Last updated: Tuesday, May 26, 2026 at 3:45 PM (UTC+2)
Welcome to Variant Journal.
This Privacy Policy explains how Variant Journal collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects your personal data when you visit our website, located at https://www.variantjournal.com, subscribe to our newsletter, contact us, create an account, submit materials, make a purchase, or otherwise interact with our website and services.
By using our website, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.
1. Who We Are
Our website address is:
https://www.variantjournal.com
Variant Journal is an independent online publication exploring visual culture, creative expression, and modern living.
Information about the publisher of this website, hosting provider, and other legal details is available in our Legal Notice:
https://www.variantjournal.com/legal-notice
For privacy-related questions, you can contact us at:
You may also contact us through our contact page:
https://www.variantjournal.com/contact
2. Data Controller
For the purposes of applicable data protection laws, including the General Data Protection Regulation, the data controller responsible for the processing of personal data through this website is Variant Journal.
This means that Variant Journal determines why and how personal data is processed in connection with the website and related services.
3. Personal Data We Collect
Depending on how you interact with our website, we may collect the following types of personal data:
- identification data, such as your name, username, display name, or contributor name;
- contact data, such as your email address;
- account data, such as login credentials, profile information, and account preferences;
- communication data, such as messages sent through contact forms or by email;
- newsletter data, such as your email address, subscription preferences, and email engagement data;
- comment data, such as the information submitted through comment forms;
- technical data, such as IP address, browser type, device type, operating system, user agent, pages viewed, referring URLs, and log data;
- cookie and analytics data;
- order and billing data, where purchases, subscriptions, memberships, or digital products are available;
- submission data, such as images, artworks, texts, biographies, press releases, portfolios, project descriptions, social media handles, websites, and other materials submitted to Variant Journal;
- any other information you voluntarily provide to us.
We only collect personal data where it is relevant for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy.
4. How We Use Your Personal Data
We may use your personal data to:
- operate, maintain, and secure our website;
- provide access to website features and services;
- create and manage user accounts;
- process and moderate comments;
- detect and prevent spam, abuse, fraud, and security incidents;
- respond to contact requests, inquiries, or support messages;
- send newsletters, editorial updates, announcements, and, where applicable, promotional communications;
- review submissions and contributor materials;
- prepare, publish, credit, archive, and promote editorial content;
- manage orders, payments, subscriptions, memberships, refunds, and customer support;
- improve our website, content, services, and user experience;
- analyze website traffic, performance, and usage;
- comply with legal, tax, accounting, regulatory, or administrative obligations;
- protect our rights, users, content, website, and services.
5. Legal Bases for Processing
Where the General Data Protection Regulation or similar data protection laws apply, we process personal data based on one or more of the following legal bases:
Consent
We may process your personal data based on your consent, for example when you:
- subscribe to our newsletter;
- accept non-essential cookies;
- submit certain materials voluntarily;
- agree to receive marketing or promotional communications.
You may withdraw your consent at any time where processing is based on consent.
Performance of a Contract
We may process your data where necessary to provide services you request, for example when you:
- create an account;
- purchase a product or service;
- subscribe to a membership;
- access digital content;
- request customer support.
Legitimate Interests
We may process your data based on our legitimate interests, provided that your rights and interests do not override them. These interests may include:
- operating and improving our website;
- securing our website and services;
- preventing spam, fraud, or abuse;
- managing editorial submissions;
- communicating with users and contributors;
- protecting our legal rights;
- understanding website performance and audience engagement.
Legal Obligations
We may process your data where necessary to comply with legal obligations, including:
- tax and accounting obligations;
- consumer protection laws;
- legal record-keeping requirements;
- responding to lawful requests from authorities;
- enforcing our legal rights.
6. Comments
If comments are enabled on our website and you leave a comment, we collect the data shown in the comment form, as well as your IP address and browser user agent string to help detect spam and abuse.
An anonymized string created from your email address, also called a hash, may be provided to the Gravatar service to check whether you are using it.
The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here:
https://automattic.com/privacy/
After approval of your comment, your profile picture may be visible to the public in the context of your comment.
Visitor comments may also be checked through an automated spam detection service.
7. Media Uploads
If you upload images or media files to the website, you should avoid uploading files that contain embedded location data, such as EXIF GPS data.
Visitors to the website may be able to download and extract location data from images or media files published on the website.
If you submit images, artworks, portraits, or other visual materials to Variant Journal, you are responsible for ensuring that you have the necessary rights, consents, and permissions for their use.
8. Contact Forms and Email Communications
When you contact us through our website, by email, or through any contact form, we may collect the information you provide, such as:
- your name;
- your email address;
- your subject or reason for contacting us;
- your message;
- any attachments or additional information you choose to provide.
We use this information to respond to your request, manage communications, provide support, and keep appropriate records where necessary.
9. Newsletter and Email Communications
If you subscribe to our newsletter or mailing list, we collect your email address and any other information you provide during the subscription process. We may also use any information you add to your profile at a later time in connection with your newsletter subscription.
We use this information to send you:
- editorial updates;
- articles and features;
- announcements;
- cultural or creative updates;
- event or publication news;
- promotional communications, where applicable.
You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link included in our emails or by contacting us directly.
We may use a third-party email service provider to manage and send newsletters. Such providers may process your personal data on our behalf in accordance with their own privacy and security practices.
Where required by law, we will only send marketing or promotional communications with your consent.
10. Submissions and Contributor Materials
If you submit content, materials, images, artworks, texts, biographies, press releases, portfolios, project descriptions, or other materials to Variant Journal, we may process the personal data included in those materials.
This may include:
- your name;
- email address;
- professional biography;
- artist statement;
- social media handles;
- website;
- portfolio links;
- images or likeness;
- project information;
- credits;
- personal data relating to other individuals included in your submission.
We use this data to:
- review submissions;
- communicate with contributors;
- evaluate potential editorial features;
- prepare and publish editorial content;
- credit artists, photographers, writers, contributors, and rights holders;
- archive editorial materials;
- promote published content through our website, newsletter, social media, and related editorial channels.
If your submission includes personal data, images, names, likenesses, or materials relating to other individuals, you are responsible for ensuring that you have obtained all necessary consents, releases, and permissions.
Unless otherwise agreed in writing, submissions are not considered confidential.
11. User Accounts
If you create an account on our website, we store the personal information you provide in your user profile.
This may include:
- username;
- email address;
- display name;
- profile information;
- account preferences;
- login and security information.
Users can see, edit, or delete certain personal information in their account at any time, except where some information, such as usernames or records required for legal purposes, cannot be changed or deleted.
Website administrators may also access and manage account information where necessary to operate the website, provide support, ensure security, or comply with legal obligations.
12. Orders, Payments, Subscriptions, and Memberships
If you make a purchase through our website, subscribe to a membership, purchase digital content, or order a product or service, we may collect information necessary to process your order.
This may include:
- name;
- email address;
- billing details;
- shipping details, where applicable;
- order history;
- subscription or membership status;
- transaction information;
- customer support communications.
Payments may be processed by third-party payment providers. We do not store full payment card details on our servers unless expressly stated. Payment information is generally processed directly by the relevant payment provider in accordance with its own privacy policy and security standards.
We may retain order and transaction records where required for accounting, tax, legal, consumer protection, or fraud prevention purposes.
13. Cookies and Similar Technologies
Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to operate properly, improve user experience, analyze website traffic, secure the website, and, where applicable, support marketing or embedded third-party content.
Cookies may be used for purposes such as:
- remembering user preferences;
- enabling login sessions;
- saving comment form details;
- improving website functionality;
- measuring audience engagement;
- detecting spam or security issues;
- displaying embedded content from third-party platforms.
Where required by law, we will request your consent before placing non-essential cookies on your device.
You can manage cookies through your browser settings and, where available, through our cookie consent tool.
For more information, please review our Cookie Policy:
https://www.variantjournal.com/cookie-policy
14. WordPress Cookies
If you leave a comment on our website, you may opt in to saving your name, email address, and website in cookies. These cookies are for your convenience so that you do not have to fill in your details again when leaving another comment. These cookies may last for one year.
If you visit our login page, the website may set a temporary cookie to determine whether your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.
When you log in, the website may set cookies to save your login information and screen display choices. Login cookies typically last for two days, and screen option cookies may last for one year. If you select “Remember Me”, your login may persist for two weeks. If you log out of your account, login cookies are removed.
If you edit or publish an article, an additional cookie may be saved in your browser. This cookie contains no personal data and simply indicates the post ID of the article you edited. It usually expires after one day.
15. Analytics
We may use analytics tools to understand how visitors use our website, monitor website performance, improve our content, and enhance user experience.
Depending on the tools used, analytics data may include:
- pages visited;
- time spent on pages;
- links clicked;
- referring websites;
- approximate location;
- device type;
- browser type;
- operating system;
- interaction with website features.
Where required by law, we will request your consent before using non-essential analytics cookies or similar tracking technologies.
If we use privacy-friendly analytics that do not rely on cookies or personal identifiers, consent may not be required depending on applicable law.
16. Embedded Content from Other Websites
Articles and pages on this website may include embedded content, such as videos, images, posts, articles, social media content, or other materials from third-party websites.
Embedded content from other websites behaves in the same way as if you had visited the third-party website directly.
These third-party websites may:
- collect data about you;
- use cookies;
- embed additional third-party tracking;
- monitor your interaction with the embedded content;
- track your interaction if you have an account and are logged in to that third-party service.
We do not control the privacy practices of third-party websites or platforms. We encourage you to review their privacy policies before interacting with embedded content.
17. Third-Party Services
We may use third-party service providers to help operate our website and services.
These providers may include, where applicable:
- website hosting providers;
- content management systems;
- email and newsletter platforms;
- analytics providers;
- spam detection services;
- security tools;
- payment processors;
- e-commerce or subscription platforms;
- cloud storage providers;
- database providers;
- customer support tools;
- professional advisors, such as legal, tax, or accounting advisors.
These providers may process personal data either on our behalf or as independent controllers, depending on the nature of the service.
We only share personal data where necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy or where required by law.
18. Who We Share Your Data With
We do not sell your personal data.
We may share your personal data with:
- trusted service providers who help us operate the website and provide services;
- payment processors, where purchases are made;
- newsletter or email service providers, where you subscribe to communications;
- spam detection and security providers;
- analytics providers, where applicable;
- hosting and technical service providers;
- professional advisors, where necessary;
- public authorities, courts, regulators, or law enforcement where required by law;
- third parties where necessary to protect our rights, users, website, or services.
If you request a password reset, your IP address may be included in the reset email.
Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service.
19. International Data Transfers
Some of our service providers may be located outside the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, or your country of residence.
Where personal data is transferred internationally, we take appropriate safeguards as required by applicable data protection laws. These safeguards may include:
- standard contractual clauses;
- adequacy decisions;
- contractual protections;
- technical and organizational security measures;
- other lawful transfer mechanisms.
By using our website and services, you understand that your personal data may be processed in countries that may have data protection laws different from those in your country of residence.
20. How Long We Retain Your Data
We retain personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law.
Retention periods may vary depending on the type of data and the reason for processing.
For example:
- comments and their metadata may be retained indefinitely so that we can recognize and approve follow-up comments automatically instead of holding them in a moderation queue;
- user account data is retained for as long as the account remains active, unless deletion is requested or retention is required by law;
- newsletter data is retained until you unsubscribe or request deletion, unless we need to retain limited records for compliance purposes;
- contact messages may be retained for as long as necessary to respond to your request and maintain appropriate records;
- order and transaction data may be retained for the period required by tax, accounting, consumer protection, or legal obligations;
- submission and contributor materials may be retained for editorial, archival, legal, crediting, and publication purposes;
- technical logs may be retained for a limited period for security, maintenance, and troubleshooting purposes.
When personal data is no longer needed, we will delete it, anonymize it, or securely archive it where appropriate.
21. Data Security
We take reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect personal data against unauthorized access, loss, misuse, alteration, disclosure, or destruction.
These measures may include access controls, secure hosting, encryption where appropriate, security monitoring, backups, and administrative safeguards.
However, no method of transmission over the internet or method of electronic storage is completely secure. Therefore, we cannot guarantee absolute security.
22. Your Rights
Depending on your location and applicable law, you may have the right to:
- access the personal data we hold about you;
- request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal data;
- request deletion of your personal data;
- object to certain processing activities;
- request restriction of processing;
- request portability of your personal data;
- withdraw consent at any time, where processing is based on consent;
- object to direct marketing communications;
- request information about how your personal data is processed;
- lodge a complaint with a data protection authority.
To exercise your rights, please contact us at:
legal@variantjournal.com
You may also contact us through:
https://www.variantjournal.com/contact
We may need to verify your identity before responding to your request.
Please note that some requests may be subject to legal limitations. For example, we may need to retain certain data for legal, tax, accounting, security, or administrative reasons.
23. Right to Lodge a Complaint
If you are located in the European Union or the European Economic Area, you have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.
If you are located in France, you may contact the CNIL:
https://www.cnil.fr
We encourage you to contact us first so that we can try to resolve your concern directly.
24. Children’s Privacy
Our website and services are not intended for children under the age of majority in their jurisdiction without the consent and supervision of a parent or legal guardian.
We do not knowingly collect personal data from children without appropriate consent.
If you believe that a child has provided us with personal data without appropriate consent, please contact us and we will take appropriate steps to review and delete the data where required.
25. Automated Decision-Making
We do not use personal data for automated decision-making that produces legal effects or similarly significant effects on individuals.
We may use automated tools for spam detection, website security, analytics, or technical maintenance.
26. Links to Other Websites
Our website may contain links to third-party websites, platforms, social media pages, external resources, or partner websites.
We are not responsible for the privacy practices, content, or policies of third-party websites.
When you leave our website or interact with third-party services, we encourage you to read their privacy policies.
27. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, services, technologies, legal obligations, or website features.
Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated “Last updated” date.
Your continued use of the website after changes are posted means that you acknowledge the updated Privacy Policy.
28. Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we process your personal data, please contact us here:
https://www.variantjournal.com/contact
For privacy, legal, or intellectual property-related matters, you may also contact us at:
