Privacy policy

1. introduction

With the following information, we would like to give you as a "data subject" an overview of the processing of your personal data by us and your rights under data protection laws. It is generally possible to use our website without entering personal data. However, if you wish to make use of special services of our company via our website, it may be necessary to process personal data. If the processing of personal data is necessary and there is no legal basis for such processing, we will generally obtain your consent.

The processing of personal data, such as your name, address or e-mail address, is always carried out in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and in accordance with the country-specific data protection regulations applicable to "Palais & Residenz OpCo GmbH". By means of this data protection declaration, we would like to inform you about the scope and purpose of the personal data we collect, use and process.

As the controller, we have implemented numerous technical and organizational measures to ensure the most complete protection possible for personal data processed via this website. Nevertheless, Internet-based data transmissions can generally have security gaps, so that absolute protection cannot be guaranteed. For this reason, you are free to transmit personal data to us by alternative means, for example by telephone or post.

You too can take simple and easy-to-implement measures to protect yourself against unauthorized access to your data by third parties. We would therefore like to give you some tips on how to handle your data securely:

l Protect your account (login, user or customer account) and your IT system (computer, laptop, tablet or mobile device) with secure passwords.

l Only you should have access to the passwords.

l Make sure that you only ever use your passwords for one account (login, user or customer account).

l Do not use the same password for different websites, applications or online services.

l Especially when using publicly accessible IT systems or IT systems shared with other people, you should always log out after logging in to a website, application or online service.

Passwords should consist of at least 12 characters and be chosen in such a way that they cannot be easily guessed. Therefore, they should not contain common everyday words, your own name or the names of relatives, but should contain upper and lower case letters, numbers and special characters.

2. responsible person

The controller within the meaning of the GDPR is the:

Palais & Residenz OpCo GmbH

Königstr. 14, 01097 Dresden,

Representative of the person responsible: The management

3. data protection officer

You can reach the data protection officer as follows:

DataOrga® GmbH

You can contact our data protection officer directly at any time with any questions or suggestions regarding data protection.

4. definitions

The data protection declaration is based on the terms used by the European legislator for the adoption of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Our privacy policy should be easy to read and understand for the public as well as for our customers and business partners. To ensure this, we would like to explain the terms used in advance.

We use the following terms, among others, in this privacy policy:

1. Personal data

Personal data is any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person. An identifiable natural person is one who 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 or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person.

2. Person concerned

Data subject is any identified or identifiable natural person whose personal data is processed by the controller (our company).

3. Processing

Processing is any operation or set of operations which is performed on personal data or on sets of personal data, whether or not by automated means, such as collection, recording, organization, structuring, storage, adaptation or alteration, retrieval, consultation, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination or otherwise making available, alignment or combination, restriction, erasure or destruction.

4. Restriction of processing

Restriction of processing is the marking of stored personal data with the aim of restricting its future processing.

5. Profiling

Profiling means any form of automated processing of personal data consisting of the use of personal data to evaluate certain personal aspects relating to a natural person, in particular to analyze or predict aspects concerning that natural person's performance at work, economic situation, health, personal preferences, interests, reliability, behavior, location or movements.

6. Pseudonymization

Pseudonymization is the processing of personal data in such a manner that the personal data can no longer be attributed to a specific data subject without the use of additional information, provided that such additional information is kept separately and is subject to technical and organizational measures to ensure that the personal data are not attributed to an identified or identifiable natural person.

7. Processor

Processor is a natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which processes personal data on behalf of the controller.

8. Receiver

Recipient is a natural or legal person, public authority, agency or another body, to which the personal data are disclosed, whether a third party or not. However, public authorities which may receive personal data in the framework of a particular inquiry in accordance with Union or Member State law shall not be regarded as recipients.

9. Third

Third party is a natural or legal person, public authority, agency or body other than the data subject, controller, processor and persons who, under the direct authority of the controller or processor, are authorized to process personal data.

10. Consent

Consent is any freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous indication of the data subject's wishes by which he or she, by a statement or by a clear affirmative action, signifies agreement to the processing of personal data relating to him or her.

5. legal basis of the processing

Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a) GDPR (in conjunction with. § Section 25 (1) TDDDG (formerly TTDSG)) serves our company as the legal basis for processing operations for which we obtain consent for a specific processing purpose.

If the processing of personal data is necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are a party, as is the case, for example, with processing operations that are necessary for the delivery of goods or the provision of another service or consideration, the processing is based on Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b) GDPR. The same applies to such processing operations that are necessary to carry out pre-contractual measures, for example in cases of inquiries about our products or services.

If our company is subject to a legal obligation which requires the processing of personal data, such as for the fulfillment of tax obligations, the processing is based on Art. 6 para. 1 lit. c) GDPR.

In rare cases, it may be necessary to process personal data in order to protect the vital interests of the data subject or another natural person. This would be the case, for example, if a visitor were injured in our company and their name, age, health insurance data or other vital information would have to be passed on to a doctor, hospital or other third party. The processing would then be based on Art. 6 para. 1 lit. d) GDPR.

Ultimately, processing operations could be based on Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f) GDPR. This legal basis is used for processing operations which are not covered by any of the abovementioned legal grounds, if processing is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by our company or by a third party, except where such interests are overridden by the interests or fundamental rights and freedoms of the data subject which require protection of personal data. We are permitted to carry out such processing operations in particular because they have been specifically mentioned by the European legislator. In this respect, it took the view that a legitimate interest could be assumed if you are a customer of our company (Recital 47 Sentence 2 GDPR).

Our services are generally aimed at adults. Persons under the age of 16 may not transmit any personal data to us without the consent of their parents or legal guardians. We do not request personal data from children and young people, do not collect it and do not pass it on to third parties.

6. transmission of data to third parties

Your personal data will not be transferred to third parties for purposes other than those listed below.

We only pass on your personal data to third parties if:

1. you have given us your express consent to do so in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a) GDPR,
2. the disclosure is permitted in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f) GDPR to protect our legitimate interests and there is no reason to assume that you have an overriding interest worthy of protection in not disclosing your data,
3. in the event that a legal obligation exists for the disclosure pursuant to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. c) GDPR, and
4. this is legally permissible and necessary for the processing of contractual relationships with you in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b) GDPR.

To protect your data and, where necessary, enable us to transfer data to third countries (outside the EU/EEA), we have entered into data processing agreements based on the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses. If the Standard Contractual Clauses are insufficient to ensure an adequate level of security, your consent pursuant to Article 49(1)(a) of the GDPR may serve as the legal basis for the transfer to third countries. This does not apply, however, to data transfers to third countries for which the European Commission has issued an adequacy decision pursuant to Article 45 of the GDPR.

7. technology

7.1 SSL/TLS encryption

This site uses for guarantee SSL or TLS encryption to ensure the security of data processing and to protect the transmission of confidential content, such as orders, login data or contact requests that you send to us as the operator. You can recognize an encrypted connection by the "https://" in the address line of the browser instead of "http://" and by the lock symbol in your browser line.

We use this technology to protect your transmitted data.

7.2 Data collection when visiting the website

If you only use our website for informational purposes, if you do not register or otherwise provide us with information or do not give your consent to processing that requires consent, we only collect data that is technically necessary for the provision of the service. This is regularly data that your browser transmits to our server ("in so-called server log files"). Our website collects a range of general data and information each time you or an automated system accesses a page. This general data and information is stored in the server log files. The following can be recorded

1. browser types and versions used,
2. the operating system used by the accessing system,
3. the website from which an accessing system reaches our website (so-called referrer),
4. the subpages that are accessed via an accessing system on our website,
5. the date and time of access to the website,
6. an Internet Protocol address (IP address) and,
7. the Internet service provider of the accessing system.

When using this general data and information, we do not draw any conclusions about your person. Rather, this information is required in order to

1. to deliver the content of our website correctly,
2. optimize the content of our website and the advertising for it,
3. to ensure the permanent functionality of our IT systems and the technology of our website and
4. to provide law enforcement authorities with the information necessary for prosecution in the event of a cyber-attack.

This collected data and information is therefore evaluated by us both statistically and with the aim of increasing data protection and data security in our company in order to ultimately ensure an optimal level of protection for the personal data processed by us. The data of the server log files are stored separately from all personal data provided by a data subject.

The legal basis for data processing is Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. f) GDPR. Our legitimate interest follows from the data collection purposes listed above.

7.3 Hosting via Amazon Web Services – AWS 

We host our website with Amazon Web Services (AWS). The provider is Amazon Web Services EMEA SARL, 38 Avenue John F. Kennedy, 1855 Luxembourg.

When you visit our website, your personal data is processed on AWS servers. In this process, personal data may also be transferred to AWS’s parent company in the United States.

The use of AWS is based on Article 6(1)(f) of the GDPR. We have a legitimate interest in ensuring that our website is displayed as reliably as possible.

We have concluded an order processing contract with AWS. This is a contract prescribed by data protection law, which ensures that AWS processes the personal data of our website visitors only in accordance with our instructions and in compliance with the GDPR.

This US company is certified under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework. This constitutes an adequacy decision pursuant to Art. 45 GDPR, meaning that personal data may be transferred without further guarantees or additional measures.

For more information about AWS's privacy policy, visit: https://aws.amazon.com/de/privacy/?nc1=f_pr

8. cookies

8.1 General information on cookies

Cookies are small files that your browser automatically creates and that are stored on your IT system (laptop, tablet, smartphone, etc.) when you visit our website.

Information is stored in the cookie that results in each case from the connection with the specific end device used. However, this does not mean that we obtain direct knowledge of your identity.

The use of cookies serves to make the use of our website more pleasant for you. For example, we use so-called session cookies to recognize that you have already visited individual pages of our website. These are automatically deleted after you leave our site.

In addition, we also use temporary cookies to optimize user-friendliness, which are stored on your end device for a specified period of time. If you visit our site again to use our services, it is automatically recognized that you have already visited us and which entries and settings you have made so that you do not have to enter them again.

On the other hand, we use cookies to statistically record the use of our website and to evaluate our offer for you for the purpose of optimization. These cookies enable us to automatically recognize that you have already visited our website when you visit it again. The cookies set in this way are automatically deleted after a defined period of time. The respective storage duration of the cookies can be found in the settings of the consent tool used.

8.2 Legal basis for the use of cookies

The data processed by the cookies, which are required for the proper functioning of the website, are therefore necessary to safeguard our legitimate interests and those of third parties in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f) GDPR.

For all other cookies, you have given your consent to this via our opt-in cookie banner within the meaning of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a) GDPR.

8.3 Notes on avoiding cookies in common browsers

You can delete cookies, allow only selected cookies or completely deactivate cookies at any time via the settings of the browser you are using. Further information can be found on the support pages of the respective providers:

l Chrome: https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95647?tid=311178978.

l Safari: https://support.apple.com/de-at/guide/safari/sfri11471/mac?tid=311178978.

l Firefox: https://support.mozilla.org/de/kb/cookies-und-website-daten-in-firefox-loschen?tid=311178978.

l Microsoft Edge: https://support.microsoft.com/de-de/microsoft-edge/cookies-in-microsoft-edge-l%C3%B6schen-63947406-40ac-c3b8-57b9-2a946a29ae09.

9. contents of our website

9.1 Contact / contact form

Personal data is collected when you contact us (e.g. via contact form or email). Which data is collected when using a contact form can be seen from the respective contact form. This data is stored and used exclusively for the purpose of responding to your request or for contacting you and the associated technical administration. The legal basis for the processing of the data is our legitimate interest in responding to your request in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f) GDPR. If your contact is aimed at concluding a contract, the additional legal basis for the processing is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b) GDPR. Your data will be deleted after final processing of your request; this is the case if it can be inferred from the circumstances that the matter in question has been conclusively clarified and the deletion does not conflict with any statutory retention obligations.

10. newsletter dispatch

10.1 Sending newsletters to existing customers

If you have provided us with your e-mail address when purchasing goods or services, we reserve the right to regularly send you offers for similar goods or services to those already purchased from our range by e-mail. In accordance with Section 7 (3) UWG, we do not need to obtain separate consent from you for this. In this respect, data processing is carried out solely on the basis of our legitimate interest in personalized direct advertising in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f) GDPR. If you have initially objected to the use of your email address for this purpose, we will not send you any emails. You are entitled to object to the use of your email address for the aforementioned advertising purpose at any time with effect for the future by sending a message to the controller named at the beginning. You will only incur transmission costs for this in accordance with the basic rates. Upon receipt of your objection, the use of your e-mail address for advertising purposes will be discontinued immediately.

10.2 Advertising newsletter

On our website, you are given the opportunity to subscribe to our company's newsletter. Which personal data is transmitted to us when you subscribe to the newsletter can be seen from the input mask used for this purpose.

We inform our customers and business partners about our offers at regular intervals by means of a newsletter. In principle, you can only receive our company newsletter if

1. you have a valid e-mail address and
2. you have registered to receive the newsletter.

For legal reasons, a confirmation email will be sent to the email address you entered for the first time for the newsletter mailing using the double opt-in procedure. This confirmation e-mail is used to check whether you, as the owner of the e-mail address, have authorized the receipt of the newsletter.

When you register for the newsletter, we also store the IP address assigned by your internet service provider (ISP) of the IT system you are using at the time of registration, as well as the date and time of registration. The collection of this data is necessary in order to be able to trace the (possible) misuse of your e-mail address at a later date and therefore serves our legal protection.

The personal data collected when registering for the newsletter will be used exclusively to send our newsletter. Furthermore, subscribers to the newsletter may be informed by e-mail if this is necessary for the operation of the newsletter service or a registration in this regard, as could be the case in the event of changes to the newsletter offer or changes to the technical circumstances. The personal data collected as part of the newsletter service will not be passed on to third parties. You can cancel your subscription to our newsletter at any time. The consent to the storage of personal data that you have given us for the newsletter dispatch can be revoked at any time. There is a corresponding link in every newsletter for the purpose of revoking consent. It is also possible to unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time directly on our website or to inform us of this in another way.

The legal basis for data processing for the purpose of sending the newsletter is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a) GDPR.

10.3 Newsletter tracking

Our newsletters contain so-called tracking pixels. A tracking pixel is a miniature graphic that is embedded in emails that are sent in HTML format to enable log file recording and log file analysis. This allows a statistical evaluation of the success or failure of online marketing campaigns to be carried out. Based on the embedded tracking pixel, the company can recognize whether and when an e-mail was opened by you and which links in the e-mail were called up by you.

Such personal data collected via the tracking pixels contained in the newsletters are stored and evaluated by us in order to optimize the newsletter dispatch and to adapt the content of future newsletters even better to your interests. This personal data will not be passed on to third parties. Data subjects are entitled at any time to revoke the separate declaration of consent given in this regard via the double opt-in procedure. After revocation, this personal data will be deleted by us. Unsubscribing from the newsletter is automatically interpreted as a revocation.

Such an evaluation is carried out in particular in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f) GDPR on the basis of our legitimate interests in the display of personalized advertising, market research and/or demand-oriented design of our website.

11 Our activities in social networks

So that we can also communicate with you on social networks and inform you about our services, we have our own pages there. If you visit one of our social media pages, we are jointly responsible with the provider of the respective social media platform for the processing operations triggered by this, within the meaning of Art. 26 GDPR.

We are not the original provider of these pages, but only use them within the scope of the possibilities offered to us by the respective providers.

As a precautionary measure, we would therefore like to point out that your data may also be processed outside the European Union or the European Economic Area. Use may therefore be associated with data protection risks for you, as it may be more difficult to safeguard your rights, e.g. to information, deletion, objection, etc., and processing in social networks is often carried out directly for advertising purposes or for the analysis of user behavior by the providers without us being able to influence this. If user profiles are created by the provider, cookies are often used or the user behavior is assigned to your own social network member profile.

The described processing operations of personal data are carried out in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f) GDPR on the basis of our legitimate interest and the legitimate interest of the respective provider in order to be able to communicate with you in a timely manner or to inform you about our services. If you have to give your consent to data processing as a user with the respective providers, the legal basis refers to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a) GDPR in conjunction with Art. 7 GDPR. Art. 7 GDPR.

