Privacy Policy

Last updated: 14 November 2026

Welcome to ClujXYZ.com ("Website"), owned and operated by ROBERTS AARON LEE PERSOANĂ FIZICĂ AUTORIZATĂ (referred to as "we", "us" or "our"). We are committed to protecting your personal information and your right to privacy. If you have any questions or concerns about this policy or our practices with regard to your personal information, please contact us at contact [at] clujxyz.com.

This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect when you visit ClujXYZ.com or give information to us, why we collect it, how long we keep it and the rights you have under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). We are the controller of the personal data described here.

1. Information We Collect

We collect two kinds of information:

• Information you give us – for example your name, email address and message when you use one of our forms, any files you attach, and your email address (and, if you choose, your name) when you sign up for the newsletter.
• Technical information – your IP address, browser type and the pages you request, which our server and our security services need to deliver the Website and protect it. Statistics about how the Website is used are only collected if you agree to them (see "Google Analytics" below).

You can read the Website without giving us any personal information and without creating an account. Reader accounts and comments are no longer part of the Website.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect:

• To present the Website and its contents to you, and to keep it secure and working properly (our legitimate interest, Article 6(1)(f) GDPR).
• To reply to your messages and reports, and to consider the content, stories and business details you send us (to deal with your request, Article 6(1)(b) GDPR, and our legitimate interest in running the Website).
• To send you the newsletter, if you have signed up and confirmed your sign-up (your consent, Article 6(1)(a) GDPR).
• To understand how the Website is used, only if you agree to statistics cookies (your consent, Article 6(1)(a) GDPR).
• To comply with the law.

We do not sell your personal information and we do not use it for advertising.

3. Data Sharing

We may disclose aggregated information about our users, and information that does not identify any individual, without restriction. We may disclose personal information that we collect or you provide as described in this privacy policy:

• To service providers we use to run the Website (described below), who may use it only to provide their services to us.
• To comply with any court order, law or legal process, including to respond to any government or regulatory request.

These are the services we use and the information each one handles:

Hosting

The Website, its database and everything sent through its forms are kept on our own server in the European Union. The Website does not use WordPress or any of the plugins of the old site.

Web Forms and Attachments

Our forms (contact, report a problem, submit content, add your business and share your story) collect the information you type in, such as your name, email address and message, and any files you attach. Each message is stored on the Website and emailed to our editors. With each message we also store your IP address and browser type, to stop spam and abuse. Files you attach are kept outside the public part of the Website, and only our editors can open them. Messages and attachments are deleted automatically 24 months after they were sent, or sooner when we no longer need them (see section 4).

Spam Protection (Cloudflare Turnstile)

To protect our forms from spam, we use a hidden check on the Website and, when it is switched on, Cloudflare Turnstile. Turnstile checks whether a form is being filled in by a person or by an automated program. To do this, Cloudflare processes technical signals such as your IP address and browser details; Cloudflare states that it uses them only to detect and block bots and to improve Turnstile, not to identify or target individuals. See Cloudflare's Turnstile privacy addendum.

Newsletter

Newsletter sign-ups are kept on the Website itself – we do not use a mailing service. You give us your email address and, if you wish, your name. We then send you an email asking you to confirm your sign-up, and you are only added to the list once you have confirmed (double opt-in). We also store when and from which page you signed up, and your IP address, to prevent abuse. Every newsletter email contains a link to unsubscribe, and you can withdraw your consent at any time.

Google Analytics

If you allow statistics cookies, we use Google Analytics 4 (provided by Google Ireland Ltd) to understand how the Website is used, so we can improve it. It records which pages you view, roughly where you are (country or city), the type of device and browser you use and how you found the Website. Google states that Google Analytics does not log or store IP addresses from users in the EU, Switzerland or the UK. Google Analytics is not loaded unless you agree, and you can withdraw your consent at any time through the cookie settings. Google may transfer data to the United States under the EU–US Data Privacy Framework. See Google's privacy policy.

Videos (YouTube and Vimeo)

Some articles contain videos from YouTube (through its privacy-enhanced youtube-nocookie.com address) and Vimeo (with "do not track" switched on). Nothing is loaded from YouTube or Vimeo until you press play. When you play a video, it is loaded from YouTube or Vimeo, who will receive your IP address and may set their own cookies. Details are in our Cookie Policy.

Maps

When a page shows a map, the map images are loaded from OpenStreetMap's tile servers (tile.openstreetmap.org), which receive your IP address and browser details in the usual way; the maps do not set cookies. See the OpenStreetMap Foundation privacy policy. "Get directions" links open Google Maps in a new tab, where Google's privacy policy applies.

Cloudflare

We use Cloudflare for website security and performance. Cloudflare sits in front of the Website, so it processes the IP address and technical details of every visit in order to deliver the Website and filter out malicious traffic. It may set a strictly necessary cookie (__cf_bm) to tell people and automated programs apart. See Cloudflare's privacy policy.

Donations

If you donate, you do so on PayPal's or Buy Me a Coffee's website, under their own privacy policies. They tell us the details of your donation, such as your name, your email address and the amount. We use these details only to keep records of donations and, if needed, to thank you.

4. How Long We Keep Your Data

• Messages sent through our forms (and any files attached): deleted automatically 24 months after they were sent, or earlier when we no longer need them.
• Newsletter: your address is kept while you are subscribed. A sign-up that is never confirmed is deleted after 30 days. When you unsubscribe, your address is kept, marked as unsubscribed so that we don't email it again, for 12 months and then deleted.
• Server logs (IP address, page requested, browser, time): kept by our hosting provider for security and troubleshooting, for up to about 35 days.
• Google Analytics (only if you agreed to statistics cookies): visit data is kept for at most 14 months.
• Your cookie choice: remembered in your browser for 6 months.
• Donation records: kept for as long as Romanian tax and accounting law requires.

5. Your Rights Under GDPR

Under GDPR, you have the right to access, rectify, erase and restrict processing of your personal data, and to object to processing based on our legitimate interests. You also have the right to data portability. Where we rely on your consent (the newsletter and statistics cookies), you can withdraw it at any time; this does not affect anything we did before you withdrew it. If you wish to exercise any of these rights, please contact us at contact [at] clujxyz.com.

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your data, you can complain to the Romanian data protection authority, the Autoritatea Națională de Supraveghere a Prelucrării Datelor cu Caracter Personal (ANSPDCP), at www.dataprotection.ro, or to the data protection authority in the EU country where you live.

6. Data Security

We have implemented measures designed to secure your personal information from accidental loss and from unauthorised access, use, alteration and disclosure. However, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure, and we cannot guarantee the security of your personal information transmitted to our Website.

7. Changes to Our Privacy Policy

It is our policy to post any changes we make to our privacy policy on this page. If we make material changes to how we treat our users' personal information, we will notify you through a notice on the Website home page.

8. Contact Information

To ask questions or comment about this privacy policy and our privacy practices, contact us at contact [at] clujxyz.com.