Google account.
Depending on your Google and Blogger settings, information such as your display name, profile photo and the content of your comment may become publicly visible.
Information associated with Google's services is handled according to the Google Privacy Policy.
Please do not include personal, confidential or sensitive information in a public comment.
External links
Mind Soup articles may contain links to other websites, platforms or services.
Once you follow a link to another website, this Privacy Policy no longer governs what happens there. Other websites may collect information, use cookies or apply different privacy practices.
I do not control the privacy practices of external websites. You should review their privacy policies if you want to understand how they process your information.
Your choices and controls
You have several ways to control information associated with your use of Mind Soup.
Within the site, you can remove articles from Saved Articles, clear your Recently Read history and change your reading and narration preferences.
You can also use your browser settings to delete cookies, local storage and other site data associated with Mind Soup.
Clearing site data, using private or incognito browsing, switching browsers or using another device may cause Saved Articles, Recently Read history, reading progress, reading preferences, narration preferences and listening position to disappear because these features are primarily stored locally rather than in a Mind Soup user account.
Google also provides privacy controls for information associated with its services. You can learn more through the Google Privacy Policy and Google's privacy controls.
Google Analytics opt-out
If you do not want Google Analytics to measure your activity, browser privacy settings, content blockers and other privacy tools may affect Analytics collection.
Google also provides a Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on for supported browsers. Information about Google Analytics privacy and available controls can be found in Google's Analytics data privacy and security documentation.
Children
Mind Soup is a general-audience personal blog and is not specifically directed at children under the age of 13.
Changes to this Privacy Policy
Mind Soup changes from time to time as I publish new content, experiment with technology and add or improve site features.
This Privacy Policy may therefore be updated when the way the site collects, stores or processes information changes.
The Last updated date at the top of this page indicates when the policy was most recently revised.
Contact
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, the way Mind Soup handles information, or content you have submitted publicly to the blog, you can contact me at hello@mohammadhijazi.com.