Data protection

Privacy policy

Table of contents

Introduction and overview

We have prepared this privacy policy (version 25.07.2022-122072075) in order to inform you in accordance with the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and applicable national laws, which personal data (data for short) we as the controller – and the processors commissioned by us (e.g. providers) – process, 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 the data we process about you.

Data protection declarations 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. Technical terms are explained in a reader-friendly way, links to further information are provided and graphics are used where this is conducive to transparency. We thus inform you in clear and simple language that we only process personal data as part of our business activities if there is a corresponding legal basis. This is certainly not possible if you make the most concise, unclear and legal-technical statements possible, as is often standard on the Internet when it comes to data protection. I hope you find the following explanations interesting and informative and perhaps there is one or two pieces of information that you did not yet know.
If you still have any questions, please contact the responsible body named below or in the legal notice, follow the links provided and view further information on third-party websites. You will of course also find our contact details in the imprint.

Area of application

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

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

In short, the privacy policy applies to all areas in which personal data is processed in the company in a structured manner via the channels mentioned. If we enter into a legal relationship 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 April 27, 2016. You can of course read the EU’s 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)(a) GDPR): You have given us your consent to process data for a specific purpose. One example would be the storage of the data you enter in a contact form.
  2. Contract (Article 6(1)(b) GDPR): In order to fulfill a contract or pre-contractual obligations with you, we process your data. For example, if we conclude a purchase contract with you, we require personal information in advance.
  3. Legal obligation (Article 6(1)(c) GDPR): If we are subject to a legal obligation, we process your data. For example, we are legally obliged to keep invoices for accounting purposes. These usually contain personal data.
  4. Legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR): In the case of legitimate interests that do not restrict your fundamental rights, we reserve the right to process personal data. For example, we need to process certain data in order to operate our website securely and efficiently. This processing is therefore a legitimate interest.

As a rule, we are not subject to any other conditions such as recording in the public interest, the exercise of official authority or the protection of vital interests. If such a legal basis is relevant, it will be indicated at the appropriate point.

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

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

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

Contact details of the person responsible

If you have any questions about data protection or the processing of personal data, you will find the contact details of the person or body responsible below:
Spartamedic GmbH – Brauquartier 11 – 8055 Graz

Storage duration

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

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

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

Rights under the General Data Protection Regulation

In accordance with Articles 13, 14 GDPR, we inform you of the following rights to which you are entitled in order to ensure fair and transparent processing of data:

  • According to Article 15 GDPR, you have a right to information as to whether we process your data. If this is the case, you have the right to receive a copy of the data and the following information:
    • the purpose for which we carry out the processing;
    • the categories, i.e. the types of data that are processed;
    • who receives this data and, if the data is transferred to third countries, how security can be guaranteed;
    • how long the data will be stored;
    • the existence of the right to rectification, erasure or restriction of processing and the right to object to processing;
    • that you can lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority (links to these authorities can be found below);
    • the origin of the data if we have not collected it from you;
    • whether profiling is carried out, i.e. whether data is automatically analyzed in order to create a personal profile of you.
  • According to Article 16 GDPR, you have a right to rectification of data, which means that we must correct data if you find errors.
  • According to Article 17 GDPR, you have the right to erasure (“right to be forgotten”), which specifically means that you may request the erasure of your data.
  • According to Article 18 GDPR, you have the right to restriction of processing, which means that we may only store the data but no longer use it.
  • According to Article 20 GDPR, you have the right to data portability, which means that we will provide you with your data in a commonly used format upon request.
  • According to Article 21 GDPR, you have the right to object, which will result in a change in the processing after enforcement.
    • 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 can object to the processing. We will then check as quickly as possible whether we can legally comply with this objection.
    • If data is used for direct marketing purposes, you can object to this type of data processing at any time. We may no longer use your data for direct marketing.
    • If data is used for profiling purposes, you can object to this type of data processing at any time. We may no longer use your data for profiling.
  • Under Article 22 GDPR, you may have the right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing (e.g. profiling).
  • According to Article 77 GDPR, you have the right to lodge a complaint. This means that you can complain to the data protection authority at any time if you believe that the data processing of personal data violates the GDPR.

In short: You have rights – do not hesitate to contact the responsible office listed above!

If you believe that the processing of your data violates data protection law or your data protection claims have been violated in any other way, you can complain to the supervisory authority. For Austria, this is the data protection authority, whose website you can find at https://www.dsb.gv.at/. In Germany, there is a data protection officer for each federal state. For further information, please 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. Andrea Jelinek
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 transfer to third countries

We only transfer or process data to countries outside the EU (third countries) if you consent to this processing, if this is required by law or contract and in any case only to the extent that this is generally permitted. In most cases, your consent is the most important reason for us to process data in third countries. The processing of personal data in third countries such as the USA, where many software manufacturers offer services and have their server locations, may mean that personal data is processed and stored in unexpected ways.

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

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

Security of data processing

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

Art. 25 GDPR speaks here of “data protection by design and by default” 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 appropriate measures should be taken. If necessary, we will discuss specific measures below.

TLS encryption with https

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

We have thus introduced an additional layer of security and comply with data protection by design(Article 25 (1) GDPR). By using TLS (Transport Layer Security), an encryption protocol for secure data transmission on the Internet, we can ensure the protection of confidential data.
You can recognize the use of this data transmission security by the small lock symbol at the top left of the browser, to the left of the Internet address (e.g. examplepage.com) and the use of the https scheme (instead of http) as part of our Internet address.
If you want to know more about encryption, we recommend a Google search for “Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure wiki” to get good links to further information.

Communication

If you contact us and communicate with us by telephone, e-mail or online form, personal data may be processed.

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

Affected persons

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

Telephone

When you call us, the call data is stored in pseudonymized form on the respective end device and with the telecommunications provider used. In addition, data such as name and telephone number can then be sent by e-mail and stored for the purpose of answering inquiries. The data will be deleted as soon as the business case has been completed and legal requirements permit.

e-mail

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

Online forms

If you communicate with us using an online form, data will be stored on our web server and, if necessary, forwarded to one of our e-mail addresses. The data will be deleted as soon as the business case has been completed and legal requirements permit.

Legal basis

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

  • Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent): You give us your consent to store your data and to use it for purposes relating to the business transaction;
  • Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR (contract): It is necessary for the performance of a contract with you or a processor, such as the telephone provider, or we need to process the data for pre-contractual activities, such as the preparation of an offer;
  • Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests): We want to handle customer inquiries and business communication in a professional manner. This requires certain technical equipment such as e-mail programs, exchange servers and mobile network operators in order to operate communication efficiently.

Data processing agreement (DPA)

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

Who are processors?

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

To make the terminology easier to understand, here is an overview of the three roles in the GDPR:

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

Content of an order processing contract

As mentioned above, we have concluded a DPA with our partners who act as processors. Above all, it states that the processor processes the data to be processed exclusively in accordance with the GDPR. The contract must be concluded in writing, although the electronic conclusion of a contract is also deemed to be “in writing” in this context. Personal data is only processed on the basis of the contract. The contract must contain the following:

  • Commitment to us as the responsible party
  • Obligations and rights of the controller
  • Categories of affected persons
  • Type of personal data
  • Nature and purpose of data processing
  • Purpose and duration of data processing
  • Place of data processing

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

  • To ensure data security measures
  • take possible technical and organizational measures to protect the rights of the data subject
  • to maintain a data processing directory
  • cooperate with the data protection supervisory authority at its request
  • carry out a risk analysis in relation to the personal data received
  • Sub-processors may only be commissioned with the written consent of the controller

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

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

Cookies store certain user data about you, such as language or personal page settings. When you 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 settings you are used to. In some browsers, each cookie has its own file; in others, such as Firefox, all cookies are stored in a single file.

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

HTTP cookie interaction between browser and web server

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

Cookie data can look like this, for example:

Name: _ga
Wert: GA1.2.1326744211.152122072075-9
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 types of cookies are there?

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

A distinction can be made between 4 types of cookies:

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

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

Targeted cookies
These cookies ensure 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 practical, but also very annoying.

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

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

Purpose of processing via cookies

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

What data is processed?

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

Storage duration of cookies

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

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

Right to object – how can I delete cookies?

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

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

Chrome: Delete, activate and manage cookies in Chrome

Safari: Managing cookies and website data with Safari

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

Internet Explorer: Deleting and managing cookies

Microsoft Edge: Deleting and managing cookies

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

Legal basis

The so-called “cookie guidelines” have been in place since 2009. It states that the storage of cookies requires your consent (Article 6(1)(a) GDPR). However, there are still very different reactions to these directives within the EU countries. In Austria, however, this directive was implemented in § 96 para. 3 of the Telecommunications Act (TKG). In Germany, the cookie directives have not been implemented as national law. Instead, this directive was largely implemented in Section 15 (3) of the German Telemedia Act (TMG).

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

If cookies that are not absolutely necessary are used, this will only take place with 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 the software used uses cookies.

Webhosting introduction

What is web hosting?

When you visit websites today, 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 start page (homepage) to the very last subpage (like this one). By domain we mean, for example, example.de or example.com.

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

To display the website, the browser must connect to another computer where the website code is stored: the web server. Operating a web server is a complicated and time-consuming task, which is why it is usually carried out by professional providers. They 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 will get even better!

When connecting the browser on 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 must also store data for a certain period of time to ensure proper operation.

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

Browser and web server

Why do we process personal data?

The purposes of data processing are:

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

What data is processed?

Even while you are currently visiting our website, our web server, i.e. the computer on which this website is stored, usually automatically saves data such as

  • the complete Internet address (URL) of the website accessed
  • Browser and browser version (e.g. Chrome 87)
  • the operating system used (e.g. Windows 10)
  • the address (URL) of the previously visited page (referrer URL) (e.g. B. https://www.beispielquellsite.de/vondabinichgekommen/)
  • the host name and IP address of the device from which access is made (e.g. COMPUTERNAME and 194.23.43.121)
  • Date and time
  • in files, the so-called web server log files

How long is data stored?

As a rule, the above-mentioned data is stored for two weeks and then automatically deleted. We do not pass this data on, but we cannot rule out the possibility of this data being viewed by authorities in the event of unlawful behavior.

In short: Your visit is logged by our provider (company that runs our website on special computers (servers)), but we do not pass on your data without your consent!

Legal basis

The lawfulness of the processing of personal data in the context of web hosting is based on Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (protection of legitimate interests), because the use of professional hosting with a provider is necessary in order to present the company securely and user-friendly on the Internet 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 order processing in accordance with Art. 28 f. GDPR, which ensures compliance with data protection and guarantees data security.

Checkdomain privacy policy

We use Checkdomain, a web hosting provider, for our website. The service provider is the German company checkdomain GmbH, Große Burgstraße 27/29, 23552 Lübeck, Germany. You can find out more about the data that is processed through the use of Checkdomain in the privacy policy at https://www.checkdomain.de/agb/datenschutz/.

Order processing contract (AVV) Checkdomain

We have concluded a data processing agreement (DPA) with Checkdomain in accordance with Article 28 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). You can find out exactly what a DPA is and, above all, what must be included in a DPA in our general section “Data processing agreement (DPA)”.

This contract is required by law because Checkdomain processes personal data on our behalf. This clarifies that Checkdomain may only process data that it receives from us in accordance with our instructions and must comply with the GDPR.

Web Analytics Introduction

What is web analytics?

We use software on our website to evaluate the behavior of website visitors, known as web analytics or web analysis for short. This involves collecting data that the respective analytics tool provider (also known as a 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 test options. For example, we can test which offers or content are best received by our visitors. We will show you two different offers for a limited period of time. After the test (known as an A/B test), we know which product or content our website visitors find more interesting. For such test procedures, as well as for other analytics procedures, user profiles can also be created and the data stored in cookies.

Why do we use web analytics?

With our website, we have a clear goal in mind: we want to deliver the best web offering on the market for our industry. In order to achieve this goal, we want to offer the best and most interesting range of products on the one hand and make sure that you feel completely at ease on our website on the other. With the help of web analysis tools, we can take a closer look at the behavior of our website visitors and then improve our website for you and us accordingly. For example, we can see the average age of our visitors, where they come from, when our website is visited the most or which content or products are particularly popular. All this information helps us to optimize the website and thus adapt it to your needs, interests and wishes.

What data is processed?

Exactly which data is stored depends, of course, on the analysis tools used. As a rule, however, the content you view on our website, the buttons or links you click on, when you access a page, the browser you use, the device (PC, tablet, smartphone, etc.) you use to visit the website or the computer system you use are stored. If you have agreed that location data may also be collected, this can also be processed by the web analysis tool provider.

Your IP address is also stored. According to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), IP addresses are personal data. However, your IP address is usually stored pseudonymized (i.e. in an unrecognizable and shortened form). For the purpose of testing, web analysis and web optimization, no direct data such as your name, age, address or e-mail address is stored. All this data, if collected, is stored in pseudonymized form. This means that you cannot be identified as a person.

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

Schematic data flow with Google Analytics

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

Duration of data processing

We will inform you about the duration of data processing below, if we have further information on this. In general, we only process personal data for as long as is absolutely necessary for the provision of our services and products. If it is required by law, for example in the case of accounting, this storage period may also be exceeded.

Right of objection

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

Legal basis

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

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

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

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

Google Analytics privacy policy

What is Google Analytics?

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

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

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

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

Why do we use Google Analytics on our website?

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

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

What data is stored by Google Analytics?

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

In order to be able to analyze our website with Google Analytics, a property ID must be inserted into the tracking code. The data is then saved in the corresponding property. The Google Analytics 4 property is standard for every newly created property. Alternatively, you can also create the Universal Analytics property. Depending on the property used, data is stored for different lengths of time.

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

The following cookies are used by Google Analytics:

Name: _ga
Wert: 2.1326744211.152122072075-5
Intended use: By default, analytics.js uses the _ga cookie to store the user ID. Basically, it serves to differentiate between website visitors.
Expiration date: after 2 years

Name: _gid
Wert: 2.1687193234.152122072075-1
Purpose: The cookie is also used to distinguish website visitors
Expiration date: after 24 hours

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

Name: AMP_TOKEN
Value: not specified
Purpose: The cookie has a token that can be used to retrieve a user ID from the AMP client ID service. Other possible values indicate a logout, a request or an error.
Expiration date: after 30 seconds up to one year

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

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

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

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

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

Name: __utmv
Value: not specified
Purpose: The cookie is used to store user-defined user data. It is always updated when information is sent to Google Analytics.
Expiration date: after 2 years

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

How long and where is the data stored?

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

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

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

For Universal Analytics properties, Google Analytics has a standard retention period of 26 months for your user data. Your user data will then be deleted. However, we have the option of choosing the retention period of user data ourselves. We have five variants available for this:

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

In addition, there is also the option that data will only be deleted if you no longer visit our website within the period of time selected by us. 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 linked to cookies, user recognition and advertising IDs (e.g. cookies from the DoubleClick domain). Reporting results are based on aggregated data and are stored independently of user data. Aggregated data is an amalgamation of individual data into a larger unit.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

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

If you want to deactivate, delete or manage cookies, you will find the relevant links to the instructions for the most popular browsers in the “Cookies” section.

Legal basis

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

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

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

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

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

We hope we have been able to provide you with the most important information about data processing by Google Analytics. If you want to find out 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.

Data processing agreement (DPA) Google Analytics

We have concluded a data processing agreement (DPA) with Google in accordance with Article 28 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). You can find out exactly what a DPA is and, above all, what must be included in a DPA in our general section “Data processing agreement (DPA)”.

This contract is required by law because Google processes personal data on our behalf. This clarifies that Google may only process data that it receives from us in accordance with 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 reports on demographic characteristics and interests

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

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

Google Analytics IP anonymization

We have implemented the IP address anonymization of Google Analytics on this website. This function was developed by Google so that this website can comply with the applicable data protection regulations and recommendations of the local data protection authorities if they prohibit the storage of the 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 on IP anonymization at https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/2763052?hl=de.

Google Analytics without cookies

We do use Google Analytics (GA for short) on our website, but without setting cookies in your browser. We have already explained what cookies are above, so hopefully you still remember what we said. Only briefly and specifically related to GA: Cookies are used to store helpful data for GA in your browser on your device. By eliminating the use of cookies, no personal data is stored in such cookies that would establish a user profile. Although Google Analytics can carry out various measurements and web analyses, the data collected for this purpose is only stored on Google servers and your privacy is much more respected and protected.

What is a Cookie Consent Management Platform?

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

Consent Management Platform Overview

Why do we use a cookie management tool?

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

What data is processed?

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

Duration of data processing

We will inform you about the duration of data processing below, if we have further information on this. In general, we only process personal data for as long as is absolutely necessary for the provision of our services and products. Data that is stored in cookies is stored for different lengths of time. Some cookies are deleted as soon as you leave the website, others may be stored in your browser for several years. The exact duration of data processing depends on the tool used, but in most cases you should be prepared for a storage period of several years. You can usually find detailed information about the duration of data processing in the respective data protection declarations of the individual providers.

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 other opt-out functions. For example, you can also prevent data collection by cookies by managing, deactivating or deleting cookies in your browser.

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

Legal basis

If you agree to cookies, your personal data will be processed and stored via these cookies. If we have obtained your consent (Article 6 (1) (a) GDPR) cookies, this consent is also the legal basis for the use of cookies and the processing of your data. Cookie consent management platform software is used to manage consent to cookies and to enable you to give your consent. The use of this software enables us to operate the website in an efficient and legally compliant manner, which constitutes a legitimate interest (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR).

Usercentrics privacy policy

We use Usercentrics, a consent management platform (CMP), on our website. The service provider is the German company Usercentrics GmbH, Sendlinger Straße 7, 80331 Munich, Germany. You can find out more about the data processed through the use of Usercentrics in the privacy policy at https://usercentrics.com/privacy-policy/.

Security & Anti-Spam

What is security & anti-spam software?

You and we can use security and anti-spam software to protect ourselves from various spam or phishing emails and other possible cyberattacks. Spam refers to advertising emails from a mass mailing that you did not request yourself. Such emails are also known as data junk and can also cause costs. Phishing emails, on the other hand, are messages that aim to build trust via fake messages or websites in order to obtain personal data. Anti-spam software generally protects against unwanted spam messages or malicious emails that could introduce viruses into our system. We also use general firewall and security systems to protect our computers from unwanted network attacks.

Why do we use security & anti-spam software?

We attach great importance to security on our website. After all, it’s not just about our safety, but above all about yours. Unfortunately, cyber threats are now 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 essential. A security system monitors all incoming and outgoing connections to our network or computer. 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 data traffic is thus better prevented and we protect ourselves against cybercrime.

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

Exactly which data is collected and stored depends of course on the respective service. However, we always strive to use only programs that collect data very sparingly or only store data that is necessary for the performance of the service offered. In principle, the service can store data such as name, address, IP address, e-mail address and technical data such as browser type or browser version. Any performance and log data can also be collected in order to detect possible incoming threats in good time. This data is processed within the scope of the services and in compliance with the applicable laws. This also includes the GDPR for US providers (via the standard contractual clauses). In some cases, these security services also work with third-party providers who may store and/or process data under instructions and in accordance with the data protection guidelines and other security measures. Data is usually stored using cookies.

Duration of data processing

We will inform you about the duration of data processing below, if 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 services. Unfortunately, in many cases we do not receive precise information from the providers about the length of storage.

Right of objection

You also have the right and the option to withdraw your consent to the use of cookies or third-party security software 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 by cookies by managing, deactivating or deleting cookies in your browser.

As cookies may also be used by 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 data protection declarations of the respective tools.

Legal basis

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

Certain processing operations, in particular the use of cookies and the use of security functions, require your consent. If you have consented to your data being processed and stored by integrated security services, this consent is the legal basis for data processing (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR). Most of the services we use set cookies in your browser to store data. We therefore recommend that you read our data protection text on cookies carefully and consult the privacy policy or cookie guidelines of the relevant 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 for you and for us in the best possible way. 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 determine whether you are really a flesh and blood person and not a robot or other spam software. By spam we mean any unsolicited information that is sent to us electronically. In the classic CAPTCHAS, you usually had to solve text or picture puzzles to check your knowledge. With reCAPTCHA from Google, we usually don’t have to bother you with such puzzles. In most cases, it is sufficient to simply tick the box to confirm that you are not a bot. With the new Invisible reCAPTCHA version, you no longer even have to check the box. You can 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 misuse by non-human visitors. This service is most frequently 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 carried out by a human and not by a bot. In the classic Turing test (named after the computer scientist Alan Turing), a human determines the difference between a bot and a human. With captchas, the computer or a software program also takes care of this. Classic captchas work with small tasks that are easy for humans to solve but present considerable difficulties for machines. With reCAPTCHA you no longer have to actively solve puzzles. The tool uses modern risk techniques to distinguish humans from bots. Here you only need to check the text field “I am not a robot” or, with Invisible reCAPTCHA, even this is no longer necessary. With reCAPTCHA, a JavaScript element is integrated into the source code and then the tool runs in the background and analyzes your user behavior. The software calculates a so-called captcha score from these user actions. Google uses this score to calculate the probability that you are human even before you enter the captcha. reCAPTCHA or captchas in general are always used when bots could manipulate or abuse certain actions (such as registrations, surveys, etc.).

Why do we use reCAPTCHA on our website?

We only want to welcome people of flesh and blood on our side. Bots or spam software of all kinds can safely stay at home. That is why we are doing everything we can to protect ourselves and offer you the best possible user experience. For this reason, we use Google reCAPTCHA from Google. This way we can be pretty sure that we remain a “bot-free” website. By using reCAPTCHA, data is transmitted to Google to determine whether you are actually a human being. reCAPTCHA therefore serves the security of our website and consequently also your security. For example, without reCAPTCHA it could happen that a bot registers as many email 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 to determine whether the actions on our website actually originate from people. This means that the IP address and other data that Google requires for the reCAPTCHA service can be sent to Google. IP addresses within the member states of the EU or other states party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area are almost always truncated before the data ends up on a server in the USA. The IP address will not be combined with other Google data unless you are logged in with your Google account while using reCAPTCHA. First, the reCAPTCHA algorithm checks whether Google cookies from other Google services (YouTube, Gmail, etc.) have already been placed on your browser. reCAPTCHA then sets an additional cookie in your browser and captures a snapshot of your browser window.

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

  • Referrer URL (the address of the page from which the visitor comes)
  • IP address (e.g. 256.123.123.1)
  • Information about the operating system (the software that enables your computer to operate. Common operating systems are Windows, Mac OS X or Linux)
  • Cookies (small text files that store data in your browser)
  • Mouse and keyboard behavior (every action you perform with the mouse or keyboard is saved)
  • Date and language settings (which language or date you have preset on your PC is saved)
  • All JavaScript objects (JavaScript is a programming language that enables websites to adapt to the user. JavaScript objects can collect all kinds of data under one name)
  • Screen resolution (indicates 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 need to check the box and the entire recognition process runs in the background. Google does not tell you in detail exactly how much and what data it stores.

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

Name: IDE
Value: WqTUmlnmv_qXyi_DGNPLESKnRNrpgXoy1K-pAZtAkMbHI-122072075-8
Purpose: This cookie is set by the company DoubleClick (also owned by Google) to register and report the actions of a user on the website in dealing with advertisements. This allows the effectiveness of advertising to be measured and appropriate optimization measures to 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 statistics on website usage 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. The cookie can also be used to prevent a user from seeing the same ad more than once.
Expiration date: after one month

Name: ANID
Wert: U7j1v3dZa1220720750xgZFmiqWppRWKOr
Purpose: We were unable to find out much information about this cookie. In Google’s privacy policy, the cookie is mentioned in connection with “advertising cookies” such as “DSID”, “FLC”, “AID”, “TAID”. ANID is stored under domain google.com.
Expiration date: after 9 months

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

Name: NID
Wert: 0WmuWqy122072075zILzqV_nmt3sDXwPeM5Q
Intended use: NID is used by Google to customize advertisements to your Google search. With the help of the cookie, Google “remembers” your most frequently entered search queries or your previous interaction with ads. So you always get customized ads. The cookie contains a unique ID to collect the user’s personal settings for advertising purposes.
Expiration date: after 6 months

Name: DV
Wert: gEAABBCjJMXcI0dSAAAANbqc122072075-4
Intended use: As soon as you have checked the “I am not a robot” box, this cookie is set. The cookie is used by Google Analytics for personalized advertising. DV collects information in anonymized form and is also used to make user distinctions.
Expiration date: after 10 minutes

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

How long and where is the data stored?

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

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

If you do not want any data about you and your behavior to be transmitted to Google, you must log out of Google completely and delete all Google cookies before you visit our website or use the reCAPTCHA software. In principle, the data is automatically transmitted to Google as soon as you access our website. To delete this data again, you must contact Google support at https://support.google.com/?hl=de&tid=122072075.

