Privacy policy

This is a translation for your convenience. The German version is legally binding.

1. Introduction

This privacy policy (as of May 2026, supplemented October 2026) gives you a transparent overview of which personal data we, as controller, and the processors we use process and for which purposes.

We are subject to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the applicable German data protection provisions, in particular the Telecommunications Digital Services Data Protection Act (TDDDG). Supplementary privacy notices may apply to individual activities, services or communication channels; we refer to them separately where relevant.

2. Controller

Dennis Schmidt
Hertzstr. 16
48653 Coesfeld, Germany
Email: info@itk-schmidt.de

Where other controllers are responsible for processing in individual cases, we point this out explicitly.

3. Scope

This privacy policy applies to all our online presences, including this website with all subpages and our LinkedIn profile.

4. Definitions and legal bases

Personal data is any data that can be used to identify you directly or indirectly, in particular information you voluntarily provide when contacting us by post, email, contact form or phone.

We process personal data only where at least one of the following legal bases applies: Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR (consent; where applicable together with Section 25(1) TDDDG – consent can be withdrawn at any time with effect for the future), Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR (contract or pre-contractual measures), Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR (legal obligation), Art. 6(1)(d) GDPR (vital interests), Art. 6(1)(e) GDPR (public interest) and Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR (legitimate interests, in particular a secure, stable and user-friendly website, efficient communication, information security, protection against misuse and the enforcement of legal claims, unless your interests or fundamental rights prevail).

5. Type, scope, purpose and duration of processing

The personal data we process may include master and contact data, browser and device data, content data, usage data, location data, billing and payment data as well as meta and communication data. We process personal data only as long as necessary for the respective purpose or as required by statutory retention obligations; afterwards it is deleted or anonymised. We generally process personal data ourselves and otherwise use external service providers in compliance with data protection law. We also process personal data obtained from the data subjects, from third parties or from publicly available sources where legally permitted.

6. Your rights

You have the right of access (Art. 15 GDPR), rectification (Art. 16), erasure (Art. 17), restriction of processing (Art. 18), data portability (Art. 20), the right to object to processing based on legitimate interests and, without giving reasons, to direct marketing (Art. 21), and the right to withdraw consent at any time with effect for the future (Art. 7(3)). You may lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority, usually the one at your place of residence, work or our registered office (Art. 77).

7. Transfers to third countries

Some providers we use are based outside the EU/EEA. In third countries, a level of data protection comparable to the EU cannot always be guaranteed. Where there is no adequacy decision (such as the EU-US Data Privacy Framework for certified US companies), we ensure appropriate safeguards, in particular EU standard contractual clauses (Art. 44 et seq. GDPR). Wherever possible, we choose providers that process data within the EU.

8. Security of processing

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures. This website uses TLS encryption (HTTPS). Please note that data transmission over the internet (e.g. email) may have security gaps; complete protection against access by third parties is not technically possible.

9. No cookies, no analytics or tracking

This website sets no cookies and stores no information on your device; no information is read from your device beyond what is strictly necessary to provide the website (Section 25(2) no. 2 TDDDG). We use no analytics, tracking or marketing services and embed no third-party content that loads when you visit. A consent banner is therefore not required.

10. Hosting

The website is hosted by IONOS SE, Elgendorfer Str. 57, 56410 Montabaur, Germany. When you visit, IONOS records log files, in particular the IP address of your device, date and time of access, the requested file or page, access status, amount of data transferred, referrer URL, browser type, version and language, operating system and host name of the accessing computer. Processing is based on Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR (legitimate interest in a stable and secure website). Details: https://www.ionos.de/datenschutzerklaerung. We have concluded a data processing agreement with IONOS.

11. Fonts

We use the font “Titillium Web” (SIL Open Font License). The font files are stored on our own web server at IONOS and loaded from there. No connection is made to servers of Google, Adobe or other font providers, and no data is transferred to third parties.

12. Contact by email, phone or contact form

If you contact us, we store and process your details (e.g. name, email address, phone number and your request) to handle your enquiry and any follow-up questions. We do not pass this data on without your consent. Legal bases are Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR, Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR or, where consent was requested, Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR. We store your data until the purpose no longer applies, you request deletion or you withdraw your consent; statutory retention periods (e.g. for business correspondence) remain unaffected.

How the contact form works

Form entries are sent by our web server at IONOS exclusively by email to our mailbox and are not stored on the web server. The email provider is IONOS SE. To protect against spam we use an invisible check field and a time check; no third-party services (e.g. captcha providers) are used and no additional data is collected.

Free website check

If you request a website check, we process your company, website, email address and, where provided, contact person and note. We visit the website from the outside and send you the results and a matching offer by email. The legal basis is your express consent given via the checkbox (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR; Section 7(2) German Unfair Competition Act). You can withdraw it at any time with effect for the future by emailing info@itk-schmidt.de. We keep the time and content of your consent as proof. We do not send marketing newsletters. Without further contact, we delete the data no later than 12 months after the check.

13. Microsoft Teams

We use Microsoft Teams for video conferences and online meetings. Provider: Microsoft Ireland Operations Ltd, One Microsoft Place, South County Business Park, Leopardstown, Dublin 18, D18 P521, Ireland. Personal data processed includes personal details (e.g. name, email), communication data (e.g. chat content), technical connection data (e.g. IP address, device and metadata) and, if used, video and audio. Legal bases: Art. 6(1)(b) or (f) GDPR, or Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR where consent is required. Data may be transferred to the USA; Microsoft Corporation is certified under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework. Details: https://privacy.microsoft.com/en-gb/privacystatement. We have concluded a data processing agreement with Microsoft.

14. LinkedIn

We maintain a profile on LinkedIn (LinkedIn Ireland Unlimited Company, Wilton Plaza, Wilton Place, Dublin 2, Ireland) for information, public relations and communication (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). LinkedIn processes user data under its own responsibility. For Page Insights we are joint controllers with LinkedIn (Art. 26 GDPR): https://legal.linkedin.com/pages-joint-controller-addendum. Data may be transferred to the USA; LinkedIn Corporation is certified under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework. Details: https://www.linkedin.com/legal/privacy-policy

15. Links to other providers and image credits

This website contains plain links to CopeCart (shop), LinkedIn, TeamViewer and Pexels (image credit). Only when you click such a link do you leave our website; from then on the privacy policy of the respective provider applies. No data is transferred to these providers beforehand. The hotel lobby photo is from Pexels (photographer: Michael Pointner); it is stored on our own web server and not loaded from Pexels.

We may amend and supplement this privacy policy at any time and will inform you in an appropriate manner, in particular by publishing the current version on our website.