Privacy Policy
Information on how we handle your personal data in accordance with the GDPR — Last updated: December 2024.
Data protection at a glance
General Information
The following information provides a simple overview of what happens to your personal data when you visit this website. Personal data is any data that can be used to personally identify you. Detailed information on the subject of data protection can be found in our privacy policy listed below this text.
Data Collection on This Website
Who is responsible for data collection?
Data processing on this website is carried out by the website operator. You can find their contact details in the "Controller" section of this privacy policy.
How do we collect your data?
Your data is collected, on the one hand, by you providing it to us. This may, for example, be data you enter into a contact form, provide during registration, or transmit as part of placing an order.
Other data is collected automatically, or after your consent, by our IT systems when you visit the website. This is primarily technical data (e.g. internet browser, operating system, or the time the page was accessed). This data is collected automatically as soon as you enter this website.
What do we use your data for?
Some data is collected to ensure the website is provided without errors. Other data may be used to analyse your user behaviour. However, we primarily use your data to provide our consultancy services and to communicate with you.
What rights do you have?
You have the right at any time to obtain free information about the origin, recipients and purpose of your stored personal data. You also have the right to request the correction or deletion of this data. If you have given consent to data processing, you may revoke this consent at any time for the future. Furthermore, you have the right, under certain circumstances, to request the restriction of the processing of your personal data. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the competent supervisory authority.
Controller
Responsible for data processing:
StudiStep
Owner: Günay Turgut
Vochemer Str. 5
50969 Köln
Germany
Phone: +49 (0) 221 96267727
E-Mail: info@studistep.de
The controller is the natural or legal person who, alone or jointly with others, determines the purposes and means of the processing of personal data (e.g. names, email addresses, etc.).
Storage duration
Unless a more specific storage period has been stated within this privacy policy, your personal data will remain with us until the purpose for the data processing no longer applies. If you assert a legitimate request for deletion or revoke your consent to data processing, your data will be deleted unless we have other legally permissible reasons for storing your personal data (e.g. retention periods under tax or commercial law); in the latter case, deletion will take place after these reasons cease to apply.
General information on the legal bases
If you have given consent to the data processing, we process your personal data on the basis of Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR or Art. 9 (2) (a) GDPR, insofar as special categories of data pursuant to Art. 9 (1) GDPR are processed.
In the case of explicit consent to the transfer of personal data to third countries, the data processing is also carried out on the basis of Art. 49 (1) (a) GDPR.
If you have consented to the storage of cookies or access to information on your device (e.g. via device fingerprinting), the data processing additionally takes place on the basis of Section 25 (1) TDDDG (German Telecommunications-Digital-Services-Data-Protection Act).
Consent can be revoked at any time. If your data is required for the performance of a contract or for the implementation of pre-contractual measures, we process your data on the basis of Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR. Furthermore, we process your data if it is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation, on the basis of Art. 6 (1) (c) GDPR. The data processing may also be carried out on the basis of our legitimate interest pursuant to Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR.
Recipients of personal data
As part of our business activities, we work with various external parties. In some cases, this also requires the transfer of personal data to these external parties.
We only transfer personal data to external parties if this is necessary for the performance of a contract, if we are legally obliged to do so, if we have a legitimate interest, or if another legal basis permits the data transfer.
As part of our services, we transfer your data to:
- German higher education institutions and universities – zur Einreichung von Bewerbungen und Kommunikation im Zulassungsprozess
- uni-assist e.V. – zur Vorprüfung internationaler Bildungsnachweise
- Visa agencies and service providers – zur Unterstützung bei Visumanträgen
- Payment service providers – zur Abwicklung von Zahlungen (PayPal, Kreditkartenanbieter, Banken)
- Hosting providers – zur Bereitstellung unserer Website und Systeme
Data disclosure takes place exclusively within the scope of the contractually agreed services. When placing an order, you will be explicitly informed of this data disclosure and will give your consent.
Withdrawal of your consent to data processing
Many data processing operations are only possible with your explicit consent. You can revoke consent you have already given at any time. The lawfulness of the data processing carried out until the revocation remains unaffected by the revocation.
Den Widerruf können Sie per E-Mail an info@studistep.de oder postalisch an die oben genannte Adresse richten.
Right to lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority
In the event of violations of the GDPR, data subjects have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, in particular in the member state of their habitual residence, their place of work, or the place of the alleged violation.
The supervisory authority responsible for us is:
Landesbeauftragte für Datenschutz und Informationsfreiheit Nordrhein-Westfalen
Postfach 20 04 44
40102 Düsseldorf
Phone: 0211/38424-0
Email: poststelle@ldi.nrw.de
Website: www.ldi.nrw.de
Your rights as a data subject
Right to Information (Art. 15)
You have the right to request confirmation as to whether personal data concerning you is being processed. If this is the case, you have a right to information about this personal data as well as further information in accordance with Art. 15 GDPR.
Right to Rectification (Art. 16)
You have the right to demand the immediate correction of inaccurate personal data concerning you. Taking into account the purposes of the processing, you have the right to request the completion of incomplete personal data.
Right to Erasure (Art. 17)
You have the right to demand that personal data concerning you be deleted without delay, provided that one of the reasons stated in Art. 17 GDPR applies.
Right to restriction of processing (Art. 18 GDPR)
You have the right to demand the restriction of processing if one of the conditions stated in Art. 18 GDPR is met.
Right to Portability (Art. 20)
You have the right to receive the personal data concerning you that you have provided to us in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format, and you have the right to transmit this data to another controller.
Right to Object (Art. 21)
You have the right, on grounds relating to your particular situation, to object at any time to the processing of personal data concerning you which is based on Art. 6 (1) (e) or (f) GDPR.
Data Collection on This Website
Cookies
Our website uses so-called "cookies". Cookies are small data packages and do not cause any damage to your device. They are stored on your device either temporarily for the duration of a session (session cookies) or permanently (persistent cookies). Session cookies are automatically deleted after your visit ends. Persistent cookies remain stored on your device until you delete them yourself or they are automatically deleted by your web browser.
Cookies can originate from us (first-party cookies) or from third-party companies (so-called third-party cookies). Third-party cookies enable the integration of certain services provided by third-party companies within websites.
Cookies that are necessary for carrying out the electronic communication process, for providing certain functions you have requested, or for optimising the website, are stored on the basis of Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR, unless another legal basis is stated.
You can set your browser so that you are informed about the setting of cookies and only allow cookies on a case-by-case basis, exclude the acceptance of cookies for certain cases or generally, and activate the automatic deletion of cookies when closing your browser.
Server Log Files
The provider of the pages automatically collects and stores information in so-called server log files, which your browser automatically transmits to us. These are:
- Browser type and version
- Operating system
- Referrer URL
- Hostname
- Request time
- IP address
This data is not combined with other data sources. The collection of this data is based on Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR. The website operator has a legitimate interest in the technically error-free presentation and optimisation of its website – for this purpose, the server log files must be collected.
Contact Form
If you send us inquiries via the contact form, your details from the inquiry form, including the contact details you provided there, will be stored by us for the purpose of processing the inquiry and in case of follow-up questions. We do not share this data without your consent.
The processing of this data is based on Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR, provided that your inquiry is related to the fulfilment of a contract or is necessary for the implementation of pre-contractual measures. In all other cases, the processing is based on our legitimate interest in the effective handling of inquiries addressed to us (Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR) or on your consent (Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR).
The data you entered in the contact form remains with us until you ask us to delete it, revoke your consent to its storage, or the purpose for storing the data no longer applies. Mandatory statutory provisions – in particular retention periods – remain unaffected.
Registration and Dashboard
You can register on this website to use a customer account (dashboard). We use the data entered for this purpose only for the purpose of using the respective offer or service for which you have registered. The mandatory information requested during registration must be provided in full. Otherwise, we will refuse the registration.
The following data is processed in the customer dashboard:
- First name, Last name
- Address
- Phone
- Date of birth
- Nationality
- Educational documents
- Passport data
- Communication history
- Order and payment information
The data entered during registration is processed for the purpose of carrying out the usage relationship established by the registration and, where applicable, for the initiation of further contracts (Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR).
