Privacy policy

Last updated: 18 October 2026

This policy explains what personal data Wax Journal collects when you use waxjournal.com, why we collect it, who helps us process it, and how you can exercise your rights. Questions can always be sent to hi@waxjournal.com.

What we collect

Your account. Your email address, your username, and anything you add to your profile, such as a bio or location. Signing in works with a one-time code sent to your email address or with your Google account, so we never store a password.
What you post. Reviews, ratings and the venues you mark as “visited” or “want to visit”. Reviews are public and appear with your username, never with your email address.
Venue submissions and corrections. The details you send us about a venue, plus your email address so we can follow up.
Newsletter. Your email address, how you signed up (the newsletter form or your account), and when you signed up and confirmed.
Your location, only if you allow it. When your browser shares your location, we use it on your device to show venues near you. We do not store it.
Visit statistics, only if you accept. When you accept analytics in the cookie banner, Google Analytics records which pages you open, roughly where you are (country and city), and which browser and device you use. It does not store your IP address and we never link it to your account.
Our own view count. We count how often a venue page is opened, without cookies and without anything that identifies you. You can switch it off in the cookie settings.
Sign-in cookies. Cookies that keep you signed in. See the cookie policy.

The newsletter

You can get the Wax Journal newsletter in two ways:

Through the newsletter form. We first email you a confirmation link. Your address only joins the list after you click it. If you don't click it, you won't receive the newsletter.
With a Wax Journal account. Once you confirm your account's email address, it also receives the newsletter. We tell you this when you sign up.

How to unsubscribe: every newsletter has an Unsubscribe link at the bottom. One click takes you off the list right away, with no login needed. You can also email hi@waxjournal.com and we will unsubscribe you by hand. Unsubscribing does not delete your account, and signing up for an account again does not put you back on the list. Only a new sign-up through the newsletter form does.

Account emails like the one-time code you sign in with are not newsletters. You receive them as long as you have an account.

Why we use your data

To run your account and show what you post: this is necessary to provide the service you signed up for.
To send the newsletter to people who signed up through the form: based on your consent, which you can withdraw at any time by unsubscribing.
To count visits with Google Analytics: based on your consent, which you can withdraw at any time through “Cookie settings” at the bottom of every page.
To send the newsletter to account holders, and to review venue submissions and corrections: based on our legitimate interest in keeping the community informed and the directory accurate. You can object at any time. For the newsletter, unsubscribing is enough.

Who processes your data for us

We don't sell your data and don't use advertising trackers. The providers below process data only on our instructions, under a data processing agreement:

Our database, email and hosting providers (Supabase, Resend and Vercel): storing accounts, reviews and comments, sending our emails and the newsletter including unsubscribes, and serving the website. Vercel also measures how fast pages load, without cookies.
Google (Google Ireland Limited): signing in with a Google account, and Google Analytics for visit statistics if you accepted it. Google also processes this data in the United States, under the EU–US Data Privacy Framework.
Mapbox: the maps. Your browser loads map tiles directly from Mapbox, which receives your IP address.

How long we keep it

Account data is kept until you ask us to delete your account. Newsletter data is kept while you are subscribed. After you unsubscribe, we keep your email address only with an “unsubscribed” mark, so we don't email you again by mistake. Visit statistics are kept in Google Analytics for at most 14 months. Reviews stay public until you or we remove them.

Your rights

You can ask us to see, correct, export or delete your personal data, or object to how we use it. Email hi@waxjournal.com and we will respond within one month. To delete your account, send the request from the email address you signed up with. If you are unhappy with how we handle your data, you can file a complaint with the Dutch Data Protection Authority (Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens).