Privacy Policy

This privacy policy explains how Austrian Motorway Vignette Guide Website collects, uses, and protects your personal information when you use our site and services. We are committed to ensuring the privacy and security of your data in accordance with applicable data protection laws, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Austrian data protection regulations.

**Controller**

The controller responsible for processing your personal data on this service is Austrian Motorway Vignette Guide Website. Physical contact details for us are available on the Contact page of our online platform.

**Information We Collect**

We collect different types of information depending on how you interact with our site:

1. **Information You Provide Directly:**

* **Contact Information:** When you use our contact form or communicate with us, you may provide your name and other contact details.

* **Purchase Information:** If you use our site to facilitate the purchase of a vignette, you will provide information necessary for the transaction, which may include vehicle details (such as license plate number and vehicle type), billing address, and payment information. Please note that payment processing is handled by secure third-party payment processors, and we do not directly store your full payment card details.

* **Validity Checker Information:** When using the vignette validity checker, you provide vehicle details.

* **Route Planner Information:** If you use the route planner, you may provide information about your starting point and destination.

2. **Information Collected Automatically:**

* **Usage Data:** We automatically collect information about your visit to our site, including your IP address, browser type, operating system, pages visited, referring URLs, duration of visit, and actions taken on the site. This is typically collected through cookies and similar technologies.

* **Device Information:** Information about the device you use to access our service, including hardware model, operating system version, and mobile network information.

**How We Use Your Information**

We use the collected information for various purposes, based on different legal grounds:

1. **To Provide and Maintain Our Services:**

* Processing your requests and transactions related to vignettes (Legal Basis: Performance of a contract).

* Responding to your inquiries and providing customer support (Legal Basis: Performance of a contract or Legitimate interests, depending on the nature of the inquiry).

* Operating and maintaining our site and features like the validity checker and route planner (Legal Basis: Performance of a contract or Legitimate interests).

2. **To Improve Our Services:**

* Analyzing usage trends to understand how our site is used and identify areas for improvement (Legal Basis: Legitimate interests).

* Developing new features and functionalities (Legal Basis: Legitimate interests).

3. **For Security and Fraud Prevention:**

* Monitoring and protecting the security of our site and preventing fraudulent activities (Legal Basis: Legitimate interests, Legal obligation).

4. **For Legal Compliance:**

* Complying with legal obligations, such as tax and accounting requirements (Legal Basis: Legal obligation).

**Legal Basis for Processing**

We process your personal data based on the following legal grounds as defined by GDPR:

* **Performance of a Contract:** Where processing is necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are a party (e.g., facilitating a vignette purchase).

* **Legal Obligation:** Where processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation that applies to us.

* **Legitimate Interests:** Where processing is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by us or by a third party, except where such interests are overridden by your interests or fundamental rights and freedoms. This includes interests in maintaining and improving our site, security, and preventing fraud.

* **Consent:** Where you have given explicit consent for specific processing activities (e.g., for certain types of cookies). You have the right to withdraw consent at any time where processing is based on consent.

**Sharing Your Information**

We may share your personal information with third parties under certain circumstances:

* **Service Providers:** We share information with third-party vendors and service providers who perform services on our behalf, such as payment processing, website hosting, data analysis, and customer support. These parties are contractually obligated to protect your information and use it only for the purposes for which it was disclosed.

* **Official Authorities:** If you purchase a digital vignette facilitated through our site, information necessary for the registration and validation process will be shared with the relevant official authority responsible for the vignette system in Austria.

* **Legal Requirements:** We may disclose your information if required to do so by law or in response to valid requests by public authorities (e.g., a court or a government agency).

* **Business Transfers:** In connection with a merger, sale of assets, or other business transaction, your information may be transferred to the acquiring entity.

We do not sell or rent your personal information to third parties for their marketing purposes.

**Data Retention**

We retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. The retention period depends on the type of data and the purpose of processing. For example, transaction data will be retained for periods required by tax and commercial law. Usage data is generally retained for a shorter period, unless needed for security or site functionality purposes.

**Your Data Protection Rights (GDPR)**

Under GDPR, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

* **Right of Access:** You have the right to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.

* **Right to Rectification:** You have the right to request that we correct any information you believe is inaccurate or incomplete.

* **Right to Erasure:** You have the right to request that we erase your personal data under certain conditions.

* **Right to Restrict Processing:** You have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your personal data under certain conditions.

* **Right to Object to Processing:** You have the right to object to our processing of your personal data under certain conditions (e.g., processing based on legitimate interests).

* **Right to Data Portability:** You have the right to request that we transfer the data that we have collected to another organization, or directly to you, under certain conditions.

* **Right to Withdraw Consent:** If we are processing your data based on your consent, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. Withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details provided on the Contact page of our site. 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).

**Right to Lodge a Complaint**

If you believe that our processing of your personal data infringes data protection laws, you have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, in particular in the Member State of your habitual residence, place of work, or the place of the alleged infringement. In Austria, the relevant authority is the Austrian Data Protection Authority (Österreichische Datenschutzbehörde).

**Cookies and Similar Technologies**

Our site uses cookies and similar technologies to improve your user experience, analyze site usage, and for security purposes. Cookies are small text files stored on your device. You can manage your cookie preferences through your browser settings or potentially via a cookie consent banner on our site. Blocking certain types of cookies may impact your experience on the site.

**Links to Other Websites**

Our site may contain links to other websites that are not operated by us. We have no control over and assume no responsibility for the content, privacy policies, or practices of any third-party sites or services. We strongly advise you to review the privacy policy of every site you visit.

**Changes to This Privacy Policy**

We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page. Changes are effective when they are posted on this page. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes.