Data Privacy Policy

Introduction

Protecting your privacy and your personal data is important to us. Therefore, in the following Data Privacy Policy, we provide you with information—in accordance with legal requirements (in particular the German Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG) as amended and the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR))—regarding the nature, scope, and purpose of the processing of personal data by our company. This Data Privacy Policy also applies to our websites and social media profiles. For the definition of terms such as “personal data” or “processing,” please refer to Article 4 of the GDPR.

Name and contact information of the data controller

Our data controller (hereinafter “Data Controller”) within the meaning of Article 4(7) of the GDPR is:

HEURECON GmbH

Alt-Stralau 5A
10245 Berlin
Commercial Register No.: HRB 203800 B
General Manager: Dr. Timo M. Neumann
E-Mail-Address: datenschutz (a) heurecon.de

What personal data we collect and why we collect it

Below, we provide information about the nature, scope, and purpose of the collection, processing, and use of personal data.

Types of data we process

• Usage data (access times, websites visited, etc.)
• Master data (name, address, etc.)
• Contact data (phone number, email, fax, etc.)
• Contract data (subject matter of the contract, term, etc.)
• Payment data (bank details, account information, payment history, etc.)
• Content data (text entries, videos, photos, etc.)
• Communication data (IP address, etc.)

Purposes of processing pursuant to Art. 13(1)(c) of the GDPR

• To execute contracts and fulfill contractual obligations
• To process contact requests
• To provide customer service and support
• To conduct recruitment processes
• To comply with legal retention requirements
• Enabling contact in the event of legal complaints by third parties
• Providing websites with functions and content and ensuring easy access to the website
• Optimizing the website technically and economically and improving the user experience
• Compiling statistics, optimizing our services, and conducting statistical analyses
• Ensuring security and the uninterrupted, secure operation of our website
• Preventing spam and misuse
• Preserving evidence

Categories of data subjects pursuant to Article 13(1)(e) of the GDPR

• Website visitors/users
• Customers and their employees
• Prospective customers
• Suppliers and their employees
• Job applicants
• Employees

These data subjects are collectively referred to as “users.”

Legal basis for the processing of personal data

• If we have obtained your consent to the processing of personal data, the legal basis is Article 6(1)(a) of the GDPR.
• If the processing is necessary for the performance of a contract or for the implementation of pre-contractual measures taken at your request, the legal basis is Article 6(1)(b) of the GDPR.
• If the processing is necessary to comply with a legal obligation to which we are subject (e.g., statutory retention obligations), the legal basis is Article 6(1)(c) of the GDPR.
• If the processing is necessary to protect the vital interests of the data subject or of another natural person, the legal basis is Article 6(1)(d) of the GDPR.
• If the processing is necessary to protect our legitimate interests or those of a third party, and your interests or fundamental rights and freedoms do not override those interests, the legal basis is Article 6(1)(f) of the GDPR.

With whom we share data

We do not, as a rule, disclose any data to third parties without your consent. Should this nevertheless occur, the disclosure is based on the legal grounds mentioned above, e.g., due to a court order or a legal obligation to disclose the data for the purposes of criminal prosecution, threat prevention, or the enforcement of intellectual property rights.

We also use processors (external service providers, e.g., for web hosting of our websites and databases) to process your data. If data is transferred to processors under a data processing agreement, this is always done in accordance with Article 28 of the GDPR. We carefully select our processors, monitor them regularly, and have secured the right to issue instructions regarding the data. In addition, the processors must have implemented appropriate technical and organizational measures and must comply with data protection regulations in accordance with the BDSG (as amended) and the GDPR.

Where we send your data

The adoption of the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has established a uniform framework for data protection in Europe. Your data is therefore primarily processed by companies subject to the GDPR. However, if processing is carried out by third-party services located outside the European Union or the European Economic Area, these services must comply with the specific requirements of Art. 44 et seq. of the GDPR. This means that processing is carried out on the basis of specific safeguards, such as the EU Commission’s official recognition of an adequate level of data protection comparable to that of the EU, or compliance with officially recognized specific contractual obligations, known as “Standard Contractual Clauses.” For U.S. companies, compliance with the so-called EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, the data protection agreement between the EU and the U.S., fulfills these requirements.

How long we store data

Unless expressly stated in this Data Privacy Policy, your personal data will be deleted or blocked as soon as the purpose for which it was stored no longer applies, unless further retention is necessary for evidentiary purposes or is required by statutory retention obligations. This includes, for example, commercial law retention obligations for business letters pursuant to Section 257(1) of the German Commercial Code (HGB) (6 years) as well as tax law retention obligations pursuant to Section 147(1) of the German Fiscal Code (AO) for receipts (10 years). When the prescribed retention period expires, your data will be blocked or deleted, unless storage is still necessary for the conclusion or fulfillment of a contract.

What types of automated decision-making do we use?

We do not use automated decision-making or profiling.

Provision of our website and creation of log files

If you use our website solely for informational purposes (i.e., without registering or otherwise submitting information), we collect only the personal data that your browser transmits to our server. When you view our website, we collect the following data:

• Referrer (previously visited website)
• Requested webpage or file
• Browser type and browser version
• Operating system used
• Device type used
• Time of access
• IP address in anonymized form (used only to determine the location of access)

This data is not stored together with any other personal data you provide.

This data serves the purpose of providing you with a user-friendly, functional, and secure website experience, including features and content, as well as for optimizing and statistically analyzing the site.

The legal basis for this is our legitimate interest in data processing, which is also based on the purposes outlined above, pursuant to Article 6(1)(f) of the GDPR.

For security reasons, we store this data in server log files for a maximum retention period of 9 weeks. After this period expires, the data is automatically deleted, unless we need to retain it for evidentiary purposes in the event of attacks on the server infrastructure or other legal violations.

Further information

Data protection in contract processing

We process master data (e.g., company, title/academic degree, names and addresses, as well as contact information of users, email), contract data (e.g., services utilized, names of contact persons), and payment data (e.g., bank details, payment history) for the purpose of fulfilling our contractual obligations (knowing who the contractual partner is; justification, content, and execution of the contract; verification of data plausibility) and to provide services (e.g., establishing contact) in accordance with Art. 6(1)(b) of the GDPR.

This data is generally not disclosed to third parties, unless it is necessary to pursue our claims (e.g., transfer to a lawyer for debt collection) or to fulfill the contract (e.g., transfer of data to a payment provider), or there is a legal obligation to do so pursuant to Art. 6(1)(c) of the GDPR.

We may also process the data you provide to inform you about other interesting products in our portfolio or to send you emails containing technical information.

The data will be deleted as soon as it is no longer necessary to achieve the purpose for which it was collected. This applies to inventory and contract data when the data is no longer required for the performance of the contract and no further claims can be asserted under the contract because they have expired (warranty: two years / standard statute of limitations: three years). We are required by commercial and tax law to store your address, payment, and order data for a period of ten years. However, upon termination of the contract, we restrict processing after three years, meaning your data will be used solely to comply with legal obligations.

Data protection when contacting us by email, contact form or mail

When you contact us via our contact form, by mail, or by email, your information will be processed for the purpose of handling your inquiry.

When you contact us by email, we process the information you provide (e.g. name, email address, message content) solely to handle your enquiry. Please only send information that is necessary for your request.

The legal basis for processing the data, if you have given your consent, is Article 6(1)(a) of the GDPR. The legal basis for processing the data transmitted in the course of a contact request, email, or letter is Article 6(1)(f) of the GDPR. We as controller have a legitimate interest in processing and storing the data in order to respond to user inquiries, to preserve evidence for liability purposes, and, where applicable, to comply with our legal retention obligations regarding business correspondence. If the contact is aimed at concluding a contract, the additional legal basis for processing is Article 6(1)(b) of the GDPR.

We may store your information and contact request in our Customer Relationship Management System (“CRM System”) or a comparable system.

The data will be deleted as soon as it is no longer necessary to achieve the purpose for which it was collected. For personal data sent via email, this is the case when the respective conversation with you has ended. The conversation is considered ended when it can be inferred from the circumstances that the matter in question has been conclusively resolved. We store inquiries from users who have a contract with us for a period of two years following the termination of the contract. In the case of statutory archiving obligations, deletion occurs upon their expiration: at the end of the retention period under commercial law (6 years) and tax law (10 years).

You have the option at any time to withdraw your consent under Art. 6(1)(a) of the GDPR to the processing of your personal data. If you contact us via email, you may object to the storage of your personal data at any time.

Data protection for job applications and the recruitment process

Job applications sent to the data controller electronically or by mail will be processed electronically or manually for the purpose of conducting the recruitment process.

We expressly point out that application documents containing “special categories of personal data” as defined in Article 9 of the GDPR (e.g., a photo that reveals your ethnic origin, religion, or marital status) are not welcome, with the exception of any severe disability that you choose to disclose of your own free will. You should submit your application without this data. This will not affect your chances of being hired.

The legal basis for processing is Article 6(1)(b) of the GDPR and Section 26 of the BDSG (Federal Data Protection Act), as amended.

If an employment relationship is established with the applicant following the conclusion of the application process, the applicant’s data will be stored in compliance with applicable data protection regulations. If you are not offered a position after the application process is completed, your submitted application letter and supporting documents will be deleted 6 months after the rejection notice is sent in order to comply with any claims and obligations to provide evidence under the German General Equal Treatment Act.

Your rights regarding your data

1. Objection or withdrawal of consent to the processing of your data

To the extent that the processing is based on your consent pursuant to Article 6(1)(a) and Article 7 of the GDPR, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. This does not affect the lawfulness of the processing carried out on the basis of your consent prior to its withdrawal.

To the extent that we base the processing of your personal data on a balancing of interests pursuant to Article 6(1)(f) of the GDPR, you may object to the processing. This is the case, in particular, if the processing is not necessary for the performance of a contract with you, as we will explain in the following description of the functions.

If you exercise such an objection, we ask that you explain the reasons why we should not process your personal data as we have been doing. In the event of your justified objection, we will review the situation and either cease or adjust the data processing or explain to you our compelling legitimate grounds on the basis of which we will continue the processing.

You may object to the processing of your personal data for advertising and data analysis purposes at any time. You may exercise your right to object free of charge. You may inform us of your objection to advertising using the following contact information:

HEURECON GmbH
Alt-Stralau 5A
10245 Berlin
Commercial Register No.: HRB 203800 B
General Manager: Dr. Timo M. Neumann
E-Mail-Address: datenschutz (a) heurecon.de

2. Right of access

You have the right to request confirmation from us as to whether personal data concerning you is being processed.

If this is the case, you have the right to access the personal data we hold about you pursuant to Article 15 of the GDPR. This includes, in particular, information regarding the purposes of processing, the categories of personal data, the categories of recipients to whom your data has been or will be disclosed, the planned storage period, and the origin of your data, provided it was not collected directly from you.

3. Right to rectification

You have the right to have inaccurate data corrected or accurate data completed pursuant to Article 16 of the GDPR.

4. Right to erasure

You have the right to have your data stored by us erased pursuant to Article 17 of the GDPR, unless statutory or contractual retention periods or other legal obligations or rights to further storage preclude this.

5. Right to restriction of processing

You have the right to request that the processing of your personal data be restricted if any of the conditions set forth in Article 18(1)(a) through (d) of the GDPR are met:

• If you contest the accuracy of the personal data concerning you for a period enabling the controller to verify the accuracy of the personal data;
• the processing is unlawful and you oppose the erasure of the personal data and instead request the restriction of the use of the personal data;
• the controller no longer needs the personal data for the purposes of processing, but you need it to assert, exercise, or defend legal claims; or
• if you have objected to the processing pursuant to Article 21(1) of the GDPR and it has not yet been determined whether the controller’s legitimate grounds override your grounds.

6. Right to data portability

You have a right to data portability under Article 20 of the GDPR, which means that you may receive the personal data we have stored about you in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format, or you may request that it be transmitted to another controller.

7. Right to lodge a complaint

You have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. As a rule, you may contact the supervisory authority, in particular in the Member State of your habitual residence, your workplace, or the place where the alleged infringement occurred.

How we protect your data

To protect all personal data transmitted to us and to ensure that data protection regulations are complied with not only by us but also by our external service providers, we have implemented appropriate technical and organizational security measures. For this reason, all data transmitted between your browser and our server is encrypted via a secure SSL connection.