Privacy Policy

At getAbstract, we understand that your personal information is yours. All personal data collected about you is processed in compliance with applicable law, which, depending on the circumstances, may include the Swiss Data Protection Act as well as the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

This Data Protection and Privacy Policy explains how we use any personal data we collect about you when you subscribe to and use our services as chosen in the Subscriber Agreement ("Services") and when using this website ("Website").

How do we collect personal information about you?

We collect personal information in the following context:

Basic account data is collected directly from you via a signup form or via single-sign-on if you sign up using a third-party identity provider (e.g. Login with Facebook). Usage and log data is recorded while you interact with the Website.

What personal information do we collect about you?

The information we collect about you (collectively together with the below as "your data") relates to personal data that you choose to provide to us when subscribing to the Services, or that is submitted to us through the single-sign-on process. This entails your name, e-mail, address, your interest profile and language. Optionally, this may include your address, telephone number, gender, your job information.

When you purchase a subscription, we further collect invoice and/or credit card details.

When using the Services and the Website we will collect information on you and on your use of the Services and the Website. This entails server log data (including IP address, country of your internet access and information about your browser), visits to the Website, reading and download history.

We also collect information when you voluntarily complete customer surveys, provide feedback and participate in competitions.

Why do we process your data and on what legal basis?

We process your data in order to perform our obligations and use our rights under the Subscriber Agreement concluded with you, for user authentication, access control, enforcing regional copyright restrictions, Website, app and notification personalization, delivery of push notifications, in order to comply with a legal duty imposed on us in connection with the rendering of the Services, for preventing or investigating misuses and for purposes communicated to you separately. Where the GDPR applies, the legal basis are articles 6 and 9 GDPR.

How will we use your data?

Your data is used to render the Services you subscribed to and to manage your account. We use your data to personalize your repeat visits to the Website, make personal reading suggestions and to provide a better user experience.

Upon registration, you will be subscribed to the individual weekly abstract service. You will then receive a weekly e-mail containing a reading recommendation according to your interest profile. The frequency of this service can be changed in your personal account.

For the purpose of displaying user avatars, we may share pseudonymized data with Gravatar.

If you apply for a student subscription, we may share some of your data with a third-party student verification provider.

For the purposes of analytics, advertisement services, and payment processing, we may share some of your data with third-party providers.

We do not sell your data, or share it with third parties for any purposes other than what is described in this policy.

Where is your data stored and processed?

We are a Swiss company and all your data is stored on servers in Switzerland. We may process your data in Switzerland, Germany, France, the UK, Mexico, Philippines and the USA. Third-party providers may process your data in Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK, Ireland, Luxemburg, Slovakia, Poland, Australia, and the USA.

We only transfer your data to countries outside the EEA and Switzerland after putting appropriate safeguards in place.

How long do we store your data?

We store your data as long as you have a valid user account. You can request the deletion of your data at any time. Note that your data is also included in backup copies, which we retain for 1 year after the time of backup.

Data Security

We have implemented technical and organizational measures to protect your data against intentional or accidental manipulation, unauthorized third-party access, loss, destruction or changes. We continually improve this protection as technology changes.

Marketing

We may send you information about services of ours which may be of interest to you. You have a right to stop us from contacting you for marketing purposes and you may opt-out at any time.

Your Rights

Subject to certain conditions and restrictions under applicable law, you have certain rights in relation with your personal data:

  • You can request a copy of your personal data and further information about our data processing;
  • You can object to our data processing, in particular in connection with direct marketing;
  • You can ask us to update or complete incorrect or incomplete personal data;
  • You have the right to receive personal data you have provided to us in a structured, common and machine-readable format, provided that our processing is based on consent or is necessary for the fulfillment of the contract;
  • If we process data based on your consent, you can withdraw consent at any time. Withdrawing consent only applies going forward, and we may continue some processing based on other grounds in case of withdrawal.

If you wish to exercise a right, please write us an email to privacy@getabstract.com.

You also have the right to file a complaint with the competent supervisory authority, in Switzerland with the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC).

Cookies

This Website uses cookies and similar technologies in order to distinguish you from other users. By using cookies, we are able to provide you with a better experience and to improve our website by better understanding how you use it.

For further information please consult our Cookie Policy.

Other Websites

The Website contains links to other websites. This policy only applies to the Services and this Website so when you visit other websites linked on our Website, please refer to their respective privacy policies.

Changes to This Policy

We keep this policy under regular review and we will place any updates on this Website. It was last updated in February 2024.

How to Contact Us

Please contact us if you have any questions about this policy or the information we hold about you: privacy@getabstract.com or getAbstract AG, Alpenquai 12, 6005 Lucerne, Switzerland. Our representative in the EU is getAbstract Deutschland GmbH, Hauptstr. 27, 63927 Bürgstadt, Germany.