Privacy policy

1. Controller

VAT identification number according to § 27a UStG: DE323227155

2. Hosting and server log files

This website is operated on our own server at a data centre operator in the EU. Each time a page is accessed, the web server processes technically necessary data: IP address, date and time, requested address, amount of data transferred, referrer, and browser and operating system information. These data are used exclusively to ensure the secure and stable operation of the website and to defend against attacks. The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR (EU General Data Protection Regulation, German: DSGVO). Log files are deleted after 14 days at the latest, unless they are needed to investigate a security incident.

3. Cloudflare (delivery and protection)

For fast and secure delivery, we use the content delivery network of Cloudflare, Inc., 101 Townsend St., San Francisco, CA 94107, USA. All requests to this website – including your IP address and technical connection data – are routed through Cloudflare servers. Cloudflare filters malicious requests and caches copies of public content. The legal basis is our legitimate interest in a secure and high-performance service (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). A data processing agreement is in place with Cloudflare. Cloudflare is certified under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework; in addition, the EU Standard Contractual Clauses apply. Further information: cloudflare.com/privacypolicy.

4. Cookies and consent

We do not use tracking cookies. We store your choice in the consent banner in your browser’s local storage (key “vetael_consent”) so that the banner does not reappear on every page view. This storage is strictly necessary for the website to function (§ 25 (2) no. 2 TDDDG, German Telecommunications Digital Services Data Protection Act). Optional features – currently the AI chat – are only loaded once you consent (§ 25 (1) TDDDG, Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR). You can withdraw or change your consent at any time with effect for the future via the “Cookies” tab on the left edge of the screen.

If you use the chat, the conversation history is stored in your browser’s session storage only for the duration of your visit and is deleted when you close the tab.

5. Contact form, appointment booking and email

If you write to us via the contact form or by email, we process the data you provide (name, email address, company if applicable, selected services, your message) as well as the time, page language, IP address, approximate location (country/city according to Cloudflare) and browser/device type to protect against misuse. The purpose is to handle your enquiry and, where applicable, to prepare a contract. The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR, and otherwise Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR (responding to enquiries, spam protection).

Your enquiry is stored on our server outside the publicly accessible area and delivered to us by email and via the Telegram messenger. We receive emails through our email provider Zoho Corporation B.V., Beneluxlaan 4B, 3527 HT Utrecht, Netherlands (servers in the EU). For delivery via Telegram, the content of the enquiry is transmitted to Telegram FZ-LLC, Dubai, United Arab Emirates; this is done on the basis of our legitimate interest in a prompt response (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR) and Art. 49(1)(b) GDPR. We delete enquiries once they have been dealt with and no statutory retention obligations (e.g. under HGB/AO – German Commercial Code / Fiscal Code – where a contract is concluded) apply, and at the latest after 24 months without further contact.

For online appointment booking, we process your name, your email address or telephone number, the selected appointment, the type of meeting and – if provided – your topic. The data are stored on our server outside the publicly accessible area, delivered to us by email and Telegram (see above) and used to confirm the appointment. If you provide an email address, you will receive an acknowledgement and a confirmation message. The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR (pre-contractual measures at your request). We delete appointment requests no later than 6 months after the appointment, unless an order results from it.

If you would like a video call, we use, as agreed, Google Meet (Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland) or Zoom (Zoom Video Communications, Inc., San Jose, USA). In doing so, your name, email address if applicable, video and audio data and technical connection data (e.g. IP address) are processed. The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR; for transfers to the USA, the providers rely on the EU-US Data Privacy Framework or EU Standard Contractual Clauses. Calls are not recorded. Alternatively, you can speak to us by telephone at any time.

6. Automated classification of enquiries (AI)

To handle enquiries more quickly, we have the text of incoming enquiries automatically assigned to a category and urgency level and briefly summarised by Google’s Gemini API. No automated decision-making within the meaning of Art. 22 GDPR takes place – every enquiry is read and answered by a human. The provider is Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland. A transfer to Google LLC in the USA cannot be ruled out; Google is certified under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework. According to Google, when the Gemini API is used on a paid basis, Google does not use the transmitted content to train its models. The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR (efficient handling of enquiries).

7. AI chat (only with consent)

We offer a chat assistant on our website. It can only be used after you have consented to the “AI chat” category in the consent banner. Your chat messages are transmitted via our server to the Gemini API of Google Ireland Limited (address see above) in order to generate a response; your IP address is not passed on to Google. On our server, we store the conversation history (your messages and the responses, with a random session identifier) together with technical data – IP address, approximate location (country and, where available, city, derived from the IP address by Cloudflare), device and browser type, screen size, time zone, browser language, the page visited and the referring page – for 30 days in order to trace enquiries, improve the quality of the assistant and detect and block misuse (e.g. spam, insults, automated requests); this data is then deleted automatically. Blocked IP addresses are stored for the duration of the block. The legal basis is your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR) and, for preventing misuse, also our legitimate interest in secure operation (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). If you state your name and contact details in the chat, we store them together with the chat history as an enquiry and process them as described in sections 5 and 6 (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR). Please do not enter any sensitive data in the chat. AI responses may be inaccurate and do not constitute a binding offer.

8. Links to external websites

On our project pages, we link to websites of our clients and of our own projects. Data are only transmitted to the respective provider once you click on such a link; that provider is itself responsible for its data processing.

9. Your rights

You have the right of access (Art. 15 GDPR), rectification (Art. 16), erasure (Art. 17), restriction of processing (Art. 18), data portability (Art. 20) and to withdraw any consent given with effect for the future (Art. 7(3)). Where we process data on the basis of Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR, you may object at any time on grounds relating to your particular situation (Art. 21 GDPR). An informal message to the email address stated above is sufficient.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority, in particular in the federal state of your residence or of our registered office (Rhineland-Palatinate). The authority responsible for us is the Landesbeauftragte für den Datenschutz und die Informationsfreiheit Rheinland-Pfalz (State Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information of Rhineland-Palatinate), Hintere Bleiche 34, 55116 Mainz.

10. Data security

This website is transmitted exclusively in encrypted form (HTTPS/TLS). Access credentials and keys are stored outside the public web directory with restricted access rights.

11. Changes

We update this privacy policy when our website or the services used change. The version published here at the time applies. Last updated: October 2026.