PRIVACY AND COOKIE POLICY
Introduction
Welcome to dsemichev.com. This Privacy & Cookie Policy explains how we collect, use, and protect your information when you visit our personal portfolio website. We are committed to transparency and compliance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). In simple terms, we do not collect personal data like your name or contact details through this site (there are no contact forms or newsletter sign-ups).
However, we do use cookies and third-party services (like Google Analytics) to understand how the site is used and to improve your experience. This policy also explains your rights regarding your personal data and how you can exercise them. By using our website, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Policy.
(Last updated: May 5, 2025)
Who Are 'We'?
Who is behind dsemichev.com? The website dsemichev.com is owned and operated by Dmitrii Semichev, a marketing professional and photography enthusiast based in Helsinki, Finland. In this Policy, when we say “we,” “us,” or “our,” we are referring to Dmitrii Semichev and the dsemichev.com website.
Dmitrii Semichev is the data controller for any personal data processed via this site. If you have any questions about this Policy or how your data is handled, please refer to the How to Contact Us section below. We value your privacy and will gladly address any concerns.
What Data We Collect
We minimize the personal data we collect. Below is an overview of the types of information that may be gathered when you use our site:
Information You Provide Voluntarily: We do not ask you to enter any personal information on the site.There are no forms to fill out, accounts to create, or newsletters to subscribe to. The only way you might provide personal data is if you choose to contact us directly (for example, by clicking an email link to send us a message). In that case, we would receive whatever information you include in your communication (such as your email address and name). We will use that information only to respond to your inquiry and will not add it to any mailing list without your explicit request.
Information Collected Automatically: When you visit dsemichev.com, certain technical information is collected automatically by our website and third-party analytics tools:
Usage Data: This includes data like your IP address, browser type and version, device type, operating system, the pages you visit on our site, the date and time of your visit, and the amount of time spent on our pages. This information is typically collected through analytics services (e.g., Google Analytics) and server logs. We use this data to analyze how the site is used, to troubleshoot performance issues, and to improve our content and user experience. For instance, knowing which pages are most visited helps us optimize those sections.
Cookies and Tracking Data: We (and our third-party service providers) use cookies and similar tracking technologies (described in Section 4) to collect information about your interactions with the site. This can include your preferences (such as language selection) and analytics information. Cookies help remember things like whether you’ve seen our cookie consent banner, so it doesn’t keep showing up, or to recall your chosen language. No personally identifying information (like your name or email) is obtained via cookies, only anonymous identifiers and usage patterns.
Server Logs: Like most websites, our web hosting provider automatically records requests made to the server. These logs typically include your IP address, the pages requested, and timestamps. We only use these logs for technical, security, and debugging purposes – for example, to protect against malicious attacks or to diagnose server errors. Server log data is not used to identify you and is routinely deleted after a short period.
Importantly, the usage and tracking data we collect does not directly identify you. We do not know who you are from this information alone – we only see aggregated trends (for example, total number of visitors per week, which countries visitors generally come from, etc.). We do not collect any sensitive personal data such as race, religion, health information, or anything about your finances or authentication details.
Cookies and Tracking Technologies
What are cookies? Cookies are small text files that websites save on your device (computer, tablet, smartphone) when you visit. They are widely used to make websites work, or work more efficiently, as well as to provide information to the site owners. Cookies allow us to recognize your browser and remember certain information about your visit (like your preferred language or other settings). In addition to cookies, we might use similar technologies like pixel tags or local storage that also help in storing or transmitting information. In this Policy, we refer to all of these as “cookies” or “tracking technologies.”
How we use cookies: We use cookies to ensure our website functions properly, to understand how users engage with the site, and (potentially) to support future marketing efforts. To keep things transparent, here are the types of cookies we may use:
Strictly Necessary Cookies: These cookies are essential for the website to operate correctly and securely. Without them, the site might not function as expected. For example, if our site uses a cookie to remember that you have consented (or not consented) to other cookies, that is a strictly necessary cookie. Similarly, if you select a language (English, Swedish, Italian) on our site, a cookie may save that preference so the site displays in your chosen language on your next visit. These cookies do not require your consent under applicable law because they are needed for core functionality. You can’t disable strictly necessary cookies via the cookie preferences without affecting how the site works.
Functional (Preferences) Cookies: These cookies help to enhance your experience by remembering choices you’ve made and settings you prefer. For instance, a functional cookie might remember your language selection or other personal preferences so you don’t have to set them every time. While not strictly essential, they improve convenience and site personalization. If we use such cookies, it’s to make the site more user-friendly (for example, remembering that you prefer dark mode, if our site had such a feature). You have the option to disable these, but doing so might make some of our features less convenient (e.g., you might have to re-select your language each visit).
Analytics (Performance) Cookies: These cookies collect information about how visitors use our website, which pages are visited most often, or if they encounter errors. We use this information to improve how our website works and understand what interests our audience. For example, we use Google Analytics cookies to gather anonymized statistics about site usage. These cookies may track things like how long you stay on a page, which links you click, and if you came to our site from a search engine or another link. The data collected is aggregated and not used to identify you personally. For instance, we might see that “100 users visited the Portfolio page this week” or that “50% of users are from Europe,” but this data does not tell us who any given user is. Analytics cookies are not strictly necessary and will only be set on your device if you give consent via our cookie consent banner. If you choose not to allow analytics cookies, your experience on the site won’t be affected – you will have access to all features, but we simply won’t include your visits in our usage statistics. We have configured our analytics to respect privacy as much as possible (for example, by anonymizing IP addresses so you’re less identifiablemurrinc.com).
Advertising (Targeting) Cookies: These cookies are used to track your browsing habits and activity across our site and other sites, in order to deliver personalized advertisements that may be relevant to you. As of now, dsemichev.com does not actively display ads or use retargeting cookies. However, we mention this category because we may in the future use advertising or marketing tools (for example, Google Ads conversion tracking or Facebook Pixel) to understand the effectiveness of any promotional campaigns. Such cookies would record, for instance, if you clicked on one of our ads on another platform and then visited our site. They might also be used to build a “custom audience” to show relevant ads on platforms like Google or Facebook to people who have visited our site. If implemented, these targeting cookies would only be set with your explicit consent. You are in control – if you decline marketing cookies, any advertising-related features will remain inactive. (For context, a Google Ads conversion cookie typically expires after about 30 days and is used simply to note that you completed an action on our site after clicking an ad.)
Third-Party Cookies: Some cookies we use are first-party (set by dsemichev.com domain), but we also use third-party cookies from service providers like Google. For example, Google Analytics sets its own cookies (_ga, _gid, etc.) to distinguish users and throttle request rates. These third-party cookies are used only for the purposes we’ve described (analytics or potential future advertising) and are not used by us for any other purpose. The data collected via those cookies is sent to the respective third-party (e.g., Google) for processing on our behalf. We provide more details on these services in Section 5.
Consent and managing cookies: When you first visit our site from the EU or other jurisdictions requiring consent, you will see a cookie banner or notice. We will ask for your consent before setting any non-essential cookies (like analytics or targeting cookies). You have the right to choose which cookies you accept or reject. If you accept certain categories and not others, we will honor your selection. You can also change your mind later:
Cookie Settings on our site: We provide a “cookie settings” link (usually in the website footer or in the banner) that allows you to review and modify your cookie preferences at any time. By clicking that, you can see which categories of cookies are active and adjust your consent (for example, withdraw consent from analytics cookies if you had previously allowed them).
Browser settings: Additionally, you can control cookies through your web browser settings. Most browsers allow you to block or delete cookies. You can usually find these options in your browser’s “Privacy” or “Security” settings. Note: If you disable all cookies (especially the strictly necessary ones) via your browser, some parts of our site might not function properly (for example, it might not remember your language or might require the cookie banner to pop up again). However, you are free to adjust your browser settings to your comfort. For more information on how to manage browser cookies, you can visit your browser’s help documentation (for example, instructions for Chrome, Firefox, Safari, etc.).
Opt-out tools: For certain third-party cookies like Google Analytics, Google also provides its own opt-out options. You can install the Google Analytics Opt-Out Browser Add-on, which prevents Google Analytics from collecting data on any website you visit. (This is a tool offered by Google for added peace of mind if you don’t trust site-specific settings.)
