Privacy Policy

We have drafted this Privacy Policy (Version 10/09/2019-311115336) to explain to you, in accordance with the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679, what information we collect, how we use data, and what choices you have as a visitor to this website. Unfortunately, it is in the nature of things that these explanations sound very technical; however, we have made every effort to describe the most important points as simply and clearly as possible.
Automatic Data Storage
When you visit websites today, certain information is automatically generated and stored, and this is also the case on this website.
When you visit our website, as you are doing right now, our web server (the computer on which this website is hosted) automatically stores data such as the address (URL) of the webpage accessed, the browser and browser version, the operating system used, the address (URL) of the previously visited page (referrer URL) the hostname and IP address of the device from which the site is accessed the 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 disclose this data; however, we cannot rule out the possibility that this data may be accessed in the event of unlawful conduct. The legal basis, pursuant to Article 6(1)(f) of the GDPR (Lawfulness of Processing), is that there is a legitimate interest in ensuring the error-free operation of this website through the collection of 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 browse the internet, you use a browser. Well-known browsers include Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Microsoft Edge. Most websites store small text files in your browser. These files are called cookies. One thing is undeniable: cookies are really useful little helpers. Almost all websites use cookies. More specifically, they are HTTP cookies, as there are other types of cookies for different applications. HTTP cookies are small files stored on your computer by our website. These cookie files are automatically placed 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 sends the “user-related” information back to our site. Thanks to cookies, our website knows who you are and provides you with your usual default settings. In some browsers, each cookie has its own file; 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; third-party cookies are created by partner websites (e.g., Google Analytics). Each cookie must be evaluated individually, as each cookie stores different data. The expiration time of a cookie also varies from a few minutes to a few years. Cookies are not software programs and do not contain viruses, Trojans, or other “malware.” Cookies also cannot access information on your PC.
Here is an example of what cookie data might look like:
Name: _ga
Expiration: 2 years
Purpose: Distinguishing website visitors
Example value: GA1.2.1326744211.152311115336
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 storable
What types of cookies are there?
The specific cookies we use depend on the services employed and are explained in the following sections of the privacy policy. Here, we would like to briefly discuss the different types of HTTP cookies.
There are 4 types of cookies:
Strictly necessary cookies
These cookies are necessary to ensure the website’s basic functions. For example, these cookies are needed when a user adds a product to the shopping cart, then continues browsing other pages, and only proceeds to checkout later. These cookies ensure that the shopping cart is not cleared, 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. Additionally, these cookies are used to measure the loading time and the website’s performance across different browsers.
Targeted cookies
These cookies improve user-friendliness. For example, they store entered locations, font sizes, or form data.
Advertising cookies
These cookies are also called targeting cookies. They are used to deliver personalized ads to the user. This can be very convenient, but also very annoying.
Usually, when you visit a website for the first time, you’ll be asked which of these cookie types you’d like 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 disable them. For example, you can block third-party cookies but allow all other cookies. If you want to see 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: Manage cookies and website data with Safari
Firefox: Delete cookies to remove data that websites have stored on your computer
Internet Explorer: Delete and manage cookies
Microsoft Edge: Delete and manage cookies
If you generally do not want cookies, you can set your browser to always notify you when a cookie is about to be set. This allows you to decide for each individual cookie whether to allow it or not. The procedure varies depending on the browser. The best approach is to search for instructions on Google using the search terms “delete cookies Chrome” or “disable cookies Chrome” if you’re using the Chrome browser, or replace the word “Chrome” with the name of your browser, e.g., Edge, Firefox, Safari.
What about my privacy?
The so-called “Cookie Directive” has been in effect since 2009. It stipulates that the storage of cookies requires the consent of the website visitor (i.e., you). However, within the EU countries, there are still very different responses to these guidelines. In Germany, the Cookie Directive has 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 averse to technical documentation, we recommend https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc6265, the Request for Comments from the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) titled “HTTP State Management Mechanism.”
Storage of Personal Data
Personal data that you transmit to us electronically via this website, such as your name, email address, mailing address, or other personal details provided when submitting a form, is used by us—along with the time and IP address—solely for the purpose specified in each instance, securely stored, and not disclosed to third parties.
We therefore use your personal data only to communicate with visitors who expressly request contact and to process the services and products offered on this website. We do not disclose your personal data without your consent; however, we cannot rule out the possibility that this data may be accessed in the event of unlawful conduct.
If you send us personal data via email—i.e., outside of this website—we cannot guarantee secure transmission or the protection of your data. We recommend that you never transmit confidential data via email without encryption.
The legal basis, pursuant to Article 6(1)(a) of the GDPR (Lawfulness of Processing), is that you give us your consent to process the data you have entered. You may 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
Under 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 be notified – 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 of the 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 otherwise been infringed, you may contact the Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (BfDI).
TLS encryption with HTTPS
We use HTTPS to transmit data securely over the internet (data protection through technology design, Article 25(1) of the GDPR). By using TLS (Transport Layer Security), an encryption protocol for secure data transmission over the Internet, we can ensure the protection of confidential data. You can recognize the use of this data transmission security by the small padlock icon in the upper left corner of the browser and the use of the https scheme (instead of http) as part of our web address.
Google AdSense Privacy Policy
We use Google AdSense on this website, the advertising program of Google Inc. (1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA). With Google AdSense, we can display advertisements on this website that are relevant to our content. This allows us to offer you ads that ideally provide real value to you. In this privacy policy regarding Google AdSense, we explain why we use Google AdSense on , what data is processed and stored about you, and how you can prevent this data storage. The legal basis for the use of Google AdSense is Article 6(1)(f) (Lawfulness of Processing), as there is a legitimate interest in carrying out targeted advertising measures.
What is Google AdSense?
Google AdSense has been around since 2003 and is an advertising program offered by Google. Unlike Google Ads (formerly Google AdWords), you cannot place ads yourself here. Google AdSense displays ads on websites, such as ours. The biggest advantage of this advertising service compared to many others is that Google AdSense only shows you ads that match our content. Google has its own algorithm that determines which ads you see. Of course, we only want to show you ads that interest you and provide you with value. Google uses your interests and user behavior, along with our website’s content, to determine which ads are suitable for our website and our users. We’d also like to note here that we are not responsible for the selection of these ads. We merely provide the advertising space on our website. Google selects the ads that are displayed. Since August 2013, the ads have also been adapted to the respective user interface. This means that whether you visit our website from your smartphone, PC, or laptop, the ads adapt to your device.
Why do we use Google AdSense on our website?
Running a high-quality website requires a lot of dedication and hard work. Basically, we’re never done working on our website. We always try to maintain our site and keep it as up-to-date as possible. Of course, we also want to achieve financial success through this work. That’s why we’ve chosen advertisements as a source of revenue. The most important thing for us, however, is not to disrupt your visit to our website with these ads. With the help of Google AdSense, you are only shown ads that match our topics and your interests. Similar to Google’s indexing of a website, a bot analyzes the relevant content and offerings on our website. The ads are then tailored to match that content and displayed on the website. In addition to the content overlap between ads and website content, AdSense also supports interest-based targeting. This means that Google also uses your data to offer you personalized ads. This way, you receive ads that ideally offer you real added value, and we have a better chance of earning a little something.
What data does Google AdSense store?
Google AdSense uses cookies, among other things, to display personalized ads tailored to you. Cookies are small text files that store certain information on your computer. In AdSense, cookies are intended to enable better advertising. The cookies do not contain any personally identifiable data. However, it should be noted that Google considers data such as “pseudonymous cookie IDs” (where a name or other identifying feature is replaced by a pseudonym) or IP addresses to be non-personally identifiable information. Under the GDPR, however, this data may be considered personal data. Google AdSense sends a cookie to the browser after every impression (which occurs whenever you see an ad), every click, and every other activity that results in a request to the Google AdSense servers. If the browser accepts the cookie, it is stored there. Third-party providers may, under certain circumstances, place and read cookies in your browser or use web beacons to store data they receive through the display of ads on the website. Web beacons are small graphics that enable log file recording and log file analysis. This analysis allows for statistical evaluation for online marketing.
Google may use these cookies to collect certain information about your user behavior on our website. This includes:
Information on how you interact with an ad (clicks, impressions, mouse movements)
Information on whether an ad has already appeared in your browser at an earlier time. This data helps ensure that an ad is not shown to you more frequently.
In doing so, Google analyzes the data regarding the displayed advertisements and your IP address and evaluates it. Google primarily uses the data to measure the effectiveness of an ad and to improve its advertising offerings. This data is not linked to any personal data that Google may have about you from other Google services.
Below, we present the cookies that Google AdSense uses for tracking purposes. We are referring to a test website that has Google AdSense installed exclusively:
Name: uid
Expiration: after 2 months
Purpose: The cookie is stored under the domain adform.net. It provides a uniquely assigned, machine-generated user ID and collects data about activity on our website.
Example value: 891269189311115336
Name: C
Expiration: after 1 month
Purpose: This cookie determines whether your browser accepts cookies. The cookie is stored under the domain track.adform.net.
Example value: 1
Name: cid
Expiration: after 2 months
Purpose: This cookie is stored under the domain track.adform.net, stands for Client ID, and is used to improve the advertising experience for you. It can deliver more relevant ads to the visitor and helps improve campaign performance reports.
Example value: 8912691894970695056,0,0,0,0
Name: IDE
Expiration: after 1 month
Purpose: This cookie is stored under the domain doubkeklick.net. It is used to track your actions after viewing or clicking an ad. This allows us to measure how well an ad is received by our visitors.
Example value: zOtj4TWxwbFDjaATZ2TzNaQmxrU311115336
Name: test_cookie
Expiration: after 1 month
Purpose: The «test_cookie» is used to check whether your browser supports cookies at all. The cookie is stored under the domain doubkeklick.net.
Example value: not specified
Name: CT592996
Expiration: after one hour
Purpose: Stored under the domain adform.net. The cookie is set as soon as you click on an advertisement. We were unable to obtain more detailed information about the use of this cookie.
Example value: 733366
Note: This list is not exhaustive, as Google frequently changes its cookie settings.
How long and where is the data stored?
Google records your IP address and various activities you perform on the website. Cookies store this information regarding interactions on our website. According to Google, the company collects and stores the specified information securely on its own Google servers in the U.S. at . If you do not have a Google account or are not logged in, Google typically stores the collected data with a unique identifier (ID) on your browser. The unique IDs stored in cookies are used, for example, to ensure personalized advertising. If you are logged into a Google account, Google may also collect personal data. You can delete some of the data that Google stores at any time (see next section). Much of the information stored in cookies is automatically deleted after a certain period of time. However, there is also data that Google stores for a longer period. This is the case when Google must store certain data for an indefinite, extended period due to economic or legal requirements. How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?
You always have the option to delete or disable cookies stored on your computer. How exactly this works depends on your browser.
Here are instructions on how to manage cookies in your browser:
Chrome: Delete, enable, and manage cookies in Chrome
Safari: Manage cookies and website data with Safari
Firefox: Delete cookies to remove data that websites have stored on your computer
Internet Explorer: Delete and manage cookies
Microsoft Edge: Delete and manage cookies
If you do not want to have cookies at all, you can set your browser to always notify you when a cookie is about to be set. This allows you to decide for each individual cookie whether to allow it or not. Downloading and installing this browser plug-in at https://support.google.com/ads/answer/7395996 will also disable all “advertising cookies.” Please note that disabling these cookies does not prevent ads from appearing; it only prevents personalized advertising.
If you have a Google account, you can disable personalized ads on the website https://adssettings.google.com/authenticated. You will still see ads here, but they will no longer be tailored to your interests. However, the ads will still be displayed based on a few factors such as your location (derived from your IP address), your browser type, and the search terms you use.
You can read about what data Google generally collects and how it uses this data at https://www.google.com/intl/de/policies/privacy/.
Google Analytics Privacy Policy
We use Google Analytics from Google LLC (1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA) on this website to statistically analyze visitor data. Google Analytics uses targeted cookies for this purpose.
Google Analytics Cookies
_ga
Expiration period: 2 years
Purpose: To distinguish website visitors
Example value: GA1.2.1326744211.152311115336
_gid
Expiration time: 24 hours
Purpose: Distinguishing website visitors
Example value: GA1.2.1687193234.152311115336
_gat_gtag_UA_<property-id>
Expiration time: 1 minute
Purpose: Used to throttle the request rate. If Google Analytics is deployed via Google Tag Manager, this cookie is named _dc_gtm_ <property-id>.
Example value: 1
For more information on terms of use and privacy, please visit http://www.google.com/analytics/terms/de.html or https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/6004245?hl=de.
Pseudonymization
Our goal, in accordance with the GDPR, is to improve our offerings and our website. Since the privacy of our users is important to us, user data is pseudonymized. Data processing is carried out on the basis of the legal provisions of Article 6(1)(a) (consent) and/or (f) (legitimate interest) of the GDPR.
Disabling data collection by Google Analytics
Using the browser add-on to disable Google Analytics JavaScript (ga.js, analytics.js, dc.js), website visitors can prevent Google Analytics from using their data.
You can prevent the collection of data generated by the cookie and related to your use of the website by Google, as well as the processing of this data by Google, by downloading and installing the browser plugin available at the following link: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=de
Google Maps Privacy Policy
We use Google Maps from Google Inc. (1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA) on our website. When you use the features of this map, data is transmitted to Google. You can read about what data Google collects and how it is used at https://www.google.com/intl/de/policies/privacy/.
Embedded Social Media Elements Privacy Policy
We embed elements from social media services on our website to display images, videos, and text. When you visit pages that display these elements, data is transmitted from your browser to the respective social media service and stored there. We do not have access to this data. The following links will take you to the pages of the respective social media services where they explain 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 Privacy Policy: https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy
Twitter Privacy Policy: https://twitter.com/de/privacy
YouTube Privacy Policy
On this site, we use the video service YouTube, provided by YouTube, LLC, 901 Cherry Ave., San Bruno, CA 94066, USA.
When you visit pages on our website that include embedded YouTube videos, data is transmitted to, stored by, and analyzed by YouTube.
If you have a YouTube account and are logged in, this data will be associated with your personal account and the data stored therein. You can read about what data Google collects and how it is used at https://www.google.com/intl/de/policies/privacy/.
Google+ Privacy Policy
We use features from Google+, the social network operated by Google Inc. (1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA), on our website. If you wish to make full use of the features offered, you need a Google account. Even when using the features (Google +1 buttons, Google+ badge, Follow button, Google+ Share button and link, Sign-In button, Hangout button) without a Google account, information is already transmitted to Google. If you are logged in with your Google account while using the features listed above, your data will be published worldwide depending on your settings at https://plus.google.com/settings/, collected by Google, and analyzed at . You can read about what data Google collects and how it is used at https://www.google.com/intl/de/policies/privacy/.