Privacy policy

Overview

On this site I only collect personal data that is technically required to operate the site, or that you actively provide (e. g. via the contact form). This policy describes in detail what data arises and how it is handled.

Data controller

Elke Mühlhoff, Zeppelinstraße 3, 47053 Duisburg, Germany. Contact: contact form, email contact@em-foto-design.de, phone +49 178 6566972.

Cookies

I set two strictly-necessary first-party cookies: emfoto-consent-v1 (1-year lifetime) remembers your cookie choice; ef-sess (30-day lifetime) is an opaque random token used only to deduplicate my own, consent-free page-view count (see “Own reach measurement”). Consent-based services (Google Analytics, Google Maps) are only loaded after your explicit consent — until then, no consent-based cookies are set.

Own reach measurement (no Google, no personal data)

To see which pages are viewed how often, I store one server-side row per page view with the page path, language, a timestamp and a dedup hash. The dedup hash is derived from the ef-sess token, the path and the date; this way I don't double-count repeat views by the same visitor on the same day. I store no IP address, no user agent and no referrer; your identity cannot be reconstructed from the data. Legal basis: Art. 6 (1) lit. f GDPR (legitimate interest in privacy-friendly reach measurement) and § 25 (2) no. 2 TDDDG for the strictly-necessary ef-sess cookie. This count is independent of Google Analytics and runs without consent because it processes no personal data.

Contact form

When you use the contact form, the data you enter (name, email address, optional phone number, message) is sent to me by email. The legal basis is Art. 6 (1) lit. b GDPR (preparation of a contract) or lit. f (legitimate interest in answering your enquiry). The data is deleted once your enquiry has been dealt with, unless legal retention obligations apply.

Hosting

This website is hosted as part of the CARECOM® infrastructure (CARECOM Consulting Harald Mühlhoff, Hochstraße 13, 58300 Wetter, Germany). Server log files (IP address, timestamp, requested URL, browser identifier) arise for technical reasons, are automatically deleted after 14 days and are not combined with other data. A data processing agreement pursuant to Art. 28 GDPR is in place.

Analytics (Google Analytics 4)

After your explicit consent via the cookie banner, Google Analytics 4 is loaded (provider: Google Ireland Ltd., Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland). Recorded anonymously: pages visited, time on page, approximate region (via IP address — the IP is truncated before storage), device and browser type. No personal identification takes place; I use the data only to see which content resonates. Legal basis: Art. 6 (1) lit. a GDPR (consent). You can revoke consent at any time via the cookie banner; the related cookies will then no longer be set on the next page load. Google's privacy policy: policies.google.com/privacy.

Google Maps

A map from Google Maps (Google Ireland Ltd., Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland) can be embedded on the contact page. The map is loaded only after your explicit consent — until then you'll see a placeholder. Once activated, your browser opens a direct connection to Google's servers; data such as your IP address, the page (referrer) and browser information are transmitted to Google. Legal basis: Art. 6 (1) lit. a GDPR (consent). Google's privacy policy: policies.google.com/privacy.

Images and image rights

All photographs published on this website are protected by copyright and — unless otherwise stated — were taken by Elke Mühlhoff. People shown in the portfolio images have consented to publication. Please contact me if you wish to withdraw your consent.

Your rights

You have the right to information, rectification, erasure, restriction of processing, data portability and objection, as well as the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority (for North Rhine-Westphalia: State Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information North Rhine-Westphalia). For requests, please use the contact form any time.