Privacy Policy

Thank you for visiting the SparkPackers website. At SparkPackers we take the privacy of our customers and the visitors of this website very seriously, in strict compliance with EU data protection legislation. This Privacy Policy was updated to address GDPR requirements. This privacy policy will demonstrate in the most transparent way how SparkPackers handles your data. We explain how we collect, store and process your personal data, and your rights concerning these data.

Please carefully read this privacy policy before using our website or entering your personal information in our online store or registration fields. By using our website, you agree to be bound by this privacy policy, which may be modified by SparkPackers at any time.

Our website contains links to third party websites. Those third party websites are not subject to this privacy policy nor is SparkPackers responsible for the privacy practices or the content on these websites.

Who we are
In this policy, “I”, “we”, “us” and “our” refer to SparkPackers. The controller within the meaning of Article 4 (7) of the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR):
SparkPackers, Michael Appel (owner), Schwalbacher Str. 31, 50969 Köln, Germany. For the purposes of this policy we are the data controller in respect of your personal information that we collect and process as further described in this Privacy Policy.

How we collect data
Normally we would collect some of the data that you share with us. Examples will include when you make an online purchase, subscribe to our newsletter, leave a product review or contact our support with a query. When we receive data we take appropriate steps to protect it.

What data is stored
Newsletter Signup: Email address
Orders in our store: Full name, billing address, E-mail address
Browsing our website: Internet Protocol Address

Why we collect data
We want to give you the best possible experience with SparkPackers and our products. With this in mind, this data helps us to provide you with:

  • the latest information on new products, services, educational content and promotional offers of SparkPackers
  • customer support if you have queries or problems
  • access to your purchase history and available downloads via ‘My Account’
  • personalised offers

In addition, we store data to facilitate:

  • Tax collection: we must retain certain information regarding sales to verify location for UK/EU tax reporting
  • Fraud protection: we undertake certain fraud prevention methods to protect credit card users in our e-commerce system.

There will inevitably be some services that we cannot provide for you without the retention of data.

Involved 3rd Party
Stripe, 510 Townsend Street, San Francisco, CA 94103, USA
We submit payment information like name, email address, credit card number to process the payment. The connection is SSL-encrypted.
MailChimp – Atlanta, Georgia 30308, USA
We submit your email address to be entered in our newsletter list.
SiteGround – 1756 g.k. Sofia Park, Sofia, Bulgaria
Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA

Social Media
You may come across us on social media through your own networks, or you may be presented with an ad from us. We target ads at audiences that look like they have an interest in our services. We do this to inform, educate and engage new and existing customers .

More information on how to control the ads you see can be found here:
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/help/1075880512458213/?helpref=hc_fnav
Instagram – https://help.instagram.com/1415228085373580

If you contact us via these channels, please be aware that we have no control over the data provided while on the platform. Your enquiry data may be transferred to our database so that we can refer to enquiries in the future.

Anonymous data
Sometimes we use data for analytical or marketing reasons, in which case the data is anonymised. Examples would include geographical analysis of sales success, geographically focussed promotions, or historical product sales curves.

When we share your data
SparkPackers will not share your data with any third party unless it is to provide an essential service for you (or if we have a legal obligation to share that data). An example would include the electronic purchase procedures via PayPal or Stripe. Under no circumstances will your personal data be sold to any third parties.

International Transfers
Where your personal data is transferred outside of the EEA, we will ensure that either (a) The European Commission has made an “adequacy decision” with respect to the data protection laws of the country to which it is transferred, or (b) we have entered into a suitable data processing agreement with the third party situated in that country to ensure the adequate protection of your data. In all cases, transfers outside of the EEA will be protected by appropriate safeguards.

Our email marketing provider is ConvertKit, Data is stored outside the EEA in the United States. They are protected by appropriate safeguards namely EU/US Privacy Shield. More information on how your data is protected can be found here https://convertkit.com/privacy/

Lawful Basis for Processing your data
Where you have made a purchase from us, or make an enquiry we process your data for the performance of, or entering in to a contract.
When you joining our mailing list we obtain your consent to email you information on new products, services, educational content and promotional offers. Processing of your data for our business purposes is carried out under legitimate interest, namely improving our services or protecting our business interests. This includes the use of Google Analytics, support enquiries, fraud prevention, legal advice or insurance purposes.

Your rights
If you wish to see, modify or delete your data; or if you have any other query about our privacy policy, please contact Michael@SparkPackers.com

  • Information about your data stored with us and the processing of this data (Section 15 GDPR),
  • Correction of incorrect personal data (Art. 16 GDPR),
  • Deletion of your data stored with us (Art. 17 GDPR),
  • Restriction of data processing if we are not yet allowed to delete your data due to legal obligations (Art. 18 GDPR),
  • Contradiction against the processing of your data with us (Art. 21 GDPR) and
  • Data transferability if you have consented to data processing or have concluded a contract with us (Art. 20 GDPR).

If you have given us your consent, you can revoke it at any time with effect for the future.

You can contact the competent supervisory authority at any time with a complaint (Art. 77 GDPR in conjunction with § 19 BDSG). Your competent supervisory authority depends on your state of residence, your work or the alleged infringement.

Use of Personal Data and Disclosure of Personal Data 
By providing SparkPackers with your personal data, you authorize us to use it for the following purposes:

  • Processing orders, registrations and newsletters
  • Running raffles, polls and contests
  • Customer support inquiries
  • Market research to improve our products and services

Generally, SparkPackers does not disclose your personal data to third parties, however SparkPackers may use it for the following purposes:

  • Your data can be shared with third parties where it is neccessary, e.g. to process orders, payments and deliveries that involve third parties (e.g. payment providers, parcel services,…)
  • To protect perceived rights, safety and property of SparkPackers, our partners, our clients, users of our website and the public
  • In accordance with legal and regulatory requirements.

It is your right to request information about the personal data SparkPackers has about you. You can request to have it corrected, removed or you can ask us not to use your personal data for the above mentioned purposes. You have the right to request a written document that contains the personal data we have about you. Please write to Michael@SparkPackers.com.

When you’re subscribed to our newsletter, you have the option to unsubscribe at any time from our mailing list via the unsubscribe link in each newsletter.

Google Analytics
This website uses Google Analytics, a web analysis service of 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 this website is usually transferred to a Google server in the USA and stored there.

Google will reduce your IP address within Member States of the European Union or in other countries party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area beforehand. Only in exceptional cases will the full IP address be transmitted to a Google server in the USA and shortened there. IP anonymization is active on this website. On behalf of the operator of this website, Google will use this information to evaluate your use of the website, to compile reports on website activity and to provide the website operator with other services relating to website and Internet use.

The IP address transmitted by your browser in the context of Google Analytics is not merged with other Google data. 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. You can deactivate Google Analytics by click the Link at the bottom of this page. This will place an opt-out cookie only for this browser and for this domain. If you delete your browser cookies, you will have to opt-out again.

SparkPackers also uses 3rd party vendor re-marketing tracking cookies, including the Google Adwords tracking cookie. This means we will continue to show ads to you across the internet, specifically on the Google Content Network (GCN). As always we respect your privacy and are not collecting any identifiable information through the use of Google’s or any other 3rd party remarketing system.

The third-party vendors, including Google, whose services we use – will place cookies on web browsers in order to serve ads based on past visits to our website. – Third party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on a user’s prior visits to your website. This allows us to make special offers and continue to market our services to those who have shown interest in our service.

Cookies
To make the websites work properly many use cookies, which are small information files that are sent to your computer, mobile or other device when you visit the website and which will recognize your device on future visits. These types of files do a number of different jobs such as remembering your preferences and chosen items, assisting you to improve your site experience as well as trying to ensure that the adverts or offers you see online are more relevant to you.

This Website in particular may use cookies and tracking technology depending on the features offered. Cookies and tracking technology are useful for gathering information about your use of the Websites, information about your computer such as the computers IP address and browser type, demographic data, and information such as if you arrived at the Website via a link from a third-party site, in which case the cookie can provide information concerning the URL and information about the linking website.

Personal information cannot be collected via cookies and other tracking technology. However, if you previously provided personally identifiable information, cookies may be tied to such information. If you are a registered user, this may include your name and e-mail address for verification purposes.

You may choose to set your web browser to not accept cookies. However, if you do not accept cookies, you will not be able to use all the services provided, sign in on any pages, post comments or make purchases, and you do not help us learn how to improve our Website, products, offers and marketing strategy.

The cookies used on this Website are the following:

  • Session cookies which are erased when you close the browser
  • First-party cookies which are set by the web server of the visited page and share the same domain, and
  • Third-party cookies stored by a different domain to the visited page’s domain. This can happen when the webpage references a file, such as JavaScript, located outside its domain.

Session cookies are used to track and store items in the shopping cart to ensure a user is recognized when moving from page to page within the site and that any information entered is remembered. They are used only for this purpose and only accessible by this website.

Third-party cookies Web analytics software uses cookies to tell if a user has visited the site before, determine how many unique users we have and how often they visit the site.

These cookies cannot be used to identify individuals, they are used for aggregated statistics only. This allows us, for example, to tell which areas of the site are the most popular and better optimise our content for the interests of our users.

To allow users to share content with friends through social networks such as Facebook and Twitter we embed components provided by these third parties or build our own components which use their APIs. These third party companies have their own privacy policies and also policies for publishers which we will comply with.

SparkPackers discloses potentially personally-identifying and personally-identifying information only to those of its employees, contractors and affiliated organizations that need to know that information in order to process it on SparkPackers’s behalf or to provide services available at SparkPackers’s websites, and that have agreed not to disclose it to others. However, you should keep in mind that there is always some risk involved when transmitting information over the internet.

YouTube
Integration of videos from the platform YouTube by means of YouTube Player (use of third-party cookies)

(1) This website uses the YouTube video embedding function to show and play videos that are stored on the platform YouTube, operated by Google LLC., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, California 94043, USA (“Google”), by means of framing technology. This means that the video is played directly on the YouTube website but is shown on our website. We have integrated all the YouTube videos in extended data protection mode, i.e. according to YouTube or Google, no data about you as a user is transferred to YouTube if or as long as you do not play the videos or have not started to play them. Only when you play the videos will data be transferred to YouTube or Google. We have no influence on this transfer of data.

(2) If the user starts to play embedded YouTube videos on our website, the provider uses YouTube cookies to collect information about user behavior. According to YouTube, such cookies serve, among other things, to collect video statistics, improve user-friendliness and prevent abusive practices. If you are logged in to Google, your data is directly allocated to your account when you click on a video. If you do not wish the data to be associated with your profile on YouTube, you must log out before activating the button. Google stores your data (even for users not logged in) in the form of usage profiles and evaluates it. We are not aware of the exact scope of data collection and processing by YouTube or Google, the exact purposes of processing, the storage periods and any third-party transfer. We also have no information regarding the deletion of the data collected. In addition, circumstances may change in the future if YouTube or Google makes changes or adjustments, for example to the scope of the data processing.

(3) YouTube and Google process and evaluate data in particular in accordance with Article 6 (1) (f) GDPR based on the legitimate interests of YouTube and Google in showing personalized advertising, market research and/or the needs-oriented design of their website. You have the right to object to the creation of such usage profiles; you must contact YouTube or Google to exercise this right.

(4) For more information about data protection at YouTube and Google, and about the purpose and scope of the collection and processing of data, please see the YouTube/Google Privacy Policy. These documents also provide further information about your rights and your options to make settings to protect your privacy: https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en&gl=us.

(5) Google processes your personal data (also) in the United States and has agreed to be subject to the EU-US Privacy Shield (cf. https://www.privacyshield.gov/list), which is intended to ensure compliance with the level of data protection applicable in the EU (more information: https://www.privacyshield.gov/EU-US-Framework).

SoundCloud
Integration of the SoundCloud Player (use of third-party cookies)

(1) On our website, we use the SoundCloud Player”, which is audio playback software. For this purpose, we store audio files we have created, containing sound samples and musical demonstrations of our products, on the SoundCloud platform, operated by SoundCloud Limited, Rheinsberger Str. 76/77, 10115 Berlin, Germany (hereinafter “SoundCloud”), and integrate them into our website via the SoundCloud Player. The SoundCloud Player allows our website visitors to play and listen to the sound samples and audio demos by means of streaming.

(2) When a user visits our website, SoundCloud stores cookies in the user’s Internet browser. In addition, after the embedded SoundCloud Player is activated, or once its content is played, a direct connection is established between your browser and the SoundCloud server. Data is transferred to SoundCloud. SoundCloud can determine, for example, which audio files you listen to and to what extent. SoundCloud can process this audio information pseudonymously for statistical and business purposes and create user profiles. The data processing carried out by SoundCloud also serves to help place ads that correspond to the potential interests of the respective user. For users registered with SoundCloud, SoundCloud can assign the listening data to the user profiles. We are not aware of the exact scope of data collection and processing by SoundCloud, the exact purposes of processing, the storage periods or any third-party transfer of personal data. We also have no information regarding the deletion of the collected data on the part of SoundCloud. In addition, circumstances may change in the future if SoundCloud makes changes or adjustments, for example to the scope of the data processing. We do not receive any information regarding the content of the data transferred to SoundCloud or SoundCloud’s use of such data.

(3) For more information about data protection at SoundCloud, please see the SoundCloud Privacy Policy at https://soundcloud.com/pages/privacy/05-2018.

Privacy Contact Information
If you have any questions about our privacy policy you may contact SparkPackers via: michael@sparkpackers.com