DATA PROTECTION
(Privacy Policy) Status per 05.06.2023
This website was created and published by Meister + Co. AG, Hauptstrasse 66, 8832 Wollerau (Switzerland), registered in the Commercial Register of the Canton of Schwyz under the Number CH-101.596.027 and Meister GmbH, Kasernenstrasse 85, 78315 Radolfzell (Germany), registered in the Commercial Register of the Local Court of Freiburg i. Br. under the Commercial Register Number HRB 550198.
Accordingly, we are responsible for the collection, processing and use of your personal data and data processing in accordance with the law. These data protection provisions apply as an integral part of the Terms of Use, which you can find here (Terms of Use).
We are committed to handling your personal data responsibly. Consequently, we consider it a matter of course to comply with the legal requirements of the Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP), the Ordinance to the Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP), the Telecommunications Act (TCA) as well as the provisions of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR) and other provisions of Swiss and European data protection law.
In the following, we would like to inform you about how we handle your personal data.
Type of data processed:
Inventory data
Contact data
Content data
Usage data
Meta-/Communication data
Processing of special categories of data (Art. 9(1) EU GDPR):
As a matter of principle, no special categories of data are processed unless they are supplied for processing by the users, e.g. entered in online forms.
Categories of data subjects concerned by the processing:
Customers / interested parties / suppliers.
Visitors and users of the online offer.
In the following, we also refer to the persons concerned collectively as "users".
Purpose of the processing:
Provision of the online offer, its contents and functions.
Providing contractual services, service and customer care.
Responding to contact requests and communicating with users.
Marketing, advertising and market research.
Security measures.
1. Relevant legal bases
In accordance with Art. 13 EU-DSGVO, we inform you about the legal basis of our data processing. If the legal basis is not stated in the data protection declaration, the following applies: The legal basis for obtaining consent is Art. 6 (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 answering enquiries is Art. 6 (1) lit. b EU GDPR, the legal basis for processing for the fulfilment of our legal obligations is Art. 6 (1) lit. c GDPR, and the legal basis for processing for the protection of our legitimate interests is Art. 6 (1) lit. f EU-GDPR. In the event that vital interests of the data subject or another natural person make processing of personal data necessary, Art. 6 (1) (d) EU GDPR serves as the legal basis.
2. Changes and updates to the privacy policy
We ask you to regularly inform yourself about the content of our data protection declaration. We adapt the data protection declaration as soon as the changes to the data processing carried out by us make this necessary. We will inform you as soon as the changes require an act of cooperation on your part (e.g. consent) or other individual notification.
3. Security measures
3.1 We take appropriate measures in accordance with Art. 32 EU GDPR, taking into account the state of the art, the implementation costs and the nature, scope, circumstances and purposes of the processing, as well as the varying likelihood and severity of the risk to the rights and freedoms of natural persons, appropriate technical and organisational measures to ensure a level of protection appropriate to the risk; the measures include, in particular, safeguarding the confidentiality, integrity and availability of data by controlling physical access to the data, as well as access concerning them, input, disclosure, safeguarding availability and their separation. We also have procedures in place to ensure the exercise of data subjects' rights, deletion of data and response to data compromise. Furthermore, we already take the protection of personal data into account during the development and selection of hardware, software and procedures, in accordance with the principle of data protection through technology design and through data protection-friendly default settings (Art. 25 EU GDPR).
3.2 The security measures include, in particular, the encrypted transmission of data between your browser and our server.
4. Cooperation with processors and third parties
4.1 If, in the course of our processing, we disclose data to other persons and companies (processors or third parties), transmit 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 a transfer of the data to third parties, such as to payment service providers, is necessary for the performance of the contract pursuant to Art. 6 (1) lit. b EU 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.)
4.2 If we commission third parties with the processing of data on the basis of a so-called "order processing agreement", this is done on the basis of Art. 28 EU GDPR.
5. Transfers to third countries
If we process data in a third country (i.e. outside Switzerland and the European Union (EU) or the European Economic Area (EEA)) or if this is done in the context of using third-party services or disclosing or transferring data to third parties, this is only done if it is done in order to fulfil our (pre-)contractual obligations, on the basis of your consent, due to a legal obligation or on the basis of our legitimate interests. Subject to legal or contractual permissions, we only process or have data processed in a third country if the special requirements of Art. 44 et seq. EU GDPR. This means that the processing is carried out, for example, on the basis of special guarantees, such as the officially recognised determination of a level of data protection corresponding to that of the EU (e.g. for the USA through the "Privacy Shield") or compliance with officially recognised special contractual obligations (so-called "standard contractual clauses").
6. Rights of the data subjects
6.1 You have the right to request confirmation as to whether data in question is being processed and to information about this data as well as further information and a copy of the data in accordance with Art. 15 EU GDPR.
6.2 In accordance with. Article 16 EU GDPR the right to demand the completion of the data concerning you or the correction of the incorrect data concerning you.
6.3 In accordance with Art. 17 EU GDPR, you have the right to demand that the data in question be deleted without delay or, alternatively, to demand restriction of the processing of the data in accordance with Art. 18 EU GDPR.
6.4 You have the right to request to receive the data concerning you that you have provided to us in accordance with Art. 20 EU GDPR and to request its transfer to other data controllers.
6.5 You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the competent supervisory authority in accordance with Art. 77 EU GDPR.
7. Right of withdrawal
You have the right to revoke consent granted in accordance with Art. 7 (3) EU GDPR with effect for the future.
8. Right of objection
You may object to the future processing of data concerning you in accordance with Art. 21 EU GDPR at any time. The objection can be made in particular against processing for direct marketing purposes.
9. Cookies and the right to object to direct advertising
We use temporary and permanent cookies, i.e. small files that are stored on the user's device (for an explanation of the term and its function, see the last section of this privacy policy). In part, the cookies serve the purpose of security or are necessary for the operation of our online offer (e.g., for the display of the website) or to save the user decision when confirming the cookie banner. In addition, we or our technology partners use cookies for range measurement and marketing purposes, about which users are informed in the course of the data protection declaration. According to legal requirements, storage is in particular for 10 years in accordance with the Swiss Code of Obligations Art. 962. For member countries of the European Union, storage is in particular for 6 years according to legal requirements in accordance with § 257 para. 1 of the German Commercial Code (HGB) (commercial books, inventories, opening balances, annual financial statements, commercial letters, accounting documents, etc.) as well as for 10 years according to § 147 para. 1 of the German Tax Code (AO) (books, records, management reports, accounting documents, commercial and business letters, taxation-relevant documents, etc.).
10. Deletion of data
10.1 The data processed by us will be deleted or its processing restricted in accordance with Articles 17 and 18 EU GDPR. Unless expressly stated within the scope of this data protection declaration, 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. I.e. the data is blocked and not processed for other purposes. This applies, for example, to data that must be retained for reasons of commercial or tax law.
10.2 According to legal requirements - Code of Obligations Art. 962 - the retention period is 10 years. For member countries of the European Union, the retention period is 6 years in accordance with § 257 para. 1 German Commercial Code (HGB) (commercial books, inventories, opening balance sheets, annual financial statements, commercial letters, accounting vouchers, etc.) and 10 years in accordance with § 147 para. 1 AO (books, records, management reports, accounting vouchers, commercial and business letters, taxation-relevant documents, etc.). The retention period begins with the end of the business year in which the accounting documents were created (business correspondence of commercial accounting, business books, receipts and accounting documents).
11. Provision of contractual services
11.1 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 pursuant to Art. 6 para. 1 lit b. EU GDPR. The entries marked as mandatory in online forms are required for the conclusion of the contract.
