This privacy policy explains 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 collectively 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 German General Data Protection Regulation (DSGVO).

Data controller 

Upside Consulting GmbH
Prof. Dr. Rico Wojanowski (Data Protection Officer)
Heinrich-Leggewie-Str. 5
48249 Dülmen, Germany

privacy@upsidegrp.com
Managing directors: Marc Reimer, Tino Marx
https://upsidegrp.com/impressum

Types of data processed

• • 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 affected persons collectively as “users”).

 

Purpose of the processing

• • Provision of the online offer, 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 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 (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 on sets of personal data, whether or not by automated means. The term is broad and covers practically any handling of data.
“Pseudonymization” means 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.
“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.
“Controller” means the natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which, alone or jointly with others, determines the purposes and means of the processing of personal data.
“Processor” means a natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which processes personal data on behalf of the controller.

 

Relevant legal bases

In accordance with Art. 13 DSGVO, 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 DSGVO, 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 DSGVO, the legal basis for processing to fulfill our legal obligations is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. c DSGVO, and the legal basis for processing to protect our legitimate interests is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO. In the event that vital interests of the data subject or another natural person require the processing of personal data, Art. 6 para. 1 lit. d DSGVO serves as the legal basis.

 

Security measures

We take appropriate technical and organizational measures in accordance with Art. 32 DSGVO, taking into account the state of the art, the costs of implementation and the nature, scope, context and purposes of processing as well as the risk of varying likelihood and severity for the rights and freedoms of natural persons, in order to ensure a level of security 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 the access, input, disclosure, safeguarding of availability and separation of the data. Furthermore, we have established procedures that guarantee the exercise of data subject rights, the deletion of data and the response to data threats. Furthermore, we take the protection of personal data into account as early as the development and selection of hardware, software and procedures, in accordance with the principle of data protection through technology design and data protection-friendly default settings (Art. 25 DSGVO).

 

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 DSGVO), you have given your consent, 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 DSGVO.

 

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 process or have the data processed in a third country only if the special requirements of Art. 44 et seq. DSGVO 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 data subjects

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 DSGVO.
You have accordingly. Art. 16 DSGVO, 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 DSGVO, 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 DSGVO.
You have the right to request to receive the data concerning you that you have provided to us in accordance with Art. 20 DSGVO 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 DSGVO.

 

Right of revocation

You have the right to withdraw your consent in accordance with Art. 7 para. 3 DSGVO with effect for the future.

 

Right to object

You can object to the future processing of data concerning you in accordance with Art. 21 DSGVO at any time. In particular, you may object to processing for direct marketing purposes.

 

Cookies and the right to object to direct advertising

“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, for example, can be stored in such a cookie. 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 website http://www.aboutads.info/choices/ or the EU website http://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.

 

Deletion of data

The data processed by us will be deleted or its processing restricted in accordance with Art. 17 and 18 DSGVO. 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 in particular for 10 years in accordance with §§ 147 para. 1 AO, 257 para. 1 no. 1 and 4, para. 4 HGB* (books, records, management reports, accounting vouchers, commercial books, documents relevant for taxation, etc.) and 6 years in accordance with § 257 para. 1 no. 2 and 3, para. 4 HGB (commercial letters).

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.

*HGB = abbreviation of the “German Commercial Code”
* AO = abbreviation of the “German Fiscal Code”
*BAO = abbreviation of the “Federal Tax Code”

 

 

Agency services

We process our customers’ data as part of our contractual services, which include conceptual and strategic consulting, campaign planning, software and design development/consulting or maintenance, implementation of campaigns and processes/handling, server administration, data analysis/consulting services and training services.
We process inventory data (e.g., customer master data, such as names or addresses), contact data (e.g., e-mail, telephone numbers), content data (e.g., text entries, photographs, videos), contract data (e.g., subject matter of the contract, term), payment data (e.g., bank details, payment history), usage and metadata (e.g., as part of the evaluation and performance measurement of marketing measures). In principle, we do not process special categories of personal data, unless these are part of commissioned processing. The data subjects include our customers, interested parties and their customers, users, website visitors or employees as well as third parties. The purpose of the processing is the provision of contractual services, billing and our customer service. The legal basis for the processing results from Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b DSGVO (contractual services), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO (analysis, statistics, optimization, security measures). We process data that is required to justify and fulfill the contractual services and point out the necessity of their disclosure. Disclosure to external parties only takes place if it is necessary in the context of an order. When processing the data provided to us as part of an order, we act in accordance with the instructions of the client and the legal requirements of order processing in accordance with Art. 28 DSGVO and do not process the data for any purposes other than those specified in the order.
We delete the data 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 (6 J, according to § 257 para. 1 HGB, 10 J, according to § 147 para. 1 AO). In the case of data disclosed to us by the client as part of an order, we delete the data in accordance with the specifications of the order, generally after the end of the order.

 

Contractual services

We process the data of our contractual partners and interested parties as well as other clients, customers, clients, clients or contractual partners (uniformly referred to as “contractual partners”) in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b. DSGVO. DSGVO in order to provide them with our contractual or pre-contractual services. The data processed in this context, the type, scope and purpose and the necessity of their processing are determined by the underlying contractual relationship.

The processed data includes the master data of our contractual partners (e.g., names and addresses), contact data (e.g., e-mail addresses and telephone numbers) as well as contract data (e.g., services used, contract content, contractual communication, names of contact persons) and payment data (e.g., bank details, payment history).
We do not process special categories of personal data unless they are part of commissioned or contractual processing.
We process data that is necessary for the establishment and fulfillment of contractual services and point out the necessity of their disclosure, unless this is evident to the contractual partners. Disclosure to external persons or companies only takes place if it is necessary within the framework of a contract. When processing the data provided to us as part of an order, we act in accordance with the instructions of the client and the legal requirements.
As part of the use of our online services, we may store the IP address and the time of the respective user action. The storage is based on our legitimate interests, as well as the interests of users 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 in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f. DSGVO or there is a legal obligation to do so pursuant to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. c. DSGVO.
The data will be deleted when the data is no longer required to fulfill contractual or legal duties of care and to deal with any warranty and comparable obligations, whereby the necessity of storing the data is reviewed every three years; otherwise the statutory retention obligations apply.

 

 

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. In doing so, 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. DSGVO, Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f. DSGVO.
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 analyses and market research

In order to operate our business economically and to be able to identify market trends and the wishes of contractual partners and users, 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. In doing so, we process inventory data, communication data, contract data, payment data, usage data, metadata on the basis of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f. DSGVO. DSGVO, whereby the data subjects include contractual partners, interested parties, customers, visitors and users of our online offering.
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, e.g. on the services they have used. 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.

 

Data protection information in the application process

We process the applicant data only for the purpose and within the scope of the application procedure in accordance with the legal requirements. Applicant data is processed to fulfill our (pre-)contractual obligations in the context of the application process within the meaning of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b. DSGVO Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f. DSGVO if the data processing becomes necessary for us, e.g. in the context of legal proceedings (in Germany, Section 26 BDSG also applies).
The application procedure requires applicants to provide us with the applicant data. If we offer an online form, the necessary applicant data is marked, otherwise it is derived from the job descriptions and generally includes personal details, postal and contact addresses and the documents belonging to the application, such as cover letter, CV and certificates. Applicants can also voluntarily provide us with additional information.
By submitting their application to us, applicants consent to the processing of their data for the purposes of the application process in accordance with the type and scope set out in this privacy policy.
Insofar as special categories of personal data within the meaning of Art. 9 para. 1 DSGVO are voluntarily communicated as part of the application process, their processing is also carried out in accordance with Art. 9 para. 2 lit. b DSGVO (e.g. health data, such as severely disabled status or ethnic origin). Insofar as special categories of personal data within the meaning of Art. 9 para. 1 DSGVO are requested from applicants as part of the application process, their processing is also carried out in accordance with Art. 9 para. 2 lit. a DSGVO (e.g. health data if this is necessary for the exercise of the profession).
If provided, applicants can send us their applications using an online form on our website. The data is transmitted to us in encrypted form in accordance with the state of the art.
Applicants can also send us their applications by e-mail. Please note, however, that e-mails are generally not sent in encrypted form and applicants must ensure that they are encrypted themselves. We therefore cannot accept any responsibility for the transmission path of the application between the sender and receipt on our server and therefore recommend using an online form or sending by post. Instead of applying via the online form and e-mail, applicants still have the option of sending us their application by post.
In the event of a successful application, we may process the data provided by applicants for the purposes of the employment relationship. Otherwise, if the application for a job offer is not successful, the applicant’s data will be deleted. Applicants’ data will also be deleted if an application is withdrawn, which applicants are entitled to do at any time.
Subject to a justified withdrawal by the applicant, the deletion will take place after a period of six months so that we can answer any follow-up questions regarding the application and meet our obligations to provide evidence under the Equal Treatment Act. Invoices for any reimbursement of travel expenses are archived in accordance with tax law requirements.

 

 

Registration function

Users can create a user account. As part of the registration process, the required mandatory information is communicated to the users and processed on the basis of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b DSGVO for the purpose of providing the user account. The processed data includes in particular the login information (name, password and an email address). The data entered during registration is used for the purpose of using the user account and its purpose.
Users may be informed by e-mail about information relevant to their user account, such as technical changes. If users have terminated their user account, their data relating to the user account will be deleted, subject to a statutory retention obligation. It is the responsibility of users to back up their data before the end of the contract in the event of termination. We are entitled to irretrievably delete all user data stored during the term of the contract.