Privacy Policy

This is a courtesy translation. The German version is legally binding.

Confidentiality is at the heart of my work, and that includes your data. This page explains which personal data I process, why, and on what legal basis, under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Austrian Data Protection Act (DSG).

1. Controller

Yona Consulting e.U., owner Georges Younes, MSc
Colerusgasse 11/1, 1220 Vienna, Austria
Email: hello@yona.consulting · Phone: +43 660 70 979 02

2. In short

• This website sets no cookies, uses no analytics or tracking tools and embeds no content from social media platforms.
• Fonts and images load directly from this website, not from third-party servers.
• The connection is encrypted with SSL/TLS.
• Email and booking run on Proton in Switzerland, with encrypted storage.
• Anything you share with me in a mediation is also covered by my statutory duty of confidentiality (see section 7).

3. Visiting the website and hosting

This website is hosted by World4You Internet Services GmbH, Wolfgang-Pauli-Straße 2, 4020 Linz, Austria. When you visit, the server records technically necessary access data (IP address, date and time, page requested, browser and operating system, referring page) in log files. They serve the secure and stable operation of the website. The legal basis is my legitimate interest in this (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). I do not analyse this data or combine it with other data. World4You processes it on my behalf (Art. 28 GDPR).

4. Contact by email or phone

When you write to me or call me, I process your details (such as your name, contact details and your request) in order to respond. The legal basis is taking steps prior to entering into a contract (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR) and otherwise my legitimate interest in answering enquiries (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).

My mailbox is operated by Proton AG, Route de la Galaise 32, 1228 Plan-les-Ouates, Switzerland. Emails are stored there with zero-access encryption, so Proton cannot read them. Messages between Proton mailboxes are end-to-end encrypted. Please note that an email sent from another provider is only as protected in transit as that provider allows. Switzerland is covered by an adequacy decision of the European Commission (Art. 45 GDPR). Proton processes the data on my behalf.

Enquiries that do not lead to working together are deleted after one year at the latest.

5. Booking

You can book the first conversation via a Proton Calendar booking page (Proton AG, Switzerland). You provide your name, email address and preferred time, and optionally a short message. I use this data solely to organise and hold the appointment. The legal basis is taking steps prior to entering into a contract (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR). Proton stores calendar data in encrypted form. The booking page opens on proton.me, where Proton AG's privacy notice also applies.

6. Working together: consulting, coaching, facilitation and training

For an assignment, I process the data I need: contact and billing details of the client, names and roles of the people involved, and the content we develop together. The legal bases are the performance of the contract (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR) and legal obligations, for example under tax law (Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR).

In consulting, coaching and training I keep the same confidentiality that binds me as a mediator. What individuals tell me in confidence is passed on only with their consent. Organisations receive results and recommendations, not statements by individuals. I do not record online sessions unless everyone involved expressly agrees.

7. Special provisions for mediation

Confidentiality. As a registered mediator, I am bound by law to keep confidential all facts entrusted to me or otherwise learned in the course of a mediation, and to treat documents created in or handed to me during the mediation as confidential (§ 18 ZivMediatG). This also applies to assistants and continues after the mediation has ended.

Which data. Names and contact details of the parties and, where applicable, their representatives, the subject of the conflict, notes, interim results and agreements. Mediations often touch on very personal matters, such as family or health. These are special categories of data (Art. 9 GDPR). I process them only insofar as you bring them into the mediation yourself and give your explicit consent (Art. 9(2)(a) GDPR). This consent is part of the mediation agreement and can be withdrawn at any time with effect for the future, although the mediation may then not be able to continue.

Legal bases. The mediation agreement (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR), my statutory obligations as a registered mediator (Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR in conjunction with §§ 17 and 18 ZivMediatG) and your explicit consent for special categories of data.

Documentation and retention. I document the beginning, the proper continuation and the end of the mediation and, at the parties' request, record the result in writing. As required by law, I keep these records for at least seven years after the mediation has ended, and the parties receive a copy on request (§ 17 ZivMediatG). Personal notes serve only as an aide-memoire and are destroyed after the mediation has ended.

No disclosure. What one party tells me in an individual session is passed on to the other parties only with that party's consent. An organisation that pays for a mediation learns nothing of its content unless all parties agree. Mediation sessions are not recorded. For online sessions, I agree on the video conferencing tool with the parties in advance.

Your rights in mediation. Your rights under section 10 apply here too. Because of my statutory duty of confidentiality, I can only provide information that other parties have entrusted to me with their consent. Data I am required to keep under § 17 ZivMediatG cannot be deleted before the retention period ends.

8. Recipients

I do not pass your data on to third parties and I do not sell it. Access is limited to service providers who process data on my behalf under contract: World4You (hosting) and Proton AG (email and calendar). Where necessary, billing data goes to my tax adviser and to authorities under statutory obligations. Content from mediations is never passed on unless all parties agree or the law strictly requires it.

9. Retention

I keep data only as long as necessary for the respective purpose. Invoices and accounting records are kept for seven years (§ 132 Austrian Federal Fiscal Code), mediation records for at least seven years after the mediation has ended (§ 17 ZivMediatG), and beyond that for as long as claims arising from an assignment can be asserted.

10. Your rights

You have the right of access, rectification, erasure, restriction of processing, data portability and objection (Art. 15 to 21 GDPR). You may withdraw consent at any time with effect for the future. Just write to hello@yona.consulting.

If you believe that I am not processing your data lawfully, you can lodge a complaint with the Austrian Data Protection Authority: Barichgasse 40–42, 1030 Vienna, www.dsb.gv.at.

11. Other

There is no automated decision-making or profiling. Links to LinkedIn or Proton lead to other providers' websites. Data is only transmitted to them once you click on such a link.

Last updated: October 2026