Data privacy

Data privacy information of M2. technology & project consulting GmbH, Schoenhauser Allee 68, 10437 Berlin, for the website www.m2dot.com

This data protection information clarifies the type, scope, and purpose of the processing of personal data (hereinafter referred to as "data") within our online offer and the associated websites, functions, and content as well as external online presences, such as our social media profile (hereinafter jointly referred to as "online offer"). With regard to the terms used, such as "processing" or "controller", we refer to the definitions in Art. 4 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Responsible for data privacy

mip Consult GmbH
Lawyer Asmus Eggert
Wilhelm-Kabus-Str. 9
10829 Berlin
030 308 07403
datenschutz@m2dot.com

Types of processed data

  • Inventory data (e.g., names, addresses).
  • Contact data (e.g., e-mail, telephone numbers).
  • Content data (e.g., text entries, photographs, videos).
  • Usage data (e.g., websites visited, interest in content, access times).
  • Meta/communication data (e.g., device information, IP addresses).

Categories of affected persons

Visitors and users of the online offer (hereinafter we also refer to the data subjects collectively as "users").

Purpose of processing

  • Providing the online offering, its functions, and content.
  • Responding to contact requests and communicating with users.
  • Security measures.
  • Reach measurement/marketing

Terminology used

"Personal data" means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (hereinafter "data subject"); an identifiable natural person can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier (e.g. cookie) or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person.

"Processing" means any operation or set of operations which is performed on personal data or sets of personal data, whether or not by automated means. The term is broad and covers practically any handling of data.

The term "controller" refers to the natural or legal person, public authority, agency, or other body that alone or jointly with others determines the purposes and means of the processing of personal data.

Relevant legal bases

By Art. 13 GDPR, we inform you of the legal basis of our data processing. If the legal basis is not stated in the privacy policy, the following applies: The legal basis for obtaining consent is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a and Art. 7 GDPR, the legal basis for processing for the performance of our services and implementation of contractual measures as well as responding to inquiries is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR, the legal basis for processing to fulfill our legal obligations is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. c GDPR, and the legal basis for processing to protect our legitimate interests is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR. If vital interests of the data subject or another natural person require the processing of personal data, Art. 6 para. 1 lit. d GDPR serves as the legal basis.

Cooperation with processors and third parties

If we disclose data to other persons and companies (processors or third parties) as part of our processing, transfer it to them or otherwise grant them access to the data, this will only be done on the basis of legal permission (e.g. if the transfer of data to third parties, such as payment service providers, is necessary for the performance of a contract pursuant to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR), you have consented, a legal obligation provides for this or on the basis of our legitimate interests (e.g. when using agents, web hosts, etc.).

If we commission third parties with the processing of data on the basis of a so-called "order processing contract", this is done on the basis of Art. 28 GDPR.

Transfers to third countries

If we process data in a third country (i.e. outside the European Union (EU) or the European Economic Area (EEA)) or if this occurs in the context of the use of third-party services or disclosure or transfer of data to third parties, this will only take place if it is done to fulfill our (pre)contractual obligations, on the basis of your consent, on the basis of a legal obligation or on the basis of our legitimate interests. Subject to legal or contractual permissions, we only process or have the data processed in a third country if the special requirements of Art. 44 et seq. GDPR are met. This means, for example, that the processing takes place on the basis of special guarantees, such as the officially recognized determination of a level of data protection corresponding to the EU (e.g. for the USA through the "Privacy Shield") or compliance with officially recognized special contractual obligations (so-called "standard contractual clauses").

Rights of the persons concerned

You have the right to request confirmation as to whether the data in question is being processed and to request information about this data as well as further information and a copy of the data in accordance with Art. 15 GDPR.

You have accordingly. Art. 16 GDPR, you have the right to request the completion of data concerning you or the rectification of inaccurate data concerning you.

In accordance with Art. 17 GDPR, you have the right to demand that the data in question be deleted immediately or, alternatively, to demand that the processing of the data be restricted in accordance with Art. 18 GDPR.

You have the right to request to receive the data concerning you that you have provided to us in accordance with Art. 20 GDPR and to request its transfer to other controllers.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the competent supervisory authority in accordance with Art. 77 GDPR.

Right of withdrawal

You can withdraw consent given under Art. 7(3) GDPR at any time with effect for the future.

Right to object

You may object to future processing of your data according to Art. 21 GDPR at any time, particularly regarding direct marketing.

Cookies and objection to direct marketing

"Cookies" are small files that are stored on users' computers. Different information can be stored within the cookies. A cookie is primarily used to store information about a user (or the device on which the cookie is stored) during or after their visit to an online service. Temporary cookies, or "session cookies" or "transient cookies", are cookies that are deleted after a user leaves an online service and closes their browser. The content of a shopping cart in an online store or a login status can be stored in such a cookie, for example. Cookies that remain stored even after the browser is closed are referred to as "permanent" or "persistent". For example, the login status can be saved if the user visits the website after several days. The interests of users can also be stored in such a cookie and used for reach measurement or marketing purposes. "Third-party cookies" are cookies that are offered by providers other than the controller who operates the online service (otherwise, if they are only their cookies, they are referred to as "first-party cookies").

We may use temporary and permanent cookies and provide information about this in our privacy policy.

If users do not want cookies to be stored on their computer, they are asked to deactivate the corresponding option in the system settings of their browser. Stored cookies can be deleted in the system settings of the browser. The exclusion of cookies can lead to functional restrictions of this online offer.

A general objection to the use of cookies used for online marketing purposes can be declared for a large number of services, especially in the case of tracking, via the US site http://www.aboutads.info/choices/ oder the EU site https://www.youronlinechoices.com/. Furthermore, the storage of cookies can be achieved by deactivating them in the browser settings. Please note that you may then not be able to use all the functions of this website.

Web Analytics with Matomo Cloud

We use the web analytics service Matomo Cloud on our website, operated by InnoCraft Ltd., 150 Willis Street, 6011 Wellington, New Zealand. Matomo enables us to evaluate visitor behavior on our website and optimize our offering accordingly.

Legal basis for processing
Data processing is based on your consent in accordance with Section 25 (1) TTDSG in conjunction with Art. 6 (1) lit. a GDPR, which you can give via our cookie banner. This consent can be revoked at any time with effect for the future.

Purpose of processing
We analyze how visitors use our website (e.g., pages viewed, length of stay, clicks, referring page) in order to draw conclusions for improving the user experience and optimizing content.

Data collected
On our behalf, Matomo processes the following information, among other things:

  • anonymized IP address (last two bytes removed),
  • approximate geographical origin (country, region),
  • browser used, device type, operating system, screen resolution,
  • referrer URL,
  • pages accessed and length of stay,
  • interactions (e.g., clicks, downloads, search terms),
  • date and time of access.

Cookies and storage duration
Matomo uses cookies to recognize returning users. The cookies are stored in the browser for statistical analysis.

  • The raw data from visits is automatically deleted after 24 months and 14 days.
  • Aggregated reports (e.g., total page views) are not automatically deleted and may contain personal data depending on the configuration (e.g., user-defined variables or content in URLs).

Server location and order processing
The data is processed exclusively on servers within the European Union. No data is transferred to third countries. An order processing agreement in accordance with Art. 28 GDPR is part of the Matomo Cloud Terms of Use.

Withdrawal of consent
You can withdraw your consent to the use of Matomo at any time. To do so, click on the link at the bottom of this page “Adjust privacy settings”.

Further information on data protection at Matomo can be found at:
https://matomo.org/privacy-policy/. 

Deletion of Data

The data processed by us will be deleted or its processing restricted in accordance with Art. 17 and 18 GDPR. Unless expressly stated in this privacy policy, the data stored by us will be deleted as soon as it is no longer required for its intended purpose and the deletion does not conflict with any statutory retention obligations. If the data is not deleted because it is required for other and legally permissible purposes, its processing will be restricted. This means that the data is blocked and not processed for other purposes. This applies, for example, to data that must be retained for commercial or tax law reasons.

According to legal requirements in Germany, data is stored for 6 years in accordance with Section 257 (1) HGB (commercial books, inventories, opening balance sheets, annual financial statements, commercial letters, accounting vouchers, etc.) and for 10 years in accordance with Section 147 (1) AO (books, records, management reports, accounting vouchers, commercial and business letters, documents relevant for taxation, etc.).

According to legal requirements in Austria, the retention period is 7 years in accordance with § 132 para. 1 BAO (accounting documents, receipts/invoices, accounts, receipts, business papers, statement of income and expenses, etc.), 22 years in connection with real estate and 10 years for documents in connection with electronically provided services, telecommunications, radio and television services provided to non-entrepreneurs in EU member states and for which the Mini-One-Stop-Shop (MOSS) is used.

Business-related Processing

In addition, we process

  • contract data (e.g., subject matter of the contract, term, customer category) and
  • payment data (e.g., bank details, payment history)

of our customers, interested parties, and business partners to provide contractual services, service and customer care, marketing, advertising, and market research.

Hosting

The hosting services we use serve to provide the following services: Infrastructure and platform services, computing capacity, storage space and database services, security services, and technical maintenance services that we use for the purpose of operating this online offering.

In doing so, we, or our hosting provider, process inventory data, contact data, content data, contract data, usage data, meta and communication data of customers, interested parties and visitors to this online offer on the basis of our legitimate interests in an efficient and secure provision of this online offer in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR in conjunction with. Art. 28 GDPR (conclusion of order processing contract).

Collection of Access Data and Log Files

We, or our hosting provider, collect on the basis of our legitimate interests within the meaning of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f. GDPR. Under GDPR, we collect data about every access to the server on which this service is located (so-called server log files). The access data includes the name of the website accessed, file, date, and time of access, amount of data transferred, notification of successful access, browser type and version, the user's operating system, referrer URL (the previously visited page), IP address, and the requesting provider.

Log file information is stored for security reasons (e.g,. to investigate misuse or fraud) for a maximum of 7 days and then deleted. Data whose further storage is required for evidence purposes is excluded from deletion until the respective incident has been finally clarified.

Provision of contractual services

We process inventory data (e.g., names and addresses as well as contact data of users), contract data (e.g., services used, names of contact persons, payment information) for the purpose of fulfilling our contractual obligations and services in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit b. GDPR. The entries marked as mandatory in online forms are required for the conclusion of the contract.

As part of the use of our online services, we store the IP address and the time of the respective user action. The storage is based on our legitimate interests as well as those of the user in protection against misuse and other unauthorized use. This data is not passed on to third parties unless it is necessary to pursue our claims or there is a legal obligation to do so in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. c GDPR.

We process usage data (e.g. the websites visited on our online offering, interest in our products) and content data (e.g. entries in the contact form or user profile) for advertising purposes in a user profile, e.g. to display product information to users based on the services they have used to date.

The deletion of the data takes place after the expiry of statutory warranty and comparable obligations; the necessity of storing the data is reviewed every three years; in the case of statutory archiving obligations, the deletion takes place after their expiry. Information in any customer account remains until it is deleted.

Administration, Financial Accounting, Office Organization, Contact Management

We process data as part of administrative tasks and the organization of our business, financial accounting, and compliance with legal obligations, such as archiving. We process the same data that we process as part of the provision of our contractual services. The processing bases are Art. 6 para. 1 lit. c. GDPR, Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f. GDPR. Customers, interested parties, business partners, and website visitors are affected by the processing. The purpose and our interest in the processing lies in the administration, financial accounting, office organization, archiving of data, i.e,. tasks that serve to maintain our business activities, perform our tasks, and provide our services. The deletion of data with regard to contractual services and contractual communication corresponds to the information specified in these processing activities.

We disclose or transmit data to the tax authorities, consultants such as tax advisors or auditors, as well as other fee offices and payment service providers.

We also store information on suppliers, event organizers, and other business partners on the basis of our business interests, e.g. for the purpose of contacting them at a later date. We generally store this mainly company-related data permanently.

Business Analysis and Market Research

In order to operate our business economically and to identify market trends, customer and user requirements, we analyze the data we have on business transactions, contracts, inquiries, etc. We process inventory data, communication data, contract data, payment data, usage data, and metadata on the basis of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f. GDPR. GDPR, whereby the data subjects include customers, interested parties, business partners, visitors, and users of the online offer.

The analyses are carried out for the purpose of business evaluations, marketing and market research. In doing so, we can take into account the profiles of registered users with information on their purchase transactions, for example. The analyses help us to increase user-friendliness, optimize our offer and improve business efficiency. The analyses serve us alone and are not disclosed externally, unless they are anonymous analyses with summarized values.

If these analyses or profiles are personal, they are deleted or anonymized when the user terminates the contract; otherwise, after two years from the conclusion of the contract. Otherwise, the overall business analyses and general trend determinations are created anonymously where possible.

Contacting us

When contacting us (e.g., by contact form, e-mail, telephone, or via social media), the user's details are processed to process the contact request and its handling in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b) GDPR. The user's details may be stored in a customer relationship management system ("CRM system") or comparable inquiry organization.

We delete the inquiries if they are no longer required. We review the necessity every two years; the statutory archiving obligations also apply.

Comments and Posts

If users leave comments or other contributions, their IP addresses are stored on the basis of our legitimate interests within the meaning of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f. GDPR for 7 days. GDPR for 7 days. This is done for our security in case someone leaves illegal content in comments and posts (insults, prohibited political propaganda, etc.). In this case, we ourselves may be prosecuted for the comment or post and are therefore interested in the identity of the author.

Newsletter

If you subscribe to our e-mail newsletter, we will regularly send you information about our services, solutions, events, and webinars as well as data news.

The only mandatory information for sending the newsletter is your e-mail address. Optionally, we ask you to provide a name so that we can address you personally in the newsletter. On the basis of our legitimate interest pursuant to Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. f GDPR, we store your IP address entered by the Internet service provider (ISP) when you register for the newsletter, as well as the date and time of registration, in order to be able to trace any possible misuse of your e-mail address at a later date and to be able to prove the registration process in accordance with legal requirements.

Newsletter – Shipping Service Provider

Our email newsletters are sent via Sendinblue GmbH, Köpenicker Straße 126, 10179 Berlin (“Brevo”). Brevo processes the information provided when registering for the newsletter on our behalf to send and statistically evaluate the newsletter.

For statistical evaluation, the emails sent contain so-called web beacons. This allows us to determine whether a newsletter message has been opened and which links, if any, have been clicked. Technical information is also collected (e.g., the time of retrieval, the IP address, and browser and device information (e.g., the operating system). This data is used exclusively for statistical analysis of newsletter campaigns and is not used to personalize the newsletter. If you wish to revoke your consent to data processing for statistical evaluation purposes, you must unsubscribe from the newsletter.

Data collection is carried out in accordance with Section 25 (1) TTDSG, and subsequent data processing in accordance with Art. 6 (1) sentence 1 lit. a) GDPR, provided that you have expressly consented to the delivery of our newsletter via the double opt-in procedure (DOI). This means that we will only send you an email newsletter once you have expressly confirmed that you consent to receiving newsletters. We will then send you a confirmation email asking you to confirm that you wish to receive newsletters in the future by clicking on a corresponding link.

You can unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time by clicking on the link provided in the newsletter or by sending us a message via the contact options listed above. Once you have unsubscribed, your email address will be immediately deleted from our newsletter distribution list.

Further information on data processing can be found in Brevo's privacy policy at: www.brevo.com/de/legal/privacypolicy/.

Online Presence on Social Media

We maintain an online presence on social networks and platforms in order to communicate with customers, interested parties, and users who are active there and to inform them about our services. When accessing the respective networks and platforms, the terms and conditions and data processing guidelines of their respective operators apply.

Our website only contains linked icons to our profiles on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter (e.g., in the footer). These links lead to the respective external platform when clicked. No social plugins or automatic data transfers to the providers are carried out when you visit our website.

Please note that when using the respective platforms, the terms and conditions and data protection guidelines of the respective providers apply. The processing of personal data is carried out there by the respective platform operator. Further information on data processing can be found in the providers' privacy policies:

Integration of third-party services and content:

On the basis of our legitimate interests (i.e. interest in the analysis, optimization and economic operation of our online offer within the meaning of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f. GDPR), we use content or service offers from third-party providers within our online offer. GDPR) content or service offers from third-party providers in order to integrate their content and services, such as videos or fonts (hereinafter uniformly referred to as "content").

This always presupposes that the third-party providers of this content are aware of the IP address of the user, as they would not be able to send the content to their browser without the IP address. The IP address is therefore required to display this content. We endeavor to only use content whose respective providers only use the IP address to deliver the content. Third-party providers may also use so-called pixel tags (invisible graphics, also known as "web beacons") for statistical or marketing purposes. Pixel tags can be used to analyze information such as visitor traffic on the pages of this website. The pseudonymous information may also be stored in cookies on the user's device and contain, among other things, technical information about the browser and operating system, referring websites, visiting time and other information about the use of our online offer, as well as being linked to such information from other sources.

Google Maps

We integrate maps from the Google Maps service provided by Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland. The integration is for the purpose of a user-friendly presentation of geographical information, in particular to display the location of our company. When you access the map, information (including your IP address) may be transmitted to Google servers in the US. Google processes your data under its own responsibility. Further information on data processing by Google can be found at: https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/. Opt-out options can be found at: https://adssettings.google.com/authenticated.