Privacy Policy

Last updated: 17 July 2026

Summary (plain English): We collect minimal data — your email address if you sign up for our newsletter, and anonymous analytics data to understand how people use the site. We use affiliate links on every page, which means we may earn a small commission if you book through them at no extra cost to you. We never sell your data. You can request deletion at any time by emailing contact@stayinchania.com.

1. Who We Are

This website is operated by Stay In Chania ("we", "us", "our"), an independent travel guide website for Chania, Crete. Our contact email is contact@stayinchania.com.

We are the data controller for personal data collected through this website. This policy applies to stayinchania.com and all its pages.

2. What Data We Collect

2a. Data you give us

Email address — if you subscribe to our newsletter via the sign-up form on the site. This is stored in MailerLite (see Section 6).

2b. Data collected automatically

Usage data — pages visited, time spent, referring website, browser type, device, country. Collected by Plausible, our privacy-friendly, cookieless analytics — no cookies, no consent required, and no personal data stored. Aggregate heatmaps from Crazy Egg are collected only if you accept analytics cookies.
Affiliate tracking data — if you click an affiliate link, the third-party affiliate network (Booking.com, Viator, GetYourGuide, Skyscanner, RentalCars, Click&Boat, Hostelworld, TravelPayouts) may set cookies on your device to track conversions. This data is processed by those third parties under their own privacy policies.
Cookies — see our Cookie Policy for full details.

2c. Data we do NOT collect

Payment or financial information (we have no e-commerce)
Precise location data
Sensitive personal data (health, race, religion, etc.)

3. Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR / UK GDPR)

Processing activity	Legal basis
Email newsletter (MailerLite)	Consent (Article 6(1)(a) GDPR) — you opt in explicitly via the sign-up form
Plausible analytics	Legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR) — cookieless, privacy-friendly; no personal data stored, no consent required
Crazy Egg (heatmaps)	Consent (Article 6(1)(a) GDPR) — only loads after you accept analytics cookies
Affiliate tracking cookies (TravelPayouts, Booking.com, etc.)	Consent (Article 6(1)(a) GDPR) — only fires after you accept marketing cookies
Security / server logs	Legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR) — to protect the website from abuse

4. How We Use Your Data

To send you our newsletter (email subscribers only — unsubscribe any time)
To understand which content is useful (analytics)
To earn commissions on affiliate bookings, which funds the free content on this site
To maintain website security

We do not use your data for automated decision-making or profiling, and we do not sell your data to any third party.

5. Cookies

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies. A full list of every cookie is in our Cookie Policy. When you first visit our site, a cookie consent banner allows you to accept or decline non-essential cookies. You can change your preference at any time using the "Cookie Settings" link in the footer.

6. Third-Party Services & Data Processors

Service	Purpose	Their Privacy Policy
Plausible	Privacy-friendly, cookieless usage analytics	plausible.io/privacy
Crazy Egg	Anonymised heatmaps (consent-gated)	crazyegg.com/privacy
MailerLite	Email newsletter delivery	mailerlite.com/legal/privacy-policy
TravelPayouts	Affiliate tracking network	travelpayouts.com privacy
Booking.com	Hotel affiliate bookings	booking.com/content/privacy
Viator	Tours affiliate bookings	viator.com/privacy
GetYourGuide	Activities affiliate bookings	getyourguide.com/privacy-policy
Skyscanner	Flights affiliate	skyscanner.net/privacy
Cloudflare	Website hosting, CDN, DDoS protection	cloudflare.com/privacypolicy
Google Fonts	Typography (fonts served from Google CDN)	policies.google.com/privacy
Hostelworld	Hostel affiliate bookings	hostelworld.com/privacy

All processors who handle EU/UK user data are required by their terms to comply with GDPR. Data may be transferred to the US — these transfers are covered by Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) or equivalent safeguards under UK GDPR.

7. Data Retention

Email newsletter data: Retained until you unsubscribe. You can unsubscribe via the link in any newsletter email or by emailing us.
Analytics data (Plausible): Aggregated and retained per Plausible's data policy; no personal data or cookies stored. Crazy Egg heatmap data is retained per Crazy Egg's policy.
Affiliate cookie data: Managed by the respective affiliate network (typically 30–90 day cookie windows).
Server logs: Retained for up to 90 days by Cloudflare for security purposes.

8. Your Rights (GDPR & UK GDPR)

You have the following rights regarding your personal data:

Right of access — request a copy of data we hold about you
Right to rectification — ask us to correct inaccurate data
Right to erasure ("right to be forgotten") — ask us to delete your data
Right to restrict processing — ask us to limit how we use your data
Right to data portability — receive your data in a portable format
Right to object — object to processing based on legitimate interests
Right to withdraw consent — withdraw consent at any time (this does not affect prior lawful processing)

To exercise any right, email contact@stayinchania.com. We will respond within 30 days. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your supervisory authority:

UK: Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) — ico.org.uk
EU: Your national data protection authority — edpb.europa.eu

9. Children's Privacy

Our website is not directed at children under 16. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe a child has submitted data to us, please contact us at contact@stayinchania.com and we will delete it promptly.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. We will note the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. Continued use of the site after any update constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

11. Contact

For any privacy-related questions or to exercise your data rights:
Email: contact@stayinchania.com
Website: stayinchania.com