Automatic data storage
When you visit websites today, certain information is automatically generated and stored, including on this website.
When you visit our website as you are doing now, our web server (the computer on which this website is stored) automatically stores data such as
- the address (URL) of the website accessed
- Browser and browser version
- the operating system used
- the address (URL) of the previously visited page (referrer URL)
- the host name and IP address of the device from which access is being made
- Date and time
in files (web server log files).
As a rule, web server log files are stored for two weeks and then automatically deleted. We do not pass on this data, but cannot rule out the possibility that this data may be viewed in the event of illegal behavior. The legal basis for this is Article 6(1)(f) GDPR (lawfulness of processing), which states that there is a legitimate interest in enabling the error-free operation of this website by collecting web server log files.
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.
What exactly are cookies?
Whenever you surf the Internet, you use a browser. Well-known browsers include Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Microsoft Edge. Most websites store small text files in your browser. These files are called cookies.
One thing cannot be denied: cookies are really useful little helpers. Almost all websites use cookies. More specifically, they use HTTP cookies, as there are other types of cookies for other areas of application. HTTP cookies are small files that are stored on your computer by our website. These cookie files are automatically stored in the cookie folder, which is essentially 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 visit our site again, your browser transmits the "user-related" information back to our site. Thanks to cookies, our website knows who you are and offers you your usual default settings. In some browsers, each cookie has its own file, while in others, such as Firefox, all cookies are stored in a single file.
There are both first-party cookies and third-party cookies. First-party cookies are created directly by our site, while 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 year or more. Cookies are not software programs and do not contain viruses, Trojans, or other "malware." Cookies also cannot access information on your PC.
Cookie data may look like this, for example:
- Name: _ga
- Expiration date: 2 years
- Use: Distinguishing between website visitors
- Example value: GA1.2.1326744211.152311150052
A browser should support the following minimum sizes:
- A cookie should be able to contain at least 4096 bytes.
- At least 50 cookies should be able to be stored per domain.
- A total of at least 3000 cookies should be able to be stored.
What types of cookies are there?
The question of which cookies we use specifically 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.
There are four types of cookies:
Strictly necessary cookies
These cookies are necessary to ensure basic website functionality. For example, these cookies are needed when a user adds a product to their shopping cart, then continues browsing other pages and only proceeds to checkout later. These cookies ensure that the shopping cart is not deleted, even if the user closes their browser window.
Functional cookies
These cookies collect information about user behavior and whether the user receives any error messages. These cookies are also used to measure the loading time and behavior of the website in different browsers.
Targeted cookies
These cookies improve user-friendliness. For example, they store locations, font sizes, or form data that you have entered.
Advertising cookies
These cookies are also known as targeting cookies. They are used to deliver personalized advertising to the user. This can be very practical, but also very annoying.
When you visit a website for the first time, you are usually asked which types of cookies you want to allow. And, of course, this decision is also stored in a cookie.
How can I delete cookies?
You decide for yourself how and whether you want to use cookies. Regardless of which service or website the cookies come from, you always have the option to delete cookies, allow them only partially, or deactivate them. For example, you can block third-party cookies but allow all other cookies.
If you want to find out which cookies have been stored in your browser, or 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 stored on your computer
- Internet Explorer: Deleting and managing cookies
- Microsoft Edge: Deleting and managing cookies
If you do not want cookies at all, you can set your browser to always inform you when a cookie is about to be set. This allows you to decide whether to accept or reject each individual cookie. The procedure varies depending on the browser. The best thing to do is to search for instructions in Google using the search term "delete cookies Chrome" or "disable cookies Chrome" if you are using a Chrome browser, or replace the word "Chrome" with the name of your browser, e.g. Edge, Firefox, Safari.
What about my data protection?
The so-called "cookie guidelines" have been in place since 2009. These stipulate that the storage of cookies requires the consent of the website visitor (i.e. you). However, there are still very different responses to these guidelines within EU countries. In Germany, the cookie guidelines have not been implemented as national law. Instead, this directive has largely been implemented in Section 15 (3) of the Telemedia Act (TMG).
If you would like to learn more about cookies and are not afraid of technical documentation, we recommend https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc6265, the Request for Comments from the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) entitled "HTTP State Management Mechanism."
Storage of personal data
Personal data that you transmit to us electronically on this website, such as your name, email address, address, or other personal information provided when submitting a form or commenting on the blog, will be used by us together with the time and IP address only for the specified purpose, stored securely, and not passed on to third parties.
We therefore only use your personal data to communicate with visitors who expressly wish to be contacted and to process the services and products offered on this website. We do not pass on your personal data without your consent, but we cannot rule out the possibility that this data may be accessed in the event of illegal behavior.
If you send us personal data by email—i.e., outside of this website—we cannot guarantee the secure transmission and protection of your data. We recommend that you never send confidential data unencrypted by email.
The legal basis is Article 6(1)(a) GDPR (lawfulness of processing), which states that you give us your consent to process the data you have entered. You can revoke this consent at any time—an informal email is sufficient. You can find our contact details in the legal notice.
Rights under the General Data Protection Regulation
According to the provisions of the GDPR, you are generally entitled to the following rights:
- Right to rectification (Article 16 GDPR)
- Right to erasure ("right to be forgotten") (Article 17 GDPR)
- Right to restriction of processing (Article 18 GDPR)
- Right to notification – Obligation to notify in connection with the rectification or erasure of personal data or the restriction of processing (Article 19 GDPR)
- Right to data portability (Article 20 GDPR)
- Right to object (Article 21 GDPR)
- Right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing, including profiling (Article 22 GDPR)
If you believe that the processing of your data violates data protection law or that your data protection rights have been violated in any other way, you can contact the Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (BfDI).
Analysis of visitor behavior
In the following privacy policy, we inform you about whether and how we evaluate data from your visit to this website. The evaluation of the collected data is usually anonymous, and we cannot draw any conclusions about your person from your behavior on this website.
You can find out more about how to object to this evaluation of visitor data in the following privacy policy.
