Privacy policy

As of November 2026. This is a translation. The legally binding version is the German one: Datenschutzerklärung.

This privacy policy applies to our website, to your contact with us, to your orders and to all KORTLEN products. It tells you which personal data we process and why, where it is kept, who receives it, and which rights and controls you have.

Each product has its own part in section 8: KORTLEN mice and the app KORTLEN Mouse Studio.

1. Controller

KORTLEN, owner Saleh Habibian
Am Girrenbach 10
87534 Oberstaufen
Germany
Email: info@kortlen.com
Phone: +49 159 017 27 490

2. The most important points

  • We use no cookies and no analytics, tracking or advertising tools, neither on the website nor in our products.
  • We do not sell your data and we do not pass it on for advertising.
  • The website loads nothing from other servers. Even the fonts are on our own server.
  • KORTLEN mice have no internet connection and send nothing to us.
  • The app KORTLEN Mouse Studio needs no account. Your settings, bindings and macros stay on your computer and in your mouse. They are never sent to us or to anyone else. The app connects only to our own server, for updates (section 8.2).
  • We only process the data that we need to run the website and our products, to answer your messages and for orders.

3. Hosting and server log files

Our website, and the files that our products download from the internet, are on a server of Contabo GmbH, Aschauer Straße 32a, 81549 Munich, in a data centre in the European Union.

Each time a page or file is requested, by your browser or by one of our products, the server automatically stores in log files:

  • the IP address of your device
  • the date and time of the request
  • the page or file requested
  • the status code and the amount of data sent
  • the page you came from (referrer), if there is one
  • your browser and operating system, or the technical label of our app (user agent)

We need this data to run the website and the downloads safely and without errors, for example to detect and stop attacks. The legal basis is our legitimate interest under Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR. The log files are deleted automatically after 14 days. We do not combine them with other data.

4. Encryption

The website and the connections of our products use TLS encryption (HTTPS). In a browser, you can see it by "https://" and the lock symbol in the address bar.

5. Storage in your browser: your choice of language

When you choose a language in the menu at the top (EN or DE), your browser stores this choice in its local storage under the name "kortlen-lang". So the start page opens in the right language on your next visit. This stays on your device and is not sent to us. It is not a cookie.

The legal basis is § 25 (2) no. 2 TDDDG: storing it is strictly necessary to provide the function you asked for. You can delete it at any time in your browser's settings (site data).

6. Contact by email or phone

When you contact us by email (for example at info@kortlen.com or support@kortlen.com) or by phone, we process your details to handle your request: your email address or phone number, your name, the content of your message and anything else you send us, for example screenshots or the version of the app.

The legal basis is Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR if your request is about a contract or an order, otherwise our legitimate interest in answering under Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR. Our emails are hosted by STRATO GmbH, Otto-Ostrowski-Straße 7, 10249 Berlin, Germany.

We delete your request when it is settled, unless we have to keep it, for example as a business letter (see section 7).

Please note: emails are usually not encrypted end to end. So please do not send us confidential data by email.

7. Orders

When you order from us, we process the data we need for the contract, delivery, payment and invoice: your name, your delivery and billing address, your email address, the order details and the payment details. The legal basis is Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR.

We only pass this data on as far as the order needs it:

  • to the carrier that delivers the order (DHL, UPS or FedEx): your name, your delivery address and, where the carrier needs it for delivery or the customs declaration, your phone number or email address
  • when you pay via PayPal: to PayPal (Europe) S.à r.l. et Cie, S.C.A., 22–24 Boulevard Royal, L-2449 Luxembourg, the data needed for the payment. PayPal's own privacy policy applies to PayPal.

If we deliver to a country outside the European Union, this data goes to that country, because the delivery requires it (Art. 49 (1) (b) GDPR).

When you pay by bank transfer, we see your name, your bank details and the amount in our bank statements.

When you buy through an online marketplace on which we ourselves act as the seller, we receive from the marketplace the data we need for delivery and the invoice: your name, your delivery address and the order details. The operator of the marketplace is responsible for the processing on the marketplace itself; its privacy policy applies there.

We keep invoices and accounting records for as long as commercial and tax law requires (§ 257 HGB, § 147 AO; currently up to 10 years). The legal basis for this is Art. 6 (1) (c) GDPR. After that, we delete the data.

8. Our products

Here you find out what our products do with personal data. When we add a product, it gets its own part here.

8.1 KORTLEN mice

A KORTLEN mouse is connected to your computer with a USB cable. It has no internet connection, it collects no data about you and it sends nothing to us or to anyone else. It only tells the connected computer what a mouse has to tell it: movements, button presses and the key presses you gave to its buttons.

The mouse has its own memory. It keeps there the settings, the jobs of the buttons and the macros that you set with the app KORTLEN Mouse Studio (section 8.2). A macro can contain text you typed. Program names and window titles are not stored in the mouse. What is stored can stay in the mouse when you connect it to another computer.

Like most USB devices, the mouse gives the computer a technical identification with a serial number taken from its chip. The operating system uses it to recognise the device. Our app does not use this number and does not send it.

8.2 The app KORTLEN Mouse Studio

This part applies to the app for Windows and for macOS, wherever you get it: from the Microsoft Store (Windows) or from our website. Where the versions differ, we say so. The app needs no account and does not ask for your name, your email address or other personal details. It shows no ads and contains no analytics or tracking tools.

What the app reads on your computer

  • The program in front. While the app runs, also in the background, it keeps checking which program is in front, the title of its window and the keyboard layout in use. It needs this to carry out the bindings you set for a program or a window. A window title can contain personal things, for example the name of a file or the title of a website.
  • Your keyboard and mouse, only when you ask. While you record a macro, pick a key or pick a point on the screen, the app listens to your keyboard and mouse, in all programs. It stops right after. At all other times it does not listen to your keyboard.
  • Your KORTLEN mouse. The app reads the model and firmware version of the mouse and its button presses, and it uses the position of the cursor to carry out your bindings.

All of this happens only on your computer. We receive none of it.

On a Mac, the app needs your permission for this: macOS asks you to allow it under Accessibility. You can take it back at any time in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility.

The app does not read your documents, your clipboard or what is on your screen, and it takes no screenshots. It does not use your camera, your microphone, your contacts or your location. It reads a file only when you choose that file yourself, for example to import a configuration.

What the app stores, and where

The app stores in its own data folder on your computer:

  • your settings, for example the colour theme and the double click speed
  • your bindings: which button does what, and for which program or window. So they contain the program names and window titles you set, and the paths of the programs or files you want a button to open.
  • your macros. A recorded macro contains the keys you pressed while recording, so it can contain text you typed.

A program name or window title is stored only when you save it in a binding; the app forgets all others. What you record goes only into the macro you are making.

In the Microsoft Store version, this folder is the app's private folder in your Windows user profile. In the Windows version from our website, it is the app's own folder. On a Mac, it is the folder Library/Application Support/KORTLEN Mouse Studio in your home folder. The data stays there until you change or delete it or remove the app. We have no access to it.

Over the USB cable, the app also puts your settings, bindings and macros into the memory of your KORTLEN mouse (section 8.1).

What the app sends over the internet

The app connects only to our own server, kortlen.com, and only for this:

  • Firmware check: when you open Preferences → Update, or press "Check now" for the firmware there, the app asks which firmware is the newest for the model of your mouse.
  • Firmware download: when you press "Update firmware", the app downloads the new firmware.
  • New app versions, only in the version from our website: shortly after it starts, then once a day while it runs, and when you press "Check now" for the app, the app asks whether there is a new version of the app.

The Microsoft Store version does not ask about new app versions, because the Store brings its updates. So it connects to our server only when you open that page or press one of its two firmware buttons.

Each time, our server receives the IP address of your computer, the date and time, the file requested (its address names the model of your mouse) and a technical label of the app (user agent), which can contain the app's name and version. The server stores this in its log files (section 3).

We use this data only to answer the request and to run the server safely. Nothing else is sent: no settings, bindings or macros, no program names or window titles, nothing you type, no usage statistics and no crash reports.

The legal basis is Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR for a check or an update you start, and our legitimate interest under Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR for the regular question about new versions (keeping the app up to date and secure). Storing your settings on your computer and reading which program is in front are strictly necessary to provide the function you asked for (§ 25 (2) no. 2 TDDDG).

How your data is protected

  • All connections between the app and our server are encrypted with TLS (HTTPS).
  • The log files on our server are deleted automatically after 14 days.
  • The data folder on your computer holds ordinary files. They are protected by your user account, like your other files on the computer, but they are not encrypted. So please do not record passwords or other secrets in a macro.

Who receives data

Data from the app goes only to these types of recipients:

  • our hosting provider Contabo (section 3): the data of each request named above
  • our email provider STRATO and your own email service: when you write to us (see below and section 6)
  • Microsoft: if you get the app from the Microsoft Store (see below)
  • public authorities: only if the law obliges us

Nobody else receives anything. We do not sell data, and advertising companies, analytics services and data brokers receive nothing.

Your controls, and how to get to your data

  • See, change, delete: "Manage bindings" shows all your bindings in the app, and you can change or delete them there. You can also change and delete your macros in the app.
  • Get a copy: File → Export Current Configuration saves your bindings and macros in a readable file (JSON), in a place you choose. File → Import a Configuration loads such a file.
  • Stop the reading: end the app with Exit in its menu. Closing its window is not enough, because it then runs on in the background. When it is not running, it reads nothing and connects to nothing.
  • Internet: the firmware check happens only when you open Preferences → Update or press "Check now" there, and the download only when you press "Update firmware". The regular question in the version from our website cannot be turned off in the app, but you can block the app's internet access in your firewall. The app also works without internet; you just do not hear about new versions.
  • Remove your data from your computer: when you remove the Microsoft Store version, Windows also deletes its data folder. For the Windows version from our website, delete the app's folder. On a Mac, delete the app and its data folder named above. Files you exported are yours to delete.
  • Data held by us: the app has no account, so its requests do not tell us who you are. To use your rights (section 10) for log files or emails, write to us at info@kortlen.com. To find entries in the log files, we need your IP address and the rough time.

Support, feedback and links

Help → Support/Feedback opens your email program with a new message to us; the subject names the app and its version. If your computer has no email program, the app offers to open a new message at Gmail, Outlook.com or Yahoo Mail in your browser, or to copy our address. Nothing is sent until you send the email yourself. Then section 6 applies and, for the email service you use, that service's own privacy policy.

The user manual and the other links in the Help menu open in your browser. Sections 3 to 5 apply to our own pages, and section 9 to other websites.

Microsoft Store

If you get the app from the Microsoft Store, Microsoft handles the download, the installation and the updates. Microsoft is itself responsible for this, and its privacy statement applies: privacy.microsoft.com. In its developer portal (Partner Center), Microsoft may show us statistics about downloads, installations and app crashes, and reviews you write in the Store. The statistics do not tell us who you are.

9. Links to other websites

Our pages and our app contain links to other websites, for example to Freepik or Microsoft. Only when you click such a link does your browser open the other website, and its privacy policy applies. We load nothing from these websites into our pages.

10. Your rights

You have the right to:

  • information about the data we process about you (Art. 15 GDPR)
  • correction of wrong data (Art. 16 GDPR)
  • deletion of your data (Art. 17 GDPR)
  • restriction of processing (Art. 18 GDPR)
  • data portability (Art. 20 GDPR)
  • withdraw a consent, with effect for the future (Art. 7 (3) GDPR)

Right to object: where we process data on the basis of our legitimate interest (Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR), you can object to this processing at any time, for reasons arising from your particular situation (Art. 21 GDPR).

Just write to us at info@kortlen.com.

You can also complain to a data protection supervisory authority (Art. 77 GDPR). The authority responsible for us is the Bavarian State Office for Data Protection Supervision (BayLDA), Promenade 18, 91522 Ansbach, Germany, www.lda.bayern.de.

11. Children

Our website and our products are not directed at children, and we do not knowingly ask children for personal data. If you are a parent and think your child has sent us personal data, write to us at info@kortlen.com. We will then delete it, unless the law requires us to keep it.

12. No automated decisions

We make no automated decisions and create no profiles (Art. 22 GDPR).

13. Changes

When our products, our website, our offers or the law change, we update this privacy policy. When a product gets a new function that handles personal data, we describe it here by the time that function comes out. The version on this page applies.