Privacy policy

As of November 2023

This Privacy Policy sets out the data processing practices carried out by Pictoplasma, Denicke & Thaler GbR in relation to information provided by you on the platform available under http://pictoplasma.com or http://pictofolio.com (hereinafter “Pictoplasma.com”).

TABLE OF CONTENT

1/ Who We Are
2/ How This Policy Applies
3/ Information and Personal Data We Collect
   When Visiting Pictoplasma.com
   When Signing Up for a User Account
   Marketing
   Cookies and Analytics
4/ How We Use Your Personal Data
   Information That’s Shared Publicly
   Information That Isn’t Shared Publicly
   Information That’s Shared with Third-Party Services
5/ Compliance With EU Privacy Laws (GDPR)
   Storage of Your Personal Data
   Deletion of Data
   Data Protection
   No Transfer of Personal Data
   Data about Children
   Links and Third-Party Websites
   Your Rights to Your Information and Contact
6/ Amendments to This Privacy Policy

 

1/ WHO WE ARE

Pictoplasma Denicke & Thaler GbR, Plantagenstraße 31, 13347 Berlin, Germany, is a partnership whose partners are Lars Denicke and Peter Thaler (hereinafter “Pictoplasma”).

 

2/ HOW THIS POLICY APPLIES

When visiting Pictoplasma.com or registering for the services provided through Pictoplasma.com you agree to the collection and processing of personal data by Pictoplasma. This Privacy Policy describes the information we collect from you, how we use that information and our legal basis for doing so. It also covers whether and how that information may be shared and your rights and choices regarding the information you provide to us. Before you use or submit any information through Pictoplasma.com, please review this Privacy Policy carefully.

 

3/ INFORMATION AND PERSONAL DATA WE COLLECT

Personal data means, within the meaning of this Privacy Policy, individual information on your personal circumstances. Personal data also includes information on the use of the services on Pictoplasma.com. The legal basis for the processing of your personal data is your consent to the processing by Pictoplasma for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy and the necessity to process your personal data in order to perform our contractual obligations to provide you with Pictoplasma.com's services. 
 In order for you to view or create an account on Pictoplasma.com and use our services, we need to collect and process certain information. Depending on your use of the services, that may include:

3A/ When Visiting the Website Pictoplasma.com
Even without logging in to Pictoplasma.com, Pictoplasma collects the following usage data: IP address, browser information, computer information, network information. Pictoplasma uses such data for the operation of the website, particularly in order to detect or to eliminate errors on the website, to ensure the security of the website, to determine the utilization of the website and in order to make adaptations or improvements (also see Cookies and Analytics below).
When you provide information directly to us, for example when contacting us via email through our contact page (to ask for support, send us questions or comments, or report a problem), we collect your provided email address and name for the sole reason to be able to reply and communicate with you.

3B/ When Signing Up for a User Account
Pictoplasma collects and saves all data you provide directly when registering for the services on Pictoplasma.com, i.e. the information added to your user profile (your name, username, user icon, country, artist bio, tags for your profile, links to websites and social media). Pictoplasma also collects and saves any data provided when you upload pictures and information to single entries, as well as any data provided when using the messaging service. The information added to your profile and the pictures uploaded on Pictoplasma.com are visible for other users. If you register for paid subscription services, an external payment service provider will store your billing address and payment information; these are not publicly shared on Pictoplasma.com or anywhere else. You may decline to provide us with information. However, this will limit the functionality of our services. Registered users may review, change or remove their information anytime through their account settings.

3C/ Marketing
If you subscribe to Pictoplasma’s newsletter, we process your name as well as email address to add you to our mailing subscription list.
We process the aforementioned data exclusively to provide you with the latest news about our services on the basis of your consent in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a) GDPR. You can revoke your consent at any time.

3D/ Cookies and Analytics
Analytical Cookies
Pictoplasma uses Matomo as a web analysis tool. The tool collects information about your activity on and interaction with Pictoplasma.com (such as your IP address, the type of device or browser you use, and your actions on the website). The analysis is effected by a cookie which provides your shortened IP-address to Pictoplasma and the data on your use of the website. The data stored via Matomo are pseudonymous and no user profiles are consolidated with your personal data. Matomo stores the analysis on the Pictoplasma.com server. Pictoplasma uses the data collected via the Matomo-cookies to make the services provided on Pictoplasma.com more interesting for you and to improve the usability. In case you do not consent to the use of the cookies, you can change the browser settings so that a storage of cookies will not be accepted. However, the website may not function properly and/or some features may not be available in that case. You can deactivate the use of Matomo on the following page: http://pictoplasma.com/imprint

Session Cookies
When registering for an account with Pictoplasma.com, Pictoplasma collects further information on the use of the website by using session-cookies. These cookies are small text files stored on your data storage medium, which save the specific settings and data exchange via the browser. A cookie typically contains the name of the domain from which the cookie has come, information on the age of the cookie and alphanumeric identifiers. Session-cookies help Pictoplasma to enable the use of the website and improve services by making the services more user-friendly – which means basically that you do not have to sign in every single time you visit the website. The session-cookies only save the information on whether you are logged in to an account during the session and on your use of the website. There will be no reference to your name, but a reference to an identification number pertaining to the cookie (a so called “Cookie-ID”). 
In case you do not consent to the use of session-cookies, you can change the browser settings so that a storage of cookies will not be accepted. However, the website may not function properly and/or some features may not be available in that case. For further information, visit allaboutcookies.org.

 

4/ HOW WE USE YOUR PERSONAL DATA

4A/ Information that’s shared publicly
When you open an account, we create a basic profile page for you on Pictoplasma.com, containing the information you provide therefore:
The account username you select, and the date the account was created;
Any information you choose to add to your profile (like an artist name, avatar picture, bio, your location, information on your artistic focus, your website(s) and social media, and your provided public contact information);
The character artwork you’ve created and uploaded;
A track of all character artworks you have empathised with (liked);
Any comments you’ve posted on Pictoplasma.com

4B/ Information that isn’t shared publicly
The following data will not be publicly displayed or revealed to other users:
The email address you provided in order to set up an account with Pictoplasma.com;
Any payment information you provide;
Your password details (you are responsible for keeping your password confidential and you must not share it with anyone. If you have reason to believe that your password or any other aspect of your account has become compromised, you must inform us immediately);
Your IP address and any information on the location, hard- or software you are using to access the service;
Communications you send to us (for example, when you ask for support, send us questions or comments, or report a problem)

4C/ Information That’s Shared with Trusted Third-Party Services
Except for the limited circumstances we describe here or in our Terms of Service, we do not share your personal data with third parties. In no case do we sell, share or rent out your contacts to third parties, nor use them for any purpose other than those set forth in this policy. In the few cases where we need to provide your personal data to trusted third parties to provide you with our services, we provide no more information than what is necessary to enable them to provide the services to us. 
Any information that you provide to these service providers independently is subject to their respective privacy policies and practices:

Hosting/Hetzner
We host our website at Hetzner Online GmbH, Industriestr. 25, 91710 Gunzenhausen, Germany – hereinafter: Hetzner. For details, please refer to the privacy policy of Hetzner: https://www.hetzner.com/legal/privacy-policy/
 We have concluded a contract for order processing AVV with the above-mentioned provider. This is a contract prescribed by data protection law that ensures that it processes the personal data of our website visitors only in accordance with our instructions and in compliance with the GDPR.

Mailjet.
In order to send you automated email notifications (such as account verification, For Hire inquiries, help when resetting your password, new comments on your character artwork, …) or our monthly newsletter, we use the services provided by Mailjet SAS, 13-13 bis, rue de l’Aubrac, 75012 Paris, France (read Mailjet’s privacy policy here: https://www.mailjet.com/legal/dpa/). You are able to sign out of most or a selection of email notifications as well as our newsletter at any time by visiting your account settings.

Vimeo
To be able to offer embedded video streaming, such as the live broadcast of our annual conference, regular online meet ups, or the growing archive of VoD PictoTalks, we use the services of Vimeo Inc., 555 West 18th Street, New York, NY 10011, USA – hereinafter: Vimeo. If you access pages on our website that contain this kind of plug-in, this will generate a connection to the Vimeo server and information such as your IP address will be transmitted to the Vimeo server. If you are logged into Vimeo, Vimeo will assign this information to your personal user account. If you would not like Vimeo to directly assign the information collected to your Vimeo account, you must log out of Vimeo before you visit our site. Further information on the purpose and scope of enquiry and continued use and processing of the data by Vimeo and your associated rights and options for protecting your privacy can be found in the Vimeo data privacy policy: https://vimeo.com/privacy

Stripe
In order to handle membership subscriptions Pictoplasma.com partners with Stripe Payments Europe, Limited, 3 Dublin Landings, North Wall Quay, Dublin 1 , Dublin, D01c4e0, Ireland – hereinafter: Stripe for payment processing. The payment information you submit is collected and used by Stripe in accordance with its privacy policy (read Stripe's privacy policy here: https://stripe.com/privacy). Pictoplasma.com doesn't store your payment information and only processes the information provided on Stripe regarding your address and tax-id for tax, government regulatory, and security purposes.

Google reCAPTCHA
We use Google’s reCAPTCHA on Pictoplasma.com to prevent various types of data processing abuse attempts (e.g. bots registering accounts, phishing etc.). The service is provided by Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA. Pictoplasma has a legitimate interest in protecting its services and users. The data processing is based on Art. 6 para. 1 GDPR. For further information on the data processed please read https://policies.google.com/privacy and the general terms of use for Google services on https://policies.google.com/terms.

