Privacy | Soundgate Instruments

Privacy

Personal data (hereinafter mostly referred to simply as “data”) is processed by us only to the extent necessary and for the purpose of providing a functional and user-friendly website, including its content and the services offered there.

Pursuant to Art. 4 No. 1 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679, i.e. the General Data Protection Regulation (hereinafter referred to as “GDPR”), “processing” means any operation or set of operations which is performed on personal data, whether or not by automated means, such as collection, recording, organisation, structuring, storage, adaptation or alteration, retrieval, consultation, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination or otherwise making available, alignment or combination, restriction, erasure or destruction.

With the following privacy policy, we inform you in particular about the type, scope, purpose, duration and legal basis of the processing of personal data, insofar as we decide on the purposes and means of processing either alone or jointly with others. In addition, we inform you below about the third-party components we use for optimisation purposes and to improve the quality of use, insofar as third parties process data under their own responsibility as a result.

Our privacy policy is structured as follows:

I. Information about us as the controller
II. Rights of users and data subjects
III. Information on data processing

I. Information about us as the controller

The provider of this website responsible within the meaning of data protection law, and data protection officer, is:

Stefan Kiessling
Königsstraße 20
34549 Edertal
Germany

Contact

Phone: +49 1573 2378781
Email: info@soundgate-instruments.com

II. Rights of users and data subjects

With regard to the data processing described in more detail below, users and data subjects have the right

to confirmation as to whether data concerning them is being processed, to information about the data processed, to further information about the data processing and to copies of the data (cf. also Art. 15 GDPR);
to the rectification or completion of inaccurate or incomplete data (cf. also Art. 16 GDPR);
to the immediate erasure of data concerning them (cf. also Art. 17 GDPR) or, alternatively, insofar as further processing is required pursuant to Art. 17 (3) GDPR, to the restriction of processing in accordance with Art. 18 GDPR;
to receive the data concerning them that they have provided and to have this data transmitted to other providers/controllers (cf. also Art. 20 GDPR);
to lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority if they believe that data concerning them is being processed by the provider in breach of data protection regulations (cf. also Art. 77 GDPR).

In addition, the provider is obliged to inform all recipients to whom data has been disclosed by the provider of any rectification or erasure of data or restriction of processing carried out pursuant to Articles 16, 17 (1) and 18 GDPR. However, this obligation does not apply if such notification is impossible or would involve a disproportionate effort. Notwithstanding this, the user has the right to be informed about these recipients.

Users and data subjects also have the right, pursuant to Art. 21 GDPR, to object to the future processing of data concerning them, insofar as the data is processed by the provider in accordance with Art. 6 (1) lit. f) GDPR. In particular, an objection to data processing for the purpose of direct marketing is permissible.

III. Information on data processing

Your data processed when using our website will be deleted or blocked as soon as the purpose of storage no longer applies, the deletion of the data is not prevented by any statutory retention obligations and no other information is given below regarding individual processing procedures.

a) Session cookies

Our website uses so-called cookies. Cookies are small text files or other storage technologies that are placed and stored on your device by the internet browser you use. These cookies process certain information about you to an individual extent, such as your browser or location data or your IP address.

This processing makes our website more user-friendly, more effective and more secure, as it enables, for example, our website to be displayed in different languages or a shopping basket function to be offered.

The legal basis for this processing is Art. 6 (1) lit. b) GDPR, insofar as these cookies process data for the initiation or performance of a contract.

If the processing does not serve the initiation or performance of a contract, our legitimate interest lies in improving the functionality of our website. In that case, the legal basis is Art. 6 (1) lit. f) GDPR.

These session cookies are deleted when you close your internet browser.

b) Third-party cookies

Our website may also use cookies from partner companies with whom we cooperate for the purposes of advertising, analysis or the functionality of our website.

For details, in particular on the purposes and legal bases of the processing of such third-party cookies, please refer to the information below.

c) How to remove them

You can prevent or restrict the installation of cookies by adjusting the settings of your internet browser. You can also delete cookies that have already been stored at any time. The steps and measures required for this, however, depend on the internet browser you use. If you have any questions, please use the help function or documentation of your internet browser or contact its manufacturer or support. In the case of so-called Flash cookies, however, the processing cannot be prevented via the browser settings. Instead, you must change the settings of your Flash Player. The steps and measures required for this also depend on the Flash Player you use. If you have any questions, please likewise use the help function or documentation of your Flash Player or contact its manufacturer or user support.

If you prevent or restrict the installation of cookies, however, this may mean that not all functions of our website can be used in full.

Audience measurement with Umami

We want to understand which pages of our website are read so that we can improve it. For this we use the open-source software Umami, which we operate ourselves on a server in Germany (hosting provider: IONOS SE). The data is not passed on to third parties.

Umami does not set cookies. When you open a page, your IP address and your browser's identification are only used to calculate an identifier that changes every month – the IP address and browser identification themselves are not stored. We store the page visited, the referring page, device type, browser, operating system, screen size, language and approximate location (country, region, city), as well as origin information contained in the link you followed, such as a partner ID. This does not allow us to identify you personally.

The legal basis is our legitimate interest in a data-minimising analysis of how our website is used (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). If your browser sends the "Do Not Track" or "Global Privacy Control" signal, no measurement takes place – the measurement script is not loaded at all. You may also object to the measurement at any time by contacting us.

Contact requests / contact options

If you contact us via the contact form or by email, the data you provide will be used to process your request. Providing this data is necessary to process and answer your request – without it, we cannot answer your request, or only to a limited extent.

The legal basis for this processing is Art. 6 (1) lit. b) GDPR.

Your data will be deleted once your request has been answered in full and there are no statutory retention obligations preventing deletion, as may be the case, for example, if a contract is subsequently performed.

Newsletter

If you register for our free newsletter, the data requested from you for this purpose, i.e. your email address and – optionally – your name and address, will be transmitted to us. At the same time, we store the IP address of the internet connection from which you access our website as well as the date and time of your registration. As part of the further registration process, we will obtain your consent to receive the newsletter, describe its content specifically and refer to this privacy policy. We use the data collected in this way exclusively for sending the newsletter – it is therefore, in particular, not passed on to third parties.

The legal basis for this is Art. 6 (1) lit. a) GDPR.

You can revoke your consent to receiving the newsletter at any time with effect for the future in accordance with Art. 7 (3) GDPR. To do so, you only need to inform us of your revocation or click the unsubscribe link contained in every newsletter.

User contributions, comments and ratings

We offer you the opportunity to publish questions, answers, opinions or ratings, hereinafter referred to as “contributions”, on our website. If you make use of this offer, we process and publish your contribution, the date and time of submission and any pseudonym you may use.

The legal basis for this is Art. 6 (1) lit. a) GDPR. You can revoke your consent at any time with effect for the future in accordance with Art. 7 (3) GDPR. To do so, you only need to inform us of your revocation.

In addition, we also process your IP and email address. The IP address is processed because we have a legitimate interest in initiating or supporting further steps if your contribution infringes the rights of third parties and/or is otherwise unlawful.

In this case, the legal basis is Art. 6 (1) lit. f) GDPR. Our legitimate interest lies in any legal defence that may become necessary.

Server data

For technical reasons, in particular to ensure a secure and stable website, data is transmitted by your internet browser to us or to our web hosting provider. These so-called server log files record, among other things, the type and version of your internet browser, the operating system, the website from which you came to our website (referrer URL), the page(s) of our website you visit, the date and time of each access and the IP address of the internet connection from which our website is used.

The data collected in this way is stored temporarily, but not together with any other data about you.

This storage takes place on the legal basis of Art. 6 (1) lit. f) GDPR. Our legitimate interest lies in the improvement, stability, functionality and security of our website.

The data is deleted again after seven days at the latest, unless further storage is required for evidential purposes. In that case, the data is exempt from deletion, in whole or in part, until an incident has been finally resolved.

Bunny Fonts

For the uniform display of fonts, this site uses so-called web fonts provided by Bunny Fonts (bunny.net). The provider is BunnyWay d.o.o., Cesta komandanta Staneta 4A, 1215 Medvode, Slovenia (EU).

When you open a page, your browser loads the required web fonts into its browser cache in order to display texts and fonts correctly.

For this purpose, the browser you use must connect to the servers of BunnyWay d.o.o. in Slovenia (EU). As a result, BunnyWay learns that this website was accessed via your IP address. Web fonts are used on the basis of Art. 6 (1) lit. f GDPR.

When Bunny Fonts are used, no personal data or logs are stored. All requests are processed in a fully anonymised manner.

Further information on Bunny Fonts can be found at
https://fonts.bunny.net/faq and at:
https://bunny.net/privacy.

Facebook

We maintain a company presence on the Facebook platform to promote our products and services and to communicate with prospective and existing customers.

On this social media platform, we are jointly responsible with Meta Platforms Ireland Limited, 4 Grand Canal Square, Dublin 2, Ireland.

Facebook's data protection officer can be reached via a contact form:

https://www.facebook.com/help/contact/540977946302970

We have set out the joint responsibility in an agreement regarding the respective obligations within the meaning of the GDPR. This agreement, which sets out the mutual obligations, is available at the following link:

https://www.facebook.com/legal/terms/page_controller_addendum

The legal basis for the processing of personal data that takes place as a result and is described below is Art. 6 (1) lit. f GDPR. Our legitimate interest lies in the analysis, communication, sale and promotion of our products and services.

The legal basis may also be the user's consent given to the platform operator pursuant to Art. 6 (1) lit. a GDPR. The user may revoke this consent at any time with effect for the future by notifying the platform operator, in accordance with Art. 7 (3) GDPR.

When our online presence on the Facebook platform is accessed, the user's data (e.g. personal information, IP address, etc.) is processed by Facebook Ireland Ltd. as the operator of the platform in the EU.

This user data is used for statistical information about the use of our company presence on Facebook. Facebook Ireland Ltd. uses this data for market research and advertising purposes and to create user profiles. Based on these profiles, Facebook Ireland Ltd. is able, for example, to show users interest-based advertising both on and off Facebook. If the user is logged into their Facebook account at the time of access, Facebook Ireland Ltd. can also link the data to the respective user account.

If the user contacts us via Facebook, the personal data entered by the user on that occasion will be used to process the request. The user's data will be deleted by us once the user's request has been answered in full and there are no statutory retention obligations preventing deletion, such as in the case of a subsequent contract performance.

Facebook Ireland Ltd. may also set cookies to process the data.

If the user does not agree to this processing, it is possible to prevent the installation of cookies by adjusting the browser settings accordingly. Cookies that have already been stored can also be deleted at any time. The settings for this depend on the browser used. In the case of Flash cookies, the processing cannot be prevented via the browser settings, but only via the corresponding setting of the Flash Player. If the user prevents or restricts the installation of cookies, this may mean that not all functions of Facebook can be used in full.

Further details on the processing activities, how to prevent them and on the deletion of the data processed by Facebook can be found in Facebook's data policy:

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

It cannot be ruled out that the processing by Meta Platforms Ireland Limited also takes place via Meta Platforms, Inc., 1601 Willow Road, Menlo Park, California 94025, USA.

Instagram

We maintain a company presence on the Instagram platform to promote our products and services and to communicate with prospective and existing customers.

On this social media platform, we are jointly responsible with Meta Platforms Ireland Limited, 4 Grand Canal Square, Dublin 2, Ireland.

Instagram's data protection officer can be reached via a contact form:

https://www.facebook.com/help/contact/540977946302970

https://www.facebook.com/legal/terms/page_controller_addendum

When our online presence on the Instagram platform is accessed, the user's data (e.g. personal information, IP address, etc.) is processed by Facebook Ireland Ltd. as the operator of the platform in the EU.

This user data is used for statistical information about the use of our company presence on Instagram. Facebook Ireland Ltd. uses this data for market research and advertising purposes and to create user profiles. Based on these profiles, Facebook Ireland Ltd. is able, for example, to show users interest-based advertising both on and off Instagram. If the user is logged into their Instagram account at the time of access, Facebook Ireland Ltd. can also link the data to the respective user account.

If the user contacts us via Instagram, the personal data entered by the user on that occasion will be used to process the request. The user's data will be deleted by us once the user's request has been answered in full and there are no statutory retention obligations preventing deletion, such as in the case of a subsequent contract performance.

Facebook Ireland Ltd. may also set cookies to process the data.

Further details on the processing activities, how to prevent them and on the deletion of the data processed by Instagram can be found in Instagram's data policy:

https://help.instagram.com/519522125107875

It cannot be ruled out that the processing by Facebook Ireland Ltd. also takes place via Meta Platforms, Inc., 1601 Willow Road, Menlo Park, California 94025, USA.

We maintain an online presence on LinkedIn to present our company and our services and to communicate with customers/prospective customers. LinkedIn is a service of LinkedIn Ireland Unlimited Company, Wilton Plaza, Wilton Place, Dublin 2, Ireland, a subsidiary of LinkedIn Corporation, 1000 W. Maude Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA 94085, USA.

In this respect, we would like to point out that users' data may be processed outside the European Union, in particular in the USA. This may involve increased risks for users, for example because later access to the user data may be made more difficult. We also have no access to this user data. Access lies exclusively with LinkedIn.

LinkedIn's privacy notice can be found at

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

Twitter

We maintain an online presence on Twitter to present our company and our services and to communicate with customers/prospective customers. Twitter is a service of Twitter Inc., 1355 Market Street, Suite 900, San Francisco, CA 94103, USA.

Twitter's privacy notice can be found at

https://twitter.com/de/privacy

YouTube

We maintain an online presence on YouTube to present our company and our services and to communicate with customers/prospective customers. YouTube is a service of Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland, a subsidiary of Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA.

YouTube's privacy notice can be found at

https://policies.google.com/privacy

General links to profiles on third-party platforms

The provider uses links on the website to the social networks listed below.

The legal basis for this is Art. 6 (1) lit. f GDPR. The provider's legitimate interest lies in improving the quality of use of the website.

The plugins are integrated by means of a linked graphic. Only by clicking on the respective graphic is the user forwarded to the service of the respective social network.

After the user has been forwarded, the respective network collects information about the user. Initially, this is data such as IP address, date, time and the page visited. If the user is logged into their user account of the respective network at the same time, the network operator may be able to assign the information collected about the user's specific visit to the user's personal account. If the user interacts via a “Share” button of the respective network, this information may be stored in the user's personal account and possibly published. If the user wishes to prevent the information collected from being directly assigned to their user account, the user must log out before clicking on the graphic. It is also possible to configure the respective user account accordingly.

The provider links to the following social networks:

facebook

Meta Platforms Ireland Limited, 4 Grand Canal Square, Dublin 2, Ireland.

Instagram

Meta Platforms Ireland Limited, 4 Grand Canal Square, Dublin 2, Ireland.

LinkedIn Ireland Unlimited Company, Wilton Plaza, Wilton Place, Dublin 2, Ireland, a subsidiary of LinkedIn Corporation, 1000 W. Maude Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA 94085, USA.

twitter

Twitter Inc., 795 Folsom St., Suite 600, San Francisco, CA 94107, USA

YouTube

Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland, a subsidiary of Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA

Google reCAPTCHA

On our website, we use Google reCAPTCHA to check and prevent interactions on our website through automated access, e.g. by so-called bots. This is a service of Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland, hereinafter referred to as “Google”.

This service enables Google to determine from which website a request is sent and from which IP address you use the so-called reCAPTCHA input box. In addition to your IP address, Google may collect further information that is necessary to offer and guarantee this service.

The legal basis is Art. 6 (1) lit. f) GDPR. Our legitimate interest lies in the security of our website and in the defence against unwanted, automated access in the form of spam or similar.

https://policies.google.com/privacy

Google provides further information on its general handling of your user data.

Vimeo

We use “Vimeo” on our website to display videos. This is a service of Vimeo, LLC, 555 West 18th Street, New York, New York 10011, USA, hereinafter referred to as “Vimeo”.

User data is partly processed on Vimeo's servers in the USA.

If you have given your consent to this processing, the legal basis is Art. 6 (1) lit. a GDPR. The legal basis may also be Art. 6 (1) lit. f GDPR. Our legitimate interest lies in improving the quality of our website.

If you visit a page of our website in which a video is embedded, a connection to Vimeo's servers in the USA is established in order to display the video. For technical reasons, it is necessary for Vimeo to process your IP address. In addition, the date and time of your visit to our website are also recorded.

If you are logged into Vimeo at the same time as you visit one of our pages in which a Vimeo video is embedded, Vimeo may assign the information collected in this way to your personal user account there. If you wish to prevent this, you must either log out of Vimeo before visiting our website or configure your Vimeo user account accordingly.

For the purposes of functionality and usage analysis, Vimeo uses the web analytics service Google Analytics. Google Analytics stores cookies on your device via your internet browser and sends information about the use of our pages in which a Vimeo video is embedded to Google. It cannot be ruled out that Google processes this information in the USA.

If you do not agree to this processing, you can prevent the installation of cookies by adjusting the settings of your internet browser accordingly. Details on this can be found above under “Cookies”.

The legal basis is Art. 6 (1) lit. f) GDPR. Our legitimate interest lies in improving the quality of our website and in Vimeo's legitimate interest in statistically analysing user behaviour for optimisation and marketing purposes.

http://vimeo.com/privacy

Vimeo provides further information on the collection and use of data and on your rights and options for protecting your privacy.

YouTube

We use YouTube on our website. This is a video portal of Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland, hereinafter referred to as “YouTube”.

We use YouTube with the “privacy-enhanced mode” function in order to show you videos. If you have given your consent to this processing, the legal basis is Art. 6 (1) lit. a GDPR. The legal basis may also be Art. 6 (1) lit. f GDPR. Our legitimate interest lies in improving the quality of our website. According to YouTube, the “privacy-enhanced mode” function means that the data described in more detail below is only transmitted to YouTube's server when you actually start a video.

Without this “privacy-enhanced mode”, a connection to YouTube's server in the USA is established as soon as you open one of our pages in which a YouTube video is embedded.

This connection is necessary in order to display the respective video on our website via your internet browser. In the course of this, YouTube will at least record and process your IP address, the date and time and the page you visited. In addition, a connection is established to Google's advertising network “DoubleClick”.

If you are logged into YouTube at the same time, YouTube will assign the connection information to your YouTube account. If you wish to prevent this, you must either log out of YouTube before visiting our website or adjust the corresponding settings in your YouTube user account.

For the purposes of functionality and the analysis of usage behaviour, YouTube permanently stores cookies on your device via your internet browser. If you do not agree to this processing, you can prevent the storage of cookies by adjusting the settings of your internet browser. Further information on this can be found above under “Cookies”.

Further information on the collection and use of data and on your rights and protection options in this regard is provided by Google at

https://policies.google.com/privacy

in its privacy notice.

ActiveCampaign newsletter

Newsletters are sent using the newsletter dispatch platform of the US provider ActiveCampaign, LLC, 150 N. Michigan Ave Suite 1230, Chicago, IL, USA.

The email addresses of our newsletter recipients, as well as their other data described in this notice, are stored on ActiveCampaign's servers in the USA. ActiveCampaign uses this information to send and evaluate the newsletters on our behalf. Furthermore, according to its own information, ActiveCampaign may use this data to optimise or improve its own services, e.g. for the technical optimisation of the dispatch and presentation of the newsletters or for economic purposes in order to determine which countries the recipients come from. However, ActiveCampaign does not use the data of our newsletter recipients to write to them itself and does not pass the data on to third parties.

ActiveCampaign's privacy policy can be found here. In addition, ActiveCampaign protects our newsletter subscribers through a comprehensive anti-spam policy.

If you register for our newsletter, the data requested during the registration process, such as your email address and, optionally, your name and address, will be processed by ActiveCampaign. In addition, your IP address and the date and time of your registration are stored. As part of the further registration process, your consent to receive the newsletter is obtained, its content is described specifically and reference is made to this privacy policy.

The newsletter subsequently sent via ActiveCampaign also contains a so-called tracking pixel, also known as a “web beacon”. With the help of this tracking pixel, we can evaluate whether and when you have read our newsletter and whether you have followed any further links contained in it. In addition to other technical data, such as the data of your computer system and your IP address, the data processed in this way is stored so that we can optimise our newsletter offering and respond to the wishes of our readers. The data is thus used to increase the quality and attractiveness of our newsletter offering.

The legal basis for sending the newsletter and for the analysis is Art. 6 (1) lit. a) GDPR.

DISQUS comment function

We use the comment service DISQUS, offered by DISQUS, Inc., 301 Howard St, Floor 3, San Francisco, California 94105, USA.

To use the DISQUS comment function, users can log in with their own DISQUS user account or an existing social media account (e.g. OpenID, Facebook, Twitter or Google). In this case, DISQUS obtains the users' login data from these platforms. It is also possible to use the DISQUS comment function as a guest, without creating or using a user account with DISQUS or one of the social media providers mentioned.

We merely embed DISQUS and its functions in our website, whereby we can influence the users' comments. However, users enter into a direct contractual relationship with DISQUS, within the framework of which DISQUS processes the users' comments and is the point of contact for any deletion of the users' data. In this respect, we refer to DISQUS's privacy policy: https://help.disqus.com/terms-and-policies/disqus-privacy-policy and also point out to users that they can assume that, in addition to the content of the comment, DISQUS also stores their IP address and the time of the comment, stores cookies on the users' computers and may use them to display advertising. Users can, however, object to the processing of their data for the purpose of displaying advertisements: https://disqus.com/data-sharing-settings.

Source: Sample privacy policy of the law firm Weiß & Partner