Privacy Policy

Data Controller (Responsible Party)

Responsible for data processing according to Art. 4 No. 7 GDPR:
Tillmann Bedau
Ebertplatz 10
50668 Köln
Germany
Email: [email protected]

Data Protection Officer: Due to the limited scope and nature of data processing, no separate data protection officer is required. For privacy inquiries, please contact the data controller directly.

Nature and Scope of Data Processing

Blue Book Search is a private, non-commercial interface that helps users search for and browse tumor entities in the WHO Classification of Tumours. The service processes only the minimum personal data necessary to provide this service. All data processing activities have a lawful basis under GDPR and are conducted with appropriate safeguards.

Personal Data Collection and Legal Basis

Data Storage and Processing Location

Primary Data Storage: Your account data is stored and processed by Supabase (Supabase Inc.), with servers located in Frankfurt, Germany (AWS eu-central-1 region). This ensures your data remains within the European Union and is subject to GDPR protection.

Server Infrastructure: The service is hosted on Hetzner servers located in Germany. Redis is used for caching and Typesense for search functionality, both self-hosted on German servers.

Email Services: Transactional emails (verification, password reset) are sent via Resend, integrated with Supabase's authentication system.

CDN and Security: Cloudflare is used for DNS, DDoS protection, and static file caching. Cloudflare temporarily processes request data according to their privacy policy.

Authentication: Google OAuth processes your login data according to Google's privacy policy. Blue Book Search receives only basic profile information (email, name, profile picture) necessary for account creation.

Cookies and Similar Technologies

The service uses cookies and similar technologies only for essential website functionality and privacy-compliant analytics.

Cookie Management: You can disable cookies in your browser settings, though this may affect website functionality. Essential cookies cannot be disabled while using the service.

Your Rights Under GDPR

As a data subject under GDPR, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Right of access (Art. 15 GDPR): Request information about your personal data and receive a copy
• Right to rectification (Art. 16 GDPR): Correct inaccurate or incomplete personal data
• Right to erasure (Art. 17 GDPR): Request deletion of your personal data ("right to be forgotten")
• Right to restrict processing (Art. 18 GDPR): Limit how the service processes data under certain circumstances
• Right to data portability (Art. 20 GDPR): Receive your data in a machine-readable format
• Right to object (Art. 21 GDPR): Object to processing based on legitimate interests
• Right to withdraw consent: Where processing is based on consent, withdraw it at any time

How to Exercise Your Rights: Send requests to [email protected]. The data controller will respond within one month of receiving the request.

Right to Lodge a Complaint: You have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. For users in Germany, the competent authority is your state's data protection authority. For this service, complaints can be filed with the Landesbeauftragte für Datenschutz und Informationsfreiheit Nordrhein-Westfalen (LDI NRW) or the Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (BfDI).

Automated Decision-Making and Profiling

No Automated Decision-Making: Blue Book Search does not engage in any automated decision-making processes that produce legal effects or significantly affect users, as defined in GDPR Article 22. The service does not use algorithms to make decisions about users that would impact their rights or access to services.

No Profiling: The service does not create user profiles or engage in profiling activities. User accounts contain only basic authentication information (email, optional name fields) and do not track search history, preferences, behavior patterns, or any other data that could be used to profile users.

Search Functionality: The search functionality provided by Typesense operates on tumor entity data only and does not analyze or process user behavior. Search results are determined solely by text matching algorithms applied to medical classification data, not user profiling.

Analytics Processing: The anonymous analytics data collected through Plausible Analytics is aggregated and statistical only. It does not identify individual users and is not used for automated decision-making, profiling, or targeting.

Data Retention and Deletion

Personal data is retained only as long as necessary for the purposes outlined in this privacy policy:

• Account data: Retained only while your account is active
• Anonymous analytics: Usage events automatically deleted after 2 years, content statistics after 3 years
• Server logs: Contain IP addresses for security purposes (retention period determined by hosting provider)
• Plausible Analytics: Anonymous website statistics retained indefinitely (no personal data)

Account Deletion: You can delete your account at any time through your account settings. Upon account deletion:

• Your personal account data (email, name, profile picture) is immediately deleted from Supabase
• Anonymous analytics data remains until its automatic deletion period expires (2-3 years) as it contains no personal information and cannot be linked to you
• No other user-related data exists in the system

Data Security Measures

The service implements appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect personal data against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction:

• End-to-end encryption for data transmission (HTTPS/TLS)
• Encrypted data storage with regular security updates
• Access controls and authentication mechanisms
• Regular security monitoring and logging
• Minimal data collection principle

Third-Party Services

This service integrates with the following third-party services:

• Google OAuth: Authentication only — processes login data per Google's privacy policy
• Supabase (Supabase Inc.): User authentication and anonymous analytics storage
  • Location: Frankfurt, Germany (AWS eu-central-1 region) — GDPR compliant
  • Legal basis: Data Processing Agreement (DPA) with Standard Contractual Clauses
  • Data processed: Email addresses, authentication tokens, hashed user event data
  • Safeguards: Comprehensive DPA signed ensuring GDPR compliance, EU hosting, data encryption, access controls
  • International transfers: Supabase Inc. (Singapore) processes data as data processor under Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the European Commission
  • User rights: Access, deletion, or correction of data can be requested through the data controller
• Resend: Transactional email delivery via Supabase (email verification, password reset) — covered under Supabase Data Processing Agreement
• Hetzner: Server hosting infrastructure (Germany)
• Cloudflare (Cloudflare Inc.): DNS, DDoS protection, and static file caching
  • Location: Global network with data processing primarily in EU
  • Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR) for security and performance
  • Data processed: IP addresses, request headers, cached content, security logs
  • Safeguards: Cloudflare's Data Processing Agreement and Standard Contractual Clauses
  • International transfers: Cloudflare operates globally but provides GDPR-compliant safeguards
  • Retention: Temporary processing for security and caching purposes
  • User rights: Contact the data controller to exercise rights regarding data processed by Cloudflare
• Self-hosted services (no external data sharing):
  • Plausible Analytics CE (website analytics)
  • Typesense (search functionality)
  • Redis (caching)
  • Traefik (reverse proxy)
• Static libraries: HTMX, Chart.js, Alpine.js, TailwindCSS, Lucide (served locally, no external requests)
• External links: WHO Classification of Tumours online platform (separate privacy policies apply)

Data Processing: External processors (Supabase, Google, Resend, Cloudflare) meet GDPR standards. All other services are self-hosted on German servers, ensuring complete data control and EU jurisdiction.

Contact and Privacy Inquiries

For any privacy-related questions, to exercise your rights, or to report privacy concerns, please contact:

Data Controller:
Tillmann Bedau
Email: [email protected]
Subject: "[Blue Book Search] Privacy Inquiry"

Privacy inquiries will be responded to within one month of receipt. For urgent security matters, please mark your email as "Urgent - Security."

Changes to This Privacy Policy

This privacy policy may be updated from time to time to reflect changes in practices, technology, legal requirements, or other factors. Any material changes will be clearly indicated and, where required by law, user consent will be obtained.

Notification of Changes: Significant privacy policy changes will be communicated by posting a notice on the website. For material changes affecting data processing, users may also be notified via email. The "Last updated" date at the bottom of this policy indicates when the most recent changes were made.

Applicable Law and Jurisdiction

This privacy policy and all related data processing activities are governed by German data protection law and the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Any disputes shall be subject to the jurisdiction of German courts.