Privacy Statement for Kärcher Home Robots (Version: September 2022)

The information below explains, how your personal data is processed, when you use the Kärcher
Home Robots System including the App.

Statement

1. Kärcher Home Robots

Use of the Kärcher Home Robots System by Alfred Kärcher SE & Co. KG, Alfred-Kärcher-Straße 28-40, 71364 Winnenden, Phone: +49 (0)7195/14-0, Email: info@karcher.com (hereinafter referred to as Kärcher) is only possible by means of the Kärcher Home Robots App for smartphones with an iOS or Android operating system. You can contact the Kärcher Data Protection Officer at the address above or by emailing data.privacy@kaercher.com.


2. Downloading the App

You can download the Kärcher Home Robots App free of charge from the Google Play store or the Apple App Store. To do so, you must open a customer account in either the Google Play store or the App Store, and enter your data there. However, this data is not collected by Kärcher, and Kärcher therefore has no influence over it and is not responsible for it.

You must also accept the Terms of Use of the App store in question in order to open a customer account. When you download the Home Robots App, you must also accept the associated Terms of Use with legally binding effect.

When downloading the App from an App store, the information needed for this is transferred to the App store, in particular your user name, email address and customer number of your account, the date/time of downloading and the individual device ID. However, we have no influence over the collection of this data and are not responsible for it.


3. Setting up and Using the App

You must register in order to set up and use the App.

When you open the App for the first time, we will ask you to confirm your country and region and select the language of the App.

The App account is the premise for you to use the App business functions on the mobile device containing the App ("your mobile device") after downloading the App, and will collect all kinds of data you provide and receive in the App based on this. When you register an account in the App, we will collect your email and password.

The above information will be used to verify your identity, match and collect a series of operation activities you make with your App account, match and feedback the operation status of your Home Robot, facilitate the handling of customer service and after-sales service requirements you put forward to us, and send you a notice about the above situation, a notice about major changes and updates of service functions, and technical and safety notices.

After loading the App on your mobile device, you can bind your App account to your Home Robot. Therefore you first need to configure the network, that is, establish the information flow path of your App account and your Home Robot through our server. In this regard, you need to connect your mobile device, App account and your Home Robot to your Wi-Fi network.

The data collected during the network configuration process is:

  • App name
  • network card (MAC) address, operating system and its version
  • SSID, network system, displayed IP address, location, time zone and time of sending network configuration request to our server of the same Wi-Fi network accessed by your mobile device and your Home Robot
  • the model, SN code and MAC address of your Home Robot
  • the status and fault type of your network configuration.


4. Using Kärcher Home Robots Systems

The basic business functions of Kärcher Home Robots System we provide to you include:

  • all functions of your Home Robot (subject to the product specifications)
  • the App is paired with your Home Robot, controls and records the operation of the product and
  • communication and handling related to the use and operation of the App and your Home Robot paired with the App.


Specifically, for the following occasions, we process personal information, so that we can safely and effectively realize the following functions:

1. Cleaning Function
When you use the cleaning function of the Home Robot, we will collect information about your house floor map and settings on cleaning area, mode, suction level and water consumption, so as to enable the device to clean specified area. We will also collect information about your cleaning schedule (such as scheduled cleaning duration and mode), in order to perform the scheduled cleaning task in specified time duration.

2. Recording and Displaying Cleanup Information
When you use the Home Robot, we may collect and record the information about your cleanings, including the total number of cleanings and the date, time, route, area, duration and zone (which is obtained from radar scanning and named by you) of each cleaning task. This information will be used to display the cleaning history of the product. We will collect information about the cleaning process, so as to display usage history and help you understand the area, duration and zone of each cleaning as well as the accumulated cleaning time and total number of cleanings.

3. Cleanup Map and Obstacle Avoidance
When you use Home Robots with the Obstacle Avoidance function, it will sample the objects in front of it by using the camera to extract characteristic information (object outline and geometric characteristics), so as to judge what type of object it is. The device will determine the room type based on identified furniture types to assist with the naming of room on the map. You can manage and edit the maps generated by completed cleanup tasks in App.

4. AI-powered Object Recognition and Obstacle Avoidance
When you use Home Robots with the AI-powered Object Recognition function, the device camera will collect image information about the objects in front of the device and extract characteristics within milliseconds for recognition. After recognizing the object types, the device will be able to make judgment and avoid obstacles during cleanup tasks. The collected images will be deleted immediately afterwards. You can select whether to enable recognition feature and whether to display identified objects on the cleanup map. We fully understand the importance of your privacy. You can rest assured that none of the images collected will be stored locally or uploaded to a server. These images are only used for generating cleanup maps and enabling obstacle avoidance, and will not be used for any other purposes.

When you use the Kärcher Home Robots System, the App or the Home Robot will therefore store the following data, to enable you to use Kärcher Home Robots System, without transmitting it to us. The information is:

  • Memory Map
  • Software Version
  • Machine Serial Number
  • Email address
  • WIFI Data

When you use the Kärcher Home Robots App, we collect the following data transmitted by your mobile device to enable you to use the Kärcher Home Robots App. The information is:

  • Cleaning History
  • Cleaning Record
  • Running Logs
  • Location
  • Memory Map
  • Software Version
  • Serial Number
  • Email
  • Phone Serial Number


Related to this, we will need to call the following permissions of your mobile device:

  • in order to connect the network configuration and the App functions that need to be connected to the network, we need to call "mobile data", obtain "Wi-Fi information", and also need "local network" permission.
  • in order to complete the network configuration more efficiently, we also need to obtain the "positioning" permission and "Bluetooth" permission of your mobile device
  • in order to store the App usage log and update the App version, it is necessary to call the "store" permission
  • to ensure the security of your App account, you need to obtain "device information"
  • in order to push various messages related to your account to your mobile device, we need the "notification" permission.


You have the right to choose whether to provide specific information. However, in most cases, if you do not provide such information, we may be unable to provide corresponding services to you, or we may be unable to respond to a problem you encounter.

Some models of Home Robots we provide support the "Share devices" function. For the App account holders (i.e. "sharers") who are paired with them, they are allowed to share control equally with other App account holders (i.e. "sharers"). If you are a sharer, your App account controls the Home Robots paired with other App accounts through the "Share devices" function. For the purpose of this policy, these home robots are regarded as your "Home Robots". For the avoidance of doubt, this privacy policy applies to all uses of such household robots by the sharer and the share. You can also delete the devices that have accepted sharing on the App, or turn off the permission to share to others as a whole.


5. Purpose of the Processing and Legal Basis

All the data is collected, processed and stored by Kärcher to provide the Kärcher Home Robots Service in accordance with Article 6 (1) lit.b of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Kärcher also uses the data collected on the Home Robots devices for the purposes of quality assurance and to improve the quality of its Home Robots products in accordance with Article 6 (1) lit.f GDPR. In addition, Kärcher evaluates your usage behaviour and information on where and how you use the products in question in accordance with Article 6 (1) lit.f GDPR on the basis of the legitimate interests of Kärcher in the context of market research, to identify trends and to make product recommendations. The data concerned is pseudonymised for this purpose. By using this data in this way, Kärcher does not draw any conclusions of any kind regarding individual users and, in particular, does not profile users.

Your data is not shared with third parties. Kärcher, however, reserves the right to have the data processed by service providers on behalf of Kärcher in accordance with Article 28 GDPR. As the data processing is necessary for the performance of the contract concluded between yourself and Kärcher, performance of the contract is not possible without the processing of the data.


6. Recipients of personal data

In the course of our processing of personal data, it may happen that the data is transferred to or disclosed to other companies, which provide services for us.

In such cases, we comply with the legal requirements and, in particular, conclude appropriate contracts or agreements in accordance with Art. 28 GDPR that serve to protect your data with the recipients of your data.


7. Data Transfer outside the European Union

If we process data in a third country (i.e., outside the European Union (EU), the European Economic Area (EEA)) or the processing takes place in the context of the use of third-party services or the disclosure or transfer of data to other persons, entities or companies, this is only done in accordance with the legal requirements.

We only process or have the data processed in third countries with a recognized level of data protection or based on contractual obligations through so-called standard protection clauses of the EU Commission, in the presence of certifications or binding internal data protection regulations (Art. 44 to 49 GDPR).


8. Storage duration

Deletion of your user data
Upon termination of the contractual relationship, the personal data held at Kärcher is deleted provided that this does not conflict with any statutory retention obligations. This will happen if you delete your account.

Deletion of the data generated by your device
The data generated by the device (e.g. cleaning history) are stored for a maximum period of 6 month.


9. Your Rights, Questions and Information

To access and correct your personal information, you can log in to your App account to view the "user information" and "Settings" interfaces, view or modify your submitted personal data, manage the receiving address and the associated third-party account, or make relevant privacy and security settings. However, for the sake of security and identification, or according to the mandatory provisions of laws and regulations, you may not be able to modify some of the initial registration information you provided at the time of registration. If you cannot access and correct your personal information through the above methods, you can use the following rights.

You have the right to information as to whether and what personal data we store concerning you, to rectification or erasure, or to restrict the processing of your data, to object to the processing, and the right to data portability. As your personal data is processed for the performance of a contract, you can no longer use the services provided under the contract once you have objected to the processing of your personal data.

Objection (market research/direct advertising). You can object to the processing of your data for market research or for the purposes of direct advertising at any time. For this, please send an email to data.privacy@kaercher.com. Once you have objected, the personal data will no longer be processed for such purposes.

If you have any further questions regarding the processing of your data or if you would like information regarding the data concerning you that is stored, you can contact the Data Protection Officer of Alfred Kärcher SE & Co. KG at the address provided above or by emailing data.privacy@kaercher.com.


10. Competent Supervisory Authority

As the data subject, you have the right, without prejudice to any other administrative or judicial remedy, to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, in particular in the Member State of your habitual residence, place of work or place of the alleged infringement if you believe that the processing of personal data relating to you infringes these data protection regulations.


If you have a complaint relating to the use of your personal data, you can also contact the competent supervisory authority of Kärcher, the Baden-Württemberg Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information, Königstraße 10a, 70173 Stuttgart, Phone: +49(0)711/615541-0, Telefax 0711/615541-15, https://www.baden-wuerttemberg.datenschutz.de/ Email: poststelle@lfdi.bwl.de

NEW ZEALAND PRIVACY POLICY