Privacy Policy (Albania & EU GDPR Compliance)

Gark Studio is committed to protecting your personal data and respecting your privacy in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR) and the Albanian Law No. 9887 “On Personal Data Protection”, as amended.

Who We Are

Our website address is: https://gark-studio.com
Gark Studio acts as the Data Controller for the processing of personal data collected through this website.

Personal Data We Collect and Why

Comments

When visitors leave comments on the site, we collect the data shown in the comments form, along with the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string. This data is processed based on legitimate interest to ensure website security and prevent spam.

An anonymized string (hash) generated from your email address may be shared with the Gravatar service to verify whether you use it. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available at: https://automattic.com/privacy/. Once approved, your profile picture may be visible publicly in the context of your comment.

Media

If you upload images to the website, please avoid uploading images that contain embedded location data (EXIF GPS). Such data may be accessible to visitors who download images from the site.

Cookies

This website uses cookies to ensure proper functionality and improve user experience.

  • Comment-related cookies may store your name, email address, and website for up to one year, based on your explicit consent.
  • A temporary cookie is set on the login page to determine whether your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data.
  • Login cookies store authentication and display preferences. Login cookies last two days, while screen preference cookies last one year.
  • If the “Remember Me” option is selected, login cookies persist for two weeks.
  • When content is edited or published, a technical cookie is stored indicating the post ID only and expires after one day.

You may control or delete cookies at any time through your browser settings.

Embedded Content from Other Websites

Articles on this site may include embedded content (such as videos, images, or articles). Embedded content from third-party websites behaves in the same way as if you visited those websites directly.

These third-party websites may collect data about you, use cookies, and monitor your interaction with embedded content, in accordance with their own privacy policies.

Legal Basis for Processing

We process personal data under the following lawful bases defined by GDPR:

  • Consent (e.g. cookies, voluntarily submitted comments)
  • Legitimate interest (e.g. spam protection, website security)
  • Legal obligation where applicable

Data Sharing

If you request a password reset, your IP address will be included in the reset email for security purposes.

GarK Studio does not sell, rent, or trade personal data to third parties.

Data Retention

  • Comments and their metadata are retained indefinitely to allow recognition and automatic approval of follow-up comments.
  • Personal data related to registered users (if applicable) is retained for as long as the account remains active.

Data may be retained longer where required by legal, administrative, or security obligations.

Your Rights

Under GDPR and Albanian data protection law, you have the right to:

  • Access your personal data
  • Request correction or updating of inaccurate data
  • Request deletion of your personal data
  • Restrict or object to processing
  • Request data portability
  • Withdraw consent at any time

Requests will be handled without undue delay, in accordance with applicable law.

International Data Transfers

Visitor comments may be processed through automated spam detection services that may involve data transfers outside the European Economic Area (EEA). In such cases, appropriate safeguards are applied in compliance with GDPR requirements.

Contact

For any questions regarding this Privacy Policy or your personal data, please contact us at:
info.garkstudio@gmail.com