Last Updated: May 2026
 

1. Privacy at a Glance

Wurzelhelden e.V. takes the protection of your personal data very seriously. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and safeguard your personal information when you visit our website www.growourplanet.com, use our international services, or make a donation.

We process your personal data in strict compliance with the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and applicable local data protection laws.

2. Controller (Data Controller)

The entity responsible for processing data on this website under data protection law is:

Wurzelhelden e.V.

Röderweg 3

54657 Neidenbach

Germany

E-mail: wurzelhelden@gmail.com

3. Data Infrastructure & Web Hosting (Wix)

Our website is built on and hosted by the Wix platform. The provider is Wix.com Ltd., 40 Namal Tel Aviv St., Tel Aviv 63506, Israel ("Wix").

When you browse our website, interact with our forms, or submit a donation, your personal data (including IP addresses, technical metadata, and contact details) is processed on Wix's global servers. Wix utilizes secure cloud infrastructure located worldwide, including in Europe and the United States.

• Legal Basis: We utilize Wix based on Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR (our legitimate interest in providing a secure, fast, and professionally managed website).

• International Transfers: Data transfers to Wix are protected via the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework and the European Commission’s Adequacy Decision for Israel, ensuring a level of data protection equivalent to EU standards.

4. Consent Management & Cookie Policy

This website uses the integrated cookie consent banner provided by Wix to manage your privacy preferences.

• Technically Necessary Cookies: Essential cookies required for core website security, system stability, and processing your donation checkout are loaded automatically based on § 25(2) TTDSG / local implementations of the ePrivacy Directive.

• Consent-Based Cookies: Analytics, marketing, or tracking scripts will only load if you explicitly grant your consent via our cookie banner (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR / § 25(1) TTDSG). You can modify or withdraw your consent at any time via the cookie settings link in our website footer.

5. Web Analytics (Google Analytics 4)

If you grant your consent through our cookie banner, this website triggers Google Analytics 4 (GA4), a web analysis service provided by Google Ireland Limited ("Google"), Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland.

• Purpose: To understand user behavior, optimize our website layout, and evaluate the performance of our global reforestation campaigns.

• IP Anonymization: We have configured GA4 to automatically mask and anonymize your IP address before any data is stored or transmitted outside the EU.

• Drittstaaten-Transfer (Third-Country Transfers): While data is managed by Google Ireland, aggregated info may be transferred to Google LLC in the United States. Please note that US data laws do not naturally mirror the EU's strict privacy standards. By opting into "Statistics" in our cookie banner, you explicitly consent to this cross-border transfer (Art. 49(1)(a) GDPR).

• Legal Basis: Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR. You can opt-out at any time by clearing your browser cache or using Google’s official opt-out add-on: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

6. Donation Processing

When you make a donation to support our reforestation projects, we collect personal details necessary to fulfill the donation transaction (such as your name, donation amount, and email address).

• Payment Gateways: To process your donation securely, financial data is transmitted directly to external payment gateways (e.g., Stripe Payments Europe Ltd. or PayPal Europe S.à r.l.). Wurzelhelden e.V. does not store your credit card numbers or raw bank credentials on our own servers.

• Legal Basis: Processing is necessary for the performance of the donation contract (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR) and to comply with statutory non-profit bookkeeping and tax regulations under German law (Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR).

7. Embedded Media (YouTube)

We embed videos from YouTube (provided by Google Ireland Limited). To protect your privacy, we configure all video embeds using YouTube’s "Advanced Privacy Mode" (erweiterter Datenschutzmodus). This ensures that YouTube does not place tracking cookies on your device or collect data about your viewing habits unless you actively click the "Play" button.

• Legal Basis: Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR (Consent triggered upon playing the asset).

8. Your Legal Rights under GDPR

As a data subject, you hold the following absolute rights regarding your personal information under the GDPR:

• Right of Access (Art. 15): The right to receive a copy of your personal data held by us.

• Right to Rectification (Art. 16): The right to correct inaccurate data.

• Right to Erasure / "Right to be Forgotten" (Art. 17): The right to demand deletion of your data.

• Right to Restriction of Processing (Art. 18) & Data Portability (Art. 20).

• Right to Object (Art. 21): The right to object to data processing carried out based on our legitimate interests.

• Right to Withdraw Consent (Art. 7(3)): The right to revoke your opt-in permissions instantly.

To exercise any of these rights, please email us directly at the address listed in Section 2. You also have the right to lodge a formal complaint with a competent data protection supervisory authority.