Privacy Policy

This privacy policy explains the nature, scope, and purpose of the processing of personal data (hereinafter referred to as "data") within our online offering and the associated websites, functions, and content, as well as external online presences, such as our social media profiles (hereinafter jointly referred to as the "online offering"). 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).

Types of data processed:

– Inventory data (e.g., names, addresses).
– Contact data (e.g., email, telephone numbers).
– Content data (e.g., text entries, photographs, videos).
– Usage data (e.g., websites 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 refer to the data subjects collectively as “users”).

Purpose of processing

– Provision of the online service, its functions, and content.
– Responding to contact requests and communicating with users.
– Security measures.
– Reach measurement/marketing

Terms used

“Personal data” means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (hereinafter referred to as “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. a 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 on personal data or on sets of personal data, whether or not by automated means. The term is broad and covers virtually all data handling.

The “controller” is the natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which alone or jointly with others decides on the purposes and means of the processing of personal data.

Relevant legal bases

In accordance with Art. 13 GDPR, we inform you of the legal basis for our data processing. If the legal basis is not mentioned in the privacy policy, the following applies: The legal basis for obtaining consent is Art. 6 (1) (a) and Art. 7 GDPR, the legal basis for processing to fulfill our services and implement contractual measures as well as to answer inquiries is Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR, the legal basis for processing to fulfill our legal obligations is Art. 6 (1) (c) GDPR, and the legal basis for processing to protect our legitimate interests is Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR. In the event that vital interests of the data subject or another natural person require the processing of personal data, Art. 6 (1) (d) GDPR serves as the legal basis.

Cooperation with processors and third parties

If, as part of our processing, we disclose data to other persons and companies (contract 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 legal permission (e.g. if transmission of the data to third parties, such as payment service providers, is necessary to fulfil the contract in accordance with Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR), 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 to process data on the basis of a so-called “order processing agreement” , this is done on the basis of Art. 28 GDPR.

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 if this occurs as part of the use of third-party services or the disclosure or transmission of data to third parties, this will only occur if it is necessary to fulfill 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 will only process or have data processed in a third country if the special requirements of Art. 44 et seq. GDPR are met. This means that processing is carried out, for example, on the basis of special guarantees, such as the officially recognized determination of a data protection level equivalent to that of the EU (e.g. for the USA through the “Privacy Shield”) or compliance with officially recognized special contractual obligations (so -called “standard contractual clauses”).

Rights of data subjects

You have the right to request confirmation as to whether or not data concerning you is being processed and to request information about this data, as well as further information and a copy of the data in accordance with Art. 15 GDPR. In accordance with Art. 16 GDPR, you have the right to request that the data concerning you be completed or that inaccurate data concerning you be corrected. In accordance with Art. 17 GDPR, you have the right to request that the data concerning you be deleted immediately or, alternatively, to request that the processing of the data be restricted in accordance with Art. 18 GDPR. You have the right to receive the data concerning you that you have provided to us in accordance with Art. 20 GDPR and to request that this data be transmitted to other responsible parties. Furthermore, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the competent supervisory authority in accordance with Art. 77 GDPR.

Right of withdrawal

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

Right of objection

You may object to the future processing of your data at any time in accordance with Art. 21 GDPR. In particular, you may object to processing for direct marketing purposes.

Cookies and right to object to direct advertising

“Cookies” are small files that are stored on users’ computers. Different types of information can be stored within cookies. A cookie is primarily used to save information about a user (or the device on which the cookie is stored) during or after their visit to an online service. Temporary cookies, or “session cookies” or “transient cookies,” are cookies that are deleted after a user leaves an online service and closes their browser. Such a cookie can store, for example, the contents of a shopping cart in an online shop or a login status. “Permanent” or “persistent” cookies are cookies that remain stored even after the browser is closed. For example, the login status can be saved if the user visits the website several days later. Likewise, the interests of the user can be saved in such a cookie and used for reach measurement or marketing purposes. “ Third-party cookies” are cookies that are offered by providers other than the controller who operates the online service (otherwise, if they are only their cookies, they are referred to as “first-party cookies”).

