Last updated: 17 July 2026

Ferment Community respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal data. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, why we process it, how it may be shared, how long it is retained, and what rights you have.

1. Data controller

The controller responsible for processing your personal data is:

BORGLA d.o.o.

Trading as: Ferment Community
Address: Valvasorjeva ulica 40, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia
Email: info@fermentcommunity.com
Company or registration number: 6767672000

2. Information we collect

Account information

When you register or use your account, we may process:

• username;

• first and last name;

• email address;

• password in securely hashed form;

• account role, status and registration date;

• login and account-security information.

We do not store your password in readable form.

Profile information

You may provide:

• a profile photograph;

• a display name;

• a short profile description;

• other optional information added to your profile.

Shared cultures and culture requests

When you share or request a fermentation culture, we may process:

• the type of culture;

• your description or message;

• availability status;

• photographs you upload;

• the date and time of the post;

• the account connected to the post;

• the location or address entered for the post;

• latitude and longitude coordinates used for distance calculations and map display.

Location data

If you allow browser location access, we may receive your device’s latitude and longitude.

This information is used to:

• calculate distances between users and cultures;

• order nearby results;

• place shared cultures and requests on the community map;

• identify the country or map area that should initially be displayed;

• convert coordinates into an address where this functionality is enabled.

Location access is optional. You can refuse the browser permission and, where available, enter a location manually.

Please note that map markers are generated from saved coordinates. Other users may therefore be able to infer the approximate or precise location connected to a shared culture or request. Do not submit a home address or precise private location unless you are comfortable sharing it for this purpose.

Messages and communications

When you communicate with another member or contact support, we may process:

• sender and recipient identifiers;

• message content;

• message timestamps;

• message status;

• attachments, if supported and used;

• support requests and our responses.

Private messages are not displayed publicly, but authorised administrators may access them where necessary for technical support, safety, abuse prevention, legal compliance or investigation of a reported issue.

Technical and security information

When you visit the website, our server and service providers may automatically process:

• IP address;

• browser and device type;

• operating system;

• language and referring page;

• access date and time;

• requested pages and resources;

• authentication and session information;

• error, security and server logs.

3. How we use personal data and our legal bases

We process personal data for the following purposes:

Providing the service

We process account information, profile information, community posts, requests, locations and messages to create and manage your account and provide Ferment Community features.

Legal basis: performance of a contract or steps taken at your request before entering into a contract, Article 6(1)(b) GDPR.

Optional device location

We use browser-provided location after you grant location permission.

Legal basis: your consent, Article 6(1)(a) GDPR.

You may withdraw this permission through your browser or device settings. Withdrawal does not affect processing that took place before consent was withdrawn.

Displaying community content

We display information that you intentionally submit for sharing with the community, including your display name, profile image, culture information, photographs, descriptions, distance and map marker.

Legal basis: performance of the service requested by you, Article 6(1)(b) GDPR.

Security and abuse prevention

We may process technical data, account activity and content reports to secure the platform, prevent spam, fraud, misuse and unauthorised access, and enforce our rules.

Legal basis: our legitimate interests in operating a safe and reliable community service, Article 6(1)(f) GDPR.

Legal obligations and claims

We may retain or disclose information where necessary to comply with applicable law, respond to lawful requests, establish or defend legal claims, or protect the rights and safety of users and others.

Legal basis: compliance with a legal obligation under Article 6(1)(c), or legitimate interests under Article 6(1)(f) GDPR.

4. Information visible to other users

Depending on the feature, other users may see:

• your display name;

• your profile photograph;

• the culture you share or request;

• your culture description;

• photographs attached to your post;

• availability status;

• calculated distance;

• a marker representing the saved location;

• a button allowing them to contact you.

Your email address, password and private message content are not intended to be displayed publicly.

Information published online may be copied, indexed by search engines or retained by third parties outside our control. Please avoid publishing sensitive personal information in descriptions, photographs or messages.

5. Cookies and local storage

Ferment Community and the underlying WordPress account system use cookies necessary for authentication, account security, session management and website functionality.

The community features currently use:

• fc_user_lat and fc_user_lng — browser location coordinates used for nearby results; retained for approximately 24 hours;

• fc_location_requested — records that location permission was recently requested; retained for approximately one hour;

• fc_nearby_reloaded — prevents repeated page reloads; retained for approximately one minute;

• fcCommunityMapCountryBounds — local browser storage used to remember the map’s country bounds; retained for approximately 24 hours.

WordPress and Ultimate Member may also place authentication, session, password-reset and security cookies.

Where consent is legally required for non-essential cookies or external services, those technologies should only be activated after the appropriate consent has been obtained.

6. Third-party services and recipients

We may use the following providers to operate the service:

Hosting and email

Our hosting, database, backup and transactional email providers may process account information, content, messages and technical logs on our behalf.

Hosting provider: [HOSTING PROVIDER AND COUNTRY]
Email provider: [EMAIL PROVIDER AND COUNTRY]

OpenStreetMap and Nominatim

Community maps use OpenStreetMap map tiles. Loading a map may send your IP address, browser information and requested map area to OpenStreetMap infrastructure.

Nominatim may receive:

• an address entered for geocoding;

• latitude and longitude used for reverse geocoding;

• IP address and technical request information when contacted directly by your browser.

See the OpenStreetMap Foundation Privacy Policy and Nominatim Usage Policy.

Google services

Where Google geocoding is configured, entered addresses or coordinates may be sent to Google Maps services.

The website also currently loads the Inter font from Google Fonts. This can disclose technical information such as your IP address, browser information and the requested font resource to Google.

See the Google Privacy Policy.

UNPKG

Leaflet and Leaflet MarkerCluster map files may be loaded from the UNPKG content delivery network. UNPKG may receive your IP address, browser information and details of the requested resources.

Gravatar

If you have not uploaded a local profile photograph, the website may request a Gravatar associated with a cryptographic hash of your email address. This request may disclose your IP address and browser information to Automattic or its infrastructure.

See the Automattic Privacy Policy.

Professional and legal recipients

Personal data may also be disclosed to:

• technical contractors who maintain the service;

• legal, accounting or security advisers;

• law-enforcement authorities, courts or regulators where legally required;

• a successor organisation in connection with a lawful merger, restructuring or transfer of the service.

We do not sell your personal data.

7. International transfers

Some providers may process data outside Slovenia or the European Economic Area.

Where required, transfers will rely on an adequacy decision, Standard Contractual Clauses or another transfer mechanism permitted by the GDPR. Information about relevant safeguards can be requested using the contact details in this Policy.

8. Data retention

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes described above.

Unless a longer period is required by law, the intended retention periods are:

• account and profile data: while the account remains active and for [CONFIRM PERIOD] after account closure;

• shared cultures and requests: until deleted by the user or account administrator, followed by [CONFIRM TRASH/DELETION PERIOD];

• profile and culture photographs: until replaced, deleted or no longer connected to an active account or post;

• private messages: [CONFIRM BETTER MESSAGES RETENTION PERIOD];

• support correspondence: [CONFIRM PERIOD, e.g. 24 months] after the request is resolved;

• security and server logs: [CONFIRM PERIOD, e.g. 30–90 days];

• backups: [CONFIRM PERIOD], after which they are overwritten or securely deleted;

• location cookies and map storage: as stated in the Cookies and local storage section.

Information may be retained longer where necessary to comply with law, investigate misuse or establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

9. Your rights

Subject to the conditions in the GDPR, you may have the right to:

• obtain confirmation that we process your personal data;

• request access to your personal data;

• correct inaccurate or incomplete information;

• request deletion of your personal data;

• restrict processing;

• object to processing based on legitimate interests;

• receive certain data in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format;

• request transfer of eligible data to another controller;

• withdraw consent at any time;

• lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority.

To exercise your rights, contact [PRIVACY CONTACT EMAIL]. We may request information necessary to verify your identity.

You may also complain to:

Information Commissioner of the Republic of Slovenia
Dunajska cesta 22
SI-1000 Ljubljana
Email: gp.ip@ip-rs.si
Website: https://www.ip-rs.si/en/

10. Account deletion

You may request deletion of your account by contacting [PRIVACY CONTACT EMAIL] or through any account-deletion feature made available on the website.

Before deleting the account, we may need to retain limited information where required for security, legal compliance or legal claims.

You should specify whether community posts should be deleted or anonymised. Content already copied, cached or indexed by third parties may remain outside our direct control.

11. Security

We use appropriate organisational and technical safeguards designed to protect personal data against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, loss or destruction.

These measures may include access controls, encrypted connections, password hashing, security updates, backups and limiting administrative access.

No online system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. Users are responsible for choosing a strong password and keeping their login credentials confidential.

12. Automated decision-making

Ferment Community does not currently use personal data to make decisions based solely on automated processing that produce legal or similarly significant effects.

Distances and the ordering of nearby results are calculated automatically from location coordinates, but these calculations do not produce legal or similarly significant effects.

13. Changes to this Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy when the service, our providers or legal requirements change.

The latest version will be published on this page with a revised “Last updated” date. Where changes materially affect your rights or how we process personal data, we will provide additional notice where appropriate.

14. Contact

For questions, privacy requests or complaints, contact: