Data protection
We have drawn up this data protection declaration (version 18.05.2020-311178104) to explain to you, in accordance with the provisions of the basic data protection regulation (EU) 2016/679, what information we collect, how we use data and what decision-making options you have as a visitor to this website.
Unfortunately it is in the nature of things that these explanations sound very technical, but we have tried to describe the most important things as simple and clear as possible.
Automatic data storage
Nowadays, when you visit websites, certain information is created and stored automatically, as is the case on this website.
When you visit our website as you are now, our web server (computer on which this website is stored) automatically saves data such as
- the address (URL) of the accessed website
- 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 made
- Date and time
in files (web server log files).
Usually web server log files are stored for two weeks and then automatically deleted. We do not pass on this data, but cannot exclude the possibility that this data may be viewed in the event of unlawful behaviour.
Cookies
Our website uses HTTP cookies to store user-specific data.
In the following 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. 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.
There is one thing that cannot be dismissed: Cookies are really useful little helpers. Almost all websites use cookies. More precisely, they are HTTP cookies, since there are also other cookies for other applications. HTTP cookies are small files that are stored on your computer by our website. These cookie files are automatically stored in the cookie folder, 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 the cookies, our website knows who you are and offers you your accustomed standard 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 from our site, third-party cookies are created by partner sites (e.g. Google Analytics). Each cookie must be evaluated individually, as each cookie stores different data. The expiration time of a cookie also varies from a few minutes to a few years. Cookies are not software programs and do not contain viruses, trojans or other „pests“. Cookies also cannot access information on your PC.
Cookie data can look like this, for example:
- Name: _ga
- Expiration period: 2 years
- Usage: differentiation of website visitors
- Example value: GA1.2.1326744211.152311178104
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 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 in particular depends on the services used and is clarified in the following sections of the privacy policy. At this point we would like to briefly discuss the different types of HTTP cookies.
One can distinguish 4 types of cookies:
Essential Cookies
, These cookies are necessary to ensure basic functions of the website. For example, these cookies are needed when a user places a product in the shopping cart, then continues surfing on other pages and only goes to checkout later. These cookies do not delete the shopping cart, even if the user closes his 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 the behaviour of the website in different browsers.
Target-oriented cookies
, These cookies ensure a better user experience. For example, entered locations, font sizes or form data are stored.
Advertising cookies
, These cookies are also called targeting cookies. They serve to provide the user with individually tailored advertising. This can be very practical, but also very annoying.
Usually the first time you visit a website, you will be asked which of these cookie types you wish to accept. And of course this decision is also stored in a cookie.
How can I delete cookies?
You decide yourself how and whether you want to use cookies. Regardless of the service or website from which the cookies originate, you always have the option of deleting, partially allowing or deactivating cookies. 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 when you change or delete cookie settings, you can find this in your browser settings:
Chrome: Delete, activate and manage cookies in Chrome
Safari: Manage cookies and website data with Safari
Firefox: delete cookies to remove data that websites have placed on your computer
Internet Explorer: Delete and manage cookies
Microsoft Edge: Delete and manage cookies
If you do not want cookies, you can set up your browser so that it always informs you when a cookie is to be set. So you can decide for each individual cookie whether you allow the cookie or not. The procedure is different depending on the browser. So you can decide for each individual cookie whether you allow the cookie or not.
What about my data privacy?
The so-called „cookie guidelines“ have been in place since 2009. It states that the storage of cookies requires the consent of the website visitor (i.e. you). Within the EU countries, however, there are still very different reactions to these directives. In Germany the Cookie Guidelines have not been implemented as national law. Instead, this directive was largely implemented in Section 15 (3) of the Telemedia Act (TMG).
If you want to know more about cookies and are not afraid of technical documentation, we recommend https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc6265, the Request for Comments of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) called „HTTP State Management Mechanism“.
Storage of personal data
Personal data that you submit to us electronically on this website, such as your name, e-mail address, postal address or other personal information when submitting a form or comments on the blog, together with the time and IP address, will only be used by us for the purpose stated in each case, will be stored securely and will not be passed on to third parties.
We therefore only use their personal data for communication with those visitors who expressly wish to contact us and for processing the services and products offered on this website. We do not pass on your personal data without your consent, but we cannot exclude the possibility that this data may be viewed in the event of unlawful behaviour.
If you send us personal data by e-mail – thus not on this website – we cannot guarantee secure transmission and protection of your data. We recommend that you never send confidential data by e-mail without encryption.
According to Article 6 paragraph 1 a DSGVO (Legality of Processing), the legal basis is that you give us your consent to process the data you have entered. You can revoke this consent at any time – an informal e-mail is sufficient, you will find our contact details in the imprint.
Rights under the basic data protection regulation
According to the provisions of the DSGVO, you are basically entitled to the following rights:
- Right of rectification (Article 16 DSGVO)
- Right of deletion („right to be forgotten“) (Article 17 DSGVO)
- Right to restrict processing (Article 18 DSGVO)
- Right of notification – Notification obligation in connection with the correction or deletion of personal data or the restriction of processing (Article 19 DPA)
- Right to data transferability (Article 20 DSGVO)
- Right of objection (Article 21 DSGVO)
- Right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing, including profiling (Article 22 DSGVO)
If you believe that the processing of your data violates data protection law or your data protection rights have otherwise been violated in any way, you can contact the Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (BfDI).
Analysis of the visitor behaviour
In the following data protection declaration we inform you about whether and how we analyse data from your visit to this website. The analysis of the collected data is usually anonymous and we cannot deduce your identity from your behaviour on this website.
You can find out more about how to object to this analysis of visit data in the following data protection declaration.
TLS encryption with https
We use https to transmit data tap-proof on the Internet ( Data Protection Through Technology Design Article 25 Paragraph 1 DSGVO). 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 scheme https (instead of http) as part of our internet address.
Google Fonts Local Privacy Policy
On our website we use Google Fonts of the company Google Inc. The company Google Ireland Limited (Gordon House, Barrow Street Dublin 4, Ireland) is responsible for the European area. We have integrated the Google fonts locally, i.e. on our web server – not on the servers of Google. This means that there is no connection to Google servers and therefore no data transfer or storage.
What are Google Fonts?
In the past, Google Fonts was also called Google Web Fonts. This is an interactive directory with over 800 fonts, which Google provides free of charge. With Google Fonts you could use fonts without uploading them to your server. But to prevent any transmission of information to Google servers in this regard, we have downloaded the fonts to our server. In this way we act in accordance with data protection and do not send any data to Google Fonts.
Unlike other web fonts, Google allows us unlimited access to all fonts. So we have unlimited access to a sea of fonts to get the most out of our website. More about Google Fonts and other questions can be found at https://developers.google.com/fonts/faq?tid=311178104.
Google Maps Privacy Policy
We use on our website Google Maps of the company Google Inc. For the European region, the company Google Ireland Limited (Gordon House, Barrow Street Dublin 4, Ireland) is responsible for all Google services. With Google Maps we can show you locations better and thus adapt our service to your needs. By using Google Maps, data is transferred to Google and stored on Google’s servers. Here we want to go into more detail about what Google Maps is, why we use this Google service, what data is stored and how you can prevent this.
What is Google Maps?
Google Maps is an Internet map service of the company Google. With Google Maps, you can search online for exact locations of cities, places of interest, accommodations or businesses using a PC, tablet or app. If companies are represented on Google My Business, additional information about the company is displayed next to the location. In order to display directions, map sections of a location can be integrated into a website using HTML code. Google Maps shows the surface of the earth as a road map or as an aerial or satellite image. Thanks to the Street View images and the high-quality satellite images, very accurate representations are possible.
Why do we use Google Maps on our website?
All our efforts on this site are aimed at providing you with a useful and meaningful time on our website. By integrating Google Maps, we can provide you with the most important information on various locations. You can see at a glance where we have our company headquarters. The route description always shows you the best or fastest way to reach us. You can call up the directions for routes by car, public transport, on foot or by bicycle. For us, providing Google Maps is part of our customer service.
Which data is stored by Google Maps?
In order for Google Maps to be able to offer its service fully, the company must collect and store data about you. This includes the search terms entered, your IP address and also the latitude and longitude coordinates. If you use the route planner function, the entered start address is also saved. However, this data storage happens on the websites of Google Maps. We can only inform you about it, but we cannot influence it. Since we have integrated Google Maps into our website, Google sets at least one cookie (name: NID) in your browser. This cookie stores data about your user behaviour. Google uses this data primarily to optimise its own services and to provide individual, personalised advertising for you.
