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Data protection notice

Data protection notice of Robert Bosch GmbH

Robert Bosch GmbH (hereinafter “Area of the stationary fuel cell SOFC” or “We” or “Us”) welcomes you to our internet pages and mobile applications (together also referred to as “Online Offers”). We thank you for your interest in our company and our products.

1. Area of the stationary fuel cell SOFC respects your privacy

The protection of your privacy throughout the course of processing personal data as well as the security of all business data are important concerns to us. We process personal data that was gathered during your visit of our Online Offers confidentially and only in accordance with statutory regulations.

Data protection and information security are included in our corporate policy.

2. Controller

Robert Bosch GmbH is the controller responsible for the processing of your data; exceptions are outlined in this data protection notice.

Our contact details are as follows:

Robert Bosch GmbH
Robert-Bosch-Platz 1
70839 Gerlingen-Schillerhöhe
GERMANY

E-mail: kontakt@bosch.de
Telephone: +49 711 400 40990

3. Collection, processing and usage of personal data

Processed categories of data

The following categories of data are processed:

  • Communication data (e.g. name, telephone, e-mail, address, IP address)
  • Contractual master data (e.g. contractual relationships, contractual or pro-duct interest)
  • Client history
  • Contract accounting and payment data
  • Planning and regulation data
  • Transaction data
  • Provision of information (from third parties, e.g. credit reference agencies or from public directories)

4. Principles

Personal data consists of all information related to an identified or identifiable natural person, this includes, e.g. names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, contractual master data, contract accounting and payment data, which is an expression of a person's identity.

We collect, process and use personal data (including IP addresses) only when there is either a statutory legal basis to do so or if you have given your consent to the processing or use of personal data concerning this matter, e.g. by means of registration.

4.1 · Processing purposes and legal basis

We as well as the service providers commissioned by us; process your personal data for the following processing purposes:

Provision of these Online Offers
Legal basis: Legitimate interest on our part in direct marketing as long as this occurs in accord-ance with data protection and competition law.

Resolving service disruptions as well as for security reasons.
Legal basis: Fulfillment of our legal obligations within the scope of data security and legitimate interest in resolving service disruptions as well as in the protection of our offers.

Self-promotion and promotion by others as well as market research and reach analysis done within the scope statutorily permitted or based on consent
Legal basis: Consent / legitimate interest on our part in direct marketing if in accordance with data protection and competition law.

Product or customer surveys by postal mail
Legal basis: Legitimate interest in the improvement of products / services.

Product or customer surveys performed via email and/or telephone subject to your prior express consent.
Legal basis: Consent.

Sending an email or SMS/MMS newsletter subject to the recipient’s consent
Legal basis: Consent.

Safeguarding and defending our rights
Legal basis: Legitimate interest on our part for safeguarding and defending our rights.

Initiation and performance of a contract with our contractual partners
The legal basis for the processing is our legitimate interest: Support for existing and potential customers

5. Log files

Each time you use the internet, your browser is transmitting certain information which we store in so-called log files.

We store log files to determine service disruptions and for security reasons (e.g., to investigate attack attempts) for a period of 7 days and delete them afterwards. Log files which need to be maintained for evidence purposes are excluded from deletion until the respective incident is resolved and may, on a case-by-case basis, be passed on to investigating authorities.

Log files are also used for analysis purposes (without the IP address or without the complete IP address) see module “Advertisements and/or market research (including web analysis, no customer surveys)”.

In log files, the following information is saved:

  • IP address (internet protocol address) of the terminal device used to access the Online Offer;
  • Internet address of the website from which the Online Offer is accessed (so-called URL of origin or referrer URL);
  • Name of the service provider which was used to access the Online Offer;
  • Name of the files or information accessed;
  • Date and time as well as duration of recalling the data;
  • Amount of data transferred;
  • Operating system and information on the internet browser used, including add-ons installed (e.g., Flash Player);
  • http status code (e.g., “Request successful” or “File requested not found”).

6. Children

This Online Offer is not meant for children under 16 years of age.

7. Data transfer to other controllers

Principally, your personal data is forwarded to other controllers only if required for the fulfillment of a contractual obligation, or if we ourselves, or a third party, have a legitimate interest in the data transfer, or if you have given your consent. Particulars on the legal basis and the recipients or categories of recipients can be found in the Section – Processing purposes and legal basis.

