Data protection


First, the most important part

We take the protection of your privacy and personal data very seriously and comply with the strict statutory data protection regulations of the EU and the Federal Republic of Germany:

  • Personal data that has been captured or transmitted will under no circumstances be sold or forwarded to third parties without the express prior permission of those concerned, unless we are obliged to forward specific data based on the order of an authority or statute.
  • In our surveys, we collect data exclusively for market research purposes (not for distributing advertising or spam).
  • Answers to surveys are evaluated anonymously, making it impossible to trace the data back to an individual person. Area of validity/responsible entity This data protection declaration applies to the collection and use of personal data when using the internet presence at www.trend-research.de, including the service programs contained therein.

Responsibility for the collection and use of your data: Trend Research Gesellschaft für Markt- und Kommunikationsforschung mbH
Grasweg 6A
22299 Hamburg
info@trend-research.de

We are subject to statutory data protection rules, in particular the provisions of the Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), as well as the regulations of the Professional Association of German Market and Social Researchers (BVM).

We would like you to understand which data we collect, when we collect it and how we use it. Below you will find information on which personal data we collect, process and use, the purpose for which this takes place and how you can revoke the processing or use of your personal data.

What are your rights?

You have at all times the right to revoke your permission for our use, processing or forwarding of your data with future effect. In addition, you also have the right to information and correction as per the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

In this regard, it is sufficient to send a notice in a text form (e.g. email or letter) to the contact address specified here.

What data do we collect from you?

Below we provide details on which data we collect and for what purpose we use the data.

When using our website

The provider of the pages automatically collects and stores information in what is known as server log files, which your browser automatically transmits to us:

  • Browser type and browser version
  • Operating system used
  • Referrer URL
  • Hostname of the accessing computer
  • Clock time of the server request

For security reasons, we store this access data for a limited period of time. We reserve the right to check this data if we become aware of concrete indications of illegal use. To the extent that personal data is processed, it occurs according to Article 6 Para. 1 f) of the GDPR. No data is transmitted to third parties.

2. If you voluntarily make data available to us

a) Via the contact form on our website In addition to the above-mentioned data, we collect and process personal data if you voluntarily make this data available to us via a form on our website, particularly for:

  • Contacting us,
  • Enquiring about an offering

In this regard, we collect and process the following personal data:

  • Form of address (gender), where applicable
  • Name
  • Company
  • Email address
  • Telephone number, where applicable
  • Address, where applicable
  • Subject of the message
  • Message
  • Date and time of the enquiry

We process this data so that we can deal with your request and can respond to you. This data will not be disclosed to third parties without your consent.

By using one of our forms, you give consent to the processing of your data. The legal basis for processing is as per Article 6 Para. 1 a) or b) GDPR – depending on whether this is a business enquiry (e.g. contract initiation) or a general enquiry.

b) By a different means, e.g. if you contact us via email You can also contact us via a different means, e.g. by using the email addresses provided on our website or the telephone numbers or address listed there. Depending on the content of your message to us, we will collect and process personal data in these cases as under item a).

We process this data only so that we can deal with your request and can respond to you. This data will not be disclosed to third parties without your consent.

By using our contact data, you give consent to the processing of your data. The legal basis for processing is as per Article 6 Para. 1 a) or b) GDPR – depending on whether this is a business enquiry (e.g. contract initiation) or a general enquiry.

c) Duration of storage of this data In the absence of statutory retention periods to the contrary, we delete your data once the purpose for its storage has been fulfilled. This means that we delete your data as soon as it is no longer required for contacting you.

Naturally, you can at any time revoke your consent for us to store the data you have voluntarily made available to us. We will delete your data according to the relevant provisions in this case as well. Please note that we are not permitted to delete your data where statutory retention periods exist.

3. When you request our services

a) Customer data We collect and process personal data that is directly required for executing an order for products and services, i.e.:

  • to check customer identity
  • to create a customer login
  • to execute a service
  • to process payment

In addition, it is necessary to store and process the following information. This includes, in particular:

  • Name of the company
  • Address of the company
  • Language of the contact person
  • Form of address of the contact person
  • First name and surname of the contact person
  • Position and department of the contact person
  • Email address of the contact person
  • Telephone number of the contact person
  • Required extent of service
  • Date and time of the order
  • Message, where applicable

When you place an order, this data is collected with your consent as per Article 6 Para. 1 a) GDPR and processed as per Article 6 Para. 1 b) GDPR for further execution of your order. The data is not transmitted to third parties without your permission.

b) Duration of storage of this data
We delete your data once the purpose for its storage has been fulfilled. This means that we delete your data as soon as your order has been successfully executed and the data is no longer required for additional business contact.

You can, at any time, revoke your permission for us to store the data you have voluntarily made available to us at the time of ordering. We will delete your data according to the relevant provisions in this case as well. Please note that under some circumstances we may then not be able to process your order.

As a service provider, we are obliged to store certain data in accordance with statutory retention periods. Consequently, we can delete your data permanently only when there are no restrictions in terms of statutory retention periods. Where we are not permitted to delete your data due to statutory retention periods, we will block your data.

4. When you participate in a survey

a) Participant data
For our marketing surveys and opinion surveys, we use personal data for making contact with and inviting participants, for their authentication (verification of authenticity) and for incentivisation and providing rewards. It is possible that we also collect personal data in the survey, e.g. to give participants the chance to take part in a prize draw. Participation and supplying data is always voluntary.

We do not forward personal data without the permission of those concerned. We only forward data to our rewards partner companies after permission has been granted for the purpose of allocating rewards to participants.

Survey data is only evaluated and forwarded to third parties in a manner that makes it impossible to trace the details back to individually surveyed persons (anonymisation requirement). Personal data and survey data are strictly separated.

In this regard, all survey participants have an anonymous identifier. This identifier is used to allocate general data about survey responses to persons (e.g. complete participation in the survey, cancellation of the survey, “screening out” from the survey). This data is stored and used to compensate participants as well as for methodological evaluation of the survey. Pseudonymised individual details about the participant can be added to the survey data via the identifier (e.g. age, gender, region) without being able to trace the participant.

Where personal data is collected in a survey (see above), this data is separated from the survey data as quickly as possible and is pseudonymised and anonymised as soon as the purpose of the research project allows.

You can find additional data protection notes for participants in our “Trendfrage” survey panel on the associated portal site www.trendfrage.de

b) Duration of storage of this data
To the extent that no statutory retention periods exist, we delete participants’ data once the purpose for its storage has been fulfilled. This means that we delete the data on an unsolicited basis as soon as it is no longer required for making further contact with the participant and checking the survey data. Participants can also at any time revoke their permission for us to store the data they have voluntarily made available to us.

Where personal data is made available to us as part of commissioned data processing by a client, we delete this data in consultation with the client as soon as the purpose of the contract has been fulfilled and no statutory retention periods prevent this deletion.

How safe is my data?

Your personal data stored at Trend Research GmbH is protected by technical and organisational measures to effectively prevent loss or misuse by third parties. In particular, staff that process personal data are bound to data secrecy and to adhere to this requirement. To ensure long-term protection of your data, technical security measures are regularly reviewed and adapted to the latest technological standards, where necessary.

Our websites are hosted on servers within Germany. We do not forward personal data directly to our technical services providers. Since the service provider receives at least potential access to personal data, a so-called data processing agreement as per Article 28 GDPR exists. We have concluded a data protection contract with this service provider in accordance with the provisions of this regulation. This also ensures the protection of your personal data.

We refer to the fact that data transmission on the internet (e.g. when communicating via email) can be subject to security loopholes. Seamless protection of data from access by third parties is not possible. We accept no liability for the disclosure of data based on errors or unauthorised access by third parties.

Cookies

Cookies are small text files that are stored on your computer by your browser. Cookies do not cause any damage to your computer and do not contain viruses.

When you visit our website, so-called session cookies are set to support the functionality of our website. At the end of your visit, they are deleted.

You can view and delete the cookies stored on your computer, and you can control the general handling of cookies via your internet browser settings. You can find further information on this topic from the supplier or in the Help function of your internet browser. Disabling cookies may limit the functionality of this website.

Google Analytics

This website uses Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google Inc. (“Google”). Google Analytics uses items known ascookies. These are text files saved to your computer allowing an analysis of your use of the website. The information generated by the cookie on your use of the website (including your IP address) is transmitted to a Google server in the USA and saved there. Google will use this information to evaluate your use of the website, in order to compile reports for the website operator on website activities, and to provide additional services with regard to website use and internet use. Google may also transfer this information to third parties if required by law or as far as third parties process this data on behalf of Google. Google will never associate your IP address with other Google data.

You can prevent the installation of cookies by setting your browser software accordingly. We recommend that you not deactivate all cookies in your browser settings, as this can influence the functionality and use of websites.

In addition, you can prevent the collection and transmission of data generated by the cookie and related to your use of the website to Google, and the processing of this data by Google, by downloading and installing the browser plug-in available via the following link: http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=en.

You can find additional information on data usage for advertising purposes by Google, and options for settings and revocation on Google’s websites: www.google.com/intl/en/policies/privacy/partners/ (“How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services”). As an alternative to a browser add-on, or when using browsers on mobile phones, please click on the link http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=en to prevent data collection by Google Analytics on this website in the future. This stores an opt-out cookie on your device. If you delete your cookies, you will need to click on this link again.

Modifications to data protection guidelines

We reserve the right to modify security and data protection measures and to adapt this data protection declaration. This data protection declaration does not apply to external links that appear on the websites of third parties.

Whom can I contact if I have additional questions?

If you have additional questions on data protection, data collection or data processing, please contact our Data Protection Officer at datenschutz@trend-research.de.

Data Protection Officer
Johannes Hamecher
Tel.: +49 (0)172 3584121
Email: datenschutz@hamecher.de

Version: 25 April 2018