The following cookie is set in your browser due to the integration of Google Maps:
Name: NID
Value: 188=h26c1Ktha7fCQTx8rXgLyATyITJ311178104-5
Purpose: NID is used by Google to adapt advertisements to your Google search. Google uses the cookie to „remember“ your most frequently entered search queries or your previous interaction with ads. So you always get tailor-made advertisements. The cookie contains a unique ID that Google uses to collect your personal preferences for advertising purposes.
Expiration date: after 6 months
Note: We cannot guarantee the completeness of the stored data. Especially when using cookies, changes can never be ruled out. To identify the cookie NID, a separate test page was created where only Google Maps was included.
How long and where is the data stored?
The Google servers are located in data centers around the world. However, most servers are located in America. For this reason, your data also is increasingly stored in the USA. Here you can find out exactly where the Google data centers are located: https://www.google.com/about/datacenters/inside/locations/?hl=en
Google distributes the data on different data carriers. This means that the data can be retrieved more quickly and is better protected against any attempts at manipulation. Each data center also has special emergency programs. For example, if there are problems with the Google hardware or a natural disaster paralyzes the servers, the data is pretty likely still protected.
Google stores some data for a set period of time. For other data, Google only offers the possibility to delete them manually. Furthermore, the Company also anonymizes information (such as advertising data) in server logs by deleting part of the IP address and cookie information after 9 or 18 months, respectively.
How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?
With the automatic deletion of location and activity data introduced in 2019, location and web/app activity information is stored for either 3 or 18 months, depending on your decision, and then deleted. You can also manually delete this information from your history at any time using your Google Account. If you want to completely prevent your location tracking, you’ll need to pause the „Web and App activity“ section in your Google Account. Click „Data and personalization“ and then click the „Activity setting“ option. Here you can switch the activities on or off.
You can also deactivate, delete or manage individual cookies in your browser. Depending on which browser you use, this always works slightly differently. The following instructions show how to manage cookies in your browser:
Chrome: Delete, activate and manage cookies in Chrome
Safari: Manage cookies and website data with Safari
Firefox: delete cookies to remove data that websites have placed on your computer
Internet Explorer: Delete and manage cookies
Microsoft Edge: Delete and manage cookies
If you do not want cookies, you can set up your browser so that it always informs you when a cookie is to be set. So you can decide for each individual cookie whether you allow it or not.
Google is an active participant in the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework, which regulates the correct and secure transfer of personal data. You can find more information on https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt000000001L5AAI. If you would like to learn more about Google’s data processing, we recommend that you read the company’s own privacy policy at https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en.
Google Fonts Privacy Policy
On our website we use Google Fonts. These are the „Google Fonts“ of the company Google Inc. For the European region, the company Google Ireland Limited (Gordon House, Barrow Street Dublin 4, Ireland) is responsible for all Google services.
To use Google fonts, you do not need to sign in or set a password. Furthermore, no cookies are stored in your browser. The files (CSS, fonts) are requested via the Google domains fonts.googleapis.com and fonts.gstatic.com. 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 about submitting your Google Account information to Google while using Google Fonts. Google records the use of CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) and the fonts used and stores this information securely. We will see in detail how the data storage looks like exactly.
What are Google Fonts?
Google Fonts (formerly Google Web Fonts) is a directory of over 800 fonts that Google makes available to its users for free.
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.
Why do we use Google Fonts on our website?
With Google Fonts we can use fonts on our own website, but we do not have to upload them to our own server. Google Fonts is an important component to keep the quality of our website high. All Google fonts are automatically optimized for the web, which saves data volume and is a great advantage especially for use with mobile devices. When you visit our site, the low file size ensures a fast loading time. Furthermore, Google Fonts are secure Web Fonts. Different image synthesis systems (rendering) in different browsers, operating systems and mobile devices can lead to errors. Such errors can visually distort some texts or entire web pages. Thanks to the fast Content Delivery Network (CDN), there are no cross-platform problems with Google Fonts. Google Fonts supports all major 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). So we use the Google fonts to make our entire online service as beautiful and consistent as possible.
Which data is stored by Google?
When you visit our website, the fonts are reloaded via a Google server. Through this external call, data is transmitted to the Google servers. In this way Google also recognizes that you or your IP address visit our website. The Google Fonts API is designed to reduce the use, storage and collection of end-user data to what is necessary for proper font deployment. By the way, 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 and is therefore protected. Through the collected usage figures, Google can determine how well the individual fonts are received. 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. Entrepreneurs and developers use the Google web service BigQuery to examine and move large amounts of data.
It should be noted, however, that each Google Font request automatically sends information such as language settings, IP address, browser version, browser screen resolution and browser name to the Google servers. Whether this data is also stored cannot be clearly determined or is not clearly communicated by Google.
How long and where is the data stored?
Google stores requests for CSS assets for one day on its servers, which are mainly located outside the EU. This allows us to use the fonts with the help of a Google style sheet. A style sheet is a format template that can be used to easily and quickly change e.g. the design or the font of a website.
The font files are stored by Google for one year. With this, Google is pursuing the goal of fundamentally improving the loading time of websites. When millions of web pages link to the same fonts, they are cached after the first visit and reappear immediately on all other web pages visited later. Sometimes Google updates font files to reduce file size, increase language coverage and improve design.
How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?
The data that Google stores for a day or a 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=en&tid=311178104. In this case you only prevent data storage if you do not visit our site.
Im Gegensatz zu anderen Web-Fonts ermöglicht uns Google uneingeschränkten Zugriff auf alle Schriften. So we have unlimited access to a sea of fonts to get the most out of our website. More about Google Fonts and other questions can be found at https://developers.google.com/fonts/faq?tid=311178104. There, Google deals with data protection issues, but really detailed information about data storage is not included. It is relatively difficult to get really accurate information about stored data from Google.
You can also read on https://www.google.com/intl/de/policies/privacy/ which data is basically collected by Google and for what purpose this data is used.
Google Analytics Privacy Policy
On our website we use the analysis tracking tool Google Analytics (GA) of the American company Google Inc. For the European region, the company Google Ireland Limited (Gordon House, Barrow Street Dublin 4, Ireland) is responsible for all Google services. Google Analytics collects data about your actions on our website. 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 better tailor our website and services to your needs. In the following we will go into more detail about the tracking tool and inform you above all about what data is stored and how you can prevent this.
What is Google Analytics?
Google Analytics is a tracking tool that serves to analyse the data traffic on our website. To make Google Analytics work, a tracking code is built into the code of our website. When you visit our website, this code records various actions that 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 get reports about your user behaviour. These reports may include the following:
- Target group reports: Through target group reports we get to know our users better and know exactly who is interested in our service.
- Ad reports: Ad reports make it easier for us to analyze and improve our online advertising.
- Acquisition reports: Acquisition reports give us helpful information on how we can get more people interested in our service.
- User behaviour reports: Here we learn how you interact with our website. We can track which route you take on our site and which links you click on.
- Conversion reports: Conversion is a process in which you perform a desired action based on a marketing message. For example, when you convert from a mere website visitor to a buyer or newsletter subscriber. With the help of these reports we learn more about how our marketing measures are received by you. This is how we want to increase our conversion rate.
- Real-time reports: Here we always know immediately what is happening on our website. For example, we 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 to achieve this goal.
The statistically evaluated data give us a clear picture of the strengths and weaknesses of our website. On the one hand, we can optimize our site so that interested people can find it more easily on Google. On the other hand, the data helps us to better understand you as a visitor. We therefore 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 carry out our advertising and marketing measures more individually and cost-effectively. After all, it only makes sense to show our products and services to people who are interested.
Which data is stored by Google Analytics?
Google Analytics uses a tracking code to create a random, unique ID associated with your browser cookie. This way Google Analytics recognizes 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 the only way to evaluate pseudonymous user profiles.
Labels such as cookies and app instance IDs measure your interactions on our site. Interactions are all kinds 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 pass on any Google Analytics data, unless we as website operator approve this. Exceptions may be made if required by law.
The following cookies are used by Google Analytics:
Name: _ga
Value:2.1326744211.152311178104-5
Purpose: By default, analytics.js uses the _ga cookie to store the user ID. Basically it serves to differentiate between the website visitors.
Expiration date: after 2 years
Name: _gid
Value: 2.1687193234.152311178104-1
Purpose: The cookie also serves to differentiate between website visitors.
Expiration date: after 24 hours
Name: _gat_gtag_UA_<property-id>
Value: 1
Purpose: Used to lower the request rate. If Google Analytics is provided via the Google Tag Manager, this cookie is named _dc_gtm_ <property-id>.
Expiration date: after 1 minute
Name: AMP_TOKEN
Value: no information
Purpose: The cookie has a token with which a User ID can be retrieved 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 can be used to track your behavior on the website and measure performance. The cookie is updated each time information is sent to Google Analytics.
Expiration date: after 2 years
Name: __utmt
Value: 1
Purpose: the cookie isnused, like _gat_gtag_UA_<property-id>, to throttle the request rate.
Expiration date: after 10 minutes
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 establish new sessions for returning visitors. This is a session cookie and is only stored until you close the browser.
Expiration date: After closing the browser
Name: __utmz
Value: m|utmccn=(referral)|utmcmd=referral|utmcct=/
Purpose: The cookie is used to identify the source of traffic to our website. This means that the cookie stores where you came to our website from. This may have been a different page or an advertisement.
Expiration date: after 6 months
Name: __utmv
Value: no information
Purpose: The cookie is used to store user-defined user data. It is always updated when information is sent to Google Analytics.
Expiration date: after 2 years
Note: This list cannot claim to be complete, as Google constantly changes the choice of its cookies.
Here we show you an overview of the most important data collected with Google Analytics:
Heatmaps: Google creates so-called heatmaps. Heatmaps show exactly those areas that you click on. This way we get information where you are „moving“ on our site.
Session duration: Google defines session duration as the time you spend on our site without leaving the site. If you have been inactive for 20 minutes, the session ends automatically.
Bounce rate: A bounce is when you only view 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 information.
IP address: The IP address is only shown in abbreviated form so that no clear assignment is possible.
Location: The IP address can be used to determine the country and your approximate location. This process is also known as IP location tracking.
Technical information: Technical information includes your browser type, Internet service provider, and screen resolution.
Source of origin: Google Analytics or us. Of course we are also interested in which website or which advertisement brought you to our site.
Other data includes contact information, any ratings, playing media (for example, when you play a video on our site), sharing content via social media or adding to your favorites. The list does not claim to be exhaustive and serves only as a general orientation for data storage by Google Analytics.
How long and where is the data stored?
Google has distributed its servers around the world. Most servers are located in America and therefore your data is usually stored on American servers. Here you can find out exactly where the Google data centers are located: https://www.google.com/about/datacenters/inside/locations/?hl=en
Your data is distributed on different physical storage devices. This has the advantage that the data can be retrieved more quickly and is better protected against manipulation. In every Google data center there are appropriate emergency programs for your data. For example, if Google’s hardware fails or natural disasters cripple servers, the risk of service interruption to Google remains low.
Google Analytics has a standard retention period of 26 months for your user data. Then your user data will be deleted. However, we have the possibility to choose the period of retention of user data ourselves. We have five options for this:
- Deletion after 14 months
- Deletion after 26 months
- Deletion after 38 months
- Deletion after 50 months
- No automatic deletion
When 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. DoubleClick domain cookies). Reporting results are based on aggregated data and are stored independently of user data. Aggregated data is a fusion of individual data into a larger unit.
How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?
Under European Union data protection law, you have the right to access, update, delete or restrict your data. By using the browser add-on to disable Google Analytics JavaScript (ga.js, analytics.js, dc.js) you prevent Google Analytics from using your data. You can download and install the browser add-on at https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=en. Please note that this add-on only disables data collection by Google Analytics.
If you basically want to deactivate, delete or manage cookies (independent of Google Analytics), there are separate instructions for each browser:
Chrome: Delete, activate and manage cookies in Chrome
Safari: Manage cookies and website data with Safari
Firefox: delete cookies to remove data that websites have placed on your computer
Internet Explorer: Delete and manage cookies
Microsoft Edge: Delete and manage cookies
Google Analytics is an active participant in the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework, which regulates the correct and secure transfer of personal data. You can find more information on https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt000000001L5AAI&tid=311178104. We hope we could give you the most important information about the data processing of Google Analytics. If you want 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=en.
Google Analytics IP anonymization
We have implemented the IP address anonymisation of Google Analytics on this website. This function was developed by Google so that this website can comply with the applicable data protection regulations and recommendations of local data protection authorities if they prohibit the storage of the complete IP address. The anonymisation or masking of the IP takes place as soon as the IP addresses arrive in the Google Analytics data collection network and before the data is saved or processed.
More information on IP anonymization can be found at https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/2763052?hl=en.
Google Analytics reports on demographic characteristics and interests
We have switched on the functions for advertising reports in Google Analytics. The reports on demographic characteristics and interests contain information on age, gender and interests. This enables us to get a better picture of our users – without being able to assign this data to individual persons. You can learn more about the advertising functions athttps://support.google.com/analytics/answer/3450482?hl=en.
You can stop using the activities and information of your Google Account by selecting the checkbox under „Advertising settings“ on https://adssettings.google.com/authenticated.
Google Analytics deactivation link
If you click on the following deactivation link, you can prevent Google from recording further visits to this website. Attention: Deleting cookies, using the incognito/private mode of your browser, or using another browser will result in data being collected again.
Google Analytics Google Signals Privacy Policy
We have activated Google Signals in Google Analytics. For example, existing Google Analytics features (advertising reports, remarketing, cross-device reports, and reports on interests and demographics) will be updated to provide aggregated and anonymized information about you, if you have allowed personalized ads in your Google Account.
The special thing about it is that it is cross-device tracking. This means your data can be analyzed across devices. By enabling Google signals, data is collected and linked to the Google Account. For example, Google can use it to recognize when you view a product on our website from a smartphone and buy the product later from a laptop. Thanks to the activation of Google signals, we can launch device-spanning remarketing campaigns that would otherwise not be possible in this form. Remarketing means that we can also show you our offer on other websites.
Google Analytics also uses Google Signals to collect additional visitor data such as location, search history, YouTube history and information about your actions on our website. This gives us better advertising reports from Google and more useful information about your interests and demographics. This includes your age, what language you speak, where you live or which gender you belong to. Furthermore, social criteria such as your profession, marital status or income are also taken into account. All these features help Google Analytics to define groups of people or target groups.
The reports also help us to better assess your behaviour, wishes and interests. This enables us to optimize and adapt our services and products for you. These data expire by default after 26 months. Please note that this information is only collected if you have allowed personalized advertising in your Google Account. It is always aggregated and anonymous data and never data of individual persons. You can manage or delete this information in your Google Account.
Google reCAPTCHA Privacy Policy
Our ultimate goal is to make our website as safe and secure as possible for you and for us. To ensure this, we use Google reCAPTCHA from Google Inc. For the European region, the company Google Ireland Limited (Gordon House, Barrow Street Dublin 4, Ireland) is responsible for all Google services. With reCAPTCHA we can determine whether you are really a human being of flesh and blood and not a robot or other spam software. By spam we mean any unsolicited information sent to us by electronic means. With the classic CAPTCHAS you usually have to solve text or picture puzzles for verification. With reCAPTCHA from Google we usually do not have to bother you with such puzzles. In most cases, all you need to do here is simply check the box to confirm that you are not a bot. With the new Invisible reCAPTCHA version you don’t even have to check the box. You will find out exactly how this works and, above all, what data is used for this purpose in the course of this data protection declaration.
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 often used when you fill out forms on the Internet. A captcha service is a kind of automatic Turing test, which should ensure that an action on the Internet is performed by a human and not by a bot. In the classical Turing test (named after the computer scientist Alan Turing) a human being determines the difference between bot and human. With Captchas this is also done by the computer or a software program. Classical 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 people from bots. Here you only have to check the text field „I am not a robot“ or with Invisible reCAPTCHA even this is no longer necessary. With reCAPTCHA a JavaScript element is embedded in the source code and then the tool runs in the background and analyses your user behaviour. From these user actions the software calculates a so-called captcha score. Google uses this score to calculate the probability that you are a human being even before you enter the captcha. reCAPTCHA or Captchas in general are used whenever bots could manipulate or abuse certain actions (like registrations, polls etc.).
Why do we use reCAPTCHA on our website?
