Privacy Policy

At Hotel Wastlwirt****, we take data protection very seriously. That’s why we offer every guest, as well as suppliers and other partners, information about the storage of their data and consequently the option to change or delete their data. Below, you can see what data we store and which systems process it.

Table of Contents

• • Introduction and Overview

• • Scope of Application

• • Legal Bases

• • Contact details of the responsible party

• • Storage Duration

• • Rights According to the General Data Protection Regulation

• • Data Transfer to Third Countries

• • Data Processing Security

• • Communication

• • Data Processing Agreement (DPA)

• • Cookies

• • Application Data

• • Web Hosting Introduction

• • Website Builder Systems Introduction

• • Web Analytics Introduction

• • Email Marketing Introduction

• • Social Media Introduction

• • Online Marketing Introduction

• • Cookie Consent Management Platform Introduction

• • Security & Anti-Spam

• • Web Design Introduction

• • Online Map Services Introduction

• • Explanation of Terms Used

Introduction and Overview

We have prepared this privacy policy (version 13.10.2022-112227561) to explain to you, in accordance with the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and applicable national laws, what personal data (hereinafter referred to as data) we, as the controller – and the processors commissioned by us (e.g., providers) – process, will process in the future, and what legal options you have. The terms used are to be understood as gender-neutral.
In short: We provide you with comprehensive information about the data we process about you.

Privacy policies usually sound very technical and use legal terminology. This privacy policy, however, is intended to describe the most important things to you as simply and transparently as possible. To the extent that it promotes transparency, technical terms are explained in a reader-friendly manner, links to further information are provided, and graphics are used. We thus inform you in clear and simple language that we only process personal data in the course of our business activities when there is a corresponding legal basis. This is certainly not possible if one gives as brief, unclear and legal-technical explanations as possible, as is often standard on the Internet when it comes to data protection. I hope you find the following explanations interesting and informative, and perhaps there is some information that you did not yet know.
If you still have questions, we would like to ask you to contact the responsible body named below or in the imprint, to follow the existing links and to look at further information on third-party sites. You can of course also find our contact details in the imprint.

Scope of Application

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

• • all online presences (websites, online shops) that we operate

• • social media presences and email communication

• • mobile apps for smartphones and other devices

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

Legal Bases

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

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

1. 1. Consent (Article 6(1)(a) GDPR): You have given us your consent to process data for a specific purpose. An example would be the storage of your entered data from a contact form.

1. 1. Contract (Article 6(1)(b) GDPR): To fulfill a contract or pre-contractual obligations with you, we process your data. For example, if we conclude a purchase contract with you, we need personal information in advance.

1. 1. Legal obligation (Article 6(1)(c) GDPR): If we are subject to a legal obligation, we process your data. For example, we are legally obliged to keep invoices for accounting purposes. These usually contain personal data.

1. 1. Legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR): In the case of legitimate interests that do not restrict your fundamental rights, we reserve the right to process personal data. For example, we have to process certain data in order to be able to operate our website securely and economically efficiently. This processing is therefore a legitimate interest.

Other conditions such as processing of data in the public interest, exercise of official authority, or protection of vital interests generally do not occur in our case. 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 concerning the Protection of Personal Data (Data Protection Act), abbreviated as DSG.

• • In Germany, the Federal Data Protection Act, abbreviated as BDSG, applies.

if further Regional or National Laws Apply, We Will Inform You about Them in the Following Sections.

Contact Details of the Controller

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 entity below:
Baier Tourismus GmbH
Sebastian Baier
Poststraße 13, 5582 St. Michael im Lungau, Austria

Email: s.baier@hotel-wastlwirt.at
Phone: +43 6477 7155 54
Imprint: https://www.hotel-wastlwirt.at/impressum/

Storage Duration

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

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

We will inform you about the specific duration of the respective data processing further below, if we have additional information about it.

Rights According to the General Data Protection Regulation

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

• • According to Article 15 of the GDPR, you have the right to information about whether we are processing data about you. If this is the case, you have the right to receive a copy of the data and to be informed about the following:
    
    • • for what purpose we carry out the processing;
    • • the categories, i.e., the types of data that are processed;
    • • who receives this data and, if the data is transferred to third countries, how security can be guaranteed;
    • • how long the data is stored;
    • • the existence of the right to rectification, erasure, or restriction of processing and the right to object to processing;
    • • that you can lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority (links to these authorities can be found below);
    • • the origin of the data, if we did not collect it from you;
    • • whether profiling is carried out, i.e., whether data is automatically evaluated to create a personal profile of you.

• • According to Article 16 of the GDPR, you have the right to rectification of data, 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 can 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 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 GDPR, you have a right to object, which, if exercised, leads to 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) of the GDPR, you can object to the processing. We will then check as quickly as possible whether we can legally comply with this objection.
    • • If data is used for direct marketing, you can object to this type of data processing at any time. We may then no longer use your data for direct marketing.
    • • If data is used for profiling, you can object to this type of data processing at any time. We may then no longer use your data for profiling.

• • According to Article 22 of the GDPR, you may have the right 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 processing of personal data violates the GDPR.

In short: You have rights – don’t hesitate to contact the responsible party listed above!

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

Austrian Data Protection Authority

Head: Mag. Dr. Andrea Jelinek
Address: Barichgasse 40-42, 1030 Vienna
Phone no.: +43 1 52 152-0
Email address: dsb@dsb.gv.at
Website: https://www.dsb.gv.at/

Data Transfer to Third Countries

We only transfer or process data to countries outside the EU (third countries) if you consent to this processing, if it is legally required, or contractually necessary, and in any case only to the extent generally permitted. Your consent is in most cases the most important reason for us to process data in third countries. The processing of personal data in third countries like the USA, where many software manufacturers offer services and have their server locations, can mean that personal data is processed and stored in unexpected ways.

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

We Will Inform You more Precisely about Data Transfer to Third Countries at the Appropriate Points in this Privacy Policy, if Applicable.

Data Processing Security

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

Art. 25 GDPR speaks of “data protection by design and by default”, meaning that security should always be considered and appropriate measures implemented for both software (e.g., forms) and hardware (e.g., access to the server room). In the following, we will, if necessary, go into specific measures.

TLS Encryption with Https

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

This has allowed us to introduce an additional layer of security and fulfill data protection by design (Article 25(1) GDPR). By using TLS (Transport Layer Security), an encryption protocol for secure data transmission over the internet, we can ensure the protection of confidential data.
You can recognize the use of this data transmission security by the small padlock symbol at the top left of the browser, to the left of the internet address (e.g., examplepage.de), and the use of the https (instead of http) scheme as part of our internet address.
If you want to know more about encryption, we recommend searching Google for “Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure wiki” to find good links to further information.

Communication

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

The data will be processed for the handling and processing of your inquiry and the related business transaction. The data will be stored for as long as necessary or as required by law.

Affected Persons

All individuals who seek contact with us via the communication channels we provide are affected by the aforementioned processes.

Phone

If you call us, the call data will be stored pseudonymously on the respective device and with the telecommunications provider used. In addition, data such as name and phone number can subsequently be sent by email and stored for answering the inquiry. The data will be deleted as soon as the business case has been concluded and legal requirements permit.

Email

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

Online Forms

If you communicate with us via an online form, data will be stored on our web server and, if applicable, forwarded to one of our email addresses. The data will be deleted as soon as the business case has been concluded and legal requirements permit.

Legal Bases

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

• • Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR (Consent): You give us consent to store your data and continue to use it for purposes related to the business case;

• • Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR (Contract): There is a necessity for the fulfillment of a contract with you or a processor, such as the telephone provider, or we must process the data for pre-contractual activities, such as preparing an offer;

• • Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR (Legitimate Interests): We aim to conduct customer inquiries and business communication in a professional manner. This requires certain technical facilities such as email programs, Exchange servers, and mobile network operators to enable efficient communication.

Data Processing Agreement (DPA)

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

Who are Processors?

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

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

Data Subject (you as a customer or interested party) → Controller (we as the company and client) → Processor (service provider such as web hoster or cloud provider)

Content of a Data Processing Agreement

As already mentioned above, we have concluded a DPA with our partners who act as processors. This agreement primarily stipulates that the processor will process the data exclusively in accordance with the GDPR. The contract must be concluded in writing, although in this context, electronic contract conclusion is also considered “written”. The processing of personal data only takes place on the basis of the contract. The contract must contain the following:

• • Binding to us as the controller

• • Duties and rights of the controller

• • Categories of data subjects

• • Type of personal data

• • Nature and purpose of data processing

• • Subject matter and duration of data processing

• • Location of data processing

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

• • to ensure data security measures

• • to take possible technical and organizational measures to protect the rights of the data subject

• • to maintain a record of processing activities

• • to cooperate with the data protection supervisory authority upon request

• • to conduct a risk analysis regarding the personal data received

• • sub-processors may only be commissioned with the written permission of the controller

You can see what such a DPA looks like in practice, for example, at https://www.wko.at/service/wirtschaftsrecht-gewerberecht/eu-dsgvo-mustervertrag-auftragsverarbeitung.html. A sample contract is presented here.

Cookies

What are Cookies?

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

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

One thing 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 placed in the cookie folder, quasi the “brain” of your browser. A cookie consists of a name and a value. When defining a cookie, one or more attributes must be specified.

Cookies store certain user data about you, such as language or personal page settings. When you return to our site, your browser sends the “user-related” information back to our site. Thanks to the 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 when 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 expiration time of a cookie also varies from a few minutes to a few years. Cookies are not software programs and do not contain viruses, trojans, or other “malware”. Cookies also cannot access information on your PC.

For example, cookie data might look like this:

Name: _ga
Value: GA1.2.1326744211.152112227561-9
Purpose: Distinguish website visitors
Expiration date: after 2 years

A browser should be able to support these minimum sizes:

• • At least 4096 bytes per cookie

• • At least 50 cookies per domain

• • At least 3000 cookies in total

What Types of Cookies are there?

The question of which cookies we use in particular depends on the services used and is clarified in the following sections of the privacy policy. At this point, we would like to briefly 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 adds a product to the shopping cart, then continues browsing other pages and only goes to the checkout later. These cookies ensure that the shopping cart is not deleted even when the user closes their browser window.

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

Targeted Cookies
These cookies ensure better user-friendliness. For example, entered locations, font sizes, or form data are stored.

Advertising Cookies
These cookies are also called targeting cookies. They serve to deliver individually tailored advertising to the user. This can be very convenient, but also very annoying.

Usually, you are asked which of these types of cookies you want to allow when you first visit a website. And of course, this decision is also stored in a cookie.

If you want to know more about cookies and don’t shy away from 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 respective cookie. You can find more details below or from the manufacturer of the software that sets the cookie.

What Data is Processed?

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

Storage Duration of Cookies

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

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

Right of Objection – how Can I Delete Cookies?

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

If you want to determine 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: Clear, enable, and manage cookies in Chrome

Safari: Manage cookies and website data with Safari

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

Internet Explorer: Delete and manage cookies

Microsoft Edge: Delete and manage cookies

If you generally don’t want cookies, you can set up your browser to always inform you when a cookie is about to be set. This way you can decide for each individual cookie whether you want to allow it or not. The procedure varies depending on the browser. It’s 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. These state that the storage of cookies requires your consent (Article 6 Paragraph 1 lit. a GDPR). Within the EU countries, however, there are still very different reactions to these guidelines. In Austria, however, this directive was implemented in § 96 Paragraph 3 of the Telecommunications Act (TKG). In Germany, the cookie guidelines were not implemented as national law. Instead, this directive was largely implemented in § 15 Paragraph 3 of the Telemedia Act (TMG).

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

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

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

Application Data

What is Application Data?

You can apply to us for a job in our company by email, online form or via a recruiting tool. All data that we receive and process from you as part of an application is considered application data. You always disclose personal data such as name, date of birth, address and telephone number.

Why Do We Process Application Data?

We process your data so that we can carry out a proper selection process with regard to the advertised position. We also like to keep your application documents in our application archive. It often happens that cooperation for the advertised position does not work out for a variety of reasons, but we are impressed by you and your application and can very well imagine future cooperation. If you give us your consent to do so, we will archive your documents so that we can easily contact you for future tasks in our company.

We guarantee that we will handle your data with particular care and only process your data within the legal framework. Within our company, your data will only be forwarded to people who are directly involved with your application. In short: your data is safe with us!

What Data is Processed?

If you apply to us by email, for example, we will of course also receive personal data, as mentioned above. Even the email address is considered personal data. However, only data that is relevant to our decision as to whether we want to welcome you to our team or not is processed in the course of an application process.

The exact data that is processed depends primarily on the job advertisement. However, it is usually names, dates of birth, contact details and qualification certificates. If you submit the application via an online form, the data will be transmitted to us in encrypted form. If you send us the application by email, this encryption will not take place. We cannot therefore accept any responsibility for the method of transmission. However, as soon as the data is on our servers, we are responsible for the lawful handling of your data.

During an application process, in addition to the data mentioned above, information about your health or ethnic origin may also be requested so that we and you can exercise the rights relating to labor law, social security and social protection and at the same time fulfill the corresponding obligations. This data is data of special categories.

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

• • Last Name

• • Contact address

• • Email address

• • Phone Number

• • Date of birth

• • Information that emerges from cover letters and resumes

• • Qualification certificates (e.g.) certificates

• • Data of special categories (e.g. ethnic origin, health data, religious beliefs)

• • Usage data (websites visited, access data, etc.)

• • Metadata (IP address, device information)

How Long Will the Data be Stored?

If we accept you as a team member in our company, your data will be further processed for the purpose of the employment relationship and stored by us at least until the employment relationship ends. All application documents will then be placed in your employee file.

If we do not offer you the job, you reject our offer or withdraw your application, we may, due to our legitimate interest (Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f GDPR), retain your data for up to 6 months after completion of the application process. After that, both your electronic data and all data from physical application documents will be completely deleted or destroyed. We retain your data, for example, so that we can answer any queries or so that we can submit evidence of the application in the event of legal disputes. If a legal dispute is brewing and we may still need the data after the 6 months have expired, we will only delete the data when there is no longer any reason to keep it. If there are legal storage obligations to be fulfilled, we must generally store the data for longer than 6 months.

Furthermore, we can also keep your data for longer if you have given special consent to do so. We do this, for example, if we can imagine working with you well in the future. Then it is helpful to have your data archived so that you can be easily reached. In this case, the data will be placed in our applicant pool. Of course, you can revoke your consent to the longer storage of your data at any time. If there is no revocation and you do not give new consent, your data will be deleted after 2 years at the latest.

Legal Basis

The legal bases for processing your data are Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. b GDPR (contract or pre-contractual measures), Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests) and Art. 9 Para. 2 lit. a. GDPR (processing of special categories).

If we include you in our applicant tool, this will happen on the basis of your consent (Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. a GDPR). We would like to point out that your consent to our application pool is voluntary, has no influence on the application process and you have the option of withdrawing your consent at any time. The legality of the processing up to the point of revocation remains unaffected.

In the event of the protection of vital interests, data processing takes place in accordance with Art. 9 Para. 2 lit. c. GDPR. For the purposes of health care, occupational medicine, medical diagnostics, the provision of care or treatment in the health or social sector or for the management of systems and services in the health or social sector, personal data is processed in accordance with Art. 9 Para. 2 lit. h. GDPR. If you voluntarily provide data of special categories, the processing takes place on the basis of Art. 9 Para. 2 lit. a. GDPR.

Web Hosting Introduction

What is Web Hosting?

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

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

To display the website, the browser needs to connect to another computer where the website’s code is stored: the web server. Operating a web server is a complicated and onerous task, which is why this is usually done by professional providers, the providers. They offer web hosting and thus ensure reliable and error-free storage of website data. That’s quite a lot of technical terms, but please stay with us, it gets even 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 one hand, your computer stores data, on the other hand, the web server must also store data for a period of time to ensure proper operation.

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

Why Do We Process Personal Data?

The purposes of data processing are:

1. 1. Professional hosting of the website and safeguarding of operations

1. 1. to maintain operational and IT security

1. 1. Anonymous evaluation of access behavior to improve our offer and, if necessary, for criminal prosecution or prosecution of claims

What Data is Processed?

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

• • the complete internet address (URL) of the website accessed

• • Browser and browser version (e.g. Chrome 87)

• • the operating system used (e.g. Windows 10)

• • the address (URL) of the previously visited page (referrer URL) (e.g. https://www.beispielquellsite.de/vondabinichgekommen/)

• • the host name and IP address of the device from which access is made (e.g. COMPUTERNAME and 194.23.43.121)

• • Date and time

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

How Long is Data Stored?

Usually, the above-mentioned data is stored for two weeks and then automatically deleted. We do not pass on this data, but we cannot exclude the possibility that this data may be viewed by authorities in the event of unlawful behavior.

In short: 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 processing personal data in the context of web hosting results from Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (protection of legitimate interests), as the use of professional hosting with a provider is necessary to present the company securely and user-friendly on the internet and to be able to pursue attacks and claims arising from it if necessary.

Between us and the hosting provider, there is usually a contract for order processing pursuant to Art. 28 f. GDPR, which ensures compliance with data protection and guarantees data security.

External Web Hosting Provider Privacy Policy

мBelow you will find the contact details of our external hosting provider, where you can find out more about data processing in addition to the information above:

InterNetX GmbH
Johanna-Dachs-Str. 55, 93055 Regensburg, Germany

You can learn more about data processing by this provider in the privacy policy.

Website Builder Systems Introduction

What are Website Builder Systems?

We use a website builder system for our website. Builder systems are special forms of a Content Management System (CMS). With a builder system, website operators can very easily create a website without programming knowledge. In many cases, web hosts also offer builder systems. By using a builder system, personal data from you can also be collected, stored, and processed. In this privacy text, we provide you with general information about data processing by builder systems. You can find more detailed information in the privacy policies of the provider.

Why Do We Use Website Builder Systems for our Website?

The biggest advantage of a builder system is its ease of use. We want to offer you a clear, simple, and straightforward website that we can operate and maintain ourselves – without external support – without any problems. A builder 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 offer you an informative and pleasant time on our website.

What Data is Stored by a Builder System?

What data is exactly stored depends, of course, on the website builder 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. Furthermore, tracking data (e.g., browser activity, clickstream activities, session heatmaps, etc.) may also be processed. In addition, personal data can also be collected and stored. This is usually contact data such as email address, telephone number (if you have provided it), IP address, and geographic location data. You can find exactly what data is stored in the privacy policy of the provider.

How Long and where is the Data Stored?

We will inform you about the duration of data processing further below in connection with the website builder system used, if we have further information about it. You can 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 their own specifications, over which we have no influence.

Right to Object

You always have the right to information, correction, and deletion of your personal data. If you have any questions, you can also contact those responsible for the website builder system used at any time. You can find contact details either in our privacy policy or on the website of the respective 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 then not all functions may work as usual.

Legal Basis

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

Insofar as the processing of data is not absolutely necessary for the operation of the website, the data is only processed on the basis of your consent. This particularly concerns tracking activities. The legal basis in this respect is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR.

With this privacy policy, we have brought you closer to the most important general information about data processing. If you want to inform yourself more precisely about this, 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 modular 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, in the opinion of the European Court of Justice, there is currently no adequate level of protection for data transfer to the USA. This can be associated with various risks for the legality and security of data processing.

As a basis for data processing at recipients based in third countries (outside the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, i.e. especially in the USA) or a data transfer to these countries, WordPress uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46. Para. 2 and 3 GDPR). Standard contractual clauses (SCC) are model templates provided by the EU Commission and are intended to ensure that your data also complies with European data protection standards if it is transferred to and stored in third countries (such as the USA). Through these clauses, WordPress undertakes to comply with the European data protection level 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 at https://automattic.com/de/privacy/.

Web Analytics Introduction

What is Web Analytics?

We use software on our website to analyze the behavior of website visitors, briefly called web analytics or web analysis. Data is collected, which the respective analytics tool provider (also called tracking tool) stores, manages, and processes. With the help of this data, analyses of user behavior on our website are created and made available to us as website operators. Additionally, most tools offer various testing options. For example, we can test which offers or content 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 well as for other analytics procedures, user profiles can also be created and the data stored in cookies.

Why Do We Use Web Analytics?

With our website, we have a clear goal in mind: we want to provide the best web offering in the market for our industry. To achieve this goal, we want to offer the best and most interesting content on the one hand, and on the other hand, ensure that you feel completely comfortable on our website. With the help of web analysis tools, we can take a closer look at the behavior of our website visitors and then improve our web offering accordingly for you and us. For example, we can see how old our visitors are on average, where they come from, when our website is visited the most, or which content or products are particularly popular. All this information helps us to optimize the website and thus 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. However, usually, for example, it is stored which content you view on our website, which buttons or links you click, when you access a page, which browser you use, with which device (PC, tablet, smartphone, etc.) you visit the website, or which computer system you use. If you have agreed that location data may also be collected, this can also be processed by the web analysis tool provider.

Your IP address is also stored. According to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), IP addresses are personal data. However, your IP address is usually stored in pseudonymized form (i.e., in an unrecognizable and shortened form). For the purpose of testing, web analysis, and web optimization, no direct data such as your name, age, address, or email address is stored. All this data, if collected, is stored pseudonymously. This way, 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 JavaScript code.

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

Duration of Data Processing

We provide further information about the duration of data processing below, if we have additional information about it. In general, we process personal data only as long as it is absolutely necessary for the provision of our services and products. If legally required, as in the case of accounting, this storage period may be exceeded.

Right to Object

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

Legal Basis

The use of web analytics requires your consent, which we have obtained through our cookie popup. This consent represents the legal basis according to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (Consent) for the processing of personal data, as it may occur during the collection by web analytics tools.

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

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

Information on Special Web Analytics Tools is Available – if Available – in the Following Sections.

Google Analytics Privacy Policy

What is Google Analytics?

We use the analysis tracking tool Google Analytics (GA) from 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, if you click on a link, this action is saved in a cookie and sent to Google Analytics. With the help of the reports we receive from Google Analytics, we can better adapt our website and our service to your needs. In the following, we will go into more detail about the tracking tool and, above all, inform you about which data is stored and how you can prevent this.

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

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

• • Audience reports: Through audience reports, we get to know our users better and know more precisely who is interested in our service.

• • Advertising reports: Through advertising reports, we can analyze and improve our online advertising more easily.

• • Acquisition reports: Acquisition reports give us helpful information about how we can get more people excited about our service.

• • Behavior reports: Here we learn how you interact with our website. We can understand which 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 perform a desired action based on a marketing message. For example, when you go from being a pure 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 find out immediately what is happening on our website. For example, we 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 evaluated data shows us a clear picture of the strengths and weaknesses of our website. On the one hand, we can optimize our site so that it is easier for interested people to find it on Google. On the other hand, the data helps us to better understand you as a visitor. We therefore know very precisely 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.

Which Data is Stored by Google Analytics?

Using a tracking code, Google Analytics creates a random, unique ID that is linked to your browser cookie. This is how Google Analytics recognizes you as a new user. The next time you visit our site, you will be recognized as a “returning” user. All collected data is stored together with this user ID. This is the only way to evaluate pseudonymous user profiles in the first place.

In order to analyze our website with Google Analytics, a property ID must be inserted into the tracking code. The data is then stored in the corresponding property. The Google Analytics 4 property is the default for each 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 can be linked to third-party cookies. Google does not share any Google Analytics data unless we, as the website operator, approve it. Exceptions may occur if required by law.

The following cookies are used by Google Analytics:

Name: _ga
Value: 2.1326744211.152112227561-5
Purpose: By default, analytics.js uses the _ga cookie to store the user ID. Basically, it serves to distinguish website visitors.
Expiration date: after 2 years

Name: _gid
Value: 2.1687193234.152112227561-1
Purpose: The cookie is also used to distinguish website visitors
Expiration date: after 24 hours

Name: _gat_gtag_UA_<property-id>
Value: 1
Purpose: Used to reduce the request rate. If Google Analytics is provided via Google Tag Manager, this cookie is named _dc_gtm_ <property-id>.
Expiration date: after 1 minute

Name: AMP_TOKEN
Value: no information
Purpose: The cookie has a token that can be used to retrieve a user ID from the AMP Client ID service. Other possible values indicate a logout, a request, or an error.
Expiration date: after 30 seconds up to a year

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

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

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

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

Name: __utmz
Value: m|utmccn=(referral)|utmcmd=referral|utmcct=/
Purpose: The cookie is used to identify the source of visitor traffic to our website. That is, the cookie stores where you came to our website from. This could have been another page or an advertisement.
Expiration date: after 6 months

Name: __utmv
Value: no information
Purpose: The cookie is used to store custom user data. It is always updated when information is sent to Google Analytics.
Expiration date: after 2 years

Note: This list cannot claim to be complete, as Google is always changing its choice of cookies.

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

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

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

Bounce rate: 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 or place an order on our website, Google Analytics collects this data.

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

Location: The country and your approximate location can be determined via the IP address. This process is also known as IP geolocation.

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

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

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

How Long and where is the Data Stored?

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

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

The data retention period 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 choosing a retention period of 2 months or 14 months.

For Universal Analytics properties, Google Analytics has a standardized retention period of 26 months for your user data. Then your user data will be deleted. However, we have the option of choosing the retention period for usage data ourselves. There are five variants available to us:

• • Deletion after 14 months

• • Deletion after 26 months

• • Deletion after 38 months

• • Deletion after 50 months

• • No automatic deletion

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

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

How Can I Delete My Data or Prevent Data Storage?

According to the data protection law of the European Union, you have the right to receive information about your data, to update it, to delete it or to restrict it. With the help of the browser add-on to deactivate Google Analytics JavaScript (ga.js, analytics.js, dc.js) you 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 want to deactivate, delete or manage cookies in general, 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 popup. According to this consent Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (Consent) for the processing of personal data, as it may occur during the collection by web analytics tools.

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

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

As a basis for data processing by recipients located in third countries (outside the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, i.e., particularly in the USA) or for data transfer to them, Google uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46 para. 2 and 3 GDPR). Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) are model templates provided by the EU Commission and are intended to ensure that your data complies with European data protection standards even when transferred to and stored in third countries (such as the USA). Through these clauses, Google undertakes to comply with the European data protection level 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, among other places, here: 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 give you the most important information about data processing by 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 Reports on Demographic Characteristics and Interests

We have activated the functions for advertising reports in Google Analytics. The reports on demographic characteristics and interests contain information on age, gender and interests. This allows us to get a better picture of our users – without being able to assign this data to individual people. You can find out more about the advertising functions at https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/3450482?hl=de_AT&utm_id=ad.

You can end the use of the activities and information of your Google account under “Settings for advertising” on https://adssettings.google.com/authenticated via checkbox.

Google Analytics E-Commerce Measurement

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

Google Analytics Google Signals Privacy Policy

We have activated Google Signals in Google Analytics. This updates the existing Google Analytics functions (advertising reports, remarketing, cross-device reports and reports on interests and demographic characteristics) in order to obtain aggregated and anonymized data from you, provided you have allowed personalized ads in your Google account.

The special thing about it is that it is a cross-device tracking. This means that your data can be analyzed across devices. By activating Google Signals, data is collected and linked to the Google account. For example, Google can recognize when you view a product on our website via a smartphone and only buy the product later via a laptop. Thanks to the activation of Google Signals, we can start cross-device remarketing campaigns that would otherwise not be possible in this form. Remarketing means that we can also show you our offer on other websites.

In Google Analytics, Google Signals also collects other visitor data such as location, search history, YouTube history and data about your actions on our website. This gives us better advertising reports and more useful information about your interests and demographic characteristics from Google. This includes your age, what language you speak, where you live or what gender you belong to. Furthermore, there are also social criteria such as your profession, your marital status or your income. All these characteristics help Google Analytics to define groups of people or target groups.

The reports also help us to better assess your behavior, your wishes and interests. This enables us to optimize and adapt our services and products for you. This data expires by default after 26 months. Please note that this data collection only takes place if you have allowed personalized advertising in your Google account. This is always aggregated and anonymous data and never data of individual people. You can manage or delete this data in your Google account.

Google Analytics in Consent Mode

Depending on your consent, personal data from you is processed by Google Analytics in the so-called consent mode (or “Consent Mode”). You can choose whether or not you agree to Google Analytics cookies. This also allows you to choose which data Google Analytics is allowed to process from you. This collected data is mainly used to carry out measurements about user behavior on the website, to display targeted advertising and to provide us with web analysis reports. As a rule, you consent to data processing by Google via a cookie consent tool. If you do not consent to data processing, only aggregated data is collected and processed. This means that data cannot be assigned to individual users and no user profile is created from you. You can also only agree to statistical measurement. In this case, no personal data is processed and consequently not used for advertising or advertising success measurements.

Google Analytics IP Anonymization

We have implemented the IP address anonymization of Google Analytics on this website. This function was developed by Google so that this website can comply with the applicable data protection regulations and recommendations of the local data protection authorities if they prohibit the storage of the complete IP address. The anonymization or masking of the IP takes place as soon as the IP addresses arrive in the Google Analytics data collection network and before the data is stored or processed.

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

Google Remarketing Privacy Policy

We also use Google Remarketing, an advertising analysis tool, for our website. The service provider is the American company Google Inc. For the European region, Google Ireland Limited (Gordon House, Barrow Street Dublin 4, Ireland) is responsible for all Google services.

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

As a basis for data processing by recipients located in third countries (outside the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, i.e., particularly in the USA) or for data transfer to them, Google uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46 para. 2 and 3 GDPR). Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) are model templates provided by the EU Commission and are intended to ensure that your data complies with European data protection standards even when transferred to and stored in third countries (such as the USA). Through these clauses, Google undertakes to comply with the European data protection level 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, among other places, here: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de

Google provides a data processing agreement in accordance with Art. 28 GDPR, which serves as the data protection legal basis for our customer relationship with Google. This agreement refers to the EU standard contractual clauses. You can find the data processing terms here: https://business.safety.google/intl/de/adsprocessorterms/

You can find more about the data processed through the use of Google Remarketing in the Privacy Policy at https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=de.

Google Tag Manager Privacy Policy

What is Google Tag Manager?

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

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

Google Tag Manager is an organizational tool that allows us to centrally embed and manage website tags via a user interface. Tags are small code snippets that, for example, record (track) your activities on our website. For this purpose, JavaScript code snippets are inserted into the source code of our page. The tags often come from Google’s internal 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 various tasks. They can collect browser data, feed data to marketing tools, embed buttons, set cookies, and also track users across multiple websites.

Why Do We Use Google Tag Manager for our Website?

As the saying goes: organization is half the battle! And that, of course, also applies to maintaining our website. To make our website as good as possible for you and everyone interested in our products and services, we need various tracking tools, such as Google Analytics. The data collected by these tools shows us what interests you most, where we can improve our services, and to whom else we should show our offers. And for this tracking to work, we need to embed corresponding JavaScript codes into our website. Basically, we could embed each code snippet of the individual tracking tools separately into our source code. However, this requires a lot of time and one can easily lose track. That’s why we use Google Tag Manager. We can easily embed the necessary scripts and manage them from one place. In addition, Google Tag Manager offers an easy-to-use user interface and requires no programming knowledge. This way, we manage to keep our tag jungle organized.

What Data is Stored by Google Tag Manager?

The Tag Manager itself is a domain that does not set cookies and does not store any data. It acts merely as an “administrator” of the implemented tags. The data is collected by the individual tags of the different web analysis tools. The data is essentially passed through the Google Tag Manager to the individual tracking tools and not stored.

However, it looks quite 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. For this, please read our privacy texts on the individual analysis and tracking tools that we use on our website.

In the Tag Manager account settings, we have allowed Google to receive anonymized data from us. However, this only concerns the use and utilization of our Tag Manager and not your data that is stored via the code snippets. We enable Google and others to receive selected data in anonymized form. We thus agree to the anonymous transfer of our website data. We were unable to find out exactly which aggregated and anonymous data is forwarded, despite extensive research. 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 compares one’s own results with those of competitors. Based on the collected information, processes can be optimized.

How Long and where is the Data Stored?

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

for how Long the Individual Tracking Tools Store your Data, Please Refer to our Individual Privacy Texts for each Tool.

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 privacy 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 currently considered unsafe under European data protection law. Data may therefore not simply be transferred, stored, and processed in unsafe third countries unless there are suitable guarantees (such as EU standard contractual clauses) between us and the non-European service provider.

Legal Basis

The use of Google Tag Manager requires your consent, which we have obtained with our cookie popup. This consent constitutes, according to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (Consent) for the processing of personal data, as it may occur during the collection by web analytics tools.

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

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

As a basis for data processing by recipients located in third countries (outside the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, i.e., particularly in the USA) or for data transfer to them, Google uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46 para. 2 and 3 GDPR). Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) are model templates provided by the EU Commission and are intended to ensure that your data complies with European data protection standards even when transferred to and stored in third countries (such as the USA). Through these clauses, Google undertakes to comply with the European data protection level 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, among other places, here: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de

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

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

Email Marketing Introduction

What is Email Marketing?

To keep you constantly informed, we also use email marketing. If you have consented to receive our emails or newsletters, your data will also be processed and stored. Email marketing is a sub-area of online marketing. It involves sending news or general information about a company, products, or services via email to a specific group of people who are interested in it.

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

Generally, subscribing to newsletters works with the so-called “double opt-in procedure”. After you have registered for our newsletter on our website, you will receive an email through which you confirm the newsletter registration. This ensures that the email address belongs to you and that no one has registered with a third-party email address. We or a notification tool used by us logs every single registration. This is necessary so that we can prove the legally correct registration process. Typically, the time of registration, the time of registration confirmation, and your IP address are stored. Additionally, it is also logged if you make changes to your stored data.

Why Do We Use Email Marketing?

Naturally, we want to stay in touch with you and always present the most important news about our company. For this purpose, we use email marketing – often simply referred to as “newsletter” – as an essential part of our online marketing. Provided you agree or it is legally permitted, we will send you newsletters, system emails, or other notifications via email. When we use the term “newsletter” in the following text, we primarily mean regularly sent emails. Of course, we do not want to bother you with our newsletters in any way. That is why we always strive to offer only relevant and interesting content. For example, you will learn more about our company, our services, or products. As we are constantly improving our offers, our newsletter will also keep you informed about news or special, lucrative promotions we are currently offering. If we commission a service provider who offers a professional sending tool for our email marketing, we do so to provide you with fast and secure newsletters. The general purpose of our email marketing is to inform you about new offers and to get closer to our business goals.

What Data is Processed?

If you become a subscriber to our newsletter via our website, you confirm your membership in an email list via email. In addition to your IP address and email address, your salutation, name, address, and telephone number may also be stored. However, only if you agree to this data storage. The data marked as such is necessary for you to participate in the offered service. Providing this information is voluntary, but not providing it will result in you not being able to use the service. Additionally, information about your device or your preferred content on our website may also be stored. More about data storage when you visit a website can be found in the section “Automatic Data Storage”. We record your declaration of consent so that we can always prove that it complies with our laws.

Duration of Data Processing

If you unsubscribe your email address from our email/newsletter distribution list, we are permitted to store your address for up to three years based on our legitimate interests, so that we can still prove your previous consent. We may only process this data if we need to defend ourselves against any claims.

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

Right to Object

You have the option to cancel your newsletter subscription at any time. To do this, you simply need to revoke your consent to newsletter registration. This usually takes only a few seconds or one or two clicks. Most of the time, you will find a link directly at the end of each email to unsubscribe from the newsletter. If the link is truly not found in the newsletter, please contact us by email and we will immediately cancel your newsletter subscription.

Legal Basis

The sending of our newsletter is based on your consent (Article 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR). This means that we may only send you a newsletter if you have actively subscribed to it beforehand. If applicable, we may also send you advertising messages based on § 7 para. 3 UWG, provided you have become our customer and have not objected to the use of your email address for direct marketing.

Information on Specific Email Marketing Services and how They Process Personal Data Can be Found – if Available – in the Following Sections.

CleverReach Privacy Policy

We use CleverReach on our website, a service for our email marketing. The service provider is the German company CleverReach GmbH & Co. KG, Schafjückenweg 2, 26180 Rastede, Germany.

You can find more about the data processed through the use of CleverReach in the privacy policy at https://www.cleverreach.com/de-de/datenschutz/.

Social Media Introduction

What is Social Media?

In addition to our website, we are also active on various social media platforms. User data may be processed so that we can target users who are interested in us through social networks. Furthermore, elements of a social media platform may be directly embedded in our website. This is the case, for example, when you click on a so-called social button on our website and are redirected directly to our social media presence. Social media or social networks 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 make contact online. With our social media presences, we can bring our products and services closer to interested parties. The social media elements integrated on our website help you to quickly and easily switch to our social media content.

The data that is stored and processed through your use of a social media channel is primarily intended to conduct web analyses. The goal of these analyses is to develop more precise and personalized marketing and advertising strategies. Depending on your behavior on a social media platform, appropriate conclusions about your interests can be drawn using the evaluated data, and so-called user profiles can be created. This also allows the platforms to present you with tailored advertisements. Usually, cookies are set in your browser for this purpose, which store data about your usage behavior.

We generally assume that we remain responsible under data protection law, even when 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 can be jointly responsible with us in the sense of Art. 26 GDPR. Insofar as this is the case, we specifically point this out and work on the basis of a corresponding agreement. The essential aspects of the agreement are then reproduced further below for the affected platform.

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

What Data is Processed?

The exact data stored and processed depends on the respective provider of the social media platform. But usually, it involves data such as phone numbers, email addresses, data you enter into a contact form, user data such as which buttons you click, who you like or follow, when you visited which pages, information about your device, and your IP address. Most of this data is stored in cookies. Especially if you have your own 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 providers’ servers. Thus, only the providers have access to the data and can provide you with the appropriate information or make changes.

If you want to know exactly what data is stored and processed by social media providers and how you can object to data processing, you should carefully read the 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 contacting the provider directly.

Duration of Data Processing

We inform you about the duration of data processing further below, if we have additional information about it. 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 their own user data is deleted within two days. In general, we process personal data only as long as is absolutely necessary for the provision of our services and products. If it is legally required, as in the case of accounting, this storage period can be exceeded.

Right to Object

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

Since cookies may be used in social media tools, we also recommend that you read our general privacy policy on cookies. To find out exactly what data about you is stored and processed, you should read the privacy policies of the respective tools.

Legal Basis

If you have consented to your data being processed and stored by integrated social media elements, this consent serves as the legal basis for data processing (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR). In principle, if consent is given, your data will also be stored and processed on the basis of our legitimate interest (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR) in quick and good communication with you or other customers and business partners. Nevertheless, we only use the tools insofar as 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 review the privacy policy or cookie guidelines of the respective service provider.

Information on Specific Social Media Platforms Can be Found – if Available – in the Following Sections.

Instagram Privacy Policy

What is Instagram?

We have integrated Instagram features on our website. Instagram is a social media platform of Instagram LLC, 1601 Willow Rd, Menlo Park CA 94025, USA. Instagram has been a subsidiary of Meta Platforms Inc. since 2012 and belongs to the Facebook products. The embedding of Instagram content on our website is called embedding. This allows us to show you content such as buttons, photos or videos from Instagram directly on our website. When you visit web pages of our web presence 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 want 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. Since Instagram belongs to Meta Platforms Inc., we draw our information both from the Instagram policies and from the Meta privacy policies themselves.

Instagram is one of the most well-known 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 users casually call the platform), edit them with various filters and also spread 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. Therefore, a varied preparation of our content is a matter of course for us. Through the embedded Instagram functions, 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 personalized advertising on Facebook. This way, our advertising ads only reach people who are really interested in our products or services.

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

What Data is Stored by Instagram?

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

Facebook distinguishes between customer data and event data. We assume that this is exactly the case with Instagram. Customer data are, for example, name, address, phone number and IP address. This customer data will only be transmitted to Instagram after it has been “hashed”. Hashing means that a data record is transformed into a string of characters. This allows you to encrypt the contact data. In addition, the above-mentioned “event data” are also transmitted. By “event data”, Facebook – and consequently Instagram – understands data about your user behavior. It may also happen that contact data is combined with event data. The contact information collected is compared with the data that Instagram already has about you.

The collected data is transmitted to Facebook via small text files (cookies) that are usually set in your browser. Depending on the Instagram features 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 have visited 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 feature. At the latest after 90 days (after reconciliation), this data is deleted or anonymized. Although we have dealt intensively with Instagram’s data processing, we cannot say exactly what data Instagram collects and stores.

In the following, we show you cookies that are at least set in your browser when you click on an Instagram feature (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, of course, significantly more cookies will be set in your browser.

These cookies were used in our test:

Name: csrftoken
Value: “”
Purpose: This cookie is most likely set for security reasons to prevent request forgeries. However, we couldn’t find out more specific details about it.
Expiration date: after one year

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

Name: fbsr_112227561124024
Value: no information
Purpose: This cookie stores the login request for users of the Instagram app.
Expiration date: after end of session

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

Name: urlgen
Value: “{”194.96.75.33”: 1901}:1iEtYv:Y833k2_UjKvXgYe112227561”
Purpose: This cookie serves Instagram’s marketing purposes.
Expiration date: after end of session

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

How Long and where is the Data Stored?

Instagram shares the information received between Facebook companies with external partners and with people you connect with worldwide. Data processing is carried out in compliance with their own data policy. Your data is distributed, among other things for security reasons, on Facebook servers around the world. Most of these servers are located in the USA.

How Can I Delete My Data or Prevent Data Storage?

Thanks to the General Data Protection Regulation, you have the right to information, transferability, correction and deletion of your data. You can manage your data in the Instagram settings. If you want to completely delete your data on Instagram, you must permanently delete your Instagram account.

And this is how deleting the Instagram account works:

First, open the Instagram app. On your profile page, scroll down and click on “Help Center”. Now you will be directed to the company’s website. Click on “Managing Your Account” on the website and then on “Delete Your Account”.

If you delete your account completely, Instagram deletes posts such as your photos and status updates. Information that other people have shared about you does not belong to your account and will therefore 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, management always works a little differently. Under the section “Cookies” you will find the corresponding links to the instructions for the most popular browsers.

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

Legal Basis

If you have consented to the processing and storage of your data by embedded social media elements, this consent serves as the legal basis for data processing (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR). In principle, your data is also stored and processed based on our legitimate interest (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR) in fast and good communication with you or other customers and business partners. However, we only use the embedded 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 carefully read our privacy text about cookies and view the privacy policy or cookie policies of the respective service provider.

Instagram and/or Facebook also process data in the USA, among other places. We point out that, in the opinion of the European Court of Justice, there is currently no adequate level of protection for data transfer to the USA. This can entail various risks for the lawfulness and security of data processing.

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

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

Online Marketing Introduction

What is Online Marketing?

Online marketing refers to all measures carried out online to achieve marketing goals such as increasing brand awareness or closing a deal. Furthermore, our online marketing measures aim to draw people’s attention to our website. To be able to show our offer to many interested people, we therefore engage in online marketing. This usually involves online advertising, content marketing, or search engine optimization. To enable us to use online marketing efficiently and purposefully, personal data is also stored and processed. On the one hand, the data helps us to show our content only to those who are truly interested, and on the other hand, we can measure the advertising success of our online marketing measures.

Why Do We Use Online Marketing Tools?

We want to show our website to everyone who is interested in our offer. We are aware that this is not possible without deliberately implemented measures. That’s why we do online marketing. There are various tools that facilitate our work on online marketing measures and also constantly provide suggestions for improvement based on data. This allows us to target our campaigns more precisely to our audience. The ultimate purpose of these online marketing tools is therefore to optimize our offering.

What Data is Processed?

To ensure our online marketing functions and to measure the success of our efforts, user profiles are created and data is stored, for example, in cookies (these are small text files). Using this data, we can not only display traditional advertising, but also present our content directly on our website in the way you prefer. Various third-party tools offer these functions and accordingly collect and store your data. For example, the aforementioned cookies store which web pages you have visited on our website, how long you have viewed these pages, which links or buttons you click, or from which website you came to us. Additionally, technical information can also be stored, such as your IP address, which browser you use, from which device you visit our website, or the time when you accessed our website and when you left it. If you have consented to us determining your location, we can also store and process this.

Your IP address is stored in pseudonymized form (i.e., shortened). Unique data that directly identifies you as a person, such as name, address, or email address, is also stored only in pseudonymized form within the advertising and online marketing procedures. Therefore, we cannot identify you as a person; we only have the pseudonymized, stored information in the user profiles.

The cookies may also be used, analyzed, and employed for advertising purposes on other websites that work with the same advertising tools. The data may then also be stored on the servers of the advertising tool providers.

In exceptional cases, unique data (names, email addresses, etc.) may also be stored in the user profiles. This storage occurs, for example, if you are a member of a social media channel that we use for our online marketing measures and the network connects previously received data with the user profile.

For all advertising tools we use that store your data on their servers, we only ever receive aggregated information and never data that identifies you as an individual. The data merely shows how well implemented advertising measures performed. For example, we see which measures prompted you or other users to visit our website and purchase a service or product there. Based on the analyses, we can improve our advertising offer in the future and adapt it even more precisely to the needs and wishes of interested individuals.

Duration of Data Processing

We will inform you about the duration of data processing further below, provided we have more information on it. In general, we only process personal data for as long as it is absolutely necessary for the provision of our services and products. Data stored in cookies is stored for varying lengths of time. Some cookies are deleted as soon as you leave the website, while others may remain stored in your browser for several years. In the respective privacy policies of the individual providers, you will usually find precise information about the individual cookies that the provider uses.

Right to Object

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

Since online marketing tools can generally use cookies, we also recommend our general privacy policy on cookies. To find out exactly what data about you is stored and processed, you should read the privacy policies of the respective tools.

Legal Basis

If you have consented to the use of third-party providers, the legal basis for the corresponding data processing is this consent. This consent constitutes, according to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (Consent) the legal basis for the processing of personal data, as may occur when collected by online marketing tools.

Furthermore, we have a legitimate interest in measuring online marketing measures in anonymized form to optimize our offer and our measures with the help of the data obtained. The corresponding legal basis for this is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (Legitimate Interests) . Nevertheless, we only use the tools insofar as you have given your consent.

Information on Specific Online Marketing Tools Can be Found – if Available – in the Following Sections.

Google Ads (Google AdWords) Conversion Tracking Privacy Policy

What is Google Ads Conversion Tracking?

As an online marketing measure, we use Google Ads (formerly Google AdWords) to promote our products and services. In this way, we want to draw more people’s attention to the high quality of our offers on the internet. As part of our advertising measures through Google Ads, we use the conversion tracking of 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 want to explain in more detail why we use conversion tracking, what data is stored, and how you can prevent this data storage.

Google Ads (formerly Google AdWords) is Google Inc.’s in-house online advertising system. 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 change from being a merely interested website visitor to an active visitor. This always happens when you click on our ad and then perform another action, such as visiting our website. With Google’s conversion tracking tool, we 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 subscribed to 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 as well. The goal is for our advertising campaigns to truly reach only those people who are interested in our offers. With the conversion tracking tool, we see which keywords, ads, ad groups, and campaigns lead to the desired customer actions. We see how many customers interact with our ads on a device and then complete a conversion. With this data, we can calculate our cost-benefit ratio, measure the success of individual advertising measures, and consequently optimize our online marketing measures. Furthermore, with the help of the data obtained, we can make our website more interesting for you and tailor 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 to better analyze certain user actions. If you now click on one of our Google Ads ads, the “Conversion” cookie from a Google domain will be 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 for the most important cookies for Google’s conversion tracking:

Name: Conversion
Value: EhMI_aySuoyv4gIVled3Ch0llweVGAEgt-mr6aXd7dYlSAGQ112227561-3
Purpose: This cookie stores every conversion you make on our site after coming to us via a Google Ad.
Expiration date: after 3 months

Name: _gac
Value: 1.1558695989.EAIaIQobChMIiOmEgYO04gIVj5AYCh2CBAPrEAAYASAAEgIYQfD_BwE
Purpose: This is a classic Google Analytics cookie and serves to record various actions on our website.
Expiration date: after 3 months

Note: The _gac cookie only appears in connection with Google Analytics.

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 browse our website and the cookie has not yet expired, we and Google recognize that you found us via our Google Ads ad. The cookie is read out 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 named “__gads” or “_gac” may be set under our domain. Since September 2017, various campaign information from analytics.js has been stored with the _gac cookie. The cookie stores this data as soon as you visit one of our pages for which Google Ads’ automatic tag identification has been set up. Unlike cookies 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 learn the total number of users who clicked on our ad and we see which advertising measures were well received.

How Long and where is the Data Stored?

At this point, we want to point out that we have no influence on how Google further 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 personal data. The cookies named “Conversion” and “_gac” (which is used in conjunction with Google Analytics) have an expiration date of 3 months.

How Can I Delete My Data or Prevent Data Storage?

You have the option to opt out of Google Ads conversion tracking. If you disable the Google Conversion Tracking cookie via your browser, you will block conversion tracking. In this case, you will not be included in the statistics of the tracking tool. You can change your browser’s cookie settings at any time. This works slightly differently for each browser. Under the section “Cookies”, you will find the corresponding links to the respective instructions for the most common browsers.

If you generally do not want any cookies, you can set up your browser to always inform you when a cookie is to be set. This way, you can decide for each individual cookie whether to allow it or not. Downloading and installing this browser plug-in from https://support.google.com/ads/answer/7395996 will also disable all “advertising cookies”. Please note that disabling these cookies does not prevent advertisements, but only personalized advertising.

Legal Basis

If you have consented to the use of Google Ads Conversion Tracking, the legal basis for the corresponding data processing is this consent. According to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (Consent) this consent constitutes the legal basis for the processing of personal data, as may occur during collection by Google Ads Conversion Tracking.

Furthermore, we have a legitimate interest in using Google Ads Conversion Tracking to optimize our online service and marketing measures. The corresponding legal basis for this is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (Legitimate Interests) . However, we only use Google Ads Conversion Tracking if you have given your consent.

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

As a basis for data processing by recipients located in third countries (outside the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, i.e., particularly in the USA) or for data transfer to them, Google uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46 para. 2 and 3 GDPR). Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) are model templates provided by the EU Commission and are intended to ensure that your data complies with European data protection standards even when transferred to and stored in third countries (such as the USA). Through these clauses, Google undertakes to comply with the European data protection level 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, among other places, here: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de

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

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

Cookie Consent Management Platform Introduction

What is a Cookie Consent Management Platform?

We use Consent Management Platform (CMP) software on our website that makes it easier for us and you to handle the scripts and cookies used correctly and securely. The software automatically creates a cookie popup, scans and controls all scripts and cookies, provides the legally required cookie consent for you, and helps us and you 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 don’t 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. We are also legally obligated 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 which cookies you accept and which you don’t. To grant you this right, we must first know exactly which cookies have landed on our website in the first place. Thanks to a cookie management tool that regularly scans the website for all existing cookies, we know about all cookies and can provide you with GDPR-compliant information about them. You can then accept or reject cookies via the consent system.

What Data is Processed?

Within 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 don’t have to ask you again on every new visit to our website and can also prove your consent if legally required. This is stored either in an opt-in cookie or on a server. Depending on the provider of the cookie management tool, the storage duration of your cookie consent varies. Usually, this data (such as pseudonymous user ID, consent timestamp, details on cookie categories or tools, browser, device information) is stored for up to two years.

Duration of Data Processing

We inform you about the duration of data processing further below, if we have additional information about it. In general, we process personal data only as long as it is absolutely necessary for the provision of our services and products. Data stored in cookies are stored for different lengths of time. Some cookies are deleted immediately after leaving the website, others can be stored in your browser for several years. The exact duration of data processing depends on the tool used, but you should usually expect a storage duration of several years. In the respective privacy policies of the individual providers, you will generally find precise information about the duration of data processing.

Right to Object

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

Information on Specific Cookie Management Tools, if Available, Can be Found in the Following Sections.

Legal Basis

If you consent to cookies, personal data about you will be processed and stored through these cookies. If we are allowed to use cookies through your consent (Article 6(1)(a) GDPR), 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, a cookie consent management platform software is used. The use of this software enables us to operate the website efficiently in a legally compliant manner, which represents a legitimate interest (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR).

BorlabsCookie Privacy Policy

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

Security & Anti-Spam

What is Security & Anti-Spam Software?

With so-called Security & Anti-Spam software, you and we can protect ourselves from various spam or phishing emails and other potential cyberattacks. Spam refers to unsolicited mass-sent advertising emails. Such emails are also called junk mail and can also incur costs. Phishing emails, in turn, are messages designed to build trust through fake messages or websites in order to obtain personal data. Anti-spam software generally protects against unwanted spam messages or malicious emails that could, for example, introduce viruses into our system. We also use general firewall and security systems that protect our computers from unwanted network attacks.

Why Do We Use Security & Anti-Spam Software?

We place a particularly high value on security on our website. After all, it’s not just about our security, but above all about yours. Unfortunately, cyber threats have become commonplace in the world of IT and the internet. Hackers often try to steal personal data from an IT system with the help of a cyberattack. And that’s why a good defense system is absolutely necessary. A security system monitors all incoming and outgoing connections to our network or computer. To achieve even greater security against cyberattacks, we use additional external security services in addition to the standardized security systems on our computer. Unauthorized data traffic is thus better prevented, and we protect ourselves from cybercrime.

What Data is Processed by Security & Anti-Spam Software?

The exact data collected and stored naturally depends on the respective service. However, we always strive to use only programs that collect data very sparingly or only store data that is necessary for the provision of the offered service. In principle, the service can store data such as name, address, IP address, email address, and technical data such as browser type or browser version. Any performance and log data may also be collected to detect potential incoming threats in a timely manner. This data is processed within the scope of the services and in compliance with applicable laws. This also includes the GDPR for US providers (via standard contractual clauses). In some cases, these security services also work with third-party providers who may store and/or process data under instruction and in accordance with data protection guidelines and other security measures. Data storage usually takes place via cookies.

Duration of Data Processing

We will inform you about the duration of data processing below, if we have further information. For example, security programs store data until you or we revoke the data storage. In general, personal data is only stored for as long as it is absolutely necessary for the provision of the services. In many cases, we unfortunately lack precise information from the providers about the length of storage.

Right to Object

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

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

Legal Basis

We primarily use security services based on our legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR) in a good security system against various cyberattacks.

Certain processing operations, in particular the use of cookies and the use of security functions, require your consent. If you have consented to your data being processed and stored by integrated security services, this consent serves as the legal basis for data processing (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR). Most of the services we use set cookies in your browser to store data. Therefore, we recommend that you read our privacy policy on cookies carefully and review the privacy policy or cookie policies of the respective service provider.

Information on Specific Tools, if Available, Can be Found in the Following Sections.

Google reCAPTCHA Privacy Policy

What is reCAPTCHA?

Our primary goal is to secure and protect our website as best as possible for you and for us. To ensure this, we use Google reCAPTCHA from Google Inc. For the European area, Google Ireland Limited (Gordon House, Barrow Street Dublin 4, Ireland) is responsible for all Google services. With reCAPTCHA, we can determine whether you are truly a human being and not a robot or other spam software. By spam, we mean any unsolicited information that reaches us electronically. With classic CAPTCHAs, you usually had to solve text or image puzzles for verification. With Google’s reCAPTCHA, we usually don’t have to bother you with such puzzles. In most cases, it’s enough to simply check a box to confirm that you are not a bot. With the new Invisible reCAPTCHA version, you don’t even have to check a box. How exactly this works and, above all, what data is used for it, you can find out in the course of this privacy policy.

reCAPTCHA is a free Captcha service from Google that protects websites from spam software and misuse 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 automated Turing test 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 computer scientist Alan Turing), a human determines the distinction between bot and human. With Captchas, the computer or a software program also takes over this task. Classic Captchas work with small tasks that are easy for humans to solve but pose significant difficulties for machines. With reCAPTCHA, you no longer have to actively solve puzzles. The tool uses modern risk techniques to distinguish humans from bots. Here, you only need to check the text box “I am not a robot”, or with Invisible reCAPTCHA, even that is no longer necessary. With reCAPTCHA, a JavaScript element is embedded in the source code, and then the tool runs in the background and analyzes your user behavior. From these user actions, the software calculates a so-called Captcha score. Google uses this score to calculate the probability that you are a human even before the Captcha input. reCAPTCHA or Captchas in general are always used when bots could manipulate or misuse certain actions (e.g., registrations, surveys, etc.).

Why Do We Use reCAPTCHA on our Website?

We only want to welcome real people to our site. Bots or spam software of all kinds can safely stay at home. That’s why we pull out all the stops to protect ourselves and offer you the best possible user-friendliness. For this reason, we use Google reCAPTCHA from Google. This way, we can be quite sure that we remain a “bot-free” website. By using reCAPTCHA, data is transmitted to Google to determine whether you are truly a human. reCAPTCHA therefore serves the security of our website and, consequently, your security. For example, without reCAPTCHA, a bot could register as many email addresses as possible during registration to then “spam” forums or blogs with unwanted advertising content. With reCAPTCHA, we can avoid such bot attacks.

What Data is Stored by reCAPTCHA?

reCAPTCHA collects personal data from users to determine whether actions on our website truly originate from humans. Thus, the IP address and other data that Google needs for the reCAPTCHA service can be sent to Google. IP addresses are almost always truncated within EU member states or other contracting states of the Agreement on the European Economic Area before the data lands on a server in the USA. The IP address is not combined with other Google data unless you are logged into your Google account while using reCAPTCHA. First, the reCAPTCHA algorithm checks whether Google cookies from other Google services (YouTube, Gmail, etc.) are already placed on your browser. Then, reCAPTCHA sets an additional cookie in your browser and captures a snapshot of your browser window.

The following list of collected browser and user data is not exhaustive. Rather, these 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. Well-known 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 allows websites to adapt to the user. JavaScript objects can collect all kinds of data under one name)

• • Screen resolution (indicates how many pixels the image display consists of)

It is undisputed that Google uses and analyzes this data even before you click the “I am not a robot” checkbox. With the Invisible reCAPTCHA version, even checking the box is omitted, and the entire recognition process runs in the background. How much and what data Google stores exactly is not known in detail from Google.

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:

Name: IDE
Value: WqTUmlnmv_qXyi_DGNPLESKnRNrpgXoy1K-pAZtAkMbHI-112227561-8
Purpose: This cookie is set by DoubleClick (also owned by Google) to register and report a user’s actions on the website in connection with advertisements. This allows advertising effectiveness to be measured and appropriate optimization measures to be taken. IDE is stored in browsers under the doubleclick.net domain.
Expiration date: after one year

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

Name: ANID
Value: U7j1v3dZa1122275610xgZFmiqWppRWKOr
Purpose: We could not find much information about this cookie. In Google’s privacy policy, the cookie is mentioned in connection with “advertising cookies” such as “DSID “, “FLC”, “AID “, “TAID”. ANID is stored under the google.com domain.
Expiration date: after 9 months

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

Name: NID
Value: 0WmuWqy112227561zILzqV_nmt3sDXwPeM5Q
Purpose: NID is used by Google to tailor advertisements to your Google search. With the help of the cookie, Google “remembers” your most frequently entered search queries or your previous interaction with ads. This way, you always receive customized advertisements. The cookie contains a unique ID to collect the user’s personal settings for advertising purposes.
Expiration date: after 6 months

Name: DV
Value: gEAABBCjJMXcI0dSAAAANbqc112227561-4
Purpose: As soon as you check the “I am not a robot” box, this cookie is set. The cookie is used by Google Analytics for personalized advertising. DV collects information in anonymized form and is also used to differentiate users.
Expiration date: after 10 minutes

Note: This list cannot claim to be exhaustive, as Google’s choice of cookies changes frequently, based on experience.

How Long and where is the Data Stored?

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

How Can I Delete My Data or Prevent Data Storage?

If you do not want any data about you and your behavior to be transmitted to Google, you must completely log out of Google and delete all Google cookies before visiting our website or using the reCAPTCHA software. In principle, data is automatically transmitted to Google as soon as you access our site. To delete this data again, you must contact Google support at https://support.google.com/?hl=de&tid=112227561.

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

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

Legal Basis

If you have consented to the use of Google reCAPTCHA, the legal basis for the corresponding data processing is this consent. This consent, according to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (Consent) constitutes the legal basis for the processing of personal data, as may occur during collection by Google reCAPTCHA.

Furthermore, we have a legitimate interest in using Google reCAPTCHA to optimize and secure our online service. The corresponding legal basis for this is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (Legitimate Interests) . Nevertheless, we only use Google reCAPTCHA if you have given your consent.

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

As a basis for data processing by recipients located in third countries (outside the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, i.e., particularly in the USA) or for data transfer to them, Google uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46 para. 2 and 3 GDPR). Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) are model templates provided by the EU Commission and are intended to ensure that your data complies with European data protection standards even when transferred to and stored in third countries (such as the USA). Through these clauses, Google undertakes to comply with the European data protection level 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, among other places, here: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de

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

You can find out more about reCAPTCHA on Google’s web developer page at https://developers.google.com/recaptcha/. While Google goes into more detail about the technical development of reCAPTCHA there, precise information about data storage and data protection-relevant topics is sought in vain. A good overview of the general use of data at Google can be found in its own privacy policy at https://www.google.com/intl/de/policies/privacy/.

iThemes Security Privacy Policy

For our website, we use iThemes Security, a security plugin for the WordPress content management system. The service provider is the American company iThemes Media LLC, 1720 S Kelly Ave, Edmond, OK 73013, USA. In 2018, the company was acquired by Liquid Web LLC (2703 Ena Drive, Lansing, MI 48917, USA).

iThemes also processes your data in the USA, among other places. We point out that, in the opinion of the European Court of Justice, there is currently no adequate level of protection for data transfer to the USA. This can entail various risks for the lawfulness and security of data processing.

As a basis for data processing by recipients located in third countries (outside the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, i.e., particularly in the USA) or for data transfer to them, iThemes uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46 para. 2 and 3 GDPR). Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) are model templates provided by the EU Commission and are intended to ensure that your data complies with European data protection standards even when transferred to and stored in third countries (such as the USA). Through these clauses, Liquid Web undertakes to comply with the European data protection level 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, among other places, here: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de

On the website https://www.liquidweb.com/blog/liquid-web-and-gdpr-compliance/, you will find a download link through which you can download the Data Processing Addendum. There you will also learn more about the standard contractual clauses.

Learn more about the data processed by iThemes or Liquid Web in the Privacy Policy at https://www.liquidweb.com/policies/privacy-policy/.

Web Design Introduction

What is Web Design?

We use various tools on our website that serve our web design. Web design, as often assumed, is not just about making our website look pretty, but also about functionality and performance. But of course, the appropriate appearance of a website is also one of the major goals of professional web design. Web design is a sub-area of media design and deals with both the visual and the structural and functional design of a website. The goal is to improve your experience on our website with the help of web design. In web design jargon, this is referred to as User Experience (UX) and Usability. User Experience refers to all impressions and experiences that a website visitor has on a website. A sub-point of User Experience is Usability. This is about the user-friendliness of a website. The focus here is primarily on ensuring that content, subpages, or products are clearly structured and that you can easily and quickly find what you are looking for. To offer you the best possible experience on our website, we also use so-called third-party web design tools. The category “Web design” in this privacy policy therefore includes all services that visually improve our website. These can be, for example, fonts, various plugins, or other integrated web design functions.

Why Do We Use Web Design Tools?

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

What Data is Stored by Web Design Tools?

When you visit our website, web design elements may be integrated into our pages that can also process data. Exactly which data is involved naturally depends heavily on the tools used. Below, you will see exactly which tools we use for our website. For more information about data processing, we recommend that you also read the respective privacy policy of the tools used. Most often, you will find out there what data is processed, whether cookies are used, and how long the data is stored. For example, through fonts such as Google Fonts, information such as language settings, IP address, browser version, browser screen resolution, and browser name are automatically transmitted to Google servers.

Duration of Data Processing

How long data is processed is very individual and depends on the web design elements used. For example, if cookies are used, the retention period can be as short as one minute or as long as several years. Please inform yourself about this. For this purpose, we recommend our general text section on cookies as well as the privacy policies of the tools used. There you will usually find out exactly which cookies are used and what information is stored in them. Google Font files, for example, are stored for one year. This is intended to improve the loading time of a website. In principle, data is always only stored for as long as it is necessary for the provision of the service. In the case of legal requirements, data may also be stored longer.

Right to Object

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

Legal Basis

If you have consented to the use of web design tools, the legal basis for the corresponding data processing is this consent. This consent, according to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (Consent), constitutes the legal basis for the processing of personal data, as may occur during collection by web design tools. Furthermore, we have a legitimate interest in improving the web design on our website. After all, only then can we provide you with a beautiful and professional web offering. The corresponding legal basis for this is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (Legitimate Interests). Nevertheless, we only use web design tools if you have given your consent. We definitely want to emphasize this again here.

Information on Specific Web Design Tools Can be Found – if Available – in the Following Sections.

Google Fonts Local Privacy Policy

On our website, we use Google Fonts from Google Inc. For the European region, Google Ireland Limited (Gordon House, Barrow Street Dublin 4, Ireland) is responsible. We have integrated the Google fonts locally, i.e., on our web server – not on Google’s servers. This means there is no connection to Google servers and therefore no data transfer or storage.

What are Google Fonts?

Google Fonts used to be called Google Web Fonts. It is an interactive directory with over 800 fonts that Google provides free of charge. With Google Fonts, one could use fonts without uploading them to one’s own server. However, to prevent any information transfer to Google servers in this regard, we have downloaded the fonts to our server. In this way, we act in compliance with data protection and do not transmit any data to Google Fonts.

Online Map Services Introduction

What are Online Map Services?

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

Why Do We Use Online Map Services on our Website?

Generally speaking, it is our aim to offer you a pleasant time on our website. And of course, your time is only pleasant if you can easily find your way around our website and quickly and easily find all the information you need. That’s why we thought an online map system could be a significant optimization of our service on the website. Without leaving our website, you can easily view route descriptions, locations or even sights with the help of the map system. Of course, it is also super practical that you can see at a glance where our company headquarters are so that you can find us quickly and safely. You see, there are simply many advantages and we clearly see online map services on our website as part of our customer service.

What Data is Stored by Online Map Services?

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

How Long and where is the Data Stored?

Each online map service processes different user data. If we have further information, we will inform you about the duration of data processing further down in the corresponding sections on the individual tools. In principle, personal data is always only stored for as long as is necessary for the provision of the service. Google Maps, for example, stores certain data for a fixed period, while you have to delete other data yourself. With Mapbox, for example, the IP address is stored for 30 days and then deleted. You see, each tool stores data for different lengths of time. We therefore recommend that you take a close look at the privacy statements of the tools used.

The providers also use cookies to store data about your user behavior with the map service. You can find more general information about cookies in our “Cookies” section, but you can also find out which cookies can be used in the data protection texts of the individual providers. In most cases, however, this is only an example list and is not complete.

Right to Object

You always have the option and also the right to access your personal data and to object to its use and processing. You can also revoke your consent, which you have given us, at any time. As a rule, the easiest way to do this is via the cookie consent tool. But there are also other opt-out tools that you can use. You can also manage, delete or deactivate possible cookies that are set by the providers used yourself with just a few mouse clicks. However, it may then happen that some functions of the service no longer work as usual. How you manage cookies in your browser also depends on the browser you are using. In the “Cookies” section you will also find links to the instructions for the most important browsers.

Legal Basis

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

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

Information on Special Online Map Services is Available – if Available – in the Following Sections.

Google Maps Privacy Policy

What is Google Maps?

We use Google Maps from 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. With Google Maps, we can show you locations better and thus adapt our service to your needs. By using Google Maps, data is transferred to Google and stored on the Google servers. Here we would now like to go into more detail about what Google Maps is, why we use this Google service, what data is stored and how you can prevent this.

Google Maps is an internet map service from Google. With Google Maps, you can search online via a PC, tablet or app for exact locations of cities, sights, accommodations or companies. If companies are represented on Google My Business, additional information about the company is displayed in addition to the location. To display the directions, map sections of a location can be integrated into a website using HTML code. Google Maps shows the earth’s surface as a road map or as an aerial or satellite image. Thanks to the Street View images and the high-quality satellite images, very precise representations are possible.

Why Do We Use Google Maps on our Website?

All our efforts on this page are aimed at offering you a useful and meaningful time on our website. By integrating Google Maps, we can provide you with the most important information about various locations. You can see at a glance where our company headquarters are. The directions always show you the best or fastest way to us. You can retrieve the directions for routes by car, public transport, on foot or by bicycle. For us, the provision of Google Maps is part of our customer service.

What Data is Stored by Google Maps?

In order for Google Maps to be able to offer its service in full, the company must collect and store data from you. This includes the search terms you enter, your IP address and also the latitude and longitude coordinates. If you use the route planner function, the start address you enter will also be saved. However, this data storage happens on the Google Maps websites. We can only inform you about this, but cannot influence it. Since we have integrated Google Maps into our website, Google sets at least one cookie (name: NID) in your browser. This cookie stores data about your user behavior. Google primarily uses this data to optimize its own services and to provide you with individual, personalized advertising.

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

Name: NID
Value: 188=h26c1Ktha7fCQTx8rXgLyATyITJ112227561-5
Purpose: NID is used by Google to tailor advertisements to your Google search. With the help of the cookie, Google “remembers” your most frequently entered search queries or your previous interaction with advertisements. This way you always get tailor-made advertisements. The cookie contains a unique ID that Google uses to collect your personal settings for advertising purposes.
Expiration date: after 6 months

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

How Long and where is the Data Stored?

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

Google distributes the data across various data carriers. This makes the data quicker to retrieve and better protected against any manipulation attempts. Each data center also has special emergency programs. For example, if there are problems with the Google hardware or a natural disaster paralyzes the servers, the data will remain pretty safe anyway.

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

How Can I Delete My Data or Prevent Data Storage?

With the automatic deletion function for location and activity data introduced in 2019, information on location and web/app activity is stored for either 3 or 18 months – depending on your decision – and then deleted. In addition, you can also manually delete this data from the history via the Google account at any time. If you want to completely prevent your location from being recorded, you must pause the “Web and App Activity” section in your Google account. Click “Data and Personalization” and then on the “Activity Setting” option. Here you can switch the activities on or off.

You can also deactivate, delete or manage individual cookies in your browser. Depending on which browser you use, this always works a little differently. Under the section “Cookies” you will find the corresponding links to the respective instructions for the most well-known browsers.

If you generally don’t want any cookies, you can set up your browser to always inform you when a cookie is about to be set. This way, you can decide for each individual cookie whether to allow it or not.