As we do not have access to the providers' databases, we would like to point out that it is best to assert your rights (e.g. to information, correction, deletion, etc.) directly with the respective provider. Further information on the processing of your data in the social networks is provided below by the respective social network provider we use:

11.1 Facebook

(Joint) controller for data processing in Europe:

Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd, 4 Grand Canal Square, Grand Canal Harbour, Dublin 2, Ireland

Meta (Facebook) may process content of adult users from the EU, e.g. photos, posts or comments, for the training of its own AI models, unless an objection is made. This is based on a legitimate interest pursuant to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f) GDPR. As a company, we have no influence on this specific data processing by Meta. Users can object to this via an online form on the Meta platforms.

Privacy Policy (Data Policy):

https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy

11.2 Instagram

(Joint) controller for data processing in Germany:

Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd, 4 Grand Canal Square, Grand Canal Harbour, Dublin 2, Ireland

Meta (Instagram) may process content of adult users from the EU, e.g. photos, posts or comments, to train its own AI models, unless an objection is made. As a company, we have no influence on this specific data processing by Meta. The basis is a legitimate interest pursuant to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f) GDPR. Users can object to this via an online form on the Meta platforms.

Privacy Policy (Data Policy):

https://instagram.com/legal/privacy/

11.3 LinkedIn

(Joint) controller for data processing in Europe:

LinkedIn Ireland Unlimited Company Wilton Place, Dublin 2, Ireland

Privacy policy:

https://www.linkedin.com/legal/privacy-policy

11.4 XING (New Work SE)

(Joint) controller for data processing in Germany:

New Work SE, Am Strandkai 1, 20457 Hamburg, Germany

Privacy policy:

https://privacy.xing.com/de/datenschutzerklaerung

Information requests for XING members:

https://www.xing.com/settings/privacy/data/disclosure

11.5 YouTube

(Joint) controller for data processing in Europe:

Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland

Privacy policy:

https://policies.google.com/privacy

12. web analysis

12.1 Google Analytics 4 (GA4)

On our website, we use Google Analytics 4 (GA4), a web analytics service provided by Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland (“Google”).

In this context, pseudonymized user profiles are created and cookies are used (see the “Cookies” section). The information generated by the cookie regarding your use of this website may include, among other things:

temporary collection of the IP address without permanent storage

Location data

Browser type/version

Operating system used

l Referrer URL (previously visited page)

Time of the server request

The pseudonymized data may be transferred by Google to a server in the United States and stored there.

This information is used to analyze website usage, compile reports on website activity, and provide other services related to website and internet usage for the purposes of market research and to tailor the design of this website to user needs. This information may also be disclosed to third parties where required by law or where such third parties process the data on our behalf.

These processing operations are only carried out if express consent is given in accordance with Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR.

Google’s default data retention period is 14 months. Otherwise, personal data is retained for as long as necessary to fulfill the purpose of processing. The data is deleted as soon as it is no longer necessary to achieve that purpose.

The parent company Google LLC is certified as a US company under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework. This constitutes an adequacy decision pursuant to Art. 45 GDPR, meaning that personal data may be transferred without further guarantees or additional measures.

For more information on data protection when using GA4, please visit: https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/12017362?hl=de.

12.2 Google Analytics Universal

On our websites we use Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google Ireland Limited (https://www.google.de/intl/de/about/), Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland ("Google"). In this context, pseudonymized user profiles are created and cookies (see "Cookies") are used. The information generated by the cookie about your use of this website such as

1. the browser type/version,
2. the operating system used,
3. the referrer URL (the previously visited page),
4. the host name of the accessing computer (IP address) and
5. Time of the server request,

are transmitted to a Google server in the USA and stored there. The information is used to evaluate the use of the website, to compile reports on website activity and to provide other services relating to website activity and internet usage for the purposes of market research and the needs-based design of this website. This information may also be transferred to third parties if this is required by law or if third parties process this data on our behalf. Under no circumstances will your IP address be merged with other Google data. The IP addresses are anonymized so that they cannot be assigned (IP masking).

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.

These processing operations are only carried out if express consent is given in accordance with Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR.

You can also prevent the collection of data generated by the cookie and related to your use of the website (including your IP address) and the processing of this data by Google by downloading and installing a browser add-on (https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=de).

The parent company Google LLC is certified as a US company under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework. This constitutes an adequacy decision pursuant to Art. 45 GDPR, meaning that personal data may be transferred without further guarantees or additional measures.

You can view the data protection provisions of Google Analytics at: https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/6004245?hl=de.