We only want to welcome humans of flesh and blood on our website. Bots or spam software of various kinds can stay away. That’s why we do everything in our power to protect ourselves and offer the best possible user-friendliness for you. For this reason we use Google reCAPTCHA from Google. So we can be pretty sure that we remain a „bot-free“ website. By using reCAPTCHA, data is transmitted to Google to determine whether you are really a human being. reCAPTCHA therefore serves the security of our website and consequently your security. For example, without reCAPTCHA, it could happen that a bot registers as many e-mail addresses as possible during registration in order to „spam“ forums or blogs with unwanted advertising content. With reCAPTCHA we can avoid such bot attacks.
Which data is stored by reCAPTCHA?
reCAPTCHA collects personal data from users in order to determine whether the actions on our website are really from people. This means that the IP address and other data that Google requires for the reCAPTCHA service can be sent to Google. IP addresses are almost always truncated within EU Member States or other states party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area before the data ends up on a server in the USA. The IP address is not combined with any other data held by Google unless you are signed in to 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 takes a snapshot of your browser window.
The following list of collected browser and user data does not claim to be complete. Rather, they are examples of data which, to our knowledge, are processed by Google.
- Referrer URL (the address of the page the visitor comes from)
- IP address (e.g. 256.123.123.1)
- Information about the operating system (the software that allows your computer to run. Known operating systems are Windows, Mac OS X or 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 stored)
- Date and language settings (which language or date you have preset on your PC is stored)
- All Javascript objects (JavaScript is a programming language that allows 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 consists of)
It is undisputed that Google uses and analyses this data even before you click on the checkbox „I am not a robot“. With the Invisible reCAPTCHA version even the ticking off is omitted and the whole recognition process runs in the background. Exactly how much and which data Google stores is not known by Google in detail.
The following cookies are used by reCAPTCHA: Here we refer 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
Value: WqTUmlnmv_qXyi_DGNPLESKnRNrpgXoy1K-pAZtAkMbHI-311178104-8
Purpose: This cookie is set by the company DoubleClick (also owned by Google) to register and report the actions of a user on the website in handling advertisements. In this way the advertising effectiveness can be measured and appropriate optimisation measures can be taken. IDE is stored in browsers under the domain doubleclick.net
Expiration date: after one year
Name: 1P_JAR
Value: 2019-5-14-12
Purpose: 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 show users relevant advertisements. Furthermore, with the cookie you can avoid that a user sees the same advertisement more than once.
Expiration date: after one month
Name: ANID
Value: U7j1v3dZa3111781040xgZFmiqWppRWKOr
Purpose: We could not get much information about this cookie. In Google’s privacy policy, the cookie is mentioned in connection with „advertising cookies“ such as „DSID“, „FLC“, „AID“, „TAID“. ANID is stored under the domain google.com
Expiration date: after 9 months
Name: CONSENT
Value: YES+AT.de+20150628-20-0
Purpose: The cookie stores the status of a user’s consent to use various Google services. CONSENT also serves security purposes to verify users, prevent fraudulent use of credentials and protect user data from unauthorized attacks.
Expiration date: after 19 years
Name: NID
Value: 0WmuWqy311178104zILzqV_nmt3sDXwPeM5Q
Purpose: NID is used by Google to adapt advertisements to your Google search. Google uses the cookie to „remember“ your most frequently entered search queries or your previous interaction with ads. So you always get tailor-made advertisements. The cookie contains a unique ID to collect personal settings of the user for advertising purposes.
Expiration date: after 6 months
Name: DV
Value: gEAABBCjJMXcI0dSAAAANbqc311178104-4
Purpose: Once you check the „I am not a robot“ box, this cookie is set. The cookie is used by Google Analytics for personalized advertising. DV collects information in anonymous form and is also used to make user distinctions.
Expiration date: after 10 minutes
Note: This list cannot claim to be complete, as experience has shown that Google always changes the choice of its cookies.
How long and where is the data stored?
Through the insertion of reCAPTCHA, data from you is transferred to the Google server. Where exactly this data is stored is not clearly defined by Google, even after repeated requests. 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 Google’s European or American servers. The IP address that your browser transmits to Google is generally not merged with other Google data from other Google services. However, if you are signed in to your Google Account while using the reCAPTCHA plug-in, the data will be merged, subject to Google’s differing privacy policies.
How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?
If you do not want data about you and your behavior to be transmitted to Google, you must completely log out of Google and delete all Google cookies before you visit our website or use the reCAPTCHA software. In principle, the data is automatically transmitted to Google as soon as you access our site. To delete this data again, you must contact Google Support at https://support.google.com/?hl=en&tid=311178104.
