Privacy Policy

Preface

We, WE GO BEYOND, Schwanenstraße 12, 60314 Frankfurt am Main (hereinafter also referred to as "Company", "we" or "us") take the protection of your personal data seriously and would like to inform you about data protection within our company.

As a result of the entry into force of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679; hereinafter: "GDPR"), additional obligations have been imposed on us within the scope of our data protection responsibilities to ensure the protection of personal data of the person affected by processing (we also address you as the data subject hereinafter as "customer", "user", "you", "your" or "data subject").

Where we decide either alone or jointly with others on the purposes and means of data processing, this includes in particular the obligation to inform you transparently about the type, scope, purpose, duration, and legal basis of the processing (cf. Art. 13 and 14 GDPR). With this declaration (hereinafter: "Privacy Notice"), we inform you about the manner in which your personal data is processed by us.

(1) Definitions

Following the model of Art. 4 GDPR, these Privacy Notices are based on the following definitions:

– "Personal data" (Art. 4 No. 1 GDPR) means all information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person ("data subject"). A person is identifiable if they can be identified directly or indirectly, in particular by assignment to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, an online identifier, location data, or with the help of information about their physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural, or social identity characteristics. Identifiability may also exist through a combination of such information or other additional knowledge. The manner, form, or embodiment of the information is irrelevant (photographs, video or audio recordings may also contain personal data).

– "Processing" (Art. 4 No. 2 GDPR) means any operation involving personal data, whether or not carried out by automated (i.e. technology-assisted) means. This includes in particular the collection (i.e. the procurement), recording, organisation, structuring, storage, adaptation or alteration, retrieval, consultation, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination or any other form of making available, alignment, combination, restriction, erasure or destruction of personal data, as well as any change to a purpose or objective that originally underpinned data processing.

– "Controller" (Art. 4 No. 7 GDPR) 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.

– "Third party" (Art. 4 No. 10 GDPR) means any 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 authorised to process personal data; this also includes other group-affiliated legal entities.

– "Processor" (Art. 4 No. 8 GDPR) means a natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which processes personal data on behalf of the controller, in particular in accordance with the controller's instructions (e.g. IT service providers). In the sense of data protection law, a processor is in particular not a third party.

– "Consent" (Art. 4 No. 11 GDPR) of the data subject means any freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous indication of the data subject's wishes by which they, by a statement or by a clear affirmative action, signify agreement to the processing of personal data relating to them.

(2) Name and Address of the Controller

The entity responsible for processing your personal data within the meaning of Art. 4 No. 7 GDPR is:

WE GO BEYOND GmbH
Schwanenstraße 12

60314 Frankfurt am Main
+49 163 198 6642
info@we-gobeyond.de

For further information about our company, please refer to the imprint on our website [link to imprint].

(3) Legal Bases for Data Processing

By law, any processing of personal data is generally prohibited and only permitted if the data processing falls under one of the following justifications:

– Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR ("Consent"): Where the data subject has freely and in an informed and unambiguous manner indicated, by a statement or a clear affirmative action, that they consent to the processing of their personal data for one or more specific purposes;

– Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR: Where processing is necessary for the performance of a contract to which the data subject is party or in order to take steps at the request of the data subject prior to entering into a contract;

– Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR: Where processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which the controller is subject (e.g. a statutory retention obligation);

– Art. 6(1)(d) GDPR: Where processing is necessary in order to protect the vital interests of the data subject or of another natural person;

– Art. 6(1)(e) GDPR: Where processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller; or

– Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR ("Legitimate Interests"): Where processing is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate (in particular legal or economic) interests pursued by the controller or by a third party, except where such interests are overridden by the interests or fundamental rights of the data subject (in particular where the data subject is a child).

The storage of information on the end device of the end user or access to information already stored on the end device is only permissible if covered by one of the following legal bases:

– § 25(1) TTDSG: Where the end user has consented on the basis of clear and comprehensive information. Consent must be given in accordance with Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR;

– § 25(2)(1) TTDSG: Where the sole purpose is to carry out the transmission of a message over a public telecommunications network; or

– § 25(2)(2) TTDSG: Where storage or access is strictly necessary for the provider of a telemedia service to provide a telemedia service expressly requested by the user.

For the processing operations carried out by us, we set out the applicable legal basis in each case below. Processing may also be based on several legal bases.

(4) Data Erasure and Retention Period

For the processing operations carried out by us, we indicate below in each case how long data is stored with us and when it is deleted or blocked. Where no explicit retention period is stated below, your personal data will be deleted or blocked as soon as the purpose or legal basis for storage ceases to apply. Storage of your data is generally carried out only on our servers in Germany, subject to any transfer pursuant to the provisions in A.(6) and A.(7).

Storage may, however, extend beyond the stated period in the event of a (threatened) legal dispute with you or other legal proceedings, or where storage is provided for by statutory provisions to which we are subject as controller (e.g. § 257 HGB, § 147 AO). When the statutory retention period prescribed by law expires, personal data will be blocked or deleted unless further storage by us is necessary and a legal basis exists for this.

(5) Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational security measures to protect your data against accidental or intentional manipulation, partial or total loss, destruction or against unauthorised access by third parties (e.g. TLS encryption for our website), taking into account the state of the art, implementation costs, and the nature, scope, context and purpose of the processing, as well as the existing risks of a data breach (including their likelihood and impact) for the data subject. Our security measures are continually improved in line with technological developments.

We are happy to provide you with more information upon request.

(6) Collaboration with Processors

As with any company, we also use external domestic and foreign service providers to carry out our business operations (e.g. for IT, telecommunications, sales and marketing). These operate only in accordance with our instructions and have been contractually obligated within the meaning of Art. 28 GDPR to comply with data protection regulations.

Where personal data relating to you is passed on by us to our subsidiaries, this is done on the basis of existing data processing agreements.

(7) Conditions for the Transfer of Personal Data to Third Countries

In the course of our business relationships, your personal data may be passed on to or disclosed to third-party companies. These may also be located outside the European Economic Area (EEA), i.e. in third countries. Such processing takes place solely for the purpose of fulfilling contractual and business obligations and maintaining your business relationship with us (the legal basis is Art. 6(1)(b) or (f) in conjunction with Art. 44 et seq. GDPR). We will inform you of the specific details of any such transfers at the relevant points below.

For certain third countries, the European Commission certifies an adequate level of data protection comparable to the EEA standard by means of so-called adequacy decisions (a list of these countries and a copy of the adequacy decisions can be found here: https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/law-topic/data-protection/international-dimension-data-protection/adequacy-decisions_en). In other third countries to which personal data may be transferred, there may not be a consistently high level of data protection due to a lack of legal provisions. In such cases, we ensure that data protection is adequately guaranteed. This may be achieved through binding corporate rules, standard contractual clauses of the European Commission for the protection of personal data pursuant to Art. 46(1)(2)(c) GDPR (the 2021 standard contractual clauses are available at https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32021D0915&locale-en), certificates or recognised codes of conduct. Please contact us if you would like further information on this.

(8) No Automated Decision-Making (Including Profiling)

We do not intend to use personal data collected from you for any automated decision-making process (including profiling).

(9) No Obligation to Provide Personal Data

We do not make the conclusion of contracts with us conditional on you providing us with personal data in advance. In principle, there is also no statutory or contractual obligation for you to provide us with your personal data; however, we may be unable to provide certain services in whole or in part if you do not provide the data required for them. Where this is exceptionally the case in the context of the products offered by us described below, you will be separately informed of this.

(10) Statutory Obligation to Transmit Certain Data

We may in certain circumstances be subject to a particular statutory or legal obligation to provide lawfully processed personal data to third parties, in particular public authorities (Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR).

(11) Your Rights

You may assert your rights as a data subject in relation to your processed personal data against us at any time using the contact details set out at the beginning under A.(2). As a data subject, you have the right:

– pursuant to Art. 15 GDPR to request information about your data processed by us. In particular, you may request information about the purposes of the processing, the category of data, the categories of recipients to whom your data has been or will be disclosed, the planned retention period, the existence of a right to rectification, erasure, restriction of processing or objection, the existence of a right to lodge a complaint, the origin of your data where it was not collected from you, and about the existence of any automated decision-making including profiling, and where applicable meaningful information about its details;

– pursuant to Art. 16 GDPR to request the immediate rectification of incorrect data or the completion of your data stored with us;

– pursuant to Art. 17 GDPR to request the erasure of your data stored with us, unless 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 defence of legal claims;

– pursuant to Art. 18 GDPR to request the restriction of the processing of your data, where you contest the accuracy of the data or the processing is unlawful;

– pursuant to Art. 20 GDPR to receive your data that you have provided to us in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format, or to request its transfer to another controller ("data portability");

– pursuant to Art. 21 GDPR to object to the processing, where the processing is based on Art. 6(1)(e) or (f) GDPR. This is particularly the case where processing is not necessary for the performance of a contract with you. Where the objection is not against direct marketing, we ask that you state the reasons why we should not process your data as we have done when exercising such an objection. In the event of your reasoned objection, we will review the situation and will either cease or adjust the data processing, or show you our compelling legitimate grounds on which we continue the processing;

