Privacy policy
Introduction and overview
We have created this privacy statement (version 12/19/2022-112365622) in order to provide you with the best possible service in accordance with the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and applicable national laws to explain which personal data (data for short) we as the controller – and the processors (e.g. providers) we commission – will process in the future and what lawful options you have. The terms used are to be understood as gender-neutral.
In short, we provide you with comprehensive information about data we process about you.
Privacy statements usually sound very technical and use legal terminology. This privacy policy, on the other hand, is intended to describe the most important things to you as simply and transparently as possible. To the extent that it is conducive to transparency, technical terms are explained in a reader-friendly manner, links to further information are provided and graphics are used. We thus inform you in clear and simple language that we only process personal data in the course of our business activities if there is a corresponding legal basis. This is certainly not possible by making the most concise, unclear and legalistic statements possible, as is often standard practice on the Internet when it comes to data protection. I hope you find the following explanations interesting and informative, and perhaps there is one or two pieces of information you did not know.
If you still have questions, we would like to ask you to contact the responsible office mentioned below or in the imprint, to follow the existing links and to look at further information on third party sites. Of course, you will also find our contact details in the imprint.
Scope
This data protection declaration applies to all personal data processed by us in the company and to all personal data processed by companies commissioned by us (order processors). By personal data, we mean information within the meaning of Art. 4 No. 1 DSGVO, such as a person’s name, e-mail address and postal address. The processing of personal data ensures that we can offer and invoice our services and products, whether online or offline. The scope of this privacy policy includes:
- all online presences (websites, online stores) that we operate
- social media presences and e-mail communication
- mobile apps for smartphones and other devices
In short, the data privacy statement applies to all areas in which personal data is processed in a structured manner within the company via the aforementioned channels. If we enter into legal relations with you outside of these channels, we will inform you separately if necessary.
Legal basis
In the following privacy policy, we provide you with transparent information on the legal principles and regulations, i.e. the legal basis of the General Data Protection Regulation, which enable us to process personal data.
As far as EU law is concerned, we refer to REGULATION (EU) 2016/679 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 27 April 2016. You can, of course, read this EU General Data Protection Regulation online at EUR-Lex, the gateway to EU law, at https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/DE/ALL/?uri=celex%3A32016R0679.
We only process your data if at least one of the following conditions applies:
- Consent (Article 6(1) lit. a DSGVO): You have given us your consent to process data for a specific purpose. An example would be the storage of your entered data of a contact form.
- contract (Article 6(1)(b) DSGVO): In order to fulfill a contract or pre-contractual obligations with you, we process your data. For example, if we enter into a purchase agreement with you, we require personal information in advance.
- Legal obligation (Article 6(1)(c) DSGVO): If we are subject to a legal obligation, we process your data. For example, we are required by law to keep invoices for accounting purposes. These usually contain personal data.
- Legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) DSGVO): In the case of legitimate interests that do not restrict your fundamental rights, we reserve the right to process personal data. For example, we need to process certain data in order to operate our website in a secure and economically efficient manner. This processing is therefore a legitimate interest.
Other conditions, such as the performance of recordings in the public interest and the exercise of public authority and the protection of vital interests, do not usually arise in our case. If such a legal basis should be relevant, it will be indicated at the appropriate place.
In addition to the EU regulation, national laws also apply:
- In Austria, this is the Federal Act on the Protection of Individuals with regard to the Processing of Personal Data(Data Protection Act), or DSG for short.
- In Germany, the Federal Data Protection Act, or BDSG for short, applies.
If other regional or national laws apply, we will inform you about them in the following sections.
Contact details of the responsible person
If you have any questions about data protection or the processing of personal data, you will find the contact details of the responsible person or office below:
:alpenarte gGmbH
Andreas Grabherr
Sandgrube 544
6867 – Schwarzenberg
Austria
E-mail:
Phone: +43 664 646 986 7
Imprint: https://www.alpenarte.eu/impressum/
Storage duration
The fact that we only store personal data for as long as is absolutely necessary for the provision of our services and products applies as a general criterion at our company. This means that we delete personal data as soon as the reason for the data processing no longer exists. In some cases, we are required by law to store certain data even after the original purpose has ceased to exist, for example for accounting purposes.
Should you wish your data to be deleted or revoke your consent to data processing, the data will be deleted as soon as possible and insofar as there is no obligation to store it.
We will inform you about the specific duration of the respective data processing below, provided that we have further information on this.
Rights under the General Data Protection Regulation
In accordance with Articles 13, 14 of the GDPR, we inform you about the following rights you have to ensure that data processing is fair and transparent:
- According to Article 15 of the GDPR, you have a right to information about whether we process data about you. If this is the case, you have the right to obtain a copy of the data and to know the following information:
- the purpose for which we carry out the processing;
- the categories, i.e. the types of data that are processed;
- who receives this data and, if the data is transferred to third countries, how security can be guaranteed;
- how long the data will be stored;
- the existence of the right to rectification, erasure or restriction of processing and the right to object to processing;
- that you can complain to a supervisory authority (links to these authorities can be found below);
- the origin of the data if we have not collected it from you;
- whether profiling is carried out, i.e. whether data is automatically evaluated to arrive at a personal profile of you.
- You have a right to rectify data according to Article 16 of the GDPR, which means that we must correct data if you find errors.
- According to Article 17 of the GDPR, you have the right to erasure (“right to be forgotten”), which specifically means that you may request the deletion of your data.
- According to Article 18 of the GDPR, you have the right to restriction of processing, which means that we may only store the data but not use it any further.
- According to Article 20 DSGVO, you have the right to data portability, which means that we will provide you with your data in a common format upon request.
- According to Article 21 of the GDPR, you have the right to object, which entails a change in processing after enforcement.
- If the processing of your data is based on Article 6(1)(e) (public interest, exercise of official authority) or Article 6(1)(f) (legitimate interest), you may object to the processing. We will then check as soon as possible whether we can legally comply with this objection.
- If data is used to conduct direct advertising, you may object to this type of data processing at any time. We may then no longer use your data for direct marketing.
- If data is used to conduct profiling, you may object to this type of data processing at any time. We may no longer use your data for profiling thereafter.
- According to Article 22 of the GDPR, you may have the right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing (for example, profiling).
- You have the right to complain according to Article 77 of the GDPR. This means that you can complain to the data protection authority at any time if you believe that the data processing of personal data violates the GDPR.
In short, you have rights – do not hesitate to contact the responsible party listed above with us!
If you believe that the processing of your data violates data protection law or your data protection rights have been violated in any other way, you can complain to the supervisory authority. For Austria, this is the data protection authority, whose website can be found at https://www.dsb.gv.at/. In Germany, there is a data protection officer for each federal state. For more information, you can contact the Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (BfDI). The following local data protection authority is responsible for our company:
Austria data protection authority
Director: Mag. Dr. Andrea Jelinek
Address:Barichgasse 40-42, 1030 Wien
Phone No.:+43 1 52 152-0
E-Mail Address:
Website:https://www.dsb.gv.at/
Data processing security
To protect personal data, we have implemented both technical and organizational measures. Where possible, we encrypt or pseudonymize personal data. In doing so, we make it as difficult as possible for third parties to infer personal information from our data.
Article 25 of the GDPR refers to “data protection through technical design and data protection-friendly default settings” and thus means that both software (e.g., forms) and hardware (e.g., access to the server room) should always be designed with security in mind and that appropriate measures should be taken. In the following, we still go into concrete measures, if necessary.
TLS encryption with https
TLS, encryption and https sound very technical and they are. We use HTTPS (the Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure stands for “secure hypertext transfer protocol”) to transfer data over the Internet in a tap-proof manner.
This means that the complete transmission of all data from your browser to our web server is secured – no one can “listen in”.
In this way, we have introduced an additional layer of security and comply with data protection by design of technology(Article 25(1) of the GDPR). By using TLS (Transport Layer Security), an encryption protocol for secure data transmission on the Internet, we can ensure the protection of confidential data.
You can recognize the use of this data transfer protection by the small lock symbol at the top left of the browser, to the left of the Internet address (e.g. examplepage.de) and the use of the https scheme (instead of http) as part of our Internet address.
If you’d like to know more about encryption, we recommend doing a Google search for “Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure wiki” to get good links to more in-depth information.
Communication
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Communication Summary Stakeholders: Anyone who communicates with us by phone, email, or online form. |
When you contact us and communicate by phone, e-mail or online form, personal data may be processed.
The data will be processed for the handling and processing of your question and the related business transaction. The data is stored for as long as the law requires.
Persons concerned
All those who seek contact with us via the communication channels provided by us are affected by the aforementioned processes.
Phone
When you call us, the call data is stored pseudonymously on the respective terminal device and with the telecommunications provider used. In addition, data such as name and telephone number can subsequently be sent by e-mail and stored for the purpose of responding to inquiries. The data is deleted as soon as the business case has been terminated and legal requirements permit.
If you communicate with us by e-mail, data may be stored on the respective end device (computer, laptop, smartphone,…) and data is stored on the e-mail server. The data is deleted as soon as the business case has been terminated and legal requirements permit.
Online forms
If you communicate with us using an online form, data is stored on our web server and may be forwarded to an e-mail address of ours. The data is deleted as soon as the business case has been terminated and legal requirements permit.
Legal basis
The processing of the data is based on the following legal bases:
- Art. 6 par. 1 lit. a DSGVO (Consent): You give us your consent to store and further use your data for purposes related to the business case;
- Art. 6 par. 1 lit. b DSGVO (contract): There is a need for the performance of a contract with you or a processor such as the telephone provider, or we need to process the data for pre-contractual activities, such as preparing an offer;
- Art. 6 par. 1 lit. f DSGVO (Legitimate Interests): We want to conduct customer inquiries and business communications in a professional setting. This requires certain technical facilities, such as e-mail programs, exchange servers and mobile operators, in order to be able to operate the communication efficiently.
Order processing agreement (AVV)
In this section, we would like to explain what a processing order is and why it is needed. Because the word “order processing agreement” is quite a mouthful, we will also use only the acronym AVV more often here in the text. Like most companies, we do not work alone, but also use services of other companies or individuals ourselves. Due to the involvement of various companies or service providers, it may be that we pass on personal data for processing. These partners then act as processors with whom we conclude a contract, the so-called order processing agreement (AVV). The most important thing for you to know is that the processing of your personal data is carried out exclusively according to our instructions and must be regulated by the GCU.
Who are processors?
As a company and website owner, we are responsible for all data we process from you. In addition to the responsible parties, there may also be so-called processors. This includes any company or person that processes personal data on our behalf. More precisely and according to the GDPR definition: any natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body that processes personal data on our behalf is considered a processor. Consequently, processors can be service providers such as hosting or cloud providers, payment or newsletter providers, or large companies such as Google or Microsoft, for example.
For a better understanding of the terminology, here is an overview of the three roles in the GDPR:
Data subject (you as customer or interested party) → Responsible party (we as company and client) → Processor (service provider such as web hoster or cloud provider)
Content of a contract for the processing of orders
As mentioned above, we have concluded an AVV with our partners who act as processors. This states first and foremost that the processor will process the data to be processed exclusively in accordance with the GDPR. The contract must be concluded in writing; however, in this context, the electronic conclusion of the contract is also deemed to be “in writing”. Only on the basis of the contract the processing of personal data takes place. The contract must include the following:
- Binding to us as the person responsible
- Duties and rights of the data controller
- Categories of data subjects
- Nature of the personal data
- Nature and purpose of the data processing
- Subject and duration of data processing
- Place of implementation of the data processing
Furthermore, the contract contains all obligations of the processor. The main duties are:
- to ensure data security measures
- take possible technical and organizational measures to protect the rights of the data subject
- keep a data processing register
- cooperate with the data protection supervisory authority upon its request
- carry out a risk analysis in relation to the personal data received.
- Sub-processors may only be engaged with the written consent of the data controller.
You can see what such an AVV looks like in concrete terms, for example, at https://www.wko.at/service/wirtschaftsrecht-gewerberecht/eu-dsgvo-mustervertrag-auftragsverarbeitung.html. A sample contract is presented here.
Cookies
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Cookies summary |
What are cookies?
Our website uses HTTP cookies to store user-specific data.
Below we explain what cookies are and why they are used so that you can better understand the following privacy policy.
Whenever you browse the Internet, you use a browser. Well-known browsers include Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Microsoft Edge. Most websites store small text files in your browser. These files are called cookies.
One thing cannot be denied: Cookies are really useful little helpers. Almost all websites use cookies. More precisely, they are HTTP cookies, as there are other cookies for other applications. HTTP cookies are small files that are stored on your computer by our website. These cookie files are automatically placed in the cookie folder, effectively the “brain” of your browser. A cookie consists of a name and a value. When defining a cookie, one or more attributes must also be specified.
Cookies store certain user data about you, such as language or personal page settings. When you return to our site, your browser transmits the “user-related” information back to our site. Thanks to cookies, our website knows who you are and offers you the setting you are used to. In some browsers, each cookie has its own file; in others, such as Firefox, all cookies are stored in a single file.
The following graphic shows a possible interaction between a web browser such as Chrome and the web server. In this process, the web browser requests a website and receives a cookie back from the server, which the browser uses again as soon as another page is requested.
There are both first-party cookies and third-party cookies. First-party cookies are created directly by our site, third-party cookies are created by partner websites (e.g. Google Analytics). Each cookie must be evaluated individually, as each cookie stores different data. The expiration time of a cookie also varies from a few minutes to a few years. Cookies are not software programs and do not contain viruses, Trojans or other “pests”. Cookies also cannot access information from your PC.
For example, cookie data may look like this:
Name: _ga
Value: GA1.2.1326744211.152112365622-9
Intended use: to distinguish website visitors
Expiration date: after 2 years
A browser should be able to support these minimum sizes:
- At least 4096 bytes per cookie
- At least 50 cookies per domain
- At least 3000 cookies in total
What are the types of cookies?
The question of which cookies we use in particular depends on the services used and is clarified in the following sections of the privacy policy. At this point, we would like to briefly discuss the different types of HTTP cookies.
We can distinguish 4 types of cookies:
Essential cookies
These cookies are necessary to ensure basic website functionality. For example, it needs these cookies when a user adds a product to the shopping cart, then continues surfing on other pages and only later goes to the checkout. These cookies do not delete the shopping cart even if the user closes his browser window.
Purposeful cookies
These cookies collect information about user behavior and whether the user receives any error messages. In addition, these cookies are also used to measure the loading time and the behavior of the website with different browsers.
Targeted cookies
These cookies provide a better user experience. For example, entered locations, font sizes or form data are saved.
Advertising cookies
These cookies are also called targeting cookies. They are used to deliver customized advertising to the user. This can be very convenient, but also very annoying.
Usually, when you visit a website for the first time, you are asked which of these cookie types you want to allow. And of course, this decision is also stored in a cookie.
If you want to know more about cookies and are not afraid of technical documentation, we recommend https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc6265, the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Request for Comments called “HTTP State Management Mechanism”.
Purpose of processing via cookies
The purpose ultimately depends on the cookie in question. You can find more details about this below or from the manufacturer of the software that sets the cookie.
What data is processed?
Cookies are small helpers for many different tasks. Unfortunately, it is not possible to generalize which data is stored in cookies, but we will inform you about the processed or stored data in the following privacy policy.
Cookies storage duration
The storage period depends on the cookie in question and is specified below. Some cookies are deleted after less than an hour, others can remain stored on a computer for several years.
You also have influence on the storage duration yourself. You can manually delete all cookies at any time via your browser (see also “Right to object” below). Furthermore, cookies based on consent are deleted at the latest after revocation of your consent, whereby the legality of the storage remains unaffected until then.
Right to object – how can I delete cookies?
How and whether you want to use cookies, you decide. Regardless of which service or website the cookies come from, you always have the option to delete, disable or only partially allow cookies. For example, you can block third-party cookies, but allow all other cookies.
If you want to determine which cookies have been stored in your browser, if you want to change or delete cookie settings, you can find this in your browser settings:
Chrome: Delete, enable and manage cookies in Chrome
Safari: Managing cookies and website data with Safari
Firefox: Delete cookies to remove data that websites have placed on your computer
Internet Explorer: Delete and manage cookies
Microsoft Edge: Delete and manage cookies
If you generally do not want cookies, you can set up your browser so that it always informs you when a cookie is to be set. Thus, for each individual cookie, you can decide whether to allow the cookie or not. The procedure varies depending on the browser. The best way is to search for the instructions in Google using the search term “delete cookies Chrome” or “disable cookies Chrome” in case of a Chrome browser.
Legal basis
The so-called “Cookie Guidelines” have been in place since 2009. This states that the storage of cookies requires your consent (Article 6 (1) a DSGVO). Within the EU countries, however, there are still very different reactions to these directives. In Austria, however, this directive was implemented in § 96 para. 3 of the Telecommunications Act (TKG). In Germany, the Cookie Guidelines have not been implemented as national law. Instead, this directive was largely implemented in Section 15 (3) of the German Telemedia Act (TMG).
For absolutely necessary cookies, even in the absence of consent, there are legitimate interests (Article 6 (1) (f) DSGVO), which in most cases are of an economic nature. We want to provide visitors to the website with a pleasant user experience and for this purpose certain cookies are often absolutely necessary.
Insofar as cookies are used that are not absolutely necessary, this only occurs in the case of your consent. The legal basis in this respect is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR.
In the following sections, you will be informed in more detail about the use of cookies, if used software uses cookies.
Website Building Block Systems Introduction
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Website Building Block Systems Privacy Policy Summary |
What are website building systems?
We use a website building system for our website. Modular systems are special forms of a content management system (CMS). With a modular system, website owners can create a website very easily and without programming skills. In many cases, web hosts also offer modular systems. By using a modular system, personal data of you may also be collected, stored and processed. In this data protection text, we provide you with general information about data processing by modular systems. You can find more information in the provider’s privacy policy.
Why do we use website building systems for our website?
The biggest advantage of a modular system is its ease of use. We want to provide you with a clear, simple and concise website that we can easily operate and maintain ourselves – without external support. A modular system now offers many helpful functions that we can use even without programming knowledge. This allows us to design our web presence according to our wishes and provide you with an informative and enjoyable time on our website.
What data is stored by a modular system?
Which data exactly is stored depends, of course, on the website builder system used. Each provider processes and collects different data from the website visitor. However, technical usage information such as operating system, browser, screen resolution, language and keyboard settings, hosting provider and the date of your website visit are usually collected. Furthermore, tracking data (e.g. browser activity, clickstream activity, session heatmaps, etc.) may also be processed. In addition, personal data can also be collected and stored. This is mostly contact information such as email address, phone number (if you have provided it), IP address and geographic location data. You can find out exactly what data is stored in the provider’s privacy policy.
How long and where is the data stored?
We will inform you about the duration of the data processing below in connection with the website construction system used, provided we have further information on this. You can find detailed information about this in the provider’s privacy policy. In general, we process personal data only as long as it is absolutely necessary for the provision of our services and products. It may be that the provider stores data from you according to its own specifications, over which we have no control.
Right of objection
You always have the right to information, correction and deletion of your personal data. If you have any questions, you can always contact the person in charge of the website building system used. Contact details can be found either in our privacy policy or on the website of the relevant provider.
You can delete, disable or manage cookies that providers use for their functions in your browser. Depending on which browser you use, this works in different ways. Please note, however, that not all functions may then work as usual.
Legal basis
We have a legitimate interest in using a website builder to optimize our online service and present it to you in an efficient and user-appealing manner. The corresponding legal basis for this is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO (Legitimate Interests). Nevertheless, we only use the construction kit if you have given your consent.
Unless the processing of data is absolutely necessary for the operation of the website, the data will only be processed on the basis of your consent. This applies in particular to tracking activities. The legal basis in this respect is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR.
With this privacy policy we have brought you closer to the most important general information about data processing. If you would like more detailed information in this regard, you will find further information – if available – in the following section or in the provider’s privacy policy.
WordPress.com Privacy Policy
We use WordPress.com, a website building system, for our website. The service provider is the American company Automattic Inc., 60 29th Street #343, San Francisco, CA 94110, USA.
WordPress also processes data from you in the USA, among other places. We would like to point out that, in the opinion of the European Court of Justice, there is currently no adequate level of protection for data transfers to the USA. This may be accompanied by various risks to the lawfulness and security of data processing.
As a basis for data processing with recipients located in third countries (outside the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, thus especially in the USA) or a data transfer there, WordPress uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46. para. 2 and 3 DSGVO). Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) are templates provided by the EU Commission and are intended to ensure that your data complies with European data protection standards even if it is transferred to and stored in third countries (such as the USA). Through these clauses, WordPress undertakes to comply with the European level of data protection when processing your relevant data, even if the data is stored, processed and managed in the USA. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the corresponding standard contractual clauses here, among other places: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de
The Data Processing Agreements, which correspond to the standard contractual clauses, can be found at https://wordpress.com/support/data-processing-agreements/.
You can learn more about the data processed by using WordPress.com in the privacy policy at https://automattic.com/de/privacy/.
Email marketing introduction
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Email Marketing Summary |
What is email marketing?
In order to keep you always up to date, we also use the possibility of e-mail marketing. If you have agreed to receive our e-mails or newsletters, your data will also be processed and stored. Email marketing is a subset of online marketing. This involves sending news or general information about a company, products or services by e-mail to a specific group of people who are interested in them.
If you want to participate in our e-mail marketing (mostly via newsletter), you usually just have to register with your e-mail address. To do this, fill out an online form and submit it. However, it may also happen that we ask you for your salutation and name, for example, so that we can also write to you personally.
Basically, subscribing to newsletters works with the help of the so-called “double opt-in procedure”. After signing up for our newsletter on our website, you will receive an email confirming your newsletter subscription. This ensures that the e-mail address belongs to you and that no one has registered with a third-party e-mail address. We or a notification tool we use logs each and every login. This is necessary so that we can also prove the legally correct registration process. As a rule, the time of registration, the time of registration confirmation and your IP address are stored. In addition, when you make changes to your stored data, this is also logged.
Why do we use email marketing?
