Data Privacy

Privacy policy

Introduction and Overview

We have written this privacy statement (version 09.06.2022-312051418) in order to explain to you, in accordance with the requirements of the Datenschutz-Grundverordnung (EU) 2016/679 and applicable national laws, which personal data (data for short) we as the controller – and the processors (e.g. providers) commissioned by us – process, will process in the future and what lawful options you have. The terms used are to be understood as gender-neutral.

In short, we inform you comprehensively about data we process about you.

Privacy statements usually sound very technical and use legal terminology. This privacy statement, on the other hand, is intended to describe the most important things to you as simply and transparently as possible. To the extent that it is conducive to transparency, technical terms are explained in a reader-friendly manner, links to further information are provided and graphics are used. In this way, we inform you in clear and simple language that we only process personal data in the course of our business activities if there is a corresponding legal basis. This is certainly not possible by providing the most concise, unclear and legalistic explanations possible, as is often standard practice on the Internet when it comes to data protection. I hope you find the following explanations interesting and informative, and perhaps there is one or two pieces of information that you did not yet know.

If you still have questions, we would like to ask you to contact the responsible party named below or in the imprint, to follow the links provided and to look at further information on third-party sites. Our contact details can of course also be found in the imprint.

Scope of application

This data protection declaration applies to all personal data processed by us in the company and to all personal data processed by companies commissioned by us (order processors). By personal data, we mean information within the meaning of Art. 4 No. 1 DSGVO, such as a person’s name, e-mail address and postal address. The processing of personal data ensures that we can offer and invoice our services and products, whether online or offline. The scope of this privacy policy includes:

all online presences (websites, online stores) that we operate
social media presences and email communications
mobile apps for smartphones and other devices

In short, the data protection declaration applies to all areas in which personal data is processed in the company via the aforementioned channels in a structured manner. If we enter into legal relationships with you outside of these channels, we will inform you separately if necessary.

Legal basis

In the following privacy statement, we provide you with transparent information on the legal principles and regulations, i.e. the legal bases of the General Data Protection Regulation, which enable us to process personal data.

As far as EU law is concerned, we refer to REGULATION (EU) 2016/679 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 27 April 2016. You can, of course, read this EU General Data Protection Regulation online on EUR-Lex, the access to EU law, at https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/DE/ALL/?uri=celex%3A32016R0679.

We only process your data if at least one of the following conditions applies:

consent (Article 6(1)(a) DSGVO): You have given us your consent to process data for a specific purpose. An example would be the storage of your entered data of a contact form.
contract (Article 6(1) lit. b DSGVO): In order to fulfill a contract or pre-contractual obligations with you, we process your data. For example, if we conclude a purchase contract with you, we need personal information in advance.
legal obligation (Article 6(1)(c) DSGVO): If we are subject to a legal obligation, we process your data. For example, we are legally obliged to keep invoices for accounting purposes. These usually contain personal data.
legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) DSGVO): In case of legitimate interests that do not restrict your fundamental rights, we reserve the right to process personal data. For example, we need to process certain data in order to operate our website in a secure and economically efficient manner. This processing is therefore a legitimate interest.

Further conditions such as the performance of recordings in the public interest and the exercise of official authority as well as the protection of vital interests do not generally occur with us. If such a legal basis should be relevant, it will be indicated at the appropriate place.

In addition to the EU Regulation, national laws also apply:

In Austria, this is the Federal Act on the Protection of Individuals with regard to the Processing of Personal Data (Data Protection Act), or DSG for short.
In Germany, the Federal Data Protection Act, or BDSG for short, applies.

If other regional or national laws apply, we will inform you about them in the following sections.

Contact details of the responsible person

If you have any questions regarding data protection or the processing of personal data, please find below the contact details of the responsible person or body:

MANISO GmbH

Dr. Maik Schürmeyer

Lohmühlenstraße 36, 52074 Aachen, Germany

E-mail: info@mansio.org

Phone: +49 241 8943 9695

Imprint: https://mansio.org/impressum/

Storage period

The fact that we only store personal data for as long as is absolutely necessary for the provision of our services and products applies as a general criterion at our company. This means that we delete personal data as soon as the reason for processing the data no longer exists. In some cases, we are required by law to store certain data even after the original purpose has ceased to exist, for example for accounting purposes.

Should you wish your data to be deleted or revoke your consent to data processing, the data will be deleted as soon as possible and insofar as there is no obligation to store it.

We will inform you about the specific duration of the respective data processing below, provided we have further information on this.

Rights according to the General Data Protection Regulation

Pursuant to Articles 13, 14 DSGVO, we inform you about the following rights you have in order to ensure fair and transparent processing of data:

According to Article 15 DSGVO, you have the right to information about whether we are processing data about you. If this is the case, you have the right to receive a copy of the data and to know the following information:
- for what purpose we are processing it;
- the categories, i.e. the types of data that are processed;
- who receives this data and if the data is transferred to third countries, how security can be guaranteed;
- how long the data will be stored;
- the existence of the right to rectification, erasure or restriction of processing and the right to object to processing;
- that you can lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority (links to these authorities can be found below);
- the origin of the data if we have not collected it from you;
- whether profiling is carried out, i.e. whether data is automatically evaluated to arrive at a personal profile of you.
You have a right to rectification of data according to Article 16 GDPR, which means that we must correct data if you find errors.
You have the right to erasure (“right to be forgotten”) according to Article 17 GDPR, which specifically means that you may request the deletion of your data.
According to Article 18 of the GDPR, you have the right to restriction of processing, which means that we may only store the data but not use it further.
According to Article 19 of the GDPR, you have the right to data portability, which means that we will provide you with your data in a standard format upon request.
According to Article 21 DSGVO, you have the right to object, which entails a change in processing after enforcement.
- If the processing of your data is based on Article 6(1)(e) (public interest, exercise of official authority) or Article 6(1)(f) (legitimate interest), you may object to the processing. We will then check as soon as possible whether we can legally comply with this objection.
- If data is used to conduct direct advertising, you may object to this type of data processing at any time. We may then no longer use your data for direct marketing.
- If data is used to carry out profiling, you may object to this type of data processing at any time. We may no longer use your data for profiling thereafter.
According to Article 22 of the GDPR, you may have the right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing (for example, profiling).
You have the right to lodge a complaint under Article 77 of the GDPR. This means that you can complain to the data protection authority at any time if you believe that the data processing of personal data violates the GDPR.

In short, you have rights – do not hesitate to contact the responsible party listed above with us!

If you believe that the processing of your data violates data protection law or your data protection rights have been violated in any other way, you can complain to the supervisory authority. For Austria, this is the data protection authority, whose website can be found at https://www.dsb.gv.at/ In Germany, there is a data protection officer for each federal state. For more information, you can contact the Bundesbeauftragte für den Datenschutz und die Informationsfreiheit (BfDI). The following local data protection authority is responsible for our company:

North Rhine-Westphalia Data Protection Authority

State Commissioner for Data Protection: Bettina Gayk

Address: Kavalleriestraße 2-4, 40213 Düsseldorf, Germany

Telephone: 02 11/384 24-0

E-mail address: poststelle@ldi.nrw.de

Website: https://www.ldi.nrw.de/

Security of data processing

To protect personal data, we have implemented both technical and organizational measures. Where possible, we encrypt or pseudonymize personal data. In this way, we make it as difficult as possible, within the scope of our possibilities, for third parties to infer personal information from our data.

Article 25 of the GDPR refers to “data protection by technical design and by data protection-friendly default settings” and thus means that both software (e.g., forms) and hardware (e.g., access to the server room) are always designed with security in mind and that appropriate measures are taken. In the following, we will go into more detail on specific measures, if necessary.

TLS encryption with https

TLS, encryption and https sound very technical and they are. We use HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure stands for “secure hypertext transfer protocol”) to transfer data over the Internet in a tap-proof manner.

This means that the complete transmission of all data from your browser to our web server is secured – no one can “listen in”.

In this way, we have introduced an additional layer of security and comply with data protection by design of technology (Artikel 25 Absatz 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 protection of data transmission by the small lock symbol at the top left of the browser, to the left of the Internet address (e.g., beispielseite.de) and the use of the scheme https (instead of http) as part of our Internet address.

If you want to know more about encryption, we recommend the Google search for “Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure wiki” to get good links to further information.

Communication

When you contact us and communicate by phone, email or online form, personal data may be processed.

The data is processed for the handling and processing of your question and the related business transaction. The data is stored for as long as it is required by law.

Persons concerned

All those who seek contact with us via the communication channels provided by us are affected by the aforementioned processes.

Telephone

When you call us, the call data is stored pseudonymously on the respective terminal device and with the telecommunications provider used. In addition, data such as name and telephone number may subsequently be sent by e-mail and stored for the purpose of responding to your inquiry. The data is deleted as soon as the business case has been closed and legal requirements permit.

E-mail

If you communicate with us by e-mail, data may be stored on the respective end device (computer, laptop, smartphone,…) and data is stored on the e-mail server. The data will be deleted as soon as the business case has been closed and legal requirements allow it.

Online forms

If you communicate with us using online forms, data is stored on our web server and may be forwarded to an e-mail address of ours. The data is deleted as soon as the business case has been terminated and legal requirements permit.

Legal basis

The processing of data is based on the following legal bases:

6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO (consent): You give us your consent to store and further use your data for purposes related to the business case;
6 para. 1 lit. b DSGVO (contract): There is a need for the performance of a contract with you or a processor such as the telephone provider, or we need to process the data for pre-contractual activities, such as preparing an offer;
6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO (Legitimate Interests): We want to conduct customer inquiries and business communications in a professional manner. For this purpose, certain technical facilities such as e-mail programs, exchange servers and mobile operators are necessary in order to be able to operate the communication efficiently.

Cookies

What are cookies?

Our website uses HTTP cookies to store user-specific data.

Below we explain what cookies are and why they are used to help you better understand the following privacy policy.

Whenever you browse the Internet, you use a browser. Popular 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 can’t be denied: Cookies are really useful little helpers. Almost all websites use cookies. More precisely, they are HTTP cookies, as there are other cookies for other applications. HTTP cookies are small files that are stored on your computer by our website. These cookie files are automatically placed in the cookie folder, effectively 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 return to our site, your browser transmits the “user-related” information back to our site. Thanks to cookies, our site knows who you are and offers you the setting you are used to. 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. Also, the expiration time of a cookie 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.

A browser should be able to support these minimum sizes

– At least 4096 bytes per cookie

– At least 50 cookies per domain

– At least 3000 cookies in total

What types of cookies are there?

The question of which cookies we use in particular depends on the services we use 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.

We 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 adds a product to the shopping cart, then continues browsing on other pages, and only later goes to the checkout. These cookies do not delete the shopping cart even if the user closes his browser window.

Purpose cookies

These cookies collect information about user behavior and whether the user receives any error messages. In addition, these cookies are also used to measure the loading time and the behavior of the website with different browsers.

Target-oriented cookies

These cookies provide 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 are used to deliver customized advertising to the user. This can be very convenient, but also very annoying.

Usually, when you visit a website for the first time, you are asked which of these cookie types you want to allow. And of course, this decision is also stored in a cookie.

If you want to know more about cookies and are not afraid of technical documentation, we recommend https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc6265, the Request for Comments from the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) called “HTTP State Management Mechanism”.

Purpose of processing via cookies

The purpose ultimately depends on the cookie in question. You can find more details below or from the manufacturer of the software that sets the cookie.

What data is processed?

Cookies are little helpers for a lot of different tasks. Unfortunately, it is not possible to generalize what data is stored in cookies, but we will inform you about the processed or stored data in the following privacy policy.

Storage duration of cookies

The storage duration depends on the respective cookie and is specified further below. Some cookies are deleted after less than an hour, others can remain stored on a computer for several years.

You can also influence the storage period yourself. You can manually delete all cookies at any time via your browser (see also “Right of objection” below). Furthermore, cookies that are based on consent will be deleted at the latest after revocation of your consent, whereby the legality of the storage remains unaffected until then.

Right of objection – how can I delete cookies?

You decide how and whether you want to use cookies. Regardless of which service or website the cookies originate from, you always have the option to delete, disable or only partially allow 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, if you want to change or delete cookie settings, you can find it in your browser settings:

Chrome: Cookies in Chrome löschen, aktivieren und verwalten

Safari: Verwalten von Cookies und Websitedaten mit Safari

Firefox: Cookies löschen, um Daten zu entfernen, die Websites auf Ihrem Computer abgelegt haben

Internet Explorer: Löschen und Verwalten von Cookies

Microsoft Edge: Löschen und Verwalten von Cookies

If you generally don’t want cookies, you can set your browser to notify you whenever a cookie is about to be set. This way, you can decide for each individual cookie whether or not to allow it. The procedure varies depending on the browser. It is best to search for the instructions in Google using the search term “delete cookies Chrome” or “disable cookies Chrome” in the case of a Chrome browser.

Legal basis

Since 2009, there are the so-called “Cookie Guidelines”. This states that saving cookies requires your consent (Article 6 (1) a DSGVO). Within the EU countries, however, there are still very different reactions to these directives. In Austria, however, this directive was implemented in Section 96 (3) of the Telecommunications Act (TKG). In Germany, the Cookie Directives were not implemented as national law. Instead, the implementation of this directive took place largely in § 15 para.3 of the Telemedia Act (TMG).

For absolutely necessary cookies, even in the absence of consent, there are legitimate interests (Article 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO), which in most cases are of an economic nature. We want to provide visitors to the website with a pleasant user experience and for this purpose certain cookies are often absolutely necessary.

Insofar as cookies that are not absolutely necessary are used, this is only done in the case of your consent. The legal basis in this respect is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO.

In the following sections, you will be informed in more detail about the use of cookies, insofar as software used uses cookies.

Web Analytics Introduction

What is Web Analytics?

We use software on our website to evaluate the behavior of website visitors, known as web analytics for short. This involves collecting data that is stored, managed and processed by the respective analytic tool provider (also known as a tracking tool). The data is used to create analyses of user behavior on our website and made available to us as the website operator. In addition, most tools offer various testing options. For example, we can test which offers or content are best received by our visitors. To do this, we show you two different offers for a limited period of time. After the test (so-called A/B test), we know which product or content our website visitors find more interesting. For such test procedures, as for other analytics procedures, user profiles can also be created and the data stored in cookies.

Why do we use web analytics?

With our website we have a clear goal in mind: we want to deliver the best web offer on the market for our industry. To achieve this goal, we want to offer the best and most interesting offer on the one hand, and on the other hand, we want to make sure that you feel completely comfortable on our website. With the help of web analysis tools, we can take a closer look at the behavior of our website visitors and then improve our web offer for you and us accordingly. For example, we can see how old our visitors are on average, where they come from, when our website is most visited or which content or products are particularly popular. All this information helps us to optimize the website and thus best adapt it to your needs, interests and wishes.

What data is processed?

Exactly what data is stored depends, of course, on the analysis tools used. But as a rule, for example, which content you view on our website, which buttons or links you click on, when you access a page, which browser you use, which device (PC, tablet, smartphone, etc.) you use to visit the website or which computer system you use is stored. If you agreed that location data may also be collected, these may also be processed by the web analytics tool provider.

In addition, your IP address will also be stored. According to the General Data Protection Regulation (DSGVO), IP addresses are personal data. However, your IP address is usually stored pseudonymized (i.e. in an unrecognizable and shortened form). For the purpose of testing, web analysis and web optimization, no direct data, such as your name, age, address or e-mail address are stored as a matter of principle. All this data, if collected, is stored pseudonymously. This means that you cannot be identified as a person.

How long the respective data is stored always depends on the provider. Some cookies store data only for a few minutes or until you leave the website again, other cookies can store data for several years.

Duration of data processing

We will inform you about the duration of data processing below, provided we have further information on this. In general, we only process personal data for as long as is strictly necessary to provide our services and products. If it is required by law, as in the case of accounting, for example, this storage period may also be exceeded.

Right of objection

You also have the right and the possibility to revoke your consent to the use of cookies or third-party providers at any time. This works either via our cookie management tool or via other opt-out functions. For example, you can also prevent data collection through cookies by managing, disabling or deleting cookies in your browser.

Legal basis

The use of web analytics requires your consent, which we have obtained with our cookie popup. According to Art. 6 (1) lit. a DSGVO (consent), this consent constitutes the legal basis for the processing of personal data, as may occur during the collection by web analytics tools.

In addition to consent, there is a legitimate interest on our part to analyze the behavior of website visitors and thus to improve our offer technically and economically. With the help of web analytics, we detect website errors, can identify attacks and improve economic efficiency. The legal basis for this is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO (Legitimate Interests). Nevertheless, we only use the tools insofar as you have given your consent.

Since web analytics tools use cookies, we also recommend that you read our general privacy policy on cookies. To find out exactly which of your data is stored and processed, you should read the privacy statements of the respective tools.

Information on specific web analytics tools, if available, can be found in the following sections.

Google Analytics privacy policy

What is Google Analytics?

We use the analysis tracking tool Google Analytics (GA) of the American company Google Inc. on our website. For the European area, 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. Using the reports we receive from Google Analytics, we can better tailor our website and service to your preferences. In the following, we will go into more detail about the tracking tool and, in particular, inform you about what data is stored and how you can prevent this.

Google Analytics is a tracking tool used to analyze traffic to our website. In order for Google Analytics to work, a tracking code is built into the code of our website. When you visit our website, this code records various actions you take on our website. Once you leave our website, this data is sent to Google Analytics servers and stored there.

Google processes the data and we receive reports about your user behavior. These reports may include, but are not limited to, the following:

– Target group reports: Through target group reports, we get to know our users better and know more precisely who is interested in our

– Audience reports: Audience reports help us get to know our users better and know more precisely who is interested in our service.

– Ad reports: Ad reports help us analyze and improve our online advertising.

– Acquisition reports: Acquisition reports give us helpful information on how to attract more people to our service.

– Behavior reports: This is where we learn how you interact with our website. We can track the path you take on our site and which links you click.

– Conversion reports: Conversion is when you take a desired action based on a marketing message. For example, you go from being just a website visitor to a buyer or newsletter subscriber. These reports help us learn more about how our marketing efforts are working for you. This is how we aim to increase our conversion rate.

– Real-time reports: Here we always know immediately what is happening on our website. For example, we can see how many users are currently reading this text.

Why do we use Google Analytics on our website?

Our goal with this website is clear: we want to provide you with the best possible service. The statistics and data from Google Analytics help us to achieve this goal.

The statistically evaluated data shows us a clear picture of the strengths and weaknesses of our website. On the one hand, we can optimize our site so that it can be found more easily by interested people on Google. On the other hand, the data helps us to better understand you as a visitor. Thus, we know very well what we need to improve on our website in order to provide you with the best possible service. The data also helps us to carry out our advertising and marketing measures in a more individual and cost-effective way. After all, it only makes sense to show our products and services to people who are interested in them.

What data is stored by Google Analytics?

Google Analytics uses a tracking code to create a random, unique ID that is associated with your browser cookie. This is how 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 makes it possible to evaluate pseudonymous user profiles.

In order to analyze our website with Google Analytics, a property ID must be inserted into the tracking code. The data is then stored in the corresponding property. For each newly created property, the Google Analytics 4 property is standard. Alternatively, you can also create the Universal Analytics property. Depending on the property used, data is stored for different lengths of time.

Labels such as cookies and app instance IDs are used to measure your interactions on our website. Interactions are all types of actions you take on our website. If you also use other Google systems (such as a Google account), data generated through Google Analytics may be linked to third-party cookies. Google does not share Google Analytics data unless we, as the website operator, authorize it. Exceptions may occur if required by law.

Here we show you an overview of the most important data collected by Google Analytics:

Heatmaps: Google creates so-called heatmaps. Heatmaps allow you to see exactly those areas that you click on. This gives us information about where you are “on the move” on our site.

Session duration: Google defines session duration as the time you spend on our site without leaving. If you have been inactive for 20 minutes, the session ends automatically.

Bounce rate: A bounce is when you view only one page on our site and then leave our site.

Account creation: when you create an account or make an order on our website, Google Analytics collects this data.

IP address: The IP address is only shown in a shortened 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 referred to as IP location determination.

Technical information: Technical information includes, but is not limited to, your browser type, internet service provider, or screen resolution.

Source of origin: Google Analytics or we are of course also interested in which website or which advertisement you came to our site from.

Other data include contact details, any ratings, playing media (e.g. when you play a video via our site), sharing content via social media or adding to your favorites. The enumeration does not claim to be complete and only serves as a general orientation of the data storage by Google Analytics.

How long and where is the data stored?

Google has their servers spread all over the world. Most servers are located in America and consequently your data is mostly stored on American servers. You can read exactly where Google’s data centers are located here: https://www.google.com/about/datacenters/inside/locations/?hl=de

Your data is distributed on different physical disks. This has the advantage that the data can be accessed more quickly and is better protected against manipulation. In each Google data center, there are corresponding emergency programs for your data. If, for example, the hardware at Google fails or natural disasters paralyze servers, the risk of a service interruption at Google still remains low.

The retention period of the data depends on the properties used. When using the newer Google Analytics 4 properties, the retention period of your user data is fixed at 14 months. For other so-called event data, we have the option to choose a retention period of 2 months or 14 months.

For Universal Analytics properties, Google Analytics defaults to a retention period of 26 months for your user data. Then your user data is deleted. However, we have the option to choose the retention period of user data ourselves. We have five variants available for this purpose:

– Deletion after 14 months

– Deletion after 26 months

– Deletion after 38 months

– Deletion after 50 months

– No automatic deletion

In addition, there is also an option for data to be deleted only when you no longer visit our website within the time period we have selected. In this case, the retention period will be reset each time you visit our website again within the specified period.

Once the specified period has expired, the data is deleted once a month. This retention period applies to your data associated with cookies, user recognition and advertising IDs (e.g. DoubleClick domain cookies). Reporting results are based on aggregated data and are stored separately from user data. Aggregated data is a merging of individual data into a larger unit.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

According to European Union data protection law, you have the right to obtain information about your data, update it, delete it or restrict it. Using the browser add-on to disable Google Analytics JavaScript (ga.js, analytics.js, dc.js), you can prevent Google Analytics from using your data. You can download and install the browser add-on at https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=de . Please note that this add-on only disables the collection of data by Google Analytics.

If you generally want to deactivate, delete or manage cookies, you will find the relevant links to the respective instructions for the most popular browsers under the section “Cookies”.

Legal basis

The use of Google Analytics requires your consent, which we have obtained with our cookie popup. According to Art. 6 (1) lit. a DSGVO (consent), this consent constitutes the legal basis for the processing of personal data, as may occur during the collection by web analytics tools.

In addition to consent, there is a legitimate interest on our part to analyze the behavior of website visitors and thus to improve our offer technically and economically. With the help of Google Analytics, we detect website errors, can identify attacks and improve the economic efficiency. The legal basis for this is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO (Legitimate Interests). Nevertheless, we only use Google Analytics if you have given your consent.

Google also processes data from you in the USA, among other places. We would like to point out that according to the opinion of the European Court of Justice, there is currently no adequate level of protection for the transfer of data to the USA. This may be associated with various risks to the legality and security of data processing.

Google uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46. para. 2 and 3 DSGVO) as the basis for data processing for recipients located in third countries (outside the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, i.e. in particular in the USA) or a data transfer there. Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) are templates provided by the EU Commission and are intended to ensure that your data complies with European data protection standards even if it is transferred to third countries (such as the USA) and stored there. Through these clauses, Google undertakes to comply with the European level of data protection when processing your relevant data, even if the data is stored, processed and managed in the US. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the corresponding standard contractual clauses here, among other places: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de

The Google Ads Data Processing Terms, which correspond to the standard contractual clauses and are also applicable to Google Analytics, can be found at https://business.safety.google/adsprocessorterms/.

We hope we have been able to provide you with the most important information regarding Google Analytics data processing. If you want to learn more about the tracking service, we recommend these two links: https://marketingplatform.google.com/about/analytics/terms/de/ und https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/6004245?hl=de.

Google Analytics e-commerce measurement

We also use the e-commerce measurement of the web analytics tool Google Analytics for our website. This allows us to analyze very precisely how you and all our other customers interact on our website. E-commerce measurement is primarily about buying behavior. Based on data obtained, we can adapt and optimize our service to your wishes and your expectations. Likewise, we can target our online advertising efforts more effectively so that only people who are also interested in our products or services see our ads. E-commerce measurement records, for example, which orders were placed, how long it took you to purchase the product, what the average order value is, or even how high the shipping costs are. All this data can be collected and stored under a specific ID.

Google Site Kit Privacy Policy

What is Google Site Kit?

We have integrated the WordPress plugin Google Site Kit of the American company Google Inc. into our website. For the European region, the company Google Ireland Limited (Gordon House, Barrow Street Dublin 4, Ireland) is responsible for all Google services. With Google Site Kit, we can quickly and easily view statistics that come from various Google products such as Google Analytics directly in our WordPress dashboard. The tool or the tools included in Google Site Kit also collect, among other things, personal data from you. In this privacy policy, we explain why we use Google Site Kit, how long and where data is stored and which other privacy texts are relevant for you in this context.

Google Site Kit is a plugin for the WordPress content management system. With this plugin, we can view important statistics for website analysis directly in our dashboard. These are statistics that are collected by other Google products. First and foremost, from Google Analytics. Besides Google Analytics, Google Search Console, Page Speed Insight, Google AdSense, Google Optimize and Google Tag Manager services can also be linked to Google Site Kit.

Why do we use Google Site Kit on our website?

As a service provider, it’s our job to give you the best possible experience on our website. You should feel comfortable on our website and find exactly what you are looking for quickly and easily. Statistical evaluations help us to get to know you better and to adapt our offer to your wishes and interests. We use various Google tools for these evaluations. Site Kit makes our work much easier in this regard, because we can view and analyze the statistics of Google products right in the dashboard. So we don’t have to log in separately for each tool. Site Kit thus always provides a good overview of the most important analysis data.

What data is stored by Google Site Kit?

If you have actively agreed to tracking tools in the cookie notice (also called script or banner), Google products such as Google Analytics will set cookies and send data from you, for example about your user behavior, to Google, where it will be stored and processed. This also includes personal data such as your IP address.

For more detailed information on the individual services, we have separate text sections in this privacy policy. For example, take a look at our privacy policy on Google Analytics. Here we go into great detail about the data collected. You will learn how long Google Analytics stores, manages and processes data, which cookies may be used and how you can prevent data storage. Likewise, we also have our own privacy statements with comprehensive information for other Google services, such as Google Tag Manager or Google AdSense.

How long and where is the data stored?

Google stores collected data on its own Google servers, which are distributed worldwide. Most servers are located in the United States and therefore it is easily possible that your data is also stored there. You can see exactly where the company provides servers at https://www.google.com/about/datacenters/locations/?hl=de

Data collected by Google Analytics is kept for a standard 26 months. After that, your user data is deleted. The retention period applies to all data linked to cookies, user recognition and advertising IDs.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

You always have the right to obtain information about your data, have your data deleted, corrected or restricted. In addition, you can also deactivate, delete or manage cookies in your browser at any time.

If you generally want to deactivate, delete or manage cookies, you will find the corresponding links to the respective instructions of the most popular browsers under the section “Cookies”.

Legal basis

The use of Google Site Kit requires your consent, which we have obtained with our cookie popup. According to Art. 6 (1) lit. a DSGVO (consent), this consent constitutes the legal basis for the processing of personal data, as may occur during the collection by web analytics tools.

In addition to consent, there is a legitimate interest on our part in analyzing the behavior of website visitors and thus improving our offer technically and economically. With the help of Google Site Kit, we detect website errors, can identify attacks and improve the economic efficiency. The legal basis for this is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO (Legitimate Interests). Nevertheless, we only use Google Site Kit if you have given your consent.

As a basis for data processing at recipients located in third countries (outside the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, i.e. in particular in the USA) or a data transfer there, Google uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46. para. 2 and 3 DSGVO). Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) are templates provided by the EU Commission and are intended to ensure that your data complies with European data protection standards even if it is transferred to third countries (such as the USA) and stored there. Through these clauses, Google undertakes to comply with the European level of data protection when processing your relevant data, even if the data is stored, processed and managed in the US. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the corresponding standard contractual clauses here, among other places: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de

The Google Ads Data Processing Terms, which also correspond to the standard contractual clauses for Google Site Kit, can be found at https://business.safety.google/adsprocessorterms/.

To learn more about Google’s data processing, we recommend that you read Google’s comprehensive privacy policy at https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=de.

Cookie Consent Management Platform Introduction

What is a Cookie Consent Management Platform?

We use a Consent Management Platform (CMP) software on our website, which makes it easier for us and you to handle used scripts and cookies correctly and safely. The software automatically creates a cookie popup, scans and controls all scripts and cookies, provides cookie consent for you as required by data protection laws, and helps us and you keep track of all cookies. With most cookie consent management tools, all existing cookies are identified and categorized. You, as a website visitor, then decide for yourself whether and which scripts and cookies you allow or do not allow.

Why do we use a cookie management tool?

Our goal is to offer you the best possible transparency in the area of data protection. In addition, we are also legally obligated to do so. We want to educate you as much as possible about all tools and all cookies that can store and process data from you. It is also your right to decide for yourself which cookies you accept and which you do not. In order to give you this right, we first need to know exactly which cookies ended up on our website in the first place. Thanks to a cookie management tool that regularly scans the website for all existing cookies, we know about all cookies and can provide you with DSGVO-compliant information about them. You can then accept or reject cookies via the consent system.

What data is processed?

Within our cookie management tool, you can manage each cookie yourself and have complete control over the storage and processing of your data. The declaration of your consent is stored so that we do not have to query you each time you visit our website again and so that we can also prove your consent if required by law. This is stored either in an opt-in cookie or on a server. Depending on the provider of the cookie management tool, the storage period of your cookie consent varies. In most cases, this data (such as pseudonymous user ID, time of consent, details of cookie categories or tools, browser, device information) is stored for up to two years.

Duration of data processing

We will inform you about the duration of data processing below, provided we have further information on this. In general, we process personal data only as long as it is strictly necessary for the provision of our services and products. Data that is stored in cookies is stored for different lengths of time. Some cookies are already deleted after you leave the website, others may be stored in your browser for several years. The exact duration of data processing depends on the tool used; in most cases, you should be prepared for a storage period of several years. In the respective privacy statements of the individual providers, you will usually receive precise information about the duration of data processing.

Right of objection

You also have the right and the possibility to revoke your consent to the use of cookies at any time. This works either via our cookie management tool or via other opt-out functions. For example, you can also prevent data collection through cookies by managing, disabling or deleting cookies in your browser.

Information on specific cookie management tools, if available, can be found in the following sections.

Legal basis

If you consent to cookies, personal data about you will be processed and stored via these cookies. If we are allowed to use cookies through your consent (Article 6 (1) (a) DSGVO), this consent is also the legal basis for the use of cookies or the processing of your data. In order to be able to manage the consent to cookies and to enable you to give your consent, cookie consent management platform software is used. The use of this software enables us to operate the website in an efficient manner in compliance with the law, which constitutes a legitimate interest (Article 6(1)(f) DSGVO).

BorlabsCookie Privacy Policy

We use BorlabsCookie on our website, which is, among other things, a tool for storing your cookie consent. Service provider is the German company Borlabs – Benjamin A. Bornschein, Rübenkamp 32, 22305 Hamburg, Germany. You can learn more about the data processed through the use of BorlabsCookie in the Privacy Policy at https://de.borlabs.io/datenschutz/.

Web Hosting Introduction

What is web hosting?

Nowadays, when you visit websites, certain information – including personal data – is automatically created and stored, including on this website. This data should be processed as sparingly as possible and only with justification. By website, by the way, we mean the entirety of all web pages on a domain, i.e. everything from the home page (homepage) to the very last subpage (like this one). By domain, we mean, for example, example.de or sampleexample.com.

When you want to view a website on a computer, tablet, or smartphone, you use a program called a web browser to do so. You probably know some web browsers by name: Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, and Apple Safari. We say browser or web browser for short.

To display the website, the browser needs to connect to another computer where the website’s code is stored: the web server. Running a web server is a complicated and costly task, which is why this is usually done by professional providers, the providers. These offer web hosting and thus ensure reliable and error-free storage of website data. A whole lot of technical terms, but please stay tuned, it gets better!

When the browser on your computer (desktop, laptop, tablet or smartphone) connects and during data transfer to and from the web server, personal data may be processed. On the one hand, your computer stores data, on the other hand, the web server must also store data for a while to ensure proper operation.

A picture is worth a thousand words, so the following graphic illustrates the interaction between the browser, the Internet and the hosting provider.

Why do we process personal data?

The purposes of data processing are:

professional hosting of the website and securing its operation.
to maintain operational and IT security
anonymous evaluation of access behavior to improve our offer and, if necessary, for law enforcement or prosecution of claims.

What data is processed?

Even while you are visiting our website right now, our web server, which is the computer on which this website is stored, usually automatically stores data such as

the complete Internet address (URL) of the website you are visiting
browser and browser version (e.g. Chrome 87)
the operating system used (e.g. Windows 10)
the address (URL) of the previously visited page (referrer URL) (e.g. https://www.beispielquellsite.de/vondabinichgekommen/)
the host name and IP address of the device being accessed (e.g. COMPUTERNAME and 194.23.43.121)
date and time
in files, the so-called web server log files

How long is data stored?

As a rule, the above data is stored for two weeks and then automatically deleted. We do not pass on this data, but we cannot rule out the possibility that this data may be viewed by the authorities in the event of unlawful conduct.

In short, your visit is logged by our provider (company that runs our website on special computers (servers)), but we do not share your data without your consent!

Legal basis

The lawfulness of the processing of personal data in the context of web hosting results from Art. 6 (1) lit. f DSGVO (protection of legitimate interests), because the use of professional hosting with a provider is necessary to present the company on the Internet in a secure and user-friendly manner and to be able to pursue attacks and claims from this if necessary.

Between us and the hosting provider there is usually a contract on commissioned processing pursuant to Art. 28 f. DSGVO, which ensures compliance with data protection and guarantees data security.

SiteGround Privacy Policy

We use the web hosting service SiteGround for our website. The service provider is the Spanish company SiteGround Spain S.L., Calle de Prim 19,28004 Madrid, Spain.

To learn more about the data processed through the use of SiteGround, please see the Privacy Policy at https://de.siteground.com/privacy.htm.

Website Building Block Systems Introduction

What are website building systems?

We use a website building block system for our website. Modular systems are special forms of a content management system (CMS). With a modular system, website owners can create a website very easily and without programming knowledge. In many cases, web hosts also offer building block systems. By using a modular system, personal data of you may also be collected, stored and processed. In this data protection text, we provide you with general information about data processing by modular systems. You can find more detailed information in the provider’s data protection statements.

Why do we use website building block systems for our website?

The biggest advantage of a modular system is its ease of use. We want to provide you with a clear, simple and concise website that we can easily operate and maintain ourselves – without external support. A modular system now offers many helpful functions that we can use even without programming knowledge. This allows us to design our web presence according to our wishes and to offer you an informative and pleasant time on our website.

What data is stored by a modular system?

Exactly what data is stored depends, of course, on the website construction kit system used. Each provider processes and collects different data of the website visitor. However, as a rule, technical usage information such as operating system, browser, screen resolution, language and keyboard settings, hosting provider and the date of your website visit are collected. Furthermore, tracking data (e.g. browser activity, clickstream activity, session heatmaps, etc.) may also be processed. In addition, personal data may also be collected and stored. This is mostly contact data such as e-mail address, telephone number (if you have provided it), IP address and geographical location data. You can find out exactly what data is stored in the provider’s privacy policy.

How long and where is the data stored?

