Privacy policy

We are pleased that you are interested in the Schaeffler Group (Schaeffler AG and affiliated companies) and in our products. When using our online services, the protection of your privacy is of great importance. When personal data is processed, we observe the applicable data protection regulations.

1. General information on data processing

1.1. Scope and purpose of processing personal data

We collect and use your personal data only to the extent necessary for a functional website and to provide our content and services. The processing of your personal data is done based on your consent or to the extent that the legal regulations also allow such data processing without consent.

1.2. Legal basis for data processing

Your personal data is processed based on the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Directive and other legal provisions, including the German Data Protection Act (BDSG).

1.2.1. Consent art. 6(1) point a of the AVG

If you have given us consent to process personal data for specific purposes, Article 6(1) point a of the GDPR serves as the legal basis for processing personal data. This consent may be withdrawn by you at any time. Please note that the revocation only applies to the future. Processing that took place before the revocation is not affected by it.

1.2.2. Pre-contractual and contractual measures art. 6(1) point b of the AVG

The processing of personal data in the context of the performance of contracts to which you are a party or for the performance of pre-contractual measures that take place at your request is carried out on the basis of Art. 6 paragraph 1 point b of the GDPR. The purposes of data processing are based on the respective contract documents and the subject matter of the contract.

1.2.3. Legal obligation art. 6 paragraph 1 point a of the AVG

Insofar as the processing of personal data is necessary for the fulfilment of a legal obligation incumbent on our company, art. 6 paragraph 1 point c of the AVG serves as the legal basis.

1.2.4. Legitimate interests Art. 6 para. 1 point f of the AVG

If the data processing is necessary to protect a legitimate interest of Schaeffler or a third party (e.g. to file legal claims and defence in legal disputes; to ensure IT security; to prevent criminal offences; for measures for business operation and further development of services and products) and the interests, fundamental rights and fundamental freedoms of you as a data subject do not outweigh the former interest, art. 6 para. 1 point f of the AVG serves as the legal basis for the processing.

1.3. Deletion and retention period of data

We process and retain your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the relevant purpose.

When your data is no longer needed to fulfil the purpose of data processing, it will be erased, unless such erasure is in conflict with legal retention requirements. Data that you gave us when you gave your marketing consent will be erased in the event of a revocation no later than after two months; in all other cases, we will erase the history of our marketing communications with you no later than after 5 years.

1.4. Access to personal data within the Schaeffler Group and by third parties

Within the Schaeffler Group, departments are granted access to your data when they need it within the framework of "least privilege" (assignment of user rights to the lowest possible extent) and the principle of "need-to-know" (knowledge of data only when necessary).

Data may only be passed on to third parties outside the Schaeffler Group if this is necessary, if it is required by law, if you have given your consent, or if processors on our behalf have contractually undertaken to comply with the requirements of the GDPR and the BDSG.

Under these conditions, recipients of personal data may include the following: Internal departments responsible for processing your data, as well as service providers, if necessary.

1.5. Transfer of personal data to a third country or to an international organisation

A data transfer to countries outside the EU/EEA (so-called third countries) takes place only when necessary or required by law, when you have given us your consent or within the scope of order processing. When service providers in third countries are used, in addition to written instructions, they are also bound by the agreement of the EU model contract provisions on compliance with the level of data protection in Europe.

1.6. IT security and links to third party websites

The Schaeffler Group uses technical and organisational security measures to protect your data administered by us against accidental or deliberate destruction, manipulation, loss or access by unauthorised persons. These security measures are constantly being further developed in accordance with the respective new technical possibilities.

Our websites may contain links to websites of other providers. Our data protection information does not apply to these websites.

1.7. Obligation to provide personal data

In connection with the conclusion of contracts you must provide the personal data required for the conclusion, execution and termination of the contract and to fulfil the obligations arising therefrom, or which Schaeffler is legally obliged to collect.

On this Website we offer you services which you may use voluntarily. If you do not provide your personal data, you may not be able to use our services.

1.8. "Profiling" and automated decision-making

We do not use fully automated decision-making in accordance with Art. 22 of the AVG. Schaeffler generally does not use "profiling". Should we nevertheless make use of this in individual cases, we will inform you separately to the extent required by law and, if necessary, seek your prior consent for this.

1.9. Sources of your personal data

We use data we receive from you through personal contact, registration/subscription forms or social media channels.

2. Data processing procedures when providing the website and creating log files

When you visit our website, by default our web servers record and collect the name of your internet service provider, your IP address, the website from which you visit us, the websites you visit with us and the date and duration of your visit. This data is stored in the log files of our systems and is used for problem or error analysis. However, the use of the IP address is limited to the technically necessary extent and is shortened and thus only used anonymously, so that an assignment of the IP address to a user is not possible.

The temporary retention of the shortened IP address by our systems is technically necessary to enable the delivery of the website to your end device. The data is stored in log files to ensure the functionality of the website. An evaluation of the data for marketing purposes does not take place in this context.

The legal basis for this data processing lies in our legitimate interest in data processing in accordance with Article 6(1) point f of the AVG.

The collection of data for making the website available and the storage of data in log files is absolutely necessary for the operation of the website. Consequently, there is no possibility of revocation for you as a user.

3. Data processing in services offered on the website

Various services are offered on our website, the use of which may require personal data from you.

3.1. Data processing in the context of marketing activities (DOI, tracking)

We want to provide you with information that is as individually tailored to your interests as possible. In order for you to use this service, we need personal information from you, such as your name, email address, company and/or telephone number, which you may provide to us via a registration form on one of our registration pages, as well as your combined consent

  • for sending personalised advertisements and information (e.g. newsletters, invitations to trade fairs and events, information on products, services, offers and promotions, including polls and corporate communications) from the Schaeffler Group via e-mail, SMS and/or instant messenger services such as WhatsApp and
  • for tracking your user behaviour in connection with digital Schaeffler offers (when you have received and read emails sent by us; which sections, articles, products and other content on Schaeffler websites and in emails you have opened and when; which links in our emails on Schaeffler websites you have used and when; how you have interacted with our Services, e.g. whether you have participated in a webinar).

The collection of your data via the registration form serves to send the advertisements and information to you. For this purpose, we may also engage third parties (service providers) with whom a contract has been concluded for order processing, and transfer your data to these third parties. The tracking information of your user behaviour serves exclusively to send you information and advertisements tailored as far as possible to your individual interests.

Upon giving your consent and after submitting the registration form, you will receive a confirmation e-mail from us at the e-mail address you provided. The registration becomes effective only after you click on the link in the confirmation e-mail.

The legal basis for processing your personal data after registration is Art. 6(1) point a of the AVG.

The data are deleted as soon as they are no longer needed for the purpose for which they were collected. The data are therefore kept as long as the registration for the personalised advertising and information service is active. You have the possibility of revoking your consent to the processing of personal data at any time by sending an e-mail to unsubscribe@schaeffler.com or by clicking on the "Unsubscribe" link in your received messages with effect for the future and thereby unsubscribing from the service. In that case, all personal data stored during contact with us will be deleted, together with information about your user behaviour. The revocation of consent does not affect the lawfulness of the processing carried out on the basis of consent up to the time of revocation.

3.2. Use of our contact and request forms

The website provides contact and request forms that can be used to contact us electronically.

To use the contact forms, you must provide mandatory information in the corresponding input fields marked with an asterisk (e.g. your e-mail address). All other information is optional for you. This personal data is transmitted to the department of our company responsible for its processing, and it is stored in our systems. At the time of sending your message, the date and time of arrival are stored. Your consent is requested for data processing as part of the application process.

The data you provide in the input fields will be used exclusively to process your contact.

The legal basis for processing your personal data is Art. 6(1) point a of the AVG.

The data will be deleted as soon as the communication process is completed.

You have the option to withdraw your consent to the processing of personal data at any time by sending an e-mail. to  dataprivacy@schaeffler.com. In this case, all personal data stored during contact with us will be deleted with effect for the future. Depending on the time of your revocation, contact between you and us may no longer be possible.

Contact is also possible via the chatbots provided by us. The previous declarations on data processing also apply here. If you make use of them, the processing of your personal data is based on our legitimate interest in accordance with Article 6(1) point f of the AVG.

3.3. Data processing when registering for websites/parts of websites that are not public

Some of our websites or individual parts of our websites are access-protected. This means that you must register in advance to access and use the website or the relevant part of the website.

To register, you must enter the data marked as mandatory in a corresponding input field, e.g. your contact and address details and your user type. The date and time of your entry will be saved.

We use your data to manage your user account and to contact you as part of order processing and services. In addition, movement data may be collected on the website, which is used as a convenience feature to display a history of pages visited within the portal. The data is retained by us until you delete your user account.

3.4. Data processing on orders

You can order products, services and other promotions offered on our websites. To order, you must first enter your contact and address details in a corresponding input field (e.g. as part of a website registration). The date and time of your entry will be stored. Your personal data will be stored with us and transferred to our external service providers if necessary for delivery.

The legal basis for processing personal data is Art. 6(1) point b of the AVG.

Personal data will be stored with us until the ordering and shipping process is completed and there are no legal retention periods.

You have the option of revoking your consent to the processing of personal data provided to us in the context of an order at any time by sending an e-mail to dataprivacy@schaeffler.com. In this case, all personal data with effect in the future will be deleted, provided that the deletion does not violate any legal retention periods.

3.5. Data processing in connection with cookies, web beacons and local storage

3.5.1. Cookies

To ensure that you can use the website in the best possible way, we use cookies. Cookies are text files stored in the Internet browser or by the Internet browser on the user's end device. When a user visits a website, a cookie may be stored on the user's browser. This cookie contains a characteristic string of characters that allows unique identification of the browser when the website is called up again.

Below we inform you in general about the use of cookies on our website and the associated processing of personal data. For more information on specifically used cookies, please refer to Schaeffler'scookie policy, which is published on this website.

We use cookies to make our website more user-friendly. Some elements of our website require that the browser making the call can be identified, even after a page change.

In addition, we use cookies on our website that allow analysis of the user's browsing behaviour.

When visiting our website, the user is informed about the use of cookies, and is referred to this privacy policy.

Some functions of our website cannot be offered without the use of cookies. This requires browser recognition, even after a page change. User data collected by technically necessary cookies are not used to create user profiles. For more information, please refer to Schaeffler's cookie policy.

Analysis cookies are used to improve the quality of our website and its content. Through analysis cookies we learn how the website is used and can continuously optimise our offer. For more information, please refer to Schaeffler's cookie policy.

Cookies are stored on the user's end device and sent to our website. In this way, as a user, you also have full control over the use of cookies. You can disable or limit the sending of cookies by changing the settings of your internet browser. Already stored cookies can be deleted at any time. This can also take place automatically. If cookies are deactivated for our website, it is possible that not all functions of the website can be fully used anymore.

The legal basis for the use of necessary cookies is art. 6 paragraph 1 sentence 1 point b of the AVG. For the use of cookies for analysis or marketing purposes, the legal basis is art. 6 paragraph 1 sentence 1 point a of the AVG or art. 6 paragraph 1 sentence 1 point f of the AVG. Cookies are used for statistical and personalisation purposes in the further development and relevance of the website, and represent a legitimate interest of Schaeffler.

3.5.2. Web Beacons

Web beacons are small graphic files (also known as "tracking pixels", "pixel tags", or "clear GIFs") that may be embedded in our websites, apps, applications, and newsletters, and are typically used in conjunction with cookies. The above statements regarding cookies also apply to web beacons. Web beacons are particularly not used if you have objected to the use of the corresponding cookie.

The legal basis for the use of web beacons is Article 6(1)(f) of the GDPR. Web beacons are used for statistical and personalisation purposes in the further development and relevance of the website, representing a legitimate interest of Schaeffler.

3.5.3. Local Storage

We utilise the functionality of so-called local storage. Your data (basic data, status data, and programme data) is stored locally in your browser's cache. If you do not clear your browser's cache, this information will be retained and can be read during a subsequent visit to the website. By using local storage, we enable you to view your data correctly while browsing our website, without unnecessarily delaying this process or overloading interfaces.

If you do not wish to use local storage, you can configure this at any time in the settings of your respective browser. Please be aware that, in this case, the functionalities of our website may be available to you only to a limited extent or no longer at all.

The legal basis for the use of local storage is Article 6(1)(f) of the GDPR. Schaeffler’s legitimate interest in using local storage lies in speeding up processes and preventing system overload.

3.6. Data Processing Related to Social Media Networks

The following information in the privacy policy applies to the social media of the Schaeffler Group and third-party platforms:

  • X
  • LinkedIn
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • XING
  • WeChat
  • VKontakte
  • Facebook

The following statement regarding the processing of personal data exclusively pertains to processing by the Schaeffler Group itself. Providers of the mentioned social media platforms process personal data of registered users as well as non-registered visitors to their websites. They are responsible for this, and users or visitors should directly inquire with the social media providers about the processing of their personal data.

The legal department of the Schaeffler Group is responsible for data collection related to the aforementioned social media presence.

We collect and process personal data in the context of using our social media presence by the data subjects and may transfer your data for processing to an internal system.

3.6.1. Processing of Your Personal Data When You Contact Us

When you provide us with personal data by contacting us, for example, via email or through a direct message on social media, we process your data in accordance with Article 6(1)(b) of the GDPR, for the performance of the contract or pre-contractual measures that occur at your request. This may also be based on Article 6(1)(f) of the GDPR, on the basis of our legitimate interest in responding to your request. We process the data you provide us directly with your request. On social media, this includes your username, your photo, and the message you send us. It may also occur that we visit your public profile and retain data from it, to the extent necessary for the aforementioned purposes.

3.6.2. Processing of Personal Data by Schaeffler within Social Media Networks

In our social media presence, we receive messages about whether users have “liked”, found interesting, shared, recommended, or reacted to our posts (depending on the functions of the social media). Additionally, we can view a list of our respective followers or subscribers, and on platforms such as Xing, a list of visitors to our social media presence. We can also see when you leave reviews about our company, provided these reviews are linked to the respective social media presence.

The processing of this data is in accordance with Article 6(1)(f) of the GDPR, based on Schaeffler’s legitimate interest in providing users with targeted information about us and our services, for optimal management of our social media presence, and for effective communication with users. When users are asked by the respective social media network providers for consent for this data processing (e.g., by ticking a checkbox or confirming a corresponding button), the legal basis for the processing is Article 6(1)(a) of the GDPR.

3.6.3. Processing of Statistical Data within Social Media Networks

We also receive statistical evaluations from all social media providers regarding the use of our presence on social media. In addition to the information mentioned under 3.5.1, this may also include (depending on the provider) demographic data, but only in anonymised form, an anonymous analysis of the interaction and reach of our social media presence and posts, and anonymised information such as languages, interests, and end devices used by our users.

The processing of this data is carried out in accordance with Article 6(1)(f) of the GDPR, based on Schaeffler’s legitimate interest in providing users with targeted information about us and our services, for optimal organisation of our social media presence, and for effective communication with users. When users are asked for consent to this data processing by the respective social media network providers (e.g., by ticking a checkbox upon registration or confirming a corresponding button), the legal basis for the processing is Article 6(1)(a) of the GDPR.

3.6.4. Processing of Data for Advertising Purposes and Creation of User Profiles by Social Media Network Providers

The data referred to in 3.5.1 and 3.5.2 may also be processed for market research and advertising purposes. For example, this occurs when we place advertisements on the respective social media platforms. However, the data is processed by the respective providers. Please also note that they may create user profiles based on your user behaviour. These user profiles may, in turn, be used to place ads on and off the platforms that match your detected interest profile. For more information, please contact the social media providers.

Social media providers are not bound by our instructions but process your data on their own responsibility. Information about the providers and their contact details can be found on their websites. There, you will also find information about the processing of your personal data. We want to point out that your data may be processed by social media providers outside the European Union. This may pose risks to you, as for example, the enforcement of your rights may be more difficult. For more information, please contact the social media providers.

4. Your Rights as a Data Subject

When your personal data is processed, you are a data subject according to the provisions of the GDPR and you have the following rights with respect to us as the controller:

4.1. Right of Access (Article 15 GDPR)

You may ask us to confirm whether your personal data is being processed by us. If that is the case, you can request the information provided by law (see Article 15(1) GDPR) and about appropriate safeguards under Article 46 GDPR related to the transfer, when the personal data concerning you is transferred to a third country or to an international organisation. The restrictions under §§ 34 and 35 of the German Federal Data Protection Act apply.

4.2. Right to rectification (Art. 16 AVG)

You have a right vis-à-vis us to rectification and/or completion to the extent that personal data processed about you are incorrect or incomplete. We are obliged to make the correction immediately.

4.3. Right to restrict processing (Art. 18 AVG)

Under the legal provisions (see Art. 18(1) of the AVG), you can request that the processing of your personal data be restricted. Please refer to Art. 18 paragraphs 2 and 3 of the AVG for the consequences of the restriction.

4.4. Right to deletion (Art. 17 AVG)

You can ask us to delete the personal data concerning you immediately. In this case, we are obliged to delete this data immediately if one of the reasons according to Art. 17(1) of the AVG occurs. A right to deletion is not present in the cases of Art. 17 paragraph 3 of the AVG. Moreover, the restrictions according to §§ 34 and 35 of the German Personal Data Protection Act apply.

4.5. Right to information

If you have invoked the right to rectification, erasure of data or restriction of processing against us, we are obliged to inform all recipients to whom your personal data have been disclosed of the rectification, erasure of data or restriction of processing, unless this proves impossible or requires disproportionate effort. You have the right vis-à-vis us to be informed about these recipients.

4.6. Right to data portability (Art. 20 AVG)

You have the right to a structured, current and machine-readable format of the personal data concerning you that you have provided to us. For more details, please refer to Art. 20 of the AVG.

4.7. Right to object (Art. 21 AVG)

You have the right at any time, based on your specific situation, to object to the processing of personal data relating to you under Art. 6(1) point e or f of the AVG. For more details, please refer to Art. 21 of the AVG.

In addition, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the data protection supervisory authority in accordance with Art. 77 of the AVG, in conjunction with § 19 of the German Data Protection Act.

5. Name and address of the responsible party

6. Name and address of the data protection officer

Schaeffler AG
Data protection officer
Industriestraße 1-3
91074 Herzogenaurach
Germany

Release: Version 2.0, 10/2021