Updated: 4 October 2026. This notice concerns samarkandguide.com.
Controller and contact
SZB (Sagdullaev Zwei Brüder) UG (haftungsbeschränkt), Windthorststraße 20, 48153 Münster, Deutschland, represented by managing director Khayotjon Sagdullaev, is the controller. For privacy requests write to info@szb-nrw.de. Editorial correspondence may also be sent to info@samarkandguide.com; cooperation enquiries to hr-management@szb-nrw.de.
Visiting and securing the website
The web server processes connection data such as IP address, requested URL, time, browser information and response status to deliver pages, diagnose errors and protect the site. Necessary processing is based on Article 6(1)(f) GDPR: reliable, secure operation. Hosting, technical support and backup providers may process these data for the operator. The operator confirms that the site’s hosting, mail and backups are kept in Germany. This statement does not cover optional third-party services described below; their requests can leave Germany.
Logs and backup copies are retained only as required for security, diagnosis, recovery and applicable legal duties. Backup copies are removed through the actual backup rotation rather than necessarily immediately when a live record is deleted. Ask the privacy contact for the provider and retention details relevant to your request.
Reader and advertising enquiries
We process the name or display name, reply address, subject, message and any voluntarily supplied attachments to answer you and handle corrections or proposed cooperation. Contract-related enquiries use Article 6(1)(b) GDPR; general correspondence and editorial corrections use Article 6(1)(f), our interest in answering readers and maintaining accurate content. Statutory record-keeping uses Article 6(1)(c). Relevant staff and the hosting/email providers receive the information. Do not send passports, payment credentials or unrelated sensitive documents.
Correspondence is retained while the matter remains open and afterwards only where needed to document the outcome, deal with claims or meet statutory accounting and commercial retention duties. An enquiry does not subscribe you to a newsletter. We do not sell readers’ enquiries to advertisers.
Comments and accounts
Where comments are enabled, WordPress processes your comment, display name, email, optional website address, IP address and browser details. The comment and display name can be public after moderation; the email and moderation data are not intended to be public. Processing supports reader discussion and protection against abuse under Article 6(1)(f). Public comments may remain with the article while they are relevant; contact us about correction, removal or anonymisation. Moderation and security data are kept only while necessary for those purposes or legal claims.
Reading requires no account. For an account you actually request or an editorial account, profile, authentication and access data support the relevant service under Article 6(1)(b) or secure administration under Article 6(1)(f). Account data remain while the account is needed, subject to deletion requests and legal obligations. Optional comment-detail cookies are stored only when requested. Remote Gravatar images are not needed to read or comment.
Cookies, local storage and your choice
Necessary storage supports login/security, your language, a display choice you request and remembering your privacy decision. It is used under the applicable exception in § 25(2) TDDDG and Article 6(1)(b) or (f) GDPR. Optional analytics, advertising and external media require your choice under § 25(1) TDDDG and Article 6(1)(a) GDPR. They are off by default. Rejecting optional services does not prevent reading the magazine.
Use “Privacy settings” in the footer at any time to change or withdraw your choice. Withdrawal applies to future processing and does not undo lawful processing before withdrawal. The consent preference is remembered for up to 182 days, unless you clear it or a changed notice requires a new choice. Some third-party cookies can only be removed through browser or provider settings; withdrawing consent stops their further activation on this site. Local fonts are served by this site.
Google analytics, advertising and sign-in
Google tag/Tag Manager and AdSense are configured on the site. When the corresponding categories are enabled, Google can receive IP address, browser/device data, page URL, interaction and advertising identifiers. Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland, supplies relevant European services; other Google group recipients, including in the United States, may be involved. These services measure use or deliver/measure advertising. A combined tag that can perform both purposes requires both choices. Advertising consent does not constitute a contract with an advertiser.
Personalised advertising additionally requires the applicable Google-certified consent mechanism; a simple website banner is not represented as TCF certification. Google’s privacy notice explains its recipients, retention and international safeguards: Google Privacy Policy. International processing must rely on the applicable adequacy decision or other GDPR Chapter V safeguards, not merely the fact that our own hosting is in Germany.
Google sign-in is optional where offered. Choosing it contacts Google and allows the authentication data described in that interface to be used for your login; you can instead use the normal site login. Google Identity is not necessary on ordinary reading pages.
Newsletter and external communication
A Mailchimp connection is configured in WordPress. Where an active subscription form is offered, submission to that service must be a separate, voluntary newsletter choice; sending an ordinary enquiry or comment is not newsletter consent. Mailchimp is an Intuit service with possible processing outside Germany, including the United States. Its privacy statement explains recipients and international safeguards. Newsletter data are retained for the subscription and necessary consent/unsubscribe records; withdrawal must be possible through the unsubscribe link or our privacy contact. We do not claim that merely configuring the plugin proves a visitor has subscribed.
WhatsApp, Telegram and social/booking/map links open external services when you choose them. Their operators receive the request and apply their own notices; do not send unnecessary personal information through those services. Existing publication integrations distribute public editorial material; a link to Uzbekistan or an article about the country does not itself mean that your enquiry is transferred there.
Embedded maps and video
Optional embedded Google Maps, YouTube, Vimeo or other third-party media can disclose your IP, requested page and device data to the respective provider. A placeholder or external link lets you choose whether to load them. Loading optional media requires the external-media choice or the explicitly described action. Text and ordinary local images remain available without it.
Editorial automation
The publishing workflow can send topic prompts, source material and article text to the configured AI provider for research, drafting and translation. This is distinct from visitor analytics and is not a reason to send private reader messages, customer records or credentials to the model. Automated guides disclose their process. Editorial accountability remains with SZB; automated checking is not a claim of personal inspection.
Your rights
Under the applicable GDPR conditions you may request access, correction, erasure, restriction and portability, withdraw consent and object to processing based on legitimate interests; you can object to direct marketing at any time. Contact info@szb-nrw.de. We may ask for proportionate information to verify the request. You may complain to a supervisory authority, including Landesbeauftragte für Datenschutz und Informationsfreiheit Nordrhein-Westfalen (LDI NRW), or the authority where you live or work. We do not use visitor data for automated decisions producing legal or similarly significant effects.