We will inform you about the duration of data processing below in connection with the website construction kit system used, provided we have further information on this. You can find detailed information about this in the provider’s privacy policy. In general, we only process personal data for as long as is absolutely necessary for the provision of our services and products. It may be that the provider stores data from you according to its own specifications, over which we have no control.

Right of objection

You always have the right to information, correction and deletion of your personal data. If you have any questions, you can also contact the person responsible for the website construction system used at any time. Contact details can be found either in our privacy policy or on the website of the relevant provider.

You can delete, deactivate or manage cookies that providers use for their functions in your browser. Depending on which browser you use, this works in different ways. Please note, however, that all functions may then no longer work as usual.

Legal basis

We have a legitimate interest in using a website construction kit to optimize our online service and present it efficiently and in a user-friendly manner for you. The corresponding legal basis for this is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO (Legitimate Interests). Nevertheless, we only use the construction kit insofar as you have given your consent.

Insofar as the processing of data is not absolutely necessary for the operation of the website, the data will only be processed on the basis of your consent. This applies in particular to tracking activities. The legal basis in this respect is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO.

With this privacy policy, we have brought you closer to the most important general information around data processing. If you wish to obtain more detailed information in this regard, you will find further information – if available – in the following section or in the provider’s privacy policy.

Social Media Introduction

What is social media?

In addition to our website, we are also active on various social media platforms. This may involve processing user data so that we can target users who are interested in us via the social networks. In addition, elements of a social media platform may also be embedded directly in our website. This is the case, for example, when you click on a so-called social button on our website and are redirected directly to our social media presence. So-called social media or social media are websites and apps through which registered members can produce content, share content openly or in specific groups, and network with other members.

Why do we use social media?

For years, social media platforms have been the place where people communicate and connect online. Our social media presences allow us to promote our products and services to prospective customers. The social media elements embedded on our website help you to be able to switch to our social media content quickly and without complications.

The data that is stored and processed through your use of a social media channel is primarily for the purpose of being able to perform web analyses. The aim of these analyses is to be able to develop more precise and personalized marketing and advertising strategies. Depending on your behavior on a social media platform, appropriate conclusions can be drawn about your interests with the help of the evaluated data and so-called user profiles can be created. This also enables the platforms to present you with tailored advertisements. In most cases, cookies are set in your browser for this purpose, which store data about your usage behavior.

We generally assume that we remain responsible under data protection law, even if we use services of a social media platform. However, the European Court of Justice has ruled that in certain cases the operator of the social media platform may be jointly responsible with us within the meaning of Art. 26 DSGVO. Insofar as this is the case, we point this out separately and work on the basis of an agreement in this regard. The essence of the agreement is then reproduced below for the platform concerned.

Please note that when using the social media platforms or our built-in elements, data from you may also be processed outside the European Union, as many social media channels, for example Facebook or Twitter, are American companies. This may make it less easy for you to claim or enforce your rights regarding your personal data.

What data is processed?

Exactly what data is stored and processed depends on the respective provider of the social media platform. But usually it is data such as phone numbers, email addresses, data you enter in a contact form, user data such as which buttons you click, who you like or follow, when you visited which pages, information about your device and your IP address. Most of this data is stored in cookies. Especially if you yourself have a profile at the visited social media channel and are logged in, data can be linked to your profile.

All data collected via a social media platform is also stored on the servers of the providers. Thus, only the providers also have access to the data and can give you the appropriate information or make changes.

If you want to know exactly what data is stored and processed by the social media providers and how you can object to the data processing, you should carefully read the respective privacy policy of the company. Also, if you have questions about data storage and data processing or want to assert corresponding rights, we recommend that you contact the provider directly.

Duration of data processing

We will inform you about the duration of data processing below, provided we have further information on this. For example, the social media platform Facebook stores data until it is no longer needed for its own purpose. However, customer data that is matched with our own user data is already deleted within two days. In general, we only process personal data for as long as is absolutely necessary for the provision of our services and products. If it is required by law, as in the case of accounting, for example, this storage period may be exceeded.

Right of objection

You also have the right and the possibility to revoke your consent to the use of cookies or third-party providers such as embedded social media elements at any time. This works either via our cookie management tool or via other opt-out functions. For example, you can also prevent data collection through cookies by managing, disabling or deleting cookies in your browser.

Since social media tools may use cookies, we also recommend that you read our general privacy policy on cookies. To find out exactly what data is stored and processed by you, you should read the privacy statements of the respective tools.

Legal basis

If you have consented that data from you can be processed and stored by integrated social media elements, this consent is considered the legal basis for data processing (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO). In principle, if consent is given, your data will also be stored and processed on the basis of our legitimate interest (Art. 6 (1) (f) DSGVO) in fast and good communication with you or other customers and business partners. Nevertheless, we only use the tools insofar as you have given your consent. Most social media platforms also set cookies in your browser to store data. That is why we recommend that you read our privacy text about cookies carefully and view the privacy policy or cookie policy of the respective service provider.

You can find information about specific social media platforms – if available – in the following sections.

LinkedIn Privacy Policy

What is LinkedIn?

We use social plug-ins of the social media network LinkedIn, of the company LinkedIn Corporation, 2029 Stierlin Court, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA on our website. The social plug-ins may be feeds, content sharing or links to our LinkedIn page. The social plug-ins are clearly marked with the familiar LinkedIn logo and allow, for example, interesting content to be shared directly via our website. For the European Economic Area and Switzerland, LinkedIn Ireland Unlimited Company Wilton Place in Dublin is responsible for data processing.

By embedding such plug-ins, data can be sent to LinkedIn, stored and processed there. In this privacy policy, we want to inform you about what data is involved, how the network uses this data and how you can manage or prevent data storage.

LinkedIn is the largest social network for business contacts. Unlike Facebook, for example, the company focuses exclusively on building business contacts. Companies can present services and products on the platform and establish business relationships. Many people also use LinkedIn to look for jobs or to find suitable employees for their own company. In Germany alone, the network has over 11 million members. In Austria, there are about 1.3 million.

Why do we use LinkedIn on our website?

We know how busy you are. That’s why you can’t follow all social media channels individually. Even if it would be worth it, as in our case. Because time and again we post interesting news or reports that are worth spreading. That’s why we’ve made it possible on our website to share interesting content directly on LinkedIn or to link directly to our LinkedIn page. We consider built-in social plug-ins as an extended service on our website. The data that LinkedIn collects also helps us to show possible advertising measures only to people who are interested in our offer.

What data is stored by LinkedIn?

Only through the mere integration of the social plug-ins LinkedIn does not store any personal data. LinkedIn calls this data generated by plug-ins passive impressions. However, when you click on a social plug-in to share our content, for example, the platform stores personal data as so-called “active impressions”. And this is regardless of whether you have a LinkedIn account or not. If you are logged in, the collected data is assigned to your account.

Your browser establishes a direct connection to LinkedIn’s servers when you interact with our plug-ins. In this way, the company logs various usage data. In addition to your IP address, this can be login data, device information or info about your internet or mobile provider, for example. If you access LinkedIn services via your smartphone, your location (after you have allowed this) can also be determined. LinkedIn may also share this data in “hashed” form with third-party advertisers. Hashing means turning a record into a string of characters. This can be used to encrypt the data in such a way that individuals can no longer be identified.

Most data about your user behavior is stored in cookies. These are small text files that are usually set in your browser. Furthermore, LinkedIn may also use web beacons, pixel tags, display tags and other device identifiers.

How long and where is the data stored?

In principle, LinkedIn retains your personal data for as long as the company considers it necessary to offer its own services. However, LinkedIn deletes your personal data when you delete your account. In some exceptional cases, LinkedIn retains some data in aggregate and anonymized form even after you delete your account. Once you delete your account, other people will not be able to see your data within one day. LinkedIn generally deletes data within 30 days. However, LinkedIn retains data if it is necessary due to legal obligation. Data that can no longer be assigned to individuals remain stored even after the account is closed. The data is stored on various servers in America and probably also in Europe.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

You have the right to access and also delete your personal data at any time. In your LinkedIn account, you can manage, change and delete your data. In addition, you can also request a copy of your personal data from LinkedIn.

You have the right to access and also delete your personal data at any time. In your LinkedIn account you can manage, change and delete your data. In addition, you can also request a copy of your personal data from LinkedIn.

To access account data in your LinkedIn profile:

In LinkedIn, click on your profile icon and select the “Settings and Privacy” section. Now click on “Privacy” and then in the “How LinkedIn uses your data” section click on “Change”. In just a short time, you will be able to download selected data about your web activity and account history.

You also have the option in your browser to prevent LinkedIn from processing your data. As mentioned above, LinkedIn stores most data via cookies that are set in your browser. You can manage, deactivate or delete these cookies. Depending on which browser you have, the management works slightly differently. Under the section “Cookies” you will find the corresponding links to the respective instructions of the most popular browsers.

You can also basically set up your browser so that you are always informed when a cookie is to be set. Then you can always decide individually whether you want to allow the cookie or not.

Legal basis

If you have consented that data from you can be processed and stored by integrated social media elements, this consent is considered the legal basis of the data processing (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO). In principle, your data will also be stored and processed on the basis of our legitimate interest (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO) in fast and good communication with you or other customers and business partners. Nevertheless, we only use the integrated social media elements insofar as you have given your consent. Most social media platforms also set cookies in your browser to store data. That is why we recommend that you read our privacy text about cookies carefully and view the privacy policy or cookie policy of the respective service provider.

LinkedIn also processes data from you in the USA, among other places. We would like to point out that according to the opinion of the European Court of Justice, there is currently no adequate level of protection for the transfer of data to the USA. This may be associated with various risks to the legality and security of data processing.

As a basis for data processing with recipients located in third countries (outside the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, i.e. in particular in the USA) or a data transfer there, LinkedIn uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46. para. 2 and 3 DSGVO). Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) are templates provided by the EU Commission and are intended to ensure that your data comply with European data protection standards even if they are transferred to third countries (such as the USA) and stored there. Through these clauses, LinkedIn undertakes to comply with the European level of data protection when processing your relevant data, even if the data is stored, processed and managed in the US. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the corresponding standard contractual clauses here, among other places: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de

More information on the standard contractual clauses at LinkedIn can be found at https://de.linkedin.com/legal/l/dpa orhttps://www.linkedin.com/legal/l/eu-sccs.

We have tried to bring you closer to the most important information about data processing by LinkedIn. You can learn even more about the data processing of the LinkedIn social media network at https://www.linkedin.com/legal/privacy-policy.

Audio & Video Introduction

What are audio and video elements?

We have included audio or video elements on our website so that you can, for example, watch videos or listen to music/podcasts directly via our website. The content is provided by service providers. All content is therefore also obtained from the corresponding servers of the providers.

These are embedded functional elements of platforms such as YouTube, Vimeo or Spotify. The use of these portals is usually free of charge, but paid content can also be published. With the help of these embedded elements, you can listen to or view the respective content via our website.

If you use audio or video elements on our website, personal data of you may also be transmitted to the service providers, processed and stored.

Why do we use audio & video elements on our website?

Of course, we want to provide you with the best experience on our website. And we are aware that content is no longer conveyed merely in text and static images. Instead of just giving you a link to a video, we provide audio and video formats directly on our website that are entertaining or informative, and ideally both. This expands our service and makes it easier for you to access interesting content. Thus, in addition to our text and images, we also offer video and/or audio content.

What data is stored by audio & video elements?

When you access a page on our website that has an embedded video, for example, your server connects to the service provider’s server. In the process, data from you is also transferred to the third-party provider and stored there. Some data is collected and stored quite independently of whether or not you have an account with the third-party provider. This usually includes your IP address, browser type, operating system, and other general information about your terminal device. Furthermore, most providers also collect information about your web activity. This includes session duration, bounce rate, which button you clicked on, or which website you used to access the service. All this information is usually stored via cookies or pixel tags (also called web beacons). Pseudonymized data is mostly stored in cookies in your browser. You can always find out exactly what data is stored and processed in the privacy policy of the respective provider.

Duration of data processing

You can find out exactly how long the data is stored on the servers of the third-party providers either below in the data protection text of the respective tool or in the provider’s data protection declaration. In principle, personal data is always processed only as long as it becomes absolutely necessary for the provision of our services or products. As a rule, this also applies to third-party providers. In most cases, you can assume that certain data will be stored on the servers of third-party providers for several years. Data can be stored for different lengths of time specifically in cookies. Some cookies are deleted as soon as you leave the website, others may be stored in your browser for several years.

Right of objection

Since the embedded audio and video functions on our site usually also use cookies, you should also read our general privacy policy on cookies. In the privacy statements of the respective third-party providers, you can find out more about the handling and storage of your data.

Legal basis

If you have consented that data from you can be processed and stored by embedded audio and video elements, this consent is considered the legal basis of the data processing (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO). In principle, your data will also be stored and processed on the basis of our legitimate interest (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO) in fast and good communication with you or other customers and business partners. Nevertheless, we only use the integrated audio and video elements if you have given your consent.

YouTube Privacy Policy

What is YouTube?

We have incorporated YouTube videos on our website. This allows us to present interesting videos directly on our site. YouTube is a video portal that has been a subsidiary of Google since 2006. The video portal is operated by YouTube, LLC, 901 Cherry Ave, San Bruno, CA 94066, USA. When you call up a page on our website that has a YouTube video embedded, your browser automatically connects to the YouTube or Google servers. In the process, various data are transferred (depending on the settings). Google Ireland Limited (Gordon House, Barrow Street Dublin 4, Ireland) is responsible for all data processing in the European area.

In the following, we would like to explain in more detail which data is processed, why we have integrated YouTube videos and how you can manage or delete your data.

On YouTube, users can watch, rate, comment on and upload videos themselves free of charge. Over the last few years, YouTube has become one of the most important social media channels in the world. In order for us to display videos on our website, YouTube provides a code snippet that we have built into our site.

Why do we use YouTube videos on our website?

YouTube is the video platform with the most visitors and the best content. We are committed to providing you with the best possible user experience on our website. And of course, interesting videos can’t be missing from that. With the help of our embedded videos, we provide you with other helpful content in addition to our text and images. In addition, the embedded videos make our website easier to find on the Google search engine. Also, when we run ads through Google Ads, Google – thanks to the data it collects – can really only show these ads to people who are interested in what we have to offer.

What data is stored by YouTube?

As soon as you visit one of our pages that has a YouTube video embedded, YouTube sets at least one cookie that stores your IP address and our URL. If you are logged into your YouTube account, YouTube can usually assign your interactions on our website to your profile using cookies. This includes data such as session duration, bounce rate, approximate location, technical information such as browser type, screen resolution or your internet provider. Other data may include contact details, any ratings, sharing content via social media or adding to your favorites on YouTube.