Of course, we want to stay in touch with you and always present you the most important news about our company. To this end, we use, among other things, e-mail marketing – often referred to simply as “newsletters” – as an essential component of our online marketing. If you agree or if permitted by law, we will send you newsletters, system emails or other notifications by email. When we use the term “newsletter” in the following text, we mainly mean e-mails sent on a regular basis. Of course, we do not want to bother you in any way with our newsletters. That’s why we really always try to provide only relevant and interesting content. For example, you can learn more about our company, our services or products. Since we are always improving our offers, our newsletter will also let you know when there is news or when we are offering special, lucrative promotions. If we use a service provider that offers a professional mailing tool for our email marketing, we do so in order to be able to offer you fast and secure newsletters. The purpose of our e-mail marketing is basically to inform you about new offers and also to get closer to our corporate goals.
What data is processed?
When you become a subscriber to our newsletter through our website, you confirm by email that you are a member of an email list. In addition to IP address and e-mail address, your title, name, address and telephone number may also be stored. However, only if you agree to this data storage. The data marked as such are necessary for you to participate in the service offered. The information is voluntary, but failure to provide it will result in you not being able to use the service. In addition, information about your device or about your preferred content on our website may be stored. For more on storing data when you visit a website, see the “Automatic data storage” section. We record your declaration of consent so that we can always prove that this complies with our laws.
Duration of data processing
If you unsubscribe your email address from our email/newsletter distribution list, we may store your address for up to three years based on our legitimate interests so that we can still prove your consent at that time. We may only process this data if we need to defend ourselves against any claims.
However, if you confirm that you have given us your consent to subscribe to the newsletter, you can submit an individual deletion request at any time. If you permanently object to the consent, we reserve the right to store your e-mail address in a blacklist. As long as you have voluntarily subscribed to our newsletter, we will of course also keep your e-mail address.
Right of objection
You have the possibility to cancel your newsletter subscription at any time. To do this, you only need to revoke your consent to the newsletter subscription. This normally takes only a few seconds or one or two clicks. Most of the time, you will find a link to cancel the newsletter subscription right at the end of each email. If you really can’t find the link in the newsletter, please contact us by mail and we will cancel your newsletter subscription immediately.
Legal basis
The sending of our newsletter is based on your consent (Article 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO). This means that we may only send you a newsletter if you have actively signed up for it beforehand. If necessary, we may also send you advertising messages on the basis of § 7 para. 3 UWG, provided that you have become our customer and have not objected to the use of your e-mail address for direct advertising.
Unsubscribing from marketing emails can be done at any time by clicking on the link contained in the email, or by sending an informal message to .
Information about specific email marketing services and how they process personal data, if any, is provided in the following sections.
Brevo
Manage contacts and send messages
These types of services allow managing a database of email contacts, phone numbers or any other contact information to communicate with the user.
The Services may also collect data on what date and time message was read by the User and when the User interacts with incoming messages, for example, by clicking on links contained therein.
Brevo is a service provided by Sendinblue GmbH, Köpenicker Str. 126, 10179 Berlin, Germany, for managing e-mail addresses and sending messages.
Personal data collected: Cookie; e-mail; usage data.
Processing location: EU
Privacy policy: https://de.sendinblue.com/legal/privacypolicy/
Conclusion of a contract for order processing
We have entered into a contract with SendinBlue in which we obligate SendinBlue to protect our customers’ data and not to disclose it to third parties.
Cookie Consent Management Platform Introduction
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Cookie Consent Management Platform Summary |
What is a Cookie Consent Management Platform?
We use Consent Management Platform (CMP) software on our website to help us and you correctly and securely handle scripts and cookies used. The software automatically creates a cookie popup, scans and controls all scripts and cookies, provides cookie consent for you as required by data protection laws, and helps us and you keep track of all cookies. With most cookie consent management tools, all existing cookies are identified and categorized. You as a website visitor then decide for yourself whether and which scripts and cookies you allow or do not allow. The following graphic depicts the relationship between the browser, web server, and CMP.
Why do we use a cookie management tool?
Our goal is to offer you the best possible transparency in the area of data protection. In addition, we are also legally obligated to do so. We want to educate you as much as possible about all tools and all cookies that can store and process data from you. It is also your right to decide for yourself which cookies you accept and which you do not. In order to grant you this right, we first need to know exactly which cookies have landed on our website in the first place. Thanks to a cookie management tool that regularly scans the website for all existing cookies, we know about all cookies and can provide you with information about them in compliance with the GDPR. You can then accept or reject cookies via the consent system.
What data is processed?
Within our cookie management tool, you can manage each 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 query you each time you visit our website again and so that we can also prove your consent if required by law. This is stored either in an opt-in cookie or on a server. Depending on the cookie management tool provider, the storage period of your cookie consent varies. In most cases, this data (such as 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 the data processing below, provided that we have further information on this. In general, we process personal data only as long as it is absolutely necessary for the provision of our services and products. Data that is stored in cookies is stored for different lengths of time. Some cookies are already deleted after leaving the website, others may be stored in your browser for several years. The exact duration of data processing depends on the tool used, mostly you should be prepared for a storage period of several years. In the respective data protection statements of the individual providers, you will usually receive precise information about the duration of data processing.
Right of objection
You also have the right and the possibility to revoke 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 through cookies by managing, disabling or deleting cookies in your browser.
Information on specific cookie management tools, if any, can be found in the following sections.
Legal basis
If you agree to cookies, personal data about you will be processed and stored via these cookies. If we, through your consent (Article 6 (1) a DSGVO) cookies, this consent is also the legal basis for the use of cookies or the processing of your data. To manage cookie consent and enable you to consent, cookie consent management platform software is used. The use of this software enables us to operate the website in an efficient manner in compliance with the law, which constitutes a legitimate interest (Article 6 (1) (f) DSGVO).
Real Cookie Banner
To manage the cookies and similar technologies used (tracking pixels, web beacons, etc.) and related consents, we use the consent tool “Real Cookie Banner”. Details on how “Real Cookie Banner” works can be found at https://devowl.io/de/rcb/datenverarbeitung/.
Legal bases for the processing of personal data in this context are Art. 6 para. 1 lit. c DS-GVO and Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR. Our legitimate interest is to manage the cookies and similar technologies used and the related consents.
The provision of personal data is neither contractually required nor necessary for the conclusion of a contract. You are not obliged to provide the personal data. If you do not provide the personal information, we will not be able to manage your consents.
Audio & Video Introduction
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Audio & Video Privacy Summary |
What are audio and video elements?
We have included audio or video elements on our website so that you can, for example, watch videos or listen to music/podcasts directly via our website. The content is provided by service providers. All content is therefore also obtained from the corresponding servers of the providers.
These are embedded functional elements from platforms such as YouTube, Vimeo or Spotify. The use of these portals is usually free of charge, but paid content can also be published. With the help of these embedded elements, you can listen to or view the respective content via our website.
When you use audio or video elements on our website, personal data about you may also be transmitted to, processed and stored by the service providers.
Why do we use audio & video elements on our website?
Of course, we want to provide you with the best offer on our website. And we are aware that content is no longer conveyed merely in text and static images. Instead of just giving you a link to a video, we provide audio and video formats right on our website that are entertaining or informative, and ideally both. This expands our service and makes it easier for you to access interesting content. Thus, in addition to our text and images, we also offer video and/or audio content.
What data is stored by audio & video elements?
When you visit a page on our website that has an embedded video, for example, your server connects to the service provider’s server. In the process, data from you is also transferred to the third-party provider and stored there. Some data is collected and stored completely regardless of whether or not you have an account with the third party provider. This usually includes your IP address, browser type, operating system, and other general information about your terminal device. Furthermore, most providers also collect information about your web activity. This includes, for example, session duration, bounce rate, which button you clicked on or via which website you use the service. All this information is usually stored via cookies or pixel tags (also called web beacons). Pseudonymized data is usually stored in cookies in your browser. You can always find out exactly what data is stored and processed in the privacy policy of the respective provider.
Duration of data processing
You can find out exactly how long the data is stored on the servers of the third-party providers either below in the privacy text of the respective tool or in the privacy policy of the provider. In principle, personal data is only processed for as long as is absolutely necessary for the provision of our services or products. As a rule, this also applies to third-party providers. In most cases, you can assume that certain data will be stored on the servers of third-party providers for several years. Data can be stored for different lengths of time specifically in cookies. Some cookies are already deleted after leaving the website, others may be stored in your browser for several years.
Right of objection
You also have the right and the possibility to revoke your consent to the use of cookies or third-party providers at any time. This works either via our cookie management tool or via other opt-out functions. For example, you can also prevent data collection through cookies by managing, disabling or deleting cookies in your browser. The lawfulness of the processing until the revocation remains unaffected.
Since the embedded audio and video functions on our site usually also use cookies, you should also read our general privacy policy on cookies. You can find out more about the handling and storage of your data in the privacy statements of the respective third-party providers.
Legal basis
If you have consented that data from you can be processed and stored by embedded audio and video elements, this consent is considered the legal basis of the data processing (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO). In principle, your data will also be stored and processed on the basis of our legitimate interest (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO) in fast and good communication with you or other customers and business partners. Nevertheless, we only use the embedded audio and video elements if you have given your consent.
YouTube privacy policy
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YouTube Privacy Policy Summary |
What is YouTube?
We have incorporated YouTube videos on our website. This way we can present you interesting videos directly on our site. YouTube is a video portal that has been a subsidiary of Google since 2006. The video portal is operated by YouTube, LLC, 901 Cherry Ave, San Bruno, CA 94066, USA. When you call up a page on our website that has a YouTube video embedded, your browser automatically connects to the YouTube or Google servers. In the process, various data are transferred (depending on the settings). Google Ireland Limited (Gordon House, Barrow Street Dublin 4, Ireland) is responsible for all data processing in the European area.
In the following, we would like to explain in more detail what data is processed, why we have embedded YouTube videos and how you can manage or delete your data.
On YouTube, users can watch, rate, comment and upload videos themselves for free. Over the last few years, YouTube has become one of the most important social media channels in the world. In order for us to display videos on our website, YouTube provides a snippet of code that we have embedded on our site.
Why do we use YouTube videos on our website?
YouTube is the video platform with the most visitors and the best content. We are committed to providing you with the best possible user experience on our website. And of course, interesting videos must not be missing. With the help of our embedded videos, we provide you with further helpful content in addition to our texts and images. In addition, our website will be found more easily on the Google search engine due to the embedded videos. Also, when we run ads through Google Ads, Google – thanks to the data it collects – can really only show those ads to people who are interested in what we have to offer.
What data is stored by YouTube?
As soon as you visit one of our pages that has a YouTube video embedded, YouTube sets at least one cookie that stores your IP address and our URL. If you are logged into your YouTube account, YouTube can usually assign your interactions on our website to your profile using cookies. This includes data such as session duration, bounce rate, approximate location, technical information such as browser type, screen resolution or your internet service provider. Other data may include contact information, any ratings, sharing content via social media, or adding to your favorites on YouTube.
If you are not signed into a Google Account or YouTube account, Google stores data with a unique identifier associated with your device, browser, or app. For example, your preferred language setting is retained. But a lot of interaction data can’t be stored because fewer cookies are set.
In the following list we show cookies that were set in a test in the browser. On the one hand, we show cookies that are set without a logged-in YouTube account. On the other hand, we show cookies that are set with logged in account. The list cannot claim to be complete because user data always depends on the interactions on YouTube.
Name: YSC
Value: b9-CV6ojI5Y112365622-1
Purpose: This cookie registers a unique ID to store statistics of the viewed video.
Expiration date: After end of session
Name: PREF
Value: f1=50000000
Purpose: This cookie also registers your unique ID. Google gets statistics about how you use YouTube videos on our website through PREF.
Expiration date: after 8 months
Name: GPS
Value: 1
Purpose: This cookie registers your unique ID on mobile devices to track GPS location.
Expiration date: after 30 minutes
Name: VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE
Value: 95Chz8bagyU
Purpose: This cookie tries to estimate the user’s bandwidth on our web pages (with embedded YouTube video).
Expiration date: after 8 months
Other cookies that are set when you are logged in with your YouTube account:
Name: APISID
Wert: zILlvClZSkqGsSwI/AU1aZI6HY7112365622-
Purpose: This cookie is used to create a profile about your interests. The data is used for personalized advertisements.
Expiration date: after 2 years
Name: CONSENT
Value: YES+AT.com+20150628-20-0
Purpose: The cookie stores the status of a user’s consent to the use of various services provided by Google. CONSENT is also used for security, to check users and protect user data from unauthorized attacks.
Expiration date: after 19 years
Name: HSID
Value: AcRwpgUik9Dveht0I
Purpose: This cookie is used to create a profile about your interests. This data helps to display personalized advertising.
Expiration date: after 2 years
Name: LOGIN_INFO
Value: AFmmF2swRQIhALl6aL…
Purpose: This cookie stores information about your login details.
Expiration date: after 2 years
Name: SAPISID
Value: 7oaPxoG-pZsJuuF5/AnUdDUIsJ9iJz2vdM
Purpose: This cookie works by uniquely identifying your browser and device. It is used to create a profile about your interests.
Expiration date: after 2 years
Name: SID
Value: oQfNKjAsI112365622-
Purpose: This cookie stores your Google Account ID and your last login time in digitally signed and encrypted form.
Expiration date: after 2 years
Name: SIDCC
Value: AN0-TYuqub2JOcDTyL
Purpose: This cookie stores information about how you use the website and what advertisements you may have seen before visiting our site.
Expiration date: after 3 months
How long and where is the data stored?
The data that YouTube receives from you and processes are stored on Google servers. Most of these servers are located in America. You can see exactly where Google data centers are located at https://www.google.com/about/datacenters/locations/?hl=de. Your data is distributed on the servers. This means that the data can be retrieved more quickly and is better protected against manipulation.
Google stores the collected data for different lengths of time. Some data you can delete at any time, others are automatically deleted after a limited time and still others are stored by Google for a longer period of time. Some data (such as items from “My Activity”, photos or documents, products) stored in your Google Account will remain until you delete them. Even if you are not logged into a Google account, you can delete some data associated with your device, browser, or app.
How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?
Basically, you can delete data in Google Account manually. With the automatic deletion feature of location and activity data introduced in 2019, information will be stored depending on your decision – either 3 or 18 months and then deleted.
Whether or not you have a Google account, you can configure your browser to delete or disable cookies from Google. Depending on which browser you use, this works in different ways. Under the section “Cookies” you will find the corresponding links to the respective instructions of the most popular browsers.
If you generally do not want cookies, you can set up your browser so that it always informs you when a cookie is to be set. Thus, for each individual cookie, you can decide whether to allow it or not.
Legal basis
If you have consented that data of you can be processed and stored by embedded YouTube elements, this consent is considered the legal basis of the data processing (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO). In principle, your data will also be stored and processed on the basis of our legitimate interest (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO) in fast and good communication with you or other customers and business partners. Nevertheless, we only use the embedded YouTube elements if you have given your consent. YouTube also sets cookies in your browser to store data. That is why we recommend that you read our privacy text about cookies carefully and view the privacy policy or cookie policy of the respective service provider.
YouTube also processes 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 data transfers to the USA. This may be accompanied by various risks to the lawfulness and security of data processing.
