Privacy Policy BolognaBites

Last updated: October 2026

BolognaBites respects your privacy and is committed to handling personal data in a transparent and responsible way.

This Privacy Policy explains what information we may collect, how we use it, when we share it, and what rights you may have.

Who We Are

BolognaBites is an independent travel website operated by Aukroam, based in the Netherlands. Where the GDPR applies, Aukroam is the data controller for personal data processed through this website.

Website: https://bolognabites.com
Contact email: info@bolognabites.com

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or about how your personal data is handled, please contact us using the email above.

Where the GDPR applies, privacy information must explain who controls the personal data, why it is processed, and what rights apply. The supervisory authority for Aukroam is the Dutch Data Protection Authority (Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens). Given the nature and scale of our processing, BolognaBites is not required to appoint a Data Protection Officer under Article 37 GDPR.

What Information We May Collect

Depending on how you use the site, BolognaBites may collect:

• information you provide voluntarily, such as your name or email address if you contact us or sign up for our email updates
• technical information such as IP address, browser type, device type, and basic usage data
• analytics information about how visitors use the website
• cookie and tracking data where applicable

How We Collect Information

We may collect information:

• when you contact us directly by email
• when you browse the website
• through analytics tools and cookies
• through embedded content or third-party services used on the website

Why We Use Information

We may use personal data to:

• respond to messages or inquiries
• operate, maintain, and improve the website
• understand how visitors use the site
• protect the security and integrity of the site
• comply with legal obligations
• support affiliate tracking and performance measurement where permitted

Legal Bases for Processing

BolognaBites does not sell products or services directly and does not require an account, so we do not process personal data to perform a contract with you. Where the GDPR applies, we rely on the following legal bases instead:

• Consent, for non-essential cookies such as analytics and preference cookies, and for sending you our checklist and email updates if you sign up
• Legitimate interests, for keeping the website secure and working correctly, and for attributing bookings or clicks to our affiliate partners
• Compliance with a legal obligation, where processing is required by law

Cookies and Tracking

BolognaBites may use cookies and similar technologies for functionality, analytics, and affiliate tracking. We manage cookie consent through a consent management tool. Functional cookies that the site needs to work are always active. Cookies used for statistics and preferences are only placed after you give consent, and we use Google’s Consent Mode to keep Google-related measurement limited until you do.

Please see the Cookie Policy for more information.

Because Aukroam is based in the Netherlands, Dutch and EU cookie rules apply. Under this guidance, some functional and limited analytical cookies may be placed without consent, while cookies used for broader statistics, preferences, or tracking require your consent first.

My Bologna Trip

If you use Trip Check or My Trip, your choices (travel dates, trip type, number of travelers, how you arrive, your budget level, your age group if you choose to give it, your interests, and the places and offers you save) are stored in your browser’s local storage, on your own device. This information is not sent to our servers, and we do not create an account for you. It stays on your device until you remove the items in My Trip, press Start over, or clear your browser’s site data. If you create a share link, the same choices are encoded in the link after the # sign. Anyone with the link can see them, and the part after the # is not sent to our server when the link is opened. If you have given consent for analytics, we count that an action took place (for example, that a Trip Check was completed) together with a few coarse details: the number of nights, the type of group, how you arrive, your budget level and the interests you picked. Your age group is never sent to us. We do not collect your exact dates or any free text.

Email Updates

If you sign up for our checklist or updates, we collect your email address and the time you agreed. We use them only to confirm your address, to send you the checklist, and to send occasional updates about Bologna. We do not use them for other campaigns without your separate consent. We do not sell your address or share it with anyone other than our email service.

Legal basis: your consent. We ask for it with an unticked box and confirm your address with an email before we send anything else. You can withdraw consent at any time with the unsubscribe link in every email, or by writing to us through the contact page. Withdrawing does not affect emails sent before.

Who processes it: Hostinger Reach, a service of the Hostinger group, stores the addresses and sends the emails for us under a data processing agreement. How long we keep it: until you unsubscribe, and afterwards only as an unsubscribed entry, so that we do not email you again. Your rights: you can ask us for access, correction or deletion of your data, as described under Your Rights below.

Third-Party Services

BolognaBites uses the following types of third-party services:

• Hostinger, our website hosting provider
• Hostinger Reach, to store email addresses and send our emails if you sign up for our updates (see Email Updates below)
• Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, and Google Search Console, for website measurement
• affiliate networks and booking platforms, such as Travelpayouts, GetYourGuide and Expedia, for bookings made through our links; Travelpayouts also measures visits and link clicks on our pages, but only after you accept marketing cookies
• Journey by Mediavine and its advertising partners, which show and measure display advertising, only with your consent where the law requires it (see Advertising below)
• Wordfence, for website security and firewall protection
• UpdraftPlus, for automated website backups
• embedded content providers such as maps, videos, or social widgets, where used

These third parties may process data in accordance with their own privacy policies. We do not currently use a contact form on this website; you can reach us directly by email.

Advertising

BolognaBites shows display advertising through Journey by Mediavine. To show and measure ads, Mediavine and its advertising partners may store or access information on your device and process data such as your IP address, a unique identifier, your browsing activity on this and other sites, and your approximate location.

Where the law requires consent, for example for visitors in the European Economic Area, this only happens after you give consent in the consent banner, and consent is then our legal basis. In that banner you choose which purposes and partners to allow. The banner is provided by consentmanager and follows the IAB Europe Transparency and Consent Framework; the advertising partners are listed in the banner and in Mediavine’s privacy policy. You can change or withdraw your choice at any time with the Privacy Settings link in the footer of every page. Ads are labelled as advertisements.

Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes described in this policy. Website backups are kept on a rolling basis, currently 7 daily file backups and 14 daily database backups. Analytics data is retained according to the retention period configured in Google Analytics. Emails you send us are kept for as long as needed to handle your question, unless a longer period is required by law. If you sign up for email updates, we keep your address and the time you agreed until you unsubscribe. After you unsubscribe we keep the address marked as unsubscribed, so that we do not email you again.

International Data Transfers

We use Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, and Google Search Console for website measurement, which may process data outside the European Economic Area. Google provides safeguards for this, such as standard contractual clauses, as described in Google’s own data protection terms. Hostinger Reach processes our email list as our processor under Hostinger’s data processing addendum, which includes the EU standard contractual clauses. Hostinger states in its own privacy policy that it stores data in several countries, including some outside the EEA. We do not otherwise knowingly transfer personal data outside the EEA.

Your Rights

Depending on your location and applicable law, you may have rights such as:

• the right to access your personal data
• the right to correct inaccurate data
• the right to request deletion
• the right to restrict certain processing
• the right to object to certain processing
• the right to data portability
• the right to withdraw consent where processing is based on consent
• the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority

If the GDPR applies to you, complaints can be lodged with the Dutch Data Protection Authority (Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens) or your own national supervisory authority. We aim to respond to rights requests within one month, as required by the GDPR.

BolognaBites does not currently carry out automated decision-making or profiling that produces legal or similarly significant effects on you.

Data Security

BolognaBites takes reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect personal data, including a web application firewall and regular backups. No internet-based service can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we update it, we will update the date shown on this page.

Contact

This Privacy Policy is provided by BolognaBites, operated by Aukroam, based in the Netherlands. If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or want to exercise privacy-related rights, contact:

Email: info@bolognabites.com