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Privacy Policy

Preamble

With the following privacy policy we would like to inform you which types of your personal data (hereinafter also abbreviated as "data") we process for which purposes and in which scope. The privacy statement applies to all processing of personal data carried out by us, both in the context of providing our services and in particular on our websites, in mobile applications and within external online presences, such as our social media profiles (hereinafter collectively referred to as "online services").

The terms used are not gender-specific.

Last Update: 20. October 2023

Legal text by Dr. Schwenke - please click for further information.

Table of contents

Controller

Henning von Roon
Kuhleger 5
30539 Hanover
Germany

E-mail address:

[email protected]

Overview of processing operations

The following table summarises the types of data processed, the purposes for which they are processed and the concerned data subjects.

Categories of Processed Data

  • Inventory data.
  • Payment Data.
  • Contact data.
  • Content data.
  • Contract data.
  • Usage data.
  • Meta, communication and process data.

Categories of Data Subjects

  • Customers.
  • Prospective customers.
  • Communication partner.
  • Users.

Purposes of Processing

  • Provision of contractual services and fulfillment of contractual obligations.
  • Contact requests and communication.
  • Security measures.
  • Direct marketing.
  • Web Analytics.
  • Managing and responding to inquiries.
  • Content Delivery Network (CDN).
  • Feedback.
  • Marketing.
  • Profiles with user-related information.
  • Provision of our online services and usability.
  • Information technology infrastructure.

Relevant legal bases according to the GDPR: In the following, you will find an overview of the legal basis of the GDPR on which we base the processing of personal data. Please note that in addition to the provisions of the GDPR, national data protection provisions of your or our country of residence or domicile may apply. If, in addition, more specific legal bases are applicable in individual cases, we will inform you of these in the data protection declaration.

  • Consent (Article 6 (1) (a) GDPR) - The data subject has given consent to the processing of his or her personal data for one or more specific purposes.
  • Performance of a contract and prior requests (Article 6 (1) (b) GDPR) - Performance of a contract to which the data subject is party or in order to take steps at the request of the data subject prior to entering into a contract.
  • Legitimate Interests (Article 6 (1) (f) GDPR) - Processing is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by the controller or by a third party, except where such interests are overridden by the interests or fundamental rights and freedoms of the data subject which require protection of personal data.

National data protection regulations in Germany: In addition to the data protection regulations of the GDPR, national regulations apply to data protection in Germany. This includes in particular the Law on Protection against Misuse of Personal Data in Data Processing (Federal Data Protection Act - BDSG). In particular, the BDSG contains special provisions on the right to access, the right to erase, the right to object, the processing of special categories of personal data, processing for other purposes and transmission as well as automated individual decision-making, including profiling. Furthermore, data protection laws of the individual federal states may apply.

Relevant legal basis according to the Swiss Data Protection Act: If you are located in Switzerland, we process your data based on the Federal Data Protection Act (abbreviated as "Swiss DPA"). This also applies if our processing of your data otherwise affects you in Switzerland and you are affected by the processing. The Swiss DPA does not generally provide that a legal basis for the processing of personal data must be stated (unlike, for example, the GDPR). We process personal data only when the processing is lawful, is conducted in good faith, and is proportionate (Article 6 (1) and (2) of the Swiss DPA). Furthermore, we only collect personal data for a specific purpose that is recognisable to the person concerned and process it only in a manner that is compatible with these purposes (Article 6 (3) of the Swiss DPA).

Reference to the applicability of the GDPR and the Swiss DPA: These privacy notices serve both to provide information in accordance with the Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (Swiss DPA) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Security Precautions

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures in accordance with the legal requirements, taking into account the state of the art, the costs of implementation and the nature, scope, context and purposes of processing as well as the risk of varying likelihood and severity for the rights and freedoms of natural persons, in order to ensure a level of security appropriate to the risk.

The measures include, in particular, safeguarding the confidentiality, integrity and availability of data by controlling physical and electronic access to the data as well as access to, input, transmission, securing and separation of the data. In addition, we have established procedures to ensure that data subjects' rights are respected, that data is erased, and that we are prepared to respond to data threats rapidly. Furthermore, we take the protection of personal data into account as early as the development or selection of hardware, software and service providers, in accordance with the principle of privacy by design and privacy by default.

Masking of the IP address: If IP addresses are processed by us or by the service providers and technologies used and the processing of a complete IP address is not necessary, the IP address is shortened (also referred to as "IP masking"). In this process, the last two digits or the last part of the IP address after a full stop are removed or replaced by wildcards. The masking of the IP address is intended to prevent the identification of a person by means of their IP address or to make such identification significantly more difficult.

TLS/SSL encryption (https): To protect the data of users transmitted via our online services, we use TLS/SSL encryption. Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is the standard technology for securing internet connections by encrypting the data transmitted between a website or app and a browser (or between two servers). Transport Layer Security (TLS) is an updated and more secure version of SSL. Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) is displayed in the URL when a website is secured by an SSL/TLS certificate.

Erasure of data

The data processed by us will be erased in accordance with the statutory provisions as soon as their processing is revoked or other permissions no longer apply (e.g. if the purpose of processing this data no longer applies or they are not required for the purpose). If the data is not deleted because they are required for other and legally permissible purposes, their processing is limited to these purposes. This means that the data will be restricted and not processed for other purposes. This applies, for example, to data that must be stored for commercial or tax reasons or for which storage is necessary to assert, exercise or defend legal claims or to protect the rights of another natural or legal person. In the context of our information on data processing, we may provide users with further information on the deletion and retention of data that is specific to the respective processing operation.

Payment Procedure

Within the framework of contractual and other legal relationships, due to legal obligations or otherwise on the basis of our legitimate interests, we offer data subjects efficient and secure payment options and use other service providers for this purpose in addition to banks and credit institutions (collectively referred to as "payment service providers").

The data processed by the payment service providers includes inventory data, such as the name and address, bank data, such as account numbers or credit card numbers, passwords, TANs and checksums, as well as the contract, total and recipient-related information. The information is required to carry out the transactions. However, the data entered is only processed by the payment service providers and stored with them. I.e. we do not receive any account or credit card related information, but only information with confirmation or negative information of the payment. Under certain circumstances, the data may be transmitted by the payment service providers to credit agencies. The purpose of this transmission is to check identity and creditworthiness. Please refer to the terms and conditions and data protection information of the payment service providers.

The terms and conditions and data protection information of the respective payment service providers apply to the payment transactions and can be accessed within the respective websites or transaction applications. We also refer to these for further information and the assertion of revocation, information and other data subject rights.

  • Processed data types: Inventory data (e.g. names, addresses); Payment Data (e.g. bank details, invoices, payment history); Contract data (e.g. contract object, duration, customer category); Usage data (e.g. websites visited, interest in content, access times); Meta, communication and process data (e.g. IP addresses, time information, identification numbers, consent status). Contact data (e.g. e-mail, telephone numbers).
  • Data subjects: Customers. Prospective customers.
  • Purposes of Processing: Provision of contractual services and fulfillment of contractual obligations.
  • Legal Basis: Performance of a contract and prior requests (Article 6 (1) (b) GDPR).

Further information on processing methods, procedures and services used:

