Introduction

Our GDPR policy outlines how Ontology of Value® collects and uses your personal information and explains your rights to access or change your data. We are a private company located in Nijmegen, the Netherlands—Ontology of Value® services to professionals considering various career paths and companies looking for their dream employees.

Any initiatives launched by Ontology of Value® are not intended for children. Therefore, we do not store information on individuals under 18. Thus, if you are under 18, please do not reaccess our website before your 18th birthday.

The information we collect about you, how we use it, and how we store/handle it

0. Cookies.

(a) Why we store this type of data and how we use it.

Ontology of Value® may use cookies, web beacons, tracking pixels, and other tracking technologies when you visit our website, including any other media form, media channel, mobile website, or mobile application related or connected thereto (collectively, the “Site”) to help customize the Site and improve your experience.

We reserve the right to change this Cookie Policy anytime and for any reason. We will alert you about any changes by updating this Cookie Policy’s “Last Updated” date. Any changes or modifications will be effective immediately upon posting the revised Cookie Policy on the Site, and you waive the right to receive specific notice of each such change or modification.

We would kindly encourage you to review this Cookie Policy periodically to stay informed of updates. You will be deemed to have been made aware of, will be subject to, and will be considered to have accepted the changes in any revised Cookie Policy by your continued use of the Site after the date such revised Cookie Policy is posted.

(b) What types of data do we store?

A “cookie” is a string of information that assigns you a unique identifier that we store on your computer. Your browser then provides that unique identifier to use each time you submit a query to the Site. The following types of cookies may be used when you visit the Site:

1. Advertising Cookies

Advertising cookies are placed on your computer by advertisers and ad servers to display advertisements that are most likely to interest you. These cookies allow advertisers and ad servers to gather information about your visits to the Site and other websites, alternate the ads sent to a specific computer, and track how often an ad has been viewed and by whom. These cookies are linked to a computer and do not gather personal information.

2. Analytics Cookies

Analytics cookies monitor how users reach the Site, interact with it, and move around once they are on the Site. These cookies let us know what features on the Site are working the best and what features on the Site can be improved.

3. Our Cookies

Our cookies are “first-party cookies” and can be permanent or temporary. These are necessary cookies, without which the Site won’t work correctly or be able to provide certain features and functionalities. Some of these may be manually disabled in your browser but may affect the Site’s functionality.

4. Personalization Cookies

Personalization cookies are used to recognize repeat visitors to the Site. We use these cookies to record your browsing history, the pages you have visited, and your settings and preferences each time you visit the Site.

5. Security Cookies

Security cookies help identify and prevent security risks. We use these cookies to authenticate users and protect user data from unauthorized parties.

6. Site Management Cookies

Site management cookies are used to maintain your identity or session on the Site so that you are not logged off unexpectedly, and any information you enter is retained from page to page. These cookies cannot be turned off individually, but you can disable all cookies in your browser.

7. Third-Party Cookies

Third-party cookies may be place on your computer when you visit the Site by companies that run certain services we offer. These cookies allow the third parties to gather and track certain information about you. These cookies can be manually disabled in your browser.

(c) How this data is handled.

We store cookies by default for 12 months. You review and customize the cookie policy used towards your personal data once accessing our website. We use cookies on the Site to, among other things, keep track of services you have used, record registration information, record your user preferences, keep you logged into the Site, facilitate purchase procedures, and track the pages you visit. Cookies help us understand how the Site is being used and improve your user experience.

1. Information collected through the subscription to our Newsletter.

(a) Why we store this type of data and how we use it.

We store the contact information of our subscribers to be able to send them our monthly newsletters, free materials, promotion offers, and such.

(b) What types of data do we store?

We hold the personal data of our Newsletter subscribers specified in the subscription form, namely:

First and last name,
Contact email address.

The following types of data are optional for the subscribers and also stored in our database:

Professional affiliation / Employer,
Education level,
Branch of science or industry where the subscriber works or would like to work,
The summary of the subscriber’s current situation in the job market,
The type of career advice that the subscriber needs at the moment.

(c) How is this data handled?

We keep this data in an online MySQL database hosted by SiteGround. SiteGround is a prime-quality and fully GDPR-compliant hosting service. In 2020, SiteGround was ranked as the world’s #1 most secure hosting platform by WhoIsHostingThis.com.

We also keep a physical data backup in offline documents (such as .sql, .xlsx, .csv, and/or .docx documents). The data is physically located on an external hard drive based in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. The access rights to this hardware are restricted to the owner and the employees of Ontology of Value®.

2. Information collected through the subscription to our recruitment program.

(a) Why we store this type of data and how we use it.

We store this type of information to match the job hunters with jobs available in our database and then contact them with each other (see the Terms and Conditions).

(b) What types of data do we store?

We store the responses to all the questions specified in our questionnaires for job hunters and employers.

(c) How is this data handled?

Similarly, as for subscribers to our newsletter, we keep the subscribers’ data for our recruitment program in an online MySQL database hosted by SiteGround, a fully GDPR-compliant hosting platform.

We also keep a physical data backup in offline documents (such as .sql, .xlsx, .csv, and/or .docx documents). The data is physically located on an external hard drive based in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. The access rights to this hardware are restricted to the owner and the employees of Ontology of Value®.

3. Information collected through WooCommerce.

(a) Why we store this type of data and how we use it.

The billing data from our clients acquired and stored by WooCommerce helps us to service the clients on multiple occasions better. Examples of such situations:

Some of our products are electronic. Thus, the billing information helps us retrieve the buyer’s data in case the internet connection breaks before they physically access the product,
The billing information can be used for a refund in situations when the buyer cannot take part in our course for personal reasons (see the Terms and Conditions),
We can also use the billing information to send the buyer updates/upgrades of the products he/she purchased from us before (e.g., a new edition of the book they’ve bought; see the Terms and Conditions).

(b) What types of data do we store?

Currently, we only store order-based customer data using the default settings at WooCommerce:

Contact information: name, email address, phone number,
Billing information: billing address, the payment method,
Name of the purchased product, the price, and the invoice number.

(c) How is this data handled?

In the context of the GDPR, we are the data controller, and WooCommerce is the data processor. Therefore, this data is processed and handled by WooCommerce according to WooCommerce’s GDPR policy. According to this policy, WooCommerce is fully GDPR-compliant. WooCommerce stores order-based customer data indefinitely.

4. Information collected for analytic purposes.

(a) Why we store this type of data and how we use it.

We use Google Analytics to analyze the traffic on our website. It helps us better understand who needs our products and services the most and how we can improve our offer.

(b) What types of data do we store?

Google Analytics Terms of Service prohibits the collection of personally identifiable data such as name, email address, or billing information. However, to enable creating the traffic statistics, it collects the following types of data:

Time of visit, pages visited, and time spent on each page of the web pages,
Referring to site details (such as the URI a user came through to arrive at this site),
Type of web browser,
Type of operating system (OS),
Flash version, JavaScript support, screen resolution, and screen color processing ability,
Network location and IP address.

(c) How is this data handled?

Similarly, as in the case of WooCommerce, in the context of the GDPR, we are the data controller, and Google is the data processor. Therefore, Google processes and handles this data according to Google’s GDPR policy. According to this policy, Google’s services, including Google Analytics, are GDPR-compliant. Google Analytics stores the Google Signals data for 50 months.

The information we do not collect about you

We do not store the following types of information:

• Any information about you based on personal correspondence through emails or your activity on social media related to the events organized by Ontology of Value®, such as your dietary requirements, your resume discussed during our workshop, etc.,
• Sensitive personal data, such as your race/ethnicity, religious or philosophical beliefs, sex life, sexual orientation, political opinions, trade union membership, information about your health, and genetic and biometric data.

How we share information about you with third parties

We do not share your information with any third parties. Furthermore, we do not reach out to any third parties regarding your personal data.

One exception is our recruitment program. If we find an employer that might be potentially interested in interviewing a subscriber to our recruitment program, we contact the subscriber asking for permission to share this data.

Your rights to the information we hold about you

You have the right to access the information we hold about you at any moment and be informed of how we use your information. Therefore, you can also ask us to correct any information that we hold about you and ask us to delete your information.

Changes to this privacy policy

We may change this Privacy Policy in the future. If we do, we will post any changes to our site and email you the information (in case we store your email). Any changes will become effective the next time you engage with us.

The personal data we hold about you must be accurate and current. Please update us if any of your essential personal data changes during your relationship with us by updating your profile account information or contacting us using the details at the top of this Privacy Notice.

Don’t hesitate to contact us for more information about our GDPR policy.