We endeavor to respect “Do Not Track” signals if your browser sends them, but the behavior of our third-party analytics might not fully honor DNT. The surest way to opt out of tracking is by using the methods above.
Third-Party Services
Our website integrates several third-party services to function properly and to improve your experience. These services might collect data (including personal data like IP addresses or usage info) on our behalf. We carefully choose these providers and aim to ensure they are compliant with privacy laws. Here is an overview of the external services we use or may use, why we use them, and what they do with your data:
Google Tag Manager: We use Google Tag Manager (GTM) to manage and load scripts on our website in an organized way. GTM itself does not collect any personal data or set cookies on your device. It’s essentially a container tool – meaning it helps us deploy other tools (like Analytics) without having to manually edit code each time. While GTM doesn’t use cookies, it can trigger other tags that do use cookies or track data. In short, Google Tag Manager is for our convenience and site efficiency. It ensures that, for example, the Google Analytics tracking code runs on all pages. Google Tag Manager is provided by Google LLC. Google’s staff may have access to data sent through GTM as necessary to provide the service (as described in Google’s Privacy Policy), but again, GTM by itself isn’t collecting new information from you.
Google Analytics: This is our primary analytics tool to understand how visitors use our site. Google Analytics may set cookies (as described above) and will collect usage data such as your IP address, device info, and browsing actions on our site. We have implemented Google Analytics 4 (the latest version), which anonymizes your IP address by default when possible. This means if you are in the EU or EEA, Google Analytics will shorten (truncate) your IP address before using it, so that it cannot be easily linked back to you specifically. Google Analytics provides us reports on things like which pages are most popular, how users navigate through the site, and overall demographics of our visitors (e.g., what percentage of visitors are from certain countries or what devices are used). We use this information solely to improve our website’s content, structure, and performance – for example, if we see many visitors are on mobile devices, we ensure the site is mobile-friendly. Important privacy points about Google Analytics:
Data controller/processor: For GDPR purposes, Dmitrii Semichev (dsemichev.com) is the data controller for how the data is used, but Google Ireland Ltd. (Google’s European subsidiary) is our data processor that processes the data on our behalf. Google may process the analytics data on servers in the United States or other countries (see “Data Transfers” below), but Google is bound by contractual and legal safeguards when doing so.
Personal data collected: Google Analytics collects data like IP address, unique identifiers (via cookies), browser type, and site actions. Google does not provide us with any personally identifying information about you; we see aggregated statistics. We have not enabled any feature that would allow Google to know who you are (for example, we do not integrate Analytics with any advertising profile data at this time, and we don’t send Google any extra personal info).
IP Addresses: As mentioned, your full IP is not stored in our analytics. Google uses it briefly to determine things like what country or city you’re in, then it’s anonymized. Also, Google Analytics does not combine your browsing information on our site with information from other Google servicesyou may use (Google keeps Analytics data separate for our use, as per their privacy assurances).
Data retention: We have set our Google Analytics data retention to a reasonable period (commonly 14 months) after which user-level data gets deleted automatically. We only retain aggregated data (which has no personal identifiers) for longer-term analysis. In plain English, this means that detailed logs tied to a cookie or IP are cleared out regularly by Google, so historical data is generalized.
Opt-out: Google Analytics is entirely optional on our site. We only run it if you have consented to analytics cookies via the cookie banner. If you decline, Google Analytics is disabled and will not track your visit. Even if you did consent, you can later withdraw consent (via cookie settings or browser opt-outs as described in Section 4) and we will stop including your visits in Analytics. Additionally, Google offers a browser add-on to opt out of Google Analytics tracking on all websites (you can get it from Google’s site). Using that ensures no data about your website visits (on any site running GA) is sent to Google Analytics.
Further information: For more details, you can read Google’s Privacy Policy and specifically the section on Google Analytics in Google’s terms. Google Analytics is a widely used tool, and Google is obligated to handle the data in accordance with GDPR when serving customers in the EU. They have also implemented Google Analytics Data Processing Terms which include the EU Standard Contractual Clauses for data transfers.
Google Ads and Advertising Tools: While we are not currently running any targeted advertising or retargeting campaigns, we want to disclose this in case it becomes relevant in the future. We may use Google Ads (formerly Google AdWords) conversion tracking or similar tools from other providers (like Facebook/Meta Pixel, LinkedIn Insight Tag, etc.) to measure the effectiveness of any external advertising we do. How this works: If we were to run an ad on Google or another platform to promote dsemichev.com, we would include a small piece of code (a tracking pixel or cookie) on our site that lets us know if someone clicked that ad and then visited our site (and possibly took certain actions on the site). For example, Google Ads could place a cookie when you click our ad, which gets recognized when you arrive on dsemichev.com, allowing us to count a "conversion". This helps us know if our ads are working. Similarly, a Facebook Pixel would let us build an audience of visitors to possibly show them relevant content on Facebook or Instagram later. What data is collected: These advertising platforms may record that a specific anonymous user (by cookie ID) visited our site after clicking an ad. They might log information like your IP, browser, and the page you visited (e.g., the landing page for the ad). We do notget personal details of individuals from this – we might just see “X number of people clicked our ad and visited the site”. If we use remarketing, it means the platform knows you visited us and might later show you our ad again on their network. Consent: Advertising/targeting cookies will not be activated without your consent. If you decline marketing cookies, the tracking pixels for ads will remain inactive. You can also use your browser’s tracking protection features to block these. Third-party policies: Any such tools, if used, are subject to the privacy policies of their providers (e.g., Google’s Advertising Privacy & Terms or Facebook’s Data Policy). We will update this policy to explicitly list any advertising or social media pixels in use when we add them.
Embedded Content (Third-Party Media): In order to showcase content, we might occasionally embed material from other websites. Examples could include:
YouTube or Vimeo videos: If, for instance, we display a YouTube video on a portfolio page, playing that video will connect to YouTube’s servers. YouTube may set cookies or track your viewing behavior. If you are logged into your Google/YouTube account, viewing an embedded video might be associated with your account. We endeavor to use YouTube’s “privacy-enhanced mode” for embedded videos when possible, which limits tracking, but some data (like your IP and which video you watched) will still be transmitted to YouTube.
Social Media Feeds or Posts: We currently just link to our Instagram and LinkedIn profiles (we do not embed any live feed or widget). However, if in the future we embed an Instagram photo or a Twitter tweet on the site, those platforms may collect data through that embed (similar to you visiting their website directly). For example, Instagram could set cookies to see if you’re logged in and how you interact with the embed.
Maps or other External Widgets: If we embed something like Google Maps to show a location, Google may collect data through that embed (just as they would on their site).
Any embedded content from third-party websites behaves as if you visited that third-party site. These external services may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content. We do not have direct control over the data collected by these providers. We will always try to inform you when you are interacting with embedded third-party content (for instance, we might label an embedded video or have a notice about a map). It’s a good idea to review the privacy policies of those services (YouTube, Instagram, etc.) when engaging with such content on our site.
Google Fonts: We use Google Fonts on dsemichev.com to provide consistent and aesthetically pleasing fonts across different devices and browsers. Google Fonts is a library of web fonts provided by Google, which allows us to style the text on the site in a unique way. When your browser loads a page on our site, it may contact Google’s servers to fetch the font files. Privacy implications: According to Google, the Google Fonts service does not set any cookies on your device and does not collect personal data for tracking. However, it does receive certain information from your browser as part of the request:
Your IP address (so it knows where to send the font files).
Your browser’s user agent (which tells what browser/OS you are using, so Google can send a font format compatible with your system).
The specific font requested and the page it’s needed for (the referrer URL).
Google states that it does not use the information collected via Google Fonts to create a profile of you or for targeted advertising. Essentially, Google uses the data only to deliver the font to you and to ensure their servers are secure and efficient. That said, your IP address is considered personal data under GDPR, and it is handled by Google in this process. We have decided to use Google Fonts because it provides a fast and reliable way to load the typography we want, and it ensures a consistent look and feel. The legal basis we rely on for loading Google Fonts is our legitimate interest (GDPR Art. 6(1)(f)) in presenting our website attractively and consistently. We have weighed this against any privacy impact, and since Google Fonts does not retain or use the data beyond the font delivery, we believe this use has minimal impact on your privacy. If you are uncomfortable with Google Fonts for any reason, you could use a browser extension or setting to block fonts, though it may degrade how the site looks. (Alternatively, you can contact us and we can explore options like offering a local font mode).
Hosting and Service Providers: Our website is hosted on servers that ensure the content is delivered to you efficiently. Without divulging too many technical details, our hosting provider inevitably processes certain data — whenever you visit the site, your device communicates with the server that hosts our site. This means your IP address is seen by our hosting provider and is likely stored in server logs (as mentioned earlier) for a short period. We ensure that our hosting provider is reputable and compliant with data protection requirements. They only process personal data of our visitors to enable the web pages to be delivered (which is a necessary function of any website). We do not allow our hosting company to use that data for any other purposes. Any log data is typically auto-deleted routinely. Additionally, we take security measures via our hosting (and possibly a content delivery network (CDN) if used) to protect against threats; those systems might analyze IP addresses and request patterns to block malicious traffic. This is all done in the interest of keeping the website safe and functional.
Data Sharing and Transfers: We do not sell, trade, or rent your personal data to any third parties. The only parties who receive data are those third-party service providers listed above, which either act on our behalf (as processors) or are involved in the functioning of the site. Each of these providers has been reviewed for GDPR compliance:
Google (for Analytics, Tag Manager, Fonts, etc.) may process data on servers located in the United States or other countries outside the European Economic Area (EEA). We note that Google is certified under the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, which means it commits to a certain level of protection for personal data transferred from the EU to the U.S. We also have agreements in place (such as the EU Standard Contractual Clauses) with Google through their terms of service that safeguard such data transfers. In practice, this means your data should receive the same level of protection as it would under EU law, even when it’s processed in the U.S. or elsewhere.
If we ever use other third-party tools that transfer data internationally, we will similarly ensure appropriate safeguards are used (for example, Facebook/Meta is part of the EU-U.S. framework via its EU entity, or other providers use Standard Contractual Clauses).
We want to assure you that we take your privacy seriously and work only with trusted partners. If you have specific questions about any of these services or who we share data with, feel free to contact us.
Your Rights Under GDPR
As an individual in the European Union (or in other regions with similar laws), you have robust rights regarding your personal data. Even though we collect very limited personal data about our visitors, we want you to know that you can exercise the following rights at any time:
Right to Access: You have the right to request a copy of any personal data we hold about you, and to obtain information about how we process it. For example, you can ask us to confirm if we’re processing your personal data and provide you with a copy of that data (e.g., server log entries that contain your IP, or any email you sent us, etc.). We will provide this in a commonly used electronic form.
Right to Rectification: If you believe that any personal data we have about you is incorrect or incomplete, you have the right to request that we correct it. Given that we mostly don’t have user-provided data, this would typically apply only if, say, you emailed us and we misspelled your name or recorded something inaccurately. We will correct any inaccuracies promptly.
Right to Erasure (Right to be Forgotten): You can ask us to delete the personal data we hold about you. If you withdraw consent for optional data collection (like analytics cookies), we will stop collecting further data from you. You can also request that we erase data we have collected. For instance, if you previously gave consent to analytics but now want all data deleted, we can reach out to our analytics provider (Google) to delete data associated with your identifiers. If you sent us an email and want that correspondence deleted, we will also erase those records from our systems, provided we are not required by law to keep it. We will comply with erasure requests to the fullest extent required by law. Keep in mind, some data (like server logs) might be automatically deleted over time anyway, and some minimal data might need to be retained for legal reasons (e.g., if a transaction occurred, which in our case it doesn’t on this site).
Right to Restrict Processing: You have the right to ask us to limit or “pause” the processing of your data in certain circumstances. For example, if you contest the accuracy of data we have about you or have objected to processing (see below), you can request restriction until the issue is resolved. In practice, this might mean we keep your data but don’t use it until we’ve sorted out the concern. Given our limited data processing, an example might be if you suspect our analytics captured incorrect data about you, you could ask us to stop processing that data while we verify it.
Right to Object: You have the right to object to our processing of your personal data when we are doing so under a legal basis of legitimate interests. This includes the right to object to direct marketing. In our context, that means: if we are processing any data based on our legitimate interest (for example, using Google Fonts to make the site look nice, or keeping server logs for security), and you feel this has a particular impact on you and you want us to stop, you can object to it. If you object, we will consider whether we have any compelling reason to continue processing your data in that way. If not, we will stop. For direct marketing: we currently do not do any direct marketing or personalized ads, but if we ever did (via email or ads), you could object or unsubscribe at any time, and we would honor that.
Right to Data Portability: You have the right to request that we transfer the data you have provided us to another organization or to you, in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format. This typically applies to data provided by you and processed by us on the basis of consent or contract. In our case, we don’t really have user-provided data stored (unless you emailed us or similar). If you did provide personal data (say, in the future if there’s a form or you sent some info), we can export that data for you or directly transfer it to a service you specify, if technically feasible.
Right to Withdraw Consent: If we are processing any of your data based on your consent, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. For example, if you consented to analytics cookies or future marketing cookies, you can always change your mind and opt out (withdraw your consent) — we make this easy via the cookie settings or contacting us. Withdrawing consent will stop the affected data processing going forward. (It won’t undo processing that has already happened, but as mentioned above, you can then ask us to delete data that was collected under that consent if you wish.)
Right not to be subject to Automated Decision-Making: This right is about not being subject to decisions made solely by algorithms or machines that have significant effects on you. We do not conduct any automated decision-making or profiling that would produce legal or similarly significant effects on you. We do basic analytics and possibly show generalized ads in the future, but nothing like credit scoring or hiring decisions or automated offers is happening on our site.
If you wish to exercise any of these rights, you can contact us (see Section 7). We will need to verify your identity to ensure we’re giving out information to the right person (for example, we might ask you to confirm an email address if the request relates to email correspondence, or ask for info that corresponds to data we have). We will respond to requests as soon as possible, and at most within one month as required by GDPR (this can be extended by two further months for complex requests, but our processing is simple, so we expect to handle it quickly). There is no fee for exercising your rights. If for some reason we cannot comply with your request (e.g., if you ask us to delete server logs that we are required to keep for security), we will explain the reason.
Lastly, you also have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory data protection authority if you believe we are mishandling your personal data. For example, if you’re in Finland, you can contact the Office of the Data Protection Ombudsman. If you’re in another EU country, you can reach out to your local Data Protection Authority. Of course, we encourage you to contact us first so we can address your concerns directly – your satisfaction and trust are important to us.
How to Contact Us
If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy & Cookie Policy or any aspect of your privacy when using our site, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Contact Person: Dmitrii Semichev (Website Owner & Data Controller)
Email: hello@dsemichev.com
Address: Helsinki, Finland (we are based in Helsinki, and will provide a full mailing address if required for official correspondence – please email us first).
We prefer email communication for efficiency and clarity. When you reach out, please let us know what your question or request is about (e.g., “I’d like to withdraw consent for analytics” or “Can you delete the email I sent you on X date?” or just a general inquiry about our privacy practices). We will respond as soon as possible, typically within a few business days.
If you contact us regarding your personal data, please note that we might need to ask you for some verification information (to ensure we don’t accidentally modify or release someone else’s data). This is purely for security – we’ll keep any such verification information you provide only for as long as necessary to fulfill your request.
Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy & Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technologies, legal requirements, or for other operational reasons. When we make changes, we will:
Post the updated policy on this page. The “last updated” date at the top will be revised so you can immediately see that a change was made.
In cases of substantial changes (for example, if we begin processing data in a significantly different way than described here), we may provide a more prominent notice. For instance, we might display a notice on our homepage or notify users via a pop-up or banner about the update. We might also reach out via email if we happen to have your contact info (though in most cases we don’t collect emails unless you contacted us).
We encourage you to review this Policy periodically to stay informed about how we are protecting your information. Your continued use of dsemichev.com after any changes to this Policy will be deemed acceptance of those changes. If you do not agree with any update, you are free to adjust your cookie settings or stop using the site, and you may also contact us to voice your concerns.
Thank you for reading our Privacy & Cookie Policy. We hope it has clarified how we handle your data and your rights. We value your trust and are committed to safeguarding your privacy. If you have any further questions, please contact us at hello@dsemichev.com.