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Privacy

This page explains how Open Walls Gallery processes personal data on this website. It applies to every visitor, regardless of location. For any data-protection question, write to info@openwallsgallery.com.

1. Who is responsible

Open Walls Gallery is the data controller. The single point of contact for any privacy matter — access requests, deletions, consent withdrawal, complaints — is info@openwallsgallery.com. We typically respond within one business day.

2. What we collect, and why

2.1 Browsing the site

Hosting is provided by Vercel Inc. with delivery from their EU edge network. On each request the platform records a short-lived access log (timestamp, anonymised IP, request path, user-agent) for service delivery and abuse prevention. Legal basis: legitimate interest in a stable, secure service (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). See Vercel’s privacy policy.

2.2 Anonymous reach & speed measurement

We use Vercel Web Analytics and Vercel Speed Insights to count pageviews and measure real-user Core Web Vitals. Both are cookieless — no identifiers are stored on your device. No consent is required for these because no information is read from or written to your device. Legal basis: Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR.

2.3 Statistics — Google Analytics 4 (opt-in only)

If you accept in our cookie banner, we load Google Analytics 4 (Google Ireland Ltd, Gordon House, Dublin 4, Ireland; parent Google LLC, USA). GA4 sets these cookies and reads them on subsequent visits:

  • _ga — visitor identifier. Retention: up to 2 years.
  • _ga_<ID> (property-specific) — session state. Retention: up to 2 years.

We have IP-anonymisation enabled, Google Signals disabled, and ad-personalisation signals disabled — GA4 receives no data that could be reused for advertising. Until you accept, the GA4 script is loaded but kept in denied consent state (Google Consent Mode v2), so it transmits no personal data. On reject or subsequent withdrawal we automatically clear the_gacookies. Legal basis: your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR). Data is transferred to the United States under Google’s EU Standard Contractual Clauses. See Google’s privacy policy.

2.4 Consent record (server-side log)

Every choice you make in the cookie banner is recorded in our server logs with: timestamp, the choice (accept / reject / customize), a salted SHA-256 hash of your IP and user-agent, and your detected locale. The hashes are non-reversible — we cannot recover your IP from them. We keep this log to demonstrate that consent was given (Art. 7(1) GDPR). Retention: per Vercel runtime-log retention (typically a few days). Legal basis: Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR (legal obligation to demonstrate consent).

2.5 Newsletter (double opt-in)

If you sign up for our newsletter, we store your email address and the timestamps of your sign-up and confirmation. Delivery is handled by Resend Inc. (USA). We use a double opt-in flow: your subscription only becomes active after you click the confirmation link in the welcome email. Unsubscribe at any time via the link in any newsletter or by emailing info@openwallsgallery.com. Legal basis: your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR).

2.6 Contact form

When you write to us through the contact form, we receive the name, email, and message you provide — they reach us via Resend and stay only in our inbox. We use these data only to reply. Legal basis: Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR (pre-contractual measures) or Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR.

2.7 Shop & payments

If you purchase an artwork through our shop, payment is processed by Stripe Payments Europe Ltd (Dublin, Ireland). The data required (name, shipping address, payment information) is sent directly to Stripe; we do not store card numbers. Legal basis: Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR (contract performance). See Stripe’s privacy policy.

2.8 Embedded media

Some editorial pages embed videos from YouTube (Google Ireland) and Vimeo. A connection to those providers is only established when you click the player, at which point your IP may be shared with them. We have no control over that transmission.

3. Cookies in plain English

You will encounter at most these cookies on this site:

  • Strictly necessary — admin-area session cookie (only for logged-in editors).
  • Opt-in statistics — _ga and _ga_<ID> from Google Analytics. Set only after you accept in the cookie banner.

We do not use advertising cookies, retargeting pixels, or social-media trackers.

4. Change your cookie consent

You can reopen the cookie banner at any time: . Switching statistics off clears the GA cookies immediately.

5. Your rights

Under the GDPR you have the right:

  • to know what data we process about you (Art. 15),
  • to rectify inaccurate data (Art. 16),
  • to erasure (Art. 17),
  • to restrict processing (Art. 18),
  • to data portability (Art. 20),
  • to object at any time to processing based on legitimate interests (Art. 21),
  • to withdraw consent at any time, with effect for the future (Art. 7(3)),
  • to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority in the EU/EEA country where you live or work.

To exercise any of these rights, email info@openwallsgallery.com. We do not charge for handling these requests and aim to reply within one business day; complex requests within the 30-day GDPR window.

6. International transfers

Some of our processors (Vercel, Google, Stripe, Resend) are based in the United States. Transfers happen under the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses and, where applicable, the EU-US Data Privacy Framework.

7. Changes to this notice

This notice was last updated in May 2026. We update it when our processing changes; the live version is always available on this page.