Table of contents

• Introduction and overview
• Scope of application
• Legal basis
• Contact details of the responsible person
• Storage period
• Rights under the General Data Protection Regulation
• Data processing security
• Communication
• Order processing contract (AVV)
• Cookies
• Web hosting introduction
• Website Building Block Systems Introduction
• Web Analytics Introduction
• Social Media Introduction
• Cookie Consent Management Platform Introduction
• Audio & Video Introduction
• Explanation of terms used
• Closing words

Introduction and overview

We have drawn up this data protection declaration (version 05.04.2023-112461677) in order to provide you with information in accordance with the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and applicable national laws to explain which personal data (data for short) we as the controller - and the processors (e.g. providers) commissioned by us - process, will process in the future and what lawful options you have. The terms used are to be understood as gender-neutral.
In a nutshell: We inform you comprehensively about the data we process about you.

Data protection statements usually sound very technical and use legal terminology. This privacy statement, on the other hand, is intended to describe the most important things to you as simply and transparently as possible. Insofar as it is conducive to transparency, technical Terms explained in a reader-friendly waylinks to further information are provided, and Graphics has been brought into use. With it, we inform in clear and simple language that we only process personal data in the course of our business activities if there is a corresponding legal basis. This is certainly not possible by providing the most concise, unclear and legalistic explanations possible, as is often standard practice 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 you did not know yet.
If you still have questions, we would like to ask you to contact the responsible office mentioned below or in the imprint, to follow the existing links and to look at further information on third party sites. Our contact details can of course also be found in the imprint.

Scope of application

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

• all online presences (websites, online shops) that we operate
• Social media appearances and e-mail communication
• Mobile apps for smartphones and other devices

In a nutshell: The data protection declaration applies to all areas in which personal data is processed in a structured manner within the company via the aforementioned channels. If we enter into legal relationships with you outside of these channels, we will inform you separately if necessary.

Legal basis

In the following data protection declaration, 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 27 April 2016. You can of course access this EU General Data Protection Regulation online on EUR-Lex, the access point to EU law, at https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/DE/ALL/?uri=celex%3A32016R0679 read up.

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

1. Consent (Article 6 paragraph 1 lit. a DSGVO): You have given us your consent to process data for a specific purpose. An example would be the storage of your entered data of a contact form.
2. Contract (Article 6 paragraph 1 lit. b DSGVO): In order to fulfil a contract or pre-contractual obligations with you, we process your data. For example, if we conclude a sales contract with you, we need personal information in advance.
3. Legal obligation (Article 6 paragraph 1 lit. c DSGVO): 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.
4. Legitimate interests (Article 6(1) lit. f DSGVO): In the case of legitimate interests that do not restrict your fundamental rights, we reserve the right to process personal data. For example, we need to process certain data in order to operate our website securely and economically efficiently. This processing is therefore a legitimate interest.

Further conditions such as the performance of recordings in the public interest and the exercise of public authority as well as the protection of vital interests do not generally occur with us. If such a legal basis should be relevant, it will be indicated at the appropriate place.

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

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

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

Contact details of the responsible person

If you have any questions about data protection or the processing of personal data, you will find the contact details of the responsible person or office below:
HERZBLUAT
Management consultancy, marketing & advertising agency
Gregor Wimmer
Michael-Walz-Gasse 20
5020 Salzburg
Austria
Authorised to represent: Gregor Wimmer
E-mail: office@herzbluat.at
Phone: +43 664 8197894
Imprint: https://www.herzbluat.at/impressum/

Storage period

The fact that we only store personal data for as long as is absolutely necessary for the provision of our services and products applies as a general criterion with us. This means that we delete personal data as soon as the reason for processing the data 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.

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

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

Rights under the General Data Protection Regulation

In accordance with Articles 13, 14 of the GDPR, we inform you of the following rights you have to ensure that data is processed fairly and transparently:

• According to Article 15 of the GDPR, you have the right to know whether we are processing data about you. 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 complain to 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 evaluated to arrive at a personal profile of you.
• You have a right to rectify data under Article 16 of the GDPR, which means that we must correct data if you find errors.
• According to Article 17 of the GDPR, you have the right to erasure ("right to be forgotten"), which specifically means that you may request the deletion of your data.
• According to Article 18 of the GDPR, you have the right to restriction of processing, which means that we may only store the data but not use it any further.
• According to Article 20 of the GDPR, you have the right to data portability, which means that we will provide you with your data in a common format upon request.
• According to Article 21 of the GDPR, you have a right to object, which, once enforced, entails a change in processing.
  • If the processing of your data is based on Article 6(1)(e) (public interest, exercise of official authority) or Article 6(1)(f) (legitimate interest), you may object to the processing. We will then check as soon as possible whether we can legally comply with this objection.
  • If data is used to carry out direct marketing, you can object to this type of data processing at any time. We are then no longer allowed to use your data for direct marketing.
  • If data is used to carry out profiling, you can object to this type of data processing at any time. We are then no longer allowed to use your data for profiling.
• You may have the right under Article 22 of the GDPR not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing (for example profiling).
• According to Article 77 of the GDPR, you have the right to lodge a complaint. This means that you can complain to the data protection authority at any time if you believe that the data processing of personal data violates the GDPR.

In a nutshell: You have rights - do not hesitate to contact the responsible body listed above!

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

Austria Data Protection Authority

Leader: Andrea Jelinek, M.D.
Address: Barichgasse 40-42, 1030 Vienna
Telephone no.: +43 1 52 152-0
E-mail address: dsb@dsb.gv.at
Website: https://www.dsb.gv.at/

Data processing security

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

Article 25 of the GDPR speaks of "data protection through technical design and through data protection-friendly default settings" 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 that appropriate measures should be taken. In the following, we will go into more detail on specific measures, if necessary.

TLS encryption with https

TLS, encryption and https sound very technical and they are. We use HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure stands for "secure hypertext transfer protocol") to transfer data tap-proof on the internet.
This means that the complete transmission of all data from your browser to our web server is secured - no one can "listen in".

In this way, we have introduced an additional layer of security and fulfil 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 recognise the use of this data transmission protection by the small lock symbol top left of the browser, to the left of the internet address (e.g. beispielseite.de) and the use of the https scheme (instead of http) as part of our internet address.
If you want to know more about encryption, we recommend a Google search for "Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure wiki" to get good links to further information.

Communication

Communication Summary 👥 Affected persons: All those who communicate with us by telephone, e-mail or online form. Data processed: e.g. telephone number, name, e-mail address, form data entered. You can find more details on this in the respective contact type used. 🤝 Purpose: Handling communication with customers, business partners, etc. 📅 Storage period: duration of the business case and legal requirements ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO (Consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b DSGVO (Contract), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO (Legitimate Interests)

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

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

Persons concerned

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

Phone

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 can subsequently be sent by e-mail and stored for the purpose of responding to enquiries. The data is deleted as soon as the business case has been completed and legal requirements permit.

E-mail

If you communicate with us by e-mail, data may be stored on the respective end device (computer, laptop, smartphone,...) and data is stored on the e-mail server. The data is deleted as soon as the business case 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, if necessary, forwarded to an e-mail address of ours. The data is deleted as soon as the business case has been terminated and legal requirements permit.

Legal basis

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

• Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO (consent): You give us your consent to store your data and to use it for purposes related to the business case;
• Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b DSGVO (contract): There is a need 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 preparing an offer;
• Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO (Legitimate Interests): We want to operate customer enquiries and business communication in a professional framework. For this purpose, certain technical facilities such as e-mail programmes, exchange servers and mobile phone operators are necessary in order to be able to operate the communication efficiently.

Order processing contract (AVV)

In this section, we would like to explain what a processing contract is and why it is needed. Because the word "order processing contract" is quite a mouthful, we will also often just use the acronym AVV here in the text. Like most companies, we do not work alone, but also use the services of other companies or individuals ourselves. Through the involvement of various companies or service providers, it may be that we pass on personal data for processing. These partners then act as processors with whom we conclude a contract, the so-called order processing agreement (AVV). The most important thing for you to know is that the processing of your personal data is carried out exclusively according to our instructions and must be regulated by the GCU.

Who are processors?

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

For a better understanding of the terminology, here is an overview of the three roles in the GDPR:

Affected (you as a customer or interested party) → Responsible (we as a company and client) → Processor (Service providers such as web hosters or cloud providers)

Content of a processing order

As already mentioned above, we have concluded an AVV with our partners who act as processors. This states first and foremost that the processor will process the data to be processed exclusively in accordance with the GDPR. The contract must be concluded in writing; however, in this context, the electronic conclusion of the contract is also considered to be "in writing". Only on the basis of the contract will the processing of personal data take place. The contract must contain the following:

• Binding to us as the responsible party
• Duties and rights of the responsible person
• Categories of persons concerned
• Nature of the personal data
• Nature and purpose of data processing
• Subject and duration of data processing
• Place of implementation of the data processing

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

• To ensure data security measures
• take possible technical and organisational measures to protect the rights of the data subject
• keep a data processing register
• cooperate with the data protection supervisory authority at its request
• Conduct a risk analysis in relation to the personal data received
• Sub-processors may only be engaged with the written consent of the responsible person

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

Cookies

Cookies Summary 👥 Parties concerned: Visitors to the website 🤝 Purpose: depends on the respective cookie. More details can be found below or from the manufacturer of the software that sets the cookie. Data processed: Depending on the cookie used. More details can be found below or from the manufacturer of the software that sets the cookie. 📅 Storage duration: depends on the respective cookie, can vary from hours to years ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO (Consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit.f DSGVO (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 browse 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 applications. HTTP cookies are small files that are stored on your computer by our website. These cookie files are automatically placed in the cookie folder, effectively the "brain" of your browser. 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 return to our site, your browser transmits the "user-related" information back to our site. Thanks to the cookies, our website knows who you are and offers you the setting 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. Here, 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.

There are both first-party cookies and third-party cookies. First-party cookies are created directly by our site, third-party cookies are created by partner websites (e.g. Google Analytics). Each cookie is to 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 programmes and do not contain viruses, Trojans or other "pests". Cookies also cannot access information on your PC.

Cookie data, for example, can look like this:

Name: _ga
Value: GA1.2.1326744211.152112461677-9
Intended use: Differentiation of website visitors
Expiry date: After 2 years

A browser should be able to support these minimum sizes:

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

What are the different types of cookies?

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 discuss the different types of HTTP cookies.

One can distinguish between 4 types of cookies:

Essential cookies
These cookies are necessary to ensure basic functions of the website. For example, these cookies are needed when a user places a product in the shopping cart, then continues surfing on other pages and later goes to the checkout. These cookies do not delete the shopping cart, even if the user closes his browser window.

Purposeful cookies
These cookies collect information about user behaviour and whether the user receives any error messages. In addition, these cookies are also used to measure the loading time and the behaviour of the website with different browsers.

Targeting cookies
These cookies ensure a better user experience. For example, locations entered, font sizes or form data are saved.

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

Usually, when you visit a website for the first time, you are 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. More details can be found 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 generalise about what data is stored in cookies, but we will inform you about the data processed or stored within the framework of the following data protection declaration.

Storage period of cookies

The storage period depends on the cookie and is specified further 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 manually delete all cookies at any time via your browser (see also "Right of objection" below). Furthermore, cookies that are based on consent will be deleted at the latest after revocation of your consent, whereby the legality of the storage remains unaffected until then.

Right of objection - how can I delete cookies?

You decide how and whether you want to use cookies. Regardless of which service or website the cookies come from, you always have the option to delete, disable or only partially allow 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 placed on your computer.

Internet Explorer: Deleting and managing cookies

Microsoft Edge: Delete and manage cookies

If you generally do not want cookies, you can set up your browser so that it always informs you when a cookie is to be set. In this way, you can decide for each individual cookie whether you allow the cookie or not. The procedure varies depending on the browser. It is best to search for the instructions in Google with 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. This states that the storage of cookies is a Consent (Article 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO) is required from you. Within the EU countries, however, there are still very different reactions to these directives. In Austria, however, this directive was implemented in § 96 para. 3 of the Telecommunications Act (TKG). In Germany, the Cookie Directive has not been implemented as national law. Instead, this directive was largely implemented in § 15 para.3 of the Telemedia Act (TMG).

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

If cookies are used that are not absolutely necessary, this only happens in the case of your consent. The legal basis in this respect is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO.

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

Web hosting introduction

Web hosting summary 👥 Parties concerned: Visitors to the website 🤝 Purpose: professional hosting of the website and safeguarding of the operation Data processed: IP address, time of website visit, browser used and other data. More details can be found below or at the respective web hosting provider used. 📅 Storage period: depending on the respective provider, but usually 2 weeks ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit.f DSGVO (Legitimate Interests)

What is web hosting?

When you visit websites nowadays, 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 totality of all web pages on a domain, i.e. everything from the home 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 computer, tablet or smartphone, you use a programme called a web browser to do so. You probably know some web browsers by name: Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox and Apple Safari. We call them browsers or web browsers for short.

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

When the browser on your computer (desktop, laptop, tablet or 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 while to ensure proper operation.

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

Why do we process personal data?

The purposes of the data processing are:

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

What data is processed?

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

• the complete internet address (URL) of the accessed website
• 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 being accessed (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 data is stored for a fortnight and then automatically deleted. We do not pass on this data, but we cannot rule out the possibility that this data may be viewed by the authorities in the event of unlawful conduct.

In a nutshell: Your visit is logged by our provider (company that runs our website on special computers (servers)), but we do not share your data without 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 DSGVO (protection of legitimate interests), because the use of professional hosting with a provider is necessary to present the company on the Internet in a secure and user-friendly manner and to be able to pursue attacks and claims from this if necessary.

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

World4You Privacy Policy

We use World4You, a web hosting provider among others, for our website. The service provider is the Austrian company World4You Internet Services GmbH, Hafenstraße 35, 4020 Linz, Austria.

You can find out more about the data processed through the use of World4You in the privacy statement on https://www.world4you.com/de/unternehmen/datenschutzerklaerung.html.

Order processing agreement (AVV) World4You

In accordance with Article 28 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), we have concluded a contract processing agreement (CPA) with World4You (World4You Internet Services GmbH, Hafenstraße 35 , 4020 Linz, Austria). What exactly is a GCU and especially what must be included in a GCU, you can read in our general section "Order processing agreement (GCU)".

This contract is required by law because World4You processes personal data on our behalf. It clarifies that World4You may only process data they receive from us according to our instructions and must comply with the GDPR. You can find the link to the order processing agreement (AVV) under https://www.world4you.com/faq/de/dsgvo/faq.stellt-world4you-eine-vereinbarung-zur-auftragsverarbeitung-zur-verfuegung.html.

Website Building Block Systems Introduction

Website Building Block Systems Privacy Policy Summary 👥 Parties concerned: Visitors to the website 🤝 Purpose: Optimisation of our service performance 📓 Data processed: Data such as technical usage information such as browser activity, clickstream activity, session heatmaps as well as contact details, IP address or your geographical location. More details can be found below in this privacy policy and in the privacy policy of the providers. 📅 Storage duration: depends on the provider ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO (Legitimate Interests), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO (Consent)

What are website construction kits?

We use a website construction kit system for our website. Modular systems are special forms of a content management system (CMS). With a modular system, website operators can create a website very easily and without programming knowledge. In many cases, web hosts also offer building block systems. By using a modular system, personal data of you may also be collected, stored and processed. In this data protection text, we provide you with general information about data processing by modular systems. You can find more detailed information in the data protection declarations of the provider.

Why do we use website building systems for our website?

The biggest advantage of a modular system is its ease of use. We want to offer you a clear, simple and concise website that we can easily operate and maintain ourselves - without external support. A modular system now offers many helpful functions that we can use even without programming knowledge. This allows us to design our web presence according to our wishes and to offer you an informative and pleasant time on our website.

What data is stored by a modular system?

Exactly what data is stored depends, of course, on the website construction system used. Each provider processes and collects different data from the website visitor. However, as a rule, technical usage information such as operating system, browser, screen resolution, language and keyboard settings, hosting provider and the date of your website visit are collected. Tracking data (e.g. browser activity, clickstream activity, session heatmaps, etc.) may also be processed. In addition, personal data may also be collected and stored. This is mostly contact data such as email address, telephone number (if you have provided it), IP address and geographical location data. You can find out exactly what data is stored in the provider's privacy policy.

How long and where is the data stored?

We will inform you about the duration of the data processing below in connection with the website construction kit system used, provided we have further information on this. You will find detailed information about this in the provider's privacy policy. In general, we only process personal data for as long as is absolutely necessary for the provision of our services and products. It may be that the provider stores data from you according to its own specifications, over which we have no influence.

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 website construction kit system used at any time. You can find contact details either in our privacy policy or on the website of the relevant provider.

You can delete, deactivate or manage cookies that providers use for their functions in your browser. Depending on which browser you use, this works in different ways. Please note, however, that not all functions may then work as usual.

Legal basis

We have a legitimate interest in using a website construction kit system to optimise our online service and to present it efficiently and in a user-friendly manner for you. The corresponding legal basis for this is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO (Legitimate Interests). Nevertheless, we only use the modular system if you have given your consent.

Insofar as the processing of data is not absolutely necessary for the operation of the website, the data will only be processed on the basis of your consent. This applies in particular to tracking activities. The legal basis in this respect is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO.

With this privacy policy, we have provided you with the most important general information about data processing. If you would like more detailed information, you will find further information - if available - in the following section or in the privacy policy of the provider.

WordPress.com Privacy Policy

We use WordPress.com, a website construction system, for our website. The service provider is the American company Automattic Inc., 60 29th Street #343, San Francisco, CA 94110, USA.

WordPress also processes data from you in the USA, among other places. We would like to point out that according to the opinion of the European Court of Justice, there is currently no adequate level of protection for the transfer of data 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 DSGVO) as the basis for data processing for recipients based in third countries (outside the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, i.e. in particular the USA) or data transfer there. Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) are templates provided by the EU Commission and are intended to ensure that your data comply with European data protection standards even if they are transferred to third countries (such as the USA) and stored there. 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, among other places: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de

The 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 processed through the use of WordPress.com in the privacy policy on https://automattic.com/de/privacy/.

Web Analytics Introduction

Web Analytics Privacy Policy Summary 👥 Parties concerned: Visitors to the website 🤝 Purpose: Evaluation of visitor information to optimise the web offer. 📓 Data processed: Access statistics containing data such as access locations, device data, access duration and time, navigation behaviour, click behaviour and IP addresses. More details can be found in the respective web analytics tool used. 📅 Storage duration: depending on the web analytics tool used ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO (Consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO (Legitimate Interests)

What is Web Analytics?

We use software on our website to evaluate the behaviour of website visitors, called web analytics for short. This involves collecting data that the respective analytic tool provider (also called tracking tool) stores, manages and processes. With the help of the data, analyses of user behaviour on our website are created 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 contents are best received by our visitors. For this purpose, we show you two different offers for a limited period of time. After the test (so-called A/B test), we know which product or content our website visitors find more interesting. For such test procedures, as for other analytics procedures, user profiles can also be created and the data stored in cookies.

Why do we do web analytics?

With our website we have a clear goal in mind: we want to deliver the best web offer on the market for our industry. To achieve this goal, we want to offer the best and most interesting offer on the one hand, and on the other hand, we want to 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 behaviour 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 optimise the website and thus best adapt it to your needs, interests and wishes.

What data is processed?

Exactly what data is stored depends, of course, on the analysis tools used. But as a rule, for example, which content you view on our website, which buttons or links you click on, when you call up a page, which browser you use, which device (PC, tablet, smartphone, etc.) you use to visit the website or which computer system you use are stored. If you agreed that location data may also be collected, these may also be processed by the web analysis tool provider.

In addition, your IP address is also stored. According to the General Data Protection Regulation (DSGVO), IP addresses are personal data. However, your IP address is usually stored pseudonymously (i.e. in an unrecognisable and shortened form). For the purpose of testing, web analysis and web optimisation, no direct data, such as your name, age, address or e-mail address, is stored as a matter of principle. All this data, if collected, is stored pseudonymously. 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.

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

Duration of data processing

We will inform you about the duration of data processing below, provided we have further information on this. In general, we only process personal data for as long as is strictly 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.

Right of objection

You also have the right and the possibility to revoke 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 through cookies by managing, deactivating or deleting cookies in your browser.

Legal basis

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

In addition to consent, there is a legitimate interest on our part to analyse the behaviour of website visitors and thus to improve our offer technically and economically. With the help of web analytics, we detect website errors, can identify attacks and improve economic efficiency. The legal basis for this is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO (Legitimate Interests). Nevertheless, we only use the tools if you have given your consent.

Since web analytics tools 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 statements of the respective tools.

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

Google Analytics Privacy Policy

Google Analytics Privacy Policy Summary 👥 Parties concerned: Visitors to the website 🤝 Purpose: Evaluation of visitor information to optimise the web offer. 📓 Data processed: Access statistics, which include data such as locations of accesses, device data, access duration and time, navigation behaviour, click behaviour and IP addresses. More details can be found further down in this privacy policy. 📅 Storage duration: depending on the properties used ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO (Consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO (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 service to your preferences. 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 used to analyse the traffic on our website. In order 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 you take 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 behaviour. These reports may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Target group reports: Through target group reports we 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 analyse and improve our online advertising.
• Acquisition reports: Acquisition reports give us helpful information on how to get more people interested in our service.
• Behavioural reports: This tells us how you interact with our website. We can track the path you take on our site and which links you click on.
• Conversion reports: Conversion is the name given to a process in which you take 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. These reports help us learn more about how our marketing efforts are working for 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 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 evaluated data show us a clear picture of the strengths and weaknesses of our website. On the one hand, we can optimise our site so that it is found more easily by interested people on Google. On the other hand, the data helps us to better understand you as a visitor. We thus 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 in a more individual and cost-effective way. 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 recognises you as a new user. The next time you visit our site, you will be recognised 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 analyse our website with Google Analytics, a property ID must be inserted into the tracking code. The data is then stored in the corresponding property. For each newly created property, the Google Analytics 4 property is standard. Alternatively, you can also create the Universal Analytics property. Depending on the property used, data is stored for different periods 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 you take on our website. If you also use other Google systems (such as a Google Account), data generated through Google Analytics may be linked to third-party cookies. Google does not share Google Analytics data unless we, as the website operator, authorise it. Exceptions may occur if required by law.

The following cookies are used by Google Analytics:

Name: _ga
Value: 2.1326744211.152112461677-5
Intended use: By default, analytics.js uses the cookie _ga to store the user ID. Basically, it is used to distinguish between website visitors.
Expiry date: After 2 years

Name: _gid
Value: 2.1687193234.152112461677-1
Intended use: The cookie is also used to distinguish between website visitors
Expiry date: after 24 hours

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

Name: AMP_TOKEN
Value: no information
Intended use: 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.
Expiry date: after 30 seconds up to one year

Name: __utma
Value: 1564498958.1564498958.1564498958.1
Intended use: This cookie can be used to track your behaviour on the website and measure performance. The cookie is updated every time information is sent to Google Analytics.
Expiry date: After 2 years

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

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

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

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

Name: __utmv
Value: Not specified
Intended use: The cookie is used to store custom user data. It is always updated when information is sent to Google Analytics.
Expiry date: After 2 years

Remark: This list cannot claim to be exhaustive, as Google is constantly changing its choice of cookies.

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

Heatmaps: Google creates so-called heat maps. Heat maps show exactly those areas that you click on. This gives us information about where you are "travelling" on our site.

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

Bounce rate (English: bounce rate): A bounce is when you view only 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 shown 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 called IP location determination.

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

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

Other data include contact details, any ratings, playing media (e.g. when you play a video via our site), sharing content via social media or adding to your favourites. This list does not claim to be complete and only serves as a general orientation of the data storage by Google Analytics.

How long and where is the data stored?

Google has their servers spread all over the world. Most servers are located in America and consequently your data is mostly stored on American servers. You can read exactly where Google's data centres are located here: https://www.google.com/about/datacenters/locations/?hl=de

Your data is distributed on different physical data carriers. This has the advantage that the data can be retrieved more quickly and is better protected against manipulation. In every Google data centre, there are corresponding emergency programmes for your data. If, for example, the hardware at Google fails or natural disasters paralyse servers, the risk of a service interruption at Google still remains low.

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

For Universal Analytics properties, Google Analytics has a default retention period of 26 months for your user data. Then your user data is deleted. However, we have the option to choose the retention period of user data ourselves. Five variants are available to us for this purpose:

• 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 is only deleted when you no longer visit our website within the period we have chosen. 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 is 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 separately from user data. Aggregated data is a merging 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 access, update, delete or restrict your data. You can prevent Google Analytics from using your data by using the browser add-on to deactivate Google Analytics JavaScript (ga.js, analytics.js, dc.js). You can download the browser add-on at https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=de download and install. Please note that this add-on only disables the data collection by Google Analytics.

If you basically want to deactivate, delete or manage cookies, you will find the corresponding links to the respective instructions of the most popular browsers under the section "Cookies".

Legal basis

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

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

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

Google uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46 para. 2 and 3 DSGVO) as the basis for data processing for recipients based in third countries (outside the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, i.e. in particular the USA) or for data transfer there. Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) are templates provided by the EU Commission and are intended to ensure that your data comply with European data protection standards even if they are 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 US. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the corresponding standard contractual clauses here, among other places: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de

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

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

Google Analytics IP anonymisation

We have implemented Google Analytics IP address anonymisation on this website. This feature was developed by Google to enable this website to comply with applicable data protection regulations and recommendations of local data protection authorities when they prohibit storage of the full IP address. The anonymisation or masking of the IP takes place as soon as the IP addresses arrive in the Google Analytics data collection network and before any storage or processing of the data takes place.

You can find more information on IP anonymisation at https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/2763052?hl=de.

Matomo privacy policy

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

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

Social Media Introduction

Social Media Privacy Policy Summary 👥 Parties concerned: Visitors to the website 🤝 Purpose: Presentation and optimisation of our service performance, contact with visitors, interested parties, etc., advertising 📓 Data processed: Data such as telephone numbers, email addresses, contact details, user behaviour 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 DSGVO (Consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO (Legitimate Interests)

What is social media?

In addition to our website, we are also active on various social media platforms. This may involve processing user data 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, when you click on a so-called social button on our website and are directly redirected to our social media presence. So-called social media are websites and apps through which registered members can produce content, share content openly or in specific groups and network with other members.

Why do we use social media?

For years, social media platforms have been the place where people communicate and get in touch online. With our social media presences, we can bring our products and services closer to prospective customers. The social media elements embedded 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 being able to carry out web analyses. The aim of these analyses is to be able to develop more precise and personalised marketing and advertising strategies. Depending on your behaviour on a social media platform, appropriate conclusions can be drawn about your interests with the help of the evaluated data and so-called user profiles can be created. This also enables the platforms to present you with customised advertisements. Cookies are usually set in your browser for this purpose, which store data on your usage behaviour.

We generally assume that we remain responsible under data protection law even if we use 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 of the GDPR. Insofar as this is the case, we point this out separately and work on the basis of an agreement in this regard. 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, data of you may also be processed outside the European Union, as many social media channels, for example Facebook or Twitter, are American companies. This may make it less easy for you to claim or enforce your rights in relation to your personal data.

What data is processed?

Exactly what data is stored and processed depends on the provider of the social media platform. But usually it is data such as phone numbers, email addresses, data 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. Especially if you have a profile on the visited social media channel and are logged in, data can be linked to your profile.

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

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

Duration of data processing

We will inform you about the duration of data processing below, provided we have further information on this. For example, the social media platform Facebook stores data until it is no longer needed for its own purpose. However, customer data that is matched 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 it is required by law, for example in the case of accounting, this storage period can also be exceeded.

Right of objection

You also have the right and the possibility to revoke 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 through cookies by managing, deactivating or deleting cookies in your browser.

Since cookies may be used with social media tools, 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 statements of the respective tools.

Legal basis

If you have consented that data from you can be processed and stored by integrated social media elements, this consent is deemed to be the legal basis of the data processing (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO). In principle, if you have given your consent, your data will also be processed on the basis of our legitimate interest. (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO) We only use these tools if you have given us your consent to do so. 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. That is why we recommend that you read our privacy text on cookies carefully and view the privacy policy or cookie policy of the respective service provider.

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

Facebook privacy policy

Facebook Privacy Policy Summary 👥 Parties concerned: Visitors to the website 🤝 Purpose: Optimisation of our service performance 📓 Data processed: Data such as customer data, user behaviour data, information about your device and your IP address. More details on this can be found below in the privacy policy. 📅 Storage duration: until the data is no longer useful for Facebook's purposes. ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO (Consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO (Legitimate Interests)

What are Facebook tools?

We use selected tools from Facebook on our website. Facebook is a social media network of the company Meta Platforms Inc. or, for the European region, of the company Meta Platforms Ireland Limited, 4 Grand Canal Square, Grand Canal Harbour, Dublin 2, Ireland. With the help of these tools, we can offer you and people who are interested in our products and services the best possible offer.

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

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

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

• Facebook Pixel
• Social plug-ins (such as the "Like" or "Share" button)
• Facebook Login
• Account Kit
• APIs (programming interface)
• SDKs (collection of programming tools)
• Platform integrations
• Plugins
• Codes
• Specifications
• Documentations
• Technologies and services

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

Why do we use Facebook tools on our website?

We only want to show our services and products to people who are really interested in them. With the help of advertisements (Facebook ads), we can reach exactly these people. However, Facebook needs information about people's wishes and needs in order to show them suitable ads. Thus, information about user behaviour (and contact data) on our website is made available to the company. As a result, Facebook collects better user data and can show interested people the right ads about our products or services. The tools thus enable customised advertising campaigns on Facebook.

Facebook calls data about your behaviour on our website "event data". This is also used for measurement and analysis services. This allows Facebook to create "campaign reports" on our behalf about the impact of our advertising campaigns. Furthermore, analytics give us a better insight into how you use our services, website or products. As a result, we use some of these tools to optimise your user experience on our website. For example, social plug-ins allow you to share content on our site directly on Facebook.

What data is stored by Facebook tools?

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

Facebook uses this information to match the data with the data it itself has from you (if you are a Facebook member). Before customer data is transmitted to Facebook, a so-called "hashing" takes place. This means that a data record of any size is transformed into a string of characters. This also serves to encrypt data.

In addition to contact details, "event data" is also transmitted. Event data" refers to the information that we receive about you on our website. For example, which sub-pages you visit or which products you buy from us. Facebook does not share the information it receives with third parties (such as advertisers) unless it has explicit permission or is legally required to do so. "Event data" can also be linked to contact details. This allows Facebook to offer better personalised advertising. After the matching process already mentioned, Facebook deletes the contact data again.

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

How long and where is the data stored?

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

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

In accordance with the Basic Data Protection Regulation, you have the right to information, correction, transferability and deletion of your data.

A complete deletion of the data only takes place if you delete your Facebook account completely. And this is how deleting your Facebook account works:

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

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

3) Now click "Deactivation and deletion".

4) Now select "Delete account" and then click on "Continue and delete account".

5) Now enter your password, click on "Next" and then on "Delete account".

The storage of data that Facebook receives via our site takes place, among other things, via cookies (e.g. for social plugins). In your browser, you can deactivate, delete or manage individual or all cookies. Depending on which browser you use, this works in different ways. Under the section "Cookies" you will find the corresponding links to the respective instructions of the most popular browsers.

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

Legal basis

If you have consented that data from you can be processed and stored by integrated Facebook tools, this consent is deemed to be the legal basis of the data processing (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO). In principle, your data will also be used on the basis of our legitimate interest (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO) The tools are stored and processed for the purpose of fast and good communication with you or other customers and business partners. 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. That is why we recommend that you read our privacy text on cookies carefully and view Facebook's privacy policy or cookie policy.

Facebook also processes data from you in the USA, among other places. We would like to point out that according to the opinion of the European Court of Justice, there is currently no adequate level of protection for the transfer of data to the USA. This may be associated with various risks for the legality and security of data processing.

Facebook uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46 para. 2 and 3 DSGVO) 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 there. Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) are templates provided by the EU Commission and are intended to ensure that your data comply with European data protection standards even if they are transferred to third countries (such as the USA) and stored there. Through these clauses, Facebook 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 US. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the corresponding standard contractual clauses here, among other places: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de

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

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

Facebook Login Privacy Policy

We have integrated the practical Facebook login on our site. This allows you to easily log in to our site with your Facebook account without having to create another user account. If you decide to register via the Facebook login, you will be redirected to the social media network Facebook. There, the registration takes place via your Facebook user data. Through this login procedure, data about you or your user behaviour is stored and transmitted to Facebook.

In order to store the data, Facebook uses various cookies. In the following, we show you the most important cookies that are set in your browser or already exist when you log in to our site via the Facebook login:

Name: fr
Value: 0jieyh4c2GnlufEJ9..Bde09j...1.0.Bde09j
Intended use: This cookie is used to ensure that the social plugin on our website works as well as possible.
Expiry date: After 3 months

Name: datr
Value: 4Jh7XUA2112461677SEmPsSfzCOO4JFFl
Intended use: Facebook sets the "datr" cookie when a web browser accesses facebook.com, and the cookie helps identify login activity and protect users.
Expiry date: After 2 years

Name: _js_datr
Value: deleted
Intended use: This session cookie is set by Facebook for tracking purposes, even if you do not have a Facebook account or are logged out.
Expiry date: after the close of the meeting

Remark: The cookies listed are only a small selection of the cookies available to Facebook. Other cookies are, for example, _ fbp, sb or wd. A complete list is not possible, as Facebook has a large number of cookies and uses them variably.

On the one hand, the Facebook login offers you a quick and easy registration process, on the other hand it gives us the opportunity to share data with Facebook. This allows us to better tailor our offer and promotions to your interests and needs. Data that we receive from Facebook in this way is public data such as

• Your Facebook name
• Your profile picture
• a deposited e-mail address
• Friends lists
• Button information (e.g. "Like" button)
• Birthday date
• Language
• Residence

In return, we provide Facebook with information about your activities on our website. This includes information about the device you are using, which of our sub-pages you visit or which products you have purchased from us.

By using Facebook Login, you consent to the data processing. You can revoke this agreement at any time. If you would like to find out more information about data processing by Facebook, we recommend that you read the Facebook privacy statement at https://www.facebook.com/policy.php?tid=112461677.

Provided you are logged in to Facebook, you can change your settings for advertisements under https://www.facebook.com/adpreferences/advertisers/?entry_product=ad_settings_screen change itself.

Facebook Social Plug-ins Privacy Policy

So-called social plug-ins from the company Meta Platforms Inc. are installed on our website. You can recognise these buttons by the classic Facebook logo, such as the "Like" button (the hand with raised thumb) or by a clear "Facebook Plug-in" marking. A social plug-in is a small part of Facebook that is integrated into our site. Each plug-in has its own function. The most commonly used functions are the well-known "Like" and "Share" buttons.

The following social plug-ins are offered by Facebook:

• "Save" button
• "Like" button, share, send and quote
• Page plug-in
• Comments
• Messenger plug-in
• Embedded posts and video player
• Group plug-in

At https://developers.facebook.com/docs/plugins you will find more detailed information on how the individual plug-ins are used. We use the social plug-ins on the one hand to offer you a better user experience on our site, and on the other hand because Facebook can optimise our advertisements through them.

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

The information obtained is deleted or anonymised again within 90 days. According to Facebook, this data includes your IP address, which website you visited, the date, the time and other information concerning your browser.

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

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

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

Name: dpr
Value: Not specified
Intended use: This cookie is used to enable the social plug-ins on our website to work.
Expiry date: after the close of the meeting

Name: fr
Value: 0jieyh4112461677c2GnlufEJ9..Bde09j…1.0.Bde09j
Intended use: The cookie is also necessary for the plug-ins to function properly.
Expiry date:: After 3 months

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

Provided you are logged in to Facebook, you can change your settings for advertisements under https://www.facebook.com/adpreferences/advertisers/ change it yourself. If you are not a Facebook user, you can click on https://www.youronlinechoices.com/de/praferenzmanagement/?tid=112461677 basically manage your usage-based online advertising. There you have the option to deactivate or activate providers.

If you want to learn more about Facebook's privacy policy, we recommend you read the company's own data policy on https://www.facebook.com/policy.php?tip=112461677.

Instagram privacy policy

Instagram Privacy Policy Summary 👥 Parties concerned: Visitors to the website 🤝 Purpose: Optimisation of our service performance 📓 Data processed: Data such as user behaviour data, information about your device and your IP address. More details on this can be found below in the privacy policy. 📅 Storage period: until Instagram no longer needs the data for their purposes. ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO (Consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO (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 part of the Facebook products. Embedding Instagram content on our website is called embedding. This allows us to show you content such as buttons, photos or videos from Instagram directly on our website. When you call up 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 thus processed across all Facebook companies.

In the following, we would like to give you a more detailed insight into why Instagram collects data, what data it is and how you can largely control the data processing. As Instagram belongs to Meta Platforms Inc., we obtain our information on the one hand from the Instagram guidelines, but on the other hand also from the Meta data protection guidelines themselves.

Instagram is one of the most popular social media networks worldwide. Instagram combines the advantages of a blog with the advantages of audiovisual platforms like YouTube or Vimeo. You can upload photos and short videos on "Insta" (as many of the users casually call the platform), edit them with various filters and also distribute 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 reacted 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. Through the embedded Instagram features, we can enrich our content with helpful, funny or exciting content from the Instagram world. Since Instagram is a subsidiary of Facebook, the data collected can also be useful to us for personalised advertising on Facebook. This way, only people who are really interested in our products or services receive our ads.

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

What data is stored by Instagram?

If you come across one of our pages that have Instagram features (such as Instagram images or plug-ins) built in, your browser automatically connects to Instagram's servers. In the process, data is sent to Instagram, stored and processed. And this is regardless of whether you have an Instagram account or not. This includes information about our website, about your computer, about purchases you have made, about advertisements you see and how you use our offer. Furthermore, the date and time of your interaction with Instagram is 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 are, for example, name, address, telephone number and IP address. This customer data is only transmitted to Instagram if it has been "hashed" beforehand. Hashing means that a data record is transformed into a character string. This makes it possible to encrypt the contact data. In addition, the above-mentioned "event data" is also transmitted. By "event data" Facebook - and consequently also Instagram - understands data about your user behaviour. It may also happen that contact data is 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 data processing on Instagram works the same way as on Facebook. This means: if you have an Instagram account or www.instagram.com Instagram has set at least one cookie. If this is the case, your browser sends information to Instagram via the cookie as soon as you come into contact with an Instagram function. After 90 days at the latest (after matching), this data is deleted again or anonymised. Although we have intensively studied Instagram's data processing, we cannot say exactly what data Instagram collects and stores.

In the following, we show you cookies that are set in your browser at least 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 are set in your browser, of course.

These cookies were used in our test:

Name: csrftoken
Value: ""
Intended use: This cookie is most likely set for security reasons to prevent falsification of requests. However, we were not able to find out more about this.
Expiry date: After one year

Name: mid
Value: ""
Intended use: Instagram sets this cookie to optimise its own services and offers on and off Instagram. The cookie sets a unique user ID.
Expiry date: after the end of the meeting

Name: fbsr_112461677124024
Value: no information
Intended use: This cookie stores the log-in request for users of the Instagram app.
Expiry date: after the end of the meeting

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

Name: url
Value: “{”194.96.75.33”: 1901}:1iEtYv:Y833k2_UjKvXgYe112461677”
Intended use: This cookie is used for Instagram's marketing purposes.
Expiry date: after the end of the meeting

Remark: We cannot make any claim to 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 it receives between Facebook companies with external partners and with people you connect with around the world. The data processing is carried out in compliance with its own data policy. Your data is distributed on Facebook servers around the world, partly for security reasons. Most of these servers are located in the USA.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

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

And this is how deleting the Instagram account works:

First open the Instagram app. On your profile page, go down and click on "Help section". Now you will come to the company's website. On the website, click on "Manage your account" and then on "Delete your account".

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

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

You can also basically 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 that data from you can be processed and stored by integrated social media elements, this consent is deemed to be the legal basis of the data processing (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO). In principle, your data will also be used on the basis of our legitimate interest (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO) The data is stored and processed for the purpose of 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. Therefore, we recommend that you read our data protection text on cookies carefully and view the data protection declaration or cookie policy of the respective service provider.

Instagram and Facebook also process data in the USA, among other places. We would like to point out that according to the opinion of the European Court of Justice, there is currently no adequate level of protection for the transfer of data to the USA. This may be associated with 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 DSGVO) 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 a data transfer there. 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, among other places: https://germany.representation.ec.europa.eu/index_de.

We have tried to bring you closer to the most important information about Instagram's data processing. At https://help.instagram.com/519522125107875
you can take a closer look at Instagram's data policies.

Cookie Consent Management Platform Introduction

Cookie Consent Management Platform Summary 👥 Parties concerned: Website visitors 🤝 Purpose: obtaining and managing consent for certain cookies and thus the use of certain tools. 📓 Data processed: Data used to manage the cookie settings set, such as IP address, time of consent, type of consent, individual consents. You can find more details on this with the tool used in each case. Storage duration: Depends on the tool used, you have to be prepared for periods of several years. ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO (consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit.f DSGVO (legitimate interests)

What is a Cookie Consent Management Platform?

We use Consent Management Platform (CMP) software on our website to help us and you deal correctly and safely with scripts and cookies in use. The software automatically creates a cookie pop-up, scans and checks all scripts and cookies, provides cookie consent for you as required by data protection law and helps us and you to keep track of all cookies. With most cookie consent management tools, all existing cookies are identified and categorised. You as a website visitor then decide yourself whether and which scripts and cookies you allow or do not allow. The following graphic illustrates the relationship between browser, web server and CMP.

Why do we use a cookie management tool?

Our goal is to offer you the best possible transparency in the area of data protection. In addition, we are also legally obliged to do so. We want to inform you as well as possible about all tools and all cookies that can store and process data from you. 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 ended up 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 DSGVO-compliant information about them. You can then accept or reject cookies via the consent system.

What data is processed?

Within the framework 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 query you each time you visit our website again and we can also prove your consent if required by law. This is stored either in an opt-in cookie or on a server. Depending on the provider of the cookie management tool, the storage period of your cookie consent varies. 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, provided we have further information on this. In general, we only process personal data for as long as is strictly 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 already deleted after you leave the website, others may be stored in your browser for several years. The exact duration of data processing depends on the tool used, but in most cases you should be prepared for a storage period of several years. In the respective data protection declarations of the individual providers, you will usually receive precise information about the duration of data processing.

Right of objection

You also have the right and the possibility to revoke 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 through 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 agree to cookies, personal data about you will be processed and stored via these cookies. If we receive personal data from you through your Consent (Article 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO) may use cookies, this consent is also the legal basis for the use of cookies or the processing of your data. In order to be able to manage the consent to cookies and to enable you to give your consent, cookie consent management platform software is used. The use of this software enables us to efficiently operate the website in a legally compliant manner, which is a legitimate interest (Article 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO).

BorlabsCookie Privacy Policy

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

Audio & Video Introduction

Audio & Video Privacy Policy Summary 👥 Parties concerned: Visitors to the website 🤝 Purpose: Optimisation of our service performance 📓 Data processed: Data such as contact details, user behaviour data, information about your device and your IP address may be stored. More details on this can be found below in the relevant data protection texts. 📅 Duration of storage: Data remain stored as long as they are necessary for the purpose of the service. ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO (Consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO (Legitimate Interests)

What are audio and video elements?

We have included audio or video elements on our website so that you can watch videos or listen to music/podcasts directly via our website. The content is provided by service providers. All content is therefore also obtained from the corresponding servers of the providers.

These are embedded functional elements of platforms such as YouTube, Vimeo or Spotify. The use of these portals is usually free of charge, but paid content can also be published. With the help of these embedded elements, you can listen to or view the respective content via our website.

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

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

Of course we want to provide you with the best offer on our website. And we are aware that content is no longer conveyed merely in text and static images. Instead of just giving you a link to a video, we offer you audio and video formats directly on our website that are entertaining or informative and ideally even both. This enhances our service and makes it easier for you to access interesting content. Thus, in addition to our texts and images, we also offer video and/or audio content.

What data is stored by audio & video elements?

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

Duration of data processing

You can find out exactly how long the data is stored on the servers of the third-party providers either below in the data protection text of the respective tool or in the privacy policy of the provider. In principle, personal data is only processed for as long as is absolutely necessary for the provision of our services or products. As a rule, this also applies to third-party providers. In most cases, you can assume that certain data will be stored on the servers of third-party providers for several years. Data can be stored for different lengths of time specifically in cookies. Some cookies are deleted as soon as you leave the website, others can be stored in your browser for several years.

Right of objection

You also have the right and the possibility to revoke 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 through cookies by managing, deactivating or deleting cookies in your browser. The lawfulness of the processing remains unaffected until the revocation.

Since the integrated audio and video functions on our site usually also use cookies, you should also read our general privacy policy on cookies. You can find out more about the handling and storage of your data in the data protection statements of the respective third-party providers.

Legal basis

If you have consented that data from you can be processed and stored by integrated audio and video elements, this consent is deemed to be the legal basis of the data processing (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO). In principle, your data will also be used on the basis of our legitimate interest (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO) The data is stored and processed for the purpose of fast and good communication with you or other customers and business partners. Nevertheless, we only use the integrated audio and video elements if you have given your consent.

YouTube privacy policy

YouTube Privacy Policy Summary 👥 Parties concerned: Visitors to the website 🤝 Purpose: Optimisation of our service performance 📓 Data processed: Data such as contact details, user behaviour data, information about your device and your IP address may be stored. More details can be found below in this privacy policy. 📅 Duration of storage: Data remain stored as long as they are necessary for the purpose of the service. ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO (Consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO (Legitimate Interests)

What is YouTube?

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

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

On YouTube, users can watch, rate, comment and upload videos for free. Over the last few years, YouTube has become one of the most important social media channels worldwide. In order for us to be able to display videos on our website, YouTube provides a code snippet that we have incorporated on our site.

Why do we use YouTube videos on our website?

YouTube is the video platform with the most visitors and the best content. We strive to offer you the best possible user experience on our website. And of course, we can't do without interesting videos. With the help of our embedded videos, we provide you with further helpful content in addition to our texts and images. In addition, the embedded videos make our website easier to find on the Google search engine. Also, when we run ads via Google Ads, Google can - thanks to the collected data - really only show these ads to people who are interested in what we have to offer.

What data is stored by YouTube?

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

If you are not signed in to a Google Account or YouTube account, Google stores data with a unique identifier associated with your device, browser or app. For example, your preferred language setting is retained. But a lot of interaction data can't be stored because fewer cookies are set.

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

Name: YSC
Value: b9-CV6ojI5Y112461677-1
Intended use: This cookie registers a unique ID to store statistics of the video watched.
Expiry date: after the close of the meeting

Name: PREF
Value: f1=50000000
Intended use: This cookie also registers your unique ID. Google gets statistics about how you use YouTube videos on our website via PREF.
Expiry date: After 8 months

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

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

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

Name: APISID
Value: zILlvClZSkqGsSwI/AU1aZI6HY7112461677-
Intended use: This cookie is used to create a profile of your interests. The data is used for personalised advertisements.
Expiry date: After 2 years

Name: CONSENT
Value: YES+AT.de+20150628-20-0
Intended use: The cookie stores the status of a user's consent to use various Google services. CONSENT is also used for security purposes to verify users and protect user data from unauthorised attacks.
Expiry date: after 19 years

Name: HSID
Value: AcRwpgUik9Dveht0I
Intended use: This cookie is used to create a profile about your interests. This data helps us to display personalised advertising.
Expiry date: After 2 years

Name: LOGIN_INFO
Value: AFmmF2swRQIhALl6aL...
Intended use: Information about your login data is stored in this cookie.
Expiry date: After 2 years

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

Name: SID
Value: oQfNKjAsI112461677-
Intended use: This cookie stores your Google Account ID and your last login time in digitally signed and encrypted form.
Expiry date: After 2 years

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

How long and where is the data stored?

The data that YouTube receives from you and processes is stored on Google servers. Most of these servers are located in America. At https://www.google.com/about/datacenters/locations/?hl=de you can see exactly where the Google data centres are located. Your data is distributed across the servers. This means that the data can be accessed more quickly and is better protected against manipulation.

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

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

In principle, you can delete data in the Google Account manually. With the automatic deletion function of location and activity data introduced in 2019, information is stored depending on your decision - either 3 or 18 months and then deleted.

Regardless of whether you have a Google account or not, you can configure your browser to delete or disable cookies from Google. Depending on which browser you use, this works in different ways. Under the section "Cookies" you will find the corresponding links to the respective instructions of the most popular browsers.

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

Legal basis

If you have consented that data from you can be processed and stored through embedded YouTube elements, this consent shall be deemed the legal basis for the data processing (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO). In principle, your data will also be used on the basis of our legitimate interest (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO) This data is stored and processed for the purpose of fast and good communication with you or other customers and business partners. Nevertheless, we only use the embedded YouTube elements if you have given your consent. YouTube also sets cookies in your browser to store data. We therefore recommend that you read our data protection text on cookies carefully and view the data protection declaration or cookie guidelines of the respective service provider.

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

YouTube uses standard contractual clauses approved by the EU Commission (= Art. 46. para. 2 and 3 DSGVO) 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 a data transfer there. These clauses oblige YouTube 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, among other places: https://germany.representation.ec.europa.eu/index_de.

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

Explanation of terms used

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

Supervisory authority

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation, the term:

"Supervisory Authority" an independent public body established by a Member State in accordance with Article 51;

Explanation: "Supervisory authorities" are always governmental, independent institutions that are also authorised to issue instructions in certain cases. They serve to carry out so-called state supervision and are located in ministries, special departments or other authorities. For data protection in Austria, there is an Austrian Data protection authority, for Germany there is a separate data protection authority for each federal state.

Processor

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation, the term:

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

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

Supervisory authority concerned

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation, the term:

"supervisory authority concerned" a supervisory authority concerned by the processing of personal data because

a)

the controller or processor is established in the territory of the Member State of that supervisory authority,

b)

that processing has or is likely to have a significant impact on data subjects residing in the Member State of that supervisory authority; or

c)

a complaint has been filed with this supervisory authority;

Explanation: In Germany, each federal state has its own supervisory authority for data protection. So if your company headquarters (main office) is in Germany, the respective supervisory authority of the federal state is generally your contact. In Austria there is only one for the whole country Supervisory authority for data protection.

Biometric data

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation, the term:

"biometric data" personal data, obtained by means of special technical procedures, relating to the physical, physiological or behavioural characteristics of a natural person, which enable or confirm the unique identification of that natural person, such as facial images or dactyloscopic data;

Explanation: It is biological characteristics that are described by biometric data and from which personal data can be obtained with the help of technical procedures. These include DNA, fingerprints, the geometry of various body parts, body size, but also handwriting or the sound of a voice.

File system

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation, the term:

"File System" any structured collection of personal data accessible according to specified criteria, whether such collection is maintained centrally, decentrally or according to functional or geographical criteria;

Explanation: Any organised storage of data on a computer's data carrier is called a "file system". For example, if we store your name and email address on a server for our newsletter, then this data is located in a so-called "file system". The most important tasks of a "file system" include the fast searching and finding of specific data and, of course, the secure storage of the data.

Information Society Service

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation, the term:

"Information Society Service a service within the meaning of Article 1(1)(b) of Directive (EU) 2015/1535 of the European Parliament and of the Council (19);

Explanation: Basically, the term "information society" refers to a society based on information and communication technologies. Especially as a website visitor, you are familiar with all kinds of online services and most online services belong to "information society services". A classic example is an online transaction, such as buying goods over the internet.

Third

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation, the term:

"Third" a natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body, other than the data subject, the controller, the processor and the persons authorised to process the personal data under the direct responsibility of the controller or the processor;

Explanation: The GDPR basically only explains what a "third party" is not. In practice, a "third party" is anyone who also has an interest in the personal data but is not one of the persons, authorities or entities mentioned above. For example, a parent company may act as a "third party". In this case, the subsidiary group is the controller and the parent group is a "third party". However, this does not mean that the parent company is automatically allowed to view, collect or store the personal data of the subsidiary company.

Restriction of processing

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation, the term:

"Restriction of processing" the marking of stored personal data with the aim of restricting their future processing;

Explanation: One of your rights is that you can ask processors to restrict your personal data for further processing at any time. This is done by marking specific personal data, such as your name, date of birth or address, so that it can no longer be processed in full. For example, you could restrict the processing so that your data can no longer be used for personalised advertising.

Consent

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation, the term:

"Consent" any freely given specific, informed and unambiguous indication of the data subject's wishes in the form of a statement or other unambiguous affirmative act by which the data subject signifies his or her agreement to personal data relating to him or her being processed;

Explanation: As a rule, such consent is given on websites via a cookie consent tool. You are probably familiar with this. Whenever you visit a website for the first time, you are usually asked via a banner whether you agree or consent to data processing. In most cases, you can also make individual settings and thus decide for yourself which data processing you allow and which you do not. If you do not consent, no personal data of yours may be processed. In principle, consent can of course also be given in writing, i.e. not via a tool.

Receiver

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation, the term:

"Receiver" a natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body to whom personal data are disclosed, whether or not a third party. However, public authorities that may receive personal data in the context of a specific investigation mandate under Union or Member State law shall not be considered as recipients and the processing of such data by those authorities shall be carried out in accordance with the applicable data protection rules, in accordance with the purposes of the processing;

Explanation: Every person and every company that receives personal data is considered a recipient. Thus, we and our processors are also so-called recipients. Only authorities that have a mandate to investigate are not considered recipients.

Relevant and reasoned objection

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation, the term:

"authoritative and reasoned objection". an objection to a draft decision as to whether there is a breach of this Regulation or whether intended measures against the controller or processor are in compliance with this Regulation, clearly indicating the scope of the risks posed by the draft decision in relation to the fundamental rights and freedoms of data subjects and, where applicable, the free flow of personal data within the Union;

Explanation: If certain measures taken by us as data controllers or by our processors are not in compliance with the GDPR, you can raise a so-called "relevant and reasoned objection". In doing so, you must explain the scope of the risks to your fundamental rights and freedoms and possibly to the free flow of your personal data in the EU.

Personal data

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation, the term:

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

Explanation: Personal data is therefore all data that can identify you as a person. This is usually data such as:

• Name
• Address
• E-mail address
• Postal address
• Telephone number
• Date of birth
• Identification numbers such as national insurance number, tax identification number, identity card number or matriculation number
• Bank data such as account number, credit information, account balances, etc.

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

• racial and ethnic origin
• political opinions
• Religious or ideological convictions
• the trade union affiliation
• Genetic data such as data taken from blood or saliva samples
• biometric data (this is information on mental, physical or behavioural characteristics that can identify a person).
  Health data
• Data on sexual orientation or sexual life

Profiling

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation, the term:

"Profiling" any automated processing of personal data which consists in using such personal data to evaluate certain personal aspects relating to a natural person, in particular to analyse or predict aspects relating to that natural person's performance at work, economic situation, health, personal preferences, interests, reliability, behaviour, location or change of location;

Explanation: Profiling involves gathering various pieces of information about a person in order to learn more about that person. In the web sector, profiling is often used for advertising purposes or for credit checks. Web or advertising analysis programmes, for example, collect data about your behaviour and interests on a website. This results in a special user profile that can be used to target advertising to a specific group.

Pseudonymisation

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation, the term:

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

Explanation: Our data protection statement often refers to pseudonymised data. With pseudonymised data, you can no longer be identified as a person, unless other information is added. However, you should not confuse pseudonymisation with anonymisation. Anonymisation removes any reference to a person, so that this can really only be reconstructed with a disproportionately large technical effort.

Company

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation, the term:

"Company" a natural and legal person engaged in an economic activity, regardless of its legal form, including partnerships or associations regularly engaged in an economic activity;

Explanation: For example, we are a company and also carry out an economic activity via our website by offering and selling services and/or products. For every company, there is the formal characteristic of a legal entity such as a GmbH (limited liability company) or AG (public limited company).

Responsible

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation, the term:

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

Explanation: In our case, we are responsible for the processing of your personal data and consequently the "controller". If we pass on collected data to other service providers for processing, they are "processors". This requires the signing of a "contract for processing" (AVV).

Processing

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation, the term:

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

Remark: When we talk about processing in our privacy statement, we mean any kind of data processing. This includes, as mentioned above in the original GDPR declaration, not only the collection but also the storage and processing of data.

Binding internal data protection regulations

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation, the term:

"binding internal data protection rules" measures for the protection of personal data with which a controller or processor established in the territory of a Member State undertakes to comply in respect of data transfers or a set of data transfers of personal data to a controller or processor of the same group of undertakings or of the same group of undertakings engaged in a joint economic activity in one or more third countries;

Explanation: You may have heard or read the term "Binding Corporate Rules" more than once. Because this is the term that mostly appears when it comes to binding internal data protection rules. Especially for companies (such as Google) that process data in third countries, it is advisable to have such an internal rule by which a company commits itself, so to speak, to comply with data protection regulations. This regulation governs the handling of personal data that is transferred to and processed in third countries.

Violation of the protection of personal data

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation, the term:

"Violation of the protection of personal data". a breach of security resulting in the destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure of or access to personal data transmitted, stored or otherwise processed, whether accidental or unlawful;

Explanation: For example, a "personal data breach" may occur in the event of a data leak, i.e. a technical problem or a cyber-attack. If the breach leads to a risk to the rights and freedoms of natural persons, the controller must immediately report the incident to the competent supervisory authority. In addition, data subjects must also be informed if the breach poses a high risk to the rights and freedoms of natural persons.

Representative

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation, the term:

"Representative" a natural or legal person established in the Union who has been appointed in writing by the controller or processor in accordance with Article 27 and represents the controller or processor in relation to their respective obligations under this Regulation;

Explanation: A "representative" can therefore be any person appointed in writing by us (controller) or one of our service providers (processor). Companies outside the EU that process data of EU citizens must specify a representative within the EU. For example, if a web analytics provider has its main office in the US, it must appoint a "representative" within the European Union to represent the data processing obligations.

Closing words

Congratulations! If you are reading these lines, you have really "fought" your way through our entire data protection statement, or at least scrolled this far. As you can see from the scope of our privacy policy, we take the protection of your personal data anything but lightly.
It is important to us to inform you to the best of our knowledge and belief about the processing of personal data. However, we do not only want to tell you what data is processed, but also explain the reasons for the use of various software programmes. As a rule, data protection statements sound very technical and legalistic. However, since most of you are not web developers or lawyers, we also wanted to take a different linguistic approach and explain the facts in simple and clear language. Of course, this is not always possible due to the subject matter. Therefore, the most important terms are explained in more detail at the end of the privacy policy.
If you have any questions about data protection on our website, please do not hesitate to contact us or the responsible office. We wish you a good time and hope to see you on our website again soon.

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Source: Created with the Data protection generator from AdSimple