imprint

Information in accordance with the information obligation according to Section 5 of the E-Commerce Act, Section 14 of the Austrian Commercial Code, Section 63 of the Trade Regulation Act and the disclosure obligation according to Section 25 of the Media Act.

Strizi
Bernhard Stadler
Salzburger Straße 49,
5110 Oberndorf near Salzburg,
Austria

Business purpose: Commercial enterprises (except regulated commercial enterprises)
VAT number: ATU66405703
GLN: 9110007570916
GISA: 18268010

Phone: 06272 20420
E-mail: strizi@strizi.at

Professional law: Trade regulations: www.ris.bka.gv.at

Supervisory authority/trade authority: District Authority Salzburg-Umgebung
Job title: Retail trade in clothing and textiles
Awarding country: Austria

Contact details of the data protection officer
If you have any questions about data protection, you will find the contact details of the responsible person or body below:
Bernhard Stadler
E-mail address: strizi@strizi.at
Phone: +43 (0)6272 20420

EU dispute settlement

In accordance with the Regulation on Online Dispute Resolution in Consumer Affairs (ODR Regulation), we would like to inform you about the Online Dispute Resolution Platform (OS Platform).
Consumers have the opportunity to submit complaints to the European Commission’s online dispute resolution platform at https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/main/index.cfm?event=main.home2.show&lng=DE You can find the necessary contact details above in our legal notice.

However, we would like to point out that we are not willing or obliged to participate in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board.

Liability for the content of this website

We are constantly developing the content of this website and strive to provide accurate and up-to-date information. Unfortunately, we cannot accept liability for the accuracy of all content on this website, especially for content provided by third parties. As a service provider, we are not obligated to monitor the information you transmit or store or to investigate circumstances that indicate illegal activity.

Our obligations to remove information or to block the use of information under general law due to court or administrative orders remain unaffected even if we are not liable.

If you notice any problematic or illegal content, please contact us immediately so we can remove it. You can find our contact details in the imprint.

Liability for links on this website

Our website contains links to other websites for whose content we are not responsible. We assume no liability for linked websites, as we have no knowledge of any illegal activities, have not noticed any such illegal activities, and would immediately remove links if we become aware of any illegal activities.

If you notice any illegal links on our website, please contact us. You can find our contact details in the imprint.

Copyright notice

All content on this website (images, photos, text, videos) is subject to copyright. Please consult us before distributing, reproducing, or using the content of this website, for example, republishing it on other websites. If necessary, we will prosecute any unauthorized use of any part of our site's content.

If you find any content on this website that violates copyright, please contact us.

All texts are protected by copyright.

Privacy Policy

Introduction and overview

We have drawn up this privacy policy (version 24.05.2023-122427552) to provide you with the information you need in accordance with the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and applicable national laws, to explain which personal data (hereinafter referred to as "data") we as the controller – and the processors we have commissioned (e.g., providers) – process, will process in the future, and what legal options you have. The terms used are to be understood as gender-neutral.
In short: We will provide you with comprehensive information about the data we process about you.

Privacy policies usually sound very technical and use legal jargon. This privacy policy, however, aims to describe the most important things to you as simply and transparently as possible. Where necessary, technical Terms explained in a reader-friendly manner, links to further information are provided and Graphics used. We are informing you in clear and simple language that we only process personal data in the course of our business activities when there is a corresponding legal basis. This is certainly not possible if you provide the briefest, most unclear, and legally technical explanations possible, as is often the norm on the internet when it comes to data protection. I hope you find the following explanations interesting and informative, and perhaps you'll find some information there that you weren't previously aware of.
If you still have any questions, please contact the responsible office listed below or in the imprint, follow the links provided, and view further information on third-party websites. Our contact details can also be found in the imprint.

scope

This privacy policy applies to all personal data processed by us within the company and to all personal data processed by companies commissioned by us (contract processors). By personal data, we mean information within the meaning of Art. 4 No. 1 GDPR, such as a person's name, email address, and postal address. The processing of personal data ensures that we can offer and bill our services and products, whether online or offline. The scope of this privacy policy includes:

• all online presences (websites, online shops) that we operate
• Social media presence and email communication
• mobile apps for smartphones and other devices

In short: This privacy policy applies to all areas in which personal data is processed in a structured manner within the company via the aforementioned channels. Should we enter into legal relationships with you outside of these channels, we will inform you separately if necessary.

Legal basis

In the following privacy policy, we provide you with transparent information on the legal principles and regulations, i.e. the legal basis of the General Data Protection Regulation, that enable us to process personal data.
As far as EU law is concerned, we refer to REGULATION (EU) 2016/679 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 27 April 2016. This EU General Data Protection Regulation can of course be consulted online on EUR-Lex, the gateway to EU law, at https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/DE/ALL/?uri=celex%3A32016R0679 read more.

We only process your data if at least one of the following conditions applies:

1. consent (Article 6 (1) (a) GDPR): You have given us your consent to process data for a specific purpose. An example would be storing the data you entered in a contact form.
2. Contract (Article 6 (1) (b) GDPR): We process your data in order to fulfill a contract or pre-contractual obligations with you. For example, if we conclude a purchase agreement with you, we require personal information in advance.
3. Legal obligation (Article 6 (1) (c) GDPR): We process your data if we are subject to a legal obligation. For example, we are legally obligated to retain invoices for accounting purposes. These usually contain personal data.
4. Legitimate interests (Article 6 (1) (f) GDPR): In the case of legitimate interests that do not restrict your fundamental rights, we reserve the right to process personal data. For example, we need to process certain data in order to operate our website securely and economically efficiently. This processing therefore constitutes a legitimate interest.

We generally do not apply additional conditions, such as the processing of recordings in the public interest, the exercise of official authority, or the protection of vital interests. Should such a legal basis be applicable, it will be indicated at the appropriate point.

In addition to the EU regulation, national laws also apply:

• In Austria This is the Federal Act on the Protection of Natural Persons with regard to the Processing of Personal Data (Data Protection Act), short DSG.
• In Germany this applies Federal Data Protection Act, short BDSG.

If other regional or national laws apply, we will inform you about them in the following sections.

Contact details of the person responsible

If you have any questions about data protection or the processing of personal data, you will find the contact details of the responsible person or body below:
Bernhard Stadler

E-mail: strizi@strizi.at
Phone: +43 (0)6272 20420

Storage period

Our general policy is to only store personal data for as long as it is absolutely necessary to provide our services and products. This means that we delete personal data as soon as the reason for processing it no longer exists. In some cases, we are legally obligated to retain certain data even after the original purpose no longer applies, for example, for accounting purposes.

If you wish to have your data deleted or withdraw your consent to data processing, the data will be deleted as quickly as possible and unless there is an obligation to store it.

We will inform you below about the specific duration of the respective data processing, provided we have further information on this.

Rights under the General Data Protection Regulation

In accordance with Articles 13 and 14 of the GDPR, we inform you of the following rights to which you are entitled to ensure fair and transparent data processing:

• According to Article 15 of the GDPR, you have the right to information about whether we process your data. If so, you have the right to receive a copy of the data and the following information:
  • for what purpose we carry out the processing;
  • the categories, i.e. the types of data that are processed;
  • who receives this data and, if the data is transferred to third countries, how security can be guaranteed;
  • how long the data is stored;
  • the existence of the right to rectification, erasure or restriction of processing and the right to object to processing;
  • that you can complain to a supervisory authority (links to these authorities can be found below);
  • the origin of the data if we did not collect it from you;
  • whether profiling is carried out, i.e. whether data is automatically evaluated in order to create a personal profile of you.
• According to Article 16 GDPR, you have the right to rectification of data, which means that we must correct data if you find any errors.
• According to Article 17 GDPR, you have the right to erasure (“right to be forgotten”), which specifically means that you can request the deletion of your data.
• According to Article 18 GDPR, you have the right to restriction of processing, which means that we may only store the data but not use it any further.
• According to Article 20 GDPR, you have the right to data portability, which means that we will provide you with your data in a common format upon request.
• According to Article 21 GDPR, you have the right to object, which, if enforced, will result in a change in the processing.
  • If the processing of your data is based on Article 6 (1) (e) (public interest, exercise of official authority) or Article 6 (1) (f) (legitimate interest), you may object to the processing. We will then examine as quickly as possible whether we can legally comply with this objection.
  • If data is used for direct marketing purposes, you can object to this type of data processing at any time. We may no longer use your data for direct marketing purposes after this time.
  • If data is used for profiling purposes, you can object to this type of data processing at any time. We may no longer use your data for profiling purposes after this time.
• According to Article 22 GDPR, you may have the right not to be subjected to a decision based solely on automated processing (e.g. profiling).
• According to Article 77 of the GDPR, you have the right to lodge a complaint. This means you can lodge a complaint with the data protection authority at any time if you believe that the processing of personal data violates the GDPR.

In short: You have rights – do not hesitate to contact the responsible body listed above!

If you believe that the processing of your data violates data protection law or that your data protection rights have been violated in any other way, you can complain to the supervisory authority. For Austria, this is the Data Protection Authority, whose website you can find at https://www.dsb.gv.at/ In Germany, there is a data protection officer for each federal state. For further information, you can contact the Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (BfDI) The following local data protection authority is responsible for our company:

Austrian Data Protection Authority

Head: Mag. Dr. Andrea Jelinek
Address: Barichgasse 40-42, 1030 Vienna
Telephone number: +43 1 52 152-0
E-mail address: dsb@dsb.gv.at
Website: https://www.dsb.gv.at/

Security of data processing

To protect personal data, we have implemented both technical and organizational measures. Where possible, we encrypt or pseudonymize personal data. This makes it as difficult as possible for third parties to derive personal information from our data.

Article 25 of the GDPR refers to "data protection through technology design and through data protection-friendly default settings," meaning that security must always be considered and appropriate measures implemented, both in software (e.g., forms) and hardware (e.g., access to the server room). Below, we will discuss specific measures where necessary.

TLS encryption with https

TLS, encryption, and https sound very technical, and they are. We use HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) to securely transmit data over the internet.
This means that the entire transmission of all data from your browser to our web server is secure – no one can “eavesdrop”.

We have thus introduced an additional security layer and comply with data protection by design (Article 25 paragraph 1 GDPRBy using TLS (Transport Layer Security), an encryption protocol for secure data transmission over the Internet, we can ensure the protection of confidential data.
You can recognize the use of this data transfer security by the small lock symbol top left of the browser, to the left of the internet address (e.g. examplepage.de) and the use of the https scheme (instead of http) as part of our internet address.
If you want to know more about encryption, we recommend Google searching for “Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure wiki” to get good links to further information.

communication

Communication Summary 👥 Affected parties: All those who communicate with us by phone, email or online form 📓 Processed data: e.g., telephone number, name, email address, entered form data. You can find more details in the respective contact type used. 🤝 Purpose: Handling communication with customers, business partners, etc. 📅 Storage period: Duration of the business transaction and the legal regulations ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR (consent), Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR (contract), Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (legitimate interests)

If you contact us and communicate by telephone, email or online form, personal data may be processed.

The data will be processed to process your inquiry and the related business transaction. The data will be stored for as long as required by law.

Affected persons

The above-mentioned processes affect everyone who contacts us via the communication channels we provide.

phone

When you call us, the call data is stored pseudonymously on the respective device and by the telecommunications provider used. Furthermore, data such as name and telephone number may subsequently be sent via email and stored for the purpose of responding to your inquiry. The data will be deleted as soon as the transaction is completed and as permitted by law.

e-mail

If you communicate with us via email, data may be stored on the respective device (computer, laptop, smartphone, etc.) and stored on the email server. The data will be deleted as soon as the transaction is completed and as permitted by law.

Online forms

If you communicate with us via an online form, data will be stored on our web server and, if applicable, forwarded to an email address provided by us. The data will be deleted as soon as the transaction is completed and as permitted by law.

Legal basis

The processing of data is based on the following legal bases:

• Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR (consent): You give us your consent to store your data and to use it further for the purposes related to the business case;
• Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR (contract): There is a need to fulfill a contract with you or a processor such as the telephone provider or we have to process the data for pre-contractual activities, such as preparing an offer;
• Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (Legitimate Interests): We want to handle customer inquiries and business communications in a professional manner. To do this, certain technical facilities, such as email programs, Exchange servers, and mobile operators, are necessary to enable efficient communication.

Data processing agreement (DPA)

In this section, we would like to explain what a data processing agreement is and why it is necessary. Because the term "data processing agreement" is quite a tongue twister, we will often use the acronym DPA in this text. Like most companies, we do not work alone; we also use the services of other companies or individuals. By involving various companies or service providers, we may pass on personal data for processing. These partners then act as data processors, with whom we conclude a contract, the so-called data processing agreement (DPA). The most important thing for you to know is that the processing of your personal data is carried out exclusively in accordance with our instructions and must be regulated by the DPA.

Who are data processors?

As a company and website owner, we are responsible for all data we process from you. In addition to the controllers, there may also be so-called processors. This includes any company or individual that processes personal data on our behalf. More precisely, and according to the GDPR definition: any natural or legal person, public authority, agency, or other body that processes personal data on our behalf is considered a processor. Processors can therefore be service providers such as hosting or cloud providers, payment or newsletter providers, or large companies such as Google or Microsoft.

To better understand the terminology, here is an overview of the three roles in the GDPR:

Affected person (You as a customer or interested party) → Person responsible (we as a company and client) → Processor (Service providers such as web hosts or cloud providers)

Content of a data processing agreement

As mentioned above, we have concluded a Data Processing Agreement (DPA) with our partners who act as data processors. This agreement stipulates, above all, that the data processor will process the data to be processed exclusively in accordance with the GDPR. The contract must be concluded in writing; however, in this context, electronic contract conclusion is also considered "written." Personal data is only processed on the basis of the contract. The contract must contain the following:

• Commitment to us as responsible parties
• Obligations and rights of the controller
• Categories of data subjects
• Type of personal data
• Type and purpose of data processing
• Subject and duration of data processing
• Place of data processing

Furthermore, the contract contains all obligations of the processor. The most important obligations are:

• To ensure data security measures
• to take possible technical and organizational measures to protect the rights of the data subject
• to maintain a data processing register
• to cooperate with the data protection supervisory authority upon request
• to carry out a risk analysis with regard to the personal data received
• Sub-processors may only be commissioned with the written consent of the controller

You can find out what such an AVV looks like in concrete terms at https://www.wko.at/service/wirtschaftsrecht-gewerberecht/eu-dsgvo-mustervertrag-auftragsverarbeitung.html A sample contract is presented here.

Cookies

Cookies Summary 👥 Affected: Visitors to the website 🤝 Purpose: Depends on the specific cookie. You can find more details below or from the manufacturer of the software that sets the cookie. 📓 Data processed: Depends on the cookie used. You can find more details below or from the manufacturer of the software that sets the cookie. 📅 Storage period: depends on the respective cookie, can vary from hours to years ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR (consent), Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (legitimate interests)

What are cookies?

Our website uses HTTP cookies to store user-specific data.
Below we explain what cookies are and why they are used so that you can better understand the following privacy policy.

Whenever you surf the internet, you use a browser. Common browsers include Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Microsoft Edge. Most websites store small text files in your browser. These files are called cookies.

One thing is undeniable: cookies are truly useful little helpers. Almost all websites use cookies. More precisely, they are HTTP cookies, as there are other cookies for other purposes as well. HTTP cookies are small files that our website stores on your computer. These cookie files are automatically stored in the cookie folder, the "brain" of your browser. A cookie consists of a name and a value. When defining a cookie, one or more additional attributes must be specified.

Cookies store certain user data about you, such as language or personal site settings. When you visit our site again, your browser transmits the "user-related" information back to our site. Thanks to cookies, our website knows who you are and offers you the settings you are used to. In some browsers, each cookie has its own file; in others, such as Firefox, all cookies are stored in a single file.

The following graphic shows a possible interaction between a web browser, such as Chrome, and the web server. The web browser requests a website and receives a cookie from the server, which the browser reuses whenever another page is requested.

There are both first-party and third-party cookies. First-party cookies are created directly by our site, while third-party cookies are created by partner websites (e.g., Google Analytics). Each cookie must be evaluated individually, as each cookie stores different data. The expiration time of a cookie also varies, from a few minutes to a few years. Cookies are not software programs and do not contain viruses, Trojans, or other "malware." Cookies also cannot access information on your PC.

For example, cookie data can look like this:

Name: _ga
Value: GA1.2.1326744211.152122427552-9
Purpose of use: Differentiation of website visitors
Expiry date: after 2 years

A browser should be able to support these minimum sizes:

• At least 4096 bytes per cookie
• At least 50 cookies per domain
• At least 3000 cookies in total

What types of cookies are there?

The question of which cookies we use specifically depends on the services used and is explained in the following sections of this privacy policy. At this point, we would like to briefly discuss the different types of HTTP cookies.

There are four types of cookies:

Essential cookies
These cookies are necessary to ensure basic website functions. For example, these cookies are needed when a user adds a product to their shopping cart, then continues browsing to other pages and only proceeds to checkout later. These cookies ensure that the shopping cart is not deleted even when the user closes their browser window.

Purposeful cookies
These cookies collect information about user behavior and whether the user receives any error messages. These cookies also measure the loading time and behavior of the website in different browsers.

Targeted cookies
These cookies improve user experience. For example, entered locations, font sizes, or form data are saved.

Advertising cookies
These cookies are also called targeting cookies. They are used to deliver customized advertising to the user. This can be very useful, but also very annoying.

Typically, when you first visit a website, you'll be asked which of these cookie types you'd like to allow. And, of course, this decision will also be saved in a cookie.

If you would like to know more about cookies and are not afraid of technical documentation, we recommend https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc6265, the Request for Comments from the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) called “HTTP State Management Mechanism”.

Purpose of processing via cookies

The purpose ultimately depends on the specific cookie. You can find more details below or contact the manufacturer of the software that sets the cookie.

What data is processed?

Cookies are small helpers for a variety of tasks. Unfortunately, it's not possible to generalize what data is stored in cookies, but we will inform you about the data processed and stored in the following privacy policy.

Storage period of cookies

The storage period depends on the respective cookie and is further specified below. Some cookies are deleted after less than an hour, while others can remain stored on a computer for several years.

You also have control over the storage period. You can manually delete all cookies at any time via your browser (see also "Right of Objection" below). Furthermore, cookies based on consent will be deleted at the latest after you revoke your consent, although the legality of their storage remains unaffected until then.

Right of objection – how can I delete cookies?

You decide how and whether you want to use cookies. Regardless of the service or website from which the cookies originate, you always have the option to delete, deactivate, or only partially accept cookies. For example, you can block third-party cookies but allow all other cookies.

If you want to find out which cookies have been stored in your browser, if you want to change or delete cookie settings, you can find this in your browser settings:

Chrome: Delete, enable, and manage cookies in Chrome

Safari: Managing cookies and website data with Safari

Firefox: Clear cookies to remove data that websites have stored on your computer

Internet Explorer: Deleting and managing cookies

Microsoft Edge: Delete and manage cookies

If you don't want cookies at all, you can set your browser to always notify you when a cookie is about to be set. This allows you to decide for each individual cookie whether or not to accept it. The process varies depending on your browser. The best way to find instructions is to search for "delete cookies in Chrome" or "disable cookies in Chrome" in the case of a Chrome browser.

Legal basis

The so-called “Cookie Guidelines” have been in existence since 2009. They state that the storage of cookies is a consent (Article 6 (1) (a) GDPR). However, reactions to these guidelines vary considerably across EU countries. In Austria, however, this directive was implemented in Section 96 (3) of the Telecommunications Act (TKG). In Germany, the cookie guidelines were not implemented as national law. Instead, this directive was largely implemented in Section 15 (3) of the Telemedia Act (TMG).

For absolutely necessary cookies, even if no consent has been given, legitimate interests (Article 6 (1) (f) GDPR), which in most cases are of an economic nature. We want to provide website visitors with a pleasant user experience, and for this, certain cookies are often absolutely necessary.

If non-essential cookies are used, this only happens with your consent. The legal basis for this is Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR.

In the following sections you will be informed in more detail about the use of cookies, if the software used uses cookies.

Customer data

Customer data summary 👥 Affected parties: Customers or business and contractual partners 🤝 Purpose: Provision of the contractually or pre-contractually agreed services including associated communication 📓 Processed data: Name, address, contact details, email address, telephone number, payment information (such as invoices and bank details), contract data (such as term and subject of the contract), IP address, order data 📅 Storage period: the data will be deleted as soon as it is no longer required to fulfill our business purposes and there is no legal obligation to retain it. ⚖️ Legal basis: Legitimate interest (Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR), contract (Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR)

What is customer data?

In order to be able to offer our services and contractually agreed services, we also process data from our customers and business partners. This data always includes personal data. Customer data refers to all information processed on the basis of a contractual or pre-contractual collaboration in order to provide the services offered. Customer data is therefore all information we collect and process about our customers.

Why do we process customer data?

There are many reasons why we collect and process customer data. The most important is that we simply need various pieces of data to provide our services. Sometimes your email address is enough, but if you purchase a product or service, we also need data such as your name, address, bank details, or contract details. We also subsequently use the data for marketing and sales optimization so that we can improve our service to our customers overall. Another important point is our customer service, which is always very important to us. We want you to be able to contact us at any time with questions about our offers, and for that we need at least your email address.

What data is processed?

Exactly which data is stored can only be shown here based on categories. This always depends on the services you purchase from us. In some cases, you only provide us with your email address so that we can, for example, contact you or answer your questions. In other cases, you purchase a product or service from us, and for this we require significantly more information, such as your contact details, payment details, and contract details.

Here is a list of possible data that we receive and process from you:

• name
• Contact address
• E-mail address
• Telephone number
• birth date
• Payment data (invoices, bank details, payment history, etc.)
• Contract data (term, content)
• Usage data (websites visited, access data, etc.)
• Metadata (IP address, device information)

How long is the data stored?

As soon as we no longer need the customer data to fulfill our contractual obligations and our purposes, and the data is also no longer required for potential warranty and liability obligations, we delete the relevant customer data. This is the case, for example, when a business contract ends. After that, the limitation period is generally three years, although longer periods are possible in individual cases. Of course, we also adhere to statutory retention periods. Your customer data will definitely not be passed on to third parties unless you have explicitly given your consent.

Legal basis

The legal basis for the processing of your data is Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR (consent), Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR (contract or pre-contractual measures), Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (legitimate interests) and, in special cases (e.g. for medical services), Art. 9 (2) (a) GDPR (processing of special categories).

In the case of the protection of vital interests, data processing is carried out in accordance with Art. 9 (2) (c) GDPR. For the purposes of healthcare, occupational medicine, medical diagnostics, care or treatment in the healthcare or social sector, or for the administration of healthcare or social systems and services, personal data is processed in accordance with Art. 9 (2) (h) GDPR. If you voluntarily provide special category data, processing is carried out on the basis of Art. 9 (2) (a) GDPR.

registration

Registration Summary 👥 Affected: All persons who register, create an account, log in and use the account. 📓 Data processed: Email address, name, password and other data collected during registration, login and account use. 🤝 Purpose: Providing our services. Communicating with customers in connection with the services. 📅 Storage period: Sas long as the company account linked to the texts exists and thereafter usually for 3 years. ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR (contract), Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR (consent), Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (legitimate interests)

When you register with us, personal data may be processed if you enter personally identifiable information or if data such as your IP address is collected during processing. You can read more about what we mean by the rather cumbersome term "personal data" below.

Please only enter the information we need for registration and for which you have third-party authorization if you are registering on behalf of a third party. If possible, use a secure password that you don't use anywhere else and an email address that you check regularly.

Below we will inform you about the exact nature of our data processing, because we want you to feel comfortable with us!

What is registration?

When you register, we collect certain information from you, allowing you to easily log in online later and use your account with us. Having an account with us has the advantage of not having to re-enter everything each time. This saves time, effort, and ultimately prevents errors in the provision of our services.

Why do we process personal data?

In short, we process personal data to enable the creation and use of an account with us.
If we didn't do this, you'd have to enter all the data every time, wait for our approval, and then re-enter everything. We and many, many customers wouldn't like that. How would you feel about that?

What data is processed?

All data that you provided during registration, when logging in or when managing your data in your account.

When you register, we process the following types of data: 

• First name
• Last name
• E-mail address
• Company name
• Street + house number
• Place of residence
• Postal code
• country

When you register, we process the data you enter when registering, such as your username and password, and data collected in the background, such as device information and IP addresses.

When you use your account, we process data that you enter while using your account and that is created when you use our services.

Storage period

We store the data you enter at least for as long as the account linked to the data exists and is used, as long as contractual obligations exist between us, and, if the contract ends, until the respective claims arising from it have expired. In addition, we store your data for as long as and to the extent that we are subject to legal retention obligations. After that, we retain accounting documents related to the contract (invoices, contract documents, bank statements, etc.) as well as other relevant business documents for the legally required period (usually several years).

Right of objection

Have you registered, entered data, and would like to revoke your consent to the processing? No problem. As you can see above, your rights under the General Data Protection Regulation also apply during and after registration, login, or your account with us. Contact the data protection officer listed above to exercise your rights. If you already have an account with us, you can easily view and manage your data and texts in your account.

Legal basis

By completing the registration process, you are contacting us in order to conclude a user agreement via our platform (although a payment obligation does not automatically arise).You invest time in entering data and registering, and we offer you our services after logging into our system and viewing your customer account. We also fulfill our contractual obligations. Finally, we must keep registered users informed of important changes by email. This means that Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR (implementation of pre-contractual measures, fulfillment of a contract) applies.

If necessary, we will also obtain your consent, e.g., if you voluntarily provide more data than is absolutely necessary or if we are permitted to send you advertising. Article 6 (1) (a) GDPR (consent) therefore applies.

We also have a legitimate interest in knowing who we are dealing with in order to contact them in specific cases. We also need to know who is using our services and whether they are being used as stipulated in our terms of use. Therefore, Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (legitimate interests) applies.

Note: the following sections must be checked by users (as needed):

Registration with real name

Since we need to know who we are dealing with in our business operations, registration is only possible with your real name (full name) and not with pseudonyms.

Registration with pseudonyms

Pseudonyms can be used during registration, meaning you don't have to register with us using your real name. This ensures that we cannot process your name. 

Storage of the IP address

During registration, login and account usage, we store the IP address in the background for security reasons in order to be able to determine legal use.

Public Profile

The user profiles are publicly visible, meaning that parts of the profile can be viewed on the Internet without providing a user name and password.

2-factor authentication (2FA)

Two-factor authentication (2FA) offers additional security when logging in, as it prevents anyone from logging in without a smartphone, for example. This technical measure to secure your account protects you from data loss or unauthorized access, even if your username and password are known. You will find out which 2FA is used during registration, login and in the account itself.

Web hosting introduction

Web hosting summary 👥 Affected: Visitors to the website 🤝 Purpose: professional hosting of the website and securing its operation 📓 Data processed: IP address, time of website visit, browser used, and other data. Further details can be found below or from the respective web hosting provider. 📅 Storage period: depends on the respective provider, but usually 2 weeks ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (legitimate interests)

What is web hosting?

When you visit websites these days, certain information—including personal data—is automatically created and stored, including on this website. This data should be processed as sparingly as possible and only with justification. By "website," we mean the entirety of all web pages on a domain, i.e., everything from the home page to the very last subpage (like this one). By "domain," we mean, for example, example.de or sampleexample.com.

When you want to view a website on a computer, tablet, or smartphone, you use a program called a web browser. You probably know some of these web browsers by name: Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, and Apple Safari. We simply refer to them as browsers or web browsers.

To display the website, the browser must connect to another computer where the website's code is stored: the web server. Operating a web server is a complex and time-consuming task, which is why it's usually handled by professional providers. They offer web hosting and thus ensure reliable and error-free storage of website data. A lot of technical terms, but please stay tuned, it gets even better!

When the browser connects to your computer (desktop, laptop, tablet, or smartphone) and during data transfer to and from the web server, personal data may be processed. On the one hand, your computer stores data, and on the other hand, the web server must also store data for a period of time to ensure proper operation.

A picture is worth a thousand words, so the following graphic illustrates the interaction between the browser, the Internet and the hosting provider.

Why do we process personal data?

The purposes of data processing are:

1. Professional website hosting and operational security
2. to maintain operational and IT security
3. Anonymous evaluation of access behavior to improve our service and, if necessary, for criminal prosecution or the pursuit of claims

What data is processed?

Even while you are currently visiting our website, our web server, which is the computer on which this website is stored, usually automatically saves data such as

• the complete Internet address (URL) of the website accessed
• Browser and browser version (e.g. Chrome 87)
• the operating system used (e.g. Windows 10)
• the address (URL) of the previously visited page (referrer URL) (e.g. https://www.beispielquellsite.de/vondabinichgekommen/)
• the hostname and IP address of the device from which access is made (e.g. COMPUTERNAME and 194.23.43.121)
• Date and time
• in files, the so-called web server log files

How long is data stored?

As a rule, the above-mentioned data is stored for two weeks and then automatically deleted. We do not share this data, but we cannot rule out the possibility that it may be viewed by authorities in the event of illegal behavior.

In short: Your visit is logged by our provider (the company that runs our website on special computers (servers)), but we will not share your data without your consent!

Legal basis

The legality of the processing of personal data within the framework of web hosting arises from Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (protection of legitimate interests), because the use of professional hosting with a provider is necessary in order to present the company securely and user-friendly on the Internet and to be able to pursue attacks and claims arising from this if necessary.

As a rule, there is a contract for order processing between us and the hosting provider in accordance with Art. 28 f. GDPR, which ensures compliance with data protection and guarantees data security.

Hetzner Privacy Policy

We use Hetzner, among other web hosting providers, for our website. The service provider is the German company Hetzner Online GmbH, Industriestr. 25, 91710 Gunzenhausen, Germany.

You can find out more about the data processed through the use of Hetzner in the privacy policy on https://www.hetzner.com/de/legal/privacy-policy.

Data processing agreement (DPA) Hetzner

We have entered into a data processing agreement (DPA) with Hetzner pursuant to Article 28 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). You can find out exactly what a DPA is and, above all, what must be included in a DPA in our general section "DPA".

This agreement is required by law because Hetzner processes personal data on our behalf. It stipulates that Hetzner may only process data it receives from us according to our instructions and must comply with the GDPR. The link to the Data Processing Agreement (DPA) can be found at https://docs.hetzner.com/de/general/general-terms-and-conditions/data-privacy-faq/.

Web Analytics Introduction

Web Analytics Privacy Policy Summary 👥 Affected: Visitors to the website 🤝 Purpose: Evaluation of visitor information to optimize the website. 📓 Processed data: Access statistics, which include data such as access locations, device data, access duration and time, navigation behavior, click behavior, and IP addresses. Further details can be found in the respective web analytics tool used. 📅 Storage period: depends on the web analytics tool used ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR (consent), Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (legitimate interests)

What is web analytics?

We use software on our website to evaluate the behavior of website visitors, known as web analytics or web analysis for short. This data is collected and stored, managed and processed by the respective analytics tool provider (also known as a tracking tool). This data is used to create analyses of user behavior on our website and make it available to us as the website operator. In addition, most tools offer various testing options. For example, we can test which offers or content are most popular with our visitors. To do this, we show you two different offers for a limited period of time. After the test (a so-called A/B test), we know which product or content our website visitors find more interesting. For such testing procedures, as for other analytics procedures, user profiles can be created and the data stored in cookies.

Why do we use web analytics?

We have a clear goal in mind with our website: to provide the best web offering on the market for our industry. To achieve this goal, we want to offer the best and most interesting offering on the market, while also ensuring that you feel completely at home on our website. With the help of web analysis tools, we can take a closer look at the behavior of our website visitors and then improve our web offering for you and us accordingly. For example, we can determine the average age of our visitors, where they come from, when our website is most visited, or which content or products are particularly popular. All of this information helps us optimize the website and thus adapt it as best as possible to your needs, interests, and wishes.

What data is processed?

Exactly which data is stored depends, of course, on the analysis tools used. However, as a general rule, we store information such as the content you view on our website, the buttons or links you click, the time you access a page, the browser you use, the device (PC, tablet, smartphone, etc.) you use to visit the website, and the computer system you use. If you have consented to the collection of location data, this may also be processed by the web analysis tool provider.

Your IP address is also stored. According to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), IP addresses are personal data. However, your IP address is usually stored pseudonymously (i.e., in an unrecognizable and abbreviated form). For the purposes of testing, web analysis, and web optimization, no direct data such as your name, age, address, or email address is stored. All of this data, if collected, is stored pseudonymously. This means that you cannot be identified as an individual.

The following example shows schematically how Google Analytics works as an example of client-based web tracking with JavaScript code.

How long the respective data is stored always depends on the provider. Some cookies only store data for a few minutes or until you leave the website again; other cookies can store data for several years.

Duration of data processing

We will inform you below about the duration of data processing, as soon as we have further information. Generally, we only process personal data for as long as it is absolutely necessary to provide our services and products. If required by law, such as in the case of accounting, this retention period may be exceeded.

Right of objection

You also have the right and option to revoke your consent to the use of cookies or third-party services at any time. This can be done either via our cookie management tool or through other opt-out functions. For example, you can also prevent data collection through cookies by managing, deactivating, or deleting cookies in your browser.

Legal basis

The use of web analytics requires your consent, which we have obtained with our cookie popup. This consent is, according to Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR (consent) the legal basis for the processing of personal data, as may occur when collected by web analytics tools.

In addition to consent, we have a legitimate interest in analyzing the behavior of website visitors and thus improving our offering technically and economically. With the help of web analytics, we can detect website errors, identify attacks, and improve efficiency. The legal basis for this is Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (Legitimate Interests)However, we only use the tools if you have given your consent.

Since web analytics tools use cookies, we also recommend reading our general privacy policy on cookies. To learn exactly which of your data is stored and processed, you should read the privacy policies of the respective tools.

Information on specific web analytics tools, if available, can be found in the following sections.

Google Analytics Privacy Policy

Google Analytics Privacy Policy Summary Affected: Visitors to the website Purpose: Evaluation of visitor information to optimize the website. Processed data: Access statistics, which include data such as access locations, device data, access duration and time, navigation behavior, click behavior, and IP addresses. Further details can be found further down in this privacy policy. Storage period: depends on the properties used ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR (consent), Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (legitimate interests)

What is Google Analytics?

We use the analysis tracking tool Google Analytics (GA) from the American company Google Inc. on our website. In Europe, the company Google Ireland Limited (Gordon House, Barrow Street Dublin 4, Ireland) is responsible for all Google services. Google Analytics collects data about your actions on our website. For example, if you click on a link, this action is saved in a cookie and sent to Google Analytics. With the help of the reports we receive from Google Analytics, we can better tailor our website and our service to your needs. Below we will go into more detail about the tracking tool and inform you, above all, what data is saved and how you can prevent this.

Google Analytics is a tracking tool used to analyze our website traffic. For Google Analytics to work, a tracking code is embedded in our website code. When you visit our website, this code records various actions you perform on our website. Once you leave our website, this data is sent to and stored on Google Analytics servers.

Google processes the data and we receive reports about your user behavior. These reports may include, among others, the following:

• Audience reports: Through audience reports, we get to know our users better and know more precisely who is interested in our service.
• Ad Reporting: Ad reporting helps us analyze and improve our online advertising.
• Acquisition reports: Acquisition reports give us helpful information about how we can get more people excited about our service.
• Behavioral reports: This tells us how you interact with our website. We can track your path on our site and the links you click.
• Conversion reports: A conversion is a process in which you perform a desired action based on a marketing message. For example, when you go from being a mere website visitor to a buyer or newsletter subscriber. These reports help us learn more about how our marketing efforts are resonating with you. This is how we want to increase our conversion rate.
• Real-time reports: This lets us know immediately what's happening on our website. For example, we can see how many users are currently reading this text.

Why do we use Google Analytics on our website?

Our goal with this website is clear: to provide you with the best possible service. The statistics and data from Google Analytics help us achieve this goal.

The statistically analyzed data provides us with a clear picture of our website's strengths and weaknesses. On the one hand, we can optimize our site so that it's easier for interested people to find on Google. On the other hand, the data helps us better understand you as a visitor. This means we know exactly what we need to improve on our website to provide you with the best possible service. The data also helps us implement our advertising and marketing measures more individually and cost-effectively. After all, it only makes sense to show our products and services to people who are interested in them.

What data does Google Analytics store?

Google Analytics uses a tracking code to create a random, unique ID linked to your browser cookie. This allows Google Analytics to recognize you as a new user. The next time you visit our site, you will be recognized as a "returning" user. All collected data is stored together with this user ID. This makes it possible to evaluate pseudonymous user profiles.

To analyze our website with Google Analytics, a property ID must be inserted into the tracking code. The data is then stored in the corresponding property. The Google Analytics 4 property is the default for every newly created property. Alternatively, you can also create the Universal Analytics property. Data is stored for different lengths of time depending on the property used.

Identifiers such as cookies and app instance IDs measure your interactions on our website. Interactions are all types of actions you perform on our website. If you also use other Google systems (such as a Google Account), data generated through Google Analytics may be linked to third-party cookies. Google does not share Google Analytics data unless we, as the website operator, authorize it. Exceptions may apply if required by law.

The following cookies are used by Google Analytics:

Name: _ga
Value: 2.1326744211.152122427552-5
Purpose of use: By default, analytics.js uses the _ga cookie to store the user ID. It is primarily used to distinguish website visitors.
Expiry date: after 2 years

Name: _gid
Value: 2.1687193234.152122427552-1
Purpose of use: The cookie is also used to distinguish website visitors
Expiry date: after 24 hours

Name: _gat_gtag_UA_
Value: 1
Purpose of use: Used to reduce the request rate. If Google Analytics is provided via Google Tag Manager, this cookie is named _dc_gtm_ .
Expiry date: after 1 minute

Name: AMP_TOKEN
Value: not specified
Purpose of use: The cookie contains a token that can be used to retrieve a user ID from the AMP Client ID service. Other possible values indicate a logout, a request, or an error.
Expiry date: after 30 seconds up to one year

Name: __utma
Value: 1564498958.1564498958.1564498958.1
Purpose of use: This cookie allows us to track your behavior on the website and measure performance. This cookie is updated each time information is sent to Google Analytics.
Expiry date: after 2 years

Name: __utmt
Value: 1
Purpose of use: The cookie is like _gat_gtag_UA_ used to throttle the request rate.
Expiry date: after 10 minutes

Name: __utmb
Value: 3.10.1564498958
Purpose of use: This cookie is used to determine new sessions. It is updated each time new data or information is sent to Google Analytics.
Expiry date: after 30 minutes

Name: __utmc
Value: 167421564
Purpose of use: This cookie is used to establish new sessions for returning visitors. This is a session cookie and is only stored until you close your browser.
Expiry date: After closing the browser

Name: __utmz
Value: m|utmccn=(referral)|utmcmd=referral|utmcct=/
Purpose of use: This cookie is used to identify the source of traffic to our website. This means that the cookie stores where you came to our website from. This could be another page or an advertisement.
Expiry date: after 6 months

Name: __utmv
Value: not specified
Purpose of use: This cookie is used to store custom user data. It is updated whenever information is sent to Google Analytics.
Expiry date: after 2 years

Note: This list cannot claim to be complete, as Google continually changes the choice of its cookies.

Here we show you an overview of the most important data collected with Google Analytics:

Heatmaps: Google creates so-called heatmaps. Heatmaps show exactly the areas you click on. This gives us information about where you are on our site.

Session duration: Google defines the session duration as the time you spend on our site without leaving the site. If you have been inactive for 20 minutes, the session ends automatically.

Bounce rate Bounce rate: A bounce occurs when you only view one page on our website and then leave our website again.

Account creation: When you create an account or place an order on our website, Google Analytics collects this data.

IP address: The IP address is only displayed in abbreviated form so that no clear assignment is possible.

Location: The IP address can be used to determine your country and approximate location. This process is also known as IP geolocation.

Technical information: Technical information includes, among other things, your browser type, your internet provider or your screen resolution.

Source: Google Analytics, or rather we, are of course also interested in which website or advertisement you came to our site from.

Other data includes contact information, any ratings, media playback (e.g., when you play a video on our site), sharing content via social media, or adding content to your favorites. This list is not exhaustive and serves only as a general guide to data storage by Google Analytics.

How long and where is the data stored?

Google has its servers distributed around the world. Most of its servers are located in the United States, and consequently, your data is mostly stored on American servers. Here you can find out exactly where Google's data centers are located: https://www.google.com/about/datacenters/locations/?hl=de

Your data is distributed across multiple physical storage devices. This has the advantage of making it faster to access and better protected against tampering. Every Google data center has emergency backup programs for your data. If, for example, Google's hardware fails or natural disasters cripple servers, the risk of service interruption at Google remains low.

The retention period for the data depends on the properties used. When using the newer Google Analytics 4 properties, the retention period for your user data is set to 14 months. For other so-called event data, we have the option of choosing a retention period of 2 months or 14 months.

For Universal Analytics properties, Google Analytics defaults to a retention period of 26 months for your user data. After that, your user data is deleted. However, we have the option of choosing the retention period for user data ourselves. We have five options available for this:

• Deletion after 14 months
• Deletion after 26 months
• Deletion after 38 months
• Deletion after 50 months
• No automatic deletion

Additionally, you can choose to have data deleted only if you no longer visit our website within the period we select. In this case, the retention period will be reset each time you visit our website again within the specified period.

Once the specified period has expired, the data will be deleted once a month. This retention period applies to your data associated with cookies, user recognition, and advertising IDs (e.g., cookies from the DoubleClick domain). Report results are based on aggregated data and are stored independently of user data. Aggregated data is the merging of individual pieces of data into a larger unit.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

Under European Union data protection law, you have the right to access, update, delete, or restrict your data. You can prevent Google Analytics from using your data by using the Google Analytics JavaScript (ga.js, analytics.js, dc.js) browser add-on. You can download the browser add-on at https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=de Download and install. Please note that this add-on only disables data collection by Google Analytics.

If you generally want to deactivate, delete or manage cookies, you will find the relevant links to the instructions for the most popular browsers in the “Cookies” section.

Legal basis

The use of Google Analytics requires your consent, which we have obtained with our cookie popup. This consent is Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR (consent) the legal basis for the processing of personal data, as may occur when collected by web analytics tools.

In addition to consent, we have a legitimate interest in analyzing the behavior of website visitors and thus improving our offering technically and economically. With the help of Google Analytics, we can detect errors on the website, identify attacks, and improve efficiency. The legal basis for this is Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (Legitimate Interests)However, we only use Google Analytics if you have given your consent.

Google processes your data, among other places, in the USA. We would like to point out that, according to the European Court of Justice, there is currently no adequate level of protection for data transfers to the USA. This may entail various risks to the legality and security of data processing.

Google uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46, Paragraphs 2 and 3 GDPR) as the basis for data processing with recipients located in third countries (outside the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and therefore in particular in the USA) or for data transfers there. Standard contractual clauses (SCCs) are templates provided by the EU Commission and are intended to ensure that your data complies with European data protection standards even if it is transferred to and stored in third countries (such as the USA). Through these clauses, Google undertakes to comply with European data protection standards when processing your relevant data, even if the data is stored, processed, and managed in the USA. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the corresponding standard contractual clauses here, among other places: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de

The Google Ads Data Processing Terms, which refer to the standard contractual clauses, can be found at https://business.safety.google/intl/de/adsprocessorterms/.

We hope we've been able to provide you with the most important information about Google Analytics' data processing. If you'd like to learn more about the tracking service, we recommend these two links: https://marketingplatform.google.com/about/analytics/terms/de/ and https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/6004245?hl=de.

Google Analytics E-Commerce Measurement

We also use e-commerce measurement from the web analytics tool Google Analytics on our website. This allows us to analyze very precisely how you and all our other customers interact on our website. E-commerce measurement is primarily concerned with purchasing behavior. Using the data we collect, we can adapt and optimize our service to your wishes and expectations. We can also target our online advertising more precisely so that our ads are only seen by people who are interested in our products or services. E-commerce measurement records, for example, which orders were placed, how long it took you to purchase the product, the average order value, and the shipping costs. All of this data can be recorded and stored under a specific ID.

Google Analytics in consent mode

Depending on your consent, your personal data will be processed by Google Analytics in so-called consent mode. You can choose whether or not to accept Google Analytics cookies. This also means you choose which of your data Google Analytics may process. This collected data is primarily used to measure user behavior on the website, display targeted advertising, and provide us with web analysis reports. You usually consent to data processing by Google using a cookie consent tool. If you do not consent to data processing, only aggregated data will be collected and processed. This means that data cannot be assigned to individual users, and therefore no user profile is created. You can also only consent to statistical measurement. In this case, no personal data will be processed and therefore not used for advertisements or advertising measurement purposes.

Google Analytics IP anonymization

We have implemented Google Analytics IP address anonymization on this website. This feature was developed by Google to enable this website to comply with applicable data protection regulations and recommendations from local data protection authorities when these prohibit the storage of the full IP address. IP anonymization or masking occurs as soon as the IP addresses arrive in the Google Analytics data collection network and before the data is stored or processed.

More information about IP anonymization can be found at https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/2763052?hl=de.

Matomo Privacy Policy

We use Matomo, a website analytics software, on our website. The service provider is the New Zealand company InnoCraft Ltd, 7 Waterloo Quay PO625, 6140 Wellington, New Zealand.

You can find out more about the data processed through the use of Matomo in the Privacy Policy on https://matomo.org/privacy-policy/. Questions about data protection can be sent by email to privacy@matomo.org direct.

Opt-out completed; your visits to this website will not be tracked by the web analytics tool. Please note that if you remove the cookies stored in your browser, this website's Matomo deactivation cookie will also be deleted. Furthermore, if you use a different computer or a different web browser, you will need to complete the deactivation process again.

You have the option to prevent any actions you perform here from being analyzed and linked. This will protect your privacy, but will also prevent the owner from learning from your actions and improving the usability for you and other users.

Your visit to this website is currently being tracked by Matomo Web Analytics. Uncheck this box to opt out. Your visit to this website is currently not being tracked by Matomo Web Analytics. Check this box to opt in.

The tracking opt-out function requires activated cookies.

Email Marketing Introduction

Email Marketing Summary 👥 Affected: Newsletter subscribers 🤝 Purpose: Direct mailing via email, notification of system-relevant events 📓 Processed data: Data entered during registration, including at least the email address. Further details can be found in the respective email marketing tool used. 📅 Storage period: Duration of the subscription ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR (consent), Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (legitimate interests)

What is email marketing?

To keep you up to date, we also use email marketing. If you have agreed to receive our emails or newsletters, your data will also be processed and stored. Email marketing is a subset of online marketing. It involves sending news or general information about a company, products, or services via email to a specific group of people who are interested.

If you would like to participate in our email marketing (usually via newsletter), you usually just need to register with your email address. To do so, you fill out an online form and submit it. However, we may also ask for your title and name so that we can contact you personally.

Generally, subscribing to newsletters works using the so-called "double opt-in process." After you have registered for our newsletter on our website, you will receive an email confirming your newsletter subscription. This ensures that the email address belongs to you and that no one has registered with someone else's email address. We, or a notification tool we use, logs each individual registration. This is necessary so that we can verify the legally correct registration process. Typically, the time of registration, the time of registration confirmation, and your IP address are saved. Additionally, any changes you make to your stored data are also logged.

Why do we use email marketing?

We naturally want to stay in touch with you and always provide you with the most important news about our company. To this end, we use email marketing – often simply referred to as “newsletter” – as an essential component of our online marketing. If you agree or if it is permitted by law, we will send you newsletters, system emails or other notifications by email. When we use the term “newsletter” in the following text, we primarily mean regularly sent emails. Of course, we do not want to bother you with our newsletter in any way. That's why we always strive to offer only relevant and interesting content. This way you can learn more about our company, our services or products. Because we are constantly improving our offerings, you will always find out about new developments or special, lucrative promotions via our newsletter. If we commission a service provider who offers a professional distribution tool for our email marketing, we do so so that we can offer you fast and secure newsletters. The purpose of our email marketing is basically to inform you about new offers and to get closer to our business goals.

What data is processed?

If you subscribe to our newsletter via our website, you will confirm your membership in an email list via email. In addition to your IP address and email address, your title, name, address, and telephone number may also be saved. However, only if you consent to this data storage. The data marked as such is necessary for you to participate in the service offered. Providing this information is voluntary; however, failure to provide it will prevent you from using the service. In addition, information about your device or your preferred content may also be saved on our website. You can find out more about the storage of data when you visit a website in the "Automatic Data Storage" section. We record your declaration of consent so that we can always prove that it complies with our laws.

Duration of data processing

If you unsubscribe from our email/newsletter mailing list, we may store your address for up to three years based on our legitimate interests so that we can still verify your consent at the time. We may only process this data if we need to defend ourselves against potential claims.

However, if you confirm that you have given us your consent to subscribe to our newsletter, you can submit an individual deletion request at any time. If you permanently revoke your consent, we reserve the right to store your email address on a blocked list. As long as you have voluntarily subscribed to our newsletter, we will of course also retain your email address.

Right of objection

You have the option to cancel your newsletter subscription at any time. To do so, simply revoke your consent to the newsletter subscription. This usually only takes a few seconds or one or two clicks. You will usually find a link to cancel your newsletter subscription right at the end of every email. If you really cannot find the link in the newsletter, please contact us by email and we will cancel your newsletter subscription immediately.

Legal basis

Our newsletter is sent based on your consent (Article 6 (1) (a) GDPR). This means that we may only send you a newsletter if you have previously actively subscribed to it. We may also send you promotional messages if you have become our customer and have not objected to the use of your email address for direct marketing purposes.

Information about specific email marketing services and how they process personal data can be found – if available – in the following sections.

MailChimp Privacy Policy

MailChimp Privacy Policy Summary 👥 Affected: Newsletter subscribers 🤝 Purpose: Direct mailing via email, notification of system-relevant events 📓 Processed data: Data entered during registration, but at least the email address. 📅 Storage period: Duration of the subscription ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR (consent), Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (legitimate interests)

What is MailChimp?

Like many other websites, we also use the services of the newsletter company MailChimp on our website. MailChimp is operated by The Rocket Science Group, LLC, 675 Ponce de Leon Ave NE, Suite 5000, Atlanta, GA 30308 USA. Thanks to MailChimp, we can easily send you interesting news via newsletter. With MailChimp, we don't have to install anything and can still draw on a pool of truly useful features. Below, we'll go into more detail about this email marketing service and inform you about the most important data protection-related aspects.

MailChimp is a cloud-based newsletter management service. "Cloud-based" means that we don't have to install MailChimp on our own computer or server. Instead, we use the service via an IT infrastructure—available over the internet—on an external server. This type of software usage is also called SaaS (Software as a Service). The following graphic shows a schematic of how MailChimp distributes emails to newsletter recipients.

With MailChimp, we can choose from a wide range of different email types. Depending on what we want to achieve with our newsletter, we can run one-off campaigns, recurring campaigns, autoresponders (automatic emails), A/B tests, RSS campaigns (sending at a predefined time and frequency), and follow-up campaigns.

Why do we use MailChimp on our website?

We generally use a newsletter service to stay in touch with you. We want to tell you what's new with us or what attractive offers we currently have in our program. We always look for the simplest and best solutions for our marketing measures. And for this reason, we chose the newsletter management service from MailChimp. Although the software is very easy to use, it offers a large number of helpful features. This allows us to create interesting and attractive newsletters in a very short time. Using the offered design templates, we can customize each newsletter individually, and thanks to the "responsive design," our content is displayed legibly and attractively, even on your smartphone (or other mobile device).

Using tools such as A/B testing and extensive analytics options, we can quickly see how our newsletters are received by you. This allows us to respond and improve our offerings or services as needed.

Another advantage is MailChimp's cloud system. The data isn't stored and processed directly on our server. We can retrieve the data from external servers, thus conserving storage space. Furthermore, maintenance effort is significantly reduced.

What data does MailChimp store?

Rocket Science Group LLC (MailChimp) maintains online platforms that allow us to contact you (if you have subscribed to our newsletter). If you subscribe to our newsletter via our website, you will confirm your membership in a MailChimp email list via email. So that MailChimp can verify that you have subscribed to the "list provider," the date of registration and your IP address are stored. MailChimp also stores your email address, name, physical address, and demographic information, such as language or location.

This information is used to send you emails and to enable certain other MailChimp features (such as newsletter analysis).

MailChimp also shares information with third parties to provide better services. MailChimp also shares some data with third-party advertising partners to better understand the interests and concerns of its customers so that more relevant content and targeted advertising can be provided.

Using so-called "web beacons" (small images in HTML emails), MailChimp can determine whether the email has been received, whether it has been opened, and whether links have been clicked. All of this information is stored on MailChimp's servers. This allows us to compile statistical analyses and see exactly how well our newsletter was received by you. This allows us to tailor our offerings much more closely to your needs and improve our service.

MailChimp may also use this data to improve its own service. For example, this can be used to technically optimize delivery or determine the location (country) of the recipient.

The following cookies may be set by MailChimp. This is not a complete list of cookies, but rather an exemplary selection:

name: AVESTA_ENVIRONMENT
Value: Prod
Purpose of use: This cookie is necessary to provide Mailchimp services. It is set whenever a user signs up for a newsletter mailing list.
Expiry date: after the end of the meeting

name: ak_bmsc
Value: F1766FA98C9BB9DE4A39F70A9E5EEAB55F6517348A7000001122427552-3
Purpose of use: The cookie is used to distinguish a human from a bot. This allows reliable reports on website usage to be created.
Expiry date: after 2 hours

name: bm_sv
Value: A5A322305B4401C2451FC22FFF547486~FEsKGvX8eovCwTeFTzb8//I3ak2Au…
Purpose of use: This cookie is from MasterPass Digital Wallet (a MasterCard service) and is used to offer a visitor a secure and easy virtual payment transaction. For this purpose, the user is identified anonymously on the website.
Expiry date: after 2 hours

name: _abck
Value: 8D545C8CCA4C3A50579014C449B045122427552-9
Purpose of use: We could not find out any further information about the purpose of this cookie
Expiry date: after one year

Sometimes, you may open our newsletter via a specified link for better display. This is the case, for example, if your email program is not working or the newsletter is not displayed correctly. The newsletter will then be displayed via a MailChimp website. MailChimp also uses cookies (small text files that store data on your browser) on its own websites. Personal data may be processed by MailChimp and its partners (e.g., Google Analytics). This data collection is the responsibility of MailChimp, and we have no influence over it. MailChimp's "Cookie Statement" (at: https://mailchimp.com/legal/cookies/) you will learn exactly how and why the company uses cookies.

How long and where is the data stored?

Since MailChimp is an American company, all collected data is also stored on American servers.

Generally, the data remains permanently stored on MailChimp's servers and is only deleted upon your request. You can request that we delete your contact. This permanently removes all your personal data and anonymizes you in MailChimp reports. However, you can also request that MailChimp delete your data directly. All your data will then be removed, and we will receive a notification from MailChimp. After we receive the email, we have 30 days to delete your contact from all connected integrations.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

You can withdraw your consent to receive our newsletter at any time by clicking the link at the bottom of the email you receive. Once you unsubscribe by clicking the unsubscribe link, your data will be deleted from MailChimp.

If you access a MailChimp website via a link in our newsletter and cookies are set in your browser, you can delete or deactivate these cookies at any time and manage them. You will find links to the relevant instructions for the most popular browsers under the "Cookies" section.

If you prefer not to accept cookies, you can set your browser to always notify you when a cookie is about to be placed. This allows you to decide whether to accept or reject each individual cookie.

Legal basis

Our newsletter is sent by MailChimp on the basis of your consent (Article 6 (1) (a) GDPR). This means that we may only send you a newsletter if you have previously actively registered for it. If consent is not required, the newsletter will be sent on the basis of legitimate interest in direct marketing (Article 6 (1) (f)), provided this is legally permitted. We record your registration process so that we can always prove that it complies with our laws.

MailChimp processes your data, among other places, in the USA. We would like to point out that, according to the European Court of Justice, there is currently no adequate level of protection for data transfers to the USA. This may entail various risks to the legality and security of data processing.

MailChimp uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46, Paragraphs 2 and 3 GDPR) as the basis for data processing with recipients located in third countries (outside the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and in particular in the USA) or for data transfers there. Standard contractual clauses (SCCs) are templates provided by the EU Commission and are intended to ensure that your data complies with European data protection standards even if it is transferred to and stored in third countries (such as the USA). Through these clauses, MailChimp undertakes to comply with European data protection standards when processing your relevant data, even if the data is stored, processed, and managed in the USA. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the corresponding standard contractual clauses here, among other places: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de

The Mailchimp Data Processing Addendum, which corresponds to the standard contractual clauses, can be found at https://mailchimp.com/legal/data-processing-addendum/#Annex_C_-_Standard_Contractual_Clauses.

You can find out more about the use of cookies at MailChimp at https://mailchimp.com/legal/cookies/, Information about data protection at MailChimp (Privacy) can be found on https://www.intuit.com/privacy/statement/ read more.

Social Media Introduction

Social Media Privacy Policy Summary 👥 Affected: Visitors to the website 🤝 Purpose: Presentation and optimization of our service, contact with visitors, interested parties, etc., advertising 📓 Data processed: Data such as telephone numbers, email addresses, contact details, user behavior data, information about your device and your IP address. You can find more details in the social media tool used. 📅 Storage period: depends on the social media platforms used ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR (consent), Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (legitimate interests)

What is social media?

In addition to our website, we are also active on various social media platforms. User data may be processed so that we can specifically address users interested in us via social networks. Furthermore, elements of a social media platform may also be embedded directly into our website. This is the case, for example, if you click a so-called social button on our website and are redirected directly to our social media presence. Social media refers to websites and apps through which registered members can produce content, share content openly or in specific groups, and network with other members.

Why do we use social media?

For years, social media platforms have been the place where people communicate and connect online. Our social media presence allows us to bring our products and services closer to prospective customers. The social media elements integrated into our website help you quickly and seamlessly access our social media content.

The data stored and processed through your use of a social media channel primarily serves the purpose of conducting web analytics. The goal of these analyses is to develop more precise and personalized marketing and advertising strategies. Depending on your behavior on a social media platform, the evaluated data can be used to draw appropriate conclusions about your interests and create so-called user profiles. This also enables the platforms to present you with tailored advertisements. Cookies are usually placed in your browser for this purpose, which store data about your usage behavior.

We generally assume that we remain responsible for data protection even when we use the services of a social media platform. However, the European Court of Justice has ruled that in certain cases, the operator of the social media platform may be jointly responsible with us within the meaning of Art. 26 GDPR. Where this is the case, we will specifically point this out and work on the basis of a relevant agreement. The essence of the agreement is then reproduced below for the relevant platform.

Please note that when using social media platforms or our integrated elements, your data may also be processed outside the European Union, as many social media channels, such as Facebook or Twitter, are American companies. This may make it more difficult for you to exercise or enforce your rights regarding your personal data.

What data is processed?

Exactly which data is stored and processed depends on the respective social media platform provider. However, it typically includes data such as telephone numbers, email addresses, data you enter into a contact form, user data such as which buttons you click, who you like or follow, when you visited which pages, information about your device, and your IP address. Most of this data is stored in cookies. Especially if you have a profile on the social media channel you visit and are logged in, data can be linked to your profile.

All data collected via a social media platform is also stored on the providers' servers. Therefore, only the providers have access to the data and can provide you with the appropriate information or make changes.

If you want to know exactly which data is stored and processed by social media providers and how you can object to data processing, you should carefully read the respective company's privacy policy. If you have any questions about data storage and processing or wish to assert your corresponding rights, we recommend that you contact the provider directly.

Duration of data processing

We will inform you below about the duration of data processing, as soon as we have further information. For example, the social media platform Facebook stores data until it is no longer needed for its own purposes. However, customer data that is compared with its own user data is deleted within two days. Generally, we only process personal data for as long as absolutely necessary to provide our services and products. If required by law, such as in the case of accounting, this storage period may be exceeded.

Right of objection

You also have the right and option to revoke your consent to the use of cookies or third-party services, such as embedded social media elements, at any time. This can be done either via our cookie management tool or via other opt-out functions. For example, you can also prevent data collection through cookies by managing, deactivating, or deleting cookies in your browser.

Since social media tools may use cookies, we also recommend our general privacy policy regarding cookies. To learn exactly which of your data is stored and processed, you should read the privacy policies of the respective tools.

Legal basis

If you have consented to your data being processed and stored through integrated social media elements, this consent shall be deemed the legal basis for data processing (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR). In principle, if you have given your consent, your data will also be processed on the basis of our legitimate interest (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR) to ensure fast and effective communication with you or other customers and business partners. However, we only use these tools if you have given your consent. Most social media platforms also place cookies in your browser to store data. We therefore recommend that you carefully read our privacy policy regarding cookies and review the privacy statement or cookie policy of the respective service provider.

Information on specific social media platforms can be found – where available – in the following sections.

Facebook Privacy Policy

Facebook Privacy Policy Summary 👥 Affected: Visitors to the website 🤝 Purpose: Optimizing our service 📓 Data processed: Data such as customer data, user behavior data, information about your device and your IP address. You can find more details below in the privacy policy. 📅 Storage period: until the data is no longer useful for Facebook's purposes ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR (consent), Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (legitimate interests)

What are Facebook tools?

We use selected tools from Facebook on our website. Facebook is a social media network operated by Meta Platforms Inc., or for the European region, Meta Platforms Ireland Limited, 4 Grand Canal Square, Grand Canal Harbour, Dublin 2, Ireland. These tools enable us to offer you and people interested in our products and services the best possible service.

If data is collected and forwarded from you via our embedded Facebook elements or via our Facebook page (fan page), both we and Facebook Ireland Ltd. are responsible for this. Facebook is solely responsible for the further processing of this data. Our joint commitments have also been set out in a publicly accessible agreement under https://www.facebook.com/legal/controller_addendum This stipulates, for example, that we must clearly inform you about the use of Facebook tools on our site. Furthermore, we are also responsible for ensuring that the tools are securely integrated into our website in accordance with data protection law. Facebook, on the other hand, is responsible for the data security of Facebook products, for example. If you have any questions about data collection and processing by Facebook, you can contact the company directly. If you address the question to us, we are obligated to forward it to Facebook.

Below we provide an overview of the various Facebook tools, which data is sent to Facebook and how you can delete this data.

Among many other products, Facebook also offers the so-called "Facebook Business Tools." This is Facebook's official name. However, since the term is hardly known, we've decided to simply call them Facebook Tools. These include:

• Facebook Pixel
• social plug-ins (such as the “Like” or “Share” button)
• Facebook Login
• Account Kit
• APIs (application programming interfaces)
• SDKs (collection of programming tools)
• Platform integrations
• Plugins
• Codes
• Specifications
• Documentation
• Technologies and services

Through these tools, Facebook expands its services and has the ability to obtain information about user activities outside of Facebook.

Why do we use Facebook tools on our website?

We want to show our services and products only to people who are genuinely interested in them. With the help of advertisements (Facebook Ads), we can reach precisely these people. However, in order to show users suitable advertising, Facebook needs information about people's wishes and needs. This provides the company with information about user behavior (and contact details) on our website. This allows Facebook to collect better user data and show interested people suitable advertisements about our products or services. These tools thus enable customized advertising campaigns on Facebook.

Facebook calls data about your behavior on our website "event data." This is also used for measurement and analytics services. Facebook can thus create "campaign reports" on our behalf about the effectiveness of our advertising campaigns. Furthermore, analytics give us better insight into how you use our services, website, or products. This allows us to use some of these tools to optimize your user experience on our website. For example, you can use social plug-ins to share content from our site directly on Facebook.

What data are stored by Facebook tools?

By using certain Facebook tools, personal data (customer data) may be sent to Facebook. Depending on the tools used, customer data such as name, address, telephone number, and IP address may be sent.

Facebook uses this information to compare the data with the data it has about you (if you are a Facebook member). Before customer data is transmitted to Facebook, a process called "hashing" occurs. This means that a data set of any size is transformed into a character string. This also serves to encrypt data.

In addition to contact details, "event data" is also transmitted. "Event data" refers to the information we receive about you on our website. For example, which subpages you visit or which products you purchase from us. Facebook does not share the information received with third parties (such as advertisers) unless the company has explicit permission or is legally obligated to do so. "Event data" can also be linked to contact details. This enables Facebook to offer better, personalized advertising. After the aforementioned matching process, Facebook deletes the contact details.

In order to deliver optimized ads, Facebook only uses event data if it has been combined with other data (collected by Facebook in other ways). Facebook also uses this event data for security, protection, development, and research purposes. Much of this data is transferred to Facebook via cookies. Cookies are small text files that are used to store data or information in browsers. Depending on the tools used and whether you are a Facebook member, different numbers of cookies are created in your browser. In the descriptions of the individual Facebook tools, we go into more detail about individual Facebook cookies. General information about the use of Facebook cookies can also be found on https://www.facebook.com/policies/cookies.

How long and where is the data stored?

Facebook generally stores data until it is no longer needed for its own services and Facebook products. Facebook has servers distributed around the world where its data is stored. However, customer data is deleted within 48 hours after it has been compared with its own user data.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

According to the General Data Protection Regulation, you have the right to information, rectification, portability and erasure of your data.

Complete deletion of your data will only occur if you completely delete your Facebook account. Here's how to delete your Facebook account:

1) Click on Settings on the right side of Facebook.

2) Then click on “Your Facebook information” in the left column.

3) Now click “Deactivation and deletion”.

4) Now select “Delete account” and then click “Continue and delete account”

5) Now enter your password, click “Next” and then “Delete account”

The data that Facebook receives from our site is stored, among other things, via cookies (e.g., social plugins). You can deactivate, delete, or manage individual or all cookies in your browser. This works differently depending on the browser you use. Under the "Cookies" section, you will find links to the relevant instructions for the most popular browsers.

If you prefer not to accept cookies, you can set your browser to always notify you when a cookie is about to be placed. This allows you to decide whether to accept or reject each individual cookie.

Legal basis

If you have consented to your data being processed and stored by integrated Facebook tools, this consent shall be deemed the legal basis for data processing (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR). In principle, your data will also be processed on the basis of our legitimate interest (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR) to ensure fast and effective communication with you or other customers and business partners. However, we only use these tools if you have given your consent. Most social media platforms also place cookies in your browser to store data. We therefore recommend that you carefully read our privacy policy regarding cookies and review Facebook's privacy policy or cookie guidelines.

Facebook processes your data, among other places, in the USA. We would like to point out that, according to the European Court of Justice, there is currently no adequate level of protection for data transfers to the USA. This may entail various risks to the legality and security of data processing.

Facebook uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46, Paragraphs 2 and 3 GDPR) as the basis for data processing with recipients located in third countries (outside the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and therefore in particular in the USA) or for data transfers there. Standard contractual clauses (SCCs) are templates provided by the EU Commission and are intended to ensure that your data complies with European data protection standards even if it is transferred to and stored in third countries (such as the USA). Through these clauses, Facebook undertakes to comply with European data protection standards when processing your relevant data, even if the data is stored, processed, and managed in the USA. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the corresponding standard contractual clauses here, among other places: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de

The Facebook data processing conditions, which correspond to the standard contractual clauses, can be found at https://www.facebook.com/legal/terms/dataprocessing.

We hope we have provided you with the most important information about the use and processing of data by Facebook tools. If you would like to learn more about how Facebook uses your data, we recommend that you read the data guidelines on https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy/update.

Facebook Social Plug-ins Privacy Policy

Our website contains so-called social plug-ins from Meta Platforms Inc. You can recognize these buttons by the classic Facebook logo, such as the "Like" button (a hand with a raised thumb) or by a clear "Facebook plug-in" label. A social plug-in is a small part of Facebook that is integrated into our site. Each plug-in has its own function. The most frequently used functions are the familiar "Like" and "Share" buttons.

The following social plug-ins are offered by Facebook:

• “Save” button
• Like, Share, Send and Quote
• Page plug-in
• Comments
• Messenger plug-in
• Embedded posts and video players
• Group plug-in

On https://developers.facebook.com/docs/plugins You will receive more detailed information about how the individual plug-ins are used. We use social plug-ins both to offer you a better user experience on our site and because they allow Facebook to optimize our advertising.

If you have a Facebook account or https://www.facebook.com/ If you have already visited our site, Facebook has already placed at least one cookie in your browser. In this case, your browser sends information to Facebook via this cookie as soon as you visit our site or interact with social plug-ins (e.g., the "Like" button).

The information collected will be deleted or anonymized within 90 days. According to Facebook, this data includes your IP address, the website you visited, the date and time, and other information related to your browser.

To prevent Facebook from collecting a lot of data during your visit to our website and linking it to Facebook data, you must log out of Facebook while visiting the website.

If you are not logged in to Facebook or do not have a Facebook account, your browser will send less information to Facebook because you have fewer Facebook cookies. However, data such as your IP address or which website you visit may be transferred to Facebook. We would like to expressly point out that we do not know the exact content of the data. However, we will try to inform you about data processing as best as possible based on our current knowledge. You can also find out how Facebook uses the data in the company's data policy at https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy/update read more.

The following cookies are set in your browser at least when you visit a website with social plug-ins from Facebook:

Name: dpr
Value: not specified
Purpose of use: This cookie is used to enable social plug-ins on our website.
Expiry date: after the end of the meeting

Name: fr
Value: 0jieyh4122427552c2GnlufEJ9..Bde09j…1.0.Bde09j
Purpose of use: The cookie is also necessary for the plug-ins to function properly.
Expiry date:: after 3 months

Note: These cookies were set after a test, even if you are not a Facebook member.

If you are logged in to Facebook, you can change your ad settings at https://www.facebook.com/adpreferences/advertisers/ yourself. If you are not a Facebook user, you can https://www.youronlinechoices.com/de/praferenzmanagement/?tid=122427552 You can generally manage your usage-based online advertising. There you have the option to deactivate or activate providers.

If you want to learn more about Facebook’s privacy practices, we recommend you read the company’s own data policies on https://www.facebook.com/policy.php?tip=122427552.

Facebook Fanpage Privacy Policy

We also have a Facebook fan page for our website. The service provider is the American company Meta Platforms Inc. Meta Platforms Ireland Limited (4 Grand Canal Square, Grand Canal Harbour, Dublin 2, Ireland) is responsible for the European region.

Facebook processes your data, among other places, in the USA. We would like to point out that, according to the European Court of Justice, there is currently no adequate level of protection for data transfers to the USA. This may entail various risks to the legality and security of data processing.

Facebook uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46, Paragraphs 2 and 3 GDPR) as the basis for data processing with recipients located in third countries (outside the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and therefore in particular in the USA) or for data transfers there. Standard contractual clauses (SCCs) are templates provided by the EU Commission and are intended to ensure that your data complies with European data protection standards even if it is transferred to and stored in third countries (such as the USA). Through these clauses, Facebook undertakes to comply with European data protection standards when processing your relevant data, even if the data is stored, processed, and managed in the USA. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the corresponding standard contractual clauses here, among other places: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de

The Facebook data processing conditions, which correspond to the standard contractual clauses, can be found at https://www.facebook.com/legal/terms/dataprocessing.

You can find out more about the data processed through the use of Facebook in the Privacy Policy on https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy.

Instagram Privacy Policy

Instagram Privacy Policy Summary 👥 Affected: Visitors to the website 🤝 Purpose: Optimizing our service 📓 Data processed: Data such as user behavior data, information about your device, and your IP address. You can find more details below in the privacy policy. 📅 Storage period: until Instagram no longer needs the data for its purposes ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR (consent), Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (legitimate interests)

What is Instagram?

We have integrated Instagram functions into our website. Instagram is a social media platform of the company Instagram LLC, 1601 Willow Rd, Menlo Park CA 94025, USA. Instagram has been a subsidiary of Meta Platforms Inc. since 2012 and is one of the Facebook products. Embedding Instagram content on our website is called embedding. This allows us to show you content such as buttons, photos or videos from Instagram directly on our website. When you visit web pages on our website that have an integrated Instagram function, data is transmitted to, stored and processed by Instagram. Instagram uses the same systems and technologies as Facebook. Your data is therefore processed across all Facebook companies.

Below, we want to give you a more detailed insight into why Instagram collects data, what data it collects, and how you can largely control data processing. Since Instagram is part of Meta Platforms Inc., we obtain our information from both the Instagram guidelines and the Meta privacy policy itself.

Instagram is one of the most popular social media networks in the world. Instagram combines the benefits of a blog with those of audiovisual platforms like YouTube or Vimeo. You can upload photos and short videos to "Insta" (as many users casually call the platform), edit them with various filters, and share them on other social networks. And if you don't want to be active yourself, you can also just follow other interesting users.

Why do we use Instagram on our website?

Instagram is the social media platform that has really taken off in recent years. And of course, we've responded to this boom. We want you to feel as comfortable as possible on our website. That's why we take a natural approach to presenting our content in a varied way. Embedded Instagram features allow us to enrich our content with helpful, funny, or exciting content from the Instagram world. Since Instagram is a subsidiary of Facebook, the data collected can also be used to personalize advertising on Facebook. This way, our ads only reach people who are genuinely interested in our products or services.

Instagram also uses the collected data for measurement and analysis purposes. We receive aggregated statistics and thus gain more insight into your preferences and interests. It's important to note that these reports do not identify you personally.

What data does Instagram store?

When you visit one of our pages that has integrated Instagram features (such as Instagram images or plug-ins), your browser automatically connects to Instagram's servers. Data is sent to Instagram, stored, and processed, regardless of whether you have an Instagram account or not. This includes information about our website, your computer, purchases made, advertisements you see, and how you use our services. Furthermore, the date and time of your interaction with Instagram are also stored. If you have an Instagram account or are logged in, Instagram stores significantly more data about you.

Facebook differentiates between customer data and event data. We assume that this is also the case with Instagram. Customer data includes, for example, name, address, telephone number, and IP address. This customer data will only be transmitted to Instagram after it has been "hashed." Hashing means converting a data set into a character string. This allows contact details to be encrypted. The aforementioned "event data" will also be transmitted. Facebook – and consequently Instagram too – defines "event data" as data about your user behavior. It may also happen that contact details are combined with event data. The collected contact details will be compared with the data that Instagram already has about you.

The collected data is transmitted to Facebook via small text files (cookies), which are usually placed in your browser. Depending on the Instagram features used and whether you have an Instagram account, different amounts of data are stored.

We assume that data processing on Instagram works the same way as on Facebook. This means: if you have an Instagram account or www.instagram.com Instagram has set at least one cookie. If this is the case, your browser sends information to Instagram via the cookie as soon as you interact with an Instagram function. This data is deleted or anonymized after 90 days at the latest (after comparison). Although we have studied Instagram's data processing in detail, we cannot say exactly what data Instagram collects and stores.

Below, we show you the cookies that are set in your browser at a minimum when you click on an Instagram feature (such as a button or an Instagram image). For our test, we assume that you don't have an Instagram account. If you are logged in to Instagram, significantly more cookies will naturally be set in your browser.

These cookies were used in our test:

Name: csrftoken
Value: “”
Purpose of use: This cookie is most likely set for security reasons to prevent request forgery. However, we were unable to determine this further.
Expiry date: after one year

Name: mid
Value: “”
Purpose of use: Instagram sets this cookie to optimize its own services and offers on and off Instagram. The cookie sets a unique user ID.
Expiry date: after the end of the session

Name: fbsr_122427552124024
Value: not specified
Purpose of use: This cookie stores the log-in request for users of the Instagram app.
Expiry date: after the end of the session

Name: rur
Value: ATN
Purpose of use: This is an Instagram cookie that ensures functionality on Instagram.
Expiry date: after the end of the session

Name: urlgen
Value: “{”194.96.75.33”: 1901}:1iEtYv:Y833k2_UjKvXgYe122427552”
Purpose of use: This cookie is used for Instagram’s marketing purposes.
Expiry date: after the end of the session

Note: We cannot claim to be comprehensive here. Which cookies are set in each individual case depends on the embedded functions and your use of Instagram.

How long and where is the data stored?

Instagram shares the information it receives between Facebook companies, external partners, and people you connect with around the world. Data processing is carried out in compliance with its own data policy. Your data is distributed across Facebook servers around the world, partly for security reasons. Most of these servers are located in the USA.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

Thanks to the General Data Protection Regulation, you have the right to access, transfer, rectification, and erasure of your data. You can manage your data in your Instagram settings. If you want to completely delete your data on Instagram, you must permanently delete your Instagram account.

Here's how to delete your Instagram account:

First, open the Instagram app. On your profile page, scroll down and click on "Help Center." This will take you to the company's website. On the website, click on "Manage Account" and then "Delete Your Account."

If you delete your account entirely, Instagram will delete posts such as your photos and status updates. Information that other people have shared about you is not part of your account and therefore will not be deleted.

As mentioned above, Instagram primarily stores your data via cookies. You can manage, disable, or delete these cookies in your browser. Managing cookies works slightly differently depending on your browser. Under the "Cookies" section, you'll find links to the relevant instructions for the most popular browsers.

You can also generally configure your browser so that you are always informed when a cookie is about to be set. You can then decide individually whether you want to accept the cookie or not.

Legal basis

If you have consented to your data being processed and stored through integrated social media elements, this consent shall be deemed the legal basis for data processing (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR). In principle, your data will also be processed on the basis of our legitimate interest (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR) to ensure fast and effective communication with you or other customers and business partners. However, we only use the integrated social media elements if you have given your consent. Most social media platforms also place cookies in your browser to store data. We therefore recommend that you carefully read our privacy policy regarding cookies and review the privacy statement or cookie policy of the respective service provider.

Instagram and Facebook also process data in the USA, among other places. We would like to point out that, according to the European Court of Justice, there is currently no adequate level of protection for data transfers to the USA. This may entail various risks to the legality and security of data processing.

Facebook uses standard contractual clauses approved by the EU Commission (Article 46, Paragraphs 2 and 3 GDPR) as the basis for data processing with recipients located in third countries (outside the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and in particular the USA) or for data transfers there. These clauses oblige Facebook to comply with EU data protection standards when processing relevant data, even outside the EU. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the clauses here, among other places: https://germany.representation.ec.europa.eu/index_de.

We have tried to provide you with the most important information about data processing by Instagram. https://help.instagram.com/519522125107875
you can learn more about Instagram’s data policies.

Pinterest Privacy Policy

Pinterest Privacy Policy Summary 👥 Affected: Visitors to the website 🤝 Purpose: Optimizing our service 📓 Data processed: Data such as user behavior data, information about your device, your IP address, and search terms. You can find more details below in the privacy policy. 📅 Storage period: until Pinterest no longer needs the data for its purposes ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR (consent), Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (legitimate interests)

What is Pinterest?

We use buttons and widgets from the social media network Pinterest, operated by Pinterest Inc., 808 Brannan Street, San Francisco, CA 94103, USA, on our website. For the European region, the Irish company Pinterest Europe Ltd. (Palmerston House, 2nd Floor, Fenian Street, Dublin 2, Ireland) is responsible for all data protection-related aspects.

Pinterest is a social network specializing in graphic representations and photography. The name is a combination of the two words "pin" and "interest." Users can exchange ideas about various hobbies and interests on Pinterest and view profiles and images openly or in defined groups.

Why do we use Pinterest?

Pinterest has been around for several years now, and this social media platform is still one of the most visited and valued. Pinterest is particularly well-suited to our industry because it's primarily known for beautiful and interesting images. That's why we're also on Pinterest and want to showcase our content appropriately outside of our website. The data collected may also be used for advertising purposes so that we can show advertising messages to precisely those people who are interested in our services or products.

What data does Pinterest process?

So-called log data may be stored. This includes information about your browser, IP address, the address of our website and the activities performed on it (for example, when you click the Save or Pin button), search history, the date and time of the request, and cookie and device data. If you interact with an embedded Pinterest function, cookies that store various data may also be set in your browser. The aforementioned log data, preset language settings, and clickstream data are usually stored in cookies. Pinterest defines clickstream data as information about your website behavior.

If you have a Pinterest account and are logged in, the data collected through our site may be added to your account and used for advertising purposes. When you interact with our integrated Pinterest features, you will generally be redirected to the Pinterest page. Here is an example of the cookies that will then be set in your browser.

Name: _auth
Value: 0
Purpose of use: The cookie is used for authentication. It can store a value such as your "username," for example. 
Expiry date: after one year

Name: _pinterest_referrer
Value: 1
Purpose of use: The cookie stores that you accessed Pinterest via our website. It therefore stores the URL of our website.
Expiry date: after the end of the meeting

Name: _pinterest_sess
Value: …9HRHZvVE0rQlUxdG89
Purpose of use: The cookie is used to log in to Pinterest and contains user IDs, authentication tokens and timestamps.
Expiry date: after one year

Name: _routing_id
Value: “8d850ddd-4fb8-499c-961c-77efae9d4065122427552-8”
Purpose of use: The cookie contains an assigned value that is used to identify a specific routing destination.
Expiry date: after one day

Name: cm_sub
Value: denied
Purpose of use: This cookie stores a user ID and timestamp.
Expiry date: after one year

Name: csrftoken
Value: 9e49145c82a93d34fd933b0fd8446165122427552-1
Purpose of use: This cookie is most likely set for security reasons to prevent request forgery. However, we were unable to determine this further.
Expiry date: after one year

Name: sessionFunnelEventLogged
Value: 1
Purpose of use: We have not yet been able to find out any further information about this cookie.
Expiry date: after one day

How long and where is the data stored?

Pinterest generally stores the collected data until it is no longer needed for the company's purposes. Once data retention is no longer necessary, for example, to comply with legal requirements, the data is either deleted or anonymized so that you can no longer be identified as an individual. The data may also be stored on American servers.

Right of objection

You also have the right and option to revoke your consent to the use of cookies or third-party providers such as Pinterest at any time. This can be done either through our cookie management tool or through other opt-out functions. For example, you can also prevent data collection through cookies by managing, deactivating, or deleting cookies in your browser.

Since embedded Pinterest elements may use cookies, we also recommend reading our general privacy policy on cookies. To learn exactly which of your data is stored and processed, you should read the privacy policies of the respective tools.

Legal basis

If you have consented to your data being processed and stored through integrated social media elements, this consent shall be deemed the legal basis for data processing (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR). In principle, your data will also be processed on the basis of our legitimate interest (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR) to ensure fast and effective communication with you or other customers and business partners. However, we only use this tool if you have given your consent. Most social media platforms also place cookies in your browser to store data. We therefore recommend that you carefully read our privacy policy regarding cookies and review the privacy statement or cookie policy of the respective service provider.

Pinterest also processes your data in the USA, among other places. We would like to point out that, according to the European Court of Justice, there is currently no adequate level of protection for data transfers to the USA. This may entail various risks to the legality and security of data processing.

Pinterest uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46 (2) and (3) GDPR) as the basis for data processing with recipients located in third countries (outside the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and in particular in the USA) or for data transfers there. Standard contractual clauses (SCCs) are templates provided by the EU Commission and are intended to ensure that your data complies with European data protection standards even if it is transferred to and stored in third countries (such as the USA). Through these clauses, Pinterest undertakes to comply with European data protection standards when processing your relevant data, even if the data is stored, processed, and managed in the USA. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the corresponding standard contractual clauses here, among other places: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de.

For more information about Pinterest’s standard contractual clauses, please visit https://policy.pinterest.com/de/privacy-policy#section-residents-of-the-eea.

We have tried to provide you with the most important information about data processing by Pinterest. https://policy.pinterest.com/de/privacy-policy you can learn more about Pinterest's data policies.

Content Delivery Networks Introduction

Content Delivery Networks Privacy Policy Summary 👥 Affected: Visitors to the website 🤝 Purpose: Optimizing our service (to load the website faster) 📓 Processed data: Data such as your IP address You can find more details below and in the individual data protection texts. 📅 Storage period: most data is stored until it is no longer required to provide the service ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR (consent), Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (legitimate interests)

What is a content delivery network?

We use a so-called content delivery network on our website. This type of network is usually simply called a CDN. A CDN helps us load our website quickly and smoothly, regardless of your location. Your personal data is also stored, managed, and processed on the servers of the CDN provider used. Below, we provide more general information about the service and its data processing. Detailed information about how your data is handled can be found in the respective provider's privacy policy.

Every content delivery network (CDN) is a network of regionally distributed servers, all connected via the internet. This network allows website content (especially very large files) to be delivered quickly and smoothly, even during peak loads. The CDN creates a copy of our website on its servers. Because these servers are distributed worldwide, the website can be delivered quickly. Consequently, the CDN significantly reduces data transfer time to your browser.

Why do we use a content delivery network for our website?

A fast-loading website is part of our service. We know how annoying it is when a website loads at a snail's pace. Often, you even lose patience and leave before the site has fully loaded. We want to avoid that, of course. Therefore, a fast-loading website is a natural part of our website offering. With a content delivery network, our website loads significantly faster in your browser. Using a CDN is especially helpful if you are abroad, because the website is delivered from a server near you.

What data is processed?

When you request a website or its content and it is cached in a CDN, the CDN forwards the request to the server closest to you, which delivers the content. Content delivery networks are designed to allow JavaScript libraries to be downloaded and hosted on npm and Github servers. Alternatively, most CDNs can also load WordPress plugins if they are available on WordPress.org hosted. Your browser can send personal data to the content delivery network we use. This includes data such as your IP address, browser type, browser version, which web page is loaded, or the time and date of the page visit. This data is collected and stored by the CDN. Whether cookies are used to store data depends on the network used. Please read the privacy policies of the respective service.

Right of objection

If you want to completely prevent this data transfer, you can use a JavaScript blocker (see for example https://noscript.net/) on your PC. Of course, our website will then no longer be able to offer the usual service (such as fast loading speed).

Legal basis

If you have consented to the use of a content delivery network, the legal basis for the corresponding data processing is this consent. According to Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR (consent) the legal basis for the processing of personal data as it may occur when collected by a content delivery network.

We also have a legitimate interest in using a content delivery network to optimize and secure our online service. The legal basis for this is Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (Legitimate Interests)However, we only use the tool if you have given your consent.

Information on specific content delivery networks can be found – where available – in the following sections.

Cloudflare Privacy Policy

Cloudflare Privacy Policy Summary 👥 Affected: Visitors to the website 🤝 Purpose: Optimizing our service (to load the website faster) 📓 Data processed: Data such as IP address, contact and log information, security fingerprints and website performance data You can find more details about this further down in this privacy policy. 📅 Storage period: most data is stored for less than 24 hours ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR (consent), Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (legitimate interests)

What is Cloudflare?

We use Cloudflare from Cloudflare, Inc. (101 Townsend St., San Francisco, CA 94107, USA) on this website to make our website faster and more secure. Cloudflare uses cookies and processes user data. Cloudflare, Inc. is an American company that offers a content delivery network and various security services. These services exist between the user and our hosting provider. We will try to explain in more detail below what this all means.

A content delivery network (CDN), such as the one provided by Cloudflare, is nothing more than a network of connected servers. Cloudflare has distributed such servers around the world to deliver websites to your screen more quickly. Simply put, Cloudflare creates copies of our website and stores them on its own servers. When you visit our website, a load balancing system ensures that the largest parts of our website are delivered from the server that can display it most quickly. A CDN significantly shortens the data transfer distance to your browser. Thus, Cloudflare delivers our website content not only from our hosting server, but from servers all over the world. Using Cloudflare is particularly helpful for users from abroad, as the page can be delivered from a nearby server. In addition to delivering websites quickly, Cloudflare also offers various security services, such as DDoS protection and a web application firewall.

Why do we use Cloudflare on our website?

Of course, we want to offer you the best possible service with our website. Cloudflare helps us make our website faster and more secure. Cloudflare offers us both web optimization and security services, such as DDoS protection and a web firewall. This also includes a Reverse proxy and the content distribution network (CDN). Cloudflare blocks threats and limits abusive bots and crawlers that waste our bandwidth and server resources. By hosting our website on local data centers and blocking spam software, Cloudflare is able to reduce our bandwidth usage by approximately 60%. Serving content from a data center near you and performing some web optimizations there reduces the average web page load time by about half. According to Cloudflare, the "I'm Under Attack" mode can mitigate further attacks by displaying a JavaScript math problem that must be solved before a user can access a web page. Overall, this makes our website significantly more performant and less vulnerable to spam or other attacks.

What data does Cloudflare process?

Cloudflare generally only forwards data controlled by website operators. This means that the content is not determined by Cloudflare, but always by the website operator themselves. Cloudflare may also collect certain information about the use of our website and process data sent by us or for which Cloudflare has received instructions to do so. In most cases, Cloudflare receives data such as IP addresses, contact and log information, security fingerprints, and website performance data. Log data helps Cloudflare, for example, identify new threats. This allows Cloudflare to ensure a high level of security for our website. Cloudflare processes this data as part of its services in compliance with applicable laws. This naturally includes the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Cloudflare also works with third parties. These third parties may only process personal data under Cloudflare's instructions and in accordance with its privacy policies and other confidentiality and security measures. Cloudflare will not forward any personal data without our explicit consent.

How long and where is the data stored?

Cloudflare primarily stores your information in the United States and the European Economic Area. Cloudflare may transfer and access the information described above from anywhere in the world. Generally, Cloudflare retains user-level data for Free, Pro, and Business domains for less than 24 hours. For Enterprise domains that have Cloudflare Logs (formerly Enterprise LogShare or ELS) enabled, data may be retained for up to 7 days. However, exceptions to the retention period listed above may apply if IP addresses trigger security alerts with Cloudflare.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

Cloudflare retains data logs only for as long as necessary, and in most cases, this data is deleted within 24 hours. Cloudflare also does not store any personally identifiable information, such as your IP address. However, there is information that Cloudflare stores indefinitely as part of its persistent logs to improve the overall performance of Cloudflare Resolver and to detect any security risks. You can find out exactly which persistent logs are stored on https://www.cloudflare.com/application/privacypolicy/ All data collected by Cloudflare (temporary or permanent) is cleansed of all personally identifiable information. All permanent logs are also anonymized by Cloudflare.

Cloudflare states in its privacy policy that they are not responsible for the content they receive. For example, if you ask Cloudflare whether they can update or delete your content, Cloudflare will always refer you to us as the website operator. You can also completely prevent Cloudflare from collecting and processing your data by disabling the execution of script code in your browser or by integrating a script blocker into your browser.

Legal basis

If you have consented to the use of Cloudflare, the legal basis for the corresponding data processing is this consent. This consent constitutes Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR (consent) the legal basis for the processing of personal data as it may occur when collected by Cloudflare.

We also have a legitimate interest in using Cloudflare to optimize our online service and make it more secure. The legal basis for this is Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (Legitimate Interests)However, we only use Cloudflare if you have given your consent.

Cloudflare also processes data in the USA, among other places. We would like to point out that, according to the European Court of Justice, there is currently no adequate level of protection for data transfers to the USA. This may entail various risks to the legality and security of data processing.

Cloudflare uses standard contractual clauses approved by the EU Commission (Article 46, Paragraphs 2 and 3 GDPR) as the basis for data processing with recipients located in third countries (outside the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and in particular the USA) or for data transfers there. These clauses oblige Cloudflare to comply with EU data protection standards when processing relevant data, even outside the EU. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the clauses here, among other places: https://germany.representation.ec.europa.eu/index_de.

For more information about data protection at Cloudflare, please visit https://www.cloudflare.com/de-de/privacypolicy/

Smush CDN Privacy Policy

We use the Smush CDN content delivery network for our website. The service provider is the American company Incsub, LLC, PO BOX 548 #88100, Birmingham, AL 35201, USA.

We would like to point out that, according to the European Court of Justice, there is currently no adequate level of protection for data transfer to the USA. Data processing is primarily carried out by Incsub. This may result in data not being processed and stored anonymously. Furthermore, US government authorities may gain access to individual data. Furthermore, this data may be linked to data from other Incsub services for which you have a user account.

You can find out more about the data processed through the use of Smush CDN in the privacy policy on https://incsub.com/privacy-policy/.

Cookie Consent Management Platform Introduction

Cookie Consent Management Platform Summary 👥 Affected: Website visitors 🤝 Purpose: Obtaining and managing consent to certain cookies and thus the use of certain tools 📓 Data processed: Data for managing the cookie settings, such as IP address, time of consent, type of consent, and individual consents. You can find more details in the respective tool used. 📅 Storage period: Depends on the tool used; you have to be prepared for periods of several years ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR (consent), Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (legitimate interests)

What is a Cookie Consent Management Platform?

We use Consent Management Platform (CMP) software on our website to make it easier for us and you to handle scripts and cookies correctly and securely. The software automatically creates a cookie popup, scans and controls all scripts and cookies, provides you with the cookie consent required by data protection law, and helps us and you keep track of all cookies. Most Cookie Consent Management tools identify and categorize all existing cookies. You, as the website visitor, then decide for yourself whether and which scripts and cookies you allow or deny. The following graphic illustrates the relationship between browser, web server, and CMP.

Why do we use a cookie management tool?

Our goal is to offer you the greatest possible transparency in the area of data protection. We are also legally obligated to do so. We want to inform you as fully as possible about all tools and all cookies that can store and process your data. It is also your right to decide for yourself which cookies you accept and which you do not. In order to grant you this right, we first need to know exactly which cookies have landed on our website. Thanks to a cookie management tool that regularly scans the website for all existing cookies, we know about all cookies and can provide you with GDPR-compliant information. You can then accept or reject cookies using the consent system.

What data is processed?

Using our cookie management tool, you can manage each individual cookie yourself and have complete control over the storage and processing of your data. Your consent will be saved so that we don't have to ask you each time you visit our website, and so that we can verify your consent if required by law. This consent is saved either in an opt-in cookie or on a server. The storage period for your cookie consent varies depending on the provider of the cookie management tool. This data (such as pseudonymous user ID, time of consent, details on cookie categories or tools, browser, device information) is usually stored for up to two years.

Duration of data processing

We will inform you below about the duration of data processing, if we have further information. In general, we only process personal data for as long as it is absolutely necessary to provide our services and products. Data stored in cookies is stored for different lengths of time. Some cookies are deleted as soon as you leave the website, while others can remain stored in your browser for several years. The exact duration of data processing depends on the tool used; in most cases, you should expect a storage period of several years. The respective privacy policies of the individual providers usually provide precise information about the duration of data processing.

Right of objection

You also have the right and option to revoke your consent to the use of cookies at any time. This can be done either via our cookie management tool or through other opt-out functions. For example, you can also prevent data collection through cookies by managing, deactivating, or deleting cookies in your browser.

Information on specific cookie management tools, if available, can be found in the following sections.

Legal basis

If you agree to cookies, your personal data will be processed and stored via these cookies. If we consent (Article 6 (1) (a) GDPR) may use cookies, this consent is also the legal basis for the use of cookies and the processing of your data. In order to manage the consent to cookies and to enable you to give your consent, a cookie consent management platform software is used. The use of this software enables us to operate the website efficiently and in compliance with the law, which legitimate interest (Article 6 (1) (f) GDPR).

BorlabsCookie Privacy Policy

We use BorlabsCookie on our website, which, among other things, is a tool for storing your cookie consent. The service provider is the German company Borlabs – Benjamin A. Bornschein, Rübenkamp 32, 22305 Hamburg, Germany. You can learn more about the data processed through the use of BorlabsCookie in the Privacy Policy on https://de.borlabs.io/datenschutz/.

Security & Anti-Spam

Security & Anti-Spam Privacy Policy Summary 👥 Affected: Visitors to the website 🤝 Purpose: Cybersecurity 📓 Processed data: Data such as your IP address, name or technical data such as browser version You can find more details below and in the individual data protection texts. 📅 Storage period: most data is stored until it is no longer required to provide the service ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR (consent), Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (legitimate interests)

What is security and anti-spam software?

With so-called security and anti-spam software, you and we can protect ourselves from various spam or phishing emails and possible other cyberattacks. Spam refers to advertising emails from a mass mailing that you did not request. Such emails are also called junk mail and can also incur costs. Phishing emails, on the other hand, are messages that aim to build trust through fake messages or websites in order to obtain personal data. Anti-spam software generally protects against unwanted spam messages or malicious emails that could, for example, introduce viruses into our systems. We also use general firewall and security systems that protect our computers from unwanted network attacks.

Why do we use security and anti-spam software?

We place particular emphasis on security on our website. After all, it's not just about our security, but above all about yours. Unfortunately, cyber threats have become part of everyday life in the world of IT and the internet. Hackers often attempt to steal personal data from an IT system using cyberattacks. Therefore, a good defense system is absolutely essential. A security system monitors all incoming and outgoing connections to our network or computer. To achieve even greater security against cyberattacks, we use additional external security services in addition to the standardized security systems on our computers. This helps prevent unauthorized data traffic and protects us against cybercrime.

What data is processed by security and anti-spam software?

Exactly which data is collected and stored depends, of course, on the respective service. However, we always strive to use only programs that collect data very sparingly and only store data that is necessary to fulfill the offered service. In principle, the service can store data such as name, address, IP address, email address and technical data such as browser type or version. Any performance and log data may also be collected in order to detect possible incoming threats in a timely manner. This data is processed as part of the services and in compliance with applicable laws. For US providers, this also includes the GDPR (via the standard contractual clauses). In some cases, these security services also work with third parties who can store and/or process data under instruction and in accordance with data protection guidelines and other security measures. Data is usually stored via cookies.

Duration of data processing

We will inform you below about the duration of data processing, provided we have further information. For example, security programs store data until you or we revoke your consent. Generally, personal data is only stored for as long as absolutely necessary to provide the services. Unfortunately, in many cases, we do not have precise information from the providers about the storage period.

Right of objection

You also have the right and option to revoke your consent to the use of cookies or third-party security software at any time. This can be done either via our cookie management tool or through other opt-out functions. For example, you can also prevent data collection through cookies by managing, deactivating, or deleting cookies in your browser.

Since such security services may also use cookies, we recommend you read our general privacy policy on cookies. To learn exactly which of your data is stored and processed, you should read the privacy policies of the respective tools.

Legal basis

We use security services primarily on the basis of our legitimate interests (Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR) in a good security system against various cyber attacks.

Certain processing operations, in particular the use of cookies and the use of security features, require your consent. If you have consented to the processing and storage of your data by integrated security services, this consent serves as the legal basis for data processing (Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR). Most of the services we use place cookies in your browser to store data. We therefore recommend that you carefully read our privacy policy regarding cookies and review the privacy policy or cookie guidelines of the respective service provider.

Information on specific tools – where available – can be found in the following sections.

Google reCAPTCHA Privacy Policy

Google reCAPTCHA Privacy Policy Summary 👥 Affected: Visitors to the website 🤝 Purpose: Optimizing our service and protecting against cyberattacks 📓 Data processed: Data such as IP address, browser information, your operating system, limited location and usage data You can find more details about this further down in this privacy policy. 📅 Storage period: depends on the stored data ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR (consent), Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (legitimate interests)

What is reCAPTCHA?

Our primary goal is to make our website as secure and safe as possible for you and us. To ensure this, we use Google reCAPTCHA from Google Inc. In Europe, Google Ireland Limited (Gordon House, Barrow Street Dublin 4, Ireland) is responsible for all Google services. With reCAPTCHA, we can determine whether you are really a flesh-and-blood human and not a robot or other spam software. By spam we mean any unsolicited information sent to us via electronic means. With classic CAPTCHAS, you usually had to solve text or image puzzles for verification. With reCAPTCHA from Google, we usually don't have to bother you with such puzzles. In most cases, it is enough if you simply tick a box to confirm that you are not a bot. With the new Invisible reCAPTCHA version, you don't even have to tick a box. You can find out exactly how this works and, above all, which data is used for this purpose in the course of this privacy policy.

reCAPTCHA is a free CAPTCHA service from Google that protects websites from spam software and abuse by non-human visitors. This service is most commonly used when filling out forms on the internet. A CAPTCHA service is a type of automated Turing test designed to ensure that an action on the internet is performed by a human and not a bot. In the classic Turing test (named after computer scientist Alan Turing), a human distinguishes between a bot and a human. With CAPTCHA, a computer or software program does this. Classic CAPTCHAs work with small tasks that are easy for humans to solve but considerable difficulty for machines. With reCAPTCHA, you no longer have to actively solve puzzles. The tool uses modern risk techniques to distinguish humans from bots. Here, you only have to check the text box "I am not a robot," or with Invisible reCAPTCHA, even that is no longer necessary. With reCAPTCHA, a JavaScript element is embedded in the source code, and the tool then runs in the background, analyzing your user behavior. The software calculates a so-called CAPTCHA score from these user actions. Google uses this score to calculate the probability that you are a human before you enter the CAPTCHA. reCAPTCHA, or CAPTCHAs in general, are used whenever bots could manipulate or misuse certain actions (such as registrations, surveys, etc.).

Why do we use reCAPTCHA on our website?

We only want to welcome real people to our site. Bots and spam software of all kinds can safely stay at home. That's why we do everything we can to protect ourselves and offer you the best possible user experience. For this reason, we use Google reCAPTCHA from Google. This way we can be pretty sure that we remain a "bot-free" website. By using reCAPTCHA, data is transmitted to Google to determine whether you are actually a human. reCAPTCHA therefore serves to ensure the security of our website and, subsequently, your security as well. For example, without reCAPTCHA, a bot could register as many email addresses as possible during registration in order to then "spam" forums or blogs with unwanted advertising content. With reCAPTCHA, we can prevent such bot attacks.

What data is stored by reCAPTCHA?

reCAPTCHA collects personal data from users to determine whether the actions on our website are actually performed by humans. This means that the IP address and other data required by Google for the reCAPTCHA service may be sent to Google. Within EU member states or other contracting states to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, IP addresses are almost always shortened before being transferred to a server in the USA. The IP address is not combined with other Google data unless you are logged in to your Google Account while using reCAPTCHA. First, the reCAPTCHA algorithm checks whether Google cookies from other Google services (YouTube, Gmail, etc.) are already placed on your browser. Then, reCAPTCHA sets an additional cookie in your browser and captures a snapshot of your browser window.

The following list of collected browser and user data is not intended to be exhaustive. Rather, it provides examples of data that, to our knowledge, Google processes.

• Referrer URL (the address of the page from which the visitor comes)
• IP address (e.g. 256.123.123.1)
• Information about the operating system (the software that enables your computer to operate. Common operating systems include Windows, Mac OS X, or Linux)
• Cookies (small text files that store data in your browser)
• Mouse and keyboard behavior (every action you perform with the mouse or keyboard is saved)
• Date and language settings (which language or date you have preset on your PC will be saved)
• All JavaScript objects (JavaScript is a programming language that allows websites to adapt to the user. JavaScript objects can collect all kinds of data under one name)
• Screen resolution (shows how many pixels the image consists of)

It's undisputed that Google uses and analyzes this data even before you click the "I am not a robot" checkbox. With the Invisible reCAPTCHA version, you don't even have to check the box, and the entire recognition process runs in the background. Google doesn't provide details about exactly how much and what kind of data Google stores.

The following cookies are used by reCAPTCHA: Here we refer to the reCAPTCHA demo version from Google at https://www.google.com/recaptcha/api2/demoAll of these cookies require a unique identifier for tracking purposes. Here is a list of cookies that Google reCAPTCHA has set on the demo version:

Name: IDE
Value: WqTUmlnmv_qXyi_DGNPLESKnRNrpgXoy1K-pAZtAkMbHI-122427552-8
Purpose of use: This cookie is set by DoubleClick (also owned by Google) to register and report a user's actions on the website when interacting with ads. This allows advertising effectiveness to be measured and appropriate optimization measures to be taken. IDE is stored in browsers under the domain doubleclick.net.
Expiry date: after one year

Name: 1P_JAR
Value: 2019-5-14-12
Purpose of use: This cookie collects statistics on website usage and measures conversions. A conversion occurs, for example, when a user becomes a purchase. The cookie is also used to display relevant ads to users. Furthermore, the cookie can be used to prevent a user from seeing the same ad more than once.
Expiry date: after one month

Name: ANID
Value: U7j1v3dZa1224275520xgZFmiqWppRWKOr
Purpose of use: We haven't been able to find much information about this cookie. In Google's privacy policy, the cookie is mentioned in connection with "advertising cookies" such as "DSID," "FLC," "AID," and "TAID." ANID is stored under the domain google.com.
Expiry date: after 9 months

Name: CONSENT
Value: YES+AT.de+20150628-20-0
Purpose of use: This cookie stores the user's consent status for using various Google services. CONSENT also serves security purposes to verify users, prevent credential fraud, and protect user data from unauthorized attacks.
Expiry date: after 19 years

Name: NID
Value: 0WmuWqy122427552zILzqV_nmt3sDXwPeM5Q
Purpose of use: NID is used by Google to tailor ads to your Google search. With the help of this cookie, Google "remembers" your most frequently entered search queries or your previous interactions with ads. This way, you always receive tailored ads. The cookie contains a unique ID to collect the user's personal preferences for advertising purposes.
Expiry date: after 6 months

Name: DV
Value: gEAABBCjJMXcI0dSAAAANbqc122427552-4
Purpose of use: This cookie is set once you have checked the "I am not a robot" checkbox. This cookie is used by Google Analytics for personalized advertising. DV collects information in an anonymized form and is also used to distinguish users.
Expiry date: after 10 minutes

Note: This list cannot claim to be complete, as experience has shown that Google continually changes the choice of its cookies.

How long and where is the data stored?

By integrating reCAPTCHA, your data is transferred to the Google server. Google does not clarify where exactly this data is stored, even after repeated inquiries. Without confirmation from Google, it can be assumed that data such as mouse interaction, time spent on the website, or language settings are stored on Google's European or American servers. The IP address that your browser transmits to Google is generally not merged with other Google data from other Google services. However, if you are logged into your Google Account while using the reCAPTCHA plug-in, the data will be merged. In this case, Google’s different data protection regulations apply.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

If you do not want any data about you and your behavior to be transmitted to Google, you must completely log out of Google and delete all Google cookies before visiting our website or using the reCAPTCHA software. Generally, the data is automatically transmitted to Google as soon as you visit our site. To delete this data, you must contact Google Support at  https://support.google.com/?hl=de&tid=122427552 contact.

Therefore, by using our website, you agree that Google LLC and its agents automatically collect, process and use data.

Please note that when using this tool, your data may also be stored and processed outside the EU. Most third countries (including the USA) are not considered secure under current European data protection law. Therefore, data may not simply be transferred to, stored in, and processed in unsafe third countries unless appropriate safeguards (such as EU standard contractual clauses) are in place between us and the non-European service provider.

Legal basis

If you have consented to the use of Google reCAPTCHA, the legal basis for the corresponding data processing is this consent. According to Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR (consent) the legal basis for the processing of personal data, as may occur when collected by Google reCAPTCHA.

We also have a legitimate interest in using Google reCAPTCHA to optimize our online service and make it more secure. The legal basis for this is Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (Legitimate Interests)However, we only use Google reCAPTCHA if you have given your consent.

Google processes your data, among other places, in the USA. We would like to point out that, according to the European Court of Justice, there is currently no adequate level of protection for data transfers to the USA. This may entail various risks to the legality and security of data processing.

Google uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46, Paragraphs 2 and 3 GDPR) as the basis for data processing with recipients located in third countries (outside the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and therefore in particular in the USA) or for data transfers there. Standard contractual clauses (SCCs) are templates provided by the EU Commission and are intended to ensure that your data complies with European data protection standards even if it is transferred to and stored in third countries (such as the USA). Through these clauses, Google undertakes to comply with European data protection standards when processing your relevant data, even if the data is stored, processed, and managed in the USA. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the corresponding standard contractual clauses here, among other places: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de

The Google Ads Data Processing Terms, which refer to the standard contractual clauses, can be found at https://business.safety.google/intl/de/adsprocessorterms/.

You can learn more about reCAPTCHA on Google’s web developer page at https://developers.google.com/recaptcha/Google does discuss the technical development of reCAPTCHA in more detail here, but detailed information about data storage and data protection-related topics is also lacking there. A good overview of Google's basic use of data can be found in its own privacy policy on https://www.google.com/intl/de/policies/privacy/.

UpdraftPlus Privacy Policy

We use UpdraftPlus, a backup and security system, for our website. The service provider is the British company Updraft WP Software Ltd., 11 Barringer Way, St. Neots, PE19 1LW, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom.

With the UK's exit from the European Union, the GDPR no longer applies to data transfers there. However, the European Commission has decided, based on Article 45 of the GDPR, that the UK offers an adequate level of protection compared to the GDPR. Data transfers there are therefore permissible. You can view the decision here (download): https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/files/decision_on_the_adequate_protection_of_personal_data_by_the_united_kingdom_-_general_data_protection_regulation_de.pdf

You can learn more about the data processed through the use of UpdraftPlus in the Privacy Policy on https://updraftplus.com/data-protection-and-privacy-centre/.

Payment provider introduction

Payment provider privacy policy summary 👥 Affected: Visitors to the website 🤝 Purpose: Enabling and optimizing the payment process on our website 📓 Processed data: Data such as name, address, bank details (account number, credit card number, passwords, TANs, etc.), IP address and contract data You can find more details in the payment provider tool used. 📅 Storage period: depends on the payment provider used ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR (performance of a contract)

What is a payment provider?

We use online payment systems on our website that enable a secure and seamless payment process for us and you. Personal data may, among other things, be sent to the respective payment provider, stored there, and processed there. Payment providers are online payment systems that allow you to place an order via online banking. The payment is processed by the payment provider you choose. We then receive information about the payment made. This method is available to any user with an active online banking account with a PIN and TAN. There are hardly any banks that do not offer or accept such payment methods.

Why do we use payment providers on our website?

Naturally, we want to offer the best possible service with our website and our integrated online shop, so that you feel comfortable on our site and take advantage of our offers. We know that your time is valuable and that payment processing, in particular, must be quick and smooth. For these reasons, we offer you various payment providers. You can choose your preferred payment provider and pay as usual.

What data is processed?

Exactly which data is processed depends, of course, on the respective payment provider. However, data such as name, address, and bank details (account number, credit card number, passwords, TANs, etc.) are generally stored. This is necessary data to be able to complete a transaction at all. In addition, any contract data and user data, such as when you visit our website, which content you are interested in, or which subpages you click on, may also be stored. Most payment providers also store your IP address and information about the computer you are using.

The data is generally stored and processed on the payment providers' servers. We, as the website operator, do not receive this data. We are only informed whether the payment was successful or not. Payment providers may forward data to the relevant department for identity and credit checks. The respective provider's business and data protection principles always apply to all payment transactions. Therefore, please always read the payment provider's general terms and conditions and privacy policy. You also have the right, for example, to have data deleted or corrected at any time. Please contact the respective service provider regarding your rights (right of withdrawal, right of information, and right to be affected).

Duration of data processing

We will inform you below about the duration of data processing, as soon as we have further information. Generally, we only process personal data for as long as it is absolutely necessary to provide our services and products. If required by law, such as in the case of accounting, this retention period may be exceeded. For example, we retain accounting documents related to a contract (invoices, contract documents, bank statements, etc.) for 10 years (Section 147 of the German Fiscal Code [AO]) and other relevant business documents for 6 years (Section 247 of the German Commercial Code [HGB]) after they are acquired.

Right of objection

You always have the right to access, correct, and delete your personal data. If you have any questions, you can also contact the responsible person of the payment provider you use at any time. Contact details can be found either in our specific privacy policy or on the website of the respective payment provider.

You can delete, deactivate, or manage cookies that payment providers use for their functions in your browser. This works differently depending on the browser you use. Please note, however, that if you do this, the payment process may no longer work.

Legal basis

We therefore offer for the processing of contractual or legal relationships (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR)  In addition to traditional banking/credit institutions, other payment service providers also offer payment services. The privacy policies of the individual payment providers (such as Amazon Payments, Apple Pay or Discover) provides you with a detailed overview of data processing and data storage. You can also always contact the responsible parties with any questions regarding data protection-related topics.

Information about the specific payment providers – if available – can be found in the following sections.

Klarna Checkout Privacy Policy

Klarna Checkout Privacy Policy Summary 👥 Affected: Visitors to the website 🤝 Purpose: Optimization of the payment process on our website 📓 Processed data: Data such as name, address, bank details (account number, credit card number, passwords, TANs, etc.), IP address and contract data You can find more details about this further down in this privacy policy. 📅 Storage period: Data will be stored as long as Klarna needs it for the processing purpose. ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 (1) (c) GDPR (legal obligation), Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (legitimate interests)

What is Klarna Checkout?

We use the online payment system Klarna Checkout from the Swedish company Klarna Bank AB on our website. Klarna Bank has its headquarters at Sveavägen 46, 111 34 Stockholm, Sweden. If you choose to use this service, personal data, among other things, will be sent to Klarna, stored, and processed. In this privacy policy, we would like to provide you with an overview of Klarna's data processing.

Klarna Checkout is a payment system for orders in an online shop. The user selects the payment method, and Klarna Checkout handles the entire payment process. Once a user has made a payment through the checkout system and entered the relevant information, future online purchases can be made even faster and easier. The Klarna system then recognizes the existing customer simply by entering the email address and postal code.

Why do we use Klarna Checkout for our website?

Our goal with our website and our integrated online shop is to offer you the best possible service. This includes not only the overall website experience and our offerings, but also smooth, fast, and secure payment processing for your orders. To ensure this, we use the Klarna Checkout payment system.

What data does Klarna Checkout store?

As soon as you choose the Klarna payment service and pay using the Klarna Checkout payment method, you also transmit personal data to the company. On the Klarna Checkout page, technical data such as browser type, operating system, our Internet address, date and time, language settings, time zone settings, and IP address are collected from you and transmitted to Klarna's servers, where they are stored. This data is stored even if you have not yet completed an order.

When you order a product or service through our shop, you must enter your personal information in the specified fields. This data will be processed by Klarna for payment processing. Klarna may specifically store and process the following personal data (as well as general product information) for credit and identity verification purposes:

• Contact information: name, date of birth, national ID number, title, billing and shipping address, email address, phone number, nationality or salary.
• Payment information such as credit card details or your account number
• Product information such as tracking number, type of item and price of the product

There is also data that can be collected optionally, provided you consciously choose to do so. These include political, religious, or ideological beliefs, or various health data.

In addition to the above-mentioned data, Klarna may also collect data about the goods or services you purchase or order, either directly or through third parties (such as us or public databases). This may include, for example, the tracking number or the type of item ordered, but also information about your creditworthiness, income, or credit approval. Klarna may also share your personal data with service providers such as software providers, data storage providers, or us as a merchant.

When data is automatically entered into a form, cookies are always involved. If you do not wish to use this feature, you can deactivate these cookies at any time. Further down in the text, you will find instructions on how to delete, deactivate, or manage cookies in your browser. Our tests have shown that Klarna does not set any cookies directly. If you select the "Klarna Sofort" payment method and click "Order," you will be redirected to the Sofort website. After successful payment, you will be taken to our thank you page. There, sofort.com sets the following cookie:

name: SOFUEB
Value: e8cipp378mdscn9e17kajlfhv7122427552-4
Purpose of use: This cookie stores your session ID.
Expiry date: after ending the browser session

How long and where is the data stored?

Klarna strives to store your data only within the EU or the European Economic Area (EEA). However, it may also happen that data is transferred outside the EU/EEA. If this happens, Klarna ensures that data protection is in compliance with the GDPR and that the third country has been subject to an adequacy decision by the European Union. The data will always be stored for as long as Klarna needs it for the processing purpose.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

You can withdraw your consent to Klarna processing your personal data at any time. You also always have the right to access, correct, and delete your personal data. To do so, simply contact the company or the company's data protection team by email at datenschutz@klarna.de Contact us. Via the Klarna website “My data protection request” You can also contact Klarna directly.

You can delete, disable, or manage cookies that Klarna may use for its functions in your browser. This works differently depending on the browser you use. Under the "Cookies" section, you will find links to the relevant instructions for the most popular browsers.

Legal basis

We therefore offer for the processing of contractual or legal relationships (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR)  In addition to traditional banking/credit institutions, we also offer the payment service provider Klarna Checkout.

We hope this has provided you with a good overview of Klarna's data processing. If you would like to learn more about how your data is handled, we recommend reading Klarna's privacy policy at https://cdn.klarna.com/1.0/shared/content/legal/terms/0/de_at/privacy.

 

Mastercard Privacy Policy

We use the payment service provider Mastercard on our website. The service provider is the American company Mastercard Inc. Mastercard Europe SA (Chaussée de Tervuren 198A, B-1410 Waterloo, Belgium) is responsible for the European region.

Mastercard also processes data in the USA, among other places. We would like to point out that, according to the European Court of Justice, there is currently no adequate level of protection for data transfers to the USA. This may entail various risks to the legality and security of data processing.

Mastercard uses standard contractual clauses approved by the EU Commission (Article 46, Paragraphs 2 and 3 GDPR) as the basis for data processing with recipients located in third countries (outside the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and in particular the USA) or for data transfers there. These clauses oblige Mastercard to comply with EU data protection standards when processing relevant data, even outside the EU. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the clauses here, among other places: https://germany.representation.ec.europa.eu/index_de.

You can learn more about the data processed through the use of Mastercard in the Privacy Policy on https://www.mastercard.de/de-de/datenschutz.html.

PayPal Privacy Policy

We use the online payment service PayPal on our website. The service provider is the American company PayPal Inc. PayPal Europe (S.à rl et Cie, SCA, 22-24 Boulevard Royal, L-2449 Luxembourg) is responsible for the European region.

PayPal processes your data, among other places, in the USA. We would like to point out that, according to the European Court of Justice, there is currently no adequate level of protection for data transfers to the USA. This may entail various risks to the legality and security of data processing.

PayPal uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46, Paragraphs 2 and 3 GDPR) as the basis for data processing with recipients located in third countries (outside the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and in particular in the USA) or for data transfers there. Standard contractual clauses (SCCs) are templates provided by the EU Commission and are intended to ensure that your data complies with European data protection standards even if it is transferred to and stored in third countries (such as the USA). Through these clauses, PayPal undertakes to comply with European data protection standards when processing your relevant data, even if the data is stored, processed, and managed in the USA. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the corresponding standard contractual clauses here, among other places: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de

For more information about the standard contractual clauses and the data processed through the use of PayPal, please see the privacy policy on https://www.paypal.com/webapps/mpp/ua/privacy-full.

Visa Privacy Policy

We use Visa, a global payment provider, on our website. The service provider is the American company Visa Inc. Visa Europe Services Inc. (1 Sheldon Square, London W2 6TT, United Kingdom) is responsible for the European region.

Visa processes your data, among other places, in the USA. We would like to point out that, according to the European Court of Justice, there is currently no adequate level of protection for data transfers to the USA. This may entail various risks to the legality and security of data processing.

Visa uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46, Paragraphs 2 and 3 GDPR) as the basis for data processing with recipients located in third countries (outside the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and in particular in the USA) or for data transfers there. Standard contractual clauses (SCCs) are templates provided by the EU Commission and are intended to ensure that your data complies with European data protection standards even if it is transferred to and stored in third countries (such as the USA). Through these clauses, Visa undertakes to comply with European data protection standards when processing your relevant data, even if the data is stored, processed, and managed in the USA. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the corresponding standard contractual clauses here, among other places: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de

For more information about Visa’s standard contractual clauses, please visit https://www.visa.de/nutzungsbedingungen/visa-globale-datenschutzmitteilung/mitteilung-zu-zustandigkeitsfragen-fur-den-ewr.html.

You can learn more about the data processed through the use of Visa in the Privacy Policy on https://www.visa.de/nutzungsbedingungen/visa-privacy-center.html.

Audio & Video Introduction

Audio & Video Privacy Policy Summary 👥 Affected: Visitors to the website 🤝 Purpose: Optimizing our service 📓 Data processed: Data such as contact details, user behavior data, information about your device and your IP address may be stored. You can find more details below in the relevant data protection texts. 📅 Storage period: Data remains stored as long as it is necessary for the service purpose ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR (consent), Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (legitimate interests)

What are audio and video elements?

We have integrated audio and video elements into our website so that you can watch videos or listen to music/podcasts directly through our website. The content is provided by service providers. All content is therefore retrieved from the providers' respective servers.

These are integrated functional elements from platforms such as YouTube, Vimeo, or Spotify. Using these portals is generally free, but paid content may also be published. Using these integrated elements, you can listen to or view the respective content on our website.

If you use audio or video elements on our website, your personal data may also be transmitted, processed and stored by the service providers.

Why do we use audio and video elements on our website?

Naturally, we want to provide you with the best possible service on our website. And we're aware that content is no longer conveyed solely through text and static images. Instead of simply providing you with a link to a video, we offer audio and video formats directly on our website that are entertaining or informative, and ideally even both. This expands our service and makes it easier for you to access interesting content. Therefore, in addition to our text and images, we also offer video and/or audio content.

What data is stored by audio and video elements?

When you visit a page on our website that, for example, has an embedded video, your server connects to the service provider's server. In the process, your data is also transferred to the third-party provider and stored there. Some data is collected and stored regardless of whether you have an account with the third-party provider or not. This usually includes your IP address, browser type, operating system, and other general information about your device. Furthermore, most providers also collect information about your web activity. This includes session duration, bounce rate, which button you clicked on, and which website you used to access the service. All of this information is usually stored via cookies or pixel tags (also called web beacons). Pseudonymized data is usually stored in cookies in your browser. You can always find out exactly which data is stored and processed in the privacy policy of the respective provider.

Duration of data processing

You can find out exactly how long the data is stored on the third-party providers' servers either further down in the data protection text of the respective tool or in the provider's privacy policy. As a general rule, personal data is only processed for as long as is absolutely necessary to provide our services or products. This generally also applies to third-party providers. You can usually assume that certain data will be stored on third-party servers for several years. Data can be stored for different lengths of time, especially in cookies. Some cookies are deleted as soon as you leave the website, while others can remain in your browser for several years.

Right of objection

You also have the right and option to revoke your consent to the use of cookies or third-party providers at any time. This can be done either via our cookie management tool or via other opt-out functions. For example, you can also prevent data collection through cookies by managing, deactivating, or deleting cookies in your browser. The legality of the processing up to the point of revocation remains unaffected.

Since the integrated audio and video features on our site usually also use cookies, you should also read our general privacy policy regarding cookies. The privacy policies of the respective third-party providers provide detailed information about how your data is handled and stored.

Legal basis

If you have consented to your data being processed and stored through integrated audio and video elements, this consent shall be deemed the legal basis for data processing (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR). In principle, your data will also be processed on the basis of our legitimate interest (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR) for fast and effective communication with you or other customers and business partners. However, we only use the embedded audio and video elements if you have given your consent.

Spotify Privacy Policy

We use Spotify, a music and podcast tool, on our website. The service provider is the Swedish company Spotify AB, Regeringsgatan 19, SE-111 53 Stockholm, Sweden. You can learn more about the data processed through the use of Spotify in the Privacy Policy at https://www.spotify.com/de/legal/privacy-policy/.

Vimeo Privacy Policy

Vimeo Privacy Policy Summary 👥 Affected: Visitors to the website 🤝 Purpose: Optimizing our service 📓 Data processed: Data such as contact details, user behavior data, information about your device and your IP address may be stored. You can find more details about this further down in this privacy policy. 📅 Storage period: Data remains stored as long as it is necessary for the service purpose ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR (consent), Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (legitimate interests)

What is Vimeo?

We also use videos from Vimeo on our website. This video portal is operated by Vimeo LLC, 555 West 18th Street, New York, New York 10011, USA. Using a plug-in, we can display interesting video material directly on our website. Certain data may be transferred to Vimeo. This privacy policy explains what data is involved, why we use Vimeo, and how you can manage or prevent your data and data transfer.

Vimeo is a video platform founded in 2004 and offering HD video streaming since 2007. 4K Ultra HD streaming has been available since 2015. The portal is free to use, but content can also be published for a fee. Unlike market leader YouTube, Vimeo prioritizes high-quality content. The portal offers a wealth of artistic content, such as music videos and short films, as well as informative documentaries on a wide variety of topics.

Why do we use Vimeo on our website?

The goal of our website is to provide you with the best possible content, as easily accessible as possible. We are only satisfied with our service once we have achieved this. The video service Vimeo helps us achieve this goal. Vimeo offers us the opportunity to present you with high-quality content directly on our website. Instead of just providing you with a link to an interesting video, you can watch the video directly on our website. This expands our service and makes it easier for you to access interesting content. Thus, in addition to our text and images, we also offer video content.

What data is stored on Vimeo?

When you visit a page on our website that has an embedded Vimeo video, your browser connects to the Vimeo servers. This results in data being transferred. This data is collected, stored and processed on the Vimeo servers. Regardless of whether you have a Vimeo account or not, Vimeo collects data about you. This includes your IP address, technical information about your browser type, your operating system and very basic device information. Vimeo also stores information about which website you use the Vimeo service on and which actions (web activities) you perform on our website. These web activities include, for example, session duration, bounce rate or which button you clicked on our website with the built-in Vimeo function. Vimeo can track and store these actions with the help of cookies and similar technologies.

If you are logged in as a registered Vimeo member, more data can usually be collected, as more cookies may already be set in your browser. Furthermore, your actions on our website are directly linked to your Vimeo account. To prevent this, you must log out of Vimeo while browsing our website.

Below we show you cookies that are set by Vimeo when you visit a website with integrated Vimeo functionality. This list is not exhaustive and assumes that you do not have a Vimeo account.

Name: player
Value: “”
Purpose of use: This cookie saves your preferences before playing an embedded Vimeo video. This ensures that your preferred settings are remembered the next time you watch a Vimeo video.
Expiry date: after one year

name: vuid
Value: pl1046149876.614422590122427552-4
Purpose of use:  This cookie collects information about your actions on websites that have embedded a Vimeo video.
Expiry date:  after 2 years

Note: These two cookies are always set whenever you visit a website with an embedded Vimeo video. If you watch the video and click the button, for example, to "share" or "like" the video, additional cookies are set. These include third-party cookies such as _ga or _gat_UA-76641-8 from Google Analytics or _fbp from Facebook. Which cookies are set here depends on your interaction with the video.

The following list shows a selection of possible cookies that are set when you interact with the Vimeo video:

Name: _abexps
Value:
Purpose of use: This Vimeo cookie helps Vimeo remember your preferences. These can be, for example, a preferred language, region, or username. Generally, the cookie stores data about how you use Vimeo.
Expiry date: after one year

Name: continuous_play_v3
Value: 1
Purpose of use: This cookie is a first-party cookie from Vimeo. The cookie collects information about how you use the Vimeo service. For example, the cookie remembers when you pause or play a video.
Expiry date: after one year

Name: _ga
Value: GA1.2.1522249635.1578401280122427552-7
Purpose of use: This cookie is a third-party cookie from Google. By default, analytics.js uses the _ga cookie to store the user ID. It is primarily used to distinguish website visitors.
Expiry date: after 2 years

Name: _gcl_au
Value: 1.1.770887836.1578401279122427552-3
Purpose of use: This third-party cookie from Google AdSense is used to improve the efficiency of advertisements on websites.
Expiry date: after 3 months

Name: _fbp
Value: fb.1.1578401280585.310434968
Purpose of use: This is a Facebook cookie. This cookie is used to display ads or advertising products from Facebook or other advertisers.
Expiry date: after 3 months

Vimeo uses this data, among other things, to improve its own service, to communicate with you, and to implement its own targeted advertising measures. Vimeo emphasizes on its website that only first-party cookies (i.e., cookies from Vimeo itself) are used for embedded videos as long as you do not interact with the video.

How long and where is the data stored?

Vimeo is headquartered in White Plains, New York State (USA). However, its services are offered worldwide. The company uses computer systems, databases, and servers in the USA and other countries. Your data may therefore also be stored and processed on servers in America. Vimeo will store the data until the company no longer has a commercial reason to store it. At that time, the data will be deleted or anonymized.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

You always have the option to manage cookies in your browser according to your preferences. For example, if you do not want Vimeo to set cookies and thus collect information about you, you can delete or deactivate cookies at any time in your browser settings. This works slightly differently depending on the browser. Please note that after deactivating/deleting cookies, certain functions may no longer be fully available. You will find links to the relevant instructions for the most popular browsers under the "Cookies" section.

If you are a registered Vimeo member, you can also manage the cookies used in the Vimeo settings.

Legal basis

If you have consented to your data being processed and stored through integrated Vimeo elements, this consent shall be deemed the legal basis for data processing (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR). In principle, your data will also be processed on the basis of our legitimate interest (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR) to ensure fast and effective communication with you or other customers and business partners. However, we only use the embedded Vimeo elements if you have given your consent. Vimeo also sets cookies in your browser to store data. We therefore recommend that you carefully read our privacy policy regarding cookies and review the privacy statement or cookie policy of the respective service provider.

Vimeo processes your data, among other places, in the USA. We would like to point out that, according to the European Court of Justice, there is currently no adequate level of protection for data transfers to the USA. This may entail various risks to the legality and security of data processing.

Vimeo uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46 (2) and (3) GDPR) as the basis for data processing with recipients located in third countries (outside the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and therefore in particular in the USA) or for data transfers there. Standard contractual clauses (SCCs) are templates provided by the EU Commission and are intended to ensure that your data complies with European data protection standards even if it is transferred to and stored in third countries (such as the USA). Through these clauses, Vimeo undertakes to comply with European data protection standards when processing your relevant data, even if the data is stored, processed, and managed in the USA. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the corresponding standard contractual clauses here, among other places: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de

For more information about Vimeo’s standard contractual clauses, please visit https://vimeo.com/privacy#international_data_transfers_and_certain_user_rights.

You can find out more about the use of cookies on Vimeo at https://vimeo.com/cookie_policy, Information about data protection at Vimeo can be found on https://vimeo.com/privacy read more.

YouTube Privacy Policy

YouTube Privacy Policy Summary 👥 Affected: Visitors to the website 🤝 Purpose: Optimizing our service 📓 Data processed: Data such as contact details, user behavior data, information about your device and your IP address may be stored. You can find more details about this further down in this privacy policy. 📅 Storage period: Data remains stored as long as it is necessary for the service purpose ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR (consent), Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (legitimate interests)

What is YouTube?

We have integrated YouTube videos into our website. This allows us to present interesting videos directly to you on our site. YouTube is a video portal that has been a subsidiary of Google since 2006. The video portal is operated by YouTube, LLC, 901 Cherry Ave., San Bruno, CA 94066, USA. When you visit a page on our website that has an embedded YouTube video, your browser automatically connects to the YouTube or Google servers. Depending on your settings, various data is transferred. Google Ireland Limited (Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland) is responsible for all data processing within Europe.

In the following, we would like to explain in more detail which data is processed, why we have embedded YouTube videos and how you can manage or delete your data.

On YouTube, users can watch, rate, comment on, and upload videos for free. Over the past few years, YouTube has become one of the most important social media channels worldwide. To enable us to display videos on our website, YouTube provides a code snippet that we have integrated into our site.

Why do we use YouTube videos on our website?

YouTube is the most visited video platform with the best content. We strive to offer you the best possible user experience on our website. And, of course, interesting videos are a must. With the help of our embedded videos, we provide you with additional helpful content alongside our text and images. Furthermore, the embedded videos make our website easier to find on the Google search engine. Even though we place advertisements via Google Ads, thanks to the data collected, Google can only show these ads to people who are interested in our offerings.

What data does YouTube store?

As soon as you visit one of our pages that contains a YouTube video, YouTube sets at least one cookie that stores your IP address and our URL. If you are logged into your YouTube account, YouTube can usually associate your interactions on our website with your profile using cookies. This includes data such as session duration, bounce rate, approximate location, and technical information such as browser type, screen resolution, or your internet service provider. Other data may include contact details, any ratings, sharing content via social media, or adding it to your favorites on YouTube.

If you aren't signed in to a Google Account or YouTube Account, Google stores data with a unique identifier associated with your device, browser, or app. For example, your preferred language setting is retained. However, much interaction data cannot be stored because fewer cookies are set.

The following list shows cookies that were set in the browser during a test. On the one hand, we show cookies that are set without a logged-in YouTube account. On the other hand, we show cookies that are set with a logged-in account. This list cannot claim to be complete, because user data always depends on interactions on YouTube.

Name: YSC
Value: b9-CV6ojI5Y122427552-1
Purpose of use: This cookie registers a unique ID to store statistics of the video watched.
Expiry date: after the end of the meeting

Name: PREF
Value: f1=50000000
Purpose of use: This cookie also records your unique ID. PREF provides Google with statistics on how you use YouTube videos on our website.
Expiry date: after 8 months

Name: GPS
Value: 1
Purpose of use: This cookie registers your unique ID on mobile devices to track GPS location.
Expiry date: after 30 minutes

Name: VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE
Value: 95Chz8bagyU
Purpose of use: This cookie attempts to estimate the user's bandwidth on our websites (with embedded YouTube video).
Expiry date: after 8 months

Other cookies that are set when you are logged in to your YouTube account:

Name: APISID
Value: zILLlvClZSkqGsSwI/AU1aZI6HY7122427552-
Purpose of use: This cookie is used to create a profile of your interests. The data is used for personalized advertising.
Expiry date: after 2 years

Name: CONSENT
Value: YES+AT.de+20150628-20-0
Purpose of use: This cookie stores the user's consent status for using various Google services. CONSENT also serves security purposes to verify users and protect user data from unauthorized attacks.
Expiry date: after 19 years

Name: HSID
Value: AcRwpgUik9Dveht0I
Purpose of use: This cookie is used to create a profile of your interests. This data helps to display personalized advertising.
Expiry date: after 2 years

Name: LOGIN_INFO
Value: AFmmF2swRQIhALl6aL…
Purpose of use: This cookie stores information about your login data.
Expiry date: after 2 years

Name: SAPISID
Value: 7oaPxoG-pZsJuuF5/AnUdDUIsJ9iJz2vdM
Purpose of use: This cookie works by uniquely identifying your browser and device. It is used to build a profile of your interests.
Expiry date: after 2 years

Name: SID
Value: oQfNKjAsI122427552-
Purpose of use: This cookie stores your Google Account ID and your last login time in a digitally signed and encrypted form.
Expiry date: after 2 years

Name: SIDCC
Value: AN0-TYuqub2JOcDTyL
Purpose of use: This cookie stores information about how you use the website and what advertisements you may have seen before visiting our site.
Expiry date: after 3 months

How long and where is the data stored?

The data that YouTube receives and processes from you is stored on Google servers. Most of these servers are located in the United States. https://www.google.com/about/datacenters/locations/?hl=de See exactly where Google's data centers are located. Your data is distributed across the servers. This makes it faster to access and better protected against manipulation.

Google stores the collected data for different lengths of time. Some data can be deleted at any time, some is automatically deleted after a limited period, and still others are stored by Google for a longer period. Some data (such as items from "My Activity," photos or documents, and products) stored in your Google Account remains stored until you delete it. Even if you aren't signed in to a Google Account, you can delete some data associated with your device, browser, or app.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

In principle, you can manually delete data from your Google Account. With the automatic deletion of location and activity data, introduced in 2019, information is stored for either three or 18 months, depending on your choice, and then deleted.

Regardless of whether you have a Google Account or not, you can configure your browser to delete or disable Google cookies. This works differently depending on the browser you use. You'll find links to the relevant instructions for the most popular browsers under the "Cookies" section.

If you prefer not to accept cookies, you can set your browser to always notify you when a cookie is about to be placed. This allows you to decide whether to accept or reject each individual cookie.

Legal basis

If you have consented to your data being processed and stored through embedded YouTube elements, this consent shall be deemed the legal basis for data processing (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR). In principle, your data will also be processed on the basis of our legitimate interest (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR) to ensure fast and effective communication with you or other customers and business partners. However, we only use the embedded YouTube elements if you have given your consent. YouTube also sets cookies in your browser to store data. We therefore recommend that you carefully read our privacy policy regarding cookies and review the privacy policy or cookie guidelines of the respective service provider.

YouTube also processes data in the USA, among other places. We would like to point out that, according to the European Court of Justice, there is currently no adequate level of protection for data transfers to the USA. This may entail various risks to the legality and security of data processing.

YouTube uses standard contractual clauses approved by the EU Commission (Article 46, Paragraphs 2 and 3 GDPR) as the basis for data processing with recipients located in third countries (outside the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and in particular the USA) or for data transfers there. These clauses oblige YouTube to comply with EU data protection standards when processing relevant data, even outside the EU. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the clauses here, among other places: https://germany.representation.ec.europa.eu/index_de.

Since YouTube is a subsidiary of Google, there is a joint privacy policy. If you would like to learn more about how your data is handled, we recommend you read the privacy policy at https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=de.

Web design introduction

Web design privacy policy summary 👥 Affected: Visitors to the website 🤝 Purpose: Improving the user experience 📓 Data processed: Which data is processed depends largely on the services used. Typically, this includes IP address, technical data, language settings, browser version, screen resolution, and browser name. You can find more details on this in the respective web design tools used. 📅 Storage period: depends on the tools used ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR (consent), Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (legitimate interests)

What is web design?

We use various tools on our website to support our web design. Web design is not, as is often assumed, just about making our website look pretty, but also about functionality and performance. But of course, the right look and feel for a website is also one of the main goals of professional web design. Web design is a sub-area of media design and deals with the visual, structural, and functional design of a website. The goal is to use web design to improve your experience on our website. In web design jargon, this is referred to as user experience (UX) and usability. User experience refers to all the impressions and experiences that website visitors have on a website. A sub-section of user experience is usability. This refers to the user-friendliness of a website. The main emphasis here is on ensuring that content, subpages, or products are clearly structured and that you can find what you are looking for quickly and easily. In order to offer you the best possible experience on our website, we also use so-called third-party web design tools. In this privacy policy, the category "web design" includes all services that enhance the design of our website. These can include, for example, fonts, various plugins, or other integrated web design functions.

Why do we use web design tools?

How you absorb information on a website depends heavily on its structure, functionality, and visual perception. Therefore, good, professional web design has become increasingly important to us. We are constantly working on improving our website and see this as an extended service for you, the website visitor. Furthermore, a beautiful and functional website also has financial advantages for us. After all, you will only visit us and take advantage of our services if you feel completely comfortable.

What data are stored by web design tools?

When you visit our website, web design elements may be integrated into our pages that can also process data. The exact data involved depends, of course, heavily on the tools used. Further down you can see exactly which tools we use for our website. For more detailed information about data processing, we recommend that you also read the respective privacy policy of the tools used. This will usually tell you which data is processed, whether cookies are used, and how long the data is stored. Fonts such as Google Fonts, for example, also automatically transmit information such as language settings, IP address, browser version, browser screen resolution, and browser name to Google's servers.

Duration of data processing

How long data is processed varies greatly from person to person and depends on the web design elements used. If cookies are used, for example, the retention period can be as little as one minute or as long as several years. Please inform yourself about this. We recommend that you read our general section on cookies and the privacy policies of the tools used. There you will usually find out which cookies are used and what information is stored in them. Google Font files, for example, are stored for one year. This is intended to improve the loading time of a website. In principle, data is only stored for as long as it is necessary to provide the service. If legally required, data can be stored for longer.

Right of objection

You also have the right and option to revoke your consent to the use of cookies or third-party providers at any time. This can be done either via our cookie management tool or via other opt-out functions. You can also prevent data collection through cookies by managing, deactivating, or deleting cookies in your browser. However, some web design elements (mostly fonts) contain data that cannot be deleted quite so easily. This is the case when data is automatically collected when a page is accessed and transmitted to a third-party provider (such as Google). In this case, please contact the support of the respective provider. In the case of Google, you can reach support at https://support.google.com/?hl=de.

Legal basis

If you have consented to the use of web design tools, this consent forms the legal basis for the corresponding data processing. According to Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR (consent), this consent constitutes the legal basis for the processing of personal data, as may occur when data is collected by web design tools. We also have a legitimate interest in improving the web design on our website. After all, only then can we provide you with an attractive and professional website. The corresponding legal basis for this is Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (legitimate interests). However, we only use web design tools if you have given your consent. We would like to emphasize this again here.

Information on specific web design tools – where available – can be found in the following sections.

Adobe Fonts Privacy Policy

We use Adobe Fonts, a web font hosting service, on our website. The service provider is the American company Adobe Inc. The Irish company Adobe Systems Software Ireland Companies, 4-6 Riverwalk, Citywest Business Campus, Dublin 24, Ireland, is responsible for the European region. 

Adobe processes your data, among other places, in the USA. We would like to point out that, according to the European Court of Justice, there is currently no adequate level of protection for data transfers to the USA. This may entail various risks to the legality and security of data processing.

Adobe uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46, Paragraphs 2 and 3 GDPR) as the basis for data processing with recipients located in third countries (outside the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and in particular in the USA) or for data transfers there. Standard contractual clauses (SCCs) are templates provided by the EU Commission and are intended to ensure that your data complies with European data protection standards even if it is transferred to and stored in third countries (such as the USA). Through these clauses, Adobe undertakes to comply with European data protection standards when processing your relevant data, even if the data is stored, processed, and managed in the USA. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the corresponding standard contractual clauses here, among other places: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de

For more information about the data processed and the standard contractual clauses at Adobe, please visit https://www.adobe.com/de/privacy/eudatatransfers.html.

 

 

Font Awesome Privacy Policy

Font Awesome Privacy Policy Summary 👥 Affected: Visitors to the website 🤝 Purpose: Optimizing our service 📓 Processed data: such as IP address and which icon files are loaded You can find more details about this further down in this privacy policy. 📅 Storage period: Files in identifiable form are stored for a few weeks ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR (consent), Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (legitimate interests)

What is Font Awesome?

We use Font Awesome from the American company Fonticons (307 S. Main St., Suite 202, Bentonville, AR 72712, USA) on our website. When you visit one of our websites, the Font Awesome web font (specifically icons) is loaded via the Font Awesome Content Delivery Network (CDN). This ensures that the text, fonts, and icons are displayed appropriately on every device. In this privacy policy, we provide more information about data storage and processing by this service.

Icons are playing an increasingly important role for websites. Font Awesome is a web font specifically developed for web designers and developers. With Font Awesome, icons can be scaled and colored as desired using the CSS stylesheet language. They replace old image icons. Font Awesome CDN is the easiest way to upload icons or fonts to your website. We only had to integrate a small line of code into our website.

Why do we use Font Awesome on our website?

Font Awesome helps us better present the content on our website. This makes it easier for you to navigate and understand the content. Icons can sometimes even replace entire words, saving space. This is especially useful when we optimize content specifically for smartphones. These icons are inserted as HTML code instead of images. This allows us to edit the icons with CSS exactly as we want. At the same time, Font Awesome also improves our loading speed because they are only HTML elements and not icon images. All of these advantages help us make the website even clearer, fresher, and faster for you.

What data does Font Awesome store?

The Font Awesome Content Delivery Network (CDN) is used to load icons and symbols. CDNs are networks of servers distributed worldwide that enable fast, local file loading. This means that the corresponding icons are provided by Font Awesome as soon as you visit one of our pages.

In order for the web fonts to load, your browser must establish a connection to the servers of Fonticons, Inc. This process detects your IP address. Font Awesome also collects data about which icon files are downloaded and when. Furthermore, technical data such as your browser version, screen resolution, or the time the page was accessed is also transmitted.

This data is collected and stored for the following reasons:

• to optimize content delivery networks
• to detect and correct technical errors
• to protect CDNs from abuse and attacks
• to charge fees to Font Awesome Pro customers
• to find out the popularity of icons
• to know which computer and software you are using

If your browser does not allow web fonts, a default font from your PC will be automatically used. To the best of our knowledge, no cookies are set. We are in contact with Font Awesome's privacy department and will let you know as soon as we have further information.

How long and where is the data stored?

Font Awesome also stores data about the use of the Content Delivery Network on servers in the United States. However, the CDN servers are located worldwide and store user data wherever you are. The data is typically stored in an identifiable form for only a few weeks. Aggregated statistics about CDN usage may be stored for longer. Personal data is not included here.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

To the best of our knowledge, Font Awesome does not store any personal data via content delivery networks. If you do not want data about the icons used to be stored, unfortunately, you cannot visit our website. If your browser does not allow web fonts, no data will be transmitted or stored. In this case, your computer's default font will simply be used.

Legal basis

If you have consented to the use of Font Awesome, the legal basis for the corresponding data processing is this consent. According to Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR (consent) the legal basis for the processing of personal data as it may occur when collected by Font Awesome.

We also have a legitimate interest in using Font Awesome to optimize our online service. The legal basis for this is Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (Legitimate Interests)However, we only use Font Awesome if you have given your consent.

We would like to point out that, according to the European Court of Justice, there is currently no adequate level of protection for data transfer to the USA. Data processing is primarily carried out by Font Awesome. This may result in data not being processed and stored anonymously. Furthermore, US government authorities may gain access to individual data. Furthermore, this data may be linked to data from other Font Awesome services for which you have a user account.

If you want to learn more about Font Awesome and how they handle data, we recommend you read the privacy policy at https://fontawesome.com/privacy and the help page at https://fontawesome.com/support.

Google Fonts Local Privacy Policy

We use Google Fonts from Google Inc. on our website. Google Ireland Limited (Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland) is responsible for the European region. We have embedded the Google fonts locally, i.e., on our web server – not on Google's servers. This means there is no connection to Google servers and therefore no data is transferred or stored.

What are Google Fonts?

Formerly known as Google Web Fonts, Google Fonts is an interactive directory of over 800 fonts that Google provided free of charge. With Google Fonts, you could use fonts without uploading them to your own server. However, to prevent any information from being transferred to Google servers, we have downloaded the fonts to our server. This way, we comply with data protection regulations and do not send any data to Google Fonts.

Online map services Introduction

Online Map Services Privacy Policy Summary 👥 Affected: Visitors to the website 🤝 Purpose: Improving the user experience 📓 Data processed: Which data is processed depends largely on the services used. This usually includes IP addresses, location data, search items, and/or technical data. You can find more details on this in the respective tools used. 📅 Storage period: depends on the tools used ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR (consent), Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (legitimate interests)

What are online map services?

We also use online map services as an extended service for our website. Google Maps is probably the service you are most familiar with, but there are also other providers who specialize in creating digital maps. Such services make it possible to display locations, route plans or other geographical information directly on our website. With an integrated map service, you no longer have to leave our website to view the route to a location, for example. To ensure that the online map on our website functions, map sections are integrated using HTML code. The services can then display street maps, the earth's surface or aerial or satellite images. If you use the integrated map service, data is also transferred to the tool used and stored there. This data may also include personal data.

Why do we use online mapping services on our website?

Generally speaking, it is our aim to offer you a pleasant time on our website. And your time is only pleasant if you can navigate our website easily and find all the information you need quickly and easily. Therefore, we thought an online map system could significantly optimize our service on the website. Without leaving our website, you can easily view route descriptions, locations, and even points of interest using the map system. It is also extremely practical, of course, that you can see at a glance where our company is located, so you can find us quickly and easily. As you can see, there are simply many advantages, and we clearly view online map services on our website as part of our customer service.

What data is stored by online map services?

If you open a page on our website that has an integrated online map function, personal data may be transmitted to the respective service and stored there. This is usually your IP address, which can also be used to determine your approximate location. In addition to the IP address, data such as search terms entered and longitude and latitude coordinates are also saved. If, for example, you enter an address to plan a route, this data is also saved. The data is not stored by us, but on the servers of the integrated tools. You can imagine it like this: You may be on our website, but when you interact with a map service, this interaction actually takes place on their website. To ensure that the service functions properly, at least one cookie is usually placed in your browser. Google Maps, for example, also uses cookies to record user behavior and thus optimize its own service and display personalized advertising. You can find out more about cookies in our "Cookies" section.

How long and where is the data stored?

Each online map service processes different user data. If we have further information, we will inform you about the duration of data processing further down in the relevant sections for the individual tools. As a general rule, personal data is only stored for as long as necessary to provide the service. Google Maps, for example, stores certain data for a set period of time; you must delete other data yourself. Mapbox, for example, stores the IP address for 30 days and then deletes it. As you can see, each tool stores data for different lengths of time. We therefore recommend that you carefully review the privacy policies of the tools you use.

The providers also use cookies to store data about your user behavior with the map service. You can find more general information about cookies in our "Cookies" section, but you can also find out which cookies may be used in the privacy policies of the individual providers. However, this is usually only an example list and is not exhaustive.

Right of objection

You always have the option and the right to access your personal data and to object to its use and processing. You can also revoke your consent at any time. The easiest way to do this is usually via the Cookie Consent Tool. However, there are also other opt-out tools you can use. You can also manage, delete, or deactivate any cookies set by the providers you use with just a few clicks of the mouse. However, this may mean that some functions of the service no longer work as usual. How you manage cookies in your browser also depends on the browser you use. In the "Cookies" section you will also find links to instructions for the most important browsers.

Legal basis

If you have consented to the use of an online map service, this consent forms the legal basis for the corresponding data processing. According to Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR (consent), this consent constitutes the legal basis for the processing of personal data, as may occur when collected by an online map service.

We also have a legitimate interest in using an online map service to optimize our service on our website. The legal basis for this is Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (legitimate interests). However, we only use an online map service if you have given your consent. We would like to reiterate this point.

Information on special online map services – where available – can be found in the following sections.

Google Maps Privacy Policy

Google Maps Privacy Policy Summary 👥 Affected: Visitors to the website 🤝 Purpose: Optimizing our service 📓 Processed data: Data such as search terms entered, your IP address and also the latitude and longitude coordinates. You can find more details about this further down in this privacy policy. 📅 Storage period: depends on the stored data ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR (consent), Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (legitimate interests)

What is Google Maps?

We use Google Maps from Google Inc. on our website. Google Ireland Limited (Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland) is responsible for all Google services in Europe. Google Maps allows us to better show you locations and thus tailor our service to your needs. When you use Google Maps, data is transferred to Google and stored on Google's servers. Here, we'll explain in more detail what Google Maps is, why we use this Google service, what data is stored, and how you can prevent this.

Google Maps is an online mapping service provided by Google. With Google Maps, you can search for the exact locations of cities, attractions, accommodations, or businesses online using a PC, tablet, or app. If a company is listed on Google My Business, additional information about the company is displayed in addition to the location. To show directions, map sections of a location can be embedded into a website using HTML code. Google Maps displays the Earth's surface as a street map or as an aerial or satellite image. Thanks to Street View images and high-quality satellite images, very accurate representations are possible.

Why do we use Google Maps on our website?

All our efforts on this site are aimed at providing you with a useful and meaningful experience. By integrating Google Maps, we can provide you with the most important information about various locations. You can see our headquarters at a glance. The directions always show you the best and fastest way to reach us. You can access directions for routes by car, public transport, on foot, or by bike. We consider providing Google Maps part of our customer service.

What data does Google Maps store?

In order for Google Maps to fully offer its service, the company must collect and store data from you. This includes, among other things, the search terms entered, your IP address and also the latitude and longitude coordinates. If you use the route planner function, the entered starting address will also be saved. However, this data storage occurs on the Google Maps website. We can only inform you about this, but have no influence. Because we have integrated Google Maps into our website, Google sets at least one cookie (name: NID) in your browser. This cookie stores data about your user behavior. Google primarily uses this data to optimize its own services and to provide you with individual, personalized advertising.

The following cookie is set in your browser due to the integration of Google Maps:

Name: NID
Value: 188=h26c1Ktha7fCQTx8rXgLyATyITJ122427552-5
Purpose of use: NID is used by Google to tailor ads to your Google search. With the help of the cookie, Google "remembers" your most frequently entered search queries or your previous interactions with ads. This way, you always receive tailored ads. The cookie contains a unique ID that Google uses to collect your personal preferences for advertising purposes.
Expiry date: after 6 months

Note: We cannot guarantee the completeness of the stored data. Changes can never be ruled out, especially when using cookies. To identify the cookie NID, a separate test page was created that exclusively integrated Google Maps.

How long and where is the data stored?

Google servers are located in data centers around the world. However, most of the servers are located in the United States. For this reason, your data is increasingly stored in the US. You can find out exactly where Google's data centers are located here: https://www.google.com/about/datacenters/locations/?hl=de

Google distributes the data across various storage devices. This makes it faster to access and better protected against any attempts at tampering. Each data center also has special emergency programs. If, for example, there are problems with Google's hardware or a natural disaster shuts down the servers, the data will almost certainly remain protected.

Google stores some data for a specified period of time. For other data, Google only offers the option to delete it manually. Furthermore, the company also anonymizes information (such as advertising data) in server logs by deleting part of the IP address and cookie information after 9 or 18 months, respectively.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

With the automatic deletion of location and activity data introduced in 2019, information about location determination and web/app activity is stored for either three or 18 months, depending on your choice, and then deleted. You can also manually delete this data from your history at any time via your Google Account. If you want to completely prevent your location tracking, you must pause the "Web and App Activity" section in your Google Account. Click "Data and Personalization" and then the "Activity Settings" option. There you can turn activities on or off.

You can also deactivate, delete, or manage individual cookies in your browser. This works slightly differently depending on the browser you use. Under the "Cookies" section, you'll find links to the relevant instructions for the most popular browsers.

If you prefer not to accept cookies, you can set your browser to always notify you when a cookie is about to be placed. This allows you to decide whether to accept or reject each individual cookie.

Legal basis

If you have consented to the use of Google Maps, the legal basis for the corresponding data processing is this consent. According to Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR (consent) the legal basis for the processing of personal data, as may occur when collected by Google Maps.

We also have a legitimate interest in using Google Maps to optimise our online service. The legal basis for this is Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (Legitimate Interests)However, we only use Google Maps if you have given your consent.

Google processes your data, among other places, in the USA. We would like to point out that, according to the European Court of Justice, there is currently no adequate level of protection for data transfers to the USA. This may entail various risks to the legality and security of data processing.

Google uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46, Paragraphs 2 and 3 GDPR) as the basis for data processing with recipients located in third countries (outside the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and therefore in particular in the USA) or for data transfers there. Standard contractual clauses (SCCs) are templates provided by the EU Commission and are intended to ensure that your data complies with European data protection standards even if it is transferred to and stored in third countries (such as the USA). Through these clauses, Google undertakes to comply with European data protection standards when processing your relevant data, even if the data is stored, processed, and managed in the USA. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the corresponding standard contractual clauses here, among other places: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de

The Google Ads Data Processing Terms, which refer to the standard contractual clauses, can be found at https://business.safety.google/intl/de/adsprocessorterms/.

If you would like to learn more about Google’s data processing, we recommend that you read the company’s own privacy policy at https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=de.

Explanation of terms used

We always strive to make our privacy policy as clear and understandable as possible. However, this is not always easy, especially when it comes to technical and legal topics. It often makes sense to use legal terms (such as personal data) or certain technical expressions (such as cookies, IP address). However, we do not want to use these without explanation. Below you will find an alphabetical list of important terms used that we may not have sufficiently addressed in the previous privacy policy. If these terms are taken from the GDPR and are definitions, we will also cite the GDPR texts here and add our own explanations if necessary.

Processor

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply:

“Processor” a natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which processes personal data on behalf of the controller;

Explanation: As a company and website owner, we are responsible for all data we process from you. In addition to the controllers, there may also be so-called processors. This includes any company or individual that processes personal data on our behalf. Processors can therefore include, in addition to service providers such as tax advisors, hosting or cloud providers, payment or newsletter providers, or large companies such as Google or Microsoft.

consent

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply:

"Consent" any freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous indication of the data subject's wishes by which he or she, by a statement or by a clear affirmative action, signifies agreement to the processing of personal data relating to him or her;

Explanation: Typically, such consent is obtained on websites via a cookie consent tool. You're probably familiar with this. Whenever you visit a website for the first time, you'll usually be asked via a banner whether you agree to data processing. You can usually also configure individual settings and decide for yourself which data processing you allow and which you don't. If you do not consent, no personal data may be processed. In principle, consent can of course also be given in writing, i.e., not via a tool.

Health data

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply:

“Health data” personal data relating to the physical or mental health of a natural person, including the provision of healthcare services, which reveal information about that person’s health status;

Explanation: Health data includes all stored information relating to your personal health. This is often data that is also recorded in a patient file. This includes, for example, the medications you take, X-rays, your entire medical history, and usually your vaccination status.

Personal data

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply:

“personal data” any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (hereinafter ‘data subject’); an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person;

Explanation: Personal data is all data that can identify you as an individual. This is usually data such as:

• name
• address
• E-mail address
• Postal address
• Telephone number
• birth date
• Identification numbers such as social security number, tax identification number, identity card number or registration number
• Bank details such as account number, credit information, account balances and much more.

According to the European Court of Justice (ECJ), your IP address for personal data. IT experts can use your IP address to determine at least the approximate location of your device and subsequently you as the connection owner. Therefore, storing an IP address also requires a legal basis within the meaning of the GDPR. There are also so-called “special categories” of personal data that are also particularly worthy of protection. These include:

• racial and ethnic origin
• political opinions
• religious or ideological beliefs
• union membership
• genetic data such as data obtained from blood or saliva samples
• biometric data (information about psychological, physical or behavioral characteristics that can identify a person).
  Health data
• Data on sexual orientation or sex life

Profiling

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply:

“Profiling” any form of automated processing of personal data consisting of the use of personal data to evaluate certain personal aspects relating to a natural person, in particular to analyse or predict aspects concerning that natural person's performance at work, economic situation, health, personal preferences, interests, reliability, behaviour, location or movements;

Explanation: Profiling involves compiling various information about a person in order to learn more about them. Profiling is often used online for advertising purposes or for credit checks. Web or advertising analysis programs, for example, collect data about your behavior and interests on a website. This results in a specific user profile that can be used to target advertising to a specific audience.

 

Pseudonymization

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply:

“Pseudonymization” the processing of personal data in such a manner that the personal data can no longer be attributed to a specific data subject without the use of additional information, provided that such additional information is kept separately and is subject to technical and organisational measures to ensure that the personal data are not attributed to an identified or identifiable natural person;

Explanation: Our privacy policy frequently refers to pseudonymized data. Pseudonymized data means that you can no longer be identified as a person unless other information is added. However, pseudonymization should not be confused with anonymization. Anonymization removes any personal reference, meaning that it can only be reconstructed with disproportionate technical effort.

 

Person responsible

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply:

“person responsible” the natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which, alone or jointly with others, determines the purposes and means of the processing of personal data; where the purposes and means of such processing are determined by Union or Member State law, the controller or the specific criteria for its nomination may be provided for by Union or Member State law;

Explanation: In our case, we are responsible for the processing of your personal data and are therefore the "controller." If we pass on collected data to other service providers for processing, these are "processors." A "processing agreement (DPA)" must be signed for this purpose.

 

processing

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply:

"Processing" any operation or set of operations which is performed on personal data or on sets of personal data, whether or not by automated means, such as collection, recording, organisation, structuring, storage, adaptation or alteration, retrieval, consultation, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination or otherwise making available, alignment or combination, restriction, erasure or destruction;

Note: When we refer to processing in our privacy policy, we mean any type of data processing. As mentioned above in the original GDPR statement, this includes not only the collection but also the storage and processing of data.

Closing words

Congratulations! If you're reading these lines, you've truly "fought" your way through our entire privacy policy, or at least scrolled this far. As you can see from the length of our privacy policy, we take the protection of your personal data anything but lightly.
It is important to us to inform you to the best of our knowledge and belief about the processing of personal data. In doing so, we not only want to tell you which data is processed, but also explain the reasons for using various software programs. Privacy policies usually sound very technical and legalistic. However, since most of you are not web developers or lawyers, we wanted to take a different approach and explain the matter in simple, clear language. Of course, this is not always possible due to the subject matter. Therefore, the most important terms are explained in more detail at the end of the privacy policy.
If you have any questions about data protection on our website, please do not hesitate to contact us or the responsible party. We wish you a pleasant stay and hope to welcome you back to our website soon.

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