Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how A Bag of Stories, an editorial project published by Ayzoh! APS in collaboration with AFAR, collects, uses, stores, and protects personal data through this website.

For any question about this Privacy Policy or the processing of your personal data, you can contact us at:

Ayzoh! APS
Ayzoh! Media Lab
Viale Principe Amedeo 11
47921 Rimini, Italy
Email: abagofstories@ayzoh.org

1. Data controller

The data controller is:

Ayzoh! APS
Viale Principe Amedeo 11
47921 Rimini, Italy
Email: abagofstories@ayzoh.org

Ayzoh! APS is responsible for the editorial management of A Bag of Stories and for the processing of personal data connected to the website, newsletter, member accounts, comments, and related communications.

2. What personal data we collect

We collect only the personal data necessary to operate this website, manage subscriptions, communicate with readers, and protect the security of the service.

Depending on how you use the website, we may collect:

Your email address, when you subscribe to the newsletter, create an account, sign in, or contact us.
Your name, if you provide it voluntarily when subscribing, creating an account, commenting, or writing to us.
Account information, if you register as a member of the website.
Newsletter subscription data, including subscription status, preferences, confirmation records, and unsubscribe requests.
Technical data, such as IP address, browser type, device information, operating system, pages visited, date and time of access, referral source, and basic server logs.
Communication data, including messages you send to us by email or through other contact channels.
Comment data, if comments or member discussions are enabled, including the content you publish, your account name, and related metadata.
Email interaction data, where available through our publishing or newsletter platform, such as delivery status, opens, clicks, and unsubscribe activity.

We do not knowingly collect special categories of personal data through this website, such as health information, political opinions, religious beliefs, or biometric data.

3. How we collect personal data

We collect personal data when you:

Visit the website.
Subscribe to the newsletter.
Create or use a member account.
Comment on an article or take part in a member discussion, if this function is enabled.
Contact us by email.
Click links in newsletters or website pages.
Interact with embedded content or third-party services, where present

Some technical data is collected automatically by the website platform, hosting systems, security tools, and server logs.

4. Why we use personal data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To operate and maintain the website.
To send the newsletter to people who have subscribed.
To manage member accounts, sign-in access, and account-related communications.
To allow comments or member discussions, if enabled.
To respond to messages, questions, requests, corrections, or rights-related communications.
To improve the website, understand how readers use it, and maintain editorial quality.
To protect the security, integrity, and reliability of the website.
To prevent abuse, spam, unauthorized access, or unlawful activity.
To comply with legal obligations.
To manage copyright, image rights, credit requests, corrections, or editorial disputes.
We do not sell personal data.

We do not use personal data to make automated decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects on readers.

5. Legal bases for processing

We process personal data under the legal bases provided by the General Data Protection Regulation, including:

Consent, when you subscribe to the newsletter or agree to receive communications from us.

Contractual necessity, when processing is required to provide a member account or a service you have requested.

Legitimate interest, when we need to operate the website, protect its security, manage editorial communications, understand basic readership activity, prevent abuse, or respond to requests.

Legal obligation, when we must keep or disclose information to comply with applicable law, court orders, public authority requests, accounting duties, or legal claims.

You may withdraw your consent at any time. For newsletters, you can use the unsubscribe link included in each email or contact us at abagofstories@ayzoh.org.

When you subscribe to the newsletter, we process your email address and, if provided, your name.

We use this information to send you A Bag of Stories, including published articles, field notes, editorial updates, and related communications from the project.

Newsletter emails may contain technical tools that help us understand whether emails are delivered, opened, or clicked. We use this information to maintain the newsletter, improve editorial relevance, and avoid sending unwanted or ineffective communications.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in any newsletter email or by writing to abagofstories@ayzoh.org.

After you unsubscribe, we may keep minimal information necessary to record your unsubscribe request and avoid contacting you again by mistake.

7. Member accounts and comments

This website may allow readers to create an account, sign in, manage their subscription, and take part in member discussions or comments.

