Last updated: August 2021
Data Protection
This Privacy Policy shall apply to the Winkt websites www.winkt.co, www.winkt.me, www.winktme.space, www.getwinkt.com, www.winkt-international.com, www.winktyou.com and www.winkt-app.com and every URL or Subdomain that contains winkt.co (these websites together also the “Website” or as “Services”).
1. GENERAL
Thank you for using WINKT. This is a platform for communicating and finding new acquaintances by creating circles. WINKT is also a platform that provides you with up-to-date information from places you often go to or like. For example, such as a new menu in your favorite restaurant or cafe, new shipments to your favorite store, the latest discounts and so on, maybe somewhere near you or where you are, there is a festival that could be of interest to you.
WINKT strives to create a friendly community where everyone can express themselves freely, share their thoughts, circles or news without offending each other. Together we can create a platform where people behave in a respectful, responsive and honest way.
Regarding the Services Winkt GmbH c/o Eva Balmaks, Engeldamm 50,10179 Berlin (“Winkt”, “we”, “us” or “our”) is the controller within the meaning of the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”).
Winkt GmbH
c/o Eva Balmaks
Engeldamm 50
10179 Berlin Germany
Telefon: 0175 3204967
Email: info@winkt.me
This privacy policy shall inform you on how we collect, process and use (“Use”) your Personal Data in connection with the Services.
2. DATA WE COLLECT, PROCESS AND USE
Personal data is any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (data subject) by which it can be identified, directly or indirectly. This information includes name, location data, an online identifier or one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of the natural person (Article 4 paragraph 1). The definition is broad and makes it quite clear that even IP addresses can also be personal data.
The data must be collected and used exclusively for the purposes stated by the company (online service).
Before you start sharing your positive emotions, it is important that you understand that by using our Services, you consent to us collecting, using, disclosing, and storing your personal information and other information, but we will never read, listen to or view the messages and content that you share privately. You can be assured that we will only use your information in the manner described in this Policy. Please also note our Terms of Use.
We do not recommend using default consent boxes with a checkmark already placed or other methods of obtaining consent by default. Consent also cannot be expressed by the user's silence or inaction. Information about how to withdraw consent to the processing of personal data should be posted in a way that the user can easily find it.
Data that we ask for:
Location (version 1)
Help us to make Winkt better (version 2)
The video camera of device access
Access to the device gallery
Data that we store:
Location
Phone number
Password
Picture/Photo
Username
If the user writes something about himself in profile: Date of birth (if the user adds it to profile), Messages, Comment, Likes,
Information about your network status
process your payments
Circles which users create
Winkt ID
Data that we use
Location
Register
Account
Circles
Like of Circle
Why do we ask for geolocation?
Using geo-data in the background is necessary to receive notifications from other Winkt users about new Winkt circles within a radius of 300 meters. The user can change the action of his wink/circle to any distance from 1m to 300 maximum. If the user has reduced the distance of his circle, only those users who are within the radius set by another user can see his wink/circle. Since the application is geo-located and the contact with other winkt users is only possible by geo-location, it is necessary to determine the location of the user, as the area of the application is limited to a radius of 300 m. Outside of this radius, the user can not see the wink/circle of other winkt users. Any contact between the user and another user is only by geo location wink/circle/comments/links/reports (maximum 300 meters). If the user has registered in the winkt app and has given permission to use his geo data, none of the other users can see where he is this user, unless he himself shows himself by creating a winkt/circle/comment.
When you provide your geodata to us, we can determine your location and provide you with information about circles/winks that have been created by other winkt users and may also be of interest to you, about the nearest café you would like to go to. Your community members can see signals indicating your active status in our Product.
We collect information about your location when you use our services so that you can access features such as showing circles or winks created by other users that may be of interest to you.
We determine your location with a certain degree of accuracy by taking into account the following factors:
Data GPS
IP address
Data from sensors on your device
Information about your surroundings, such as Wi-Fi access points, cell phone antennas, and Bluetooth-enabled devices.
The types of location data we collect depend in part on your device and account settings. For example, you can turn off or on geolocation on your Android/iOS smartphone or tablet.
Unless otherwise specified, we retain information for as long as is necessary and relevant for us to achieve the above purposes or to ensure compliance with our legal data protection obligations. Once your account is deactivated, we will retain the minimum amount of data about you that we are required to retain by law or other legal requirements. We may store activity data anonymously in order to improve our service
a. Regarding the Website: if you visit the Website your browser automatically transfers certain data so that it can access the Website, in particular: the IP address, the date and time of the request, the browser type, the operating system, the language, and version of the browser software. Such data is processed, in particular, as without such data the Website cannot be accessed.
b. On the one hand, your data is collected when you provide it to us. This may be data that you enter into a contact form, for example. This data is used to contact you via the given information. The use of our website is usually possible without providing personal data. As far as personal data (e.g. name or e-mail addresses) is collected on our pages, this is always done on a voluntary basis as far as possible. This data will not be passed on to third parties without your express consent. If you would like to receive the content offered on the website, we need an e-mail address from you. Further data will not be collected. We use these data exclusively for sending the requested information and do not pass them on to third parties.
c. If you provide to us information on the Website via a request form contained on the Website or in another way then we will process your data in order to answer your respective (information) requests.
d. We might disclose your Personal Data where such disclosure is required by law (for example, upon request of a court or of law enforcement authorities).
3. USE OF ANALYZING, ADVERTISING AND OTHER TOOLS
a. We also analyze data of usage to better understand user preferences through user actions. Next to our own analytics we also use the following tools:
aa. Google Analytics
The Website uses Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland (“Google”). Google Analytics uses “cookies”, which are text files placed on your computer, to help analyze how you use the Website. The information generated by the cookie about your use of the Website will normally be transmitted to and stored by Google on servers in the United States. Google will use this information on behalf of the operator of the Website for the purpose of evaluating your use of the Website, compiling reports on Website activity and providing other services for the Website operator relating to Website activity and internet usage. 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 all functions of the Website. You can also opt-out from the storage by Google of the data that is created by the cookie and is related to the use of the Website (including your IP address) and the processing of such data by Google by downloading and installing the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on available under https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=en. For further information on Google Analytics please refer to: https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/6004245?hl=en, http://www.google.de/intl/en-GB/policies/privacy/.
Since a transfer of personal data to the U.S. takes place, further appropriate safeguards are required to ensure the level of data protection under the GDPR. To guarantee this, we have concluded standard contractual clauses with the provider in accordance with Art. 46 Para. 2 lit. c GDPR. These oblige the recipient of the data in the U.S. to process the data according to the level of protection in Europe. In cases in which this cannot be guaranteed even by this contractual extension, we endeavor to obtain additional regulations and commitments from the recipient in the U.S.
The data will be deleted as soon as it is no longer necessary for the purpose for which it was collected.
b. The legal basis for the processing of the data described in paragraph 3 is Art. 6 (1), paragraph 1, letter a DSGVO given consent. We use and such data for analyzing the respective data (i) to improve our Services, such as by gaining a better understanding of your interests and requirements regarding our Services, (ii) to help personalize your user experience, (iii) to recognize user patterns in order to protect the App against bots, abusive members and abusive content, and (iv) to provide you with certain features of the Services (without us using such data some of the functionalities of the Services might not work or might not be accessible (this applies, in particular, to the tools mentioned above in sections 3.b, aa, bb, cc, dd; with regard to item (iv) such processing of data is also based on Art. 6 (1) sentence 1 lit. b GDPR (fulfilment of contract and pre-contractual measures)).
c. In order to comply with existing youth protection laws, some content is only accessible after successful age verification. The data submitted during the verification process is stored in the browser’s local storage and is checked each time protected content is visited.
4. CONTACT FORM VIA WIX
If you write to us via the contact form, your details from the inquiry form or your e-mail will be stored by us for the purpose of processing the inquiry and in the event of follow-up questions. An e-mail address is required for contact purposes. Under no circumstances will we pass on this data without your consent. The legal basis for processing the data is our legitimate interest in answering your request. We use the Wix tool to answer your request. Wix processes your data only on our behalf. Your data will be deleted after the final processing of your request unless there are legal obligations to keep records. In the case of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR, you can object to the processing of your personal data at any time.
5. TECHNICAL IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SERVICES BY SUBCONTRACTORS
We partly use service providers who process Personal Data on behalf of us to operate the technical platform for the Services. These service providers process the data exclusively according to our instructions (order processing). The legal basis for the data processing described in this section 4 is Art. 6 (1) sentence 1 lit. b GDPR (performance of contract and pre-contractual measures) and Art. 28 GDPR (order processing).
6. DURATION OF STORAGE OF PERSONAL DATA
Unless no shorter storage period is indicated in this privacy policy, we, in general, store Personal Data as long (i) as required for the provision of the Services to you, and/or (ii) as it is necessary with regard to the contractual relationship with you, thereafter only if and to the extent that we are obliged to do so by mandatory statutory retention obligations. If we no longer require the respective Personal Data for the purposes described above, such Personal Data will only be stored during the respective legal retention period and not processed for other purposes.