  • Apple Pay: Payment services provider; Service provider: Apple Inc., Infinite Loop, Cupertino, CA 95014, USA; Legal Basis: Performance of a contract and prior requests (Article 6 (1) (b) GDPR); Website: https://www.apple.com/apple-pay/. Privacy Policy: https://www.apple.com/privacy/privacy-policy/.
  • Google Pay: Payment services provider; Service provider: Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland; Legal Basis: Performance of a contract and prior requests (Article 6 (1) (b) GDPR); Website: https://pay.google.com/intl/en_uk/about/. Privacy Policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy.
  • Mastercard: Payment-Service-Provider (technical integration of online-payment-methods); Service provider: Mastercard Europe SA, Chaussée de Tervuren 198A, B-1410 Waterloo, Belgium; Legal Basis: Performance of a contract and prior requests (Article 6 (1) (b) GDPR); Website: https://www.mastercard.co.uk. Privacy Policy: https://www.mastercard.co.uk/en-gb/about-mastercard/what-we-do/privacy.html.
  • PayPal: Payment-Service-Provider (technical integration of online-payment-methods) (e.g. PayPal, PayPal Plus, Braintree, Braintree); Service provider: PayPal (Europe) S.à r.l. et Cie, S.C.A., 22-24 Boulevard Royal, L-2449 Luxembourg; Legal Basis: Performance of a contract and prior requests (Article 6 (1) (b) GDPR); Website: https://www.paypal.com. Privacy Policy: https://www.paypal.com/de/webapps/mpp/ua/privacy-full.
  • Stripe: Payment-Service-Provider (technical integration of online-payment-methods); Service provider: Stripe, Inc., 510 Townsend Street, San Francisco, CA 94103, USA; Legal Basis: Performance of a contract and prior requests (Article 6 (1) (b) GDPR); Website: https://stripe.com/de; Privacy Policy: https://stripe.com/en-de/privacy. Basis for third country transfer: EU-US Data Privacy Framework (DPF).
  • Visa: Payment-Service-Provider (technical integration of online-payment-methods); Service provider: Visa Europe Services Inc., Zweigniederlassung London, 1 Sheldon Square, London W2 6TT, UK; Legal Basis: Performance of a contract and prior requests (Article 6 (1) (b) GDPR); Website: https://www.visa.de. Privacy Policy: https://www.visa.de/datenschutz.

Provision of online services and web hosting

We process user data in order to be able to provide them with our online services. For this purpose, we process the IP address of the user, which is necessary to transmit the content and functions of our online services to the user's browser or terminal device.

  • Processed data types: Usage data (e.g. websites visited, interest in content, access times); Meta, communication and process data (e.g. IP addresses, time information, identification numbers, consent status); Content data (e.g. text input, photographs, videos). Contact data (e.g. e-mail, telephone numbers).
  • Data subjects: Users (e.g. website visitors, users of online services). Communication partner (Recipients of e-mails, letters, etc.).
  • Purposes of Processing: Provision of our online services and usability; Information technology infrastructure (Operation and provision of information systems and technical devices, such as computers, servers, etc.).); Security measures; Content Delivery Network (CDN). Direct marketing (e.g. by e-mail or postal).
  • Legal Basis: Legitimate Interests (Article 6 (1) (f) GDPR).

Further information on processing methods, procedures and services used:

  • Provision of online services on own/ dedicated server hardware: For the provision of our online services, we use server hardware operated by us as well as, the storage space, computing capacity and software associated with it; Legal Basis: Legitimate Interests (Article 6 (1) (f) GDPR).
  • Collection of Access Data and Log Files: The access to our online services is logged in the form of so-called "server log files". Server log files may include the address and name of the web pages and files accessed, the date and time of access, data volumes transferred, notification of successful access, browser type and version, the user's operating system, referrer URL (the previously visited page) and, as a general rule, IP addresses and the requesting provider. The server log files can be used for security purposes, e.g. to avoid overloading the servers (especially in the case of abusive attacks, so-called DDoS attacks) and to ensure the stability and optimal load balancing of the servers; Legal Basis: Legitimate Interests (Article 6 (1) (f) GDPR). Retention period: Log file information is stored for a maximum period of 30 days and then deleted or anonymized. Data, the further storage of which is necessary for evidence purposes, are excluded from deletion until the respective incident has been finally clarified.
  • E-mail Sending and Hosting: The web hosting services we use also include sending, receiving and storing e-mails. For these purposes, the addresses of the recipients and senders, as well as other information relating to the sending of e-mails (e.g. the providers involved) and the contents of the respective e-mails are processed. The above data may also be processed for SPAM detection purposes. Please note that e-mails on the Internet are generally not sent in encrypted form. As a rule, e-mails are encrypted during transport, but not on the servers from which they are sent and received (unless a so-called end-to-end encryption method is used). We can therefore accept no responsibility for the transmission path of e-mails between the sender and reception on our server; Legal Basis: Legitimate Interests (Article 6 (1) (f) GDPR).
  • Cloudflare: Content-Delivery-Network (CDN) - service with whose help contents of our online services, in particular large media files, such as graphics or scripts, can be delivered faster and more securely with the help of regionally distributed servers connected via the Internet; Service provider: Cloudflare, Inc., 101 Townsend St, San Francisco, CA 94107, USA; Legal Basis: Legitimate Interests (Article 6 (1) (f) GDPR); Website: https://www.cloudflare.com; Privacy Policy: https://www.cloudflare.com/privacypolicy/; Data Processing Agreement: https://www.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-customer-dpa. Basis for third country transfer: EU-US Data Privacy Framework (DPF), Standard Contractual Clauses (https://www.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-customer-scc).
  • Mailgun: E-mail dispatch and automation services; Service provider: Mailgun Technologies, Inc., 535 Mission St., San Francisco, CA 94105, USA; Legal Basis: Legitimate Interests (Article 6 (1) (f) GDPR); Website: https://www.mailgun.com; Privacy Policy: https://www.mailgun.com/privacy-policy; Data Processing Agreement: https://www.mailgun.com/legal/dpa/. Basis for third country transfer: Standard Contractual Clauses (https://www.mailgun.com/legal/dpa/).

Registration, Login and User Account

Users can create a user account. Within the scope of registration, the required mandatory information is communicated to the users and processed for the purposes of providing the user account on the basis of contractual fulfilment of obligations. The processed data includes in particular the login information (name, password and an e-mail address).

Within the scope of using our registration and login functions as well as the use of the user account, we store the IP address and the time of the respective user action. The storage is based on our legitimate interests, as well as the user's protection against misuse and other unauthorized use. This data will not be passed on to third parties unless it is necessary to pursue our claims or there is a legal obligation to do so.

Users may be informed by e-mail of information relevant to their user account, such as technical changes.

  • Processed data types: Inventory data (e.g. names, addresses); Contact data (e.g. e-mail, telephone numbers); Content data (e.g. text input, photographs, videos). Meta, communication and process data (e.g. IP addresses, time information, identification numbers, consent status).
  • Data subjects: Users (e.g. website visitors, users of online services).
  • Purposes of Processing: Provision of contractual services and fulfillment of contractual obligations; Security measures; Managing and responding to inquiries. Provision of our online services and usability.
  • Legal Basis: Performance of a contract and prior requests (Article 6 (1) (b) GDPR). Legitimate Interests (Article 6 (1) (f) GDPR).

Further information on processing methods, procedures and services used:

  • Registration with pseudonyms: Users may use pseudonyms as user names instead of real names; Legal Basis: Performance of a contract and prior requests (Article 6 (1) (b) GDPR).
  • Users' profiles are public: The users' profiles are not publicly visible or accessible.
  • Deletion of data after termination: If users have terminated their user account, their data relating to the user account will be deleted, subject to any legal permission, obligation or consent of the users; Legal Basis: Performance of a contract and prior requests (Article 6 (1) (b) GDPR).
  • No obligation to retain data: It is the responsibility of the users to secure their data before the end of the contract in the event of termination. We are entitled to irretrievably delete all user data stored during the term of the contract; Legal Basis: Performance of a contract and prior requests (Article 6 (1) (b) GDPR).

Community Functions

The community functions provided by us allow users to engage in conversations and other forms of interaction with each other. Please note that the use of the community functions is only permitted in compliance with the applicable legal situation, our terms and guidelines and the rights of other users and third parties.

