iPet.ch GmbH, with its registered office in Ulmiz, is the operator of the websites iPet.ch, Futterwahl.ch, and Nourriture-animaux.ch and the services offered thereon and is thus responsible for the collection, processing, and use of your personal data and the compatibility of the data processing with the applicable data protection law.

Contact details:
iPet.ch GmbH
Steinerenweg 23
3214 Ulmiz
Tel.: 031 539 11 77, Email: [email protected]

Attention: Please note that any returns/goods returns should NOT be sent to this address.
You can find more information here.

1.    Controller and content of this privacy policy 
We, iPet.ch GmbH, based in Switzerland, are the operator of the website www.ipet.ch (hereinafter "website") and are, unless otherwise stated, responsible for the data processing listed in this privacy policy. 
To ensure you know which personal data we collect from you and for what purposes we use it, please take note of the information below. Regarding data protection, we are primarily guided by the legal requirements of Swiss data protection law, in particular the Federal Act on Data Protection (DSG). 

Please note that the following information is reviewed and changed from time to time. We therefore recommend that you consult this privacy policy regularly. Furthermore, other companies are responsible for data protection or jointly responsible with us for individual data processing operations listed below, so that in these cases the information provided by these providers is also decisive.

2.    Contact person for data protection
If you have any questions about data protection or would like to exercise your rights, please contact our data protection contact person by sending an email to the following address:
[email protected]

3.    Your rights
Provided that the legal requirements are met, you as a person affected by data processing have the following rights:

Right of access: You have the right to request access to your personal data stored by us at any time free of charge if we are processing it. This gives you the opportunity to check which personal data we process about you and that we use it in accordance with applicable data protection regulations. 

Right to rectification: You have the right to have incorrect or incomplete personal data corrected and to be informed about the correction. In this case, we will inform the recipients of the affected data about the adjustments made, unless this is impossible or involves disproportionate effort. 

Right to erasure: You have the right to have your personal data deleted under certain circumstances. In individual cases, particularly in the case of statutory retention obligations, the right to deletion may be excluded. In this case, if certain conditions are met, the data may be blocked instead of deleted.

Right to restriction of processing: You have the right to request that the processing of your personal data be restricted. 

Right to data portability: You have the right to receive from us the personal data that you have provided to us, free of charge in a readable format. 

Right to object: You can object to data processing at any time, in particular for data processing in connection with direct advertising (e.g. advertising emails).

Right of revocation: In principle, you have the right to revoke consent given at any time. However, processing activities based on your consent in the past will not become unlawful as a result of your revocation.

To exercise these rights, please send us an email to the following address: [email protected].

Right of appeal: You have the right to lodge a complaint with a competent supervisory authority, e.g. against the manner in which your personal data is processed. 

4.    Data security 
We use appropriate technical and organizational security measures to protect your personal data stored by us against loss and unlawful processing, specifically unauthorized access by third parties. Our employees and the service companies commissioned by us are obliged by us to maintain confidentiality and to observe data protection. Furthermore, these persons are only granted access to personal data to the extent necessary to fulfill their tasks.

Our security measures are continuously adapted in accordance with technological developments. However, the transmission of information via the Internet and electronic means of communication always entails certain security risks and we too cannot guarantee the absolute security of information transmitted in this way.

5.    Contacting us 
If you contact us via our contact addresses and channels (e.g. by email, telephone, or contact form), your personal data will be processed. The data you have provided to us will be processed, e.g. the name of your company, your name, your function, your email address or telephone number, and your request. In addition, the time of receipt of the request is documented. Mandatory information is marked with an asterisk (*) in contact forms. 

We process this data exclusively to implement your request (e.g. providing information about a product, support with contract processing such as the return of products, incorporating your feedback into improving our service, etc.).

6.    Use of your data for marketing purposes 
6.1    Central data storage and analysis in the CRM system
If a clear assignment to your person is possible, we will store and link the data described in this privacy policy, i.e. in particular your personal details, your contacts, your contract data, and your surfing behavior on our websites in a central database. This serves the efficient management of customer data and allows us to answer your requests adequately, and enables the efficient provision of the services you desire and the processing of the associated contracts. 

We evaluate this data in order to further develop our offers in a needs-oriented manner and to display and suggest information and offers that are as relevant as possible to you. We also use methods that predict possible interests and future orders based on your website usage. 

6.2    Email marketing and newsletter
If you register for our email newsletter (e.g. when opening or within your customer account), the following data is collected. Mandatory information is marked with an asterisk (*) in the registration form:
•    Email address
•    Salutation 
•    First and last name
To prevent misuse and to ensure that the owner of an email address has actually given their consent themselves, we use the so-called double opt-in for registration. After sending the registration, you will receive an email from us containing a confirmation link. To definitely register for the newsletter, you must click this link. If you do not click on the confirmation link within the specified period, your data will be deleted again and our newsletter will not be sent to this address.

By registering, you consent to the processing of this data in order to receive news from us about our company, our offers in the field of pet food and accessories, as well as related products and services. This may also include requests to participate in competitions or to rate one of the aforementioned products and services. The collection of the salutation and the name allows us to verify the assignment of the registration to a possibly already existing customer account and to personalize the content of the emails. Linking to a customer account helps us to make the offers and content contained in the newsletter more relevant to you and better tailored to your potential needs. 

We use your data for email dispatch until you revoke your consent. Revocation is possible at any time, in particular via the unsubscribe link in all our marketing emails.

Our marketing emails may contain a so-called web beacon or 1x1 pixel (tracking pixel) or similar technical aids. A web beacon is an invisible graphic that is linked to the user ID of the respective newsletter subscriber. For every marketing email sent, we receive information on which addresses have not yet received the email, to which addresses it was sent, and for which addresses the dispatch failed. It also shows which addresses opened the email and for how long, and which links they clicked on. Finally, we also receive information about which addresses have unsubscribed. We use this data for statistical purposes and to optimize the advertising emails with regard to frequency, timing, structure, and content of the emails. This allows us to better tailor the information and offers in our emails to the individual interests of the recipients.

The web beacon is deleted when you delete the email. To prevent the use of the web beacon in our marketing emails, please set the parameters of your email program so that HTML is not displayed in messages, if this is not already the case by default. In the help sections of your email software, you will find information on how to configure this setting, e.g. here for Microsoft Outlook.

By subscribing to the newsletter, you also consent to the statistical evaluation of user behavior for the purpose of optimizing and adapting the newsletter.

We use the email marketing software Mailchimp from Intuit Inc., 2700 Coast Avenue, Mountain View, CA 94043 for marketing emails. Therefore, your data is stored in a database of Intuit Inc., which enables Intuit Inc. to access your data if this is necessary for the provision of the software and for support in using the software.

7.    Disclosure to third parties and access by third parties 
Without the support of other companies, we would not be able to provide our offers in the desired form. So that we can use the services of these companies, a disclosure of your personal data is also necessary to a certain extent. Such disclosure takes place specifically insofar as this is necessary for the fulfillment of the contract you desire, i.e. for example to the logistics or transport companies that deliver the desired products, or to a manufacturer who is to fulfill your warranty claim. 

Disclosure is also made to selected service providers and only to the extent necessary for the provision of the service. Various third-party service providers are also explicitly mentioned in this privacy policy, such as in the sections on marketing. Incidentally, these are e.g. IT service providers (such as providers of software solutions), advertising agencies, consulting companies. 

In addition, your data may be disclosed, in particular to authorities, legal advisors, or debt collection companies, if we are legally obliged to do so or if this is necessary to protect our rights, in particular to enforce claims arising from the relationship with you. Data may also be disclosed if another company intends to acquire our company or parts thereof and such disclosure is necessary to carry out a due diligence review or for the execution of the transaction. 

8.    Transmission of personal data abroad 
We are entitled to transfer your personal data to third parties abroad as well, provided this is necessary to carry out the data processing mentioned in this privacy policy (see esp. sections 12-15). The statutory provisions regarding the disclosure of personal data to third parties are of course observed. If the country in question does not have an adequate level of data protection, we ensure through contractual regulations that your data is adequately protected at these companies. 

9.    Retention periods
We store personal data only as long as is necessary to carry out the processing explained in this privacy policy within the scope of our legitimate interest. For contract data, storage is prescribed by statutory retention obligations. Requirements that oblige us to store data result from accounting regulations and tax laws. According to these regulations, business communication, concluded contracts, and accounting vouchers must specifically be kept for up to 10 years. Insofar as we no longer need this data to perform services for you, the data will be blocked. This means that the data may then only be used if this is necessary to fulfill retention obligations or to defend and enforce our legal interests. Deletion of the data takes place as soon as there is no longer a retention obligation and no legitimate interest in retention. 

10.    Logfile data 
When visiting our website, the servers of our hosting provider Amazon Web Services Inc. (AWS), 410 Terry Avenue North, Seattle, WA 98109-5210, USA temporarily store each access in a log file. The following data is collected without your intervention and stored by us until automated deletion:

•    the IP address of the requesting computer,
•    the date and time of access,
•    the name and URL of the retrieved file, 
•    the website from which the access occurred, possibly with the search term used,
•    the operating system of your computer and the browser you use (incl. type, version, and language setting), 
•    device type in case of access by mobile phones,
•    the city or region from where the access occurred, 
•    the name of your internet access provider. 

The collection and processing of this data is carried out for the purpose of enabling the use of our website (connection establishment), ensuring system security and stability permanently, as well as for error and performance analysis and enables us to optimize our website (see also section 13 regarding the last points). 
In the event of an attack on the network infrastructure of the website or in the event of suspicion of other unauthorized or abusive website use, the IP address and the other data will be evaluated for clarification and defense and, if necessary, used within the framework of criminal proceedings for identification and for civil and criminal action against the users concerned.
Finally, we use cookies as well as applications and tools based on the use of cookies when you visit our website. In this context, the data described here may also be processed. Further details can be found in the following sections of this privacy policy, in particular section 11.

11.    Cookies
Cookies are information files that your web browser stores on your computer's hard drive or memory when you visit our website. Cookies are assigned identification numbers via which your browser is identified and the information contained in the cookie can be read. 

Cookies help, among other things, to make your visit to our website easier, more pleasant, and more meaningful. We use cookies for various purposes that are necessary for the use of the website you desire, i.e. "technically necessary". For example, we use cookies to be able to identify you as a registered user after a login without you having to log in again each time you navigate to the various subpages. The provision of the shopping cart and order function is also based on the use of cookies. Furthermore, cookies also perform other technical functions necessary for the operation of the website, such as so-called load balancing, i.e. distributing the performance load of the site across various web servers to relieve the servers. Cookies are also used for security purposes, e.g. to prevent the unauthorized posting of content. Finally, we also use cookies within the framework of the design and programming of our website, e.g. to enable the uploading of scripts or codes.

You may also be able to configure your browser so that no cookies are stored on your computer or a notice always appears when you receive a new cookie. On the following pages, you will find explanations on how to configure the processing of cookies for selected browsers.
•    Google Chrome 
•    Apple Safari 
The deactivation of cookies may mean that you cannot use all functions of our website.

12.    Google SiteSearch / Google Custom Search Engine
The Google SiteSearch/Google Custom Search Engine from Google LLC (1600 Amphitheater Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA) is used on this website. This enables us to provide you with an efficient search function on our website. 

When using our search fields, your browser may transmit the log file data listed under section 10 (incl. IP address) as well as the search term you entered to Google, provided you have Java Script installed in your browser. If you wish to prevent data transmission, you can deactivate JavaScript in the browser settings (usually in the "Data Protection" menu). Please note that the search function and other functions of the website may be impaired in this case.

For further processing of data by Google, please observe Google's privacy policy: www.google.com/intl/en/policies/privacy.

13.    Tracking and web analysis tools 
13.1    General information on tracking
For the purpose of needs-based design and continuous optimization of our website, we use the web analysis services listed below. In this context, pseudonymized usage profiles are created and cookies are used (see also section 11). The information generated by the cookie about your use of this website is generally transmitted together with the log file data listed under section 10 to a server of the service provider, stored there and processed. This may also involve transmission to servers abroad, e.g. the USA (cf. regarding this, esp. regarding the guarantees taken, section 8). 

Through the processing of the data, we receive, among other things, the following information:
•    Navigation path that a visitor takes on the site (incl. viewed content and selected or purchased products),
•    Duration of stay on the website or subpage,
•    the subpage on which the website is left, 
•    the country, region, or city from where access occurs, 
•    End device (type, version, color depth, resolution, width and height of the browser window) and 
•    Returning or new visitor.

On our behalf, the provider will use this information to evaluate the use of the website, to compile reports on website activities for us, and to provide further services associated with website use and internet use for purposes of market research and needs-based design of these internet pages. For these processing operations, we and the providers can be considered jointly responsible under data protection law to a certain extent. 

You can reject the processing by rejecting or switching off the relevant cookies in the settings of your web browser (see section 11 regarding this) or by using the service-specific options described below.

For the further processing of data by the respective provider as a (sole) controller under data protection law, in particular also a possible disclosure of this information to third parties such as authorities due to national statutory provisions, please observe the respective privacy notices of the provider.

13.2    Google Analytics
We use the web analysis service Google Analytics from Google Ireland Limited (Gordon House, 4 Barrow St, Dublin, D04 E5W5, Ireland) or Google LLC (1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA) ("Google"). 

In this context, the described data about the use of the website can be transmitted to the servers of Google LLC in the USA for the explained processing purposes (see section 13.1). The IP address is shortened by activating IP anonymization ("anonymizeIP") on this website before transmission within the member states of the European Union or in other contracting states of the Agreement on the European Economic Area. Only in exceptional cases will the full IP address be transmitted to a Google server in the USA and shortened there. 

Users can prevent the collection of data generated by the cookie and related to the use of the website by the respective user (incl. the IP address) to 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. Further information on data protection at Google can be found here.

14.    Social Media 
14.1    Social Media Profiles
On our website, we have incorporated links to our profiles on the social networks of the following providers:
•    Meta Platforms Inc., 1601 S California Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA;
•    Instagram Inc. 1601 Willow Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA;
•    Twitter Inc. based at 1355 Market Street, Suite 900, San Francisco, CA 94103, USA;
•    LinkedIn Unlimited Company, Wilton Place, Dublin 2, Ireland.
When you click on the icons of the social networks, you will automatically be redirected to our profile on the respective network. This establishes a direct connection between your browser and the server of the respective social network. As a result, the network receives the information that you have visited our website with your IP address and clicked on the link. 

If you click on a link to a network while you are logged into your user account at the respective network, the content of our website can be linked to your profile so that the network can assign your visit to our website directly to your account. If you want to prevent this, you should log out before clicking the corresponding links. A connection between your access to our website and your user account takes place in any case if you log in to the respective network after clicking the link. The respective provider is responsible for the associated data processing under data protection law. Please therefore observe the information on the network's website.

14.2    Social Media Plugins
On our website, you can use social plugins from the providers listed below:

•    Meta Platforms Inc., 1601 S California Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA, Privacy Notices;
•    Instagram Inc., 1601 Willow Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA, Privacy Notices;
•    Twitter Inc., 1355 Market Street, Suite 900, San Francisco, CA 94103, USA, Privacy Notices; 
•    Linkedin Unlimited Company, Wilton Place, Dublin 2, Ireland, Privacy Notices.

We use the social plugins to make it easier for you to share content from our website. The social plugins help us to increase the visibility of our content in social networks and thus contribute to better marketing. 

The plugins are deactivated by default on our websites and therefore do not send any data to the social networks when simply accessing our website. To increase data protection, we have integrated the plugins in such a way that a connection to the network servers is not automatically established. Only when you activate the plugins and thus give your consent to data transmission and further processing by the providers of the social networks does your browser establish a direct connection to the servers of the respective social network. 

The content of the plugin is transmitted by the social network directly to your browser and integrated by it into the website. Through this, the respective provider receives the information that your browser has accessed the corresponding page of our website, even if you do not have an account with this social network or are currently not logged in to it. This information (including your IP address) is transmitted by your browser directly to a server of the provider (usually in the USA) and stored there. We have no influence on the scope of the data that the provider collects with the plugin, whereby from a data protection perspective we can be considered jointly responsible with the providers to a certain extent. 

If you are logged in to the social network, it can assign your visit to our website directly to your user account. If you interact with the plugins, the corresponding information is also transmitted directly to a server of the provider and stored there. The information (e.g. that you like a product of ours) is also possibly published on the social network and may be displayed to other users of the social network. The provider of the social network may use this information for the purpose of displaying advertising and designing the respective offer to meet needs. For this purpose, usage, interest, and relationship profiles could be created, e.g. to evaluate your use of our website with regard to the advertisements displayed to you on the social network, to inform other users about your activities on our website, and to provide further services associated with the use of the social network. For the purpose and scope of data collection and the further processing and use of the data by the providers of the social networks as well as your rights in this regard and setting options to protect your privacy, please refer directly to the privacy notices of the respective provider.

If you do not want the provider of the social network to assign the data collected via our website to your user account, you must log out of the social network before activating the plugins. You can revoke your consent at any time by declaring your revocation to the provider of the plugin in accordance with the information in their privacy notices.

15.    Online advertising and targeting
15.1    In general
We use services from various companies to present you with interesting offers online. In doing so, your user behavior on our website and websites of other providers is analyzed in order to subsequently display online advertising tailored individually to you. 

Most technologies for tracking your user behavior ("tracking") and for the targeted display of advertising ("targeting") work with cookies (see also section 11 regarding this), with which your browser can be recognized across different websites. Depending on the service provider, it may also be possible for you to be recognized online even when using different end devices (e.g. laptop and smartphone). This may be the case, for example, if you have registered for a service that you use with multiple devices. 

In addition to the data already mentioned, which arises when accessing websites ("logfile data", see section 10) and when using cookies (section 11) and which may reach the companies participating in the advertising networks, the following data specifically flows into the selection of the advertising potentially most relevant to you: 
 - Details about your person that you provided when registering or using a service from advertising partners (e.g. your gender, your age group);
 - User behavior (e.g. search queries, interactions with advertising, types of websites visited, products viewed and purchased, subscribed newsletters).
We and our service providers use this data to identify whether you belong to the target group we address and take this into account when selecting advertisements. For example, after you have visited our site, advertisements for the products you consulted may be displayed to you when accessing other sites ("re-targeting"). Depending on the scope of the data, a user profile may also be created that is evaluated automatically, and the advertisements are selected according to the information stored in the profile, such as belonging to certain demographic segments or potential interests or behaviors. Such advertisements can be presented to you on various channels, which include, in addition to our website or app (within the framework of onsite and in-app marketing), also advertisements that are brokered via the online advertising networks we use, such as Google. 

The data can then be evaluated for the purpose of billing with the service provider as well as for assessing the effectiveness of advertising measures, in order to better understand the needs of our users and customers and to improve future campaigns. This may also include information that the performance of an action (e.g. visiting certain sections of our websites or submitting information) is attributable to a specific advertisement. Furthermore, we receive aggregated reports of ad activities and information on how users interact with our website and our ads from the service providers.

You can revoke your consent at any time by rejecting or switching off the relevant cookies in the settings of your web browser (see section 11 regarding this). You can also find further options for blocking advertising in the information of the respective service provider, such as at Google.

15.2    Google Ads 
This website uses the services of Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA ("Google") for online advertising. Google uses cookies for this purpose, such as the so-called DoubleClick cookie, which enable your browser to be recognized when visiting other websites. The information generated by the cookies about the visit to these websites (including your IP address) is transmitted to a Google server in the USA and stored there (see also section 6 regarding this). Further information on data protection at Google can be found here.

You can revoke your consent at any time by rejecting or switching off the relevant cookies in the settings of your web browser (see section 11 regarding this). Further options for blocking advertising can be found here.

16.    Use of our chat function
If you contact us via chat, your personal data will be processed. The data you have provided to us will be processed, e.g. the name of your company, your name, your function, your email address, and your request. In addition, the time of receipt of the request is documented. Mandatory information is marked with an asterisk (*). 

We process this data exclusively to implement your request (e.g. providing information about a product, support with contract processing such as the return of products, incorporating your feedback into improving our service, etc.). For the provision of the chat function, we use a tool from the company Zendesk, 989 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94103, USA.
Therefore, your data is stored in a database of Zendesk, which may enable Zendesk to access your data if this is necessary for the provision of the software and for support in using the software. 

17.    Registration for a customer account
If you open a customer account on our website, we collect the following data, whereby mandatory information is marked with an asterisk (*) in the corresponding form:

Personal details: 
•    Salutation
•    Last Name
•    First name
•    Billing and delivery address
•    Birthday
•    Company names and company address for corporate customers

Login data: 
•    Email address
•    Password

Further information: 
•    Languages
•    Gender

We use the personal details to establish your identity and verify the requirements for registration. The email address and password serve jointly as login data and thus to ensure that the correct person uses the website under your details. We also require your email address for verification and confirmation of account opening and for future communication with you necessary for contract processing. In addition, this data is stored in the customer account for future contract conclusions. For this purpose, we also allow you to store further information in the account (e.g. your preferred payment method). 
We also use the data to provide an overview of the ordered products and services obtained (cf. regarding this esp. sections 18 and 23) and a simple way to manage your personal data, for the administration of our website and the contractual relationships, i.e. for the establishment, content design, processing, and modification of the contracts concluded with you via your customer account. 
We process the information on language and gender in order to display offer suggestions on the website that are best tailored to your profile or your personal needs, for statistical recording and evaluation of the selected offers, and thus for optimizing our suggestions and offers. 
To prevent misuse, you must always treat your login data confidentially and should close the browser window when you have finished communicating with us, especially if you share the computer with others. 

18.    Ordering products
If you would like to order products or book services on the website, we require various data for contract processing. If you do not log in with your customer account (see section 17), we collect – depending on the product or service – the following data, whereby mandatory information is marked with an asterisk (*) in the corresponding form: 

•    Salutation
•    Last Name
•    First name
•    Billing and delivery address
•    Email address
•    Birthday
•    Company, company address, and VAT no. for corporate customers
•    Telephone number

We use the data to establish your identity before concluding a contract. We also require your email address to confirm your order and for future communication with you necessary for contract processing. We store your data together with the peripheral data of the order (e.g. time, order number, etc.), the data on the ordered/booked services (e.g. designation, price, and characteristics of the product; "product data"), the data on payment (e.g. chosen payment method, confirmation of payment and time; see further section 19) as well as the information on processing and fulfillment of the contract (e.g. return of products, use of service or warranty services, etc.) in our CRM database (see section 6.1 regarding this), so that we can ensure correct order processing and contract fulfillment. 
Insofar as this is necessary for contract fulfillment, we will also pass on the required information to any third-party service providers (e.g. transport companies). 
The provision of data that is not marked as mandatory is voluntary. We process this data to tailor our offer as best as possible to your personal needs, to facilitate contract processing, to contact you via an alternative communication channel if necessary with regard to contract fulfillment, or for statistical recording and evaluation to optimize our offers. 

19.    Online payment processing
If you purchase services or products on our website for a fee, depending on the product or service and the desired payment method – in addition to the information mentioned in section 18 – the provision of further data is necessary, such as your credit card information or the login with your payment service provider. This information as well as the fact that you have purchased a service from us for the relevant amount and time will be forwarded to the respective payment service providers (e.g. providers of payment solutions, credit card issuers, and credit card acquirers). Always also observe the information of the respective company, in particular the privacy policy and the general terms and conditions. 

To avoid payment defaults, a transmission of the necessary data, in particular your personal details, to a credit agency for automated assessment of your creditworthiness may also occur. In this context, the credit agency may assign you a so-called score value. This is an estimated value of the future risk of a payment default, e.g. based on a percentage. The value is collected using mathematical-statistical methods and including data from the credit agency from other sources.  We reserve the right, according to the information received, not to offer you the payment method "Invoice". 

20.    Submission of reviews
To help other users with their purchase decision and to support our quality management (esp. processing negative feedback), you have the option on our website to rate ordered products. The data you have provided to us will be processed and published on the website, i.e. in addition to your rating and its time, possibly also a comment you have added to your rating, or the name you have provided. 

We reserve the right to delete unlawful reviews and to contact you in case of suspicion and request you to comment. 

 

Status: August 2023