As a basis for data processing with recipients located in third countries (outside the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, i.e. in particular in the USA) or a data transfer there, YouTube uses standard contractual clauses approved by the EU Commission (= Art. 46. para. 2 and 3 DSGVO). These clauses oblige YouTube to comply with the EU level of data protection when processing relevant data outside the EU. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision as well as the clauses, among others, here: https://germany.representation.ec.europa.eu/index_de.
Since YouTube is a subsidiary of Google, there is a common privacy policy. If you would like to learn more about how we handle your data, we recommend that you read the privacy policy at https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=de.
YouTube Subscribe Button Privacy Policy
We have installed the YouTube Subscribe button on our website. You can usually recognize the button by the classic YouTube logo. The logo shows the words “Subscribe” or “YouTube” in white letters against a red background, with the white “Play” icon to the left. However, the button can also be displayed in a different design.
Our YouTube channel always offers you funny, interesting or exciting videos. With the built-in “Subscribe” button, you can subscribe to our channel directly from our website and do not need to go to the YouTube website specifically. In this way, we want to make it as easy as possible for you to access our comprehensive content. Please note that YouTube may store and process data about you as a result.
When you see a built-in subscribe button on our site, YouTube – according to Google – sets at least one cookie. This cookie stores your IP address and our URL. YouTube can also learn information about your browser, your approximate location, and your default language this way. In our test, the following four cookies were set without being logged into YouTube:
Name: YSC
Value: b9-CV6ojI5112365622Y
Purpose: This cookie registers a unique ID to store statistics of the viewed video.
Expiration date: After end of session
Name: PREF
Value: f1=50000000
Purpose: This cookie also registers your unique ID. Google gets statistics about how you use YouTube videos on our website through PREF.
Expiration date: after 8 months
Name: GPS
Value: 1
Purpose: This cookie registers your unique ID on mobile devices to track GPS location.
Expiration date: after 30 minutes
Name: VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE
Value: 11236562295Chz8bagyU
Purpose: This cookie tries to estimate the user’s bandwidth on our web pages (with embedded YouTube video).
Expiration date: after 8 months
Note: These cookies were set after a test and cannot claim to be complete.
If you are logged into your YouTube account, YouTube can store many of your actions/interactions on our website using cookies and associate them with your YouTube account. For example, YouTube receives information about how long you surf our site, what type of browser you use, what screen resolution you prefer, or what actions you perform.
YouTube uses this data on the one hand to improve its own services and offers, and on the other hand to provide analyses and statistics for advertisers (who use Google Ads).
Web Analytics Introduction
| Web Analytics Privacy Policy Summary Data subjects: Visitors to the website Purpose: Evaluation of visitor information to optimize the web offer. Processed data: Access statistics, which include data such as locations of accesses, device data, access duration and time, navigation behavior, click behavior and IP addresses. You can find more details on this in the respective web analytics tool used. Storage duration: depending on the web analytics tool used Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO (consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO (Legitimate Interests) |
What is Web Analytics?
We use software on our website to evaluate the behavior of website visitors, called web analytics or web analysis for short. In the process, data is collected that the respective analytic tool provider (also called tracking tool) stores, manages and processes. The data is used to create analyses of user behavior on our website and made available to us as the website operator. In addition, most tools offer various testing options. For example, we can test which offers or content are best received by our visitors. For this we show you two different offers for a limited period of time. After the test (so-called A/B test), we know which product or content our website visitors find more interesting. For such testing procedures, as well as for other analytics procedures, user profiles can also be created and the data stored in cookies.
Why do we run web analytics?
With our website, we have a clear goal in mind: we want to deliver the best web offering on the market for our industry. To achieve this goal, we want to offer the best and most interesting offer on the one hand, and on the other hand, we want to make sure that you feel completely comfortable on our website. With the help of web analysis tools, we can take a closer look at the behavior of our website visitors and then improve our web offering for you and us accordingly. For example, we can see how old our visitors are on average, where they come from, when our website is most visited or which content or products are particularly popular. All this information helps us to optimize the website and thus best adapt it to your needs, interests and wishes.
What data is processed?
Exactly what data is stored depends, of course, on the analysis tools used. But as a rule, for example, which content you view on our website, which buttons or links you click on, when you access a page, which browser you use, which device (PC, tablet, smartphone, etc.) you use to visit the website or which computer system you use is stored. If you agreed that location data may also be collected, these may also be processed by the web analytics tool provider.
In addition, your IP address is also stored. According to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), IP addresses are personal data. However, your IP address is usually stored pseudonymously (i.e. in an unrecognizable and shortened form). For the purpose of testing, web analysis and web optimization, in principle, no direct data, such as your name, age, address or e-mail address are stored. All this data, if collected, is stored pseudonymously. This way you cannot be identified as a person.
The following example schematically shows how Google Analytics works as an example of client-based web tracking with Java Script code.
How long the respective data is stored always depends on the provider. Some cookies store data only for a few minutes or until you leave the website, other cookies can store data for several years.
Duration of data processing
We will inform you about the duration of the data processing below, provided that we have further information on this. In general, we process personal data only as long as it is absolutely necessary for the provision of our services and products. If it is required by law, as in the case of accounting, for example, this storage period may also be exceeded.
Right of objection
You also have the right and the possibility to revoke your consent to the use of cookies or third-party providers at any time. This works either via our cookie management tool or via other opt-out functions. For example, you can also prevent data collection through cookies by managing, disabling or deleting cookies in your browser.
Legal basis
The use of web analytics requires your consent, which we have obtained with our cookie popup. This consent represents according to Art. 6 par. 1 lit. a GDPR (Consent) constitutes the legal basis for the processing of personal data as may occur during the collection by web analytics tools.
In addition to consent, there is a legitimate interest on our part in analyzing the behavior of website visitors and thus improving our offering technically and economically. With the help of web analytics, we can detect website errors, identify attacks and improve profitability. The legal basis for this is Art. 6 par. 1 lit. f DSGVO (Legitimate Interests). Nevertheless, we use the tools only insofar as they have given consent.
Since web analytics tools use cookies, we also recommend that you read our general privacy policy on cookies. To find out exactly which of your data is stored and processed, you should read the privacy statements of the respective tools.
Information on specific web analytics tools, if any, is provided in the following sections.
Google Analytics Privacy Policy
| Google Analytics Privacy Policy Summary Data subjects: Visitors to the website Purpose: Evaluation of visitor information to optimize the web offer. Processed data: Access statistics, which include data such as locations of accesses, device data, access duration and time, navigation behavior and click behavior. More details can be found below in this privacy policy. Storage duration: individually adjustable, by default Google Analytics stores 4 data for 14 months Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO (consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO (Legitimate Interests) |
What is Google Analytics?
We use on our website the analysis tracking tool Google Analytics in the version Google Analytics 4 (GA4) of the American company Google Inc. For the European area, the company Google Ireland Limited (Gordon House, Barrow Street Dublin 4, Ireland) is responsible for all Google services. Google Analytics collects data about your actions on our website. However, through the combination of various technologies such as cookies, device IDs, and credentials, you as a user can be identified across different devices. This also allows your actions to be analyzed across platforms.
For example, when you click on a link, this event is stored in a cookie and sent to Google Analytics. With the help of the reports we receive from Google Analytics, we can better tailor our website and service to your needs. In the following, we will go into more detail about the tracking tool and, in particular, inform you about what data is processed and how you can prevent it.
Google Analytics is a tracking tool used for traffic analysis of our website. The basis for these measurements and analyses is a pseudonymous user identification number. This number does not contain any personal data such as name or address, but is used to assign events to a terminal device. GA4 uses an event-based model that captures detailed information on user interactions such as page views, clicks, scrolls, conversion events. In addition, various machine learning features have also been built into GA4 to better understand user behavior and certain trends. GA4 relies on modeling with the help of machine learning functions. This means that missing data can also be extrapolated on the basis of the collected data in order to optimize the analysis and also to be able to make forecasts.
For Google Analytics to work in principle, a tracking code is built into the code of our website. When you visit our website, this code records various events that you perform on our website. GA4’s event-based data model allows us, as website operators, to define and track specific events to obtain analytics on user interactions. Thus, in addition to general information such as clicks or page views, special events that are important for our business can be tracked. Such special events can be, for example, the submission of a contact form or the purchase of a product.
As soon as you leave our website, this data is sent to the Google Analytics servers and stored there.
Google processes the data and we get reports about your user behavior. These may include, but are not limited to, the following reports:
- Audience reports: Audience reports help us get to know our users better and know more precisely who is interested in our service.
- Ad reports: Ad reports help us analyze and improve our online advertising.
- Acquisition reports: Acquisition reports give us helpful information on how to attract more people to our service.
- Behavior reports: This is where we learn how you interact with our website. We can track the path you take on our site and which links you click.
- Conversion reports: Conversion is when you take a desired action based on a marketing message. For example, you go from being just a website visitor to a buyer or newsletter subscriber. These reports help us learn more about how our marketing efforts are working for you. This is how we aim to increase our conversion rate.
- Real-time reports: Here we always know immediately what is happening on our website. For example, we can see how many users are reading this text.
In addition to the analytics reports mentioned above, Google Analytics 4 also offers the following features, among others:
- Event-based data model: This model captures very specific events that can take place on our website. For example, playing a video, purchasing a product, or subscribing to our newsletter.
- Advanced analytics: These features allow us to further understand your behavior on our website or certain general trends. For example, we can segment user groups, make comparative analyses of target groups, or track your path or path on our website.
- Predictive modeling: Based on collected data, machine learning can be used to extrapolate missing data that predicts future events and trends. This can help us develop better marketing strategies.
- Cross-platform analytics: Data collection and analysis are possible from both websites and apps. This gives us the opportunity to analyze user behavior across platforms, provided of course that you have consented to the data processing.
Why do we use Google Analytics on our website?
Our goal with this website is clear: we want to provide you with the best possible service. Google Analytics statistics and data help us achieve this goal.
The statistically evaluated data gives us a clear picture of the strengths and weaknesses of our website. On the one hand, we can optimize our site to make it easier for interested people to find it on Google. On the other hand, the data helps us to better understand you as a visitor. Thus, we know very well what we need to improve on our website in order to provide you with the best possible service. The data also serve us to carry out our advertising and marketing measures in a more individual and cost-effective manner. After all, it only makes sense to show our products and services to people who are interested in them.
What data is stored by Google Analytics?
Google Analytics uses a tracking code to create a random, unique ID associated with your browser cookie. This way Google Analytics will recognize you as a new user and you will be assigned a user ID. The next time you visit our site, you will be recognized as a “returning” user. All collected data is stored together with this user ID. This makes it possible to evaluate pseudonymous user profiles.
In order to use Google Analytics to analyze our website, a property ID must be inserted into the tracking code. The data is then stored in the corresponding property. For each new property created, the Google Analytics 4 property is by default. Depending on the property used, data is stored for different lengths of time.
Through identifiers such as cookies, app instance IDs, user IDs, or custom event parameters, for example, your interactions are measured across platforms if you have consented. Interactions are all types of actions you take on our website. If you also use other Google systems (such as a Google account), data generated via Google Analytics may be linked to third-party cookies. Google does not share Google Analytics data unless we, as the website owner, authorize it. Exceptions may occur when required by law.
According to Google, no IP addresses are logged or stored in Google Analytics 4. However, Google uses the IP address data to derive location data and deletes it immediately afterwards. All IP addresses collected from users in the EU are therefore deleted before the data is stored in a data center or on a server.
Since Google Analytics 4 focuses on event-based data, the tool uses significantly fewer cookies compared to previous versions (such as Google Universal Analytics). Nevertheless, there are some specific cookies used by GA4. These include, for example:
Name: _ga
Wert: 2.1326744211.152112572556-5
Purpose: By default, analytics.js uses the _ga cookie to store the user ID. Basically, it is used to distinguish the website visitors.
Expiration date: after 2 years
Name: _gid
Wert: 2.1687193234.152112572556-1
Purpose: The cookie is also used to distinguish the website visitors
Expiration date: after 24 hours
Name: _gat_gtag_UA_<property-id>
Value: 1
Intended use: Used to lower the request rate. When Google Analytics is deployed via Google Tag Manager, this cookie is named _dc_gtm_ <property-id>.
Expiration date: after 1 minute
Note: This list cannot claim to be complete, as Google also changes the choice of its cookies again and again. GA4 also aims to improve data protection. Therefore, the tool offers some possibilities to control the data collection. For example, we can define the storage period ourselves and also control the data collection.
Here we show you an overview of the main types of data collected with Google Analytics:
Heatmaps: Google creates so-called heatmaps. Via heatmaps you can see exactly those areas you click on. This way we get information where you are “traveling” on our site.
Session duration: Google refers to the time you spend on our site without leaving the site as session duration. If you have been inactive for 20 minutes, the session will end automatically.
Bounce rate: A bounce rate is when you view only one page on our website and then leave our website again.
Account creation: When you create an account or place an order on our website, Google Analytics collects this data.
Location: IP addresses are not logged or stored in Google Analytics. However, just before the IP address is deleted, derivatives are used for location data.
Technical information: Technical information may include your browser type, Internet service provider, or screen resolution.
Source of origin: Google Analytics or, of course, we are also interested in which website or which advertising you came to our site from.
Other data includes contact information, any ratings, playing media (for example, if you play a video through our site), sharing content through social media, or adding to your favorites. The list does not claim to be complete and only serves as a general orientation of the data storage by Google Analytics.
How long and where is the data stored?
Google has their servers spread all over the world. You can read exactly where Google’s data centers are located here: https://www.google.com/about/datacenters/locations/?hl=de
Your data is distributed on different physical media. This has the advantage that the data can be retrieved more quickly and is better protected against manipulation. There are appropriate emergency programs for your data in every Google data center. For example, if Google’s hardware fails or natural disasters cripple servers, the risk of service interruption at Google still remains low.
The retention period of the data depends on the properties used. The storage period is always specified for each individual property. Google Analytics offers us four options to control the retention period:
- 2 months: this is the shortest storage period.
- 14 months: by default, GA4 keeps the data for 14 months.
- 26 months: you can also store the data for 26 months.
- Data will be deleted only when we delete it manually
In addition, there is also the option that data will only be deleted if you no longer visit our website within the period we have chosen. In this case, the retention period will be reset each time you visit our website again within the specified period.
Once the specified period has expired, the data is deleted once a month. This retention period applies to your data associated with cookies, user recognition and advertising IDs (e.g. DoubleClick domain cookies). Reporting results are based on aggregated data and are stored independently of user data. Aggregated data is a merging of individual data into a larger unit.
How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?
Under European Union data protection law, you have the right to access, update, delete or restrict your data. By using the browser add-on to disable Google Analytics JavaScript (analytics.js, gtag.js), you prevent Google Analytics 4 from using your data. You can download and install the browser add-on at https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=de. Please note that this add-on only disables data collection by Google Analytics.
If you basically want to disable, delete or manage cookies, you can find the corresponding links to the respective instructions of the most popular browsers under the section “Cookies”.
Legal basis
The use of Google Analytics requires your consent, which we have obtained with our cookie popup. This consent represents according to Art. 6 par. 1 lit. a GDPR (Consent) constitutes the legal basis for the processing of personal data as may occur during the collection by web analytics tools.
In addition to consent, we have a legitimate interest in analyzing the behavior of website visitors in order to improve our services technically and economically. With the help of Google Analytics, we can detect website errors, identify attacks and improve profitability. The legal basis for this is Art. 6 par. 1 lit. f DSGVO (Legitimate Interests). Nevertheless, we only use Google Analytics if you have given your consent.
Google also processes data from you in the USA, among other places. We would like to point out that, in the opinion of the European Court of Justice, there is currently no adequate level of protection for data transfers to the USA. This may be accompanied by various risks to the lawfulness and security of data processing.
Google uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46. para. 2 and 3 DSGVO) as the basis for data processing for recipients located in third countries (outside the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, i.e. in particular in the USA) or a data transfer there. Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) are templates provided by the EU Commission and are intended to ensure that your data complies with European data protection standards even if it is transferred to and stored in third countries (such as the USA). Through these clauses, Google undertakes to comply with the European level of data protection when processing your relevant data, even if the data is stored, processed and managed in the USA. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the corresponding standard contractual clauses here, among other places: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de
The Google Ads Data Processing Terms, which reference the Standard Contractual Clauses, can be found at https://business.safety.google/intl/de/adsprocessorterms/.
We hope we have been able to provide you with the most important information about Google Analytics data processing. If you want to learn more about the tracking service, we recommend these two links: https://marketingplatform.google.com/about/analytics/terms/de/ and https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/6004245?hl=de.
If you want to learn more about data processing, use the Google privacy statement at https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=de.
Google Analytics reports on demographic characteristics and interests
We have turned on promotional reporting features in Google Analytics. The Demographic Characteristics and Interests reports include information on age, gender, and interests. This allows us – without being able to assign this data to individual persons – to get a better picture of our users. You can learn more about the advertising features at https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/3450482?hl=de_AT&utm_id=ad.
You can stop the use of the activities and information of your Google account under “Advertising settings” on https://adssettings.google.com/authenticated via checkbox.
Google Analytics in consent mode
Depending on your consent, personal data of you will be processed by Google Analytics in the so-called consent mode (or “Consent Mode”). You can choose whether or not to agree to Google Analytics cookies. This also allows you to choose which data Google Analytics may process from you. This collected data is mainly used to perform measurements about user behavior on the website, to serve targeted advertisements and to provide us with web analytics reports. As a rule, you consent to data processing by Google via a cookie consent tool. If you do not consent to the data processing, only aggregated data will be collected and processed. This means that data cannot be assigned to individual users and therefore no user profile of you is created. You can also agree only to the statistical measurement. No personal data is processed in the process and consequently it is not used for advertising or promotional purposes.
Google Analytics IP anonymization
We have implemented Google Analytics IP address anonymization on this website. This feature was developed by Google to enable this website to comply with applicable data protection regulations and recommendations of local data protection authorities if they prohibit storage of the full IP address. The anonymization or masking of the IP takes place as soon as the IP addresses arrive in the Google Analytics data collection network and before any storage or processing of the data takes place.
For more information on IP anonymization, please visit https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/2763052?hl=de.
Explanation of used terms
We always try to write our privacy policy as clear and understandable as possible. However, this is not always easy, especially when it comes to technical and legal topics. It often makes sense to use legal terms (such as personal data) or certain technical terms (such as cookies, IP address). However, we would not like to use them without explanation. Below you will now find an alphabetical list of important terms used that we may not have adequately addressed in the previous privacy statement. If these terms are taken from the GDPR and are definitions, we will also cite the GDPR texts here and add our own explanations if necessary.
Processor
Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR
For the purposes of this Regulation, the term:
“processor”
a natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body that processes personal data on behalf of the controller;
Explanation: As a company and website owner, we are responsible for all the data we process from you. In addition to the responsible parties, there may also be so-called processors. This includes any company or person that processes personal data on our behalf. In addition to service providers such as tax advisors, processors can also include hosting or cloud providers, payment or newsletter providers, or large companies such as Google or Microsoft.
Consent
Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR
For the purposes of this Regulation, the term:
“Consent”
of the data subject shall mean any freely given specific, informed and unambiguous indication of his or her wishes in the form of a statement or other unambiguous affirmative act by which the data subject signifies his or her agreement to personal data relating to him or her being processed;
Explanation: As a rule, websites provide such consent via a cookie consent tool. I’m sure you’re familiar with this. Whenever you visit a website for the first time, you are usually asked via a banner whether you agree or consent to data processing. In most cases, you can also make individual settings and thus decide for yourself which data processing you allow and which you do not. If you do not consent, no personal data of yours may be processed either. In principle, consent can of course also be given in writing, i.e. not via a tool.
Personal data
Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR
For the purposes of this Regulation, the term:
“personal data”
any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (hereinafter “data subject”); an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person;
Explanation: Personal data is therefore all data that can identify you as a person. This is usually data such as:
- Name
- Address
- E-mail address
- Postal address
- Telephone number
- Date of birth
- Identification numbers such as social security number, tax identification number, identity card number or matriculation number
- Bank information such as account number, credit information, account balances, etc.
According to the European Court of Justice (ECJ), your IP address also counts as personal data. IT experts can use your IP address to at least determine the approximate location of your device and, subsequently, you as the connection owner. Therefore, the storage of an IP address also requires a legal basis within the meaning of the GDPR. There are also so-called “special categories” of personal data, which also require special protection. These include:
- racial and ethnic origin
- political opinions
- religious or ideological convictions
- trade union membership
- genetic data, such as data taken from blood or saliva samples
- biometric data (which is information about mental, physical or behavioral characteristics that can identify an individual).
health data - data on sexual orientation or sexual life
Profiling
Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR
For the purposes of this Regulation, the term:
“profiling”
any automated processing of personal data which consists in using such personal data to evaluate certain personal aspects relating to a natural person, in particular to analyze or predict aspects relating to that natural person’s performance at work, economic situation, health, personal preferences, interests, reliability, behavior, location or change of location;
Explanation: Profiling involves gathering various pieces of information about a person in order to learn more about that person. In the web sector, profiling is often used for advertising purposes or even for credit checks. For example, web or advertising analytics programs collect data about your behavior and interests on a website. This results in a special user profile that can be used to target advertising to a specific group.
Person responsible
Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR
For the purposes of this Regulation, the term:
“controller”
the natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which alone or jointly with others determines the purposes and means of the processing of personal data; where the purposes and means of such processing are determined by Union or Member State law, the controller or the specific criteria for its designation may be provided for by Union or Member State law;
Explanation: In our case, we are responsible for the processing of your personal data and consequently the “data controller”. If we pass on collected data to other service providers for processing, these are “order processors”. For this purpose, an “order processing agreement (AVV)” must be signed.
Closing words
Congratulations! If you are reading these lines, you have really “fought” your way through our entire privacy policy, or at least scrolled all the way to here. As you can see from the scope of our privacy policy, we take the protection of your personal data, anything but lightly.
It is important to us to inform you to the best of our knowledge and belief about the processing of personal data. However, we do not only want to tell you what data is processed, but also to explain the reasons for using various software programs. As a rule, privacy policies sound very technical and legalistic. However, since most of you are not web developers or lawyers, we also wanted to take a different approach linguistically and explain the facts in simple and clear language. Of course, this is not always possible due to the subject matter. Therefore, the most important terms are explained in more detail at the end of the privacy policy.
If you have any questions about data protection on our website, please do not hesitate to contact us or the responsible office. Have a nice time and we hope to see you on our website again soon.
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Source: Created with the privacy generator from AdSimple