Privacy Policy

Last updated: 30 August 2026

This Privacy Policy describes what personal data is collected through the kalabortzis.com website, for what purpose and on what legal basis, as well as the rights you have under the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR).

Data controller

The data controller is Michalis Zarmakoupis, creator and operator of kalabortzis.com. For any matter relating to the processing of your data you can contact info@kalabortzis.com.

Data collected

Personal data is collected only if you submit it voluntarily through one of the site's forms.

  • Newsletter and free guides: your email address only.
  • Lesson enquiry form: your name, your email address, and whatever you choose to write in the message field.

No postal address, payment details or other identifying information is collected anywhere on the site. If you use none of the forms, no personal data about you is collected at all.

Purpose and legal basis of processing

Your email address is used to send the free guides and the kalabortzis.com newsletter, which contains periodic updates about the bouzouki, music theory and new content on the site.

The legal basis for the processing is your consent, in accordance with Article 6(1)(a) of the GDPR. Signup uses a double opt-in process: after you submit the form, a confirmation message is sent, and the subscription is completed only if you click the confirmation link. Consent can be withdrawn at any time.

If you contact me through the lesson enquiry form, your details are used for one purpose only: to answer you and, if you decide to go ahead, to arrange the lessons. They are not added to the newsletter list and are not used for any other communication.

The legal basis for this processing is Article 6(1)(b) of the GDPR, namely steps taken at your own request before entering into a contract.

Recipients of the data

The following providers are used to operate the service, acting as processors on behalf of the data controller:

  • MailerLite, for sending and managing email. Your email address is stored on the platform. The provider has its own privacy policy and complies with the GDPR.
  • Plausible Analytics, for collecting anonymous visitor statistics. The service uses no cookies, performs no cross-site tracking and collects no personal data. The figures are aggregate and cannot identify you.
  • Netlify, which hosts the site and receives the submissions of the lesson enquiry form. A submission is stored in the site's account and forwarded by email to info@kalabortzis.com, and passes through an automated spam check. Netlify is established in the United States; transfers are covered by the European Commission's standard contractual clauses.

Your data is never sold and is never passed to third parties for any other purpose.

Cookies

This site uses no tracking or advertising cookies, and stores no information on your device for any such purpose.

A single functional cookie is used: the language preference cookie (pref_el or pref_en). It is stored only if you yourself choose a language with the ΕΛ/EN switch in the menu, so that the site can remember your choice on your next visits. It contains nothing but the language indication, holds no personal data, is not used for tracking, and expires automatically after 12 months. You can delete it at any time from your browser settings; the site keeps working normally without it.

Because this is a strictly functional cookie, stored only after your own explicit action, no cookie consent prompt is required.

Retention period

Your email address is kept for as long as you remain subscribed to the list. After you unsubscribe, the data is removed.

A message sent through the lesson enquiry form arrives in two places: as an email in the info@kalabortzis.com mailbox, and as a stored copy in the site's Netlify account. The Netlify copy exists only as a delivery backstop and is deleted within 3 months. The email correspondence is kept for as long as the exchange is ongoing, and, where lessons follow, for as long as the teaching relationship lasts. An enquiry that does not lead to lessons is deleted 12 months after the last message.

Your rights

Under the GDPR, you have the right to:

  • access the data that concerns you,
  • have it corrected or erased,
  • restrict its processing, and receive a portable copy of it,
  • withdraw your consent at any time. Every message includes an unsubscribe link,
  • lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority. You can contact the authority of your own country; in Greece, for example, the Hellenic Data Protection Authority. As the activity is established in the Netherlands, the Dutch Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens is also competent.

To exercise any of the above rights, contact info@kalabortzis.com.

Changes

This Privacy Policy may be amended. Any amendment is published on this page, with a corresponding update of the date shown at the top.