This privacy policy sets out how we process and protect your personal data.
§ 1 Information about the Collection of Personal Data
(1) In the following we inform you about the collection of personal data when using our website. Personal data is all data that can be related to you personally, e.g., name, address, e-mail addresses, user behavior.
(2) Benchmark Services, Dr. Alexandra Partale, Zur Mark 24, D-65719 Hofheim a. Ts. E-Mail: alexandra.partale@benchmark-services.de (see our Imprint) is responsible in accordance with Art. 4 (7) of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
(3) When you contact us by e-mail or via a contact form, the data you provide (your e-mail address, your name, and your telephone number) will be stored by us in order to answer your questions. We delete the data arising in this context after the storage is no longer necessary, or restrict the processing if there are statutory storage obligations. The legal basis is Art. 6 (1) lit. b GDPR.
(4) If we use commissioned service providers for individual functions of our offer or would like to use your data for advertising purposes, we will inform you in detail below about the respective processes. We also state the specified criteria for the storage period.
§ 2 Your Rights
(1) You have the following rights towards us with regard to your personal data:
(2) You also have the right to complain to a data protection supervisory authority about the processing of your personal data by us.
§ 3 Collection of Personal Data when Visiting our Website
(1) If you only use the website for informational purposes, i.e. if you do not register or otherwise provide us with information, we only collect the personal data that your browser transmits to our server. If you want to view our website, we collect the following data, which is technically necessary for us to display our website to you and to ensure stability and security (legal basis is Art. 6 (1) lit. f GDPR):
(2) In addition to the aforementioned data, cookies are stored on your computer when you use our website. Cookies are small text files that are stored on your hard drive and assigned to the browser you are using and through which certain information flows to the place that sets the cookie (here from us). Cookies cannot run programs or transmit viruses to your computer. They serve to make the Internet offer more user-friendly and effective overall.
(3) Use of cookies:
a) This website uses only its own cookies (first-party cookies). We do not use any analytics, tracking, or advertising cookies, we do not create user profiles, and we do not embed any third-party content: fonts, scripts, images, and videos are delivered exclusively from our own server. Therefore, your browser does not establish a connection to third parties when you access these pages, and no data is transferred to external providers or to third countries through the use of cookies. This does not affect the language and translation functions that you activate yourself; for these, we use a data processor in accordance with Section 5.
b) Technically necessary storage. These cookies are required to provide the website you have requested; they do not require consent according to Section 25 Paragraph 2 No. 2 of the German Telemedia Act (TDDDG). The legal basis for the associated processing is Article 6 Paragraph 1 Sentence 1 Letter f of the GDPR.:
session – Session identifier: assigns your answers and survey progress to your session, protects forms against cross-site request forgery, and maintains your login in the customer area. Duration: up to 12 months. The content is signed and will not be used for other purposes.
consent – saves your selection in the cookie settings so that we respect it and don't ask you again. Duration: 12 months.
c) Convenience features. This data is only stored if you consent. The legal basis is Section 25 Paragraph 1 of the German Telemedia Act (TDDDG) in conjunction with Article 6 Paragraph 1 Sentence 1 Letter a of the GDPR.:
color_scheme – your chosen color scheme (light or dark). Duration: 12 months.
language – the language you have chosen. Duration: 12 months.
a11y – Your settings in the "Accessibility" window, such as font size, line spacing, contrast, font type, or text-to-speech function. Duration: 12 months.
vgm-hq-video – stores in your browser's local storage which video quality has already been loaded for your screen, so the homepage doesn't reload it. Storage duration: until you clear your browser's storage or withdraw your consent.
d) If you do not agree to the convenience features, the website will remain fully functional. Color scheme, language, and accessibility settings will then only apply to the current session, and any previously saved convenience settings will be deleted.
e) Your consent is voluntary and can be revoked at any time with effect for the future. You can view and change your selection here at any time.:
f) Regardless, you can configure your browser settings according to your preferences, reject cookies, and delete stored cookies at any time in your browser's security settings. Please note that without technically necessary cookies, you may not be able to use all the functions of this website.
§ 4 Hosting and email delivery
(1) In some cases, we use external service providers to process your data. These have been carefully selected and commissioned by us, are bound by our instructions and are regularly checked.
(2) This website and its associated database are hosted in an Amazon Web Services data center in Frankfurt am Main (region eu-central-1). Operation therefore takes place entirely within the European Union and is directly subject to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Your survey responses and the server log data mentioned in Section 3 are processed and stored exclusively there; no transfer to a third country takes place. This does not affect the processing described in Section 5. We have a data processing agreement with the hosting provider in accordance with Article 28 GDPR. The legal basis for this is our legitimate interest in the secure and reliable operation of this website pursuant to Article 6(1)(f) GDPR.
(3) For sending emails – such as your message from the contact form, our reply to it, and system messages like password reset notifications – we use the mail server of STRATO AG, Pascalstrasse 10, 10587 Berlin, Germany. STRATO AG's servers are located in Germany; no data is transferred to a third country. We have a data processing agreement with STRATO AG in accordance with Article 28 of the GDPR. The sender and recipient information, as well as the content of the respective message, are processed. The legal basis for this processing is Article 6(1)(b) GDPR insofar as the email serves to answer your inquiry; otherwise, it is Article 6(1)(f) GDPR.
§ 5 Speech input and output, translation
(1) In the multi-line text fields of the survey and the contact form, you will find a button with a microphone icon. This allows you to dictate your answer instead of typing it. The recording only begins after you click the button and your browser has asked for permission to access the microphone. It ends as soon as you click the button again, or after 60 seconds at the latest.
(2) The recording is transferred to our server and from there forwarded to the Google Cloud Speech-to-Text API for conversion to text. We do not store the recording itself; it only exists in a temporary file for the duration of the processing and is then deleted. Only the recognized text appears in your text field, which you can review and edit before submitting.
(3) The text-to-speech function, which you can activate in the "Accessibility" window, works in the same way: Our server transmits the text to be read aloud to the Google Cloud Text-to-Speech API and delivers the resulting audio file to you. The text transmitted is either the current page text – our questions, labels, and instructions – or a text section that you have selected.
(4) If you access the survey in a language other than German, we will translate the questionnaire content using the Google Cloud Translation API. Only our own texts will be transmitted, not the data you enter. The translations are stored on our servers, ensuring that the same text is only transmitted once.
(5) The provider of these services is Google Cloud EMEA Limited, 70 Sir John Rogerson's Quay, Dublin 2, Ireland. Google acts as a data processor within the meaning of Article 28 GDPR and operates exclusively according to our instructions; a data processing agreement is in place. Processing outside the European Union is not excluded. Google LLC is certified under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, for which the European Commission, in its decision of July 10, 2023, determined an adequate level of data protection (Article 45 GDPR). The transmitted records and texts are not used for training the provider's models.
(6) The legal basis for voice input and the text-to-speech function is your consent pursuant to Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. a GDPR, which you grant by clicking the respective button. You can revoke this consent at any time with effect for the future by no longer using the function; you can also revoke permission for microphone access in your browser settings. Both functions are voluntary additional services – you can also type in any answer and read any text yourself. The legal basis for the translation is our legitimate interest in a multilingual survey pursuant to Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. f GDPR.
(7) No cookies are set for these functions, and no information is stored or read from your device. Your browser never establishes its own connection to Google – the transmission occurs exclusively from our server.
§ 6 Objection or Revocation against the Processing of your Data
(1) If you have given your consent to the processing of your data, you can revoke this at any time. Such a revocation affects the admissibility of the processing of your personal data after you have given it to us.
(2) If we base the processing of your personal data on the balancing of interests, you can object to the processing. This is the case if the processing is not necessary in particular to fulfill a contract with you, which is shown by us in the following description of the functions. If you exercise such an objection, we ask that you explain the reasons why we should not process your personal data as we have done. In the event of your justified objection, we will examine the situation and will either discontinue or adjust the data processing or show you our compelling reasons worthy of protection on the basis of which we will continue the processing.
(3) Of course, you can object to the processing of your personal data for data analysis purposes at any time. You can inform us of your objection using the following contact details:
§ 7 Survey and Feedback Form
(1) Participation in our survey is anonymous and for statistical purposes. It is not possible to draw conclusions about your person.
(2) If you use our feedback form for praise, criticism and other comments, you can voluntarily provide us with your name and e-mail address so that we can give you feedback. The legal basis is Art. 6 (1) lit. a GDPR.
(3) There is no link between the previous survey and the feedback form.
(4) Furthermore, we can pass on your personal data to third parties if you wish to receive feedback after completing the survey. You will receive more detailed information on this when you enter your personal data or below in the description of the offer.
§ 8 Password Protection – HS256
(1) If you use our services that require authentication, we would like to point out that you should use a password that is not easy to guess. We recommend that you use a password that consists of at least 8 characters, contains upper and lower case letters, numbers and special characters. Please do not use a password that you also use for other services. We recommend that you change your password regularly. Please note that we are not responsible for the security of your password. We encourage you to learn about password security and take appropriate security measures.
We use the HS256 (HMAC with SHA256) cryptographic algorithm for authentication. This algorithm is a state-of-the-art cryptographic algorithm used to ensure the integrity and authenticity of data in transit. This widely accepted method provides a high level of security, protects against unauthorized data modification and verifies authenticated messages. As a state-of-the-art password protection solution, HS256 underscores our commitment to a secure and positive user experience.
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