Privacy policy

Kärcher FZE

1. Controller

Kärcher Programme (hereinafter referred to as "service") is made available by the [Karcher FZE, Dubai, Jebel Ali South] (hereinafter referred to as "we" or "us") as controller within the meaning of the applicable data protection law. The responsible data protection officer can be reached at: privacy.ae@karcher.com

Within the framework of the service we make it possible for you to call up and view information with regards to the Kärcher device programme.

When using the service we process personal information about you. Personal data refers to all information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person. Because the protection of your privacy while using the service is important to us, this Privacy Policy is designed to inform you about which personal data we process when you use the service, and how we handle such data. Furthermore, this Privacy Policy provides you with information about the legal basis for processing your data and also about our legitimate interests, if the processing is necessary to safeguard our legitimate interests.

You can call up this Privacy Policy at any time under "Settings" in the service .

The service is available as a

website (URL version)
desktop app
mobile app

If the information in this Privacy Policy is only available for a certain version of the service, this will be communicated accordingly.

2. Downloading the mobile app

When you download the app, certain required information is transferred to the app store you have used (e.g. Google Play or Apple App Store), and data including but not limited to user name, e-mail address, customer number of your account, the time and date of the download, payment information and individual machine ID numbers may be processed. This data processing is conducted exclusively by the app store in question and is outside our area of influence.

3. Using the service as a mobile app

To enable you to use the app technology, the following data is transferred to us by your mobile device:

Data about your machine (model name, machine category, brand)
Type and version of the operating system used by your mobile device
User behaviours (e.g. content searched or accessed)

This data processing is authorised in accordance with Article 4(9) of Federal Decree-Law No. 45/2021because it is necessary for the provision of the app and therefore the performance of the contract.

This data is also used to optimise the app, e.g., within the scope of product improvement. This data processing is justified by our legitimate interest in a well-functioning app, which overrides your rights to and interests in the protection of your personal data within the meaning of Article 4(7) of Federal Decree-Law No. 45/2021

4. Using the service as a website or desktop app

If you use the website or desktop app for informational use only, i.e. if you do not register or otherwise share information with us, we collect the personal data that your browser sends to our server and the information that is considered necessary for technical reasons for the display of our website and guaranteeing stability and security. This data is saved temporarily in so-called logfiles. The following information which we require for technical reasons is collected and stored until its automatic deletion:

Name of the accessed website or file viewed
Date and time of the retrieval
Description of the type of web browser used

A person-related analysis of the server logfiles is not carried out. This data cannot be assigned to a certain person at any time. This data is not merged with other data sources.

This data processing is authorised in accordance with Article 4(7) of Federal Decree-Law No. 45/2021because it is necessary for the provision of the website. Our legitimate interest is guaranteeing the delivery of the website as well as combating misuse and troubleshooting.

The logfiles are deleted as soon as they are no longer required for the specified purposes.

5. Disclosure and transmission of the data

In addition to the instances explicitly specified in this Privacy Policy, your personal data shall only be disclosed without your express prior consent if it is permitted or required by law. This may include, for example, if the processing is necessary to protect vital interests of the user or of another natural person.

If it is necessary for the investigation of illegal use or misuse of the Sservice or for legal proceedings, personal data shall be disclosed to law enforcement agencies or other authorities and to injured third parties or legal advisers as required. However, this will only take place if there is evidence of illegal conduct or misuse. Data may also be disclosed if it serves the performance of terms of use or other legal claims. In addition, we are legally obliged to provide certain information to public bodies on request. These bodies are the law enforcement agencies, authorities involved in the prosecution of misdemeanours punishable by fines, and the financial authorities.

Any disclosure of personal data is justified by the fact that (1) the processing is necessary for the performance of a legal obligation to which we are subject in accordance with Article 4(10) of Federal Decree-Law No. 45/2021 in connection with national legal requirements governing the disclosure of data to law enforcement agencies, or (2) we have a legitimate interest in disclosing the data to the specified third parties where there is evidence of misuse or in order to implement our terms of use, other conditions or legal claims, and your rights and interests in protecting your personal data within the meaning of Article 4(7) of Federal Decree-Law No. 45/2021 are not overridden.

We depend on contractually bound companies of the Kärcher Group as well as third-party companies and external service providers who process the personal data on our behalf (Article 7(5) of Federal Decree-Law No. 45/2021) for the provision of our service.