If you create an account, we process the data needed to provide access and maintain your account.

If you publish a comment or participate in a discussion, the content you submit may be visible to other readers, depending on the settings of the website. Please avoid sharing personal information that you do not want to make public.

We may moderate, remove, or restrict comments that are abusive, unlawful, spam-related, discriminatory, violent, defamatory, or incompatible with the editorial standards of the project.

8. Contact by email

If you contact us by email, we process your email address, your message, and any information you decide to include.

We use this data to respond to your request, manage the matter you raised, and keep a record where necessary for editorial, administrative, or legal reasons.

9. Cookies and similar technologies

This website may use cookies and similar technologies.

Cookies are small files stored on your device that help websites work properly, remember certain settings, manage sign-in sessions, protect security, or collect information about website use.

We may use:

Technical cookies, necessary for the website to function, manage member access, remember essential preferences, or protect security.

Analytics cookies or similar tools, if enabled, to understand how the website is used and improve editorial and technical performance.

Third-party cookies, if the website includes embedded content or external services, such as videos, maps, social media elements, analytics, or other integrations.

Where required by law, non-essential cookies and tracking tools are used only with your consent.

More detailed information is available in our Cookie Policy.

10. Third-party services and processors

To operate this website, we may rely on selected service providers. These may include:

Website publishing and hosting platforms.
Email delivery and newsletter services.
Security, backup, and technical maintenance tools.
Analytics services, if enabled.
Spam prevention or abuse detection tools.
Professional advisors, where necessary for legal, administrative, or accounting reasons.

These providers may process personal data only as needed to provide their services to us and according to applicable data protection rules.

Some services may process data outside the European Economic Area. When this happens, we rely on appropriate safeguards required by applicable data protection law.

11. Links to external websites

This website may contain links to external websites, including AFAR, Ayzoh!, partner organizations, archives, social media platforms, shops, travel operators, or other editorial sources.

We are not responsible for the privacy practices of external websites. When you leave this website, the privacy policy of the external website applies.

12. How long we keep personal data

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy.

Newsletter subscription data is kept until you unsubscribe or ask us to delete it, except where limited records must be kept to document consent, unsubscribe status, or legal compliance.

Member account data is kept while the account is active and for a reasonable period after deletion, where necessary for security, technical, administrative, or legal reasons.

Email correspondence is kept for the time needed to respond and manage the matter, and may be retained longer if it relates to rights, permissions, corrections, contracts, disputes, or legal obligations.

Technical logs are kept for limited periods necessary for security, maintenance, debugging, and abuse prevention.

Comments may remain published unless removed by us or deleted according to the tools available on the website.

13. How we protect personal data

We use reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect personal data against unauthorized access, loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure.

Access to personal data is limited to people and providers who need it for editorial, technical, administrative, or legal purposes.

No digital system can be guaranteed as completely secure. If we become aware of a data breach that may affect your rights and freedoms, we will take the steps required by applicable law.

14. Children’s privacy

This website is intended for a general audience and is not directed at children.

We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under the age of 14 without appropriate parental or guardian consent, in accordance with applicable Italian and European law.

If you believe that a child has provided us with personal data without appropriate consent, please contact us at abagofstories@ayzoh.org and we will take appropriate action.

15. Your rights

Under applicable data protection law, you may have the right to:

Access your personal data.
Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
Request deletion of your personal data.
Request restriction of processing.
Object to processing based on legitimate interest.
Withdraw consent at any time, where processing is based on consent.
Request portability of data you provided to us, where applicable.
Lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority.

In Italy, the supervisory authority is the Garante per la Protezione dei Dati Personali.

To exercise your rights, contact us at abagofstories@ayzoh.org.

We may need to verify your identity before responding to a request.

16. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time, especially if the website changes, if we add or remove services, or if legal requirements change.

The updated version will be published on this page with a new “Last updated” date.

17. Contact

For questions, requests, corrections, or concerns about this Privacy Policy or the processing of your personal data, contact: