GEOS logo

Privacy statement

Introduction

GEOS nv attaches importance to the protection of your personal data. We therefore always comply with the applicable legislation when processing your personal data, more specifically the Act of 8 December 1992 on the protection of privacy in relation to the processing of personal data and related implementing decrees, replaced as of 25 May 2018 by the Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data ("General Data Protection Regulation") (hereinafter referred to as " the privacy legislation").

In this privacy statement, we explain what personal data we collect and how we process it. By communicating your personal data to us (via our website, via our mobile app or in any other way), you agree to the provisions of the privacy statement below. If you provide us with someone else's personal data, you must first discuss the content of our privacy statement with that person and obtain their consent.

We invite you to read this privacy statement carefully, together with our terms and conditions and/or any other terms and conditions that may apply to our products and services.

We may amend this privacy statement, for example in the context of adjustments to our products or services or to applicable legislation. It is therefore advisable to review this privacy statement at regular intervals.

Last update: June 2022

Controller:
GEOS nv
CBE no. 0473.407.708
Deer Street 30
3830 WELLEN
Belgium

To whom does this privacy notice apply?

This privacy statement concerns the processing of personal data of visitors to "MyGEOS", of our website, web shop, our customers and prospects who show interest in our products and services, as well as personal data of former customers whose data are still stored in our database.

This privacy statement also covers the processing of personal data of our suppliers and business contacts.

What data are processed by us?

Depending on the specific products or services you purchase from us or the business relationship we have with you as a supplier or other business contact, the following categories of data may be stored in our database:

General information: information that allows us to identify or contact you

Individuals: name, first name, gender, address, telephone (landline and/or mobile), e-mail, fax, date of birth, etc.

Companies: company name, legal form, address, company phone number, VAT no, company number, contact name, function or job title, contact phone number (landline and/or mobile), e-mail, etc.

Contract information:

Information related to the performance of the specific agreement or transaction by GEOS nv or to the specific products and services you provide to GEOS nv as a supplier.

This may include: *** customer or file number, order/transaction history, "MyGEOS" and webshop account login, delivery address, credit score information (only for VAT payers), payment information (e.g., IBAN/BIC bank account number, direct debit number), and any other information necessary for the performance of the agreement.

We may also store your responses or feedback regarding products you have purchased or services we have received from you in the context of satisfaction or market surveys, or any complaints regarding products or services you have addressed to us. 

As far as possible, we also record the date on which this data was communicated to us or on which certain adjustments were made to that data. 

Information collected by automated means

When you visit our website, web shop, or "MyGEOS" or use our mobile app, in addition to the personal data you voluntarily share with us, we may collect and process certain information automatically through cookies and similar technologies placed by us.

These include: IP address, time of your visit to the website, webshop, or "MyGEOS" or use of the mobile app, the web address from where you clicked through, pages viewed, links clicked through, a.o....

Location data may be used for certain applications, if enabled by you.

If you are active on or "like" our social networking pages, we may also include this information in our database.

We may also receive information relating to you from third parties. 

GEOS nv may use information acquired via external partners or specialised data suppliers to contact you for prospecting purposes.  If you were contacted by us in the context of a commercial action and have not transferred your personal data to us yourself, you can always contact us to find out through which source we received your personal data. 

In addition, we may also acquire data from external partners or specialised data suppliers to supplement, correct or update your personal data or to create a marketing profile.

This information may also include information from publicly available sources.

Automated decision-making and profiling

We do not use automated decision-making that may affect your legal position or have any impact on you.

We do use profiles of visitors to the web shop or "MyGEOS" that make it possible to tailor the content of the web shop and/or the "MyGEOS" portal to the needs of visitors.

What do we use your personal data for and what is the legal basis for these processing operations?

With your consent (legal basis: art. 6a. of the privacy legislation)

  • To answer your question or contact you when you request it, e.g., via our reply forms.
  • To track and process your participation in one of our competitions or promotions.
  • To provide you with our Mobile App services.
  • To send you our digital newsletters or personalised marketing via email or other channels to which you have subscribed.
  • In accordance with E-privacy legislation, we may, based on your implied consent, send you commercial emails (newsletter and commercial offers) for our products and services if you are already a customer and have communicated your email address to us.

You have the option to oppose this use of your e-mail address at any time free of charge (you can easily unsubscribe via the added link at the bottom of each e-mail).

You can withdraw your consent at any time (see infra "exercising your rights").

For the performance of the agreement (legal basis: art. 6b. of the privacy legislation)

  • To prepare, execute and follow up the order or agreement.
  • For general customer management, including accounting processing, debt collection or transfer, dispute management and legal proceedings.
  • For processing and following up complaints, after-sales service.
  • For general supplier contract management, including order tracking, supplier payment, supplier prospecting.

For the promotion of our legitimate interest (legal basis: art. 6f. of the Privacy Act).

In such a case, we always strive to balance that interest with respecting the privacy of the data subject.

  • To keep you informed about our offer and new products, services or promotions that might interest you, including through the use of files of specialised companies, data suppliers, which we acquire for prospecting purposes, possibly based on an analysis of your marketing profile. If you do not want any advertising at all, you can exercise your right to oppose direct marketing (see infra "exercising your rights").
  • To centralise, combine and enrich customer data with useful data.
  • To create customer profiles to make information about our products and services and offers more relevant and best suited to your interests or personal needs.
  • To conduct research and testing for the purpose of evaluating and improving our products and services, our internal processes and our services in general.
  • To compile statistics and analyses for financial, management, marketing and reporting purposes.
  • To detect and combat abuses and fraud, for managing disputes and legal proceedings and protecting our rights in general.

To comply with the legal obligations to which we are subject (legal basis: article 6c. of the privacy legislation):

In certain cases, we are legally obliged to process and/or communicate your personal data to the government or to bodies determined by law. 

To whom will your personal data be passed on? 

Your personal data may be disclosed to third parties in the following cases: 

  • To the service providers we rely on to perform certain services on our behalf and who process personal data in the process (e.g. e-mail marketing service provider, service provider involved in the execution of payment transactions, etc.).

These processors can only use your data within the strict limits of the instructions they receive from us, in accordance with this privacy statement. They are subject to strict obligations regarding confidentiality and security of your data and do not become owners of your data.

  • To third parties to whom we need to transfer your data taking into account the specific services we provide for you.
  • To other companies in our corporate group for the same purposes as those stated in this privacy notice.
  • To our possible legal successors (e.g., in case of sale, reorganisation, merger, liquidation of (part of) our company).
  • Where (i) certain legislation, legal proceedings or a government agency require us to do so, (ii) where there is a legitimate interest to do so or where the disclosure of these data is necessary and appropriate to prevent any financial or other damage or to protect our rights (e.g. Passing on to our credit insurer with whom we take out insurance against unpaid invoices or to legal service providers) , or (iii) in connection with an investigation into (suspected) fraudulent or illegal activities.
  • To other third parties, if you have given specific consent.

Transfer of personal data outside the European Union

By communicating your personal data to us, you agree that it may be transferred to countries outside the European Economic Area.  For example, we may use cloud service providers located in countries outside the European Economic Area to host and process your personal data.

In case of such transfer, we will ensure that the processing of your personal data is always adequately protected in accordance with the obligations of the privacy legislation and of this privacy statement.

How long do we keep personal data?

Your personal data will be kept for the period necessary to fulfil the purpose for which we process it. The retention period may therefore vary depending on the purpose.

Personal data of customers will be kept for a period of ten years after the last purchase.

Personal data of prospects will be kept for a period of five years after the last contact.

In case of newsletter subscription, your data will be kept as long as you do not unsubscribe.

Personal data of business contacts and suppliers will be kept on file for as long as you represent the supplier in question and its retention is necessary for the management of the supplier relationship.

Location data is only used for providing the relevant service and is not stored.

Retention period for compliance with legal obligations and evidence purposes. For other purposes, personal data may need to be kept for longer, for example to comply with our legal obligations and (e.g., accounting and tax obligations) or to present certain data as legal evidence in disputes.

During this period of passive management, access to the data is limited.

How do we secure your personal data?

GEOS nv does everything possible to secure your personal data and protect your privacy as much as possible. We take all measures that are technically and organisationally necessary for this. For example, our network, infrastructure and IT systems are strictly secured. Only our employees who must necessarily have such access to carry out their duties are granted access to your personal data.

What rights do you have? How can you exercise them?

Your right of access and rectification

You have the right to access your data contained in our file.  You also have the right to ask us to correct inaccurate data about you or complete incomplete information. 

Your right to withdraw your consent

If you have given GEOS nv permission for processing, you may withdraw it again at any time.

Your right to object

You can always oppose, without giving any reason, the use of your personal data for direct marketing purposes (i.e., to send you promotional offers), as well as its use for marketing profiling (i.e., to send you the promotional offers we deem most interesting to you, based on your marketing profile).

You also have the right to object to the processing of your personal data based on your specific circumstances in all cases where we process your personal data on the basis of our legitimate interest (see above).

Your right to be forgotten

You have the right to request the complete deletion of your data from our database in the cases referred to in the law.

Your right to restrict processing

In case of a dispute regarding the processing of your personal data, you may ask us to restrict its processing. In this case, we will no longer use your personal data until the dispute is resolved.

Your right to data portability

Finally, you have the right to transferability of your personal data that you yourself have communicated to us.

Exercising your rights

You must exercise your rights in writing. To exercise your rights, please provide us with proof of your identity (in order to prevent any unauthorised disclosure or processing of your personal data). For this purpose, we preferably ask you to attach a copy of the front of your identity card to your request.

You can send your request to the following address: 

By letter: GEOS nv, Hertenstraat 30, 3830 WELLEN, Belgium ë (Attn: Responsible 'Privacy'),

By e-mail:  customerservice@ geos-laboratories.com

In accordance with the provisions of the privacy legislation, GEOS nv will process your request within a period of 30 days from the moment we are in possession of all the elements necessary to process it.

For more information about our privacy statement or if you have any complaints about the protection of your personal data, please contact our Privacy Officer directly at the above address or e-mail address.

In addition, you can always contact the Data Protection Authority, Rue du Printing Press 35, 1000 Brussels or by e-mail addressed to commission@privacycommission.be.

Cookies

If you visit our website, webshop, or "MyGEOS" or use our mobile app, the following personal data are processed by us, automatically, on the basis of cookies and similar technologies placed by us:

Ip address, browser type and language, software, type and brand of equipment used while connecting to website/webshop and app, duration of website visit or app use, web address from which website/webshop or app was reached, pages viewed, links clicked and other actions taken on website/webshop or app.

What are cookies?

Our website/webshop, mobile app uses cookies (a cookie is a small file sent by our server and stored on the hard disk of your computer, tablet or mobile phone). These small files allow us to remember certain information about you, such as your language settings, as well as store certain information for analytical purposes.

What do we use the information collected through cookies for?

Personal data collected through cookies on our websites:

  • For technical and functional purposes: to allow our website/webshop or mobile app to function technically, to optimise and to remember technical choices (e.g. Language choice, newsletter, ...).
  • For analytical and static purposes: to know more about our users and how they use our website/webshop, mobile app and to be able to show more relevant services and offers (Google Analytics, see below).
  • For marketing purposes: to display relevant offers that match users' preferences (google AdWords) and are based on users' browsing behaviour.

We may additionally use cookies from carefully selected partners with whom we work and who advertise our services on their websites.

Google Analytics

On our website, we use Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. Google Analytics sets a cookie to evaluate the use of our site and allows us to compile reports of activity on our website. This helps us understand how visitors use our website. More information on Google Analytics' data processing can be found at this link: www.google.com/analytics/terms/nl.html.

Google Maps widget (Google Inc.)

Google Maps is a map visualisation service provided by Google Inc. that allows this Application to include this type of content on its pages.

Personal data collected: Cookie and Usage Data.

Processing location: US - Privacy Policy. Participant in Privacy Shield.

Social media buttons

Our website uses a number of social media tools in the form of "share" buttons that make it easy for users to share information with their friends on certain social networks. As a result, by visiting a page that incorporates such a social media plugin, you may encounter cookies from these websites. These websites are not under our control. If you use these links, you also accept the privacy policies of these sites.

How can you manage your cookies?

If you do not want to allow the use of cookies or want to delete certain cookies, you can use the tools available in most browsers. The preferences will have to be set separately for each browser you use according to the functionalities offered. Please note, however, that in this case you may not be able to use all the features of this website.

If you only want to block Google Analytics, you can use the following tool from Google: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout

Social media

Here we inform you about the processing of your personal data on our social media company pages.

GEOS nv uses social media to keep you informed about general information about GEOS, commercial promotions and news facts about the company and to communicate with our customers. You can follow us on the social media platforms below:

  • Linkedin
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Tiktok
  • Instagram

When you visit our company pages and post a comment on them, data about you is processed. GEOS nv and the social media platform are each individually or jointly responsible for ensuring that this is done in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

The social media platform manages the platform's IT infrastructure, has its own data protection policy and maintains its own user relationship with You (insofar as you are a registered user of the social media platform). GEOS nv has no influence on the data that social media platforms collect from You. The social media platform is responsible for processing that data.

Purpose of our data processing on/via social media

On our company page, we share certain information with our customers. When you post a comment, video, photo or like, your data are public. The processing of these (personal) data takes place for the purpose of providing information, including keeping you up to date with general information about GEOS, commercial actions and news facts about the company.

Legal basis

The legal basis for processing your data is our legitimate interest to communicate with our customers and advertise our business through the social media platform.

Recipients/categories of recipients:

If you submit a question to us on our company page, in certain cases we may refer you to another communication channel such as Facebook Messenger, Twitter DM or e-mail. You can submit confidential questions to us at any time by sending a message to the address mentioned in this privacy statement. Data submitted to us confidentially (e.g. by private message, letter or e-mail) will not be passed on to organisations outside GEOS nv. This excludes companies that process data on our behalf and according to our instructions, such as social media agencies. We have sound agreements with them regarding the processing of personal data.

Storage period/criteria for determining storage period

Public posts will remain on the timeline as long as they are not deleted by you (or by us in case of inappropriateness). Data submitted to us in confidence will be deleted or stripped of their identifying characteristics (anonymised) by us no later than 30 days after the last reply.