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Privacy Policy

German-OCR for Word (Microsoft Office add-in) and German-OCR API

Privacy at a glance

Documents you process with German-OCR for Word are not stored. Servers are located in Germany / the EU. The add-in is GDPR-compliant. You can also run the add-in fully on your own machine (Local Mode) so no data leaves it.

1. Scope

This privacy policy covers the use of the German-OCR for WordMicrosoft Office add-in (the “add-in”), including its Cloud mode (which calls the German-OCR API hosted under api.german-ocr.de) and its Local mode (which calls a local OCR runtime running on the user's own machine). The policy applies to data processed by the add-in or by the German-OCR API as described below.

2. Data controller

German-OCR
Keyvan Hardani
Am Westpark 10
81373 München
Germany

Phone: +49 89 26221842
E-mail: datenschutz@german-ocr.de

3. What data we process

a) Document content (Cloud mode only)

  • The image or PDF page you select for extraction is uploaded to the German-OCR API at api.german-ocr.de.
  • The image is processed in memory to extract text and structured data. The original file is not persisted; it is discarded after the response is returned. We do not retain copies.
  • Extracted JSON is returned to your Word document and is not stored on our side beyond standard request logs.

b) Document content (Local mode)

  • No data leaves your machine. The add-in calls a local OCR runtime running on localhost. We have no access to documents processed in Local mode.

c) Account data (Cloud mode only)

  • E-mail address (required, for authentication)
  • API key and API secret (issued for your account)
  • Subscription tier and current usage counters
  • Billing information if you have a paid subscription

d) Technical metadata

  • Request logs (timestamp, endpoint, response status, page count) for the purpose of billing, abuse prevention and basic operations. No request payload is stored.
  • Office add-in settings such as your selected mode (Cloud / Local / Auto-detect) and chosen base URLs are stored locally in the Office document settings on your machine, not on our servers.

4. Legal basis (Art. 6 GDPR)

  • Performance of a contract (Art. 6 (1) (b)) — for processing documents and operating your account.
  • Legitimate interests (Art. 6 (1) (f)) — for abuse prevention, security monitoring and service stability.
  • Legal obligations (Art. 6 (1) (c)) — for tax and accounting records of paid subscriptions.

5. Hosting and data location

All servers used by the German-OCR API are located in Germany (Falkenstein data center). No data is transferred to non-EU jurisdictions for the core OCR processing path. If you choose Local mode, processing happens entirely on your own machine.

6. Sub-processors

  • Stripe Payments Europe Ltd. (Ireland) — payment processing for paid subscriptions only. No document content is shared.
  • IONOS / Hetzner (Germany) — hosting infrastructure for the API and website.

We have data-processing agreements (Art. 28 GDPR) in place with all sub-processors.

7. Retention

  • Document files: not persisted; deleted immediately after processing.
  • Request logs: 30 days for operations and abuse prevention, then deleted.
  • Account data: for the duration of your account; deleted on request or six months after the last activity.
  • Billing records: as required by German tax law (10 years).

8. Your rights (Art. 15–22 GDPR)

You have the right to access, correct, delete, restrict or port your personal data, and to object to its processing. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Bavarian State Office for Data Protection Supervision (BayLDA). To exercise any of these rights, please contact datenschutz@german-ocr.de.

9. Cookies and tracking

The add-in itself does not set cookies or use third-party tracking. The german-ocr.de website uses essential cookies and a cookie banner for any optional analytics. See Datenschutzerklärung (German version) for details.

10. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy to reflect changes in the add-in, the German-OCR API or applicable law. The current version is always available at this URL.

Last updated: 25 April 2026.