So when you use our website, you agree that Google LLC and its agents automatically collect, process and use data.
You can learn more about reCAPTCHA on Google’s web development page at https://developers.google.com/recaptcha/. Google goes into more detail about the technical development of reCAPTCHA, but exact information about data storage and data protection relevant topics can not be found here. You can find a good overview of the basic use of data at Google in the company’s own privacy policy at https://www.google.com/intl/en/policies/privacy/.
Cookiebot Privacy Policy
We use on our website functions of the provider Cookiebot. The company behind Cookiebot is Cybot A/S, Havnegade 39, 1058 Copenhagen, DK. Cookiebot offers us, among other things, the possibility to provide you with a comprehensive cookie notice (also called cookie banner). By using this function, data from you can be sent to Cookiebot or Cybot, stored and processed. In this privacy policy we inform you why we use Cookiebot, which data is transferred and how you can prevent this data transfer.
What is Cookiebot?
Cookiebot is a software product of the company Cybot. The software automatically creates a DSGVO-compliant cookie hint for our website visitors. Furthermore, the technology behind Cookiebot scans, controls and evaluates all cookies and tracking measures on our website.
Why do we use Cookiebot on our website?
We take data protection very seriously. We want to show you exactly what is going on on our website and which of your data is stored. Cookiebot helps us to get a good overview of all our cookies (first and third party cookies). This enables us to provide you with accurate and transparent information about the use of cookies on our website. You will always receive an up-to-date and data protection-compliant cookie notice and decide for yourself which cookies you allow and which not.
Which data is stored by Cookiebot?
If you allow cookies, the following data will be transmitted to Cybot, stored and processed.
- IP address (in anonymous form, the last 3 digits are set to 0)
- Date and time of your consent
- our website URL
- technical browser data
- encrypted anonymous key
- the cookies you have allowed (as proof of consent)
The following cookies are set by Cookiebot if you have agreed to the use of cookies:
Name: CookieConsent
Wert: {stamp:’P7to4eNgIHvJvDerjKneBsmJQd9311178104-2
Verwendungszweck: In diesem Cookie wird Ihr Zustimmungsstatus, gespeichert. Dadurch kann unsere Website auch bei zukünftigen Besuchen den aktuellen Status lesen und befolgen.
Ablaufdatum: nach einem Jahr
Name: CookieConsentBulkTicket
Value: kDSPWpA%2fjhljZKClPqsncfR8SveTnNWhys5NojaxdFYBPjZ2PaDnUw%3d%3311178104-6
Purpose: This cookie is set when you allow all cookies and have thus activated a „collective consent“. The cookie then stores its own random and unique ID.
Expiration date: after one year
Note: Please bear in mind that this is an exemplary list and that we cannot claim to be complete. In the cookie declaration at https://www.cookiebot.com/en/cookie-declaration/ you can see which other cookies can be used.
According to Cybot’s privacy policy, the company does not resell personal information. However, Cybot does share data with trusted third parties or subcontractors that help the company to achieve its business goals. Data will also be passed on if this is legally required.
How long and where is the data stored?
All collected data is transmitted, stored and forwarded exclusively within the European Union. The data is stored in an Azure data centre (cloud provider is Microsoft). At https://azure.microsoft.com/de-de/global-infrastructure/regions/ you can learn more about all „Azure regions“. All user data will be deleted by Cookiebot after 12 months from registration (cookie approval) or immediately after cancellation of the Cookiebot service.
How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?
You have the right to access and delete your personal data at any time. You can prevent data collection and storage, for example, by rejecting the use of cookies via the cookie notice. Your browser offers another possibility to prevent data processing or to manage it according to your wishes. Depending on your browser, cookie management works slightly differently. Here you will find the instructions for the currently most popular browsers:
Chrome: Delete, activate and manage cookies in Chrome
Safari: Manage cookies and website data with Safari
Firefox: delete cookies to remove data that websites have placed on your computer
Internet Explorer: Delete and manage cookies
Microsoft Edge: Delete and manage cookies
If you want to learn more about the privacy policy of „Cookiebot“ or the company behind it, Cybot, we recommend you read the privacy policy at https://www.cookiebot.com/de/privacy-policy/.