Privacy Policy (GDPR & Swiss nDSG)

At Boats & Me ("we", "us", or "our"), operated by Alexio (Alex) Colognese in Ticino, Switzerland, your privacy is fundamental. We do not sell your personal data, run ad networks or tracking cookies on this site, or spam your inbox.

This Privacy Policy sets out how we collect, process, and protect your information under the revised Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (nDSG) and the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

1. Data Controller

The data controller responsible for personal information processed through this website is:
Alexio (Alex) Colognese (Boats & Me)
Lugano, Ticino, Switzerland
Email: alexcandboats@gmail.com

2. What Data We Collect & Why

• Email Address: When you subscribe to The Weekly Log, we collect your email address solely to dispatch our free weekly newsletter and guide updates. The free boat rental checklist is a direct PDF download, so you do not need to give us your email to get it.
• Technical Log Data: Like all web servers, our hosting provider records anonymized access logs (IP address, browser type, timestamps) for site reliability and cyber security defense.

3. Subscribing via Beehiiv

We use Beehiiv Inc. as our email platform (Publication ID: 42d9450b-e806-48a3-908b-06a0b3800fdd). The subscribe buttons on this site are plain links to our sign-up page on Beehiiv (boats-and-me.beehiiv.com). We do not embed Beehiiv forms, Google Tag Manager, ad or affiliate scripts on boatsandme.com (the only third-party script is Cloudflare's cookie-free analytics, see section 5), so nothing from Beehiiv loads until you click. Once you are on Beehiiv, their privacy policy applies, and Beehiiv stores your email address and manages double opt-in and unsubscribes.

The subscribe links carry simple tags (for example utm_source=boatsandme.com and the button's position on the page) so we can see which button a sign-up came from. They contain no personal data.

4. Double Opt-In & Your Unsubscribe Right

We strictly practice double opt-in. When you subscribe on our Beehiiv page, you receive a confirmation email with a link you must click to verify ownership of the address. You can unsubscribe at any time with a single click using the "Unsubscribe" link located at the bottom of every issue we send.

5. Cookies, Fonts & Analytics

boatsandme.com does not set cookies, so there is no cookie banner. Our fonts are served from our own domain, not from Google. If you close the subscribe bar on a phone, your browser remembers that choice for the current tab only (session storage), and it is cleared when you close the tab.

We use Cloudflare Web Analytics, the cookie-free analytics from our host, Cloudflare. A small Cloudflare script (static.cloudflareinsights.com) counts visits in aggregate, such as page views, referring sites, countries and device types. It does not set cookies or use local storage, does not fingerprint you, and does not track you across other websites. We only see totals, never who you are.

6. Affiliate Links & Sponsors

Some outbound links in the newsletter and on this site (for example to boat rental platforms such as GetYourGuide, or to Amazon) may be affiliate links. If you book or buy through one, Ale may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. boatsandme.com itself stays cookie-free: there are no affiliate scripts or widgets on this site, and any tracking cookie is set only by the merchant's site after you click through, under that merchant's privacy policy. Current affiliate partners are Amazon.it (Amazon Associates, for gear links) and GetYourGuide (for boat rental links in the costs calculator). We disclose affiliate links and sponsors next to the links themselves, in the newsletter and on the site.

7. Your Rights Under Swiss nDSG & EU GDPR

You have the right to request access to the personal data we hold about you, request corrections, or request immediate deletion ("Right to be Forgotten"). To exercise any of these rights, simply email us at alexcandboats@gmail.com.