Information obligation according to Article 13 GDPR

Privacy Policy

We have written this privacy policy (version 20.07.2022-322057413) in order to explain to you, in accordance with the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and applicable national laws, which personal data (data for short) we as the controller – and the processors commissioned by us (e.g. providers) – process, will process in the future and what legal options you have. The terms used are to be considered as gender-neutral.
In short: We provide you with comprehensive information about any personal data we process about you.

Privacy policies usually sound very technical and use legal terminology. However, this privacy policy is intended to describe the most important things to you as simply and transparently as possible. So long as it aids transparency, technical terms are explained in a reader-friendly manner, links to further information are provided and graphics are used. We are thus informing in clear and simple language that we only process personal data in the context of our business activities if there is a legal basis for it. This is certainly not possible with brief, unclear and legal-technical statements, as is often standard on the Internet when it comes to data protection. I hope you find the following explanations interesting and informative. Maybe you will also find some information that you have not been familiar with.
If you still have questions, we would like to ask you to contact the responsible body named below or in the imprint, to follow the existing links and to look at further information on third-party sites. You can of course also find our contact details in the imprint.

Scope

This privacy policy applies to all personal data processed by our company and to all personal data processed by companies commissioned by us (processors). With the term personal data, we refer to information within the meaning of Art. 4 no. 1 GDPR, such as the name, email address and postal address of a person. The processing of personal data ensures that we can offer and invoice our services and products, be it online or offline. The scope of this privacy policy includes:

• all online presences (websites, online shops) that we operate
• Social media presences and email communication
• mobile apps for smartphones and other devices

In short: This privacy policy applies to all areas in which personal data is processed in a structured manner by the company via the channels mentioned. Should we enter into legal relations with you outside of these channels, we will inform you separately if necessary.

Legal bases

In the following privacy policy, we provide you with transparent information on the legal principles and regulations, i.e. the legal bases of the General Data Protection Regulation, which enable us to process personal data.
Whenever EU law is concerned, we refer to REGULATION (EU) 2016/679 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of April 27, 2016. You can of course access the General Data Protection Regulation of the EU online at EUR-Lex, the gateway to EU law, at https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A32016R0679.

We only process your data if at least one of the following conditions applies:

1. Consent (Article 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR): You have given us your consent to process data for a specific purpose. An example would be the storage of data you entered into a contact form.
2. Contract (Article 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR): We process your data in order to fulfill a contract or pre-contractual obligations with you. For example, if we conclude a sales contract with you, we need personal information in advance.
3. Legal obligation (Article 6 para. 1 lit. c GDPR): If we are subject to a legal obligation, we will process your data. For example, we are legally required to keep invoices for our bookkeeping. These usually contain personal data.
4. Legitimate interests (Article 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR): In the case of legitimate interests that do not restrict your basic rights, we reserve the right to process personal data. For example, we have to process certain data in order to be able to operate our website securely and economically. Therefore, the processing is a legitimate interest.

Other conditions such as making recordings in the interest of the public, the exercise of official authority as well as the protection of vital interests do not usually occur with us. Should such a legal basis be relevant, it will be disclosed in the appropriate place.

In addition to the EU regulation, national laws also apply:

• In Germany this is the Federal Data Protection Act (Bundesdatenschutzgesetz), in short BDSG.

Should other regional or national laws apply, we will inform you about them in the following sections.

Contact details of the data protection controller

If you have any questions about data protection, you will find the contact details of the responsible person or controller below:

marcel.fit
Bornwiese 2, 21391 Reppenstedt, Germany

Phone: +49(0) 172 4333354
E-Mail: kontakt@marcelschaar.com
Legal Notice: https://marcelschaar.com/impressum/

Storage Period

It is a general criterion for us to store personal data only for as long as is absolutely necessary for the provision of our services and products. This means that we delete personal data as soon as any reason for the data processing no longer exists. In some cases, we are legally obliged to keep certain data stored even after the original purpose no longer exists, such as for accounting purposes.

If you want your data to be deleted or if you want to revoke your consent to data processing, the data will be deleted as soon as possible, provided there is no obligation to continue its storage.

We will inform you below about the specific duration of the respective data processing, provided we have further information.

Rights in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation

In accordance with Articles 13, 14 of the GDPR, we inform you about the following rights you have to ensure fair and transparent processing of data:

• According to Article 15 DSGVO, you have the right to information about whether we are processing data about you. If this is the case, you have the right to receive a copy of the data and to know the following information:
  • for what purpose we are processing;
  • the categories, i.e. the types of data that are processed;
  • who receives this data and if the data is transferred to third countries, how security can be guaranteed;
  • how long the data will be stored;
  • the existence of the right to rectification, erasure or restriction of processing and the right to object to processing;
  • that you can lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority (links to these authorities can be found below);
  • the origin of the data if we have not collected it from you;
  • whether profiling is carried out, i.e. whether data is automatically evaluated to arrive at a personal profile of you.
• You have a right to rectification of data according to Article 16 GDPR, which means that we must correct data if you find errors.
• You have the right to erasure (“right to be forgotten”) according to Article 17 GDPR, which specifically means that you may request the deletion of your data.
• According to Article 18 of the GDPR, you have the right to restriction of processing, which means that we may only store the data but not use it further.
• According to Article 20 of the GDPR, you have the right to data portability, which means that we will provide you with your data in a standard format upon request.
• According to Article 21 DSGVO, you have the right to object, which entails a change in processing after enforcement.
  • If the processing of your data is based on Art. 6 para. 1 lit. e (public interest, exercise of official authority) or Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f (legitimate interest), you may object to the processing. We will then check as soon as possible whether we can legally comply with this objection.
  • If data is used to conduct direct advertising, you may object to this type of data processing at any time. We may then no longer use your data for direct marketing.
  • If data is used to conduct profiling, you may object to this type of data processing at any time. We may no longer use your data for profiling thereafter.
• According to Article 22 of the GDPR, you may have the right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing (for example, profiling).
• You have the right to lodge a complaint under Article 77 of the GDPR. This means that you can complain to the data protection authority at any time if you believe that the data processing of personal data violates the GDPR.

In short: you have rights – do not hesitate to contact the responsible party listed above with us!

If you believe that the processing of your data violates data protection law or your data protection rights have been violated in any other way, you can complain to the supervisory authority. In Germany, each federal state has its own data protection officer. For more information, you can contact the Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (BfDI). The following local data protection authority is responsible for our company:

Data transfer to third countries

We only transfer or process data to countries outside the EU (third countries) if you consent to this processing, if this is required by law or if it is contractually necessary. In any case, we generally only do so to the permitted extent. In most cases, your consent is the most important reason for data being processed in third countries. When personal data is being processed in third countries such as the USA, where many software manufacturers offer their services and have their servers located, your personal data may be processed and stored in unexpected ways.

We want to expressly point out, that according to the European Court of Justice, there is currently no adequate level of protection for data transfer to the USA. Data processing by US services (such as Google Analytics) may result in data processing and retention without the data having undergone anonymisation processes. Furthermore, US government authorities may be able to access individual data. The collected data may also get linked to data from other services of the same provider, should you have a user account with the respective provider. We try to use server locations within the EU, whenever this is offered and possible.

We will provide you with more details about data transfer to third countries in the appropriate sections of this privacy policy, whenever applicable.

Security of data processing operations

In order to protect personal data, we have implemented both technical and organisational measures. We encrypt or pseudonymise personal data wherever this is possible. Thus, we make it as difficult as we can for third parties to extract personal information from our data.

Article 25 of the GDPR refers to “data protection by technical design and by data protection-friendly default” which means that both software (e.g. forms) and hardware (e.g. access to server rooms) appropriate safeguards and security measures shall always be placed. If applicable, we will outline the specific measures below.

TLS encryption with https

The terms TLS, encryption and https sound very technical, which they are indeed. We use HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) to securely transfer data on the Internet.
This means that the entire transmission of all data from your browser to our web server is secured – nobody can “listen in”.

We have thus introduced an additional layer of security and meet privacy requirements through technology design Art. 25 para. 1 GDPR). With the use of TLS (Transport Layer Security), which is an encryption protocol for safe data transfer on the internet, we can ensure the protection of confidential information.
You can recognise the use of this safeguarding tool by the little lock-symbol , which is situated in your browser’s top left corner in the left of the internet address (e.g. marcelschaar.com), as well as by the display of the letters “https” (instead of “http”) as a part of our web address.
If you want to know more about encryption, we recommend you to do a Google search for “Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure wiki” to find good links to further information.

Communications

If you contact us and communicate with us via phone, email or online form, your personal data may be processed.

The data will be processed for handling and processing your request and for the related business transaction. The data is stored for this period of time or for as long as is legally required.

Affected persons

The above-mentioned processes affect all those who seek contact with us via the communication channels we provide.

Telephone

When you call us, the call data is stored in a pseudonymised form on the respective terminal device, as well as by the telecommunications provider that is being used. In addition, data such as your name and telephone number may be sent via email and stored for answering your inquiries. The data will be erased as soon as the business case has ended and the legal requirements allow for its erasure.

E-Mail

If you communicate with us via email, your data is stored on the respective terminal device (computer, laptop, smartphone, ...) as well as on the email server. The data will be deleted as soon as the business case has ended and the legal requirements allow for its erasure.

Online forms

If you communicate with us using an online form, your data is stored on our web server and, if necessary, forwarded to our email address. The data will be erased as soon as the business case has ended and the legal requirements allow for its erasure.

Legal bases

Data processing is based on the following legal bases:

• Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent): You give us your consent to store your data and to continue to use it for the purposes of the business case;
• Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR (contract): For the performance of a contract with you or a processor such as a telephone provider, or if we have to process the data for pre-contractual activities, such as preparing an offer;
• Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests): We want to conduct our customer inquiries and business communication in a professional manner. Thus, certain technical facilities such email programs, Exchange servers and mobile network operators are necessary to efficiently operate our communications.

Data Processing Agreement (DPA)

In this section, we would like to explain what a Data Processing Agreement is and why it is needed. As the term “Data Processing Agreement” is quite lengthy, we will often only use the acronym DPA here in this text. Like most companies, we do not work alone, but also use the services of other companies or individuals. By involving different companies or service providers, we may pass on personal data for processing. These partners then act as processors with whom we conclude a contract, the so-called Data Processing Agreement (DPA). Most importantly for you to know is that any processing of your personal data takes place exclusively according to our instructions and must be regulated by the DPA.

Who are the processors?

As a company and website owner, we are responsible for any of your data that is processed by us. In addition to the controller, there may also be so-called processors involved. This includes any company or person who processes your personal data. More precisely and according to the GDPR’s definition, this means: Any natural or legal person, authority, institution or other entity that processes your personal data is considered a processor. Processors can therefore be service providers such as hosting or cloud providers, payment or newsletter providers or large companies such as Google or Microsoft.

To make the terminology easier to comprehend, here is an overview of the GDPR’s three roles:

Data subject (you as a customer or interested party) → Controller (we as a company and contracting entity) → Processors (service providers such as web hosts or cloud providers)

Contents of a Data Processing Agreement

As mentioned above, we have concluded a DPA with our partners who act as processors. First and foremost, it states that the processor processes the data exclusively in accordance with the GDPR. The contract must be concluded in writing, although an electronic contract completion is also considered a “written contract”. Any processing of personal data only takes place after this contract is concluded. The contract must contain the following:

• indication to us as the controller
• obligations and rights of the controller
• categories of data subjects
• type of personal data
• type and purpose of data processing
• subject and duration of data processing
• location of data processing

Furthermore, the contract contains all obligations of the processor. The most important obligations are:

• ensuring data security measures
• taking possible technical and organisational measures to protect the rights of the data subject
• maintaining a data processing record
• cooperation with the data protection authority upon request
• performing a risk analysis for any received personal data
• subprocessors may only be appointed with the written consent of the controller

You can see an example of what a DPA looks like at https://www.wko.at/service/wirtschaftsrecht-gewerberecht/eu-dsgvo-mustervertrag-auftragsverarbeitung.html. This link shows a sample contract.

Web hosting

What is web hosting?

Every time you visit a website nowadays, certain information – including personal data – is automatically created and stored, including on this website. This data should be processed as sparingly as possible, and only with good reason. By website, we mean the entirety of all websites on your domain, i.e. everything from the homepage to the very last subpage (like this one here). By domain we mean example.uk or examplepage.com.

When you want to view a website on a screen, you use a program called a web browser. You probably know the names of some web browsers: Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, and Apple Safari.

The web browser has to connect to another computer which stores the website’s code: the web server. Operating a web server is complicated and time-consuming, which is why this is usually done by professional providers. They offer web hosting and thus ensure the reliable and flawless storage of website data.

Whenever the browser on your computer establishes a connection (desktop, laptop, smartphone) and whenever data is being transferred to and from the web server, personal data may be processed. After all, your computer stores data, and the web server also has to retain the data for a period of time in order to ensure it can operate properly.

Why do we process personal data?

The purposes of data processing are the following:

1. Professional hosting of the website and operational security
2. To maintain the operational as well as IT security
3. Anonymous evaluation of access patterns to improve our offer, and if necessary, for prosecution or the pursuit of claims

Which data are processed?

Even while you are visiting our website, our web server, that is the computer on which this website is saved, usually automatically saves data such as

• the full address (URL) of the accessed website
• browser and browser version (e.g. Chrome 87)
• the operating system used (e.g. Windows 10)
• the address (URL) of the previously visited page (referrer URL) (e. g. https://www.examplepage.uk/icamefromhere.html/)
• the host name and the IP address of the device from the website is being accessed from (e.g. COMPUTERNAME and 194.23.43.121)
• date and time
• in so-called web server log files

How long is the data stored?

Generally, the data mentioned above are stored for two weeks and are then automatically deleted. We do not pass these data on to others, but we cannot rule out the possibility that this data may be viewed by the authorities in the event of illegal conduct.

In short: Your visit is logged by our provider (company that runs our website on special computers (servers)), but we do not pass on your data without your consent!

Legal basis

The lawfulness of processing personal data in the context of web hosting is justified in Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (safeguarding of legitimate interests), as the use of professional hosting with a provider is necessary to present the company in a safe and user-friendly manner on the internet, as well as to have the ability to track any attacks and claims, if necessary.

Payment providers

What is a payment provider?

On our website we use online payment systems, which enable us as well as you to have a secure and smooth payment process available. Among other things, personal data may also be sent to the respective payment provider, where it may also be stored and processed. Payment providers are online payment systems that enable you to place an order via online banking. The payment processing is carried out by the payment provider of your choice. We will then receive information about the payment. This method can be used by any user who has an active online banking account with a PIN and TAN. There are hardly any banks that do not offer or accept such payment methods.

Why do we use payment providers on our website?

With both our website and our embedded online shop, we of course want to offer you the best possible service, so you can feel comfortable on our site and take advantage of our offers. We know that your time is valuable and that payment processing in particular has to work quickly and smoothly. Thus, we offer various payment providers. You can choose your preferred payment provider and pay in the usual way.

Which data are processed?

What exact data that is processed of course depends on the respective payment provider. However, generally data such as name, address, bank details (account number, credit card number, passwords, TANs, etc.) do get stored. This data is necessary for carrying out any transactions. In addition, any contract data and user data, such as when you have visited our website, what content you are interested in or which sub-pages you have clicked, may also be stored. Most payment providers also store your IP address and information about the computer you are using.

Your data is usually stored and processed on the payment provider’s servers. We, so the website operator, do not receive this data. We only get information on whether the payment has gone through or not. For identity and credit checks, it may happen for payment providers to forward data to the appropriate body. The business and privacy policy principles of the respective provider always apply to all payment transactions. Therefore, please always take a look at the general terms and conditions and the privacy policy of the payment provider. You e.g. also have the right to have data erased or rectified at any time. Please contact the respective service provider regarding your rights (right to withdraw, right of access and individual rights).

Duration of data processing

Provided we have further information on this, we will inform you below about the duration of the processing of your data. In general, we only process personal data for as long as is absolutely necessary for providing our services and products. This storage period may be exceeded however, if it is required by law, for example for accounting purposes. We keep any accounting documents of contracts (invoices, contract documents, account statements, etc.) for 10 years (Section 147 AO) and other relevant business documents for 6 years (Section 247 HGB).

Right to object

You always have the right to information, rectification and erasure of your personal data. If you have any questions, you can always contact the person that is responsible for the respective payment provider. You can find contact details for them either in our respective privacy policy or on the relevant payment provider’s website.

You can erase, deactivate or manage cookies in your browser, that payment providers use for their functions. How this works differs a little depending on which browser you are using. Please note, however, that the payment process may then no longer work.

Legal basis

For the processing of contractual or legal relationships (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR), we offer other payment service providers in addition to the conventional banking/credit institutions. In the privacy policy of the individual payment providers (such as Amazon Payments, Apple Pay or Discover) you will find a detailed overview of data processing and data storage. In addition, you can always contact the responsible parties should you have any questions about data protection issues.

Provided it is available, you can find information on the special payment providers in the following sections.

Survey- and Poll Systems Overview

What are survey and poll systems?

We are eager to conduct various surveys and polls via our website. These are always evaluated anonymously. A survey or poll system is a tool embedded on our website that can ask you questions (e.g. about our products or services) which you can answer if you would like to participate. Your answers will always be evaluated anonymously. However, after your consent to data processing, your personal data may also be stored and processed.

Why do we use survey and poll systems?

We aim to offer you the best products and services in our industry. With the help of surveys, we can get your valuable feedback and find out what you expect from us and our services. Based on these anonymous evaluations, we can adapt our products and services to your wishes and ideas. Furthermore, the information also helps us to direct our advertising and marketing measures towards people who are really interested in our offer.

Which data is processed?

First of all, your personal data will only be processed if it is either necessary for the technical implementation, or if you have consented to your data being processed. In the instance of your data being processed, e.g. your IP address will be stored, which enables the survey to be displayed in your browser. Cookies may also be used so you can easily continue your survey at a later point in time.

If you have consented to the data processing, your contact data such as email address or telephone number may be processed in addition to your IP address. Any data that you enter in an online form is also stored and processed for example. Some providers also store information about the web pages you visited (on our website), when you started and ended the survey, along with various technical information about your computer.

How long is data stored?

How long your data is processed and stored depends primarily on the tools we use. Below you can find out more about the data processing of individual tools. The Privacy Policies of the providers usually state exactly which data is stored and processed and for how long. In principle, personal data is only processed for as long as is necessary to provide our services. When data is stored in cookies, the storage period varies greatly. This data could be deleted immediately after leaving a website, but it could also be stored for several years. Therefore, if you want to know more about data storage, you should look at each individual cookie in detail. In most cases, you will also find information on the individual cookies in the respective provider’s Privacy Policies.

Right to object

You also have the right and the option to revoke your consent to the use of cookies or embedded survey systems at any time. This can be done either via our cookie management tool or via other opt-out functions. For example, you can also prevent data collection by cookies if you manage, deactivate or erase the cookies in your browser.

You should read the Privacy Policies of the respective tools to find out exactly which of your data is stored and processed.

Legal bases

The use of survey systems requires your consent, which we have obtained with our cookie pop-up. According to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent) this consent represents the legal basis for the processing of personal data, as it may occur when collected by survey and poll systems.

In addition to consent, we have a legitimate interest in conducting surveys on our theme. The legal basis for this is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests). However, we only use thesetools if you have given your consent.

Since cookies are used in survey systems, we also recommend you to read our general Privacy Policy on cookies. To find out exactly which of your data is stored and processed, you should read the Privacy Policies of the respective tools.

You can find information on the individual survey systems – if available – in the following sections.

Review Platforms Overview

What are review platforms?

You can rate our products or services on various review platforms. We are registered on some of these platforms so we can get feedback from you, which can help us to optimise our offer. If you rate us via a review platform, the Privacy Policy and the General Terms and Conditions of the respective review service apply. In many instances, you also have to register in order to submit a review. We may also have rating technologies (widgets) integrated into our website. By using such tools, data is transmitted to the relevant provider, where it is processed and stored.

Many of these integrated programs work on a similar principle. After you have ordered one of our products or used one of our services, you will be asked to submit a review via email or on the website. You will usually be redirected to a review page via a link, where you can quickly and easily create a review. Some review systems also offer an interface to various social media channels in order to make the feedback accessible to more people.

Why do we use review platforms?

Review platforms collect feedback and ratings about our offer. Your ratings help us to quickly receive appropriate feedback. We can use this valuable input to improve our products and/or services much more efficiently. Therefore, on the one hand, ratings help us to optimise our offers. On the other hand, they give you and all our future customers a good overview of the quality of our products and services.

Which data is processed?

If we have your consent, we transmit information about you and the services you have used to the relevant review platform. We do this to ensure that you have genuinely used one of our services. Only then can you give real feedback. The transmitted data is only used to identify the user. The exact data that is stored and processed of course depends on the providers used. Personal data such as IP address, email address or your name are usually also made available to the rating platforms. Specific order information such as the order number of a purchased item will also be forwarded to the appropriate platform after you have submitted your review. If your email address is transmitted, this is done in a form that allows the review platform to send you an email after purchasing a product. In order to integrate your review to our website as well, we also inform the providers that you have accessed our site. The respective review platform that is used is responsible for any personal data collected.

How long and where is the data stored?

You can find out more about the duration of data processing in the relevant Privacy Policy of the provider below, provided we have further information on this. Generally, we only process personal data for as long as is absolutely necessary for the provision of our services and products. Personal data that is mentioned in a review is usually anonymised by the respective platform’s employees and is therefore only visible to company administrators. The collected data is stored on the provider’s servers, while most providers erase it after the end of the order.

Right to object

You also have the right and the option to revoke your consent to the use of cookies or third-party providers at any time. This works either via our cookie management tool or via other opt-out functions. For example, you can also prevent data collection by cookies by managing, deactivating or deleting the cookies in your browser.

Legal bases

If you have agreed that an evaluation platform may be used, the legal basis for the corresponding data processing is this consent. According to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a of the GDPR (consent) represents the legal basis for the processing of personal data, as may occur when it is collected by a review portal.

We also have a legitimate interest in using a review platform to optimise our online service. The corresponding legal basis for this is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests). However, we only use any given review platform if you have consented to it.

We hope we could give you the most important general information about data processing at review platforms. You can find further information in the Privacy Policy texts below or in the linked Privacy Policies of the respective companies.