Privacy Policy

Preamble

With the following privacy policy, we would like to inform you about the types of your personal data (hereinafter also referred to as "data") we process, for what purposes, and to what extent. The privacy policy applies to all processing of personal data carried out by us, both in the context of providing our services and, in particular, on our websites, in mobile applications, and within external online presences, such as our social media profiles (hereinafter collectively referred to as "online offering").

The terms used are not gender-specific.

Last updated: 4 September 2026

Controller

Dirk Schart
Wiesbachhornstr. 29
81825 Munich
Germany

Email: dirk@dirkschart.com

Overview of Processing Activities

The following overview summarizes the types of data processed and the purposes of their processing, and refers to the data subjects concerned.

Categories of Processed Data

  • Master data

  • Contact data

  • Content data

  • Usage data

  • Meta, communication, and procedural data

  • Log data

Categories of Data Subjects

  • Service recipients and clients

  • Communication partners

  • Users

  • Third parties

Purposes of Processing

  • Communication

  • Security measures

  • Direct marketing

  • Reach measurement

  • Provision of our online offering and user-friendliness

  • Information technology infrastructure

  • Organizational and administrative procedures

  • Feedback

Relevant Legal Bases

Relevant legal bases under the GDPR: Below you will find an overview of the legal bases of the GDPR on which we process personal data. Please note that in addition to the provisions of the GDPR, national data protection provisions may apply in your or our country of residence or domicile.

  • Consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR): The data subject has given consent to the processing of their personal data for one or more specific purposes.

  • Performance of a contract and pre-contractual inquiries (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR): Processing is necessary for the performance of a contract to which the data subject is a party, or in order to take steps at the request of the data subject prior to entering into a contract.

  • Legal obligation (Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR): Processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which the controller is subject.

  • Legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR): Processing is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by the controller or by a third party, except where such interests are overridden by the interests or fundamental rights and freedoms of the data subject.

National data protection provisions in Germany: In addition to the data protection provisions of the GDPR, national data protection regulations apply in Germany. These include, in particular, the German Federal Data Protection Act (Bundesdatenschutzgesetz – BDSG).

Security Measures

We take appropriate technical and organizational measures in accordance with legal requirements, taking into account the state of the art, implementation costs, the nature, scope, circumstances, and purposes of processing, as well as the varying likelihood and severity of the risk to the rights and freedoms of natural persons, to ensure a level of security appropriate to the risk.

Securing online connections with TLS/SSL encryption technology (HTTPS): To protect user data transmitted through our online services from unauthorized access, we use TLS/SSL encryption technology. When a website is secured with an SSL/TLS certificate, this is indicated by the display of HTTPS in the URL.

Transmission of Personal Data

In the course of our processing of personal data, it may happen that the data is transmitted to or disclosed to other bodies, companies, legally independent organizational units, or persons. Recipients of this data may include, for example, service providers commissioned with IT tasks or providers of services and content integrated into a website. In such cases, we comply with legal requirements and, in particular, conclude appropriate contracts or agreements with the recipients of your data that serve to protect your data.

International Data Transfers

Data processing in third countries: If we transfer data to a third country (i.e., outside the European Union (EU) or the European Economic Area (EEA)), or if this occurs in the context of using third-party services or the disclosure or transmission of data to other persons, bodies, or companies, this is always done in accordance with legal requirements.

For data transfers to the USA, we primarily rely on the Data Privacy Framework (DPF), which was recognized as a secure legal framework by an adequacy decision of the EU Commission on 10 July 2023. Additionally, we have concluded Standard Contractual Clauses with the respective providers that comply with EU Commission requirements.

Further information on the DPF and a list of certified companies can be found on the website of the U.S. Department of Commerce at https://www.dataprivacyframework.gov/.

General Information on Data Storage and Deletion

We delete personal data that we process in accordance with legal provisions as soon as the underlying consent is revoked or no further legal grounds for processing exist. Exceptions to this rule exist if legal obligations or special interests require longer retention or archiving of the data.

In particular, data that must be retained for commercial or tax law reasons, or whose storage is necessary for legal prosecution or the protection of the rights of other natural or legal persons, must be archived accordingly.