The data collected during registration will be stored by us for as long as you are registered on this website and will then be deleted. Statutory retention periods remain unaffected.
Newsletter
If you would like to subscribe to the newsletter offered on the website, we require an email address from you as well as information that allows us to verify that you are the owner of the email address provided and that you agree to receive the newsletter.
We use the so-called double opt-in procedure. This means that after your registration, you will receive an email asking you to confirm your registration. This confirmation is necessary so that no one can register using someone else's email address.
The data you provide to us for the purpose of subscribing to the newsletter is stored by us or the newsletter service provider until you unsubscribe from the newsletter and is deleted from the newsletter distribution list after the newsletter is unsubscribed or the purpose no longer applies.
You can revoke your consent to the storage of the data, the email address, and their use for sending the newsletter at any time, e.g. via the "unsubscribe" link in the newsletter or by emailing us.
Payment service providers
PayPal
On this website, we offer, among other things, payment via PayPal. The provider of this payment service is PayPal (Europe) S.à.r.l. et Cie, S.C.A., 22-24 Boulevard Royal, L-2449 Luxembourg.
Wenn Sie mit PayPal bezahlen, erfolgt eine Übermittlung der von Ihnen eingegebenen Zahlungsdaten an PayPal. Die Übermittlung Ihrer Daten an PayPal erfolgt auf Grundlage von Art. 6 Abs. 1 lit. a DSGVO (Einwilligung) und Art. 6 Abs. 1 lit. b DSGVO (Verarbeitung zur Erfüllung eines Vertrags). Details entnehmen Sie der Datenschutzerklärung von PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/de/webapps/mpp/ua/privacy-full
Credit Card
When paying by credit card, your payment data (card number, cardholder, expiry date) is transmitted to the respective payment service provider. The processing is based on Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR (contract performance).
Bank Transfer
When paying by bank transfer, the data required for processing the payment (account holder, IBAN, reference) is processed. The processing is based on Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR (contract performance).
External services and content
Google Maps
This page uses the Google Maps map service. The provider is Google Ireland Limited ("Google"), Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland.
In order to use the functions of Google Maps, it is necessary to save your IP address. This information is generally transmitted to a Google server in the USA and stored there. The provider of this page has no influence over this data transfer.
The use of Google Maps serves the interest of an appealing presentation of our online offerings and easy location of the places we indicate on the website. This constitutes a legitimate interest within the meaning of Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR.
Mehr Informationen zum Umgang mit Nutzerdaten finden Sie in der Datenschutzerklärung von Google: https://policies.google.com/privacy
Google Fonts (Local)
This page uses so-called Google Fonts for the uniform display of fonts, which are installed locally. No connection to Google servers is made in the process.
Font Awesome
This page uses Font Awesome for the uniform display of fonts and symbols. To ensure data protection compliant processing, the icons used are hosted locally on our server.
Social media
Our website contains links to our presences on social networks (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube). These links are merely references to our social media profiles. Clicking on these links will redirect you to the respective external platforms.
Direct data transfer to these services only takes place when you click on the respective links and visit the external site. The privacy policy of the respective provider then applies.
SSL/TLS encryption
For security reasons and to protect the transmission of confidential content, such as orders or inquiries that you send to us as the site operator, this page uses SSL or TLS encryption. You can recognise an encrypted connection by the fact that the browser's address bar changes from "http://" to "https://" and by the lock icon in your browser bar.
If SSL or TLS encryption is activated, the data you transmit to us cannot be read by third parties.
Currency and amendment of this privacy policy
This privacy policy is currently valid and dated December 2024.
It may become necessary to amend this privacy policy due to the further development of our website and offerings, or due to changed legal or regulatory requirements. The current privacy policy can be accessed and printed at any time on the website under "Privacy Policy".
Questions about data protection?
Bei Fragen zur Erhebung, Verarbeitung oder Nutzung Ihrer personenbezogenen Daten, bei Auskünften, Berichtigung, Sperrung oder Löschung von Daten wenden Sie sich bitte an:
info@studistep.de
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