Many of our financial advisors offer you the option of contacting them via modern messenger services such as WhatsApp, Signal, or Telegram. These communication channels are convenient, fast, and have become an integral part of everyday life for many people. They are particularly suitable for short queries, scheduling appointments, or general organizational matters.

Please note, however, that for data protection reasons, our financial advisors are required not to exchange any confidential or contract-related information via messenger services. This includes, in particular, personal documents, offer, application, and contract data. For such content, we provide you with secure communication platforms such as MeineApp or our customer portal.

 

Principles of data processing when using messenger services

When you contact your financial advisor via a messenger service, personal data is processed. This usually includes your phone number, the name stored in the messenger, a profile picture if applicable, as well as the content, time, and technical transmission data of the messages.

Your financial advisor will process this data exclusively for the purpose of handling your request and only for as long as is necessary to do so. The legal basis for this is the legitimate interest in fast and efficient communication in accordance with Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR. If you voluntarily provide personal data, it will be processed on the basis of your consent in accordance with Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR.

The financial advisor with whom you contact is responsible within the meaning of Art. 4 No. 7 GDPR. Deutsche Vermögensberatung AG, Allfinanz Deutsche Vermögensberatung AG, and Allfinanz Aktiengesellschaft DVAG are not part of this communication and have no access to the content or metadata of messages sent via Messenger.

Your chat histories will be deleted by your financial advisor as soon as your request has been processed or storage is no longer necessary. No further evaluation or analysis will be carried out. You can terminate the messenger communication at any time and alternatively contact your financial advisor by telephone, email, or post.

Despite modern encryption methods, so-called metadata (e.g., time and recipient of a message) is usually processed. This data is not visible to us or your financial advisor, but is used by the respective provider to provide the service. We have no influence on the processing by the providers themselves.

 

Service-specific information

 

WhatsApp

When using WhatsApp, your messages are transmitted via the servers of WhatsApp Ireland Limited, 4 Grand Canal Square, Grand Canal Harbour, Dublin 2, Ireland, a subsidiary of Meta Platforms Inc. WhatsApp uses end-to-end encryption, which means that the content of messages cannot be viewed. However, WhatsApp processes metadata, including phone numbers, timestamps, and device information.

WhatsApp may transfer data to third countries, in particular to the US. This is based on the Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) of the EU Commission. Despite these safeguards, there may be a residual risk that US authorities will access data. For more information, please refer to WhatsApp's privacy policy at: https://www.whatsapp.com/legal/privacy-policy-eea

 

Threema

When using Threema, your messages are transmitted via the servers of Threema GmbH, Churerstrasse 82, 8808 Pfäffikon, Switzerland. Threema offers complete end-to-end encryption for all message content as standard, meaning that neither Threema nor third parties have access to the content of communications. No personal data such as telephone numbers or email addresses are required to use the service; identification is based on a randomly generated Threema ID.

Threema stores as little metadata as possible and deletes it after the message has been delivered. The servers are located in Switzerland, a country with a high level of data protection that is recognized as adequate by the EU. For more information, please refer to Threema's privacy policy at: https://threema.ch/privacy

 

Signal

When using Signal, your messages are transmitted via the servers of Signal Messenger LLC, 650 Castro Street, Suite 120-223, Mountain View, CA 94041, USA. Signal is designed so that message content is fully end-to-end encrypted and even Signal itself has no access to its content.

Signal only stores a small amount of technical metadata, such as the time of last use, and deletes this regularly. Here, too, technical data may be transmitted to the USA, although Signal claims to guarantee a high level of data protection. For more information, please refer to Signal's privacy policy at: https://signal.org/legal/

 

Telegram

When using Telegram, messages are transmitted via the servers of Telegram FZ-LLC, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Telegram is a cloud-based service in which messages are stored on the provider's servers by default and synchronized across multiple devices. Only in so-called “secret chats” does true end-to-end encryption take place.

In addition to message content, Telegram also processes technical metadata and users' phone numbers. Since the servers are distributed worldwide, transmissions to third countries without an adequate level of data protection may occur. To the best of our knowledge, there are no EU standard contractual clauses with Telegram.

For more information, please refer to Telegram's privacy policy at: https://telegram.org/privacy

 

Your rights and contact details

You have the right to information, correction, deletion, restriction of processing, data portability, and objection at any time in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation. Further information on this and on your right to lodge a complaint can be found at: www.datenschutz.dvag.

If you have any questions about data protection or exercising your rights, please contact datenschutz@dvag.com or

Deutsche Vermögensberatung AG
Datenschutzbeauftragter
Wilhelm-Leuschner-Straße 24
60329 Frankfurt am Main

Germany.