Privacy Policy & Data Notice

1. Data Controller Identification & Scope

This Privacy Policy sets out the data processing practices of Büyükada Chronicle (accessible at buyukada.tours), an independent digital travel publication and architectural archive edited by Selim Karaca. As an organization committed to the highest standards of data transparency, we explain below how technical data is gathered, processed, and safeguarded when you access our historical monographs, transit schedules, and tour evaluation directories.

For the purposes of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Law on Protection of Personal Data No. 6698 of the Republic of Türkiye (KVKK), the data controller responsible for the operational management and editorial oversight of this digital platform is the editorial office of Büyükada Chronicle, reachable via correspondence addressed to editorial@buyukada.tours.

2. Principles of Lawful Data Processing (KVKK Article 4 & GDPR Article 5)

In strict observance of both Turkish KVKK regulations and European Union data directives, all processing operations conducted by this service adhere rigorously to six fundamental principles:

• Lawfulness, Fairness, and Transparency: Personal data is processed fairly and lawfully, with clear and open disclosure made to the data subject prior to or at the time of collection.
• Purpose Limitation: Data is gathered exclusively for specified, explicit, and legitimate editorial and analytical purposes and is not processed in a manner incompatible with those intentions.
• Data Minimization: Information requests are restricted strictly to what is adequate, relevant, and limited to what is strictly necessary in relation to the operational delivery of our guides.
• Accuracy: All reasonable measures are implemented to ensure that personal records remain accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date.
• Storage Limitation: Data is retained in identifiable form only for the duration necessary to satisfy the objectives for which it was originally collected.
• Integrity and Confidentiality: Data is protected through robust technical safeguards against unauthorized or unlawful processing, accidental loss, destruction, or compromise.

3. Categories of Information Collected Automatically

When you navigate through Büyükada Chronicle, our web infrastructure and content delivery network (Cloudflare Pages) automatically record standard technical metadata in server telemetry logs. This technical telemetry is essential to defend our servers against malicious distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, detect broken hyperlinks, and ensure rapid global caching.

The technical data gathered through standard HTTP/HTTPS transmission headers includes:

• Internet Protocol (IP) Address: Truncated or anonymized at the edge node level wherever supported by network routing protocols.
• Date and Timestamp: Exact chronological record of page requests to calculate server load distribution during high-traffic summer ferry cycles.
• Uniform Resource Identifier (URI): The specific URL or asset accessed (e.g., /ferry.html or /assets/css/style.css).
• HTTP Response Status Code: Standard server codes (such as 200 OK, 301 Redirect, or 404 Not Found) utilized to diagnose platform health.
• User-Agent String: Browser version, operating system, and hardware architecture to dynamically optimize responsive layouts for mobile smartphones and desktop screens.
• Referring URL: The external webpage or search engine search result that directed you to our publication, helping us understand reader discovery pathways.

4. Cookie Directives & Local Storage Usage

A cookie is a compact text string deposited onto your computer, tablet, or mobile handset by web servers when visiting digital domains. Büyükada Chronicle maintains an exceptionally lean technical footprint, intentionally eschewing invasive third-party behavioral tracking cookies, remarketing pixels, or social media profiling scripts.

Types of Cookies Employed:

• Strictly Necessary Technical Cookies: Transient session tokens deployed by Cloudflare to distinguish between legitimate human readers and automated botnets, mitigating security vulnerabilities. These cookies do not store personally identifiable credentials and expire automatically.
• Functional Preference Cookies: Client-side local storage entries that remember your preference settings (such as dismissing notification banners or storing accordion state) between page visits.
• Aggregated Anonymous Analytics: Privacy-focused web measurement tools that compute aggregate traffic numbers without storing persistent individual fingerprints or cross-site tracking IDs.

Readers retain the statutory right to deactivate, reject, or wipe cookies at any moment through their web browser security settings. Disabling cookies will not hinder your ability to read our architectural essays or view public ferry timetables.

5. Commercial Affiliate Partnerships & Tracking Identifiers

To fund ongoing on-site architectural research, historical archive acquisitions, and periodic field inspections across the Princes’ Islands without erecting paywalls or displaying intrusive display banner ads, Büyükada Chronicle participates in verified travel affiliate programs, primarily with GetYourGuide (Partner ID: FY0PT2P) and Viator / Tripadvisor (Partner ID: P00271667).

