Privacy Policy & Cookie Policy

1. Introduction

Dr.-Ing. Zeyd Boukhers ("we", "our", or "us") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and protect your personal information when you visit our website.

This website is hosted as a GitLab Pages site. We take data protection seriously and comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other applicable data protection laws.

2. What Are Cookies?

Cookies are small text files that are stored on your device (computer, tablet, or mobile) when you visit a website. They help the website remember information about your visit, making it easier to revisit the site and making it more useful to you.

3. Types of Cookies We Use

Essential Cookies (Always Active)

These cookies are necessary for the website to function properly. They enable basic functions like remembering your cookie preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable information.

cookie_consent_preferences: Stores your cookie consent choices
cookie_consent_timestamp: Records when you made your cookie choice

Analytics Cookies (Optional)

These cookies help us understand how visitors interact with our website by collecting and reporting information anonymously. They help us improve the website's functionality and content.

Note: Analytics cookies are only activated if you give your explicit consent.

We may use Google Analytics or similar services to understand website usage
IP addresses are anonymized
Data is used only for statistical purposes

Marketing Cookies (Optional)

These cookies track your browsing habits to enable us to show advertising that is more relevant to you and your interests. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advertisement and help measure the effectiveness of advertising campaigns.

Note: Marketing cookies are only activated if you give your explicit consent.

4. Your Cookie Choices

You have full control over which cookies you accept. When you first visit our website, you will see a cookie banner allowing you to:

Accept All: Accept all cookies including analytics and marketing
Accept Selected: Choose which categories of cookies to accept
Reject All: Only accept essential cookies necessary for the website to function

You can change your cookie preferences at any time by clicking the "Cookie Settings" link in the footer of any page.

5. Data We Collect

Information You Provide

We do not collect personal information unless you voluntarily provide it (e.g., by contacting us via email).

Automatically Collected Information

When you visit our website, certain technical information may be automatically collected, including:

Browser type and version
Operating system
Referring website
Pages visited on our site
Date and time of access
IP address (anonymized if analytics cookies are enabled)

Note: No analytics data is collected unless you have explicitly consented to analytics cookies.

6. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for the following purposes:

To provide and maintain our website
To remember your cookie preferences
To analyze website usage and improve user experience (only with your consent)
To respond to your inquiries
To comply with legal obligations

7. Third-Party Services

GitLab Pages

This website is hosted on GitLab Pages. GitLab may collect certain technical information as part of their hosting service. Please refer to GitLab's Privacy Policy for more information.

External Links

Our website contains links to external websites (e.g., Google Scholar, ORCID, GitHub, LinkedIn). We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these external sites. We encourage you to read the privacy policies of any external website you visit.

Analytics Services (If Enabled)

If you consent to analytics cookies, we may use services like Google Analytics. These services may collect information about your use of our website. Such services have their own privacy policies.

8. Data Retention

Your cookie preferences are stored in your browser's local storage and remain there until you clear your browser data or change your preferences.

If you consent to analytics cookies, the data collected is retained according to the respective service provider's retention policy (typically 14-26 months for Google Analytics).

9. Your Rights Under GDPR

If you are in the European Economic Area (EEA), you have the following rights:

Right to Access: You can request access to your personal data
Right to Rectification: You can request correction of inaccurate data
Right to Erasure: You can request deletion of your personal data
Right to Restrict Processing: You can request restriction of processing
Right to Data Portability: You can request transfer of your data
Right to Object: You can object to processing of your data
Right to Withdraw Consent: You can withdraw consent at any time

To exercise these rights, please contact us at [email protected].

10. Browser Settings

In addition to our cookie consent system, you can also control cookies through your browser settings:

Chrome: Settings → Privacy and security → Cookies and other site data
Firefox: Settings → Privacy & Security → Cookies and Site Data
Safari: Preferences → Privacy → Cookies and website data
Edge: Settings → Cookies and site permissions → Cookies and site data

Note that blocking all cookies may affect your experience on this and other websites.

11. Children's Privacy

Our website is not intended for children under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe we have collected information from a child, please contact us.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by updating the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically.

13. Contact Information

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us:

Dr.-Ing. Zeyd Boukhers
Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology (FIT)
Email: [email protected]

14. Data Protection Officer

For data protection inquiries regarding Fraunhofer FIT, you can contact:

Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology FIT
Data Protection Officer
Schloss Birlinghoven
53757 Sankt Augustin
Germany
Email: [email protected]

15. Supervisory Authority

You have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority. For Germany:

Die Bundesbeauftragte für den Datenschutz und die Informationsfreiheit
Graurheindorfer Str. 153
53117 Bonn
Germany
Website: www.bfdi.bund.de