Privacy policy

Who we are

The data controller is Sesamers, a media company based in Paris, France. We publish European startup coverage, run event products, and operate the Sesamers Investment Club.

Contact: stephane@sesamers.com.

What we collect

• Account data - name, email, password hash, organisation details you submit when you sign up or claim a profile.
• Newsletter data - email address and subscription preferences when you join The Opener or other lists.
• Club data - membership application details, KYC-style fields you provide, and deal activity inside the gated club area.
• Usage data - pages viewed, referrer, device and approximate location, only when you accept analytics cookies.
• Communications - messages you send to the desk (tips, corrections, partnership enquiries).

Why we use it

• To publish and operate the site (legitimate interest / contract).
• To create and secure your account (contract).
• To send newsletters you asked for (consent; you can unsubscribe any time).
• To run the Investment Club for members who apply (contract / legitimate interest).
• To understand which stories are read and how people find them (consent for analytics cookies).
• To answer corrections and legal requests (legitimate interest / legal obligation).

Editorial standards cover how we handle sources and sponsored labels - separate from this privacy notice.

Cookies & analytics

We use a small consent cookie to remember Accept or Decline. Analytics cookies (Google Tag Manager / Google Analytics 4) load only after you Accept. Decline and the site works the same; we do not use advertising cookies.

Cookie policy lists each category in more detail.

Sharing

We do not sell personal data. We use processors that help us run the product under contracts: hosting (Kinsta), email delivery for newsletters, and analytics providers when you consent. Data may be processed in the EU or, where a processor is outside the EU, under appropriate safeguards (for example Standard Contractual Clauses).

Retention

• Accounts - kept while active, then deleted or anonymised on request or after prolonged inactivity.
• Newsletter lists - until you unsubscribe or we close the list.
• Analytics - retained according to our analytics configuration (typically months, not indefinite).
• Club records - for the life of membership and as required for financial or legal records.

Your rights

If you are in the EEA or UK you can ask to access, correct, delete, restrict or port your data, and to object to certain processing. You can withdraw consent for analytics or newsletters at any time. You may also complain to your local data protection authority (in France: CNIL).

WordPress also offers a privacy export / erase flow for account holders where enabled.

Contact

Contact: stephane@sesamers.com.