Privacy Policy

With the following privacy policy, we would like to inform you about the types of your personal data (hereinafter also referred to as "data") that we process, for what purposes and to what extent. This privacy policy applies to all processing of personal data carried out by us, both in the context of providing our services and, in particular, on our websites, in mobile applications and within external online presences, such as our social media profiles (hereinafter collectively referred to as "online offering").

The terms used are not gender-specific.

Last updated: 14 April 2026

• Preamble
• Data Controller
• Overview of Processing
• Applicable Legal Bases
• Security Measures
• Transfer of Personal Data
• General Information on Data Storage and Deletion
• Rights of Data Subjects
• Business Services
• Business Processes and Procedures
• Provision of Online Services and Web Hosting
• Use of Cookies
• Contact and Enquiry Management
• Amendments and Updates
• Definitions

KKT Ingenieure International GmbH
Niemandsfeld 21
60435 Frankfurt am Main

Authorised representatives: Managing Director: Lidomir Teklić

Email address: teklic.lidomir@kkt-ing.de

Legal notice: https://kkt-ing.de/impressum

The following overview summarises the types of data processed and the purposes of their processing and refers to the data subjects.

• Inventory data.
• Payment data.
• Contact data.
• Content data.
• Contract data.
• Usage data.
• Meta, communication and process data.
• Log data.

• Service recipients and clients.
• Employees.
• Prospective customers.
• Communication partners.
• Users.
• Business and contractual partners.
• Third parties.

• Provision of contractual services and fulfilment of contractual obligations.
• Communication.
• Security measures.
• Office and organisational procedures.
• Organisational and administrative procedures.
• Feedback.
• Provision of our online offering and user-friendliness.
• Information technology infrastructure.
• Financial and payment management.
• Business processes and business management procedures.

Applicable legal bases under the GDPR: The following provides an overview of the legal bases of the GDPR on the basis of which we process personal data. Please note that, in addition to the provisions of the GDPR, national data protection regulations may apply in your or our country of residence or domicile. Should more specific legal bases be relevant in individual cases, we will inform you of these in this privacy policy.

• Consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR) – The data subject has given consent to the processing of their personal data for one or more specific purposes.
• Performance of a contract and pre-contractual enquiries (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR) – 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.
• Legal obligation (Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR) – Processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which the controller is subject.
• Legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR) – Processing is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by the controller or by a third party, except where such interests are overridden by the interests or fundamental rights and freedoms of the data subject which require protection of personal data.

National data protection regulations in Germany: In addition to the data protection provisions of the GDPR, national data protection regulations apply in Germany. This includes in particular the Federal Data Protection Act (Bundesdatenschutzgesetz – BDSG). The BDSG contains specific provisions on the right of access, the right to erasure, the right to object, the processing of special categories of personal data, processing for other purposes and transmission as well as automated individual decision-making, including profiling. Furthermore, state data protection acts of the individual federal states may apply.

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures in accordance with the legal requirements, taking into account the state of the art, the costs of implementation and the nature, scope, circumstances and purposes of the processing as well as the different likelihood and severity of the risk to the rights and freedoms of natural persons, in order to ensure a level of protection appropriate to the risk.

The measures include, in particular, safeguarding the confidentiality, integrity and availability of data by controlling physical and electronic access to the data as well as access to, input, disclosure, assurance of availability of, and separation of data. Furthermore, we have established procedures to ensure the exercise of data subjects' rights, the deletion of data and responses to data threats. We also take the protection of personal data into account from the outset of the development or selection of hardware, software and procedures, in accordance with the principle of data protection by design and by default.

Securing online connections through TLS/SSL encryption technology (HTTPS): To protect the data of users transmitted via our online services from unauthorised access, we use TLS/SSL encryption technology. Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and Transport Layer Security (TLS) are the cornerstones of secure data transmission on the Internet. These technologies encrypt the information transmitted between the website or app and the user's browser (or between two servers), thereby protecting the data from unauthorised access. TLS, as the more advanced and secure version of SSL, ensures that all data transmissions meet the highest security standards. When a website is secured by an SSL/TLS certificate, this is indicated by the HTTPS prefix in the URL. Browsers also indicate this with a padlock icon or similar indicators to confirm that the connection is secure and encrypted.

In the course of our processing of personal data, it may happen that the data is transferred to or disclosed to other bodies, companies, legally independent organisational units or persons. Recipients of this data may include, for example, service providers entrusted with IT tasks, or providers of services and content that are embedded in a website. In such cases, we observe the legal requirements and, in particular, conclude appropriate contracts or agreements that serve to protect your data with the recipients of your data.

Data transfer within the organisation: We may transfer personal data to other departments or units within our organisation or grant them access thereto. Where the data transfer is for administrative purposes, it is based on our legitimate business and operational interests or takes place where it is necessary for the fulfilment of our contractual obligations, or where the consent of the data subject or a statutory permission exists.

We delete personal data that we process in accordance with the statutory provisions as soon as the underlying consent is revoked or no further legal grounds for processing exist. This applies to cases in which the original processing purpose ceases to apply or the data is no longer needed. Exceptions to this rule exist where statutory obligations or special interests require a longer retention or archiving of the data.

In particular, data that must be retained for commercial or tax law reasons or whose storage is necessary for legal prosecution or for the protection of the rights of other natural or legal persons must be archived accordingly.

Our privacy notices contain additional information on the retention and deletion of data that applies specifically to certain processing operations.

Where multiple indications of retention periods or deletion deadlines exist for a particular item of data, the longest period shall always prevail. Data that is no longer retained for its originally intended purpose but due to statutory requirements or other reasons is processed exclusively for the reasons justifying its retention.

Retention and deletion of data: The following general deadlines apply to retention and archiving under German law:

• 10 years – Retention period for books and records, annual financial statements, inventories, management reports, opening balance sheets as well as the working instructions and other organisational documents required for their understanding (§ 147(1) No. 1 in conjunction with (3) AO, § 14b(1) UStG, § 257(1) No. 1 in conjunction with (4) HGB).
• 8 years – Accounting vouchers, such as invoices and cost receipts (§ 147(1) No. 4 and 4a in conjunction with (3) sentence 1 AO and § 257(1) No. 4 in conjunction with (4) HGB).
• 6 years – Other business documents: received commercial or business letters, copies of dispatched commercial or business letters, other documents insofar as they are relevant for taxation, e.g. hourly wage slips, operating cost statements, insurance certificates, bank statements, salary statements for social security contributions (§ 147(1) No. 2, 3, 5 in conjunction with (3) AO, § 257(1) No. 2 and 3 in conjunction with (4) HGB).
• 3 years – Data required for the consideration of potential warranty and compensation claims or similar contractual claims and rights as well as for the processing of related enquiries, based on previous business experience and customary business practices, shall be stored for the duration of the regular statutory limitation period of three years (sections 195, 199 BGB).

Rights of data subjects under the GDPR: As a data subject, you are entitled to various rights under the GDPR, which arise in particular from Articles 15 to 21 GDPR:

• Right to object: You have the right to object, on grounds relating to your particular situation, at any time to the processing of personal data concerning you which is based on Art. 6(1)(e) or (f) GDPR; this also applies to profiling based on those provisions. Where personal data concerning you is processed for direct marketing purposes, you have the right to object at any time to the processing of personal data concerning you for such marketing; this also applies to profiling to the extent that it is related to such direct marketing.
• Right to withdraw consent: You have the right to withdraw consent at any time.
• Right of access: You have the right to obtain confirmation as to whether or not personal data concerning you is being processed and to access such data as well as further information and a copy of the data in accordance with the statutory provisions.
• Right to rectification: In accordance with the statutory provisions, you have the right to request the completion of data concerning you or the rectification of inaccurate data concerning you.
• Right to erasure and restriction of processing: In accordance with the statutory provisions, you have the right to demand that data concerning you be erased without undue delay, or alternatively to demand restriction of the processing of the data in accordance with the statutory provisions.
• Right to data portability: You have the right to receive the data concerning you, which you have provided to us, in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format in accordance with the statutory provisions, or to demand that it be transmitted to another controller.
• Complaint to a supervisory authority: Without prejudice to any other administrative or judicial remedy, you have the right 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, if you consider that the processing of personal data concerning you infringes the GDPR.

We process personal data of our contractual and business partners, e.g. customers, clients, prospective customers, suppliers and other cooperation partners (collectively "contractual partners"), for the initiation, performance and settlement of contractual and comparable legal relationships. This also includes pre-contractual measures carried out on request, as well as communication in connection with the respective contractual relationship.

The processing serves in particular the fulfilment of our contractual main and ancillary obligations. These include the provision of the agreed services, any updating and information obligations, the handling of warranty and other performance disruptions, the processing of revocations, terminations of continuing obligations, reversed transactions, refunds and the handling of other contract-related declarations and enquiries. This covers both one-off contracts and ongoing contractual relationships.

The data processed includes in particular master data such as name, address and, where applicable, company name, contact data such as email address and telephone number, contract and performance data such as the subject matter of the contract, contract term, order or reference number, usage and performance data, payment and billing data as well as communication content and histories. Where necessary, we also process data disclosed or transmitted to us in the course of the performance of an order.

Furthermore, we process the data to safeguard our rights and to fulfil legal obligations. This includes in particular commercial and tax law retention obligations, documentation obligations and, where applicable, duty to provide evidence and accountability obligations. In addition, processing takes place on the basis of our legitimate interests in proper business management, internal administration, risk management and IT security as well as in the protection of our business operations.

• Types of data processed: Inventory data (e.g. full name, residential address, contact information, customer number, etc.); Payment data (e.g. bank details, invoices, payment history); Contact data (e.g. postal and email addresses or telephone numbers); Content data (e.g. textual or visual messages and contributions as well as the information relating to them, such as details of authorship or time of creation); Contract data (e.g. subject matter of the contract, term, customer category). Meta, communication and process data (e.g. IP addresses, timestamps, identification numbers, persons involved).
• Data subjects: Service recipients and clients; Employees; Prospective customers; Communication partners; Business and contractual partners. Third parties.
• Purposes of processing and legitimate interests: Provision of contractual services and fulfilment of contractual obligations; Communication; Organisational and administrative procedures; Office and organisational procedures; Business processes and business management procedures (e.g. organisation, asset management, financial management, sales optimisation). Provision of our online offering and user-friendliness.
• Retention and deletion: Deletion in accordance with the information provided in the section "General Information on Data Storage and Deletion".
• Legal bases: Performance of a contract and pre-contractual enquiries (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR); Legal obligation (Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR). Legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).

Further information on processing operations, procedures and services:

• Engineering services: Processing of data in the context of providing engineering services, e.g. project management, design, site supervision and technical consulting; Legal bases: Performance of a contract and pre-contractual enquiries (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR).

Personal data of service recipients and clients – including customers, clients or, in specific cases, mandants, patients or business partners, as well as other third parties – are processed in the context of contractual and comparable legal relationships and pre-contractual measures such as the initiation of business relationships. This data processing supports and facilitates business processes in areas such as customer management, sales, payment transactions, accounting and project management.

The data collected is used to fulfil contractual obligations and to manage operational processes efficiently. This includes the processing of business transactions, management of customer relationships, optimisation of sales strategies, and ensuring of internal accounting and financial processes. In addition, the data supports the safeguarding of the rights of the controller and promotes administrative tasks as well as the organisation of the company.

Personal data may be disclosed to third parties where this is necessary for the fulfilment of the aforementioned purposes or legal obligations. After the expiry of statutory retention periods or when the purpose of processing ceases to apply, the data is deleted. This also includes data that must be stored for longer due to tax law and statutory duty to provide evidence obligations.

• Types of data processed: Inventory data (e.g. full name, residential address, contact information, customer number, etc.); Payment data (e.g. bank details, invoices, payment history); Contact data (e.g. postal and email addresses or telephone numbers); Content data (e.g. textual or visual messages and contributions as well as the information relating to them, such as details of authorship or time of creation); Contract data (e.g. subject matter of the contract, term, customer category); Log data (e.g. log files concerning logins or the retrieval of data or access times). Meta, communication and process data (e.g. IP addresses, timestamps, identification numbers, persons involved).
• Data subjects: Service recipients and clients; Employees; Prospective customers; Communication partners; Business and contractual partners. Third parties.
• Purposes of processing and legitimate interests: Provision of contractual services and fulfilment of contractual obligations; Office and organisational procedures; Organisational and administrative procedures. Business processes and business management procedures (e.g. organisation, asset management, financial management, sales optimisation).
• Retention and deletion: Deletion in accordance with the information provided in the section "General Information on Data Storage and Deletion".
• Legal bases: Performance of a contract and pre-contractual enquiries (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR); Legal obligation (Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR). Legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).

Further information on processing operations, procedures and services:

• Customer account: Contractual partners can create an account within our online offering (e.g. customer or user account, "customer account" for short). If registration of a customer account is required, contractual partners will be informed accordingly, as will of the information required for the registration. The customer accounts are not public and cannot be indexed by search engines. In the course of registration and subsequent logins and uses of the customer account, we store the IP addresses of the contractual partners along with the access times, in order to be able to prove the registration and to prevent any misuse of the customer account. If the customer account has been terminated, the data of the customer account will be deleted after the termination date, provided that it is no longer required for any other purpose or its retention is not legally required. It is the responsibility of the contractual partners to back up their data upon termination of the customer account; Legal bases: Performance of a contract and pre-contractual enquiries (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR).
• Project management and organisation: We process the data of our contractual partners and, where applicable, third parties within the scope of project management and organisational tasks, such as the planning, implementation and management of projects. These data are required for the efficient implementation and monitoring of projects, the allocation and management of resources, the communication with involved parties and the documentation of project progress and results. Data processed may include contact data, project-related information, schedules, progress reports, communication histories and any documents produced or received in the context of the project. Personal data is processed to the extent necessary for the performance of contractual obligations, the efficient implementation of projects and the safeguarding of legitimate interests in the proper management and documentation of projects; Legal bases: Performance of a contract and pre-contractual enquiries (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR).
• Financial and payment processes: We process financial and payment-related data of our contractual partners and interested parties in the context of contractual and comparable legal relationships, as well as related rights (e.g. in connection with refund or deposit claims). These include in particular data on payment transactions, bank details, invoices, payment records and comparable data required for the proper execution and documentation of financial processes. These processes may include transactions carried out via bank transfer, direct debit, credit card payment or other methods. Financial data processing is necessary to fulfil contractual and pre-contractual obligations, to fulfil legal obligations (e.g. tax retention obligations) and is also carried out on the basis of legitimate interests (e.g. in efficient financial management and debt collection). Financial data may be transmitted to banks, payment service providers, tax advisors or auditors where this is necessary for the purposes stated; Legal bases: Performance of a contract and pre-contractual enquiries (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR).

We process the data of users in order to be able to provide them with our online services. For this purpose, we process the IP address of the user, which is necessary to deliver the content and functions of our online services to the user's browser or terminal device.

• Types of data processed: Usage data (e.g. page views and dwell time, click paths, usage intensity and frequency, device types and operating systems used, interactions with content and functions); Meta, communication and process data (e.g. IP addresses, timestamps, identification numbers, persons involved). Log data (e.g. log files concerning logins or the retrieval of data or access times).
• Data subjects: Users (e.g. website visitors, users of online services).
• Purposes of processing and legitimate interests: Provision of our online offering and user-friendliness; Information technology infrastructure (operation and provision of information systems and technical devices (computers, servers, etc.)). Security measures.
• Retention and deletion: Deletion in accordance with the information provided in the section "General Information on Data Storage and Deletion".
• Legal bases: Legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).

Further information on processing operations, procedures and services:

• Provision of online offering on own/dedicated server hardware: For the provision of our online offering, we use server hardware operated by us as well as the associated storage space, computing capacity and software; Legal bases: Legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).
• Collection of access data and log files: Access to our online offering is logged in the form of so-called "server log files". Server log files may include the address and name of the web pages and files accessed, the date and time of access, the volume of data transferred, notification of successful retrieval, browser type and version, the user's operating system, referrer URL (the previously visited page) and, as a rule, IP addresses and the requesting provider. The server log files may be used, on the one hand, for security purposes, e.g. to prevent server overload (in particular in the event of abusive attacks, so-called DDoS attacks) and, on the other hand, to ensure the utilisation and stability of the servers; Legal bases: Legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). Deletion of data: Log file information is stored for a maximum period of 30 days and is then deleted or anonymised. Data whose further retention is necessary for evidentiary purposes is exempt from deletion until the respective incident has been finally resolved.

The term "cookies" refers to functions that store information on users' terminal devices and read information from them. Cookies can also be used for different purposes, such as for the functionality, security and convenience of online offerings as well as for the creation of analyses of visitor flows. We use cookies in accordance with the statutory provisions. To this end, we obtain the users' consent in advance where required. If consent is not necessary, we rely on our legitimate interests. This applies where the storage and reading of information is indispensable in order to provide explicitly requested content and functions. This includes, for example, the storage of settings and ensuring the functionality and security of our online offering. Consent may be revoked at any time. We clearly inform about its scope and which cookies are used.

Information on data protection legal bases: Whether we process personal data with the help of cookies depends on consent. If consent is given, it serves as the legal basis. Without consent, we rely on our legitimate interests, which are explained above in this section and in the context of the respective services and procedures.

Storage duration: With regard to storage duration, the following types of cookies are distinguished:

• Temporary cookies (also: session or session cookies): Temporary cookies are deleted at the latest after a user has left an online offering and closed their terminal device (e.g. browser or mobile application).
• Permanent cookies: Permanent cookies remain stored even after the terminal device is closed. For example, the login status can be saved and preferred content can be displayed directly when the user visits a website again. Likewise, user data collected using cookies can be used for audience measurement. Unless we provide users with explicit information about the type and storage duration of cookies (e.g. when obtaining consent), users should assume that cookies are permanent and that the storage period can be up to two years.

General information on revocation and objection (so-called "opt-out"): Users can revoke the consent they have given at any time and also object to the processing in accordance with the statutory provisions. To this end, users can, among other things, restrict the use of cookies in their browser settings (which may also limit the functionality of our online offering). An objection to the use of cookies for online marketing purposes can also be made via the websites https://optout.aboutads.info and https://www.youronlinechoices.com/.

• Types of data processed: Usage data (e.g. page views and dwell time, click paths, usage intensity and frequency, device types and operating systems used, interactions with content and functions). Meta, communication and process data (e.g. IP addresses, timestamps, identification numbers, persons involved).
• Data subjects: Users (e.g. website visitors, users of online services).
• Legal bases: Consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR). Legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).

Further information on processing operations, procedures and services:

• Processing of cookie data on the basis of consent: We use a cookie consent management procedure in which the consent of users to the use of cookies, or the processing and providers mentioned in the cookie consent management procedure, can be obtained and managed and revoked by the users. The declaration of consent is stored so that it does not have to be requested again and consent can be proven in accordance with the legal obligation. Storage can take place on the server side and/or in a cookie (so-called opt-in cookie, or with the help of comparable technologies) in order to be able to assign the consent to a user or their device. Subject to individual details of the providers of cookie management services, the following information applies: The duration of the storage of consent can be up to two years. A pseudonymous user identifier is created and stored with the time of consent, information on the scope of consent (e.g. which categories of cookies and/or service providers) as well as the browser, system and terminal device used; Legal bases: Consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR).

When contacting us (e.g. by post, contact form, email, telephone or via social media) and in the context of existing user and business relationships, the details of the enquiring persons are processed insofar as this is necessary to respond to the contact enquiries and any requested measures.

• Types of data processed: Contact data (e.g. postal and email addresses or telephone numbers); Content data (e.g. textual or visual messages and contributions as well as the information relating to them, such as details of authorship or time of creation). Meta, communication and process data (e.g. IP addresses, timestamps, identification numbers, persons involved).
• Data subjects: Communication partners.
• Purposes of processing and legitimate interests: Communication; Organisational and administrative procedures; Feedback (e.g. collecting feedback via online form). Provision of our online offering and user-friendliness.
• Retention and deletion: Deletion in accordance with the information provided in the section "General Information on Data Storage and Deletion".
• Legal bases: Legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). Performance of a contract and pre-contractual enquiries (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR).

Further information on processing operations, procedures and services:

• Contact form: When contacting us via our contact form, by email or other communication channels, we process the personal data transmitted to us for the purpose of responding to and handling the respective enquiry. This typically includes details such as name, contact information and, where applicable, further information disclosed to us and required for appropriate handling. We use these data exclusively for the purpose stated. Information that refers to other matters or third parties is treated confidentially. After the enquiry has been fully answered and there is no ongoing contractual relationship, the data is deleted in accordance with the statutory retention obligations; Legal bases: Performance of a contract and pre-contractual enquiries (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR); Legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).

We ask you to regularly inform yourself about the content of our privacy policy. We adapt the privacy policy as soon as the changes in the data processing carried out by us make this necessary. We will inform you as soon as the changes require an act of cooperation on your part (e.g. consent) or other individual notification.

Where we provide addresses and contact information of companies and organisations in this privacy policy, please note that the addresses may change over time and please check the information before contacting us.

In this section you will find an overview of the terms used in this privacy policy. Where the terms are legally defined, their legal definitions shall apply. The following explanations are primarily intended to aid understanding.

• Employees: Employees are persons who are in an employment relationship, whether as staff, employees or in similar positions. An employment relationship is a legal relationship between an employer and an employee established by an employment contract or agreement. It includes the employer's obligation to pay remuneration to the employee while the employee provides their work. The employment relationship encompasses various phases, including the commencement where the employment contract is concluded, the performance where the employee carries out their work, and the termination when the employment relationship ends, whether by notice, termination agreement or otherwise. Employee data is all information relating to these persons in the context of their employment. This includes aspects such as personal identification data, identification numbers, salary and bank data, working hours, holiday entitlements, health data and performance evaluations.
• Inventory data: Inventory data encompasses essential information necessary for the identification and management of contractual partners, user accounts, profiles and similar assignments. This data may include, among other things, personal and demographic details such as names, contact information (addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses), dates of birth and specific identifiers (user IDs). Inventory data forms the basis for any formal interaction between persons and services, facilities, or systems, and enables the assignment and authentication of users.
• Content data: Content data includes information generated in the course of creating, editing and publishing content of any kind. This category of data may include texts, images, videos, audio files and other multimedia content published or transmitted across various platforms and media. Content data is not limited to the content itself but also includes metadata that provides information about the content itself, such as tags, descriptions, author information and publication dates.
• Contact data: Contact data is essential information that enables communication with persons or organisations. It includes, among other things, telephone numbers, postal addresses and email addresses, as well as means of communication such as social media handles and instant messaging identifiers.
• Contract data: Contract data is specific information related to the establishment, execution and termination of contractual relationships. It includes details such as the subject matter of the contract, contractual terms, agreed prices or fees, payment terms, notice periods, renewal options and other contractual terms and conditions. It may also include personal data of the contractual partners insofar as they are necessary for the contract.
• Log data: Log data refers to information about events or activities that have been recorded in a system or network. Log data typically includes information such as timestamps, IP addresses, user actions, error messages and other details that can be used for diagnostic purposes, to ensure security, or to analyse the performance of a system or service. In most cases, log data is collected in the form of log entries or log files that provide a chronological record of various events.
• Meta, communication and process data: Meta, communication and process data are categories that contain information about the way data is processed, transmitted and managed. Meta data, also known as data about data, includes information that describes the context, origin and structure of other data. It can include, among other things, information about file size, creation date, author of a document and modification history. Communication data describes the exchange of information between different parties via various channels. This can include email traffic, call logs, messages in social networks, chat histories and other forms of communicative interactions. Process data describes the processes and procedures within systems or organisations. This may include workflow documentation, transaction logs, activity logs and other records that capture the organisation and execution of processes. In the data protection context, these data categories help to understand and manage how personal data is processed, transmitted and stored to ensure data protection and security.
• Payment data: Payment data encompasses all information required for the execution of payment transactions and financial management. This includes, among other things, bank account numbers, credit card numbers, transaction amounts, payment dates, billing information as well as other financial details. Payment data may also include information about the payment status, chargebacks, authorisations and information related to invoicing. It is crucial for the execution of electronic commerce, online banking, accounting and financial management and is used by financial institutions, payment service providers and commercial enterprises.
• Usage data: Usage data refers to information that captures how users interact with digital products, services, or platforms. This data includes a wide range of information that shows how users use applications, which functions they prefer, how long they spend on certain pages, and via which paths they navigate through an application. Usage data may also include the frequency of use, timestamps of activities, IP addresses, device information, and location data. It is particularly valuable for analysing user behaviour, optimising user experiences, personalising content, and improving products and services. Furthermore, usage data plays a crucial role in identifying trends, preferences and potential problem areas within digital offerings.
• Personal data: "Personal data" means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (hereinafter "data subject"); an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person.
• Log data: Log data describes data that is generated in a computer system based on an event. These usually include a timestamp, an IP address, access request details, or the transaction performed. Logging serves primarily for security and debugging purposes as well as for ensuring the traceability of processes.
• Profiles with user-related information: The processing of "profiles with user-related information", or "profiles" for short, includes any type of automated processing of personal data that consists of using such personal data to analyse, evaluate or predict certain personal aspects relating to a natural person (depending on the type of profiling, this may include different information concerning demographics, behaviour and interests, such as interaction with websites and their content, etc.) (e.g. interests in certain content or products, click behaviour on a website or location). Cookies and web beacons are often used for profiling purposes.
• Controller: "Controller" 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.
• Processing: "Processing" means any operation or set of operations which is performed on personal data or on sets of personal data, whether or not by automated means. The term is broad and covers practically every handling of data, whether collecting, evaluating, storing, transmitting or deleting.