Privacy Policy

This English translation is provided for convenience. The legally binding version is the German Datenschutzerklärung.

Privacy Policy and Consents

Table of contents

  1. Objective and responsible entity
  2. General information on data processing
  3. Processing of personal data
  4. Collection of access data
  5. Cookies & reach measurement
  6. Google Analytics
  7. Google Re/Marketing services
  8. Facebook Social Plugins
  9. Facebook Remarketing
  10. Newsletter
  11. Integration of third-party services and content
  12. Rights of users and erasure
  13. Changes to this privacy policy

2. General information on data processing

We process the personal data of users only in compliance with the relevant data protection regulations and in accordance with the principles of data economy and data avoidance. This means that users' data is only processed where there is a legal permission to do so, in particular where the data is necessary for the provision of our contractual services and online services, or is required by law, or where consent has been given.

We take organisational, contractual and technical security measures in line with the current state of the art in order to ensure that the provisions of the data protection laws are complied with, and thereby to protect the data processed by us against accidental or intentional manipulation, loss, destruction or against access by unauthorised persons.

Insofar as, within the scope of this privacy policy, content, tools or other resources of other providers (hereinafter jointly referred to as „third-party providers“) are used and their stated registered office is abroad, it must be assumed that a data transfer takes place to the home countries of the third-party providers. The transfer of data to third countries takes place either on the basis of a legal permission, the consent of the users, or specific contractual clauses that ensure the level of data security required by law.

3. Processing of personal data

In addition to the uses expressly stated in this privacy policy, personal data is processed for the following purposes on the basis of legal permissions or the consent of the users:

  • The provision, execution, maintenance, optimisation and safeguarding of our services and user services;
  • Ensuring effective customer service and technical support.

We only transfer users' data to third parties where this is necessary for billing purposes (e.g. to a payment service provider) or for other purposes where these are necessary in order to fulfil our contractual obligations towards the users (e.g. providing an address to a supplier).

When contacting us (via the contact form or email), the details provided by the user are stored for the purpose of processing the enquiry as well as in case follow-up questions arise.

Personal data is deleted once it has fulfilled its purpose and provided that there are no retention obligations preventing its erasure.

4. Collection of access data

We collect data about every access to the server on which this service is located (so-called server log files). The access data includes the name of the web page accessed, the file, the date and time of access, the volume of data transferred, notification of successful access, browser type and version, the user's operating system, the referrer URL (the previously visited page), the IP address and the requesting provider.

We use the log data, without attributing it to the person of the user or otherwise creating profiles, in accordance with the statutory provisions solely for statistical analyses for the purpose of the operation, security and optimisation of our online offering. However, we reserve the right to check the log data retrospectively if, on the basis of concrete indications, there is a justified suspicion of unlawful use.

5. Cookies & reach measurement

Cookies are pieces of information that are transferred from our web server or web servers of third parties to the users' web browsers and stored there for later retrieval. Users are informed about the use of cookies in the context of pseudonymous reach measurement within this privacy policy.

This online offering can also be viewed with cookies disabled. If users do not want cookies to be stored on their computer, they are asked to disable the corresponding option in the system settings of their browser. Stored cookies can be deleted in the system settings of the browser. Disabling cookies may lead to functional limitations of this online offering.

It is possible to manage many online advertising cookies from companies via the US site http://www.aboutads.info/choices or the EU site http://www.youronlinechoices.com/uk/your-ad-choices/.

6. Google Analytics

We use Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google Inc. („Google“). Google uses cookies. The information generated by the cookie about the users' use of the online offering is generally transferred to a Google server in the USA and stored there.

Google will use this information on our behalf in order to evaluate the users' use of our online offering, to compile reports on the activities within this online offering and to provide us with further services associated with the use of this online offering and internet use. In doing so, pseudonymous usage profiles of the users may be created from the processed data.

We use Google Analytics only with IP anonymisation activated. This means that the users' IP address is shortened by Google within member states of the European Union or in other contracting states of the Agreement on the European Economic Area. Only in exceptional cases is the full IP address transferred to a Google server in the USA and shortened there.

