This privacy policy explains what personal data we collect on this website, what we use it for and what rights you have. Personal data is any information relating to an identified or identifiable person. The Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP) applies; where applicable, the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) applies in addition.
Controller
Verein FIMS – Förderung Integrative Medizin Schweiz
Zugerstrasse 162
CH-8820 Wädenswil
Switzerland
info@vitalstoffmedizin.ch
For all matters relating to data protection, you can reach us at this address.
The essentials at a glance
- When you visit the website, technical access data is recorded (server log files), and a cookie remembers your language choice.
- We use Google Analytics 4 to measure reach; Google Tag Manager is embedded as well. We do not use advertising cookies.
- We only process your e-mail address if you actively give it to us — via the contact form, the newsletter form or when unlocking content.
- The Web-Doctor works without an account and without revealing your identity; only anonymous statistics are evaluated.
- Comments are published together with the name you provide.
Hosting and server log files
Our website is hosted by Hostpoint AG, Neue Jonastrasse 60, CH-8640 Rapperswil-Jona, Switzerland. When you visit the site, the server automatically collects and stores information in server log files that your browser transmits:
- browser type and version
- operating system used
- referrer URL (previously visited page)
- requested address (URL) and time of the server request
- IP address or hostname of the accessing device
This data is used to operate the website reliably and securely, to prevent abuse and to analyse errors. It is not merged with other data sources. Log files are kept only for as long as required for these purposes.
E-mails to us and messages sent via the contact form are handled by our domain’s mail server at the same hosting provider; no external e-mail delivery service is used for this.
SSL/TLS encryption
The website uses SSL/TLS encryption throughout (recognisable by “https://” and the lock symbol in the address bar). This prevents third parties from reading the data you transmit to us.
Cookies and local storage
We use technically necessary or functional cookies and local storage (“localStorage”) in your browser, as well as cookies for reach measurement with Google Analytics 4 (see the section “Reach measurement with Google Analytics 4”). We do not use advertising cookies.
| Name | Type | Purpose | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| pll_language | cookie | remembers your language choice (German/English) | 1 year |
| comment_author_* | cookies | pre-fills name/e-mail in the comment form — only if you tick the corresponding box when commenting | approx. 11 months |
| wordpress_*, wp-settings-* | cookies | login and administration; only set for team members, not for regular visitors | session up to 1 year |
| vsm_gate_<post ID> | localStorage | remembers, per item, that you have unlocked it | up to 10 years or until you clear your browser data |
| vsm_gr_email | localStorage | remembers your e-mail address so you can unlock further content with one click | up to 10 years or until you clear your browser data |
| _ga | Cookie | reach measurement: distinguishes visitors via a pseudonymous identifier | 2 years |
| _ga_<property ID> | Cookie | reach measurement: keeps the session state for Google Analytics 4 | 2 years |
localStorage values remain on your device; your browser does not automatically transmit them to us. You can delete cookies and localStorage at any time in your browser settings — unlocked content will then be locked again and can be unlocked once more with the same e-mail address.
Fonts and design assets are loaded entirely from our own server; external font services (e.g. Google Fonts) are not embedded.
Reach measurement with Google Analytics 4
To understand which content is read and how our website is found, we use Google Analytics 4. The service is embedded directly in our pages; in addition we use Google Tag Manager to manage measurement and marketing tags. Both services are provided by Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland (parent company: Google LLC, USA).
The data collected includes the pages you visit, time on page and interactions, information about your browser and device, the source of your visit (e.g. a search engine or a link) and an approximate location. For this purpose the service sets the cookies listed in the cookie table above, using a pseudonymous identifier; according to Google, your IP address is only used to determine the approximate location and is not stored. We use the reports in aggregated form and do not combine them with the details you provide in forms or in the Web-Doctor.
The legal basis is our legitimate interest in designing our website to meet users’ needs and in evaluating it statistically. Google may also process data in the USA; Google LLC is certified under the Swiss-U.S. and EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework. The retention period for event data depends on the setting in our Analytics account. Further information: Google’s privacy policy.
You can object to this measurement: delete or block the cookies in your browser settings, or install Google’s browser add-on to opt out of Google Analytics.
Bot protection (Cloudflare Turnstile)
All forms on this website (contact form, newsletter and unlock forms) are protected against automated sign-ups (bots) with Cloudflare Turnstile, a service of Cloudflare, Inc., 101 Townsend St, San Francisco, CA 94107, USA. When you open a page containing a form, Turnstile checks technical characteristics of your browser and page visit in the background (e.g. IP address, browser information, interaction patterns) and issues a short-lived verification token that is validated on our server when the form is submitted. This usually happens invisibly; only in suspicious cases is a brief confirmation shown. We do not set any tracking cookies of our own and use the check solely to prevent bots. Cloudflare processes data partly in the USA; Cloudflare is certified under the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (DPF). More information: Cloudflare privacy policy. The legal basis is our legitimate interest in operating our forms free of abuse (protection against bot sign-ups and spam).
Contact form
If you contact us via the contact form, we process the details you enter (name, e-mail address, subject, message) in order to handle your enquiry and any follow-up questions. The message is delivered to us by e-mail to info@vitalstoffmedizin.ch; the website does not additionally store form messages in a database. We do not pass this data on without your consent.
Processing is based on your consent (submitting the form). You can revoke this consent at any time by informal e-mail; the lawfulness of processing carried out before the revocation remains unaffected. We keep your details until the purpose no longer applies (e.g. your enquiry has been dealt with), you request deletion, or statutory retention periods end.
Newsletter and unlocked content (GetResponse)
Some articles, therapy plans and publications can be “unlocked” free of charge: you enter your e-mail address and receive the content or access — at the same time, you subscribe to our newsletter. We use GetResponse S.A., Arkońska 6/A3, 80-387 Gdańsk, Poland (EU), to manage subscriptions and send e-mails.
The following is transmitted to GetResponse: your e-mail address, the content you unlocked (as a so-called interest tag, e.g. the name of the nutrient article), and the type of form (newsletter, article, therapy plan or publication). Over time, GetResponse thus stores with your contact which content you are interested in. We use these interest attributes to send you relevant content and information (profiling for this purpose); no automated individual decision with legal effect takes place.
The subscription takes effect immediately upon submission; there is no separate confirmation e-mail. Your browser remembers the unlock and your e-mail address locally (see table above) so that you can unlock further content with one click — you can use a different e-mail address at any time.
In addition, we log every sign-up internally in our website’s database (e-mail address, form and page used, time, result of the transmission). This log serves as a safeguard against errors — if the transmission to GetResponse fails, your sign-up is not lost — and for internal statistics about which forms are used. We also keep anonymous daily counters of how often unlock sections are displayed and product suggestions are expanded in the Web-Doctor (per-content tallies, no IP address, no personal reference). Only administrators of this website have access; the data is not shared. We keep the entries until revoked, at most for 12 months.
You can unsubscribe at any time via the unsubscribe link in every e-mail or by sending us an informal message. Your data remains stored with GetResponse until you unsubscribe or request its deletion. GetResponse processes the data on our behalf (data processing agreement). Further information: GetResponse privacy policy.
Web-Doctor
The Web-Doctor generates a non-binding vital-substance suggestion from your inputs (selected complaints, optionally a weight range, and the mode “acute” or “preventive”). These inputs are health-related — which is why the Web-Doctor is deliberately built to work without an account, without your name and without an e-mail address.
For anonymous statistics we store per request: the selected complaints, the weight factor, the mode, the language and the time — without IP address, without name and without device identifier. It is not possible to identify you from this data.
Your result can be shared via a link. Please note: the link contains your selected complaints in encoded form. Anyone who receives the link can see your selection — only share it with people you trust. Like all requested addresses, this link also appears in the technical server log files (see above).
Comments
When you comment on a post, we record your name (published), your e-mail address (not published), optionally your website, the comment text, and the time and IP address. We store the IP address to prevent spam and abuse.
Spam checking is performed locally on our server (Antispam Bee plugin); no data is transmitted to third parties in the process.
For the profile pictures next to comments, the website uses the Gravatar service (Automattic Inc., USA): when comments are displayed, your browser fetches the profile picture from gravatar.com. This transmits an encrypted (hashed) form of the commenter’s e-mail address as well as technical request data such as your IP address. If no profile picture is registered with Gravatar, a neutral placeholder image is shown. Further information: Automattic privacy policy.
Comments remain published until you request their deletion. When commenting, you can tick a box to choose whether your browser should remember your name and e-mail address for next time (see cookie table).
Search
Search terms entered on the website are logged without any personal reference (term, time, number of results — without IP address and without user identifier) in order to improve our content and the search itself.
External content: YouTube videos
Some pages embed videos from YouTube. When you open a page containing a video, your browser connects to YouTube servers; YouTube receives your IP address and may set its own cookies or local storage — even if you do not play the video. If you are logged in to your Google/YouTube account, Google can associate the request with your account. Provider: Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland (parent company: Google LLC, USA). Further information: Google privacy policy.
Partner links and shop selection
Product recommendations link to the shops of our partner kingnature (kingnature.ch for Switzerland, kingnature.de for the EU). These links lead to external websites whose operators are responsible for their own data processing. We append campaign parameters (utm_…) to the links; they contain no personal data — they merely tell the shop that the visit originates from our website or from the Web-Doctor.
So that we can link you to the appropriate shop, we determine the country (Switzerland or other countries) from your IP address on the server side. This is done using a GeoIP database stored locally on our server (GeoLite2 by MaxMind, Inc.); your IP address does not leave our server for this purpose and, in particular, is not transmitted to MaxMind or any other third party. The result is technically cached for up to 12 hours; the IP address itself is neither stored permanently nor passed on.
Your rights
Within the scope of the applicable provisions, you have the right at any time to obtain, free of charge, information about your stored personal data, its origin, recipients and purpose, as well as the right to rectification, deletion and release or transfer of this data. You can revoke consent you have given at any time by informal e-mail, and you can object to certain processing operations.
To do so, contact info@vitalstoffmedizin.ch. You can also lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority: in Switzerland, the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC); if you are located in the EU/EEA, also the data protection authority responsible for you.
Data transfers abroad
Our website is hosted in Switzerland. Data is transferred abroad in the following cases: to GetResponse in Poland (EU/EEA — countries with an adequate level of data protection from a Swiss perspective), to Google (Analytics 4 and Tag Manager, Ireland/USA) and — when you use the respective feature — to YouTube/Google and Gravatar/Automattic in the USA. For transfers to the USA, we rely on the providers’ certification under the Swiss-U.S. Data Privacy Framework or on appropriate safeguards such as standard contractual clauses.
Objection to advertising e-mails
We hereby object to the use of the contact details published in the legal notice (Impressum) for sending unsolicited advertising and information materials. We expressly reserve the right to take legal action in the event of unsolicited advertising, such as spam e-mails.
Changes to this privacy policy
We will amend this privacy policy whenever the website, the services used or the legal situation change. The version published here applies.
Last updated: August 2026