Privacy Policy

[The following text has been translated from the original german version using DeepL.com (free version).]

This data protection declaration provides information about the processing of personal data in connection with our activities and operations, including our website under the domain name monikaschaffner.biz. In particular, we provide information about why, how, and where we process personal data. We also provide information about the rights of individuals whose data we process.
We may publish additional privacy policies or other information on data protection for individual or additional activities and operations.
We are subject to Swiss law and any applicable foreign law, in particular that of the European Union (EU) with the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

In its decision of 26 July 2000, the European Commission recognized that Swiss data protection law ensures adequate data protection. In its report of January 15, 2024, the European Commission confirmed this adequacy decision.

1. Contact Addresses

Responsibility for the processing of personal data:

Monika Schaffner
Guntenweg 20
3656 Aeschlen ob Gunten

connect@monikaschaffner.biz

In individual cases, third parties may be responsible for processing personal data, or there may be joint responsibility with third parties. We will be happy to provide data subjects with information about the respective responsibility upon request.

2. Terms and legal bases

2.1 Terms

Data subject: Natural person whose personal data we process.

Personal data: All information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person.

Particularly sensitive personal data: Data relating to trade union, political, religious, or philosophical views and activities, data relating to health, privacy, or membership of an ethnic group or race, genetic data, biometric data that uniquely identifies a natural person, data on criminal and administrative sanctions or prosecutions, and data on social assistance measures.

Processing: Any handling of personal data, regardless of the means and procedures used, for example, querying, comparing, adapting, archiving, storing, reading, disclosing, obtaining, recording, collecting, deleting, disclosing, arranging, organizing, storing, modifying, distributing, linking, destroying, and using personal data.

European Economic Area (EEA): Member States of the European Union (EU) as well as the Principality of Liechtenstein, Iceland and Norway.

2.2 Legal basis

We process personal data in accordance with Swiss data protection law, in particular the Federal Act on Data Protection (Data Protection Act, DPA) and the Ordinance on Data Protection (Data Protection Ordinance, DPO).

If and insofar as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is applicable, we process personal data in accordance with at least one of the following legal bases:

  • Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR for the necessary processing of personal data for the performance of a contract with the data subject and for the implementation of pre-contractual measures.
  • Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR for the necessary processing of personal data in order to protect the legitimate interests of us or third parties, unless the fundamental freedoms and rights and interests of the data subject prevail. Legitimate interests are, in particular, our interest in being able to carry out our activities and operations in a permanent, user-friendly, secure and reliable manner and to communicate about them, to ensure information security, to protect against misuse, to enforce our own legal claims and to comply with Swiss law.
  • Art. 6 para. 1 lit. c GDPR for the necessary processing of personal data to fulfill a legal obligation to which we are subject under any applicable law of member states in the European Economic Area (EEA).
  • Art. 6 para. 1 lit. e GDPR for the processing of personal data necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest.
  • Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR for the processing of personal data with the consent of the data subject.
  • Art. 6 para. 1 lit. d GDPR for the necessary processing of personal data in order to protect the vital interests of the data subject or another natural person.
  • Art. 9 para. 2 ff. GDPR for the processing of special categories of personal data, in particular with the consent of the data subjects.

The European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) refers to the processing of personal data as the processing of personal data and the processing of particularly sensitive personal data as the processing of special categories of personal data (Art. 9 GDPR)

3. Nature, scope and purpose

We process the personal data that is necessary to enable us to carry out our activities and operations in a sustainable, people-friendly, secure, and reliable manner. The personal data processed may fall into the categories of browser and device data, content data, communication data, metadata, usage data, master data including inventory and contact data, location data, transaction data, contract data, and payment data. The personal data may also constitute particularly sensitive personal data.

We also process personal data that we receive from third parties, obtain from publicly available sources, or collect in the course of our activities and operations, to the extent that such processing is permissible.

We process personal data, where necessary, with the consent of the persons concerned. In many cases, we may process personal data without consent, for example to comply with legal obligations or to protect overriding interests. We may also seek the consent of data subjects where their consent is not required.

We process personal data for the period of time necessary for the respective purpose. We anonymize or delete personal data, in particular in accordance with statutory retention and limitation periods

4. Automation and artificial intelligence (AI)

We may process personal data automatically or use artificial intelligence to process personal data.

We may use profiling to automatically evaluate certain personal aspects relating to data subjects. Profiling is used, for example, to analyze or predict interests, behaviors, or personal preferences.

We will provide information in individual cases about decisions that are based solely on automated processing of personal data and that have legal consequences for the data subjects or significantly affect them (automated individual decisions)..

5. Disclosure of personal data

We may disclose personal data to third parties, have it processed by third parties, or process it jointly with third parties. Such third parties may, for example, be specialized providers whose services we use.

Within the scope of our activities and operations, we may disclose personal data in particular to banks and other financial service providers, authorities, educational and research institutions, consultants and lawyers, interest groups, IT service providers, cooperation partners, credit and business information agencies, logistics and shipping companies, marketing and advertising agencies, media, parent, sister, and subsidiary companies, organizations and associations, social institutions, telecommunications companies, insurance companies, and payment service providers

6. Communication

We process personal data in order to communicate with individuals, authorities, organizations, and companies. In particular, we process data that a data subject provides us with when contacting us, for example by letter or email. We may store such data in an address book or using similar tools.

Third parties who provide us with data about other individuals are obliged to ensure the data protection of these individuals themselves. In particular, they must ensure that such data is accurate and may be transmitted.

7. Data security

We take appropriate technical and organizational measures to ensure data security commensurate with the respective risk. With our measures, we ensure in particular the confidentiality, availability, traceability, and integrity of the processed personal data, without, however, being able to guarantee absolute data security.

Access to our website and our other online presence takes place using transport encryption (SSL / TLS, in particular with the Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure, abgekürzt HTTPS). Most browsers warn against visiting websites without transport encryption.

Like all digital communication, our digital communication is subject to mass surveillance without cause or suspicion by security authorities in Switzerland, the rest of Europe, the United States of America (USA), and other countries. We cannot directly influence the processing of personal data by secret services, police stations, and other security authorities. Nor can we rule out the possibility that a data subject may be subject to targeted surveillance.

8. Personal data abroad

We generally process personal data in Switzerland and the European Economic Area (EEA). However, we may also export or transfer personal data to other countries, in particular for processing or to have it processed there..

We may export personal data to all countries and territories in the world and elsewhere in the universe, provided that the local law guarantees adequate data protection in accordance with the decision of the Swiss Federal Council and – if and insofar as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is applicable – also in accordance with the decision of the European Commission.

We may transfer personal data to countries whose laws do not guarantee adequate data protection, provided that data protection is guaranteed for other reasons, in particular on the basis of standard data protection clauses or other appropriate safeguards. In exceptional cases, we may export personal data to countries without adequate or appropriate data protection if the specific data protection requirements are met, for example, the express consent of the data subjects or a direct connection with the conclusion or execution of a contract. Upon request, we will gladly provide data subjects with information about any guarantees or provide a copy of any guarantees.

9. Rights of data subjects

9.1 Claims under data protection law

We grant data subjects all rights in accordance with applicable law. Data subjects have the following rights in particular:

  • Information: Data subjects may request information as to whether we process personal data about them and, if so, what personal data is involved. Data subjects shall also receive the information necessary to assert their data protection rights and to ensure transparency. This includes the personal data processed as such, but also, among other things, information on the purpose of processing, the duration of storage, any disclosure or export of data to other countries, and the origin of the personal data
  • Rectification and restriction: Data subjects can rectify inaccurate personal data, complete incomplete data, and have the processing of their data restricted.
  • Opportunity to express one’s own point of view and human review: Data subjects may express their own point of view and request a review by a human being in the case of decisions that are based exclusively on automated processing of personal data and have legal consequences for them or significantly affect them (automated individual decisions).
  • Deletion and objection: Data subjects may have personal data deleted (“right to be forgotten”) and object to the processing of their data with effect for the future.
  • Data disclosure and data transfer: Data subjects may request the disclosure of personal data or the transfer of their data to another controller.

We may postpone, restrict, or refuse the exercise of data subjects’ rights within the legally permissible scope. We may inform data subjects of any conditions that must be met in order to exercise their data protection rights. For example, we may refuse to provide information in whole or in part on the grounds of confidentiality obligations, overriding interests, or the protection of other persons. We may also refuse to delete personal data in whole or in part, in particular on the grounds of statutory retention obligations.

In exceptional cases, we may charge a fee for exercising these rights. We will inform the persons concerned in advance of any costs.

We are obliged to take appropriate measures to identify persons who request information or assert other rights. The persons concerned are obliged to cooperate.

9.2 Legal protection

Affected persons have the right to enforce their data protection claims through legal action or to file a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority.

The data protection supervisory authority for private controllers and federal bodies in Switzerland is the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC).

European data protection supervisory authorities are organized as members of the European Data Protection Board (EDPB). In some member states of the European Economic Area (EEA), the data protection supervisory authorities are federally structured, particularly in Germany.

10. Use of the Website

10.1 Cookies

We may use cookies. Cookies—both our own cookies (first-party cookies) and cookies from third parties whose services we use (third-party cookies)—are data that are stored in the browser. Such stored data are not necessarily limited to traditional cookies in text form.

Cookies can be stored in the browser temporarily as “session cookies” or for a specific period of time as so-called permanent cookies. “Session cookies” are automatically deleted when the browser is closed. Permanent cookies have a specific storage period. Cookies enable us, in particular, to recognize a browser when it next visits our website and thus, for example, to measure the reach of our website. Permanent cookies can also be used for online marketing, for example.

Cookies can be completely or partially deactivated, restricted, or deleted at any time in the browser settings. The browser settings often also allow for automated deletion and other management of cookies. Without cookies, our website may no longer be fully available. We actively request your express consent to the use of cookies, at least to the extent required by applicable law.

10.2 Logging

We can log at least the following information for each access to our website and our other digital presence, provided that this information is transmitted to our digital infrastructure during such access: Date and time, including time zone, IP-address, access status (HTTP status code), operating system including user interface and version, browser including language and version, individual subpages of our website accessed including the amount of data transferred, last website accessed in the same browser window (referrer).

We log such information, which may also constitute personal data, in log files. This information is necessary in order to provide our digital presence in a permanent, user-friendly, and reliable manner. The information is also necessary to ensure data security—including by third parties or with the help of third parties.

10.3 Tracking pixels

We may incorporate tracking pixels into our digital presence. Tracking pixels are also known as web beacons. Tracking pixels—including those from third parties whose services we use—are usually small, invisible images or scripts written in JavaScript that are automatically retrieved when you access our digital presence. Tracking pixels can be used to collect at least the same information as is recorded in log files.

10.4 Comments

We enable you to post comments on our website. In this context, we process in particular the information that a commenter transmits to us, but also the IP-address used and the date and time. This information is necessary to enable the publication of comments and to ensure protection against misuse, which is in our overriding legitimate interest.

11. Notifications and messages

11.1 Measuring success and reach

Notifications and messages may contain web links or tracking pixels that record whether an individual message has been opened and which web links have been clicked on. Such web links and tracking pixels may also record the use of notifications and messages on a personal basis. We require this statistical recording of usage for success and reach measurement in order to be able to send notifications and communications effectively and in a user-friendly manner, as well as permanently, securely, and reliably, based on the needs and reading habits of the recipients.

11.2 Consent and objection

You must always consent to the use of your email address and other contact addresses, unless the use is permitted for other legal reasons. We may use the “double opt-in” procedure to obtain double-confirmed consent. In this case, you will receive a message with instructions for double confirmation. We may log the consents obtained, including IP address and time stamp, for evidence and security reasons.

You can object to receiving notifications and communications such as newsletters at any time. By objecting, you can also object to the statistical recording of usage for the purpose of measuring success and reach. This does not apply to necessary notifications and communications in connection with our activities and operations.

11.3 Service providers for notifications and communications

We send notifications and communications with the help of specialized service providers.

In particular, we use:

12. Social Media

We are present on social media platforms and other online platforms in order to communicate with interested parties and provide information about our activities and operations. In connection with such platforms, personal data may also be processed outside Switzerland and the European Economic Area (EEA).

The general terms and conditions (GTC) and terms of use, as well as privacy policies and other provisions of the individual operators of such platforms, also apply in each case. These provisions provide information in particular about the rights of data subjects directly vis-à-vis the respective platform, including, for example, the right to information.

13. Services of third parties

We use the services of specialized third parties to ensure that our activities and operations are carried out in a sustainable, people-friendly, secure, and reliable manner. These services enable us, among other things, to embed functions and content in our website. When embedding such content, the services used collect the IP addresses of users, at least temporarily, for technical reasons.

For necessary security-related, statistical, and technical purposes, third parties whose services we use may process data related to our activities and operations in an aggregated, anonymized, or pseudonymized form. This includes, for example, performance or usage data in order to be able to offer the respective service.

In particular, we use:

13.1 Digital infrastructure

We use the services of specialized third parties in order to be able to utilize the digital infrastructure required in connection with our activities and operations. These include, for example, hosting and storage services from selected providers.

We use in particular:

13.2 Audio and video conferencing

We use specialized audio and video conferencing services to communicate online. This allows us to hold virtual meetings or conduct online classes and webinars, for example. Participation in audio and video conferences is also subject to the legal texts of the individual services, such as privacy policies and terms of use.

Depending on your life situation, we recommend muting your microphone by default when participating in audio or video conferences, as well as blurring the background or displaying a virtual background.

We use in particular:

13.3 Online-Collaboration

We use third-party services to enable online collaboration. In addition to this privacy policy, any directly visible terms and conditions of the services used, such as terms of use or privacy policies, also apply.

We use in particular:

14. Extensions for the Website

We use extensions for our website to enable additional functions. We may use selected services from suitable providers or use such extensions on our own digital infrastructure.

We use in particular:

15. Final notes on the privacy policy

We may update this privacy policy at any time. We will inform you of any updates in an appropriate manner, in particular by publishing the current privacy policy on our website.