1. Introduction

This Privacy Policy explains how WEBMINT s.r.o., with its registered office at Jana Želivského 2, 130 00 Praha 3, Czech Republic (hereinafter referred to as "we", "us", or "the Operator"), collects, uses, stores, and protects your personal data when you visit and use the website CheckPopulation.com (hereinafter referred to as "the Website"). We are committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring that your personal data is handled in compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 ("GDPR"), the Czech Act No. 110/2019 Coll. on the Processing of Personal Data, and other applicable data protection legislation.

2. Personal Data Collection

We collect personal data that you voluntarily provide to us through the following means:

• Contact forms: When you submit a message through our contact form, we collect your name, email address, and the content of your message.
• Comments: When you leave a comment on a country page or blog article, we collect your name, email address, and the content of your comment. Your email address is not publicly displayed.
• Newsletter subscription: If you subscribe to our newsletter, we collect your email address.

We also automatically collect certain technical data when you visit the Website, including your IP address (anonymized), browser type and version, operating system, referring URL, pages visited, time and date of access, and device information.

3. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to enhance your experience on the Website. Cookies are small text files stored on your device that help us provide and improve our services.

3.1 Essential Cookies

These cookies are strictly necessary for the operation of the Website. They include:

• Language preference cookie: Stores your selected language so the Website displays content in the correct language on subsequent visits.
• Theme preference cookie: Remembers your chosen display mode (light or dark theme).
• Session cookie: Maintains your session state while navigating the Website.
• Cookie consent cookie: Records your cookie consent preferences to avoid displaying the consent banner repeatedly.

These cookies do not require your consent as they are essential for the Website to function properly.

3.2 Analytics Cookies

We use analytics cookies to understand how visitors interact with the Website. These cookies help us improve the Website by collecting and reporting information anonymously.

• Google Analytics 4 (GA4): We use Google Analytics 4, provided by Google LLC, to analyze website traffic and usage patterns. GA4 collects data such as pages visited, session duration, bounce rate, approximate geographic location (based on anonymized IP), device and browser information, and traffic sources. IP anonymization is enabled, meaning your full IP address is never stored by Google Analytics.

3.3 Marketing and Advertising Cookies

With your consent, we may use marketing and advertising cookies to deliver relevant advertisements to you and to measure the effectiveness of our advertising campaigns.

• Google Ads (Google LLC): We may use Google Ads remarketing cookies to show you targeted advertisements on other websites within the Google Display Network based on your previous interactions with our Website. These cookies track your visits and browsing behavior to serve personalized ads.
• Facebook Pixel / Meta Pixel (Meta Platforms, Inc.): We may use the Meta Pixel to track conversions from Facebook and Instagram advertisements, build targeted audiences for future ads, and remarket to users who have already taken certain actions on our Website. The Meta Pixel collects data such as pages visited, actions taken, device information, and other browsing data.
• Retargeting cookies: These cookies enable us to display advertisements to you on third-party websites after you have visited our Website, reminding you of our content and services.

3.4 Social Media Cookies

Our Website includes social media sharing widgets that may set cookies on your device:

• Facebook (Meta Platforms, Inc.): The Facebook Like and Share buttons may collect data about your interaction with our Website.
• Twitter/X (X Corp.): The Twitter/X sharing widget may set cookies and collect data about your activity.

These cookies are controlled by the respective social media platforms, and we encourage you to review their privacy policies for more information.

3.5 Third-Party Tracking and Tag Management

• Google Tag Manager (Google LLC): We use Google Tag Manager to manage and deploy marketing and analytics tags on our Website. Google Tag Manager itself does not collect personal data, but it facilitates the loading of other scripts that may collect data.
• Cookie Consent Management: We use a cookie consent management tool to ensure that non-essential cookies are only activated after you have given your explicit consent.

4. Google Analytics

We use Google Analytics 4 (GA4) for web analytics. The following information is relevant to how GA4 processes your data:

• Data collected: Page views, scrolling behavior, outbound clicks, site search queries, session duration, user engagement metrics, traffic sources, device and browser information, and approximate location (country/city level based on anonymized IP).
• IP anonymization: We have enabled IP anonymization in GA4, which means your IP address is truncated before it is stored or processed.
• Data retention: We have configured GA4 to retain user-level and event-level data for 14 months, after which it is automatically deleted.
• Data sharing: Analytics data may be shared with other Google services for advertising purposes only if you have given consent for marketing cookies.
• Opt-out: You can opt out of Google Analytics tracking by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on, or by declining analytics cookies through our cookie consent banner.

5. Facebook/Meta Pixel

If you have consented to marketing cookies, the Meta Pixel may be active on our Website. The Meta Pixel enables the following:

• Conversion tracking: Measuring the effectiveness of our advertisements on Facebook and Instagram by tracking actions users take on our Website after clicking an ad.
• Custom Audiences: Creating audiences of users who have visited specific pages or performed certain actions on our Website, allowing us to serve targeted ads to these users on Facebook and Instagram.
• Lookalike Audiences: Allowing Meta to find users with characteristics similar to our existing audience, enabling us to reach new potential visitors.
• Opt-out: You can opt out of Facebook interest-based advertising by adjusting your Facebook Ad Settings. You can also opt out via the Digital Advertising Alliance opt-out page.

6. Targeted Advertising

We may use behavioral data collected through cookies and tracking technologies to deliver targeted advertisements. This process, also known as interest-based advertising or programmatic advertising, involves:

• Analyzing your browsing behavior, pages visited, and interactions with our Website to build an interest profile.
• Sharing this aggregated and pseudonymized data with advertising networks (such as Google Ads and Meta Audience Network) to display relevant ads to you on third-party websites and platforms.
• Using real-time bidding (RTB) and programmatic ad exchanges to serve advertisements that match your inferred interests.

You have the right to opt out of targeted advertising at any time by adjusting your cookie preferences through our consent banner, by using industry opt-out tools such as YourAdChoices or Your Online Choices (EU), or by configuring your browser to reject third-party cookies.

7. Cookie Consent

In compliance with the EU ePrivacy Directive (2009/136/EC) and GDPR, we display a cookie consent banner when you first visit our Website. This banner allows you to:

• Accept all cookies (essential, analytics, and marketing).
• Accept only essential cookies.
• Customize your cookie preferences by category.

You may change your cookie preferences at any time by clicking the "Cookie Settings" link in the footer of the Website. Non-essential cookies will not be placed on your device unless you have given your explicit consent.

8. Google reCAPTCHA

We use Google reCAPTCHA v3 to protect our forms (contact form, comments) from spam and abuse. Google reCAPTCHA v3 works in the background without requiring user interaction and assigns a risk score to each request. In the process, Google may collect and process:

• Your IP address
• Cookies placed by Google
• Mouse movements and browsing behavior on the page
• Browser and device information

This data is processed by Google LLC in accordance with the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.

9. Data Sharing with Third Parties

We may share your data with the following third-party service providers, solely for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy:

• Google LLC (Google Analytics, Google Ads, Google Tag Manager, Google reCAPTCHA) — analytics, advertising, and spam protection.
• Meta Platforms, Inc. (Facebook Pixel, Meta Audience Network) — advertising and conversion tracking.
• Advertising networks and exchanges — programmatic advertising and retargeting through partners within the Google Display Network and Meta Audience Network.
• Hosting providers — our Website is hosted on servers within the European Union.

We do not sell your personal data to any third party. Data is shared only to the extent necessary to provide the services described herein and in accordance with applicable data protection laws.

10. Data Retention

We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected:

• Contact form submissions: Retained for 3 years after the last communication.
• Comments: Retained for the lifetime of the associated content, unless you request deletion.
• Analytics data (Google Analytics): Retained for 14 months.
• Advertising cookies: Expire according to the third-party provider's policy, typically between 30 days and 13 months.
• Server logs: Retained for 30 days.

11. Your Rights Under GDPR

Under the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679, you have the following rights with respect to your personal data:

• Right of access (Article 15): You have the right to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Right to rectification (Article 16): You have the right to request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal data.
• Right to erasure (Article 17): You have the right to request deletion of your personal data ("right to be forgotten"), subject to legal obligations.
• Right to restriction of processing (Article 18): You have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your personal data in certain circumstances.
• Right to data portability (Article 20): You have the right to receive your personal data in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format.
• Right to object (Article 21): You have the right to object to the processing of your personal data for direct marketing purposes, including profiling related to direct marketing.
• Right to withdraw consent (Article 7): Where processing is based on your consent, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before the withdrawal.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at [email protected]. We will respond to your request within 30 days. If you believe that our processing of your personal data violates your rights, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Czech Office for Personal Data Protection (ÚOOÚ) or another competent supervisory authority.

12. Children's Privacy

Our Website is not directed at children under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 16. If we become aware that we have inadvertently collected personal data from a child under 16, we will take steps to delete such data as soon as possible. If you believe that a child under 16 has provided us with personal data, please contact us at [email protected].

13. International Data Transfers

Some of the third-party services we use (Google LLC, Meta Platforms, Inc.) are based in the United States. When your data is transferred to the US or other countries outside the European Economic Area (EEA), we ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) approved by the European Commission, or the service provider's participation in recognized data protection frameworks (e.g., the EU-US Data Privacy Framework). By using the Website and consenting to the use of third-party cookies, you acknowledge that your data may be transferred to and processed in jurisdictions outside the EEA.

14. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We reserve the right to update this Privacy Policy at any time. Changes will be published on this page with an updated "Last updated" date. We recommend reviewing this page periodically to stay informed about how we protect your data. Significant changes (such as the introduction of new tracking technologies or new data sharing arrangements) may be communicated through a prominent notice on the Website or via email if you have provided us with your email address.

15. Contact

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data processing practices, please contact us:

WEBMINT s.r.o.
Jana Želivského 2
130 00 Praha 3
Czech Republic
Email: [email protected]
Data Protection Officer (DPO): [email protected]