data protection

This data protection declaration informs you about the type, scope and purpose of the processing of personal data (hereinafter referred to as „data“) within our online offer and the websites, functions and content associated with it, as well as external online presences, such as our social media profiles. (hereinafter collectively referred to as „online offer“). With regard to the terms used, such as „processing“ or „controller“, we refer to the definitions in Article 4 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Person responsible

my personal concept gmbh

Managing Director: Sven Schmidt

Kaistenberg 170

5082 Kaisten / AG, Switzerland

contact@my-personal-concept.com

Types of data processed:

– Inventory data (e.g., names, addresses).

– Contact data (e.g., e-mail, telephone numbers).

– Content data (e.g., text entries, photographs, videos).

– Usage data (e.g., web pages visited, interest in content, access times).

– Meta/communication data (e.g., device information, IP addresses).

Categories of data subjects

Visitors and users of the online offer (hereinafter, we also refer to the data subjects collectively as „users“).

Purpose of the processing

– Provision of the online offer, its functions and contents.

– Responding to contact requests and communicating with users.

– Security measures.

– Reach measurement/marketing

Terminology used

„Personal data“ means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (hereinafter „data subject“); an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier (e.g. cookie) or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person.

„Processing“ means any operation or set of operations which is performed upon personal data, whether or not by automatic means. The term is broad and covers virtually any handling of data.

Controller“ means the natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which alone or jointly with others determines the purposes and means of the processing of personal data.

Relevant legal basis

Insofar as we process data of users from the EU/EEC, the legal bases of the GDPR stated below apply in each case.

Otherwise, we process the data on the basis of Swiss law. I.e. in this case the explanations below apply, but on the basis of Swiss law and not the aforementioned GDPR standards.

In accordance with Art. 13 of the GDPR, we will inform you of the legal basis for our data processing. If the legal basis is not mentioned in the privacy statement, the following applies: The legal basis for obtaining consent is Art. 6(1)(a) and Art. 7 DSGVO, the legal basis for processing in order to fulfil our services and carry out contractual measures and respond to enquiries is Art. 6(1)(b) DSGVO, the legal basis for processing in order to fulfil our legal obligations is Art. 6(1)(c) DSGVO, and the legal basis for processing in order to protect our legitimate interests is Art. 6(1)(f) DSGVO. In the event that vital interests of the data subject or another natural person make it necessary to process personal data, Art. 6 (1) (d) DSGVO serves as the legal basis.

Cooperation with processors and third parties

If, in the course of our processing, we disclose data to other persons and companies (order processors or third parties), transmit it to them or otherwise grant them access to the data, this will only be done on the basis of a legal permission (e.g. if a transmission of the data to third parties, such as to payment service providers, is necessary for the performance of the contract pursuant to Art. 6 (1) lit. b DSGVO), you have consented, a legal obligation provides for this or on the basis of our legitimate interests (e.g. when using agents, web hosts, etc.).

If we commission third parties with the processing of data on the basis of a so-called „order processing agreement“, this is done on the basis of Art. 28 DSGVO.

Transfers to third countries

If we process data in a third country (i.e. outside the European Union (EU) or the European Economic Area (EEA)) or do so in the context of using third-party services or disclosing or transferring data to third parties, this will only be done if it is done to fulfil our (pre-)contractual obligations, on the basis of your consent, due to a legal obligation or on the basis of our legitimate interests. Subject to legal or contractual permissions, we only process or allow the processing of data in a third country if the special requirements of Art. 44 ff. DSGVO are met. This means, for example, that the processing is carried out on the basis of special guarantees, such as the officially recognised determination of a level of data protection corresponding to that of the EU (e.g. for the USA through the „Privacy Shield“) or compliance with officially recognised special contractual obligations (so-called „standard contractual clauses“).

Rights of data subjects

You have the right to request confirmation as to whether data in question is being processed and to information about this data as well as further information and a copy of the data in accordance with Art. 15 DSGVO.

You have according to. Article 16 of the GDPR, you have the right to request that the data concerning you be completed or that the inaccurate data concerning you be corrected.

In accordance with Art. 17 of the GDPR, you have the right to demand that the data in question be deleted without delay, or alternatively, in accordance with Art. 18 of the GDPR, to demand that the processing of the data be restricted.

You have the right to request that the data concerning you that you have provided to us be received in accordance with Art. 20 of the GDPR and to request that it be transferred to other data controllers.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the competent supervisory authority in accordance with Art. 77 DSGVO.

Right of withdrawal

You have the right to revoke your consent in accordance with Art. 7 (3) DSGVO with effect for the future.

Right of objection

You may object to the future processing of data relating to you in accordance with Art. 21 DSGVO at any time. The objection can be made in particular against processing for direct advertising purposes.

Cookies and right to object in the case of direct advertising

Cookies“ are small files that are stored on users‘ computers. Different information can be stored within the cookies. A cookie is primarily used to store information about a user (or the device on which the cookie is stored) during or after his or her visit to an online offer. Temporary cookies, or „session cookies“ or „transient cookies“, are cookies that are deleted after a user leaves an online offer and closes his or her browser. The content of a shopping basket in an online shop or a login jam, for example, can be stored in such a cookie. Cookies that remain stored even after the browser is closed are referred to as „permanent“ or „persistent“. For example, the login status can be stored if users visit them after several days. Likewise, the interests of users can be stored in such a cookie, which is used for reach measurement or marketing purposes. Third-party cookies“ are cookies that are offered by providers other than the responsible party that operates the online offer (otherwise, if they are only its cookies, they are referred to as „first-party cookies“).

We may use temporary and permanent cookies and will explain this in our privacy policy.

If users do not want cookies to be stored on their computer, they are asked to deactivate the corresponding option in the system settings of their browser. Stored cookies can be deleted in the system settings of the browser. The exclusion of cookies can lead to functional restrictions of this online offer.

A general objection to the use of cookies used for online marketing purposes can be declared for a large number of services, especially in the case of tracking, via the US American site http://www.aboutads.info/choices/ or the EU site http://www.youronlinechoices.com/. Furthermore, the storage of cookies can be achieved by deactivating them in the browser settings. Please note that not all functions of this online offer can then be used.

Deletion of data

The data processed by us will be deleted or restricted in its processing in accordance with Articles 17 and 18 DSGVO. Unless expressly stated within the scope of this data protection declaration, the data stored by us will be deleted as soon as they are no longer required for their intended purpose and the deletion does not conflict with any statutory retention obligations. If the data is not deleted because it is required for other and legally permissible purposes, its processing will be restricted. I.e. the data is blocked and not processed for other purposes. This applies, for example, to data that must be retained for reasons of commercial or tax law.

According to legal requirements in Germany, data is stored for 6 years in accordance with § 257 para. 1 HGB (commercial books, inventories, opening balance sheets, annual financial statements, commercial letters, accounting vouchers, etc.) and for 10 years in accordance with § 147 para. 1 AO (books, records, management reports, accounting vouchers, commercial and business letters, documents relevant for taxation, etc.).

According to legal requirements in Austria, storage is in particular for 7 years pursuant to § 132 para. 1 BAO (accounting records, vouchers/invoices, accounts, receipts, business papers, statement of income and expenditure, etc.), for 22 years in connection with real property and for 10 years for documents in connection with electronically provided services, telecommunications, radio and television services provided to non-entrepreneurs in EU member states and for which the Mini-One-Stop-Shop (MOSS) is claimed.

Business-related processing

In addition, we process
– Contract data (e.g., subject matter of the contract, term, category of customer).
– Payment data (e.g., bank details, payment history)
of our customers, prospective customers and business partners for the purpose of providing contractual services, service and customer care, marketing, advertising and market research.

Hosting

The hosting services used by us serve to provide the following services: Infrastructure and platform services, computing capacity, storage space and database services, security services and technical maintenance services, which we use for the purpose of operating this online offer.

In doing so, we, or our hosting provider, process inventory data, contact data, content data, contract data, usage data, meta data and communication data of customers, interested parties and visitors of this online offer on the basis of our legitimate interests in an efficient and secure provision of this online offer pursuant to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO in conjunction with Art. 28 DSGVO (conclusion of a contract). Art. 28 DSGVO (conclusion of order processing contract).

Collection of access data and log files

We, or our hosting provider, collect data on every access to our website on the basis of our legitimate interests within the meaning of Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f. DSGVO, we or our hosting provider collect data about each access to the server on which this service is located (so-called server log files). The access data includes the name of the website accessed, file, date and time of access, amount of data transferred, notification of successful access, browser type and version, the user’s operating system, referrer URL (the previously visited page), IP address and the requesting provider.

Log file information is stored for security reasons (e.g. for the clarification of abuse or fraud) for a maximum of 7 days and then deleted. Data whose further storage is required for evidentiary purposes is exempt from deletion until the respective incident has been finally clarified.

Provision of contractual services

We process inventory data (e.g., names and addresses as well as contact data of users), contract data (e.g., services used, names of contact persons, payment information) for the purpose of fulfilling our contractual obligations and services pursuant to Art. 6 para. 1 lit b. DSGVO. The entries marked as mandatory in online forms are required for the conclusion of the contract.

When using our online services, we store the IP address and the time of the respective user action. The storage is based on our legitimate interests as well as those of the users in protection against misuse and other unauthorised use. In principle, this data is not passed on to third parties unless it is necessary to pursue our claims or there is a legal obligation to do so in accordance with Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. c DSGVO.

We process usage data (e.g. the web pages visited on our online offer, interest in our products) and content data (e.g. entries in the contact form or user profile) for advertising purposes in a user profile, e.g. in order to display product information to users based on the services they have used to date.

The deletion of the data takes place after the expiry of legal warranty and comparable obligations, the necessity of keeping the data is reviewed every three years; in the case of legal archiving obligations, the deletion takes place after their expiry. Information in any customer account shall remain until it is deleted.

Administration, financial accounting, office organisation, contact management

We process data in the context of administrative tasks as well as organisation of our operations, financial accounting and compliance with legal obligations, such as archiving. In doing so, we process the same data that we process in the course of providing our contractual services. The processing bases are Art. 6 para. 1 lit. c. DSGVO, Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f. DSGVO. Customers, interested parties, business partners and website visitors are affected by the processing. The purpose and our interest in the processing lies in the administration, financial accounting, office organisation, archiving of data, i.e. tasks that serve the maintenance of our business activities, performance of our tasks and provision of our services. The deletion of data with regard to contractual services and contractual communication corresponds to the information mentioned in these processing activities.

In this context, we disclose or transmit data to the tax authorities, advisors, such as tax consultants or auditors, as well as other fee offices and payment service providers.

Furthermore, we store information on suppliers, organisers and other business partners on the basis of our business interests, e.g. for the purpose of contacting them at a later date. This data, most of which is company-related, is stored permanently.

Business analyses and market research

In order to run our business economically and to be able to recognise market trends, customer and user wishes, we analyse the data we have on business transactions, contracts, enquiries, etc.. In doing so, we process inventory data, communication data, contract data, payment data, usage data, metadata on the basis of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f. DSGVO, whereby the data subjects include customers, interested parties, business partners, visitors and users of the online offer.

The analyses are carried out for the purpose of business evaluations, marketing and market research. In doing so, we may take into account the profiles of registered users with details of, for example, their purchase transactions. The analyses serve us to increase user-friendliness, to optimise our offer and to improve business management. The analyses serve us alone and are not disclosed externally, unless they are anonymous analyses with summarised values.

If these analyses or profiles are personal, they are deleted or anonymised when the user terminates the contract, otherwise after two years from the conclusion of the contract. In all other respects, the overall business analyses and general trend analyses are prepared anonymously wherever possible.

Amazon affiliate programme

On the basis of our legitimate interests (i.e. interest in the economic operation of our online offer within the meaning of Art. 6 (1) lit. f. DSGVO), we are participants in the Amazon EU partner programme. DSGVO), we are participants in the Amazon EU affiliate programme, which is designed to provide a means for websites to earn advertising fees by placing advertisements and links to Amazon.de (so-called affiliate system). Amazon uses cookies to track the origin of orders. Among other things, Amazon can recognise that you have clicked on the affiliate link on this website and subsequently purchased a product from Amazon.

For further information on the use of data by Amazon and the possibility to object, please refer to the company’s data protection declaration: http://www.amazon.de/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=footer_privacy?ie=UTF8&nodeId=3312401.

Registration function

Users can optionally create a user account. As part of the registration process, users are provided with the required mandatory data. The data entered during registration will be used for the purposes of using the offer. Users can be informed by e-mail about information relevant to the offer or registration, such as changes to the scope of the offer or technical circumstances. If users have cancelled their user account, their data relating to the user account will be deleted, subject to their retention being necessary for reasons of commercial or tax law in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. c DSGVO. It is the responsibility of the users to save their data in the event of termination before the end of the contract. We are entitled to irretrievably delete all user data stored during the term of the contract.

Within the scope of the use of our registration and login functions as well as the use of the user account, we store the IP address and the time of the respective user action. The storage is based on our legitimate interests as well as those of the users in protection against misuse and other unauthorised use. As a matter of principle, this data is not passed on to third parties unless it is necessary for the prosecution of our claims or there is a legal obligation to do so in accordance with Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. c DSGVO. The IP addresses are anonymised or deleted after 7 days at the latest.

Contacting

When contacting us (e.g. by contact form, email, telephone or via social media), the user’s details are processed for the purpose of handling the contact request and its processing in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b) DSGVO. The user’s details may be stored in a customer relationship management system („CRM system“) or comparable enquiry organisation.

We delete the enquiries if they are no longer necessary. We review the necessity every two years; furthermore, the legal archiving obligations apply.

Comments and contributions

When users leave comments or other contributions, their IP addresses are stored for 7 days on the basis of our legitimate interests as defined in Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f. DSGVO are stored for 7 days. This is done for our security in case someone leaves unlawful content in comments and posts (insults, prohibited political propaganda, etc.). In this case, we ourselves can be prosecuted for the comment or post and are therefore interested in the identity of the author.

Akismet anti-spam check

Our online offer uses the service „Akismet“, which is offered by Automattic Inc., 60 29th Street #343, San Francisco, CA 94110, USA. The use is based on our legitimate interests within the meaning of Art. 6 (1) f) DSGVO. With the help of this service, comments from real people are distinguished from spam comments. For this purpose, all comment details are sent to a server in the USA, where they are analysed and stored for four days for comparison purposes. If a comment has been classified as spam, the data is stored beyond this time. This information includes the name entered, the email address, the IP address, the comment content, the referrer, information on the browser used as well as the computer system and the time of the entry.

Automattic is certified under the Privacy Shield agreement and thereby offers a guarantee of compliance with European data protection law (https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt0000000CbqcAAC&status=Active).

More information on the collection and use of data by Akismet can be found in Automattic’s privacy policy: https://automattic.com/privacy/.

Users are welcome to use pseudonyms, or to refrain from entering their name or email address. You can prevent the transfer of data completely by not using our commenting system. That would be a shame, but unfortunately we don’t see any other alternatives that work just as effectively.

VG Wort / Scalable Central Measurement System

VG Wort / Scalable Central Measurement System

We use the „Skalierbares Zentrales Messverfahren“ (Scalable Central Measurement System) (SZM) of INFOnline GmbH (INFOnline GmbH, Brühler Str. 9, D-53119 Bonn. ) for the determination of statistical parameters to determine the copy probability of texts. Anonymous measured values are collected. The access count measurement alternatively uses a session cookie or a signature, which is created from various automatically transmitted information from your browser, to recognise computer systems. IP addresses are only processed in anonymised form. The procedure was developed with due regard for data protection. The sole aim of the procedure is to determine the copying probability of individual texts. At no time are individual users identified. Your identity always remains protected. You will not receive any advertising via the system.

Many of our pages are equipped with JavaScript calls through which we report the accesses to the Verwertungsgesellschaft Wort (VG Wort). In this way, we enable our authors to participate in the distributions of the VG Wort, which ensure the legal remuneration for the use of copyrighted works according to § 53 UrhG.

Usage data and metadata of the users are processed here, whereby the IP addresses are shortened and the measurement methods are pseudonymous. The shortened IP address is stored for a maximum of 60 days. The usage data in connection with a pseudonymous assignment value („identifier“) are stored for a maximum of 6 months.

Users also have the option of opting out of the collection of data for the aforementioned purposes: https://optout.ioam.de. Further information can be found in the INFOnline data protection declaration https://www.infonline.de/datenschutz/benutzer.

Newsletter

With the following information we inform you about the contents of our newsletter as well as the registration, dispatch and statistical evaluation procedure and your rights of objection. By subscribing to our newsletter, you agree to receive it and to the procedures described.
Newsletter content: We send newsletters, e-mails and other electronic notifications with promotional information (hereinafter „newsletter“) only with the consent of the recipients or with legal permission. If the contents of the Newsletter are specifically described in the course of registration, they are decisive for the consent of the users. Otherwise, our newsletters contain information about our services and us.
Double opt-in and logging: Registration for our newsletter is carried out in a so-called double opt-in procedure. This means that after registration you will receive an e-mail in which you are asked to confirm your registration. This confirmation is necessary so that no one can register with other email addresses. The registrations for the newsletter are logged in order to be able to prove the registration process in accordance with the legal requirements. This includes the storage of the registration and confirmation time as well as the IP address. Likewise, changes to your data stored with the dispatch service provider are logged.

Registration data: To register for the newsletter, it is sufficient to enter your e-mail address. Optionally, we ask you to enter a name for the purpose of a personal address in the newsletter.

Germany: The newsletter is sent and its success measured on the basis of the recipients‘ consent pursuant to Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. a, Art. 7 DSGVO in conjunction with § 7 Para. 2 No. 3 UWG or on the basis of legal permission pursuant to § 7 Para. 3 UWG.

The logging of the registration process takes place on the basis of our legitimate interests pursuant to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO. Our interest is directed towards the use of a user-friendly as well as secure newsletter system that serves our business interests as well as meets the expectations of the users and furthermore allows us to prove consent.

Cancellation/revocation – You can cancel the receipt of our newsletter at any time, i.e. revoke your consent. You will find a link to cancel the newsletter at the end of each newsletter. We may store unsubscribed email addresses for up to three years on the basis of our legitimate interests before deleting them for newsletter mailing purposes in order to be able to prove consent previously given. The processing of this data is limited to the purpose of a possible defence against claims. An individual deletion request is possible at any time, provided that the former existence of consent is confirmed at the same time.

Newsletter – Dispatch Service Provider

The newsletter is sent by means of the dispatch service provider CleverReach GmbH & Co. KG, Mühlenstr. 43, 26180 Rastede, Germany. You can view the data protection provisions of the dispatch service provider here. The shipping service provider is used on the basis of our legitimate interests pursuant to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO and an order processing agreement pursuant to Art. 28 para. 3 p. 1 DSGVO.

The dispatch service provider may use the data of the recipients in pseudonymous form, i.e. without assignment to a user, to optimise or improve its own services, e.g. to technically optimise the dispatch and presentation of the newsletter or for statistical purposes. However, the dispatch service provider does not use the data of our newsletter recipients to write to them itself or to pass the data on to third parties.

Newsletter – performance measurement

The newsletters contain a so-called „web beacon“, i.e. a pixel-sized file which is retrieved from our server when the newsletter is opened, or if we use a dispatch service provider, from their server. Within the scope of this retrieval, technical information, such as information on the browser and your system, as well as your IP address and the time of the retrieval are initially collected.

This information is used for the technical improvement of the services on the basis of the technical data or the target groups and their reading behaviour on the basis of their retrieval locations (which can be determined with the help of the IP address) or the access times. Statistical surveys also include determining whether newsletters are opened, when they are opened and which links are clicked. For technical reasons, this information can be assigned to the individual newsletter recipients. However, it is neither our intention nor, if used, that of the dispatch service provider to observe individual users. The analyses serve us much more to recognise the reading habits of our users and to adapt our content to them or to send different content according to the interests of our users.

Jetpack (WordPress Stats)

We use the plugin Jetpack (WordPress Stats) on the basis of our legitimate interests (i.e. interest in the analysis, optimisation and economic operation of our online offering within the meaning of Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f. DSGVO) the plugin Jetpack (here the sub-function „WordPress Stats“), which embeds a tool for statistical analysis of visitor accesses and is provided by Automattic Inc., 60 29th Street #343, San Francisco, CA 94110, USA. Jetpack uses „cookies“, which are text files placed on your computer, to help the website analyse how users use the site.

Automattic is certified under the Privacy Shield agreement and thereby offers a guarantee of compliance with European data protection law (https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt0000000CbqcAAC&status=Active).

The information generated by the cookie about your use of this website is stored on a server in the USA. In the process, user profiles can be created from the processed data, whereby these are only used for analysis purposes and not for advertising purposes. Further information can be found in the data protection declarations of Automattic: https://automattic.com/privacy/ and notes on Jetpack cookies: https://jetpack.com/support/cookies/.

Google Analytics

We use Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google LLC („Google“), on the basis of our legitimate interests (i.e. interest in the analysis, optimisation and economic operation of our online offering within the meaning of Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f. DSGVO) Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google LLC („Google“). Google uses cookies. The information generated by the cookie about the use of the online offer by the users is usually transmitted to a Google server in the USA and stored there.

Google is certified under the Privacy Shield agreement and thereby offers a guarantee of compliance with European data protection law (https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt000000001L5AAI&status=Active).

Google will use this information on our behalf for the purpose of evaluating your use of our website, compiling reports on website activity for website operators and providing other services relating to website activity and internet usage. In doing so, pseudonymous user profiles can be created from the processed data.

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

The IP address transmitted by the user’s browser will not be merged with other data from Google. Users can prevent the storage of cookies by setting their browser software accordingly; users can also prevent the collection of the data generated by the cookie and related to their use of the online offer to Google as well as the processing of this data by Google by downloading and installing the browser plugin available under the following link: http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=de.

For more information about Google’s use of data, settings and opt-out options, please visit the Google websites: https://www.google.com/intl/de/policies/privacy/partners („Data use by Google when you use our partners‘ websites or apps“), http://www.google.com/policies/technologies/ads („Data use for advertising purposes“), http://www.google.de/settings/ads („Manage the information Google uses to serve you ads“).

Google-Re/Marketing-Services

We use the marketing and remarketing services (in short „Google Marketing Services“) of Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Park Park, Mountain View, CA 9.5. DSGVO) the marketing and remarketing services (in short „Google marketing services“) of Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA, („Google“).

Google is certified under the Privacy Shield agreement and thereby offers a guarantee of compliance with European data protection law (https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt000000001L5AAI&status=Active).

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

The user’s data is processed pseudonymously as part of Google’s marketing services. This means that Google does not store and process the name or email address of the user, for example, but processes the relevant data in a cookie-related manner within pseudonymous user profiles. I.e. from Google’s perspective, the ads are not managed and displayed for a specifically identified person, but for the cookie holder, regardless of who this cookie holder is. This does not apply if a user has expressly allowed Google to process the data without this pseudonymisation. The information collected about users by Google marketing services is transmitted to Google and stored on Google’s servers in the USA.

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

We may integrate third-party advertisements based on the Google marketing service „AdSense“. AdSense uses cookies to enable Google and its partner websites to serve ads based on users‘ visits to this website or other websites on the Internet.

We may also use Google Tag Manager to integrate and manage Google’s analytics and marketing services on our website.

For more information on Google’s use of data for marketing purposes, please visit the overview page: https://www.google.com/policies/technologies/ads, Google’s privacy policy is available at https://www.google.com/policies/privacy.

If you wish to object to interest-based advertising by Google marketing services, you can use the settings provided by Google.

: http://www.google.com/ads/preferences.

Facebook Pixel, Custom Audience and Facebook Conversion

Within our online offer, the so-called „Facebook pixel“ of the social network Facebook, which is operated by Facebook Inc., 1 Hacker Way, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA, or if you are a resident of the EU, Facebook Ireland Ltd, 4 Grand Canal Square, Grand Canal Harbour, Dublin 2, Ireland („Facebook“), is used due to our legitimate interests in the analysis, optimisation and economic operation of our online offer and for these purposes.

Facebook is certified under the Privacy Shield agreement and thereby offers a guarantee of compliance with European data protection law (https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt0000000GnywAAC&status=Active).

With the help of the Facebook pixel, it is possible for Facebook to determine the visitors to our online offer as a target group for the display of advertisements (so-called „Facebook ads“). Accordingly, we use the Facebook pixel to display the Facebook ads placed by us only to those Facebook users who have also shown an interest in our online offer or who have certain characteristics (e.g. interests in certain topics or products determined on the basis of the websites visited) that we transmit to Facebook (so-called „Custom Audiences“). With the help of the Facebook pixel, we also want to ensure that our Facebook ads correspond to the potential interest of the users and do not have a harassing effect. With the help of the Facebook pixel, we can also track the effectiveness of the Facebook ads for statistical and market research purposes by seeing whether users were redirected to our website after clicking on a Facebook ad (so-called „conversion“).

The processing of the data by Facebook takes place within the framework of Facebook’s data use policy. Accordingly, general information on the display of Facebook ads, in Facebook’s data usage policy: https://www.facebook.com/privacy/explanation. Specific information and details about the Facebook Pixel and how it works can be found in Facebook’s help section: https://www.facebook.com/business/help/651294705016616.

You can opt-out of the Facebook Pixel’s collection and use of your data to display Facebook Ads. To set which types of ads are displayed to you within Facebook, you can visit the page set up by Facebook and follow the instructions there on the settings for usage-based advertising: https://www.facebook.com/settings?tab=ads. The settings are platform independent, i.e. they are applied to all devices, such as desktop computers or mobile devices.

You can further opt out of the use of cookies used for reach measurement and advertising purposes via the Network Advertising Initiative opt-out page (http://optout.networkadvertising.org/) and additionally the US website (http://www.aboutads.info/choices) or the European website (http://www.youronlinechoices.com/uk/your-ad-choices/).

Online presence in social media

We maintain online presences within social networks and platforms in order to be able to communicate with the customers, interested parties and users active there and to inform them about our services there. When calling up the respective networks and platforms, the terms and conditions and data processing guidelines of their respective operators apply.

Unless otherwise stated in our privacy policy, we process the data of users if they communicate with us within the social networks and platforms, e.g. write posts on our online presences or send us messages.

Integration of third-party services and content

Within our online offer, we use content or service offers of third parties on the basis of our legitimate interests (i.e. interest in the analysis, optimisation and economic operation of our online offer within the meaning of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f. DSGVO) to integrate content or services offered by third-party providers, such as videos or fonts (hereinafter uniformly referred to as „content“).

This always requires that the third-party providers of this content are aware of the IP address of the user, as without the IP address they would not be able to send the content to their browser. The IP address is therefore necessary for the display of this content. We endeavour to use only such content whose respective providers only use the IP address to deliver the content. Third-party providers may also use so-called pixel tags (invisible graphics, also known as „web beacons“) for statistical or marketing purposes. The „pixel tags“ can be used to evaluate information such as visitor traffic on the pages of this website. The pseudonymous information may also be stored in cookies on the user’s device and may contain, among other things, technical information about the browser and operating system, referring websites, time of visit and other information about the use of our website, as well as being linked to such information from other sources.

Vimeo

We integrate the videos of the platform „Vimeo“ of the provider Vimeo Inc., Attention: Legal Department, 555 West 18th Street New York, New York 10011, USA. Privacy policy: https://vimeo.com/privacy.

Youtube

We integrate the videos of the platform „YouTube“ of the provider Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA. Privacy policy: https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/, Opt-Out: https://adssettings.google.com/authenticated.

Google Maps

We integrate the maps of the service „Google Maps“ of the provider Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA. Privacy policy: https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/, Opt-Out: https://adssettings.google.com/authenticated.

Google Fonts

We integrate the fonts („Google Fonts“) of the provider Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA. Privacy policy: https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/, Opt-Out: https://adssettings.google.com/authenticated.

Google ReCaptcha

We integrate the function for the recognition of bots, e.g. for entries in online forms („ReCaptcha“) of the provider Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA. Privacy policy: https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/, Opt-Out: https://adssettings.google.com/authenticated.

Use of Facebook social plugins

We use social plugins („plugins“) of the social network facebook.com, which is operated by Facebook Ireland Ltd. DSGVO) social plugins („plugins“) of the social network facebook.com, which is operated by Facebook Ireland Ltd, 4 Grand Canal Square, Grand Canal Harbour, Dublin 2, Ireland („Facebook“). The plugins can display interaction elements or content (e.g. videos, graphics or text contributions) and are recognisable by one of the Facebook logos (white „f“ on a blue tile, the terms „Like“, „Like“ or a „thumbs up“ sign) or are marked with the addition „Facebook Social Plugin“. The list and appearance of Facebook social plugins can be viewed here: https://developers.facebook.com/docs/plugins/.

Facebook is certified under the Privacy Shield agreement and thereby offers a guarantee of compliance with European data protection law (https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt0000000GnywAAC&status=Active).

When a user calls up a function of this online offer that contains such a plugin, his or her device establishes a direct connection with Facebook’s servers. The content of the plugin is transmitted by Facebook directly to the user’s device and integrated into the online offer by the latter. In the process, user profiles can be created from the processed data. We therefore have no influence on the scope of the data that Facebook collects with the help of this plugin and therefore inform users according to our level of knowledge.

By integrating the plugins, Facebook receives the information that a user has accessed the corresponding page of the online offer. If the user is logged in to Facebook, Facebook can assign the visit to his or her Facebook account. If users interact with the plugins, for example by clicking the Like button or posting a comment, the corresponding information is transmitted from their device directly to Facebook and stored there. If a user is not a member of Facebook, there is still the possibility that Facebook will find out and store his or her IP address. According to Facebook, only an anonymised IP address is stored in Germany.

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

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