Data protection

1) INFORMATION ON THE COLLECTION OF PERSONAL DATA AND CONTACT DETAILS OF THE CONTROLLER

1.1 Thank you for visiting our website and for your interest. Below, we inform you about the handling of your personal data when using our website. Personal data refers to all data with which you can be personally identified.

1.2 The controller for data processing on this website, in the sense of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), is ABOUT.ALEXA, owner Alexandra Jander, Fichtenstr. 20a, 58640 Iserlohn, Germany, E-mail: store@aboutalexa.de.

The controller for the processing of personal data is the natural or legal person who, alone or jointly with others, determines the purposes and means of the processing of personal data.

1.3 For security reasons and to protect the transmission of personal data and other confidential content (e.g. orders or inquiries to the controller), this website uses SSL or TLS encryption. You can recognize an encrypted connection by the string "https://" and the lock symbol in your browser line.

2) DATA COLLECTION WHEN VISITING OUR WEBSITE

When using our website for informational purposes only, i.e., if you do not register or otherwise transmit information to us, we only collect data that your browser transmits to our server. When you access our website, we collect the following data, which is technically necessary for us to display the website to you:

• Our visited website
• Date and time of access
• Amount of data sent in bytes
• Source/reference from which you came to the page
• Browser used
• Operating system used
• IP address used (if applicable: in anonymized form)

The processing is carried out in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR based on our legitimate interest in improving the stability and functionality of our website. No disclosure or other use of the data takes place. However, we reserve the right to retrospectively check the server log files if there are concrete indications of unlawful use.

3) COOKIES

In order to make visiting our website attractive and to enable the use of certain functions, we use so-called cookies on various pages. These are small text files that are stored on your device. Some of the cookies we use are deleted after the end of the browser session. Other cookies remain on your device and enable us to recognize your browser on your next visit (so-called persistent cookies). If cookies are set, they collect and process certain user information to an individual extent, such as browser and location data and IP address values. Persistent cookies are automatically deleted after a specified period, which may vary depending on the cookie. You can find the duration of the respective cookie storage in the overview of the cookie settings of your web browser.

In some cases, cookies serve to simplify the ordering process by storing settings (e.g. remembering the content of a virtual shopping cart for a later visit to the website). If personal data is processed by individual cookies used by us, the processing is carried out in accordance with Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. b GDPR for the execution of the contract, in accordance with Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. a GDPR in the case of consent given, or in accordance with Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f GDPR for the protection of our legitimate interests in the best possible functionality of the website and a customer-friendly and effective design of the site visit.

Please note that you can configure your browser to inform you about the setting of cookies and to decide individually whether to accept them or to exclude the acceptance of cookies for certain cases or generally. Each browser differs in the way it manages cookie settings. This is described in the help menu of each browser, which explains how you can change your cookie settings. You can find these for the respective browsers under the following links:

Internet Explorer: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/17442/windows-internet-explorer-delete-manage-cookies
Firefox: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/enable-and-disable-cookies-website-preferences
Chrome: https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95647?hl=en&hlrm=en
Safari: https://support.apple.com/en-us/guide/safari/sfri11471/12.0/mac/10.14
Opera: https://help.opera.com/en/latest/web-preferences/#cookies

Please note that if cookies are not accepted, the functionality of our website may be limited.

4) CONTACTING US

4.1 When you contact us (e.g., via the contact form or email), personal data is collected. Which data is collected in the case of a contact form can be seen from the respective contact form. This data is stored and used exclusively for the purpose of answering your request or for contacting you and the associated technical administration. The legal basis for the processing of this data is our legitimate interest in answering your request in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR. If your contact aims at the conclusion of a contract, then an additional legal basis for the processing is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR. Your data will be deleted after the final processing of your inquiry. This is the case when it can be inferred from the circumstances that the matter in question has been conclusively clarified and provided that no statutory retention obligations conflict with this.

4.2 WhatsApp Business

We offer visitors to our website the possibility to contact us via the messaging service WhatsApp of WhatsApp Ireland Limited, 4 Grand Canal Square, Grand Canal Harbour, Dublin 2, Ireland. For this purpose, we use the so-called "Business version" of WhatsApp.

If you contact us via WhatsApp regarding a specific business transaction (e.g., an order placed), we store and use your mobile number used on WhatsApp and – if provided – your first and last name in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b. GDPR for processing and responding to your request. Based on the same legal basis, we may ask you via WhatsApp to provide further data (order number, customer number, address, or email address) to assign your inquiry to a specific process.

If you use our WhatsApp contact for general inquiries (e.g., regarding the range of services, availability, or our website), we store and use your mobile number used on WhatsApp and – if provided – your first and last name in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR on the basis of our legitimate interest in the efficient and timely provision of the requested information.

Your data will always be used only to answer your request via WhatsApp. No disclosure to third parties takes place.

Please note that WhatsApp Business gains access to the address book of the mobile device we use for this purpose and automatically transmits phone numbers stored in the address book to a server of the parent company Facebook Inc. in the USA. For the operation of our WhatsApp Business account, we use a mobile device whose address book exclusively stores the WhatsApp contact data of users who have also contacted us via WhatsApp.

This ensures that every person whose WhatsApp contact data is stored in our address book has already consented to the transmission of their WhatsApp phone number from the address books of their chat contacts in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR when they first used the app on their device by accepting the WhatsApp terms of use. The transmission of data of users who do not use WhatsApp and/or have not contacted us via WhatsApp is thus excluded.

Facebook Inc., based in the USA, is certified under the US-European data protection agreement "Privacy Shield", which ensures compliance with the data protection level applicable in the EU.

For the purpose and scope of data collection and the further processing and use of data by WhatsApp, as well as your related rights and setting options for protecting your privacy, please refer to WhatsApp's privacy policy: https://www.whatsapp.com/legal/?eea=1#privacy-policy

5) USE OF YOUR DATA FOR DIRECT MARKETING

5.1 Newsletter Subscription

If you subscribe to our email newsletter, we will regularly send you information about our offers. The only mandatory information for sending the newsletter is your email address. The provision of further data is voluntary and will be used to address you personally. For sending the newsletter, we use the so-called double opt-in procedure. This means that we will only send you an email newsletter if you have expressly confirmed that you consent to receive newsletters. We will then send you a confirmation email asking you to confirm that you wish to receive future newsletters by clicking on a corresponding link.

By activating the confirmation link, you give us your consent to the use of your personal data in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR. When you register for the newsletter, we store your IP address entered by the Internet Service Provider (ISP) as well as the date and time of registration in order to be able to trace any possible misuse of your email address at a later date. The data we collect when you register for the newsletter is used exclusively for the purpose of promotional communication via the newsletter. You can unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time via the link provided in the newsletter or by sending a corresponding message to the controller mentioned at the beginning contact us. After unsubscribing, your email address will be immediately deleted from our newsletter distribution list, unless you have expressly consented to further use of your data or we reserve the right to further data use that is legally permitted and about which we inform you in this declaration.

5.2 Newsletter dispatch via MailChimp
Our email newsletters are sent via the technical service provider The Rocket Science Group, LLC d/b/a MailChimp, 675 Ponce de Leon Ave NE, Suite 5000, Atlanta, GA 30308, USA (http://www.mailchimp.com/), to whom we transfer the data you provide during newsletter registration. This transfer takes place in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR and serves our legitimate interest in using a promotional, secure, and user-friendly newsletter system. Please note that your data is usually transferred to a MailChimp server in the USA and stored there.
MailChimp uses this information to send and statistically evaluate newsletters on our behalf. For evaluation, the sent emails contain so-called web beacons or tracking pixels, which are one-pixel image files stored on our website. This allows us to determine whether a newsletter message has been opened and which links, if any, have been clicked. With the help of web beacons, Mailchimp automatically generates general, non-personal statistics about the reaction to newsletter campaigns. Based on our legitimate interest in the statistical evaluation of newsletter campaigns for the optimization of promotional communication and better targeting of recipient interests, the web beacons also collect and process data of the respective newsletter recipient (email address, time of retrieval, IP address, browser type, and operating system) in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR. This data allows for individual conclusions about the newsletter recipient and is processed by Mailchimp to automatically create statistics that show whether a specific recipient has opened a newsletter message.
If you want to deactivate data analysis for statistical evaluation purposes, you must unsubscribe from the newsletter.
MailChimp may also use this data itself in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR due to its own legitimate interest in the needs-based design and optimization of the service, as well as for market research purposes, for example, to determine from which countries the recipients come. However, MailChimp does not use the data of our newsletter recipients to write to them itself or to pass them on to third parties.
To protect your data in the USA, we have concluded a data processing agreement ("Data-Processing-Agreement") with MailChimp based on the standard contractual clauses of the European Commission to enable the transfer of your personal data to MailChimp. This data processing agreement can be viewed at the following internet address if you are interested: https://mailchimp.com/legal/data-processing-addendum/
MailChimp is also certified under the US-European data protection agreement "Privacy Shield" and thus commits to comply with EU data protection regulations.
You can view MailChimp's privacy policy here:
https://mailchimp.com/legal/privacy/

5.3 Advertising by mail

Based on our legitimate interest in personalized direct advertising, we reserve the right to store your first and last name, your postal address, and - if we have received this additional information from you within the framework of the contractual relationship - your title, academic degree, year of birth, and your professional, industry, or business designation in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR and to use it for sending interesting offers and information about our products by mail.

You can object to the storage and use of your data for this purpose at any time by sending a message to the controller.

6) WEB ANALYSIS SERVICES

Google (Universal) Analytics

Google (Universal) Analytics
This website uses Google (Universal) Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, 4 Barrow St, Dublin, D04 E5W5, Ireland ("Google"). Google (Universal) Analytics uses so-called "cookies", which are text files placed on your computer, to help the website analyze how users use the site. The information generated by the cookie about your use of this website (including the shortened IP address) is usually transmitted to a Google server and stored there, which may also involve a transfer to Google LLC. servers in the USA.
This website uses Google (Universal) Analytics exclusively with the extension "_anonymizeIp()", which ensures anonymization of the IP address by shortening it and excludes direct personal reference. Through the extension, your IP address is truncated 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 LLC. server in the USA and truncated there. In these exceptional cases, this processing is carried out in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR based on our legitimate interest in the statistical analysis of user behavior for optimization and marketing purposes.
On our behalf, Google will use this information to evaluate your use of the website, to compile reports on website activity, and to provide us with other services related to website use and internet use. The IP address transmitted by your browser as part of Google (Universal) Analytics will not be merged with other Google data.
You can prevent the storage of cookies by adjusting your browser software accordingly. However, we would like to point out that in this case, you may not be able to use all functions of this website to their full extent. You can also prevent Google from collecting the data generated by the cookie and related to your use of the website (including your IP address) and from processing this data by Google by downloading and installing the browser plug-in available at the following link:
https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=en
As an alternative to the browser plug-in or within browsers on mobile devices, please click on the following link to set an opt-out cookie that will prevent future collection by Google Analytics within this website (this opt-out cookie only works in this browser and only for this domain. If you delete your cookies in this browser, you must click this link again): Deactivate Google Analytics
Further information on Google (Universal) Analytics can be found here: https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en&gl=en
In the event of the transfer of personal data to Google LLC., based in the USA, Google LLC. has certified itself for the US-European data protection agreement "Privacy Shield", which ensures compliance with the level of data protection applicable in the EU. A current certificate can be viewed here: https://www.privacyshield.gov/list
To the extent legally required, we have obtained your consent for the data processing described above in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR. You can revoke your given consent at any time with effect for the future. To exercise your revocation, please follow the option described above for objecting.

7) TOOLS AND OTHERS

- Adobe Fonts (Typekit)
This site uses so-called Web Fonts, provided by Adobe Systems Incorporated, 345 Park Avenue, San Jose, CA 95110-2704, USA ("Adobe"), for the uniform display of fonts. When you access a page, your browser loads the necessary Web Fonts into your browser cache to correctly display texts and fonts.
For this purpose, the browser you are using must connect to Adobe's servers. This may also involve the transmission of personal data to Adobe's servers in the USA. In this way, Adobe becomes aware that our website has been accessed via your IP address. The use of Adobe Fonts is in the interest of a uniform and appealing presentation of our online services. This constitutes a legitimate interest within the meaning of Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f GDPR. If your browser does not support Web Fonts, a standard font from your computer will be used.
In the event of the transfer of personal data to Adobe, based in the USA, Adobe has certified itself under the US-European data protection agreement "Privacy Shield", which ensures compliance with the data protection level applicable in the EU. A current certificate can be viewed here: https://www.privacyshield.gov/list
Further information about Adobe Fonts can be found at https://fonts.adobe.com/ and in Adobe's privacy policy: https://www.adobe.com/de/privacy.html

8) RIGHTS OF THE DATA SUBJECT

8.1 The applicable data protection law grants you comprehensive data subject rights (rights of information and intervention) vis-à-vis the controller with regard to the processing of your personal data, which we inform you about below:

• Right to information pursuant to Art. 15 GDPR: In particular, you have a right to information about your personal data processed by us, the purposes of processing, the categories of personal data processed, the recipients or categories of recipients to whom your data has been or will be disclosed, the planned storage period or the criteria for determining the storage period, the existence of a right to rectification, erasure, restriction of processing, objection to processing, complaint to a supervisory authority, the origin of your data if it was not collected by us from you, the existence of automated decision-making including profiling and, if applicable, meaningful information about the logic involved and the significance and envisaged consequences of such processing for you, as well as your right to be informed about what guarantees exist pursuant to Art. 46 GDPR when your data is transferred to third countries;
• Right to rectification pursuant to Art. 16 GDPR: You have the right to immediate rectification of inaccurate data concerning you and/or completion of incomplete data stored by us;
• Right to erasure pursuant to Art. 17 GDPR: You have the right to request the erasure of your personal data if the conditions of Art. 17 Para. 1 GDPR are met. However, this right does not exist, in particular, if the processing is necessary for the exercise of the right to freedom of expression and information, for compliance with a legal obligation, for reasons of public interest, or for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims;
• Right to restriction of processing pursuant to Art. 18 GDPR: You have the right to request the restriction of the processing of your personal data as long as the accuracy of your data, which you dispute, is being verified, if you refuse the erasure of your data due to unlawful data processing and instead request the restriction of the processing of your data, if you need your data for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims after we no longer need this data after the purpose has been achieved, or if you have objected for reasons arising from your particular situation, as long as it has not yet been determined whether our legitimate grounds outweigh;
• Right to notification pursuant to Art. 19 GDPR: If you have asserted the right to rectification, erasure or restriction of processing against the controller, the controller is obliged to communicate this rectification or erasure of the data or restriction of processing to all recipients to whom the personal data concerning you have been disclosed, unless this proves impossible or involves disproportionate effort. You have the right to be informed about these recipients.
• Right to data portability pursuant to Art. 20 GDPR: You have the right to receive your personal data, which you have provided to us, in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format or to request transmission to another controller, insofar as this is technically feasible;
• Right to withdraw granted consents pursuant to Art. 7 Para. 3 GDPR: You have the right to withdraw a once granted consent to data processing at any time with effect for the future. In the event of withdrawal, we will immediately delete the data concerned, unless further processing cannot be based on a legal basis for processing without consent. The withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out on the basis of consent until withdrawal;
• Right to lodge a complaint pursuant to Art. 77 GDPR: If you believe that the processing of personal data concerning you infringes the GDPR, you have the right – without prejudice to any other administrative or judicial remedy – to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, in particular in the Member State of your habitual residence, your place of work or the place of the alleged infringement.

8.2 RIGHT TO OBJECT

IF WE PROCESS YOUR PERSONAL DATA ON THE BASIS OF OUR OVERRIDING LEGITIMATE INTERESTS AS PART OF A BALANCING OF INTERESTS, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO OBJECT TO THIS PROCESSING AT ANY TIME WITH EFFECT FOR THE FUTURE FOR REASONS ARISING FROM YOUR PARTICULAR SITUATION.
IF YOU EXERCISE YOUR RIGHT TO OBJECT, WE WILL CEASE PROCESSING THE DATA CONCERNED. HOWEVER, FURTHER PROCESSING REMAINS RESERVED IF WE CAN DEMONSTRATE COMPELLING LEGITIMATE GROUNDS FOR THE PROCESSING WHICH OVERRIDE YOUR INTERESTS, FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS, OR IF THE PROCESSING SERVES THE ESTABLISHMENT, EXERCISE OR DEFENSE OF LEGAL CLAIMS.

IF YOUR PERSONAL DATA IS PROCESSED BY US FOR DIRECT MARKETING PURPOSES, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO OBJECT AT ANY TIME TO THE PROCESSING OF PERSONAL DATA CONCERNING YOU FOR THE PURPOSE OF SUCH ADVERTISING. YOU CAN EXERCISE THE OBJECTION AS DESCRIBED ABOVE.

IF YOU EXERCISE YOUR RIGHT TO OBJECT, WE WILL CEASE PROCESSING THE DATA CONCERNED FOR DIRECT MARKETING PURPOSES.

9) DURATION OF STORAGE OF PERSONAL DATA

The duration of the storage of personal data is determined by the respective legal basis, the purpose of processing and – if applicable – additionally by the respective statutory retention period (e.g. commercial and tax retention periods).

When personal data is processed on the basis of explicit consent pursuant to Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. a GDPR, this data will be stored until the data subject withdraws their consent.

If there are statutory retention periods for data processed within the framework of legal or quasi-legal obligations on the basis of Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. b GDPR, this data will be routinely deleted after the expiry of the retention periods, provided that it is no longer required for contract fulfillment or contract initiation and/or we no longer have a legitimate interest in further storage.

When personal data is processed on the basis of Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f GDPR, this data will be stored until the data subject exercises their right to object pursuant to Art. 21 Para. 1 GDPR, unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds for the processing which override the interests, rights and freedoms of the data subject, or the processing serves the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims.

When personal data is processed for direct marketing purposes on the basis of Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f GDPR, this data will be stored until the data subject exercises their right to object pursuant to Art. 21 Para. 2 GDPR.

Unless otherwise stated in the other information in this declaration regarding specific processing situations, stored personal data will otherwise be deleted when it is no longer necessary for the purposes for which it was collected or otherwise processed