Privacy and Cookie Policy

At Cusini and cuisini.com, data protection and data security when using my website are very important to me, Sina Skulte, and the third parties involved in the process (for readability, collectively “we”, “us”, or “our”). 

This Privacy Policy describes our privacy practices in plain language, keeping legal and technical jargon to a minimum, to make sure you understand the information provided. However, to achieve this objective we would like to explain you the following concepts.

What is Personal Data?

Personal Data is any information that relates to an identified or identifiable living individual. Different pieces of information, which collected together can lead to the identification of a particular person, also constitute Personal Data. 

What is Processing?

“Processing” means and covers virtually any handling of data.

What law applies?

In principle, we will only use your Personal Data in accordance with the applicable data protection laws, in particular the EU`s General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) and Germany`s Federal Data Protection Act (“BDSG”).

Who is responsible for data processing?

The responsible person is: Sina Skulte, Mühlenstr. 8a, 14167 Berlin, Germany. If you have any questions or if you wish to exercise your rights, please contact me using cuisini.info(at)gmail.com, my contact form, or write to me at the above address.

Purpose and legal basis of processing

We need to have both a purpose and a legal basis to process Personal Data. The purposes are: a) providing the website and its functions and contents; b) responding to contact requests and communicating with our users, if required; and c) security measures. 

Of course, we can only do that if we have at least one of the following legal bases or in other words lawful reasons to do so. As such we typically link the above purposes to one of the following: a) your consent; b) to fulfill our services and carry out contractual obligations; c) to fulfill our legal obligations; and d) to protect our legitimate interests. 

Categories of data subjects and types of data processed

During the course of using my website, we process the following types of data from visitors and users: a) contact data, if provided; b) content data, if provided; c) usage data; and d) meta/communication data.

Security

My website uses SSL or TLS encryption to ensure the security of data processing and to protect the transmission of confidential content, login data or contact requests that you send to us. We have also implemented numerous security measures (“technical and organizational measures”) for example encryption or need to know access, to ensure the most complete protection of Personal Data processed through this website. 

Retention and Storage 

We retain your Personal Data as necessary in connection with the purposes described in this Privacy Policy, and in accordance with Germany’s Statutory Retention Periods and other applicable laws for up to 10 years.

Sharing and Disclosure

We will not disclose or otherwise distribute your Personal Data to third parties unless this is a) necessary for the performance of our services including the website; b) you have consented to the disclosure; c) or if we are legally obliged to do so e.g., by court order or if this is necessary to support criminal or legal investigations or other legal investigations or other legal proceedings; as required by law or regulation; if Cusini (or a part of Cusini) is sold to or merged with another legal entity; or proceedings at home or abroad or to fulfill our legitimate interests.

Minors

We do not request Personal Data from minors and children and do not knowingly collect such data or pass it on to third parties.

Automated decision-making

Automated decision-making including profiling does not take place.

Do Not Sell

We do not sell your Personal Data.

Special Category Data

Unless specifically required and consent is obtained, for a particular service, we do not process special category data.

Log files 

When you visit my website, we collect the Personal Data that your browser automatically transmits to our server. This information is temporarily stored in a so-called log file. This includes: a) IP address of the requesting computer; b) Date and time of access; c) name and URL of the file accessed; d) website from which the access was made (referrer URL); e) browser used and, if applicable, the operating system of your device as well as the name of your access provider. The processing is necessary for the provision of a website and thus serves to protect our legitimate interest.

Hosting 

The website hosting service provider used is webgo GmbH, Heidenkampsweg 81, 20097 Hamburg, Germany. In doing so webgo, processes inventory data, contact data, content data, usage data, meta data and communication data of interested parties and visitors of my website, on the basis of our legitimate interests in an efficient and secure provision of the website. 

Content Management System (CMS)

We also use the Content Management System (CMS) of WordPress a service provided by Automattic Inc, 60 29th St 343, San Francisco, California, 94110, United States, to publish and maintain the created and edited content and texts on my website. This means that all content and texts submitted to my website is transferred to WordPress. In addition to texts, this also includes, for example your data in our recipe reviews and contact form. The legal basis for this processing is our legitimate interest.

Cookies

  1. What exactly are cookies?

A cookie is a small simple file that is sent along with pages of my website and stored by your browser on the hard drive of your computer or other device. The information stored in it may be returned to our servers (or to the servers of the relevant third parties) on a subsequent visit. Doing so, Cookies transmit small amounts of data about your device to our web server and enable my website to recognize your computer, smartphone, or other device. 

Depending on who you ask, cookies can be classed as third party and first party cookies (for example set by us as the website operator or by a third party providing a specific service which uses cookies) or how long a cookies remain stored, their lifespan. When classifying cookies according to their lifespan, we may refer to cookies as session cookies or persistent cookies:

i) Session cookies

A session cookie is deleted when you close the website in question. A session cookie allows a website to recognise you while you browse the website, but the cookie is deleted when you log out or close the website in your browser. 

ii) Permanent cookies

A persistent cookie recognizes you again and again for a set period of time. It remains stored on your device or in your browser for this period (which can be minutes, days, or months) after you have logged out or closed the browser. Persistent cookies are used, for example, to store certain settings you have made on a website (such as your preferred language).  

  1. What types of cookies are there?

We can distinguish between 4 types of cookies:

i) Essential or Necessary cookies

These cookies are essential or necessary to ensure that my website works properly and is secure so that you can navigate my website and use its features. Without these cookies, certain features of my website would not be available, and you would not be able to use certain services. 

ii) Functional cookies

Functional cookies allow a website to remember the options you have selected (including user ID, consents you have given and/or your preferred language), your username if applicable, and any custom settings you have made (e.g., font sizes) or personalization options you have selected when browsing. 

iii) Analysis and performance cookies

Analysis and performance cookies are used to monitor and improve the function and service of a website. They can also help us track down problems you may encounter when using an online service. Analysis and performance cookies may be used to facilitate online surveys, record visitor numbers, and provide other website analytics metrics. 

iv) Advertising cookies

These cookies are also called targeting cookies. They are used to deliver customized advertising to the user. This can be very convenient, but also very annoying.

  1. Why do we provide information about cookies?

The provision of information about our use of cookies is required and set out in the German Data Protection and Privacy in Telecommunications and Telemedia Act (TTDSG) which implements the EU`s Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive (PECD). Accordingly, the use of functional, analysis and performance or advertising cookies require your consent and thus the legal basis for the collection of your Personal Data through analysis and performance cookies, is your consent.

Google Analytics

On the basis of our legitimate interests and your consent (i.e., interest in the analysis, optimization and economic operation of my website) Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google Inc of 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway Mountain View, CA 94043, US. Google uses the above-mentioned cookies. The information generated by the cookie is usually transmitted to a Google server in the USA and stored there.

Google will use this information on my behalf for the purpose of evaluating your use of my website, compiling reports on website activity and providing other services relating to website activity and usage. In doing so, pseudonymous user profiles can be created from the processed data.

The IP address transmitted by your browser will not be merged with other data from Google. You can prevent the storage of cookies by setting your browser accordingly. You can also prevent the collection of the data generated by Google as well as the processing of this data by Google by downloading and installing the browser plugin available under the following link: http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=en.  

Contacting me

We may ask you for Personal Data when you contact me. Categories of Personal Data we collect may include your name, email address, phone number and IP addresses and your message. The legal basis for the use of your contact data is your consent, our legitimate interest, the provision of a contractual or precontractual measure and our legal obligation in case of a Data Subject Access request, as applicable. 

Recipe Reviews

In the context of the recipe review function, in addition to your comment, information on the time of the creation of the comment and the comment name you have chosen will be stored and published on the website. Furthermore, your IP address will be logged and stored. This storage of the IP address is for security reasons and in case the person concerned infringes the rights of third parties by posting a comment or posts inappropriate or illegal content. We also need your e-mail address to contact you if a third-party objects to your published content as being illegal. We reserve the right to delete comments if they are objected to by third parties as unlawful.

Cooperation with processors and third parties

If, in the course of our processing, we disclose data to other persons and companies (processors or third parties), transmit it to them or otherwise grant them access to the data, this will only be done on the basis of a legal permission (e.g., if a transmission of the data to third parties, you have consented, a legal obligation provides for this or on the basis of our legitimate interests. If we commission third parties to process data on the basis of a so-called “processing agreement”. 

Mediavine  

We may collect or receive information about you from publishers that are members of the Mediavine Ad Management service operated by Mediavine, Inc, 160 W Camino Real 504, Boca Raton, Florida, 33432, United States through our use of cookies, pixels or server to server connections. We may also combine and associate this information with information collected about other ads we have served. Mediavine collects and processes the following data to provide interest-based, targeted advertising on my website.  a) Advertising Identifier; b) IP Address; c) Operating System type; d) Operating System version; e) Device Type and Model; f) Cookie information; g) Language of the website; and h) Web browser type. According to Mediavine`s Privacy Policy, the information will be retained by Mediavine for the duration of the browser session and is only used by Mediavine to provide end users with targeted advertising.  

If you do not wish to participate in our advertising personalisation or retargeting/tracking you can object to behavioural advertising at the Following websites: Your Online Choices, Digital Advertising Alliance of Canada, Network Advertising Initiative or AdChoices

International Transfer

In the course of my website operation, we process data. We usually do not transfer Personal Data to countries outside Germany and the EEA. However, if we do, we ensure that processing of your Personal Data is governed by Processing Agreements that include Standard Contractual Clauses to ensure a high level of data protection.

Privacy rights 

You can exercise the following rights:

  • Right to information
  • Right to rectification
  • Right to object to processing
  • Right to deletion
  • Right to data portability
  • Right of objection
  • Right to withdraw consent
  • Right to complain to a supervisory authority
  • Right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing.

If you wish to exercise any of your rights, please contact me.

Updating your information

If you believe that the information, we hold about you is inaccurate or that we are no longer entitled to use it and want to request its rectification, deletion, or object to its processing, please do so by contacting me. 

Withdrawing your consent 

You can revoke consents you have given at any time by contacting me. The legality of the data processing carried out until the revocation remains unaffected by the revocation.

Access Request 

In the event that you wish to make a Data Subject Access Request, you may inform us in writing of the same. We will respond to requests regarding access and correction as soon as reasonably possible. Should we not be able to respond to your request within thirty (30) days after receiving your request, we will let you know in writing within thirty (30). If we are unable to comply with your request, we will tell you why (except where we are not required to do so under the respective legal regulations mentioned above).

Complaint to a supervisory authority

You have the right to complain about our processing of Personal Data to a supervisory authority responsible for data protection. 

Changes and Updates 

Since changes in the law or in our internal processes may make it necessary to adapt this Privacy Policy from time to time, we ask you to read this Privacy Policy regularly. 

Concerns and Contact

If you have any concerns about a possible compromise of your privacy or misuse of your Personal Data on our part, or any other questions or comments, you can contact me using cuisini.info(at)gmail.com, my contact form, or write to me at the above address.

This Privacy Policy was last updated on Wednesday, 22 February 2023.