Privacy policy

Version: 09.04.2021

Data protection

We have prepared this privacy policy (version 09.04.2021-111715610) to explain to you, in accordance with the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679, what information we collect, how we use data and what choices you have as a visitor to this website.

Data protection declarations usually sound very technical. This version, however, is intended to describe the most important things as simply and clearly as possible. As far as possible, technical terms are explained in a reader-friendly way. We also want to make it clear that we only collect and use information on this website if there is a legal basis for doing so. This is certainly not possible by providing the most concise, technical explanations possible, as is often standard on the Internet when it comes to data protection. I hope you find the following explanations interesting and informative and perhaps there is one or two pieces of information that you did not yet know.

If you still have questions, we would like to ask you to follow the links provided and look at further information on third-party sites, or simply send us an e-mail. You will find our contact details in the imprint.

Automatic data storage

Nowadays, when you visit websites, certain information is automatically created and stored, including on this website. This data should be collected as sparingly as possible and only with justification. By website, we mean the entirety of all web pages on your domain, i.e. everything from the start page (homepage) to the very last subpage (like this one). By domain we mean, for example, example.de or example.com.

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

• the complete Internet address (URL) of the website accessed (e.g. https://www.examplewebsite.de/examplesubpage.html/)
• 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.html/)
• the host name and IP address of the device from which access is made (e.g. COMPUTERNAME and 194.23.43.121)
• date and time

in files, the so-called web server log files.

For illustration:

As a rule, these files are stored for a fortnight and then automatically deleted. We do not pass this data on, but we cannot rule out the possibility of this data being viewed by the authorities in the event of unlawful behaviour.

In short: Your visit is logged by our provider (company that runs our website on special computers (servers)), but we do not pass on your data!

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.

What exactly are Cookies?

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

One thing cannot be denied: Cookies are really useful little helpers. Almost all websites use cookies. More precisely, they are HTTP cookies, as there are also other cookies for other areas of application. HTTP cookies are small files that are stored on your computer by our website. These cookie files are automatically stored in the cookie folder, the "brain" of your browser, so to speak. A cookie consists of a name and a value. When defining a cookie, one or more attributes must also be specified.

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

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

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

Cookie data can look like this, for example:

A browser should be able to support these minimum sizes:

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

What types of cookies are there?

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

A distinction can be made between 4 types of cookies:

Essential cookies
These cookies are necessary to ensure basic website functions. For example, these cookies are needed when a user places a product in the shopping basket, then continues surfing on other pages and only goes to the checkout later. These cookies ensure that the shopping basket is not deleted even if the user closes their browser window.

Functional Cookies
These cookies collect information about user behaviour and whether the user receives any error messages. These cookies are also used to measure the loading time and the behaviour of the website with different browsers.

Goal oriented cookies
These cookies ensure better user-friendliness. For example, entered locations, font sizes or form data are saved.

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

When you visit a website for the first time, you are usually asked which of these types of cookie you would like to allow. And of course this decision is also saved in a cookie.

How can I delete cookies?

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

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

• Chrome: Delete, activate and manage cookies in Chrome
• Safari: Manage cookies and website data with Safari
• Firefox: Delete cookies to remove data that websites have stored on your computer
• Internet Explorer: Delete and manage cookies
• Microsoft Edge: Delete and manage cookies

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

What about my data protection?

The so-called "cookie guidelines" have been in place since 2009. These state that you must give your consent for cookies to be saved. However, there are still very different reactions to these directives within the EU countries. In Austria, however, this directive has been implemented in Section 96 (3) of the Telecommunications Act (TKG). In Germany, the cookie directives have not been implemented as national law. Instead, this directive was largely implemented in Section 15 (3) of the Telemedia Act (TMG).

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

Storage of personal data

Personal data that you transmit to us electronically on this website, such as your name, e-mail address, address or other personal details when submitting a form or comments on the blog, will only be used by us, together with the time and IP address, for the purpose stated in each case, stored securely and not passed on to third parties.

We therefore only use your personal data to communicate with those visitors who expressly request contact and to process the services and products offered on this website. We do not pass on your personal data without your consent, but we cannot rule out the possibility of this data being viewed in the event of unlawful behaviour.

If you send us personal data by e-mail - i.e. outside of this website - we cannot guarantee the secure transmission and protection of your data. We recommend that you never send confidential data unencrypted by e-mail.

Rights under the General Data Protection Regulation

According to the provisions of the GDPR, you have the following rights:

• Right to rectification (Article 16 GDPR)
• Right to erasure ("right to be forgotten") (Article 17 GDPR)
• Right to restriction of processing (Article 18 GDPR)
• Right to notification - notification obligation in connection with the rectification or erasure of personal data or the restriction of processing (Article 19 GDPR)
• Right to data portability (Article 20 GDPR)
• Right to object (Article 21 GDPR)
• Right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing, including profiling (Article 22 GDPR)

TLS encryption with https

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

Google Analytics privacy policy

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 enable us to better customise our website and our service to your wishes. In the following, we will go into more detail about the tracking tool and inform you in particular about what data is stored and how you can prevent this.

What is Google Analytics?

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

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

• Target group reports: Target group reports allow us to get to know our users better and know more precisely who is interested in our service.
• Ad reports: Ad reports make it easier for us to analyse and improve our online advertising.
• Acquisition reports: Acquisition reports provide us with helpful information on how we can get more people interested in our service.
• Behavioural reports: This tells us how you interact with our website. We can see which path you take on our site and which links you click on.
• Conversion reports: Conversion is a process in which you perform a desired action as a result of a marketing message. For example, when you convert from a mere website visitor to a buyer or newsletter subscriber. With the help of these reports, we learn more about how our marketing measures are received by you. This is how we want to increase our conversion rate.
• Real-time reports: Here we always know immediately what is happening on our website. For example, we can see how many users are currently reading this text.

Why do we use Google Analytics on our website?

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

The statistically analysed data gives us a clear picture of the strengths and weaknesses of our website. On the one hand, we can optimise our site so that it can be found more easily by interested people on Google. On the other hand, the data helps us to better understand you as a visitor. We therefore know exactly what we need to improve on our website in order to offer you the best possible service. The data also helps us to carry out our advertising and marketing measures more individually and cost-effectively. After all, it only makes sense to show our products and services to people who are interested in them.

What data is stored by Google Analytics?

Google Analytics uses a tracking code to create a random, unique ID that is linked to your browser cookie. This is how Google Analytics 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 analyse 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. The Google Analytics 4 property is standard for every newly created property. Alternatively, you can also create the Universal Analytics property. Depending on the property used, data is stored for different lengths of time.

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

The following cookies are used by Google Analytics:

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

Here is an overview of the most important data collected by Google Analytics:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

How long and where is the data stored?

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

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

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

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

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

In addition, there is also the option that data will only be deleted if you no longer visit our website within the period of time selected by us. In this case, the retention period is reset each time you visit our website again within the specified period.

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

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

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

If you generally want to deactivate, delete or manage cookies (independently of Google Analytics), there are separate instructions for each browser:

• Chrome: Cookies in Chrome löschen, aktivieren und verwalten
• Safari: Verwalten von Cookies und Websitedaten mit Safari
• Firefox: Cookies löschen, um Daten zu entfernen, die Websites auf Ihrem Computer abgelegt haben
• Internet Explorer: Löschen und Verwalten von Cookies
• Microsoft Edge: Löschen und Verwalten von Cookies

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

We hope we have been able to provide you with the most important information about data processing by Google Analytics. If you would like to find out more about the tracking service, we recommend these two links: http://www.google.com/analytics/terms/de.html and https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/6004245?hl=de.

Google Tag Manager privacy policy

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

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

What is Google Tag Manager?

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

Why do we use Google Tag Manager for our website?

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

What data is stored by Google Tag Manager?

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

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

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

How long and where is the data stored?

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

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

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

The Google Tag Manager itself does not set cookies, but manages tags from various tracking websites. In our data protection texts for the individual tracking tools, you will find detailed information on how you can delete or manage your data.

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

If you would like to find out more about Google Tag Manager, we recommend the FAQs at https://www.google.com/intl/de/tagmanager/faq.html.

Google Ads (Google AdWords) Conversion Tracking Privacy Policy

We use Google Ads (formerly Google AdWords) as an online marketing measure to advertise our products and services. In this way, we want to make more people aware of the high quality of our offers on the Internet. As part of our advertising measures through Google Ads, we use conversion tracking from Google Inc. on our website. In Europe, however, Google Ireland Limited (Gordon House, Barrow Street Dublin 4, Ireland) is responsible for all Google services. With the help of this free tracking tool, we can better adapt our advertising offer to your interests and needs. In the following article, we will go into more detail about why we use conversion tracking, what data is stored and how you can prevent this data storage.

What is Google Ads conversion tracking?

Google Ads (formerly Google AdWords) is the in-house online advertising system of Google Inc. We are convinced of the quality of our offer and want as many people as possible to get to know our website. In the online sector, Google Ads offers the best platform for this. Of course, we also want to gain a precise overview of the cost-benefit factor of our advertising campaigns. That's why we use the Google Ads conversion tracking tool.

But what exactly is a conversion? A conversion occurs when you go from being a purely interested website visitor to an active visitor. This always happens when you click on our ad and then take another action, such as visiting our website. We use Google's conversion tracking tool to record what happens after a user clicks on our Google Ads ad. For example, we can see whether products are purchased, services are used or whether users have signed up for our newsletter.

Why do we use Google Ads conversion tracking on our website?

We use Google Ads to draw attention to our offer on other websites. The aim is to ensure that our advertising campaigns only reach those people who are interested in our offers. With the conversion tracking tool, we can see which keywords, ads, ad groups and campaigns lead to the desired customer actions. We can see how many customers interact with our ads on a device and then carry out a conversion. This data allows us to calculate our cost-benefit factor, measure the success of individual advertising measures and consequently optimize our online marketing measures. We can also use the data obtained to make our website more interesting for you and adapt our advertising offer even more individually to your needs.

What data is stored with Google Ads conversion tracking?

We have integrated a conversion tracking tag or code snippet on our website in order to better analyze certain user actions. If you click on one of our Google Ads ads, the "Conversion" cookie from a Google domain is stored on your computer (usually in the browser) or mobile device. Cookies are small text files that store information on your computer.

Here is the data of the most important cookies for Google's conversion tracking:

Note: The _gac cookie only appears in connection with Google Analytics. The above list is not exhaustive, as Google always uses other cookies for analytical evaluation.

As soon as you complete an action on our website, Google recognizes the cookie and saves your action as a so-called conversion. As long as you are browsing our website and the cookie has not yet expired, we and Google will recognize that you have found us via our Google Ads ad. The cookie is read and sent back to Google Ads with the conversion data. It is also possible that other cookies are used to measure conversions. Google Ads conversion tracking can be further refined and improved with the help of Google Analytics. For ads that Google displays in various places on the web, cookies with the name "__gads" or "_gac" may be set under our domain. Since September 2017, various campaign information has been stored by analytics.js using the _gac cookie. The cookie stores this data as soon as you visit one of our pages for which the automatic tagging of Google Ads has been set up. Unlike cookies that are set for Google domains, Google can only read these conversion cookies when you are on our website. We do not collect or receive any personal data. We receive a report with statistical evaluations from Google. For example, we find out the total number of users who have clicked on our ad and we can see which advertising measures were well received.

How long and where is the data stored?

At this point, we would like to point out that we have no influence on how Google uses the collected data. According to Google, the data is encrypted and stored on secure servers. In most cases, conversion cookies expire after 30 days and do not transmit any personal data. The cookies with the name "Conversion" and "_gac" (which is used in connection with Google Analytics) have an expiration date of 3 months.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

You have the option of not participating in Google Ads conversion tracking. If you deactivate the Google conversion tracking cookie via your browser, you block conversion tracking. In this case, you will not be included in the statistics of the tracking tool. You can change the cookie settings in your browser at any time. This works slightly differently for each browser. Here you will find instructions on how to manage cookies in your browser:

• Chrome: Cookies in Chrome löschen, aktivieren und verwalten
• Safari: Verwalten von Cookies und Websitedaten mit Safari
• Firefox: Cookies löschen, um Daten zu entfernen, die Websites auf Ihrem Computer abgelegt haben
• Internet Explorer: Löschen und Verwalten von Cookies
• Microsoft Edge: Löschen und Verwalten von Cookies

If you generally do not want to have cookies, you can set up your browser so that it always informs you when a cookie is to be set. This allows you to decide for each individual cookie whether or not to allow it. Downloading and installing this browser plug-in at https://support.google.com/ads/answer/7395996 will also deactivate all "advertising cookies". Please note that deactivating these cookies does not prevent advertisements, but only personalized advertising.

Please note that when you use this tool, your data may also be stored and processed outside the EU. Most third countries (including the USA) are not considered secure under current European data protection law. Data may therefore not simply be transferred to insecure third countries, stored and processed there, unless there are suitable guarantees (such as EU standard contractual clauses) between us and the non-European service provider.

If you would like to find out more about data protection at Google, we recommend Google's general privacy policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=de.

Cookie Consent Management Platform

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

Why do we use a cookie management tool?

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

On what legal basis do we use cookies?

If you consent to cookies, your personal data will be processed and stored via these cookies. If your consent allows us to use cookies, this consent is also the legal basis for the use of cookies and the processing of your data.

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

What data is stored?

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

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

LinkedIn privacy policy

We use social plug-ins from the social media network LinkedIn, LinkedIn Corporation, 2029 Stierlin Court, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA, on our website. The social plug-ins may be feeds, content sharing or links to our LinkedIn page. The social plug-ins are clearly marked with the familiar LinkedIn logo and allow, for example, interesting content to be shared directly via our website. For the European Economic Area and Switzerland, LinkedIn Ireland Unlimited Company Wilton Place in Dublin is responsible for data processing.

By embedding such plug-ins, data can be sent to LinkedIn, stored and processed there. In this privacy policy, we want to inform you what data is involved, how the network uses this data and how you can manage or prevent data storage.

What is LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is the largest social network for business contacts. Unlike Facebook, for example, the company focuses exclusively on establishing business contacts. Companies can present services and products on the platform and establish business relationships. Many people also use LinkedIn to look for jobs or to find suitable employees for their own company. In Germany alone, the network has over 11 million members. In Austria, there are around 1.3 million.

Why do we use LinkedIn on our website?

We know how busy you are. You can't follow all social media channels individually. Even if, as in our case, it would be worthwhile. Because we always post interesting news or reports that are worth sharing. That's why we have created the option on our website to share interesting content directly on LinkedIn or to link directly to our LinkedIn page. We regard integrated social plug-ins as an extended service on our website. The data that LinkedIn collects also helps us to show possible advertising measures only to people who are interested in our offer.

What data is stored by LinkedIn?

LinkedIn does not store any personal data simply by integrating the social plug-ins. LinkedIn calls this data, which is generated by plug-ins, passive impressions. However, if you click on a social plug-in, for example to share our content, the platform stores personal data as so-called "active impressions". This happens regardless of whether you have a LinkedIn account or not. If you are logged in, the data collected will be assigned to your account.

Your browser establishes a direct connection to LinkedIn's servers when you interact with our plug-ins. In this way, the company logs various usage data. In addition to your IP address, this may include login data, device information or information about your internet or mobile provider. If you access LinkedIn services via your smartphone, your location can also be determined (after you have allowed this). LinkedIn can also pass this data on to third-party advertisers in hashed form. Hashing means that a data record is converted into a character string. This allows the data to be encrypted in such a way that individuals can no longer be identified.

Most of the data on your user behavior is stored in cookies. These are small text files that are usually set in your browser. LinkedIn can also use web beacons, pixel tags, display tags and other device identifiers.

Various tests also show which cookies are set when a user interacts with a social plug-in. The data found cannot claim to be complete and serves only as an example. The following cookies were set without being logged in to LinkedIn:

Note: LinkedIn also works with third-party providers. That is why we also recognized the two Google Analytics cookies _ga and _gat during our test.

How long and where is the data stored?

In principle, LinkedIn retains your personal data for as long as the company considers it necessary to provide its own services. However, LinkedIn deletes your personal data when you delete your account. In some exceptional cases, LinkedIn retains some data in aggregated and anonymized form even after you delete your account. As soon as you delete your account, other people will no longer be able to see your data within one day. LinkedIn generally deletes the data within 30 days. However, LinkedIn retains data if it is required by law. Data that can no longer be assigned to a person remains stored even after the account has been closed. The data is stored on various servers in America and presumably also in Europe.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

You have the right to access and delete your personal data at any time. You can manage, change and delete your data in your LinkedIn account. You can also request a copy of your personal data from LinkedIn.

How to access the account data in your LinkedIn profile:

In LinkedIn, click on your profile icon and select the "Settings and privacy" section. Now click on "Privacy" and then on "Change" in the section "How LinkedIn uses your data". In just a short time, you can download selected data about your web activity and account history.

You also have the option in your browser to prevent LinkedIn from processing your data. As mentioned above, LinkedIn stores most of the data via cookies that are set in your browser. You can manage, deactivate or delete these cookies. Depending on which browser you have, the management works slightly differently. You can find the instructions for the most common browsers here:

• Chrome: Cookies in Chrome löschen, aktivieren und verwalten
• Safari: Verwalten von Cookies und Websitedaten mit Safari
• Firefox: Cookies löschen, um Daten zu entfernen, die Websites auf Ihrem Computer abgelegt haben
• Internet Explorer: Löschen und Verwalten von Cookies
• Microsoft Edge: Löschen und Verwalten von Cookies

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

Please note that when you use this tool, your data may also be stored and processed outside the EU. Most third countries (including the USA) are not considered secure under current European data protection law. Data may therefore not simply be transferred to insecure third countries, stored and processed there, unless there are suitable guarantees (such as EU standard contractual clauses) between us and the non-European service provider.

We have tried to provide you with the most important information about data processing by LinkedIn. You can find out more about data processing by the social media network LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/legal/privacy-policy.

YouTube privacy policy

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 access a page on our website that has an embedded YouTube video, your browser automatically connects to the YouTube or Google servers. Various data will be transmitted (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 integrated YouTube videos and how you can manage or delete your data.

What is YouTube?

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

Why do we use YouTube videos on our website?

YouTube is the 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, interesting videos are a must. With the help of our embedded videos, we provide you with further helpful content in addition to our texts and images. The embedded videos also make our website easier to find on the Google search engine. Even if we place ads via Google Ads, Google can - thanks to the data collected - only show these ads to people who are interested in our offers.

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 provider. Other data may include contact details, any ratings, the sharing of content via social media or adding to your favorites on YouTube.

If you are not logged into a Google account or a YouTube account, Google stores data with a unique identifier that is linked to your device, browser or app. For example, your preferred language setting is retained. But a lot of interaction data cannot be saved because fewer cookies are set.

In the following list, we show cookies that were set in a test in the browser. 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.

Weitere Cookies, die gesetzt werden, wenn Sie mit Ihrem YouTube-Konto angemeldet sind:

How long and where is the data stored?

The data that YouTube receives and processes from you is stored on Google servers. Most of these servers are located in America. At https://www.google.com/about/datacenters/inside/locations/?hl=de you can see exactly where the Google data centers 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 data collected for different lengths of time. You can delete some data at any time, others are automatically deleted after a limited time and others are stored by Google for a longer period of time. Some data (such as elements from "My activity", photos or documents, products) that are stored in your Google account 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 your Google account manually. With the automatic deletion function for location and activity data introduced in 2019, information is stored for either 3 or 18 months, depending on your decision, and then deleted.

Regardless of whether you have a Google account or not, you can configure your browser so that cookies are deleted or deactivated by Google. Depending on which browser you use, this works in different ways. The following instructions show you how to manage cookies in your browser:

• Chrome: Cookies in Chrome löschen, aktivieren und verwalten
• Safari: Verwalten von Cookies und Websitedaten mit Safari
• Firefox: Cookies löschen, um Daten zu entfernen, die Websites auf Ihrem Computer abgelegt haben
• Internet Explorer: Löschen und Verwalten von Cookies
• Microsoft Edge: Löschen und Verwalten von Cookies

If you generally do not want to have cookies, you can set up your browser so that it always informs you when a cookie is to be set. This allows you to decide for each individual cookie whether you want to allow it or not. As YouTube is a subsidiary of Google, there is a joint privacy policy. If you want to find out more about how your data is handled, we recommend that you read the privacy policy at https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=de.

Vimeo privacy policy

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

What is Vimeo?

Vimeo is a video platform that was founded in 2004 and has enabled the streaming of videos in HD quality since 2007. Since 2015, it has also been possible to stream in 4k Ultra HD. The portal is free to use, but paid content can also be published. Compared to the market leader YouTube, Vimeo prioritizes high-quality content in good quality. For example, the portal offers a lot of artistic content such as music videos and short films, but also interesting documentaries on a wide range of topics.

Why do we use Vimeo on our website?

The aim of our website is to provide you with the best possible content. And as easily accessible as possible. Only when we have achieved this are we satisfied with our service. The video service Vimeo helps us to achieve this goal. Vimeo gives us the opportunity to present you with high-quality content directly on our website. Instead of just giving you a link to an interesting video, you can watch the video directly on our site. This expands our service and makes it easier for you to access interesting content. In addition to our texts and images, we also offer video content.

What data is stored on Vimeo?

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

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

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

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

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

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

How long and where is the data stored?

Vimeo is headquartered in White Plains in the state of New York (USA). However, the services are offered worldwide. The company uses computer systems, databases and servers in the USA and also in other countries. Your data can therefore also be stored and processed on servers in America. The data remains stored by Vimeo until the company no longer has a commercial reason for storing it. The data is then deleted or anonymized.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

You always have the option of managing cookies in your browser according to your wishes. For example, if you do not want Vimeo to set cookies and thus collect information about you, you can delete or deactivate cookies in your browser settings at any time. This works a little differently depending on your browser. Please note that various functions may no longer be fully available after deactivating/deleting cookies. The following instructions show you how to manage or delete cookies in your browser.

• Chrome: Cookies in Chrome löschen, aktivieren und verwalten
• Safari: Verwalten von Cookies und Websitedaten mit Safari
• Firefox: Cookies löschen, um Daten zu entfernen, die Websites auf Ihrem Computer abgelegt haben
• Internet Explorer: Löschen und Verwalten von Cookies
• Microsoft Edge: Löschen und Verwalten von Cookies

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

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

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

Google reCAPTCHA privacy policy

Our primary goal is to secure and protect our website for you and for us in the best possible way. To ensure this, we use Google reCAPTCHA from Google Inc. For the European region, the company Google Ireland Limited (Gordon House, Barrow Street Dublin 4, Ireland) is responsible for all Google services. With reCAPTCHA we can determine whether you are really a flesh and blood person and not a robot or other spam software. By spam we mean any unsolicited information that is sent to us electronically. With the classic CAPTCHAs, you usually had to solve text or picture puzzles to verify your identity. With reCAPTCHA from Google, we don't usually have to bother you with such puzzles. In most cases, all you have to do is tick a box to confirm that you are not a bot. With the new Invisible reCAPTCHA version, you no longer even have to tick the box. You can find out exactly how this works and, above all, which data is used for this in the course of this privacy policy.

What is reCAPTCHA?

reCAPTCHA is a free captcha service from Google that protects websites from spam software and abuse by non-human visitors. This service is most commonly used when you fill out forms on the Internet. A Captcha service is a type of automatic Turing test that is designed to ensure that an action on the Internet is performed by a human and not by a bot. In the classic Turing test (named after the computer scientist Alan Turing), a human determines the difference between a bot and a human. With captchas, the computer or a software program also does this. Classic captchas work with small tasks that are easy for humans to solve but present considerable difficulties for machines. With reCAPTCHA, you no longer have to actively solve puzzles. The tool uses modern risk techniques to distinguish humans from bots. All you have to do here is tick the "I am not a robot" text field, and with Invisible reCAPTCHA even this is no longer necessary. With reCAPTCHA, a JavaScript element is integrated into the source code and then the tool runs in the background and analyzes your user behaviour. The software calculates a so-called captcha score from these user actions. Google uses this score to calculate the probability that you are human even before you enter the captcha. reCAPTCHA or captchas in general are always used when bots could manipulate or abuse certain actions (e.g. registrations, surveys, etc.).

Why do we use reCAPTCHA on our website?

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

What data is stored by reCAPTCHA?

reCAPTCHA collects personal data from users in order to determine whether the actions on our website actually originate from people. The IP address and other data that Google requires for the reCAPTCHA service may therefore be sent to Google. IP addresses are almost always truncated within the member states of the EU or other signatory states to the Agreement on the European Economic Area before the data is sent to a server in the USA. The IP address is not combined with other Google data unless you are logged in with your Google account while using reCAPTCHA. First, the reCAPTCHA algorithm checks whether Google cookies from other Google services (YouTube, Gmail, etc.) have already been placed on your browser. Then reCAPTCHA places an additional cookie in your browser and takes a snapshot of your browser window.

The following list of collected browser and user data is not intended to be exhaustive. Rather, they are examples of data that, to our knowledge, are processed by Google.

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

It is undisputed that Google uses and analyzes this data even before you click on the "I am not a robot" checkbox. With the Invisible reCAPTCHA version, you don't even have to check the box and the entire recognition process runs in the background. Google does not tell you in detail exactly how much and what data it stores.

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

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

How long and where is the data stored?

By inserting reCAPTCHA, data is transferred from you to the Google server. Where exactly this data is stored is not made clear by Google, even after repeated requests. Without having received confirmation from Google, it can be assumed that data such as mouse interaction, time spent on the website or language settings are stored on the European or American Google servers. The IP address that your browser transmits to Google is not merged with other Google data from other Google services. However, if you are logged into your Google account while using the reCAPTCHA plug-in, the data will be merged. The deviating data protection provisions of Google apply to this.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

If you do not want any data about you and your behavior to be transmitted to Google, you must log out of Google completely and delete all Google cookies before you visit our website or use the reCAPTCHA software. In principle, the data is automatically transmitted to Google as soon as you visit our website. To delete this data, you must contact Google support at https://support.google.com/?hl=de&tid=111715610.

By using our website, you therefore consent to Google LLC and its representatives automatically collecting, processing and using data.

Please note that when you use this tool, your data may also be stored and processed outside the EU. Most third countries (including the USA) are not considered secure under current European data protection law. Data may therefore not simply be transferred to insecure third countries, stored and processed there, unless there are suitable guarantees (such as EU standard contractual clauses) between us and the non-European service provider.

You can find out more about reCAPTCHA on Google's web developer page at https://developers.google.com/recaptcha/. Although Google goes into more detail here about the technical development of reCAPTCHA, you will search in vain for precise information about data storage and data protection issues. A good overview of the basic use of data at Google can be found in the company's own privacy policy at https://www.google.com/intl/de/policies/privacy/.

All texts are protected by copyright.
Source: Created with the data protection generator from AdSimple