Privacy Policy

1. Data Controller

Becky Firth
English Teacher & Language Coach
Email: keepingenglishsimple@outlook.com
Düsseldorf, Deutschland

2. Collection and Storage of Personal Data

When Visiting the Website

When you visit our website, the following data is automatically collected:

• IP address (anonymized after 7 days)
• Date and time of request
• Browser type and version
• Referrer URL (the page from which you came)

Legal basis: Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR (legitimate interest in ensuring website functionality and security)

Contact Form and Email

When you contact us via form or email, your information will be stored for the purpose of processing your inquiry and for possible follow-up questions. We will not share this data without your consent.

Legal basis: Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR (necessary for processing your request) or Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR (with your consent)

When Booking Lessons

For the purpose of providing English lessons, we collect:

• Name and contact information
• Language level and learning goals
• Payment information (processed securely through third-party payment providers)
• Lesson notes and progress tracking (with your consent)

Legal basis: Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR (performance of contract)

3. Data Retention

Your personal data will be deleted as soon as it is no longer needed for the purpose for which it was collected. For contractual relationships (lessons), data will be retained for the duration required by law (typically 10 years for accounting purposes according to German tax law).

4. Use of Third-Party Services

For conducting online lessons and customer communication, we use the following platforms:

• Zoom Video Communications: Used for video lessons. Data is processed according to Zoom's privacy policy.
• Google Meet / Microsoft Teams: Alternative platforms used upon request. Data is processed according to their respective privacy policies.

You will be informed before lessons which platform will be used, and you can choose an alternative if preferred.

5. Hosting

Our website is hosted on our own server in Germany (Hetzner Cloud, Nuremberg). We operate the server infrastructure ourselves and are responsible for all data processing. Server log files are processed to ensure the operation and security of the website. No personal data is transferred to third parties without your consent.

6. Cookies

Our website uses only technically necessary cookies. We do not use tracking or marketing cookies. You can configure your browser to be informed about the placement of cookies and allow them only in individual cases.

7. Your Rights (GDPR)

You have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Right to Information (Art. 15 GDPR): You have the right to receive confirmation as to whether personal data concerning you is being processed.
• Right to Rectification (Art. 16 GDPR): You have the right to request the correction of inaccurate personal data.
• Right to Erasure (Art. 17 GDPR): You have the right to request the deletion of your personal data under certain conditions.
• Right to Restriction (Art. 18 GDPR): You have the right to request the restriction of processing of your personal data.
• Right to Data Portability (Art. 20 GDPR): You have the right to receive your personal data in a structured, commonly used format.
• Right to Object (Art. 21 GDPR): You have the right to object to the processing of your personal data on grounds relating to your particular situation.

8. Right to Lodge a Complaint

You have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, particularly in the Member State of your habitual residence, place of work, or place of the alleged infringement if you consider that the processing of personal data relating to you infringes GDPR.

9. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We reserve the right to update this privacy policy to reflect changes in our data processing practices or legal requirements. The current version is always available on this page.