User Agreement for the Datapods Data Monetization Platform

Status: 11th February 2025

1. Preamble

In addition to the free Data Management Tool, Datapods GmbH (hereinafter “Datapods”) also provides you, the user (hereinafter “User” or “you”), with a platform within the Datapods App with which you grant Datapods the right to market your personal data to data licensees ("Data Monetization Platform"). You will be remunerated for this. In accordance with the following Terms and Conditions, the Data Monetization Platform offers the services listed in section 3 and, in particular, the following benefits:

• Overview of all categories of processing purposes for which data can be licensed from Datapods,
• Granular consent management and administration before and after the conclusion of Data License Agreements with third parties,
• When a contract is explicitly concluded with Datapods, the privacy-compliant sharing of your data or analytics based on your data for an appropriate remuneration.

Our mission with Datapods is to provide an app that enables you to regain control over your personal data, analyze it conveniently and gain valuable insights. This allows you to unlock the full potential of your data and, if you wish, participate in the value creation processes with this data.

Datapods places the highest value on data security and data protection and works in accordance with the strict requirements of the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG) and high security standards. You can find out more in the Privacy Policy for the Data Monetization Platform.

2. General information and scope of application

2.1 Datapods shall provide you with services within the Datapods App in accordance with these Terms and Conditions.

2.2 If Datapods offers the services offered to the User jointly with Cooperation Partners (see section 7), additional Terms of these Cooperation Partners shall apply where applicable.

2.3 By participating in the data marketing platform, you accept the General Terms and Conditions (“GTC”) in the version valid at the time the contract is concluded. The GTC supplement or replace the User Agreement for the Datapods App where the provisions conflict with each other and are exclusive to this contract. Any terms and conditions provided by you that conflict with or deviate from this User Agreement shall only become part of the contract if they are consistent with the content of these GTC or have been expressly acknowledged by Datapods in writing. This shall also apply if Datapods provides services to you without reservation in the knowledge of conflicting or deviating terms and conditions. The GTC can be accessed on our website.

3. Services of the Data Monetization Platform

The services of the Data Monetization Platform within the Datapods App are as follows:

• Comprehensive information and selection options regarding the processing purposes for which Data License Agreements can be concluded by Datapods with Cooperation Partners,
• Monetization of personal data in large Data Packages or Analysis Services to Cooperation Partners in return for a percentage-based remuneration. In doing so, Datapods will appropriately take into account your interest in the highest possible reimbursement, except in the case of Cooperation Partners for which deviations are specified (see e.g. section 4.4.1 Non-commercial research). Datapods is under no obligation to successfully incorporate your data into licensed Data Packages or Analysis Services and successful commercialization cannot be guaranteed,
• Ongoing provision of a possibility to assert the rights of data subjects in accordance with the GDPR against all data controllers, in particular the possibility of revoking the User Agreement and thus the valid processing basis before and during the Data Licensing Period,
• Providing support for you to answer your questions in accordance with this User Agreement and the separate Privacy Policy.

4. Processing purposes for Data Licensing

A prerequisite for the licensing of your data by Datapods is your explicit conclusion of a contract to participate in the Data Monetization Platform.

For the purposes of implementation, the data can only be exported to EU countries, countries with an adequacy decision by the EU Commission pursuant to Art. 45 para. 3 GDPR or by using the Standard Contractual Clauses to ensure the European level of data protection.

Licensing to our Cooperation Partners takes place for various purposes and therefore includes various modalities that you can choose freely:

4.1 Identification option:

4.1.1 Pseudonymized, i.e. the data is made available in such a way that it cannot be attributed to you as an individual person without additional information.

4.1.2 Pseudonymized with the possibility of re-identification, i.e. the data is made available in such a way that your contact data (e-mail address, phone number, MAID) cannot be used to contact you, but that the data from Datapods can be merged with existing customer data of the Cooperation Partner via its hash value.

4.1.3 Plain data, i.e. the data is made available in such a way that it can be directly assigned to you as an individual person.

4.2 Contact option:

4.2.1 No contact option, i.e. the data is made available in such a way that the Cooperation Partner is not allowed to contact you.

4.2.2 Personalized advertising, i.e. the data is made available in such a way that the Cooperation Partner can address you specifically in the context of online advertising without being able to use your contact data (address, telephone number) or being allowed to do so (hashed e-mail).

4.2.3 Direct advertising, i.e. the data is made available in such a way that the Cooperation Partner can contact you directly, e.g. as part of e-mail or telephone advertising. This requires additional voluntary consent from you for each transaction.

4.3 Special usage options:

4.3.1 Non-commercial use, i.e. when concluding Data Licensing Agreements with non-profit Cooperation Partners who want to use this data for non-profit research purposes, Datapods does not try to increase profit for you but to maximize positive social effects.

4.3.2 Special categories of personal data, i.e. the following data may be made available to Cooperation Partners,

• Ethnic origin,
• Political opinions,
• Religious or philosophical beliefs,
• Trade union membership,
• Genetic data,
• Biometric data for the purpose of uniquely identifying a natural person,
• Data concerning health,
• Data concerning a natural person’s sex life or sexual orientation.

This requires additional approval from you for each individual transaction.

4.3.3 Data Dividend, i.e. you will also receive a refund for the sale of Analysis Services for the creation of which your data was used, but for which your data was never passed on to Cooperation Partners and is therefore completely anonymized. The amount of the percentage reimbursement is variable, depending on the costs incurred by Datapods for the creation and distribution of the corresponding Analysis Service.

Access and availability of the Data Monetization Platform

5.1 In order to use the Data Monetization Platform, you must have a user account with Datapods and be of legal age and legally competent.

5.2 The provision of the services of the Data Monetization Platform also requires you to authenticate yourself to Datapods by verifying your phone number or email address and the mandatory (year of birth, gender, zip code) or voluntary (e.g. address) provision of certain master data. In addition, your authentication at the data interfaces of third-party companies is also required.

5.3 Datapods is allowed to change or modify the services of the Data Monetization Platform in accordance with section 14.2 of the User Agreement.

5.4 Datapods shall endeavour to make the Data Monetization Platform as part of the Datapods App available without interruptions. However, no liability can be accepted for temporary unavailability of the Datapods App. Datapods may temporarily restrict availability if this is necessary with regard to capacity limits, the security or integrity of the servers or to carry out technical maintenance or repair measures and this serves the proper or improved provision of the services (maintenance work). In these cases, Datapods shall take into account your legitimate interests, e.g. by providing advance information. The liability of Datapods due to fault in accordance with section 12 shall remain unaffected.

6. Conclusion of contract

By pressing the “Confirm preferences” button within the Datapods App, you submit a binding offer to conclude a contract for the processing of your data for analysis purposes and the monetization of your data via the Data Monetization Platform in accordance with this User Agreement and the separate Privacy Policy for the Data Monetization Platform by Datapods.

7. Monetization of Data Packages and Analysis Services to Cooperation Partners

7.1 Datapods markets your data to Cooperation Partners via the Data Monetization Platform. This may take the form of Data License Agreements in which personal data is passed on and in the form of Analysis Services without passing on personal data. Datapods reserves the right to expand or restrict the services offered at any time in accordance with section 14.2.

7.2 The contracts for the Data License are concluded by Datapods with the Cooperation Partners in its own name and for its own account. Datapods does not broker any contracts or commercial relationships between you and Cooperation Partners.

7.3 Your rights and obligations in relation to the monetization services are set out in this User Agreement. The specific contractual terms for the Data License between Datapods and the Cooperation Partner will be made available to you within the Datapods App before the conclusion of a Data License Agreement.

7.4 If a Cooperation Partner is interested in acquiring more data from you than the data they have access to according to your monetization settings, we will notify you of the offer and the possible amount of your remuneration so that you can make a change to your settings or grant an individual exception.

7.5 You can stop the processing of your data by Datapods or the Cooperation Partners of Datapods at any time by informal termination or informal revocation. You can find out more about this in sections 10 and 11.

7.6 Datapods shall comply with its statutory information and clarification obligations towards you in accordance with this User Agreement.

8. Your cooperation and other obligations

8.1 You are obliged to provide reasonable co-operation in the use of the services of the Data Monetization Platform.

8.2 In particular, you authenticate yourself with your phone number or e-mail address at Datapods and with your login data from third-party companies (e.g. user name and password) to the Data Interfaces for the data that is to be marketed by Datapods.

8.3 You shall not register an account that is owned by another individual in the Datapods App.

8.4 You shall not circumvent any security functions of the Datapods App and shall refrain from attempting to do so.

8.5 You shall ensure the confidentiality and security of your access data for the Datapods App and the services used or brokered through it. You must keep your access data secret, must not pass it on, must not tolerate or allow third parties to gain knowledge of it and must take the necessary measures to ensure the confidentiality of your access data, e.g. by using a secure PIN that does not match any other PIN. You must keep your mobile phone safe from access by third parties.

8.6 If you discover the loss or theft, misuse or other unauthorised use of your access data, you must inform Datapods immediately. Any theft or misuse must be reported to the police immediately. If you suspect that another person has gained unauthorised possession or knowledge of your access data or is using your access data, you must also inform Datapods of this immediately.

8.7 The personal data that is marketed on the data marketing platform is based on the data provided by you. You or the third-party company providing the data are therefore jointly responsible for the completeness and accuracy of the data provided to Datapods and the result of the processing of this data by Datapods. If there are indications that the data and information provided by you is or could be incorrect, Datapods has the right not to process or market the data, to temporarily or permanently exclude you from the Data Monetization Platform and to reclaim any refunds. Datapods will inform you of this.

8.8 If you breach your obligations under this User Agreement, Datapods shall be entitled to cancel the relevant services of the Datapods App or not to perform the requested service.

9. Costs and payment modalities

9.1 Datapods offers users the basic functions of the Datapods App, including participation in the Data Monetization Platform, free of charge. In-app purchases are not currently offered.

9.2 For the marketing of data, Datapods will credit you with a remuneration for each successful conclusion of a Data License Agreement in which your data is included in the Data Package provided or for the sale of an Analysis Service in which your data was used. The refund must amount to at least 50% of the remuneration that Datapods receives for a Data Package vis the Data License Agreement, divided by the number of users contained in the Data Package. For Analysis Services, the percentage-based reimbursement is variable, depending on the costs incurred by Datapods for the creation and distribution of the corresponding Analysis Service.

9.3 You can have your accumulated remuneration amount paid out from an amount of €10.

9.4 You are responsible for the correct and complete provision of the data required for the payout.

9.5 Withdrawals also require that you verify your identity at our request by means of 2-factor authentication via your cell phone by entering the code displayed there (SMS verification).

9.6 The remuneration is valid for three years, starting at the end of the calendar year in which the rebate was paid out from your account. At the end of the validity period, the respective remuneration amount expires automatically.

9.7 Remuneration acquired first is paid out first.

9.8 You can view the balance of your account at any time in the Datapods App.

10. Right of cancellation

10.1 As a consumer, you have a right of cancellation in accordance with the following provisions when using fee-based services (hereinafter referred to as "Contract"):

Withdrawal policy

Right of withdrawal

You have the right to withdraw from this Contract within fourteen days without giving any reason. The withdrawal period is fourteen days from the date of conclusion of the Contract.

To exercise your right of withdrawal, you must inform us of your decision to cancel this Contract by means of a clear statement (e.g. an e-mail). To meet the withdrawal deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your notification of exercising your right of withdrawal before the withdrawal period expires.

The withdrawal can be sent to:

Datapods GmbH Kölnstraße 179b 53111, Bonn.

E-mail: kontakt@datapods.app

(If you wish to withdraw from the contract (this User Agreement for the Datapods App), please fill out the following form and send it to us).

I/we hereby withdraw from the User Agreement for the Datapods App concluded by me/us for the provision of the services of the Datapods App.

Concluded on ________

Name of the consumer(s):

Address of the consumer(s):

Signature of the consumer(s) (only in the case of notification on paper):

Date __________

Consequences of withdrawal

In the event of an effective withdrawal, the services received by both parties must be returned. You are obliged to pay compensation for the value of the service provided up to the withdrawal if you have been informed of this legal consequence before submitting your contractual declaration and have expressly agreed that we will begin to perform the service in return before the end of the withdrawal period. If there is an obligation to pay compensation, this may mean that you still have to fulfil the contractual payment obligations for the period up to withdrawal. Your right of cancellation expires prematurely if the contract has been completely fulfilled by both parties at your express request before you have exercised your right of cancellation. Obligations to reimburse payments must be fulfilled within 30 days. The period begins for you when you send your cancellation notice and for us when we receive it. Withdrawal may restrict your scope of services, such as access to services subject to a charge.

Consent to the performance of the contractual services before expiry of the withdrawal period

You agree that Datapods may begin performing the contractual services prior to the expiry of the withdrawal period. In the event of withdrawal, you are obliged to pay compensation for the value of the services received in accordance with the statutory provisions.

End of the withdrawal policy

10.2 If Datapods provides you with certain fee-based services in full immediately after the order is placed, the right of withdrawal shall expire if you have given Datapods your express consent and at the same time confirmed your knowledge that you will lose your right of withdrawal upon complete fulfilment of the contract by Datapods. In the case of a contract for the delivery of digital content not on a physical data carrier, your of withdrawal shall also expire if Datapods has started to perform the contract after you have expressly consented to Datapods starting to perform the contract before the expiry of the withdrawal period and has confirmed that you are aware that you will lose your right of withdrawal by consenting to the commencement of the performance of the contract. You shall be informed of these points separately in the corresponding services.

11. Data protection & stopping data processing

Datapods collects, processes and uses your personal data solely for the purpose of providing the services of the Datapods App and the Data Monetization Platform. Datapods will not use your data for any other purpose.

For details, please refer to the separate Privacy Policy, which is available on the Datapods website and in the Datapods App and can be accessed there at any time.

When passing on your data in accordance with section 7, further or special data protection provisions may also apply, about which we will then inform you separately.

The Privacy Policy also explains your right to stop the processing of your data:

Withdrawal of consent:

You can withdraw your consent to the processing of your personal data in whole or in part at any time. The withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal. However, in the event of full or partial withdrawal, you may not be able to continue to use the Data Monetization Platform in full or in part.

Objection to the Data License Agreement:

Before and during Data Licensing to a Cooperation Partner, you can exclude one or more Cooperation Partners from further processing your data. Datapods will then arrange for your data to be deleted by this Cooperation Partner. The objection does not affect processing on the basis of contract fulfillment until the objection is made. In the event of an objection, however, it is possible that your data will no longer be marketed to the Cooperation Partner or other Cooperation Partners on the Data Monetization Platform. In addition, you will then only be entitled to a pro rata remuneration based on the Licensing Period.

Termination of the User Agreement:

After concluding the User Agreement, you have the right to terminate the contract with Datapods for the monetization of your data via the Data Monetization Platform at any time. In this case, Datapods will arrange for your data to be deleted by all Cooperation Partners. Your data will then no longer be marketed to Cooperation Partners on the Data Monetization Platform. You will receive a pro rata remuneration for the Data Licenses still in progress and a final payout if your account balance covers the payout costs with our payment service provider.

12. Liability

12.1 Claims for damages are excluded. Excluded from this are claims for damages against Datapods arising from injury to life, limb or health or from the breach of material contractual obligations (cardinal obligations) as well as liability for other damages that are based on an intentional or grossly negligent breach of duty by Datapods, its legal representatives or agents. This shall also apply to indirect consequential damages such as, in particular, loss of profit.

Material contractual obligations (cardinal obligations) are obligations that Datapods must fulfil in accordance with the content and purpose of this Contract and its addenda, the fulfilment of which is essential for the proper performance of this Contract and on compliance with which you regularly rely and may rely. The essential contractual obligations of this Contract include in particular, but not exclusively, the services listed in section 3. The uninterrupted technical availability of the Datapods App is not an essential contractual obligation of this contract.

12.2 In the event of a breach of material contractual obligations (cardinal obligations), Datapods shall only be liable for the foreseeable damage typical of the Contract if this was caused by simple negligence, unless your claims for damages are based on injury to life, limb or health.

12.3 Die Einschränkungen aus den Ziffern 12.1 und 12.2 der Geschäftsbedingungen gelten auch zugunsten der gesetzlichen Vertreter und Erfüllungsgehilfen von Datapods, wenn Ansprüche direkt gegen diese geltend gemacht werden.

12.4 Die sich aus den Ziffern 12.1, 12.2 und 12.3 der Geschäftsbedingungen ergebenden Haftungsbeschränkungen gelten nicht, soweit Datapods den Mangel arglistig verschwiegen oder eine Garantie für die Beschaffenheit der Sache übernommen hat. Das gleiche gilt, soweit Datapods und der Nutzer eine Beschaffenheitsvereinbarung getroffen haben.

12.5 The provisions of the Product Liability Act shall remain unaffected by the provisions in this section 12 of the User Agreement.

12.6 If Datapods arranges third-party services (which are expressly and clearly labelled as such, stating the identity and address of the third party) at your request or commissions them in your name and for your account, Datapods shall not be liable for the services or work results of the third party concerned. In such cases, Datapods shall only act as an intermediary. The respective third parties are not vicarious agents of Datapods.

12.7 Datapods shall be liable for the loss of data and programmes and their recovery to the extent set out in this section 12 and only to the extent that this loss could not have been avoided by taking reasonable precautions, in particular by making backup copies of all data and programmes.

12.8 You are obliged to notify Datapods immediately in writing of any damage within the meaning of the above liability provisions or to have it recorded by Datapods so that Datapods is informed as early as possible and can possibly minimise the damage together with you.

13. Termination

13.1 Subject to a separate agreement, you are entitled to terminate individual business relationships or the entire business relationship with Datapods at any time without notice. To do so, you can irrevocably delete your user account within the Datapods App or contact us using the contact details provided in the legal notice.

13.2 In the event of termination of the User Agreement for the Data Monetization Platform, Datapods shall ensure that your personal data is no longer processed by us or our Cooperation Partners, except for processing, the protection of legitimate interests and compliance with legal requirements. This includes Datapods deleting or having your personal data deleted from its own database and the databases of all Cooperation Partners.

13.3 Datapods may also terminate the entire business relationship or individual business relationships for which neither a term nor a deviating termination provision has been agreed at any time, subject to a reasonable notice period. Datapods shall take your legitimate interests into account when determining the notice period.

13.4 Termination of the entire business relationship or individual business relationships without notice is permissible if there is good cause that makes it unreasonable for Datapods to continue the business relationship, even taking into account your legitimate interests. Good cause may exist in particular if the legal or regulatory requirements for the provision of or in connection with the services of the Datapods App or the Data Monetization Platform change. If the good cause consists of the breach of a contractual obligation, termination is only permissible after the unsuccessful expiry of a reasonable period of time set for remedial action or an unsuccessful warning, unless this is dispensable due to the particularities of the individual case (Section 323 para. 2 and 3 of the German Civil Code).

14. Miscellaneous

14.1 Applicable law

14.1.1 This User Agreement and all contracts and contractual rights and obligations concluded between Datapods and you including these Terms and Conditions shall be governed by the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany, excluding the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods.

14.1.2 All non-contractual rights and obligations arising out of or in connection with this User Agreement shall also be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany.

14.1.3 The statutory provisions restricting the choice of law and the applicability of mandatory provisions, in particular of the country in which you as a consumer have your habitual residence, remain unaffected.

14.1.4 If you are a merchant, a legal entity under public law or a special fund under public law, the place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising from contractual relationships between you and Datapods shall be the registered office of Datapods.

14.2 Changes to the User Agreement

14.2.1 In the case of continuing obligations, Datapods shall have the right to amend these Terms and Conditions insofar as this is necessary for the reasonable continuation and performance of the contractual relationship for the reasons listed below,

14.2.2 The contract shall remain binding in its remaining parts even if individual points are legally invalid. The invalid points shall be replaced by the statutory provisions, if applicable. However, if this would constitute an unreasonable hardship for one of the contracting parties, the contract as a whole shall become ineffective; or

14.2.3 to adapt these Terms and Conditions to changes in the legal situation (e.g. changes to the relevant laws or Federal court rulings), insofar as this is necessary to ensure the legality and other legal conformity of these Terms and Conditions and of performance and consideration; or

14.2.4 to restore the equivalence of performance and consideration if this is disturbed to a not insignificant extent after conclusion of the contract by unforeseeable changes to the legal or other framework conditions (e.g. by changes to the law, unless their specific content was already foreseeable – for example in the phase between the conclusion of the formal legislative procedure and their entry into force). This only applies if Datapods does not initiate these changes and has no influence over them.

14.2.5 You will be notified of the amended Terms and Conditions in writing or by email at least six weeks before the planned effective date of the Terms and Conditions. In the case of consumers within the meaning of Section 13 BGB, an explanation of the changes will be provided.

14.2.6 You may terminate the contract affected by the change without notice and free of charge on the proposed date on which the changes take effect. You will be specifically informed of this in the notification.

14.2.7 The provision in clause 14.2.1 does not include any changes that affect prices.

14.2.8 The contract shall remain binding in its remaining parts even if individual points are legally invalid. The invalid points shall be replaced by the statutory provisions, if applicable. However, if this would constitute an unreasonable hardship for one of the contracting parties, the contract as a whole shall become invalid.

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