Privacy policy
Last updated: 4 October 2026
This privacy policy explains which personal data we process when you use saunologist.com and its previews (“Saunologist”), why we do so, and what rights you have. It is based on the Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP). Where the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) applies to you, this policy also meets its requirements.
1. Who is responsible
Responsible for processing your data (the “controller”) is Jarno Baumgartner, Switzerland (see the Impressum). You can reach us about data protection at any time through our contact form.
2. Visiting the website
When you open a page, your browser automatically sends technical information to the server, such as your IP address, the date and time, the page requested, the referring page, your browser and operating system. This is necessary to deliver the website, keep it secure and find errors. Our hosting provider Vercel keeps these access logs only for a short time and we do not combine them with other data.
3. Visitor statistics
To understand how Saunologist is used, we use Vercel Web Analytics. It counts page views, the country, the type of device and browser and the referring website. It does not use cookies, does not store your IP address and does not build a profile of you: visitors are recognised only within one day through a value that is derived from the request and changes daily, so they cannot be followed across days or websites. In addition we count, without any personal data, how often “Visit website” and “Directions” are clicked for each place, and which searches and filters are used (including searches that found nothing), so we can improve the directory.
4. Your location
When you tap “Near me”, your browser asks for your permission to share your location. If you agree, your location is used only in your browser to sort places by distance. It is never sent to or stored by Saunologist. You can withdraw the permission at any time in your browser settings.
5. Searching for a place, maps
When you type a town or postcode, what you type is sent to the Federal Office of Topography swisstopo (api3.geo.admin.ch) to find its position. Maps are loaded from OpenFreeMap, based on OpenStreetMap data. Like any website you visit, these services receive your IP address and technical information from your browser; their own privacy policies apply.
6. Forms
If you suggest a place, report a mistake or send us a message, we store what you enter, including your name and email address if you give them (both are optional). We use this only to handle your message, to reply if you asked us to, and to improve Saunologist. We delete messages at the latest twelve months after we have dealt with them, unless we need to keep them longer for legal reasons. The forms are stored with our database provider Supabase.
7. Stored in your browser
Saunologist does not use cookies. So that your search and filters are still there when you return from a place's page, and so that the hint about another language doesn't come back after you closed it, they are kept in your browser's session storage for the open tab only; they are deleted when you close the tab and are never sent to us.
8. Links to other websites
Saunologist links to the websites of establishments and to other sources. When you follow a link, the other website is responsible for its own data processing.
9. Why we may process your data
We process personal data only for the purposes described above. Under the GDPR, the legal basis is our legitimate interest in running a reliable, secure and useful directory and in improving it (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR), and, when you send us a message, handling your request (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR). Where your consent is needed, for example for your location, we ask for it, and you can withdraw it at any time.
10. Service providers and transfers abroad
We use service providers who process data on our behalf and only according to our instructions: Vercel Inc. (USA) for hosting and visitor statistics, and Supabase Inc. (USA) for the database. Your data may therefore be processed outside Switzerland, including in the USA. We transfer data abroad only where the destination country has adequate data protection as recognised by the Swiss Federal Council (for the USA, for companies certified under the Swiss-U.S. Data Privacy Framework) or where appropriate safeguards are in place, in particular the standard contractual clauses recognised by the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC) and the European Commission. We do not sell your data or pass it on for advertising.
11. Security
We protect your data with appropriate technical and organisational measures. The website is only available through an encrypted connection (HTTPS), and access to stored messages is limited to the operator.
12. Your rights
You have the right to know whether and which personal data we process about you, and to have incorrect data corrected. You can ask us to delete your data or to stop processing it, object to processing based on our legitimate interests, and receive data you gave us in a common electronic format. To exercise these rights, use our contact form; we may ask you to confirm your identity. We reply within 30 days.
If you believe we process your data unlawfully, you can complain to the Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC, edoeb.admin.ch) or, if you live in the EU/EEA, to the data protection authority of your country.
We make no automated individual decisions and do no profiling.
13. Changes
We may update this policy when Saunologist or the services we use change. The version published on this page applies; the date at the top shows when it was last changed.