Rights of Data Subjects

As a data subject, you have various rights under the GDPR, which arise in particular from Art. 15 to 21 GDPR:

  • Right to object: You have the right, on grounds relating to your particular situation, to object at any time to the processing of your personal data based on Art. 6(1)(e) or (f) GDPR. This also applies to profiling based on these provisions. If your personal data is processed for the purpose of direct marketing, you have the right to object at any time to the processing of your personal data for such marketing purposes.

  • Right to withdraw consent: You have the right to withdraw any consent given at any time.

  • Right of access: You have the right to request confirmation as to whether relevant data is being processed and to receive information about this data as well as further information and a copy of the data.

  • Right to rectification: You have the right to request the completion of data concerning you or the correction of inaccurate data concerning you.

  • Right to erasure and restriction of processing: You have the right to demand that data concerning you be deleted without delay, or alternatively, to demand a restriction of the processing of the data.

  • Right to data portability: You have the right to receive data concerning you that you have provided to us in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format, or to demand its transmission to another controller.

  • Complaint to supervisory authority: You have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, in particular in the Member State of your habitual residence, place of work, or place of the alleged infringement, if you consider that the processing of personal data concerning you infringes the GDPR.

Provision of the Online Offering and Web Hosting

We process user data in order to provide our online services. For this purpose, we process the user's IP address, which is necessary to transmit the content and functions of our online services to the user's browser or device.

  • Types of data processed: Usage data (e.g., page views and time spent, click paths, usage intensity and frequency, device types and operating systems used, interactions with content and functions); Meta, communication, and procedural data (e.g., IP addresses, timestamps, identification numbers, involved parties); Log data (e.g., log files concerning logins or data access, or access times).

  • Data subjects: Users (e.g., website visitors, users of online services).

  • Purposes of processing: Provision of our online offering and user-friendliness; IT infrastructure; security measures; reach measurement.

  • Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).

Additional information:

  • Collection of access data and log files: Access to our online offering is logged in the form of so-called "server log files." Server log files can include the address and name of the accessed web pages and files, date and time of access, transferred data volumes, successful access notifications, browser type and version, the user's operating system, referrer URL (the previously visited page), and typically IP addresses and the requesting provider. Deletion of data: Log file information is stored for a maximum of 30 days and then deleted or anonymized.

  • Squarespace: Squarespace provides Software as a Service for creating and hosting websites.

Use of Cookies

The term "cookies" refers to functions that store information on users' devices and read information from them. Cookies can be used for various purposes, such as ensuring the functionality, security, and comfort of online offerings, as well as creating analyses of visitor traffic. We use cookies in accordance with legal requirements. Where necessary, we obtain users' consent in advance. Where consent is not required, we rely on our legitimate interests.

Types of cookies by storage duration:

  • Temporary cookies (session cookies): Temporary cookies are deleted at the latest after a user has left an online offering and closed their device (e.g., browser or mobile application).

  • Persistent cookies: Persistent cookies remain stored even after the device is closed. For example, the login status can be saved, or preferred content can be displayed directly when the user visits a website again. If we do not provide users with explicit information about the type and storage duration of cookies, they should assume that these are persistent and that the storage duration can be up to two years.

General information on withdrawal and objection (opt-out): Users can withdraw the consent they have given at any time and object to processing in accordance with legal requirements, including through the privacy settings of their browser.

  • Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR); Consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR).

Blogs and Publishing Media

We use blogs or comparable means of online communication and publication (hereinafter "publishing medium"). Reader data is processed for the purposes of the publishing medium only insofar as it is necessary for its presentation and communication between authors and readers, or for security reasons.

  • Types of data processed: Master data; contact data; content data; usage data; meta, communication, and procedural data.

  • Data subjects: Users.

  • Purposes of processing: Feedback; provision of our online offering and user-friendliness; security measures; organizational and administrative procedures.

  • Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).

Comments and contributions: When users leave comments or other contributions, their IP addresses may be stored on the basis of our legitimate interests. This is for our security in case someone leaves illegal content in comments or contributions.

