Legal
Privacy Policy & KVKK Notice
Last updated: September 2026
Who we are
The GGuide ("GGuide", "we", "us") is a curated travel, gastronomy and culture platform based in Istanbul, Türkiye, published at the-gguide.com. For the purposes of Türkiye's Law No. 6698 on the Protection of Personal Data ("KVKK") and, where applicable, the EU General Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR"), GGuide acts as the data controller for the personal data described below.
What we collect
Depending on how you use the site, we may collect:
- Account data — first name, email address, password (stored securely by our authentication provider, never in plain text), country and, optionally, city.
- Newsletter data — your email address, only if you explicitly tick the newsletter consent checkbox. Newsletter sign-up is never bundled into account creation without your separate, explicit consent.
- Saved places & preferences — the hotels, restaurants and places you save, and any travel-taste preferences you choose to share during onboarding (all optional and skippable).
- Usage data — pages visited, searches performed, links clicked and similar interaction data, collected in aggregate via Google Analytics (GA4).
- Trip design / contact requests — if you submit the contact form or a trip-design request, the details you provide in that form (name, email, and the content of your message).
Why we collect it
- To create and maintain your account, and to sync your saved places and preferences across the site.
- To send our weekly newsletter, only to users who explicitly opted in.
- To respond to contact and trip-design requests.
- To understand, in aggregate, how the site is used, so we can improve it.
- To meet our legal and security obligations (e.g. preventing abuse, fraud or spam).
Who we share it with
We do not sell personal data. We use a small number of service providers to operate the site, each of which processes data on our behalf under their own security and privacy commitments:
- Supabase — authentication and database hosting for accounts, saved places and preferences.
- Netlify — website hosting and serverless functions.
- Google Analytics (GA4) — aggregate, privacy-respecting usage analytics.
How long we keep it
Account data is retained for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, or ask us to delete your data, we will remove your personal data within a reasonable period, except where we are required to retain it by law. Newsletter data is retained until you unsubscribe.
Your rights
Under KVKK Article 11 and, where applicable, the GDPR, you have the right to:
- Ask whether we process your personal data, and request access to it.
- Ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
- Ask us to delete or anonymize your data, subject to legal retention requirements.
- Object to processing carried out on certain legal grounds.
- Withdraw newsletter consent at any time via the unsubscribe link in every email, or by contacting us directly.
To exercise any of these rights, contact us via the Contact page.
Cookies & analytics
We use essential cookies to keep you signed in, and Google Analytics (GA4) to understand aggregate site usage. GA4 uses first- and third-party cookies; you can opt out of Google Analytics tracking via your browser settings or the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on.
Children
The GGuide is not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under the age of 16.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. Material changes will be reflected by updating the date at the top of this page.
Contact
Questions about this policy or your data can be sent via our Contact page.