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Privacy policy

Last updated October 10, 2026

This policy explains what personal data Startupzel collects, why we use it and what rights you have. It is written to meet both the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Turkey’s Personal Data Protection Law No. 6698 (KVKK).

1. Who is responsible

Startupzel is operated by its founder, Uğur. For the purposes of the GDPR and the KVKK he is the data controller. You can reach us at hi@startupzel.com.

2. What we collect

  • Account data: your name, your email address and a protected (hashed) version of your password. You may also tell us whether you want to buy, sell or both.
  • Listing data: what you write about a startup you list, including figures and descriptions and, if you add it, a website address.
  • Messages: the messages you send and receive through Startupzel.
  • Technical data: your IP address, browser type and the pages you request, which our hosting provider records in server logs.
  • Emails you send us: if you write to us, we keep the conversation so we can answer you.

We do not ask for payment details, because payments do not happen on Startupzel.

3. Why we use it, and on what legal basis

  • To create and run your account and let you list startups and message other users. Basis: performing our agreement with you (GDPR Article 6(1)(b), KVKK Article 5(2)(c)).
  • To keep the site secure and prevent abuse such as spam and fraud. Basis: our legitimate interests (GDPR Article 6(1)(f), KVKK Article 5(2)(f)).
  • To answer your emails and requests. Basis: our legitimate interests, or your own request.
  • To meet legal obligations, such as answering lawful requests from authorities. Basis: legal obligation (GDPR Article 6(1)(c), KVKK Article 5(2)(ç)).

If you subscribe to the Weekly Micro Deals newsletter, you do so on Substack, under its own privacy policy.

4. Who sees your data

  • Other users: your listing and its numbers are visible to anyone who visits the site. Messages are visible only to the people in the conversation.
  • Service providers: for example our hosting provider, which stores the site and its data on servers we do not run ourselves.
  • Authorities: when the law requires us to share data.

We do not sell your personal data and we do not use it for advertising. Our hosting provider may store data on servers outside your country. Where the law requires safeguards for such transfers, we rely on them.

5. Cookies and similar technologies

Startupzel uses only what it needs to work: a session cookie that keeps you logged in and your browser’s local storage, which remembers choices such as filters and unfinished drafts. We do not use advertising or third-party tracking cookies. If we add analytics, we will say so here and ask for your consent where the law requires it.

6. How long we keep it

We keep account data, listings and messages while your account is open. When you delete your account, we delete or anonymise this data, except what we must keep to meet legal obligations or to deal with disputes. Server logs are kept by our hosting provider for the period it sets.

7. Your rights

Under the GDPR you can ask for access to your data, ask us to correct or delete it, ask us to restrict or stop using it, and ask for a copy in a portable form. Where we rely on your consent, you can withdraw it at any time.

Under Article 11 of the KVKK you can ask whether we process your data and request information about it. You can learn why we process it and whether we use it for that purpose, and who we share it with in Türkiye or abroad. You can ask us to correct incomplete or wrong data, or to delete or destroy it, and to tell the people we shared it with. You can object to a result against you that comes only from automated analysis, and claim compensation if you suffer loss because of unlawful processing.

To use any of these rights, write to hi@startupzel.com. We will reply as soon as possible and within 30 days at the latest, which is the period set by the KVKK. The GDPR allows one month.

If you are not happy with how we handled your request, you can complain to a data protection authority: in Türkiye, the Personal Data Protection Authority (Kişisel Verileri Koruma Kurumu), and in the EU, the authority in your own country.

8. Children

Startupzel is not for people under 18, and we do not knowingly collect data from them.

9. Security

We protect your data with measures suited to the risk, such as encrypted connections (HTTPS) and hashed passwords. No online service can promise perfect security, so please use a strong password that you do not use anywhere else.

10. Changes to this policy

We will update this policy when our practices change. The date at the top shows the latest version.

11. The legal texts

Questions about this policy? Write to hi@startupzel.com.

Also see our Terms of service.