 

5/ COMPLIANCE WITH EU PRIVACY LAWS (GDPR)

Pictoplasma.com is an international company that complies with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). We act as “Data Controllers”, as defined under the GDPR, and we process personal data based on our legitimate interests and for contractual necessity in providing you the Service, as described in "How We Use Your Personal Information". We also process and share personal information based on notification and users’ consent, which our users may revoke at any time.

5A/ Storage of Your Personal Data
Pictoplasma securely stores your personal data and all the data and information you share on the servers of Hetzner Online GmbH, Industriestr. 25, 91710 Gunzenhausen, Germany.

5B/ Deletion of Data
Pictoplasma deletes all inventory data once such data is no longer needed to provide the services on Pictoplasma.com to you, nor for legal record keeping requirements.
Pictoplasma deletes usage data when such data is no longer needed for the purpose to provide and improve Pictoplasma.com, eliminate errors on the website and to ensure the security of the website. In particular, Pictoplasma deletes your IP-address after 7 days except in case unforeseeable security concerns require longer storage of your IP-address. Pictoplasma deletes the data collected via session-cookies after you visit Pictoplasma.com. Pictoplasma deletes the data collected via Matomo after 3 to 6 months. You have the possibility to delete any content data except for the data provided in the messaging service and your comments, when logged in on Pictoplasma.com. When you terminate your subscription Pictoplasma deletes all content data, except for the data provided in the messaging service and your comments. Exempt from the deletion is all data, which Pictoplasma stores for the purpose of backup storage, which is deleted according to the regular deletion of backups.

5C/ Data Protection
All information provided to Pictoplasma is stored on servers within the European Union. Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the Internet is not absolutely secure and thus, Pictoplasma cannot guarantee the protection of the data transmitted to the website via the Internet. However, Pictoplasma secures the website and other systems through technical and organisational measures against loss, destruction, access, changes or distribution of the data by unauthorised persons. In particular, your personal data is transmitted in encrypted form.

5D/ No Transfer of Personal Data
Pictoplasma does not transfer personal data to third parties unless you consented to such transfer or Pictoplasma is entitled or obliged to transfer such data due to statutory provisions and/or governmental or judicial order. This, in particular, serves the purposes of criminal prosecution, protection against threats and enforcement of intellectual property rights.

5E/ Data about Children
Pictoplasma.com is not intended for children. We do not knowingly collect information from individuals who are under the age of 18. If you are under 18, please do not register an account with our website or provide any information about yourself to us. If you have already done so, please contact us at charactercare @ pictoplasma (dot) com.

5F/ Links and Third-Party Websites
Pictoplasma.com contains hyperlinks to and from third party websites. This Privacy Policy applies only to Pictoplasma.com. Pictoplasma does not assume any responsibility or guarantee for third party content or privacy policies. When you use a link to an external site or service, the privacy policy and data processing disclosures for that site or service governs.

5G/ Your Rights to Your Information and Contact
You can view the data stored by Pictoplasma about you by clicking on your “user profile”. You can correct such data by clicking on “edit your profile”. In addition, you can access your personal data, withdraw your consent to the processing of your personal data and request correction and/or deletion and/or blocking of such data at any time free of charge. 
For this purpose and in order to obtain detailed information in this regard, you can contact us:
via Email: Pictoplasma at charactercare (at) pictoplasma (dot) com.
via telephone: +49 30 4611 2611
or write to us at: Pictoplasma, Plantagenstr. 31, 13347 Berlin, Germany

Should you wish to report a complaint or if you feel that Pictoplasma has not addressed your concern in a satisfactory manner, you may contact the Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (BfDI) in Germany, Information Commissioner’s Office:
via Email: poststelle@bfdi.bund.de
via telephone: +49 228 997799-0
or write to: Der Bundesbeauftragte für den Datenschutz und die Informationsfreiheit, Graurheindorfer Str. 153, 53117 Bonn, Germany

 

6/ AMENDMENTS TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

Pictoplasma reserves the right to amend this Privacy Policy at any time with effect for the future. The current version is available on the website. 
Pictoplasma will keep users with accounts for Pictoplasma.com informed about possible amendments to this Privacy Policy. In this case, Pictoplasma sends a message to the email address provided by you and/or informs you automatically the first time you log in to the services after updating this Privacy Policy. In case you do not object to the new Privacy Policy within two weeks after receipt of such notice, you agree to such Privacy Policy. The notice contains the information that there is a possibility to object and states the period for such objection. 
If the processing of further data by Pictoplasma requires your consent, Pictoplasma will ask you for such consent.

 

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