– pursuant to Art. 7(3) GDPR to withdraw at any time any consent you have once given (also before the GDPR came into force, i.e. before 25 May 2018) – meaning your freely given, informed and unambiguous indication of your wishes, expressed by a statement or clear affirmative action, that you consent to the processing of the relevant personal data for one or more specific purposes – provided you have given such consent. This has the consequence that we may no longer continue the data processing that was based on this consent for the future; and

– pursuant to Art. 77 GDPR to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority about the processing of your personal data in our company, with the supervisory authority responsible for us: Hessian Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information, Postfach 3163, 65021 Wiesbaden, Telephone: +496111408-0, Email: poststelle@datenschutz.hessen.de

(12) Changes to the Privacy Notice

As data protection law evolves and in the context of technological or organisational changes, our Privacy Notices are regularly reviewed for the need to adapt or supplement them. You will be notified of any changes, in particular on our German website at https://we-go-beyond.de. This Privacy Notice is as of December 2024.

(13) Plugins and Tools

Vimeo

This website uses plugins from the video portal Vimeo. The provider is Vimeo Inc., 555 West 18th Street, New York, New York 10011, USA. When you visit one of our pages equipped with a Vimeo video, a connection to the servers of Vimeo is established. The Vimeo server is informed which of our pages you have visited. In addition, Vimeo obtains your IP address. This also applies if you are not logged in to Vimeo or do not have an account with Vimeo. The information collected by Vimeo is transmitted to the Vimeo server in the USA. If you are logged in to your Vimeo account, you enable Vimeo to associate your browsing behaviour directly with your personal profile. You can prevent this by logging out of your Vimeo account. Vimeo uses cookies or comparable recognition technologies (e.g. device fingerprinting) to recognise website visitors. The use of Vimeo is in the interest of an appealing presentation of our online services. This constitutes a legitimate interest within the meaning of Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. Where appropriate consent has been requested, processing is carried out exclusively on the basis of Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR and § 25(1) TTDSG, insofar as the consent covers the storage of cookies or access to information on the user's device (e.g. device fingerprinting) within the meaning of the TTDSG. Consent may be withdrawn at any time. The data transfer to the USA is based on the EU Commission's standard contractual clauses and, according to Vimeo, on "legitimate business interests". Details can be found here: https://vimeo.com/privacy. Further information on the handling of user data can be found in Vimeo's privacy policy at: https://vimeo.com/privacy.

(1) Description of Functionality

Information about our company and the services we offer is available in particular at https://we-go-beyond.de together with the associated sub-pages (hereinafter collectively: "Websites"). When you visit our Websites, personal data relating to you may be processed.

(2) Personal Data Processed

When using the Websites for informational purposes, the following categories of personal data are collected, stored and further processed by us:

"Log data": When you visit our Websites, a so-called log record (server log files) is temporarily and anonymously stored on our web server. This consists of:

• the page from which the page was requested (so-called referrer URL)
• the name and URL of the requested page
• the date and time of access
• a description of the type, language and version of the web browser used
• the IP address of the requesting computer, which is truncated so that a personal reference can no longer be established
• the amount of data transferred
• the operating system
• a notification of whether the access was successful (access status/HTTP status code)
• the GMT time zone difference

"Contact form data": When contact forms are used, the data transmitted through them is processed (e.g. salutation, first and last name, address, company, email address and the time of submission).

In addition to the purely informational use of our website, we offer the option to subscribe to our newsletter, through which we keep you informed about current developments. When you sign up for our newsletter, the following "newsletter data" is collected, stored and further processed by us:

• the page from which the page was requested (so-called referrer URL)
• the date and time of access
• a description of the type of web browser used
• the IP address of the requesting computer, which is truncated so that a personal reference can no longer be established
• the email address
• the date and time of registration and confirmation

We draw your attention to the fact that we evaluate your user behaviour when sending the newsletter. For this evaluation, the emails sent contain so-called web beacons or tracking pixels, which are single-pixel image files stored on our website. For the evaluations, we link the aforementioned data and the web beacons to your email address and an individual ID. Links contained in the newsletter also contain this ID. The data is collected exclusively on a pseudonymised basis, i.e. the IDs are not linked to your other personal data, so direct personal identification is excluded.

(3) Purpose and Legal Basis for Data Processing

We process the personal data specified above in accordance with the provisions of the GDPR, the further applicable data protection regulations, and only to the extent necessary. Where the processing of personal data is based on Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR, the stated purposes also constitute our legitimate interests.