If you are not logged into a Google account or a YouTube account, Google stores data with a unique identifier associated with your device, browser, or app. For example, your preferred language setting is retained. But a lot of interaction data can’t be stored because fewer cookies are set.

How long and where is the data stored?

The data that YouTube receives from you and processes is stored on Google servers. Most of these servers are located in America. You can see exactly where Google data centers are located at https://www.google.com/about/datacenters/inside/locations/?hl=de. Your data is distributed across the servers. Thus, the data can be retrieved more quickly and is better protected against manipulation.

Google stores the collected data for different lengths of time. Some data you can delete at any time, others are automatically deleted after a limited time, and still others are stored by Google for a longer period of time. Some data (such as items from “My Activity”, photos or documents, products) stored in your Google Account will remain stored until you delete it. Even if you are not signed into a Google Account, you can delete some data associated with your device, browser, or app.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

Basically, you can delete data in Google Account manually. With the automatic deletion feature of location and activity data introduced in 2019, information will be stored depending on your decision – either 3 or 18 months and then deleted.

Whether you have a Google account or not, you can configure your browser to delete or disable cookies from Google. Depending on which browser you use, this works in different ways. Under the section “Cookies” you will find the corresponding links to the respective instructions of the most popular browsers.

If you generally do not want cookies, you can set up your browser so that it always informs you when a cookie is to be set. In this way, you can decide for each individual cookie whether you allow it or not.

Legal basis

If you have consented that data from you can be processed and stored by embedded YouTube elements, this consent is considered the legal basis for data processing (Art. 6 (1) lit. a DSGVO). In principle, your data will also be stored and processed on the basis of our legitimate interest (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO) in fast and good communication with you or other customers and business partners. Nevertheless, we only use the embedded YouTube elements if you have given your consent. YouTube also sets cookies in your browser to store data. Therefore, we recommend that you read our privacy text about cookies carefully and view the privacy policy or cookie policy of the respective service provider.

YouTube also processes data in the USA, among other places. We would like to point out that according to the opinion of the European Court of Justice, there is currently no adequate level of protection for the transfer of data to the USA. This may be associated with various risks to the legality and security of data processing.

As a basis for data processing at recipients located in third countries (outside the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, i.e. in particular in the USA) or a data transfer there, YouTube uses standard contractual clauses approved by the EU Commission (= Art. 46. para. 2 and 3 DSGVO). These clauses oblige YouTube to comply with the EU level of data protection when processing relevant data outside the EU as well. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision as well as the clauses here, among other places: https://germany.representation.ec.europa.eu/index_de.

Since YouTube is a subsidiary of Google, there is a joint privacy policy. If you want to learn more about the handling of your data, we recommend the privacy policy at https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=de.

Online Booking Systems Introduction

What is an online booking system?

To enable you to make bookings via our website, we use one or more booking systems. Appointments, for example, can be easily created online. A booking system is a software application integrated into our website that displays available resources (such as free appointments) and through which you can book and usually also pay directly online. You probably already know such booking systems from the catering or hotel industry. In the meantime, however, such systems are used in a wide variety of industries. Depending on the tool and settings, booking systems can be used both internally for us and for customers like you. In the process, personal data is usually also collected and stored from you.

In most cases, the booking works as follows: You will find the booking system on our website, where you can book an appointment for a service directly with a mouse click and by entering your data, and usually pay for it right away. You may be able to enter various information about yourself via a form. Please be aware that all the data you enter may be stored and managed in a database.

Why do we use an online booking system?

In a way, we see our website also as a free service for you. We want you to get helpful information and to feel comfortable on our site. This includes an online service that makes booking appointments or services as easy as possible for you. Gone are the days when you had to wait days for a booking confirmation via phone or e-mail. With an online booking system, you have everything done in just a few clicks and can get back to other things. The system also makes it easier for us to manage all bookings and appointments. Therefore, we consider such a booking system absolutely useful for you as well as for us.

What data is processed?

Of course, we cannot tell you in this general information text about booking system exactly what data is processed. This always depends on the tool used and the functions and possibilities it contains. Many booking systems offer a number of other features in addition to the conventional booking function. For example, many systems also have an external online payment system (e.g. from Stripe, Klarna or Paypal) and a calendar synchronization function integrated. Accordingly, different and varying amounts of data can be processed depending on the functions. Usually, data such as IP address, name and contact details, technical details about your device and time of a booking are processed. If you also make a payment in the system, bank data such as account number, credit card number, passwords, TANs, etc. are also stored and passed on to the respective payment provider. We recommend that you read the respective privacy policy of the tool used carefully so that you know which of your data is specifically processed.

Duration of data processing

Each booking system stores data for different lengths of time. Therefore, we cannot yet provide any concrete information about the duration of data processing here. In principle, however, personal data is only ever stored for as long as is absolutely necessary to provide the services. Booking systems generally also use cookies, which store information for different lengths of time. Some cookies are deleted immediately after leaving the site, others can be stored for several years. You can learn more about this in our “Cookies” section. Please also take a look at the respective privacy statements of the providers. These should explain how long your data will be stored in the specific case.

Right of objection

If you have consented to data processing by a booking system, you naturally also always have the option and right to revoke this consent. So please always be aware that you have rights with regard to your personal data and that you can exercise these rights at any time. If you do not want personal data to be processed, then no personal data may be processed. It’s that simple. The easiest way to revoke data processing is via a cookie consent tool or via other opt-out functions offered. You can also manage data storage by cookies directly in your browser, for example. Until your revocation, the legality of the data management remains unaffected.

Legal basis

If you have consented to booking systems being used, the legal basis for the corresponding data processing is this consent. According to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO (consent), it is the legal basis for the processing of personal data, as it may occur through booking systems.

Furthermore, we also have a legitimate interest in using booking systems because, on the one hand, this allows us to expand our customer service and, on the other hand, to optimize our internal booking organization. The corresponding legal basis for this is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO (Legitimate Interests). Nevertheless, we only use the tools if you have given your consent. We definitely want to have this stated again at this point.

You will find information on special booking systems – if available – in the following sections.

Calendly Privacy Policy

We use Calendly, a planning and organization tool, for our website. The service provider is the American company Calendly LCC, 271 17th St NW, Ste 1000, Atlanta, Georgia, 30363, USA.

Calendly also processes data in the USA, among other places. We would like to point out that according to the opinion of the European Court of Justice, there is currently no adequate level of protection for the transfer of data to the USA. This may be accompanied by various risks to the legality and security of data processing.

As a basis for data processing with recipients located in third countries (outside the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, i.e. in particular the USA) or a data transfer there, Calendly uses standard contractual clauses approved by the EU Commission (= Art. 46. para. 2 and 3 DSGVO). These clauses oblige Calendly to comply with the EU level of data protection when processing relevant data also outside the EU. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the clauses, among others, herehttps://germany.representation.ec.europa.eu/index_de

You can learn more about the data processed by using Calendly in the privacy policy at https://calendly.com/privacy

All texts are protected by copyright.

Source: Created with the Datenschutz Generator of AdSimple

MANSIO GmbH

Jülicher Str. 209c

52070 Aachen

MANSIO GmbH

About MANSIO

Legal