# Privacy Policy > Privacy policy for calctape.com, CalcTape Web and the programs: no ad trackers, no third-party content. Hosting, logs, statistics, contact, rights. - Language: English - This page as HTML: https://www.calctape.com/en/privacy - Updated: 2026-09-17 Last updated: September 2026 ## 1. Controller The controller within the meaning of the GDPR is: schoettler Software GmbH\ Einheitstraße 15, 50733 Cologne, Germany\ Phone: [+49 221 954 259 0](tel:+492219542590)\ E-mail: [info@schoettler.com](mailto:info@schoettler.com) ## 2. General information on data processing We process personal data only where there is a legal basis for it, and only to the extent the respective purpose requires. Which data we process for which purpose, on which basis and for how long is stated for each activity in the following sections. **Legal bases:** Depending on the activity, we rely on consent (Art. 6(1)(a)), performance of a contract or pre-contractual measures (Art. 6(1)(b)), a legal obligation (Art. 6(1)(c)) or legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). **Storage period:** Personal data is deleted as soon as the purpose of storage no longer applies, unless statutory retention periods require otherwise. ## 3. No externally embedded content and no ad trackers This website embeds **no content from third-party providers**: no advertising or social-media modules, no external maps, videos or analytics tools. Fonts, images and scripts are delivered by our own web server; during your visit your browser contacts no servers of other providers. Section 4 describes which service providers work on our behalf and which data they receive. **CalcTape Web on our pages.** On the home page, the “Try it” window and the use-case tiles show our web app CalcTape Web in a frame, as do the use-case pages when you click the picture of a calculation. Your browser loads the frame from `calctape.app`, another service of ours with the same hosting provider. The “Try it” window loads the app once it is almost fully in view and you have scrolled the page, moved the mouse, tapped or pressed a key, or as soon as you point at it; tiles and pictures load it only after your click. This involves the same connection data as any page view (section 5). Inside the frame, CalcTape Web stores no calculation and no setting; in the storage of the open tab it only remembers that it is running embedded and in which colour scheme. You open links to the App Store, Google Play and other websites yourself. Only then does the respective provider receive data from your browser, and its privacy policy applies. ## 4. Hosting, email and recipients Our websites `www.calctape.com` and `calctape.app`, the update and download addresses of the programs (`update.calctape.com`, `dl.calctape.com`) and our mailboxes are hosted by **IONOS SE**, Elgendorfer Str. 57, 56410 Montabaur, Germany. The server of `calctape.cloud`, through which we share files for download, currently the previous installer for Windows, is also hosted by IONOS. IONOS processes the data involved, that is connection data (section 5) and the content of emails and form messages, on our behalf and on our instructions (processing on behalf pursuant to Art. 28 GDPR). Within our company, only the people who handle enquiries or look after the websites have access. We pass personal data on to other recipients only where we are legally obliged to do so. ## 5. Provision of the websites and access logs Each time `www.calctape.com`, `calctape.app`, `update.calctape.com` or `dl.calctape.com` is accessed, the web server automatically logs: the requested address including the host name, the time, the status code and the amount of data transferred, the previously visited page (referrer), the identifier of the browser or program (user agent) and your IP address in shortened form. For IPv4 addresses the last byte is replaced by 0; of IPv6 addresses only the first 40 bits remain. We treat this information as personal data even in shortened form. IONOS stores the logs for us for 8 weeks and then deletes them. The server of `calctape.cloud` records requests to its share pages in its own logs; we delete them as soon as they are no longer needed for the purposes below. We use the logs to operate the websites securely and reliably and to detect errors or abuse, and we evaluate them in aggregated form, for example how often individual pages or program files are downloaded; for this website and CalcTape Web we keep statistics with daily counters based on them (section 6). The legal basis is our legitimate interest in a secure and functioning service (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). ## 6. Usage statistics **Statistics from the access logs.** We determine how this website and CalcTape Web (`calctape.app`) are used from the access logs (section 5). Neither of the two reads or stores anything in your browser for this purpose, and CalcTape Web does not report anything about its use itself. A program on our web space evaluates the entries when we open the statistics and sums them up into daily counters. For this website it counts: - the views per page and language, and the views per hour, - the visits, that is views that do not come from one of our pages, with the first page viewed and the type of the previously visited page (for example search engine, AI assistant, CalcTape Web or none), - for views that come from one of our pages, from which page to which (for example from the home page to the manual), - the device class of the visits (phone, tablet, computer), determined from the browser identifier, - how often CalcTape Web was opened from our pages, via a link or in the embedded window, - how often the contact form was sent and whether the server accepted the message, without its content, - views of addresses that do not exist, without the address itself, - how often CalcTape for Windows in versions 5 and 6 fetches the version file of its update check, also estimated by the number of devices asking, and how often release notes and the installer are downloaded (section 9). For CalcTape Web it counts: - the visits to the app, per hour and by the address called (for example `calctape.app/de`), - how often the app was fully loaded, - where the visits come from, only as the type of the previously visited page and, for well-known search engines, AI assistants and Microsoft services, with the name of the service (for example Google, ChatGPT, our website or none), and which type of origin leads to which address of the app; if the origin is missing but the link parameter `utm_source` names an AI assistant, the visit counts for that assistant, - the device class (phone, tablet, computer), the operating system and the browser family (for example Windows and Edge), determined from the browser identifier, - for visits to the app in which the calculation core was not loaded (for example when a browser loads the page in advance from search results), separately only the origin and the device class, determined as above, - the country, determined from the shortened IP address using a country database from DB-IP that is stored on our web space, without querying any third-party service; countries from which fewer than ten different browsers loaded the app on a given day only as the continent, - the views of the app's manual and info page, per language and by type of the previously visited page, - which version of the app was loaded, with the time at which a version was first requested on a given day, and whether and how the calculation core was delivered compressed, - views of addresses that do not exist, only by type (for example page, image or script), and for missing files that pages of CalcTape Web themselves refer to, also with their address, as well as server errors and requests rejected by the server, - how often link preview services (for example Teams, Slack or LinkedIn) fetch the app's preview image, per service; fetches for previews that a device creates itself (for example in WhatsApp or iMessage) only as a total, - visits to the app by programs that identify themselves as bots, by type of program (for example search engine or AI service), and requests to the app's addresses that fetch only the headers (HEAD). For this, the program forms pairs of shortened IP address and browser identifier for each day. From them it estimates how many different browsers displayed the pages or loaded the app and how many devices asked for updates, and it sorts out requests from programs: programs that identify themselves as bots are counted separately. On this website, a page view also counts only if style sheets, scripts or images were requested under the same pair on the same day, or if the browser requested a page again and received it unchanged. On CalcTape Web, visits to the app, together with their origin, hour, device information and country, count only if the calculation core was also loaded under the same pair on the same day; visits without the calculation core are counted separately, only with origin and device class. This condition does not apply to the manual, the info page and error responses. In both cases, all requests of a pair on that day are left out if it sends an origin that no browser sends, if it requests at least two different addresses at which programs look for vulnerabilities (for example configuration, key or backup files) and the server does not deliver them, or if it sends an outdated browser identifier that, as far as we have observed, only programs use (currently that of an iPhone with iOS 13.2.3). The rule on vulnerabilities also applies to pairs that identify themselves as bots, because such programs pose as well-known bots. On CalcTape Web, all requests of a pair that comes from a local test address (localhost) are left out as well. Fetches of the preview image and requests for the headers only (HEAD) are counted on CalcTape Web without pairs; none of these rules applies to them. The program also counts how many requests are left out this way, and on CalcTape Web also the error responses to pairs that look for vulnerabilities. It determines the country for each pair only in working memory while it evaluates the entries of a day. Only these daily counters are stored; for CalcTape Web they also include the addresses of missing files of its own and the identifier of each version of the app loaded at least ten times on a day. The statistics take over no individual log entries, IP addresses, browser identifiers or addresses of other websites. Calculation content does not reach the server (section 8). We evaluate the daily counters to develop our services according to need and to detect errors, and we keep them for comparisons over longer periods. Insofar as personal data is processed in the process, for example when the logs are evaluated, the legal basis is our legitimate interest in doing so (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). You can object to this at any time (section 12). ## 7. Cookies, storage and device information in the browser `www.calctape.com` and `calctape.app` set **no cookies**. The share pages on `calctape.cloud` set cookies of the Nextcloud software that the page needs to operate: a session identifier and cookies with which Nextcloud fends off forged requests from other sites (§ 25(2) no. 2 TDDDG, Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). Some features keep information in your browser's storage (`localStorage`, in CalcTape Web also `sessionStorage` for the lifetime of a tab) because the feature you use requires it (§ 25(2) no. 2 TDDDG): - **On this website:** light or dark appearance, if you choose it with the switch. - **In CalcTape Web:** your calculation, so that it survives a reload, your settings (for example language, design, rounding, font size, custom keys) and which hints and news you have already seen. Your calculation does not leave your device in the process. The stored information is lost if you delete your browser data or use private browsing; please therefore save important calculations as a file or as a link. You can delete the information at any time in your browser settings. On this website, a script queries your browser's time zone in order to show prices in US dollars outside Europe and in reais in Brazil, and the browser identification in order to preselect the offer for your device. Both are evaluated only by your browser; neither is transmitted to us. ## 8. Sharing calculations (CalcTape Web) When you share a calculation as a link, CalcTape Web writes the whole calculation into the link in compressed form, after the `#` character. A browser does not send this part of a link to the server when opening it; the calculation is not stored anywhere, not even with us. Anyone who has the link can read the calculation. If you send it by email, messenger or another service, that service processes the link including the calculation under its own terms. The app creates a link's QR code on your device. In the access log, opening a link appears like any visit to the app, without the calculation. ## 9. The CalcTape programs on your device The installed programs, CalcTape for Windows, Mac, iPhone & iPad and Android, need no account and no registration. Your calculations, settings, custom keys, keyboards and themes stay on your device; we do not collect them, and the programs do not send them to us. None of the programs embeds analytics, tracking or advertising services. CalcTape Pro for Windows checks the activation code on the device, without contacting us. If you store documents in iCloud (Mac, iPhone & iPad) or Android backs up the app's data to your Google account, Apple's or Google's terms apply. **Update check (Windows).** As long as the check is switched on (default), CalcTape for Windows looks in the background for a newer release: - **Version 6** fetches a version file about one week after the first start and weekly thereafter; for this it requests the address `www.schoettler-software.com/pad/`, which redirects to `www.calctape.com/pad/`. After a failure it tries again at the next start. The setting is called “Check for Updates every Week”. - **The new version** fetches two small files from `update.calctape.com` at the first start and weekly thereafter, a version record and its signature; without a connection it tries again after six hours, after an error on the next day. The setting is called “Automatically check for updates”; on managed networks the check may additionally be switched off by policy. If a newer release is available, the update dialog loads the release notes from our server when it opens. If you decide to update, the program downloads the installer from our servers (section 4). Before installation, Windows checks the installer's digital signature and may retrieve revocation information from the issuing certificate authority for this. **Edition comparison (new version).** When you open the overview “Which edition is right for me?” in the activation dialog, CalcTape loads the comparison table as a text file from `www.calctape.com` if the stored copy for this language is older than one week. Without a connection it shows the stored or the bundled copy. These fetches transmit what any request for a web page transmits: your IP address, the time and, in the `User-Agent`, the Windows identifier for version 6 or, for the new version, a program identifier made of product name, version number, system and processor architecture (for example `CalcTape/8.0.0 (Windows; x64)`). No device identifier, no cookie and no counter is part of it. The requests appear in the web server's access logs with a shortened IP address (section 5); from them we count per day how often the older versions 5 and 6 fetch their version file (section 6). The legal basis is our legitimate interest in delivering program updates securely and in showing accurate product information inside the program (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). **Rating in the App Store (Mac).** At every start, CalcTape for Mac retrieves Apple's public product information (`itunes.apple.com`, with the app's identifier) to find out the current version in the App Store. After 14 days and 33 starts at the earliest, it asks whether you would like to rate the app. The question can be declined permanently; the query at start remains. Apple's privacy policy applies to the query. **Google Play (Android).** As long as CalcTape Pro has not been purchased, CalcTape for Android queries the Pro offer and its price via Google Play at start. After saving or sharing, the app occasionally asks Google Play to ask you for a rating: one week after installation at the earliest, at most every 90 days and only after a certain amount of use; the counters for this stay on the device, and Google decides whether the question appears. Google's privacy notices apply. **What you trigger yourself.** Clicking the manual, the privacy policy, a product page or “Buy Pro” opens that address in your browser; from there the privacy policy of the page you reach applies. If you buy CalcTape in the App Store or CalcTape Pro on Google Play, Apple or Google handles the purchase, and their privacy notices apply. A problem report or a support enquiry opens your email program with a prepared message that contains technical details such as program version, operating system and device model and that you can read and change before sending; it is transmitted only when you send it. ## 10. Contact form, beta test and email When you use our [contact form](https://www.calctape.com/en/contact), we process your details: **title, name, email address, the selected subject, the selected platform and your message**, plus the language of the page. The server sends them as an email to our mailbox via IONOS's mail server (section 4) and does not store them itself. If you email us directly, we process your details in the same way. **Purpose and legal basis.** We handle and answer your enquiry. If it concerns a purchase, a licence, an invoice or a contract you wish to conclude with us, the legal basis is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR; for all other enquiries, it is our legitimate interest in answering questions about our products (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). **Storage period.** We delete enquiries once they have been dealt with and no further questions are to be expected. We keep messages about purchases, licences and invoices for as long as commercial and tax retention periods require (§ 257 HGB, § 147 AO). **Beta test.** If you sign up for the beta test of the new Windows version, we add your title, name, email address, language, platform and your registration including the message to our list of testers and record which invitations, test builds and notes we send you and which feedback you give us. We use this information only for the test. The legal basis is your request to take part in the test (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR). You can unsubscribe informally at any time; we then delete your details from the list. We delete the list three months after the end of the beta test at the latest. **Protection against abuse.** To prevent programs from submitting the form en masse, the server accepts at most five messages per IP address in 15 minutes. For this it stores, with each submission, the time under a check value of your IP address that it forms with a secret key (HMAC-SHA-256). The server deletes entries older than 15 minutes as soon as the form is next loaded or submitted. Without the key the check value cannot be traced to an IP address; we nevertheless treat it as personal data. In addition, the server uses a signed timestamp to check that the form was not submitted within a few seconds, and the form contains a field invisible to humans that only programs fill in. The legal basis is our legitimate interest in preventing spam (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). ## 11. Encryption (SSL/TLS) For security reasons our websites use SSL/TLS encryption. You can recognise an encrypted connection by the padlock symbol in your browser's address bar and by “https://” in the address. ## 12. Your rights Under the GDPR you have the following rights: - **Access** (Art. 15) to your stored data, its purposes, categories, recipients, storage period and origin. - **Rectification** (Art. 16) of inaccurate data and completion of incomplete data. - **Erasure** (Art. 17), unless a statutory retention reason or legitimate interest applies. - **Restriction of processing** (Art. 18) under certain conditions. - **Data portability** (Art. 20) in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format. - **Objection** (Art. 21) on grounds relating to your particular situation to processing based on legitimate interests; for direct marketing at any time and without giving reasons. - **Withdrawal of consent** (Art. 7(3)) with effect for the future. - **No automated decision-making** in individual cases (Art. 22). - **Complaint to a supervisory authority** (Art. 77) if you consider the processing unlawful. A simple, informal message to [info@schoettler.com](mailto:info@schoettler.com) is enough to exercise your rights.