Legal
Privacy policy
In short: without your consent, this website stays tracking-free – no cookies, no analytics services, nothing loaded from third-party servers; only technically necessary server logs are generated. Google Analytics runs only if you agree via the cookie notice. You can change your choice at any time via 'Cookie settings' in the footer. The German version of this policy is authoritative.
1. Controller
Kevin Benning – KL Charcoal
Schloßstraße 18
33161 Hövelhof, Germany
Phone: +49 151 21261895
Email: info@kl-charcoal.com
2. Hosting
This website runs on a server we manage, operated by DigitalOcean, LLC, 101 Avenue of the Americas, 10th Floor, New York, NY 10013, USA. The server is located in a data centre in Frankfurt am Main, Germany (DigitalOcean region FRA1), so access data is processed within the European Union. As our processor, DigitalOcean processes the connection data generated when the website is accessed. A data processing agreement incorporating the EU Standard Contractual Clauses is in place with DigitalOcean.
The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR; our legitimate interest is the secure and reliable operation of this website.
3. Server log files
When you access the website, the web server automatically records the following data in log files:
- IP address of the requesting device
- date and time of access
- requested page or file and transferred data volume
- HTTP status code, referrer URL, browser type and operating system (user agent)
This processing serves to keep the site running, analyse errors and defend against attacks (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). Log files are deleted automatically after 14 days at the latest. They are not merged with other data or evaluated for marketing purposes.
4. Consent, cookies and web analytics
On your first visit we ask via a notice whether we may use Google Analytics. Without your consent, no analytics cookies are set and no scripts are loaded from third-party servers. Your decision is stored locally in your browser (localStorage entry 'kl-consent', kept for 12 months); this entry is strictly necessary to provide the state you have chosen (Section 25(2) of the German TDDDG). You can give or withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future via the 'Cookie settings' link in the footer of every page.
5. Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics 4
Only with your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR, Section 25(1) TDDDG) do we load Google Tag Manager and, through it, Google Analytics 4, a web analytics service provided by Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland ('Google'). Google Analytics uses cookies and similar technologies to analyse how the website is used (e.g. pages viewed, time spent, approximate origin, device used). Google Analytics 4 does not store IP addresses.
Data may be transferred to servers of Google LLC in the USA. Google LLC is certified under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework; EU standard contractual clauses additionally apply. We have concluded a data processing agreement with Google. Usage data stored in Google Analytics is deleted after 14 months at the latest.
Your consent is voluntary and can be withdrawn at any time via 'Cookie settings' in the footer. Without consent, Google Tag Manager itself is not loaded either.
6. Contacting us
If you contact us by email, phone or WhatsApp, we process the data you provide (name, contact details, content of your enquiry) to handle your request. The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR (steps prior to entering into, or performing, a contract) or Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR (legitimate interest in answering enquiries). We delete this data once it is no longer needed to handle your request, unless statutory retention obligations (in particular under commercial and tax law) require otherwise.
7. WhatsApp
This website links to WhatsApp (wa.me). Only when you click such a link does WhatsApp open – a service of WhatsApp Ireland Limited, 4 Grand Canal Square, Dublin 2, Ireland (part of the Meta group). WhatsApp's own privacy policy applies to processing there. Merely visiting our website transfers no data to WhatsApp or Meta.
8. Your rights
Regarding your personal data, you have the following rights against us:
- right of access (Art. 15 GDPR)
- right to rectification (Art. 16 GDPR)
- right to erasure (Art. 17 GDPR)
- right to restriction of processing (Art. 18 GDPR)
- right to data portability (Art. 20 GDPR)
- right to object to processing (Art. 21 GDPR)
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority (Art. 77 GDPR). The authority responsible for us is the State Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information of North Rhine-Westphalia (LDI NRW), Kavalleriestraße 2–4, 40213 Düsseldorf, Germany, www.ldi.nrw.de.
9. No automated decision-making
No automated decision-making, including profiling, takes place.
Last updated: September 2026