11.2 Users can optionally create a user account, in which they can view their orders in particular. Within the scope of the registration, the required mandatory information will be provided to the users. The user accounts are not public and cannot be indexed by search engines. If users have cancelled their user account, their data with regard to the user account will be deleted, subject to their retention being necessary for reasons of commercial or tax law in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. c EU GDPR. It is the responsibility of the users to save their data in the event of termination before the end of the contract. We are entitled to irretrievably delete all user data stored during the term of the contract.
11.3 Within the scope of registration and renewed logins as well as 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 users in protection against misuse and other unauthorised use. In principle, 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 EU GDPR.
11.4 We process usage data (e.g. the web pages visited on our website, 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. in order to display product information to users based on the services they have used to date.
11.5 Deletion shall take place after the expiry of statutory warranty and comparable obligations, the necessity of retaining the data shall be reviewed every three years; in the case of statutory archiving obligations, deletion shall take place after their expiry; details in the customer account shall remain until their deletion.
12. Contact
12.1 Bei der Kontaktaufnahme mit uns (per Kontaktformular oder E-Mail) werden die Angaben des Nutzers zur Bearbeitung der Kontaktanfrage und deren Abwicklung gem. Art. 6 Abs. 1 lit. b) EU GDPR verarbeitet.
12.2 Users' details may be stored in our Customer Relationship Management System ("CRM System") or comparable enquiry organisation.
12.3 We delete the enquiries if they are no longer necessary. We review the necessity every two years; we store enquiries from customers who have a customer account permanently and refer to the information on the customer account for deletion. In the case of statutory archiving obligations, deletion takes place after their expiry.
13. Collection of access data and log files
13.1 We collect data on the basis of our legitimate interests within the meaning of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f. EU 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.
13.2 Log file information is stored for security reasons (e.g. to clarify acts of abuse or fraud) for a maximum of seven days and then deleted. Data whose further storage is required for evidentiary purposes is exempt from deletion until the respective incident has been finally clarified.
14. Online presence on social media
14.1 We maintain online presences within social networks and platforms on the basis of our legitimate interests within the meaning of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f. EU GDPR, we maintain online presences within social networks and platforms in order to be able to communicate with the customers, interested parties and users active there and to inform them about our services there. When calling up the respective networks and platforms, the terms and conditions and data processing guidelines of their respective operators apply.
14.2 Unless otherwise stated in our privacy policy, we process the data of users if they communicate with us within the social networks and platforms, e.g. write posts on our online presences or send us messages.
15. Cookies & measurement of reach
15.1 Cookies are pieces of information that are transmitted from our web server or third party web servers to users' web browsers and stored there for later retrieval. Cookies may be small files or other types of information storage.
15.2 We use "session cookies", which are only stored for the duration of the current visit to our online presence (e.g. in order to be able to store your login status or the shopping basket function and thus enable the use of our online offer at all). A randomly generated unique identification number, a so-called session ID, is stored in a session cookie. In addition, a cookie contains information about its origin and the storage period. These cookies cannot store any other data. Session cookies are deleted when you have finished using our online offer and log out or close the browser, for example.
15.3 Users are informed about the use of cookies in the context of pseudonymous reach measurement within the scope of this data protection declaration.
15.4 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.
15.5 You can object to the use of cookies used for reach measurement and advertising purposes via the network advertising initiative opt-out page (http://optout.networkadvertising.org/) and additionally the US website (http://www.aboutads.info/choices/) or the European website (http://www.youronlinechoices.com/).
16. Google Analytics
16.1 We use Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google LLC ("Google"), on the basis of our legitimate interests (i.e. interest in the analysis, optimisation and economic operation of our online offering within the meaning of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f. EU GDPR) Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google LLC ("Google"). Google uses cookies. The information generated by the cookie about the use of the online offer by the users is usually transmitted to a Google server in the USA and stored there.
16.2 Google is certified under the Privacy Shield agreement and thereby offers a guarantee of compliance with European data protection law (https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt000000001L5AAI&status=Active).
