This Privacy Policy explains how the-dandelion.de collects, uses, and protects your personal data when you visit this website, including when you view content about our services and podcast, or use the contact form to get in touch. This policy is intended to comply with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

1. Who We Are

Data controller: Rama Kulkarni

Contact email: rma@the-dandelion.de

If you have any questions about this policy or how your data is handled, please contact us using the email above.

2. What Personal Data We Collect

We aim to keep data collection to a minimum. Depending on how you interact with the Site, we may collect:

Contact form data: your name, email address, and any message or information you choose to include when you submit our contact form.

Scheduling data: if you book a call via Calendly, the information you provide to Calendly (such as name, email, and selected time) is collected directly by Calendly, not by us. Please see Section 6 below.

Newsletter sign-up data: your email address, if you subscribe to our newsletter via the sign-up form on the Site.

Basic technical/usage data: such as IP address, browser type, device information, and pages visited, which may be collected automatically by our hosting provider (SquareSpace) and/or analytics tools for security and performance purposes.

We do not collect payment information through this Site, and there is no direct service booking or checkout functionality on the Site.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use the personal data we collect only for the following purposes:

To respond to enquiries submitted through the contact form.

To communicate with you about our services or podcast, where you have contacted us.

To send you our newsletter, if you have subscribed via the sign-up form, including updates about our services, events, and podcast.

To maintain the security, functionality, and performance of the Site.

To understand how visitors use the Site, in an aggregated or anonymised way where possible.

We do not sell your personal data, and we do not use it for automated decision-making or profiling.

4. Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR)

We rely on the following legal bases under the GDPR:

Consent (Art. 6(1)(a)): when you voluntarily submit the contact form, subscribe to our newsletter, or interact with optional cookies/analytics.

Legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f)): to operate, secure, and improve the Site, and to respond to enquiries, where this does not override your rights and interests.

You may withdraw consent at any time by contacting us; this will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

5. Cookies and Analytics

This Site is built and hosted on Squarespace. Squarespace automatically collects certain technical data (such as IP address, browser type, and pages visited) and uses cookies to operate the Site and to provide built-in analytics (Squarespace Analytics) that help us understand visitor traffic. Squarespace acts as a data processor for this technical and analytics data.

For details on the specific cookies Squarespace uses and how they are categorised, see Squarespace's own Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy, available at squarespace.com/privacy and squarespace.com/cookies.

Where analytics or non-essential cookies are used, we will seek your consent via a cookie banner or similar mechanism where required by law, and you can control or disable cookies at any time through your browser settings or, where available, a cookie consent tool on the Site.

Links to external platforms (such as podcast hosting services like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Substack) are provided for your convenience. We do not embed these players directly on the Site, but clicking a link will take you to a third-party site with its own privacy practices, which we encourage you to review.

6. Third-Party Services

We use limited third-party services to operate the Site and manage enquiries:

Calendly: if you choose to book a call, you will do so directly through Calendly. Calendly acts as an independent data controller for the information you provide to it. Please review Calendly's own privacy policy for details on how it handles your data.

Google Workspace: we use Google Workspace (Gmail) to receive contact form submissions and send our newsletter to subscribers. Your email address is stored and processed within Google Workspace for this purpose, and Google acts as our data processor.

Squarespace: our website hosting and analytics provider. Squarespace processes basic technical data (such as IP address and server logs) and analytics data as necessary to host and operate the Site, acting as our data processor for these purposes.

We do not share your contact form or newsletter data with third parties for their own marketing purposes.

Newsletter unsubscribe: you can unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link included in each email, or by contacting us directly, and we will remove your email address from our list.

7. Data Retention

We retain personal data submitted via the contact form only for as long as necessary to respond to your enquiry and for a reasonable period afterward for record-keeping purposes, unless a longer retention period is required by law or you request earlier deletion.

8. International Data Transfers

Where any of our service providers (such as hosting or scheduling tools) process data outside the European Economic Area (EEA), we take steps to ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as Standard Contractual Clauses or reliance on an adequacy decision, in accordance with GDPR requirements.

9. Your Rights Under GDPR

If you are located in the EEA (or otherwise protected by GDPR), you have the right to:

Access the personal data we hold about you.

Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.

Request erasure of your data ("right to be forgotten").

Request restriction of processing.

Object to processing based on legitimate interests.

Request data portability.

Withdraw consent at any time, where processing is based on consent.

Lodge a complaint with your local data protection supervisory authority.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at [YOUR CONTACT EMAIL].

10. Data Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, loss, or misuse. However, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

11. Children's Privacy

This Site is not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us so we can delete it.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or for legal reasons. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page indicates when it was last revised. We encourage you to review this page periodically.

13. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or your personal data, please contact:

Rama Kulkarni

rma@the-dandelion.de