Last updated: 5 November 2026
This Privacy Policy explains what personal data is processed when you visit sinter-crystallization.akaramanov.com (the “website”), why, and what rights you have. It also explains which cookies and similar technologies the website uses.
1. Who is responsible (controller)
Prof. Alexander Karamanov
Project “Theory and application of sinter-crystallization”
Rostislaw Kaischew Institute of Physical Chemistry, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
Acad. G. Bonchev str., bl. 11, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria
Phone: (+359 2) 979-2565
E-mail: karama@ipc.bas.bg
For any question about your data, or to exercise your rights, write to the e-mail above.
2. Visiting the website (server logs)
When you open a page, our hosting provider’s web server automatically records technical data: your IP address, date and time, the page requested, the referring page, browser type and operating system. This is needed to deliver the website and keep it secure (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR, legitimate interest). The logs are kept for a short period by the hosting provider and are not combined with other data.
3. Contact form and e-mail
If you use the contact form or write to us by e-mail, we process your name, e-mail address and message only to answer your request (Art. 6(1)(b) and (f) GDPR). The form sends your message by e-mail to the address in section 1. We keep the correspondence only as long as needed to handle your request, unless the law requires longer storage.
The form is also protected by Google reCAPTCHA (see section 6). reCAPTCHA is loaded only after you accept the relevant cookies in the cookie banner.
4. Cookies and consent
Cookies are small text files stored on your device. We use:
- Strictly necessary cookies, which the website needs to work (for example to remember your language and your cookie choice). They do not need consent (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR and the ePrivacy rules).
- Statistics cookies (Google Analytics), set only if you agree (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR).
- Marketing / third-party content (Google reCAPTCHA, Google Maps, YouTube), loaded only if you agree (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR). Until then, a placeholder is shown in their place.
When you first visit, a banner asks for your choice. You can accept, deny, or choose by category. You can change or withdraw your consent at any time with the “Manage consent” button at the bottom of every page. Withdrawing consent does not affect processing that happened before.
Cookies used on this website
| Cookie | Provider | Purpose | Duration | Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| pll_language | This website (Polylang) | Remembers the selected language | 1 year | Necessary |
| cmplz_* | This website (Complianz) | Stores your cookie choices | 1 year | Necessary |
| _ga | Google Analytics | Distinguishes visitors for statistics | 2 years | Statistics |
| _ga_* | Google Analytics | Keeps the session state for statistics | 2 years | Statistics |
| _GRECAPTCHA | Google reCAPTCHA | Spam and bot protection for the contact form | 6 months | Marketing |
| Various (e.g. NID, YSC, VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE) | Google Maps, YouTube | Set by Google when you load a map or play a video | Session to 6 months | Marketing |
Logged-in editors of the website also receive WordPress login cookies; these do not affect visitors.
5. Google Analytics
With your consent, we use Google Analytics 4 (Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland) through the Google Site Kit plugin to understand how the website is used, for example which pages are visited and how visitors find us. Google Analytics does not store full IP addresses. We use Google Consent Mode v2: until you agree, no Analytics cookies are set. Data may be transferred to Google LLC in the USA, which is certified under the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework. Analytics data is kept for 14 months. More information: policies.google.com/privacy.
6. Google reCAPTCHA, Google Maps and YouTube
reCAPTCHA checks whether a form is sent by a person or by a bot. It analyses your interaction with the page, IP address and browser data. Google Maps shows our location on the Contact page. YouTube videos are shown in the Gallery. All three are services of Google Ireland Limited, and data may be transferred to Google LLC in the USA (EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework). They are loaded only after you consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR). More information: policies.google.com/privacy.
7. Google Fonts
The website uses fonts from Google Fonts (Google Ireland Limited). To display them, your browser connects to Google servers, which receive your IP address and browser information. We use them so the website is displayed consistently (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR, legitimate interest). Google Fonts does not set cookies. Data may be transferred to Google LLC in the USA (EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework). More information: developers.google.com/fonts/faq/privacy.
8. Recipients
Your data is shared only with the service providers named in this policy and our hosting provider, who process it on our behalf, or where we are legally required to.
9. Your rights
Under the GDPR you have the right to access your data (Art. 15), to rectification (Art. 16), to erasure (Art. 17), to restriction of processing (Art. 18), to data portability (Art. 20), to object to processing based on legitimate interest (Art. 21), and to withdraw consent at any time (Art. 7(3)). To exercise them, contact us at the e-mail in section 1.
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. In Bulgaria this is the Commission for Personal Data Protection, 2 Prof. Tsvetan Lazarov Blvd., 1592 Sofia, www.cpdp.bg.
10. Changes
We may update this policy when the website or the law changes. The current version is always available on this page.