Cookies & Privacy Policy
Research-grade Quartz Crystal Microbalance with Dissipation monitoring. Open firmware, open schematics, raw data formats — engineered in Pompeii since 2014.
Run the Sauerbrey calculatorLast updated: 8 October 2026
openQCM is a brand of Novaetech S.r.l. (“Novaetech”, “we”, “us”). Novaetech is the data controller for the personal data described here. This policy explains what personal data we collect through openqcm.com, the online store store.openqcm.com, the forum forum.openqcm.com, our social media pages, our emails and our offline contacts (phone, trade shows, visits). It also explains why we collect the data, on what legal basis, for how long, who receives it and what your rights are under Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (“GDPR”) and the Italian Personal Data Protection Code (Legislative Decree 196/2003).
1. Data controller
Novaetech S.r.l., Piazza Bartolo Longo 28, 80045 Pompei (NA), Italy
VAT IT05132311217 · REA NA-735559
Email: privacy@novaetech.com · Phone: +39 351 6119150 · PEC: novaetech@pec.it
We have not appointed a Data Protection Officer, as we are not required to under Article 37 GDPR.
2. Data we collect
- Contact data: name, email address, institution or company, phone number, postal, billing and shipping addresses that you give us through forms, email, the live chat, the phone or at events.
- Order data: products ordered, invoices, payment and delivery status. We do not receive or store full payment card numbers: payments made in the store are handled by the store platform and its payment providers.
- Newsletter data: name and email address; the date, time and IP address of your subscription and of its confirmation (double opt-in), kept as proof of consent; whether you open our newsletters and which links you click.
- Statistics data: only if you accept statistics cookies, Google Analytics records the pages you visit, how you reached the site, your device and browser and your approximate location, under a pseudonymous identifier.
- Chat data: the messages you write and technical data (IP address, browser) handled by tawk.to, only if you accept the live chat cookies.
- Forum data: the account details and the posts you publish on forum.openqcm.com.
- Technical data: IP address, browser and device information and pages requested, recorded in the server logs.
Please do not send us special categories of data (for example health data). If we receive them without asking, we delete them.
3. Purposes, legal bases and retention
| Purpose | Legal basis (Art. 6 GDPR) | How long we keep the data |
|---|---|---|
| Answering your requests (contact form, email, chat, quotes) | Steps taken at your request before a contract (6.1.b); our legitimate interest in replying (6.1.f) | 24 months after the last contact |
| Orders, delivery, warranty and technical support | Performance of a contract (6.1.b) | For the duration of the contract and of the warranty |
| Invoicing, accounting, tax and export-control records | Legal obligation (6.1.c) | 10 years (Article 2220 of the Italian Civil Code) |
| Newsletter, including the measurement of opens and clicks to improve its content | Consent (6.1.a) | Until you unsubscribe; the proof of consent for as long as needed to demonstrate it |
| Emails to customers about products similar to those they bought | Legitimate interest (6.1.f; Article 130(4) of the Italian Privacy Code), with an opt-out in every message | Until you object |
| Website statistics (Google Analytics) | Consent (6.1.a; Article 122 of the Italian Privacy Code) | 14 months |
| Website security and prevention of abuse (server logs) | Legitimate interest (6.1.f) | 30 days, unless needed to investigate an incident |
| Live chat | Consent (6.1.a; Article 122 of the Italian Privacy Code) | As long as needed to answer, then within the chat provider’s retention |
| Defending legal claims | Legitimate interest (6.1.f) | For the applicable limitation period (generally 10 years) |
4. Is providing your data mandatory?
The data marked as required in our forms and the data needed for orders and invoices are necessary: without them we cannot answer you or fulfil the contract. Everything else is optional. Consent to the newsletter and to the live chat is always optional, and refusing it has no effect on purchases or support.
5. Who receives your data
Your data is processed by authorised Novaetech staff and by service providers acting as processors under Article 28 GDPR:
- Aruba S.p.A. (Italy): hosting of the website, of the forum and of our email;
- BigCommerce (USA): the platform of the online store store.openqcm.com, and the payment providers you choose at checkout;
- SendLayer (USA): delivery of the emails sent by the website, including the newsletter (the list of subscribers is kept on our own server);
- Google Ireland Limited (Ireland) and Google LLC (USA): Google Analytics website statistics, only if you accept statistics cookies;
- tawk.to Inc. (USA): live chat, only if you accept it;
- couriers (for example UPS, DHL, FedEx), accountants and IT consultants, for their part of the work.
We also disclose data to public authorities when the law requires it. We do not sell personal data. An up-to-date list of our processors is available on request.
6. Transfers outside the European Economic Area
Some of these providers (BigCommerce, SendLayer, Google, tawk.to) may process data outside the European Economic Area, in particular in the United States. We transfer data only on the basis of an adequacy decision of the European Commission, including the EU-US Data Privacy Framework for certified companies, or of the Standard Contractual Clauses adopted by Commission Decision (EU) 2021/914. You can ask for a copy of these safeguards at the address in section 1.
7. Your rights
You can ask us at any time for access to your data and for its rectification, erasure, restriction or portability (Articles 15–20 GDPR). You can object to processing based on our legitimate interest (Article 21) and, at any time and without giving reasons, to direct marketing. Where processing is based on consent, you can withdraw it at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of the processing carried out before the withdrawal: for the newsletter, use the unsubscribe link in every email; for cookies, use Cookie settings at the bottom of every page.
To exercise your rights, write to privacy@novaetech.com. We answer within one month. We do not use automated decision-making or profiling that produces legal or similarly significant effects on you (Article 22).
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Garante per la protezione dei dati personali (Piazza Venezia 11, 00187 Rome, Italy, www.garanteprivacy.it) or with the supervisory authority of the EU country where you live or work.
8. Cookies
We use technical cookies, which the site needs to work and to remember your cookie choice; they do not require consent. With your consent we also use statistics cookies (Google Analytics), to understand how the site is used; they start only if you accept them in the cookie banner, and no request reaches Google before that. We do not use advertising cookies. The fonts of the site are served from our own server, so no font request reaches third parties.
The live chat (tawk.to) is a third-party service that sets its own cookies: it starts only if you accept it in the cookie banner. When you first visit, the banner lets you accept, refuse or customise these cookies; closing it keeps only the technical cookies. You can change your choice at any time with Cookie settings, at the bottom left of every page. The full, always up-to-date list of cookies, with their providers and durations, is in our Cookie Policy (EU).
The online store store.openqcm.com runs on the BigCommerce platform, which sets the cookies needed for the cart and the checkout; its banner and notice apply there.
9. Minors
Our services are meant for professionals and researchers and are not directed at minors. We do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 18.
10. Security
We use reasonable organisational, technical and administrative measures to protect personal data. Data travelling between your browser and our sites is protected by TLS encryption. No transmission or storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure: if you think your interaction with us is no longer secure, please contact us immediately.
11. Links and social media
Our sites link to other websites (for example scientific publishers, GitHub and our social pages), whose privacy practices are their own. Our pages on social networks are Facebook, X, YouTube and GitHub. For the statistics of our Facebook page (Page Insights), Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd and Novaetech act as joint controllers.
12. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy. The date at the top shows the current version. If the changes are significant, we will tell you on the website or by email.