Legal

Privacy policy

Last updated:

A short first layer of this privacy notice. Open a topic for the full wording below.

  • Controller

    Horváth Digital Solutions™ (owner Semjon Horváth), Eichborndamm 90B, 13403 Berlin, Germany. No data protection officer appointed — use the contact details in §2 or the contact form.

  • Main purposes

    Operate and secure our websites and products; handle enquiries and abuse/security reports; manage portal accounts and billing; send HDS Broadcast™ (our newsletter) to subscribers who opt in; provide Verify, Sentinel, DNS, email, hosting and related services as controller or processor depending on the activity (§4). System journals are retained intentionally up to 365 days for security analysis and incident investigation.

  • Your rights

    Access, rectification, erasure, restriction, portability, objection (Art. 21), and withdrawal of consent where processing is based on consent — details in §6. You may also lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority (§7).

  • Key recipients

    Mainly Hetzner (DE hosting). Also Mollie (independent PSP), Lexware Office (Art. 28; bank-transfer remittance data via Lexware — Art. 14), OAuth IdPs (may involve US processing), Let’s Encrypt for TLS, and DNS anycast partners (third-country PoPs where relevant) — see §5 and the subprocessors page.

  • Cookies and storage

    Marketing websites do not set HTTP cookies. Language preference is stored in the browser’s localStorage under hds_lang; essential customer-portal cookies are described in §4 (Cookies and local storage).

1. What this notice covers

This privacy notice explains how Horváth Digital Solutions™ (“HDS”, “we”) processes personal data in connection with our online services, product offerings, and customer portal for the domains listed below (each including all subdomains).

We do not use analytics services, heatmaps, advertising trackers, or marketing cookies on our marketing websites. Web fonts are served from our own sites.

  • horvath-digital.solutions
  • hdsio.eu
  • hdsio.de
  • hds-ns.com
  • hds-dev.cloud

2. Controller and contact

The controller within the meaning of Art. 4(7) of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (General Data Protection Regulation — GDPR) and the German Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG) is:

Horváth Digital Solutions™ Owner: Semjon Horváth Eichborndamm 90B 13403 Berlin Germany

Email: info@horvath-digital.solutions
Phone: +49 30 81451947-0
Fax: +49 30 81451947-3

HDS has not appointed a data protection officer. For privacy enquiries and rights requests (Art. 15–22 GDPR), you may also use our contact form.

3. Controller, processor, and Art. 28

We allocate controller and processor roles by purpose. Where we determine purposes and means independently — website and forms, account administration, billing, platform integrity, security, and abuse prevention — we act as controller. Where we process personal data on a customer’s documented instructions (for example customer mailbox or hosting content, customer Verify embeds, customer Sentinel monitors, or customer DNS zone records), we act as processor under Art. 4(8) GDPR.

Processor processing begins only after an Art. 28 GDPR data processing agreement (or other legally binding arrangement) has been agreed via the customer portal, DocuSeal, or the applicable contract. The standard Art. 28 text is on our data processing agreement; publishing that page does not by itself conclude Art. 28. That Art. 28 arrangement — together with the Terms and Conditions — governs instructions, confidentiality, security, subprocessors, assistance with data-subject rights, deletion or return at the end of the service, and audits. Our Acceptable use policy governs how Services may be used; it is not the Art. 28 vehicle. Service levels are in the Service Level Agreement. The right of withdrawal is in the right of withdrawal.

The customer’s role depends on the customer’s actual purposes and means for the relevant activity and may be controller or processor. Where we act as processor, this notice does not replace the customer’s Art. 13 and Art. 14 GDPR information duties toward their end users. Some products involve a dual role: we are processor for customer-instructed content and controller only for short-lived platform security and operations data — detail is in the activity blocks under §4.

We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures under Art. 32 GDPR (access control, TLS in transit, logging of privileged access to customer content, environment separation, backup/restore, and incident handling appropriate to the risk). Further security details for processor relationships are set out in the data processing agreement.

4. How we process personal data

The following blocks describe our main processing activities in a short Q&A form (data, purpose and legal basis, recipients, retention, and role where dual). Retention periods are maxima; earlier deletion may occur when processing is no longer necessary. Art. 6 GDPR legal bases apply only to HDS’s independent controller processing. Where HDS acts solely as processor, the customer determines the purposes and legal basis; Art. 28 GDPR frames the processor relationship and is not an Art. 6 legal basis. Where Art. 6(1)(f) is cited, the specific legitimate interest is stated in that activity.

Personal data are obtained from you directly, collected automatically when you use our online services, or received from identity providers (GitHub or Google) when you sign in with OAuth. Account data from GitHub/Google is covered by this notice and by our first account communication (Art. 14 timing; Art. 14(5)(a) may apply where you already have the information). Where customers pay HDS by bank transfer, related remittance and transaction details on our business account may be obtained via Lexware’s bank connection (payer name, IBAN, amounts, dates, remittance text as shown on the account — most customers pay via Mollie). We provide the Art. 14 information through this notice under the dual Art. 14(3) triggers: (a) within one month of obtaining the data; and (b) at the time of the first communication if we use the data to contact you. Where we hold only bank remittance data without further contact details, individual information may be limited under Art. 14(5) if disproportionate. Detail: Accounting (Lexware). We do not systematically obtain personal data from publicly accessible sources for profiling or scraping.

For our own controller activities we do not intentionally collect special categories of personal data (Art. 9 GDPR) through ordinary forms and services. Please do not submit such data unless necessary. Where we act as processor, customer content may contain special-category data depending on the customer’s use; the customer determines the Art. 9 basis.

Commercial and tax retention under German law (§ 257 HGB; § 147 AO), as applicable from 1 January 2025: typically 10 years for trading books, inventories, opening balance sheets, annual accounts and related organisational documents; 8 years for booking vouchers; and 6 years for commercial correspondence. Periods generally begin at the end of the calendar year in which the document was created, received or sent. Where personal data in our records fall under those duties, the statutory period applies and may extend the product-specific periods below.

5. Recipients and international transfers

Where we act as processor for a customer, we engage infrastructure subprocessors as needed to deliver the contracted service. The current list — including locations and transfer tools — is on our subprocessors page. HDS notifies the Customer of intended additions or replacements at least 14 days before the change takes effect, unless a shorter period is required for urgent security, legal, or operational need. Those notices are sent from legal@horvath-digital.solutions. The Customer may object by reply to that address, as provided in the Art. 28 arrangement.

Privacy-critical hosting and mail workloads, as well as Verify and Sentinel, are designed to remain in Germany / the EU/EEA on Hetzner servers we operate. Card and online payments are processed by Mollie B.V. as an independent licensed PSP/controller (not an HDS subprocessor); see Mollie’s privacy notice: https://www.mollie.com/legal/privacy. Lexware Office (Haufe Service Center GmbH, Munzinger Straße 9, 79111 Freiburg) is our Art. 28 processor for HDS administration, invoicing and accounting, including bank-transfer remittance data where applicable — see Accounting (Lexware); Lexware is listed on our subprocessors page as an HDS-admin Art. 28 recipient, not as product-hosting infrastructure for customer workloads.

Let’s Encrypt / ISRG is a technical certificate authority for TLS on HDS and customer hosting/mail domains we operate: it receives domain names and ACME validation data only; we do not transmit mailbox or hosted application content. For customer domains, ACME runs under the customer’s documented instructions / contracted hosting-mail setup (HDS as processor). DocuSeal for HDS↔customer contract signing is self-hosted software on Hetzner under our control and is not a third-party SaaS subprocessor. For DNS anycast zone sync and OAuth identity providers, countries and transfer tools are stated on our subprocessors page. Information about safeguards for a third-country transfer may be requested from info@horvath-digital.solutions.

6. Your rights

Under the GDPR you may, subject to the statutory conditions, exercise the rights below free of charge. For manifestly unfounded or excessive requests we may charge a reasonable fee and/or refuse as permitted under Art. 12(5) GDPR. To exercise your rights, email info@horvath-digital.solutions or use the contact details in §2. We may ask for information reasonably needed to verify your identity. We respond without undue delay and within one month, subject to Art. 12(3) GDPR. Our services are aimed at businesses and adults; they are not directed at children.

You have the right to object, on grounds relating to your particular situation, at any time to processing based on Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR, including profiling based on those provisions (Art. 21(1)). We will then no longer process the data unless we demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds that override your interests, rights and freedoms, or for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims. Where personal data are processed for direct marketing, you may object at any time; the data will then no longer be processed for those purposes (Art. 21(2)–(3)). For HDS Broadcast™ (HDS’s own newsletter to subscribers), you can unsubscribe at any time via the unsubscribe link in the footer of each newsletter email; you may also object under Art. 21 via info@horvath-digital.solutions.

We do not make decisions based solely on automated processing that produce legal effects concerning you or similarly significantly affect you within the meaning of Art. 22 GDPR. Technical controls may rate-limit, challenge, or block traffic for infrastructure security; they are not used to decide eligibility, creditworthiness, or employment.

  • Access — confirmation and a copy of personal data we process about you (Art. 15).
  • Rectification — correction of inaccurate personal data (Art. 16).
  • Erasure — deletion in the cases set out in Art. 17.
  • Restriction — limitation of processing in the cases set out in Art. 18.
  • Portability — receive data you provided in a structured, commonly used format where Art. 20 applies.
  • Objection — object to Art. 6(1)(f) processing and to direct marketing (Art. 21), as described above.
  • Withdraw consent — at any time with effect for the future (Art. 7(3)), without affecting prior lawful processing.

7. Supervisory authority

You have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority under Art. 77 GDPR, in particular in the Member State of your habitual residence, place of work, or place of the alleged infringement.

Our competent supervisory authority is: Berliner Beauftragte für Datenschutz und Informationsfreiheit (BlnBDI) Alt-Moabit 59-61 10555 Berlin Germany https://www.datenschutz-berlin.de Complaint form: https://www.datenschutz-berlin.de/buergerinnen-und-buerger/beschwerde/einreichen-einer-beschwerde

8. Obligation to provide data

You are not legally obliged to provide personal data when merely browsing our public websites. Certain technical access data are processed automatically when you use the services.

If you wish to conclude a contract, create an account, submit a form, or use a product that requires identification, required data are necessary for us to perform the contract or handle your request. Without that data we may be unable to provide the service, respond, or complete the transaction.

9. Changes to this notice

We may update this notice to reflect changes in our processing, products, or legal requirements. The latest revision date is shown at the top of this page. For material changes, HDS notifies registered Customers at least 14 days before the change takes effect, via a notice in the customer portal and by email from legal@horvath-digital.solutions. The Customer may object or raise questions by reply to that address.

If we intend to process personal data for a purpose other than that for which they were collected, we inform you before that further processing begins (Art. 13(3) GDPR). Registered Customers are notified via a notice in the customer portal and by email from legal@horvath-digital.solutions before the new purpose starts — the same channel as for material changes to this notice. Other data subjects are informed through the contact channel we reasonably have (for example email).

This notice is provided in German and English. In case of conflict or ambiguity, the German text prevails. The English text is a convenience translation.