Legal notice

The DugongWatch website is an undertaking of aquatil gGmbH.

This is a translation of the German legal notice (Impressum). In the event of any discrepancy, the German version shall prevail.

1. Provider

The controller within the meaning of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other data protection legislation is:

aquatil gGmbH
Managing Director: Prof. Dr. Ralph O. Schill
Email: info@aquatil.org
Website: www.dugongwatch.org

The complete address and contact details can be found in the legal notice of this website.

2. General Information on Data Processing

We take the protection of your personal data seriously. Personal data means any information that can be used to identify you personally.

We process personal data only insofar as this is necessary to provide our website, communicate with you, send our newsletter, carry out the DugongWatch project or process donations, or where an applicable legal basis exists.

The legal bases include, in particular, Article 6(1)(a), (b), (c) and (f) GDPR.

3. Hosting

This website is hosted by:

IONOS SE
Elgendorfer Straße 57
56410 Montabaur
Germany

When you access our website, the hosting provider processes technically necessary data. This may include, in particular:

  • IP address
  • Date and time of access
  • Page or file accessed
  • Amount of data transferred
  • Browser type and browser version
  • Operating system used
  • Referrer URL
  • Hostname of the accessing device

Processing is carried out to provide the website securely and reliably on the basis of our legitimate interest pursuant to Article 6(1)(f) GDPR.

Where IONOS processes personal data on our behalf, this is carried out on the basis of a data processing agreement pursuant to Article 28 GDPR.

4. WordPress

Our website is based on the WordPress content management system.

WordPress may set technically necessary cookies, for example to manage sessions or when administrators log in. Where only technically necessary cookies are used, processing is carried out on the basis of Section 25(2) TDDDG and Article 6(1)(f) GDPR.

5. IONOS WebAnalytics

Where IONOS WebAnalytics is used on this website, it serves to statistically evaluate the use of our website.

According to IONOS, the data is collected, among other ways, from web server log files or through so-called pixels. The analysis is used to examine the use and technical functionality of our website and to improve our services.

Processing is carried out on the basis of our legitimate interest in the statistical analysis and optimisation of our online services pursuant to Article 6(1)(f) GDPR.

6. Contact

If you contact us by email or via a contact option provided on the website, we process the data you provide, in particular your name, email address and the content of your message, in order to process your enquiry.

The legal basis is Article 6(1)(b) GDPR insofar as your enquiry is connected with a contractual relationship or pre-contractual measures. In all other cases, processing is based on our legitimate interest in handling enquiries pursuant to Article 6(1)(f) GDPR.

7. Newsletter

You can subscribe to the DugongWatch newsletter on our website. For this purpose, we use The Newsletter Plugin (TNP) for WordPress.

The following data is processed in particular for registration:

  • Name
  • Email address
  • Date and time of registration
  • Information concerning confirmation of registration

The data is stored in the WordPress database of our website hosted by IONOS.

Registration is carried out using the double opt-in procedure. After registering, you will receive an email in which you must confirm your subscription. Your email address will only be used to send the newsletter after this confirmation.

The legal basis for sending the newsletter is your consent pursuant to Article 6(1)(a) GDPR.

You may withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future, for example by using the unsubscribe link included in every newsletter. The lawfulness of processing carried out before the withdrawal remains unaffected.

8. Donations and Payment Processing

You can provide financial support for the DugongWatch project. For this purpose, we use external payment and fundraising service providers.

Depending on the donation or payment method selected, the data required to process the transaction is collected directly by or transmitted to the relevant payment service provider.

This may include, in particular:

  • Name and contact details
  • Email address
  • Billing and address details
  • Payment information
  • Donation amount
  • Date and time of the transaction
  • Transaction and identification numbers

Processing is carried out, in particular, to process and document the donation on the basis of Article 6(1)(b) GDPR and to fulfil statutory accounting, tax and retention obligations pursuant to Article 6(1)(c) GDPR.

8.1 Stripe

We use Stripe to process donations and payments technically.

The provider for users in the European Economic Area is generally:

Stripe Payments Europe, Limited
1 Grand Canal Street Lower
Grand Canal Dock
Dublin
Ireland

When making a payment via Stripe, Stripe processes the data required to carry out the transaction. This may include, in particular, your name, email address, payment and billing information, donation amount, time of the transaction and technical information.

Sensitive payment information, such as complete credit card details, is generally processed directly by Stripe. We only receive the information required to process, allocate and document the donation.

Further information on the processing of your personal data can be found in Stripe’s privacy policy:

https://stripe.com/de/privacy

8.2 PayPal

If you use PayPal as your payment method, payment processing is carried out by:

PayPal (Europe) S.à r.l. et Cie, S.C.A.
22–24 Boulevard Royal
L-2449 Luxembourg
Luxembourg

When PayPal is used, PayPal processes the personal data required to carry out the payment. This may include, in particular, your name, email address, address, payment information, donation amount and other transaction data.

The specific data processed by PayPal depends, among other things, on the payment method selected and on whether you have a PayPal account.

Further information on the processing of your personal data can be found in PayPal’s privacy policy:

https://www.paypal.com/de/legalhub/paypal/privacy-full

8.3 GoFundMe

We also use the GoFundMe fundraising platform for the DugongWatch project.

The provider for users in the European Economic Area is:

GoFundMe Ireland Limited
70 Sir John Rogerson Quay
Dublin 2
Ireland

If you donate to DugongWatch via GoFundMe, the donation is processed through the GoFundMe platform and the payment service providers used there.

This may involve the processing of your name, email address, payment information, donation amount, date and time of the donation, as well as other data required to process and document the transaction.

GoFundMe may also process technical information about the device used and access to the platform, and may use cookies or comparable technologies.

Please note that a donation marked as “anonymous” on GoFundMe generally means that your name will not be displayed on the publicly visible donation page. Personal information may nevertheless be processed or visible to GoFundMe and, where applicable, to the organiser or beneficiary of the fundraising campaign.

Where we receive personal data from donors in connection with our GoFundMe fundraising campaign, we use this data in particular to manage and document donations and to fulfil statutory verification and retention obligations.

Further information on the processing of your personal data can be found in GoFundMe’s privacy notice:

https://www.gofundme.com/de-de/c/privacy

9. Links and Embedded Content from Third Parties

Our website may contain links to external websites and services. If you click on such a link, you leave our website. The respective external provider is generally responsible for the subsequent processing of personal data.

This applies in particular to links to our offers or pages on GoFundMe and, where applicable, to social networks or other project partners.

Where content from external providers is embedded directly into our website, a connection to the servers of the respective provider may be established when this content is loaded or used. In particular, the IP address, browser information and time of access may be transmitted.

Where consent is required to load external content, such content will only be loaded after you have given your consent.

10. Citizen Science and the Transmission of Observation Data

DugongWatch is designed as a citizen science project for researching and protecting dugongs.

Functions for directly submitting dugong observations, photographs and associated observation data via this website are currently still under development or are not yet available.

As soon as the relevant functions are offered, this privacy policy will be supplemented before they are used with information concerning, in particular, the observation, location, photographic and user data processed, the purposes of processing, storage periods, possible recipients and the respective legal bases.

11. Storage Period

We store personal data only for as long as this is necessary for the respective processing purpose or as long as statutory retention obligations apply.

Data processed on the basis of consent is generally stored until consent is withdrawn or the processing purpose no longer applies, unless statutory retention obligations prevent this.

The respective statutory retention periods apply to documents relevant under tax and commercial law.

12. Your Rights

Subject to the statutory requirements, you have the following rights in particular:

  • The right of access to your personal data stored by us pursuant to Article 15 GDPR
  • The right to rectification of inaccurate data pursuant to Article 16 GDPR
  • The right to erasure of your personal data pursuant to Article 17 GDPR
  • The right to restriction of processing pursuant to Article 18 GDPR
  • The right to data portability pursuant to Article 20 GDPR
  • The right to object to processing pursuant to Article 21 GDPR
  • The right to withdraw consent that has been given pursuant to Article 7(3) GDPR

Withdrawal of consent applies only to the future. The lawfulness of processing carried out before consent was withdrawn remains unaffected.

13. Right to Object

Where we process personal data on the basis of Article 6(1)(f) GDPR, you have the right, pursuant to Article 21 GDPR, to object to such processing at any time on grounds relating to your particular situation.

14. Right to Lodge a Complaint with a Supervisory Authority

You have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority concerning the processing of your personal data.

The competent authority for Baden-Württemberg is:

The State Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information of Baden-Württemberg (LfDI Baden-Württemberg)
Lautenschlagerstraße 20
70173 Stuttgart
Germany

15. Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against loss, manipulation, unauthorised access and other misuse.

Data transmission between your browser and our website is encrypted using HTTPS/TLS.

16. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We reserve the right to amend this privacy policy if our website, the services used or the statutory requirements change.

In particular, this privacy policy will be appropriately expanded before the planned citizen science functions of DugongWatch are introduced.

Version: September 2026