Effective date: 01/01/2026
1. Introduction
At The Hidden Review, we are committed to protecting your personal data and respecting your privacy. This Privacy and Cookie Policy explains what data we collect, how and why we process it, and the rights you can exercise under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and subsequent EU data protection rules in force in 2026.
We also comply with the privacy requirements of third‑party advertising and analytics providers, including Google AdSense, Adsterra and WordAds, and we take into account the latest guidance from European data protection authorities.
By accessing or using our website and services, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Policy and agree to the way we process your personal data as described here.
For additional details, you may also consult our external legal documents:
- Privacy Policy: https://www.iubenda.com/privacy-policy/25446835
- Cookie Policy: https://www.iubenda.com/privacy-policy/25446835/cookie-policy
- Terms and Conditions: https://www.iubenda.com/terms-and-conditions/25446835
2. Data Controller and Contact Details
The entity responsible for processing your personal data is:
The Hidden Review
Studio Legale Siciliano
Via Santa Maria Della Libera 34, 80127, Napoli, Italy
Email (privacy contact): thehiddenreview@hotmail.com
If we ever appoint a Data Protection Officer (DPO) or an EU representative under new legislation, we will update this section to reflect their contact details.
3. Categories of Personal Data
We only collect personal data that is adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary for clearly defined purposes. The categories include:
- Contact Data: Name, email address and, if you choose to provide it, your phone number.
- User‑Generated Content: Reviews, comments, messages, ratings and any other content you submit or publish on our website.
- Technical Data: IP address, browser type and version, device identifiers, operating system, language settings, time zone.
- Usage Data: URLs visited, session duration, navigation paths, clickstream, interaction with content and ads, referral sources.
- Cookie and Tracking Data: Online identifiers, preferences and consent choices linked to cookies, pixels and similar technologies.
We do not intentionally collect special categories of data (such as data revealing health, religion, political opinions) through normal use of this website.
Children’s data: Our services are intended for users aged 16 and above (or the age defined by local law for valid consent). We do not knowingly process personal data of children. If you believe a child has provided data, please contact us so we can delete it.
4. Purposes and Legal Bases for Processing
We process your personal data only when we have a valid legal basis and for specific, explicit and legitimate purposes.
4.1 Service delivery and site operation
- To operate, maintain and secure our website and services.
- To allow you to access content, leave comments or submit reviews.
Legal basis: performance of a contract or pre‑contractual steps; legitimate interest (to operate and secure our services).
4.2 Communication and support
- To respond to your questions, requests and feedback.
- To notify you about changes to our services or policies.
Legal basis: performance of a contract; legitimate interest (to provide user support and information).
4.3 Personalization and analytics
- To understand how visitors use our website, and to improve content, usability and performance.
- To personalize your experience where permitted (e.g., recommended content).
Legal basis: legitimate interest (analytics and service improvement), or consent where required by local law for cookies and similar technologies.
4.4 Marketing and newsletters
- To send you newsletters, updates or promotional communications about The Hidden Review.
Legal basis: your explicit consent. You may withdraw consent at any time via the unsubscribe link or by contacting us.
4.5 Advertising and profiling for ads
- To display non‑personalized or personalized ads via third‑party networks (Google AdSense, Adsterra, WordAds).
- To measure ad performance and prevent fraud.
Legal basis: consent for advertising cookies and personalized ads; legitimate interest for security and basic ad measurement, where permitted by law.
We do not use automated decision‑making that produces legal effects or similarly significant effects on you without human involvement.
4.6 Legal compliance and protection
- To comply with legal, regulatory or judicial obligations.
- To exercise or defend legal claims and prevent abuse or fraud.
Legal basis: legal obligation; legitimate interest (network and information security, fraud prevention).
When processing is based on your consent, you can withdraw that consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before the withdrawal.
5. Cookies and Similar Technologies
We use cookies, pixels and similar technologies to make our website work properly, to analyze usage and to show relevant ads. We distinguish between:
- Strictly Necessary Cookies: Required for basic functions such as page navigation, security, consent management and access to restricted areas. These are always active.
- Analytics and Performance Cookies: Help us measure traffic, usage patterns and performance (for example, which pages are viewed most). Where local law requires consent for these technologies, we will only use them if you agree.
- Advertising and Profiling Cookies: Set by us and/or our partners (Google AdSense, Adsterra, WordAds) to build an interest profile and show you more relevant ads, as well as to avoid repetitive ads and detect fraudulent activity. These are only used with your prior consent where required.
Managing your preferences
You can manage your cookie and tracking preferences via:
- Our cookie banner or preference center, where you can grant, withhold or modify consent for non‑essential cookies.
- Your browser or device settings, where you can block or delete cookies.
Please note that disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality or performance of the website.
For a detailed list of cookies and technologies we use, retention periods and partners, please refer to our dedicated Cookie Policy.
6. Data Sharing and Recipients
We do not sell your personal data. We may share it with:
- Service Providers (Processors): Companies that provide hosting, maintenance, analytics, email delivery, security, advertising and similar services on our behalf. They only process data under our instructions and are bound by confidentiality and data protection obligations.
- Advertising and Analytics Partners: Including Google AdSense, Adsterra and WordAds, which may act as independent controllers for the data they collect via their technologies. Their processing is governed by their own privacy policies.
- Professional Advisors: Lawyers, accountants and similar professionals acting under confidentiality obligations.
- Public Authorities: Where we are legally obliged to disclose data, or when it is necessary to protect our rights, users or third parties.
We ensure that any data sharing is limited to what is strictly necessary and is carried out with appropriate safeguards.
7. International Data Transfers
Some of our service providers and partners may process your personal data outside the European Economic Area (EEA). When such transfers occur, we take measures to ensure an essentially equivalent level of protection, such as:
- Relying on countries that are subject to an EU adequacy decision; and/or
- Using Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) and additional safeguards, where appropriate.
You can request more information about these safeguards by contacting us.
8. Data Retention
We store your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes described in this Policy, or for the period required by applicable law (for example, tax and accounting retention rules).
Indicatively:
- Contact and account‑related data: retained while your relationship with us is active and for a limited period thereafter to handle legal or administrative matters.
- User‑generated content (reviews, comments): retained as long as it remains published or until you request deletion, subject to legitimate interests and legal obligations.
- Analytics and log data: retained for a limited period necessary for analysis and security, then anonymized or deleted.
- Cookies: stored according to their technical lifespan and partner policies, as detailed in our Cookie Policy.
9. Your Rights
Under GDPR and subsequent EU data protection rules, you have the following rights:
- Right of access: Obtain confirmation as to whether we process your personal data and receive a copy.
- Right to rectification: Have inaccurate or incomplete data corrected.
- Right to erasure (“right to be forgotten”): Request deletion of your data in certain circumstances.
- Right to restriction of processing: Request that we limit processing in specific situations.
- Right to object: Object to processing based on legitimate interests, including profiling, and to processing for direct marketing.
- Right to data portability: Receive your data in a structured, commonly used and machine‑readable format, and transmit it to another controller where technically feasible.
- Right to withdraw consent: Withdraw any consent you have previously given, at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of prior processing.
- Right to lodge a complaint: File a complaint with the competent data protection authority in your country or in Italy.
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at: thehiddenreview@hotmail.com. We may need to verify your identity before responding. We aim to respond without undue delay and within the time limits set by law.
10. Advertising, Profiling and Third‑Party Networks
We display ads through third‑party networks such as Google AdSense, Adsterra and WordAds. These providers may use cookies, device identifiers and technical data to:
- Deliver and optimize ads on our site and elsewhere.
- Limit ad frequency and detect invalid or fraudulent activity.
- Build non‑sensitive interest profiles for personalized advertising (only where you have given consent, if required).
You can manage or opt out of personalized ads as follows:
- Google Ads Settings: https://adssettings.google.com/authenticated
- Adsterra Privacy: https://adsterra.com/privacy-policy
- WordAds Privacy: https://wordpress.com/privacy/wordads/
We do not directly share your name, email address or similar identifiable data with advertisers. However, some partners may act as independent data controllers and combine data from our site with information from other sources, in line with their own privacy policies and consent frameworks.
11. Data Security
We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures designed to protect your personal data from accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorized disclosure or access. These measures may include:
- Encryption in transit where appropriate.
- Access controls and authentication procedures.
- Regular monitoring and review of our systems and policies.
No system is fully secure, but we continuously work to enhance our security controls in line with industry standards and regulatory requirements.
12. Changes to this Policy
We may update this Privacy and Cookie Policy to reflect changes in our services, technologies or legal obligations. When we make material changes, we will:
- Update the “Effective date” at the top of this page; and
- Provide additional notice where appropriate (for example, via a banner or email).
We encourage you to review this Policy regularly to stay informed about how we protect your data.
13. Contact
For any questions, requests or concerns regarding this Policy or our data protection practices, please contact:
The Hidden Review
Email: thehiddenreview@hotmail.com
By continuing to use our website and services, you confirm that you have read, understood and accepted this Privacy and Cookie Policy as updated to 2026.