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

If users do not wish cookies to be stored on their computer, they are asked to deactivate the corresponding option in their browser's system settings. Stored cookies can be deleted in the browser's system settings. Excluding cookies may result in functional limitations of this online service.

A general objection to the use of cookies used for online marketing purposes can be declared for a variety of services, especially in the case of tracking, via the US website https://www.aboutads.info/choices/ or the EU website https://www.youronlinechoices.com/ . Furthermore, cookies can be blocked by deactivating them in the browser settings. Please note that in this case, not all functions of this website may be available.

Deletion of data

The data we process will be deleted or restricted in accordance with Articles 17 and 18 of the GDPR. Unless expressly stated in this privacy policy, the data stored by us will be deleted as soon as it is no longer required for its intended purpose and there are no statutory retention periods that prevent deletion. If the data is not deleted because it is required for other legally permissible purposes, its processing will be restricted. This means that the data will be blocked and not processed for other purposes. This applies, for example, to data that must be retained for commercial or tax law reasons.

According to legal requirements in Germany, records are retained for 6 years in accordance with Section 257 (1) of the German Commercial Code (HGB) (commercial books, inventories, opening balance sheets, annual financial statements, commercial letters, accounting documents, etc.) and for 10 years in accordance with Section 147 (1) of the German Fiscal Code (AO) (books, records, management reports, accounting documents, commercial and business letters, documents relevant for taxation, etc.).

Hosting

The hosting services we use 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 offering.

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

Collection of access data and log files

Based on our legitimate interests pursuant to Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR, we, or rather our hosting provider, collect data about every access to the server on which this service is located (so-called server log files). This access data includes the name of the accessed website, the file, the date and time of access, the amount of data transferred, the notification of successful access, the browser type and version, the user's operating system, the referrer URL (the previously visited page), the IP address, and the requesting provider.

Log file information is stored for security reasons (e.g., to investigate misuse or fraud) for a maximum of 7 days and then deleted. Data that needs to be retained for evidentiary purposes is exempt from deletion until the respective incident has been finally resolved.

Contact us

When you contact us (e.g., via contact form, email, telephone, or social media), the user's information will be processed to process the contact request and its handling in accordance with Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR. User information may be stored in a customer relationship management system ("CRM system") or similar request organization.

We delete requests if they are no longer required. We review their necessity every two years; furthermore, statutory archiving obligations apply.

Online presence in social media

We maintain online presences within social networks and platforms to communicate with customers, interested parties, and users active there and to inform them about our services. When accessing 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 users' data if they communicate with us within the social networks and platforms, e.g. by writing posts on our online presence or sending us messages.

Integration of third-party services and content

Within our online offering, we use content or service offerings from third parties on the basis of our legitimate interests (i.e. interest in the analysis, optimization and economic operation of our online offering within the meaning of Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR) in order to integrate their content and services, such as videos or fonts (hereinafter collectively referred to as “content”).

This always presupposes that the third-party providers of this content perceive the IP address of the user, since 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 only use 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 online offering, as well as be linked to such information from other sources.

Google Analytics

Based on our legitimate interests (i.e. interest in the analysis, optimization and economic operation of our online offering within the meaning of Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR), we use Google Analytics, a web analysis service provided by Google LLC ("Google"). Google uses cookies. The information generated by the cookie about the use of the online offering by users is usually transferred 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 to evaluate the use of our online offering by users, to compile reports on activities within this online offering and to provide us with other services associated with the use of this online offering and internet usage.

Pseudonymous user profiles can be created from the processed data. We only use Google Analytics with activated IP anonymization. This means that the user's IP address will be shortened by Google within member states of the European Union or in other contracting states to 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 Google data. Users can prevent cookies from being saved by setting their browser software accordingly; users can also prevent Google from collecting the data generated by the cookie and relating to their use of the website and from processing this data by Google by downloading and installing the browser plug-in available under the following link: http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=de . Further information on data usage by Google, settings and objection options can be found on the Google websites: https://www.google.com/intl/de/policies/privacy/partners (“How Google uses data when you use our partners’ websites or apps”), http://www.google.com/policies/technologies/ads (“How Google uses data for advertising purposes”), http://www.google.de/settings/ads (“Manage information that Google uses to show you ads”).

 

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