Privacy policy

1. Who is responsible for your data

• Controller: Athanasios Fotiou (ΦΩΤΙΟΥ ΑΘΑΝΑΣΙΟΣ), trading as GreenShield Pest Control
• Activity: pest control, rodent control and disinfection
• Registered office: 26is Oktovriou 8, 54627 Thessaloniki; second office: Kassandreia 63077
• Greek tax number (ΑΦΜ): 172753364, tax office Z' Thessaloniki
• Responsible scientist: Athanasios Fotiou, agronomist, licence no. 8191 of the Greek Ministry of Rural Development and Food
• Contact for personal data matters: info@greenshield.gr, +30 697 973 8767

2. What data we collect

When you fill in a form or call us: your name or business name, phone number, email, area and type of premises, and whatever you write in your message. We also keep the date and IP address of the submission as a record of what you asked for and when. If you choose to add a photo to the form, we receive it by email so that the agronomist can see the problem before calling you. It is not published or stored on the website; it is kept together with your request for the period stated below. Please do not upload photos showing faces or personal documents.

When you become a customer: billing details, the address of the premises, treatment history, treatment records (including short-term rental certificates), floor plans and other documents required by the law on biocide applications.

In our campaign for food businesses: we use business details from public sources (business name, address, phone number, for example OpenStreetMap and public directories) to send a letter by post or to phone the business address. We do not send marketing emails unless you ask for them.

When you visit the website: technical data (IP address, browser type, pages viewed) and statistics cookies, only if you accept them. If you accept cookies and open a recommendation link from a customer (Greek pages only, when this feature is available), a session cookie (gs_ref) keeps the recommendation code until you close the browser.

When you ask for a programme proposal for your business: in the window «Which programme suits your business?» we keep your answers (sector, main concern, size of premises, whether you already have a pest control provider), your business name, your email and, if you give them, your phone number and area. Only if you tick the relevant box do we send you the proposal, the checklist for your sector and up to 4 further informative emails about our programmes over the following weeks. We keep the date and text of your consent as proof. The series stops as soon as you choose a programme, ask for an inspection or click unsubscribe.

Google reviews on the website: the reviews shown on the website come unchanged from Google, with the name and profile photo their author chose on Google. Profile photos load directly from Google's servers.

If you ask for a personal recommendation link (Greek pages only, when this feature is available): your name and phone number, the code and how many requests came with it, and, to prevent abuse, a one-way code (hash) of your IP address for up to one hour. The legal basis is your consent; you can ask us to delete it at any time.

2.1 The photo insect-identification tool

On the page «What insect is this?» (in Greek), the photo you upload is first reduced in size on your device and then sent, without your name, phone number or any other identifying detail, to a third-party artificial intelligence provider (Google Gemini or, as an alternative, Anthropic Claude; USA) so that the insect can be identified. The provider returns only the identification result. It may keep the content for a limited period under its own terms and, when Google's free tier is used, may use it to improve its services. That is why the photo is sent without any identifying detail.

We do not store the photo. We keep only anonymous statistics (time, insect identified, confidence level) and, to protect the tool from abuse, an encrypted code of your IP address for up to 24 hours. The photo reaches us only if you press «Send it to the agronomist» or «Request a visit» and fill in the form; in that case the rules for forms above apply. Please do not upload photos showing faces or documents. The legal basis is your request (article 6(1)(b) GDPR).

2.2 Pest forecast email alerts

If you sign up for pest forecast alerts by email, we use double opt-in: your subscription starts only after you open the link in our first email and press the button on that page. Every alert includes an unsubscribe link. We keep your email address, your area, the choices you made, your language, the dates of your consent and confirmation and when each alert was sent, until you unsubscribe. The legal basis is your consent.

If you do not complete the confirmation, your details are deleted after 7 days. After confirmation, we send an email only when the forecast shows the start of a season for what you chose, and never a second one for the same pest within three weeks. The unsubscribe link opens a page with a button; pressing it deletes your details immediately. To prevent abuse we keep a one-way code (hash) of your IP address for up to one day and, for up to 24 hours, a hash of your email address, so that no more than two confirmation emails a day go to the same address and, for one day, no second one for the same area. Weather data come from MET Norway, which receives none of your data.

2.3 The «Ask us» assistant

The assistant is available only on the Greek pages of the website and answers in Greek. When you type a question in it, the conversation text is sent to Google (Gemini, USA) to produce an answer, without your name or any other identifying detail. Before it is shown, the answer is checked again automatically by the same service against our rules (only the answer text is sent). As with the insect identification tool, Google may keep the content for a limited time and, on the free tier, use it to improve its services, so please do not write personal details.

We do not store the content of conversations. We keep only anonymous statistics (time, language, model, response time, whether a call or form was suggested, errors and whether the answer was blocked by the filter) and, to prevent abuse, a one-way code (hash) of your IP address and its network for up to 24 hours. The quick questions (prices, opening hours, areas, short-term rental certificate) are answered from ready-made text on our site, without calling Google, and are not added to the conversation that is sent to Google. The legal basis is your request (article 6(1)(b) GDPR).

3. Why we use your data and on what legal basis

• To answer your request and carry out the work: performance of a contract or steps taken before a contract (article 6(1)(b) GDPR)
• To contact businesses by post or phone: legitimate interest in promoting our services to businesses (article 6(1)(f) GDPR); you can object at any time and we stop
• For informative emails: only with your consent (article 11 of Greek law 3471/2006), or to existing customers about a similar service, always with an unsubscribe option in every message
• For statistics cookies: only with your consent
• For invoices and treatment records (including short-term rental certificates): legal obligation (article 6(1)(c) GDPR)

4. How long we keep your data

• Requests that did not lead to a contract: 12 months
• Customer data and treatment documents: for as long as we work together and then for as long as tax and health legislation requires (as a rule, 5 years)
• Consent for emails: until you unsubscribe or ask us to stop
• Businesses that asked not to receive letters or calls: we keep only the minimum (business name and an opt-out note) so that we do not contact them again
• Pest forecast alerts: until you unsubscribe; unconfirmed sign-ups are deleted after 7 days
• Recommendation codes (when this feature is available): up to 24 months

5. Who else sees your data

We do not sell or exchange data. We share it only with those who need it for the service to work:

• the company that hosts the website and our customer management system
• the email delivery service
• Google, for website statistics and our business profile (if you have accepted cookies)
• the artificial intelligence provider, without identifying details: Google Gemini or Anthropic for the photo in the insect-identification tool; only Google Gemini for the messages of the «Ask us» assistant
• our accountant, for invoices and receipts
• a partner scientist, where needed to issue specific documents
• public authorities, where the law requires it

5.1 Transfers outside the EU

Some of these providers may process data outside the European Union, with the protections required by the GDPR.

6. Your rights

You can ask for a copy of your data, correction, deletion, restriction or portability, object to marketing, and withdraw any consent you have given, without affecting anything done lawfully before you withdrew it.

Write to info@greenshield.gr. We reply within one month and we do not charge anything.

If you believe we have not respected your rights, you can complain to the Hellenic Data Protection Authority (1-3 Kifisias Avenue, 11523 Athens, www.dpa.gr).

7. How to stop hearing from us

• Email: the unsubscribe link at the end of every alert or informative email (and one click on the button on the page it opens); it takes effect immediately
• Letters: send «ΔΙΑΓΡΑΦΗ» (unsubscribe) with the code on the letter to info@greenshield.gr
• Phone: tell us during the call or write to us; we add you to our exclusion list and do not call again

8. Cookies

The website uses technical cookies that are necessary for it to work, and Google statistics cookies, which are activated only if you accept them. You can change your mind at any time: click Cookie settings (the link is also in the footer of every page) or delete cookies in your browser.

9. Security

The website and our customer management system run over an encrypted connection. Access to customer records requires personal passwords and is limited to those who need it for their work.

10. Changes and language

If anything material changes, we will update this page and the date at the top.

This English text is a summary for convenience. The Greek version of our privacy policy is the official one, and if the two differ, the Greek version prevails.