Privacy policy
Last updated: 2 October 2026
This policy explains which personal data this website collects, why, and what rights you have. It follows the Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP) and, for visitors in the European Union and the European Economic Area, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
1. Who is responsible
[Full legal name]
c/o [Provider name], [Street and number], [Postcode and town], Switzerland
Email: hello@onmywayinswitzerland.com
I run this site alone and have not appointed a data protection officer. For any question about your data, write to the email address above.
2. Summary
- You can read every article without giving me any personal data.
- The site loads no fonts, icons or scripts from other companies, except the tools described below.
- Google Analytics, the Meta Pixel and embedded content (videos, Instagram posts, maps) only load after you agree to them in the cookie settings.
- I do not sell your data. With your consent, I use the Meta Pixel to measure and target my own ads on Facebook and Instagram. I also share the encrypted email addresses of subscribers and account holders with Meta for my ads, unless you opt out (section 12).
3. Hosting and server logs
The site is hosted by cyon GmbH in Basel, Switzerland, on servers in Switzerland. Each time you open a page, the server automatically records technical data: your IP address, date and time, the page requested, the referring page, your browser and operating system. This is needed to deliver the site, to keep it secure and to find errors. The host deletes these logs after [number of days, check with cyon].
Legal basis under the GDPR: my legitimate interest in a secure, working website (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).
4. Contacting me by email
When you write to me, I receive your email address, your name if you give it, and your message. I use them only to reply and to handle your request. My mailbox is hosted by cyon in Switzerland. I delete messages when they are no longer needed, unless I have to keep them by law (for example business correspondence connected to invoices, kept for 10 years).
Legal basis under the GDPR: your request and my legitimate interest in answering it (Art. 6(1)(b) and (f) GDPR).
5. Contact form (Tool section)
If you use the contact form, I receive the data you enter (name, email address, message). The form sends your message to my mailbox at cyon in Switzerland. Nothing is passed to other companies. Section 4 applies to how long I keep it.
6. Comments
If you leave a comment under an article, I store your comment, the name you enter, your email address, your IP address and the date and time. I need this to publish your comment, to reply to you and to prevent misuse. Your name and comment appear publicly under the article. Your email address and IP address are never shown.
I read every comment before it appears. Spam is filtered on this website itself; comments are not sent to any outside service. No profile pictures (Gravatar) are loaded, and no cookie is set to remember your details.
I keep comments for as long as the article is online. You can ask me at any time to change or delete your comment: hello@onmywayinswitzerland.com.
Legal basis under the GDPR: your consent when you post a comment and my legitimate interest in keeping the comment section free of misuse (Art. 6(1)(a) and (f) GDPR).
7. Newsletter (Tool section)
If you subscribe, I store your email address, and your first name if you give it, the date of sign-up and your confirmation. You receive an email asking you to confirm (double opt-in), so nobody can sign you up without your knowledge. I use your address to send the newsletter and the content you signed up for, for example a downloadable guide. I also use it, encrypted, for Facebook and Instagram ads as described in section 12, unless you opt out.
The newsletter is sent with [Provider name], [company, country]. [If outside Switzerland and the EU: data is transferred to [country] under [the Swiss-US Data Privacy Framework / standard contractual clauses].] The provider records whether an email was opened and which links were clicked, so I can see which topics interest readers. I see these figures for individual subscribers as well as in total.
You can unsubscribe at any time with the link in every email or by writing to me. I then delete your address, except for a record of the unsubscribe so you are not added again by mistake.
Legal basis under the GDPR: your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR).
8. Reader accounts (Tool section)
If you create an account to save articles, I store your email address, a username, your password (encrypted, I cannot read it) and the articles you save. A cookie keeps you logged in. I use this data to run your account. I also use your email address, encrypted, for Facebook and Instagram ads as described in section 12, unless you opt out in your account settings. You can delete your account at any time in your account settings or by writing to me; your data is then deleted.
Legal basis under the GDPR: providing the service you asked for (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR).
