Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

Effective Date: [March 27, 2025]

1. Introduction

Welcome to [umit.net] (“Site”). This Privacy Policy explains how [Ümit] (“Data Controller”, “we”, “us”, or “our”) collects, uses, shares, and protects your personal data when you visit or use our Site.

Your privacy is important to us. This policy is intended to comply with relevant data protection laws, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

2. Data Controller

The Data Controller responsible for your personal data under relevant data protection laws is [Ümit]. You can contact the Data Controller via the contact form on our website at [Your Contact Page Link] or via [Your Email Address or other specific contact method, if preferred].

3. Information We Collect (Types of Personal Data)

We may collect several different types of personal data for various purposes:

  • Personal Identification Information: Name, email address (e.g., when you leave a comment or submit a contact form).
  • Usage Data: Technical information automatically collected when you visit the Site, such as your IP address, browser type, browser version, operating system, the pages you visit, the time and date of your visit, time spent on pages, and referring website addresses (often collected in an anonymized or pseudonymized way).
  • Comment Data: Information you provide when leaving comments, including your name, email address, website (optional), the comment itself, as well as the commenter’s IP address and browser user agent string to help spam detection.
  • Contact Form Data: Information you provide through our contact form, including your name, email address, and the content of your message.
  • Cookies and Tracking Technologies: Data collected via cookies to ensure website functionality, analyze performance, and enhance user experience. (See the “Cookies and Tracking Technologies” section below).

4. How We Collect Your Data

We collect data in the following ways:

  • Directly from You: When you provide it to us by filling out forms (contact, comments) or communicating with us via email.
  • Automatically: Through cookies and analytics tools (e.g., Google Analytics) when you navigate the Site.

5. How We Use Your Data (Purpose of Processing)

We use the collected data for various purposes:

  • To provide, operate, maintain, and improve our Site.
  • To respond to your inquiries, questions, and comments submitted via the contact form.
  • To manage and display your comments and prevent spam.
  • To monitor and analyze usage trends to improve the user experience (usually using aggregated or anonymized data).
  • To comply with legal obligations.
  • To ensure the security of our Site.

6. Legal Basis for Processing Personal Data (under GDPR / KVKK)

We process your personal data based on the following legal grounds:

  • Consent: Where you have given clear consent for us to process your personal data for a specific purpose (e.g., for non-essential cookies, subscribing to a newsletter if offered).  
  • Legitimate Interests: Where the processing is necessary for our legitimate interests or the legitimate interests of a third party, provided your fundamental rights and freedoms do not override those interests (e.g., for site security, analyzing site usage for improvement, spam prevention).  
  • Legal Obligation: Where the processing is necessary for us to comply with the law.

7. Sharing Your Personal Data

We do not sell or rent your personal data. We may share your data with third parties only in the following situations:

  • Service Providers: With third-party vendors who perform services on our behalf, such as website hosting, data analysis (e.g., Google Analytics), spam detection (e.g., Akismet), security services, and technical support. These providers only have access to the data necessary to perform their functions and are obligated to maintain confidentiality.
  • Legal Requirements: If required to do so by law or in response to valid requests by public authorities (e.g., a court or a government agency).
  • Embedded Content: Content embedded from other websites (see section below).  

8. Data Retention

We will retain your personal data only for as long as is necessary for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy, or as required by law. For example:  

  • Comment data (the comment and its metadata) may be retained indefinitely unless you request deletion.
  • Contact form submissions may be kept for a certain period (e.g., 6 months) to resolve inquiries or as needed for record-keeping, then deleted.
  • Analytics data is typically retained for a set period (e.g., 14-26 months in Google Analytics) and then automatically deleted or anonymized.

9. Your Data Protection Rights (under GDPR / KVKK)

Depending on your location and applicable law (including GDPR and KVKK), you may have the following rights regarding your personal data:

  • The right to access: You can request copies of your personal data.
  • The right to rectification: You can request that we correct any information you believe is inaccurate or complete information you believe is incomplete.  
  • The right to erasure (right to be forgotten): You can request that we erase your personal data, under certain conditions.  
  • The right to restrict processing: You can request that we restrict the processing of your personal data, under certain conditions.  
  • The right to object to processing: You can object to our processing of your personal data based on legitimate interests, under certain conditions.  
  • The right to data portability: You can request that we transfer the data that we have collected to another organization, or directly to you, under certain conditions.  
  • The right to withdraw consent: If we rely on your consent to process your data, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time.  
  • The right to lodge a complaint: You have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority (like the KVKK in Turkey or your local data protection authority in the EU).  

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us via [Your Contact Page Link]. We will respond to your request within the timeframes required by law (typically within one month for GDPR).

10. Data Security

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and physical security measures to protect your personal data from unauthorized access, use, alteration, or destruction (e.g., using SSL encryption, security plugins). However, please be aware that no method of transmission over the Internet or method of electronic storage is 100% secure.  

11. Cookies and Tracking Technologies  

Our Site uses cookies (small text files placed on your device) and similar technologies to enhance user experience, ensure functionality, and analyze site usage.

  • Types of Cookies: We may use essential cookies (necessary for site operation), performance/analytics cookies (to understand site usage), and functionality cookies (to remember your preferences).
  • Managing Cookies: You can instruct your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. However, if you do not accept cookies, you may not be able to use some portions of our Site. [Consider linking to a separate Cookie Policy or cookie management tool if you have one.]  

12. Embedded Content from Other Websites

Articles or pages on this Site may include embedded content (e.g., videos, images, articles, social media posts). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website.

These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracking your interaction if you have an account and are logged in to that website.  

13. Children’s Privacy

Our Site is not intended for use by children under the age of 13 (in the US, per COPPA) or 16 (in the EU, per GDPR, unless member state law provides for a lower age). We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from children under the relevant age threshold. If you are a parent or guardian and you are aware that your child has provided us with Personal Data, please contact us.

14. Changes to This Privacy Policy  

We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page and updating the “Effective Date” at the top. You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes.  

15. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us via [Your Contact Page Link].