Any disclosure of personal data is justified by the fact that (1) we have a legitimate interest in disclosing the data within our Group for administrative purposes and your rights and interests in protecting your personal data within the meaning of Article 4(7) of Federal Decree-Law No. 45/2021 are not overridden, or (2) we have carefully selected, regularly checked and contractually obligated our contractually bound companies of the Kärcher Group, our third-party companies and external service providers as commissioned data processors within the meaning of Article 7(5) of Federal Decree-Law No. 45/2021 to process all personal data exclusively according to our instructions.

In the course of continuing to develop our business, the structure of our company may be adapted, whether in the sense of the legal form changing or subsidiaries, business units or other elements being established, purchased or sold. Should such transactions take place, customer information would be disclosed as necessary together with the part of the company being transferred. In the event of any disclosure of personal data to third parties within the scope outlined above, we shall ensure that this takes place in accordance with this Privacy Policy and the applicable data protection legislation.

6. Use of cookies and comparable technologies

When using the service as a website or desktop app (e.g. when you use it on a desktop system) or mobile app (e.g. when you use it on a mobile device) , cookies are stored on your mobile device and comparable technologies (e.g. Local Storage, Fingerprints, Pixel, Web-Beacons) are used for collecting access and device data. Cookies are small text fragments that are stored on your device and can be read by us, through which we receive certain information.

We only use optional cookies and comparable technologies for marketing and analysis purposes if you have provided your consent for the data processing in accordance with Article 6 of Federal Decree-Law No. 45/2021and for the data transfer to third countries in accordance with Article 23(1b) of Federal Decree-Law No. 45/2021 via our consent banner. The risks associated with the data transfer to third countries can be found under point 7 "Data transfer to third countries". The access to and storage of information on the device are realised on the basis of Article 25(1) TTDSG.

6.1 Essential cookies

We use essential cookies and comparable technologies in our service, which guarantee technical functions without which you would not be able to use the service as intended and expected.

Essential cookies and comparable technologies are used, for example, so that you always remain logged in as a registered user when accessing various subpages of our service and you do not have to enter your login details every time when accessing a new page or that a language option that has been selected once can be considered.

The use of essential cookies and comparable technologies is possible without your consent. For this reason, essential cookies also cannot be individually disabled or enabled. These cookies are automatically deleted after a time defined by us.

The following essential cookies and comparable technologies are used in our service:

Our service uses the Consent Management Tool of OneTrust Technology Limited for the collection and management of the consents and any revocations to the use of non-essential cookies and comparable technologies. When you make a decision in the consent banner, a cookie is set (OptanonConsent) that records your consent or rejection. We set this cookie for technical reasons on the basis of Article 4(7) of Federal Decree-Law No. 45/2021 in order to document your consent. The access to and storage of information on the device are essential in these cases and are realised on the basis of Article 25(2) No. 2 TTDSG. If you delete your cookies, we will ask again for your consent when you call up the page at a later stage.

6.2 Use of Google Firebase when using the mobile app

In the service we use Google Firebase, a web analysis service of Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA, ("Google"). In the European Union, Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street Dublin 4, Ireland is responsible for the web analysis service. Firebase Analytics enables us to analyse the use of the service. Anonymised usage information is collected through the service and transferred to Google. To do this, Google uses the advertising ID of your device. Google shall use this information on our behalf in order to analyse the use of our service as well as for the provision of other services associated with the use of the service. You can restrict the usage of the advertising ID in the settings for your device.

Google also processes this data in the USA. We have concluded standard contractual clauses with Google in accordance with Article 22 of Federal Decree-Law No. 45/2021 They can be found at: https://business.safety.google/intl/en/adsprocessorterms/

This data processing is only carried out with your express consent so that the data processing is authorised in accordance with Article 6 of Federal Decree-Law No. 45/2021. You can stop the analysis function at any time in the "Privacy settings" menu item of the service and thus revoke your consent.

6.3 Adobe Analytics

In the service we use Adobe Analytics, a web analysis service of Adobe Systems Software Ireland Limited, 4-6 Riverwalk, Citywest Business Campus, Dublin 24, Republic of Ireland ("Adobe").

Adobe Analytics uses cookies, which are text files that are stored on your computer and make it possible to analyse how you use the website. If the information generated by the cookie on the use of the website is transmitted to an Adobe server, then the settings ensure that the IP address is anonymised before geolocation and that it is replaced by a generic IP address before it is stored. On behalf of the operator of this website, Adobe will use this information to evaluate the user's usage of the website, to compile reports about the website activities and to provide other services to the website operator associated with website use and Internet use. The IP address relayed by your browser within the scope of Adobe Analytics is not linked to other Adobe data.

