Privacy Policy

Thank you for your interest in our website and our services. For us, data is the basis for excellent service. However, our most important asset is the trust of our customers. Protecting customer data and using it only in the way our customers expect, is our number one priority. The following privacy notice is therefore intended to inform you about the processing of your personal data and your rights in this processing in accordance with the applicable laws and data protection regulations.

1. General information

1.1 Responsible for the operation of this website is METRO PAKISTAN PRIVATE LIMITED 2-KM Thokar Niaz Baig Multan Road, Lahore (hereinafter "METRO", "we" or "us").

1.2 If you have any questions about privacy and data protection, you can contact our data protection officer using the following contact details: METRO, Data Protection Officer, email: mariatahir@metro.pk.

1.3 This privacy policy explains how we collect, process and use personal data in connection with the provisions of our website. Personal data are individual details about your personal or factual circumstances. We process your personal data that we collect, store and use exclusively within the framework of the applicable legal regulations.

1.4 We have taken appropriate technical measures to ensure that your data is protected against unauthorized disclosure, unlawful use, alteration and destruction. METRO employees are required to comply with data protection regulations when handling (personal) data.

2. Processing of Personal Data and Transfer to Third Parties

2.1 Some personal data is collected automatically via your device (computer, mobile phone, tablet, etc.) when you use our website. The IP address currently used by your device, date and time, the type of browser and operating system of your device and the pages accessed are recorded. This is done for the purposes of data security and to optimize our offer as well as to improve our website. Any other analysis, with the exception of statistical purposes, and that always in anonymous form, is only carried out within the scope of this privacy policy. This personal data is processed strictly in accordance with applicable laws, the protection of our website and the optimization of our services constitute a legitimate interest of METRO.

2.2 If you contact us (for example via a contact form), we only collect, process and use the personal data that you have made available to us and that is necessary to process and respond to your enquiry.

2.3 You can register for our information offer via a separate form. Based on the selection of your search criteria, an individual information offer will be created. Upon entering your e-mail address and your consent to the use of your data, we will send you the information offer regularly to this address. The sending of our information takes place only with your consent. You can opt out of receiving the information at any time via the respective link at the bottom of each message that you receive from us.

2.4 In order to enable the data processing procedures mentioned in this privacy policy, we use service providers as data processors, for example service providers for sending e-mails, maintenance, and other services. These are both external service providers and service providers within METRO. Through contractual arrangements, we ensure that these service providers process personal data in accordance with the applicable laws in order to guarantee a high level of privacy, even if personal data is transferred to a country with a different level of data protection. No further transmission of personal data to other recipients takes place unless we are legally obliged to do so.

3. Cookies

We use so-called cookies to make our services attractive to visitors and to enable the use of certain functions. These are small text files that are stored on your device. Some of the cookies we use are deleted after the end of the browser session, i.e. after closing your browser (so-called session cookies). Other cookies remain on your device and enable us to recognise your browser on your next visit (persistent cookies). We also use Performance, Functional, and Third-party cookies to improve performance of our site, remember the choices you make, and analyze user behavior. You can configure your browser so that you are notified when you receive a cookie, and you can decide on an individual basis if you want to accept them; you can also refuse cookies for certain cases or generally refuse them. For more information, see the help section of your browser. If you do not accept cookies, the functionality of our website may be limited. By continuing to use our website without changing your browser settings, you consent to our use of cookies as described above.

4. Individual Services

4.1 Google Analytics: If you have activated performance/statistics cookies, this website uses Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA ("Google"). Google Analytics uses "cookies", which are text files placed on your computer, to help the website analyze how users use the site. The information generated by the cookie about your use of the website will usually be transmitted to and stored by Google on servers in the United States.

We use Google Analytics to analyze and regularly improve the use of our website. The statistics obtained enable us to improve our offer and make it more interesting for you as a user.

On behalf of METRO as operator of this website, Google will use this information for the purpose of evaluating your use of the website, compiling reports on website activity, and providing other services relating to website activity and internet usage to the website operator.

The IP address transmitted by your browser as part of Google Analytics will not be merged with other data from Google. The data sent by us and linked to cookies, user IDs (e.g. user ID) or advertising IDs are automatically deleted after 14 months. The deletion of data whose retention period has been reached takes place automatically once a month.

You may refuse the use of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your browser, however, please note that, if you do this, you may not be able to use the full functionality of this website. You can also prevent the collection of data generated by the cookie and related to your use of the website (including your IP address) to Google and the processing of this data by Google by downloading and installing the browser plug-in available at the following link: http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=en.

We use Google Analytics to analyze and regularly improve the use of our website. The statistics obtained enable us to improve our offer and make it more interesting for you as a user. Your consent can be revoked at any time with effect for the future and without giving reasons by contacting us as set out above. Any processing up to the time of the revocation remains unaffected.

4.2 We use Google Tag Manager, a service provided by Google Ireland Limited ("Google"), Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland. Google Tag Manager is a tag management system that enables the integration and management of various scripts and services—such as Google Analytics and advertising tools—on our website. Google Tag Manager itself does not access or store personal data. It functions purely as a container for other services (referred to as “components” or “tags”), which may collect data independently if you have consented to them. If a deactivation has been made at the domain or cookie level, it remains in effect for all tags implemented via Google Tag Manager. We use this tool based on our legitimate interest in optimizing the structure, functionality, and efficiency of our website.

One of the services managed through Google Tag Manager is Google Enhanced Conversion, an advertising feature that helps us measure the effectiveness of our Google Ads campaigns without relying on third-party cookies. When you complete a conversion event on our website—such as making a purchase or subscribing to our newsletter—and if you have given consent to advertising cookies, we may collect the email address you provide during that process. This email address is automatically hashed using an industry-standard one-way hashing algorithm and securely transmitted in encrypted form to Google. Google then attempts to match this hashed information against its own data from logged-in users to determine whether the conversion can be attributed to a prior interaction with one of our ads. If a match is found, the conversion is reported to our Google Ads account in aggregate form. We do not receive any data that allows us to identify individual users, and all conversions—whether enhanced or standard—are reported in the same manner. The hashed data is retained by Google for a maximum of 20 days and is automatically deleted thereafter.

The use of Google Tag Manager is based on our legitimate interest in managing and deploying services efficiently as provided under Article 6 paragraph 1 sentence 1 lit. f GDPR. The use of Google Enhanced Conversion and the associated processing of your email address occurs only with your explicit consent under Article 6 paragraph 1 sentence 1 lit. a GDPR. You may withdraw your consent at any time by adjusting your cookie preferences. Any data processing that has taken place prior to the withdrawal remains lawful. For more details on how Google processes data, please refer to Google’s privacy policy at: https://www.google.de/intl/de/policies/privacy/.

5. Provision of personal data and retention periods

The provision of your personal data is voluntary. You are not legally obliged to make your personal data available to us. If you choose not to make your personal data available to us, this has no consequences for you, except that you may eventually not be able to use our services. Personal data that you make available to us via our website will only be stored until the purpose for which it was processed has been fulfilled, until you tell us to delete your data or there is a statutory retention period. If the processing of your data is based on consent, we will delete your data if you withdraw your consent, unless we are required by law to retain the personal data.

6. Your rights

In order to exercise your rights

obtain information about the processing of your personal data and a copy of this data,

rectification of inaccurate and completion of incomplete personal data,

erasure of your personal data and, if these have been made public, that METRO informs other controllers about the erasure request,

restriction of processing of your personal data,

data portability, so that your personal data is transmitted to you in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format and the right to transmit this data to another controller without any hindrance from METRO,

withdrawal of consent given; the withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal and

object to processing of your data, you can contact METRO’s Data Protection Officer at any time.

If your personal data is processed on the basis of legitimate interests, you have the right to object to the processing of your personal data, provided that there are grounds for doing so that arise from your particular situation. If you wish to exercise your right to object, simply send an e-mail to METRO's Data Protection Officer (see above).

7. Updates

We reserve the right to update this data protection notice from time to time. Updates to this data protection notice will be posted on our website.