Privacy policy

Introduction and overview
Area of application
Legal basis
Contact details of the person responsible
Storage duration
Rights under the General Data Protection Regulation
Data transfer to third countries
Security of data processing
Communication
Cookies
Webhosting introduction
Web Analytics Introduction
Email marketing introduction
Social media introduction
Blogs and publication media Introduction
Cookie Consent Management Platform Introduction
Payment provider introduction
Other Introduction

Introduction and overview

We have prepared this privacy policy (version 29.03.2022-111982899) in order to explain to you, in accordance with the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and applicable national laws, which personal data (data for short) we as the controller - and the processors commissioned by us (e.g. providers) - process, will process in the future and what lawful options you have. The terms used are to be understood as gender-neutral.
In short: We provide you with comprehensive information about the data we process about you.

Data protection declarations usually sound very technical and use legal jargon. This privacy policy, on the other hand, is intended to describe the most important things to you as simply and transparently as possible. Where it is conducive to transparency, technical terms are explained in a reader-friendly way, links to further information are provided and graphics are used. We thus inform you in clear and simple language that we only process personal data as part of our business activities if there is a corresponding legal basis. This is certainly not possible by providing explanations that are as concise, unclear and legally technical as possible, as is often standard on the Internet when it comes to data protection. I hope you find the following explanations interesting and informative and perhaps there is one or two pieces of information that you did not yet know.
If you still have any questions, we would ask you to contact the responsible body named below or in the legal notice, to follow the links provided and to look at further information on third-party websites. Our contact details can of course also be found in the legal notice.

Area of application

This privacy policy applies to all personal data processed by us in the company and to all personal data processed by companies commissioned by us (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 stores) that we operate
Social media presence and e-mail communication
Mobile apps for smartphones and other devices

In short, the privacy policy applies to all areas in which personal data is processed in the company in a structured manner via the channels mentioned. If 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 bases of the General Data Protection Regulation, which 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 April 27, 2016. You can of course read this EU General Data Protection Regulation online at EUR-Lex, the gateway to EU law, at https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/DE/TXT/?uri=celex:32016R0679.

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

Consent (Article 6(1)(a) GDPR): You have given us your consent to process data for a specific purpose. An example would be the storage of the data you entered in a contact form.
Contract (Article 6(1)(b) GDPR): In order to fulfill a contract or pre-contractual obligations with you, we process your data. For example, if we conclude a purchase contract with you, we need personal information in advance.
Legal obligation (Article 6(1)(c) GDPR): If we are subject to a legal obligation, we process your data. For example, we are legally obliged to keep invoices for accounting purposes. These usually contain personal data.
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 efficiently. This processing is therefore a legitimate interest.

Other conditions such as recording in the public interest, the exercise of official authority and the protection of vital interests do not generally apply to us. If such a legal basis is relevant, 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 PersonalData (Data Protection Act), or DSG for short.
In Germany, the Federal Data Protection Act( BDSG) applies.

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

Contact details of the person responsible

If you have any questions about data protection, you will find the contact details of the person or body responsible below:
Dr. med. Stefan Horwath
Robert Graf-Platz 2-4, 7000 Eisenstadt

E-Mail: office@omnimed.at
Phone: +43 676 4777829
Imprint: https://www.omnimed.at/impressum/

Storage duration

It is a general criterion for us that we only store personal data for as long as is absolutely necessary for the provision of our services and products. This means that we delete personal data as soon as the reason for the data processing no longer exists. In some cases, we are legally obliged to store certain data even after the original purpose has ceased to exist, for example for accounting purposes.

If you wish your data to be deleted or revoke your consent to data processing, the data will be deleted as quickly as possible and insofar as there is no obligation to store it.

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

Rights under the General Data Protection Regulation

According to Article 13 GDPR, you have the following rights to ensure fair and transparent processing of data

According to Article 15 GDPR, you have a right to information as to whether we process your data. If this is the case, you have the right to receive a copy of the data and the following information:
- the purpose for which 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 will be stored;
- the existence of the right to rectification, erasure or restriction of processing and the right to object to processing;
- that you can lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority (links to these authorities can be found below);
- the origin of the data if we have not collected it from you;
- whether profiling is carried out, i.e. whether data is automatically analyzed in order to create a personal profile of you.
According to Article 16 GDPR, you have a right to rectification of data, which means that we must correct data if you find errors.
According to Article 17 GDPR, you have the right to erasure ("right to be forgotten"), which specifically means that you may request the erasure 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 19 GDPR, you have the right to data portability, which means that we will provide you with your data in a commonly used format upon request.
According to Article 21 GDPR, you have the right to object, which will result in a change in the processing after enforcement.
- 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 can object to the processing. We will then check 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 then no longer use your data for direct marketing.
- If data is used for profiling purposes, you can object to this type of data processing at any time. We may then no longer use your data for profiling.
Under Article 22 GDPR, you may have the right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing (e.g. profiling).

In short: You have rights - do not hesitate to contact the responsible office 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 lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority. For Austria, this is the data protection authority, whose website can be found at https://www.dsb.gv.at/. In Germany, there is a data protection officer for each federal state. For more 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:

Austria Data Protection Authority

Head: 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/

Data transfer to third countries

We only transfer or process data to countries outside the EU (third countries) if you consent to this processing, if this is required by law or contract and in any case only to the extent that this is generally permitted. In most cases, your consent is the most important reason for us to process data in third countries. The processing of personal data in third countries such as the USA, where many software manufacturers offer services and have their server locations, may mean that personal data is processed and stored in unexpected ways.

We expressly point out that, in the opinion of the European Court of Justice, there is currently no adequate level of protection for data transfers to the USA. Data processing by US services (such as Google Analytics) may result in data not being processed and stored anonymously. Furthermore, US government authorities may be able to access individual data. In addition, data collected may be linked to data from other services of the same provider if you have a corresponding user account. Where possible, we try to use server locations within the EU if this is offered.

We will inform you in more detail about data transfer to third countries, if applicable, in the appropriate sections of this privacy policy.

Security of data processing

In order to protect personal data, we have implemented both technical and organizational measures. Where possible, we encrypt or pseudonymize personal data. In this way, we make it as difficult as possible for third parties to infer personal information from our data.

Art. 25 GDPR speaks here of "data protection by design and by default" and thus means that both software (e.g. forms) and hardware (e.g. access to the server room) should always be designed with security in mind and appropriate measures should be taken. If necessary, we will discuss specific measures below.

TLS encryption with https

TLS, encryption and https sound very technical - and they are. We use HTTPS (the Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure stands for "secure hypertext transfer protocol") to transmit data tap-proof on the Internet.
This means that the complete transmission of all data from your browser to our web server is secure - nobody can "listen in".

We have thus introduced an additional layer of security and fulfill data protection through technology design Article 25(1) GDPR). By using TLS (Transport Layer Security), an encryption protocol for secure data transmission on the Internet, we can ensure the protection of confidential data.
You can recognize the use of this data transmission protection by the small lock symbol at the top left of the browser, to the left of the Internet address (e.g. examplepage.com) 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 a Google search for "Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure wiki" to get good links to further information.

Communication

Communication summary
Data subjects: Anyone who communicates with us by phone, email or online form
Processed data: e.g. telephone number, name, email address, form data entered. You can find more details on this in the respective contact type used
Purpose: Processing communication with customers, business partners, etc.
Storage duration: Duration of the business case and the statutory provisions
⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR (contract), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests)

If you contact us and communicate with us by telephone, e-mail or online form, personal data may be processed.

The data is processed for the handling and processing of your question and the associated business transaction. The data will be stored for as long as required by law.

Affected persons

All those who seek contact with us via the communication channels provided by us are affected by the aforementioned processes.

Telephone

When you call us, the call data is stored pseudonymously on the respective end device and with the telecommunications provider used. In addition, data such as name and telephone number may subsequently be sent by e-mail and stored for the purpose of responding to inquiries. The data will be deleted as soon as the business case has been completed and legal requirements permit.

e-mail

If you communicate with us by email, data may be stored on the respective end device (computer, laptop, smartphone, etc.) and data may be stored on the email server. The data will be deleted as soon as the business transaction has been completed and legal requirements permit.

Online forms

If you communicate with us using an online form, data is stored on our web server and may be forwarded to one of our e-mail addresses. The data will be deleted as soon as the business transaction has been completed and legal requirements permit.

Legal basis

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

Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent): You give us your consent to store your data and to use it for purposes relating to the business transaction;
Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR (contract): It is necessary for the performance of a contract with you or a processor, such as the telephone provider, or we need to process the data for pre-contractual activities, such as the preparation of an offer;
Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests): We want to handle customer inquiries and business communication in a professional manner. This requires certain technical facilities such as e-mail programs, exchange servers and mobile network operators in order to be able to operate communication efficiently.

Cookies

Cookies summary
Affected parties: Visitors to the website
Purpose: depending on the cookie. More details can be found below or from the manufacturer of the software that sets the cookie.
Processed data: Depending on the cookie used. You can find more details on this below or from the manufacturer of the software that sets the cookie.
Storage duration: depends on the cookie, can vary from hours to years
⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit.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. Well-known 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 cannot be denied: Cookies are really useful little helpers. Almost all websites use cookies. More precisely, they are HTTP cookies, as there are also other cookies for other areas of application. HTTP cookies are small files that are stored on your computer by our website. These cookie files are automatically stored in the cookie folder, the "brain" of your browser, so to speak. A cookie consists of a name and a value. When defining a cookie, one or more attributes must also be specified.

Cookies store certain user data about you, such as language or personal page 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 back from the server, which the browser uses again as soon as another page is requested.

HTTP cookie interaction between browser and web server

There are both first-party cookies and third-party cookies. First-party cookies are created directly by our website, 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 expiry 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.

Cookie data can look like this, for example:

Name: _ga
Wert: GA1.2.1326744211.152111982899-9
Purpose: Differentiation of website visitors
Expiration 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 in particular depends on the services used and is clarified in the following sections of the privacy policy. At this point, we would like to briefly explain the different types of HTTP cookies.

A distinction can be made between 4 types of cookies:

Essential cookies
These cookies are necessary to ensure basic website functions. For example, these cookies are needed when a user places a product in the shopping cart, then continues surfing on other pages and only goes to the checkout later. These cookies ensure that the shopping cart is not deleted even if 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 are also used to measure the loading time and the behavior of the website with different browsers.

Targeted cookies
These cookies ensure better user-friendliness. 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 practical, but also very annoying.

When you visit a website for the first time, you are usually asked which of these cookie types you would like to allow. And of course this decision is also stored 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 of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) called "HTTP State Management Mechanism".

Purpose of processing via cookies

The purpose ultimately depends on the cookie in question. You can find more details on this below or from the manufacturer of the software that sets the cookie.

What data is processed?

Cookies are little helpers for many different tasks. Unfortunately, it is not possible to generalize which data is stored in cookies, but we will inform you about the processed or stored data in the following privacy policy.

Storage duration of cookies

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

You can also influence the storage period yourself. You can delete all cookies manually at any time via your browser (see also "Right to object" below). Furthermore, cookies that are based on consent will be deleted at the latest after you withdraw your consent, whereby the legality of the storage until then remains unaffected.

Right to object - how can I delete cookies?

You decide how and whether you want to use cookies. Regardless of which service or website the cookies originate from, you always have the option of deleting, deactivating or only partially allowing 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, activate and manage cookies in Chrome

Safari: Managing cookies and website data with Safari

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

Internet Explorer: Deleting and managing cookies

Microsoft Edge: Deleting and managing cookies

If you generally do not want to have cookies, you can set up your browser so that it always informs you when a cookie is to be set. You can then decide for each individual cookie whether or not to allow it. The procedure differs depending on the browser. It is best to search for the instructions in Google using the search term "delete cookies Chrome" or "deactivate cookies Chrome" in the case of a Chrome browser.

Legal basis

The so-called "Cookie Guidelines" have been in place since 2009. These state that the storage of cookies requires your consent (Article 6(1)(a) GDPR). However, there are still very different reactions to these directives within the EU countries. In Austria, however, this directive has been implemented in Section 96 (3) of the Telecommunications Act (TKG). In Germany, the cookie directives have not been implemented as national law. Instead, this directive was largely implemented in Section 15 (3) of the Telemedia Act (TMG).

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

If cookies that are not absolutely necessary are used, this will only take place with your consent. The legal basis in this respect is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR.

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

Webhosting introduction

Web hosting summary
Affected parties: Visitors to the website
Purpose: professional hosting of the website and securing its operation
Processed data: IP address, time of website visit, browser used and other data. You can find more details on this below or from the web hosting provider used.
Storage period: depends on the respective provider, but usually 2 weeks
⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit.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, by the way, we mean the entirety of all web pages on a domain, i.e. everything from the start page (homepage) to the very last subpage (like this one). By domain we mean, for example, example.de or example.com.

If you want to view a website on a screen, you use a program called a web browser. You probably know a few web browsers by name: Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox and Apple Safari.

This web browser must connect to another computer where the website code is stored: the web server. Operating a web server is a complicated and time-consuming task, which is why this is usually done by professional providers. They offer web hosting and thus ensure reliable and error-free storage of website data.

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

By way of illustration:

Browser and web server

Why do we process personal data?

The purposes of data processing are:

Professional website hosting and operational security
to maintain operational and IT security
Anonymous evaluation of access behavior to improve our offer and, if necessary, for criminal prosecution or prosecution of claims

What data is processed?

Even while you are currently visiting our website, our web server, i.e. 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 host name 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 pass this data on, but we cannot rule out the possibility of this data being viewed by the authorities in the event of unlawful conduct.

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

Legal basis

The lawfulness of the processing of personal data in the context of web hosting results from Art. 6 para. 1 lit. 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 from this if necessary.

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

Hetzner privacy policy

We use Hetzner, a web hosting provider, 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 at https://www.hetzner.com/de/legal/privacy-policy.

Web Analytics Introduction

Web Analytics privacy policy summary
Data subject: Visitors to the website
Purpose: Evaluation of visitor information to optimize the website.
Processed data: Access statistics containing data such as access locations, device data, access duration and time, navigation behavior, click behavior and IP addresses. You can find more details on this in the web analytics tool used.
Storage duration: depending on the web analytics tool used
⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. 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 involves collecting data that is stored, managed and processed by the respective analytics tool provider (also known as a tracking tool). The data is used to create analyses of user behavior on our website and made available to us as the website operator. In addition, most tools offer various test options. For example, we can test which offers or content are best received by our visitors. To do this, we show you two different offers for a limited period of time. After the test (known as an A/B test), we know which product or content our website visitors find more interesting. For such test procedures, as well as for other analytics procedures, user profiles can also be created and the data stored in cookies.

Why do we use web analytics?

With our website, we have a clear goal in mind: we want to deliver the best web offering on the market for our industry. In order to achieve this goal, we want to offer the best and most interesting services on the one hand, and on the other hand make sure that you feel completely comfortable 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 website accordingly for you and for us. For example, we can see how old our visitors are on average, where they come from, when our website is visited the most or which content or products are particularly popular. All this information helps us to optimize the website and thus adapt it to your needs, interests and wishes.

What data is processed?

Exactly which data is stored depends, of course, on the analysis tools used. However, the content you view on our website, the buttons or links you click on, when you access a page, the browser you use, the device (PC, tablet, smartphone, etc.) you use to visit the website or the computer system you use are generally stored. If you have agreed that location data may also be collected, 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 pseudonymized (i.e. in an unrecognizable and shortened form). For the purpose of testing, web analysis and web optimization, no direct data such as your name, age, address or e-mail address is stored. All this data, if collected, is stored in pseudonymized form. This means that you cannot be identified as a person.

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

Schematic data flow with Google Analytics

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, while other cookies can store data for several years.

Duration of data processing

We will inform you about the duration of data processing below, if we have further information on this. In general, we only process personal data for as long as is absolutely necessary for the provision of our services and products. If required by law, for example in the case of accounting, this storage period may also be exceeded.

Right of objection

You also have the right and the option to withdraw your consent to the use of cookies or third-party providers at any time. This works either via our cookie management tool or via other opt-out functions. For example, you can also prevent data collection by 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 pop-up. According to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), this consent constitutes the legal basis for the processing of personal data, as may occur when it is collected by web analytics tools.

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

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

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

Google Analytics privacy policy

Google Analytics privacy policy summary
Data subject: Visitors to the website
Purpose: Evaluation of visitor information to optimize the website.
Processed data: Access statistics containing data such as locations of access, device data, access duration and time, navigation behavior, click behavior and IP addresses. You can find more details on this below in this privacy policy.
Storage duration: depending on the properties used
⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests)

What is Google Analytics?

We use the analysis tracking tool Google Analytics (GA) of the American company Google Inc. on our website. For the European area, 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, when you click on a link, this action is stored in a cookie and sent to Google Analytics. The reports we receive from Google Analytics help us to better tailor our website and our service to your wishes. In the following, we will go into more detail about the tracking tool and inform you in particular about what data is stored and how you can prevent this.

Google Analytics is a tracking tool that is used to analyze traffic on our website. For Google Analytics to work, a tracking code is built into the code of our website. When you visit our website, this code records various actions that you perform on our website. As soon as you leave our website, this data is sent to the Google Analytics servers and stored there.

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

Target group reports: We use target group reports to get to know our users better and know more precisely who is interested in our service.
Ad reports: Ad reports make it easier for us to analyze and improve our online advertising.
Acquisition reports: Acquisition reports provide us with helpful information on how we can get more people interested in our service.
Behavior reports: Here we learn how you interact with our website. We can track which route you take on our site and which links you click on.
Conversion reports: Conversion is a process in which you perform a desired action as a result of a marketing message. For example, when you go from being just a website visitor to a buyer or newsletter subscriber. With the help of these reports, we learn more about how our marketing measures are received by you. This is how we want to increase our conversion rate.
Real-time reports: Here we always know immediately what is 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: we want to offer you the best possible service. The statistics and data from Google Analytics help us to achieve this goal.

The statistically analyzed data gives us a clear picture of the strengths and weaknesses of our website. On the one hand, we can optimize our site so that it can be found more easily by interested people on Google. On the other hand, the data helps us to better understand you as a visitor. We therefore know exactly what we need to improve on our website in order to offer you the best possible service. The data also helps us to carry out 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 is stored by Google Analytics?

Google Analytics uses a tracking code to create a random, unique ID that is linked to your browser cookie. This is how Google Analytics recognizes 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 is what makes it possible to evaluate pseudonymous user profiles in the first place.

In order to be able to analyze our website with Google Analytics, a property ID must be inserted into the tracking code. The data is then saved in the corresponding property. The Google Analytics 4 property is standard for every newly created property. Alternatively, you can also create the Universal Analytics property. Depending on the property used, data is stored for different lengths of time.

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

The following cookies are used by Google Analytics:

Name: _ga
Wert: 2.1326744211.152111982899-5
Purpose: By default, analytics.js uses the _ga cookie to store the user ID. It is generally used to differentiate between website visitors.
Expiration date: after 2 years

Name: _gid
Wert: 2.1687193234.152111982899-1
Purpose: The cookie is also used to distinguish website visitors
Expiration date: after 24 hours

Name: _gat_gtag_UA_Value: 1
Purpose: Used to reduce the request rate. If Google Analytics is provided via the Google Tag Manager, this cookie is given the name _dc_gtm_ .
Expiration date: after 1 minute

Name: AMP_TOKEN
Value: not specified
Purpose: The cookie has 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.
Expiration date: after 30 seconds up to one year

Name: __utma
Wert: 1564498958.1564498958.1564498958.1
Purpose: This cookie is used to track your behavior on the website and measure performance. The cookie is updated every time information is sent to Google Analytics.
Expiration date: after 2 years

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

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

Name: __utmc
Value: 167421564
Purpose: This cookie is used to set new sessions for returning visitors. It is a session cookie and is only stored until you close the browser.
Expiration date: After closing the browser

Name: __utmz
Value: m|utmccn=(referral)|utmcmd=referral|utmcct=/
Purpose: The 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 may have been another page or an advertisement.
Expiration date: after 6 months

Name: __utmv
Value: not specified
Purpose: The cookie is used to store user-defined user data. It is always updated when information is sent to Google Analytics.
Expiration date: after 2 years

Note: This list cannot claim to be exhaustive, as Google changes its choice of cookies from time to time.

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

Heatmaps: Google creates so-called heatmaps. Heatmaps allow you to see exactly those areas that you click on. This gives us information about where you are "traveling" on our site.

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

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

Account creation: When you create an account on our website or place an order, 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 the country and your approximate location. This process is also known as IP location determination.

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

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

Other data includes contact details, any ratings, playing media (e.g. when you play a video on our site), sharing content via social media or adding it to your favorites. The list is not exhaustive and is only intended to provide a general overview of data storage by Google Analytics.

How long and where is the data stored?

Google has distributed its servers all over the world. Most of the servers are located in America and therefore your data is usually stored on American servers. Here you can read exactly where the Google data centers are located: https://www.google.com/about/datacenters/inside/locations/?hl=de

Your data is distributed on different physical data carriers. This has the advantage that the data can be accessed more quickly and is better protected against manipulation. There are appropriate emergency programs for your data in every Google data center. If, for example, the hardware at Google fails or natural disasters paralyze servers, the risk of a service interruption at Google remains low.

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

For Universal Analytics properties, Google Analytics has a standard retention period of 26 months for your user data. Your user data will then be deleted. However, we have the option of choosing the retention period for user data ourselves. There are five options available to us for this:

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

In addition, there is also the option that data will only be deleted if you no longer visit our website within the period selected by us. In this case, the retention period is 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 linked to cookies, user recognition and advertising IDs (e.g. DoubleClick domain cookies). Reporting results are based on aggregated data and are stored independently of user data. Aggregated data is an amalgamation of individual 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 obtain information about your data and to update, delete or restrict it. You can use the browser add-on to deactivate Google Analytics JavaScript (ga.js, analytics.js, dc.js) to prevent Google Analytics from using your data. You can download and install the browser add-on at https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=de. Please note that this add-on only deactivates 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 pop-up. According to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), this consent constitutes the legal basis for the processing of personal data, as may occur when it is collected by web analytics tools.

In addition to consent, we have a legitimate interest in analyzing the behavior of website visitors in order to improve our offer technically and economically. With the help of Google Analytics, we recognize errors on the website, can identify attacks and improve efficiency. The legal basis for this is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests). Nevertheless, we only use Google Analytics if you have given your consent.

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

Google uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46. para. 2 and 3 GDPR) as the basis for data processing with recipients based in third countries (outside the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, i.e. in particular in the USA) or data transfer 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 third countries (such as the USA) and stored there. Through these clauses, Google undertakes to comply with the European level of data protection 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: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de

The Google Ads Data Processing Terms, which correspond to the standard contractual clauses and also apply to Google Analytics, can be found at https://business.safety.google/adsprocessorterms/.

We hope we have been able to provide you with the most important information about data processing by Google Analytics. If you would like to find out 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 data processing addendum

We have concluded a direct customer contract with Google for the use of Google Analytics by accepting the "Data Processing Addendum" in Google Analytics.

You can find out more about the data processing addendum for Google Analytics here: https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/3379636?hl=de&utm_id=ad

Google Tag Manager privacy policy

Google Tag Manager privacy policy summary
Data subject: Visitors to the website
Purpose: Organization of the individual tracking tools
Processed data: Google Tag Manager does not store any data itself. The data is collected by the tags of the web analytics tools used.
Storage duration: depending on the web analytics tool used
⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests)

What is the Google Tag Manager?

For our website, we use Google Tag Manager from Google Inc. For the European region, Google Ireland Limited (Gordon House, Barrow Street Dublin 4, Ireland) is responsible for all Google services. This Tag Manager is one of many helpful marketing products from Google. Google Tag Manager allows us to centrally integrate and manage sections of code from various tracking tools that we use on our website.

In this privacy policy, we want to explain in more detail what Google Tag Manager does, why we use it and how data is processed.

Google Tag Manager is an organizational tool that allows us to integrate and manage website tags centrally and via a user interface. Tags are small sections of code that record (track) your activities on our website, for example. For this purpose, JavaScript code sections are inserted into the source code of our site. The tags often originate from internal Google products such as Google Ads or Google Analytics, but tags from other companies can also be integrated and managed via the Manager. Such tags perform different tasks. They can collect browser data, feed marketing tools with data, integrate buttons, set cookies and also track users across multiple websites.

Why do we use Google Tag Manager for our website?

As the saying goes: organization is half the battle! And of course this also applies to the maintenance of our website. In order to make our website as good as possible for you and all people who are interested in our products and services, we need various tracking tools such as Google Analytics. The data collected by these tools shows us what you are most interested in, where we can improve our services and which people we should show our offers to. And for this tracking to work, we have to integrate the corresponding JavaScript codes into our website. In principle, we could integrate each code section of the individual tracking tools separately into our source code. However, this takes a relatively long time and it is easy to lose track. That's why we use the Google Tag Manager. We can easily integrate the necessary scripts and manage them from one place. Google Tag Manager also offers an easy-to-use user interface and no programming knowledge is required. This is how we manage to keep order in our tag jungle.

What data is stored by Google Tag Manager?

The Tag Manager itself is a domain that does not set any cookies or store any data. It acts as a mere "administrator" of the implemented tags. The data is recorded by the individual tags of the various web analysis tools. The data is passed through the Google Tag Manager to the individual tracking tools and is not saved.

However, the situation is completely different with the integrated tags of the various web analysis tools, such as Google Analytics. Depending on the analysis tool, various data about your web behavior is usually collected, stored and processed with the help of cookies. Please read our data protection texts for the individual analysis and tracking tools that we use on our website.

In the account settings of the Tag Manager, we have allowed Google to receive anonymized data from us. However, this only concerns the use and utilization of our Tag Manager and not your data that is stored via the code sections. We allow Google and others to receive selected data in anonymized form. We therefore consent to the anonymous sharing of our website data. Despite extensive research, we were unable to find out exactly which summarized and anonymous data is forwarded. In any case, Google deletes all information that could identify our website. Google combines the data with hundreds of other anonymous website data and creates user trends as part of benchmarking measures. Benchmarking involves comparing our own results with those of our competitors. Processes can be optimized on the basis of the information collected.

How long and where is the data stored?

When Google stores data, this data is stored on Google's own servers. The servers are located all over the world. Most of them are located in America. You can find out exactly where the Google servers are located at https://www.google.com/about/datacenters/locations/?hl=de.

You can find out how long the individual tracking tools store your data in our individual data protection texts for the individual tools.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

The Google Tag Manager itself does not set cookies, but manages tags from various tracking websites. In our data protection texts on the individual tracking tools, you will find detailed information on how you can delete or manage your 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. Data may therefore not simply be transferred to insecure third countries, stored and processed there, unless there are suitable guarantees (such as EU standard contractual clauses) between us and the non-European service provider.

Legal basis

The use of Google Tag Manager requires your consent, which we have obtained with our cookie pop-up. According to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), this consent constitutes the legal basis for the processing of personal data, as may occur when it is collected by web analytics tools.

In addition to consent, we have a legitimate interest in analyzing the behavior of website visitors in order to improve our offer technically and economically. With the help of Google Tag Manager, we can improve efficiency. The legal basis for this is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests). Nevertheless, we only use Google Tag Manager if you have given your consent.

The Google Ads Data Processing Terms, which correspond to the standard contractual clauses and also apply to Google Tag Manager, can be found at https://business.safety.google/adsprocessorterms/.

If you want to find out more about Google Tag Manager, we recommend the FAQs at https://support.google.com/tagmanager/?hl=de#topic=3441530.

Email marketing introduction

Email marketing summary
Data subjects: Newsletter subscribers
Purpose: Direct marketing by email, notification of system-relevant events
Processed data: Data entered during registration, but at least the email address. More details can be found in the email marketing tool used.
Storage duration: Duration of the existence of the subscription
⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests)

What is email marketing?

In order to keep you up to date, we also use the option of e-mail marketing. If you have agreed to receive our e-mails or newsletters, your data will also be processed and stored. Email marketing is a sub-area of online marketing. It involves sending news or general information about a company, products or services by email to a specific group of people who are interested in them.

If you want to take part in our e-mail marketing (usually by newsletter), you normally just need to register with your e-mail address. To do this, you fill out an online form and send it off. However, we may also ask you to provide your title and name so that we can write to you personally.

Basically, the registration for newsletters works with the help of the so-called "double opt-in procedure". After you have registered for our newsletter on our website, you will receive an e-mail confirming your newsletter registration. This ensures that the e-mail address belongs to you and that no one has registered with a third-party e-mail address. We or a notification tool used by us logs each individual registration. This is necessary so that we can prove that the registration process is legally correct. As a rule, the time of registration, the time of registration confirmation and your IP address are saved. In addition, it is also logged when you make changes to your stored data.

Why do we use email marketing?

We naturally want to stay in contact with you and always present you with the most important news about our company. To do this, we use email marketing - often simply referred to as "newsletters" - as an essential part of our online marketing. If you agree to this or if it is permitted by law, we will send you newsletters, system e-mails or other notifications by e-mail. When we use the term "newsletter" in the following text, we mainly mean regularly sent e-mails. Of course, we do not want to bother you in any way with our newsletters. That is why we make every effort to offer only relevant and interesting content. For example, you can find out more about our company, our services or products. As we are constantly improving our offers, you will always find out via our newsletter when there is news or when we are offering special, lucrative promotions. If we commission a service provider who offers a professional mailing tool for our email marketing, we do so in order to be able to offer you fast and secure newsletters. The purpose of our e-mail marketing is basically to inform you about new offers and also to achieve our business goals.

What data is processed?

If you become a subscriber to our newsletter via our website, you confirm your membership of an e-mail list by e-mail. In addition to your IP address and e-mail address, your title, name, address and telephone number may also be stored. However, only if you consent to this data storage. The data marked as such is necessary so that you can participate in the service offered. Providing this information is voluntary, but if you do not provide it, you will not be able to use the service. In addition, information about your device or your preferred content on our website may also be stored. 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 your e-mail address from our e-mail/newsletter distribution list, we may store your address for up to three years on the basis of our legitimate interests so that we can still prove your consent at that time. We may only process this data if we have to defend ourselves against any claims.

However, if you confirm that you have given us your consent to the newsletter registration, you can submit an individual deletion request at any time. If you permanently revoke your consent, we reserve the right to store your e-mail address in a blacklist. As long as you have voluntarily subscribed to our newsletter, we will of course retain your e-mail address.

Right of objection

You can cancel your newsletter subscription at any time. All you have to do is withdraw 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 at the end of every email. If you really cannot find the link in the newsletter, please contact us by e-mail and we will cancel your newsletter subscription immediately.

Legal basis

Our newsletter is sent on the basis of your consent (Article 6(1)(a) GDPR). This means that we may only send you a newsletter if you have actively subscribed to it beforehand. If necessary, we may also send you advertising messages on the basis of Section 7 (3) UWG if you have become our customer and have not objected to the use of your email address for direct advertising.

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

MailChimp privacy policy

MailChimp privacy policy summary
Data subject: Newsletter subscribers
Purpose: Direct advertising by e-mail, notification of system-relevant events
Processed data: Data entered during registration, but at least the e-mail address.
Storage duration: Duration of the existence of the subscription
⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. 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 send you interesting news very easily by newsletter. With MailChimp, we don't have to install anything and can still draw from a pool of really useful functions. In the following, we will go into more detail about this e-mail marketing service and inform you about the most important aspects relevant to data protection.

MailChimp is a cloud-based newsletter management service. "Cloud-based" means that we do not have to install MailChimp on our own computer or server. Instead, we use the service via an IT infrastructure - which is available via the internet - on an external server. This way of using software is also known as SaaS (Software as a Service). The following diagram shows schematically how MailChimp distributes emails to newsletter recipients.

Systematic function of mailchimp

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 single campaigns, regular 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 so that we can 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 have also opted for 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 just a short time. Thanks to the design templates offered, we design each newsletter individually and thanks to the "Responsive Design", our content is also displayed legibly and beautifully on your smartphone (or other mobile devices).

Using tools such as the A/B test or the extensive analysis options, we can see very quickly how our newsletters are received by you. This allows us to react if necessary and improve our offer or our services.

Another advantage is MailChimp's "cloud system". The data is not stored and processed directly on our server. We can retrieve the data from external servers and thus conserve our storage space. In addition, the maintenance effort is significantly lower.

What data is stored by MailChimp?

The Rocket Science Group LLC (MailChimp) maintains online platforms that enable us to contact you (if you have subscribed to our newsletter). If you become a subscriber to our newsletter via our website, you confirm your membership of a MailChimp email list by email. The date of registration and your IP address are stored so that MailChimp can also prove that you have registered with the "list provider". 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 functions (such as newsletter analysis).

MailChimp also shares information with third-party providers to provide better services. MailChimp also shares some data with third-party advertising partners to better understand the interests and concerns of its customers in order to provide more relevant content and targeted advertising.

Using so-called "web beacons" (small graphics in HTML emails), MailChimp can determine whether the email has arrived, whether it has been opened and whether links have been clicked on. All this information is stored on the MailChimp servers. This provides us with statistical evaluations and allows us to see exactly how well our newsletter was received by you. In this way, we can adapt our offer much better to your wishes and improve our service.

MailChimp may also use this data to improve its own service. This can be used, for example, to technically optimize the dispatch or to determine the location (country) of the recipients.

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

Name: AVESTA_ENVIRONMENT
Value: Prod
Purpose: This cookie is necessary to provide the Mailchimp services. It is always set when a user registers for a newsletter mailing list.
Expiration date: after the end of the session

Name: ak_bmsc
Wert: F1766FA98C9BB9DE4A39F70A9E5EEAB55F6517348A7000001111982899-3
Purpose: The cookie is used to distinguish a human from a bot. This allows secure reports to be created on the use of a website.
Expiration date: after 2 hours

Name: bm_sv
Wert: A5A322305B4401C2451FC22FFF547486~FEsKGvX8eovCwTeFTzb8//I3ak2Au…
Purpose: The cookie is from MasterPass Digital Wallet (a MasterCard service) and is used to offer a visitor a secure and simple virtual payment process. For this purpose, the user is identified anonymously on the website.
Expiration date: after 2 hours

Name: _abck
Wert: 8D545C8CCA4C3A50579014C449B045111982899-9
Purpose: We could not find out more information about the purpose of this cookie
Expiration date: after one year

Sometimes it can happen that you 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 properly. 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. In MailChimp's "Cookie Statement" (at: https://mailchimp.com/legal/cookies/) you can find out exactly how and why the company uses cookies.

How long and where is the data stored?

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

In principle, the data remains permanently stored on MailChimp's servers and is only deleted if you request this. You can have your contact deleted by us. This will permanently remove all your personal data for us and anonymize you in the MailChimp reports. However, you can also request the deletion of your data directly from MailChimp. All your data will then be removed there 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 on the link at the bottom of the email you receive. If you have unsubscribed by clicking on 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 and manage these cookies at any time. Under the section "Cookies" you will find the corresponding links to the respective instructions for the most popular browsers.

If you generally do not want to have cookies, you can set up your browser so that it always informs you when a cookie is to be set. This allows you to decide for each individual cookie whether you want to allow it or not.

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 actively subscribed to it beforehand. If consent is not required, the newsletter will be sent on the basis of our legitimate interest in direct marketing (Article 6(1)(f)), insofar as this is permitted by law. We record your registration process so that we can always prove that it complies with our laws.

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

MailChimp uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46. para. 2 and 3 GDPR) as the basis for data processing with recipients based in third countries (outside the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, i.e. in particular in the USA) or data transfer 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 third countries (such as the USA) and stored there. Through these clauses, MailChimp undertakes to comply with the European level of data protection 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: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de

The Mailchimp data processing conditions (Data Processing Addendum), which correspond 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 on data protection at MailChimp (Privacy) can be found at https://www.intuit.com/privacy/statement/.

MailChimp order data processing contract

We have concluded a contract with MailChimp for commissioned data processing (Data Processing Addendum). This contract serves to secure your personal data and ensures that MailChimp complies with the applicable data protection regulations and does not pass on your personal data to third parties.

You can find more information on this contract at https://mailchimp.com/legal/data-processing-addendum/.

Social media privacy policy summary
Data subjects: Visitors to the website
Purpose: Presentation and optimization of our services, contact with visitors, interested parties, etc., advertising
Processed data: Data such as telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, contact details, user behavior data, information about your device and your IP address.
You can find more details on this in the respective social media tool used.
Storage duration: depending on the social media platforms used
⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. 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 target users who are interested in us via the social networks. In addition, elements of a social media platform may also be embedded directly in our website. This is the case, for example, if you click on a social button on our website and are forwarded directly to our social media presence. Social media refers to websites and apps that registered members can use to 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 get in touch online. Our social media presence allows us to bring our products and services closer to interested parties. The social media elements integrated on our website help you to switch to our social media content quickly and without complications.

The data that is stored and processed through your use of a social media channel is primarily for the purpose of carrying out web analyses. The aim of these analyses is to be able 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 conclusions about your interests and create user profiles. This also enables the platforms to present you with customized advertisements. Cookies are usually set in your browser for this purpose, which store data on your usage behavior.

As a rule, we assume that we remain responsible under data protection law, even if 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. If this is the case, we will point this out separately and work on the basis of an agreement to this effect. The essence of the agreement is then reproduced below for the platform concerned.

Please note that when using the social media platforms or our built-in elements, your data may also be processed outside the European Union, as many social media channels, such as Facebook or Twitter, are American companies. As a result, you may not be able to claim or enforce your rights in relation to your personal data as easily.

What data is processed?

Exactly which data is stored and processed depends on the respective provider of the social media platform. However, it usually involves data such as telephone numbers, email addresses, data that you enter in 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. Data can be linked to your profile, especially if you have a profile on the social media channel you are visiting and are logged in.

All data that is collected via a social media platform is also stored on the provider's servers. This means that 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 what data is stored and processed by social media providers and how you can object to data processing, you should carefully read the company's privacy policy. We also recommend that you contact the provider directly if you have any questions about data storage and data processing or wish to assert corresponding rights.

Duration of data processing

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

Right of objection

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

As social media tools may use cookies, we also recommend that you read our general privacy policy on cookies. To find out 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 by integrated social media elements, this consent is the legal basis for data processing (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR). In principle, your data will also be stored and processed on the basis of our legitimate interest (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR) in fast and good communication with you or other customers and business partners if you have given your consent. Nevertheless, we only use the tools if you have given your consent. Most social media platforms also set cookies in your browser to store data. We therefore recommend that you read our data protection text on cookies carefully and consult the privacy policy or cookie guidelines of the respective service provider.

Information on specific social media platforms - if available - can be found in the following sections.

Instagram privacy policy

Instagram privacy policy summary
Data subject: Visitors to the website
Purpose: Optimization of our service performance
Processed data: Data such as user behavior data, information about your device and your IP address.
More details can be found below in the privacy policy.
Storage period: until Instagram no longer needs the data for its purposes
⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests)

What is Instagram?

We have integrated Instagram functions on 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 a Facebook product. 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 Instagram function integrated, data is transmitted to Instagram, stored and processed. Instagram uses the same systems and technologies as Facebook. Your data is therefore processed across all Facebook companies.

In the following, we want to give you a more detailed insight into why Instagram collects data, what data is involved and how you can largely control data processing. Since Instagram belongs to Meta Platforms Inc., we obtain our information from the Instagram guidelines on the one hand, but also from the Meta privacy policy itself on the other.

Instagram is one of the best-known social media networks in the world. Instagram combines the advantages of a blog with the benefits of audiovisual platforms such as 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 also 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 gone through the roof in recent years. And of course we have also responded to this boom. We want you to feel as comfortable as possible on our website. That's why a varied presentation of our content is a matter of course for us. The embedded Instagram functions allow us to enrich our content with helpful, funny or exciting content from the Instagram world. As Instagram is a subsidiary of Facebook, the data collected can also be useful to us for personalized advertising on Facebook. This means that only people who are genuinely interested in our products or services receive our advertisements.

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

What data is stored by Instagram?

When you visit one of our pages that has Instagram functions (such as Instagram images or plug-ins), your browser automatically connects to Instagram's servers. In the process, data is sent to Instagram, stored and processed. This happens 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. 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 distinguishes between customer data and event data. We assume that this is exactly the case with Instagram. Customer data includes, for example, name, address, telephone number and IP address. This customer data is only transmitted to Instagram once it has been hashed. Hashing means that a data record is converted into a character string. This allows the contact data to be encrypted. The "event data" mentioned above is also transmitted. By "event data", Facebook - and consequently Instagram - means data about your user behavior. Contact data may also be combined with event data. The contact data collected is 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 set in your browser. Depending on the Instagram functions used and whether you have an Instagram account yourself, different amounts of data are stored.

We assume that Instagram processes data in the same way as Facebook. This means that if you have an Instagram account or have visited www.instagram.com, Instagram has at least set a cookie. If this is the case, your browser sends information to Instagram via the cookie as soon as you come into contact with an Instagram function. This data is deleted or anonymized after 90 days at the latest (after reconciliation). Although we have looked closely at Instagram's data processing, we cannot say exactly what data Instagram collects and stores.

Below we will show you the minimum cookies that are set in your browser when you click on an Instagram function (such as a button or an Insta image). In our test, we assume that you do not have an Instagram account. If you are logged in to Instagram, significantly more cookies will of course be set in your browser.

These cookies were used in our test:

Name: csrftoken
Value: ""
Purpose: This cookie is most likely set for security reasons to prevent falsification of requests. However, we were unable to find out more details.
Expiration date: after one year

Name: mid
Value: ""
Purpose: Instagram sets this cookie to optimize its own services and offers inside and outside Instagram. The cookie defines a unique user ID.
Expiration date: after the end of the session

Name: fbsr_111982899124024
Value: not specified
Purpose: This cookie stores the log-in request for users of the Instagram app.
Expiration date: after the end of the session

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

Name: urlgen
Wert: “{”194.96.75.33”: 1901}:1iEtYv:Y833k2_UjKvXgYe111982899”
Verwendungszweck: Dieses Cookie dient den Marketingzwecken von Instagram.
Ablaufdatum: nach Ende der Sitzung

Note: We cannot claim completeness here. Which cookies are set in individual cases depends on the embedded functions and your use of Instagram.

How long and where is the data stored?

Instagram shares the information received between the Facebook companies with external partners and with people you connect with worldwide. Data processing is carried out in compliance with our own data policy. For security reasons, among others, your data is distributed on Facebook servers around the world. 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, portability, rectification and erasure of your data. You can manage your data in the Instagram settings. If you want to completely delete your data on Instagram, you must permanently delete your Instagram account.

And this is how deleting your Instagram account works:

First open the Instagram app. Go to the bottom of your profile page and click on "Help section". You will now be taken to the company's website. On the website, click on "Manage your account" and then on "Delete your account".

If you delete your account completely, Instagram will delete posts such as your photos and status updates. Information that other people have shared about you does not belong to your account and is therefore not deleted.

As mentioned above, Instagram stores your data primarily via cookies. You can manage, deactivate or delete these cookies in your browser. Depending on your browser, the management always works a little differently. In the "Cookies" section, you will find the relevant links to the instructions for the most popular browsers.

You can also set up your browser so that you are always informed when a cookie is to be set. Then you can always decide individually whether you want to allow the cookie or not.

Legal basis

If you have consented to your data being processed and stored by integrated social media elements, this consent is the legal basis for data processing (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR). In principle, your data is also stored and processed on the basis of our legitimate interest (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR) in fast and good communication with you or other customers and business partners. Nevertheless, we only use the integrated social media elements if you have given your consent. Most social media platforms also set cookies in your browser to store data. We therefore recommend that you read our data protection text on cookies carefully and consult the privacy policy or cookie guidelines of the respective service provider.

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

Facebook uses standard contractual clauses approved by the EU Commission (= Art. 46. para. 2 and 3 GDPR) as the basis for data processing for recipients based in third countries (outside the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, i.e. in particular in the USA) or data transfer to these countries. These clauses oblige Facebook to comply with the EU level of data protection when processing relevant data outside the EU. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the clauses here: https://germany.representation.ec.europa.eu/index_de.

We have tried to provide you with the most important information about data processing by Instagram. Auf https://help.instagram.com/519522125107875
you can take a closer look at Instagram's data policy.

Twitter privacy policy

Twitter privacy policy summary
Data subjects: Visitors to the website
Purpose: Optimization of our service performance
Processed data: Data such as user behavior data, information about your device and your IP address.
More details can be found below in the privacy policy.
Storage duration: Twitter deletes data collected from other websites after 30 days at the latest
⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests)

What is Twitter?

We have integrated Twitter functions on our website. These are, for example, embedded tweets, timelines, buttons or hashtags. Twitter is a short message service and a social media platform of Twitter Inc, One Cumberland Place, Fenian Street, Dublin 2 D02 AX07, Ireland.

To our knowledge, in the European Economic Area and Switzerland, no personal data or data on your web activities are transmitted to Twitter simply by integrating the Twitter function. Only when you interact with the Twitter functions, for example by clicking on a button, can data be sent to Twitter, stored there and processed. We have no influence on this data processing and bear no responsibility for it. In this privacy policy, we want to give you an overview of what data Twitter stores, what Twitter does with this data and how you can largely protect yourself from data transmission.

For some, Twitter is a news service, for others a social media platform and still others refer to it as a microblogging service. All of these terms are justified and mean more or less the same thing.

Both private individuals and companies use Twitter to communicate with interested parties via short messages. Twitter only allows 280 characters per message. These messages are called "tweets". Unlike Facebook, for example, the service does not focus on expanding a network for "friends", but wants to be seen as a global and open news platform. You can also have an anonymous account on Twitter and tweets can be deleted by the company or by the users themselves.

Why do we use Twitter on our website?

Like many other websites and companies, we try to offer our services and communicate with our customers via various channels. We have grown particularly fond of Twitter as a useful "little" news service. We are constantly tweeting or retweeting exciting, funny or interesting content. We realize that you can't follow every channel separately. After all, you have other things to do as well. That's why we have also integrated Twitter functions on our website. You can experience our Twitter activity "on site" or go to our Twitter page via a direct link. By integrating Twitter, we want to improve our service and the user-friendliness of our website.

What data is stored by Twitter?

You will find built-in Twitter functions on some of our subpages. If you interact with Twitter content, for example by clicking on a button, Twitter can collect and store data. Even if you do not have a Twitter account yourself. Twitter calls this data "log data". This includes demographic data, browser cookie IDs, the ID of your smartphone, hashed email addresses, and information about which pages you have visited on Twitter and what actions you have taken. Twitter naturally stores more data if you have a Twitter account and are logged in. In most cases, this data is stored using cookies. Cookies are small text files that are usually set in your browser and transmit different information to Twitter.

We will now show you which cookies are set if you are not logged in to Twitter but visit a website with built-in Twitter functions. Please consider this list as an example. We cannot guarantee that this list is complete, as the choice of cookies changes constantly and depends on your individual actions with Twitter content.

These cookies were used in our test:

Name: personalization_id
Wert: “v1_cSJIsogU51SeE111982899”
Purpose: This cookie stores information about how you use the website and which advertisements may have brought you to Twitter.
Expiration date: after 2 years

Name: long
Value: de
Purpose: This cookie saves your preset or preferred language.
Expiration date: after end of session

Name: guest_id
Value: 111982899v1%3A157132626
Purpose: This cookie is set to identify you as a guest.
Expiration date: after 2 years

Name: fm
Value: 0
Intended use: Unfortunately, we were unable to find out the intended use for this cookie.
Expiration date: after end of session

Name: external_referer
Wert: 1119828992beTA0sf5lkMrlGt
Purpose: This cookie collects anonymous data, such as how often you visit Twitter and how long you visit Twitter.
Expiration date: After 6 days

Name: eu_cn
Value: 1
Purpose: This cookie stores user activity and is used for various Twitter advertising purposes.
Expiration date: After one year

Name: ct0
Wert: c1179f07163a365d2ed7aad84c99d966
Purpose: Unfortunately, we have not found any information on this cookie.
Expiration date: after 6 hours

Name: _twitter_sess
Wert: 53D%253D–dd0248111982899-
Purpose: With this cookie you can use functions within the Twitter website.
Expiration date: after the end of the session

Note: Twitter also works with third-party providers. This is why we also recognized the three Google Analytics cookies _ga, _gat, _gid during our test.

Twitter uses the collected data on the one hand to better understand user behavior and thus improve its own services and advertising offers, and on the other hand the data is also used for internal security measures.

How long and where is the data stored?

If Twitter collects data from other websites, it is deleted, summarized or otherwise concealed after a maximum of 30 days. The Twitter servers are located on various server centers in the United States. It can therefore be assumed that the data collected is collected and stored in America. After our research, we were unable to clearly determine whether Twitter also has its own servers in Europe. In principle, Twitter can store the collected data until it is no longer useful to the company, you delete the data or there is a statutory deletion period.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

In its privacy policy, Twitter repeatedly emphasizes that it does not store any data from external website visits if you or your browser are located in the European Economic Area or in Switzerland. However, if you interact directly with Twitter, Twitter will of course also store data about you.

If you have a Twitter account, you can manage your data by clicking on "More" under the "Profile" button. Then click on "Settings and privacy". Here you can manage the data processing individually.

If you do not have a Twitter account, you can go to twitter.com and then click on "Individualization". You can manage your collected data under "Personalization and data".

As mentioned above, most of the data is stored via cookies, which you can manage, deactivate or delete in your browser. Please note that you can only "edit" cookies in the browser you have selected. This means that if you use a different browser in the future, you will have to manage your cookies again according to your wishes. In the "Cookies" section, you will find the relevant links to the instructions for the most popular browsers.

You can also manage your browser so that you are informed for each individual cookie. You can then always decide individually whether to allow a cookie or not.

Twitter also uses the data for personalized advertising within and outside of Twitter. You can deactivate personalized advertising in the settings under "Individualization and data". If you use Twitter on a browser, you can deactivate personalized advertising at https://optout.aboutads.info/?c=2&lang=EN.

Legal basis

If you have consented to your data being processed and stored by integrated social media elements, this consent is the legal basis for data processing (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR). In principle, your data is also stored and processed on the basis of our legitimate interest (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR) in fast and good communication with you or other customers and business partners. Nevertheless, we only use the integrated social media elements if you have given your consent. Most social media platforms also set cookies in your browser to store data. We therefore recommend that you read our data protection text on cookies carefully and consult the privacy policy or cookie guidelines of the respective service provider.

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

Twitter uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46. para. 2 and 3 GDPR) as the basis for data processing with recipients based in third countries (outside the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, i.e. in particular in the USA) or data transfer to these countries. 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 third countries (such as the USA) and stored there. Through these clauses, Twitter undertakes to comply with the European level of data protection 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: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de

You can find more information about the standard contractual clauses on Twitter at https://gdpr.twitter.com/en/controller-to-controller-transfers.html.

We hope we have given you a basic overview of data processing by Twitter. We do not receive any data from Twitter and are not responsible for what Twitter does with your data. If you have any further questions on this topic, we recommend that you read the Twitter privacy policy at https://twitter.com/de/privacy.

Blogs and publication media Introduction

Blogs and publication media Privacy policy summary
Data subjects: Visitors to the website
Purpose: Presentation and optimization of our services as well as communication between website visitors, security measures and administration
Processed data: Data such as contact details, IP address and published content.
You can find more details on this in the tools used.
Storage duration: depending on the tools used
⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests), Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. b. GDPR (contract)

What are blogs and publication media?

We use blogs or other means of communication on our website with which we can communicate with you on the one hand and you with us on the other. We may also store and process your data in the process. This may be necessary so that we can display content appropriately, communication works and security is increased. In our data protection text, we provide a general description of which of your data may be processed. Exact details on data processing always depend on the tools and functions used. You can find detailed information on data processing in the data protection notices of the individual providers.

Why do we use blogs and publication media?

Our greatest concern with our website is to offer you interesting and exciting content and at the same time your opinions and content are also important to us. That's why we want to create a good interactive exchange between us and you. With various blogs and publication options, we can achieve exactly that. For example, you can write comments on our content, comment on other comments or, in some cases, write articles yourself.

What data is processed?

Exactly which data is processed always depends on the communication functions we use. Very often, the IP address, user name and published content are stored. This is primarily done to ensure security protection, to prevent spam and to be able to take action against illegal content. Cookies can also be used for data storage. These are small text files that are stored with information in your browser. You can find more information on the data collected and stored in our individual sections and in the privacy policy of the respective provider.

Duration of data processing

We will inform you about the duration of data processing below if we have further information on this. For example, contribution and comment functions store data until you revoke the data storage. In general, personal data is only stored for as long as is absolutely necessary for the provision of our services.

Right of objection

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

As publication media may also use cookies, we also recommend that you read our general privacy policy on cookies. To find out exactly which of your data is stored and processed, you should read the privacy policies of the respective tools.

Legal basis

We use the means of communication mainly on the basis of our legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR) in fast and good communication with you or other customers, business partners and visitors. Insofar as the use serves the processing of contractual relationships or their initiation, the legal basis is also Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. b. GDPR.

Certain processing operations, in particular the use of cookies and the use of comment or message functions, require your consent. If and insofar as you have consented to your data being processed and stored by integrated publication media, this consent is the legal basis for data processing (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR). Most of the communication functions we use set cookies in your browser to store data. We therefore recommend that you read our data protection text on cookies carefully and view the privacy policy or cookie guidelines of the respective service provider.

Information on special tools - if available - can be found in the following sections.

Blog posts and comment functions Privacy policy

There are various online communication tools that we can use on our website. For example, we use blog posts and comment functions. This gives you the opportunity to comment on content or write articles. If you use this function, your IP address may be stored for security reasons. In this way, we protect ourselves against illegal content such as insults, unauthorized advertising or prohibited political propaganda. In order to recognize whether comments are spam, we may also store and process user information on the basis of our legitimate interest. If we start a survey, we also store your IP address for the duration of the survey so that we can ensure that all participants only vote once. Cookies may also be used for storage purposes. All data that we store about you (such as content or personal information) will remain stored until you object.

WordPress emojis privacy policy

We also use so-called emojis and smilies in our blog. We probably don't need to explain exactly what emojis are here. You know those smiling, angry or sad faces. They are graphic elements or files that we make available and are loaded from another server. The service provider for retrieving WordPress emojis and smilies is Automattic Inc, 60 29th Street #343, San Francisco, CA 94110, USA. This third-party provider stores your IP address in order to be able to transmit the emoji files to your browser.

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

WordPress uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46. para. 2 and 3 GDPR) as the basis for data processing with recipients based in third countries (outside the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, i.e. in particular in the USA) or data transfer 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, WordPress undertakes to comply with the European level of data protection 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: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de

The data processing conditions (Data Processing Agreements), which correspond to the standard contractual clauses, can be found at https://wordpress.com/support/data-processing-agreements/.

You can find out more about the data that is processed through the use of Automattic in the privacy policy at https://automattic.com/privacy/.

Cookie Consent Management Platform Summary
Data subjects: Website visitors
Purpose: To obtain and manage consent for certain cookies and therefore the use of certain tools
Processed data: Data for managing the cookie settings set, such as IP address, time of consent, type of consent, individual consents. You can find more details on this in the respective tool used.
Storage period: Depends on the tool used, you must be prepared for periods of several years
⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit.f GDPR (legitimate interests)

What is a Cookie Consent Management Platform?

We use Consent Management Platform (CMP) software on our website, which makes it easier for us and you to handle scripts and cookies correctly and securely. The software automatically creates a cookie pop-up, scans and checks all scripts and cookies, provides you with the cookie consent required under data protection law and helps us and you to keep track of all cookies. Most cookie consent management tools identify and categorize all existing cookies. As a website visitor, you then decide for yourself whether and which scripts and cookies you allow or do not allow. The following graphic shows the relationship between browser, web server and CMP.

Consent Management Platform Overview

Why do we use a cookie management tool?

Our aim is to offer you the best possible transparency in the area of data protection. We are also legally obliged to do so. We want to provide you with as much information 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 in the first place. 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 about them. You can then accept or reject cookies via the consent system.

What data is processed?

As part of our cookie management tool, you can manage each individual cookie yourself and have complete control over the storage and processing of your data. The declaration of your consent is stored so that we do not have to ask you every time you visit our website and we can also prove your consent if required by law. This is stored either in an opt-in cookie or on a server. The storage period of your cookie consent varies depending on the provider of the cookie management tool. In most cases, this data (e.g. pseudonymous user ID, time of consent, details of cookie categories or tools, browser, device information) is stored for up to two years.

Duration of data processing

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

Right of objection

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

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

Legal basis

If you consent to cookies, your personal data will be processed and stored via these cookies. If we are permitted to use cookies on the basis of your consent (Article 6(1)(a) GDPR), this consent is also the legal basis for the use of cookies and the processing of your data. Cookie consent management platform software is used to manage your consent to cookies and to enable you to give your consent. The use of this software enables us to operate the website in an efficient and legally compliant manner, which constitutes a legitimate interest (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR).

AdSimple Cookie Manager privacy policy summary
Data subject: Website visitor
Purpose: Obtaining consent for certain cookies and thus the use of certain tools
Processed data: Data for managing the cookie settings set, such as IP address, time of consent, type of consent, individual consents. You can find more details on this further below in this privacy policy
Storage period: the cookie used expires after one year
⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit.f GDPR (legitimate interests)

What is the AdSimple Cookie Manager?

We use the AdSimple Cookie Manager of the software development and online marketing company AdSimple GmbH, Fabriksgasse 20, 2230 Gänserndorf on our website. Among other things, the AdSimple Cookie Manager offers us the opportunity to provide you with a comprehensive and data protection-compliant cookie notice so that you can decide for yourself which cookies you allow and which you do not. By using this software, data is sent from you to AdSimple and stored. In this privacy policy, we inform you why we use the AdSimple Cookie Manager, what data is transferred and stored and how you can prevent this data transfer.

The AdSimple Cookie Manager is a software that scans our website and identifies and categorizes all existing cookies. As a website visitor, you are also informed about the use of cookies via a cookie notification script and can decide for yourself which cookies you allow and which you do not.

Why do we use the AdSimple Cookie Manager on our website?

We want to offer you maximum transparency in the area of data protection. To ensure this, we first need to know exactly which cookies have ended up on our website over time. Because AdSimple's Cookie Manager regularly scans our website and locates all cookies, we have full control over these cookies and can therefore act in compliance with the GDPR. This enables us to inform you precisely about the use of cookies on our website. Furthermore, you will always receive an up-to-date and data protection-compliant cookie notice and can decide for yourself which cookies you accept or block using a checkbox system.

What data is stored by the AdSimple Cookie Manager?

If you accept cookies on our website, the following cookie will be set by the AdSimple Cookie Manager:

Name: acm_status
Value: ":true, "statistics":true, "marketing":true, "socialmedia":true, "settings":true}
Purpose: Your consent status is stored in this cookie. This allows our website to read and follow the current status on future visits.
Expiration date: after one year

How long and where is the data stored?

All data collected by the AdSimple Cookie Manager is transferred and stored exclusively within the European Union. The data collected is stored on AdSimple's servers at Hetzner GmbH in Germany. Only AdSimple GmbH and Hetzner GmbH have access to this data.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

You have the right to access and delete your personal data at any time. You can prevent data collection and storage, for example, by rejecting the use of cookies via the cookie hint script. Another option to prevent data processing or to manage it according to your wishes is provided by your browser. Depending on the browser, cookie management works slightly differently. In the "Cookies" section, you will find the relevant links to the instructions for the most popular browsers.

Legal basis

If you consent to cookies, your personal data will be processed and stored via these cookies. If we are permitted to use cookies on the basis of your consent (Article 6(1)(a) GDPR), this consent is also the legal basis for the use of cookies and the processing of your data. The AdSimple Cookie Manager is used to manage your consent to cookies and to enable you to give your consent. The use of this software enables us to operate the website in an efficient and legally compliant manner, which constitutes a legitimate interest (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR).

We hope we have provided you with a good overview of the data traffic and data processing by the AdSimple Cookie Manager. If you would like to learn more about this tool, we recommend the description page at https://www.adsimple.at/consent-manager/.

Payment provider introduction

Payment provider privacy policy summary
Data subject: 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 on this in the respective payment provider tool used.
Storage period: depending on the payment provider used
⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR (fulfillment of a contract)

What is a payment provider?

We use online payment systems on our website that enable us and you to make secure and smooth payments. Among other things, personal data may be sent to the respective payment provider, stored and processed there. Payment providers are online payment systems that enable you to place an order via online banking. Payment processing is carried out by the payment provider you have selected. We then receive information about the payment made. This method can be used by any user who has an active online banking account with 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?

With our website and our integrated online store, we naturally want to offer the best possible service so that you feel comfortable on our site and take advantage of our offers. We know that your time is precious and that payment processes in particular need to work quickly and smoothly. For these reasons, we offer you various payment providers. You can choose your preferred payment provider and pay in the usual way.

What data is processed?

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

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

Duration of data processing

We will inform you about the duration of data processing below if we have further information on this. In general, we only process personal data for as long as is absolutely necessary for the provision of our services and products. If it is required by law, for example in the case of accounting, this storage period may also be exceeded. For example, we store accounting documents relating to a contract (invoices, contract documents, account statements, etc.) for 10 years (§ 147 AO) and other relevant business documents for 6 years (§ 247 HGB) after they are created.

Right of objection

You always have the right to information, correction and deletion of your personal data. If you have any questions, you can also contact the person responsible for the payment provider used at any time. Contact details can be found either in our specific privacy policy or on the website of the relevant payment provider.

You can delete, deactivate or manage cookies that payment providers use for their functions in your browser. Depending on which browser you use, this works in different ways. Please note, however, that the payment process may then no longer work.

Legal basis

We therefore offer other payment service providers in addition to the conventional banking/credit institutions for the processing of contractual or legal relationships (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR) . The privacy policies of the individual payment providers (such as Amazon Payments, Apple Pay or Discover) provide you with a detailed overview of data processing and data storage. In addition, you can always contact the responsible parties if you have any questions about data protection issues.

Information on the special payment providers - if available - can be found in the following sections.

PayPal privacy policy

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

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

PayPal uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46. para. 2 and 3 GDPR) as the basis for data processing with recipients based in third countries (outside the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, i.e. in particular in the USA) or data transfer 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 third countries (such as the USA) and stored there. Through these clauses, PayPal undertakes to comply with the European level of data protection 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: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de

For more information on the standard contractual clauses and the data processed through the use of PayPal Marketing Solutions, please refer to the Privacy Policy at https://www.paypal.com/c2/webapps/mpp/ua/privacy-full.

Sofortüberweisung privacy policy

Sofortüberweisung privacy policy summary
Data subject: 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
More details can be found below in the privacy policy
Storage period: Data is stored within the legal retention period
⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. c GDPR (Legal obligation), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (Legitimate interests)

What is an "instant bank transfer"?

On our website, we offer the payment method "Sofortüberweisung" from the company Sofort GmbH for cashless payment. Sofort GmbH has been part of the Swedish company Klarna since 2014, but has its headquarters in Germany, Theresienhöhe 12, 80339 Munich.

If you choose this payment method, personal data will also be transmitted to Sofort GmbH or Klarna, stored and processed there. This data protection text provides you with an overview of data processing by Sofort GmbH.

Sofortüberweisung is an online payment system that allows you to place an order via online banking. The payment is processed by Sofort GmbH and we receive immediate information about the payment made. This method can be used by any user who has an active online banking account with PIN and TAN. Only a few banks do not yet support this payment method.

Why do we use "Sofortüberweisung" on our website?

Our aim with our website and our integrated online store is to offer you the best possible service. In addition to the overall experience on the website and our offers, this also includes smooth, fast and secure payment processing of your orders. To ensure this, we use "Sofortüberweisung" as our payment system.

What data is stored by "Sofortüberweisung"?

If you make an instant bank transfer via the Sofort/Klarna service, data such as name, account number, bank code, subject, amount and date are stored on the company's servers. We also receive this information via the payment confirmation.

As part of the account coverage check, Sofort GmbH checks whether your account balance and overdraft facility cover the payment amount. In some cases, the system also checks whether Sofort transfers have been successfully carried out in the last 30 days. Furthermore, your user identification (such as user number or contract number) is collected and stored in abbreviated ("hashed") form and your IP address. For SEPA transfers, the BIC and IBAN are also stored.

According to the company, no other personal data (such as account balances, turnover data, credit limits, account lists, cell phone numbers, authentication certificates, security codes or PIN/TAN) is collected, stored or passed on to third parties.

Sofortüberweisung also uses cookies to make its own service more user-friendly. When you order a product, you will be redirected to the Sofort or Klarna website. After successful payment, you will be redirected to our thank you page. The following three cookies are set here:

Name: SOFUEB
Wert: e8cipp378mdscn9e17kajlfhv7111982899-5
Purpose: This cookie stores your session ID.
Expiration date: after the end of the browser session

Name: User [user_cookie_rules] Value: 1
Purpose: This cookie stores your consent to the use of cookies.
Expiration date: after 10 years

Name: _ga
Wert: GA1.2.69759879.1589470706
Purpose: By default, analytics.js uses the _ga cookie to store the user ID. It is basically used to distinguish between website visitors. This is a cookie from Google Analytics.
Expiration date: after 2 years

Note: The cookies listed here do not claim to be exhaustive. It is always possible that Sofortüberweisung also uses other cookies.

How long and where is the data stored?

All data collected is stored within the legal retention period. This obligation can last between three and ten years.

Klarna/Sofort GmbH tries to store data only within the EU or the European Economic Area (EEA). If data is transferred outside the EU/EEA, the data protection must comply with the GDPR and the country must be covered by an adequacy decision of the EU.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

You can revoke your consent to Klarna processing your personal data at any time. You also always have the right to information, correction and deletion of your personal data. To do this, you can simply contact the company's data protection team by sending an email to datenschutz@sofort.com.

You can manage, delete or deactivate any cookies that Sofortüberweisung uses in your browser. Depending on your preferred browser, this works in different ways. Under the section "Cookies" you will find the corresponding links to the respective instructions for the most popular browsers.

Legal basis

We therefore offer the payment service provider Sofortüberweisung in addition to the conventional banking/credit institutions for the processing of contractual or legal relationships (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR) . The successful use of the service also requires your consent (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR) , insofar as the use of cookies is necessary.

If you would like to learn more about data processing by "Sofortüberweisung" from Sofort GmbH, we recommend that you read the privacy policy at https://www.sofort.de/datenschutz.html.

Other Introduction

Miscellaneous Privacy policy summary
Data subjects: Visitors to the website
Purpose: Improvement of the user experience
Processed data: Which data is processed depends heavily on the services used. In most cases, this is IP address and/or technical data. You can find more details on this in the respective tools used.
Storage duration: depends on the tools used
⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests)

What falls under "Other"?

The "Other" category includes services that do not fit into one of the above categories. These are usually various plugins and integrated elements that improve our website. As a rule, these functions are obtained from third-party providers and integrated into our website. For example, these are web search services such as Algolia Place, Giphy, Programmable Search Engine or online services for weather data such as OpenWeather.

Why do we use other third-party providers?

With our website, we want to offer you the best web offering in our industry. A website has long been more than just a business card for companies. Rather, it is a place to help you find what you are looking for. To make our website even more interesting and helpful for you, we use various third-party services.

What data is processed?

Whenever elements are integrated into our website, your IP address is transmitted to the respective provider, stored and processed there. This is necessary because otherwise the content will not be sent to your browser and will therefore not be displayed accordingly. Service providers may also use pixel tags or web beacons. These are small graphics on websites that record a log file and can also create analyses of this file. Providers can use the information obtained to improve their own marketing measures. In addition to pixel tags, such information (such as which button you click or when you visit which page) can also be stored in cookies. In addition to analysis data on your web behavior, technical information such as your browser type or operating system can also be stored in cookies. Some providers can also link the data obtained with other internal services or with third-party providers. Each provider handles your data differently. We therefore recommend that you carefully read the data protection declarations of the respective services. As a matter of principle, we endeavor to only use services that handle the issue of data protection very carefully.

Duration of data processing

Legal basis

If we ask for your consent and you also agree that we may use the service, this is the legal basis for processing your data (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR). In addition to consent, we have a legitimate interest in analyzing the behavior of website visitors in order to improve our offer technically and economically. The legal basis for this is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests). Nevertheless, we only use the tools if you have given your consent.

Information on the special tools, if available, can be found in the following sections.

Google Fonts privacy policy

Google Fonts privacy policy summary
Data subject: Visitors to the website
Purpose: Optimization of our service performance
Processed data: Data such as IP address and CSS and font requests
More details can be found below in this privacy policy.
Storage period: Font files are stored by Google for one year
⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests)

What are Google Fonts?

We use Google Fonts on our website. These are the "Google fonts" of Google Inc. For the European area, the company Google Ireland Limited (Gordon House, Barrow Street Dublin 4, Ireland) is responsible for all Google services.

You do not need to log in or enter a password to use Google fonts. Furthermore, no cookies are stored in your browser. The files (CSS, fonts) are requested via the Google domains fonts.googleapis.com and fonts.gstatic.com. According to Google, requests for CSS and fonts are completely separate from all other Google services. If you have a Google account, you do not need to worry that your Google account data will be transmitted to Google while using Google Fonts. Google records the use of CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) and the fonts used and stores this data securely. We will take a closer look at exactly how the data is stored.

Google Fonts (formerly Google Web Fonts) is a directory of over 800 fonts that Google makes available to its users free of charge.

Many of these fonts are published under the SIL Open Font License, while others are published under the Apache License. Both are free software licenses.

Why do we use Google Fonts on our website?

With Google Fonts, we can use fonts on our own website without having to upload them to our own server. Google Fonts is an important component in keeping the quality of our website high. All Google fonts are automatically optimized for the web and this saves data volume and is a great advantage, especially for use on mobile devices. When you visit our site, the low file size ensures a fast loading time. Furthermore, Google Fonts are secure web fonts. Different image synthesis systems (rendering) in different browsers, operating systems and mobile devices can lead to errors. Such errors can sometimes visually distort texts or entire websites. Thanks to the fast Content Delivery Network (CDN), there are no cross-platform problems with Google Fonts. Google Fonts supports all common browsers (Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera) and works reliably on most modern mobile operating systems, including Android 2.2+ and iOS 4.2+ (iPhone, iPad, iPod). We use Google Fonts so that we can present our entire online service as beautifully and uniformly as possible.

What data is stored by Google?

When you visit our website, the fonts are reloaded via a Google server. This external call transmits data to the Google server. In this way, Google also recognizes that you or your IP address is visiting our website. The Google Fonts API was developed to reduce the use, storage and collection of end user data to what is necessary for the proper provision of fonts. Incidentally, API stands for "Application Programming Interface" and serves, among other things, as a data transmitter in the software sector.

Google Fonts stores CSS and font requests securely at Google and is therefore protected. Google can use the collected usage figures to determine how well the individual fonts are received. Google publishes the results on internal analysis pages, such as Google Analytics. Google also uses data from its own web crawler to determine which websites use Google fonts. This data is published in the Google Fonts BigQuery database. Entrepreneurs and developers use the Google web service BigQuery to analyze and move large amounts of data.

However, it should also be noted that each Google Font request also automatically transmits information such as language settings, IP address, browser version, browser screen resolution and browser name to the Google servers. It is not clear whether this data is also stored or whether it is clearly communicated by Google.

How long and where is the data stored?

Google stores requests for CSS assets for one day on its servers, which are mainly located outside the EU. This allows us to use the fonts with the help of a Google stylesheet. A stylesheet is a format template that can be used to quickly and easily change the design or font of a website, for example.

The font files are stored by Google for one year. Google's aim is to fundamentally improve the loading time of websites. If millions of websites refer to the same fonts, they are cached after the first visit and immediately reappear on all other websites visited later. Sometimes Google updates font files to reduce the file size, increase language coverage and improve the design.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

The data that Google stores for one day or one year cannot simply be deleted. The data is automatically transmitted to Google when the page is accessed. To delete this data prematurely, you must contact Google support at https://support.google.com/?hl=de&tid=111982899. In this case, you can only prevent data storage if you do not visit our site.

Unlike other web fonts, Google allows us unrestricted access to all fonts. This means we have unlimited access to a sea of fonts and can therefore get the most out of our website. You can find out more about Google Fonts and other issues at https://developers.google.com/fonts/faq?tid=111982899. Although Google addresses data protection issues there, it does not provide any really detailed information about data storage. It is relatively difficult to get really precise information from Google about stored data.

Legal basis

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

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

The Google Ads Data Processing Terms, which also correspond to the standard contractual clauses for Google Fonts, can be found at https://business.safety.google/adsprocessorterms/.

You can also find out which data is generally collected by Google and what this data is used for at https://www.google.com/intl/de/policies/privacy/.

Google Maps privacy policy

Google Maps privacy policy summary
Data subject: Visitors to the website
Purpose: Optimization of our service performance
Processed data: Data such as search terms entered, your IP address and also the latitude and longitude coordinates.
You can find more details below in this privacy policy.
Storage duration: depending on the stored data
⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. 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. With Google Maps, we can show you locations better and thus adapt our service to your needs. By using Google Maps, data is transmitted to Google and stored on Google servers. We would now like to 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 internet map service from Google. With Google Maps, you can search online for exact locations of cities, places of interest, accommodation or businesses using a PC, tablet or app. If companies are represented on Google My Business, further information about the company is displayed in addition to the location. To display directions, map sections of a location can be integrated into a website using HTML code. Google Maps shows the earth's surface as a street map or as an aerial or satellite image. Thanks to the Street View images and the 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 time on our website. By integrating Google Maps, we can provide you with the most important information on various locations. You can see at a glance where we are based. The directions always show you the best or quickest way to reach us. You can call up the directions for routes by car, public transport, on foot or by bike. For us, providing Google Maps is part of our customer service.

What data is stored by Google Maps?

In order for Google Maps to be able to offer its full service, the company must collect and store data from you. This includes the search terms entered, your IP address and also the latitude and longitude coordinates. If you use the route planner function, the start address you enter is also saved. However, this data storage takes place on the Google Maps websites. We can only inform you about this, but cannot influence it. As 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 uses this data primarily 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
Wert: 188=h26c1Ktha7fCQTx8rXgLyATyITJ111982899-5
Purpose: NID is used by Google to customize ads to your Google searches. With the help of the cookie, Google "remembers" your most frequently entered search queries or your previous interaction with ads. So you always get customized ads. The cookie contains a unique ID that Google uses to collect your personal settings for advertising purposes.
Expiration date: after 6 months

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

How long and where is the data stored?

Google servers are located in data centers all over the world. However, most of the servers are located in America. For this reason, your data is increasingly stored in the USA. Here you can read exactly where the Google data centers are located: https://www.google.com/about/datacenters/inside/locations/?hl=de

Google distributes the data on different data carriers. This means that the data can be accessed more quickly and is better protected against any attempts at manipulation. Each data center also has special emergency programs. If, for example, there are problems with the Google hardware or a natural disaster paralyzes the servers, the data is almost certainly still protected.

Google stores some data for a fixed period of time. For other data, Google only offers the option of deleting 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 and 18 months respectively.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

With the automatic deletion function for location and activity data introduced in 2019, location and web/app activity information is stored for either 3 or 18 months - depending on your decision - 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 from being recorded, you must pause the "Web and app activity" section in your Google account. Click on "Data and personalization" and then on the "Activity settings" option. Here you can switch the activities on or off.

You can also deactivate, delete or manage individual cookies in your browser. Depending on which browser you use, this always works slightly differently. In the "Cookies" section, you will find the relevant links to the instructions for the most popular browsers.

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 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), this consent constitutes the legal basis for the processing of personal data, as may occur when Google Maps is used.

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

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

If you would like to find out 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.

Privacy policy

Privacy policy

Table of contents

Introduction and overview

Area of application

Legal basis

Contact details of the person responsible

Storage duration

Rights under the General Data Protection Regulation

Austria Data Protection Authority

Data transfer to third countries

Security of data processing

TLS encryption with https

Communication

Affected persons

Telephone

e-mail

Online forms

Legal basis

Cookies

What are cookies?

What types of cookies are there?

Purpose of processing via cookies

What data is processed?

Storage duration of cookies

Right to object - how can I delete cookies?

Legal basis

Webhosting introduction

What is web hosting?

Why do we process personal data?

What data is processed?

How long is data stored?

Legal basis

Hetzner privacy policy

Web Analytics Introduction

What is web analytics?

Why do we use web analytics?

What data is processed?

Duration of data processing

Right of objection

Legal basis

Google Analytics privacy policy

What is Google Analytics?

Why do we use Google Analytics on our website?

What data is stored by Google Analytics?

How long and where is the data stored?

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

Legal basis

Google Analytics data processing addendum

Google Tag Manager privacy policy

What is the Google Tag Manager?

Why do we use Google Tag Manager for our website?

What data is stored by Google Tag Manager?

How long and where is the data stored?

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

Legal basis

Email marketing introduction

What is email marketing?

Why do we use email marketing?

What data is processed?

Duration of data processing

Right of objection

Legal basis

MailChimp privacy policy

What is MailChimp?

Why do we use MailChimp on our website?

What data is stored by MailChimp?

How long and where is the data stored?

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

Legal basis

MailChimp order data processing contract

Social media introduction

What is social media?

Why do we use social media?

What data is processed?

Duration of data processing

Right of objection

Legal basis

Instagram privacy policy

What is Instagram?