Adobe can also transfer the data to Adobe companies outside the UAE , e.g. to Adobe Inc. located in the USA (Adobe U.S.). Where this is the case, Adobe draws on the standard contractual clauses in accordance with Article 22 of Federal Decree-Law No. 45/2021. Further information can be found online at: https://www.adobe.com/privacy/eudatatransfers.html

In addition, you can prevent the recording of the data generated by the cookie and relating to your use of the website (including your IP address), as well as the processing of this data by Adobe, by downloading and installing the browser plug-in available via the following link: http://www.adobe.com/privacy/opt-out.html

7. Data transfer to third countries

We use cookies and comparable technologies, whose providers are sometimes located in so-called third countries (like the USA). In such cases and if the data is transferred to inadequate countries (Article 22 of Federal Decree-Law No. 45/2021Article, we have taken appropriate precautions to ensure an appropriate level of data protection for any data transfers. These include the standard contractual clauses of the European Union or binding internal data protection regulations, among others.

Where this is not possible, we base the data transfer on exceptions of Article 23 of Federal Decree-Law No. 45/2021, particularly your express consent or the necessity of the transfer for the performance of the contract.

If a data transfer to a third country is intended and there is no adequacy decision or suitable guarantees, it is possible and there is the risk that authorities in the respective third country (e.g. intelligence services) can gain access to the data transferred in order to record and analyse it and that an enforceability of your rights as a data subject cannot be guaranteed. You will also be informed thereof when providing your consent via the consent banner.

8. Storage period

We erase or anonymise your personal data as soon as it is no longer required for the purposes for which we collected or processed it as described in the above terms. We generally save your personal data for the duration of the user relationship or contractual relationship via the service plus a period of two months, during which we store back-up copies after erasure, provided this data is not required to be stored for longer for criminal prosecutions or to safeguard, exercise or assert legal claims.

Legal requirements to store and erase personal data, including but not limited to data which we must store for tax reasons, remain unaffected.

9. Your rights as a data subject

You have the right to obtain information from us at any time about the personal data we process that relates to you within the scope of Article 13 of Federal Decree-Law No. 45/2021. To do this, you can submit a request by post or by e-mail to the addresses given below.

Should any personal data that concerns you be incorrect, you have the right to have this rectified by us without undue delay. To do this, please make contact via the addresses given below.

In accordance with the provisions described in Article 15 of Federal Decree-Law No. 45/2021, you have the right to request we erase your personal data. These conditions stipulate, among other things, a right to erasure if the personal data is no longer required for the purpose for which it was collected or otherwise processed, and in cases of unlawful processing, the presence of an objection or the existence of an erasure obligation in accordance with European Union legislation or the legislation of the Member State by which we are governed. For the data storage period, see also Item 8 of this Privacy Policy. To assert your right to erasure, please contact us at the addresses given below.

In accordance with Article 16 of Federal Decree-Law No. 45/2021, you have the right to request the restriction of processing by us. This right shall apply in particular if the accuracy of the personal data is being disputed between the user and us, for the duration required to review the accuracy, and in the event that the user requests restriction of processing instead of erasure where a right to erasure exists; also in the event that the data is no longer required for the purposes specified by us, but the user still requires it to exercise, assert or defend legal claims and if the successful assertion of an objection is still being disputed between us and the user. To assert your right to the restriction of processing, please contact us at the addresses given below.

You have the right to receive from us the personal data that concerns you, which you have provided to us, in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format, in accordance with Article 14 of Federal Decree-Law No. 45/2021. To assert your right to data portability, please contact us at the addresses given below.

In accordance with Article 17 of Federal Decree-Law No. 45/2021, on grounds relating to your particular situation, you shall have the right to file an objection at any time to the processing of personal data concerning you which is based on Article 4(7) of Federal Decree-Law No. 45/2021. We shall cease processing your personal data unless we can provide compelling legitimate reasons for the processing which outweigh your interests, rights and freedoms, or unless the processing is used to assert, exercise or defend legal claims..

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the responsible supervisory authority. The responsible supervisory authority shall be the UAE Data Office.

In case of further questions on the processing of your data or if you wish to assert your aforementioned rights, you can reach the Data Protection Officer of [Karcher FZE, Dubai, Jebel Ali South ] at the above address and the following e-mail address: privacy.ae@karcher.com