9. Google Analytics (Tool section)
With your consent, this site uses Google Analytics 4 to understand how many people visit, which articles they read, which countries they come from and how they found the site. The service is provided by Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland. Google LLC in the USA may also process the data.
What is collected: pages viewed, time on the page, device type, browser, screen size, approximate location (country, region, city, derived from your IP address), the referring website and clicks on outgoing links. Google Analytics 4 does not store IP addresses. Cookies used: _ga and _ga_[ID], which keep a random identifier for up to 2 years.
My settings: data is kept for 14 months; Google signals and advertising features are switched off; I do not link Analytics with other Google services for advertising. [If you later switch Google signals on, replace the last sentence with: “Google signals is switched on: if you are signed in to a Google account and allowed personalised ads, Google can report age group, gender and interests in anonymous, combined form.”]
Without consent, Google Analytics is not loaded and collects nothing.
Transfer to the USA: Google LLC is certified under the EU-US and the Swiss-US Data Privacy Framework, which the European Commission and the Swiss Federal Council recognise as providing adequate protection.
You can withdraw your consent at any time in the cookie settings. Google’s privacy policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy
Legal basis under the GDPR: your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR).
10. Google Search Console
I use Google Search Console to see which Google searches lead to this site. It places nothing on the site and collects no data from your visit; Google uses data from its own search engine.
11. Embedded content: videos, Instagram, maps (Tool section)
Some articles contain videos, Instagram posts or maps from other companies. These are only loaded after you agree, either in the cookie settings or by clicking the embed. Until then you see a placeholder. Once loaded, the company receives your IP address, the page you are on and browser data, and may set cookies, also for its own purposes.
| Content | Company | Privacy policy |
|---|---|---|
| YouTube videos | Google Ireland Limited, Ireland (with Google LLC, USA) | https://policies.google.com/privacy |
| Instagram posts and reels | Meta Platforms Ireland Limited, Ireland (with Meta Platforms Inc., USA) | https://privacycenter.instagram.com/policy |
| Google Maps | Google Ireland Limited, Ireland (with Google LLC, USA) | https://policies.google.com/privacy |
YouTube videos load in privacy-enhanced mode (youtube-nocookie.com). Google LLC and Meta Platforms Inc. are certified under the EU-US and Swiss-US Data Privacy Framework.
Links that open a map in a new tab are not embeds: nothing is loaded until you click, and then Google’s privacy policy applies on their site.
Legal basis under the GDPR: your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR).
12. Meta Pixel (Tool section)
With your consent, this site uses the Meta Pixel from Meta Platforms Ireland Limited, Merrion Road, Dublin 4, Ireland. Meta Platforms Inc. in the USA may also process the data. I advertise this site on Facebook and Instagram, and the Pixel helps me:
- see whether my ads lead to visits, newsletter sign-ups or clicks on booking links;
- show my ads to people who have visited the site (retargeting) and to people similar to them;
- find new readers similar to those who subscribed to the newsletter or created an account;
- avoid showing ads to people who already know the site.
What is collected: the pages you view, actions such as a newsletter sign-up or a click on an affiliate link, your IP address, browser and device data, and a cookie identifier. If you are logged in to Facebook or Instagram, Meta can link this to your account. I do not see who you are; I only see totals and audience groups. The Pixel does not send Meta your email address or other contact details (advanced matching is switched off).
Audiences from subscribers and account holders. When you subscribe or create an account, the Pixel registers this as an event, without your email address. I use these events to build a group of subscribers, and Meta finds people with similar interests (“lookalike audience”).
I also upload the email addresses of newsletter subscribers and account holders to Meta, in encrypted (hashed) form, as a customer list. Meta compares them with its users and uses matches only to build my audiences (people similar to my readers) and to stop showing sign-up ads to people who have already signed up; addresses that do not match are deleted after the comparison. I see only the size of an audience, never who is in it. Meta’s terms for customer lists: https://www.facebook.com/legal/terms/customaudience
You can object to this at any time, without giving a reason and without losing your account or the newsletter: switch off “Ads on Facebook and Instagram” in your account settings, or write to me. Your address is then left out of the next upload and removed from the lists already in Meta.
