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Privacy Policy

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Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy describes how your personal information is collected, used, and shared when you visit or make use of services from https://www.abutnyak.top (the “Site”). We are committed to protecting your privacy and processing your personal data fairly and lawfully in compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and applicable Belgian data protection laws.

Who We Are

Our website address is: https://www.abutnyak.top.

The data controller responsible for your personal data is Andriy Butnyak, operating as a professional photographer in Ghent, Belgium.
BTW/VAT number: BE0805.636.171.

For any data protection queries or to exercise your rights, you can contact me via:
Email: info@abutnyak.top
Or through the contact form available on this Site.

What Personal Data We Collect and Why We Collect It

Information You Provide to Us

  • Contact Forms and Direct Communication: If you use contact forms on our Site or contact me directly (e.g., via email, WhatsApp), we collect the information you provide (such as your name, email address, phone number, and the content of your message) to respond to your inquiries, provide quotes, or discuss potential projects. The legal basis for this processing is your consent (when submitting the form for general inquiries) or the necessity to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract or for the performance of a contract if your inquiry relates to my services.
  • Service Provision: If you book my photography or videography services, I will collect personal data necessary to fulfill the contract, such as your name, contact details, event details, images/videos themselves (which may contain personal data of yours or other individuals), and payment information. The legal basis is the performance of a contract.
  • User Registration: If you register on our website (if this feature is available), we store the personal information you provide in your user profile. This data is processed to manage your account, based on your consent or for contract performance. All registered users can see, edit, or delete their personal information at any time (except they cannot change their username). Website administrators can also see and edit that information.

Information We Collect Automatically

  • Comments: When visitors leave comments on the site, we collect the data shown in the comments form, the visitor’s IP address, and browser user agent string to help spam detection. An anonymized string created from your email address (hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it (Gravatar service privacy policy: https://automattic.com/privacy/). After approval of your comment, your profile picture (if using Gravatar) is visible to the public in the context of your comment. The legal basis for this processing is our legitimate interest in preventing spam and facilitating user interaction.
  • Media Uploads: If you upload images to the website (e.g., in comments or user profiles, if applicable), you should avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS) included. Visitors to the website can download and extract any location data from images on the website.
  • Cookies and Similar Technologies: This site uses cookies and similar technologies to enhance user experience, analyze site traffic, ensure security, and for other functionalities. For detailed information about the cookies we use, their purpose, how long they last, and how you can manage your consent and preferences, please refer to our dedicated Cookie Policy. You will be asked for your consent for non-essential cookies via our cookie consent management tool.
  • Analytics: Subject to your explicit consent (obtained via our cookie consent management tool), we may use third-party Service Providers such as Google Analytics to monitor and analyze the use of our Site. Google Analytics tracks and reports website traffic using cookies. This data may be shared with other Google services. Google may use the collected data to contextualize and personalize the ads of its own advertising network. You can opt-out of having made your activity on the Service available to Google Analytics by installing the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on. For more information on the privacy practices of Google, please visit the Google Privacy & Terms web page: https://policies.google.com/privacy.

Embedded content from other websites

Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g., videos from YouTube/Vimeo, images, articles, maps from Google Maps, social media feeds, etc.). 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 their own 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. We recommend reviewing the privacy policies of these third-party websites before interacting with embedded content.

Legal Basis for Processing Personal Data (under GDPR)

I process your personal data on the following legal bases:

  • Consent: Where you have given explicit consent for processing your personal data for one or more specific purposes (e.g., for marketing communications (if any), non-essential cookies, submitting a contact form for general inquiries not leading to a contract). You have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.
  • Contract: When processing is necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are a party or in order to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract (e.g., providing photography/videography services you booked, responding to service-specific inquiries).
  • Legal Obligation: When processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which I am subject (e.g., for invoicing, tax purposes, accounting records as required by Belgian law).
  • Legitimate Interests: When processing is necessary for the purposes of legitimate interests pursued by me or a third party (e.g., website security, spam detection in comments, improving my services, defending legal claims), except where such interests are overridden by your interests or fundamental rights and freedoms which require protection of personal data.

Who We Share Your Data With

I do not sell your personal data. I may share your personal data with trusted third-party service providers who assist me in operating my website, conducting my business, or servicing you, under strict confidentiality agreements and in compliance with GDPR. These may include:

  • Website Hosting and Email Providers: My website hosting and email services are provided by ukraine.com.ua, with servers located in Germany (within the European Economic Area – EEA).
  • Spam Detection Services: For example, Akismet for comment spam detection.
  • Analytics Providers: Google Analytics (subject to your consent).
  • Payment Processors: Such as Bancontact and other payment gateways used for processing payments for services.
  • Cloud Storage Providers: Such as Google Drive, for storing and delivering client galleries (subject to agreement with you).
  • Accounting and Legal Advisors: Professional advisors in Belgium as necessary for business operations.

If you request a password reset (if user accounts are enabled), your IP address will be included in the reset email.

I may also disclose your personal information if required by law or in response to valid requests by public authorities (e.g., a court or a government agency).

International Data Transfers

While my primary hosting servers are located within the EEA (Germany), some third-party service providers I use, such as Google (for Analytics and Drive), are based in the United States or other countries outside the European Economic Area (EEA). When your personal data is transferred to these providers, I ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your data in accordance with GDPR requirements. These safeguards typically include Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) approved by the European Commission, or reliance on an adequacy decision where applicable (such as the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework if the provider is certified under it and it is deemed adequate). For more information on the specific safeguards used by these providers, please refer to their respective privacy policies and data processing terms (e.g., Google’s data transfer information).

How Long We Retain Your Data

I will retain your personal data only for as long as is necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, as set out in this Privacy Policy, and to comply with my legal obligations (for example, invoices and related financial data must be kept for 7 years under Belgian accounting law).

  • Comments: If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely or until you request its deletion. This allows me to recognize and approve any follow-up comments automatically.
  • Contact Form Submissions: Data from contact form submissions for general inquiries may be retained for 12 months or as long as necessary to handle the inquiry. If an inquiry leads to a client relationship, the data will be retained as part of the client record according to contractual and legal obligations.
  • Client Project Data (including images/videos): Retained for the duration specified in our service agreement and as necessary for portfolio use (with your consent where applicable) or for legal record-keeping for up to 7 years after project completion, unless otherwise agreed or required by law.
  • Registered User Data (if applicable): For users that register on our website, personal information in their user profile is stored as long as their account is active or as needed to provide services. Users can see, edit, or delete their personal information at any time (except username).

Your Data Protection Rights (under GDPR)

Under the GDPR, you have several rights regarding your personal data, which you can exercise by contacting me using the contact details provided in the “Who We Are” section. These rights include:

  • The right to access: You have the right to request copies of your personal data that I hold.
  • The right to rectification: You have the right to request that I correct any information you believe is inaccurate. You also have the right to request that I complete information you believe is incomplete.
  • The right to erasure (right to be forgotten): You have the right to request that I erase your personal data, under certain conditions.
  • The right to restrict processing: You have the right to request that I restrict the processing of your personal data, under certain conditions.
  • The right to object to processing: You have the right to object to my processing of your personal data, under certain conditions, particularly where processing is based on legitimate interests or for direct marketing purposes (if any).
  • The right to data portability: You have the right to request that I transfer the data that I have collected to another organization, or directly to you, under certain conditions.
  • The right to withdraw consent: If processing is based on your consent, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. This will not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal.

I will respond to your request within one month, unless the request is particularly complex or you have made a number of requests, in which case I may extend this period by a further two months. I will inform you of any such extension.

Right to Lodge a Complaint

If you are not satisfied with my response or believe I am processing your personal data not in accordance with the law, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Belgian Data Protection Authority (Gegevensbeschermingsautoriteit / Autorité de protection des données):

Address: Drukpersstraat 35, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
Telephone: +32 (0)2 274 48 00
Email: contact@apd-gba.be
Website: www.gegevensbeschermingsautoriteit.be (Dutch) / www.autoriteprotectiondonnees.be (French)

Data Security

I take the security of your personal data seriously and have implemented appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect it against accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorized disclosure, or access.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

I may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in my practices or for other operational, legal, or regulatory reasons. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated effective date. I encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how I am protecting your information.

This policy is effective as of May 1, 2025.