7. YOUR RIGHTS
You have the following rights regarding your personal data:
Right to information
You have the right to request information about your personal data processed by us in accordance with Art. 15 GDPR.
Right to rectification
The right to immediately request the correction of incorrect or complete personal data stored by us in accordance with Art. 16 GDPR.
Right to have data erased
You have the right to have your personal data erased in accordance with Art. 17 GDPR. According to this provision, your right to have your data erased may be excluded due to a conflicting interest.
Right to restriction
You have the right to have the processing of personal data concerning you limited in accordance with Art. 18 GDPR.
Right to withdraw the given consent
You have the right to withdraw your given consent to the processing of your personal data at any time according to Art. 7 para. 3 GDPR.
Right to data portability
The right to receive your personal data that you have provided to us in a structured, current and machine-readable format or to request its transfer to another person responsible in accordance with Art. 20 GDPR.
Right to complain to a data protection regulatory authority
The right to complain to a supervisory authority pursuant to Art. 77 GDPR. As a rule, you can contact the supervisory authority of the federal state in which we have our registered office or, if applicable, that of your usual place of work or usual residence.
Right to object
Right of objection If your personal data is processed by us on the basis of legitimate interests pursuant to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR, you have the right to object to the processing of your personal data in accordance with Art. 21 GDPR, insofar as this is for reasons resulting from your particular situation. If the objection is directed against the processing of personal data for the purpose of direct marketing, you have a general right of objection without the requirement to indicate a special situation.
8. CONTACT; DATA PROTECTION OFFICER
You can contact us, for example, via the address indicated above in section 1., via privacy@winkt.me and/or by using the contact info contained in the App or on the Website.
For all questions regarding data protection at Winkt (including the assertion of your rights further describe above under section 6.), you can also contact Winkt´s Data Protection Officer directly. The contact details of the data protection officer are:
Datenschutzbeauftragter, Winkt GmbH, Engeldamm 50, 10179 Berlin Germany
9. KEEPING YOUR PERSONAL DATA SECURE
We place great importance on the security of all Personal Data associated with the use of our Services. We have security measures in place to attempt to protect against the loss, misuse, and alteration of Personal Data under our control. Our security and privacy policies are periodically reviewed and enhanced as we consider it appropriate and only authorized personnel have access to Personal Data. Whilst we cannot ensure or guarantee that loss, misuse or alteration of information will never occur, we use all reasonable efforts to prevent it.
We have taken additional extensive security precautions relating to our Services and their use. However, you should bear in mind that in spite of such security measures, the submission of information over the internet is never entirely secure. We cannot guarantee the security of information you submit via our Services whilst it is in transit over the internet.
10. ADVERTISERS
We provide advertisers with reports about the types of people who view their ads and the performance of their ads, but we do not share personally identifiable information with them (such as your name or email address, which may itself be used to contact you or identify you) without your permission. For example, they may receive general demographic and interest information from us (e.g., the ad was viewed by a woman between the ages of 25 and 34 from Madrid who is into software development) to better understand their audience. We also provide them with proof that a particular Winkt ad led you to make a purchase or take some other action in connection with the advertiser
Publicly available information is visible to all users on and off our Products, even if those users do not have an account. This is your Winkt username; any information you share with all people; information in your public profile/winkt/circle on Winkt; and content you share on the Winkt Page. You, other Winkt users, and we may share or send publicly available information to anyone on or off our Products, including other Winkt Products, in search results, or through tools and APIs. It is also possible to view, repost, download publicly available information and access it through third-party services such as search engines, APIs, and conventional media such as TV, as well as having these actions performed by apps, websites, and other services integrated with our Products.
11. TRANSPARENCY REPORT
Starting 2022, once a year we will publish a Transparency Report, which will be prepared to inform you how our moderation system and cooperation with legal authorities work, what our biggest challenges were in the last few months, and what will be coming in the future.
Since Winkt started we have always deeply respected our user’s right to privacy while at the same time granting the right to free uncensored speech. Additionally, for the last weeks, we have been working hard on making sure that our internal processes are in line with the new GDPR law. That is why you can be sure that this topic is especially important for us.
How to ask Winkt a question:
Winkt GmbH c/o Eva Balmaks, Engeldamm 50, 10179 Berlin Germany
Telefon: 0175 3204967
Email: info@winkt.me
Site: winkt.co