This privacy policy explains which personal data I collect when you visit my-italian-teacher.ch, book a lesson or contact me, why I collect it and what rights you have. It is based on the Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP) and, where it applies to visitors from the European Union, on the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Last updated: 13 October 2026 (email series and email statistics added)
1. Who is responsible for your data
The person responsible for processing your data (the “controller”) is:
Rossana Pazzaglia, independent Italian teacher, Ticino, Switzerland
Email: italianlangandcultacademy@gmail.com
I work on my own: there is no staff and no other teacher who has access to your data.
2. Which data I collect and why
Contact form
When you write to me through the contact form, I receive your name, email address, your Italian level and goal (if you select them) and your message. I use this data only to answer your request and, if you wish, to organise lessons with you. The form is sent to my email inbox (Google Gmail).
Free level tests
The free Italian level tests are created with Google Forms. When you take a test, your email address (required) and your answers are collected by Google Forms and made available to me. I use them only to record your result and, if you contact me, to advise you on your level. I do not use your email address for newsletters or advertising unless you ask me to.
Booking lessons and payments
Lessons are booked and paid through SimplyBook.me, an online booking service. When you book, SimplyBook.me processes your name, email address, the date and type of your lessons and, if you pay online, the payment through the payment provider connected to it. I never see or store your full card details.
Online lessons
Lessons take place on Google Meet. To invite you, I use your email address. Lessons are not recorded unless we agree on it in advance.
Lessons for children and teenagers
Lessons for minors are booked by a parent or legal guardian, who provides the necessary contact details and agrees to the processing of the child’s data for the purpose of the lessons.
Website visits
When you visit this website, the server automatically records technical data such as your IP address, browser type, date and time of the visit and the pages visited. This is necessary to deliver the website securely. The website is hosted by Hostinger.
Statistics
With your consent, I use statistics tools (Google Analytics through Google Site Kit, and Jetpack statistics) to understand how visitors use the website, for example which pages are read most. These tools are only activated if you accept statistics cookies in the cookie banner.
Spam protection
The contact form is protected by Google reCAPTCHA v3, which checks whether the form is filled in by a person or by an automated program. For this purpose Google processes technical data such as your IP address and information about your browser and your interaction with the page. The Google privacy policy and terms of service apply.
Embedded content
Some pages contain content from other services, such as Spotify podcast players or YouTube videos. When this content is loaded, these services may collect data about you as if you visited their website directly.
Comments
When you leave a comment under an article, WordPress stores your name, email address, website (optional), IP address and the text of your comment. Your email address is not published. If you tick the box to save your details for the next time, a cookie remembers them in your browser for about one year. Comments are checked for spam by the Antispam Bee plugin and are published only after I have approved them. You can ask me to delete your comment at any time.
Course waiting list
If you join the waiting list on the Courses page, I receive your name, your email address and the course series you are interested in. I use this data only to write to you when the courses are available. You can ask to be removed at any time by writing to me.
Newsletter
If you subscribe to my newsletter on this website, you only need to enter your email address and confirm that you agree to receive emails from me. The sign-up form is provided by Google through its service Reader Revenue Manager, which collects your email address on my behalf. If you choose to continue with your Google account, Google provides me with the email address of that account. Google processes your data under its own terms of service and privacy policy.
I use your email address only to send you my newsletter: tips for learning Italian, free exercises and news about my courses, lessons and books. I send the newsletter only to people who have agreed to receive it, and I do not buy, sell or share email lists. To send the newsletter I transfer your email address to MailerLite, the email service I use to send the newsletter, which works on my behalf (see section 4).
Every newsletter clearly shows me as the sender and contains a link to unsubscribe at any time, free of charge. You can also write to italianlangandcultacademy@gmail.com to be removed or to have your data deleted. Withdrawing your consent does not affect the emails sent before.
Free resources (PDF) and email series
Under some articles I offer a free resource, for example a PDF guide. To receive it you enter your email address in a sign-up form and tick a box (not pre-ticked) to confirm that you agree to receive emails from me. The form is provided by MailerLite. After you sign up, you receive a confirmation email: your registration is complete only when you click the link in it (double opt-in).
Depending on the article from which you sign up, I add your email address to a list by topic (for example certifications, grammar, vocabulary and culture, Latin, or the fide test in Switzerland). I then send you a short series of about four emails over roughly ten days, with study tips, examples and, at the end, information about my courses (including the waiting list), my books or a free trial lesson. This is advertising by email: I send it only because you gave your consent, and you can withdraw it at any time with the unsubscribe link in every email or by writing to me.
Email statistics (opens and clicks)
MailerLite records whether you open my emails and which links you click. It does this with a very small invisible image and with tracking links. I use this information in aggregated form to understand which topics are useful and to improve my emails, and it can also be linked to your email address in the subscriber list. If you do not want this, you can block the loading of images in your email program, or unsubscribe at any time.
Cookies
This website uses cookies. You can accept or refuse non-essential cookies in the cookie banner and change your choice at any time. Details are in the Cookie Policy.
Advertising
This website may show advertisements provided by Google AdSense. Google and its advertising partners use cookies and similar technologies to show ads based on your visits to this and other websites. For visitors in Switzerland, the European Union and the United Kingdom, personalised advertising is only shown with your consent, which you can give or refuse in the cookie banner and change at any time.
You can opt out of personalised advertising in Google Ads Settings or at aboutads.info. You can learn how Google uses data from sites that use its services here, and see the list of Google’s ad technology providers.
Affiliate links (Amazon)
Some articles and pages contain links to products on Amazon.it. They are marked as affiliate links. I take part in the Amazon EU Associates Programme: if you buy a product after clicking one of these links, I receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you. When you click, you leave this website and Amazon processes your data under its own privacy notice and cookie rules. I do not receive your personal data from Amazon, only aggregated statistics about clicks and orders. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
3. Legal basis
I process your data because it is necessary to answer your request or to provide the lessons you book (contract), because you have given your consent (statistics cookies, embedded content, comments, the course waiting list, the newsletter and the free resources with the email series, including the email statistics), because of legal obligations (for example keeping accounting records) or because of my legitimate interest in running a secure website and protecting it from spam.
4. Who receives your data
I do not sell or rent your data. I share it only with the service providers I need to run my activity:
- Hostinger (website hosting)
- SimplyBook.me and its connected payment provider (booking and payments)
- Google (Gmail, Google Meet, Google Forms, reCAPTCHA, Google Analytics, Google AdSense, Google Reader Revenue Manager)
- Automattic (Jetpack security and statistics)
- MailerLite Limited, Ireland (sending of the newsletter; the data is stored in the European Union)
- Spotify and YouTube (only if you load embedded content)
Some of these providers are located or store data outside Switzerland: MailerLite in Ireland (European Union), Hostinger and other providers in the European Union, and Google, Automattic, Spotify and others partly in the United States or other countries. Countries of the European Economic Area are considered by Switzerland to offer an adequate level of data protection. For providers in the United States, the transfer relies on the Swiss-US Data Privacy Framework, where the provider is certified, or otherwise on standard contractual clauses. Where I use MailerLite, the data is stored in the European Union. You can ask me for details on the safeguards used.
5. How long I keep your data
- Messages from the contact form: as long as needed to answer you and, if no lessons follow, deleted after 2 years at the latest.
- Level test answers: deleted after 2 years at the latest.
- Comments: for as long as the article is online, or until you ask me to delete them.
- Course waiting list: until I have informed you about the launch of the courses, or until you ask to be removed.
- Newsletter, free resources and email series: until you unsubscribe or ask me to delete your email address. If you unsubscribe, I keep only the minimum needed to make sure I do not write to you again.
- Booking and payment records: 10 years, as required by Swiss accounting law.
- Statistics data: according to the settings of the statistics tools, in anonymised or aggregated form where possible.
6. Your rights
You have the right to:
- know whether I process your data and receive a copy of it;
- have incorrect data corrected;
- have your data deleted, unless I must keep it by law;
- object to the processing of your data;
- withdraw your consent at any time, for example by changing your cookie preferences;
- receive the data you provided in a common electronic format.
To exercise your rights, write to italianlangandcultacademy@gmail.com. If you think your data is not processed correctly, you can contact the Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC) or, if you live in the European Union, the data protection authority of your country.
7. Security
I take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your data, such as encrypted connections (HTTPS), protected access to my accounts and regular backups. However, no transmission over the Internet is completely secure.
8. Changes
I may update this policy when my services or the law change. The current version is always available on this page.