Legal basis under the GDPR for the customer list: my legitimate interest in finding new readers for this free site (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR); you have the right to object (Art. 21 GDPR).
Cookies used: _fbp (3 months) on this site; Meta may also use its own cookies such as fr when you are logged in to its services.
Meta and I are jointly responsible for collecting the data and passing it to Meta; Meta alone is responsible for what it does with it afterwards, including for its own purposes. The agreement with Meta: https://www.facebook.com/legal/controller_addendum
Transfer to the USA: Meta Platforms Inc. is certified under the EU-US and Swiss-US Data Privacy Framework.
You can withdraw your consent at any time in the cookie settings. You can also manage ad preferences in your Facebook or Instagram account. Meta’s privacy policy: https://www.facebook.com/privacy/policy
Legal basis under the GDPR: your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR).
13. Affiliate links
Some links on this site are affiliate links. If you click one and book or buy something, I may receive a commission. The link contains my partner ID so the company can attribute the booking to this site. When you click, you leave my site; the company, and any affiliate network in between, may set cookies and record the click on its side under its own privacy policy. I receive no personal data about you, only totals of clicks, bookings and commissions.
Programmes and networks I use or may use: Travelpayouts (network), Awin (network), Swiss Activities (through the Tapfiliate platform), Expedia, Trip.com, Booking.com, GetYourGuide, Viator, Discover Cars, Heymondo, SafetyWing. [Delete those you do not join and add new ones.]
Legal basis under the GDPR: my legitimate interest in financing the site (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).
14. Social media
The site links to my Instagram and other profiles with plain links. No social media share buttons are built into the site; the only tracking from a social network is the Meta Pixel, and only with your consent (section 12). When you follow a link, the privacy policy of that platform applies.
15. Cookies and similar technologies
Cookies are small files your browser stores. This site uses:
| Cookie | Purpose | Duration | Needs consent |
|---|---|---|---|
Cookie settings ([name set by consent plugin]) | Remembers your choice in the cookie banner | [12 months] | No, necessary |
wordpress_logged_in_*, wordpress_sec_* | Keeps logged-in users signed in (Tool section: reader accounts) | Session or 14 days | No, necessary |
_ga, _ga_[ID] | Google Analytics, see section 9 | 2 years | Yes |
_fbp | Meta Pixel, see section 12 | 3 months | Yes |
| YouTube, Instagram, Google Maps cookies | Set by those companies when embeds load, see section 11 | Set by the company | Yes |
Change your choice: Cookie settings. You can also delete or block cookies in your browser settings.
16. Who receives your data
Only the companies named in this policy, and only as described: my host (cyon), and, where the matching section applies, Google, Meta (Pixel and embeds), the newsletter provider and the affiliate partners. I may also have to share data with authorities if the law requires it.
Data stays in Switzerland, except where a section above says otherwise. Transfers to the EU and EEA are covered by the adequacy decision of the Swiss Federal Council; transfers to the USA by the Data Privacy Framework as described.
17. How long I keep data
As long as needed for the purpose described in each section, then I delete it, unless I must keep it longer by law (for example 10 years for business records under Swiss law).
18. Security
The site uses an encrypted connection (HTTPS). I keep WordPress, the theme and plugins up to date and protect access with strong passwords.
19. Your rights
You have the right to:
- know whether I process data about you and receive a copy (access);
- have incorrect data corrected;
- have your data deleted;
- object to processing or restrict it;
- receive data you gave me in a common format (portability);
- withdraw consent at any time, with effect for the future.
Write to hello@onmywayinswitzerland.com. I may ask you to prove your identity, and I answer within 30 days.
You can complain to the Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC, www.edoeb.admin.ch). If you live in the EU or EEA, you can also complain to the data protection authority in your country.
20. Children
This site is not aimed at children under 16. I do not knowingly collect their data.
21. Changes
I update this policy when the site or the law changes. The date at the top shows the latest version.