Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Welcome to our WG platform. We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal data. This privacy policy informs you about how we handle your personal data when you visit our website and informs you about your privacy rights and legal protections.

This privacy policy complies with the Swiss Federal Data Protection Act (DPA) and the Data Protection Ordinance (DPO).

3. Data we process

We may process various types of personal data about you, which we have grouped as follows:

• Identity Data: Includes first name, last name, username or similar identifiers, date of birth.
• Contact Data: Includes email address, phone number and address.
• WG-related Data: Information about your WG listing, preferences, location, rental prices, photos of your apartment/room, descriptions and other data contained in your listing.
• Communication Data: Messages that you exchange with other users through our platform, including the content and time of communication.
• Financial Data: For paid services, we collect payment information and transaction data. Complete payment card information is not stored by us but processed by our payment service providers.
• Technical Data: Includes internet protocol (IP) address, browser type and version, time zone setting and location, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system and platform, and other technologies on the devices you use to access this website.
• Usage Data: Includes information about how you use our website and services, including click behavior, pages visited, time spent and search terms.
• Marketing and Communication Preferences: Includes your preferences for receiving marketing from us and your communication preferences.

We do not collect, store, or process any special categories of personal data about you (such as details about your health, ethnicity, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, sex life), unless you have voluntarily disclosed them to us or made them public.

4. How we collect your data

We use various methods to collect data from and about you, including through:

• Direct interactions: You can provide us with your identity, contact, and WG-related data by filling out forms or by communicating with us and other users through the platform. This includes personal data you provide when you:
  • register for our services
  • create a profile on our platform
  • create a WG listing or respond to one
  • exchange messages with other users
  • participate in surveys or feedback activities
  • send us feedback or contact requests
• Automated technologies or interactions: As you interact with our website, we may automatically collect technical data about your equipment, browsing actions and patterns. We collect this data through cookies, server logs, and other similar technologies. We may also receive data from third parties or publicly available sources.

5. Lawfulness of Processing

We process your personal data only when at least one of the following conditions is met:

• Contract Performance: Processing is necessary for the performance of a contract with you or to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract.
• Legal Obligation: Processing is necessary to comply with a legal obligation to which we are subject.
• Legitimate Interest: Processing is necessary for our legitimate interests or those of a third party, provided your interests or fundamental rights do not override them.
• Your Consent: You have given your consent to the processing for one or more specific purposes.

6. Purposes of Data Processing

We use your data for the following purposes:

• Providing our Services: To provide you with the functions of our platform, including the ability to create, browse, and respond to WG listings.
• Communication: To enable you to communicate with other users and for us to communicate with you about our services.
• Improving our Services: To analyze, improve, and further develop our platform.
• Security: To ensure the security of our platform and prevent misuse.
• Marketing: To provide you with relevant advertising and information about our services if you have agreed to this.
• Legal Obligations: To comply with our legal and regulatory obligations.

7. Sharing Your Personal Data

We may share your personal data with the following categories of recipients:

• Other Users: When you create a WG listing or respond to one, certain information is visible to other users. This includes your username, parts of your profile, and the information you provide in the listing or message.
• Service Providers: External service providers who perform services on our behalf, such as:
  • Hosting providers (Vercel)
  • Email service providers (SendGrid)
  • Databases and authentication (Firebase)
  • Analytics services (Firebase Analytics)
• Authorities: We may share your data with authorities if we are legally obliged to do so or if this is necessary to protect our rights or the rights of third parties.
• Business Partners: We may share your data with our business partners if this is necessary for the provision of our services and you have consented.

We do not sell your personal data to third parties. When we share your data with external service providers, we do so on the basis of contracts that ensure the protection of your data in accordance with the requirements of Swiss data protection law.

8. International Transfers

Some of our external service providers may be located outside Switzerland, which means that the processing of your personal data may involve a transfer to other countries.

When we transfer your personal data abroad, we ensure that an adequate level of protection is guaranteed by implementing at least one of the following safeguards:

• Transfer to countries for which the Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC) has determined that they provide an adequate level of protection for personal data.
• Use of specific contractual clauses recognized by the FDPIC that provide personal data with adequate protection.

You have the right to request information or copies of the standard contractual clauses used to protect international data transfers.

9. Data storage

We store your personal data only as long as is necessary for the purposes for which we collected it, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.

We typically store your data for the following periods:

• User account and profile data: As long as your account is active and for a reasonable period thereafter.
• WG listings: Until they are deleted by you or up to 6 months after their last update, whichever comes first.
• Communication data: Up to 6 months after the last exchange between users.
• Transaction data: According to legal retention periods, typically 10 years.

After the storage period expires, your data will be securely deleted or anonymized.

You can delete your listings and user account at any time on your own. When you delete your account, all associated personal data will automatically be deleted or anonymized, unless legal retention requirements exist.

10. Your Legal Rights

Under Swiss data protection law, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Right to Access: You have the right to request confirmation as to whether we are processing personal data about you and to receive information about your data.
• Right to Rectification: You have the right to request the correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Right to Deletion: You have the right to request the deletion of your personal data if the data is no longer necessary for the purposes for which it was collected.
• Right to Restriction of Processing: You can request that we restrict the processing of your personal data, e.g., if you dispute the accuracy of the data.
• Right to Data Portability: You have the right to receive your personal data in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format.
• Right to Object: You have the right to object to the processing of your personal data for legitimate reasons at any time.
• Right to Withdraw Consent: If we process your data on the basis of consent, you have the right to withdraw this consent at any time.

You can exercise these rights at any time by contacting us. We will respond to your request within a reasonable time. In some cases, we may ask you to verify your identity before we process your request.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC).

11. Cookies and Similar Technologies

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to track your browsing activities and collect certain information. Cookies are small text files that are stored on your device when you visit our website.

We use different types of cookies:

• Essential Cookies: These are necessary for the functioning of our website and cannot be turned off in our systems.
• Performance Cookies: These allow us to count visits and traffic sources so that we can measure and improve the performance of our website. We use Firebase Analytics with appropriate privacy settings for this purpose.
• Functional Cookies: These enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalization, such as saving search preferences or language settings.
• Targeting Cookies: These may be set by our advertising partners through our website if you have agreed to this. We may use Firebase Performance Monitoring to optimize our platform.

You can set your browser to refuse all or some browser cookies, or to alert you when websites set or access cookies. If you disable or refuse cookies, please note that some parts of this website may not be accessible or may not function properly.

On your first visit to our website, you have the option to set your cookie preferences through our cookie banner. You can change these settings at any time in your user account under "Privacy Settings".

12. Profiling and Automated Decision-Making

We do not use profiling or automated decision-making that has legal effect or similarly significantly affects you. While we use certain data to increase the relevance of WG offers, we do not make fully automated decisions about the display or mediation of housing options.

The search and filtering of listings is based exclusively on the search criteria and preferences that you explicitly specify.

13. Marketing Communications

We will only send you marketing communications if you have given us your explicit consent to do so (opt-in). During registration or at a later time, you have the option to actively indicate whether you would like to receive marketing communications.

You can withdraw your consent at any time by:

• using the unsubscribe links in our marketing emails,
• changing your settings in your user account under "Notifications", or
• contacting us directly using the contact details provided.

14. Data Security and Data Protection Breaches

We have implemented appropriate security measures to protect your personal data from loss, misuse, and unauthorized access. These include encryption, access restrictions, and regular security reviews.

In the unlikely event of a data protection breach that poses a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will inform you without delay in accordance with legal requirements. This information will include details of the incident, possible effects, and measures we have taken to remedy the breach and minimize risks.

15. Data from Minors

Our services are not directed at persons under 18 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 18 years of age. If you are a parent or guardian and believe that your child has provided us with personal data, please contact us so that we can take appropriate measures.

16. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. The updated version will be published on this page, with an updated revision date.

For significant changes, we will inform you via our website or by email before the changes take effect. We recommend that you regularly review this privacy policy to stay informed about changes.

17. Contact

If you have questions about this privacy policy or would like to exercise any of your rights, please contact us at: