Data protection

Introduction and Overview

We have written this privacy statement (version 10.02.2022) in order to explain to you, in accordance with the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and applicable national laws, which personal data (data for short) we as the controller – and the processors (e.g. providers) commissioned by us – process, will process in the future and what lawful options you have. The terms used are to be understood as gender-neutral. We inform you comprehensively about data that we process about you.

Scope of application

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

        all online presences (websites, online stores) that we operate

        social media presences and email communications

        mobile apps for smartphones and other devices

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

Legal basis

In the following privacy statement, 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, which you can of course read online on EUR-Lex, the access to EU law, at https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/DE/TXT/?uri=celex%3A32016R0679.

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

  1. consent (Article 6(1)(a) DSGVO): you have given us your consent to process data for a specific purpose. An example would be the storage of your entered data of a contact form.
  2. contract (Article 6(1) lit. b DSGVO): In order to fulfill a contract or pre-contractual obligations with you, we process your data. For example, if we conclude a purchase contract with you, we need personal information in advance.
  3. legal obligation (Article 6(1)(c) DSGVO): If we are subject to a legal obligation, we process your data. For example, we are legally obliged to keep invoices for accounting purposes. These usually contain personal data.
  4. legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) DSGVO): in the case of legitimate interests that do not restrict your fundamental rights, we reserve the right to process personal data. For example, we need to process certain data in order to operate our website in a secure and economically efficient manner. This processing is therefore a legitimate interest.

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

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

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

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

Contact details of the person responsible

If you have any questions regarding data protection, you will find the contact details of the responsible person or body below:

Compliance2b GmbH
Gabriele Bolek-Fügl
Lindengasse 56, 1070 Vienna, Austria
E-mail: office@compliance2b.com 
Imprint: https://compliance2b.at/impressum/  

Contact details of the data protection officer
Below you will find the contact details of the data protection officer:

Martina Leitgeb
Lindengasse 56, 1070 Vienna, Austria
E-mail: office@compliance2b.com 

Storage period

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

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

We will inform you about the specific duration of the respective data processing below.

Rights according to the General Data Protection Regulation

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

        According to Article 15 DSGVO, you have the right to information about whether we process data about you. If this is the case, you have the right to receive a copy of the data and to know the following information:

·        for what purpose we are processing it;

·        the categories, i.e. the types of data that are processed;

·        who receives this data and if the data is transferred to third countries, how security can be guaranteed;

·        how long the data will be stored;

·        the existence of the right to rectification, erasure or restriction of processing and the right to object to processing;

·        that you can lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority (links to these authorities can be found below);

·        the origin of the data if we have not collected it from you;

·        whether profiling is carried out, i.e. whether data is automatically evaluated to arrive at a personal profile of you.

        You have a right to rectification of data according to Article 16 GDPR, which means that we must correct data if you find errors.

        You have the right to erasure („right to be forgotten“) according to Article 17 GDPR, which specifically means that you may request the deletion of your data.

        According to Article 18 of the GDPR, you have the right to restriction of processing, which means that we may only store the data but not use it further.

        According to Article 19 of the GDPR, you have the right to data portability, which means that we will provide you with your data in a standard format upon request.

        According to Article 21 DSGVO, you have the right to object, which entails a change in processing after enforcement.

·        If the processing of your data is based on Article 6(1)(e) (public interest, exercise of official authority) or Article 6(1)(f) (legitimate interest), you may object to the processing. We will then check as soon as possible whether we can legally comply with this objection.

·        If data is used to conduct direct advertising, you may 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 to carry out profiling, you may object to this type of data processing at any time. We may no longer use your data for profiling thereafter.

        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).

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

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

Data transfer to third countries

We only transfer or process data to countries outside the EU (third countries) if you consent to this processing, if this is required by law or contractually necessary, and in any case only to the extent that this is generally permitted. Your consent is in most cases the most important reason that we have data processed in third countries. Processing personal data in third countries such as the U.S., where many software vendors provide services and have their server locations, may mean that personal data is processed and stored in unexpected ways.

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

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

Data processing security

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

Article 25 of the GDPR refers to „data protection through technical design and data protection-friendly default settings“ and thus means that both software (e.g., forms) and hardware (e.g., access to the server room) are always designed with security in mind and that appropriate measures are taken. In the following, we will go into more detail on specific measures, if necessary.

TLS encryption with https

TLS, encryption and https sound very technical and they are. We use HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure stands for „secure hypertext transfer protocol“) to transfer data over the Internet in a tap-proof manner.

This means that the complete transmission of all data from your browser to our web server is secured – no one can „listen in“.

In this way, we have introduced an additional layer of security and fulfill data protection by design of technology (Article 25(1) DSGVO). By using TLS (Transport Layer Security), an encryption protocol for secure data transmission on the Internet, we can ensure the protection of confidential data.

You can recognize the use of this protection of data transmission by the small lock symbol at the top left of the browser, to the left of the Internet address (e.g., beispielseite.de) and the use of the scheme https (instead of http) as part of our Internet address.

If you want to know more about encryption, we recommend a Google search for „Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure wiki“ to get good links to further information.

Communication

Communication summary

👥 Affected parties: anyone who communicates with us by phone, email, or online form.

📓 Data processed: e.g. telephone number, name, e-mail address, form data entered. You can find more details on this in the respective contact type used.

🤝 Purpose: Handling of communication with customers, business partners, etc.

📅 Storage period: Duration of the business case and legal requirements.

⚖ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO (consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b DSGVO (contract), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO (legitimate interests).

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

The data will be processed for the handling and processing of your question and the related business transaction. The data will be stored for the same period of time or as long as required by law.

Persons concerned

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

Telephone

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

E-mail

If you communicate with us by e-mail, data may be stored on the respective end device (computer, laptop, smartphone,…) and data is stored on the e-mail server. The data will be deleted as soon as the business case has been closed and legal requirements allow it.

Online forms

If you communicate with us using online forms, data is stored on our web server and may be forwarded to an e-mail address of ours. The data will be deleted as soon as the business case has been terminated and legal requirements permit.

Legal basis

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

        Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO (consent): you give us your consent to store your data and to further use it for purposes related to the business case;

        Art. 6 (1) lit. b DSGVO (contract): there is a need for the performance of a contract with you or a processor such as the telephone provider or we need to process the data for pre-contractual activities, such as the preparation of an offer;

        Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO (Legitimate Interests): we want to operate customer inquiries and business communication in a professional framework. For this purpose, certain technical facilities such as e-mail programs, exchange servers and mobile network operators are necessary in order to be able to operate the communication efficiently.

Cookies

Cookies summary

👥 Data subjects: visitors to the website.

🤝 Purpose: depends on the cookie in question. More details can be found below or from the manufacturer of the software that sets the cookie.

📓 Data processed: Depending on the cookie used in each case. More details can be found below or from the manufacturer of the software that sets the cookie.

📅 Storage duration: Depending on the respective cookie, can vary from hours to years.

⚖ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO (Consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit.f DSGVO (Legitimate Interests).

What are cookies?

Our website uses HTTP cookies to store user-specific data.

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 browse the Internet, you use a browser. Popular 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 can’t be denied: Cookies are really useful little helpers. Almost all websites use cookies. More precisely, they are HTTP cookies, as there are other cookies for other applications. HTTP cookies are small files that are stored on your computer by our website. These cookie files are automatically placed in the cookie folder, effectively the „brain“ of your browser. A cookie consists of a name and a value. When defining a cookie, one or more attributes must also be specified.

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

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 must be evaluated individually, as each cookie stores different data. Also, the expiration time of a cookie varies from a few minutes to a few years. Cookies are not software programs and do not contain viruses, Trojans or other „pests“. Cookies also cannot access information on your PC.

For example, cookie data may look like this

Name: _ga
Wert: GA1.2.1326744211.152111942847-9
Purpose: to 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.

We can distinguish 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 on other pages, and only later goes to the checkout. These cookies do not delete the shopping cart even if the user closes his browser window.

Purpose cookies

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

Target-oriented cookies

These cookies provide a better user experience. For example, entered locations, font sizes or form data are stored.

Advertising cookies

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

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

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

Purpose of processing via cookies

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

What data is processed?

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

Storage duration of cookies

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

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

Right of objection – how can I delete cookies?

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

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

Chrome: Delete, enable and manage cookies in Chrome.

Safari: Manage cookies and website data with Safari.

Firefox: Delete cookies to remove data that 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 your browser to notify you whenever a cookie is about to be set. This way, you can decide for each cookie whether to allow it or not. The procedure varies depending on the browser. It is best to search for the instructions in Google using the search term „delete cookies Chrome“ or „disable cookies Chrome“ in the case of a Chrome browser.

Legal basis

Since 2009, there are the so-called „Cookie Guidelines“. It is stated therein that the storage of cookies requires your consent (Article 6 (1) lit. a DSGVO). Within the EU countries, however, there are still very different reactions to these directives. In Austria, however, this directive was implemented in Section 96 (3) of the Telecommunications Act (TKG). In Germany, the Cookie Directives were not implemented as national law. Instead, the implementation of this directive took place largely in § 15 para.3 of the Telemedia Act (TMG).

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

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

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

Web Hosting Introduction

Web hosting summary

👥 Concerned parties: visitors of the website.

🤝 Purpose: professional hosting of the website and securing the operation.

📓 Processed data: IP address, time of website visit, browser used and other data. More details can be found below or with the respective web hosting provider used.

📅 Storage period: depending on the respective provider, but usually 2 weeks.

⚖ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit.f DSGVO (Legitimate Interests).

What is web hosting?

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

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

This web browser needs to connect to another computer where the website’s code is stored: the web server. Running a web server is a complicated and costly task, which is why this is usually done by professional providers, the providers. These offer web hosting and thus ensure reliable and error-free storage of website data.

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

Why do we process personal data?

The purposes of data processing are:

        professional hosting of the website and securing its operation.

        to maintain operational and IT security

        anonymous evaluation of access behavior to improve our offer and, if necessary, for law enforcement 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, usually automatically stores data such as

        the complete Internet address (URL) of the website you are visiting

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

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

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

        the host name and IP address of the device being accessed (e.g. COMPUTERNAME and 194.23.43.121)

        date and time

        in files, the so-called web server log files

How long is data stored?

As a rule, the above data is stored for two weeks and then automatically deleted. We do not share 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 your consent!

Legal basis

The lawfulness of the processing of personal data in the context of web hosting results from Art. 6 (1) lit. f DSGVO (protection of legitimate interests), because the use of professional hosting with a provider is necessary to present the company on the Internet in a secure and user-friendly manner and to be able to pursue attacks and claims from this if necessary.

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

Website Building Block Systems Introduction

Website Building Block Systems Privacy Policy Summary

👥 Data subjects: Visitors to the website

🤝 Purpose: Optimization of our service performance.

📓 Processed data: Data such as technical usage information like browser activity, clickstream activity, session heatmaps as well as contact details, IP address or your geographical location. More details can be found below in this privacy policy and in the privacy policy of the providers.

📅 Storage duration: depends on the provider.

⚖ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO (Legitimate Interests), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO (Consent).

What are website building systems?

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

Why do we use website building block systems for our website?

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

What data is stored by a modular system?

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

How long and where is the data stored?

We will inform you about the duration of data processing below in connection with the website construction kit system used, provided we have further information on this. 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 its own specifications, over which we have no control.

Right of objection

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

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

Legal basis

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

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

With this privacy policy, we have brought you closer to the most important general information around data processing. If you would like more detailed information in this regard, you will find further information – if available – in the following section or in the provider’s privacy policy.

WordPress.com Privacy Policy

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

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

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

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

You can learn more about the data processed through the use of WordPress.com in the Privacy Policy at https://automattic.com/de/privacy/.

Google Analytics Privacy Policy

Google Analytics Privacy Policy Summary

👥 Data subjects: Visitors to the website.

🤝 Purpose: Evaluation of visitor information to optimize the web offer.

📓 Data processed: Access statistics, which include data such as locations of accesses, device data, access duration and time, navigation behavior, click behavior, and IP addresses. More details can be found below in this privacy policy.

📅 Storage duration: depending on the properties used.

⚖ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO (Consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO (Legitimate Interests).

What is Google Analytics?

On our website, we use the analysis tracking tool Google Analytics (GA) of the American company Google Inc. For the European area, the company Google Ireland Limited (Gordon House, Barrow Street Dublin 4, Ireland) is responsible for all Google services. Google Analytics collects data about your actions on our website. For example, when you click on a link, this action is stored in a cookie and sent to Google Analytics. Using the reports we receive from Google Analytics, we can better tailor our website and service to your preferences. In the following, we will go into more detail about the tracking tool and, in particular, inform you about what data is stored and how you can prevent this.

Google Analytics is a tracking tool used to analyze traffic to our website. In order for Google Analytics to work, a tracking code is built into the code of our website. When you visit our website, this code records various actions you take on our website. Once you leave our website, this data is sent to Google Analytics servers and stored there.

Google processes the data and we receive reports about your user behavior. These reports may include, but are not limited to, the following:

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

        Ad reports: Ad reports help us analyze and improve our online advertising.

        Acquisition reports: Acquisition reports give us helpful information on how to attract more people to our service.

        Behavior reports: This is where we learn how you interact with our website. We can track the path you take on our site and which links you click.

        Conversion reports: Conversion is when you take a desired action based on a marketing message. For example, you go from being a mere website visitor to a buyer or newsletter subscriber. These reports help us learn more about how our marketing efforts are working for you. This is how we aim to increase our conversion rate.

