Privacy notice

Last updated: 31 October 2026

This notice is provided under Article 10 of Turkey’s Personal Data Protection Law No. 6698 (“the Law”) to inform visitors to sinanhamamsarilar.com and people who contact us through the site’s forms or by email. It is an English translation provided for convenience; if there is any difference, the Turkish version prevails.

1. Data controller

Mutfak İşleri Merkezi Ltd. Şti., Beyoğlu, Istanbul. Contact: iletisim@sinanhamamsarilar.com

2. What we process, why, and on what legal basis

Email correspondence. When you write to us, we process your first and last name, your email address, your organization and title if you share them, and the content of your message. We process this data to answer and assess your consulting, partnership, press and invitation requests and, if a business relationship is established, to carry it out. Legal bases: processing directly related to the formation or performance of a contract (Article 5(2)(c) of the Law) and the data controller’s legitimate interest in being able to respond to your request (Article 5(2)(f)).

Speaking invitation form. When you fill in the form on the Talks page, we process your name, organization and email address and, if you share them, your phone number, event type, date, location, number of participants, audience and message. This information is recorded on the site’s server and forwarded to us by email. The purpose is to assess your invitation, get back to you and, if the invitation is accepted, plan the event. Legal bases: processing directly related to the formation or performance of a contract (Article 5(2)(c)) and the data controller’s legitimate interest (Article 5(2)(f)). To prevent misuse, a one-way hash derived from your IP address is kept for no more than one hour.

Technical records created when you visit the site. The server that runs the site records information such as your IP address, your browser and device details, the pages you visit and the time of your visit. These records are processed to keep the site secure and running without interruption, to fix errors and to prevent misuse. Legal basis: the data controller’s legitimate interest (Article 5(2)(f)). The hosting provider’s statutory record-keeping obligations are reserved.

Visit statistics. To understand how the site is used, we keep visit statistics with Matomo, open-source software that runs on our own server: the pages visited, where the visit came from (for example, a search engine or social media), approximate location (country and city), and browser and device type. No cookies are used for this, and your IP address is anonymized by masking its last two segments before it is stored. The data is not transferred abroad, is not shared with third parties and is not used for advertising. Legal basis: the data controller’s legitimate interest (Article 5(2)(f)).

Cookies. The site uses only one strictly necessary cookie, which remembers your cookie choice (cookieadmin_consent). This cookie is needed so that we can respect your choice; its legal basis is legitimate interest (Article 5(2)(f)). If a non-essential cookie is ever used, it is activated only with the explicit consent you give through the cookie banner, and you can change your choice at any time from the cookie settings at the bottom of the page.

Embedded videos and maps. YouTube videos in older posts are shown in Google’s privacy-enhanced mode (youtube-nocookie.com). In this mode, YouTube does not set cookies until the video is played. When you play a video, YouTube may process data under its own privacy policy. Google Maps content in some older posts does not load until you press “Show the map”; when you do, Google may set cookies and process data under its own privacy policy.

Newsletter. When you subscribe through the subscription form on the site or at sinanhamamsarilar.substack.com, your email address is processed so that we can send you the newsletter. When you submit the form on the site, your email address goes directly to Substack Inc. (USA) and Substack’s page opens in a new tab; Substack uses its own cookies only from that point. The subscriber list is kept on Substack’s servers outside Turkey. Legal basis: the explicit consent you give when you subscribe (Article 5(1); for the transfer abroad, Article 9). You can unsubscribe at any time with the link at the bottom of every newsletter. Substack’s own processing of this data is governed by its privacy policy (substack.com/privacy).

3. Who your data is shared with

Our hosting and email service providers: to the extent the service requires, so that the site and the email service can be provided technically.

Substack Inc. (USA): only if you subscribe to the newsletter, your email address, so that the newsletter can be sent.

Google (YouTube) and Meta (Instagram): some pages show YouTube videos embedded in YouTube’s privacy-enhanced mode (youtube-nocookie.com). When such a page opens, the player loads from Google’s servers and Google receives your IP address and browser details; YouTube cookies may be set only once you play the video. Instagram posts load only when you choose to show them, and Instagram links open Instagram only when you click them. Google and Meta process this data under their own privacy policies.

Authorized public institutions and bodies: only where we are legally obliged to, and to the extent requested.

Your personal data is not shared with any third parties other than those listed above, and it is never shared for advertising or marketing purposes.

4. How your data is collected

In email correspondence, your data is collected through the message you send us; technical records and cookies are collected automatically when you visit the site. For the newsletter, your data is collected through the email address you enter in the subscription form; for speaking invitations, through the invitation form you fill in.

5. Retention

We keep your data for as long as the purpose of processing requires, and for the retention and limitation periods set out in the relevant legislation. When these periods end, your data is deleted, destroyed or anonymized.

6. Your rights and how to apply

Under Article 11 of the Law, you have the right to learn whether your personal data is processed; to request information if it has been processed; to learn the purpose of processing and whether it is used in line with that purpose; to know the third parties to whom it has been transferred; to request correction if it is incomplete or inaccurate, and deletion under the conditions set out in the Law; to request that these actions be notified to the parties to whom the data has been transferred; to object to a result against you arising exclusively from analysis by automated systems; and to claim compensation if you suffer damage as a result of unlawful processing.

You can send your request to iletisim@sinanhamamsarilar.com, in line with the Communiqué on the Procedures and Principles of Application to the Data Controller, together with information sufficient for us to verify your identity. Your request will be concluded free of charge as soon as possible according to its nature, and within thirty days at the latest.