The processing of log data serves statistical purposes and the improvement of the quality of our website, in particular the stability and security of the connection (the legal basis is Art. 6(1)(a) or (f) GDPR).

The processing of contact form data is carried out for the purpose of handling customer enquiries (the legal basis is Art. 6(1)(b) or (f) GDPR).

The processing of newsletter data is carried out for the purpose of sending the newsletter. By registering for our newsletter, you consent to the processing of your personal data (the legal basis is Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR). For registration to our newsletter, we use the so-called double opt-in procedure. This means that after your registration, we send you an email to the email address provided, in which we ask you to confirm that you wish to receive the newsletter. The purpose of this procedure is to be able to verify your registration and, where applicable, to investigate any possible misuse of your personal data. You may withdraw your consent to receive the newsletter at any time and unsubscribe from the newsletter. You can withdraw your consent by clicking on the link provided in each newsletter email, by emailing info@we-gobeyond.de, or by sending a message to the contact details provided in the imprint.

Where processing of the data requires the storage of information on your end device or access to information already stored on the end device, § 25(1) and (2) TTDSG provides the legal basis for this.

(4) Duration of Data Processing

Your data is only processed for as long as is necessary to achieve the above-mentioned processing purposes; the legal bases stated in connection with the processing purposes apply accordingly. With regard to the use and retention period of cookies, please refer to section A.(4).

Third parties engaged by us will store your data on their systems for as long as is necessary in connection with the provision of services for us in accordance with the respective order.

For more details on the retention period, please refer to A.(4).

(5) Transfer of Personal Data to Third Parties; Legal Basis

The following categories of recipients, which are generally processors (see A.(6)), may receive access to your personal data:

• Service providers for the operation of our website and the processing of data stored or transmitted by the systems (e.g. for data centre services, payment processing, IT security). The legal basis for the transfer is then Art. 6(1)(b) or (f) GDPR, insofar as these are not processors;
• Government agencies/authorities, where necessary for compliance with a legal obligation. The legal basis for the transfer is then Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR;
• Persons engaged in the conduct of our business operations (e.g. auditors, banks, insurers, legal advisors, supervisory authorities, parties involved in company acquisitions or the formation of joint ventures). The legal basis for the transfer is then Art. 6(1)(b) or (f) GDPR.

For the safeguards for an adequate level of data protection when transferring data to third countries, see A.(8).

Beyond this, we only pass on your personal data to third parties if you have given your express consent to do so pursuant to Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR.

(6) Use of Cookies, Plugins and Other Services on Our Website

Cookie

On our websites we use cookies. Cookies are small text files stored on your hard drive and assigned to the browser you use by means of a characteristic string of characters, through which the entity that sets the cookie receives certain information. Cookies cannot execute programmes or transfer viruses to your computer and therefore cannot cause any damage. They serve to make the internet offering as a whole more user-friendly and effective, and thus more pleasant for you.

Cookies may contain data that makes it possible to recognise the device used. In some cases, however, cookies contain only information about certain settings that cannot be attributed to a person. Cookies cannot directly identify a user.

A distinction is made between session cookies, which are deleted again as soon as you close your browser, and permanent cookies, which are stored beyond the individual session. In terms of their function, cookies are also distinguished between:

• Technical Cookies: These are strictly necessary to navigate the website, use basic functions and ensure the security of the website; they do not collect information about you for marketing purposes, nor do they store which websites you have visited;
• Performance Cookies: These collect information about how you use our website, which pages you visit and, for example, whether errors occur during website use; they do not collect information that could identify you – all collected information is anonymous and is only used to improve our website and find out what interests our users;
• Advertising Cookies, Targeting Cookies: These are used to offer the website user needs-based advertising on the website or from third parties, and to measure the effectiveness of such offers; Advertising and Targeting Cookies are stored for a maximum of 13 months;
• Sharing Cookies: These are used to improve the interactivity of our website with other services (e.g. social networks); Sharing Cookies are stored for a maximum of 13 months.

The legal basis for cookies that are strictly necessary to provide the service expressly requested by you is § 25(2)(2) TTDSG. Any use of cookies that is not strictly technically necessary for this purpose constitutes data processing that is only permitted with your express and active consent pursuant to § 25(1) TTDSG in conjunction with Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR. This applies in particular to the use of Performance, Advertising, Targeting or Sharing Cookies. Beyond this, we only pass on your personal data processed by cookies to third parties if you have given your express consent pursuant to Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR.