Thank you very much for visiting this website. We take the protection of your personal data very seriously. Thus, all data are treated as confidential and following the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
In this data privacy policy, you get an overview of which personal data are collected when you visit this website. Hereby, it is indicated the purpose of its collection, who is responsible for processing the data on this website, how data are stored and kept safe, and your rights regarding this data collection.
Who is responsible for processing data on this website?
Alejandra Sarmiento (a.sarmiento@visualsinscience.com)
Beatriz Herrera (b.herrera@visualsinscience.com)
First some important definitions:
Personal data are any information that could be used to personally identify you, directly or indirectly. In other words, it is any information that describes an identified or identifiable person, like contact information and information that, if combined with other data, can lead to the identification of a particular individual.
‘Processing’ means any operation or set of operations which is performed on personal data or sets of personal data, whether, by automated means, such as collection, recording, organization, structuring, storage, adaptation or alteration, retrieval, consultation, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination or otherwise making available, alignment or combination, restriction, erasure, or destruction.
A server log file is a computer-generated file that records information about activities, processes, usage patterns, communications, and operations between a user and an operating system. Log files hold a record of activity on a web server. The information recorded may include:
IP address and identity of the device making a request, name, location, and size of the requested file, time, and date of the request, the request method, the referred webpage, and the HTTP status code.
How and why are these data collected?
Your personal data are collected, processed, and used only insofar as it is necessary to establish or modify legal relationships with us (master data). This is done based on Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR. In the following paragraphs, you will find the cases in which your personal data are collected, the explanation of the purpose of the processing, the legal basis of the processing, the legitimate interests, the duration of the data storage, and the possibility to object, regarding each case. Your personal data are collected then, when:
- You visit this website. To display this website, to record the interactions between a user and a system, the website provider automatically collects and stores information that your browser automatically transmits in “server log files”. These data are collected based on our legitimate interest (Article 6 (1) (f) GDPR). The type of data logged in this way is browser type and browser version, operating system used, referrer URL, the date and time of access, language preference, amount of data sent in bytes, the hostname of the accessing computer, time of the server request and IP Address. Server logs typically do not collect user-specific information. Information is retained for approximately 30 days, to investigate and resolve issues regarding the functioning of the website.
- You contact us using our contact forms. The use of this communication form is voluntary and is initiated by you. The personal data provided to us is used exclusively for the purpose for which it was provided when contacting us. We will use this information to contact you following your request. The legal basis for processing these data is Article 6 (1) (b and/or f) GDPR. Your data will be deleted as soon as it is no longer required to achieve the purpose for which it was collected, i.e., your request has been fully processed and no further communication with you is required or requested. You can contact us any time at info@visualsinscience.com regarding the deletion of data relating to your request. In this case, your request for our services will be canceled and we then wont be able to fully provide you with our services.
- You acquired any of our services and products. To fulfill a contract or for measures preliminary to a contract, to deliver the goods or items you have purchased from this website, to handle your payments, this is in concordance with Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR. Data collected are surname and last name, address, e-mail, phone number, bank account (if the payment is done via bank transfer). These data will be deleted after the fulfillment of our agreement (including customer service and warranty) in case you do not have a customer account. If you have a customer account, these data would be stored for the time your account is active. You might terminate your account at any point.
- You register and accept our newsletters. You can register for the Visuals in Science LAB newsletter if you want to keep informed about news, events, or blog posts. For this registration, you will provide your email and confirmation, that you agree to receive our newsletters in concordance with Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR. You can unsubscribe at any time, an email to info@visualsinscience.com making this request is sufficient.
- Data is also collected to protect our website. Our system uses security plugins to protect our website from attacks and misuse. If there is a suspicion of an attack on our system, data about the visitor’s computer system is automatically logged for forensic purposes and stored in firewall logs. Normal, non-malicious website accesses are generally not logged by the plugins. The stored data is the IP address, date and time, browser user agent, and the reason for the suspicious activity. The purpose of the collection of the log files is to log malicious website access, the processing ensures forensic activities and the security and stability of this website. This purpose constitutes the legitimate interest in data processing within the meaning of Article 6 (1) (f) GDPR and the legal basis is Article 6 (1) (f) GDPR. The data is deleted as soon it is no longer required to achieve the purpose for which it was collected. This is usually about 30 days. The collection of the data, in the way described, is strictly necessary for securing and operating the website. Therefore, there is no possibility to object
These data will not be combined with data from other sources.
Cookies
This website uses cookies to ensure functionality and provide you with a better user experience, efficiency, and security. Cookies are small text files (consisting of letters and numbers) stored on your device (phone, tablet, computer) and saved by your browser. Cookies do not harm your device and do not contain any viruses.
Where any of the cookies implemented by us process personal data, the processing is carried out following Art. 6 (1) (f) of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). To safeguard our legitimate interest in the optimum functionality of the website and ensure that our website is customer-friendly and effective, or it is done based on your consent following Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR. For more information about individual cookies, why they collect personal data, and their legal basis, see “Types of cookies”
You can configure your browser to inform you about the use of cookies so that you can decide on a case-by-case basis whether to accept or reject a cookie. Alternatively, your browser can be configured to automatically accept cookies under certain conditions or to always reject them, or to automatically delete cookies when closing your browser. Disabling cookies may limit the functionality of this website.
Types of cookies:
· Strictly necessary cookies
These cookies are required for the operation of our website and are essential to allow you to navigate through our website. These are first-party cookies.
· Analytical and performance cookies
Performance cookies monitor how our website performs when you are visiting it. Moreover, these cookies collect information about how you interact with our website, i.e. number of visits, average time spent, pages accessed, most accessed pages, error messages, etc. Performance cookies help us to understand how our website is being used and how it can be improved.
All data collected by performance cookies is anonymous, and its main objective is to evaluate the performance of the site.
This website uses Google Analytics services. Google Analytics is a web analytics service offered by Google Inc (1600 Amphitheatre Parkway Mountain View, CA 94043, USA).
Google LLC complies with European data protection law and is certified under the Privacy Shield agreement
Google Analytics gathers, collects, and analyses data to understand how the services are used. The service (Google Analytics) uses “cookies” – text files that are stored on your terminal device. The information collected by the cookies is sent to a Google server in the USA and stored there. Google Analytics collects Internet Protocol (IP) addresses to provide and protect the security of the service. Moreover, it provides website owners knowledge about which country, state, or city in the world their users come from (also known as “IP geolocation”).
The data collected by Google on our behalf is used to evaluate the use of our online offering by individual users, e.g., to create reports on website activity to improve our online services.
IP anonymization is used on this website. The IP address of the user is shortened within the member states of the EU and the European Economic Area and in the other contracting states of the agreement. Only in individual cases is the IP address initially transmitted unabbreviated to a Google server in the USA and shortened there. This shortening eliminates the personal reference of your IP address. The user’s IP address transmitted by the browser is not combined with other data stored by Google.
You have the option of preventing cookies from being stored on your device by making the appropriate settings in your browser. However, when your browser does not allow cookies, you might not be able to access all functions of this website.
If you don’t want Google Analytics to be used in your browser, you can install the Google Analytics browser add-on. By clicking on this link, you will download an “opt-out cookie”. Your browser must therefore generally allow the storage of cookies for this purpose. If you delete your cookies regularly, you will need to click on the link again each time you visit this website.
To learn more about it visit: https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/
You can find more information about the use of data by Google Inc in the following links:
Data collected by Google partners
Settings about advertisements displayed to you
· Functional
These cookies record information about choices you have made on the website, i.e., language. They are designed to provide you with a more personalized experience. These are first-party cookies and are not deleted when you close your browser.
· Targeting Cookies
This website does not use targeting cookies. These are third parties’ cookies that may be set by our advertising partners. They may be used by such partners to build a profile of your interest and show you relevant adverts on their websites. These cookies may also be used to limit the number of times you see an advert and to measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. These cookies work by identifying your browser and internet device, but they do not store personal information directly. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
· Social media Cookies
Social media cookies allow users to interact more easily with social media. These cookies will be set when you take an action, such as using the ‘like’ and ‘share’ buttons on our website. Data will be passed back to the third-party provider, allowing the social media platform to record how you use their service on our site and show you relevant content, including advertising, when you pass onto their website. We do not control social media cookies and they do not allow us to gain access to your social media accounts. Please refer to the relevant social media platform’s privacy policies (linked below) for information about their cookies
Twitter: Twitter Terms of Service
Instagram: Data Policy | Instagram Help Center
Who has access to your data?
Your personally identifiable data are not shared with third parties, except when it is required to fulfill the terms of your contract with us, for example, to companies entrusted to deliver goods to your location or banks entrusted to process your payments. Your data will not be transmitted for any other purpose unless you have given your express permission to do so. Your data will not be disclosed to third parties for advertising purposes without your express consent.
The basis for data processing is Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR, which allows the processing of data to fulfill a contract or for measures preliminary to a contract.
SSL or TLS encryption
This site uses SSL/TLS encryption for security reasons. This can be recognized by the “https://” in addition to a “lock” displayed in your browser’s address bar.
Google Web Fonts
For uniform representation of fonts, this page uses web fonts provided by Google. When you open a page, your browser loads the required web fonts into your browser cache to display texts and fonts correctly.
When you call up a page of our website that contains a social plugin, your browser makes a direct connection with Google servers. Thus, Google becomes aware that our web page was accessed via your IP address. The use of Google Web fonts is done in the interest of a uniform and attractive presentation of our website. This constitutes a justified interest according to Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR.
If your browser does not support web fonts, your computer uses a standard font.
Further information about handling user data, can be found at https://developers.google.com/fonts/faq and in Google’s privacy policy at https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/.
Payment service providers
Your rights
YOU ALWAYS HAVE THE RIGHT TO REQUEST AND VIEW YOUR STORED DATA. FURTHERMORE, YOU CAN ASK FOR THE STORED INFORMATION TO BE CORRECTED, DELETED, OR TRANSFER TO A THIRD PARTY AT ANY MOMENT AND WITHOUT CHARGE. PLEASE CONTACT US info@visualsinscience.com FOR ANY QUESTIONS OR REQUEST REGARDING YOUR DATA (YOUR REQUEST WILL BE PROCESSED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE WITHIN THE NEXT 4 WEEKS). IF YOU CONSIDER IT IS NECESSARY, YOU MIGHT ALSO ADDRESS A COMPLAINT WITH THE COMPETENT REGULATORY AUTHORITIES.
Disclaimer
This privacy policy might be updated at any time. Therefore, we encourage you to frequently check this page for any changes.
This document was last updated on 07 March 2022.
