Privacy Policy
The Missing Middle IQ · themissingmiddleiq.com
Last updated: 23 August 2026
This policy explains what personal information The Missing Middle IQ collects, why we collect it, who else handles it, and what you can do about it. It is written to be read, not to be endured. If anything here is unclear, write to us and we will explain it in plain terms.
1. Who we are
The Missing Middle IQ is a policy commentary publication covering India’s innovation economy, industrial strategy and technology commercialisation. It is published by:
The Growth and Innovation Network
Mount Lawley, Perth, Western Australia
Email: themissingmiddleiq@gmail.com
For the purposes of the UK and EU General Data Protection Regulation, the publisher named above is the data controller for subscriber information.
2. What we collect
When you subscribe
Our newsletter runs on Substack. When you subscribe, we receive:
● Your email address — required, because it is how the newsletter reaches you.
● Your name, if you choose to provide one — optional.
● Any profile information you have already made public on Substack, such as a display name, photograph or short biography.
● Whether you are a free or paid subscriber, and when you subscribed.
We do not ask for your job title, employer, postal address or telephone number, and you do not need to supply them.
When you read
Substack records, and shows us in aggregate, whether emails were opened and which links were clicked. It also logs technical information such as IP address, browser type and approximate location when you visit a page. This is Substack’s standard operation and is described in their own privacy policy.
When you visit the website
themissingmiddleiq.com runs on Squarespace and uses Google Analytics 4. These record pages viewed, time on page, referring source, approximate location derived from IP address, and device and browser type. Where we run advertising campaigns, we also record which advertisement or link brought you to the site, using tags added to the web address.
When you pay
Paid subscriptions are processed by Stripe on Substack’s behalf. Card details are handled entirely by Stripe. We never see, store or have access to your card number.
3. How we use it
We use your information only for the following purposes:
● To send you The Missing Middle IQ newsletter and occasional related updates about the publication.
● To manage your subscription, including billing if you are a paid subscriber.
● To understand, in aggregate, which pieces are read and which are not, so we can write better ones.
● To measure whether advertising and referral sources are working.
● To answer you when you write to us.
We do not sell your personal information. We do not rent, trade or share subscriber lists with other publications, advertisers or data brokers. Your email address is not passed to any third party except the service providers listed below, who process it on our instructions.
4. Our legal basis for using your information
Where UK or EU data protection law applies, we rely on:
● Consent — for sending you the newsletter, and for non-essential analytics and advertising cookies. You give this by actively subscribing or by accepting cookies. You can withdraw it at any time.
● Contract — for administering and billing a paid subscription.
● Legitimate interests — for basic security, fraud prevention, and understanding aggregate readership. We have considered your rights in reaching this position and you may object at any time.
5. Who else handles your information
We use a small number of service providers. Each is bound to process personal information only on our instructions.
● Substack Inc. — hosts the publication, stores the subscriber list, and sends the emails.
● Stripe — processes payments for paid subscriptions.
● Squarespace — hosts themissingmiddleiq.com.
● Google (Analytics 4, Google Tag Manager, and Google Ads where campaigns are running) — provides website analytics and measures advertising performance.
● YouTube (operated by Google) — hosts video content, and applies its own cookies when a video is played or the channel is visited.
These providers have their own privacy policies, which govern how they handle information collected through their platforms. We would encourage you to read Substack’s and Google’s in particular.
6. Cookies, analytics and advertising
The website uses cookies and similar technologies. Some are strictly necessary for the site to function. Others are optional, and are used for analytics and to measure advertising.
Optional cookies are set only after you actively opt in. We do not use pre-ticked boxes, and declining is as easy as accepting. You can change your choice at any time through the cookie settings link in the site footer, or by clearing cookies in your browser.
Where we run advertising through Google Ads, Google may set cookies to record that an advertisement led to a visit or a subscription. We see this only as aggregate counts — for example, that a campaign produced a certain number of sign-ups. We do not receive the identity of individual people who saw or clicked an advertisement.
Global Privacy Control
We honour Global Privacy Control (GPC) signals. If your browser or extension sends a GPC signal, we treat it as a valid instruction to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information and of targeted advertising, and we will not set optional analytics or advertising cookies for that visit. You do not need to do anything further.
