DATA PROTECTION
Privacy policy of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in German-speaking Switzerland
Version from 10 November 2020
In this privacy policy, we, the Seventh-day Adventist Church in German-speaking Switzerland, explain how we collect and otherwise process personal data. This is not an exhaustive description; other data protection statements may regulate specific matters. Personal data refers to all information relating to an identified or identifiable person.
If you provide us with personal data of other persons (e.g. family members, data of work colleagues), please ensure that these persons are aware of this privacy policy and only share their personal data with us if you are authorised to do so and if this personal data is correct.
This privacy policy is based on the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) are aligned. Although the GDPR is a regulation of the European Union, it is important to us. The Swiss Data Protection Act (DSG) is heavily influenced by EU law, and organisations outside the European Union or the EEA must comply with the GDPR under certain circumstances.
1. responsible person / data protection officer / representative
We are responsible for the data processing that we carry out here:
Seventh-day Adventist Church
Swiss-German Association
Wolfswinkel 36
CH-8046 Zurich | Switzerland
Phone: +41 44 315 65 00
e-mail: info(at)adventisten(dot)ch
Data Protection Officer:
Data Protection Officer of the Swiss-German Association of the Seventh-day Adventist Church
e-mail: data protection(at)adventisten(dot)ch
If you have data protection concerns, you can send them to us at the above contact address for all departments and institutions of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in German-speaking Switzerland. If possible, please state what you are referring to with your address and e-mail address.
You can contact our data protection officer in accordance with Art. 37 GDPR at the e-mail address given above.
2. collection and processing of personal data
We primarily process the personal data that we receive from you and other business partners as part of our relationship with them and other persons involved or that we collect from their users when operating our websites, apps and other applications.
Insofar as this is permitted, we also obtain information from publicly accessible sources (e.g. the Internet), information from the media and the Internet about your person (insofar as this is appropriate in the specific case, e.g. as part of an application, press review, marketing/sales, etc.) or receive such information from Adventist local churches as well as departments and institutions within the Seventh-day Adventist Church in German-speaking Switzerland or Switzerland. In addition, we collect data in connection with the use of the website (e.g. IP address, MAC address of the smartphone or computer, information about your device and settings, cookies, date and time of the visit, pages and content accessed, functions used, referring website, location data).
3. purposes of data processing and legal bases
The website of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and the websites of the individual Adventist local churches in German-speaking Switzerland collect a range of general data and information when a data subject or an automated system accesses the website. This general data and information is stored in the server log files. The following can be collected:
- the browser types and versions used,
- the operating system used by the accessing system,
- the website from which an accessing system reaches our website (so-called referrer),
- the sub-websites,
- Date and time of access to the website,
- an Internet Protocol address (IP address),
- the Internet service provider of the accessing system and
- other similar data and information that can be used in attacks on our information technology systems.
When using this general data and information, the Seventh-day Adventist Church in German-speaking Switzerland does not draw any conclusions about the data subject. Rather, this information is required to (1) correctly deliver the content of our website, (2) optimise the content of our website and its advertising, (3) ensure the long-term functionality of our IT systems and website technology and (4) provide law enforcement authorities with the necessary information in the event of a cyber-attack. The Seventh-day Adventist Church in German-speaking Switzerland therefore statistically analyses anonymously collected data and information with the aim of increasing the data protection and data security of our institution and ensuring optimal protection of the personal data we process. The anonymous data of the server log files are stored separately from all personal data of a data subject.
We use the personal data we collect primarily to establish and process our communication with our church members, local congregations, departments and institutions as well as any interested parties and business partners, in particular in the context of providing the newsletter, information letters to local congregations and other internal material resources.
On the website of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in German-speaking Switzerland, users have the option of subscribing to the newsletter of our church. The input mask used for this purpose determines which personal data is transmitted and when the newsletter is ordered from the controller.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church in German-speaking Switzerland regularly informs its church members and local congregations about news, events and offers from its departments and institutions by means of a newsletter. You may only receive the church newsletter if you have a valid e-mail address and have registered to receive the newsletter. For legal reasons, a confirmation e-mail will be sent to the e-mail address you registered for the first time to receive the newsletter using the double opt-in procedure. This confirmation e-mail serves to prove whether the owner of the e-mail address is authorised to receive the newsletter as the data subject.
When you register for the newsletter, we also store the IP address of the computer system assigned by the Internet Service Provider (ISP) and used by you at the time of registration, as well as the date and time of registration. The collection of this data is necessary in order to understand the (possible) misuse of a data subject's e-mail address at a later date and thus serves the purpose of the legal protection of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in German-speaking Switzerland.
The personal data collected as part of the registration for the newsletter is used exclusively for sending our newsletter. In addition, subscribers to the newsletter may be informed by e-mail if this is necessary for the operation of the newsletter service or a corresponding registration, as may be the case in the event of changes to the newsletter offer or a change in technical circumstances. The personal data collected by the newsletter service will not be passed on to third parties. The Free Church reserves the right to use an external newsletter service to send the newsletter. The relevant data protection regulations are taken into account when selecting the provider. You can cancel your subscription to our newsletter at any time. The consent to the storage of personal data that you have given for the sending of the newsletter can be revoked at any time. You will find a corresponding link in every newsletter for the purpose of cancelling your consent. It is also possible to unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time directly on the website of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in German-speaking Switzerland or to communicate this to us in any other way specified in section 1.
In addition, we also process personal data of you and other persons for the following purposes, where permitted and where we deem it appropriate, in which we (and sometimes third parties) have a legitimate interest corresponding to the purpose:
- Further development of our services, offers, websites, apps and other platforms on which we are present;
- Communication with third parties and processing their enquiries (e.g. applications, media enquiries);
- Information and advertising, including the organisation of events, provided you have not objected to the use of your data. (If we send you information and advertising, you can object to this at any time. We will then place you on a blacklist to prevent further mailings);
- Assertion of legal claims and defence in connection with legal disputes and official proceedings;
- Prevention and investigation of criminal offences and other misconduct (e.g. conducting internal investigations, data analyses to combat fraud);
- Guarantees of our operations, in particular IT, our websites, apps and other platforms;
If you have given us your consent to process your personal data for specific purposes (for example, when you register to receive newsletters), we will process your personal data within the scope of and based on this consent, unless we have another legal basis and require one. Consent that has been granted can be revoked at any time, but this has no effect on data processing that has already taken place.
4. cookies / tracking and other technologies in connection with the use of our website
We typically use "cookies" and similar technologies on our websites to identify your browser or device. A cookie is a small file that is sent to your computer or automatically stored on your computer or mobile device by the web browser you use when you visit our website. This enables us to recognise you when you return to this website, even if we do not know who you are. In addition to cookies that are only used during a session and are deleted after your visit to the website ("session cookies"), cookies can also be used to store user settings and other information for a certain period of time (e.g. two years) ("permanent cookies"). However, you can set your browser so that it rejects cookies, only saves them for one session or otherwise deletes them prematurely. Most browsers are preset to accept cookies. We use permanent cookies so that you can save user settings (e.g. language, autologin). Some of the cookies are set by us, some are also set by contractual partners with whom we work. If you block cookies, certain functions (e.g. language selection) may no longer work.
We also include visible and invisible image elements in our newsletters in some cases and to the extent permitted. By retrieving these from our servers, we can determine whether and when you have opened the email so that we can also measure and better understand how you use our offers and tailor them to you. You can block this in your email programme; most are preset to do so.
By using our websites and agreeing to receive newsletters and other marketing e-mails, you consent to the use of these technologies. If you do not want this, you must set your browser or e-mail programme accordingly. The instructions on how to make the appropriate settings in your browser can be found at here can be called up:
Google Analytics
We sometimes use Google Analytics or similar services on our websites. This is a service provided by third parties, which may be located in any country in the world (in the case of Google Analytics, it is Google LLC in the USA, www.google.com), with which we can measure and analyse the use of the website (not on a personal basis). Permanent cookies set by the service provider are also used for this purpose. The service provider does not receive any personal data from us (and does not store any IP addresses), but can track your use of the website, combine this information with data from other websites that you have visited and that are also tracked by the service provider, and use these findings for its own purposes (e.g. control of advertising). If you have registered with the service provider yourself, the service provider also knows you. The processing of your personal data by the service provider is then the responsibility of the service provider in accordance with its data protection provisions. The service provider only informs us how our respective website is used (no information about you personally).
Social media plug-ins
We also use so-called plug-ins from social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+, Pinterest or Instagram on our websites. This is visible to you in each case (typically via corresponding icons). We have configured these elements so that they are deactivated by default. If you activate them (by clicking on them), the operators of the respective social networks can register that you are on our website and where and can use this information for their purposes. The processing of your personal data is then the responsibility of this operator in accordance with its data protection provisions. We do not receive any information about you from them.
5. data transfer and data transmission abroad
As part of our activities and for the purposes set out in Section 3, we also disclose data to third parties to the extent permitted and deemed appropriate, either because they process it for us or because they wish to use it for their own purposes. This applies in particular to the following bodies:
- Service providers of ours (within the Seventh-day Adventist Church in German-speaking Switzerland or Switzerland and externally, e.g. banks, insurance companies), including contract processors (e.g. IT providers);
- Other parties in potential or actual legal proceedings;
- Other institutions or departments of the Free Church and the local churches of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in German-speaking Switzerland or Switzerland
all common recipients.
Some of these recipients are in Germany, but some may also be abroad. If we transfer data to a country without adequate statutory data protection, we will ensure that, as required by law, appropriate contracts are in place (namely on the basis of the European Commission's standard contractual clauses, the here The data processing is based on the legal exceptions of consent, contract fulfilment, the establishment, exercise or enforcement of legal claims, overriding public interests, published personal data or because it is necessary to protect the integrity of the data subjects.
6. duration of storage of personal data
We process and store your personal data for as long as it is necessary for the fulfilment of our contractual and legal obligations or otherwise for the purposes pursued with the processing, as well as beyond that in accordance with the statutory retention and documentation obligations. It is possible that personal data may be retained for the period during which claims can be asserted against our organisation and insofar as we are otherwise legally obliged to do so or legitimate business interests require this (e.g. for evidence and documentation purposes). As soon as your personal data is no longer required for the above-mentioned purposes, it will be deleted or anonymised as far as possible. For operational data (e.g. system protocols, logs), shorter retention periods of twelve months or less generally apply.
7. data security
We take appropriate technical and organisational security precautions to protect your personal data from unauthorised access and misuse, such as the adoption of data protection regulations, training, IT and network security solutions, access controls and restrictions and other controls.
8. profiling (and automated decision-making)
As a responsible organisation, we do not use automated decision-making or profiling.
9 Rights of the data subject
You have the right to information, correction, deletion, the right to restrict data processing and otherwise to object to our data processing as well as to the surrender of certain personal data for the purpose of transfer to another organisation within the scope of the data protection law applicable to you and insofar as provided for therein (such as in the case of the GDPR). Please note, however, that we reserve the right to assert the restrictions provided for by law, for example if we are legally obliged to store or process certain data, if we have an overriding interest in doing so (insofar as we are entitled to invoke this) or if we need the data to assert claims. If you incur costs, we will inform you in advance. We have already informed you about the possibility of withdrawing your consent in section 3.
The exercise of such rights generally requires that you clearly prove your identity (e.g. by means of a copy of your ID where your identity is otherwise not clear or cannot be verified, e.g. in the case of written communication). To assert your rights, you can contact us at the address given in section 1.
Every data subject also has the right to enforce their claims in court or to lodge a complaint with the competent data protection authority. The competent data protection authority in Switzerland is the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (http://www.edoeb.admin.ch).
10. changes
We may amend this privacy policy at any time without prior notice. The current version published on our website shall apply. If the privacy policy is part of an agreement with you, we will inform you of the change by e-mail or other suitable means in the event of an update.
11. safety
We are committed to the security of personal data. We take appropriate security measures to limit abuse of and unauthorized access to personal data. This ensures that only the necessary persons have access to your data, that access to the data is protected, and that our security measures are regularly reviewed.
The security measures we use consist of, but are not limited to:
- Vulnerability Detection
- HTTP Strict Transport Security and related security headers
- TLS/SSL
- Recommended site hardening features
Seventh-day Adventist Church
Wolfswinkel 36
CH-8046 Zurich
Copyright © 2025, Seventh-day Adventist Church
