The revised Privacy Notice will be effective starting on December 10, 2024

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the Privacy Notice on Pocketbook International SA corporate website.

Pocketbook International SA respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal data. This Privacy Notice will inform you how we handle your personal data when you visit our website (regardless of where you visit it from) or use our services and/or products. It will also tell you about your privacy rights and how the law protects you.

This Privacy Notice is provided in a layered format so you can click through to the specific areas set out below.

1. IMPORTANT INFORMATION AND WHO WE ARE

2. THE DATA WE COLLECT ABOUT YOU

3. HOW IS YOUR PERSONAL DATA COLLECTED?

4. HOW WE USE YOUR PERSONAL DATA

5. DISCLOSURE OF YOUR PERSONAL DATA

6. INTERNATIONAL TRANSFERS

7. DATA SECURITY

8. DATA RETENTION

9. YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS

1. IMPORTANT INFORMATION AND WHO WE ARE

PURPOSE OF THIS PRIVACY NOTICE

This Privacy Notice aims to give you information on how Pocketbook International SA (“PocketBook”) collects and processes your personal data. Initially, our company produces e-readers and e-notes under the brand Pocketbook (“E-reader”) which we sell in more than 50 countries worldwide. We also own and operate some websites and offer related services, like PocketBook Cloud, as well as provide support for our E-readers and Services. Moreover, we have partners in the European Economic Area (“EEA”) who help us to provide our Services in the best quality so you can enjoy your reading process wherever you are. We refer to all e-readers, together with our services and websites as “Services” in this Privacy Notice.

Pocketbook International SA is based in Lugano, Switzerland.

In the EEA, sales and support for our Services are provided by Pocketbook Readers GmbH and European partners.

Services are not intended for children under 16, and we do not knowingly collect data relating to children. Users must be at least 16 years old or older to use and register for any of PocketBook Services. If a parent or guardian believes that PocketBook has in its database the personal information of a child under the age of 16, please contact us at privacy@pocketbook-int.com, and we will put our best efforts into removing the information from our records.

It is crucial that you read this Privacy Notice together with any other privacy notice or fair processing notice we may provide on specific occasions when we collect or process personal data about you so that you are fully aware of how and why we use your data. This Privacy Notice supplements the other notices and is not intended to override them.

You can find privacy notices for PocketBook Services here:

1. E-reader

2. PocketBook Reader application iOS/Android

3. PocketBook Readers GmbH e-shops in Germany and in Spain

4. PocketBook Cloud

If you do not agree with this Privacy Notice, do not access or use our Services or interact with any other aspect of our business.

CONTROLLER

While you are now visiting https://pocketbook.ch (“Website”), Pocketbook is the controller with respect to this Website and is responsible for your personal data (collectively referred to as “PocketBook”, “we”, “us” or “our” in this Privacy Notice).

If you have any questions about this Privacy Notice, including any requests to exercise your legal rights under the Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection adopted on 25 September 2020 (“FADP”), the Swiss Ordinance on Data Protection adopted on 31 August 2022 (“Ordinance”), and/or 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, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (“GDPR”) correspondingly, please contact our unit responsible for data protection via email privacy@pocketbook-int.com.

CHANGES TO THE PRIVACY NOTICE AND YOUR DUTY TO INFORM US OF CHANGES

We may revise the provisions of this Privacy Notice as necessary. The latest version of the Privacy Notice will govern the terms of use of your personal data by us and will always be published at https://pocketbook.ch/en-ch/privacy-policy. If we make changes to this Privacy Notice, which, in our opinion, is important, we will place the revised Privacy Notice via the link indicated above. Your continued access to and use of our Services after the entry into force of such changes fulfills the conditions of the provision of the revised Privacy Notice. You may find the previous version of the privacy notice here.

It is important that the personal data we hold about you is accurate and current. Please keep us informed if your personal data changes during your relationship with us.

THIRD-PARTY LINKS

This Website may include links to third-party websites, plug-ins, and applications. Clicking on those links or enabling those connections may allow third parties to collect or share data about you. We do not control these third-party websites and are not responsible for their privacy statements. When you leave our Website, we encourage you to read the privacy notice of every website you visit.

1. THE DATA WE COLLECT ABOUT YOU

Personal data, or personal information, means any information about an individual from which that person can be identified. It does not include data from which the identity has been removed (anonymous data).

We may collect, use, and store different kinds of personal data about you which we have grouped together as follows:

• Identity Data includes first and/or last name, and/or your nickname, and/or, where relevant, professional information about you, such as your job title, which is optional and we receive it only if you send us an email through the respective forms on our Website.

• Contact Data includes email address and phone number.

• Technical Data includes internet protocol (IP) address, browser type and version, time zone setting and location, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system, platform, and other technology on the devices you use to access this Website.

• Usage Data includes information about how you use our Services.

• Marketing and Communications Data includes your preferences in receiving marketing from us and our third parties and your communication preferences.

• Information we collect automatically: details of your interactions with our Customer Service, such as the date, time, and reason for contacting us; transcripts of any chat conversations; and, if you call us, your phone number and call recordings; and e-mail.

We do not collect any special, including sensitive, categories of personal data about you (this includes details about your race or ethnicity, religious or philosophical beliefs, sex life, sexual orientation, political opinions, trade union membership, information about your health, and genetic and biometric data). Nor do we collect any information about criminal convictions and offenses.

IF YOU FAIL TO PROVIDE PERSONAL DATA

Where we need to collect personal data by law or under the terms of a contract we have with you, and you fail to provide that data when requested, we may not be able to perform the contract we have or are trying to enter into with you (for example, to provide you with goods or services). In this case, we may have to cancel a product or service you have with us, but we will notify you if this is the case at the time.

1. HOW IS YOUR PERSONAL DATA COLLECTED?

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

• Direct interactions. You may give us your Identity and Contact Data by filling in forms, corresponding with us by phone, writing us an email, or otherwise. This includes personal data you provide when you:

• write us while filling in respective forms on our Website,

• write us directly via email, or

• call us directly via phone.

• 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 by using cookies and other similar technologies. Please see our Cookies Declaration for further details.

1. HOW WE USE YOUR PERSONAL DATA

We will only use your personal data when the law allows us to. Most commonly, we will use your personal data in the following circumstances:

• Where we need to give you an answer to your request.

• Where it is necessary for our legitimate interests (or those of a third party) and your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests.

• Where we need to comply with a legal or regulatory obligation.

• Where it is necessary to take steps to enter into or execute a contract with you for the services or products you request or for carrying out our obligations under such a contract.

PURPOSES FOR WHICH WE WILL USE YOUR PERSONAL DATA

Below, in a table format, we have described all the ways we plan to use your personal data and which legal bases we rely on to do so. We have also identified our legitimate interests where appropriate.

Note that we may process your personal data for more than one lawful ground depending on the specific purpose for which we are using your data. Please Contact us if you need details about the specific legal ground we are relying on to process your personal data where more than one ground has been set out in the table below.

COOKIES

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 become inaccessible or not function properly. For more information about the cookies we use, please read our Cookies Declaration.

CHANGE OF PURPOSE

We will only use your personal data for the purposes for which we collected it.

If we need to use your personal data for an unrelated purpose, we will notify you and explain the legal basis which allows us to do so.

Please note that we may process your personal data without your knowledge or consent, in compliance with the above rules, where this is required or permitted by law.

1. DISCLOSURE OF YOUR PERSONAL DATA

In any case, we do not share your personal data, with the exception of the parties set out below for the purposes set out in the table in paragraph 4.

• internal third parties, namely, other companies in the PocketBook Group, acting as joint controllers or processors, who are based within and outside the EEA and who provide IT and system administration services and undertake management reporting.

• external third parties, namely, service providers acting as processors, who provide IT and system administration services and support for the Services.

• the public authorities, regulators, or governmental bodies and courts, where we are required to disclose information by applicable law or regulation, at their request, or to safeguard our legitimate interests.

We require all third parties to respect the security of your personal data and treat it in accordance with the law. We do not allow our third-party service providers to use your personal data for their own purposes and only permit them to process your personal data for specified purposes and in accordance with our instructions.

1. INTERNATIONAL TRANSFERS

PocketBook is a worldwide company, which collects information globally, and we primarily store that information in the Netherlands and Germany. By using Services, you authorize us to transfer and store your information outside your home country for the purposes described in this Privacy Notice. The privacy protections and the rights of authorities to access your information in these countries may not be the same as in your home country.

We take additional measures when information is transferred from Switzerland and the European Economic Area (EEA). This includes having standard contractual clauses approved, issued, or recognized by the European Commission and the Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner in our contracts with parties that receive information outside the EEA. We also rely on European Commission adequacy decisions about certain countries, subject to their recognition by the Swiss Federal Counsel by including such countries to Annex 1 of the Ordinance, as applicable, for data transfers to countries outside Switzerland and the EEA. In exceptional cases, transfer to countries without adequate protection may also be permissible in other cases, e.g. based on consent, in connection with legal proceedings abroad, or if the transfer is necessary for making or performing a contract.

For example, such transfers may take place in connection with the following services:

• Google Services. We use Google Analytics, a web analysis service provided by Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland (“Google”).

Google Analytics also uses cookies, i.e. text files that are stored on your computer and enable your use of the Website to be analyzed. The information generated by the cookies about your use of this Website is usually transmitted to a Google server in the USA and stored there. On our behalf, Google will use your personal data to evaluate your use of the Website, compile reports on Website activity, and provide us as the Website operator with other services related to Website activity and Internet usage.

Please note that Google Services does not store and process your IP address. To find out more, please visit Data privacy and security page of Google Analytics service.

Consent and objection: The Google Analytics cookies are stored, and thus your usage behavior is only tracked if you have previously consented to this tracking. You can revoke this consent at any time with future effect. Users can find details about the cookies used within our Website, in particular, information about the type and functionality of the cookies, the storage period, and the respective provider, in the Cookie Consent Management Tool we use. You can also prevent the storage of cookies by setting your browser software accordingly. In addition, you can prevent Google from collecting the data generated by the cookies and relating to your use of the Website and from processing this data by Google by downloading the browser plug-in available under the following link and installing Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on. You can find Google's privacy policy here.

The processing of your data using Google Analytics takes place in line with the requirements of Article 3 Paragraph 1 Letter o) of the Swiss Federal Act Against Unfair Competition based on the legal basis of Article 6 Paragraph 6 of FADP and on the legal basis of Article 6 Paragraph 1 Sentence 1 Letter a) GDPR, in conjunction with the consent you have given. Your data generated by Google Analytics will be deleted after 24 months at the latest.

• ChatGPT. To provide exceptional customer support on our Website, we leverage ChatGPT (an Artificial Intelligence tool, provided by OpenAI Ireland Limited, with its registered office at 1st Floor, The Liffey Trust Centre, 117-126 Sheriff Street Upper, Dublin 1, D01 YC43, Ireland), by incorporating generative AI features in our Pocketbook Chat Support. With the help of Pocketbook Chat Support, you can quickly find the answers to your queries with respect to the Pocketbook products and/or services. You can find OpenAi's privacy policy here https://openai.com/policies/privacy-policy. To improve our communication with our customers, we use the data you provide in Pocketbook Chat Support to train the algorithm used in ChatGPT. Please refrain from submitting any personal data during your communication. Kindly note, that ChatGPT is implemented in a training mode now, that is why it may probably provide non-accurate information, as well as produce biased or make up outputs.

• Online marketing/Meta Pixel: We process personal data (in particular, Usage Data and Technical Data) for the purposes of online marketing via the Meta platforms, which includes, in particular, the marketing of advertising space based on the potential interests of users and the measurement of their effectiveness. For this purpose, user profiles are created and stored in a file, with the help of which the user information relevant to the display of the advertising content is recorded. This information includes, for example, the content viewed, websites visited, online networks used, and technical information such as the browser used, the computer system used, and information about times of use. Please note that Meta does not store and process your IP address.

The information stored in the profiles is usually stored in cookies or using similar technical means for a period of 2 years unless another term is defined in the banner of our Cookie Consent Management Tool. These cookies can also be read on other websites that use the same online marketing process and analyzed for the purpose of displaying advertising content, as well as supplemented with further data and stored on the server of the online marketing process provider. In exceptional cases, clear data can also be assigned to the profiles. This is the case if the users are members of the Facebook social network and Meta connects the users' profiles with the aforementioned information. However, the user can make additional agreements with Meta, for example by giving consent during registration. We generally only receive access to aggregated information about the success of our advertisements.

With the help of the Meta Pixel, we are able to determine the visitors to our online offering as a target group for the display of advertisements (so-called “Meta Ads”). Accordingly, we use the Meta Pixel to display the Meta ads we place only to those users on Facebook and, if necessary, within the services of partners cooperating with Meta who have also shown an interest in our online offering or who have certain characteristics (e.g interest in certain content or products) that we transmit to Meta (so-called "Custom Audiences"). At the same time, we want to ensure that our Meta ads correspond to the potential interest of the users and do not appear annoying, based on the Meta Pixel. Finally, it allows us to track the effectiveness of Meta ads for statistical purposes. This allows us to see whether users were redirected to our website after clicking on a Meta ad.

Furthermore, when using the Meta Pixel, we use the additional function “advanced matching”. Here, data such as email addresses or Facebook IDs of the users are sent to Meta to form target groups (“Custom Audiences” or “Look Alike Audiences”) transmitted (encrypted). Further information on “advanced matching” can be found in Custom Audience Privacy Information and About advanced matching for web.

We also use the “Custom Audiences from File” procedure. In this case, the email addresses of the newsletter recipients are uploaded to Meta. The upload process is encrypted. The upload is used solely to determine recipients of our Meta ads. We want to ensure that the ads are only shown to users who are interested in our information and services.

The service provider of the Meta Pixel is:

Meta Platforms Ireland Limited (Merrion Road, Dublin 4, D04 X2K5, Ireland), parent company: Meta Platforms, Inc. (Willow Road 1601, Menlo Park, California, 94025, USA; Website: https://about.meta.com/); Data protection declaration by following this link.

The processing of your data in connection with the use of the Meta Pixel takes place in line with the requirements of Article 3 Paragraph 1 Letter o) of the Swiss Federal Act Against Unfair Competition based on the legal basis of Article 6 Paragraph 6 of FADP and Article 6 Paragraph 1 Sentence 1 Letter a) GDPR in conjunction with the consent you have given, which you can revoke at any time with effect for can be revoked in the future, in particular for expanded data comparison and target group formation via data upload. You can also object to the collection by the Mata pixel and the use of your data to display Meta ads at any time. To set which types of advertisements are shown to you within Facebook, you can visit the page set up by Facebook and follow the instructions there on the settings for usage-based advertising. The settings are platform-independent, meaning they are applied to all devices, such as desktop computers or mobile devices. You also have the option of switching off cookies in your browser settings. However, this may limit the functions of our Website. For more information, please see our Cookies Declaration.

We are affiliated with Meta Platforms Ireland Limited. We are jointly responsible for the collection and transmission of the data that Meta collects or transmits using the Meta Pixel and comparable functions that are carried out within our online offering for the following purposes: a) the creation of individualized or suitable advertisements, as well as for their optimization; b) the delivery of commercial and transaction-related messages (e.g. contacting users via Facebook Messenger); c) improving ads delivery and personalization of features and content (e.g. improving detection of which content or advertising information is likely to match users' interests). However, the processing that occurs after collection and transmission is the sole responsibility of Meta.

We have concluded a special agreement with Meta (“Controller Addendum”), which regulates, in particular, which security measures Meta must observe, including those listed in Meta Data Security Terms, and in which Meta has agreed to fulfill the rights of those affected (i.e. users can, for example, send information or deletion requests directly to Meta).

The creation of reports and analyses in aggregated and anonymized form does not take place within the framework of joint responsibility but rather on the basis of an order processing contract and, therefore, under our responsibility (please find more in data processing conditions). When transferring personal data outside Switzerland, the EU, and the EEA, Meta relies on the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework and Meta European Data Transfer Addendum. The Meta EU-U.S. DPF, UK Extension to the EU-U.S. DPF, and Swiss-U.S. DPF Certification can be found here.

The rights of users (in particular, to information, deletion, objection and complaint to the responsible supervisory authority) are not restricted by the agreements with Meta.

• Social plugins: We also use social plugins (“buttons”) of social networks such as Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram. When you visit our Website, these buttons are deactivated. After their activation by clicking on them, a direct link to the server of the respective social network is established. The contents of the button are then transmitted from the social network directly to your browser and incorporated into the Website by it. After activation of a button, the social network can retrieve data, independently of whether you interact with the button or not. If you are logged on to a social network, the network can assign your visit to the Website to your user account. If you are a user of a social network and do not wish to combine data retrieved from your visit to our Website with your user data, you must log out from the social network concerned before activating the buttons. We have no influence on the scope of data that is collected by the social networks through their buttons.

Based on this, the list of countries to which we may transfer your data in certain cases includes, in particular, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, the United States of America, Ukraine, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Spain, and Poland.

1. DATA SECURITY

We have put in place appropriate security measures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used or accessed in an unauthorized way, altered, or disclosed.

This Website uses SSL or TLS encryption for security reasons and to protect the transmission of confidential content, such as orders or inquiries that you send to us. You can recognize an encrypted connection by the fact that the address line of your browser changes from "http://" to "https://" and by the lock symbol in your browser’s address line. If SSL or TLS encryption is activated, the data you transmit to us cannot be read by third parties.

In addition, we limit access to your personal data to those employees, agents, contractors, and other third parties who have a business need to know. They will only process your personal data on our instructions, and they are subject to a duty of confidentiality. Organizational security measures include training our employees, having confidentiality agreements with employees, agents, contractors, and other third parties, and conducting audits. We also require our processors to take appropriate technical and organizational security measures.

We have put in place procedures to deal with any suspected personal data breach and will notify you and any applicable regulator of a breach where we are legally required to do so.

1. DATA RETENTION

HOW LONG WILL YOU USE MY PERSONAL DATA FOR?

We will only retain your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which we collected it, including satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.

To determine the appropriate retention period for personal data, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorized use or disclosure of your personal data, the purposes for which we process your personal data and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal requirements.

In some circumstances you can ask us to delete your data: see Request erasure below for further information.

In some circumstances, we may anonymize your personal data (so that it can no longer be associated with you) for research or statistical purposes, in which case we may use this information indefinitely without further notifying you.

1. YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS

Under certain circumstances, you have rights under the applicable data protection laws (FDPA, Ordinance, and/or GDPR correspondingly) in relation to your personal data to

Request access to your personal data (commonly known as a “data subject access request”). This enables you to receive a copy of the personal data we hold about you and to check that we are lawfully processing it.

Request correction of the personal data that we hold about you. This enables you to have any incomplete or inaccurate data we hold about you corrected, though we may need to verify the accuracy of the new data you provide to us.

Request erasure of your personal data. This enables you to ask us to delete or remove personal data where there is no good reason for us continuing to process it. Those circumstances include: the personal data are no longer necessary in relation to the purposes for which they were collected or otherwise processed; you withdraw consent to consent-based processing; you object to the processing under certain rules of applicable data protection law; the processing is for direct marketing purposes; and the personal data have been unlawfully processed. However, there are exclusions of the right to erasure. You also have the right to ask us to delete or remove your personal data where you have successfully exercised your right to object to processing (see below), where we may have processed your information unlawfully, or where we are required to erase your personal data to comply with local law. Note, however, that we may not always be able to comply with your request of erasure for specific legal reasons which we will notify you of, if applicable, at the time of your request. The general exclusions include where processing is necessary: for compliance with a legal obligation; or for the establishment, exercise, or defense of legal claims.

Object to processing of your personal data where we are relying on a legitimate interest (or those of a third party) and there is something about your particular situation that makes you want to object to processing on this ground as you feel it impacts your fundamental rights and freedoms. You also have the right to object where we are processing your personal data for direct marketing purposes. In some cases, we may demonstrate that we have compelling legitimate grounds to process your information which override your rights and freedoms.

Request restriction of processing of your personal data. This enables you to ask us to suspend the processing of your personal data in the following scenarios: (a) if you want us to establish the data’s accuracy; (b) where our use of the data is unlawful but you do not want us to erase it; (c) where you need us to hold the data even if we no longer require it as you need it to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims; or (d) you have objected to our use of your data but we need to verify whether we have overriding legitimate grounds to use it.

Request the transfer of your personal data to you or to a third party. We will provide you, or a third party you have chosen, with your personal data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format. Note that this right only applies to automated information that you initially provided consent for us to use or where we used the information to perform a contract with you.

Withdraw your consent at any time where we rely on your consent to process your personal data. However, this will not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before you withdraw your consent. If you withdraw your consent, we may not be able to provide certain products or services to you. We will advise you if this is the case at the time you withdraw your consent.

If you wish to exercise any of the rights set out above, please Contact us.

You also have a right to lodge a complaint with the competent supervisory authority. We are grateful for the opportunity to address the concerns you may have in connection with our data processing. However, you are free to lodge a complaint with the competent data protection authority (Article 49 FADP or Article 13 Paragraph 2 Letter d) GDPR). The competent data protection authority in Switzerland is the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (http://www.edoeb.admin.ch).

NO FEE USUALLY REQUIRED

You will not have to pay a fee to access your personal data (or to exercise any of the other rights). However, we may charge a reasonable fee if your request is clearly unfounded, repetitive, or excessive. Alternatively, we may refuse to comply with your request in these circumstances.

WHAT WE MAY NEED FROM YOU

We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and ensure your right to access your personal data or to exercise any of your other rights. This is a security measure to ensure that personal data is not disclosed to any person who has no right to receive it. We may also contact you to ask you for further information in relation to your request to speed up our response.

TIME LIMIT TO RESPOND

We try to respond to all legitimate requests within 30 (thirty) days. Occasionally it may take us longer than 30 days if your request is particularly complex or you have made a number of requests. In this case, we will notify you and keep you updated.