Therefore, when you use our website, you consent to Google LLC and its representatives automatically collecting, processing and using data.

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

Legal basis

If you have consented to the use of Google reCAPTCHA, the legal basis for the corresponding data processing is this consent. According to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent) represents the legal basis for the processing of personal data, as may occur when Google reCAPTCHA collects data.

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 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests). Nevertheless, we only use Google reCAPTCHA if you have given your consent.

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

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

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

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

Web design introduction

What is web design?

We use various tools on our website that serve our web design. Web design is not just about making our website look pretty, as is often assumed, but also about functionality and performance. But of course the right look of a website is also one of the major 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 aim 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 website visitors have on a website. Usability is a sub-item of user experience. This is about the user-friendliness of a website. The main focus here is on ensuring that content, subpages and products are clearly structured and that you can find what you are looking for quickly and easily. In order to offer you the best possible experience on our website, we also use so-called web design tools from third-party providers. The “web design” category in this privacy policy therefore includes all services that improve the design of our website. These can be fonts, various plugins or other integrated web design functions, for example.

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. We are constantly working to improve our website and also see this as an extended service for you as a 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 services if you feel completely at ease.

What data is stored by web design tools?

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

Duration of data processing

How long data is processed is very individual and depends on the web design elements used. When cookies are used, for example, the storage period can last just a minute or a few years. Please find out more about this. We recommend that you read our general text section on cookies and the privacy policies of the tools used. There you can usually find out exactly which cookies are used and what information is stored in them. Google font files, for example, are stored for one year. This is intended to improve the loading time of a website. In principle, data is only stored for as long as is necessary for the provision of the service. Data can also be stored for longer periods in the case of legal requirements.

Right of objection

You also have the right and the option to withdraw your consent to the use of cookies or third-party providers at any time. This works either via our cookie management tool or via other opt-out functions. You can also prevent the collection of data by cookies by managing, deactivating or deleting cookies in your browser. However, there is also data under web design elements (mostly fonts) 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). Please contact the support of the respective provider. In the case of Google, you can reach support at https://support.google.com/?hl=de.

Legal basis

If you have consented to the use of web design tools, the legal basis for the corresponding data processing is this consent. 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 web design tools. We also have a legitimate interest in improving the web design of our website. After all, only then can we provide you with an attractive and professional website. The legal basis for this is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests). Nevertheless, we only use web design tools if you have given your consent. We definitely want to emphasize this again here.

Information on special web design tools – if available – can be found in the following sections.

Google Fonts privacy policy

What are Google Fonts?

We use Google Fonts on our website. These are the “Google fonts” 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.

You do not need to log in or enter 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, requests for CSS and fonts 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 will be transmitted to Google while using Google Fonts. Google records the use of CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) and the fonts used and stores this data securely. We will take a closer look at exactly how the data is stored.

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

Many of these fonts are published under the SIL Open Font License, while others are published 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 do 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 small file size ensures a 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 websites. Thanks to the fast Content Delivery Network (CDN), there are no cross-platform problems 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). We use Google Fonts so that we can present our entire online service as beautifully and uniformly as possible.

What data is stored by Google?

When you visit our website, the fonts are loaded 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 is visiting our website. The Google Fonts API was developed to reduce the use, storage and collection of end-user data to what is necessary for the proper provision of fonts. Incidentally, API stands for “Application Programming Interface” and is used, among other things, as a data transmitter in the software sector.

Google Fonts stores CSS and font requests securely at Google and is therefore protected. Google can use the collected usage figures to determine how well the individual fonts are received. Google publishes the results on internal analysis pages, such as Google Analytics. Google also uses data from its own web crawler to determine which websites use Google fonts. This data is published in the BigQuery database of Google Fonts. Entrepreneurs and developers use the Google web service BigQuery to analyze and move large amounts of data.

However, it should be noted that every 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 the 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 website, for example.

The font files are stored by Google for one year. Google’s aim is to fundamentally improve the loading time of websites. If millions of websites refer to the same fonts, they are cached after the first visit and immediately reappear on all other websites 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 one day or one year cannot simply be deleted. The data is automatically transmitted to Google when the page is accessed. To delete this data prematurely, you must contact Google support at https://support.google.com/?hl=de&tid=122072075. In this case, you can only prevent data storage if you do not visit our website.

Unlike other web fonts, Google allows us unrestricted access to all fonts. We therefore have unlimited access to a sea of fonts and can thus get the best out of our website. You can find out more about Google Fonts and other questions at https://developers.google.com/fonts/faq?tid=122072075. Although Google addresses data protection issues there, it does not contain any really detailed information about data storage. It is relatively difficult to get really precise information from Google about stored data.

Legal basis

If you have consented to the use of Google Fonts, the legal basis for the corresponding data processing is this consent. According to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent) represents the legal basis for the processing of personal data, as may occur when Google Fonts is used to collect data.

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

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

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

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

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

Google Fonts Local Privacy Policy

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

What are Google Fonts?

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

Explanation of terms used

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

Processor

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation:

“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 data that we process from you. In addition to controllers, there may also be so-called processors. This includes any company or person who processes personal data on our behalf. In addition to service providers such as tax consultants, processors can therefore also be hosting or cloud providers, payment or newsletter providers or large companies such as Google or Microsoft.

Supervisory authority concerned

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation:

“supervisory authority concerned” means a supervisory authority that is concerned by the processing of personal data because

a)

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

b)

this processing has or may have a significant impact on data subjects residing in the Member State of that supervisory authority, or

c)

a complaint has been submitted to this supervisory authority;

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

Biometric data

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation:

‘biometric data ‘ means personal data relating to the physical, physiological or behavioral characteristics of a natural person, obtained using specific technical procedures, which allow or confirm the unique identification of that natural person, such as facial images or dactyloscopic data;

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

File system

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation:

“file system ” means any structured collection of personal data that is accessible according to specific criteria, regardless of whether this collection is managed centrally, decentrally or according to functional or geographical aspects;

Explanation: Any organized storage of data on a data carrier of a computer is referred to as a “file system”. If we store your name and e-mail address on a server for our newsletter, for example, this data is stored in a so-called “file system”. The most important tasks of a “file system” include quickly searching for and finding specific data and, of course, the secure storage of data.

Service of the information society

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation:

‘information society service ‘ means a service as defined in point (1)(b) of Article 1 of Directive (EU) 2015/1535 of the European Parliament and of the Council (19);

Explanation: In principle, the term “information society” refers to a society that is based on information and communication technologies. Especially as a website visitor, you are familiar with various types of online services and most online services are “information society services”. A classic example of this is an online transaction, such as the purchase of goods over the Internet.

Third

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation:

“third party” means a natural or legal person, public authority, agency or body other than the data subject, controller, processor and persons who, under the direct authority of the controller or processor, are authorized to process personal data;

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

Restriction of processing

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation:

“Restriction of processing” the marking of stored personal data with the aim of restricting its future processing;

Explanation: It is one of your rights that you can request processors to restrict your personal data for further processing operations at any time. For this purpose, special personal data such as your name, your date of birth or your address will be marked in such a way that no further processing is possible. For example, you could restrict processing to the effect that your data may no longer be used for personalized advertising.

Consent

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation:

“Consent” of the data subject means any freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous indication of the data subject’s wishes by which he or she, by a statement or by a clear affirmative action, signifies agreement to the processing of personal data relating to him or her;

Explanation: As a rule, websites obtain such consent via a cookie consent tool. You probably know 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 give your consent, your personal data may not be processed. In principle, consent can of course also be given in writing, i.e. not via a tool.

Receiver

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation:

“recipient” means a natural or legal person, public authority, agency or another body, to which the personal data are disclosed, whether a third party or not. However, public authorities which may receive personal data in the framework of a particular inquiry in accordance with Union or Member State law shall not be regarded as recipients; the processing of those data by those public authorities shall be in compliance with the applicable data protection rules according to the purposes of the processing;

Explanation: Every person and every company that receives personal data is considered a recipient. This means that we and our processors are also so-called recipients. Only authorities that have an investigation mandate are not considered recipients.

Genetic data

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation:

‘genetic data ‘ means personal data relating to the inherited or acquired genetic characteristics of a natural person, which provide unique information about the physiology or health of that natural person and which have been obtained in particular from the analysis of a biological sample from the natural person concerned;

Explanation: With a certain amount of effort, people can be identified using genetic data. This is why genetic data also falls into the category of personal data. Genetic data is obtained from blood or saliva samples, for example.

Health data

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation:

“health data” means personal data relating to the physical or mental health of a natural person, including the provision of healthcare services, and from which information about their health status is derived;

Explanation: Health data therefore includes all stored information relating to your own health. This is often data that is also noted in a patient file. This includes, for example, what medication you are taking, X-rays, your entire medical history and, as a rule, your vaccination status.

Cross-border processing

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation:

“cross-border processing” either

a)

processing of personal data carried out in the context of the activities of establishments of a controller or processor in the Union in more than one Member State, where the controller or processor is established in more than one Member State, or

b)

processing of personal data carried out in the context of the activities of a single establishment of a controller or processor in the Union but which produces or is likely to produce significant effects on data subjects in more than one Member State;

Explanation: If, for example, a company or other organization has branches in Spain and in Croatia and personal data is processed in connection with the activities of the branches, this is a “cross-border processing” of personal data. Even if the data is only processed in one country (as in this example in Spain), but the effects for the data subject are also recognizable in another country, this is also referred to as “cross-border processing”.

Head office

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation:

“Head office”

a)

in the case of a controller with establishments in more than one Member State, the place of its head office in the Union, unless the decisions as to the purposes and means of the processing of personal data are taken in another establishment of the controller in the Union and that establishment is authorized to have those decisions implemented, in which case the establishment taking such decisions shall be considered to be the main establishment;

b)

in the case of a processor with establishments in more than one Member State, the place of its head office in the Union or, where the processor does not have a head office in the Union, the place of establishment of the processor in the Union where the main processing activities in the context of the activities of an establishment of a processor take place, insofar as the processor is subject to specific obligations under this Regulation;

Explanation: Google, for example, is an American company that also processes data in the USA, but its European headquarters are located in Ireland (Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street Dublin 4, Ireland). Google Ireland Limited is therefore legally an independent company and is responsible for all Google products offered in the European Economic Area. In contrast to a head office, there are also branch offices, but these do not function as legally independent branches and are therefore also to be distinguished from subsidiaries. A principal place of business is therefore always the place where a company (trading company) has its center of operations.

International Organization

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation:

“international organization” means an international organization and its subordinate bodies or any other body established by, or on the basis of, an agreement concluded between two or more countries.

Explanation: The best-known examples of international organizations are probably the European Union or the United Nations. The GDPR distinguishes between third countries and international organizations in connection with data transfer. Within the EU, the movement of personal data is not a problem because all EU countries are bound by the requirements of the GDPR. However, the transfer of data to third countries or international organizations is subject to certain conditions.

Relevant and well-founded objection

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation:

“Relevant and well-founded objection” an objection to a draft decision as to whether there is an infringement of this Regulation or whether envisaged measures against the controller or processor comply with this Regulation, clearly indicating the significance of the risks posed by the draft decision as regards the fundamental rights and freedoms of data subjects and, where applicable, the free flow of personal data in the Union;

Explanation: If certain measures that we take as controllers or our processors do not comply with the GDPR, you can raise a so-called “relevant and reasoned objection”. In doing so, you must explain the scope of the risks in relation to your fundamental rights and freedoms and possibly the free movement of your personal data in the EU.

Personal data

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation:

“personal data” any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (hereinafter referred to as “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 much more.

According to the European Court of Justice (ECJ), your IP addresses also count as personal data. IT experts can use your IP address to determine at least the approximate location of your device and, subsequently, you as the owner of the connection. 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 are also particularly worthy of protection. These include:

  • racial and ethnic origin
  • political opinions
  • religious or ideological convictions
  • trade union membership
  • genetic data such as data taken from blood or saliva samples
  • biometric data (i.e. information on psychological, physical or behavioral characteristics that can identify a person).
    Health data
  • Data on sexual orientation or sex life

Profiling

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation:

“Profiling” any form of automated processing of personal data consisting of the use of personal data to evaluate certain personal aspects relating to a natural person, in particular to analyze or predict aspects concerning that natural person’s performance at work, economic situation, health, personal preferences, interests, reliability, behavior, location or movements;

Explanation: Profiling involves collecting various pieces of information about a person in order to find out more about them. In the web sector, profiling is often used for advertising purposes or for credit checks. Web and advertising analysis programs, for example, 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 target group.

Pseudonymization

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation:

“Pseudonymization” the processing of personal data in such a manner that the personal data can no longer be attributed to a specific data subject without the use of additional information, provided that such additional information is kept separately and is subject to technical and organizational measures to ensure that the personal data are not attributed to an identified or identifiable natural person;

Explanation: Our privacy policy often refers to pseudonymized data. You can no longer be identified as a person through pseudonymized data, unless other information is added. However, you should not confuse pseudonymization with anonymization. Anonymization eliminates any personal reference, so that this can really only be reconstructed with a disproportionate amount of technical effort.

The company

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation:

“company ” means a natural and legal person that carries out an economic activity, regardless of its legal form, including partnerships or associations that regularly carry out an economic activity;

Explanation: For example, we are a company and also carry out an economic activity via our website by offering and selling services and/or products. Every company has a formal legal entity, such as a GmbH or AG.

Group of companies

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation:

“Group of companies” means a group consisting of a controlling company and the companies dependent on it;

Explanation: We speak of a “group of companies” when several companies join together and are legally and financially linked, but there is still a central, overarching company. For example, although Instagram, WhatsApp, Oculus VR and Facebook are largely independent companies, they are all subject to the parent company Meta Platforms, Inc.

Person responsible

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation:

“Responsible person” 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 nomination 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 are therefore the “controller”. If we pass on collected data to other service providers for processing, these are “processors”. An “order processing contract (AVV)” must be signed for this.

Processing

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation:

“Processing” any operation or set of operations which is performed on personal data or on sets of personal data, whether or not by automated means, such as collection, recording, organization, structuring, 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 kind of data processing. As mentioned above in the original GDPR declaration, this includes not only the collection but also the storage and processing of data.

Binding internal data protection regulations

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation:

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

Explanation: You may have heard or read the term “Binding Corporate Rules” before. After all, this is the term that usually comes up when it comes to binding internal data protection regulations. Especially for companies (such as Google) that process data in third countries, such an internal regulation is recommended, through which a company commits itself to compliance with data protection regulations, so to speak. This regulation governs the handling of personal data that is transferred to and processed in third countries.

Violation of the protection of personal data

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation:

“personal data breach ” means a breach of security leading to the destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorized disclosure of, or access to, personal data transmitted, stored or otherwise processed, whether accidental or unlawful;

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

Representative

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation:

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

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

All texts are protected by copyright.

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