Privacy Policy

At BadMic Studio ("we", "us", or "our"), we take the privacy of our visitors and clients very seriously. This Privacy Policy outlines transparently how we collect, store, process, and safeguard your personal information when you visit badmic.com, submit project requests, or interact with our content, in strict compliance with the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR 2016/679) and the ePrivacy Directive (Directive 2002/58/EC).

1. Data Controller Information

The entity responsible for processing your personal data (the Data Controller) is:

2. Personal Data We Collect

We believe in data minimization. We only collect personal information that is strictly necessary for providing our audio and video editing services, responding to inquiries, or improving site performance:

• Direct Inquiries & Contact Form: Your name, email address, podcast or video links, project details, and any notes you provide when requesting an edit quote or sending a message.
• Client Project & Invoicing Data: For contracted clients, we collect company or business name, billing address, VAT or tax registration numbers, and invoice transaction records to deliver files and fulfill accounting obligations.
• Newsletter Subscription: If you voluntarily subscribe to our newsletter, we collect your email address and subscription timestamp.
• Technical Server Logs: To safeguard server integrity and mitigate malicious attacks (e.g., DDoS), our web server automatically logs anonymized request data, including IP address, browser type, operating system, and request timestamp.
• Aggregated Web Analytics: Anonymized metrics on website interactions (pages visited, referral sources, duration) via Google Analytics 4.

3. Legal Bases for Processing (GDPR Article 6)

We process your personal data under the following recognized legal grounds:

• Performance of a Contract (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR): Processing is necessary to provide you with project quotes, deliver podcast editing files, process revisions, and communicate regarding active projects.
• Consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR): When you explicitly consent to receive our email newsletter or opt into analytical cookies via our Cookie Consent Banner. You have the right to withdraw consent at any time.
• Legitimate Interests (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR): To maintain web infrastructure security, prevent fraudulent activity, and analyze aggregate user trends to enhance our audio engineering tutorials.
• Legal Obligation (Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR): Retention of financial and tax records as mandated by EU commercial and accounting regulations.

4. Cookies & Local Storage Policy

Cookies are small text files placed on your device when you browse our site. We classify cookies into two distinct categories:

1. Strictly Necessary Cookies: Essential for the technical operation of the website, language routing (English, Czech, Serbian), video player embeds, and remembering your cookie consent choice. These do not require consent and cannot be turned off.
2. Analytics Cookies (Optional): We utilize Google Analytics 4 (Measurement ID: G-GHR1YTSD0T) to evaluate visitor interactions on an aggregated, pseudonymized basis with IP anonymization enabled. Analytics cookies are only activated if you provide explicit consent via our banner.

You have full control over your preferences. You can adjust your consent at any time by clicking the Cookie Settings link in the footer of any page.

5. Third-Party Processors & International Transfers

We work with trusted third-party service providers to deliver our services. Each provider operates under strict data processing agreements:

• Google Analytics (Google LLC, USA): Website usage statistics. Data transfers to the United States comply with the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework or Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs).
• Mailchimp (Intuit Inc., USA): Email newsletter management. Subscriptions can be canceled at any time via the one-click unsubscribe link in every email.
• Formspree (Formspree Inc., USA): Contact form transmission. Messages are relayed securely over HTTPS to our primary inbox.
• YouTube (Google LLC): Embedded video players for showcasing client case studies. We implement lazy loading to limit pre-click cookie placement.

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal data to advertisers or third-party data brokers under any circumstances.

6. Amazon Associates Affiliate Disclosure

BadMic Studio participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for websites to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon (.com, .de, .co.uk, etc.).

When you click an affiliate link to recommended studio gear on our Equipment page or blog articles and make a purchase, we may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Amazon operates its own independent privacy policy when you visit their platform.

7. Data Retention Periods

We do not keep personal data longer than necessary:

• General Inquiries: Stored for up to 24 months after the last communication if no editing contract is initiated.
• Client Financial & Tax Records: Stored for 5 to 10 years in compliance with statutory EU accounting regulations.
• Newsletter Subscribers: Retained until you unsubscribe or request data deletion.
• Google Analytics Data: Set to a 14-month retention schedule.

8. Your Rights as a Data Subject

Under Chapter III of the GDPR and national privacy legislation, you have the following rights:

• Right of Access (Art. 15 GDPR): You may request confirmation and a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Right to Rectification (Art. 16 GDPR): You may request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information.
• Right to Erasure / Right to be Forgotten (Art. 17 GDPR): You may request deletion of your personal data where retention is no longer legally justified.
• Right to Restriction of Processing (Art. 18 GDPR): You may request suspension of processing under specific circumstances.
• Right to Data Portability (Art. 20 GDPR): You may receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
• Right to Object (Art. 21 GDPR): You may object at any time to processing based on legitimate interest or direct marketing.
• Right to Withdraw Consent: You may revoke consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing before revocation.
• Right to Lodge a Complaint: You have the right to file a complaint with a competent data protection authority. In the Czech Republic, this is the Úřad pro ochranu osobních údajů (ÚOOÚ); in Serbia, the Poverenik za informacije od javnog značaja i zaštitu podataka o ličnosti; or your local EU supervisory authority.

To exercise any of these rights, please email us directly at alex@badmic.com. We will respond within 30 calendar days free of charge.

9. Data Security

We enforce modern administrative and technical safeguards to protect your personal data, including 256-bit TLS/SSL encryption for all data in transit, encrypted storage, and multi-factor authentication on administrative tools.

10. Modifications to this Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes in legal requirements or operational practices. The revised version will always be posted on this page with an updated "Effective Date".

11. Contact Us

If you have any questions, requests, or concerns regarding your privacy or this policy, please reach out to:

Alex — BadMic Studio
Email: alex@badmic.com