        Real-time reports: Here we always know immediately what is happening on our website. For example, we can see how many users are currently reading this text.

Why do we use Google Analytics on our website?

Our goal with this website is clear: we want to provide you with 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 can be found more easily by interested people on Google. On the other hand, the data helps us to better understand you as a visitor. Thus, we know very well what we need to improve on our website in order to provide you with the best possible service. The data also helps us to carry out our advertising and marketing measures in a more individual and cost-effective way. After all, it only makes sense to show our products and services to people who are interested in them.

What data is stored by Google Analytics?

Google Analytics uses a tracking code to create a random, unique ID associated with 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 makes it possible to evaluate pseudonymous user profiles.

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. For each newly created property, the Google Analytics 4 property is standard. Alternatively, you can also create the Universal Analytics property. Depending on the property used, data is stored for different lengths of time.

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

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

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

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

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

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

IP address: The IP address is only shown in a shortened form so that no clear assignment is possible.

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

Technical information: Technical information includes, but is not limited to, your browser type, internet service provider, or screen resolution.

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

Other data include contact details, any ratings, playing media (for example, if you play a video via our site), sharing content via social media or adding to your favorites. The enumeration does not claim to be complete and only serves as a general orientation of the data storage by Google Analytics.

How long and where is the data stored?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

According to European Union data protection law, you have the right to obtain information about your data, update it, delete it or restrict it. Using the browser add-on to disable Google Analytics JavaScript (ga.js, analytics.js, dc.js), you can 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 disables the collection of data by Google Analytics.

If you generally want to deactivate, delete or manage cookies, you will find the relevant links to the respective instructions for 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 Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO (consent), this consent constitutes the legal basis for the processing of personal data as it may occur during the collection by web analytics tools.

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

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

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

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

We hope we have been able to provide you with the most important information regarding Google Analytics data processing. 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 turned on promotional reporting features in Google Analytics. The Demographic Characteristics and Interests reports contain information about age, gender, and interests. This allows us – without being able to assign this data to individual persons – to get a better picture of our users. You can learn more about advertising features at https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/3450482?hl=de_AT&utm_id=ad.

You can stop the use of the activities and information of your Google account under „Advertising settings“ at https://adssettings.google.com/authenticated via checkbox.

Google Analytics deactivation link

If you click on the following deactivation link, you can prevent Google from collecting further visits to this website. Attention: Deleting cookies, using the incognito/private mode of your browser, or using a different browser will result in data being collected again.

Deactivate Google Analytics

Google Analytics IP anonymization

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

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

Google Analytics Data Processing Addendum

We have entered into a direct customer agreement with Google for the use of Google Analytics by accepting the „Data Processing Addendum“ in Google Analytics.

You can find out more about the Google Analytics Data Processing Addendum here: https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/3379636?hl=de&utm_id=ad  

Blogs and Publication Media Introduction

Blogs and Publication Media Privacy Policy Summary

👥 Data subjects: Visitors to the website.

🤝 Purpose: Presentation and optimization of our service performance as well as communication between website visitors, security measures and administration.

📓 Data processed: Data such as contact details, IP address and published content.

More details can be found at the tools used.

📅 Storage duration: depending on the tools used.

⚖ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO (consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO (legitimate interests), Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. b. DSGVO (contract)

What are blogs and publication media?

We use blogs or other communication media on our website, with which we can communicate with you on the one hand and you can also communicate with us on the other hand. In the process, data from you may also be stored and processed by us. This may be necessary so that we can present content appropriately, communication works and security is increased. In our data protection text, we generally go into what data can be processed from you. Exact details on data processing always also depend on the tools and functions used. In the privacy notices of the individual providers, you will find precise information about data processing.

Why do we use blogs and publication media?

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

What data is processed?

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

Duration of data processing

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

Right of objection

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

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

Legal basis

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

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

You can find information about special tools – if available – in the following sections.

Blog posts and comment functions Privacy policy

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

YouTube Privacy Policy

YouTube Privacy Policy Summary

👥 Data subject: visitors to the website

🤝 Purpose: Optimization of our service performance.

📓 Data processed: Data such as contact details, user behavior data, information about your device and your IP address may be stored.

You can find more details about this further down in this privacy policy.

📅 Storage period: Data is generally stored for as long as it is necessary for the purpose of the service

⚖ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO (consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO (legitimate interests).

What is YouTube?

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

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

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

Why do we use YouTube videos on our website?

YouTube is the video platform with the most visitors and the best content. We are committed to providing you with the best possible user experience on our website. And of course, interesting videos can’t be missing from that. With the help of our embedded videos, we provide you with other helpful content in addition to our text and images. In addition, the embedded videos make our website easier to find on the Google search engine. Also, when we run ads through Google Ads, Google – thanks to the data it collects – can really only show these ads to people who are interested in what we have to offer.

What data is stored by YouTube?

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

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

How long and where is the data stored?

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

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

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

Basically, you can delete data in Google Account manually. With the automatic deletion feature of location and activity data introduced in 2019, information will be stored depending on your decision – either 3 or 18 months and then deleted.

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

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

Legal basis

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

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

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

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

YouTube Subscribe Button Privacy Policy

We have implemented the YouTube Subscribe button on our website. You can usually recognize the button by the classic YouTube logo. The logo shows the words „Subscribe“ or „YouTube“ in white letters against a red background and the white „Play“ icon to the left. However, the button can also be displayed in a different design.

Our YouTube channel always offers you funny, interesting or exciting videos. With the built-in „Subscribe“ button, you can subscribe to our channel directly from our website and do not have to go to the YouTube website. In this way, we want to make it as easy as possible for you to access our extensive content. Please note that YouTube may store and process data about you as a result.

If you see a built-in subscribe button on our site, YouTube sets – according to Google – at least one cookie. This cookie stores your IP address and our URL. YouTube can also learn information about your browser, your approximate location and your default language this way.

If you are logged into your YouTube account, YouTube can store many of your actions/interactions on our website with the help of cookies and assign them to your YouTube account. YouTube thereby receives, for example, information on how long you surf our site, which browser type you use, which screen resolution you prefer or which actions you perform. YouTube uses this data on the one hand to improve its own services and offers, and on the other hand to provide analyses and statistics for advertisers (who use Google Ads).

Video Conferencing & Streaming Introduction

Video Conferencing & Streaming Privacy Policy Summary

👥 Data subjects: users who use our video conferencing or streaming tool.

🤝 Purpose: communication and presentation of content.

📓 Data Processed: Access statistics that include data such as name, address, contact details, email address, phone number or your IP address. More details can be found with the respective video conferencing or streaming tool used.

📅 Storage duration: depending on the video conferencing or streaming tool used.

⚖ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO (consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO (legitimate interests), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b DSGVO (contract).

What are video conferencing & streaming?

We use software programs that enable us to hold video conferences, online meetings, webinars, display sharing and/or streamings. In a videoconference or streaming, information is transmitted simultaneously via sound and moving image. With the help of such video conferencing or streaming tools, we can communicate with customers, business partners, clients and also employees quickly and easily over the Internet. Of course, we pay attention to the specified legal framework when selecting the service provider.

Basically, third-party providers can process data as soon as you interact with the software program. Third-party providers of the video conferencing or streaming solutions use your data and metadata for different purposes. For example, the data helps to make the tool more secure and to improve the service. Most of the time, the data may also be used for the third-party provider’s own marketing purposes.

Why do we use video conferencing & streaming on our website?

We want to communicate with you, with our customers and business partners also digitally in a fast, uncomplicated and secure way. This works best with video conferencing solutions that are very easy to use. Most tools also work directly via your browser and after just a few clicks you are right in the middle of a video meeting. The tools also offer helpful additional features such as a chat and screen sharing function or the possibility to share content between meeting participants.

What data is processed?

When you participate in our video conference or in a streaming, data about you is also processed and stored on the servers of the respective service provider.

Exactly what data is stored depends on the solutions used. Each provider stores and processes different and varying amounts of data. But as a rule, most providers store your name, address, contact data such as your e-mail address or phone number, and your IP address. Furthermore, information about the device you are using, usage data such as which websites you visit, when you visit a website or which buttons you click on may also be stored. Data shared within the video conference (photos, videos, texts) may also be stored.

Duration of data processing

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

Right of objection

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

You can delete, disable 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 all functions may then no longer work as usual.

Legal basis

If you have consented that data from you can be processed and stored by the video or streaming solution, this consent is considered the legal basis of the data processing (Art. 6 (1) lit. a DSGVO). In addition, we may also offer a video conference as part of our services if this has been contractually agreed with you in advance (Art. 6 (1) lit. b DSGVO). In principle, your data will also be stored and processed on the basis of our legitimate interest (Art. 6 (1) lit. f DSGVO) in fast and good communication with you or other customers and business partners, but only if you have at least consented to this. Most video or streaming solutions also set cookies in your browser to store data. Therefore, we recommend that you read our privacy text about cookies carefully and view the privacy policy or cookie policy of the respective service provider.

All texts are protected by copyright.

Source: Created with the privacy generator from AdSimple