TLS encryption with https
We use https to transmit data securely over the Internet (data protection through technology design, Article 25(1) GDPR). By using TLS (Transport Layer Security), an encryption protocol for secure data transmission on the Internet, we can ensure the protection of confidential data. You can recognize the use of this data transmission security by the small lock symbol in the upper left corner of the browser and the use of the https scheme (instead of http) as part of our Internet address.
Google Fonts Privacy Policy
We use Google Fonts from Google Inc. (1600 Amphitheatre Parkway Mountain View, CA 94043, USA) on our website.
You do not need to register or enter a password to use Google fonts. Furthermore, no cookies are stored in your browser. The files (CSS, fonts) are loaded via the Google domains fonts.googleapis.com and fonts.gstatic.com requested. According to Google, requests for CSS and fonts are completely separate from all other Google services. If you have a Google account, you don't need to worry that your Google account data will be transmitted to Google while using Google Fonts. Google collects data on the use of CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) and the fonts used and stores this data securely. We will take a closer look at exactly how data storage works in more detail later on.
What are Google Fonts?
Google Fonts (formerly Google Web Fonts) is an interactive directory with more than 800 fonts that Google LLC provides for free use.
Many of these fonts are published under the SIL Open Font License, while others are published under the Apache License. Both are free software licenses. This means we can use them freely without paying any license fees.
Why do we use Google Fonts on our website?
With Google Fonts, we can use fonts on our own website without having to upload them to our own server. Google Fonts is an important component in maintaining the high quality of our website. All Google fonts are automatically optimized for the web, which saves data volume and is a major advantage, especially for use on mobile devices. When you visit our site, the low file size ensures fast loading times. Furthermore, Google Fonts are so-called secure web fonts. Different image synthesis systems (rendering) in different browsers, operating systems, and mobile devices can lead to errors. Such errors can sometimes distort text or entire web pages visually. Thanks to the fast Content Delivery Network (CDN), there are no cross-platform issues with Google Fonts. Google Fonts supports all popular browsers (Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera) and works reliably on most modern mobile operating systems, including Android 2.2+ and iOS 4.2+ (iPhone, iPad, iPod).
We use Google Fonts so that we can present our entire online service as attractively and uniformly as possible. According to Art. 6 (1) (f) of the GDPR, this already constitutes a "legitimate interest" in the processing of personal data. In this case, "legitimate interest" refers to both legal and economic or non-material interests that are recognized by the legal system.
What data does Google store?
When you visit our website, the fonts are downloaded via a Google server. This external call transmits data to the Google servers. This also allows Google to recognize that you or your IP address has visited our website. The Google Fonts API was developed to reduce the collection, storage, and use of end-user data to what is necessary for the efficient provision of fonts. API stands for "application programming interface" and serves, among other things, as a data transmitter in the software sector.
Google Fonts securely stores CSS and font requests at Google, ensuring protection. Google can determine the popularity of fonts based on the usage statistics it collects. Google publishes the results on internal analysis pages, such as Google Analytics. Google also uses data from its own web crawler to determine which websites use Google fonts. This data is published in the BigQuery database of Google Fonts. BigQuery is a web service from Google for companies that want to move and analyze large amounts of data.
However, it should be noted that every Google Font request automatically transmits information such as IP address, language settings, browser screen resolution, browser version, and browser name to Google servers. Whether this data is also stored cannot be clearly determined and is not clearly communicated by Google.
How long and where is the data stored?
Google stores requests for CSS assets on its servers, which are mainly located outside the EU, for one day. This allows us to use fonts with the help of a Google stylesheet. A stylesheet is a format template that can be used to quickly and easily change the design or font of a website, for example.
The font files are stored by Google for one year. Google's goal is to improve the loading time of websites. When millions of websites refer to the same fonts, they are cached after the first visit and appear immediately on all other websites visited later. Google sometimes updates font files to reduce file size, increase language coverage, and improve design.
How can I delete my data or prevent it from being stored?
The data that Google stores for one day or one year cannot simply be deleted. The data is automatically transmitted to Google when the page is accessed. To delete this data prematurely, you must contact Google Support at https://support.google.com/?hl=de&tid=311150052. In this case, you can only prevent data storage by not visiting our site.
Unlike other web fonts, Google gives us unlimited access to all fonts. This means we can access an unlimited range of fonts and get the most out of our website. You can find more information about Google Fonts and other questions at https://developers.google.com/fonts/faq?tid=311150052. Although Google addresses data protection issues there, it does not provide really detailed information about data storage. It is relatively difficult (almost impossible) to obtain really precise information about stored data from Google.
You can also find out what data Google generally collects and what this data is used for at https://www.google.com/intl/de/policies/privacy/.
Google Fonts Local Privacy Policy
We use Google Fonts from Google Inc. (1600 Amphitheatre Parkway Mountain View, CA 94043, USA) on our website. We have integrated the Google fonts locally, i.e. on our web server – not on Google's servers. This means that there is no connection to Google's servers and therefore no data transfer or storage.
What are Google Fonts?
Google Fonts (formerly Google Web Fonts) is an interactive directory with more than 800 fonts that Google LLC provides for free use. With Google Fonts, you could use the fonts without uploading them to your own server. However, in order to prevent any transfer of information to the Google server, we have downloaded the fonts to our server. This way, we comply with data protection regulations and do not send any data to Google Fonts.
Unlike other web fonts, Google gives us unlimited access to all fonts. This means we have unlimited access to a sea of fonts, allowing us to get the most out of our website. You can find out more about Google Fonts and other questions at https://developers.google.com/fonts/faq?tid=311150052.
Google Tag Manager Privacy Policy
We use Google Tag Manager from Google Inc. (1600 Amphitheatre Parkway Mountain View, CA 94043, USA) for our website. This Tag Manager is one of many helpful marketing products from Google. Google Tag Manager allows us to centrally integrate and manage code snippets from various tracking tools that we use on our website.
In this privacy policy, we want to explain in more detail what Google Tag Manager does, why we use it, and how data is processed.
What is Google Tag Manager?
Google Tag Manager is an organizational tool that allows us to integrate and manage website tags centrally via a user interface. Tags are small pieces of code that record (track) your activities on our website, for example. To do this, JavaScript code snippets are inserted into the source code of our site. The tags often come from Google's own products, such as Google Ads or Google Analytics, but tags from other companies can also be integrated and managed via the manager. These tags perform various tasks. They can collect browser data, feed data to marketing tools, integrate buttons, set cookies, and even track users across multiple websites.
Why do we use Google Tag Manager for our website?
As the saying goes, organization is half the battle! And that also applies to maintaining our website, of course. In order to make our website as good as possible for you and everyone interested in our products and services, we need various tracking tools such as Google Analytics. The data collected by these tools shows us what interests you most, where we can improve our services, and who else we should show our offers to. And for this tracking to work, we need to embed the appropriate JavaScript codes into our website. In principle, we could embed each code section of the individual tracking tools separately into our source code. However, this takes a relatively long time and it's easy to lose track of things. That's why we use Google Tag Manager. We can easily integrate the necessary scripts and manage them from one place. In addition, Google Tag Manager offers an easy-to-use user interface and requires no programming knowledge. This is how we manage to keep our tag jungle in order.
What data is stored by Google Tag Manager?
The Tag Manager itself is a domain that does not set cookies or store data. It acts merely as an "administrator" of the implemented tags. The data is collected by the individual tags of the various web analytics tools. The data is essentially passed through Google Tag Manager to the individual tracking tools and is not stored.
However, the situation is quite different with the integrated tags of various web analysis tools, such as Google Analytics. Depending on the analysis tool, various data about your web behavior is usually collected, stored, and processed with the help of cookies. For more information, please read our privacy policy texts for the individual analysis and tracking tools that we use on our website.
In the account settings of the Tag Manager, we have allowed Google to receive anonymized data from us. However, this only concerns the use of our Tag Manager and not your data stored via the code sections. We allow Google and others to receive selected data in anonymized form. We therefore consent to the anonymous transfer of our website data. Despite extensive research, we were unable to determine exactly which summarized and anonymous data is forwarded. In any case, Google deletes all information that could identify our website. Google combines the data with hundreds of other anonymous website data and creates user trends as part of benchmarking measures. Benchmarking involves comparing your own results with those of your competitors. Processes can be optimized based on the information collected.
How long and where is the data stored?
When Google stores data, this data is stored on its own Google servers. The servers are located all over the world. Most of them are in America. At https://www.google.com/about/datacenters/inside/locations/?hl=de, you can see exactly where the Google servers are located.
Please refer to our individual privacy policy texts for each tool to find out how long the individual tracking tools store your data.
How can I delete my data or prevent it from being stored?
Google Tag Manager itself does not set any cookies, but manages tags from various tracking websites. In our privacy policy texts for the individual tracking tools, you will find detailed information on how you can delete or manage your data.
Google is an active participant in the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework, which regulates the correct and secure transfer of personal data. For more information, please visit https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt000000001L5AAI&tid=311150052. If you would like to learn more about Google Tag Manager, we recommend reading the FAQs at https://www.google.com/intl/de/tagmanager/faq.html.
GOOGLE ANALYTICS PRIVACY POLICY
We use the Google Analytics (GA) analysis tracking tool from the American company Google LLC (1600 Amphitheatre Parkway Mountain View, CA 94043, USA) on our website. Google Analytics collects data about your actions on our website. For example, when you click on a link, this action is stored in a cookie and sent to Google Analytics. The reports we receive from Google Analytics help us to better tailor our website and services to your needs. Below, we provide more detailed information about the tracking tool and, in particular, what data is stored and how you can prevent this.
WHAT IS GOOGLE ANALYTICS?
Google Analytics is a tracking tool that analyzes traffic on our website. For Google Analytics to work, a tracking code is embedded in our website's code. When you visit our website, this code records various actions you perform on our website. As soon as you leave our website, this data is sent to the Google Analytics servers and stored there.
Google processes the data and we receive reports on your user behavior. These reports may include the following:
- Target group reports: Target group reports help us get to know our users better and gain a more accurate understanding of who is interested in our service.
- Advertising reports: Advertising reports make it easier for us to analyze and improve our online advertising.
- Acquisition reports: Acquisition reports provide us with helpful information on how we can get more people excited about our service.
- Behavior reports: Here we learn how you interact with our website. We can track the path you take on our site and which links you click on.
- Conversion reports: Conversion refers to a process in which you perform a desired action based on a marketing message. For example, when you go from being a mere website visitor to a buyer or newsletter subscriber. These reports help us learn more about how our marketing measures are received by you. This is how we aim to increase our conversion rate.
- Real-time reports: Here, we always find out immediately what is happening on our website. For example, we can see how many users are currently reading this text.
WHY DO WE USE GOOGLE ANALYTICS ON OUR WEBSITE?
Our goal with this website is clear: we want to offer you the best possible service. The statistics and data from Google Analytics 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 so that it is easier for interested people to find on Google. On the other hand, the data helps us to better understand you as a visitor. This means we know exactly what we need to improve on our website in order to offer you the best possible service. The data also helps us to tailor our advertising and marketing activities more effectively and cost-efficiently. After all, it only makes sense to show our products and services to people who are interested in them.
WHAT DATA IS STORED BY GOOGLE ANALYTICS?
Google Analytics uses a tracking code to create a random, unique ID that is linked to your browser cookie. This allows Google Analytics to recognize you as a new user. The next time you visit our site, you will be recognized as a "returning" user. All collected data is stored together with this user ID. This is what makes it possible to evaluate pseudonymous user profiles in the first place.
Your interactions on our website are measured using identifiers such as cookies and app instance IDs. Interactions are all types of actions you perform on our website. If you also use other Google systems (such as a Google account), data generated by Google Analytics may be linked to third-party cookies. Google does not share Google Analytics data unless we, as the website operator, approve it. Exceptions may occur if required by law.
The following cookies are used by Google Analytics:
- Name: _ga
Value: 2.1326744211.152311150052-5
Purpose: By default, analytics.js uses the _ga cookie to store the user ID. It is primarily used to distinguish between website visitors.
Expiration date: after 2 years - Name: _gid
Value: 2.1687193234.152311150052-1
Purpose: This cookie is also used to distinguish between website visitors
Expiration date: after 24 hours - Name: _gat_gtag_UA_<property-id>
Wert: 1
Verwendungszweck: Wird zum Senken der Anforderungsrate verwendet. Wenn Google Analytics über den Google Tag Manager bereitgestellt wird, erhält dieser Cookie den Namen _dc_gtm_ <property-id>.
Ablaufdatum: nach 1 Minute - Name: AMP_TOKEN
Value: not specified
Purpose: The cookie has a token that can be used to retrieve a user ID from the AMP client ID service. Other possible values indicate a logout, a request, or an error.
Expiration date: after 30 seconds up to one year - Name: __utma
Value: 1564498958.1564498958.1564498958.1
Purpose: This cookie allows us to track your behavior on the website and measure its performance. The cookie is updated every time information is sent to Google Analytics.
Expiration date: after 2 years - Name: __utmt
Wert: 1
Verwendungszweck: Das Cookie wird wie _gat_gtag_UA_<property-id> zum Drosseln der Anforderungsrate verwendet.
Ablaufdatum: nach 10 Minuten - Name: __utmb
Value: 3.10.1564498958
Purpose: This cookie is used to determine new sessions. It is updated every time new data or information is sent to Google Analytics.
Expiration date: after 30 minutes - Name: __utmc
Value: 167421564
Purpose: This cookie is used to set new sessions for returning visitors. It is a session cookie and is only stored until you close your browser.
Expiration date: After closing the browser - Name: __utmz
Value: m|utmccn=(referral)|utmcmd=referral|utmcct=/
Purpose: This cookie is used to identify the source of visitor traffic to our website. This means that the cookie stores where you came from to reach our website. This could have been another page or an advertisement.
Expiration date: after 6 months - Name: __utmv
Value: not specified
Purpose: This cookie is used to store user-defined data. It is always updated when information is sent to Google Analytics.
Expiration date: after 2 years
Note: This list cannot claim to be exhaustive, as Google constantly changes its choice of cookies.
Here we provide you with an overview of the most important data collected by Google Analytics:
- Heat maps: Google creates so-called heat maps. Heat maps show exactly which areas you click on. This gives us information about where you are "traveling" on our site.
- Session duration: Google defines session duration as the time you spend on our site without leaving the page. If you have been inactive for 20 minutes, the session ends automatically.
- Bounce rate: A bounce occurs when you view only one page on our website and then leave our website.
- Account creation: When you create an account or place an order on our website, Google Analytics collects this data.
- IP address: The IP address is only displayed in abbreviated form so that no unique assignment is possible.
- Location: The IP address can be used to determine the country and your approximate location. This process is also referred to as IP location determination.
- Technical information: Technical information includes, among other things, your browser type, your Internet service provider, and your screen resolution.
- Source: Google Analytics. We are also interested in which website or advertisement brought you to our site.
Other data includes contact details, any ratings, media playback (e.g., if you play a video via our site), sharing content via social media, or adding it to your favorites. This list is not exhaustive and serves only as a general guide to data storage by Google Analytics.
HOW LONG AND WHERE IS THE DATA STORED?
Google has servers all over the world. Most of them are in America, so your data is usually stored on American servers. You can find out exactly where Google's data centers are located here: https://www.google.com/about/datacenters/inside/locations/?hl=de
Your data is distributed across various physical data carriers. This has the advantage that the data can be accessed more quickly and is better protected against manipulation. Every Google data center has appropriate emergency programs for your data. If, for example, Google's hardware fails or natural disasters cripple servers, the risk of service interruption at Google remains low.
Google Analytics has a standard retention period of 26 months for your user data. After this period, your user data is deleted. However, we have the option of choosing the retention period for user data ourselves. There are five options available to us:
- Deletion after 14 months
- Deletion after 26 months
- Deletion after 38 months
- Deletion after 50 months
- No automatic deletion
Once the specified period has expired, the data is deleted once a month. This retention period applies to your data linked to cookies, user recognition, and advertising IDs (e.g., cookies from the DoubleClick domain). Reporting results are based on aggregated data and are stored independently of user data. Aggregated data is a combination of individual data into a larger unit.
HOW CAN I DELETE MY DATA OR PREVENT IT FROM BEING STORED?
Under European Union data protection law, you have the right to obtain information about your data, to update it, to delete it, or to restrict its use. You can prevent Google Analytics from using your data by using the browser add-on to deactivate Google Analytics JavaScript (ga.js, analytics.js, dc.js). You can download and install the browser add-on at https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=de. Please note that this add-on only deactivates data collection by Google Analytics.
If you want to disable, delete, or manage cookies in general (regardless of Google Analytics), there are separate instructions for each browser:
- 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 stored on your computer
- Internet Explorer: Deleting and managing cookies
- Microsoft Edge: Deleting and managing cookies
Google Analytics is an active participant in the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework, which regulates the correct and secure transfer of personal data. For more information, please visit https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt000000001L5AAI&tid=311150052. We hope we have been able to provide you with the most important information about data processing by Google Analytics. If you would like to learn more about the tracking service, we recommend these two links: http://www.google.com/analytics/terms/de.html and https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/6004245?hl=de.
GOOGLE ANALYTICS IP ANONYMIZATION
We have implemented IP address anonymization from Google Analytics on this website. This feature was developed by Google so that this website can comply with applicable data protection regulations and recommendations from local data protection authorities if they prohibit the storage of the full IP address. The anonymization or masking of the IP address takes place as soon as the IP addresses arrive in the Google Analytics data collection network and before the data is stored or processed.
For more information on IP anonymization, please visit https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/2763052?hl=de.
GOOGLE ANALYTICS DEACTIVATION LINK
By clicking on the following deactivation link, you can prevent Google from recording further visits to this website. Please note: Deleting cookies, using your browser's incognito/private mode, or using a different browser will result in data being collected again.
Embedded social media elements Privacy policy
We integrate elements from social media services into our website to display images, videos, and text. When you visit pages that display these elements, data is transferred from your browser to the respective social media service and stored there. We have no access to this data. The following links will take you to the pages of the respective social media services, where you can find explanations of how they handle your data:
- Instagram Privacy Policy: https://help.instagram.com/519522125107875
- The Google Privacy Policy applies to YouTube: https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=de
- Facebook Data Policy: https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy
- Twitter Privacy Policy: https://twitter.com/de/privacy
Facebook Privacy Policy
We use selected Facebook tools from Facebook on our website. Facebook is a social media network owned by Facebook Ireland Ltd., 4 Grand Canal Square, Grand Canal Harbour, Dublin 2 Ireland. These tools enable us to offer you and people who are interested in our products and services the best possible service. Below, we provide an overview of the various Facebook tools, what data is sent to Facebook, and how you can delete this data.
What are Facebook tools?
Among many other products, Facebook also offers what it calls "Facebook Business Tools." That is the official name used by Facebook. However, since the term is not widely known, we have decided to simply refer to them as Facebook tools. These include, among other things:
- Facebook pixel
- social plug-ins (such as the "Like" or "Share" button)
- Facebook Login
- Account Kit
- APIs (application programming interfaces)
- SDKs (collection of programming tools)
- Platform integrations
- plugins
- codes
- specifications
- documentaries
- Technologies and services
These tools enable Facebook to expand its services and obtain information about user activities outside of Facebook.
Why do we use Facebook tools on our website?
We only want to show our services and products to people who are genuinely interested in them. With the help of advertisements (Facebook Ads), we can reach exactly these people. However, in order to show users relevant advertisements, Facebook needs information about people's wishes and needs. This means that information about user behavior (and contact details) on our website is made available to the company. This enables Facebook to collect better user data and show interested people relevant advertisements about our products or services. The tools thus enable customized advertising campaigns on Facebook.
Facebook refers to data about your behavior on our website as "event data." This data is also used for measurement and analysis services. Facebook can thus create "campaign reports" on our behalf about the effectiveness of our advertising campaigns. Furthermore, analyses give us better insight into how you use our services, website, or products. This allows us to optimize your user experience on our website with some of these tools. For example, you can use social plug-ins to share content on our site directly on Facebook.
What data is stored by Facebook tools?
Personal data (customer data) may be sent to Facebook when using individual Facebook tools. Depending on the tools used, customer data such as name, address, telephone number, and IP address may be sent.
Facebook uses this information to compare the data with its own data that it has about you (if you are a Facebook member). Before customer data is transmitted to Facebook, it undergoes a process known as "hashing." This means that a data set of any size is transformed into a character string. This also serves to encrypt data.
In addition to contact details, "event data" is also transmitted. "Event data" refers to the information we receive about you on our website. For example, which subpages you visit or which products you purchase from us. Facebook does not share the information it receives with third parties (such as advertisers) unless the company has explicit permission or is legally required to do so. "Event data" can also be linked to contact details. This enables Facebook to offer better personalized advertising. After the aforementioned matching process, Facebook deletes the contact details again.
In order to deliver optimized advertisements, Facebook only uses event data when it has been combined with other data (collected by Facebook in other ways). Facebook also uses this event data for security, protection, development, and research purposes. Much of this data is transferred to Facebook via cookies. Cookies are small text files used to store data or information in browsers. Depending on the tools used and whether you are a Facebook member, different numbers of cookies are created in your browser. We go into more detail about individual Facebook cookies in the descriptions of the individual Facebook tools. You can also find general information about the use of Facebook cookies at https://www.facebook.com/policies/cookies.
How long and where is the data stored?
Facebook generally stores data until it is no longer needed for its own services and Facebook products. Facebook has servers located around the world where your data is stored. However, customer data is deleted within 48 hours after it has been matched with your own user data.
How can I delete my data or prevent it from being stored?
In accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation, you have the right to access, correct, transfer, and delete your data.
Your data will only be completely deleted if you delete your Facebook account entirely. Here's how to delete your Facebook account:
- On Facebook, click Settings on the right.
- Then click on "Your Facebook Information" in the left column.
- Now click on "Deactivation and deletion."
- Now select "Delete account" and then click on "Continue and delete account."
- Now enter your password, click on "Continue," and then on "Delete account."
The data that Facebook receives via our site is stored using cookies (e.g. for social plugins). You can disable, delete, or manage individual or all cookies in your browser. Depending on which browser you use, this works in different ways. The following instructions show you how to manage cookies in your browser:
- 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 stored on your computer
- Internet Explorer: Deleting and managing cookies
- Microsoft Edge: Deleting and managing cookies
If you do not want cookies at all, you can set your browser to always inform you when a cookie is about to be set. This allows you to decide whether to accept or reject each individual cookie.
Facebook is an active participant in the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework, which regulates the correct and secure transfer of personal data. For more information, please visit https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt0000000GnywAAC. We hope we have provided you with the most important information about the use and data processing by Facebook tools. If you would like to learn more about how Facebook uses your data, we recommend that you read the data policy at https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy/update.
LinkedIn Privacy Policy
We use social plug-ins from the social media network LinkedIn, LinkedIn Corporation, 2029 Stierlin Court, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA, on our website. Social plug-ins can be feeds, content sharing, or links to our LinkedIn page. Social plug-ins are clearly marked with the familiar LinkedIn logo and allow you to share interesting content directly from our website, for example. For the European Economic Area and Switzerland, LinkedIn Ireland Unlimited Company Wilton Place in Dublin is responsible for data processing.
By embedding such plug-ins, data can be sent to LinkedIn, stored, and processed there. In this privacy policy, we want to inform you about what data is involved, how the network uses this data, and how you can manage or prevent data storage.
What is LinkedIn?
LinkedIn is the largest social network for business contacts. Unlike Facebook, for example, the company focuses exclusively on establishing business contacts. Companies can use the platform to present their services and products and establish business relationships. Many people also use LinkedIn to search for jobs or to find suitable employees for their own companies. In Germany alone, the network has over 11 million members. In Austria, there are around 1.3 million.
Why do we use LinkedIn on our website?
We know how busy you are. It's impossible to follow all social media channels individually. Even if, as in our case, it would be worthwhile. Because we regularly post interesting news or reports that are worth sharing. That's why we've created the option on our website to share interesting content directly on LinkedIn or link directly to our LinkedIn page. We consider built-in social plug-ins to be an extended service on our website. The data collected by LinkedIn also helps us to show potential advertising measures only to people who are interested in what we have to offer. This means that our service is only shown to people who are genuinely interested in it.
What data does LinkedIn store?
LinkedIn does not store any personal data simply by integrating social plug-ins. LinkedIn refers to this data generated by plug-ins as passive impressions. However, if you click on a social plug-in, for example to share our content, the platform stores personal data as so-called "active impressions." This happens regardless of whether you have a LinkedIn account or not. If you are logged in, the data collected will be assigned to your account.
Your browser establishes a direct connection to LinkedIn's servers when you interact with our plug-ins. This allows the company to log various usage data. In addition to your IP address, this may include login data, device information, or information about your Internet or mobile service provider. If you access LinkedIn services via your smartphone, your location may also be determined (after you have given your consent). LinkedIn may also pass this data on to third-party advertisers in "hashed" form. Hashing means that a data record is converted into a character string. This allows the data to be encrypted so that individuals can no longer be identified.
Most data relating to your user behavior is stored in cookies. These are small text files that are usually placed in your browser. LinkedIn may also use web beacons, pixel tags, display tags, and other device identifiers.
Various tests also show which cookies are set when a user interacts with a social plug-in. The data found cannot claim to be complete and serves only as an example. The following cookies were set without being logged in to LinkedIn:
- Name: bcookie
Value: =2&34aab2aa-2ae1-4d2a-8baf-c2e2d7235c16311150052-
Purpose: This cookie is a so-called "browser ID cookie" and therefore stores your identification number (ID).
Expiration date: After 2 years - Name: lang
Value: v=2&lang=en-US
Purpose: This cookie stores your default or preferred language.
Expiration date: after the end of the session - Name: lidc
Value: 1818367:t=1571904767:s=AQF6KNnJ0G311150052…
Purpose: This cookie is used for routing. Routing records the paths you took to get to LinkedIn and how you navigate through the website.
Expiration date: after 24 hours - Name: rtc
Value: kt0lrv3NF3x3t6xvDgGrZGDKkX
Purpose: No further information could be obtained about this cookie.
Expiration date: after 2 minutes - Name: JSESSIONID
Value: ajax:3111500522900777718326218137
Purpose: This is a session cookie that LinkedIn uses to maintain anonymous user sessions through the server.
Expiration date: after the end of the session - Name: bscookie
Value: “v=1&201910230812…
Purpose: This cookie is a security cookie. LinkedIn describes it as a secure browser ID cookie.
Expiration date: after 2 years - Name: fid
Value: AQHj7Ii23ZBcqAAAA…
Purpose: No further information could be found about this cookie.
Expiration date: after 7 days
Note: LinkedIn also works with third-party providers. That is why we also detected the three Google Analytics cookies _ga and _gat in our test.
How long and where is the data stored?
In principle, LinkedIn retains your personal data for as long as the company deems necessary to provide its services. However, LinkedIn will delete your personal data when you delete your account. In some exceptional cases, LinkedIn may retain some data in aggregated and anonymized form even after you delete your account. Once you delete your account, other people will no longer be able to see your data within one day. LinkedIn generally deletes the data within 30 days. However, LinkedIn retains data if it is necessary to do so for legal reasons. Data that can no longer be attributed to individuals remains stored even after the account is closed. The data is stored on various servers in the US and presumably also in Europe.
How can I delete my data or prevent it from being stored?
You have the right to access and delete your personal data at any time. You can manage, change, and delete your data in your LinkedIn account. You can also request a copy of your personal data from LinkedIn.
How to access the account information in your LinkedIn profile:
On LinkedIn, click on your profile icon and select "Settings & Privacy." Now click on "Privacy" and then on "Change" in the "How LinkedIn uses your data" section. In just a few moments, you can download selected data about your web activity and account history.
You also have the option of preventing LinkedIn from processing data in your browser. As mentioned above, LinkedIn stores most data via cookies that are set in your browser. You can manage, deactivate, or delete these cookies. Depending on which browser you use, the management process works slightly differently. Instructions for the most common browsers can be found here:
- 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 stored on your computer
- Internet Explorer: Deleting and managing cookies
- Microsoft Edge: Deleting and managing cookies
You can also configure your browser so that you are always informed when a cookie is to be set. You can then decide individually whether you want to accept the cookie or not.
LinkedIn is an active participant in the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework. This framework ensures the correct transfer of data between the US and the European Union. You can find out more about this at https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt0000000L0UZAA0. We have attempted to provide you with the most important information about data processing by LinkedIn. At https://www.linkedin.com/legal/privacy-policy, you can learn more about data processing by the social media network LinkedIn.
XING Privacy Policy
We use social plugins from the social media network Xing, operated by Xing SE, Dammtorstraße 30, 20354 Hamburg, Germany, on our website. These functions allow you, for example, to share content on Xing directly from our website, log in via Xing, or follow interesting content. You can recognize the plugins by the company name or the Xing logo. When you visit a website that uses a Xing plug-in, data may be transmitted to the "Xing servers," stored, and evaluated. In this privacy policy, we want to inform you about what data is involved and how you can manage or prevent this data storage.
What is Xing?
Xing is a social network headquartered in Hamburg. The company specializes in managing professional contacts. This means that, unlike other networks, Xing is primarily focused on professional networking. The platform is often used for job searches or to find employees for one's own company. In addition, Xing offers interesting content on various professional topics. Its global counterpart is the American company LinkedIn.
Why do we use Xing on our website?
There is now a flood of social media channels, and we are well aware that your time is very precious. Not every company's social media channel can be scrutinized in detail. That's why we want to make your life as easy as possible so that you can share or follow interesting content directly via our website on Xing. With these "social plug-ins," we are expanding our service on our website. In addition, the data collected by Xing helps us to carry out targeted advertising measures on the platform. This means that our service is only shown to people who are genuinely interested in it.
What data does Xing store?
Xing offers the Share button, the Follow button, and the Log in button as plug-ins for websites. As soon as you open a page where a social plug-in from Xing is integrated, your browser connects to servers in a data center used by Xing. In the case of the Share button, according to Xing, no data is stored that could be directly linked to a specific person. In particular, Xing does not store your IP address. Furthermore, no cookies are set in connection with the Share button. This means that your user behavior is not evaluated. For more information, please visit https://www.xing.com/app/share%3Fop%3Ddata_protection.
With the other Xing plug-ins, cookies are only set in your browser when you interact with the plug-in or click on it. Personal data such as your IP address, browser data, date and time of your page view may be stored by Xing. If you have a XING account and are logged in, the data collected will be assigned to your personal account and the data stored therein.
The following cookies are set in your browser when you click on the Follow or Log in button and are not yet logged in to Xing. Please note that this is an example list and we cannot claim that it is complete:
- Name: AMCVS_0894FF2554F733210A4C98C6%40AdobeOrg
Value: 1
Purpose: This cookie is used to create and store identifications for website visitors.
Expiration date: after the end of the session - Name: c_
Value: 157c609dc9fe7d7ff56064c6de87b019311150052-8
Purpose: We were unable to find any further information about this cookie.
Expiration date: after one day - Name: prevPage
Value: wbm%2FWelcome%2Flogin
Purpose: This cookie stores the URL of the previous website you visited.
Expiration date: after 30 minutes - Name: s_cc
Value: true
Purpose: This Adobe Site Catalyst cookie determines whether cookies are enabled in the browser.
Expiration date: after the end of the session - Name: s_fid
Value: 6897CDCD1013221C-39DDACC982217CD1311150052-2
Purpose: This cookie is used to identify a unique visitor.
Expiration date: after 5 years - Name: visitor_id
Value: fe59fbe5-e9c6-4fca-8776-30d0c1a89c32
Purpose: The visitor cookie contains a unique visitor ID and the unique identifier for your account.
Expiration date: after 2 years - Name: _session_id
Value: 533a0a6641df82b46383da06ea0e84e7311150052-2
Purpose: This cookie creates a temporary session ID that is used as an in-session user ID. The cookie is absolutely necessary to provide the functions of Xing.
Expiration date: after the end of the session
Once you have logged in to Xing or become a member, further personal data will definitely be collected, processed, and stored. Xing also passes on personal data to third parties if this is necessary for its own business purposes, if you have given your consent, or if there is a legal obligation to do so.
How long and where is the data stored?
Xing stores the data on various servers in different data centers. The company stores this data until you delete it or until a user account is deleted. Of course, this only applies to users who are already Xing members.
How can I delete my data or prevent it from being stored?
You have the right to access and delete your personal data at any time. Even if you are not a Xing member, you can prevent possible data processing or manage it according to your preferences via your browser. Most data is stored via cookies. Depending on which browser you use, the management works slightly differently. Instructions for the most common browsers can be found here:
- 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 stored on your computer
- Internet Explorer: Deleting and managing cookies
- Microsoft Edge: Deleting and managing cookies
You can also configure your browser so that you are always informed when a cookie is to be set. You can then decide individually whether you want to accept the cookie or not.
We have tried to provide you with the most important information about data processing by Xing. At https://privacy.xing.com/de/datenschutzerklaerung, you can find out more about data processing by the social media network Xing.
Borlabs Cookie
This website uses Borlabs Cookie, which sets a technically necessary cookie (borlabs-cookie) to store your cookie consent. Borlabs Cookie does not process any personal data.
The borlabs-cookie stores the consents you gave when you entered the website. If you wish to revoke these consents, simply delete the cookie in your browser. When you re-enter/reload the website, you will be asked again for your cookie consent.
Google reCAPTCHA Privacy Policy
Our primary goal is to ensure that our website is as secure and protected as possible for you and for us. To guarantee this, we use Google reCAPTCHA from Google Inc. (1600 Amphitheatre Parkway Mountain View, CA 94043, USA). With reCAPTCHA, we can determine whether you are a real person and not a robot or other spam software. By spam, we mean any unsolicited information that reaches us electronically. With classic CAPTCHAS, you usually had to solve text or image puzzles for verification. With Google's reCAPTCHA, we usually don't have to bother you with such puzzles. In most cases, all you have to do is check a box to confirm that you are not a bot. With the new Invisible reCAPTCHA version, you don't even have to check a box. You can find out exactly how this works and, above all, what data is used for this purpose in the course of this privacy policy.
The legal basis for this use is Article 6 (1) f (lawfulness of processing), as there is a legitimate interest in protecting this website from bots and spam software.
What is reCAPTCHA?
reCAPTCHA is a free captcha service from Google that protects websites from spam software and abuse by non-human visitors. This service is most commonly used when filling out forms on the internet. A captcha service is an automatic Turing test designed to ensure that an action on the internet is performed by a human and not a bot. In the classic Turing test (named after computer scientist Alan Turing), a human determines the difference between a bot and a human. With captchas, this is also done by a computer or software program. Classic captchas work with small tasks that are easy for humans to solve but present considerable difficulties for machines. With reCAPTCHA, you no longer have to actively solve puzzles. The tool uses modern risk techniques to distinguish humans from bots. All you have to do is check the "I am not a robot" text box, or in the case of Invisible reCAPTCHA, even that is no longer necessary. With reCAPTCHA, a JavaScript element is embedded in the source code and the tool then runs in the background and analyzes your user behavior. The software calculates a so-called captcha score from these user actions. Google uses this score to calculate the probability that you are a human even before you enter the captcha. ReCAPTCHA and captchas in general are always used when bots could manipulate or abuse certain actions (such as registrations, surveys, etc.).
Why do we use reCAPTCHA on our website?
We only want to welcome real people to our site. Bots or spam software of any kind are welcome to stay at home. That's why we do everything we can to protect ourselves and offer you the best possible user experience. For this reason, we use Google reCAPTCHA from Google. This allows us to be fairly certain that we remain a "bot-free" website. When you use reCAPTCHA, data is sent to Google, which Google uses to check if you're really a human. So, reCAPTCHA helps keep our website safe and, as a result, keeps you safe too. Without reCAPTCHA, for example, a bot could register as many email addresses as possible during registration in order to subsequently "spam" forums or blogs with unwanted advertising content. With reCAPTCHA, we can prevent such bot attacks.
What data is stored by reCAPTCHA?
ReCAPTCHA collects personal data from users to determine whether the actions on our website are actually performed by humans. This means that the IP address and other data required by Google for the reCAPTCHA service may be sent to Google. IP addresses are almost always truncated within the member states of the EU or other signatory states to the Agreement on the European Economic Area before the data is sent to a server in the US. The IP address is not combined with other data from Google unless you are logged into your Google account while using reCAPTCHA. First, the reCAPTCHA algorithm checks whether Google cookies from other Google services (YouTube, Gmail, etc.) are already placed on your browser. Then, reCAPTCHA sets an additional cookie in your browser and captures a snapshot of your browser window.
The following list of collected browser and user data is not exhaustive. Rather, these are examples of data that, to our knowledge, is processed by Google.
- Referrer URL (the address of the page from which the visitor comes)
- IP address (e.g., 256.123.123.1)
- Information about the operating system (the software that enables your computer to function. Well-known operating systems include Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux)
- Cookies (small text files that store data in your browser)
- Mouse and keyboard behavior (every action you perform with the mouse or keyboard is recorded)
- Date and language settings (the language and date you have preset on your PC will be saved)
- All JavaScript objects (JavaScript is a programming language that enables websites to adapt to the user. JavaScript objects can collect all kinds of data under one name)
- Screen resolution (shows how many pixels the image display consists of)
It is undisputed that Google uses and analyzes this data even before you click on the "I am not a robot" checkbox. With the invisible reCAPTCHA version, you don't even have to check the box, and the entire recognition process runs in the background. Google does not provide detailed information about exactly how much data it stores and what kind of data it stores.
The following cookies are used by reCAPTCHA:
We refer here to the reCAPTCHA demo version from Google at https://www.google.com/recaptcha/api2/demo. All these cookies require a unique identifier for tracking purposes. Here is a list of cookies that Google reCAPTCHA has set on the demo version:
- Name: IDE
Expiration time: after one year
Use: This cookie is set by DoubleClick (also owned by Google) to record and report a user's actions on the website in relation to advertisements. This allows the effectiveness of advertising to be measured and appropriate optimization measures to be taken. IDE is stored in browsers under the domain doubleclick.net.
Example value: WqTUmlnmv_qXyi_DGNPLESKnRNrpgXoy1K-pAZtAkMbHI-311150052 - Name: 1P_JAR
Expiration time: after one month
Use: This cookie collects statistics on website usage and measures conversions. A conversion occurs, for example, when a user becomes a buyer. The cookie is also used to display relevant advertisements to users. Furthermore, the cookie can be used to prevent a user from seeing the same ad more than once.
Example value: 2019-5-14-12 - Name: ANID
Expiration time: after 9 months
Use: We were unable to find out much information about this cookie. Google's privacy policy mentions the cookie in connection with "advertising cookies" such as "DSID," "FLC," "AID," and "TAID." ANID is stored under the domain google.com.
Example value: U7j1v3dZa3111500520xgZFmiqWppRWKOr - Name: CONSENT
Expiration time: after 19 years
Use: The cookie stores the status of a user's consent to use various Google services. CONSENT also serves security purposes by verifying users, preventing login information fraud, and protecting user data from unauthorized attacks.
Example value: YES+AT.de+20150628-20-0 - Name: NID
Expiration time: after 6 months
Use: NID is used by Google to tailor advertisements to your Google search. With the help of the cookie, Google "remembers" your most frequently entered search queries or your previous interaction with advertisements. This ensures that you always receive customized advertisements. The cookie contains a unique ID that Google uses to collect the user's personal settings for advertising purposes.
Example value: 0WmuWqy311150052zILzqV_nmt3sDXwPeM5Q - Name: DV
Expiration time: after 10 minutes
Use: This cookie is set as soon as you check the "I am not a robot" box. The cookie is used by Google Analytics for personalized advertising. DV collects information in anonymized form and is also used to distinguish between users.
Example value: gEAABBCjJMXcI0dSAAAANbqc311150052
Note: This list cannot claim to be exhaustive, as experience has shown that Google frequently changes its choice of cookies.
How long and where is the data stored?
By inserting reCAPTCHA, your data is transferred to the Google server. Even after repeated inquiries, Google has not clearly stated where exactly this data is stored. Without confirmation from Google, it can be assumed that data such as mouse interaction, time spent on the website, or language settings are stored on European or American Google servers. The IP address that your browser transmits to Google is not merged with other Google data from other Google services. However, if you are logged into your Google account while using the reCAPTCHA plug-in, the data will be merged. In this case, Google's different privacy policy applies.
How can I delete my data or prevent it from being stored?
If you do not want any data about you and your behavior to be transmitted to Google, you must log out of Google completely and delete all Google cookies before visiting our website or using the reCAPTCHA software. In principle, the data is automatically transmitted to Google as soon as you visit our site. To delete this data, you must contact Google Support at https://support.google.com/?hl=de&tid=311150052.
By using our website, you agree that Google LLC and its representatives may automatically collect, process, and use data.
You can find out more about reCAPTCHA on Google's web developer page at https://developers.google.com/recaptcha/. Although Google goes into more detail about the technical development of reCAPTCHA here, you will not find any specific information about data storage and data protection issues. A good overview of the basic use of data at Google can be found in the company's own privacy policy at https://www.google.com/intl/de/policies/privacy/.
Source: Created with the data protection generator from AdSimple in cooperation with bauenwir.de
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