Data Protection Declaration

We know that careful treatment of your personal data is very important to you. SMA, too, places the utmost importance on protecting personal data. Personal data means any information concerning the personal or material circumstances of an identified or identifiable individual. Examples of personal data include e-mail addresses, names and postal addresses. SMA may use personal data for internal purposes, e.g., for data analysis, research, or to improve its products. The personal data collected by SMA is handled with the utmost care. We use and process your personal data solely within the limits of the statutory provisions on data protection and data security applicable in the Federal Republic of Germany. Below, you will find information on which data is recorded when you visit our home page and how this is used:

Person(s) responsible:

SMA Solar Technology AG
Data Protection Officer
Sonnenallee 1
34266 Niestetal
Germany

We collect, save, process and use your details so that we may correctly address and send the SMA Newsletter, current information about SMA services and products that may be of interest to you, and to provide you with personal and individual support within the scope of customer relations. We assure you that your data will not be passed on to third parties for commercial purposes. For us, it is a matter of course that we safeguard your privacy under all circumstances and we collect, save, process and use the data in accordance with the respective regulations on the protection of personal data. In some cases, SMA processes the data using external service providers, who exclusively save, process and use the data on our behalf for the purposes outlined above.

Please note that web-based data transmission is subject to security gaps, and therefore full protection from third-party access cannot be guaranteed.

Cookies

Our site uses cookies to track visitor preferences and optimally enhance the design of our website. Cookies are small files stored temporarily on your hard drive. This simplifies navigation and makes a website much more user friendly. Cookies also help us identify very popular areas of our website. This allows us to tailor the content of our website precisely to your needs, thereby improving our offers for you. These cookies allow for the identification of computers, but not personal identities.

Of course, you can view our website without cookies as well. Most browsers accept cookies automatically. You can prevent the storage of cookies on your computer by checking "do not accept cookies" under your browser settings. For details, please see the instructions from your browser provider. You can also delete cookies in your browser at any time. If you do not accept cookies, this may limit the functionality of our site.

Server data

For technical reasons, the following data among other things that is sent to us from your internet browser or our web space provider (known as server log files) is collected:

  • Browser type and version
  • Operating system used
  • Website that routed you to us (referrer URL)
  • Website you are visiting
  • Date and time of your access
  • Your IP address


This anonymous data is stored separately from any personal data you provide and does not give any information about anyone's personal identity.

Newsletter

You can subscribe to newsletters on our site. We need your e-mail address for this purpose. Before we send you the newsletter, you must complete the "double opt-in" to expressly confirm that we should activate the newsletter service for you. You will then receive a confirmation and authorization e-mail from us asking you to click the links in this e-mail, thereby confirming that you wish to receive our newsletter. When you register for our newsletter, we will save your IP address and the date and time of your registration, because we are required by law to document your consent.

You can unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time. To do so, follow the link in the confirmation e-mail or in any newsletter that you receive from us.

We will not share your e-mail with third parties.

How to contact us

If you contact us using our contact forms, we will store and use the information you provide for purposes of handling your request. Your data will not be shared with third parties or compared with other data sources.

Use of Google Analytics with anonymization function

This website uses Google Analytics, a web service analysis tool from Google Inc. ("Google“). Google Analytics uses "cookies," which are text files saved on your computer to help the website analyze how users use the site. The information generated by the cookie about your use of the website will generally be transmitted to and saved by Google in the United States. On our website, we use Google Analytics along with "_gat._anonymizeIp". In this case, your IP address will be abbreviated and therefore made anonymous by Google within the member states of the European Union or in other countries that are members of the European Economic Area agreement. Only in exceptional cases will the full IP address be sent to a Google server in the U.S. and abbreviated there. On behalf of the operator of this website, Google will use the information to evaluate your use of the website, to collect reports on the website activities, and to perform other services related to the website use and internet use for the website operator. The IP address sent by your browser for Google Analytics will not be combined with other data of Google. You can prevent cookies from being stored on your computer by using the relevant setting in your browser software. However, please note that in this case you may not be able to use all functions of this website. You can also prevent the collection of the data generated by the cookie and your use of the website (including your IP address) to Google and the processing of this data by Google by opening the following link (https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=en) and downloading and installing the browser plug-in.

You can find additional information about the terms of use and data protection at http://www.google.com/analytics/terms/en.html or at https://www.google.de/intl/en/policies/. Please note that on this website, Google Analytics was expanded to include the code "anonymizeIp“ to ensure anonymous collection of IP addresses (known as IP masking).

Use of YouTube components with expanded data protection mode

Our website uses components (videos) from YouTube, LLC 901 Cherry Ave., 94066 San Bruno, CA, USA, a Google Inc. company, Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA.

The videos are integrated into expanded data protection mode. However, like most websites, YouTube uses cookies to gather information about the visitors to its website. YouTube uses this information among other things to collect video statistics, prevent fraud and improve user-friendliness. This also involves a connection to the Google DoubleClick network. When you start the video, this may trigger other data processing steps. This is outside our influence. For more information about data privacy at YouTube, see their data privacy statement at: https://www.google.de/intl/en/policies/privacy/

Use of AddThis

This website contains "AddThis" plug-ins that allow you to set bookmarks or share interesting website content.

The use of "AddThis" includes cookies. The data generated as a result (such as time of use or browser language) is sent to Add This LLC (1595 Spring Hill Rd, Suite 300, Vienna, VA 22182 - USA) and is processed there. For more information about data processing by Add This LLC and data privacy at Add This LLC, please go to www.addthis.com/privacy. This website contains in particular information about the type of data processed and their use. We do not process the relevant data.

By using the "Addthis" box you agree that Add This LLC can process your data to the extent listed on the website www.addthis.com.

You can refuse the use of your data at any time by using an "opt out cookie" (http://www.addthis.com/privacy/optout).

Use of Google Remarketing

On our website, we use the Google Remarketing service by Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043 USA, hereinafter "Google." Using this function, the provider can strategically market to users of the website by showing personalized banner ads tailored to the visitors' interest once they visit other websites in the Google Display network. To analyze the website use, which is the basis for creating banner ads of interest to the visitors, Google uses cookies. For this purpose, Google saves a small file with a sequence of numbers in the browsers of visitors to the website. This number collects the visits to the website and anonymous data about the use of the website. No personal data from visitors to the website is saved. If you then visit another website in the Google Display network, you are very likely to see banner ads that relate to previously viewed products and information. You can permanently disable the use of cookies by Google by opening the following link, and downloading and installing the plug-in: www.google.com/settings/ads/plugin. Alternatively, you can disable the use of cookies by third-party providers by opening the deactivation page of the Network Advertising Initiative at www.networkadvertising.org/choices/ and following the instructions for opting out. For more information about Google Remarketing and Google's data privacy agreement, please see: www.google.com/privacy/ads/.

Use of Google-Adwords

We use the online advertising program "Google AdWords" and conversion tracking as part of Google AdWords. Google Conversion Tracking is an analytical service by Google Inc. (1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA; „Google“). Once you click on a Google ad, a cookie for conversion tracking is stored on your computer. The cookies expire after 30 days, do not contain personal data and therefore cannot be used to identify you.

If you visit certain pages of our website and the cookie has not yet expired, Google and we can determine that you have clicked on the ad and were re-directed to this page. Every Google AdWords customer receives a different cookie. Thus, there is no way to track cookies via the websites of AdWords customers.

The information obtained by the conversion cookie is used to generate conversion statistics for AdWords customers who have chosen conversion tracking. This provides the customers with the total number of users who clicked on their ad and were re-directed to their page with a conversion tracking tag. However, they do not receive information that can personally identify users.

If you do not wish to participate in tracking, you can opt out of this use by activating the relevant setting in your browser software (deactivation option). You will not be included in the conversion tracking statistics. For more information and the Google data privacy agreement, go to: www.google.com/policies/technologies/ads/ , www.google.de/policies/privacy/.

Use of Facebook remarketing

To inform potential users of our website, we use the advertising network “Facebook Advertising” and conversion tracking, an analytical service by Facebook (Facebook Inc., 1601 S. California Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA). For this purpose, Facebook places a cookie on your browser ("conversion cookie") if you were re-routed from a Facebook ad to our website. The cookie expires after 30 days. If you visit certain pages of ours within this time period, Facebook and we can see that you clicked on the ad. Information obtained with the conversion cookies helps create conversion statistics. We receive information about the total number of users who clicked on the ad and were re-routed to a website that was part of the conversion tracking advertising network. We cannot personally identify you. If you do not wish to take part in tracking, you can refuse cookies in your browser setting that allows you to deactivate cookies in general.

For more information about the collection and use of your data by Facebook and on your rights and privacy options in this regard, please see the data privacy information of Facebook under www.facebook.com/about/privacy/. Alternatively, you can deactivate the remarketing function "Custom Audiences" at https://www.facebook.com/settings/?tab=ads#_=_. You must be logged on to Facebook to do so.

Use of Pardot Services

Our website uses Pardot Services, an analytical tool from salesforce.com, inc., located at The Landmark at One Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94105, U.S. When you visit our website, Pardot records your click path and uses it to create a personalized usage profile. In the case of existing customers, this is merged with the information already available to SMA. Cookies are used for this purpose to allow your browser to be identified. When you use our website for the first time and give your consent to the use of cookies by acknowledging the cookie acceptance banner or by continuing to use our website, you also declare your consent to Pardot’s use of the cookies. Pardot Services will set no more than three cookies. These are text files that are saved on your computer and allow for analysis of the use of the website. The cookies set are a visitor cookie, an opt-in cookie and a Pardot app session cookie. The visitor cookie generates an ID number used to recognize the website visitor’s web browser. The ID number is a generated numerical code that has no significance outside Pardot Services. The opt-in cookie ensures that those visitors who have chosen “do not track” in their browser settings do not get a visitor cookie. The Pardot app session cookie is not set unless a customer logs onto the Pardot app as a user. All cookies contain only the numerical code generated. No personal data is collected. You can disable tracking by Pardot and the creation of usage profiles at any time by configuring your web browser not to accept cookies from the domain pardot.com. However, this may lead to some functions being restricted and to our service being less user-friendly. We have ensured compliance with the EU Data Protection Directive contractually with salesforce.com, inc. 

Information / Withdrawal / Deletion

Upon request, we will be happy to share with you the personal data we have stored about you. You have the right at all times to withdraw your consent to storage and use of your data with future effect. Please address questions about data protection at SMA, or about the storing, processing and deletion of your personal data, to:

SMA Solar Technology AG
Data Protection Officer
Sonnenallee 1
34266 Niestetal
Germany
E-mail: datenschutz@SMA.de

Niestetal, August 2017

SMA Solar Technology AG © 2017 SMA Solar Technology AG | Version: 3.0