1. Introduction
Helsinki Art & Culture Guide ("we," "our," or "us") is committed to protecting the privacy of our visitors and subscribers. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our website and subscribe to our newsletter. Please read this policy carefully. By using our website, you consent to the practices described herein.
2. Information We Collect
2.1 Information You Provide Voluntarily
When you subscribe to our newsletter or use our contact forms, we may collect the following information:
- Full name
- Email address
- Country of residence (optional)
- Areas of interest (optional)
We only collect personal information that you voluntarily provide to us. You are under no obligation to provide any personal information; however, certain features of our website (such as the newsletter) require basic contact details to function.
2.2 Information Collected Automatically
When you visit our website, certain information may be collected automatically, including:
- IP address (anonymized where possible)
- Browser type and version
- Operating system
- Referring website
- Pages visited and time spent on each page
- Date and time of access
This information is collected through standard web server logs and analytics tools and is used solely for the purpose of improving our website and understanding visitor behavior in aggregate.
3. How We Use Your Information
We use the information we collect for the following purposes:
- To send you our newsletter containing art and culture content, exhibition previews, and visitor guides
- To respond to your inquiries or requests
- To improve our website content and user experience
- To analyze website traffic and usage patterns in aggregate
- To comply with legal obligations
We do not use your information for automated decision-making or profiling. We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties for marketing purposes.
4. Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR)
For visitors from the European Economic Area (EEA), we process personal data based on the following legal grounds:
- Consent: When you subscribe to our newsletter, you provide explicit consent for us to process your email address and name for the purpose of sending you our publication.
- Legitimate Interest: We process anonymized analytics data based on our legitimate interest in understanding how visitors use our website to improve our content and services.
5. Data Sharing and Third Parties
We may share your information with the following categories of third parties, solely for the purposes described in this policy:
- Email service providers: To deliver our newsletter
- Web hosting providers: To host and maintain our website
- Analytics providers: To analyze website traffic (using anonymized data)
All third-party service providers are contractually obligated to protect your information and may only use it for the specific purposes we have engaged them for. We do not sell or share your personal information with advertisers or data brokers.
6. Cookies
Our website may use cookies — small text files stored on your device — to enhance your browsing experience. These may include:
- Essential cookies: Required for basic website functionality
- Analytics cookies: Help us understand how visitors interact with our website
You can control cookie settings through your browser preferences. Disabling cookies may affect certain features of our website.
7. Data Retention
We retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected. Newsletter subscriber data is retained until you unsubscribe or request deletion. Anonymized analytics data may be retained indefinitely for statistical purposes.
8. Your Rights
Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the following rights regarding your personal data:
- Right of access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
- Right to rectification: Request correction of inaccurate personal data
- Right to erasure: Request deletion of your personal data
- Right to restrict processing: Request that we limit how we use your data
- Right to data portability: Request your data in a structured, machine-readable format
- Right to withdraw consent: Withdraw your consent at any time by unsubscribing from our newsletter or contacting us
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the information provided below.
9. Data Security
We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
10. Children's Privacy
Our website is not directed at individuals under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If we become aware that we have collected personal data from a child without parental consent, we will take steps to delete that information promptly.
11. International Data Transfers
Your information may be transferred to and processed in countries other than your country of residence. Where such transfers occur, we ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your personal data in accordance with applicable data protection laws.
12. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or applicable laws. We will post the updated policy on this page with a revised "Last updated" date. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.
13. Contact Information
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to exercise your data protection rights, please contact our editorial team through the contact information provided on our About page.
Helsinki Art & Culture Guide is an independent editorial publication and is not affiliated with the Ateneum Art Museum, the Finnish National Gallery, or any government institution.