Last updated: August 2026
This Privacy Policy explains how Walkcatwalk (walkcatwalk.com) (“Walkcatwalk,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) collects, uses, and protects your personal data when you visit this website.
Who We Are (Data Controller)
Walkcatwalk is a travel and lifestyle blog operated by:
Oana Sandu, publisher
Business address: Salzburg, 5026, Austria
Email: oana@walkcatwalk.com
This Privacy Policy is designed to comply with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Austrian Data Protection Act (Datenschutzgesetz, DSG). Visitors from outside the EU/EEA, including the United States, are also covered by this policy.
Scope of This Policy
This policy applies to all pages of walkcatwalk.com and describes the data collected through your use of the site, including browsing, leaving comments, and interacting with any embedded content, plugins, or third-party advertising.
What Personal Data We Collect
Data You Provide Directly
Comments: When you leave a comment, we collect the name, email address, and website (if provided) you enter, along with your comment text, and an anonymised version of your IP address, for spam prevention. An anonymized string created from your email address (a “hash”) may be sent to the Gravatar service to check whether you have an account there. The Gravatar service’s privacy policy is available at automattic.com/privacy. Once your comment is approved, your profile picture is visible to the public alongside your comment.
Contact forms / email: If you contact us directly by email or a contact form, we collect the information you choose to share (e.g., name, email address, message content).
Data Collected Automatically
Like most websites, certain technical information is collected automatically when you visit – such as browser type, device type, operating system, referring URL, pages visited, and time spent on the site. Whether and how your IP address specifically is collected depends on the tool: some of the plugins and services we use process or store IP addresses (see Sections 5-9 below for details on each), while others – like Google Analytics 4 – do not store it. We note this explicitly where relevant rather than treating IP collection as uniform across the site.
Cookies and Similar Technologies
Walkcatwalk uses cookies and similar tracking technologies (such as pixels and local storage) to operate the site, remember your preferences, understand how visitors use the site, and – where you consent – to serve personalised advertising.
We use CookieYes | GDPR Cookie Consent to manage cookie consent. On your first visit, you’ll see a cookie banner where you can accept, reject, or customize which categories of cookies (e.g., analytics, advertising) you allow. Non-essential cookies (analytics, advertising) are only set after you give consent, in line with GDPR and the ePrivacy Directive. You can change your cookie preferences at any time via the cookie settings link in the footer of the site.
Most browsers also let you control cookies through their settings. Blocking cookies may affect how parts of the site function.
To keep a record that consent was given (as required under GDPR), CookieYes stores your consent choice along with your IP address and a timestamp. This is used solely to demonstrate compliance if ever required, not for analytics or advertising purposes.
Google Analytics (GA4)
We use Google Analytics 4 (GA4), implemented via the MonsterInsights plugin, to understand how visitors use our site (e.g., which pages are popular, how long visitors stay, and where traffic comes from). GA4 does not log or store individual IP addresses. Your IP address is used briefly to derive general location data (such as city, region, or country) and is then discarded before it reaches Google’s Analytics servers – this IP handling is automatic and built into GA4, including additional processing safeguards for visitors in the EU, UK, and Switzerland. GA4 does collect other data via cookies and similar identifiers, including device and browser information, approximate location (derived as above), and pages viewed and interacted with.
This data is processed by Google LLC and may be transferred to the United States. Google acts as a processor on our behalf. Google Analytics only runs after you consent via the cookie banner described above.
You can learn more about how Google collects and processes data at Google’s Privacy Policy, and you can opt out of Google Analytics tracking across all websites by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.
Akismet Anti-Spam
We use Akismet (provided by Automattic) to filter spam comments. When you submit a comment, certain data (such as your IP address, browser user agent, and the comment content) is sent to Akismet’s servers to check whether the comment is likely spam. Akismet does not use this data for advertising purposes.
More information is available in Automattic’s Privacy Policy and the Akismet Privacy Notice.
Wordfence Security
We use Wordfence Security to protect the site from malicious traffic, hacking attempts, and other security threats. Wordfence may collect technical data such as IP addresses, request headers, and browsing behavior on the site to identify and block malicious activity. This processing is necessary for our legitimate interest in keeping the site secure.
More information is available in the Wordfence Privacy Policy.
Mediavine Programmatic Advertising
Walkcatwalk.com has partnered with Mediavine to display advertising on the site. As required by Mediavine, the following disclosure describes how this advertising works:
Mediavine Programmatic Advertising (Ver 1.1)
The Website works with Mediavine to manage third-party interest-based advertising appearing on the Website. Mediavine serves content and advertisements when you visit the Website, which may use first and third-party cookies. A cookie is a small text file which is sent to your computer or mobile device (referred to in this policy as a “device”) by the web server so that a website can remember some information about your browsing activity on the Website.
First party cookies are created by the website that you are visiting. A third-party cookie is frequently used in behavioral advertising and analytics and is created by a domain other than the website you are visiting. Third-party cookies, tags, pixels, beacons and other similar technologies (collectively, “Tags”) may be placed on the Website to monitor interaction with advertising content and to target and optimize advertising. Each internet browser has functionality so that you can block both first and third-party cookies and clear your browser’s cache. The “help” feature of the menu bar on most browsers will tell you how to stop accepting new cookies, how to receive notification of new cookies, how to disable existing cookies and how to clear your browser’s cache. For more information about cookies and how to disable them, you can consult the information at All About Cookies.
Without cookies you may not be able to take full advantage of the Website content and features. Please note that rejecting cookies does not mean that you will no longer see ads when you visit our Site. In the event you opt-out, you will still see non-personalized advertisements on the Website.
The Website collects the following data using a cookie when serving personalised ads:
- IP Address
- Operating System type
- Operating System version
- Device Type
- Language of the website
- Web browser type
- Email (in hashed form)
Mediavine Partners (companies listed below with whom Mediavine shares data) may also use this data to link to other end user information the partner has independently collected to deliver targeted advertisements. Mediavine Partners may also separately collect data about end users from other sources, such as advertising IDs or pixels, and link that data to data collected from Mediavine publishers in order to provide interest-based advertising across your online experience, including devices, browsers and apps. This data includes usage data, cookie information, device information, information about interactions between users and advertisements and websites, geolocation data, traffic data, and information about a visitor’s referral source to a particular website. Mediavine Partners may also create unique IDs to create audience segments, which are used to provide targeted advertising.
If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices to opt-in or opt-out of this data collection, please visit the National Advertising Initiative opt out page. You may also visit the Digital Advertising Alliance website and the Network Advertising Initiative website to learn more information about interest-based advertising. You may download the AppChoices app at the Digital Advertising Alliance’s AppChoices app to opt out in connection with mobile apps, or use the platform controls on your mobile device to opt out.
For specific information about Mediavine Partners, the data each collects, and their data collection and privacy policies, please visit Mediavine Partners.
EU/EEA visitors: Mediavine is based in the United States. Where Mediavine’s advertising partners process personal data of EU/EEA visitors, this relies on legal safeguards such as the EU Standard Contractual Clauses and, where applicable, the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework. Advertising cookies through Mediavine are only set after you provide consent through our cookie banner (see Section 4). For more detail, see the Mediavine Privacy Policy.
Sponsored Content, Affiliate Links & Advertising Disclosures
Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR)
We process your personal data on the following legal bases under Article 6 GDPR:
Consent (Art. 6(1)(a)) – for non-essential cookies, analytics, and advertising (Google Analytics, Mediavine advertising).
Legitimate interest (Art. 6(1)(f)) – for site security (Wordfence), spam prevention (Akismet), and basic site operation.
Contract / pre-contractual steps (Art. 6(1)(b)) – where you contact us with a request.
You may withdraw consent at any time via the cookie settings link, without affecting the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal.
International Data Transfers
Some of the third-party services we use (Google, Automattic/Akismet, Mediavine and its advertising partners) are based in, or transfer data to, the United States or other countries outside the EU/EEA. Where this occurs, these providers rely on recognized safeguards such as Standard Contractual Clauses or the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework to protect your data.
Data Retention
We retain personal data only as long as necessary for the purposes described in this policy – for example, comment data is retained for as long as the comment remains published, and analytics data is retained according to the retention settings in our Google Analytics account. When data is no longer needed, we delete or anonymize it.
Your Rights
- Right to access the personal data we hold about you
- Right to rectification of inaccurate data
- Right to erasure (“right to be forgotten”)
- Right to restrict processing
- Right to data portability
- Right to object to processing, including for direct marketing or profiling
- Right to withdraw consent at any time
- Right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at [insert contact email]. In Austria, the supervisory authority is the Österreichische Datenschutzbehörde (Austrian Data Protection Authority):
Barichgasse 40-42, 1030 Vienna, Austria
www.dsb.gv.at
Children’s Privacy
Walkcatwalk.com is not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 16. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us so we can delete it.
Data Security
We use reasonable technical and organizational measures, including Wordfence security monitoring and SSL encryption, to protect your data. However, no method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, tools, or legal requirements. The “Last updated” date at the top of this page will reflect the most recent revision. We encourage you to review this page periodically.
Contact Us
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how your data is handled, please contact:
Oana Sandu, publisher
Email: oana@walkcatwalk.com