Privacy Policy
Last updated: 24 September 2026.
Who we are
This site is operated by Studio Pieters. For any privacy question, or to exercise one of the rights below, contact info@studiopieters.nl.
The contact form
If you use the contact form, we process the name, email address and message you provide, in order to reply to you. Your IP address is checked briefly (a few hours) to prevent the form from being used to send bulk spam, and is not stored beyond that.
Accounts
If you create an account, we process the username, email address and password you provide. Your password is never stored in readable form, only as an irreversible hash, so we cannot see it either. You can optionally set a display name and upload a profile photo, stored as a regular media file on our own server; if you skip that, WordPress may show a default image from Gravatar.com (a service by Automattic) based on a hash of your email address, this is core WordPress behavior, not something we separately enable.
With an account, you can add guides and projects to a private favorites list and rate them. Your favorites list is visible only to you, nowhere else on the site. Ratings are counted anonymously in the published average, but which pages you personally rated is also tied to your account so you can find them again under "My ratings".
Basis: performance of the agreement created the moment you create an account yourself; for the profile photo and favorites/ratings specifically: your own, active choice to use those features.
Retention: for as long as your account exists. To have your account and everything tied to it (profile photo, favorites, ratings) deleted, email info@studiopieters.nl, we handle this within the legal one-month period.
Ratings without an account
If you rate a guide or project without logging in, a cookie records that you already voted on that specific page, so the same visitor can't vote twice. See the cookie table below.
Cookies
| Cookie | Purpose | Type | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
wordpress_logged_in_* |
Keeps you logged in, needed for your account, favorites and ratings history | Functional, necessary | Session, or up to 14 days with "Remember me" |
wordpress_sec_* |
Secures your logged-in session (only active on login/account pages) | Functional, necessary | Session, or up to 14 days with "Remember me" |
sp_rated_<page-id> |
Records that this browser already rated a specific guide or project, so it can't vote again | Functional, necessary | 1 year |
sp_cookie_consent |
Remembers whether you accepted or declined the cookie notice | Functional, necessary | 1 year |
_ga, _ga_* |
Google Analytics: tells returning visitors apart and measures which pages are used | Statistics, only after you accept | Up to 2 years |
| Google advertising cookies | Google AdSense: serve and measure ads, and personalize them to your interests | Advertising, only after you accept | Set by Google, see their policy |
Statistics and advertising cookies are only set after you press Accept in the cookie notice. You can change your choice at any time with "Cookie settings" in the footer; declining removes the Google cookies already set.
Embedded content
Some project write-ups embed a video via youtube-nocookie.com, YouTube's privacy-enhanced embed mode, which does not set tracking cookies until you actually press play.
Analytics
This site uses Google Analytics 4 to see which guides and projects are read, so we know what to write next. Without your consent, Google receives only anonymous, cookieless signals (no cookie is set and you are not identified); after you accept, Google Analytics sets the cookies listed above. Google processes this data under its own privacy policy. Basis: your consent, which you can withdraw at any time.
Advertising
This site shows Google AdSense ads in a few fixed places ("Auto ads", where Google inserts ads anywhere on its own, is not used). Without your consent, ads are requested as non-personalized: they are not based on your interests. After you accept, Google may set advertising cookies and personalize ads. That use of your data is governed by Google's own privacy policy, and you can also control ad personalization through Google's ad settings.
Your rights
You can ask to see, correct or delete the personal data we hold about you at any time by emailing info@studiopieters.nl. We reply within the legal one-month period.
No warranty, limitation of liability
We take reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect the personal data described above (password hashing, restricting who can access the site's database, keeping software up to date), but no website can guarantee data will never be lost, breached or misused, and this policy is not a promise of absolute security. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, this site and its owner are not liable for damage arising from unauthorized access to, or loss of, data that occurs despite these measures, except where that damage results from our own intentional misconduct or gross negligence.
Not legal advice
This policy describes what this specific site actually does, in plain language, it is not legal advice and is not guaranteed to satisfy every requirement of the GDPR or other applicable law in your situation. If you are the site owner relying on this policy, have it reviewed by a lawyer qualified in the Netherlands (or your own jurisdiction) before treating it as sufficient on its own.