2.1 Categories of personal data

Markant processes data about current and former customers or interested parties as well as their representatives and employees to the extent permitted:

• Personal information: In particular salutation, first and last name, business address, telephone number and e-mail address, company function and registration data in the protected customer area or for a newsletter.
• Log data:
  • Data that Markant Server automatically records when you visit Markant websites, e.g. your IP address, date and time, the website from which you visit Markant (referrer URL), type and version of browser, operating system used, the type of browser software used, host name of the accessing computer, domain name of your Internet service provider and the pages of the Markant website that you visit;
  • Cookies, pixels, unique identifiers and other similar technologies to collect and process information from different channels and devices to recognise you and allow you to interact with Markant, to remember your preferences and to customise content that Markant makes available to you;
  • Records of correspondence and other communications between you and Markant, e.g. via the contact form and social media communications;
• Internal identifiers: Will be assigned by Markant;
• Social media information: In particular, your personal and professional data that you provide in your social media profile (e.g. first name, last name, title, geographical area, job title, occupation and your employer), information contained in the comments you post on the social media platform ("social media post") and in your interaction with Markant profiles (e.g. the date and time of your interaction with Markant and the text of your comments on Markant posts or under Markant profiles), as well as related analytics data.

2.2. Purpose of processing & legal basis

Your personal data is processed for the purposes listed below, stating the legal basis in each case:

• Provision, safeguarding and protection of the website:

(Categories of personal data concerned: Personal information, log data, internal identifiers)

• To provide the publicly accessible and restricted websites. This also includes the web applications that are available, for example, for subscribing to and unsubscribing from newsletters or for contact and support forms. Markant uses technically necessary cookies in order to be able to provide you with the Markant services in a technically error-free and optimised manner (e.g. with WebManager). The legal basis for this is Markant's legitimate interest in providing a functional and secure website (art. 6(1)(f) GDPR) ;
  • To ensure and protect the technical functionality of the website, including protection against unlawful use and/or misuse (e.g. hCaptcha from Microsoft Dynamics). The legal basis for this is Markant's legitimate interest in the provision of secure websites and the protection of its own property (art. 6(1)(f) GDPR) ;
  • Markant occasionally uses online marketing services (e.g. Google Ads) for the purpose of targeted advertising and performance measurement (e.g. click and conversion tracking). If you reach a Markant website via one of these ads, the respective provider may store a cookie on your device, for which the provider - insofar as personal data is processed as a result - relies on the legal basis of your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR) . Markant only receives statistical analyses from the provider. These analyses enable Markant to recognise which of the advertising measures used are particularly effective. Markant does not receive any further data from the use of the advertising material; in particular, Markant cannot identify users on the basis of this information;
  • For subsequent checks in the event of specific indications of unlawful use or other misuse and to recognise or rectify technical problems. The legal basis for this is Markant's legitimate interest in ensuring the security and integrity of the Markant websites[CS3] [IB4]  (art. 6(1)(f) GDPR) .

• Registration for protected customer areas:

(Categories of personal data concerned: Personal information, log data, internal identifiers)

• To identify you as a customer when you register in the protected Markant customer area (e.g. Markant Marketplace). This includes checking access rights and secure authentication. The legal basis for this is the fulfilment of the contract (art. 6(1)(b) GDPR) .

• Newsletter, support and contact forms:

(Categories of personal data concerned: Personal information, log data, internal identifiers)

• To send you newsletters that you have ordered (incl. double opt-in procedure, if applicable). If you are not an existing customer of Markant, the legal basis for this is your consent (art. 6(1)(a) GDPR) .
• To process your enquiries via our support and contact form. Depending on the context, the legal basis for this is the implementation of pre-contractual measures or contractual fulfilment (art. 6(1)(b) GDPR) . If the enquiry contains general questions, Markant relies on the legal basis of its own legitimate interests in efficiently responding to enquiries and smooth communication with (potential) customers (art. 6(1)(f) GDPR)
• For newsletter tracking (e.g. opening and click behaviour) in order to optimise Markant offers. The legal basis for this is your consent (art. 6(1)(a) GDPR).

• Social media:

(Categories of personal data concerned: Personal information, log data, internal identifiers, social media information)

• Markant maintains profiles on social media ( Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube, Xing and LinkedIn) in order to communicate with you as a customer and with interested parties and to inform them about Markant offers. Markant would like to point out that these platforms may process data outside the EU. If you interact with Markant profiles (e.g. through comments, likes), Markant processes this information on the basis of Markant's legitimate interest, namely the maintenance of Markant's external presence and the direct exchange with customers and interested parties (art. 6(1)(f) GDPR) . For data processing by the respective platform operators, Markant refers to the corresponding data protection guidelines of the providers (Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube, Xing and LinkedIn).

• Analysis of user behaviour:

(Categories of personal data concerned: Personal information, log data, internal identifiers)

• Markant uses tracking tools and web analysis services (e.g. Piwik PRO) to improve the performance, statistics and marketing functions of Markant websites, to analyse the frequency of use and user behaviour and to offer you an optimal user experience. These services use cookies to collect information on user behaviour (e.g. pages visited, click behaviour, browser data). The legal basis for this is your consent (art. 6(1)(a) GDPR) , unless these are server-side session tracking technologies with anonymised or pseudonymised data, in the context of which no personal data is processed; for more information, please see the more detailed information in the respective cookie banner (e.g. Markant AG; MEPS).
  • Markant uses a consent management tool (OneTrust) to manage the consents you have given and to control cookies that require consent. The legal basis for this is Markant's legitimate interest in the transparent and efficient management of your consents (art. 6(1)(f) GDPR) and Markant's legal obligation to document the consents granted (art. 6(1)(c) GDPR).

When you access the Markant websites, you will be informed via a cookie banner that Markant uses both required cookies and optional cookies. You can customise or revoke the optional cookies at any time via the respective cookie banners: Markant AG; MEPS. Please note that rejecting, switching off or deactivating certain cookies may result in reduced availability of the services.

Markant does not process your personal data in the context of automated decision-making.

3. Access to and disclosure of personal data

3.1. Within the Markant Group

Markant usually shares personal data with other Markant Group companies in order to ensure a consistently high standard of service within the Markant Group and to provide you with services and products. Other Markant Group companies may process your data on our behalf and upon request.

Companies of the Markant Group that receive your personal data may be, for example

• Markant AG
• National companies of Markant AG
• Service companies of Markant AG

3.2. Outside the Markant Group

Markant also shares your personal data with external third parties for the purposes specified in this Privacy Notice. These third parties include the following categories of recipients

• Processors to support IT applications (e.g. hosting, web analytics, newsletters, support and contact requests)
• Public authorities (e.g. supervisory authorities)
• Lawyers, auditors and similar specialised consultants who provide legal, auditing or consulting services and other specialised consultants

Markant would like to point out that Markant works with contract processors who have concluded a Data Processing Agreement with Markant and have thus undertaken in writing to comply with data protection.

3.3. Cross-border data transfers

The personal data transmitted within or outside the Markant Group is processed in particular in Switzerland, in the countries of the European Economic Area (EEA) and in the USA if Markant uses service providers or sales partners for the provision of Markant services, for the provision and maintenance of Markant products and for sales and marketing, among other things. However, worldwide processing is conceivable.

When transferring personal data outside the EEA, Markant will include the standard data protection clauses issued by the European Commission (where applicable) for the transfer of personal data outside the EEA in Markant contracts with these recipients (these are the clauses issued pursuant to art. 46(2) GDPR). You can request a copy of these standard data protection clauses at datenschutz(at)markant.com.

For transfers of your personal data from the EEA to Switzerland, Markant bases the transfers on the adequacy decision of the EU Commission on Switzerland, which can be accessed here.

Further information about the rules on data transfers outside the EEA, including the safeguards on which Markant relies, can be found on the European Commission's website here.

4. Storage period

Markant will only process and store your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the relevant purpose or in accordance with legal, regulatory or internal requirements. In certain cases, your personal data may be stored and processed beyond the termination of the business relationship, in particular for compliance purposes, to fulfil legal and regulatory requirements or if this is in Markant's legitimate interest.

As a rule, Markant stores your personal data for a period of up to ten years after the end of the business relationship due to legal regulations and taking into account the statutory limitation period during which claims can be asserted against Markant. After this period has expired, Markant will only continue to store your personal data if there is a legal obligation to retain it, if there are still outstanding claims or complaints that make further storage reasonably necessary, or if this is necessary for regulatory reasons. 

5. Your data protection rights

If the applicable requirements are met and no exceptions apply, you have the following rights:

• Right of access (art. 15 GDPR)
• Right to rectification and updating of your personal data if it is incorrect (art. 16 GDPR)
• Right to erasure ("right to be forgotten", art. 17 GDPR)
• Right to restriction of data processing (art. 18 GDPR)
• Right to data portability (art. 20 GDPR)
• Right to object: If Markant processes your data on the basis of art. 6(1)(f) GDPR (art. 21(1) GDPR) or if Markant processes your data for direct marketing purposes (art. 21(2) GDPR), you can declare your objection at any time by sending a message todatenschutz(at)markant.com or by clicking on the unsubscribe link in the corresponding e-mail. In the event of cancellation, your data will no longer be processed for the corresponding purposes with effect for the future.

If the data processing is based on your consent, you can revoke your consent at any time with effect for the future.

Please note the following information:

In order to process an enquiry, Markant will usually ask you to prove your identity and/or provide information that will help Markant to better understand your enquiry. If Markant does not fulfil your request, Markant will explain the reasons for this.

To exercise your rights, you can contact datenschutz(at)markant.com or the address of the Markant Group company concerned . 

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the competent data protection authority. Please see the contact details of the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner of Switzerland (FDPIC) here and the contact details of the German data protection authorities here.

6. Status of this Privacy Notice

This Privacy Notice was last updated in July 2025. Markant reserves the right to change it from time to time. Any changes or updates to this Privacy Notice will be made available to you here.

Please note that this English translation of our Privacy Notice is for informational purposes only. In case of any inconsistencies between the English and the German version, the German version shall be legally binding and shall prevail.

Please visit the Markant website regularly to familiarise yourself with the Privacy Notice.