Privacy & Cookies
Last updated: 22 August 2026 · Version 2
This notice explains how the website of the Agricultural Economics and Consumer Behaviour Lab processes personal data, in accordance with Articles 13 and 14 of the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679.
1. Who is responsible
Data controller: University of Thessaly, Department of Agriculture Crop Production and Rural Environment, Fytoko, 38446 Volos, Greece.
Laboratory contact: agreconlab@uth.gr, tel. +30 24210 93013.
Data Protection Officer of the University of Thessaly: Priority Quality Consultants S.A., email dpo@uth.gr, or by post to: University of Thessaly, Argonafton & Filellinon, 382 21 Volos, Greece, marked “To the attention of the Data Protection Officer”.
2. What we process, why, and on what legal basis
2.1 Messages sent through the contact form
We process the name, capacity, email address, subject and message you submit, in order to read your enquiry and reply to it.
Legal basis: Article 6(1)(e) GDPR, processing necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest. Communication with researchers, businesses, public bodies and students about research and teaching is part of the statutory mission of the University. Providing the data is entirely voluntary; if you choose not to provide it, we simply cannot reply to you. There is no other consequence.
2.2 Technical server logs
The website is hosted on servers of the University of Thessaly. As described in the University’s Privacy Policy, website traffic data are collected in special log-files: the date of the visit, navigation data and the visitor’s IP address. This processing exists to maintain the required level of security of the University’s networks, information and services, to troubleshoot technical issues and to keep the website available. For details, see the University of Thessaly Privacy Policy.
Legal basis: Article 6(1)(e) GDPR, and Article 32 GDPR as regards the security of processing.
2.3 Audience measurement (statistics)
We use Independent Analytics, a statistics tool that runs entirely on our own server. It records which pages are viewed, the referring website, the country, and the type of device and browser.
It does not use cookies and does not store or read any information on your device. It does not transmit anything to a third party. Your IP address is not stored: it is combined with your browser identification string and converted into an irreversible value, used only to tell repeat views apart from new ones. We cannot identify you from it, and we do not attempt to.
Legal basis: Article 6(1)(e) GDPR; understanding how our published research and information are used is necessary in order to maintain and improve the service.
3. Who else sees the data
- The University of Thessaly, which hosts the website and its database on its own servers, operated by the University’s technical services; no external hosting company is involved.
- Google Ireland Ltd / Google LLC, because outgoing email from the contact form is delivered through a Gmail account. The content of your message therefore passes through, and is stored on, Google’s mail infrastructure, which involves a transfer to the United States. Google is certified under the EU–US Data Privacy Framework and additionally applies Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the European Commission.
We do not sell, rent or otherwise disclose your data to third parties for marketing purposes, and we do not combine it with data from other sources.
4. Cookies
This website uses one cookie only:
| Name | Purpose | Duration | Set by |
|---|---|---|---|
| pll_language | Remembers whether you are reading the site in English or Greek. Contains only a language code. | 1 year | Polylang plugin (first party) |
This cookie is strictly necessary to deliver the language version you asked for. We use no advertising, tracking or profiling cookies, and no third-party cookies of any kind. You can delete or block cookies through your browser settings; if you block this one, the site will simply default to English on each visit.
5. How long we keep it
- Contact form messages: automatically and permanently deleted from the website database 14 days after they are received. They are stored at all only as a safety net, in case the email fails to send. Once the email has been delivered, the message exists in two mailboxes, ours and yours, and there is no reason for the website to keep a copy. The only exception is a message whose email could not be sent: that one is kept until a person has seen it.
- Server log-files: kept by the University of Thessaly only for the reasonable period of time required for the security purposes described above, in line with the University’s Privacy Policy.
- Statistics: aggregated figures with no identifier that could be traced back to a person.
6. Your rights
Under Articles 15 to 22 GDPR you have the right to:
- access the personal data we hold about you and obtain a copy;
- rectification of inaccurate or incomplete data;
- erasure of your data;
- restriction of processing;
- data portability, that is to receive the data you provided in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format;
- object at any time, on grounds relating to your particular situation, to processing based on Article 6(1)(e). Where you object, we will stop processing unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds that override your interests, rights and freedoms.
To exercise any of these rights, write to agreconlab@uth.gr or to the Data Protection Officer of the University. We will respond within one month.
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Hellenic Data Protection Authority (Kifissias 1-3, 115 23 Athens, www.dpa.gr).
7. Automated decision-making
We do not carry out automated decision-making or profiling within the meaning of Article 22 GDPR. No decision affecting you is taken automatically on the basis of data collected through this website.
8. External links
Our pages link to project websites, funding bodies and the Google Scholar profile of the Lab. Once you follow such a link you are on a different website with its own privacy policy, over which we have no control.
9. Changes to this notice
If we introduce a new technology that processes personal data, this page will be updated before it is activated, and where the law requires it your consent will be requested first.