Why and How We Collect Your Data

At DHL Express we only process your data for specific purposes and where we have a legal basis to do so. This can either be:
  • The performance of a contract or when you take steps into starting a contract with us.
  • To comply with a legal obligation.
  • The legitimate interests pursued and to safeguard your and our rights e.g. to increase your customer satisfaction, to deliver and improve our services for you, to facilitate your communication and interaction with us, to provide you with a more efficient, simplified and cost-effective service, to better manage our relationship with you and the opportunities that are presented with it, to optimize our routes and to better protect your data, to make sure no prohibited and unacceptable items enter our network. We will make sure that these legitimate interests are balanced. When applicable, you have the right to object.
  • Consent, which you may withdraw at any time.
The following are the purposes for which we process your data.
The following are the purposes for which we process your data.

For you as a customer
To provide our services, including
Purpose
Lawful ground for processing
To pick-up and deliver your shipment
Performance of a contract
To manage your shipment in our global network
Performance of a contract
To comply with all import and export regulations
Performance of a contract
Legal obligation
To identify you
Performance of a contract
Legal obligation
Legitimate interest
Consent
To support you with the use of our tools
Performance of a contract
To allow our business partners to serve you
Performance of a contract
To process financial data from you
Performance of a contract
To manage our relationship with you, including
Purpose
Lawful ground for processing
To improve your DHL experience and our products and services e.g. events, sweepstakes, surveys
Performance of a contract
Legitimate interest
Consent
To keep you up to date on our products and services that may interest you
Legitimate interest
Consent
To expand our products and services
Performance of a contract
Legitimate interest
Consent
To facilitate your visit on our website
Consent
To onboard you as a new customer
Performance of a contract
Legitimate interest
To communicate with you
Performance of a contract
Legitimate interest
For you as a business partner
To deliver services to us, including
Purpose
Lawful ground for processing
To manage our relationship with you
Performance of a contract
Legitimate interest
For you to provide services to us
Performance of a contract
For you as a candidate employee
To welcome you joining us, including
Purpose
Lawful ground for processing
To register you as a candidate e.g. job fairs
Performance of a contract
Legitimate interest
To check your eligibility
Performance of a contract
Legitimate interest
To onboard you
Performance of a contract
For everyone
To protect and secure your data, including
Purpose
Lawful ground for processing
To ensure the security of our networks and information systems
Legal obligation
Legitimate interest
To protect you
Legal obligation
Legitimate interest
Visiting our website
Visiting our website
When you visit our websites, we capture your data which is necessary for us to make the website accessible to you (e.g. IP address, date and duration of your visit). Further storage in log files is performed to ensure the functionality of our websites and the security of our systems. We therefore have a legitimate interest in processing your data. We delete your data as soon as it is no longer needed to fulfill the purpose for which it was collected.
Shipment screening
Shipment screening
Shipments are screened to verify their content, to match the detailed description, to check their value and to comply with the applicable law and our Terms of Carriage. We screen all shipments for security purposes to avoid that prohibited and unacceptable items enter our network or to detect criminal offences or misuse. We have a legitimate interest for this processing as it ensures the smooth operation and continuous improvement of our products for your benefit.
Shipment exceptions
Shipment exceptions
At DHL we strive to deliver your shipment with the utmost care and without undue delay. If we cannot deliver your shipment, it will be returned to the shipper. When no address can be found, it will be handled in the DHL Found Shipment Center where we may be obliged to open your shipment to identify a return or delivery address. Therefore, we have a legitimate interest to process your data.
Denied Party Screening
Denied Party Screening

Denied Parties are individuals or entities who are involved in illegal activities such as drug trafficking, money laundering, counterfeiting, fraud or terrorism. For these reasons they are denied shipping privileges by government agencies. Any transaction with someone on a Denied Party list is prohibited.

Every shipment sent via the DHL Express network is screened for any possible link to a Denied Party. In the event a potential link is detected, the shipment will be held back for further screening. To do this and to facilitate the quick release of your shipment, we will request a proof of your identification. Once your identity is verified, the provided document will be deleted.

Based on DHL Express’ and your legitimate interest, we will process your data and we may keep strictly necessary data for a limited period. This prevents your future shipments from being delayed due to the screening process. Nonetheless, you have the right to object, verbally or in writing.

If you have any questions on the regulations, trade sanctions and Denied Parties, please visit the websites of the relevant authorities, e.g. United Nations, European Union and US Government.

Calls and call recordings
Calls and call recordings
In certain cases, DHL will call you to clarify contractual topics, to gather your feedback or for marketing purposes. The legal basis is either performance of a contract, legitimate interest or consent. For example, in some countries, calls for marketing purposes are only made with your prior consent.
If you call us or we call you, the call can be recorded for shipment related matters, training and quality assurance. We will process your call recording according to the applicable data protection and telecommunication laws. Where the call recording is subject to consent, the call will only be recorded after you give your consent. You can withdraw your consent at any time. From that moment on, all communication will no longer be recorded. In countries where the call recording is subject to legitimate interest, you may object to the recording.
Customs clearance
Customs clearance
We want to ensure that your shipment arrives as quickly as possible by facilitating the customs clearance process for you. To do this, it is necessary that you provide us with all the required documents for customs clearance. As customs varies on country level, different legal requirements can apply. For example, in certain countries, customs authorities require the social security number, the national ID or a passport copy to clear the shipment. To comply with the customs regulation and to fulfill our contractual obligations, the processing of your data is necessary. In cases where we keep your data for future shipments, we will ask your consent which you can withdraw at any time.
Digital messaging
Digital messaging
To facilitate the communication between us, we offer you to contact us via third party communication channels of your choice (e.g. Facebook, WhatsApp and DHL Virtual Assistant). The systems respond with keyword-based answers or passes your request to a staff member in a live chat. This will be a quick and easy way to have answers on your shipment status or on our products and services. Therefore, we have a legitimate interest in processing your data for the facilitation of our communication. If you do not wish to make use of such a channel, you are welcome to contact our customer service. For further information on data protection practices of the channel providers, please visit their websites.
Cookies and other technologies
Cookies and other technologies
DHL makes use of various technologies to store your user preferences or other information to make our services to you as convenient and efficient as possible. When you access our website, a Privacy Preference Center will inform you that by using our website your consent is required to the use of certain cookies, such as analytical cookies.
Geolocation
Geolocation
DHL will only collect your location directly from you. We offer you an improved user experience on our systems by integrating mapping systems (e.g. Google Maps, Microsoft Bing Maps…). This can be part of shipment tracking, location search and delivery to DHL Service Points in case you have chosen to redirect your shipment. Depending on the country, this processing can be based on legitimate interest or your consent.
Video Surveillance ‘CCTV’
Video Surveillance ‘CCTV’
DHL has installed video surveillance cameras to control the access to the building and specific areas such as parking lot, as well as to perform oversight on business operations within the DHL warehouse. Video surveillance is used to guarantee the safety of its visitors, personnel, and property, as well as any operational information stored on its premises. Therefore, we have a legitimate interest for security and access control purposes, which are necessary for the management of DHL buildings.
Social media fan pages
Social media fan pages
We make our social media fan pages, such as Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn accessible to you to better manage our relationship. Therefore, we have a legitimate interest in processing your data. For more information, please visit our Privacy Notices on our social media fan pages.
DHL Service Points
DHL Service Points
It is possible for you to send and receive packages via Service Points. These Service Points can be owned by DHL or by a third party business partner (e.g. your local newspaper shop). If you choose to operate via a Service Point, DHL will process only the minimum and strictly necessary data to perform our contractual obligations towards you. This could be the delivery of your package to your preferred Service Point or sending your packages to your intended recipient.
Payment partners
Payment partners
DHL offers you several payment options to facilitate your payment experience. We accept all major debit and credit cards, as well as online payment systems. Your payment data will be processed in accordance with payment industry processing standards to provide the service you request and to fulfill our contractual obligations.
We primarily collect and use your data to pick-up, transport and deliver your shipment.
We may collect your data directly or indirectly. When you actively share information with us by e.g. creating an account, contacting us or filling in a form on our website or a survey, we receive your data directly from you. When we receive your data from an external third party (e.g. shipper), we receive your data indirectly. In this case, it is the responsibility of the supplier of the data to ensure the accuracy of the data and to transfer it to us in accordance with applicable law.
We process data for you as our business partner, in order for us to manage our contracts with you or to receive services from you.
We only collect and process the data necessary for our agreed contractual purposes and will only share data in accordance with applicable data protection laws and limited to the agreed purposes.
We use your services to better serve our employees and our customers. This allows DHL to guarantee a close proximity to our customers for their pick-up and delivery, shipment data management services, partners for safety and security, audits, payment providers and IT hosting.
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