Privacy Policy

The protection of your personal information is important to us. This privacy policy therefore informs you about the scope and purpose of the processing of personal data when using our website.

1. Introduction

Personal data is all data that contains information about the personal or factual circumstances of an identified or identifiable person. This includes, for example, your name, your email address, your home address, your gender, your phone number, or even your date of birth and age (referred to as “personal data”). 

We operate our website in accordance with the valid and applicable data protection laws, in particular the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) and the German Federal Data Protection Act (“BDSG”). This privacy policy therefore provides an explanation of how we handle your personal data in connection with the use of our website.

However, personal data is not only processed in the context of our website, but also in many other processes in our company. In order to provide you as the data subject with as much detailed information as possible for these processing purposes, we have compiled this information here for the following processing activities:

Privacy policy for business contacts

Privacy policy for applicants

 

2. Technology

This website uses SSL or TLS encryption (Transport Layer Security / Secure Socket Layer) to ensure the security of data processing and to protect the transmission of confidential content, such as login data or contact requests that you send to us as the operator. You can recognize an encrypted connection by the fact that “https://” instead of “http://” is displayed in the address bar of the browser and by the lock icon in your browser bar.

2.1 Data collection when visiting the website

Every time you access our website, we obtain the following information about your computer, regardless of your registration status: the IP address of your computer, your browser request, and the time of this request. The status and the transmitted data volume are also recorded as part of this request. We also obtain product and version information about the browser used and the computer’s operating system. Furthermore, we record the website from which our website was accessed. Your computer’s IP address is only saved for the period of time in which the website is used and for the following three months. After this time, it is erased or anonymized by abbreviating it. The rest of the data is stored for a limited period of time.

We use this data to operate the website; in particular, we use it to identify and fix errors, to determine the utilization level of the website, and to make modifications or improvements. These purposes also cover our legitimate interest in data processing in accordance with Art. 6(1)(f) of the GDPR.

2.2 Use of cookies

Our website uses cookies. Cookies are small text files that are saved on your computer and that store certain settings and data for the purposes of exchange with our website via your browser. A cookie generally contains the name of the domain from which the cookie file was sent, as well as information about the age of the cookie and an alphanumeric identifier.

Cookies are used to make our website a more enjoyable experience for you. We use 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 use temporary cookies to optimize user-friendliness. These are stored on your end device for a specified period of time. If you visit our site again to use our services, it will automatically recognize that you have already visited us and which entries and settings you have made so that you do not have to enter them again.

We also use cookies to statistically record the usage of our website and to evaluate our web pages for you for the purposes 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 period of time for which the cookies are saved can be found in the settings of the consent tool being used.

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

For all other cookies, you must give your consent to them via our opt-in cookie banner within the meaning of Art. 6(1)(a) of the GDPR.

2.3 Hosting

We use an external service provider to store the data we collect. The company in question is Mittwald CM Service GmbH & Co. KG, Königsberger Straße 4–6, 32339 Espelkamp, Germany.

We use this service to store our data on Mittwald servers. If you transmit data to us or if data is lawfully collected from you, it will be stored by Mittwald.

The legal basis for this is Art. 6(1)(f) of the GDPR. Our legitimate interest is to provide a fast and secure website.

Further information on data processing can be found in the Mittwald privacy policy at https://www.mittwald.de/datenschutz.

 

3. Contact form

If you wish to contact our Sales, Technical Support, or Service teams directly, you can use the online contact form. If you wish to use the contact form, we record the personal data that you enter in the contact form, particularly your name and email address. We also save the IP address and the date and time of the request. We process the data transmitted via the contact form solely for the purposes of responding to your request or concern. 

You can choose which information to send via the contact form. The legal basis for processing the data is our legitimate interest in responding to your request in accordance with Art. 6(1)(f) of the GDPR. If your reason for contacting us is to conclude a contract, the additional legal basis for the processing is Art. 6(1)(b) of the GDPR.

Once we have processed the matter, the data will initially be stored in case there are any subsequent queries. You can request that the data be erased at any time, otherwise we will erase the data once the matter has been fully resolved; statutory retention obligations remain unaffected in each case.

 

4. Analysis 

To statistically evaluate the usage of our website, we use the open-source software Matomo, a web analysis service provided by InnoCraft Ltd, which we operate on our own servers. 

The data collected through Matomo is stored in a database for the purposes of usage analysis in order to optimize our web pages. The data collected includes the abbreviated IP address, the time, the web pages accessed, the website from which you accessed our website (“referrer”), the browser used, the period of time you stayed on our web pages, and the frequency of access.

The evaluations generated with Matomo are anonymized and cannot be used to identify an individual person. The data stored by Matomo is not linked to any other data sources.

If personal data is collected in the short term, it is processed on the basis of Art. 6(1)(f) of the GDPR. Our legitimate interest is the analysis of user behavior to improve the content, user-friendliness, and technical stability of our website. After anonymization, the data is no longer subject to the GDPR.

 

5. Integration of third-party services

For certain features of our website, we access third-party services. These services are primarily optional features that you need to explicitly select or use. We have concluded contractual agreements with the relevant providers for the provision or integration of their services and we do everything we can to ensure that the third-party providers give transparent information about the extent to which personal data is processed and comply with data protection provisions.

5.1 Friendly Captcha

The Friendly Captcha service is used on our website to recognize and prevent automated access by bots, for example. Friendly Captcha is provided by Friendly Captcha GmbH, Am Anger 3–5, 82237 Wörthsee, Germany.

During use, Friendly Captcha collects information such as the website from which a request originates and the IP address from which the CAPTCHA is entered. In addition, further data may be processed where it is required to provide and safeguard the service.

Processing is carried out on the basis of Art. 6(1)(f) of the GDPR. The legitimate interest is in ensuring the security of our website and preventing unwanted, automated access such as spam.

Further information on data protection at Friendly Captcha can be found at:
https://friendlycaptcha.com/legal/privacy-end-users/

5.2 Vimeo

In order to display videos on our website, we use Vimeo (Vimeo LLC, 555 West 18th Street, New York, New York 10011, USA, hereinafter referred to as “Vimeo”).

The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(a) of the GDPR. You grant your consent by allowing the integration of external content.

If you grant your consent to the embedding of videos from Vimeo, a connection to the Vimeo servers in the USA is established in order to display the video. For technical reasons, your IP address is transmitted to Vimeo and processed by Vimeo for this purpose. In addition, the date and time you visited the relevant page is recorded.

If you are logged in to Vimeo when you visit our web pages on which a Vimeo video is embedded, Vimeo assigns the collected user data to your personal user account. To prevent this, you must either log out of Vimeo before visiting our web pages or configure the account settings on Vimeo accordingly.

Vimeo uses Google Analytics for the purposes of web analytics. Google Analytics saves cookies on your end device via your web browser and sends Google information about the use of our web pages on which a Vimeo video is embedded. 

If you do not agree to the saving and processing of your data, it is necessary to prevent the installation of cookies. You can do this by configuring the relevant settings in your browser. In this regard, we refer to our statements on the subject of cookies.

More information on the collection, use, and processing of data by Vimeo and on your rights and ways to protect your privacy can be found at http://vimeo.com/privacy.
 

6. Your rights 

If you would like to exercise the rights listed below and/or would like further information, you can contact our data protection officer at any time. 

6.1 Rights of the data subject

You have a large number of rights in relation to the processing of your personal data, provided the statutory requirements are met.

You have the right to: 

• access information (Art. 15 of the GDPR)
• rectification (Art. 16 of the GDPR)
• erasure (Art. 17 of the GDPR)
• restriction of processing (Art. 18 of the GDPR)
• data portability (Art. 20 of the GDPR)
• lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority (Art. 77 of the GDPR)

 

6.2 Right to object

In addition to the rights listed in 7.1, you also have the right to object in accordance with Art. 21 of the GDPR. Separate information about this right is provided below:

Right to object pursuant to Art. 21 of the GDPR

You have the right to object, on grounds relating to your particular situation, at any time to processing of your personal data which is based on Art. 6(1)(e) or (f) of the GDPR. This also applies to profiling in accordance with Art. 4(4) of the GDPR, if applicable. In the event of an objection, we will no longer process your personal data further unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds for the processing which override your interests, rights, and freedoms, or for the establishment, exercise, or defense of legal claims. If you object to the processing of your personal data for marketing purposes, we will no longer process this data for such purposes, including any associated profiling in the context of direct marketing.
 

7. Retention period

We will erase your personal data when the respective purpose of storage no longer applies and provided no statutory provision requires that we retain it (e.g., a retention obligation under the German Fiscal Code and/or the German Commercial Code). For example, if you have created a user account, you can cancel it – or, if you have granted your consent, you can withdraw this at any time with effect for the future.

If erasure is not possible in individual cases, the processing in question will be restricted.

Finally, the retention period is also based on the statutory limitation periods.
 

8. Transfer to third countries 

In order to ensure the protection of personal data in international data transfers, Smyczek complies with the applicable statutory provisions and uses recognized mechanisms such as the standard contractual clauses of the European Union or equivalent regulations.

In certain cases, personal data is transferred to recipients in third countries. Third countries are countries outside the EU and the EEA. As the level of data protection in these countries is often not comparable to that in the EU or EEA, it is possible that government agencies may access personal data without Smyczek or the data subjects being informed. Legal prosecution of such access may offer little prospect of success. Information on data transfers to third countries can be found in our privacy policy.

The transfer of personal data to third countries takes place on a legal basis, which may vary depending on the individual case. The basis is either the consent of the data subject (Art. 49(1)(a) of the GDPR), the performance of a contract (Art. 49(1)(b) of the GDPR), an adequacy decision of the EU Commission, such as the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (Art. 45 of the GDPR), or the use of EU standard contractual clauses (Art. 46(2)(c) of the GDPR).

Smyczek reserves the right to adapt the legal bases for future international data transfers if this becomes necessary due to changes in legal, regulatory, or operational requirements. Any changes will be made in accordance with the applicable data protection laws.

 

9. Contact details 

The contact details of the controller and the data protection officer are provided below. You can contact our data protection officer or the controller directly at any time if you have any questions or suggestions regarding data protection.

9.1 Controller

The controller within the meaning of Art. 4(7) of the GDPR is:

Smyczek GmbH
Eiserstraße 93
33415 Verl 
Germany

Phone: +49 5246 7090-0
Email: info@smyczek.de

Represented by: Michael Schlegel (Managing Director)

9.2 Data protection officer 

You can contact the data protection officer as follows:

Phone: +49 5246 963-0
Email: datenschutz@smyczek.de

 

10. Further information and changes

10.1 Privacy settings

You can edit your settings for privacy and the individual cookies here.

10.2 Links to other websites

Our website may contain links to other websites. These links are generally identified as such. We have no influence on the extent to which the linked websites comply with the applicable data protection provisions. We therefore recommend that you obtain further information from other websites about the relevant privacy policies.

10.3 Changes to this privacy policy

The status of this privacy policy is identified by the date information (below). We reserve the right to change this privacy policy at any time with effect for the future. In particular, a change is made in the event of technical modifications to the website or in the event of changes to the requirements under data protection law. The current version of the privacy policy is always available to access directly via the website. We recommend that you inform yourself regularly of any changes to this privacy policy.

Status of this privacy policy: December 2025