Privacy Policy - WORLDEF

WORLDEF respects your privacy and is committed to processing personal data lawfully, fairly, transparently, and securely.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, share, and otherwise process personal data when you visit or use worldef.com and its related websites, landing pages, registration pages, checkout pages, mobile applications, event applications, newsletters, forms, digital services, and in-person event services operated by or on behalf of WORLDEF.

This Privacy Policy is intended to satisfy our information obligations under applicable data protection laws, including the Turkish Personal Data Protection Law No. 6698 (“KVKK”), and to explain how we handle personal data in connection with our events, memberships, media activities, commercial communications, partnerships, and digital platforms.

1. Data Controller

The data controller responsible for the processing of your personal data is WORLDEF.

For certain co-branded campaigns, jointly operated forms, sponsored networking tools, or partner-managed event features, another entity may also act as a separate or joint data controller for the relevant processing activity. Where this is the case, we will inform you at the point of collection or in a supplementary notice.

2. Scope of This Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy applies to personal data processed in connection with:

visits to our websites and subdomains;
event registrations, ticket sales, accreditation, invitations, and attendance;
newsletter subscriptions and commercial electronic communications;
exhibitor, sponsor, speaker, press, buyer, investor, and partner applications;
contact, support, and inquiry forms;
event apps, matchmaking tools, directories, and networking features;
cookies and similar technologies;
media production, photography, and video recording at events;
our business communications through email, telephone, SMS, messaging platforms, and other channels.

If a specific service, form, campaign, or event has its own privacy notice, that specific notice will apply in addition to this Privacy Policy.

3. Categories of Personal Data We May Process

Depending on your relationship with WORLDEF and the Services you use, we may process the following categories of personal data:

3.1 Identity and Contact Information

This may include your first name, last name, signature, email address, telephone number, company address, billing address, country, city, and other contact details.

3.2 Professional and Business Information

This may include your company name, job title, department, sector, business profile, professional interests, company website, LinkedIn profile, and information relevant to your attendance, participation, or partnership with WORLDEF.

3.3 Registration and Transaction Information

This may include ticket type, order information, invoice information, payment-related records, booking status, badge details, attendee category, visa-support related information, and correspondence relating to registration or event participation.

3.4 Marketing and Communication Preference Information

This may include newsletter preferences, communication permissions, campaign interaction history, event interest data, survey responses, segmentation data, opt-in/opt-out records, unsubscribe records, and commercial electronic communication consent or rejection information.

3.5 Technical, Usage, and Device Information

This may include IP address, device identifiers, browser type, operating system, language settings, referring URLs, pages visited, session logs, login records, cookie identifiers, and analytics data collected through the use of our Services.

3.6 Event Participation, Networking, and Profile Information

This may include your badge details, meeting preferences, matchmaking interests, attendee profile information, speaker biography, exhibitor profile, company description, participation history, and any information you choose to share through networking or directory features.

3.7 Visual, Audio, and Security Records

This may include photographs, video recordings, webinar recordings, interview recordings, voice recordings, event livestream participation, and security camera footage captured at venues or online events.

3.8 Request, Complaint, and Support Information

This may include the content of messages you send to us, feedback, requests, complaints, attachments, and records created while handling your inquiry.

3.9 Special Categories of Personal Data

In limited cases, we may process special categories of personal data where necessary and permitted by law. For example, accessibility information, disability-related information, dietary requirements that may reveal health or religious information, or other sensitive information that you voluntarily provide for event accommodation or legal compliance purposes. We process such data only where a valid legal ground exists and with additional safeguards.

4. How We Collect Personal Data

We may collect personal data:

directly from you when you complete a form, subscribe, register, apply, purchase a ticket, contact us, or attend an event;
from your employer or organization where you are registered by a company, sponsor, exhibitor, or partner;
from our service providers, venue operators, ticketing providers, payment providers, and event technology vendors;
automatically through cookies, logs, pixels, SDKs, and similar technologies when you use our digital Services;
from publicly available professional sources, such as company websites, press materials, social media, and business networking platforms, where lawful and relevant to our business activities;
through recordings, access-control systems, badge scanners, and security systems used at events.

If you provide us with another person’s personal data, you are responsible for ensuring that you are authorized to do so and that the relevant person has been informed about this Privacy Policy.

5. Purposes of Processing

We may process your personal data for the following purposes:

5.1 To Provide Our Services

Including creating and managing registrations, issuing tickets and badges, processing payments, managing attendance, delivering digital content, providing access to venues or online sessions, and offering support.

5.2 To Manage Events and Operations

Including planning and organizing exhibitions, conferences, summits, meetings, networking programs, VIP programs, hosted buyer activities, speaker management, exhibitor onboarding, venue coordination, health and safety arrangements, and logistics.

5.3 To Communicate With You

Including sending confirmations, invoices, schedule updates, operational announcements, customer support messages, policy updates, service messages, and responses to your requests.

5.4 To Send Commercial Electronic Communications

Including newsletters, campaign announcements, early-bird offers, event invitations, product and service promotions, market reports, surveys, and other promotional content, subject to applicable consent and opt-out rules.

5.5 To Operate Networking and Matchmaking Features

Including facilitating attendee discovery, one-to-one meetings, buyer-seller matching, exhibitor lead capture, speaker interaction, and other business networking functions where you participate or activate the relevant feature.

5.6 To Improve and Secure Our Services

Including analytics, service optimization, troubleshooting, fraud prevention, abuse prevention, access control, network and information security, audit logging, incident management, and business continuity.

5.7 To Comply With Legal Obligations

Including tax, accounting, invoicing, reporting, commercial law, consumer law, dispute handling, regulatory requests, court orders, and other legal obligations.

5.8 To Establish, Exercise, or Defend Legal Rights

Including claim management, dispute resolution, evidence preservation, internal investigation, and legal proceedings.

5.9 To Produce and Publish Media Content

Including photographing, filming, livestreaming, recording, publishing, and promoting WORLDEF events and activities across websites, newsletters, reports, social media, press releases, aftermovies, and other communication channels.

6. Legal Bases for Processing

Under applicable law, we may rely on one or more of the following legal bases when processing personal data:

your explicit consent;
where processing is expressly permitted or required by law;
where processing is necessary for the establishment or performance of a contract;
where processing is necessary for us to comply with a legal obligation;
where processing is necessary for the establishment, exercise, or protection of a right;
where data has been made public by you and the processing is consistent with your intention;
where processing is necessary for our legitimate interests, provided that your fundamental rights and freedoms are not harmed.

Where special categories of personal data are processed, we apply the stricter conditions and safeguards required by law.

Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawal will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before the withdrawal.

7. Commercial Electronic Communications

If you opt in, or where otherwise permitted under applicable law, WORLDEF may send you commercial electronic communications by email, SMS, telephone, push notification, or similar electronic channels regarding events, services, campaigns, content, reports, surveys, or other promotional activities.

You may refuse or withdraw consent to receive commercial electronic communications at any time, without giving a reason, by using:

the unsubscribe link included in the message, where available;
the rejection/opt-out method provided in the communication;
your communication preferences, where applicable;
contacting us through the channels listed in this Privacy Policy.

Operational or legally required communications may continue where permitted by law even if you opt out of marketing communications.

8. Cookies and Similar Technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies on our websites and digital platforms for purposes such as:

ensuring core website functionality;
remembering user preferences;
measuring performance and usage;
improving usability and security;
personalizing content;
conducting analytics and, where permitted, advertising or remarketing activities.

Strictly necessary cookies may be used without consent where legally allowed. Functional, analytics, performance, and advertising/marketing cookies that are not strictly necessary will be used subject to the consent rules applicable to the relevant jurisdiction and the settings you choose in our cookie banner or preference center.

For more detailed information, including cookie types, purposes, retention periods, and preference controls, please see our Cookie Policy.

9. Recipients and Sharing of Personal Data

We may share personal data, on a need-to-know basis and subject to appropriate safeguards, with the following recipient groups:

our group companies, affiliates, and authorized internal teams;
ticketing, registration, CRM, email, SMS, hosting, analytics, cloud, payment, security, event technology, and support service providers;
venue operators, logistics providers, production companies, and event contractors;
exhibitors, sponsors, speakers, hosted buyers, investors, business partners, or attendees where this is necessary for a networking feature you use, a lead-capture interaction you initiate, or a consent-based activity you join;
legal, tax, audit, and professional advisors;
competent public authorities, regulators, courts, enforcement bodies, and other persons or entities authorized by law;
third parties involved in a merger, acquisition, investment, restructuring, financing, or asset transfer involving all or part of our business.

We do not share your personal data more broadly than necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy.

10. International Transfers of Personal Data

Because WORLDEF operates internationally and uses global vendors, some personal data may be transferred outside Türkiye.

Where personal data is transferred abroad, WORLDEF will seek to rely on a lawful transfer mechanism under applicable law. Depending on the circumstances, this may include:

an adequacy decision;
appropriate safeguards, such as a legally valid standard contract or another recognized safeguard mechanism;
a transfer based on explicit consent where applicable;
another exceptional ground allowed by law for incidental transfers.

If you would like more information about the transfer mechanism used for a specific category of data, you may contact us using the details below.

11. Event Photography, Video, and CCTV

WORLDEF events may be photographed, filmed, livestreamed, or otherwise recorded for security, documentation, editorial, press, promotional, and archival purposes.

By entering or participating in a WORLDEF event, you acknowledge that images, audio, or video containing your likeness, voice, name badge, or participation may be captured and used in event reports, press materials, social media, websites, newsletters, highlight videos, or future promotional materials, where legally permissible.

Venue areas may also be monitored by CCTV or similar security systems for safety, security, access control, and incident investigation purposes.

Where required, additional on-site notices or consent mechanisms may be used.

12. Data Retention

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy, and for the retention periods required or permitted under applicable law.

Retention periods may vary depending on the data category and purpose, including:

the duration of our relationship with you;
the need to manage an event or service;
accounting, tax, and commercial recordkeeping obligations;
legal limitation periods and dispute-related preservation needs;
security, fraud, and audit requirements;
your communication preferences and consent status.

When the relevant retention period expires, or when the processing purpose no longer exists, the data will be deleted, destroyed, or anonymized in accordance with applicable law and our internal retention procedures.

13. Data Security

WORLDEF takes appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect personal data against unauthorized access, unlawful processing, accidental loss, alteration, disclosure, or destruction.

These measures may include, where appropriate:

access controls and authorization management;
encryption and secure transmission technologies;
logging, monitoring, and audit trails;
network and endpoint protection;
vendor due diligence and contractual controls;
employee confidentiality and training obligations;
incident response and breach-management procedures;
backup, recovery, and business continuity measures.

No system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. However, we continuously review and improve our safeguards in line with legal requirements and operational risk.

14. Your Rights

Subject to applicable law, you may have the right to:

learn whether your personal data is processed;
request information if your personal data has been processed;
learn the purpose of processing and whether your data is used in accordance with that purpose;
know the third parties to whom your data is transferred domestically or abroad;
request correction of incomplete or inaccurate personal data;
request deletion, destruction, or anonymization of personal data where the legal conditions are met;
request notification of corrections or deletions to third parties to whom personal data has been transferred, where required;
object to a result against you arising solely from analysis by automated systems;
request compensation for damages suffered due to unlawful processing.

Where another applicable law grants you additional rights, we will honor those rights to the extent required.

15. How to Exercise Your Rights

You may submit your request regarding your personal data by using the contact channels listed in this Privacy Policy.

To help us verify your identity and process your request securely, your application should include, as applicable:

your full name;
your contact information;
your identity details or other information necessary to verify your identity;
a clear description of your request;
any information or documents supporting your request.

You may submit requests in writing, by KEP, by secure electronic signature, by mobile signature, by the email address already registered in our systems, or by other legally accepted methods. Under the current KVKK application rules, requests made under Article 11 are generally expected to be submitted in Turkish. WORLDEF will respond as soon as possible and, in principle, no later than the legally applicable response period. If a fee is permitted by law due to additional cost, it may be charged in accordance with the applicable tariff.

If you believe your request has been rejected unlawfully, not answered in time, or answered insufficiently, you may apply to the competent authority in accordance with applicable law.

16. Third-Party Services and Links

Our Services may contain links to third-party websites, tools, payment pages, sponsor pages, social media platforms, or partner systems. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those third parties. We recommend that you review the privacy notice of each third party before providing personal data.

If a third-party platform processes your payment, registration, lead-capture interaction, or networking connection, that third party may also act as a separate data controller for its own processing activities.

17. Children’s Privacy

WORLDEF’s Services are generally intended for business, professional, and industry audiences. They are not primarily directed to children.

If we become aware that personal data has been collected from a child in a manner requiring parental or legal guardian involvement under applicable law, we may take steps to verify authorization, restrict processing, or delete the data where appropriate.

18. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect legal, regulatory, operational, or technological developments.

When we make material changes, we may publish the updated version on our website and, where appropriate, notify you through the relevant channel.

19. Contact

For questions, requests, or complaints regarding this Privacy Policy or the processing of your personal data, please contact us.