Privacy notice

This notice explains how personal data is handled on Experts Opinion, in line with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Swiss FADP.

1. Who is responsible

Experts Opinion is operated privately by Christian Bollensdorff as a personal, non-commercial project. For any data protection question, or to exercise the rights listed below, use the contact address published on the About page. Requests are answered within one month.

2. Principle: as little data as possible

No advertising, no tracking pixels, no analytics cookies, no profiling, no automated decision-making, and no sale or sharing of personal data for marketing purposes. Only the data needed to run the site is processed.

3. What is processed, why, and on what legal basis

a) Visiting the site. The hosting provider processes technical connection data (IP address, time, requested page, browser type) in server logs to deliver the pages and keep the service secure. Legal basis: legitimate interest, art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. These logs are short-lived and are not used to build profiles.

b) Storage in your browser. Only technically necessary storage is used: your login session (if you sign in) and your choice about embedded videos. No consent banner is required for this, and no advertising or analytics cookies are set.

c) Embedded YouTube videos. Videos are embedded from youtube-nocookie.com and are blocked until you actively allow them. Once you allow them, Google Ireland Limited / Google LLC receives your IP address and may set cookies; this may involve a transfer to the USA on the basis of the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework and standard contractual clauses. Legal basis: your consent, art. 6(1)(a) GDPR, which you can withdraw at any time on this page. Google's own privacy policy applies to that processing.

d) Account and sign-in. When you register, your email address and password hash are stored by the authentication service, plus a profile record with your email and optional display name. A confirmation email verifies the address. Legal basis: performance of the service you request, art. 6(1)(b) GDPR.

e) Guestbook entries. Your entry, your chosen alias, the timestamp and your account reference are stored. Public entries are visible to signed-in visitors only; private entries are visible only to the administrator and, where an entry concerns a specific person, to that person. Your email address is never published — it is visible to the administrator for moderation. Legal basis: art. 6(1)(b) and legitimate interest in moderation, art. 6(1)(f).

f) Newsletter. Your email address is stored solely to send occasional notes about new interviews. Legal basis: consent, art. 6(1)(a). You can unsubscribe at any time using the form on this page or by replying to any message; withdrawal does not affect processing that already took place.

g) Expert, host and contributor profiles. Name, photo, biography, links and, where provided, a contact address are published with the person's agreement. Contact addresses are stored non-publicly and are never shown to visitors. Consent forms documenting the agreement to publish a recording are stored privately and are accessible to the administrator only. Legal basis: consent, art. 6(1)(a); for the consent documentation also legal obligation and legitimate interest, art. 6(1)(c) and (f).

h) Usage measurement and view counts. This site measures overall usage (page visits, video plays, progress markers, approximate watch time, time on page and the website you arrived from) in aggregate, anonymous form. No names, email addresses, IP addresses, cookies or cross-day identifiers are used; a random key stored in your browser is rotated every day so visitors cannot be recognised across days. The aggregated numbers are visible to experts and the administrator only and are never shared or sold. Legal basis: legitimate interest, art. 6(1)(f) GDPR.

4. Processors and recipients

The site runs on infrastructure operated by Lovable and its cloud database, authentication, storage and email providers, which act as processors under written data processing agreements and only on instruction. Embedded video content is provided by YouTube (Google) as described above. No other recipients receive personal data, unless disclosure is required by law.

5. International transfers

Data is stored in the EU where possible. Where a processor or Google processes data outside the EEA, transfers rely on EU standard contractual clauses and, where applicable, the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework.

6. Retention

Account, profile and guestbook data are kept while the account exists and are deleted when the account is deleted. Newsletter addresses are kept until you unsubscribe. Consent documentation is kept for as long as the related recording is published, and for a reasonable period afterwards to prove the agreement. Server logs are kept only briefly for security purposes.

7. Your rights

You have the right to access your data (art. 15), to have it corrected (art. 16) or erased (art. 17), to restriction of processing (art. 18), to data portability (art. 20), to object to processing based on legitimate interest (art. 21), and to withdraw consent at any time (art. 7(3)). Signed-in users can download a machine-readable copy of their data and delete their account and its content themselves under "My profile → Your data". You may also lodge a complaint with your local data protection supervisory authority.

8. Security

Access to data is restricted at the database level: each account can reach only its own records, published profiles show no contact addresses, uploaded photos, attachments and consent forms are stored in private buckets served through short-lived signed links, and administrative functions require an explicitly granted admin role. Connections are encrypted in transit.

9. Children

The site is not directed at children. Accounts are intended for people aged 16 or older.

10. Changes

This notice is updated when the site changes. The version published here is the one that applies.

Last updated: August 2026.

Note: this text is a general template and not legal advice. Have it reviewed by a lawyer or data protection specialist before relying on it.