When you click an outbound link or booking button leading to a ferry ticket reservation, guided tour, or hotel booking page:

• A static query parameter (such as partner_id=FY0PT2P&cmp=buyukadatours&campaign=buyukadatours) is transmitted in the referral URL.
• The merchant platform sets a temporary referral attribution cookie on their own domain to credit our publication in the event of a completed booking.
• We do not receive, store, or have access to your credit card details, residential address, passport records, or billing information. All commercial financial transactions occur under the proprietary SSL encryption and privacy governance of the respective merchant (GetYourGuide Deutschland GmbH or Viator Inc.).
• Engaging with affiliate links incurs no supplemental cost or surcharges to you; booking rates remain identical to or cheaper than direct standard rates.

6. Data Retention, Security Standards & Hosting

Our static site infrastructure is served worldwide over TLS 1.3 cryptographic protocols with modern HTTPS encryption enforcing HSTS headers. Because our website operates entirely on pre-rendered, serverless static HTML architecture, there are no dynamic relational databases connected to the public internet capable of suffering SQL injection vulnerabilities or customer credential leakage.

Anonymized server transmission logs captured by our content delivery network are automatically purged on a rolling 30-to-90 day schedule in accordance with industry security best practices, after which only aggregated, unidentifiable statistical metrics are preserved for annual historical readership reporting.

7. Statutory Rights of Data Subjects (GDPR Articles 15–22 & KVKK Article 11)

As a valued reader of Büyükada Chronicle, regardless of your geographic residency, you are entitled under European GDPR legislation and Turkish KVKK statutory provisions to exercise the following legal entitlements:

• Right of Access: You may request confirmation as to whether personal data relating to you is being processed and obtain a copy of such data.
• Right to Rectification: You may demand the correction of inaccurate, incomplete, or outdated personal data held in our correspondence records.
• Right to Erasure (Right to Be Forgotten): You may request the irrevocable deletion of your personal contact records when they are no longer required for the purpose for which they were supplied.
• Right to Restriction of Processing: You may request the temporary suspension of processing under circumstances prescribed by law.
• Right to Object: You possess the absolute right to object at any time to the processing of your data for direct marketing, promotional correspondence, or algorithmic profiling.
• Right to Data Portability: You may request the transmission of your data in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format.
• Right to Lodge a Complaint: You maintain the statutory entitlement to submit formal grievances to national supervisory bodies, including the Personal Data Protection Authority of Türkiye (Kişisel Verileri Koruma Kurumu - KVKK) or your domestic European Data Protection Authority (DPA).

8. International Cross-Border Data Transfers

To deliver sub-second page rendering speeds to readers browsing from Istanbul, Athens, Berlin, London, or New York, static website files are mirrored across a decentralized global edge content delivery network (CDN). Consequently, technical connection headers may be transmitted through secure server facilities situated outside the European Economic Area (EEA) or Türkiye. All such transit channels rely on Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) certified by the European Commission or equivalent adequacy determinations under KVKK Article 9.

9. Links to External Sister Sites & Third-Party Platforms

Throughout our monographs, you will encounter hyperlinks directing you to external resources, including municipal transit portals (such as Şehir Hatları at sehirhatlari.istanbul), institutional heritage bodies (such as Europa Nostra and the Ecumenical Patriarchate), as well as our specialized sister island publications:

• Princes' Islands Archipelago Portal (princesislandsistanbul.org)
• Heybeliada Island Guide (heybeliada.tours)
• Burgazada Island Guide (burgazada.tours)
• Kınalıada Island Guide (kinaliada.tours)
• Sedef Island Guide (sedef.tours)

Please recognize that upon clicking an external hyperlink, you depart our digital domain. We bear no administrative control over, nor assume legal liability for, the data processing practices, privacy disclosures, or content reliability of external third-party internet sites. We encourage readers to inspect the privacy notices of each external domain visited.

10. Policy Amendments & Historical Revision Ledger

We may periodically revise this Privacy Policy to reflect technological upgrades, regulatory enactments by the Turkish KVKK Board, or modifications in our publishing architecture. Any amendments will become effective immediately upon posting to this URL, marked with an updated revision date.

11. Privacy Contact Inquiries & Data Requests

If you have questions, feedback, or statutory requests regarding this Privacy Policy, your personal data entitlements, or our technical security measures, please contact our editorial desk: