Privacy

GoAesthetic GmbH

Magdalenenstrasse 22/1
1060 Vienna
E-mail: office@goaesthetic.at
Tel. no.: +43 6811 072 62 12
UID No.: ATU77537747
FN: 568541 s

Activity: Provision of surgery and treatment rooms, trade in goods of all kinds, operation of a beauty salon
Member of the Chamber of Commerce for Vienna
Jurisdiction: Vienna
Professional supervision: Chamber of Commerce for Vienna

Ordination Dr. Peter Herndlhofer

Magdalenenstrasse 22/1
1060 Vienna
E-mail: dr.herndlhofer@goaesthetic.at
Tel. no.: +43 6811 072 62 12
UID No.: ATU77538746

Activity: Operation of a general medical and general surgical practice
Member of the Medical Association for Vienna
Jurisdiction: Vienna
Professional supervision: Medical Association for Vienna

1. picture credits
All images, graphics and photos on this homepage are released for use on the homepage www.goaesthetic.at. They are partially protected by copyright.
2. copyright
All content, works, design and images on the homepage www.goaesthetic.at are subject to copyright and intellectual property laws. The processing, reproduction and editing of the texts outside the copyright are prohibited. Likewise, the transfer to third parties is prohibited. Exceptions require the written consent of the owner.
3. disclaimer
Any liability for direct, indirect or other damages is excluded – regardless of their causes, which arise from the use or unavailability of the data and information of this homepage. The user acknowledges the use of the homepage as well as the linked homepages at his own risk.
so that no one involved in the preparation of the information is (in-) directly liable for (consequential) damages.
The contents on this homepage have been compiled with the greatest care and knowledge, but the information cannot replace a visit to the doctor and medical advice. No responsibility can be accepted for any unauthorized treatments derived from this.
Likewise, the owner of this homepage cannot assume any liability for the correctness, up-to-dateness and completeness of the contents on this homepage as well as on all linked homepages. Furthermore, he understandably has no influence on the design and content of the linked homepages, which is why he also cannot assume any liability for the external links. The respective operator or provider of the homepage is responsible for the contents of the linked homepages. At the time of linking, no illegal content was identifiable. However, a permanent control of the contents of the linked homepages cannot be expected.
Errors excepted.

PRIVACY POLICY

Privacy policy

Introduction and overview

We have prepared this privacy policy (version 04.03.2024-112513028) in order to inform you in accordance with the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and applicable national laws to explain which personal data (data for short) we as the controller – and the processors (e.g. providers) we commission – will process in the future and what lawful options you have. The terms used are to be understood as gender-neutral.
In short, we provide you with comprehensive information about data we process about you.

Privacy statements usually sound very technical and use legal terminology. This privacy policy, on the other hand, is intended to describe the most important things to you as simply and transparently as possible. To the extent that it is conducive to 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 if there is a corresponding legal basis. This is certainly not possible by making the most concise, unclear and legalistic statements possible, as is often standard practice on the Internet when it comes to data protection. I hope you find the following explanations interesting and informative, and perhaps there is one or two pieces of information you did not know.
If you still have questions, we would like to ask you to contact the responsible office mentioned below or in the imprint, to follow the existing links and to look at further information on third party sites. Of course, you will also find our contact details in the imprint.

Scope

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 appearances and e-mail communication
• mobile apps for smartphones and other devices

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

Legal basis

In the following privacy policy, we provide you with transparent information on the legal principles and regulations, i.e. the legal basis 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, read this EU General Data Protection Regulation online at EUR-Lex, the gateway to EU law, at https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/DE/ALL/?uri=celex%3A32016R0679.

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

1. Consent (Article 6(1) lit. a DSGVO): You have given us your consent to process data for a specific purpose. An example would be the storage of your entered data of a contact form.
2. contract (Article 6(1)(b) DSGVO): In order to fulfill a contract or pre-contractual obligations with you, we process your data. For example, if we enter into a purchase agreement with you, we require 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 required by law 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 public authority and the protection of vital interests, do not usually arise 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 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 responsible person

If you have any questions about data protection or the processing of personal data, you will find the contact details of the responsible person or office below:
GoAesthetic GmbH
Magdalenenstraße 22/1, 1060 Vienna, Austria

E-mail: office@goaesthetic.at
Phone: +43 6811 072 62 12
Imprint: https://www.goaesthetic.at/datenschutz

Storage duration

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 at our company. This means that we delete personal data as soon as the reason for the data processing 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, provided that we have further information on this.

Rights under the General Data Protection Regulation

In accordance with Articles 13, 14 of the GDPR, we inform you about the following rights you have to ensure that data processing is fair and transparent:

• According to Article 15 of the GDPR, you have a right to information about whether we process data about you. If this is the case, you have the right to obtain a copy of the data and to know the following information:
  • the purpose for which we carry out the processing;
  • the categories, i.e. the types of data that are processed;
  • who receives this data and, if the data is transferred to third countries, how security can be guaranteed;
  • how long the data will be stored;
  • the existence of the right to rectification, erasure or restriction of processing and the right to object to processing;
  • that you can complain to a supervisory authority (links to these authorities can be found below);
  • the origin of the data if we have not collected it from you;
  • whether profiling is carried out, i.e. whether data is automatically evaluated in order to arrive at a personal profile of you.
• You have a right to rectify data according to Article 16 of the GDPR, which means that we must correct data if you find errors.
• According to Article 17 of the GDPR, you have the right to erasure (“right to be forgotten”), which specifically means that you may request the deletion of your data.
• According to Article 18 of the GDPR, you have the right to restriction of processing, which means that we may only store the data but not use it any further.
• According to Article 20 DSGVO, you have the right to data portability, which means that we will provide you with your data in a common format upon request.
• According to Article 21 of the GDPR, you have a right to object, which, once enforced, entails a change in processing.
  • If the processing of your data is based on Article 6 para. 1 lit. e (public interest, exercise of official authority) or Article 6 para. 1 lit. f (legitimate interest), you may object to the processing. We will then check as quickly as possible whether we can legally comply with this objection.
  • If data is used to conduct direct advertising, you can object to this type of data processing at any time. We may not use your data for direct marketing thereafter.
  • If data is used to perform profiling, you can object to this type of data processing at any time. We may not 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).
• You have the right to complain according to Article 77 of the GDPR. This means that you can complain to the data protection authority at any time if you believe that the data processing of personal data violates the GDPR.

In short, you have rights – do not hesitate to contact the responsible party listed above with us!

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 can be found at https://www.dsb.gv.at/. In Germany, there is a data protection officer for each federal state. For more information, you can contact the Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (BfDI). The following local data protection authority is responsible for our company:

Austria data protection authority

Head: Dr. Matthias Schmidl
Address: Barichgasse 40-42, 1030 Vienna
Telephone no.: +43 1 52 152-0
E-mail address: dsb@dsb.gv.at
Website: https://www.dsb.gv.at/

Data processing security

To protect personal data, we have implemented both technical and organizational measures. Where possible, we encrypt or pseudonymize personal data. In doing so, we make it as difficult as possible 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) should always be designed with security in mind and that appropriate measures should be taken. In the following, we still go into concrete measures, if necessary.

TLS encryption with https

TLS, encryption and https sound very technical and they are. We use HTTPS (the Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure stands for “secure hypertext transfer protocol”) to 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 comply with data protection by design of technology(Article 25(1) of the GDPR). By using TLS (Transport Layer Security), an encryption protocol for secure data transmission on the Internet, we can ensure the protection of confidential data.
You can recognize the use of this data transmission protection by the small lock symbol at the top left of the browser, to the left of the Internet address (e.g. examplepage.de) and the use of the scheme https (instead of http) as part of our Internet address.
If you would like to know more about encryption, we recommend doing a Google search for “Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure wiki” to get good links to more in-depth information.

Communication

When you contact us and communicate by phone, e-mail 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 is stored for as long as the law requires.

Persons concerned

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

Phone

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

E-mail

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

Online forms

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

Legal basis

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

• Art. 6 par. 1 lit. a DSGVO (Consent): You give us your consent to store and further use your data for purposes related to the business case;
• Art. 6 par. 1 lit. b DSGVO (contract): There is a need for the performance of a contract with you or a processor such as the telephone provider, or we need to process the data for pre-contractual activities, such as preparing an offer;
• Art. 6 par. 1 lit. f DSGVO (Legitimate Interests): We want to conduct customer inquiries and business communications in a professional setting. This requires certain technical facilities, such as e-mail programs, exchange servers and mobile operators, in order to be able to operate the communication efficiently.

Order processing agreement (AVV)

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

Who are processors?

As a company and website owner, we are responsible for all data we process from you. In addition to the responsible parties, there may also be so-called processors. This includes any company or person that processes personal data on our behalf. More precisely and 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. Consequently, processors can be service providers such as hosting or cloud providers, payment or newsletter providers, or large companies such as Google or Microsoft, for example.

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

Affected (you as a customer or interested party) → Responsible party (we as a company and client) → Processor (service provider such as web hoster or cloud provider)

Content of a contract for the processing of orders

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

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

Furthermore, the contract contains all obligations of the processor. The main duties are:

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

You can see what such an AVV looks like in concrete terms, 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.
Below we explain what cookies are and why they are used so that you can better understand the following privacy policy.

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

One thing cannot be denied: Cookies are really useful little helpers. Almost all websites use cookies. More precisely, they are HTTP cookies, as there are 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 website knows who you are and offers you the setting you are used to. In some browsers, each cookie has its own file; in others, such as Firefox, all cookies are stored in a single file.

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

There are both first-party cookies and third-party cookies. First-party cookies are created directly by our site, third-party cookies are created by partner websites (e.g. Google Analytics). Each cookie must 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 “pests”. Cookies also cannot access information from your PC.

For example, cookie data can look like this:

Name: _ga
Wert: GA1.2.1326744211.152112513028-9
Intended use: differentiation of website visitors
Expiration date: after 2 years

A browser should be able to support these minimum sizes:

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

What are the types of cookies?

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

We can distinguish 4 types of cookies:

Essential cookies
These cookies are necessary to ensure basic website functionality. For example, it needs these cookies when a user adds a product to the shopping cart, then continues surfing 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.

Purposeful 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.

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

Advertising cookies
These cookies are also called targeting cookies. They are used to deliver customized advertising to the user. This can be very 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 Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Request for Comments called “HTTP State Management Mechanism”.

Purpose of processing via cookies

The purpose ultimately depends on the cookie in question. You can find more details about this 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.

Cookies storage duration

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

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

Right to object – how can I delete cookies?

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

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

Safari: Managing cookies and website data with Safari

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

Internet Explorer: Delete and manage cookies

Microsoft Edge: Delete and manage cookies

If you generally do not want cookies, you can set up your browser so that it always informs you when a cookie is to be set. Thus, for each individual cookie, you can decide whether to allow the cookie or not. The procedure varies depending on the browser. The best way is to search for the instructions in Google using the search term “delete cookies Chrome” or “disable cookies Chrome” in case of a Chrome browser.

Legal basis

The so-called “Cookie Guidelines” have been in place since 2009. This states that the storage of cookies requires your consent (Article 6 (1) a DSGVO). Within the EU countries, however, there are still very different reactions to these directives. In Austria, however, this directive was implemented in § 165 para. 3 of the Telecommunications Act (2021). In Germany, the Cookie Guidelines have not been implemented as national law. Instead, this directive was largely implemented in Section 15 (3) of the German Telemedia Act (TMG).

For absolutely necessary cookies, even in the absence of consent, there are legitimate interests (Article 6 (1) (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 are used that are not absolutely necessary, this only occurs in the case of your consent. The legal basis in this respect is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR.

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

Application data

What is application data?

You can apply for a job in our company via e-mail, online form or recruiting tool. All data that we receive and process from you as part of an application counts as application data. In doing so, 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 operate a proper selection procedure in relation to the advertised position. In addition, we are also happy to hold your application documents in our application archive. Because it often happens that for the advertised positions a cooperation does not work out for various reasons, but we are impressed by you and your application and can imagine a future cooperation very well. If you give us your consent to do so, we will archive your records so that we can easily contact you for future assignments in our company.

We guarantee that we will handle your data with particular care and only ever process your data within the legal framework. Even within our company, your data will only be forwarded to persons 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 e-mail, for example, we will of course also receive personal data, as mentioned above. Even the e-mail address already counts as personal data. However, in the course of an application process, only those data are processed that are relevant for our decision as to whether or not we want to welcome you to our team.

Exactly what data is processed depends primarily on the job posting. Mostly, however, it is a matter of names, date of birth, contact details and proof of qualifications. If you submit the application via an online form, the data will be passed on to us in encrypted form. If you send us the application by e-mail, this encryption does not take place. Therefore, we cannot assume any responsibility for the way of transmission. However, once the data is on our servers, we are responsible for the lawful handling of your data.

During an application process, in addition to the above-mentioned data, information about your health or ethnic origin may also be requested so that we and you can exercise the rights related to labor law, social security and social protection and, at the same time, comply with the corresponding obligations. These data are special category data.

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

• Name
• Contact address
• E-mail address
• Phone number
• Date of birth
• Information that comes from the cover letter and resume
• Proof of qualification (e.g.) Certificates
• Special category data (e.g., ethnic origin, health data, religious beliefs).
• Usage data (websites visited, access data ect.)
• 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 kept with us at least until the termination of the employment relationship. All application materials will then go into your employee file.

If we do not offer you the job, if you reject our offer or withdraw your application, we may store your data for up to 6 months after the end of the application process due to legitimate interest (Art. 6 (1) lit. f DSGVO). After that, both your electronic data and all data from physical application documents will be completely deleted or destroyed. We keep your data about so that we can still answer any follow-up questions or so that we can provide evidence of the application in the event of a lawsuit. If litigation is in the offing and we may still need the data after the 6 months have passed, we will not delete the data until there is no longer a reason to retain it. If there are legal retention obligations to fulfill, we must store the data for longer than 6 months.

Furthermore, we may also keep your data longer if you have given special consent for this. We do this, for example, if we can well imagine working with you in the future. Then it is helpful to have your data archived to be able to reach you easily. In this case, the data will be added to 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 a new consent, your data will be deleted after 2 years at the latest.

Legal basis

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

If we include you in our applicant tool, this happens on the basis of your consent (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO). 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 to revoke your consent at any time. The lawfulness of the processing up to the time of the revocation remains unaffected.

In the case of the protection of vital interests, the data processing is carried out in accordance with Art. 9 para. 2 lit. c. GDPR. For the purposes of health care, occupational medicine, medical diagnostics, health or social care or treatment, or for the management of health or social care systems and services, the processing of personal data is carried out in accordance with Art. 9 para. 2 lit. h. GDPR. If you voluntarily provide data of the special categories, the processing is based on Art. 9 para. 2 lit. a. GDPR.

Customer data

What is customer data?

In order to be able to offer our service or contractual services, we also process data of our customers and business partners. Among these data there are always personal data. Customer data means all information that is processed on the basis of a contractual or pre-contractual cooperation in order to be able to provide the services offered. Customer data is therefore all collected information that we collect and process about our customers.

Why do we process customer data?

There are many reasons why we collect and process customer data. The most important one is that we simply need various data to provide our services. Sometimes your e-mail address is sufficient here, but if you purchase a product or service, for example, we also need data such as name, address, bank data or contract data. We also use the data subsequently for marketing and sales optimization, so that we can improve our overall service to our customers. Another important point is also our customer service, which is always very important to us. We want you to be able to come to us with questions about our offers at any time, and for that we need at least your e-mail address.

What data is processed?

Exactly which data is stored can only be described here on the basis of categories. This always depends on the services you receive from us. In some cases, you simply provide us with your email address so that we can contact you, for example, or so that we can answer your questions. In other cases, you purchase a product or service from us and for this we need significantly more information, such as your contact details, payment details and contract details.

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

• Name
• Contact address
• E-mail address
• Phone number
• Date of birth
• Payment data (invoices, bank data, payment history, etc.)
• Contract data ( term, content)
• Usage data (websites visited, access data ect.)
• Metadata (IP address, device information)

How long will the data be stored?

As soon as we no longer require the customer data for the fulfillment of our contractual obligations and our purposes and the data is also no longer necessary for possible warranty and liability obligations, we delete the corresponding customer data. This is the case, for example, when a business contract ends. Thereafter, the limitation period is generally 3 years, although longer periods are possible in individual cases. Of course, we also comply with the statutory retention obligations. Your customer data will certainly not be passed on to third parties unless you have explicitly given your consent to do so.

Legal basis

Legal bases for the processing of your data are Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO (consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b DSGVO (contract or pre-contractual measures), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO (legitimate interests)  and in special cases (e.g. medical services) Art. 9 para. 2 lit. a. GDPR (processing of special categories).

In the case of the protection of vital interests, the data processing is carried out in accordance with Art. 9 para. 2 lit. c. GDPR. For the purposes of health care, occupational medicine, medical diagnostics, health or social care or treatment, or for the management of health or social care systems and services, the processing of personal data is carried out in accordance with Art. 9 para. 2 lit. h. GDPR. If you voluntarily provide data of the special categories, the processing is based on Art. 9 para. 2 lit. a. GDPR.

Web hosting introduction

What is web hosting?

Nowadays, when you visit websites, 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 the way, by website 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.

When you want to view a website on a computer, tablet, or smartphone, you use a program called a web browser to do so. You probably know a few web browsers by name: Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, and Apple Safari. We say browser or web browser for short.

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

When the browser connects to your computer (desktop, laptop, tablet or smartphone) 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.

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. Professional hosting of the website and securing its operation
2. to maintain operational and IT security
3. Anonymous evaluation of access behavior for the improvement of our offer and, if necessary, for criminal prosecution or the pursuit of claims

What data is processed?

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

• the complete Internet address (URL) of the accessed web page
• 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. B. https://www. beispielquellsite.de/vondabinichgekommen/)
• the hostname and IP address of the device being accessed from (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 pass on this data, but we cannot rule out the possibility that this data may be viewed by the authorities in the event of unlawful conduct.

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

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

1&1 IONOS Webhosting Privacy Policy

What is 1&1 IONOS Web Hosting?

To host our website, we use the web hosting services of the company IONOS by 1&1. In Germany, 1&1 IONOS SE is headquartered at Elgendorfer Str. 57 in 56410 Montabaur. In Austria, you can find 1&1 IONOS SE at Gumpendorfer Straße 142/PF 266 in 1060 Vienna.

IONOS offers the following web hosting services: Domain, Website & Shop, Hosting & WordPress, Marketing, Email & Office, IONOS Cloud and Server. With over 22 million domains, almost 9 million customer contracts and 100,000 servers, IONOS is one of Germany’s biggest top dogs in the web hosting sector.
We have already mentioned it in our introductory words on the subject of web hosting: through hosting, data from you or your terminal device will also be stored on the IONOS servers. First and foremost, your IP address, which as you know is personal data, is stored. In addition, technical data such as the URL of our website, name of the Internet browser or which operating system you are using is also stored.

Why do we use 1&1 IONOS web hosting?

IONOS was founded in Germany back in 1988 and thus has over 30 years of experience under its belt. However, this does not mean that the company is not constantly developing in technological terms. It is precisely this combination of experience and innovative spirit that we believe provides a good basis for our website. After all, we want our website to run smoothly 24 hours a day while maintaining a high level of security. Since IONOS does not limit monthly traffic and provides plenty of storage, our website remains powerful even with many visitors. We are very satisfied with the speed of the website and the price-performance ratio currently fits our requirements.

What data is processed by 1&1 IONOS Webhosting?

1&1 IONOS Webhosting may also process personal data about you. When you visit our website, the following data about you or your computer is stored by IONOS:

• the previously visited website (also called referrer)
• the requested website (in this case our website)
• Browser type and browser version
• Your operating system and device type
• Time of the page access
• Your IP address in anonymized form

The data collected is used to increase the security of the website, to detect possible errors and also to carry out anonymous statistical analyses. According to IONOS, the anonymized IP address is only used to determine the location of access.

How long and where is the data stored?

The data is stored on IONOS’ own servers. In principle, IONOS stores the data for as long as is necessary to fulfill its obligations. Visitor data is stored for 8 weeks. However, data may also be stored for longer, for example to provide evidence for possible legal disputes. Visitor data is not passed on to third parties and is not transferred to a country outside the EU.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

You have the right to information, correction or deletion and restriction of the processing of your personal data at any time. You can also withdraw your consent to the processing of data at any time.

If you basically want to disable, delete or manage cookies, you can find the corresponding links to the respective instructions of the most popular browsers under the section “Cookies”.

Legal basis

We have a legitimate interest in using IONOS in order to be able to offer our online service. Professional hosting with a provider is necessary in order to present our company securely and user-friendly on the Internet and to be able to track possible cyber attacks. The corresponding legal basis for this is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO (Legitimate Interests).

You can find much more information about data protection at IONOS in the privacy policy at https://www.ionos.de/terms-gtc/datenschutzerklaerung/. If you have any further questions regarding data protection, you can also contact the IONOS data protection team by emailing datenschutz@ionos.de.

Website Building Block Systems Introduction

What are website building systems?

We use a website building system for our website. Modular systems are special forms of a content management system (CMS). With a modular system, website owners can create a website very easily and without programming skills. In many cases, web hosts also offer modular 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 information in the provider’s privacy policy.

Why do we use website building systems for our website?

The biggest advantage of a modular system is its ease of use. We want to 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 provide you with an informative and enjoyable time on our website.

What data is stored by a modular system?

Which data exactly is stored depends, of course, on the website builder system used. Each provider processes and collects different data from 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 can also be collected and stored. This is mostly contact information such as email address, phone number (if you have provided it), IP address and geographic location data. You can find out exactly what data is stored in the provider’s privacy policy.

How long and where is the data stored?

We will inform you about the duration of the data processing below in connection with the website construction 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 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 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 always contact the person in charge of the website building system used. Contact details can be found either in our 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 not all functions may then work as usual.

Legal basis

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

Unless the processing of data is 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 GDPR.

With this privacy policy we have brought you closer to the most important general information about 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

What is WordPress?

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

In 2003 the company saw the light of day and in a relatively short time developed into one of the best-known content management systems (CMS) in the world. A CMS is software that helps us design our website and display content in a beautiful and organized way. The content can be text, audio and video.
Through the use of WordPress, personal data of you may also be collected, stored and processed. As a rule, mainly technical data such as operating system, browser, screen resolution or hosting provider are stored. However, personal data such as IP address, geographical data or contact data may also be processed.

Why do we use WordPress on our website?

We have many strengths, but real programming is not one of our core competencies.

Nevertheless, we want to have a powerful and presentable website that we can also manage and maintain ourselves. With a website builder or content management system like WordPress, this is exactly what is possible. With WordPress, we don’t have to be programming aces to offer you a beautiful website. Thanks to WordPress, we can operate our website quickly and easily even without prior technical knowledge. In case of technical problems or if we have special wishes for our website, there are always our experts who feel at home in HTML, PHP, CSS and Co.

Thanks to the ease of use and comprehensive functions of WordPress, we can design our website according to our wishes and offer you a good user experience.

What data is processed by WordPress?

Non-personal data includes technical usage information such as browser activity, clickstream activity, session heatmaps and data about your computer, operating system, browser, screen resolution, language and keyboard settings, internet provider and date of the page visit.

Personal data is also recorded. These are primarily contact data (e-mail address or telephone number, if you provide these), IP address or your geographical location.

WordPress can also use cookies to collect data. It often collects data about your behavior on our website. For example, we can record which subpages you particularly like to view, how long you spend on individual pages, when you leave a page again (bounce rate) or which default settings (e.g. language selection) you have made. Based on this data, WordPress can also better adapt its own marketing measures to your interests and user behavior. The next time you visit our website, you will therefore see our website as you have previously configured it.

WordPress may also use technologies such as pixel tags (web beacons), for example to clearly identify you as a user and possibly offer interest-based advertising.

How long and where is the data stored?

How long the data is stored depends on various factors. So it mainly depends on the type of data stored and the specific settings of the website. In principle, WordPress deletes data when it is no longer needed for its own purposes. There are of course exceptions, especially if legal obligations require data to be stored for a longer period. Web server logs containing your IP address and technical data are deleted by WordPress or Automattic after 30 days. Automattic uses the data to analyze the traffic on its own websites (for example, all WordPress sites) and to fix potential problems. Deleted content on WordPress websites is also kept in the recycle bin for 30 days to enable recovery, after which it can remain in backups and caches until they are deleted. The data is stored on Automattic’s American servers.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

You have the right and opportunity to access your personal data at any time and to object to its use and processing. You can also lodge a complaint with a state supervisory authority at any time.

In your browser, you also have the option of individually managing, deleting or deactivating cookies. However, please note that deactivating or deleting cookies may have a negative impact on the functions of our WordPress site. Depending on which browser you use, the management of cookies works slightly differently. Under the section “Cookies” you will find the corresponding links to the respective instructions of the most popular browsers.

Legal basis

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

We also have a legitimate interest in using WordPress to optimize our online service and present it to you in an attractive manner. The corresponding legal basis for this is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO (Legitimate Interests). Nevertheless, we only use WordPress if you have given your consent.

WordPress or Automattic processes your data in the USA, among other places. Automattic is an active participant in the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, which regulates the correct and secure transfer of personal data from EU citizens to the USA. You can find more information about this at https://commission.europa.eu/document/fa09cbad-dd7d-4684-ae60-be03fcb0fddf_en.

In addition, Automattic uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46 (2) and (3) GDPR). 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 and stored in third countries (such as the USA). Through the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and the standard contractual clauses, Automattic 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

You can find more details about the privacy policy and which data is processed by WordPress and how at https://automattic.com/privacy/.

Order processing agreement (AVV) WordPress.com

In accordance with Article 28 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), we have concluded an Order Processing Agreement (OPA) with WordPress.com. You can find out exactly what an AVV is and, in particular, what must be included in an AVV in our general section “Order processing agreement (AVV)”.

This contract is required by law because WordPress.com processes personal data on our behalf. This clarifies that WordPress.com may only process data they receive from us according to our instructions and must comply with the GDPR. The link to the order processing agreement (AVV) can be found at https://wordpress.com/support/data-processing-agreements/.

Web Analytics Introduction

What is Web Analytics?

We use software on our website to evaluate the behavior of website visitors, called web analytics or web analysis for short. In the process, data is collected that the respective analytic tool provider (also called tracking tool) stores, manages and processes. The data is used to create analyses of user behavior on our website and made available to us as the website operator. In addition, most tools offer various testing options. For example, we can test which offers or content are best received by our visitors. For this 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 testing procedures, as well as for other analytics procedures, user profiles can also be created and the data stored in cookies.

Why do we run web analytics?

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

In addition, 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 pseudonymously (i.e. in an unrecognizable and shortened form). For the purpose of testing, web analysis and web optimization, in principle, no direct data, such as your name, age, address or e-mail address are stored. All this data, if collected, is stored pseudonymously. This way you cannot be identified as a person.

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

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

Duration of data processing

We will inform you about the duration of the data processing below, provided that 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. If it is required by law, as in the case of accounting, for example, this storage period may also be exceeded.

Right of objection

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

Legal basis

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

In addition to consent, there is a legitimate interest on our part in analyzing the behavior of website visitors and thus improving our offering 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 par. 1 lit. f DSGVO (Legitimate Interests). Nevertheless, we use the tools only insofar as they have given consent.

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

Information on specific web analytics tools, if any, is provided in the following sections.

Facebook Conversions API Privacy Policy

We use Facebook Conversions API, a server-side event tracking tool, on our website. The service provider is the American company Meta Platforms Inc. The company Meta Platforms Ireland Limited (4 Grand Canal Square, Grand Canal Harbour, Dublin 2, Ireland) is responsible for the European region.

Facebook also processes data from you in the USA, among other places. Facebook or Meta Platforms is an active participant in the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, which regulates the correct and secure transfer of personal data from EU citizens to the USA. You can find more information about this at https://commission.europa.eu/document/fa09cbad-dd7d-4684-ae60-be03fcb0fddf_en.

In addition, Facebook uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46 (2) and (3) GDPR). 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 and stored in third countries (such as the USA). Through the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and the standard contractual clauses, Facebook undertakes to comply with the European level of data protection when processing your relevant data, even if the data is stored, processed and managed in the 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 Facebook data processing conditions, which refer to the standard contractual clauses, can be found at https://www.facebook.com/legal/terms/dataprocessing.

You can learn more about the data processed through the use of Facebook Conversions API in the Privacy Policy at https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy.

Facebook Pixel Privacy Policy

We use the Facebook pixel from Facebook on our website. For this we have implemented a code on our website. The Facebook pixel is a snippet of JavaScript code that loads a collection of functions that allow Facebook to track your user actions if you came to our website through Facebook ads. For example, when you purchase a product on our website, the Facebook pixel is triggered and stores your actions on our website in one or more cookies. These cookies allow Facebook to match your user data (customer data such as IP address, user ID) with your Facebook account data. Then Facebook deletes this data again. The collected data is anonymous and not visible to us and is only used in the context of advertising placements. If you are a Facebook user and are logged in, your visit to our website will automatically be assigned to your Facebook user account.

We want to show our services or products only to those people who are really interested in them. With the help of Facebook Pixel, our advertising efforts can be better tailored to your preferences and interests. Thus, Facebook users (if they have allowed personalized advertising) get to see matching ads. Furthermore, Facebook uses the collected data for analysis purposes and its own advertisements.

Below we show you those cookies that were set by embedding Facebook Pixel on a test page. Please note that these are only sample cookies. Depending on the interaction on our website, different cookies are set.

Name: _fbp
Wert: fb.1.1568287647279.257405483-6112513028-7
Purpose: This cookie is used by Facebook to display promotional products.
Expiration date: after 3 months

Name: fr
Value: 0aPf312HOS5Pboo2r..Bdeiuf…1.0.Bdeiuf.
Purpose: This cookie is used to make Facebook Pixel work properly.
Expiration date: after 3 months

Name: comment_author_50ae8267e2bdf1253ec1a5769f48e062112513028-3
Value: Author name
Purpose: This cookie stores the text and name of a user who leaves a comment, for example.
Expiration date: after 12 months

Name: comment_author_url_50ae8267e2bdf1253ec1a5769f48e062
Value: https%3A%2F%2Fwww.testseite…%2F (author’s URL)
Purpose: This cookie stores the URL of the website that the user enters in a text field on our website.
Expiration date: after 12 months

Name: comment_author_email_50ae8267e2bdf1253ec1a5769f48e062
Value: Author’s e-mail address
Purpose: This cookie stores the user’s email address if he/she has provided it on the website.
Expiration date: after 12 months

Note: The above cookies refer to an individual user behavior. Especially when using cookies, Facebook changes can never be ruled out.

As long as you are logged in to Facebook, you can change your ad settings yourself at https://www.facebook.com/adpreferences/advertisers/.   If you are not a Facebook user, you can manage your usage-based online advertising on https://www.youronlinechoices.com/de/praferenzmanagement/. There you have the option to disable or enable providers.

Facebook also processes data from you in the USA, among other places. Facebook or Meta Platforms is an active participant in the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, which regulates the correct and secure transfer of personal data from EU citizens to the USA. You can find more information about this at https://commission.europa.eu/document/fa09cbad-dd7d-4684-ae60-be03fcb0fddf_en.

In addition, Facebook uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46 (2) and (3) GDPR). 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 and stored in third countries (such as the USA). Through the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and the standard contractual clauses, Facebook undertakes to comply with the European level of data protection when processing your relevant data, even if the data is stored, processed and managed in the 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 Facebook data processing conditions, which refer to the standard contractual clauses, can be found at https://www.facebook.com/legal/terms/dataprocessing.

If you want to learn more about Facebook’s privacy policy, we recommend that you read the company’s own data policy at https://www.facebook.com/privacy/policy.

Facebook Automatic Advanced Match Privacy Policy

We have also enabled Automatic Advanced Matching as part of the Facebook Pixel feature. This feature of the Pixel allows us to send hashed emails, name, gender, city, state, zip code, and date of birth or phone number as additional information to Facebook if you have provided us with this data. This activation allows us to tailor advertising campaigns on Facebook even more precisely to people who are interested in our services or products.

Google Analytics Privacy Policy

What is Google Analytics?

We use on our website the analysis tracking tool Google Analytics in the version Google Analytics 4 (GA4) 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. However, through the combination of various technologies such as cookies, device IDs, and credentials, you as a user can be identified across different devices. This also allows your actions to be analyzed across platforms.

For example, when you click on a link, this event is stored in a cookie and sent to Google Analytics. With the help of the reports we receive from Google Analytics, we can better tailor our website and service to your needs. In the following, we will go into more detail about the tracking tool and, in particular, inform you about what data is processed and how you can prevent it.

Google Analytics is a tracking tool used for traffic analysis of our website. The basis for these measurements and analyses is a pseudonymous user identification number. This number does not contain any personal data such as name or address, but is used to assign events to a terminal device. GA4 uses an event-based model that captures detailed information on user interactions such as page views, clicks, scrolls, conversion events. In addition, various machine learning features have also been built into GA4 to better understand user behavior and certain trends. GA4 relies on modeling with the help of machine learning functions. This means that missing data can also be extrapolated on the basis of the collected data in order to optimize the analysis and also to be able to make forecasts.

For Google Analytics to work in principle, a tracking code is built into the code of our website. When you visit our website, this code records various events that you perform on our website. GA4’s event-based data model allows us, as website operators, to define and track specific events to obtain analytics on user interactions. Thus, in addition to general information such as clicks or page views, special events that are important for our business can be tracked. Such special events can be, for example, the submission of a contact form or the purchase of a product.

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 get reports about your user behavior. These may include, but are not limited to, the following reports:

• Target group reports: Through target group reports, we get to know our users better and know more precisely who is interested in our service.
• Ad reports: Ad reports make it easier for us to analyze and improve our online advertising.
• Acquisition reports: Acquisition reports give us helpful information on how to get more people interested in our service.
• Behavior reports: This is where we learn how you interact with our website. We can track 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 take a desired action as a result of a marketing message. For example, if you go from being just a website visitor to a buyer or newsletter subscriber. These reports help us learn more about how our marketing efforts are resonating with 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 can see how many users are currently reading this text.

In addition to the analytics reports mentioned above, Google Analytics 4 also offers the following features, among others:

• Event-based data model: This model captures very specific events that can take place on our website. For example, playing a video, purchasing a product, or subscribing to our newsletter.
• Advanced analytics: These features allow us to further understand your behavior on our website or certain general trends. For example, we can segment user groups, make comparative analyses of target groups, or track your path or path on our website.
• Predictive modeling: Based on collected data, machine learning can be used to extrapolate missing data that predicts future events and trends. This can help us develop better marketing strategies.
• Cross-platform analytics: Data collection and analysis are possible from both websites and apps. This gives us the opportunity to analyze user behavior across platforms, provided of course that you have consented to the data processing.

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. Google Analytics statistics and data help us achieve this goal.

The statistically evaluated data gives us a clear picture of the strengths and weaknesses of our website. On the one hand, we can optimize our site to make it easier for interested people to find it 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 serve us to carry out our advertising and marketing measures in a more individual and cost-effective manner. 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 way Google Analytics will recognize you as a new user and you will be assigned a user ID. 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 use Google Analytics to analyze our website, a property ID must be inserted into the tracking code. The data is then stored in the corresponding property. For each new property created, the Google Analytics 4 property is by default. Depending on the property used, data is stored for different lengths of time.

Through identifiers such as cookies, app instance IDs, user IDs, or custom event parameters, for example, your interactions are measured across platforms if you have consented. 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 via Google Analytics may be linked to third-party cookies. Google does not share Google Analytics data unless we, as the website owner, authorize it. Exceptions may occur when required by law.

According to Google, no IP addresses are logged or stored in Google Analytics 4. However, Google uses the IP address data to derive location data and deletes it immediately afterwards. All IP addresses collected from users in the EU are therefore deleted before the data is stored in a data center or on a server.

Since Google Analytics 4 focuses on event-based data, the tool uses significantly fewer cookies compared to previous versions (such as Google Universal Analytics). Nevertheless, there are some specific cookies used by GA4. These include, for example:

Name: _ga
Wert: 2.1326744211.152112513028-5
Purpose: By default, analytics.js uses the _ga cookie to store the user ID. Basically, it is used to distinguish the website visitors.
Expiration date: after 2 years

Name: _gid
Wert: 2.1687193234.152112513028-1
Purpose: The cookie is also used to distinguish the website visitors
Expiration date: after 24 hours

Name: _gat_gtag_UA_<property-id>
Value: 1
Intended use: Used to lower the request rate. When Google Analytics is deployed via Google Tag Manager, this cookie is named _dc_gtm_ <property-id>.
Expiration date: after 1 minute

Note: This list cannot claim to be complete, as Google also changes the choice of its cookies time and again. GA4 also aims to improve data protection. Therefore, the tool offers some possibilities to control the data collection. For example, we can define the storage period ourselves and also control the data collection.

Here we show you an overview of the main types of data collected with Google Analytics:

Heatmaps: Google creates so-called heatmaps. Via heatmaps you can see exactly those areas you click on. This way we get information where you are “traveling” on our site.

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

Bounce rate: A bounce rate is when you view only 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.

Location: IP addresses are not logged or stored in Google Analytics. However, just before the IP address is deleted, derivatives are used for location data.

Technical information: Technical information may include your browser type, Internet service provider, or screen resolution.

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

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

How long and where is the data stored?

Google has their servers spread all over the world. You can read exactly where Google’s data centers are located here: https://www.google.com/about/datacenters/locations/?hl=de

Your data is distributed on different physical media. This has the advantage that the data can be retrieved more quickly and is better protected against manipulation. There are appropriate emergency programs for your data in every Google data center. For example, if Google’s hardware fails or natural disasters cripple servers, the risk of service interruption at Google still remains low.

The retention period of the data depends on the properties used. The storage period is always specified for each individual property. Google Analytics offers us four options to control the retention period:

• 2 months: this is the shortest storage period.
• 14 months: by default, GA4 keeps the data for 14 months.
• 26 months: you can also save the data for 26 months.
• Data is not deleted until we delete it manually

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 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 independently of user data. Aggregated data is a merging of individual data into a larger unit.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

Under European Union data protection law, you have the right to access, update, delete or restrict your data. By using the browser add-on to disable Google Analytics JavaScript (analytics.js, gtag.js), you prevent Google Analytics 4 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 data collection by Google Analytics.

If you basically want to disable, delete or manage cookies, you can 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. This consent represents according to Art. 6 par. 1 lit. a GDPR (Consent) constitutes the legal basis for the processing of personal data as may occur during the collection by web analytics tools.

In addition to consent, there is a legitimate interest on our part in analyzing the behavior of website visitors and thus improving our offering technically and economically. With the help of Google Analytics, we can detect website errors, identify attacks and improve profitability. The legal basis for this is Art. 6 par. 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. Google is an active participant in the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, which regulates the correct and secure transfer of personal data from EU citizens to the USA. You can find more information about this at https://commission.europa.eu/document/fa09cbad-dd7d-4684-ae60-be03fcb0fddf_en.

In addition, Google uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46 (2) and (3) GDPR). 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 and stored in third countries (such as the USA). Through the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and the standard contractual clauses, Google undertakes to comply with the European level of data protection when processing your relevant data, even if the data is stored, processed and managed in the USA. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the corresponding standard contractual clauses here, among other places: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de

The Google Ads Data Processing Terms, which reference the Standard Contractual Clauses, can be found at https://business.safety.google/intl/de/adsprocessorterms/.

We hope we have been able to provide you with the most important information about 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.

If you want to learn more about data processing, use the Google privacy statement at https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=de.

Google Analytics order processing agreement (AVV)

We have concluded an order processing agreement (AVV) with Google within the meaning of Article 28 of the General Data Protection Regulation (DSGVO). You can find out exactly what an AVV is and, in particular, what must be included in an AVV in our general section “Order processing agreement (AVV)”.

This contract is required by law because Google processes personal data on our behalf. This clarifies that Google may only process data they receive from us according to our instructions and must comply with the GDPR. You can find the link to the order data processing conditions at https://business.safety.google/intl/de/adsprocessorterms/

Google Analytics Google Signals Privacy Policy

We have enabled Google signals in Google Analytics. Thus, existing Google Analytics features (ad reports, remarketing, cross-device reports, and interest and demographic reports) will be updated to include aggregated and anonymized data from you, provided you have allowed personalized ads in your Google Account.

What makes this special is that it is cross-device tracking. This means your data can be analyzed across devices. By activating Google signals, data is collected and linked to the Google account. Google can thus recognize, for example, if you view a product on our website via a smartphone and only later purchase the product via a laptop. Thanks to the activation of Google signals, we can launch 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 collect other visitor data such as location, search history, YouTube history and data about your actions on our website. As a result, we receive better advertising reports from Google and more useful information about your interests and demographics. This includes your age, what language you speak, where you live or what gender you are. Furthermore, social criteria such as your profession, your marital status or your income are added. All these features help Google Analytics to define groups of people or target groups.

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

Google Analytics in consent mode

Depending on your consent, personal data of you will be processed by Google Analytics in the so-called consent mode (or “Consent Mode”). You can choose whether or not to agree to Google Analytics cookies. This also allows you to choose which data Google Analytics may process from you. This collected data is mainly used to perform measurements about user behavior on the website, to serve targeted advertisements and to provide us with web analytics reports. As a rule, you consent to data processing by Google via a cookie consent tool. If you do not consent to the data processing, only aggregated data will be collected and processed. This means that data cannot be assigned to individual users and therefore no user profile of you is created. You can also agree only to the statistical measurement. No personal data is processed in the process and consequently it is not used for advertising or promotional purposes.

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 in the Google Analytics data collection network and before any storage or processing of the data takes place.

You can find more information about IP anonymization on 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 area, the company Google Ireland Limited (Gordon House, Barrow Street Dublin 4, Ireland) is responsible for all Google services.

Google also processes data from you in the USA, among other places. Google is an active participant in the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, which regulates the correct and secure transfer of personal data from EU citizens to the USA. You can find more information about this at https://commission.europa.eu/document/fa09cbad-dd7d-4684-ae60-be03fcb0fddf_en.

In addition, Google uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46 (2) and (3) GDPR). 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 and stored in third countries (such as the USA). Through the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and the standard contractual clauses, Google undertakes to comply with the European level of data protection when processing your relevant data, even if the data is stored, processed and managed in the USA. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the corresponding standard contractual clauses here, among other places: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de

Google holds an order processing contract in accordance with Art. 28 DSGVO, which acts as the data protection basis for our customer relationship with Google. This refers to the EU standard contractual clauses in terms of content. Here you can find the order processing conditions: https://business.safety.google/intl/de/adsprocessorterms/

You can learn 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 of the 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. This tag manager is one of many helpful marketing products from Google. Google Tag Manager allows us to centrally incorporate and manage sections of code from various tracking tools 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 include and manage website tags centrally and through a user interface. Tags are small sections of code that, for example, record (track) your activity on our website. For this purpose, JavaScript code sections are inserted into the source code of our page. The tags often come from Google’s own products such as Google Ads or Google Analytics, but tags from other companies can also be included and managed via the manager. Such tags perform different tasks. They can collect browser data, feed marketing tools with data, 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 of course, this also applies to the maintenance of our website. In order to make our website as good as possible for you and all people interested in our products and services, we need various tracking tools such as Google Analytics. The data collected from these tools shows us what you are most interested in, where we can improve our services and which people we should still show our offers to. And for this tracking to work, we need to embed appropriate JavaScript codes into our website. In principle, we could include each code section of each tracking tool separately in our source code. However, this requires a relatively large amount of time and it is easy to lose track. That’s why we use Google Tag Manager. We can easily incorporate the necessary scripts and manage them from one place. Moreover, Google Tag Manager offers an easy-to-use interface and you don’t need any programming skills. This is how we manage to keep order in our daytime jungle.

What data is stored by Google Tag Manager?

The Tag Manager itself is a domain that does not set cookies or store data. It acts as a mere “manager” of the implemented tags. The data is collected by the individual tags of the different web analytics tools. The data is virtually passed through to the individual tracking tools in Google Tag Manager and is not stored.

However, the situation is quite different with the embedded tags of the various web analytics 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 is only the use and usage of our tag manager and not your data stored via the code sections. We allow Google and others to receive selected data in anonymized form. We thus consent to the anonymous disclosure of our website data. Despite extensive research, we were unable to find out exactly which summarized and anonymous data is forwarded. In any case, Google deletes all info that could identify our website in the process. Google aggregates the data with hundreds of other anonymous website data and creates, as part of benchmarking measures, user trends. In benchmarking, own results are compared with those of competitors. Processes can be optimized on the basis of the information collected.

How long and where is the data stored?

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

How long the individual tracking tools store data from you can be found in our individual privacy texts for the individual tools.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

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 to delete or manage your data.

Please note that when using this tool, data from you may also be stored and processed outside the EU. Most third countries (including the USA) are not considered secure under current European data protection law. So data may not simply be transferred to, stored in, and processed in insecure third countries unless there are appropriate safeguards (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 represents according to Art. 6 par. 1 lit. a GDPR (Consent) constitutes the legal basis for the processing of personal data as may occur during the collection by web analytics tools.

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

Google also processes data from you in the USA, among other places. Google is an active participant in the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, which regulates the correct and secure transfer of personal data from EU citizens to the USA. You can find more information about this at https://commission.europa.eu/document/fa09cbad-dd7d-4684-ae60-be03fcb0fddf_en.

In addition, Google uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46 (2) and (3) GDPR). 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 and stored in third countries (such as the USA). Through the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and the standard contractual clauses, Google undertakes to comply with the European level of data protection when processing your relevant data, even if the data is stored, processed and managed in the USA. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the corresponding standard contractual clauses here, among other places: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de

The Google Ads Data Processing Terms, which reference 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.

You can find out what data Google basically collects and what they use this data for at https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=de .

Order processing agreement (AVV) Google Tag Manager

We have concluded an order processing agreement (AVV) with Google within the meaning of Article 28 of the General Data Protection Regulation (DSGVO). You can find out exactly what an AVV is and, in particular, what must be included in an AVV in our general section “Order processing agreement (AVV)”.

This contract is required by law because Google processes personal data on our behalf. This clarifies that Google may only process data they receive from us according to our instructions and must comply with the GDPR. The link to the order processing agreement (AVV) can be found at https://business.safety.google/adsprocessorterms/.

Email marketing introduction

What is email marketing?

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

If you want to participate in our e-mail marketing (mostly via newsletter), you usually just have to register with your e-mail address. To do this, fill out an online form and submit it. However, it may also happen that we ask you for your salutation and name, for example, so that we can also write to you personally.

Basically, subscribing to newsletters works with the help of the so-called “double opt-in procedure”. After signing up for our newsletter on our website, you will receive an email confirming your newsletter subscription. This ensures that the e-mail address belongs to you and that no one has registered with a third-party e-mail address. We or a notification tool we use logs each and every login. This is necessary so that we can also prove the legally correct registration process. As a rule, the time of registration, the time of registration confirmation and your IP address are stored. In addition, when you make changes to your stored data, this is also logged.

Why do we use email marketing?

Of course, we want to stay in touch with you and always present you the most important news about our company. To this end, we use, among other things, e-mail marketing – often referred to simply as “newsletters” – as an essential component of our online marketing. If you agree or if permitted by law, we will send you newsletters, system emails or other notifications by email. When we use the term “newsletter” in the following text, we mainly mean e-mails sent on a regular basis. Of course, we do not want to bother you in any way with our newsletters. That’s why we really always try to provide only relevant and interesting content. For example, you can learn more about our company, our services or products. Since we are always improving our offers, our newsletter will also let you know when there is news or when we are offering special, lucrative promotions. If we use a service provider that offers a professional mailing tool for our email marketing, we do so in order to be able to offer you fast and secure newsletters. The purpose of our e-mail marketing is basically to inform you about new offers and also to get closer to our corporate goals.

What data is processed?

When you become a subscriber to our newsletter through our website, you confirm by email that you are a member of an email list. In addition to IP address and e-mail address, your title, name, address and telephone number may also be stored. However, only if you agree to this data storage. The data marked as such are necessary for you to participate in the service offered. The information is voluntary, but failure to provide it will result in you not being able to use the service. In addition, information about your device or about your preferred content on our website may be stored. For more on storing data when you visit a website, see the “Automatic data storage” section. We record your declaration of consent so that we can always prove that this complies with our laws.

Duration of data processing

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

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

Right of objection

You have the possibility to cancel your newsletter subscription at any time. To do this, you only need to revoke your consent to the newsletter subscription. This normally takes only a few seconds or one or two clicks. Most of the time, you will find a link to cancel the newsletter subscription right at the end of each email. If you really can’t find the link in the newsletter, please contact us by mail and we will cancel your newsletter subscription immediately.

Legal basis

The sending of our newsletter is based on your consent (Article 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO). This means that we may only send you a newsletter if you have actively signed up for it beforehand. We may also send you promotional messages if you have become our customer and have not objected to the use of your e-mail address for direct marketing.

Information about specific email marketing services and how they process personal data, if any, is provided in the following sections.

Brevo Privacy Policy

What is Brevo?

You can sign up for our newsletter for free on our website. To make sure this works, we use the email delivery service Brevo for our newsletter. This is a service of the German company Sendinblue GmbH, Köpenicker Str. 126, 10179 Berlin. Brevo is, among other things, an email marketing tool that allows us to send you customized newsletters. With Brevo, we don’t have to install anything and can still draw from a pool of really useful features. In the following, we will go into more detail about Brevo’s email marketing service and inform you about the most important aspects relevant to data protection.

Why do we use Brevo?

The newsletter service also provides us with helpful analytics. This means that when we send out a newsletter, we learn, for example, whether and when the newsletter was opened by you. Even if and on which link you click in the newsletter is recognized and recorded by the software. This information helps enormously to adapt and optimize our service to your wishes and concerns. After all, we naturally want to provide you with the best possible service. Thus, in addition to the data already mentioned above, such data about your user behavior is also stored.

What data is processed by Brevo?

We are of course very pleased if you subscribe to our newsletter. In this way, we can always provide you with up-to-date, first-hand information about what is going on in our company at any given time. However, you should know that during the subscription process to the newsletter, all data that you enter (such as your email address or your first and last name) is stored and managed on our server and at Brevo. This also involves personal data. For example, in addition to the time and date of registration, your IP address is also stored. In the course of the registration you also agree that we can send you the newsletter and it is further referred to this privacy policy. Furthermore, data such as click behavior in the newsletter can also be processed.

How long and where is the data stored?

The data for the newsletter tool is stored on servers in Germany. The collected data that make you identifiable as a person (i.e. personal data) will be deleted by Brevo in principle no later than two years after the termination of the contractual relationship with us. However, you can also request the deletion of your data individually at any time. Applications will be processed within 30 days. Data that we collect and send to Brevo will be deleted by us as soon as you unsubscribe from our newsletter.

Right of objection

You have the possibility to cancel your newsletter subscription at any time. To do this, you only need to revoke your consent to the newsletter subscription. This normally takes only a few seconds or one or two clicks. Most of the time, you will find a link to cancel the newsletter subscription right at the end of each email. If you really can’t find the link in the newsletter, please contact us by mail and we will cancel your newsletter subscription immediately. After unsubscribing, the personal data will be deleted from our server and from the Brevo servers, which are located in Germany. You have a right to free information about your stored data and, if applicable, also a right to deletion, blocking or correction.

Legal basis

The sending of our newsletter by Brevo is based on your consent (Article 6 (1) a DSGVO). This means that we may only send you a newsletter if you have actively signed up for it beforehand. If consent is not required, then the newsletter is sent on the basis of the legitimate interest in direct marketing (Article 6 (1) (f)), provided this is legally permitted. We record your registration process so that we can always prove that it complies with our laws.

If you wish to obtain more detailed information on data processing, we recommend that you consult the company’s privacy policy at https://www.brevo.com/de/legal/privacypolicy/.

Messenger & Communication Introduction

What are messenger & communication functions?

We offer various options on our website (such as messenger and chat functions, online or contact forms, e-mail, telephone) to communicate with us. In the process, your data will also be processed and stored to the extent necessary to respond to your inquiry and our subsequent actions.

In addition to traditional means of communication such as e-mail, contact forms or telephone, we also use chats or messengers. Currently, the most commonly used messenger function is WhatsApp, but there are of course many different providers that offer messenger functions specifically for websites. If content is end-to-end encrypted, this is indicated in the individual data protection texts or in the privacy policy of the respective provider. End-to-end encryption means nothing other than that the contents of a message are not visible even to the provider. However, information about your device, location settings and other technical data may still be processed and stored.

Why do we use messenger & communication features?

Communication possibilities with you are of great importance for us. Finally, we want to talk to you and answer all possible questions about our service in the best possible way. Well-functioning communication is an important part of our service. With the convenient messenger & communication features, you can always choose the ones you like the most. In exceptional cases, however, we may not be able to answer certain questions via chat or messenger. This is the case, for example, when it comes to internal contractual matters. Here we recommend other means of communication such as e-mail or telephone.

We generally assume that we remain responsible under data protection law, even if we use services of a social media platform. However, the European Court of Justice has ruled that in certain cases the operator of the social media platform may be jointly responsible with us within the meaning of Art. 26 GDPR. If this is the case, we will point this out separately and work on the basis of an agreement to this effect. The essence of the agreement is reproduced below under the platform concerned.

Please note that when using our built-in elements, data from you may also be processed outside the European Union, as many providers, for example Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp are American companies. As a result, you may no longer be able to claim or enforce your rights with respect to your personal data as easily.

What data is processed?

Exactly which data is stored and processed depends on the respective provider of the messenger & communication functions. Basically, this is data such as name, address, telephone number, e-mail address and content data such as any information you enter in a contact form. In most cases, information about your device and the IP address are also stored. Data collected via a messenger & communication function is also stored on the providers’ servers.

If you want to know exactly what data is stored and processed by the respective providers and how you can object to the data processing, you should carefully read the respective privacy policy of the company.

How long is data stored?

How long the data is processed and stored depends primarily on the tools we use. Further below you will learn more about the data processing of each tool. The privacy statements of the providers usually state exactly what data is stored and processed and for how long. In principle, personal data is only processed for as long as is necessary for the provision of our services. When data is stored in cookies, the storage time varies greatly. The data can be deleted immediately after leaving a website, but it can also remain stored for several years. Therefore, you should look at each cookie in detail if you want to know more about the data storage. In most cases, you will also find informative information about the individual cookies in the privacy statements of the individual providers.

Right of objection

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

Since Messenger & Communication features may use cookies, we also recommend that you read our general privacy policy on cookies. To find out exactly which of your data is stored and processed, you should read the privacy statements of the respective tools.

Legal basis

If you have consented that data of you can be processed and stored by integrated messenger & communication functions, this consent is considered the legal basis of the data processing (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO). We process your request and manage your data in the context of contractual or pre-contractual relationships in order to fulfill our pre-contractual and contractual obligations or to respond to requests. The basis for this is Art. 6 par. 1 p. 1 lit. b. GDPR. 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 if consent has been given.

WhatsApp privacy policy

We use the instant messaging service WhatsApp on our website. The service provider is the American company WhatsApp Inc., a subsidiary of Meta Platforms Inc. (until October 2021 Facebook Inc.). For the European area, the company WhatsApp Ireland Limited, 4 Grand Canal Square, Grand Canal Harbour, Dublin 2, Ireland is responsible.

What is WhatsApp?

We probably don’t need to introduce WhatsApp to you in more detail. The probability that you yourself use this well-known messaging service on your smartphone is relatively high. For many years, there have been voices criticizing WhatsApp or its parent company Meta Platforms with regard to the handling of personal data. The main criticism in recent years has been related to the merging of WhatsApp user data with Facebook. Facebook responded to this in 2021 and adjusted the terms of use. In it, Facebook informed that currently (as of 2021) no personal data of WhatsApp users is shared with Facebook.
Nevertheless, quite a few of your personal data will of course be processed by WhatsApp if you use WhatsApp and have consented to the data processing. This includes your phone number and chat messages, as well as sent photos, videos and profile data. However, photos and videos are only supposed to be cached for a short time, and all messages and phone calls are provided with end-to-end encryption. So they should not be visible even from Meta itself. In addition, WhatsApp also stores information from your address book and other metadata.

Why do we use WhatsApp?

We want to stay in touch with you and the best way to do that is via WhatsApp. Firstly, because the service works flawlessly, and secondly, because WhatsApp is still the most used instant messaging tool in the world. The service is convenient and enables uncomplicated and fast communication with you.

How secure is the data transfer with WhatsApp?

WhatsApp also processes data from you in the USA, among other places. WhatsApp is an active participant in the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, which regulates the correct and secure transfer of personal data from EU citizens to the USA. You can find more information about this at https://commission.europa.eu/document/fa09cbad-dd7d-4684-ae60-be03fcb0fddf_en.

WhatsApp also uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46 (2) and (3) GDPR). 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 and stored in third countries (such as the USA). Through the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and the Standard Contractual Clauses, WhatsApp undertakes to comply with the European level of data protection when processing your relevant data, even if the data is stored, processed and managed in the USA. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the corresponding standard contractual clauses here: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de.

For information on WhatsApp data transfer, which complies with the standard contractual clauses, please visit https://www.whatsapp.com/legal/business-data-transfer-addendum-20210927

We hope we have provided you with the most important information about the use and data processing by WhatsApp. You can learn more about the data processed through the use of WhatsApp in the Privacy Policy at https://www.whatsapp.com/privacy.

Social media introduction

What is social media?

In addition to our website, we are also active on various social media platforms. In the process, user data may be processed so that we can target users who are interested in us via the social networks. In addition, elements of a social media platform may also be embedded directly in our website. This is the case, for example, when you click on a so-called social button on our website and are redirected directly to our social media presence. So-called social media or social media are websites and apps through which logged-in 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 connect online. Our social media presences enable us to bring our products and services closer to prospective customers. The social media elements embedded on our website help you to quickly switch to our social media content without complications.

The data that is stored and processed through your use of a social media channel is primarily for the purpose of being able to perform web analyses. The aim of these analyses is to be able to develop more precise and personalized marketing and advertising strategies. Depending on your behavior on a social media platform, appropriate conclusions can be drawn about your interests with the help of the evaluated data and so-called user profiles can be created. This also allows the platforms to present you with customized advertisements. Mostly, 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 if we use services of a social media platform. However, the European Court of Justice has ruled that in certain cases the operator of the social media platform may be jointly responsible with us within the meaning of Art. 26 GDPR. If this is the case, we will point this out separately and work on the basis of an agreement to this effect. The essence of the agreement is then reproduced below with the platform concerned.

Please note that when using social media platforms or our built-in elements, data from you may also be processed outside the European Union, as many social media channels, for example Facebook or Twitter, are American companies. As a result, you may no longer be able to claim or enforce your rights with respect to your personal data as easily.

What data is processed?

Exactly which data is stored and processed depends on the respective provider of the social media platform. But usually it is data such as phone numbers, email addresses, data you enter in a contact form, user data such as which buttons you click, who you like or follow, when you visited which pages, information about your device and your IP address. Most of this data is stored in cookies. Especially if you yourself have a profile on the visited social media channel and are logged in, data can be linked to your profile.

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

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

Duration of data processing

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

Right of objection

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

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

Legal basis

If you have consented that data from you can be processed and stored by integrated social media elements, this consent is considered the legal basis of the 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 if consent has been given. Nevertheless, we only use the tools if you have given your consent. Most social media platforms also set cookies in your browser to store data. That is why we recommend that you read our privacy text about cookies carefully and view the privacy policy or cookie policy of the respective service provider.

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

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 are aimed at drawing people’s attention to our website. So, in order to be able to show our offer to many interested people, we do online marketing. Mostly, this involves online advertising, content marketing or search engine optimization. To enable us to use online marketing efficiently and in a targeted manner, personal data is also stored and processed. On the one hand, the data helps us to show our content only to those people who are really interested in it, 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 every person who is interested in our offer. We are aware that this is not possible without deliberately set measures. That’s why we do online marketing. There are various tools that make it easier for us to work on our online marketing measures and, in addition, always provide suggestions for improvement via data. This allows us to target our campaigns more precisely to our target group. The purpose of these online marketing tools is therefore ultimately to optimize our offering.

What data is processed?

In order for our online marketing to work and the success of the measures to be measured, user profiles are created and data is stored in cookies (these are small text files), for example. With the help of this data, we can not only place advertisements in the classical sense, but also directly on our website, display our content in the way you prefer. For this purpose, there are various third-party tools that offer these functions and accordingly also collect and store data from you. The named cookies store, for example, 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 have come to us. In addition, technical information can also be stored. For example, your IP address, which browser you are using, from which device you are visiting our website or the time when you accessed our website and when you left it again. If you have consented that we may also determine your location, we may 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 e-mail address, is also only stored in pseudonymized form as part of the advertising and online marketing processes. So we cannot identify you as a person, we only have the pseudonymized stored information in the user profiles.

The cookies may also be deployed, analyzed and used for advertising purposes on other websites that use the same advertising tools. The data can then also be stored on the servers of the advertising tools providers.

In exceptional cases, unique data (name, mail address, 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 links previously received data with the user profile.

For any advertising tools we use that stores data about you on their servers, we only ever receive aggregate information and never data that identifies you as an individual. The data only show how well placed advertising measures worked. For example, we see what actions have led you or other users to come to our website and purchase a service or product. 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 persons.

Duration of data processing

We will inform you about the duration of the data processing below, provided that 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. Data stored in cookies are stored for different lengths of time. Some cookies are deleted as soon as you leave the website, others can be stored in your browser for several years. The respective privacy statements of the individual providers usually provide you with detailed information about the individual cookies used by the provider.

Right of objection

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

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

Legal basis

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

We also have a legitimate interest in measuring online marketing measures in anonymized form in order to optimize our offering and our measures with the help of the data obtained. The legal basis for this is Art. 6 par. 1 lit. f DSGVO (Legitimate Interests). Nevertheless, we only use the tools if you have given your consent.

Information on specific online marketing tools – if available – can be found in the following sections.

Google Ads (Google AdWords) Conversion Tracking Privacy Policy

What is Google Ads conversion tracking?

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

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

But what is a conversion actually? A conversion occurs when you go from a purely interested website visitor to an acting visitor. This happens whenever you click on our ad and subsequently 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 signed up for our newsletter.

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

We use Google Ads to draw attention to our offer on other websites as well. The aim is to ensure that our advertising campaigns really only reach those people who are interested in what we have to offer. 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 make a conversion. This data enables us to calculate our cost-benefit factor, to measure the success of individual advertising measures at and consequently to optimize our online marketing measures. We can also use the data obtained to make our website more interesting for you and to adapt our advertising offer even more individually to your needs.

What data is stored with Google Ads conversion tracking?

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

Here are the data of the most important cookies for Google’s conversion tracking:

Name: Conversion
Value: EhMI_aySuoyv4gIVled3Ch0llweVGAEgt-mr6aXd7dYlSAGQ112513028-3
Purpose: This cookie stores every conversion you make on our site after coming to us through a Google Ad.
Expiration date: after 3 months

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

Note: The _gac cookie only appears in connection with Google Analytics. The above list does not claim to be complete, as Google also uses other cookies for analytical evaluation.

As soon as you complete an action on our website, Google recognizes the cookie and saves your action as a so-called conversion. As long as you surf our website and the cookie has not yet expired, we and Google will recognize that you found us through our Google Ads ad. The cookie is read and sent back to Google Ads with the conversion data. It is also possible that other cookies are used to measure conversions. Google Ads conversion tracking can be further refined and improved using Google Analytics. For ads that Google displays in various locations on the web, cookies named “__gads” or “_gac” may be set under our domain. Since September 2017, various campaign information is stored by analytics.js with the _gac cookie. The cookie stores this data as soon as you visit one of our pages for which the automatic tagging of Google Ads has been set up. Unlike cookies 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 get a report from Google with statistical analysis. 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 would like to point out that we have no influence on how Google uses the collected data. According to Google, the data is encrypted and stored on secure servers. In most cases, conversion cookies expire after 30 days and do not transmit any personal data. The cookies 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 not to participate in Google Ads conversion tracking. If you deactivate the Google conversion tracking cookie via your browser, you block conversion tracking. In this case, you will not be included in the statistics of the tracking tool. You can change the cookie settings in your browser at any time. This works slightly differently for each browser. 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. Thus, for each individual cookie, you can decide whether to allow the cookie or not. Downloading and installing this browser plug-in on https://support.google.com/ads/answer/7395996 will also disable all “advertising cookies”. Keep in mind that by disabling these cookies, you do not prevent the ads, only the personalized ads.

Legal basis

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

On our part, there is also a legitimate interest in using Google Ads Conversion Tracking to optimize our online service and our marketing measures. The legal basis for this is Art. 6 par. 1 lit. f DSGVO (Legitimate Interests). Nevertheless, we only use Google Ads Conversion Tracking if you have given your consent.

Google also processes data from you in the USA, among other places. Google is an active participant in the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, which regulates the correct and secure transfer of personal data from EU citizens to the USA. You can find more information about this at https://commission.europa.eu/document/fa09cbad-dd7d-4684-ae60-be03fcb0fddf_en.

In addition, Google uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46 (2) and (3) GDPR). 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 and stored in third countries (such as the USA). Through the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and the standard contractual clauses, Google undertakes to comply with the European level of data protection when processing your relevant data, even if the data is stored, processed and managed in the USA. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the corresponding standard contractual clauses here, among other places: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de

The Google Ads Data Processing Terms, which reference the Standard Contractual Clauses, can be found at https://business.safety.google/intl/de/adsprocessorterms/.

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

Security & Anti-Spam

What is Security & Anti-Spam Software?

With so-called security & anti-spam software, you can protect yourself and us from various spam or phishing emails and possible other cyberattacks. Spam is advertising mail from a mass mailing that you did not ask for yourself. Such mails are also called data garbage and can also cause costs. Phishing emails are again messages that aim to build trust via fake news or websites in order to obtain personal data. Anti-spam software usually protects against unwanted spam messages or malicious mails that could introduce viruses into our system, for example. 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 particular emphasis on security on our website. After all, it is not only our safety that is at stake, but above all yours. Unfortunately, cyber threats have become part of everyday life 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 therefore a good defense system is absolutely necessary. A security system monitors all incoming and outgoing connections to our network or computer. In order to achieve even greater security against cyber-attacks, we also use other external security services in addition to the standardized security systems on our computer. Unauthorized traffic of data is thus better prevented and thus we protect ourselves from cybercrime.

What data is processed by security & anti-spam software?

Exactly what data is collected and stored depends, of course, on the service in question. However, we always try to use only programs that collect data very sparingly or store only data that is necessary for the fulfillment of the offered service. Basically, the service can store data such as name, address, IP address, e-mail address and technical data such as browser type or browser version. Also, any performance and log data can be collected to detect possible incoming threats in time. 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 the standard contractual clauses). These security services also work in some cases with third party vendors who may store and/or process data under instruction and in accordance with privacy policies and other security measures. The data storage is mostly done via cookies.

Duration of data processing

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

You also have the right and the possibility to revoke your consent to the use of cookies or third-party security software 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, disabling or deleting cookies in your browser.

Since cookies may also be used with such security services, we recommend that you read our general privacy policy on cookies. To find out exactly which of your data is stored and processed, you should read the privacy statements of the respective tools.

Legal basis

We use security services mainly on the basis of our legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO) in a good security system against various cyber attacks.

Certain processing, in particular the use of cookies and the use of security functions require your consent. If you have consented that data of you can be processed and stored by integrated security services, this consent is considered the legal basis of the data processing (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO). Most of the services 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.

Information on special 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 in the best possible way for you and for us. To ensure this, we use Google reCAPTCHA from Google Inc. For the European area, the company Google Ireland Limited (Gordon House, Barrow Street Dublin 4, Ireland) is responsible for all Google services. With reCAPTCHA we can verify that you are a real flesh and blood human being and not a robot or some other spam software. By spam we mean any unsolicited information sent to us electronically. In the classic CAPTCHAS, you usually had to solve text or picture puzzles for review. With reCAPTCHA from Google, we usually don’t have to bother you with such riddles. Here, in most cases, it is 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. You will find out exactly how this works and, above all, which data is used for this purpose in the course of this privacy policy.

reCAPTCHA is a free captcha service from Google that protects websites from spam software and abuse by non-human visitors. Most often, this service is used when you fill out forms on the Internet. A captcha service is a kind of automatic Turing test designed to ensure that an action on the Internet is performed by a human and not a bot. In the classic Turing test (named after the computer scientist Alan Turing), a human establishes the distinction between a bot and a human. In the case of captchas, this is also done by the computer or a software program. Classic captchas work with small tasks that are easy for humans to solve, but present significant difficulties for machines. With reCAPTCHA, you no longer have to actively solve puzzles. The tool uses advanced risk techniques to distinguish humans from bots. Here you only need to check the “I am not a robot” text box, or with Invisible reCAPTCHA even that is no longer necessary. With reCAPTCHA, a JavaScript element is included in the source code and then the tool runs in the background and analyzes your user behavior. The software calculates a so-called captcha score from these user actions. Google uses this score to calculate how likely you are to be human even before you enter the captcha. reCAPTCHA or captchas in general are used whenever bots could manipulate or abuse certain actions (such as registrations, surveys, etc.).

Why do we use reCAPTCHA on our website?

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

What data is stored by reCAPTCHA?

reCAPTCHA collects personal data from users in order to determine whether actions on our website actually originate from people. So the IP address and other data that Google needs for the reCAPTCHA service can be sent to Google. IP addresses are almost always shortened beforehand within the member states of the EU or other contracting states to the Agreement on the European Economic Area before the data ends up on a server in the USA. The IP address is not combined with other data from Google unless you are logged in with your Google account while using reCAPTCHA. First, the reCAPTCHA algorithm checks if 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, does not claim to be complete. Rather, they are examples of data that, to our knowledge, are processed by Google.

• Referrer URL (the address of the page from which the visitor comes)
• IP address (e.g. 256.123.123.1)
• Info about the operating system (the software that allows your computer to run. 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 will be 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 (shows how many pixels the image display consists of)

It is undisputed that Google uses and analyzes this data even before you click on the “I am not a robot” checkbox. With the Invisible reCAPTCHA version, there is even no checkboxing and the whole recognition process runs in the background. Google does not tell you in detail how much and which data it stores.

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

Name: IDE
Value: WqTUmlnmv_qXyi_DGNPLESKnRNrpgXoy1K-pAZtAkMbHI-112513028-8
Purpose: This cookie is set by the DoubleClick company (also owned by Google) to register and report a user’s actions on the website in dealing with advertisements. In this way, advertising effectiveness can be measured and appropriate optimization measures can be taken. IDE is stored in browsers under the domain doubleclick.net.
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 be used to prevent a user from seeing the same ad more than once.
Expiration date: after one month

Name: ANID
Wert: U7j1v3dZa1125130280xgZFmiqWppRWKOr
Purpose: We could not find out much info about this cookie. Google’s privacy policy mentions the cookie in connection with “advertising cookies” such as “DSID”, “FLC”, “AID”, “TAID”. ANID is stored under domain google.com.
Expiration date: after 9 months

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

Name: NID
Wert: 0WmuWqy112513028zILzqV_nmt3sDXwPeM5Q
Purpose: NID is used by Google to customize ads to your Google search. With the help of the cookie, Google “remembers” your most entered search queries or your previous interaction with ads. This way you will always get customized ads. The cookie contains a unique ID to collect personal settings of the user for advertising purposes.
Expiration date: after 6 months

Name: DV
Wert: gEAABBCjJMXcI0dSAAAANbqc112513028-4
Purpose: Once you have checked the “I am not a robot” box, this cookie will be set. The cookie is used by Google Analytics for personalized advertising. DV collects information in anonymous form and is further used to make user distinctions.
Expiration date: after 10 minutes

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

How long and where is the data stored?

By inserting reCAPTCHA, data is transferred from you to the Google server. Where exactly this data is stored, Google does not make clear, even after repeated inquiries. Without having received confirmation from Google, it can be assumed that data such as mouse interaction, time spent on the website or language settings are stored on Google’s European or American 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. The deviating data protection provisions of the Google company apply to this.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

If you do not want any data about you and your behavior to be transmitted to Google, you must log out of Google completely and delete all Google cookies before you visit our website or use the reCAPTCHA software. In principle, data is automatically transmitted to Google as soon as you visit our website. To delete this data again, you must contact Google support at  https://support.google.com/?hl=de&tid=112513028.

Thus, by using our website, you consent to the automatic collection, processing and use of data by Google LLC and its agents.

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

Legal basis

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

We also have a legitimate interest in using Google reCAPTCHA to optimize our online service and make it more secure. The legal basis for this is Art. 6 par. 1 lit. f DSGVO (Legitimate Interests). Nevertheless, we only use Google reCAPTCHA if you have given your consent.

Google also processes data from you in the USA, among other places. Google is an active participant in the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, which regulates the correct and secure transfer of personal data from EU citizens to the USA. You can find more information about this at https://commission.europa.eu/document/fa09cbad-dd7d-4684-ae60-be03fcb0fddf_en.

In addition, Google uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46 (2) and (3) GDPR). 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 and stored in third countries (such as the USA). Through the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and the standard contractual clauses, Google undertakes to comply with the European level of data protection when processing your relevant data, even if the data is stored, processed and managed in the USA. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the corresponding standard contractual clauses here, among other places: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de

The Google Ads Data Processing Terms, which reference the Standard Contractual Clauses, can be found at https://business.safety.google/intl/de/adsprocessorterms/.

You can learn a little more about reCAPTCHA on Google’s web developer page at https://developers.google.com/recaptcha/. Google does go into more detail here about the technical development of reCAPTCHA, but you will search in vain for precise information about data storage and privacy-related topics there as well. A good overview of Google’s basic use of data can be found in its in-house privacy policy at https://policies.google.com/privacy.

Wordfence Privacy Policy

We use Wordfence, a WordPress security plug-in, for our website. The service provider is the American company Defiant, Inc, 1700 Westlake Ave N Ste 200, Seattle, WA 98109, USA.

Wordfence 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 data transfers to the USA. This may be accompanied by various risks to the lawfulness and security of data processing.

As a basis for data processing with recipients located in third countries (outside the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, i.e. in particular in the USA) or a data transfer there, Wordfence 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 and stored in third countries (such as the USA). Through these clauses, Wordfence 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 conditions (Data Protection Regulation), which correspond to the standard contractual clauses, can be found at https://www.wordfence.com/help/general-data-protection-regulation/.

You can learn more about the data processed through the use of Wordfence in the privacy policy at https://www.wordfence.com/privacy-policy/.

External online platforms Introduction

What are external online platforms?

We also use external platforms to offer our services or products outside our website. These are usually online marketplaces such as Amazon or eBay. In addition to our responsibility for data protection, the data protection provisions of the external platforms we use also apply. This is particularly the case when our products are purchased via the platform. So if there is a payment transaction. Furthermore, most platforms also use your data to optimize their own marketing measures. For example, the platform can use collected data to tailor advertisements precisely to the interests of customers and website visitors.

Why do we use external online platforms?

In addition to our website, we also want to offer our services on other platforms in order to bring our range closer to more customers. External online marketplaces such as Amazon, Ebay or Digistore24 offer large sales websites that offer our products to people who may not be familiar with our website. It may also happen that elements embedded on our site lead to an external online platform. Data that is processed and stored by the online platform used is used by the company to record the payment process on the one hand and to carry out web analyses on the other.

The aim of these analyses is to be able to develop more precise and personalized marketing and advertising strategies. Depending on your behavior on a platform, the evaluated data can be used to draw conclusions about your interests and create so-called user profiles. This also enables the platforms to present you with customized advertisements or products. Mostly, cookies are set in your browser for this purpose, which store data about your usage behavior.

Please note that when using the platforms or our built-in elements, your data may also be processed outside the European Union, as online platforms such as Amazon or eBay are American companies. As a result, you may no longer be able to claim or enforce your rights with respect to your personal data as easily.

What data is processed?

Exactly which data is stored and processed depends on the external platform in question. However, this usually involves data such as telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, data that you enter in a contact form, user data such as which buttons you click, when you visited which pages, information about your device and your IP address. Very often, most of this data is stored in cookies. If you have your own profile on an external platform and are also logged in there, data can be linked to the profile. The data collected is stored on the servers of the platforms used and processed there. You can find out exactly how an external platform stores, manages and processes data in the respective privacy policy. If you have any questions about data storage and data processing or wish to assert corresponding rights, we recommend that you contact the platform directly.

Duration of data processing

We will inform you about the duration of the data processing below, provided that we have further information on this. For example, Amazon stores data until it is no longer needed for its own purposes. In general, we process personal data only as long as it is absolutely necessary for the provision of our services and products.

Right of objection

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

As cookies may be used, we also recommend that you read our general privacy policy on cookies. To find out exactly which of your data is stored and processed, you should read the data protection declarations of the respective external platforms.

Legal basis

If you have consented to your data being processed and stored by external platforms, this consent is the legal basis for data processing (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR). In principle, your data will also be stored and processed on the basis of a legitimate interest (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR) in fast and good communication with you or other customers and business partners if you have given your consent. If we have integrated elements from external platforms on our website, we will only use them if you have given your consent.

Information on special external platforms – if available – can be found in the following sections.

Make privacy policy

We also use the automation platform Make. The service provider is the American company Celonis Inc, One World Trade Center, 87th Floor, New York, NY, 10007, USA.

Make or Celonis processes your data in the USA, among other places. Celonis is an active participant in the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, which regulates the correct and secure transfer of personal data from EU citizens to the USA. You can find more information about this at https://commission.europa.eu/document/fa09cbad-dd7d-4684-ae60-be03fcb0fddf_en.

You can find out more about the standard contractual clauses and data processed through the use of Make in the privacy policy at https://www.make.com/en/privacy-notice.

Recruiting Tools Introduction

What are recruiting tools?

Various companies offer software programs that can make an application process much easier. For example, most systems offer filtering options to search databases of potential candidates. This allows us to quickly and efficiently find employees who fit our company. Both online forms and recruiting tools transmit, store and manage personal data from you. In this general text, in addition to recruiting tools, we also refer to the classic application process via email or online form. More detailed information on the recruiting tools can be found in the privacy statements of the respective providers.

Why do we use recruiting tools?

For the search for suitable applicants and for the administration of all application documents, we use software programs and platforms that specialize in application management, taking into account all legal guidelines. So-called recruiting tools usually facilitate the application process, as the software takes over many administrative tasks and optimizes processes in the application procedure. In some cases, this enables us to find suitable employees for our company more quickly.

For the conditions of the recruiting procedures, please refer in detail to the respective job advertisements.

What data is processed?

If you apply to us, you must of course provide us with data about yourself so that we can assess the application accordingly. The exact information you provide depends on the job posting or the information required in the online form.

This usually involves data such as your name, address, date of birth and proof of your qualifications required for the job. However, during the process of an application, not only the usual personal data, such as name or address, may be transmitted, but also information about your health or ethnic origin may be requested, so that we and you can exercise the rights related to labor law, social security and social protection and, at the same time, comply with the corresponding obligations. These data are called special category data.

Via the online form, the data or your application will be sent to us in encrypted form. Alternatively, you can also send your application to us by e-mail. If you choose this variant, the data will be transmitted encrypted, but will not be stored encrypted by the sent and received server.

Duration of data processing

In the event of a successful application, the data you provide may be processed by us for an employment relationship. If the application does not meet the expectations, we delete the data received. Even if you withdraw your application, this data will be deleted. If you agree to be included in our applicant pool, we will store your data collected in this context until you leave the applicant pool. The same rules apply to withdrawal as to revocation of your consent.

Right of objection

You also always have the right and the possibility to withdraw your consent. In order for us to still be able to answer possible questions about the application and meet our obligations to provide proof, the data will be deleted after 6 months at the latest. We archive invoices for possible travel expense reimbursements due to tax law requirements.

Legal basis

If we include you in our application pool, this happens on the basis of your consent (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO). 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 to revoke your consent at any time.

In the case of the protection of vital interests, the data processing is carried out in accordance with Art. 9 para. 2 lit. c. GDPR. For the purposes of health care, occupational medicine, medical diagnostics, health or social care or treatment, or for the management of health or social care systems and services, the processing of personal data is carried out in accordance with Art. 9 para. 2 lit. h. GDPR. If you voluntarily provide data of the special categories, the processing is based on Art. 9 para. 2 lit. a. GDPR.

Information on the specific recruiting tools – if available – can be found in the following sections.

Rating platforms Introduction

What are rating platforms?

You can rate our products or services on various rating platforms. We are participants of some of these platforms so that we can get feedback from you and thus optimize our offer. If you rate us via a rating platform, the privacy policy and terms and conditions of the respective rating service apply. Very often, you also need to register to submit a review. Rating technologies (widgets) can also be integrated into our website. By using such an embedded tool, data is also transferred to the corresponding provider, processed and stored.

Many of these embedded programs work on a similar principle. After you have ordered a product or used a service from us, you will be asked, by e-mail or on the website, to submit a review. For this purpose, you are usually forwarded to a rating page via a link and can easily and quickly create a rating there. Some rating systems also interface with various social media channels to make feedback available to multiple people.

Why do we use rating platforms?

Rating platforms collect feedback and reviews about our offerings. Through your reviews, we get appropriate feedback quickly and can improve our products and/or services much more efficiently. Consequently, the ratings serve us on the one hand to optimize our offers and on the other hand they give you and all our future customers a good overview of the quality of our products and services.

What data is processed?

With your consent, we transmit information about you and the services you have used to the corresponding rating platform. We do this to ensure that you have actually used one of our services. Because only then can you also give real feedback. The transmitted data is only used for user recognition. Exactly what data is stored and processed depends, of course, on the providers used. In most cases, the rating platforms are also provided with personal data such as IP address, e-mail address or your name. Order information such as the order number of a purchased item will also be forwarded to the corresponding platform after you have submitted your rating. If your email address is submitted, it is done so that the review platform can send you an email after you have purchased a product. So that we can also include your rating in our website, we also give the providers the information that you have accessed our page. The rating platform used is responsible for the personal data collected.

How long and where is the data stored?

You can find out more about the duration of the data processing below in the corresponding privacy policy of the provider, if 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. Personal data mentioned in an assessment is usually anonymized by employees of the platform used and is thus only visible to administrators of the company. The collected data is stored on the servers of the providers and, in the case of most providers, deleted after the end of the order.

Right of objection

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

Legal basis

If you have consented to the use of an evaluation platform, the legal basis of the corresponding data processing is this consent. This consent constitutes, according to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO (consent) constitutes the legal basis for the processing of personal data as it may occur when collected by an evaluation portal.

We also have a legitimate interest in using a rating platform to optimize our online service. The corresponding legal basis for this is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO (Legitimate Interests). Nevertheless, we only use a rating platform if you have given your consent.

We hope we have been able to provide you with the most important general information regarding the data processing of rating platforms. You can find more detailed information below in the data protection texts or in the linked data protection declarations of the company.

Google Customer Reviews Privacy Policy

We also use the Google Customer Reviews rating platform for our website. The service provider is 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 also processes data from you in the USA, among other places. Google is an active participant in the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, which regulates the correct and secure transfer of personal data from EU citizens to the USA. You can find more information about this at https://commission.europa.eu/document/fa09cbad-dd7d-4684-ae60-be03fcb0fddf_en.

In addition, Google uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46 (2) and (3) GDPR). 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 and stored in third countries (such as the USA). Through the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and the standard contractual clauses, Google undertakes to comply with the European level of data protection when processing your relevant data, even if the data is stored, processed and managed in the USA. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the corresponding standard contractual clauses here, among other places: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de

The data processing terms for Google advertising products (Google Ads Controller Data Protection Terms), which refer to the standard contractual clauses, can be found at https://business.safety.google/intl/de/adsprocessorterms/.

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

Web design introduction

What is web design?

We use various tools on our website that serve our web design. Web design is not, as often assumed, just about making our website look pretty, but also about functionality and performance. But of course, the appropriate look of a website is also one of the great goals of professional web design. Web design is a branch of media design and deals with the visual as well as 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 the website visitor experiences on a website. A sub-item of user experience is usability. This is about the user-friendliness of a website. The main focus here is on ensuring that content, subpages or products are clearly structured and that you can easily and quickly find what you are looking for. To provide you with the best possible experience on our website, we also use so-called third-party web design tools. In this privacy policy, the category “web design” therefore includes all services that improve the design of our website. This 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 very much on the structure, functionality and visual perception of the website. Therefore, a good and professional web design became more and more important for us as well. We are constantly working to improve our website and also see this as an extended service to you, the website visitor. Furthermore, a beautiful and functioning website also has economic advantages for us. After all, you will only visit us and make use of our offers if you feel completely at ease.

What data is stored by web design tools?

When you visit our website, web design elements may be embedded in our pages that may also process data. Exactly what data is involved depends, of course, heavily on the tools used. Further below you can see exactly which tools we use for our website. We recommend that you also read the respective privacy policy of the tools used for more detailed information on data processing. In most cases, you will find out there which data is processed, whether cookies are used and how long the data is stored. Through fonts such as Google Fonts, for example, information such as language settings, IP address, browser version, browser screen resolution and browser name are also 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, when cookies are used, the retention period can be as short as a minute or as long as a few years. Please do your research in this regard. For this purpose, we recommend on the one hand our general text section on cookies as well as the privacy statements 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 to improve the loading time of a website. In principle, data is always kept only as long as is necessary for the provision of the service. In the case of legal requirements, data may also be stored for longer periods.

Right of objection

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

Legal basis

If you have consented to web design tools being used, the legal basis of the corresponding data processing is this consent. This consent constitutes, according to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO (consent) constitutes the legal basis for the processing of personal data as it may occur during the collection by web design tools. From our side, there is also a legitimate interest to improve the web design on our website. After all, only then we can provide you with a beautiful and professional web offer. The corresponding legal basis for this is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO (Legitimate Interests). Nevertheless, we only use web design tools if you have given your consent. In any case, we want to emphasize that again here.

Information on specific web design tools – if available – is provided in the following sections.

Google Fonts Privacy Policy

What are Google Fonts?

On our website we use Google Fonts. These are the “Google Fonts” of the 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.

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

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

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

Why do we use Google Fonts on our website?

With Google Fonts, we can use fonts on our own website and not have to upload them to our own server. Google Fonts is an important component in keeping the quality of our website high. All Google fonts are automatically optimized for the web and this saves data volume and is a great advantage especially for use on mobile devices. When you visit our site, the low file size ensures fast loading time. Furthermore, Google Fonts are secure web fonts. Different image synthesis systems (rendering) in different browsers, operating systems and mobile devices can lead to errors. Such errors can sometimes visually distort texts or entire web pages. Thanks to the fast Content Delivery Network (CDN), there are no cross-platform issues with Google Fonts. Google Fonts supports all major browsers (Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera) and works reliably on most modern mobile operating systems, including Android 2.2+ and iOS 4.2+ (iPhone, iPad, iPod). So we use the Google Fonts so that we can present our entire online service as beautifully and consistently as possible.

What data is stored by Google?

When you visit our website, the fonts are reloaded via a Google server. This external call transmits data to the Google servers. In this way, Google also recognizes that you or your IP address visited our website. The Google Fonts API is designed to reduce the use, storage, and collection of end-user data to what is necessary for proper font delivery. API, by the way, stands for “Application Programming Interface” and is used, among other things, as a data transmitter in software.

Google Fonts stores CSS and font requests securely at Google and is therefore protected. By collecting usage figures, Google can determine how well each font is received. Google publishes the results on internal analytics pages, such as Google Analytics. In addition, Google also uses data from its own web crawler to determine which web pages use Google fonts. This data is published in Google Fonts’ BigQuery database. Entrepreneurs and developers use Google’s BigQuery web service to explore and move large amounts of data.

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

How long and where is the data stored?

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

The font files are stored by Google for one year. Google thus pursues the goal of fundamentally improving the loading time of websites. When millions of web pages reference the same fonts, they are cached after the first visit and immediately reappear on all other web pages visited later. Sometimes Google updates font files to reduce file size, increase language coverage, and improve design.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

The data that Google stores for a day or a year cannot simply be deleted. The data is automatically transmitted to Google when the page is called up. To delete this data ahead of time, you will need to contact Google Support at https://support.google.com/?hl=de&tid=112513028. Data storage you prevent in this case only if you do not visit our site.

Unlike other web fonts, Google allows us unlimited access to all fonts. So we can access an unlimited sea of fonts and get the most out of our website. For more on Google Fonts and other issues, visit https://developers.google.com/fonts/faq?tid=112513028. There, Google addresses privacy-related matters, but really detailed information about data storage is not included. It is relatively difficult to get really precise information from Google about stored data.

Legal basis

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

On our part, there is also a legitimate interest in using Google Font to optimize our online service. The legal basis for this is Art. 6 par. 1 lit. f DSGVO (Legitimate Interests). Nevertheless, we only use Google Font if you have given your consent.

Google also processes data from you in the USA, among other places. Google is an active participant in the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, which regulates the correct and secure transfer of personal data from EU citizens to the USA. You can find more information about this at https://commission.europa.eu/document/fa09cbad-dd7d-4684-ae60-be03fcb0fddf_en.

In addition, Google uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46 (2) and (3) GDPR). 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 and stored in third countries (such as the USA). Through the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and the standard contractual clauses, Google undertakes to comply with the European level of data protection when processing your relevant data, even if the data is stored, processed and managed in the USA. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the corresponding standard contractual clauses here, among other places: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de

The Google Ads Data Processing Terms, which reference the Standard Contractual Clauses, can be found at https://business.safety.google/intl/de/adsprocessorterms/.

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

Online map services introduction

What are online map services?

We also use online map services for our website as an enhanced service. Google Maps is probably the service you are most familiar with, but there are other providers that specialize in creating digital maps. Such services allow you to view locations, route maps or other geographic information directly through 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 function on our website, map sections are integrated using HTML code. The services can then display street maps, the earth’s surface, or aerial or satellite images. If you use the built-in map service, data is also transmitted to the tool used and stored there. Among these data may also be personal data.

Why do we use online mapping services on our website?

Generally speaking, our goal is to provide you with a pleasant time on our website. And, of course, your time is only pleasant if you can easily navigate our website and find all the information you need quickly and easily. Therefore, we thought an online map system could still be a significant optimization of our service on the website. Without leaving our website, you can easily view route descriptions, locations or even points of interest using the map system. Of course, it’s also super convenient that you can see at a glance where we are located, so you can find us quickly and safely. As you can see, there are simply many advantages and we clearly consider online map services on our website as part of our customer service.

What data are stored by online map services?

When you open a page on our website that has an online map function built in, personal data may be transmitted to the respective service and stored there. Most often, this is your IP address, through which your approximate location can also be determined. 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, for example, this data is also saved. The data is not stored by us, but on the servers of the integrated tools. You can think of it something like this: You are on our website, but when you interact with a map service, that interaction actually happens on their website. In order for the service to work properly, usually at least one cookie is also set in your browser. Google Maps also uses cookies, for example, to record user behavior in order to optimize its own service and to be able to serve personalized advertising. You can learn 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 the data processing below in the corresponding sections on the individual tools. As a matter of principle, personal data is always retained only for as long as is necessary for the provision of the service. Google Maps, for example, stores certain data for a set period of time, while you have to delete other data yourself. With Mapbox, for example, the IP address is retained for 30 days and then deleted. You see, each tool stores data for a different amount of time. Therefore, we 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 privacy texts of the individual providers. In most cases, however, this is only an exemplary list and is not complete.

Right of objection

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

Legal basis

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

We also have a legitimate interest in using an online mapping service to optimize our service on our website. The corresponding legal basis for this is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO (Legitimate Interests). However, we only ever use an online map service if you have given your consent. We definitely want to have that recorded again at this point.

Information on special online map services – if available – is provided in the following sections.

Google Maps Privacy Policy

What is Google Maps?

We use Google Maps of the 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 Maps allows us to better show you locations and thus customize our service to your needs. By using Google Maps, data is transmitted to Google and stored on Google servers. Here we will now 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 mapping service provided by the Google company. Google Maps lets you find exact locations of cities, landmarks, accommodations, or businesses online using a PC, tablet, or app. When companies are represented on Google My Business, other information about the company is displayed in addition to the location. To display directions, map sections of a location can be embedded into a website using HTML code. Google Maps shows the earth’s surface as a street map or as an aerial or satellite image. Thanks to the Street View images and the high-quality satellite images, very accurate representations are possible.

Why do we use Google Maps on our website?

All of our efforts on this site are aimed at providing you with a useful and meaningful time on our website. By integrating Google Maps, we can provide you with the most important information about various locations. You can see at a glance where we are located. The directions will always show you the best or fastest way to get to us. You can access the route for routes by car, public transport, on foot or by bike. For us, providing Google Maps is part of our customer service.

What data is stored by Google Maps?

In order for Google Maps to fully provide their service, the company must collect and store data from you. These include the search terms entered, your IP address and also the latitude or longitude coordinates. If you use the route planner function, the entered start address is also saved. However, this data storage happens on 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 uses this data primarily to optimize its own services and to provide individual, personalized advertising for you.

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

Name: NID
Wert: 188=h26c1Ktha7fCQTx8rXgLyATyITJ112513028-5
Purpose: NID is used by Google to customize ads 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 will always get customized ads. The cookie contains a unique ID that Google uses to collect your personal preferences for advertising purposes.
Expiration date: after 6 months

Note: We can not guarantee completeness in the information of the stored data. Especially when using cookies, changes can never be ruled out. In order 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?

Google servers are located in data centers around the world. However, most of the servers are located in America. For this reason, your data is also increasingly stored in the USA. You can find out exactly where Google’s data centers are located here: https://www.google.com/about/datacenters/locations/?hl=de

Google distributes the data on various data carriers. This means that the data can be retrieved more quickly and is better protected against any attempts at manipulation. Each data center also has special emergency programs. For example, if there are problems with Google’s hardware or a natural disaster cripples the servers, the data will pretty much remain protected anyway.

Google stores some data for a set period of time. For other data, Google only offers the option to delete it manually. The Company also anonymizes information (such as advertising data) in server logs by removing a portion of the IP address and cookie information after 9 and18 months deletes.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

With the automatic deletion of location and activity data introduced in 2019, location and web/app activity information will be stored for either 3 or 18 months, depending on your decision, and then deleted. Moreover, you can also delete this data from the history manually at any time via the Google account. If you want to completely prevent your location tracking, you need to pause the “Web and App Activity” section in Google Account. Click “Data and personalization” and then click the “Activity setting” option. Here you can switch the activities on or off.

In your browser, you can also deactivate, delete or manage individual cookies. Depending on which browser you use, this always works slightly differently. 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. Thus, for each individual cookie, you can decide whether to allow it or not.

Legal basis

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

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

Google also processes data from you in the USA, among other places. Google is an active participant in the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, which regulates the correct and secure transfer of personal data from EU citizens to the USA. You can find more information about this at https://commission.europa.eu/document/fa09cbad-dd7d-4684-ae60-be03fcb0fddf_en.

In addition, Google uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46 (2) and (3) GDPR). 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 and stored in third countries (such as the USA). Through the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and the standard contractual clauses, Google undertakes to comply with the European level of data protection when processing your relevant data, even if the data is stored, processed and managed in the USA. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the corresponding standard contractual clauses here, among other places: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de

The Google Ads Data Processing Terms, which reference the Standard Contractual Clauses, can be found at https://business.safety.google/intl/de/adsprocessorterms/.

If you would like to learn more about Google’s data processing, we recommend that you read the company’s in-house privacy policy at https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=de.

Other

Integration of trusindex.io

Trustindex.io is a plugin of the company Trustindex, 2724 Újlengyel, Hungary, Nyári Pál utca 15. (https://optinmonster). With this tool we display reviews that has already been published on the specified, other platform. When we display reviews, we will post public information on our own website. Furthermore, the reviewer has declared that he/she agrees to the transmission of data (name, review text, rating, possible photo, etc.) in connection with his/her review/recommendation via the specified platform. We additionally use his review/recommendation/rating about our service/brand/company for marketing/sales purposes. The data originates from the original platform and may only be republished unchanged. However, there is a possibility to delete the review/recommendation/rating from our website by the customer sending an individual request via email to office@goaesthetic.at.

OptinMonster integration

OptinMonster is a plugin from Retyp LLC, 7732 Maywood Crest Dr., West Palm Beach, FL 33412, USA (https://optinmonster.com). We use the tool to provide additional offers to our visitors via popup layer. You can subscribe to email addresses to receive special content on topics as well as special promotions. OptinMonster uses cookies for this purpose. Personal data is only collected by an active action of the customer, for example, the customer signs up for the newsletter via a popup. OptinMonster does not store the collected data on its own servers, but forwards such data directly to us. We have concluded an order processing contract with OptinMonster, in which we oblige OptinMonster to protect your data in accordance with the applicable provisions of the DSGVO. You can restrict or deactivate the use of cookies in your browser settings at any time. Details on how OptinMonster handles the customer’s personal data are described in more detail in OptinMonster’s privacy policy (https://optinmonster.com/privacy/).

Image credits

We source our images from Shutterstock (www.shutterstock.com). All images, graphics and photos on this homepage are released for use on the homepage www.goaesthetic.at. They are partially protected by copyright.

Contact form

When you send us an email or contact us via the contact form, we may use your personal information to respond to your questions and requests.

Newsletter

We are very happy if you are interested in our newsletter, but we would like to point out that we need your e-mail address and your consent to send you our newsletter. As part of your initial visit to our site, we will ask you if you would like a newsletter subscription. This will be noted in writing in your data. The cancellation of the newsletter is possible at any time. Please just contact office@goaesthetic.at so that we delete your data around the newsletter.

Personal data

As soon as you actively enter your data on our website, it is collected and processed.

We need your personal information to process and respond to questions, appointments, reviews or comments. Therefore, we store your data for 6 months in order to be able to answer your questions or follow-up questions without any problems.

Your data will then be automatically stored by us, but can be revoked at any time. Just contact us by e-mail (office@goaesthetic.at) or by phone (+43 6811 072 62 12). Please note that appointments via the contact form or by e-mail are only possible with the storage of personal data.

Personal data will only be passed on if you have clearly agreed that your data may also be passed on to third parties. Just note that at the request of Austrian authorities and relevant legal proceedings, disclosure may be made even without clear consent.

In principle, our website can be browsed without providing personal data. If personal data (e.g. name, address, e-mail address) is collected, this is done on a voluntary basis.

Please remember that data transmission on the Internet (e.g. by e-mail) can have security gaps, which means that complete protection against access by third parties is not possible.

Explanation of used terms

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

Processor

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation, the term:

“Processor” means a natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which processes personal data on behalf of the Controller;

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

Consent

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation, the term:

“Consent” of the data subject means any freely given specific, informed and unambiguous indication of his or her wishes in the form of a statement or other unambiguous affirmative act by which the data subject signifies his or her agreement to the processing of personal data relating to him or her;

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

Personal data

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation, the term:

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

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

• Name
• Address
• E-mail address
• Postal address
• Phone number
• Date of birth
• Identification numbers such as social security number, tax identification number, identity card number or matriculation number
• Bank data such as account number, credit information, account balances, and more.

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

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

Profiling

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation, the term:

“profiling” means any automated processing of personal data which consists in using such personal data to evaluate certain personal aspects relating to a natural person, in particular to analyze or predict aspects relating to that natural person’s performance at work, economic situation, health, personal preferences, interests, reliability, behavior, location or change of location;

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

Responsible

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation, the term:

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

Explanation: In our case, we are responsible for the processing of your personal data and consequently the “data controller”. If we pass on collected data to other service providers for processing, these are “order processors”. For this purpose, an “order processing agreement (AVV)” must be signed.

Processing

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation, the term:

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

Note: When we refer to processing in our Privacy Policy, we mean any type of data processing. This includes, as mentioned above in the original GDPR statement, not only the collection but also the storage and processing of data.

Closing words

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

All texts are protected by copyright.