Privacy and Legal Statement

Privacy and Legal Statement for OwlLearning (English Version Only)

Through the below privacy and legal statement, OwlLearning wishes to inform you of how your personal data are processed and in what form some of these data are made accessible for other users, relevant copyrights issues and other terms of use apply to OwlLearning website and its operations.

Please read these terms carefully before using any OwlLearning services. All the necessary steps are taken to guarantee the security of personal data and protection of copyrights. By using any of our services or by signing up for membership states that you accept or agree to these terms, and that you signify your agreement to these terms. If you do not agree to these terms of use, you may not use the services of OwlLearning.

If there is any inconsistency or conflict between the English version of the website and its Chinese translation, the English version shall prevail.

1. Which data are stored?

1.1. Personal data

All personal data are treated with the utmost care at OwlLearning. When creating or updating a membership account, you may be asked to provide OwlLearning with certain personal information, which may include the first and / or last name of you and your children, e-mail address, phone number, payment information, as well as other personal information. This information will be held and used in accordance with OwlLearning’s Privacy Policy. You agree that you will supply accurate and complete information to OwlLearning and that you will update that information promptly whenever it changes. This refers to any information that identifies you personally, directly or indirectly, including contact information, such as name, email address, phone number, and other information. Personal Information can also include information about any transactions, both free and paid, that you enter into on the Websites.

During the account creation process, you may be asked to select a username and a password (“login information”). The following rules govern the security of your login information:

1. You shall not share the account or the login information, let anyone else access your account, or do anything else that might jeopardize the security of your account;
2. In the event you become aware of or reasonably suspect any breach of security, including without limitation to any loss, theft, or unauthorized disclosure of the login information, you shall immediately notify OwlLearning and modify your login information;
3. You are solely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of the login information, and you will be responsible for all uses of the login information; and
4. You are responsible for any occurrence that happens through your account.

OwlLearning reserves the right to remove or reclaim any account at any time and for any reason, including but not limited to claims by a third party that an account violates such third party’s rights.

Other data provided voluntarily are also generally accessible for other users of OwlLearning; however, you can request to disable such access. This concerns first name, surname, gender, age and any other voluntary details that you can save in your profile.

1.2. Cookies

After you have logged in (with username and password), OwlLearning uses cookies with which you can be identified for the duration of your visit. Cookies are also used generally on the website, e.g. to show information or to measure the success rates of information showcase. Cookies are small files stored on your computer or mobile device which identify the device to our server and also provide additional data. Other technologies such as pixel tags, web bugs, web storage and similar files fulfill the same purpose. A cookie is saved on your computer or device.

One type of cookie automatically expires after your session has ended. This is called a session cookie. Your user settings, in particular, are saved as session cookies so that OwlLearning can always be used in the form you require. Another permanently stored anonymous cookie contains the version number of your Flash Player. When you log in, you also have the option of saving your user name and password locally in encrypted form on your computer. You can save this cookie permanently for automatic log in with the function “Log me in automatically on this computer”, or which is named differently with similar functions. In addition to this, user settings, such as language selection, language recognition settings, user IDs for various applications, are saved in both session cookies and permanent cookies by OwlLearning in order to facilitate the use of OwlLearning.

You switch off the use of cookies for our website or in general in the settings of your internet browser. You can find out how this functions from the website of your internet browser supplier. You can find the relevant instructions for Microsoft Internet Explorer / Edge, Firefox, Safari, Google Chrome, or other browsers available online. However, deactivating cookies will mean that a number of functionalities, e.g. automatically logging in to the website, will no longer operate as intended.

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different from the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms.

You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable information.

Functional Cookies

These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.

Performance Cookies

These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance.

Targeting Cookies

These cookies may be set through our site by our business partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

1.3. Log files

Each time a page is called up, access data is saved in a protocol file, the server log. The data record thus saved contains the following data:

Your internet protocol (IP) address (by means of which your computer can be unambiguously identified) the remote host (name and IP address of the computer requesting the page) the time, the status, the quantity of data transferred and the internet page from which you accessed the requested page (referrer) The product and version information of the browser used (user agent)

Provided these data are not urgently required for the technical maintenance of the system or for the system security, they are anonymized instantly and the original protocols are deleted. Anonymization takes place by removal or truncation of the IP address by allocating a code not assigned to a user. Any allocation to an identified or identifiable person is therefore no longer possible. OwlLearning therefore uses the protocol data (logs) exclusively in anonymized form for statistical evaluations, hence without any allocation or references to your personal details. In this way, OwlLearning determines, for instance, on which days and at which times OwlLearning is particularly popular and what volume of data is generated on the OwlLearning web servers. Furthermore, OwlLearning can detect possible errors through the log files, e.g. faulty hyperlinks or program errors, and thus use the log files for the ongoing development and refinement of OwlLearning. OwlLearning does not link the page requests and usage information to individual persons.

1.4. Google Analytics

This website uses Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. (“Google”). Google Analytics uses “cookies”, which are text files placed on your computer, to help the website analyze how you use the site. As anonymization is activated for the data we collect, your IP address is truncated by Google within member states of the European Union or in other signatory countries to the Treaty creating the European Economic Area and only then is it transferred to the USA.

Only in exceptional cases will the full IP address be transferred to a Google server in the USA and truncated there. On behalf of the operator of this website, Google will use this information for the purpose of evaluating your use of the website in order to compile reports on website activity for the website operator and to provide other services relating to website activity and internet usage. The IP address transferred by your browser within the scope of Google Analytics will not be combined with other data from Google. You may prevent the saving of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your browser; however, please note that if you do this, you may not be able to use the full functionality of this website. Furthermore, you can prevent the data captured by the cookie and relating to your use of the website (incl. your IP address) from being captured and processed by Google by downloading and installing the browser plugin available.

Further information on the use of the data and privacy policy at Google Analytics is available at Google website. OwlLearning uses Google Analytics exclusively in connection with the gat._anonymizeIp(); extension so that IP addresses are only recorded in truncated, i.e. anonymized form.

1.5. Exchange of data with Facebook (Only applies to registered Facebook users)

We are taking part in a statistical program of the company Facebook, USA, via which Facebook users who display a similar usage profile to our existing customers are detected (“Facebook Custom Audiences – Statistical Twins”). As part of this program, email addresses of customers are transferred in an anonymized form (known as a “hash”) to Facebook. The email addresses cannot be derived from the data transmitted. Using the same method, Facebook itself produces a hash of its users’ email addresses, correlates these with the anonymized data and determines whether one of our users with the same email address is registered with Facebook.

Facebook guarantees that it does not store this correlation or use it outside of the program. This is then employed as the basis on which to determine any third parties who use Facebook in a similar way to the customer, and we obtain an opportunity to address these people directly. You do not receive any additional advertising or messages from us or from Facebook as a result. If you are not registered at Facebook with the same email address as you use for us, Facebook will not receive any information about you. Under no circumstances do we find out whether you are registered with Facebook and do not otherwise receive any data about you.

You hereby give your consent to the anonymized transfer of your email address in the form described previously. Although we do have every reason to trust the assurances provided by Facebook, we wish to point out that Facebook is not subject to German data protection law.

You will find further information on the purpose and scope of the data capture and the further processing and use of the data by Facebook as well as optional settings for protecting your privacy in the Facebook data protection guidelines.

1.6. Social Plugins

In some cases we also use social plugins on our website. In the process, social plugins are incorporated from Facebook, Twitter and Google+. The next section will elaborate the social plugins used here.

Facebook Social Plugin

Social plugins (“plugins”) from the social network facebook.com (“Facebook”) are used on our website. Facebook is run by Facebook Inc., 1601 S. California Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94304 in USA.

If you call up a page on our website containing such a plugin, your browser will establish a direct connection with Facebook’s servers. The contents of the plugin are transferred by Facebook directly to your browser which incorporates it in the website.

By incorporating the plugin, Facebook receives the information that you have called up the relevant page on our website. If you logged into Facebook, it can match your visit to your Facebook account.

The purpose of capturing data and the quantity of data collected including the way in which they are processed and used by Facebook and your rights in this regard and setting options to protect your privacy can be taken from Facebook’s data protection information at its website.

If you are a member of Facebook and you do not wish Facebook to collect data on you through our website and link them to your membership data stored by Facebook, you must log out of Facebook before visiting our website. It is also possible to block Facebook social plugins through add-ons for your browser.

Use of the Twitter widget

We also use so-called “widgets” from Twitter on our websites. When these web pages are called up, a connection is established with Twitter servers. The Twitter servers are in the USA.

When a web page is called up containing a Twitter “widget”, Twitter receives information that you have called up the page. The information includes your IP address, the type of browser, the operating system and the address of the website where the Twitter widget is located.

The Twitter widget also installs a cookie in the browser of your terminal. In connection with the cookie, Twitter can theoretically see which other pages you have visited if there are Twitter widgets implemented on these pages too. Twitter itself states that it may also use these data – if you have a Twitter account – to give you better suggestions on suitable users. According to Twitter, it begins to delete the data after a maximum of 10 days. The deletion itself is then to be completed after a further week at the latest. If you have a Twitter account, you may be able to make further settings on the use of your data in your user account settings.

You will find further information in Twitter’s data protection notice at its website.

Use of Google “+1 button”

We also use Google’s “+1 button”. When a web page containing a “+1 button” is called up, a connection is established with Google’s servers. Google’s servers are predominantly to be found in the USA. When the page is called up, Google receives the information that you have called up the relevant web page. This applies in particular if you happen to be logged into one of Google’s various services at the time when you call up the web pages.

According to Google, the +1 button is not used to record your visits to websites. In particular, Google states that the browser history is not permanently stored. However, they also say that the data regarding your visit are normally kept for a period of two weeks.

If you click on the +1 button, according to Google, information on your Google profile, the address of the website on which the +1 button was selected, your IP address and further information are stored by Google. If you withdraw your recommendation by clicking again on the +1 button, these data are deleted again.

Google also uses cookies to process information on the use of websites. To find out how to handle cookies, please read the relevant passage on cookies in our data protection notice.

We have no influence ourselves over the data which Google collects, processes and uses when you call up a page. Please consult Google’s data protection notice at its website.

1.7. Further external suppliers

We use further external service providers for the purpose of optimizing our services, carrying out advertising activities or for analyzing our website for errors and in terms of its performance. Such service providers may vary.

1.8. Personal vocabulary

To enable OwlLearning users to conveniently revise their vocabulary, all practiced words and sentences together with all results of exercises are saved in the user’s personal vocabulary. These data may be viewed by other users only in the form of high scores, which do not indicate which specific words or sentences are being practiced but merely reveal how many exercises have been successfully completed.

1.9. Image uploads and image scores

OwlLearning users can upload images for general use in areas such as the forum.

1.10. Newsletter & emails

We send you emails for a variety of reasons. These may include confirmations of an order or of a registration. However, communication may also concern information about our services, provided you have not revoked your consent for such usage, which you can of course do at any time. Any email messages we send are saved by us and any emails that may be regarded as business letters will not be deleted during the statutory retention period. We also record any email addresses to which a message could not be delivered in order to request an updated email address. Furthermore,In the case of our newsletter emails, we record (e.g. by means of a so-called “tracking pixel”) whether an email is opened and which hyperlinks in the email are clicked on; we do so to optimize our offers and tailor their design to meet your needs. We use these data to enable us to send newsletter contents to match your profile. If you wish to object to this use of your data, you can do so by unsubscribing from our mailing list. We also use service providers from the USA for sending our emails. We make sure that the statutory conditions for the cross-border use of personal details as defined by §§ 4b, 4c BDSG (German Federal Data Protection Act) are fulfilled.

2. Purpose of storing the data

The purpose of gathering, saving, processing and using the data is solely to facilitate, maintain and develop the “OwlLearning” service provided by OwlLearning. This also comprises winning new customers and sales to existing ones. In particular, part of the ongoing development involves the use of anonymous statistics on the usage of the services. Movement profiles of individual users on the website are not created.

3. No forwarding of data to third parties

OwlLearning does not forward the personal data of its users to third parties unless the user has given his/her explicit consent or there is a legal requirement to forward the data. Personal details may also be passed on to third parties if this is legally permissible, and it is necessary to pass them on for the fulfillment of our contractual obligations towards our customers. In the case of payment processing, the data for processing the payment transaction are forwarded to the payment services provider if you do not supply the data directly. If you send your payment data directly to the payment services provider, we receive only very limited data. In such cases, we are merely informed whether or not the transaction relating to a specific transaction number has actually taken place. In such cases we do not receive your account data. If any third-party rights have been violated (in particular rights relating to copyright, trademarks, names and symbols) by the user, the user data will not be forwarded to the rights holder unless the latter conclusively demonstrates his/her claims to OwlLearning.