7. How we use artificial intelligence
We think you are entitled to know exactly where automated systems touch your information, so we will be specific.
We do not use artificial intelligence to profile individual subscribers, to score or rank you, or to personalise which articles you are shown. Every subscriber receives the same newsletter, in the same form, at the same time. No automated system makes any decision that produces a legal or similarly significant effect on you.
AI tools are used in producing the publication itself — for research, drafting assistance, editorial checking, and generating supporting graphics and video. This is work on the writing, not on you, and it does not involve your personal information. All published analysis and conclusions are the author’s own.
Substack operates its own recommendation and discovery features across its network, which may suggest other publications to you. Those features are controlled by Substack under its own policies, not by us. You can manage them in your Substack account settings.
8. Your rights
Wherever you live, you may ask us to:
● Tell you what personal information we hold about you, and give you a copy.
● Correct anything that is wrong or out of date.
● Delete your information.
● Stop using it for a particular purpose, or restrict how we use it.
● Provide it in a portable format so you can take it elsewhere.
● Withdraw consent you have previously given.
You will never be charged for exercising these rights, and we will not treat you differently for doing so. We aim to respond within thirty days.
Unsubscribing
Every email carries a one-click unsubscribe link at the foot of the message. Clicking it stops the newsletter immediately — there is no confirmation step, no survey, and no attempt to talk you out of it. You can also manage or cancel your subscription at any time from your Substack account settings.
Unsubscribing stops the emails but does not by itself delete your record. If you want your information erased entirely, email us and say so, and we will remove it.
How to make a request
Email themissingmiddleiq@gmail.com with what you would like us to do. We may need to confirm your identity, usually by asking you to write from the email address on the subscription.
9. Where your information is held
Our service providers are based principally in the United States, so your information is transferred and stored there. Where information is transferred out of the UK, the European Economic Area or another region with transfer restrictions, our providers rely on standard contractual clauses or equivalent approved safeguards.
10. How long we keep it
We keep subscriber information for as long as you remain subscribed, and for a reasonable period afterwards in case you return. If you ask us to delete it, we do so promptly, subject to any records we are legally required to retain — payment records, for instance, must be kept for tax purposes. Website analytics data is retained on Google’s standard retention schedule.
11. Regional information
United Kingdom and European Economic Area
You have the rights set out in Section 8 under the UK GDPR and EU GDPR. If you believe we have handled your information improperly, you may complain to your national supervisory authority — in the United Kingdom, the Information Commissioner’s Office. We would ask that you raise it with us first, so we have a chance to put it right.
California
Under the California Consumer Privacy Act as amended, you have the rights to know, delete, correct and opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information, and to be free from discrimination for exercising them. We do not sell personal information and do not share it for cross-context behavioural advertising. We honour Global Privacy Control signals as described in Section 6.
India
Under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023, you may access, correct, complete, update and erase your personal data, nominate another person to exercise your rights, and raise a grievance with us. Grievances should be sent to the email address in Section 1 and will be acknowledged and addressed.
Singapore
Under the Personal Data Protection Act 2012, you may request access to and correction of your personal data and withdraw consent to its use. Requests should be sent to the email address in Section 1.
Indonesia
Under Law No. 27 of 2022 on Personal Data Protection, you may access, correct and erase your personal data, withdraw consent, and object to automated processing. Requests should be sent to the email address in Section 1.
Australia
Under the Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles, you may request access to and correction of your personal information, and complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner if you are not satisfied with our response.
12. Children
This publication is written for adults working in policy and business. It is not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect information from anyone under sixteen. If you believe a child has subscribed, tell us and we will remove the record.
13. Security
We rely on the security measures of our service providers, all of whom are established platforms with their own security programmes. No system is perfectly secure, and we would not claim otherwise. We hold very little information about you — in most cases, only an email address — which limits what is at risk.
14. Changes to this policy
We will update this page when our practices change. The date at the top always shows when it was last revised. If a change materially affects how we use your information, we will say so in the newsletter rather than relying on you to notice.
15. Contact
Questions, requests and complaints all go to the same place:
We read everything and we will reply.