What we stand for
Privacy
For us, data is not a commodity. And you do not have to take our word for how seriously we mean that: on this page we show openly how we work and why we do many things differently than usual.
Our principles
Six pointsData is not a commodity
We do not sell data and we do not work with any ad network.
At home in Germany
All servers for our apps and websites are located in beautiful Nuremberg, Germany.
Cookieless, no banners
Our services work without cookies, which is why there are no banners either.
Open source preferred
Wherever possible, we rely on open software and are happy to link to it.
Only as long as necessary
Fixed deletion periods and the right to be forgotten are always part of how we work.
Communicated honestly
We say openly what our services do, what they process and why.
What is commonly used and what we do instead
Many IT companies today rely on the solutions of the large cloud providers, simply because it is more convenient. The price for that: their own user data moves to these providers, and they no longer decide themselves what analysis takes place there. We do not want that. That is why we run as much as possible ourselves and generally work toward better privacy.
Servers & hosting
Our servers are the basis of all Roadex services. They run our apps, websites, databases and internal systems.
Commonly used
e.g. AWS, Azure, Google Cloud
- Data in global cloud structures (US law)
- Long chains of service providers involved
- The location of the data depends on the provider
At Roadex
netcup, servers in Germany
- Everything under our own control
- One hosting partner instead of long provider chains
- We know at all times which data is stored where
Email mailboxes
Every email we receive or send goes through our own mail server. Whether support requests or other important communication.
Commonly used
e.g. Google Workspace, Microsoft 365
- Emails are stored with a US provider
- Processing according to their rules and legal framework
- Mailboxes are tied to a third-party ecosystem
At Roadex
mailcow, self-hosted
- Emails are stored on our servers
- Encrypted delivery to us is enforced
- Independent of third-party accounts
Files & collaboration
This is about file storage, calendars and contacts, an important basis for being able to work together effectively.
Commonly used
e.g. Google Drive, Dropbox
- Company files are stored in someone else's cloud
- Access is governed by the third-party provider's policies
- Everything depends on a third-party account
At Roadex
Nextcloud, self-hosted
- All data on our own servers
- Only our team has access
- Completely independent and self-determined
Internal communication
In our team chat we can quickly discuss our projects and the decisions that go with them.
Commonly used
e.g. Slack, Microsoft Teams
- Conversations are stored in a third-party provider's cloud
- Third-party providers can analyze the content
- Dependent on third-party decisions
At Roadex
Mattermost, self-hosted
- Conversations stay on our servers
- No analysis by third-party providers
- Everything under our control
Helpdesk & support
Our helpdesk collects all support requests in one place, so that we keep track, none of them gets lost and every one gets an answer.
Commonly used
e.g. Zendesk, Freshdesk
- Customer data is stored with the third-party provider
- Processing outside the company's own control
- The third-party provider decides prices and features
At Roadex
Zammad, self-hosted
- Customer data stays on our servers
- Processing under our control
- Our server and our decisions
Crash reporting
Crash reporting brings technical errors from our services to us, so that we can understand them better and fix them quickly.
Commonly used
e.g. Sentry, Datadog
- Crash reports go to third-party providers
- Often including IP addresses and metadata
- The provider decides how long they are kept
At Roadex
GlitchTip, self-hosted
- Crash reports stay on our servers
- IP addresses are not even stored in the first place
- We decide the deletion periods
Web analytics
With analytics we see how many people use our services and what works. Just how sparing we are here, too, is set out in our privacy policies.
Commonly used
e.g. Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics
- Usage data flows to the third-party provider
- Stores and reads on the device, a banner is required
- Permanent recognition and profiles are possible
At Roadex
OpenPanel, self-hosted
- Data stays on our servers
- Nothing is stored on the device for the measurement
- No profiles and no permanent recognition
Project-specific
Neither the Roadex app nor the Schatzbox app has been released yet. As soon as they are, the project-specific privacy details will be shown here.
The privacy details for Roadex will appear with the release.
The privacy details for Schatzbox will appear with the release.
Honest questions
Five answersWhat do the commonly used services do better?
Quite a few things: the large providers have more features, bigger teams and scale for corporations. Anyone who needs in-depth analytics or enterprise features is better served there. We deliberately trade that convenience for control and data minimization, though.
How is Roadex actually funded?
So far Roadex has been funded out of our own pocket and there are no investors. In the future, the Roadex app is to be funded by a single long-term partner, who will then be allowed to include user-friendly advertising in the app. The Schatzbox app has its own solid and distinctive funding model, which will be available on the Schatzbox website after the app is released. One thing is certain, though: we will never fund ourselves through the sale of data. And advertising from networks like Outbrain will never be included either. We do not want to be one of those companies that switch off conscience and morals when it comes to advertising.
So you do not track anything at all?
We do. But as sparingly as possible: cookieless, pseudonymous analytics on our own servers, without profiles, without permanent recognition and without passing anything on to third parties. The exact details are set out in our privacy policies, where our already very data-minimizing analytics can also be switched off if you wish.
Why should anyone believe all this?
You do not have to, because a lot of it can be checked. Our privacy-friendly alternatives and efforts are demonstrably noticeable or leave their own fingerprint. And every browser shows that our websites work without cookies. If something should still be unclear, you can contact us at any time and ask us about it. The only thing that can happen is that we go into rather a lot of detail, because we are very proud of our infrastructure and our efforts and are happy to talk about them.
And what if you do need a third-party service at some point?
Then there are very concrete reasons for it, which we then also communicate openly in our privacy policies. However, we never use third-party services out of convenience, and every case is weighed up very carefully. Third-party providers are not automatically bad either: there are many providers that offer good products and at the same time take privacy seriously. But that always has to be checked very carefully.
What else defines us
Common good
Every app should create real value, instead of just taking up time and attention.
Learn more