Privacy Policy

The Unknown Atlas keeps the personal information it processes to a minimum. This page explains what is collected, why, how long it is kept, and what you can ask us to do about it. Last updated 1 August 2026.

Who is responsible

The data controller for this website is Duarte Pereira, based in Portugal, publishing as The Unknown Atlas. For anything on this page, write to hello@theunknownatlas.com.

Analytics

This site uses Google Analytics 4 (measurement ID G-6Q7R6GEMVN) to understand which guides are read and how readers arrive. Analytics is loaded only after you accept cookies; if you reject or ignore the banner, no analytics cookies are set and no analytics data is sent. The legal basis is your consent, under Article 6(1)(a) of the GDPR, and you can withdraw it at any time through the "Cookie settings" link in the footer.

Analytics data is processed on our behalf by Google Ireland Limited and by Google LLC in the United States. Those transfers rely on the EU–US Data Privacy Framework, to which Google LLC is certified, together with the standard contractual clauses in Google's data processing terms. Reports we see are aggregated; no reader profiles are built, and no data is sold.

Cookies

Only two cookies are used, both belonging to Google Analytics, and both only after consent:

• _ga — distinguishes one browser from another so repeat visits are not counted as new readers. Duration: two years.
• _ga_G-6Q7R6GEMVN — maintains the analytics session state for this specific site. Duration: two years.

Your consent choice itself is stored in your browser's local storage rather than in a cookie, and never leaves your device. Clearing your browser data removes it, and the banner will ask again.

Newsletter

If you subscribe to the dispatch, the email address you provide is stored for the sole purpose of sending the newsletter. The legal basis is your consent. You can unsubscribe from the link at the bottom of any issue, or by writing to us, and the address is deleted when you do.

How long data is kept

Analytics data is retained for fourteen months and then deleted automatically by Google. Newsletter addresses are kept until you unsubscribe, and removed within thirty days of that request. Emails sent to us are kept for as long as needed to answer them, and no longer than two years.

Affiliate links

When you follow a link to a third-party booking platform, that platform operates under its own privacy policy and sets its own cookies. The Atlas does not receive your booking details or payment information.

Your rights

Under the GDPR you have the right to ask for access to the personal data we hold about you, to have it corrected, to have it erased, to restrict or object to how it is processed, to receive it in a portable form, and to withdraw consent at any time without giving a reason. Write to hello@theunknownatlas.com and we will respond within one month.

If you are not satisfied with the response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Comissão Nacional de Proteção de Dados (CNPD), Portugal's data protection supervisory authority, or with the authority in your own country of residence.

Changes

If this policy changes, the date at the top of the page changes with it. Material changes to how analytics or the newsletter work will be reflected in the consent banner as well.