Last updated: October 2026
Istanbul Clues is a digital travel guide written and operated by Serhat Engul. Serhat Engul is responsible for the handling of personal information associated with the site. This policy explains what information may be collected when visitors leave comments, send messages, or use pages that contain cookies, advertising, analytics, and third-party content.
Comments and Gravatar
When a visitor leaves a comment, Istanbul Clues collects the details entered in the comment form, the visitor’s IP address, and browser user-agent information. These details support comment moderation and spam detection. Comments and their associated metadata are retained indefinitely so that follow-up comments can be recognized and approved. Istanbul Clues does not collect visitor account or membership data.
An anonymized string generated from the email address supplied with a comment may be sent to Gravatar to check for a profile image. If one is available, it may appear beside the approved comment. Gravatar is associated with Automattic; further information is available in the Automattic privacy policy.
Contact Form Messages
The contact form asks visitors for a name, an email address, and a message. I use this information to respond to questions and handle private tour inquiries. Messages submitted through WPForms are delivered to my email inbox. The same form can be used to ask how personal information is handled or to submit a data-related request.
Cookies
Functional cookies may remember a commenter’s name and email address for a later comment. An advertising plugin may also use a cookie related to screen width when displaying an advertisement.
Google Analytics and Google AdSense also use cookies, as described in the next section. Visitors can manage or disable cookies through their browser settings; some site features may work differently if cookies are disabled.
Advertising and Analytics
Google Analytics helps show how visitors use Istanbul Clues. Usage information can include pages viewed, browser information, and time spent on the site. This information is used to understand how the guides are read and how visitors move between pages.
Google AdSense serves display advertisements. Google and its third-party advertising partners may use cookies to present advertising based on visits to this and other sites. Personalized ad preferences can be managed through Google Ads Settings.
External Links and Embedded Content
Some guides include embedded videos, maps, or other material provided by outside websites. Such content may behave as though the visitor had opened the source site directly. The provider may collect interaction information or use cookies according to its own privacy policy. Other external resources may include Google Fonts and Gravatar.
Some links to GetYourGuide contain a partner identifier showing that a visitor came from Istanbul Clues. After a visitor follows a link, information handled on GetYourGuide, including during a booking, is subject to that provider’s privacy policy. The commercial relationship is described in the Affiliate Disclaimer.
Where Information Is Sent
Comments may be checked by Akismet, an automated spam-detection service from Automattic. Contact form messages are delivered by email. Advertising, analytics, Gravatar, and embedded-content providers may process information under their own policies, as described above.
Your Data Requests and Contact
Depending on applicable data protection law, including GDPR or Türkiye’s KVKK where relevant, visitors may request access to personal data about them, ask for correction or deletion, or object to certain processing. These requests and other privacy questions can be sent through the Istanbul Clues contact page.
The conditions for using the website are set out separately in the Terms & Conditions.