  • Processed data types: Usage data (e.g. websites visited, interest in content, access times). Meta, communication and process data (e.g. IP addresses, time information, identification numbers, consent status).
  • Data subjects: Users (e.g. website visitors, users of online services).
  • Purposes of Processing: Provision of contractual services and fulfillment of contractual obligations. Security measures.
  • Legal Basis: Performance of a contract and prior requests (Article 6 (1) (b) GDPR).

Further information on processing methods, procedures and services used:

  • User contributions are public: The posts and content created by users are publicly visible and accessible; Legal Basis: Performance of a contract and prior requests (Article 6 (1) (b) GDPR).
  • Protection of own data: Users decide for themselves what data they disclose about themselves within our online services. For example, when users provide personal information or participate in conversations. We ask users to protect their data and to publish personal data only with caution and only to the extent necessary. In particular, we ask users to note that they must protect their login credentials in particular and use secure passwords (preferably long and random combinations of characters); Legal Basis: Performance of a contract and prior requests (Article 6 (1) (b) GDPR).

Blogs and publication media

We use blogs or comparable means of online communication and publication (hereinafter "publication medium"). Readers' data will only be processed for the purposes of the publication medium to the extent necessary for its presentation and communication between authors and readers or for security reasons. For the rest, we refer to the information on the processing of visitors to our publication medium within the scope of this privacy policy.

  • Processed data types: Inventory data (e.g. names, addresses); Contact data (e.g. e-mail, telephone numbers); Content data (e.g. text input, photographs, videos); Usage data (e.g. websites visited, interest in content, access times). Meta, communication and process data (e.g. IP addresses, time information, identification numbers, consent status).
  • Data subjects: Users (e.g. website visitors, users of online services).
  • Purposes of Processing: Provision of contractual services and fulfillment of contractual obligations; Feedback (e.g. collecting feedback via online form); Provision of our online services and usability; Contact requests and communication; Managing and responding to inquiries. Security measures.
  • Legal Basis: Legitimate Interests (Article 6 (1) (f) GDPR). Consent (Article 6 (1) (a) GDPR).

Further information on processing methods, procedures and services used:

  • Comment subscriptions: When users leave comments or other contributions, their IP addresses may be stored based on our legitimate interests. This is done for our safety, if someone leaves illegal contents (insults, forbidden political propaganda, etc.) in comments and contributions. In this case, we ourselves can be prosecuted for the comment or contribution and are therefore interested in the author's identity.
    Furthermore, we reserve the right to process user data for the purpose of spam detection on the basis of our legitimate interests.
    On the same legal basis, in the case of surveys, we reserve the right to store the IP addresses of users for the duration of the surveys and to use cookies in order to avoid multiple votes.
    The personal information provided in the course of comments and contributions, any contact and website information as well as the content information will be stored permanently by us until the user objects;
    Legal Basis: Legitimate Interests (Article 6 (1) (f) GDPR).
  • Comment subscriptions: Follow-up comments can be subscribed to by users with their consent. Users will receive a confirmation email to verify that they are the owner of the email address entered. Users can unsubscribe from current comment subscriptions at any time. The confirmation email will contain information on the cancellation options. For the purposes of proving the users' consent, we store the time of registration along with the users' IP address and delete this information when users unsubscribe from the subscription.

    You can cancel the receipt of our subscription at any time, i.e. revoke your consent. We may store the unsubscribed email addresses for up to three years based on our legitimate interests before deleting them to provide evidence of prior consent. The processing of these data is limited to the purpose of a possible defense against claims. An individual deletion request is possible at any time, provided that the former existence of a consent is confirmed at the same time;
    Legal Basis: Consent (Article 6 (1) (a) GDPR).
  • Gravatar Profile Pictures: Profile Pictures - We use the service Gravatar within our on-line offer and in particular in the Blog.
    Gravatar is a service where users can register and store profile pictures and their e-mail addresses. If users leave contributions or comments with the respective e-mail address on other online presences (especially in blogs), their profile pictures can be displayed next to the contributions or comments. For this purpose, the e-mail address provided by the users is transmitted to Gravatar in encrypted form for the purpose of checking whether a profile is stored for it. This is the only purpose of transmitting the email address and it will not be used for other purposes, but deleted thereafter.
    The use of Gravatar is based on our legitimate interests, as we use Gravatar to offer authors of contributions and comments the opportunity to personalize their contributions with a profile picture.
    By displaying the images, Gravatar knows the IP address of the user, as this is necessary for communication between a browser and an online service.
    If users do not want a user image linked to their e-mail address to appear in the comments at Gravatar, they should use an e-mail address which is not stored at Gravatar for commenting. We would also like to point out that it is also possible to use an anonymous e-mail address or no e-mail address at all if users do not wish their own e-mail address to be sent to Gravatar. Users can completely prevent the transmission of data by not using our comment system;
    Service provider: Aut O’Mattic A8C Ireland Ltd., Grand Canal Dock, 25 Herbert Pl, Dublin, D02 AY86, Ireland; Legal Basis: Legitimate Interests (Article 6 (1) (f) GDPR); Website: https://automattic.com; Privacy Policy: https://automattic.com/privacy. Basis for third country transfer: EU-US Data Privacy Framework (DPF).

Newsletter and Electronic Communications

We send newsletters, e-mails and other electronic communications (hereinafter referred to as "newsletters") only with the consent of the recipient or a legal permission. Insofar as the contents of the newsletter are specifically described within the framework of registration, they are decisive for the consent of the user. Otherwise, our newsletters contain information about our services and us.

In order to subscribe to our newsletters, it is generally sufficient to enter your e-mail address. We may, however, ask you to provide a name for the purpose of contacting you personally in the newsletter or to provide further information if this is required for the purposes of the newsletter.

Double opt-in procedure: The registration to our newsletter takes place in general in a so-called Double-Opt-In procedure. This means that you will receive an e-mail after registration asking you to confirm your registration. This confirmation is necessary so that no one can register with external e-mail addresses.

The registrations for the newsletter are logged in order to be able to prove the registration process according to the legal requirements. This includes storing the login and confirmation times as well as the IP address. Likewise the changes of your data stored with the dispatch service provider are logged.

Deletion and restriction of processing: We may store the unsubscribed email addresses for up to three years based on our legitimate interests before deleting them to provide evidence of prior consent. The processing of these data is limited to the purpose of a possible defense against claims. An individual deletion request is possible at any time, provided that the former existence of a consent is confirmed at the same time. In the case of an obligation to permanently observe an objection, we reserve the right to store the e-mail address solely for this purpose in a blocklist.

The logging of the registration process takes place on the basis of our legitimate interests for the purpose of proving its proper course. If we commission a service provider to send e-mails, this is done on the basis of our legitimate interests in an efficient and secure sending system.

Contents:

Information about new articles on the website.

  • Processed data types: Inventory data (e.g. names, addresses); Contact data (e.g. e-mail, telephone numbers); Meta, communication and process data (e.g. IP addresses, time information, identification numbers, consent status). Usage data (e.g. websites visited, interest in content, access times).
  • Data subjects: Communication partner (Recipients of e-mails, letters, etc.).
  • Purposes of Processing: Direct marketing (e.g. by e-mail or postal).
  • Legal Basis: Consent (Article 6 (1) (a) GDPR). Legitimate Interests (Article 6 (1) (f) GDPR).
  • Opt-Out: You can cancel the receipt of our newsletter at any time, i.e. revoke your consent or object to further receipt. You will find a link to cancel the newsletter either at the end of each newsletter or you can otherwise use one of the contact options listed above, preferably e-mail.

Further information on processing methods, procedures and services used:

  • Measurement of opening rates and click rates: The newsletters contain a so-called "web-beacon", i.e. a pixel-sized file, which is retrieved from our server when the newsletter is opened or, if we use a mailing service provider, from its server. Within the scope of this retrieval, technical information such as information about the browser and your system, as well as your IP address and time of retrieval are first collected.

    This information is used for the technical improvement of our newsletter on the basis of technical data or target groups and their reading behaviour on the basis of their retrieval points (which can be determined with the help of the IP address) or access times. This analysis also includes determining whether newsletters are opened, when they are opened and which links are clicked. This information is assigned to the individual newsletter recipients and stored in their profiles until the profiles are deleted. The evaluations serve us much more to recognize the reading habits of our users and to adapt our content to them or to send different content according to the interests of our users.

    The measurement of opening rates and click rates as well as the storage of the measurement results in the profiles of the users and their further processing are based on the consent of the users.

    A separate objection to the performance measurement is unfortunately not possible, in this case the entire newsletter subscription must be cancelled or objected to. In this case, the stored profile information will be deleted;
    Legal Basis: Consent (Article 6 (1) (a) GDPR).
  • Mailgun: E-mail dispatch and automation services; Service provider: Mailgun Technologies, Inc., 535 Mission St., San Francisco, CA 94105, USA; Legal Basis: Legitimate Interests (Article 6 (1) (f) GDPR); Website: https://www.mailgun.com; Privacy Policy: https://www.mailgun.com/privacy-policy; Data Processing Agreement: https://www.mailgun.com/legal/dpa/. Basis for third country transfer: Standard Contractual Clauses (https://www.mailgun.com/legal/dpa/).

Web Analysis, Monitoring and Optimization

Web analysis is used to evaluate the visitor traffic on our website and may include the behaviour, interests or demographic information of users, such as age or gender, as pseudonymous values. With the help of web analysis we can e.g. recognize, at which time our online services or their functions or contents are most frequently used or requested for repeatedly, as well as which areas require optimization.

In addition to web analysis, we can also use test procedures, e.g. to test and optimize different versions of our online services or their components.

Unless otherwise stated below, profiles, i.e. data aggregated for a usage process, can be created for these purposes and information can be stored in a browser or in a terminal device and read from it. The information collected includes, in particular, websites visited and elements used there as well as technical information such as the browser used, the computer system used and information on usage times. If users have agreed to the collection of their location data from us or from the providers of the services we use, location data may also be processed.

Unless otherwise stated below, profiles, that is data summarized for a usage process or user, may be created for these purposes and stored in a browser or terminal device (so-called "cookies") or similar processes may be used for the same purpose. The information collected includes, in particular, websites visited and elements used there as well as technical information such as the browser used, the computer system used and information on usage times. If users have consented to the collection of their location data or profiles to us or to the providers of the services we use, these may also be processed, depending on the provider.

The IP addresses of the users are also stored. However, we use any existing IP masking procedure (i.e. pseudonymisation by shortening the IP address) to protect the user. In general, within the framework of web analysis, A/B testing and optimisation, no user data (such as e-mail addresses or names) is stored, but pseudonyms. This means that we, as well as the providers of the software used, do not know the actual identity of the users, but only the information stored in their profiles for the purposes of the respective processes.

  • Processed data types: Usage data (e.g. websites visited, interest in content, access times). Meta, communication and process data (e.g. IP addresses, time information, identification numbers, consent status).
  • Data subjects: Users (e.g. website visitors, users of online services).
  • Purposes of Processing: Web Analytics (e.g. access statistics, recognition of returning visitors). Profiles with user-related information (Creating user profiles).
  • Security measures: IP Masking (Pseudonymization of the IP address).
  • Legal Basis: Legitimate Interests (Article 6 (1) (f) GDPR).

Further information on processing methods, procedures and services used:

  • Matomo (without cookies): Matomo is a data protection friendly web analysis software, which is used without cookies and in which the recognition of returning users is carried out with the help of a so-called "digital fingerprint", which is stored anonymously and changed every 24 hours; in the case of the "digital fingerprint", user movements within our online services are recorded with the help of pseudonymised IP addresses in combination with user-side browser settings in such a way that conclusions about the identity of individual users are not possible. User data collected through the use of Matomo is processed only by us and is not shared with third parties; Legal Basis: Legitimate Interests (Article 6 (1) (f) GDPR).
  • plausible.io: Web Analytics; no use of cookies or comparable persistent online identifiers, the recognition of returning visitors is done with the help of a pseudonymous identifier, which is deleted after one day; apart from that, no personal data is stored (https://plausible.io/data-policy); processing takes place on our server, no data is passed on to third parties; Service provider: Executed on servers and/or computers under our controllership; Legal Basis: Legitimate Interests (Article 6 (1) (f) GDPR); Website: https://plausible.io/. Privacy Policy: https://plausible.io/privacy.

Profiles in Social Networks (Social Media)

We maintain online presences within social networks and process user data in this context in order to communicate with the users active there or to offer information about us.

We would like to point out that user data may be processed outside the European Union. This may entail risks for users, e.g. by making it more difficult to enforce users' rights.

In addition, user data is usually processed within social networks for market research and advertising purposes. For example, user profiles can be created on the basis of user behaviour and the associated interests of users. The user profiles can then be used, for example, to place advertisements within and outside the networks which are presumed to correspond to the interests of the users. For these purposes, cookies are usually stored on the user's computer, in which the user's usage behaviour and interests are stored. Furthermore, data can be stored in the user profiles independently of the devices used by the users (especially if the users are members of the respective networks or will become members later on).

For a detailed description of the respective processing operations and the opt-out options, please refer to the respective data protection declarations and information provided by the providers of the respective networks.

Also in the case of requests for information and the exercise of rights of data subjects, we point out that these can be most effectively pursued with the providers. Only the providers have access to the data of the users and can directly take appropriate measures and provide information. If you still need help, please do not hesitate to contact us.

  • Processed data types: Contact data (e.g. e-mail, telephone numbers); Content data (e.g. text input, photographs, videos); Usage data (e.g. websites visited, interest in content, access times). Meta, communication and process data (e.g. IP addresses, time information, identification numbers, consent status).
  • Data subjects: Users (e.g. website visitors, users of online services).
  • Purposes of Processing: Contact requests and communication; Feedback (e.g. collecting feedback via online form). Marketing.
  • Legal Basis: Legitimate Interests (Article 6 (1) (f) GDPR).

Further information on processing methods, procedures and services used:

Terminology and Definitions

In this section, you will find an overview of the terminology used in this privacy policy. Where the terminology is legally defined, their legal definitions apply. The following explanations, however, are primarily intended to aid understanding.

  • Content Delivery Network (CDN): A "Content Delivery Network" (CDN) is a service with whose help contents of our online services, in particular large media files, such as graphics or scripts, can be delivered faster and more securely with the help of regionally distributed servers connected via the Internet.
  • Controller: "Controller" means the natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which, alone or jointly with others, determines the purposes and means of the processing of personal data.
  • Personal Data: "personal data" means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person ("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.
  • Processing: The term "processing" covers a wide range and practically every handling of data, be it collection, evaluation, storage, transmission or erasure.
  • Profiles with user-related information: The processing of "profiles with user-related information", or "profiles" for short, includes any kind of automated processing of personal data that consists of using these personal data to analyse, evaluate or predict certain personal aspects relating to a natural person (depending on the type of profiling, this may include different information concerning demographics, behaviour and interests, such as interaction with websites and their content, etc.) (e.g. interests in certain content or products, click behaviour on a website or location). Cookies and web beacons are often used for profiling purposes.
  • Web Analytics: Web Analytics serves the evaluation of visitor traffic of online services and can determine their behavior or interests in certain information, such as content of websites. With the help of web analytics, website owners, for example, can recognize at what time visitors visit their website and what content they are interested in. This enables them, for example, to better adapt the content of their websites to the needs of their visitors. For the purposes of web analytics , pseudonymous cookies and web beacons are often used to recognize returning visitors and thus obtain more precise analyses of the use of an online service.