4. Minors

As a matter of principle, OwlLearning is directed towards users who have reached the age of majority. Any use by minors without the consent of their legal guardians is prohibited. OwlLearning therefore reserves the right to delete all data relating to underage users if no consent from the legal guardians is available.

5. Data security

OwlLearning employs safety precautions to guarantee that your data are protected against loss, modification or misuse. To this end, OwlLearning works with constantly updated firewalls meeting the industry standard as well as other security systems. At the same time, the user should be aware of the fact that one hundred percent protection against attacks cannot be guaranteed because of the continual appearance of new viruses and other means of attacking the protected data systems of internet services. OwlLearning will instigate civil and criminal proceedings against any attack by hackers and the like and will inform the users of any cases in which their data have been compromised.

6. Information access, correction and deletion

6.1. Right to information on stored data

Every user has the right to obtain information from OwlLearning on the personal data that has been saved in relation to the user. If the request for information is not conveyed to OwlLearning in writing, hence particularly in the case of enquiries, the user must provide a postal address to which the information can then be provided. In the request for information, the user must additionally provide the following details for identification purposes: user name, first name and surname, maiden name (if appropriate), email address, phone number, postal address and date of birth. The information is sent by post to the address provided by the user.

6.2. Corrections

If the user alters or corrects the details that he/she has provided and deletes old entries, the data previously entered by the user will be completely deleted automatically. An application for correction or deletion is not required. You can edit your personal data at any time. This notwithstanding, the user has the right at all times to demand the correction of any inaccurate data concerning him/her stored with OwlLearning. However, the easiest option is for users to correct any such entries themselves.

6.3. Deletion of data

Should the user demand any alteration, correction or deletion of his/her personal data, this may take place by email. To ensure correct identification of the user, the request must at least contain the following details:

Name

Email address

Phone number

Username and password

Further information from customers

Please note that due to caching systems, search engines, the interposition of proxy servers and the like, deleted data may continue to remain accessible even though they are no longer present within our systems.

7. Contact

The trust of our users is important to us. OwlLearning therefore wishes to provide its users with full information on the processing of their personal data at all times. If any queries remain unanswered by this privacy and legal statement or if more detailed information is required on any point, please contact OwlLearning.

8. Copyright & Trademarks

All rights reserved. All content (texts, trademarks, illustrations, photos, graphics, files, designs, arrangements etc.) on this website of OwlLearning are protected by copyright and other protective laws. The contents of this website are to be used only in accordance with internet regulations. To the knowledge of OwlLearning, OwlLearning and its business partners own or possess adequate rights or licenses to use all material trademarks, trade names, service marks, service mark registrations, service names, patents, patent rights, copyrights, inventions, licenses, approvals, governmental authorizations, trade secrets and other intellectual property rights (collectively, “intellectual property”) necessary to conduct their respective businesses as now conducted. To the knowledge of OwlLearning, none of the active and registered intellectual property have expired or terminated. OwlLearning and its business partners do not have any knowledge of any infringement by OwlLearning or its business partners of any intellectual property of others.

The Services, including teaching materials and graphics, are copyrighted works owned by OwlLearning, or authorised otherwise by relevant copyright owners. OwlLearning reserves all rights, including without limitation, all intellectual property rights or other proprietary rights, in connection with the Services. Part of teaching materials were generously shared by https://freekidsbooks.org/ by open source on the internet.

9. Internet Regulations

Without the explicit written permission of OwlLearning, it is prohibited to integrate in whole, or in part, any of the protected contents published on these websites into other programs or other web sites or to use them by any other means. This website can contain elements that are protected by copyright and by other laws that are subject to the copyright or other rights of third parties and that are correspondingly protected for these third parties.

10. Liability

OwlLearning has carefully compiled the contents of this website or in its operations in accordance with their current state of knowledge. Access to and use of this website, as well as web sites related or connected to this by hyperlinks, are at the user’s own risk and responsibility. Damage and warranty claims arising from missing or incorrect data are excluded. OwlLearning bears no responsibility or liability for damage of any kind, also for indirect or consequential damages resulting from access to or use of this website, contents in its operations, or websites related or connected to by hyperlinks.

11. Hyperlinks to other websites

OwlLearning website or its operations can contain hyperlinks (cross references) to websites that are run by third parties. OwlLearning takes no responsibility for the content of these other websites.