16.3 Google will use this information on our behalf to evaluate the use of our online offer by the users, to compile reports on the activities within this online offer and to provide us with further services related to the use of this online offer and the internet. In doing so, pseudonymous user profiles of the users can be created from the processed data.
16.4 We use Google Analytics to display the ads placed within Google's advertising services and those of its partners only to users who have also shown an interest in our online offering or who have certain characteristics (e.g. interests in certain topics or products determined on the basis of the websites visited), which we transmit to Google (so-called "Remarketing Audiences" or "Google Analytics Audiences"). With the help of Remarketing Audiences, we also want to ensure that our advertisements correspond to the potential interest of the users and do not have a harassing effect.
16.5 We only use Google Analytics with IP anonymisation activated. This means that the IP address of the user is shortened by Google within member states of the European Union or in other contracting states of the Agreement on the European Economic Area. Only in exceptional cases will the full IP address be transmitted to a Google server in the USA and shortened there.
16.6 The IP address transmitted by the user's browser will not be merged with other data from Google. Users can prevent the storage of cookies by setting their browser software accordingly; users can also prevent the collection of the data generated by the cookie and related to their use of the online offer to Google as well as the processing of this data by Google by downloading and installing the browser plugin available at the following link: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=de.
16.7 You can find out more information about Google's use of data, settings and opt-out options on Google's websites: https://www.google.com/intl/en/policies/privacy/partners ("Google's use of data when you use our partners' websites or apps"), https://policies.google.com/technologies/ads ("Use of data for advertising purposes"), https://adssettings.google.com/authenticated ("Managing the information Google uses to show you ads").
16.8 Otherwise, the personal data will be anonymised or deleted after a period of 26 months.
17. Google re/marketing services
17.1 We use the marketing and remarketing services (in short "Google Marketing Services") of Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 9.0.1 USA ("Google") on the basis of our legitimate interests (i.e. interest in the analysis, optimisation and economic operation of our online offer within the meaning of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f. EU GDPR) the marketing and remarketing services (in short "Google Marketing Services") of Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA, ("Google").
17.2 Google is certified under the Privacy Shield agreement and thereby offers a guarantee of compliance with European data protection law (https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt000000001L5AAI&status=Active).
17.3 The Google Marketing Services allow us to display advertisements for and on our website in a more targeted manner in order to present users only with advertisements that potentially match their interests. If, for example, a user is shown ads for products in which he or she was interested on other websites, this is referred to as "remarketing". For these purposes, when our website and other websites on which Google Marketing Services are active are called up, a code is executed directly by Google and so-called (re)marketing tags (invisible graphics or code, also known as "web beacons") are integrated into the website. With their help, an individual cookie, i.e. a small file, is stored on the user's device (comparable technologies can also be used instead of cookies). The cookies can be set by various domains, including google.com, doubleclick.net, invitemedia.com, admeld.com, googlesyndication.com or googleadservices.com. This file records which websites the user has visited, which content he or she is interested in and which offers he or she has clicked on, as well as technical information on the browser and operating system, referring websites, time of visit and other information on the use of the online offer. The IP address of the user is also recorded, whereby we inform Google Analytics that the IP address is shortened within Member States of the European Union or in other contracting states to the Agreement on the European Economic Area and only in exceptional cases is transmitted in full to a Google server in the USA and shortened there. The IP address will not be merged with user data within other Google offerings. The aforementioned information may also be combined by Google with such information from other sources. If the user subsequently visits other websites, he or she can be shown ads tailored to his or her interests.
17.4 User data is processed pseudonymously within the scope of Google Marketing Services. This means that Google does not store and process the name or email address of the users, for example, but processes the relevant data in a cookie-related manner within pseudonymous user profiles. I.e. from Google's perspective, the ads are not managed and displayed for a specifically identified person, but for the cookie holder, regardless of who this cookie holder is. This does not apply if a user has expressly allowed Google to process the data without this pseudonymisation. The information collected by Google marketing services about users is transmitted to Google and stored on Google's servers in the US.
17.5 The Google Marketing Services we use include the online advertising programme "Google AdWords". In the case of Google AdWords, each AdWords customer receives a different "conversion cookie". Cookies can therefore not be tracked via the websites of AdWords customers. The information obtained with the help of the cookie is used to create conversion statistics for AdWords customers who have opted for conversion tracking. The AdWords customers learn the total number of users who clicked on their ad and were redirected to a page tagged with a conversion tracking tag. However, they do not receive any information with which users can be personally identified.
17.6 Furthermore, we may use the "Google Tag Manager" to integrate and manage Google analytics and marketing services on our website.
17.7 Further information on the use of data for marketing purposes by Google can be found on the overview page: https://policies.google.com/technologies/ads, Google's privacy policy is available at https://policies.google.com/privacy.
17.8 If you wish to object to interest-based advertising by Google Marketing Services, you can use the settings and opt-out options provided by Google: https://adssettings.google.com/authenticated.
18. Use of third-party services and content
18.1 We use content or service offers of third party providers within our online offer on the basis of our legitimate interests (i.e. interest in the analysis, optimisation and economic operation of our online offer within the meaning of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f. EU GDPR), we use content or services offered by third-party providers in order to integrate their content and services, such as videos or fonts (hereinafter uniformly referred to as "content"). This always requires that the third-party providers of this content are aware of the IP address of the user, as without the IP address they would not be able to send the content to their browser. The IP address is therefore necessary for the display of this content. We endeavour 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. The "pixel tags" can be used to evaluate 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 may contain, among other things, technical information about the browser and operating system, referring websites, time of visit and other information about the use of our online offer, as well as being linked to such information from other sources.
18.2 The following presentation provides an overview of third-party providers and their content, together with links to their data protection declarations, which contain further information on the processing of data and, in part already mentioned here, options for objection (so-called opt-out):
If our customers use the payment services of third parties (e.g. PayPal or Sofortüberweisung), the terms and conditions and the data protection information of the respective third party providers apply, which can be accessed within the respective websites or transaction applications.
External fonts from Google, LLC., https://www.google.com/fonts ("Google Fonts"). The integration of Google Fonts is done by a server call at Google (usually in the USA). Privacy policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy, Opt-out: https://adssettings.google.com/authenticated.
Maps from the "Google Maps" service of the third-party provider Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA. Privacy policy: https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/.
Web analytics and optimisation using the service Hotjar, from the third party provider Hotjar Ltd, Level 2, St Julians Business Centre, 3, Elia Zammit Street, St Julians STJ 1000, Malta, Europe. With Hotjar, movements on the websites on which Hotjar is used can be tracked (so-called heat maps). For example, it is possible to see how far users scroll and which buttons users click on and how often. Furthermore, technical data such as the selected language, system, screen resolution and browser type are recorded. In this way, user profiles can be created, at least temporarily, during the visit to our website. Furthermore, with the help of Hotjar it is also possible to collect feedback directly from the users of the website. In this way, we obtain valuable information to make our websites even faster and more customer-friendly. Privacy policy: www.hotjar.com/privacy. Opt-out: https://www.hotjar.com/opt-out.
External code of the JavaScript framework "jQuery", provided by the third-party provider jQuery Foundation, https://jquery.org.
Our website uses a service provided by matelso GmbH, Stuttgart. When you call a number switched for us by matelso, information about the telephone call is transferred to a web analysis service used by us (e.g. Google Analytics). matelso also reads cookies set by our analysis service or other parameters of the website you visit, for example referrer, document path, remote user agent. The corresponding information is processed by matelso according to our instructions and stored on servers in the EU. You can find more information at: matelso.com/de/privacy-statement. You may refuse the use of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your browser, however please note that if you do this you may not be able to use the full functionality of this website.