Data Protection Declaration

PONS takes the protection of your personal details very seriously. The following declaration is to inform you of how we utilise your details, at the same time assuring their protection.

Subject

The subject of this declaration is the collection, processing, and utilisation (hereinafter referred to as “use”) of personal details (hereinafter referred to as “data”) that we at PONS GmbH (hereinafter referred to as “PONS”) collect when you utilise our offers under the URLs http://pons.de/ and http://pons.eu.

Responsible office, contact address

The responsible office as defined under the German Data Protection Act is PONS GmbH.

Should you have any questions about how your data are used or you wish to make use of the legal remedies described herein please send us an email.

No consent through use

Decisive for the use of your data are the legal provisions applying in each and every case, in particular the Federal Data Protection and the Telemedia Acts. When we utilise data for a purpose that requires your consent under these terms and conditions we shall ask you each and every time for your explicit consent. You can revoke your consent, once given, at any time with future effect and/‌or object to its future use. Merely registering, using the services, or acknowledging that you have read this declaration does not serve in lieu of your explicit declaration of consent.

Utilising your data

The following presents a brief outline of how your data can be utilised. Please note that not all data are actually utilised for all purposes and that additional information is given, if necessary through special data protection declarations, for individual services.

Collecting data

PONS collects data when you set up a PONS user account or when you visit or utilise services.

• When you set up an account we ask you to enter particular details about your person. Of these details only those are marked mandatory that we need to conclude the agreement or perform the services.
• When you visit or utilise PONS services PONS collects and stores automatically in the server logs technical information that your browser transfers to us. This information is in particular the IP address of your computer and the data that PONS has stored in so called cookies (cf the section “Cookies”).

Processing and utilising data

PONS utilises the data it collects for four fundamental purposes, but not all data are actually used for all purposes.

• The personal and address data (contractual data) saved in your account are used by PONS to justify and manage the terms and conditions of use.
• The data needed for you to use each of the PONS services (utilisation data) is used for the respective service’s technical handling.
• In addition we may analyse user profiles under a pseudonym (that cannot be traced back to the data in your account) for advertising, market research, and improving PONS services, provided that you have not made use of your legal right and objected to this use of your data. Such user profiles are generated by means of so called cookies. You can prevent this use of your data quite simply by configuring your browser to accept no cookies. Please compare also the section “Cookies”.
• Only when you have explicitly consented to this (cf the section “No consent through use”) PONS utilises your data also with reference to your person (i.e. not anonymously or under the above pseudonym) for the purpose of aligning our contents including advertising offers to your own personal interests and/‌or notifying you of special offers or new services and products.

Transferring data to third parties

PONS does not transfer your personal data to third parties (including other companies of Ernst Klett AG) except when:

• you have consented to the transfer (cf section “No consent through use”) or
• the transfer is necessary for performing or billing PONS services, in particular when
• you use PONS services to claim the goods or services of an independent partner company or
• a vicarious agent needs these data to handle PONS services (such vicarious agents, if you are not expressly informed to the contrary, are entitled to use your data only to the extent necessary for the service).
• In conformity with the applicable laws government agencies may furthermore demand from us information or data for the fulfilment of their statutory duties, e.g. for the purpose of criminal prosecution.

Publications in the public sections of our offers

Public sections of our offers are those that are accessible to the public and can be indexed by search engines.

Public sections like PONS forums let you publish or exchange information or contents.

Should you experience problems deleting or revising personal data that you have published in a public section, please turn to our Customer Services.

Deleting data

Your data are deleted when they are no longer needed for the above purposes. Please bear in mind that the data you delete in your account may first be only disabled and then deleted irrevocably once a certain time has elapsed as a measure to prevent accidental deletions and to combat any malicious damage for technical and legal reasons.

Cookies

Cookies are files that are stored on your computer hard drive and serve to facilitate navigation. They save you having to reenter all your data each and every time you use the same web facility. Cookies simplify and accelerate the use of PONS services. You can prevent cookies from being stored on your hard drive by configuring your browser to accept no cookies. You can also configure your browser to ask you whether you agree to cookies. You can of course delete any cookies at any time that have been saved to your hard drive. How to do so is explained in the instructions for your browser. If you accept no cookies this may lead to the occasional restricted functionality of PONS services.

PONS also utilises cookies to generate and analyse user profiles under a pseudonym (see the section “Processing and utilising data”). You can prevent this quite simply by deleting or not accepting such cookies. How to do so is explained in the instructions for your browser.

When you accept cookies PONS saves data in a cookie to your hard drive and retrieves this information during future uses. PONS utilises so called single pixel images to access PONS cookies within our network.

Our advertising partners do not have the right to retrieve information from cookies PONS saves to your hard drive. Our advertising partners though can save their own cookies to your hard drive. According to the law PONS is not responsible for these cookies. If needed compare here the Data Protection Declaration of the advertising partner.

Google

This website uses Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. (“Google”). Google Analytics uses “cookies”, which are text files placed on your computer, to help the website analyze how users use the site. The information generated by the cookie about your use of the website (including your IP address) will be transmitted to and stored by Google on servers in the United States. Google will use this information for the purpose of evaluating your use of the website, compiling reports on website activity for website operators and providing other services relating to website activity and internet usage. Google may also transfer this information to third parties where required to do so by law, or where such third parties process the information on Google’s behalf.

Google will not associate your IP address with any other data held by Google. You may refuse the use of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your browser, however please note that if you do this you may not be able to use the full functionality of this website. By using this website, you consent to the processing of data about you by Google in the manner and for the purposes set out above.

Editing or deleting the personal data of your account

You have the right at all times to inspect, correct, add to, and delete your personal stored data and the settings of your account (cf the section “Responsible office, contact address”).

Data security

PONS makes every effort to protect your data against unauthorised access, loss, abuse, and destruction. Your personal data are accessible to those employees only who must necessarily consult your data if they are to exercise their duties properly and provide you with the PONS services and products to the best possible extent. Moreover PONS implements both operational and electronic measures for the protection of your personal data.

Changes to this Data Protection Declaration

PONS will if necessary adapt this Data Protection Declaration to future changes in the use of personal data.