Contact and Inquiry Management

When contacting us (e.g., by post, contact form, email, telephone, or via social media), as well as within existing user and business relationships, the information of the inquiring persons is processed to the extent necessary to respond to the contact inquiries and any requested measures.

  • Types of data processed: Contact data; content data; meta, communication, and procedural data.

  • Data subjects: Communication partners.

  • Purposes of processing: Communication; organizational and administrative procedures; feedback; provision of our online offering and user-friendliness.

  • Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR); performance of a contract and pre-contractual inquiries (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR).

Newsletters and Electronic Notifications

We send newsletters, emails, and other electronic notifications (hereinafter "newsletter") only with the recipient's consent or on the basis of a legal basis. If the content of the newsletter is described during registration, this content is decisive for the users' consent. To register for our newsletter, it is generally sufficient to provide your email address. However, in order to provide you with a personalized service, we may ask you to provide your name for personal address in the newsletter, or other information if this is necessary for the purpose of the newsletter.

Contents: Information on topics from technology and business.

  • Types of data processed: Master data; contact data; meta, communication, and procedural data; usage data.

  • Data subjects: Communication partners.

  • Purposes of processing: Direct marketing (e.g., by email or post).

  • Legal basis: Consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR).

  • Opt-out: You can cancel the receipt of our newsletter at any time, i.e., withdraw your consent or object to further receipt. A link to cancel the newsletter can be found either at the end of each newsletter, or you can use one of the contact options listed above, preferably email.

Web Analytics, Monitoring, and Optimization

Web analytics (also referred to as "reach measurement") is used to evaluate the visitor traffic of our online offering and may include behavior, interests, or demographic information about visitors as pseudonymous values. With the help of reach analysis, we can recognize, for example, when our online offering or its functions or content are used most frequently.

  • Types of data processed: Usage data; meta, communication, and procedural data.

  • Data subjects: Users.

  • Purposes of processing: Reach measurement; profiles with user-related information; provision of our online offering and user-friendliness.

  • Security measures: IP masking (pseudonymization of the IP address).

  • Legal basis: Consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR); legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).

Google Analytics: We use Google Analytics to measure and analyze the use of our online offering on the basis of a pseudonymous user identification number. Google Analytics does not log or store individual IP addresses for EU users. Analytics does, however, provide coarse geographic location data by deriving metadata from IP addresses.

Plug-ins and Embedded Functions and Content

We integrate functional and content elements into our online offering that are obtained from the servers of their respective providers (hereinafter "third-party providers"). These can include, for example, graphics, videos, or maps (hereinafter uniformly referred to as "content").

Integration always requires that the third-party providers of this content process the IP address of the users, as they could not send the content to their browsers without the IP address.

  • Types of data processed: Usage data; meta, communication, and procedural data.

  • Data subjects: Users.

  • Purposes of processing: Provision of our online offering and user-friendliness; reach measurement; profiles with user-related information.

  • Legal basis: Consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR); legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).

LinkedIn plugins and content: May include content such as images, videos, or texts and buttons with which users can share content from this online offering within LinkedIn.

  • Service provider: LinkedIn Ireland Unlimited Company, Wilton Plaza, Dublin 2, Ireland

  • Privacy Policy: https://www.linkedin.com/legal/privacy-policy

  • Basis for third-country transfers: Data Privacy Framework (DPF), Standard Contractual Clauses

YouTube videos: Within our online offering, videos are embedded that are stored on YouTube. The integration of these YouTube videos is done via a special domain using the "youtube-nocookie" component in the so-called "enhanced privacy mode."

  • Service provider: Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland

  • Privacy Policy: https://business.safety.google/privacy/

  • Basis for third-country transfers: Data Privacy Framework (DPF)

Changes and Updates

We ask you to regularly inform yourself about the content of our privacy policy. We adapt the privacy policy as soon as changes in the data processing we carry out require this. We will inform you as soon as the changes require your cooperation (e.g., consent) or other individual notification.

If we provide addresses and contact information of companies and organizations in this privacy policy, please note that addresses may change over time, and we ask you to verify the information before contacting us.

Based on the free Privacy Policy Generator by Dr. Thomas Schwenke — datenschutz-generator.de