Privacy policy

We only collect the information you provide to us voluntarily through our contact form :

We use the information collected through the contact form exclusively for:

We do not sell, trade or rent your personal data to third parties.

We take the security of your personal data seriously and implement appropriate measures to protect it:

Technical safeguards

• Encryption of data in transit and at rest
• Secure servers and database protection
• Regular security updates and patches
• Access controls and authentication systems
• Network security monitoring

Organisational safeguards

• Staff training on data protection
• Limited access to personal data on a need-to-know basis
• Regular security audits and assessments
• Incident response procedures

You have a number of rights regarding your personal data:

Your rights under the GDPR

Communication preferences

• Unsubscribe from marketing communication at any time
• Choose your preferred communication channels
• Update your preferences for how often we get in touch

We keep your contact form data only for as long as it is needed to handle your enquiry:

As a rule, our website uses no external third-party services. The exception is YouTube videos, which you can load on some product pages with your explicit consent :

This section applies to our web application Cloud-Platform (appv1.flowcontrol.de), registered with Google as “Flowcontrol - Cloud-Platform”, and its module “Reviews”. It describes which data we obtain from Google services (“Google user data”) and how we use, store, share and delete it. All other processing in the Cloud-Platform is described in our Cloud-Platform privacy notice.

10.1 Who connects, and on whose behalf we act

The module is used by car wash operators that have concluded a contract for the Cloud-Platform with Flowcontrol by Florian Hofmann. An administrator of the operator signs in through Google’s sign-in procedure (OAuth) with the Google Account that manages the business’s Google Business Profile. In doing so, they grant permission to manage the Google Business Profile (https://www.googleapis.com/auth/business.manage). We do not request any other Google permission.

For the review data, the respective operator is the controller within the meaning of the GDPR. Flowcontrol by Florian Hofmann processes it as a processor (Art. 28 GDPR) solely on its instructions.

10.2 Which Google user data we access

• From the connected Google Account: the account ID and display name, and for the Business Profiles managed by the account: name, ID, store code, Place ID and the link for leaving a review. In addition, an access key (OAuth token) with which we access the Google interface on the operator’s behalf.
• For the Business Profiles that the operator maps to one of its sites: all reviews, including existing ones, each with the reviewer’s display name, star rating, review text (original and, where Google provides it, Google’s translation), time of creation and update, the business’s existing reply with its moderation status at Google, and the number and average of reviews. We do not take over profile pictures.

We do not access any other profile data, for example no posts, photos, questions and answers, opening hours, user or owner data. We change nothing on the Business Profile except replies to reviews.

10.3 What we use the data for

Exclusively for features that the operator sees and uses in the Cloud-Platform:

• displaying, filtering and searching reviews in an inbox;
• classifying reviews by topic, area (tunnel car wash, self-service bay) and sentiment, and flagging reviews that allege vehicle damage;
• creating draft replies. For the classification and the drafts, a self-hosted language model on a server in Germany processes the review text and the rating, and for the salutation in the draft also the reviewer’s display name. There is no external AI provider involved;
• publishing, editing or deleting replies on behalf of the business. This only happens at the instigation of an authorised user of the operator or, if the operator has separately and explicitly switched it on, automatically within the scope it has set. Reviews alleging vehicle damage are never answered automatically;
• notifying users of the operator who have switched this on by email about new reviews (rating and an excerpt of up to 180 characters, without the reviewer’s name);
• showing statistics per site of the operator (count, average, reply rate).

We do not use Google user data for advertising, do not sell it, do not build profiles of individual reviewers, do not analyse it across operators and do not use it to train AI models.

10.4 Where and for how long we store the data

The data is kept in our database at Hetzner Online GmbH in Germany. It is stored and transmitted in encrypted form. We additionally encrypt the OAuth access key (AES-256-GCM) and use it only on our server.

• If a person deletes their review on Google, we remove the name, text, draft reply, reply text and internal notes within eight days at the latest. We keep the rating, date, classification and the fact that a reply was given for the statistics.
• Retention period: We delete names and texts 24 months after the review was received. Reviews that allege vehicle damage or are linked to a damage claim are kept until three years after the end of the year in which they were received. We keep the rating, date and classification for the statistics for as long as the contract runs.
• Deletion requests: If a reviewer requests deletion, the operator can immediately delete the name, text, draft, reply text and notes of that review in our system. The review on Google is not affected; only the person themselves can delete it there.
• If the operator disconnects, we no longer retrieve reviews for that site. If it was the last connection of that Google Account, we delete the access key and revoke it with Google. We delete names and texts of reviews already retrieved after 30 days unless the site is reconnected by then.
• When the contract ends, we delete all data of the module within 30 days. Encrypted backups are overwritten within a maximum of 90 days after that.
• Log: We keep a record of who published, edited or deleted which reply and when, and who authorised the connection or the automatic replies, for 4 years as evidence for the operator and towards Google. Where we use these records for our own purposes, the legal basis is our legitimate interest (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).

10.5 Who we share data with

• With Google, as far as necessary to publish, edit or delete replies.
• With service providers, which we use as processors: Hetzner Online GmbH (hosting, Germany) and Google (email delivery via Google Workspace; the notifications contain the rating and an excerpt, transfer to the USA possible). The language model runs on a computer in Germany, without an external AI provider.
• With authorities or courts where the law requires us to.

We do not share Google user data beyond this. Our staff only view review content, namely if the operator asks us to in a specific case (for example in support), if it is necessary to investigate a security incident or error, or if the law requires it.

10.6 Revoking access and requesting deletion

• In the Cloud-Platform: Einstellungen › Bewertungen › Verknüpfung › „Trennen“ (Settings › Reviews › Connection › Disconnect; the application is in German).
• In your Google Account: at myaccount.google.com/permissions, entry “Flowcontrol - Cloud-Platform”. This ends our access immediately.
• Deletion or access: with the respective operator as controller or with us at datenschutz@flowcontrol.de. We forward requests from reviewers to the operator without delay and support it in responding.

10.7 Compliance with Google’s policies

Google and Google Business Profile are trademarks of Google LLC. Flowcontrol by Florian Hofmann is not a partner of Google and is not sponsored by Google.

As a German company we process your data in principle in Germany or the EU:

For our Cloud-Platform: login (Firebase Authentication), email delivery (Google Workspace) and push notifications (Firebase Cloud Messaging) run via Google; data may be transferred to the USA in the process. The legal basis is the EU-US Data Privacy Framework (Art. 45 GDPR) and the European Commission’s standard contractual clauses (Art. 46 GDPR). Details are set out in section 10 and in the Cloud-Platform privacy notice.

We may update this privacy policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements or other factors. When we make changes, we will:

• update the “last updated” date at the top of this policy
• notify you of material changes by email or by a notice on the website
• give you reasonable time to review the changes

We encourage you to review this privacy policy regularly to stay informed about how your information is protected.

If you have questions, concerns or requests regarding this privacy policy or our data protection practices, please contact us:

We undertake to address your concerns and to protect your data protection rights in accordance with applicable data protection law.