Privacy policy

The key points

• We only process the data we need for Finding Home.
• We don't sell data. We don't show ads.
• We only set cookies that the website can't work without.
• A few services help us, for example with sending emails. They are listed below.
• You can ask us at any time which data we have about you. You can also have it deleted.

Who is responsible?

The operator of Finding Home is responsible for your data. The controller is the party that decides what happens to your data. (Art. 4 Nr. 7 DSGVO)

[OPERATOR_NAME fehlt]
[OPERATOR_STREET fehlt]
[OPERATOR_POSTCODE_CITY fehlt]
Email: [OPERATOR_EMAIL fehlt]
Phone: [OPERATOR_PHONE fehlt]

For any question about data protection, please write to this email address.

What do the terms mean?

• Personal data is any information about you as a person. Examples are your name, your email address or your IP address.
• An IP address is a number. Your device uses this number to find other devices on the internet.
• Processing means collecting, storing, using, passing on or deleting data.
• A legal basis is the rule in the law that allows us to process data.
• A processor is a company that processes data for us. It may only use the data as we instruct it.

Which data do we process, and why?

When you open the website

With every visit, your browser sends us your IP address and the address of the page. Without this, we can't send you the page.

We write every visit into a record. Such a record is called a log. It contains the page, the time and our response. If you search without an account, it also contains the ID of your search. We don't write your IP address into the log.

We briefly count how often an IP address requests pages. This slows down attacks and misuse. We keep this count for one day at most. We only keep it in memory.

We do this so the website runs safely and reliably. This is our legitimate interest. A legitimate interest is a good reason that the law recognises. Your interests don't outweigh it here. (Art. 6 Abs. 1 lit. f DSGVO)

We delete the logs after 14 days.

When you search without an account

For a search, you enter places that matter to you. We store:

• the places and addresses you enter,
• how long you want to travel to each place,
• how you travel there.

Your search gets a random ID. We store this ID in a cookie in your browser. That way the website finds your search again.

We work out the point on the map from an address. For this we send the address to the Nominatim service. You can read more about it under recipients below. We calculate travel times on our own server.

We need this data to show you the search you asked for. (Art. 6 Abs. 1 lit. b DSGVO)

The cookie expires after 24 hours. After that, your search is no longer linked to your browser. We delete your search with all places and addresses 24 hours after it started. We also delete the travel times we calculated. This happens automatically, at the latest one hour later.

When you have an account

For your account, we store:

• your name,
• your email address,
• your password, but only as a check value. No one can read your password from it.
• your language,
• the day you created the account,
• which version of our terms applied on that day.

We send you emails that belong to your account. One example is the link for a new password.

We need this data so you can use the account you created with us. (Art. 6 Abs. 1 lit. b DSGVO)

We store the version of the terms so we can show which terms apply to you. This is our legitimate interest. (Art. 6 Abs. 1 lit. f DSGVO)

We keep the data until you delete your account. You can do that at any time in your account settings. We then also delete your searches, saved searches, places and favorites.

Saved searches and listing alerts

With an account, you can save a search. For a saved search, you can turn on an alert. We then email you when new matching listings appear. We send at most one such email per day.

We do this because you set it up. (Art. 6 Abs. 1 lit. b DSGVO) Each of these emails has a link to unsubscribe. We keep the search until you delete it or delete your account.

When you share a search

You can share your search or a saved search with a link. Anyone who has the link sees your places. This includes the name, the address, the point on the map and your description. They also see travel times, ways of travel and the matching listings.

The link always shows the current state. If you change the search later, they see the change too. So only give the link to people you trust.

We show the data because you shared the link. (Art. 6 Abs. 1 lit. b DSGVO) Without an account, the link only works while your cookie is valid. The link to a saved search works until you delete it. The link to your search with an account works until you delete your account.

Favorites

You can mark listings as favorites. We store which listings you marked. (Art. 6 Abs. 1 lit. b DSGVO) We delete a favorite when you remove it or delete your account.

Messages between home seekers and realtors

You can write to a realtor about a listing. We store your message, the time and who wrote it. The realtor sees your name and your message.

We also forward the message by email. Anyone who replies to this email sends the reply to our email service. The service passes it on to us. We then show it in the conversation.

We need this data so you and the realtor can talk to each other. (Art. 6 Abs. 1 lit. b DSGVO)

If you delete your account, your messages stay available to the other side. They are then no longer linked to your account. After all, the other side took part in the conversation. This is our legitimate interest. (Art. 6 Abs. 1 lit. f DSGVO)

When you publish listings as a realtor

We store your listings. They include:

• the address of the property and the details about it,
• your photos,
• your texts.

All visitors can see your published listings. We only show the exact address if you choose so. You can also upload listings automatically, for example from your realtor software. For this we store access details for your account.

We need this data to publish your listings. (Art. 6 Abs. 1 lit. b DSGVO) We keep it until you delete the listing or your account.

When an error happens

Sometimes something goes wrong on our server. We then send an error report to the Sentry service. The report says what went wrong and on which page. We don't include your name, your email address or your IP address.

We do this so we can find and fix errors quickly. This is our legitimate interest. (Art. 6 Abs. 1 lit. f DSGVO) Sentry deletes the reports after 90 days.

Statistics

We count how often listings are viewed. We also count which places and travel times are often searched for. These numbers say nothing about who searched.

Who receives your data?

We don't sell data. We only pass data on to these parties. Each one only gets what it needs for its task.

• Hosting: A hosting provider runs the server that Finding Home runs on. It works as our processor. (Art. 28 DSGVO)
• Sending emails: An email service sends our emails. It sees your email address and the content of the email. It works as our processor. (Art. 28 DSGVO)
• Replies by email: The Mailgun service receives replies to messages for us. Mailgun belongs to Mailgun Technologies, Inc. in the USA. It works as our processor. (Art. 28 DSGVO)
• Error reports: Sentry belongs to Functional Software, Inc. in the USA. It works as our processor. (Art. 28 DSGVO)
• Map images: The map loads its images from the OpenStreetMap servers (tile.openstreetmap.org). Your browser then sends your IP address to the OpenStreetMap Foundation in the United Kingdom. Without the IP address, the server can't send the images. The map is the core of our search. This is our legitimate interest. (Art. 6 Abs. 1 lit. f DSGVO)
• Finding addresses: We send addresses to the Nominatim service. The OpenStreetMap Foundation runs it too. Our server makes the request, not your browser. So Nominatim only gets the address and not your IP address.
• People with your link: If you share a search, anyone with the link sees your places and addresses. You can read more about it above under “When you share a search”.
• Authorities: We only give data to authorities if a law requires us to. (Art. 6 Abs. 1 lit. c DSGVO)

Data outside the EU

Some recipients are outside the European Union. Other laws apply there. We only pass data on if it is well protected there.

• United Kingdom (OpenStreetMap): The EU Commission has decided that data protection there is as good as in the EU. (Art. 45 DSGVO)
• USA (Mailgun, Sentry): Both companies take part in the EU-US Data Privacy Framework. This is an agreement between the EU and the USA. The EU Commission has decided that data is well protected at these companies. (Art. 45 DSGVO)

Which cookies do we set?

A cookie is a small text file. The website stores it in your browser. Your browser sends it back with every visit.

We only set cookies that the website can't work without. For these we don't need your consent. Consent means your explicit permission. (§ 25 Abs. 2 Nr. 2 TDDDG) We don't use cookies for ads or statistics.

Name	Purpose	How long
session	Keeps you logged in. Protects forms from being sent by others in your name.	until you close the browser
session_id	Remembers your search when you search without an account.	24 hours
lang	Remembers the language you chose.	1 year

Your browser also remembers your last search in session storage. Session storage is a store in the browser, similar to a cookie. Your browser clears it when you close the tab. Your browser doesn't send this data to us.

Do you have to give us data?

For an account, we need your name, your email address and a password. Without these, you can't create an account. You can also search without an account.

We don't make automated decisions about you. We don't create a profile of you either.

What are your rights?

You have these rights:

• Access: You can ask which data we have about you. (Art. 15 DSGVO)
• Correction: You can have wrong data corrected. (Art. 16 DSGVO)
• Deletion: You can have your data deleted. (Art. 17 DSGVO)
• Restriction: You can ask us to only store your data and no longer use it. (Art. 18 DSGVO)
• Data portability: You can get your data in a file. That way you can take it to another provider. (Art. 20 DSGVO)

To use these rights, send us an email at [OPERATOR_EMAIL fehlt]. We reply within one month.

Your right to object

We process some data because of our legitimate interest. You can object to this at any time. We then stop, unless we have compelling reasons. (Art. 21 DSGVO)

Your right to complain

You can complain to a data protection supervisory authority. A supervisory authority is an office that checks data protection. Every German state has one. You can contact the one in your state. (Art. 77 DSGVO)

Do we change this policy?

When our website changes, we update this policy. The date at the top shows when we last changed it.