Privacy Policy

Who are we?

SYMBIOREM is a five-year project started in September 2022 and received a total grant of 4 Euros from the European Commission within the Horizon 2020 framework. Our project website SYMBIOREM is run by REVOLVE (henceforth known as REVOLVE), and as the case may be by third party subcontractors, under the responsibility of REVOLVE.
When we refer to ‘’we’’ or ‘’our’’ in this Cookies Policy we are referring to REVOLVE and SYMBIOREM and any of its affiliates. When we refer to “you” or “your”, we are referring to any user of any of SYMBIOREM’s or REVOLVE’s websites, apps or services.

Our Data Protection Officer (“DPO”) can be reached by postal mail at DPO REVOLVE, Arlon street 63-67, 1040 Brussels, Belgium, or by email at dpo@revolve.media.

Introduction and General Terms

At SYMBIOREM, we’re committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy relates to our use of any personal information we collect from you:

– via following online services:

- The SYMBIOREM website (www.symbiorem.eu)
- The SYMBIOREM social media pages and accounts (Twitter, YouTube, Linkedin)

– via any Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or any similar technology that may communicate with your (mobile) device including identifying its location. This includes collecting unique online identifiers such as IP addresses, MAC addresses, which are numbers that can uniquely identify terminal equipment such as a specific computer, handset, tablet or other network device on the Internet.

This Privacy Policy also relates to our use of any personal information you may provide to us by phone, SMS, email, in letters or other correspondence, in person and through copies of your personal information obtained from your identity card or your residence permit (but excluding your national number).

To provide you with the full range of services, we sometimes need to collect information about you.

This Privacy Policy explains the following:
– what information SYMBIOREM may collect about you
– how SYMBIOREM will use information that we collect about you
– when SYMBIOREM may use your details to contact you
– whether SYMBIOREM will disclose your details to anyone else
– your choices regarding the personal information you provide to us
– the use of cookies on SYMBIOREM website and how you can reject cookies

SYMBIOREM is committed to safeguarding your personal information. Whenever you provide such information, we are legally obliged to use your information in line with the EU Regulation 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (hereafter the “GDPR”). Please note that, no website can be completely secure. If you have any concerns that one of your REVOLVE accounts could have been compromised, e.g. someone could have discovered your password, please get in touch immediately.

All information that we use and/or gather will be used in accordance with the GDPR. To find out more about the EU Data Protection Rules click here

SYMBIOREM website also contains hyperlinks to websites owned and operated by third parties. These third-party websites have their own privacy policies, and are also likely to use cookies, and we therefore urge you to review them. Their policies will govern the use of personal information you submit, or which may be collected by cookies, when visiting such websites. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the privacy practices of third-party websites and your use of such websites is at your own risk.

What is a cookie?

A cookie is a small file that is placed on the device used by a visitor to a web-site to facilitate the communication between the visitor’s device (whether a computer, smartphone, video-games console or other devices, …) and the site server. In this limited sense the cookie fulfils the role of a simple ‘witness’ to the web-site/visitor exchange by storing certain information.
Thereafter, technological developments have allowed the purposes of cookies to be extended to, for example: performance of the site, user statistics for the site, remembering preferences and in some cases targeted advertising.
In this broader sense, the word ‘cookie’ refers to all the files that store extracts of the information conveyed or generated during exchanges between a site and its visitors, whether they are stored on the visitor’s device or on a server. It is in this wider sense that the term is used here.

What information does SYMBIOREM collect

When you access or sign-up to any of SYMBIOREM’s services, for example newsletters, chats with our social media accounts, message boards, web and mobile notifications, telephone or text SYMBIOREM, we may receive personal information about you.

This can consist of personal information you have provided to us such as, for example, your name, email address, postal address, telephone or mobile number, gender or date of birth, personal interests (e.g. what newsletters you have read), as well as general (aggregate, non-personal) information collected about the way in which visitors make use of SYMBIOREM’s on-line services.

If you are the parent or guardian of a child under (16), we may process limited personal data about you so that you can give consent for the child to access some REVOLVE services. We may use your contact details to communicate with you about the child’s account or use of services.

Please note that sometimes we will require you to provide additional personal information, for example when preparing lease or real estate purchase agreements. When we do this we will provide further information about why we are collecting your information and how we will use it.

Some of our services may enable you to sign-in via a third-party service, such as Facebook. If you choose to sign-in via a third-party app, you will be presented with a dialog box which will ask your permission to allow SYMBIOREM to access your personal information (e.g. your full name, date of birth, email address and any other information you have made publicly accessible to the third-party service, such as Facebook). Please note that any information that is not required by the particular service you have opted to use will not be retained by SYMBIOREM.

For more information, please see Article 13 of this policy, on SYMBIOREM’s use of cookies and similar technologies.

For what purposes does SYMBIOREM use the information it collects about you

SYMBIOREM will use your personal information for a number of purposes including the following:

– to provide you with our services
– to provide you with information about our services
– to deal with your requests and enquiries
– to provide you with the most user-friendly online navigation experience
– for “service administration purposes”, which means that SYMBIOREM may contact you for reasons related to the service or online content you have signed up for
– we may also show you relevant advertising, as set out in Article 7
– to use IP addresses and device identifiers to identify the location of users, to block disruptive use, to establish the number of visits of our websites
– for analysis and research purposes so that we may improve the services offered by SYMBIOREM.
– we also use and disclose information in aggregate (so that no individuals are identified or identifiable) for marketing and strategic development purposes.

Where SYMBIOREM proposes using your personal information for purposes not mentioned above we will notify you first. Please see Article 16 below for details.

When will SYMBIOREM contact you?

SYMBIOREM may contact you:

– in relation to any contractual relation you have engaged with SYMBIOREM
– in relation to any service, activity or online content you have signed up for, for yourself or for your under 16-year old child in order to ensure that SYMBIOREM can deliver the services, e.g. to verify your email when you sign up for a SYMBIOREM newsletter, or to help you reset your password for your accounts on our websites or apps.
– in relation to any correspondence we receive from you or any comment or complaint you make about SYMBIOREM products or services
– in relation to any job application
– in relation to our legal rights and obligations
– in relation to any personalized services you are using
– in relation to any contribution you have submitted to SYMBIOREM, e.g. on SYMBIOREM message boards or via text or voicemail message
– to invite you to participate in surveys about SYMBIOREM services (participation is always voluntary)
– to update you on any material changes to SYMBIOREM’s policies and practices

We will never contact you to ask for your SYMBIOREM account password, or other login information. If you receive any emails or calls from people asking for this information and claiming to be from SYMBIOREM please inform our DPO straightaway.

Will SYMBIOREM share my personal information?

SYMBIOREM will not sell or rent your information to third parties and will not share your information with third parties for marketing purposes.

Generally, we will use your information within SYMBIOREM and will only share it outside SYMBIOREM where you have requested it or given your consent, except:

– where disclosure is required or permitted by law (for example to government bodies or law enforcement agencies, including for child protection reasons) by a court order or for the purposes of prevention of fraud or other crime, or
– if SYMBIOREM or its affiliate ceases to be the data controller in respect of your personal information through the operation of a merger, acquisition or any change of control
– in the limited circumstances described below and in Article 9.

We may pass your information to our third-party service providers, agents, subcontractors, and other associated organizations for the purposes of completing tasks and providing services to you on our behalf (for example to send you mailings). However, when we use third party service providers, we disclose only the personal information that is necessary to deliver the service. In addition, our contracts with such third-party service providers require them to keep your information secure and not to use it for their own direct marketing purposes. We will not release your information to third parties for them to use for their own direct marketing purposes unless you have requested us to do so.

Offensive or inappropriate content on SYMBIOREM websites

If you post or send content which may reasonably be deemed to be offensive, inappropriate or objectionable anywhere on or to SYMBIOREM websites, social media pages, or otherwise engage in any disruptive behavior on any SYMBIOREM service, SYMBIOREM may remove such content.

Where SYMBIOREM reasonably believes that you are or may be in breach of any applicable laws, for example on hate speech, SYMBIOREM may disclose your personal information to relevant third parties, including to law enforcement agencies or your internet provider. SYMBIOREM would only do so in circumstances where such disclosure is permitted under applicable laws, including data protection law.

What if I am a user under 16?

If you are aged 16 or under, please get your parent/guardian’s permission before you provide any personal information to SYMBIOREM.

How long will SYMBIOREM keep my personal information?

We will hold your personal information on our systems only for as long as is necessary for the relevant activity, or as long as is legally or contractually set out for any relevant contract you hold with SYMBIOREM. If you delete your SYMBIOREM account, then your personal information is deleted immediately. For further information about deleting your SYMBIOREM account, please see Article 10 below.

What can you do with the personal data you submitted to us?

You have the right to restrict and the right to object to the use of your personal data; the right to withdraw your consent to the use of your personal data and the right to request deletion of your personal data.

In the context of some of our websites and apps of SYMBIOREM, these rights are all exercised and obtained by deleting your SYMBIOREM accounts. You can find out how to delete your accounts on the respective websites or Apps. As explained in Article 9 above, deleting your SYMBIOREM account will erase any personal information in your account that we have about you.

In any case, you can exercise your rights by contacting our DPO. You may also adjust your communication preferences or opt out of communications at any time by clicking ‘unsubscribe’ at the bottom of any e-mail, following instructions provided in the communication or changing your preferences within your account or by sending us an e-mail.

You have the right to portability of your personal data. All personal data you directly submitted to SYMBIOREM, can be sent to you or any third party, at your request made directly to our DPO.

What if I am unhappy with the way SYMBIOREM is managing my personal data?

You have the right to complain to the Belgian Data Protection Authority:

– By mail: Belgian Data Protection Authority Rue de la Presse, 35, 1000 Bruxelles.
– By telephone: +32 (0)2 274 48 00
– By fax: +32 (0)2 274 48 35
– By email: commission@privacycommission.be

Web browser cookies

a. What is a cookie?

A cookie is a small amount of data, which often includes a unique identifier that is sent to your computer, tablet or mobile phone (all referred to here as a “device”) web browser from a website’s computer and is stored on your device’s hard drive. Each website can send its own cookie to your web browser if your browser’s preferences allow it.

Many websites do this whenever a user visits their website to track online traffic flows. Similar technologies are also often used within emails to understand whether the email has been read or if any links have been clicked. To inform you fully, REVOLVE will ask your consent for the receipt of cookies. However, you can change your cookie settings at any times in your web-browser (see our Cookies Policy below for more information).

On SYMBIOREM websites, cookies record information about your online preferences and allow us to tailor our websites to your interests.

b. SYMBIOREM cookies and how to reject cookies

SYMBIOREM’s Cookies Policy [see below] which contains full information about how SYMBIOREM uses cookies, and which explains how to control what cookies are set on your device through REVOLVE websites, can be found on our website.

It is important to note that if you change your settings and block certain cookies, you will not be able to take full advantage of some features of REVOLVE services, and we might not be able to provide some features you have previously chosen to receive.

c. Other information collected from web browsers

Your web browser may also provide SYMBIOREM with information about your device, such as an IP address and details about the browser that you are using.
If you have any concerns about the way that we use cookies or respect your settings, please contact our DPO.

Do Not Track (DNT) browser setting

DNT is a feature offered by some browsers which, when enabled, sends a signal to websites to request that your browsing is not tracked, such as by third party ad networks, social networks, and analytic companies. Our websites do not currently respond to DNT requests.

Apps

When you download or use a SYMBIOREM app on your mobile device, information may be accessed from or stored to your device. Most often this is used in a similar way to a web browser cookie, such as by enabling the app to ‘remember’ you or provide you with the content you have requested.

Your web browser or device may also provide SYMBIOREM with information about your device, such as a device identifier or IP address. Device identifiers may be collected automatically, such as the device ID, IP address, MAC address, IMEI number and app ID (a unique identifier relating to the particular copy of the app you are running).

When you sign in to a SYMBIOREM app, your sign-in details may be stored securely on the device you are using, so you may in the future, if you wish to do so, access other SYMBIOREM ‘apps’ on the same device without needing to enter your sign-in details again.

If you have any concerns about the information which might be accessed from or stored on your device by SYMBIOREM, you may wish to only access SYMBIOREM content through a web browser and review your web browser settings.

Changes to SYMBIOREM’s Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy may be updated from time to time so you may wish to check it each time you submit personal information to SYMBIOREM. The date of the most recent revisions will appear on this page. If you do not agree to these changes, please do not continue to use SYMBIOREM websites or Apps to submit personal information to SYMBIOREM. You can also delete your SYMBIOREM account at any time – please see article 10 for details. If material changes are made to the Privacy Policy, for instance affecting how we would like to use your personal information, we will provide a more prominent notice.

Transferring your information outside of Europe

As part of the services offered to you through the SYMBIOREM websites and Apps, the information which you provide to us may be transferred to countries outside the European Union (“EU”). By way of example, this may happen if any of our servers are from time to time located in a country outside of the EU. These countries may not have similar data protection laws to Belgium. By submitting your personal data, you are agreeing to this transfer, storing, or processing. If we transfer your information outside of the EU in this way, we will take steps to ensure that appropriate security measures are taken with the aim of ensuring that your privacy rights as set out in this Policy continue to be protected.

If you use our services while you are outside the EU, your information may be transferred outside the EU in order to provide you with those services.

GDPR Data Protection Rights

We would like to make sure you are fully aware of all of your data protection rights. Every user is entitled to the following:

- The right to access – You have the right to request copies of your personal data. We may charge you a small fee for this service.
- The right to rectification – You have the right to request that we correct any information you believe is inaccurate. You also have the right to request that we complete the information you believe is incomplete.
- The right to erasure – You have the right to request that we erase your personal data, under certain conditions.
- The right to restrict processing – You have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your personal data, under certain conditions.
- The right to object to processing – You have the right to object to our processing of your personal data, under certain conditions.
- The right to data portability – You have the right to request that we transfer the data that we have collected to another organization, or directly to you, under certain conditions.

If you make a request, we have one month to respond to you. If you would like to exercise any of these rights, please contact our DPO, whose full details are listed in Article 1.