Additionally, data may be transferred to other controllers when we are obliged to do so due to statutory regulations or enforceable administrative or judicial orders.

8. Service providers (general)

We involve external service providers with tasks such as sales and marketing services, contract management, payment handling, programming, data hosting and hotline services. We have chosen those service providers carefully and monitor them on a regular basis, especially regarding their diligent handling of and protection of the data that they store. All service providers are obliged to maintain confidentiality and to comply with the statutory provisions. Service providers may also be other Bosch group companies.

9. Transfer to recipients outside the EEA

We might transfer personal data to recipients located outside the EEA into so-called third countries. In such cases, prior to the transfer we ensure that either the data recipient provides an appropriate level of data protec-tion or that you have consented to the transfer.

You are entitled to receive an overview of third country recipients and a copy of the specifically agreed-provisions securing an appropriate level of data protection. For this purpose, please use the statements made in the Contact section.

10. Duration of storage, retention periods

Principally, we store your data for as long as it is necessary to render our Online Offers and connected services or for as long as we have a legitimate interest in storing the data (e.g. we might still have a legitimate interest in postal mail marketing after fulfillment of our contractual obligations). In all other cases we delete your personal data with the exception of data we are obliged to store for the fulfillment of legal obligations (e.g. due to retention periods under the tax and commercial codes we are obliged to have documents such as contracts and invoices available for a certain period of time).

11. Usage of Cookies

In the context of our online service, cookies and tracking mechanisms may be used.

Cookies are small text files that may be stored on your device when visiting our online service.

Tracking is possible using different technologies. In particular, we process information using pixel technology and/or during log file analysis.

11.1 · Categories

We distinguish between cookies that are mandatorily required for the technical functions of the online service and such cookies and tracking mechanisms that are not mandatorily required for the technical function of the online service.

It is generally possible to use the online service without any cookies that serve non-technical purposes.

11.1.1 Technically required cookies

By technically required cookies we mean cookies without those the technical provision of the online service cannot be ensured. These include e.g. cookies that store data to ensure smooth reproduction of video or audio footage.

Such cookies will be deleted when you leave the website.

11.1.2 Cookies and tracking mechanisms that are technically not required

We only use cookies and tracking mechanisms if you have given us your prior consent in each case. With the exception of the cookie that saves the current status of your privacy settings (selection cookie). This cookie is set based on legitimate interest.

We distinguish between two sub-categories with regard to these cookies and tracking mechanisms:

11.1.2.1 Comfort cookies

These cookies facilitate operation and thus allow you to browse our online service more comfortably; e.g. your language settings may be included in these cookies.

11.1.2.2 Marketing cookies and tracking mechanisms

General

By using marketing cookies and tracking mechanisms we and our partners are able to show you offerings based on your interests, resulting from an analysis of your user behavior:

  • Statistics:
    By using statistical tools, we measure e.g. the number of your page views.
  • Conversion tracking:
    Our conversion tracking partners place a cookie on your computer ("conversion cookie") if you accessed our website via an advertisement of the respective partner. Normally these cookies are no longer valid after 30 days. If you visit certain pages of our website and the cookie has not yet expired, we and the relevant conversion partner can recognize that a certain user clicked on the advertisement and thereby was redirected to our website. This can also be done across multiple devices. The information obtained by means of the conversion cookie serves the purpose of compiling conversion statistics and recording the total number of users who clicked on the respective advertisement and were redirected to a website with a conversion tracking tag.
  • Retargeting:
    These tools create user profiles by means of advertising cookies or third-party advertising cookies so called "web beacons" (invisible graphics that are also called pixels or tracking pixels), or by means of comparable technologies. These are used for interest-based advertising and to control the frequency with which the user looks at certain advertisements. The relevant provider is the controller responsible for the processing of data in connection with the tool. The providers of the tools might disclose information also to third parties for the purposes mentioned above. Please note the data protection notices of the relevant provider in this context.

Please note that using the tools might include transfer of your data to recipients outside of the EEA where there is no adequate level of data protection pursuant to the GDPR (e.g. the USA). For more details in this respect please refer to the following description of the individual marketing tools.

Name: Google Analytics
Provider: Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland
Function: Analysis of user behavior (page retrievals, number of visitors and visits, downloads), creation of pseudonymous user profiles based on cross-device information of logged-in Google users (cross-device tracking), enrichment of pseudonymous user data with target group-specific information provided by Google, retargeting, UX testing, conversion tracking and retargeting in conjunction with Google Ads

Name: Google Optimize
Provider: Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland
Function: Cookie can analyze how users have behaved on a cross-site basis, UX testing

Name: Google Tag Manager
Provider: Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland
Function: Administration of website tags via a user interface, integration of program codes on our websites

Name: Google Ads
Provider: Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland
Function: Placement of advertisements, remarketing, conversion tracking
Further information is available at: (https://adssettings.google.com/authenticated).

11.2 · Management of cookies and tracking mechanisms

You can manage your cookie and tracking mechanism settings in the browser and/or our privacy settings.

Note: The settings you have made refer only to the browser used in each case.

11.3 · Deactivation of all cookies

If you wish to deactivate all cookies, please deactivate cookies in your browser settings. Please note that this may affect the functionality of the website.

Management of your settings with regard to cookies and tracking mechanisms not required technically

When visiting our websites, you will be asked in a cookie layer whether you consent to our using of any Comfort cookies, marketing cookies or tracking mechanisms, respectively.

In our privacy settings, you may withdraw the consent with effect for the future or grant your consent at a later point in time.

11.4 · Management of your settings with regard to cookies and tracking mechanisms not required technically

When visiting our websites, you will be asked in a cookie layer whether you consent to our using of any Comfort cookies, marketing cookies or tracking mechanisms, respectively.

In our privacy settings, you may withdraw the consent with effect for the future or grant your consent at a later point in time.

12. Plugins

Our online offers include the use of plugins provided by various social and other networks.

These plugins are additional features made available by the network providers.

As a default setting, these plugins are inactive.

To enhance the protection of your data when visiting our website, we use a “2-click solution” to integrate the plugins into the page. This 2-click solution keeps your visit to our websites from being recorded and possibly evaluated by the providers of the respective plugins by default.

If you do not wish the providers of the respective networks to receive data about your use of this online offer and possibly to store or further use this data, you should not activate the respective plugins.

Activating plugins

You yourself can decide whether you want to interact with the respective provider’s network and whether your data is to be transmitted to the respective provider or not. Only if you click on the button provided (“Agree”) will the respective plugin be activated and integrated into the page, and the content of the respective plugin be transmitted from the server of the associated provider directly to your browser. A second click will then allow you to perform the desired interaction with the network. If you decide to activate a plugin, you give us permission to process your data based on your consent.

Collection of data by providers

When a plugin is activated, your internet browser establishes a direct connection to the respective provider’s servers. Even if you do not have a user account with the provider or are not currently logged in to such an account, this connection notifies the respective provider that your internet browser has called up the corresponding page of our online offer.

If you already have a user account with a provider of a network and are already logged in when you visit our websites, the operator of the respective network may be able to assign the visit to your personal user account as soon as you activate plugins. This may enable the provider to analyze your usage behavior and store it in a profile.

In addition, your IP address and other data about your browser settings will be transmitted by your internet browser directly to a server of the respective provider and may be stored there.

Further processing of data by providers

Plugins are additional features made available by network providers. We therefore have no influence on the further processing of the data that the respective network providers’ plugins collect and store.

To find out more about the purpose and scope of each provider’s activities to collect, further process, and delete data, as well as about your respective rights and data protection options, please consult the respective provider’s privacy policy.

Deactivate the plugin

If you activate a plugin, the activation applies to the specific plugin only, and only for as long as you visit the page into which the plugin is integrated.

If you no longer wish to use an activated plugin, it can be deactivated by reloading the website. Please note that this does not affect data that has already been transmitted.

We use plugins from the providers listed below:

12.1 · YouTube

This website uses videos from the video platform YouTube. YouTube is a platform that enables you to play video files. It is operated by Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland and its parent company: Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA.

To increase the protection of your data when visiting our website, YouTube content is deactivated by default and integrated into the page in “privacy enhanced mode”.

This way, a connection to YouTube, including a transmission of log data to YouTube, is only established when you perform an interaction with the player. This constitutes your consent. When you interact with the active YouTube player, data is also transmitted to Google as controller and contact is made with the Google DoubleClick advertising network, which may trigger further data processing operations over which we have no control.

You can revoke your consent at any time with effect for the future by reloading the website.

Further information on the scope and purpose of the data collected, the further processing and use of the data by Google, your rights and the data protection options you can select can be found in YouTube's privacy policy.

13. Communication tools on social media platforms

We use on our social media platform (e.g. twitter) communication tools to process your messages sent via this social media platform and to offer you support.

When sending a message via our social media platform the message is processed to handle your query (and if necessary additional data, which we receive from the social media provider in connection with this message as your name or files). In addition we can analyze these data in an aggregated and anonymized form in order to better understand how our social media platform is used.

We will forward the personal data you provide to the Bosch legal entity responsible for the processing of your query (for example, in the event your query refers to a product that is distributed by another Bosch legal entity). The legal basis for the processing of your data is our legitimate interest (Art. 6 para. 1 s. 1 lit. f GDPR) or, if applicable, an existing contractual relationship (Art. 6 para. 1 s. 1 lit. b GDPR). The processed personal data is deleted 180 days upon receipt of your message the latest.

14. External links

Our Online Offers may contain links to internet pages of third parties, in particular providers who are not related to us. Upon clicking on the link, we have no influence on the collecting, processing and use of personal data possibly transmitted by clicking on the link to the third party (such as the IP address or the URL of the site on which the link is located) as the conduct of third parties is naturally beyond our control. We do not assume responsibility for the processing of personal data by third parties.

15. Security

Our employees and the companies providing services on our behalf, are obliged to confidentiality and to compliance with the applicable data protection laws.

We take all necessary technical and organizational measures to ensure an appropriate level of security and to protect your data that are administrated by us especially from the risks of unintended or unlawful destruction, manipulation, loss, change or unauthorized disclosure or unauthorized access. Our security measures are, pursuant to technological progress, constantly being improved.

16. User rights

To enforce your rights, please use the details provided in the Contact section. In doing so, please ensure that an unambiguous identification of your person is possible.

16.1 · Right to information and access

You have the right to obtain confirmation from us about whether or not your personal data is being processed, and, if this is the case, access to your personal data.

16.2 · Right to correction and deletion

You have the right to obtain the rectification of inaccurate personal data. As far as statutory requirements are fulfilled, you have the right to obtain the completion or deletion of your data.

This does not apply to data which is necessary for billing or accounting purposes or which is subject to a statutory retention period. If access to such data is not required, however, its processing is restricted (see the following).

16.3 · Restriction of processing

As far as statutory requirements are fulfilled you have the right to demand for restriction of the processing of your data.

16.4 · Data portability

As far as statutory requirements are fulfilled you may request to receive data that you have provided to us in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format or – if technically feasible –that we transfer those data to a third party.

17. Objection to direct marketing

Additionally, you may object to the processing of your personal data for direct marketing purposes at any time. Please take into account that due to organizational reasons, there might be an overlap between your objection and the usage of your data within the scope of a campaign which is already running.

Objection to data processing based on the legal basis of “legitimate interest”

In addition, you have the right to object to the processing of your personal data at any time, insofar as this is based on “legitimate interest”. We will then terminate the processing of your data, unless we demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds according to legal requirements which override your rights.

17.1 · Withdrawal of consent

In case you consented to the processing of your data, you have the right to revoke this consent at any time with effect for the future. The lawfulness of data processing prior to your withdrawal remains unchanged.

18. Right to lodge complaint with supervisory authority

You have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. You can appeal to the supervisory authority which is responsible for your place of residence or your state of residency or to the supervisory authority responsible for us. This is:

[Name and address of the supervisory authority responsible for the PROVIDER, e.g.

State Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information

Address:
Lautenschlagerstraße 20
70173 Stuttgart, GERMANY

Postal address:
P.O. Box 10 29 32
70025 Stuttgart, GERMANY

Phone: +49 (711)/615541-0
Fax: +49 (711)/615541-15
Email: poststelle@lfdi.bwl.de

19. Changes to the Data Protection Notice

We reserve the right to change our security and data protection measures. In such cases, we will amend our data protection notice accordingly. Please, therefore, notice the current version of our data protection notice, as this is subject to changes.

20. Contact

If you wish to contact us, please find us at the address stated in the "Controller" section.

To assert your rights and to notify data protection incidents please use the following link: https://request.privacy-bosch.com/entity/RB/

For suggestions and complaints regarding the processing of your personal data we recommend that you contact our data protection officer:

Data Protection Officer
Information Security and Privacy (C/ISP)
Robert Bosch GmbH
P.O. Box 30 02 20
70442 Stuttgart, GERMANY

or

mailto: DPO@bosch.com

Effective date: 15.04.2024