Legal
Privacy policy: protecting your data from Rome
Privacy Policy
Last updated: 2 November 2026
This website is the public platform of a research laboratory on spatial cognition at the Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy. We serve an international audience of researchers, clinicians, students and members of the public. Our purpose is scientific: improving quality of life for people with orientation difficulties. We do not sell data, run advertising, or use marketing trackers.
1. Data controller
Prof. Laura Piccardi, Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Via dei Marsi 78, 00185 Rome, Italy. Email: laura.piccardi@uniroma1.it. Sapienza University's Data Protection Officer can be reached through the university's institutional website: uniroma1.it.
2. Legal framework
We process personal data under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679, "GDPR"), the Italian Personal Data Protection Code (Legislative Decree 196/2003 as amended by Legislative Decree 101/2018) and the ePrivacy rules on cookies. Where visitors are located outside the EU (for example in the UK, Switzerland, the United States or Brazil), we apply the same GDPR standard, which generally meets or exceeds local requirements such as the UK GDPR, the Swiss FADP, the CCPA/CPRA and the LGPD.
3. What data we process and why
| Data | Purpose | Legal basis (GDPR) | Retention |
|---|---|---|---|
| Technical connection data (IP address, browser type, time of request) handled by our hosting provider | Delivering the site securely and preventing abuse | Legitimate interest, Art. 6(1)(f) | Short-term server logs, as set by the hosting provider |
| Your cookie choice (stored in your browser) | Remembering your consent | Legal obligation / legitimate interest | Until you change it or clear your browser |
| Translation preference cookie ("googtrans"), only if you allow functional cookies | Translating pages on request | Consent, Art. 6(1)(a) | Session / until removed |
| Emails you send us (name, address, message) | Answering questions, research collaboration, participation in studies | Legitimate interest or pre-contractual steps, Art. 6(1)(b)/(f) | As long as needed to answer, then up to 24 months |
The site has no contact form, no user accounts, no analytics and no advertising cookies. Participation in research studies is governed by separate informed-consent documents approved by the relevant ethics committee; health data (Art. 9 GDPR) is never collected through this website.
4. Recipients and international transfers
Data may be handled by our website hosting provider and, only if you enable translation, by Google (Google Translate). Some of these providers may process data outside the European Economic Area; where this happens, transfers rely on an EU adequacy decision (such as the EU–US Data Privacy Framework) or Standard Contractual Clauses (Art. 46 GDPR). We never sell or rent personal data.
5. Artificial intelligence and the EU AI Act
This website does not use artificial intelligence to make decisions about you, to profile visitors, or to recognise emotions or biometric traits. No automated decision-making within the meaning of Art. 22 GDPR takes place. Some illustrations on the site were created with generative AI tools; in line with the transparency principles of the EU AI Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, Art. 50), we disclose this here. Photographs of researchers and article images are genuine. If we ever introduce an AI system that interacts with visitors, we will tell you clearly before you use it.
6. Your rights
Under Articles 15–22 GDPR you may: access your data; correct it; have it erased; restrict or object to processing; receive it in a portable format; and withdraw consent at any time without affecting earlier processing. To withdraw cookie consent, use the Cookie settings button at the bottom-left of every page or in the footer. To exercise any other right, email the controller above. You may also complain to the Italian supervisory authority, the Garante per la protezione dei dati personali, or to the authority in your own country.
7. Children
This site is aimed at adults. We do not knowingly collect data from children under 14 (the Italian age of digital consent). Studies involving minors follow separate parental-consent procedures.
8. Security
The site is served over HTTPS. We keep the amount of data to a minimum and do not store secrets or personal data in the browser code.
9. Changes
We may update this policy when the law or our services change. The date at the top shows the latest version.
See also our Cookie Policy and Privacy Statement (EU).