The IP address transmitted by the user's browser is not merged with other data held by Google. Users can prevent the storage of cookies by setting their browser software accordingly; users can also prevent the collection of the data generated by the cookie and relating to their use of the online offering by Google, as well as the processing of this data by Google, by downloading and installing the browser plug-in available under the following link: http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=de.

Further information on the use of data for advertising purposes by Google, as well as setting and objection options, can be found on the websites of Google: https://www.google.com/intl/de/policies/privacy/partners („How Google uses data when you use our partners' sites or apps“), http://www.google.com/policies/technologies/ads („Use of data for advertising purposes“), http://www.google.de/settings/ads („Manage the information Google uses to show you advertising“) and http://www.google.com/ads/preferences („Determine which advertising Google shows you“).

7. Google Re/Marketing services

We use the marketing and remarketing services (in short „Google marketing services“) of Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA, („Google“).

The Google marketing services allow us to display advertisements for and on our website in a more targeted way, in order to present users only with advertisements that potentially match their interests. If, for example, a user is shown advertisements for products they have been interested in on other websites, this is referred to as „remarketing“. For these purposes, when our and other websites on which Google marketing services are active are accessed, a code is executed directly by Google and so-called (re)marketing tags (invisible graphics or code, also referred to as „web beacons“) are integrated into the website. With their help, an individual cookie, i.e. a small file, is stored on the user's device (comparable technologies may be used instead of cookies). The cookies may be set by various domains, including google.com, doubleclick.net, invitemedia.com, admeld.com, googlesyndication.com or googleadservices.com. This file records which websites the user has visited, which content they are interested in and which offers they have clicked on, as well as technical information about the browser and operating system, referring websites, visit time and further details about the use of the online offering. The users' IP address is also recorded, whereby, in the context of Google Analytics, we note that the IP address is shortened within member states of the European Union or in other contracting states of the Agreement on the European Economic Area and is only transferred in full to a Google server in the USA and shortened there in exceptional cases. The IP address is not merged with the user's data within other Google offerings. The aforementioned information may also be combined with such information from other sources. If the user subsequently visits other websites, they can be shown advertisements tailored to their interests.

The users' data is processed pseudonymously within the framework of the Google marketing services. That is, Google does not store and process, for example, the name or email address of the users, but processes the relevant data on a cookie-related basis within pseudonymous user profiles. This means that, from Google's point of view, the advertisements are not managed and displayed for a specifically identified person, but for the cookie holder, regardless of who this cookie holder is. This does not apply if a user has expressly permitted Google to process the data without this pseudonymisation. The information collected about the users by „DoubleClick“ is transmitted to Google and stored on Google's servers in the USA.

The Google marketing services we use include, among others, the online advertising programme „Google AdWords“. In the case of Google AdWords, each AdWords customer receives a different „conversion cookie“. Cookies can therefore not be tracked across the websites of AdWords customers. The information obtained with the help of the cookie is used to compile conversion statistics for AdWords customers who have opted for conversion tracking. The AdWords customers learn the total number of users who clicked on their advertisement and were redirected to a page bearing a conversion tracking tag. However, they do not receive any information that could be used to personally identify users.

On the basis of the Google marketing service „DoubleClick“, we integrate third-party advertisements. DoubleClick uses cookies which enable Google and its partner websites to serve advertisements based on the visits of users to this website or other websites on the internet.

On the basis of the Google marketing service „AdSense“, we also integrate third-party advertisements. AdSense uses cookies which enable Google and its partner websites to serve advertisements based on the visits of users to this website or other websites on the internet.

Another Google marketing service we use is the „Google Tag Manager“, with the help of which further Google analysis and marketing services can be integrated into our website (e.g. „AdWords“, „DoubleClick“ or „Google Analytics“).

Further information on the use of data for marketing purposes by Google can be found on the overview page: https://www.google.com/policies/technologies/ads; Google's privacy policy is available at https://www.google.com/policies/privacy.

If you wish to object to collection by Google marketing services, you can use the setting and opt-out options provided by Google: http://www.google.com/ads/preferences.

8. Facebook Social Plugins

Our online offering uses social plugins („plugins“) of the social network facebook.com, which is operated by Facebook Ireland Ltd., 4 Grand Canal Square, Grand Canal Harbour, Dublin 2, Ireland („Facebook“). The plugins can be recognised by one of the Facebook logos (a white „f“ on a blue tile, the terms „Like“, „Gefällt mir“ or a „thumbs up“ sign) or are marked with the addition „Facebook Social Plugin“. The list and appearance of the Facebook Social Plugins can be viewed here: https://developers.facebook.com/docs/plugins/.

When a user calls up a function of this online offering that contains such a plugin, their device establishes a direct connection with Facebook's servers. The content of the plugin is transmitted by Facebook directly to the user's device and integrated by the latter into the online offering. In doing so, usage profiles of the users may be created from the processed data. We therefore have no influence on the extent of the data that Facebook collects with the help of this plugin, and inform users according to our state of knowledge.

Through the integration of the plugins, Facebook receives the information that a user has accessed the corresponding page of the online offering. If the user is logged in to Facebook, Facebook can attribute the visit to their Facebook account. When users interact with the plugins, for example by pressing the Like button or leaving a comment, the corresponding information is transmitted directly from their device to Facebook and stored there. If a user is not a member of Facebook, there is nevertheless the possibility that Facebook will find out and store their IP address. According to Facebook, only an anonymised IP address is stored in Germany.

The purpose and scope of the data collection and the further processing and use of the data by Facebook, as well as the related rights and setting options for protecting the privacy of users, can be found in Facebook's data protection notices: https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy/.

If a user is a Facebook member and does not want Facebook to collect data about them via this online offering and link it with their membership data stored on Facebook, they must log out of Facebook and delete their cookies before using our online offering. Further settings and objections to the use of data for advertising purposes are possible within the Facebook profile settings: https://www.facebook.com/settings?tab=ads or via the US site http://www.aboutads.info/choices/ or the EU site http://www.youronlinechoices.com/. The settings are platform-independent, i.e. they are applied to all devices, such as desktop computers or mobile devices.

9. Facebook Remarketing

Within our online offering, so-called „Facebook pixels“ of the social network Facebook, which is operated by Facebook Inc., 1 Hacker Way, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA, or, if you are resident in the EU, by Facebook Ireland Ltd., 4 Grand Canal Square, Grand Canal Harbour, Dublin 2, Ireland („Facebook“), are used. With the help of the Facebook pixel, it is possible for Facebook to determine the visitors of our offering as a target group for the display of advertisements, so-called „Facebook ads“. Accordingly, we use the Facebook pixel in order to display the Facebook ads placed by us only to those Facebook users who have also shown an interest in our online offering. This means that, with the help of the Facebook pixel, we want to ensure that our Facebook ads correspond to the potential interest of the users and do not have a harassing effect. With the help of the Facebook pixel, we can further track the effectiveness of the Facebook advertisements for statistical and market research purposes by seeing whether users were redirected to our website after clicking on a Facebook advertisement.

The Facebook pixel is integrated directly by Facebook when our web pages are accessed and can store a so-called cookie, i.e. a small file, on your device. If you subsequently log in to Facebook or visit Facebook while logged in, the visit to our offering is recorded in your profile. The data collected about you is anonymous for us, so it does not allow us to draw any conclusions about the identity of the users. However, the data is stored and processed by Facebook, so that a connection to the respective user profile is possible. The processing of the data by Facebook takes place within the framework of Facebook's data usage policy. Accordingly, you can find further information on how the remarketing pixel works and generally on the display of Facebook ads in Facebook's data usage policy: https://www.facebook.com/policy.php.

You can object to the collection by the Facebook pixel and the use of your data for the display of Facebook ads. To do so, you can call up the page set up by Facebook and follow the instructions there on the settings for usage-based advertising: https://www.facebook.com/settings?tab=ads or declare the objection via the US site http://www.aboutads.info/choices/ or the EU site http://www.youronlinechoices.com/. The settings are platform-independent, i.e. they are applied to all devices, such as desktop computers or mobile devices.

10. Newsletter

With the following information, we inform you about the contents of our newsletter as well as the registration, dispatch and statistical evaluation procedures, and about your rights of objection. By subscribing to our newsletter, you agree to receive it and to the procedures described.

Content of the newsletter: We send newsletters, emails and further electronic notifications with promotional information (hereinafter „newsletter“) only with the consent of the recipients or a legal permission. Insofar as the contents of the newsletter are specifically described within the scope of a registration for the newsletter, they are decisive for the users' consent. Otherwise, our newsletters contain the following information: our products, offers, promotions and our company.

Double opt-in and logging: Registration for our newsletter takes place by means of a so-called double opt-in procedure. That is, after registering you receive an email asking you to confirm your registration. This confirmation is necessary so that no one can register with someone else's email address. Registrations for the newsletter are logged in order to be able to prove the registration process in accordance with the legal requirements. This includes the storage of the registration and confirmation time, as well as the IP address. The changes to your data stored with the dispatch service provider are also logged.

Dispatch service provider: The newsletter is dispatched by means of „Campaign Monitor“ (hereinafter referred to as „dispatch service provider“). You can view the data protection provisions of the dispatch service provider here: https://www.campaignmonitor.com/policies/#privacy-policy.

The email addresses of our newsletter recipients, as well as their further data described within the scope of these notes, are stored on the servers of the dispatch service provider. The dispatch service provider uses this information to send and evaluate the newsletters on our behalf. Furthermore, according to its own information, the dispatch service provider may use this data to optimise or improve its own services, e.g. for the technical optimisation of the dispatch and the presentation of the newsletters or for economic purposes, in order to determine from which countries the recipients come. However, the dispatch service provider does not use the data of our newsletter recipients to write to them itself or to pass it on to third parties.

Registration data: In order to register for the newsletter, it is sufficient to provide your email address.

Statistical collection and analyses – The newsletters contain a so-called „web beacon“, i.e. a pixel-sized file that is retrieved from the server of the dispatch service provider when the newsletter is opened. Within the scope of this retrieval, technical information is initially collected, such as information about the browser and your system, as well as your IP address and the time of retrieval. This information is used for the technical improvement of the services on the basis of the technical data or the target groups and their reading behaviour on the basis of their retrieval locations (which can be determined with the help of the IP address) or the access times. The statistical collection also includes determining whether the newsletters are opened, when they are opened and which links are clicked. For technical reasons, this information can be attributed to the individual newsletter recipients. However, it is neither our endeavour nor that of the dispatch service provider to observe individual users. The evaluations serve us much more to recognise the reading habits of our users and to adapt our content to them or to send different content in accordance with the interests of our users.

Cancellation/revocation – You can cancel the receipt of our newsletter at any time, i.e. revoke your consents. This simultaneously extinguishes your consents to its dispatch by the dispatch service provider and to the statistical analyses. Unfortunately, a separate revocation of the dispatch by the dispatch service provider or the statistical evaluation is not possible. You will find a link to cancel the newsletter at the end of every newsletter.

11. Integration of third-party services and content

It may happen that, within our online offering, content or services of third-party providers, such as city maps or fonts from other websites, are integrated. The integration of content of the third-party providers always presupposes that the third-party providers perceive the users' IP address, as without the IP address they would not be able to send the content to the users' browser. The IP address is therefore necessary for the display of this content. Furthermore, the providers of the third-party content can set their own cookies and process the users' data for their own purposes. In doing so, usage profiles of the users may be created from the processed data. We will use this content as sparingly and data-avoidingly as possible and, with regard to data security, will choose reliable third-party providers.

The following overview provides a list of third-party providers as well as their content, together with links to their privacy policies, which contain further information on the processing of data and, in some cases already mentioned here, objection options (so-called opt-out):

12. Rights of users and erasure of data

Users have the right, upon request and free of charge, to receive information about the personal data that we have stored about them. In addition, users have the right to rectification of incorrect data, revocation of consents, blocking and erasure of their personal data, as well as the right to lodge a complaint with the competent supervisory authority in the event of an assumption of unlawful data processing.

The data stored by us is deleted as soon as it is no longer required for its intended purpose and provided that no statutory retention obligations prevent its erasure.

13. Changes to this privacy policy

We reserve the right to change the privacy policy in order to adapt it to changed legal situations, or in the event of changes to the service as well as the data processing. However, this only applies with regard to declarations on data processing. Insofar as the consent of the users is required or components of the privacy policy contain provisions of the contractual relationship with the users, the changes are only made with the consent of the users. Users are requested to inform themselves regularly about the content of the privacy policy.

As at: 23/05/2018 13:27