Privacy Policy

The protection of your personal data when using the "Guardian Horse" apps for Android and iOS is very important to us. Personal data is information about the personal or factual circumstances of a specific or identifiable natural person, e.g. real name, address or telephone number, but also all other data that can be related to an identifiable person. Because personal data enjoy special protection by law, they are only collected in our apps if this is necessary for the functionality of the Guardian Horse system. In the following we explain which personal data we collect while using Guardian Horse and how we use it.

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1. Name and Address of the Person Responsible

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The person responsible within the meaning of the GDPR and other national data protection laws of the member states as well as other data protection regulations is:

Guardian Solutions GmbH, Rheinstr. 18, 76776 Neuburg, Germany
Email: info@guardianhorse.de
Phone: +49 (0) 7273 9579995
Fax: +49 (0) 7273 8089017 

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2. Name and Address of the Data Protection Officer

 

Dr. Dennis Westermann
Rheinstr. 18, 76776 Neuburg
Email: dennis.westermann@guardianhorse.de 

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3. Information on Data Collection

 

After downloading our app, registration is only possible if the present data protection provisions and general terms and conditions are accepted. If this is done, the collection, storage and use of data is then required in order to create a new customer account (hereinafter referred to as "Account"), to enable the use of the app with all available features, to identify users, the app to analyze and improve, to deliver personal messages or similar (via in-app messages or push messages) and to guarantee the best possible user experience.
Registration takes place upon completion of the registration data entry process and acceptance of the present data protection provisions and general terms and conditions. You can then optionally and voluntarily enter the following data in the app:

• Name (so that first aiders know who you are or who is in need in an emergency),

• Emergency contacts (names and phone numbers of the people we or a first aider should contact in an emergency)

• Emergency data (additional information for first aiders, emergency contacts or emergency doctors such as chronic illnesses, required medication, the address of the riding stable, ...)

• HelpMe Badge IDs (HelpMe Badges are small badges that contain a QR code with a link to your personal HelpMe Board. This allows first aiders to access your rescue-relevant data using the ID and PIN on your badge.)

• Tracker IDs (you can pair the app with one of our Bluetooth trackers. After pairing, the unique ID of the tracker is saved in order to automatically establish a connection in the future as soon as the app is opened again)

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The above data can be adjusted at any time in the app. All data is stored in the Guardian Horse database on certified servers located in Germany. In addition, Guardian Horse stores the following data in the database, which are generated while using the app:

• User ID (for identification)

• Device ID (to provide app functionality)

• App version (for support and analysis purposes)

• Operating system version (for analysis purposes)

• Device name (for support and analysis purposes)

• Start and end time of the last ride (to provide the app functionality)

• Collected location data from the last ride (to provide the app functionality)

• Alarm status of the last ride (to provide the app functionality)

• Configuration of the motionless detection (to provide the app functionality)

• HelpMe-Board ID and PIN (to provide the app functionality)

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Guardian Horse uses the database product Cloud Firebase Firestore from Google LLC (previously known as Google Inc., hereinafter “Google”) based at 1600 Amphitheater Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA. Guardian Horse uses the Cloud Firebase Authentication product, also from Google LLC, for user registration and authentication.

The transfer takes place in accordance with the provisions of Art. 46 GDPR. Google stores or processes the data and prepares it for Guardian Horse in a web interface. Google stores the data in Germany (GCP resource location: europe-west3) and is subject to the EU GDPR (EU 2016/679) via DPA: https://firebase.google.com/terms/data-processing-terms

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You consent to the data collection by Guardian Horse and the transmission to Google. If you do not want the third-party provider to save the specified data, you must refrain from using the app.

 

In order to have your own data at Guardian Horse or Google deleted from the database, you can request this at any time by e-mail to support@guardianhorse.app (with the note "Data deletion in Google Firestore"). If this does not happen, the data will be deleted at the latest after the statutory retention periods. We refer to the general terms and conditions and data protection provisions of Google Firebase:
General terms and conditions: https://firebase.google.com/terms Privacy policy: https://firebase.google.com/support/privacy

 

Guardian Horse uses the products Crashlytics and Firebase Analytics, both also from Google LLC, for error analysis and statistics. The data that Google saves by default with Firebase Analytics and that is processed for analysis by Guardian Horse, if requested, can be viewed at the following link: https://support.google.com/firebase/answer/6318039 or https: //docs.fabric.io/apple/fabric/data-privacy.html#identifiable-data-collected

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Further information on the collection, use and transfer of data in the "Guardian Horse" apps are explained below: 

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3.1 SMS Messaging

An external service provider is used in the iOS app to send SMS, to whom the data required to send the emergency SMS is passed on. We use the "MessageBird" service of the EU (Amsterdam, Netherlands) based company MessageBird B.V. to send SMS. More information about MessageBird B.V. and their data protection can be found here: https://www.messagebird.com/de/legal/privacy

 

3.2 Emergency Contact Phone Numbers

The purpose of the Guardian Horse System is to call for help quickly and, if necessary, automatically in an emergency. This is done by the app sending an SMS to emergency contacts previously stored in the app. In order to store the telephone numbers of the emergency contacts in the Guardian Horse app, the user can access his contact list from the app via the respective operating system interface and release. The selected data (name and telephone number of the emergency contact) are stored by the app on the user's device in a memory area specially provided for the Guardian Horse app. The data is only stored locally, there is no Guardian Horse server to which the data is sent. If a user deletes an emergency contact in the setup area,

[Special case iOS app] In the case of the iOS app, we have to use an external SMS dispatch service provider to send the emergency SMS, as Apple does not allow the automated sending of SMS from apps. We use to the "Message Bird" service of the EU-based (Amsterdam, Netherlands) BV company Message Bird more information about message Bird BV and its policy can be found here: https://www.messagebird.com/de/legal/privacy In order to be able to send SMS, we transmit the telephone number of the emergency contact and the name of the app user (horse rider) specified in the app to the service. A transmission only takes place in the event of an emergency alarm being triggered. 

 

3.3 Name of the app user / rider (only iOS)

Since we have to use an external service provider (MessageBird B.V.) to send SMS in the case of the iOS app (see 3.1), it is also necessary to enter the name of the sender of the emergency SMS in the app. When sending an emergency SMS, we send the "MessageBird" service the name of the app user (horse rider) specified in the app within the SMS message. A transmission only takes place in the event of an emergency alarm being triggered.

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3.4.  HelpMe Board & HelpMe Badges

With the Guardian Horse System we want to ensure that serious falls are quickly recognized when riding off-road. But quick and above all correct first aid after a fall is an important topic that is close to our hearts. Timely information on the location, the people to be contacted in an emergency, the blood group, intolerances, medication taken or known pre-existing diseases can become vital in an emergency. We therefore enable the user to store and record data in the app to which first aiders, emergency doctors and emergency contacts can access via the so-called Guardian horse HelpMe Board. It is not necessary to store emergency / medical data for the Guardian Horse system to function properly. It is only an optional integration option for users. Users who also have an optional HelpMe badge can link the ID of the badge to their own Guardian Horse account. This means that in an emergency, the data displayed on the HelpMe board can also be accessed using the ID and PIN of the badge. All those involved can use the HelpMe Board to find out about a rescue operation in a LiveChat. The exchanged messages are visible to all persons who have a valid ID / PIN combination of the board or a badge linked to the board. If the user starts a new ride, the messages from the old ride are completely and permanently deleted. A user can change the access pin for his HelpMe board at any time. He / she can also remove linked badge IDs at any time. As soon as the board PIN has been changed or a basdge ID has been removed from the app, this data can no longer be used to access the HelpMe board. When sending an emergency SMS, we send the “MessageBird” service (see 3.1) the ID and PIN specified in the app for access to the HelpMe Board within the SMS message. A transmission only takes place in the event of an emergency alarm being triggered.

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3.5. Location data

The Guardian Horse app temporarily records location data in order to be able to make the last known location on the HelpMe board available to the emergency contacts in an emergency. The location is only recorded as long as a ride is "active", i.e. the user has started a ride in the app. As soon as the user finishes the ride in the app, the location is stopped. Only the location data of the last ride are saved - no location history. If the user starts a new ride, the old location data is completely and permanently deleted. Location data is only used to provide app functionality.

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3.6. Movement and Fitness Data

The Guardian Horse app temporarily records the movement data provided by the smartphone via an interface in order to implement motionless detection. The movement data is not saved by Guardian Horse and is only activated if the user consciously activates this optional feature.

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3.7. USG

Guardian Horse has a cooperation with United Sportproducts Germany GmbH (hereinafter referred to as USG) based in Industriestrasse 6, 63633 Birstein, Germany. USG sells HelpMe Badges under its own name, which can be attached to vests and helmets produced by USG and which can be linked to the Guardian Horse HelpMe board by the user in the Guardian Horse app. If a user links a USG HelpMe badge in the Guardian Horse app, Guardian Horse forwards the linked badge ID as well as the name and email address of the user to USG. You consent to the transfer to USG by agreeing to these data protection provisions. If the transmission of the given data to USG is not desired, the USG brand HelpMe badges must not be linked. Users who have not deposited a USG HelpMe badge but still want information on USG products (in relation to Guardian Horse accessories and other equestrian safety products) can request this information via a corresponding button in the app. If a user clicks the button to request information, Guardian Horse will forward their name and email address stored in the app to USG. The GDPR-compliant further processing of the data was contractually guaranteed to Guardian Horse by USG. In addition, we refer to the data protection regulations of USG: https://usg-reitsport.de/de/datenschutz

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4. Information, deletion, blocking

 

You have the right to free information about your stored personal data, their origin and recipient and the purpose of the data processing as well as the right to correct, block or delete this data at any time. You can contact us at any time at the address given in sections 1 and 2 if you have any further questions on the subject of personal data.

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5. Others

 

This data protection declaration was last updated on May 2nd, 2023.