Privacy policy

Preliminary remark

We, the publisher AKRES Publishing e. K. (hereinafter also referred to as "we" or "us"), are delighted that you are interested in our website.

With this privacy policy, we inform you about the processing of your data ("personal data") when you visit or interact with our website. We also inform you about the rights to which you are entitled. Both are required by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

I. General information on data protection for the website operated by us

1) Controller

The controller responsible for data processing on this website is

AKRES Publishing e. K.
Remscheider Street 45
42369 Wuppertal
Wuppertal, Germany

represented by Dr Christian Leeck

Phone: 0049 (0)202 519 88303
Fax: 0049 (0)202 2447651
E-Mail: info@akres-publishing.com

Further information can be found in our imprint.

We operate the following website: https://www.akres-publishing.com/.

2) What personal data do we collect or process?

When we use the term "personal data", we are referring to information that identifies you or another person or can be directly associated with you. Personal data does not include information that is collected anonymously or anonymised in such a way that it cannot be identified or associated with you. Depending on how you interact with the Services, where you live and as permitted or required by applicable law, we may collect or process the following categories of personal data, including inferences drawn from that personal data:

  • Contact Data including name, postal address, billing address, delivery address, telephone number and email address.
  • Financial data including credit, debit card and financial account numbers, payment card information, financial account information, transaction details, payment method, payment confirmation and other payment details.
  • Account information including username, password, security questions, configurations and settings.
  • Transaction information including the items you view, add to basket, add to wish list or purchase, return, exchange or cancel and your past transactions.
  • Communication with us, including the information you provide when communicating with us, for example when you send a request to customer support.
  • Device information including information about your device, browser or network connection, IP address and other unique identifiers.
  • Usage Information, including information about your interaction with the Services, including how and when you interact with or browse the Services.

3) Sources of personal data

We may collect Personal Data from the following sources:

  • Directly from you We collect the data when you create an account, access or use the Services, communicate with us or otherwise provide us with your personal data, among other things.
  • Automatically through the Services We collect the data from, among other things, your device or when you use our products or services or visit our website and through the use of cookies and similar technologies.
  • From our service providers We collect the data, among other things, when we instruct the service providers to activate certain technologies and when they collect or process your personal data on our behalf.
  • From our partners and other third parties

4) How do we use your personal data?

Depending on how you interact with us or which of the Services you use, we may use personal data for the following purposes

  • Providing, customising and improving the Services. We use your personal data to provide you with the Services. This includes, but is not limited to, performing our contract with you, processing your payments, fulfilling your orders, storing your configurations and the items you are interested in, sending you notifications related to your account, creating, maintaining and otherwise managing your account, organising shipping, facilitating returns and exchanges, allowing you to leave reviews, and creating a personalised shopping experience for you, for example by recommending products based on your purchases. This may also include using your personal data to better customise and improve the Services.
  • Marketing and advertising. We use your personal data for marketing and promotional purposes, for example, to send marketing and promotional communications by email, SMS or post and to show you online advertisements for products or services for the Services or other websites, including based on items you have previously purchased or added to your shopping basket and other activities relating to the Services.
  • Security and fraud prevention. We use your personal information to authenticate your account, provide a secure payment and shopping experience, detect, investigate or take action regarding possible fraudulent, illegal, unsafe or malicious activity, protect public safety and ensure the security of our Services. If you choose to use the Services and register an account, you are responsible for safeguarding your account credentials. We strongly recommend that you do not share your username, password or other login information with anyone.
  • Communicating with you. We use your personal data to provide you with customer support and effective services, to respond to your requests in a timely manner and to maintain our business relationship with you.
  • Legal grounds. We use your personal information to comply with applicable law or respond to lawful process, including requests from law enforcement or regulatory authorities, to investigate or participate in civil investigations, potential or actual litigation or other adversarial proceedings, and to investigate potential violations of our terms or policies or to enforce the terms and policies.

5) How do we share personal data?

In certain circumstances, we may disclose your personal data to third parties for legitimate purposes in accordance with this Privacy Policy. Such circumstances may include the following:

  • For Shopify, this includes vendors and other third parties who provide services on our behalf (e.g. IT management, payment processing, data analytics, customer support, cloud storage, fulfilment and shipping).
  • We share personal data with business and marketing partners who provide marketing services and display advertising to you. For example, we use Shopify to support personalised advertising with third-party services based on your online activities at various merchants and websites. Our business and marketing partners use your data in accordance with their own privacy policies. Depending on where you live, you may have the right to instruct us not to share information about you in order to provide you with targeted advertising and marketing based on your online activities at various merchants and websites. If you wish to exercise your right to opt out of such uses, you can do so here.
  • When you ask us or otherwise give your consent to share certain information with third parties, for example to deliver products to you, or when you use social media widgets or login integrations.
  • We share personal data with our affiliates or elsewhere within our group of companies.
  • In connection with a business transaction such as a merger or bankruptcy, to comply with applicable legal obligations (including responding to subpoenas, search warrants and similar requests), to enforce applicable terms of service or policies, and to protect or defend the Services, our rights and the rights of our users or others.

6) Relationship with Shopify

The Services are hosted by Shopify, whereby Shopify collects and processes personal data about your access to and use of the Services in order to provide and improve the Services to you. Data that you submit to the Services will be shared with Shopify and with third parties who may be located in countries other than your country of residence in order to provide and improve the Services to you. To protect, grow, and improve our business, we also use certain advanced Shopify features that incorporate data and information from your interactions with our shop, with other merchants, and with Shopify. To provide these advanced features, Shopify may use personal data collected through your interactions with our shop, other merchants, and Shopify. In these circumstances, Shopify is responsible for processing your personal data, including responding to your requests to exercise your rights regarding the use of your personal data for these purposes. For more information about how Shopify uses your personal data and your rights, see the Shopify Consumer Privacy Policy . Depending on where you reside, you may be able to exercise certain rights in relation to your personal data listed here Link to Shopify Privacy Portal.

7) Third-party websites and links

The Services may provide links to websites or other online platforms operated by third parties. If you follow links to websites that are not affiliate websites or are not controlled by us, you should review their privacy and security policies and other terms and conditions. We do not guarantee and are not responsible for the privacy or security of such websites, including the accuracy, completeness or reliability of the information contained on such websites. Information you provide in public or semi-public locations, including information you share on third-party social networking platforms, may also be viewed by other users of the Services and/or users of such third-party platforms, without limitation as to its use by us or by a third-party provider. The inclusion of such links by us does not imply that we endorse the content of these platforms or their owners or operators, unless this is expressly stated in the Services.

8) Data from children

The Services are not intended for use by children, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children who are under the age of majority in your country. If you are the parent or guardian of a child who has provided us with their Personal Data, you may contact us using the contact details provided below to request the deletion of such data. As of the effective date of this Privacy Policy, we are not aware of any "sharing" or "selling" (as those terms are defined under applicable law) of personal information of individuals under the age of 16.

9) Security and storage of your data

Please note that no security measures are perfect or impenetrable and therefore we cannot guarantee "perfect security". In addition, information that you send to us may be exposed to risks during transmission. We recommend that you do not use insecure channels when transmitting sensitive or confidential information to us.

How long we retain your personal data depends on various factors. These include, for example, whether we need the data to administer your account, provide you with services, comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes or enforce other applicable contracts and policies.

10) Your rights and options

Depending on where you live, you may have some or all of the rights listed below in relation to your personal data. However, these rights are not absolute, may only apply in certain circumstances, and in certain cases we may refuse your request to the extent permitted by law.

  • Right of access/information. You may have the right to request access to the personal data we hold about you.
  • Right to erasure. You may have the right to request that we erase the personal data we hold about you.
  • Right to rectification. You may have the right to obtain from us the rectification of inaccurate personal data that we hold about you.
  • Right to data portability. You may have the right to obtain a copy of the personal data we hold about you and to request that we transfer it to a third party in certain circumstances and with certain exceptions.
  • Right to opt out of the sale or sharing of data for targeted advertising. Depending on where you reside, you may have the right to opt out of the "sale" or "sharing" of your personal data or to object to the processing of your personal data for purposes that are considered "targeted advertising" under applicable data protection laws. If you wish to exercise your right and object to such use (opt-out), you can do so here. Please note: If you visit our website with the opt-out signal of the "Global Privacy Control" function activated, we will automatically treat this as a request to opt-out for the device and browser you are using to visit the website, depending on your location. If we can associate the device from which the signal originates with a Shopify account, we will also apply the opt-out request to that account. You can find more information about Global Privacy Control at https://globalprivacycontrol.org/. Other than Global Privacy Control, we do not recognise any other "Do Not Track" signals that may be sent from your web browser or device.
  • Managing communication preferences. We may send you promotional emails. You may opt out of receiving these emails at any time by using the unsubscribe option included in our emails to you. If you opt out, we may continue to send you non-promotional emails, for example about your account or orders you have placed.

If you are a resident of the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area, you may exercise the following rights in addition to the rights set out above, subject to exceptions and limitations under local law:

  • Right to object and right to restriction of processing. You may have the right to request that we stop or restrict the processing of personal data for certain purposes.
  • Withdrawal of consent. Where we rely on consent to process your personal data, you have the right to withdraw that consent. If you withdraw your consent, this will not affect the lawfulness of processing based on your consent before its withdrawal.

You can exercise these rights where indicated in the Services or by contacting us using the contact details provided below. For more information about how Shopify uses your personal data and your rights, including your rights in relation to data processed by Shopify, please visit https://privacy.shopify.com/en.

You will not suffer any disadvantages by exercising these rights. Where permitted or required by applicable law, we may need to verify your identity before we can process your requests. In accordance with applicable law, you may designate an authorised representative to make requests on your behalf to exercise your rights. Before we accept such a request from an agent, we will require them to provide evidence that you have authorised them to act on your behalf. This may require you to confirm your identity directly to us. We will respond to your request promptly in accordance with applicable law.

11) Complaints

If you have any complaints about how we process your personal data, please contact us using the contact details below. Depending on where you are located, you have the right to object to our decision by contacting us using the contact details below or by lodging your complaint with the relevant data protection authority. There is a list of competent data protection supervisory authorities for the European Economic Area. If you wish to consult it, you can do so here.

12) International transfers

Please note that we may transfer, store and process your personal data outside of your country of residence.

If we transfer your personal data outside the European Economic Area or the UK, we will rely on recognised transfer mechanisms such as the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses or equivalent contracts issued by the relevant UK competent authority, unless the transfer is to a country that has been shown to provide an adequate level of protection.

13) Changes to this privacy policy

We may update this Privacy Notice from time to time, for example to reflect changes to our practices or for other operational, legal or regulatory reasons. We will post the revised Privacy Policy on this website, update the "Last Updated" date accordingly and provide the notice required by applicable law.

II Data protection and social media

1) Use of social media plug-ins and tags

a) We currently use the following social media plug-ins on our website, including the associated pixels or tags: Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest.

b) The plug-in provider stores the data collected about you as usage profiles and uses these for the purposes of advertising, market research and/or customising its website. You have the right to object to the creation of these user profiles, whereby you must contact the respective plug-in provider to exercise this right. We offer you the opportunity to interact with the social networks and other users via the plug-ins so that we can improve our offering and make it more interesting for you as a user. The legal basis for the use of the plug-ins is Art. 6, para. 1, sentence 1, letter f) of the GDPR.

c) Further information on the purpose and scope of data collection and its processing by the plug-in provider can be found in the data protection declarations of these providers provided below. There you will also find further information on your rights in this regard and setting options to protect your privacy:

§  Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/policy.php,

§  Instagram: https://privacycenter.instagram.com/,

§  Pinterest: https://policy.pinterest.com/de/privacy-policy.

2) Integration of YouTube videos

a) We have integrated YouTube videos into our online offering, which are stored on http://www.YouTube.com and can be played directly from our website. These are all integrated in "extended data protection mode", i.e. no data about you as a user is transferred to YouTube if you do not play the videos. Only when you play the videos will the data described below be transmitted.

b) When you visit the website, YouTube receives the information that you have accessed the corresponding subpage of our website. In addition, the data mentioned under point I. 3) of this declaration is transmitted. This occurs regardless of whether you have a user account with YouTube and are logged in there or not. If you are logged in to Google, your data will be assigned directly to your account. If you do not wish your data to be associated with your YouTube profile, you must log out before activating the button. YouTube stores your data as usage profiles and uses them for the purposes of advertising, market research and/or customising its website. Such an analysis is carried out in particular (even for users who are not logged in) to provide customised advertising and to inform other users of the social network about your activities on our website.

c) Further information on the purpose and scope of data collection and its processing by YouTube can be found in the privacy policy. There you will also find further information on your rights and setting options to protect your privacy: https://www.google.de/intl/de/policies/privacy.

III Own services

Handling of applicant and author data

We offer you the opportunity to apply to us as an employee or to submit your work to us as an author (e.g. by e-mail, post or via the online application form). In the following, we inform you about the scope, purpose and use of your personal data collected as part of the application or offer process. We assure you that your data will be collected, processed and used in accordance with applicable data protection law and all other statutory provisions and that your data will be treated in strict confidence.

a) Scope and purpose of data collection. If you send us an application or a request for publication, we process your associated personal data (e.g. contact and communication data, application documents, notes taken during interviews, etc.) insofar as this is necessary for the decision on the establishment of an employment or contractual relationship. The legal basis for this is § 26 BDSG-new under German law (initiation of an employment relationship), Art. 6, para. 1, letter b) of the GDPR (general contract initiation) and - if you have given your consent - Art. 6, para. 1, letter a) of the GDPR. Consent can be revoked at any time. If the application or submission is successful, the data submitted by you will be stored in our data processing systems on the basis of § 26 BDSG-new and Art. 6, para. 1, letter b) of the GDPR for the purpose of implementing the contractual relationship.

b) Data retention period. If we are unable to make you a contractual offer, you reject a job offer or withdraw your application or request, we reserve the right to retain the data you have submitted on the basis of our legitimate interests (Art. 6, para. 1, letter f) of the GDPR) for up to 6 months from the end of the procedure (rejection or withdrawal of the application or request). The data will then be deleted and the physical documents destroyed. The retention serves in particular as evidence in the event of a legal dispute. If it is evident that the data will be required after the 6-month period has expired (e.g. due to an impending or pending legal dispute), the data will only be deleted when the purpose for further storage no longer applies.

Last updated on 13.10.2025