Privacy policy

Introduction and overview

We have drawn up this privacy policy (version 02.06.2025-323003241) in order to inform you in accordance with the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and applicable national laws, which personal data (data for short) we as the controller - and the processors commissioned by us (e.g. providers) - 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 provide you with comprehensive information about the data we process about you.

Data protection declarations usually sound very technical and use legal jargon. This privacy policy, on the other hand, is intended to describe the most important things to you as simply and transparently as possible. As far as it is conducive to transparency, technical Terms explained in a reader-friendly waylinks to further information and Graphics for use. We use it to inform you in clear and simple language that we only process personal data as part of our business activities if there is a corresponding legal basis. This is certainly not possible if we provide explanations that are as concise, unclear and legal-technical as possible, as is often standard 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 any questions, please contact the responsible body named below or in the legal notice, follow the links provided and view further information on third-party websites. Our contact details can of course also be found in the legal notice.

Area of application

This privacy policy applies to all personal data processed by our company and to all personal data processed by companies commissioned by us (processors). By personal data, we mean information within the meaning of Art. 4 No. 1 GDPR, such as a person's name, email 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 shops) that we operate
• Social media presence and e-mail communication
• Mobile apps for smartphones and other devices

In short: The privacy policy applies to all areas in which personal data is processed in the company in a structured manner via the channels mentioned. 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 policy, we provide you with transparent information on the legal principles and regulations, i.e. the legal basis 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 access this EU General Data Protection Regulation online on EUR-Lex, the access point to EU law, at https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/DE/ALL/?uri=celex%3A32016R0679 read more.

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

1. Consent (Article 6(1)(a) GDPR): You have given us your consent to process data for a specific purpose. An example would be the storage of the data you enter in a contact form.
2. Contract (Article 6(1)(b) GDPR): In order to fulfil a contract or pre-contractual obligations with you, we process your data. For example, if we conclude a purchase contract with you, we require personal information in advance.
3. Legal obligation (Article 6(1)(c) GDPR): 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.
4. Legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR): In the 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 securely and efficiently. This processing is therefore a legitimate interest.

Other conditions such as the fulfilment of recording in the public interest and the exercise of official authority as well as the protection of vital interests do not generally arise for us. If such a legal basis is relevant, it will be indicated at the appropriate point.

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), in short DSG.
• In Germany this applies Federal Data Protection Act, short BDSG.

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

Contact details of the person responsible

If you have any questions about data protection or the processing of personal data, you will find below the contact details of the controller in accordance with Article 4(7) of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR):

Irene Aniteye
Sorbenstrasse 60-64
20537 Hamburg
Germany

E-mail: info@aidia-pitch.de

Imprint: https://aidia-pitch.de/impressum

Storage duration

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

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

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

Rights under the General Data Protection Regulation

In accordance with Articles 13, 14 GDPR, we inform you of the following rights to which you are entitled in order to ensure fair and transparent processing of data:

• According to Article 15 GDPR, you have a right to information about whether we process your data. If this is the case, you have the right to receive a copy of the data and the following information:
  • the purpose for which we carry out the processing;
  • 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 analysed in order to create a personal profile of you.
• According to Article 16 GDPR, you have a right to rectification of data, which means that we must correct data if you find errors.
• According to Article 17 GDPR, you have the right to erasure ("right to be forgotten"), which specifically means that you may request the erasure of your data.
• According to Article 18 GDPR, you have the right to restriction of processing, which means that we may only store the data but not use it any further.
• According to Article 20 GDPR, you have the right to data portability, which means that we will provide you with your data in a commonly used format upon request.
• According to Article 21 GDPR, you have the right to object, which will result in a change in the 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 can object to the processing. We will then check as quickly as possible whether we can legally honour this objection.
  • If data is used for direct marketing purposes, you can 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 for profiling purposes, you can object to this type of data processing at any time. We may then no longer use your data for profiling.
• Under Article 22 GDPR, you may have the right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing (e.g. profiling).
• According to Article 77 GDPR, you have the right to lodge a complaint. This means that you can lodge a complaint with the data protection authority at any time if you believe that the processing of personal data violates the GDPR.

In short: You have rights - do not hesitate to contact the responsible body listed above!

If you believe that the processing of your data violates data protection law or that your data protection rights have been violated in any other way, you can lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority. For Austria, this is the data protection authority, whose website you can find at https://www.dsb.gv.at/ find. In Germany, there is a data protection officer for each federal state. For more information, you can contact the Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (BfDI) contact. The following local data protection authority is responsible for our company:

Hamburg Data Protection Authority

State Commissioner for Data Protection: Thomas Fuchs

Address: Ludwig-Erhard-Str. 22 7th floor, 20459 Hamburg

Telephone no: 040/428 54-40 40

E-mail address: mailbox@datenschutz.hamburg.de

Website:
https://datenschutz-hamburg.de/

Security of data processing

We have implemented both technical and organisational measures to protect personal data. Where possible, we encrypt or pseudonymise personal data. In this way, we make it as difficult as possible for third parties to infer personal information from our data.

Art. 25 GDPR speaks here of "data protection by design and by default" and thus means that both software (e.g. forms) and hardware (e.g. access to the server room) should always be designed with security in mind and appropriate measures should be taken. If necessary, we will go into more detail on specific measures below.

TLS encryption with https

TLS, encryption and https sound very technical - and they are. We use HTTPS (the Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure stands for "secure hypertext transfer protocol") to transmit data tap-proof on the Internet.

This means that the complete transmission of all data from your browser to our web server is secured - nobody can "listen in".

We have thus introduced an additional layer of security and fulfil data protection through technology design (Article 25(1) GDPR). 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 recognise the use of this data transmission protection by the small lock symbol at the top left of the browser, to the left of the Internet address (e.g. examplepage.com) and the use of the https scheme (instead of http) as part of our Internet address.

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

Communication

Communication Summary 👥 Data subjects: Anyone who communicates with us by phone, email or online form 📓 Processed data: e.g. telephone number, name, email address, form data entered. You can find more details on this in the respective contact type used 🤝 Purpose: Handling communication with customers, business partners, etc. 📅 Storage period: Duration of the business case and the statutory provisions ⚖️ Legal bases: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR (contract), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests)

If you contact us and communicate with us by telephone, e-mail or online form, personal data may be processed.

The data is processed for the handling and processing of your enquiry and the associated business transaction. The data will be stored for as long as 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 pseudonymised on the respective end device and with the telecommunications provider used. In addition, data such as your name and telephone number may subsequently be sent by e-mail and stored for the purpose of responding to your enquiry. The data is deleted as soon as the business transaction has been completed 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, etc.) and data may be stored on the e-mail server. The data is deleted as soon as the business transaction has been completed and legal requirements permit.

Online forms

If you communicate with us using an online form, data is stored on our web server and may be forwarded to one of our e-mail addresses. The data will be deleted as soon as the business transaction has been completed and legal requirements permit.

Legal basis

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

• Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent): You give us your consent to store your data and to use it for purposes relating to the business transaction;
• Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR (contract): It is necessary for the fulfilment 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 the preparation of an offer;
• Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests): We want to handle customer enquiries and business communication in a professional manner. This requires certain technical facilities such as email programmes, exchange servers and mobile network operators in order to operate communication efficiently.

Cookies

Cookies summary 👥 Data subject: Visitors to the website 🤝 Purpose: depending on the respective cookie. You can find more details on this below or from the manufacturer of the software that sets the cookie. 📓 Processed data: Depending on the cookie used. You can find more details on this below or from the manufacturer of the software that sets the cookie. 📅 Storage duration: depends on the respective cookie, can vary from hours to years ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit.f GDPR (legitimate interests)

What are cookies?

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

Below we explain what cookies are and why they are used so that you can better understand the following privacy policy.

Whenever you surf the internet, you use a browser. Well-known browsers include Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge. Most websites store small text files in your browser. These files are called cookies.

One thing cannot be denied: Cookies are really useful little helpers. Almost all websites use cookies. More precisely, they are HTTP cookies, as there are also other cookies for other areas of application. HTTP cookies are small files that are stored on your computer by our website. These cookie files are automatically stored in the cookie folder, the "brain" of your browser, so to speak. A cookie consists of a name and a value. When defining a cookie, one or more attributes must also be specified.

Cookies store certain user data about you, such as language or personal page settings. When you visit our site again, your browser transmits the "user-related" information back to our site. Thanks to cookies, our website knows who you are and offers you the settings 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.

The following graphic shows a possible interaction between a web browser such as Chrome and the web server. The web browser requests a website and receives a cookie back from the server, which the browser uses again as soon as another page is requested.

There are both first-party cookies and third-party cookies. First-party cookies are created directly by our website, third-party cookies are created by partner websites (e.g. Google Analytics). Each cookie must be evaluated individually, as each cookie stores different data. The expiry time of a cookie also varies from a few minutes to a few years. Cookies are not software programmes and do not contain viruses, Trojans or other "malware". Cookies also cannot access information on your PC.

Cookie data can look like this, for example:

Name: _ga

Value: GA1.2.1326744211.152323003241-9

Intended use: Differentiation of website visitors

Expiry date: after 2 years

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 used and is clarified in the following sections of the privacy policy. At this point, we would like to briefly explain the different types of HTTP cookies.

A distinction can be made between 4 types of cookies:

Essential cookies

These cookies are necessary to ensure basic website functions. For example, these cookies are needed when a user places a product in the shopping basket, then continues surfing on other pages and only goes to the checkout later. These cookies ensure that the shopping basket is not deleted even if the user closes their browser window.

Purposeful cookies

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

Target-orientated cookies

These cookies ensure better user-friendliness. For example, entered locations, font sizes or form data are saved.

Advertising cookies

These cookies are also known as targeting cookies. They are used to deliver customised advertising to the user. This can be very practical, but also very annoying.

When you visit a website for the first time, you are usually asked which of these cookie types you would like to allow. And of course this decision is also stored in a cookie.

If you would like to know more about cookies and are not afraid of technical documentation, we recommend https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc6265the Request for Comments of 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 on this below or from the manufacturer of the software that sets the cookie.

What data is processed?

Cookies are little helpers for many different tasks. Unfortunately, it is not possible to generalise which 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 period depends on the cookie in question and is specified 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 delete all cookies manually at any time via your browser (see also "Right to object" below). Furthermore, cookies that are based on consent will be deleted at the latest after you withdraw your consent, whereby the legality of the storage until then remains unaffected.

Right to object - 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 of deleting, deactivating or only partially allowing 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 this in your browser settings:

Chrome: Delete, activate and manage cookies in Chrome

Safari: Managing cookies and website data with Safari

Firefox: Delete cookies to remove data that websites have stored on your computer

Internet Explorer: Deleting and managing cookies

Microsoft Edge: Deleting and managing cookies

If you generally do not want to have cookies, you can set up your browser so that it always informs you when a cookie is to be set. You can then decide for each individual cookie whether or not to allow it. The procedure differs depending on the browser. It is best to search for the instructions in Google using the search term "delete cookies Chrome" or "deactivate cookies Chrome" in the case of a Chrome browser.

Legal basis

The so-called "cookie guidelines" have been in place since 2009. This stipulates that the storage of cookies is a Consent (Article 6(1)(a) GDPR) from you. However, there are still very different reactions to these directives within the EU countries. In Austria, however, this directive was implemented in Section 165 (3) of the Telecommunications Act (2021). In Germany, the cookie directives have not been implemented as national law. Instead, this directive was largely implemented in Section 15 (3) of the Telemedia Act (TMG), which has been replaced by the Digital Services Act (DDG) since May 2024.

For strictly necessary cookies, even if no consent has been given, there are legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR), which in most cases are of an economic nature. We want to provide visitors to the website with a pleasant user experience and certain cookies are often absolutely necessary for this.

If cookies that are not absolutely necessary are used, this will only be done with your consent. The legal basis in this respect is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR.

In the following sections, you will be informed in more detail about the use of cookies if the software used utilises cookies.

Application data

Application data summary 👥 Affected parties: Users who apply for a job with us 🤝 Purpose: Handling of an application procedure 📓 Processed data: Name, address, contact details, e-mail address, telephone number, proof of qualifications (certificates), any special category data. 📅 Storage period: if your application is successful, until the end of the employment relationship. Otherwise, the data will be deleted after the application process or stored for a certain period with your consent. ⚖️ Legal bases: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), legitimate interest (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR (contract), Art. 9 para. 2 lit. a. GDPR (processing of special categories)

What is application data?

You can apply for a job in our company by e-mail, online form or via a recruiting tool. All data that we receive and process from you as part of an application is considered application data. You always disclose personal data such as your name, date of birth, address and telephone number.

Why do we process application data?

We process your data so that we can carry out a proper selection procedure in relation to the advertised position. We are also happy to keep your application documents in our application archive. This is because it often happens that, for a variety of reasons, we are not able to work with you for the advertised position, but we are impressed by you and your application and can well imagine working with you in the future. If you give us your consent, we will archive your documents so that we can easily contact you for future jobs in our company.

We guarantee that we handle your data with particular care and only ever process your data within the legal framework. Even within our company, your data will only be passed on to people who are directly involved with your application. In short: Your data is safe with us!

What data is processed?

If you apply to us by e-mail, for example, we will of course also receive personal data, as mentioned above. Even the e-mail address is considered personal data. However, only the data that is relevant to our decision as to whether or not we want to welcome you to our team is processed in the course of an application process.

Exactly which data is processed depends primarily on the job advertisement. In most cases, however, it will be your name, date of birth, contact details and proof of qualifications. If you submit your application via an online form, the data will be encrypted and forwarded to us. If you send us the application by e-mail, this encryption does not take place. We can therefore accept no responsibility for the transmission route. However, once the data is on our servers, we are responsible for the lawful handling of your data.

During an application process, in addition to the above-mentioned data, information about your health or ethnic origin may also be requested so that we and you can exercise the rights relating to labour law, social security and social protection and at the same time comply with the corresponding obligations. This data is special category data.

Here is a list of possible data that we receive and process from you:

• Name
• Contact address
• E-mail address
• Telephone number
• Date of birth
• Information from the cover letter and CV
• Proof of qualifications (e.g. certificates)
• Special categories of data (e.g. ethnic origin, health data, religious beliefs)
• Usage data (websites visited, access data, etc.)
• Metadata (IP address, device information)

How long will the data be stored?

If we take you on as a team member in our company, your data will be processed for the purpose of the employment relationship and stored by us at least until the end of the employment relationship. All application documents will then be placed in your employee file.

If we do not offer you the job, you reject our offer or withdraw your application, we may retain your data for up to 6 months after completion of the application process on the basis of legitimate interest (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR). After that, both your electronic data and all data from physical application documents will be completely deleted or destroyed. We retain your data so that we can answer any follow-up questions or so that we can provide evidence of the application in the event of a legal dispute. If a legal dispute arises and we may still need the data after the 6 months have expired, we will only delete the data when there is no longer any reason to retain it. If there are statutory retention obligations to be fulfilled, we must generally store the data for longer than 6 months.

We can also store your data for longer if you have given your special consent. We do this, for example, if we can imagine working with you in the future. It is then helpful to have your data archived so that we can contact you easily. In this case, the data will be added to our applicant pool. Of course, you can revoke your consent to the longer storage of your data at any time. If you do not revoke your consent and do not provide new consent, your data will be deleted after 2 years at the latest.

Legal basis

The legal basis for the processing of your data is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR (contract or pre-contractual measures), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests) and Art. 9 para. 2 lit. a. GDPR (processing of special categories).

If we include you in our applicant tool, this is done on the basis of your consent (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR). We would like to point out that your consent to our application pool is voluntary, has no influence on the application process and you have the option of withdrawing your consent at any time. This does not affect the lawfulness of the processing up to the time of revocation.

In the case of the protection of vital interests, data processing is carried out in accordance with Art. 9 para. 2 lit. c. GDPR. For the purposes of health care, occupational medicine, medical diagnosis, health or social care or treatment or for the management of health or social care systems and services, the processing of personal data is carried out in accordance with Art. 9 para. 2 lit. h. GDPR. GDPR. If you voluntarily provide data of special categories, the processing is carried out on the basis of Art. 9 para. 2 lit. a. GDPR.

Webhosting introduction

Webhosting summary 👥 Data subject: Visitors to the website 🤝 Purpose: professional hosting of the website and securing its operation 📓 Processed data: IP address, time of website visit, browser used and other data. You can find more details on this below or from the web hosting provider used. 📅 Storage period: depends on the respective provider, but usually 2 weeks ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit.f GDPR (legitimate interests)

What is web hosting?

When you visit websites these days, certain information - including personal data - is automatically generated 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 start page (homepage) to the very last subpage (like this one). By domain we mean, for example, example.de or example.com.

If you want to view a website on a computer, tablet or smartphone, you use a programme called a web browser. You probably know a few web browsers by name: Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox and Apple Safari. We call them browsers or web browsers for short.

In order to display the website, the browser must connect to another computer where the website code is stored: the web server. Operating a web server is a complicated and time-consuming task, which is why this is usually done by professional providers. These providers offer web hosting and thus ensure reliable and error-free storage of website data. A lot of technical terms, but please stay tuned, it will get even 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 period of time in order 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:

1. Professional website hosting and operational security
2. to maintain operational and IT security
3. Anonymous evaluation of access behaviour to improve our offer and, if necessary, for criminal prosecution or prosecution of claims

What data is processed?

Even while you are currently visiting our website, our web server, i.e. the computer on which this website is stored, usually automatically saves data such as

• the complete Internet address (URL) of the website accessed
• 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 from which access is made (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-mentioned data is stored for a fortnight and then automatically deleted. We do not pass this data on, but we cannot rule out the possibility of this data being viewed by the authorities in the event of unlawful behaviour.

In short: Your visit is logged by our provider (company that runs our website on special computers (servers)), but we do not pass on 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 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (protection of legitimate interests), because the use of professional hosting with a provider is necessary in order to present the company securely and user-friendly on the Internet and to be able to pursue attacks and claims from this if necessary.

As a rule, there is a contract between us and the hosting provider for order processing in accordance with Art. 28 f. GDPR, which ensures compliance with data protection and guarantees data security.

1&1 IONOS Webhosting Privacy Policy

1&1 IONOS Webhosting Privacy Policy Summary 👥 Data subject: Visitors to the website 🤝 Purpose: Website storage and accessibility on the Internet 📓 Processed data: IP address, but above all technical data 📅 Storage period: visitor data is deleted after 8 weeks ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests)

What is 1&1 IONOS Webhosting?

To host our website, we use the web hosting services of the company IONOS by 1&1. In Germany, 1&1 IONOS SE is based at Elgendorfer Str. 57 in 56410 Montabaur. In Austria, you can find 1&1 IONOS SE at Gumpendorfer Straße 142/PF 266 in 1060 Vienna.

IONOS offers the following web hosting services: Domain, Website & Shop, Hosting & WordPress, Marketing, E-Mail & Office, IONOS Cloud and Server. With over 22 million domains, almost 9 million customer contracts and 100,000 servers, IONOS is one of Germany's biggest names in web hosting.

We have already mentioned it in our introductory remarks on the subject of web hosting: hosting also means that data about you or your end device is stored on the IONOS servers. First and foremost, your IP address, which is known to be personal data, is stored. In addition, technical data such as the URL of our website, the name of your internet browser or which operating system you are using is also stored.

Why do we use 1&1 IONOS Webhosting?

IONOS was founded in Germany back in 1988 and therefore has over 30 years of experience under its belt. However, this does not mean that the company is not constantly developing technologically. It is precisely this combination of experience and innovative spirit that we believe provides a good basis for our website. After all, we want our website to function smoothly 24 hours a day and guarantee a high level of security. As IONOS does not limit the monthly data traffic and provides plenty of storage space, our website remains powerful even with many visitors. We are very satisfied with the speed of the website and the price-performance ratio currently meets our requirements.

What data is processed by 1&1 IONOS Webhosting?

1&1 IONOS Webhosting may also process personal data about you. When you visit our website, the following data about you or your computer is stored by IONOS:

• the previously visited website (also called referrer)
• the requested website (in this case our website)
• Browser type and browser version
• Your operating system and device type
• Time of the page access
• Your IP address in anonymised form

The data collected is used to increase the security of the website, to detect possible errors and also to carry out anonymous statistical analyses. According to IONOS, the anonymised IP address is only used to determine the location of access.

How long and where is the data stored?

The data is stored on IONOS' own servers. In principle, IONOS stores the data for as long as is necessary to fulfil its obligations. Visitor data is stored for 8 weeks. However, data may also be stored for longer, for example to provide evidence for possible legal disputes. Visitor data is not passed on to third parties and is not transferred to a country outside the EU.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

You have the right to information, correction or deletion and restriction of the processing of your personal data at any time. You can also withdraw your consent to the processing of data at any time.

If you want to deactivate, delete or manage cookies, you will find the relevant links to the instructions for the most popular browsers in the "Cookies" section.

Legal basis

We have a legitimate interest in using IONOS in order to be able to offer our online service. Professional hosting with a provider is necessary in order to present our company on the Internet in a secure and user-friendly manner and to be able to track possible cyber attacks. The legal basis for this is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests).

You can find much more information about data protection at IONOS in the privacy policy at https://www.ionos.de/terms-gtc/datenschutzerklaerung/. If you have any further questions about data protection, you can also contact the IONOS data protection team by e-mail at datenschutz@ionos.de contact.

Order processing contract (AVV) IONOS

We have concluded a data processing agreement (DPA) with IONOS in accordance with Article 28 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). You can find out exactly what a DPA is and, in particular, what must be included in a DPA in our general section "Data processing agreement (DPA)".

This contract is required by law because IONOS processes personal data on our behalf. It clarifies that IONOS may only process data that it receives from us in accordance with our instructions and must comply with the GDPR. You can find the link to the data processing agreement (DPA) at https://www.ionos.de/hilfe/datenschutz/allgemeine-informationen-zur-datenschutz-grundverordnung-dsgvo/auftragsverarbeitung/.

Web Analytics Introduction

Web Analytics privacy policy summary 👥 Data subject: Visitors to the website 🤝 Purpose: Evaluation of visitor information to optimise the website. 📓 Processed data: Access statistics containing data such as access locations, device data, access duration and time, navigation behaviour, click behaviour and IP addresses. You can find more details on this in the web analytics tool used. 📅 Storage duration: depending on the web analytics tool used ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests)

What is web analytics?

We use software on our website to evaluate the behaviour of website visitors, known as web analytics or web analysis for short. This involves collecting data that is stored, managed and processed by the respective analytics tool provider (also known as a tracking tool). The data is used to create analyses of user behaviour on our website and made available to us as the website operator. In addition, most tools offer various test 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 (known as an A/B test), we know which product or content our website visitors find more interesting. For such test procedures, as well 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 offering on the market for our industry. In order to achieve this goal, we want to offer the best and most interesting range of products and services on the one hand, and ensure that you feel completely at ease on our website on the other. With the help of web analysis tools, we can take a closer look at the behaviour of our website visitors and then improve our website accordingly for you and for us. For example, we can recognise the average age of our visitors, where they come from, when our website is visited the most or which content or products are particularly popular. All this information helps us to optimise the website and thus adapt it to your needs, interests and wishes.

What data is processed?

Exactly which data is stored depends, of course, on the analysis tools used. As a rule, however, the 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 are stored, for example. If you have agreed that location data may also be collected, this may also be processed by the web analysis tool provider.

Your IP address is also stored. According to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), IP addresses are personal data. However, your IP address is usually stored pseudonymised (i.e. in an unrecognisable and shortened form). For the purposes of testing, web analysis and web optimisation, no direct data such as your name, age, address or email address is stored. All this data, if collected, is stored in pseudonymised form. This means that you cannot be identified as a person.

The following example shows schematically how Google Analytics works as an example of client-based web tracking with Java Script code.

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

Duration of data processing

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

Right of objection

You also have the right and the option to withdraw 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 by cookies by managing, deactivating or deleting cookies in your browser.

Legal basis

The use of web analytics requires your consent, which we have obtained with our cookie pop-up. According to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent) represents the legal basis for the processing of personal data as it may occur when collected by web analytics tools.

In addition to consent, we have a legitimate interest in analysing the behaviour of website visitors in order to improve our website technically and economically. With the help of web analytics, we recognise errors on the website, can identify attacks and improve efficiency. The legal basis for this is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests). Nevertheless, we only use the tools if you have given your consent.

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

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

Meta-Pixel privacy policy

We use the meta pixel (formerly Facebook pixel) from Facebook or Meta Platforms, Inc. on our website, for which we have implemented a code on our website. The meta pixel is a snippet of JavaScript code that loads a collection of functions with which Facebook can track your user actions if you have come to our website via Facebook ads. For example, if you purchase a product on our website, the meta pixel is triggered and stores your actions on our website in one or more cookies. These cookies enable Facebook to match your user data (customer data such as IP address, user ID) with the data of your Facebook account. Facebook then deletes this data again. The data collected is anonymous and cannot be viewed by us and can only be used in the context of adverts. If you are a Facebook user and are logged in, your visit to our website is automatically assigned to your Facebook user account.

We only want to show our services and products to people who are really interested in them. With the help of meta pixels, our advertising measures can be better customised to your wishes and interests. This means that Facebook users (provided they have allowed personalised advertising) see suitable advertising. Facebook also uses the data collected for analysis purposes and its own adverts.

Below we show you the cookies that were set by integrating meta pixels on a test page. Please note that these are only sample cookies. Different cookies are set depending on the interaction on our website.

Name: _fbp

Value: fb.1.1568287647279.257405483-6323003241-7

Intended use: Facebook uses this cookie to display advertising products.

Expiry date: after 3 months

Name: fr

Value: 0aPf312HOS5Pboo2r..Bdeiuf...1.0.Bdeiuf.

Intended use: This cookie is used to ensure that Meta-Pixel works properly.

Expiry date: after 3 months

Name: comment_author_50ae8267e2bdf1253ec1a5769f48e062323003241-3

Value: Name of the author

Intended use: This cookie stores the text and name of a user who leaves a comment, for example.

Expiry date: after 12 months

Name: comment_author_url_50ae8267e2bdf1253ec1a5769f48e062

Value: https%3A%2F%2Fwww.testseite…%2F (URL des Autors)

Intended use: This cookie stores the URL of the website that the user enters in a text field on our website.

Expiry date: after 12 months

Name: comment_author_email_50ae8267e2bdf1253ec1a5769f48e062

Value: E-mail address of the author

Intended use: This cookie stores the user's e-mail address, provided they have entered it on the website.

Expiry date: after 12 months

Remark: The cookies mentioned above relate to individual user behaviour. Especially when using cookies, changes in Facebook can never be ruled out.

If you are logged in to Facebook, you can change your settings for adverts under https://www.facebook.com/adpreferences/advertisers/  yourself. If you are not a Facebook user, you can click on https://www.youronlinechoices.com/de/praferenzmanagement/ manage your usage-based online advertising. There you have the option of deactivating or activating providers.

Facebook also processes your data in the USA, among other places. Facebook or Meta Platforms is an active participant in the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, which regulates the correct and secure transfer of personal data from EU citizens to the USA. You can find more information on this at https://commission.europa.eu/document/fa09cbad-dd7d-4684-ae60-be03fcb0fddf_en.

Facebook also uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46 (2) and (3) GDPR). Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) 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 the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and the standard contractual clauses, Facebook 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 USA. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the corresponding standard contractual clauses here: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de

The Facebook data processing conditions, which refer to the standard contractual clauses, can be found at https://www.facebook.com/legal/terms/dataprocessing.

If you want to find out more about Facebook's data protection, we recommend that you read the company's own data policy on https://www.facebook.com/privacy/policy.

WP Statistics Privacy Policy

WP Statistics Privacy Policy Summary 👥 Data subject: Visitors to the website 🤝 Purpose: Evaluation of visitor information to optimise the website. 📓 Processed data: Access statistics that contain data such as anonymised IP addresses, duration of the website visit or your click behaviour. 📅 Storage period: the data is stored until it is no longer required for the purposes for which it was collected ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests)

What is WP Statistics?

We use the analytics plugin WP Statistics on our website. This plugin was developed by Veronalabs (5460 W Main St, Verona, NY 13478, United States), an American software company. This plugin provides us with simple statistics on how you as a user use our website. In this privacy policy, we go into more detail about the analysis tool and show you which data is stored where and for how long.

This plugin is an analytics software that has been specially developed for websites that use the WordPress content management system. WordPress helps us to easily edit our website even without programming knowledge. WP Statistics can collect data about how long you spend on our website, which subpages you visit, how many visitors there are on the website or which website you came to us from. No cookies are set by WP Statistics and you cannot be identified as a person by the data collected.

Why do we use WP Statistics?

With the help of WP Statistics, we obtain simple statistics that help us to make our website even more interesting and better for you. Our website and the content, products and/or services offered on it should fulfil your requirements and wishes as well as possible. In order to achieve this goal, we naturally also need to find out where we should make improvements and changes. The statistics we receive help us to get one step closer to this goal.

What data is stored by WP Statistics?

WP Statistics does not use cookies and the data collected is only used to compile anonymised statistics on the use of our website. WP Statistics also anonymises your IP address. You as a person cannot be identified.

WP Statistics collects visitor data (so-called Visitos'Data) when your web browser connects to our web server. This data is stored in our database on our server. This includes, for example

• the address (URL) of the website accessed
• Browser and browser version
• the operating system used
• the address (URL) of the previously visited page (referrer URL)
• the host name and IP address of the device from which access is made
• Date and time
• Country/city information
• Number of visitors coming from a search engine
• Duration of the website visit
• Clicks on the website

The data will not be passed on or sold.

How long and where is the data stored?

All data is stored locally on our web server. The data is stored on our web server until it is no longer required for the above-mentioned purposes.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

You have the right to information, correction or deletion and restriction of the processing of your personal data at any time. You can also withdraw your consent to the processing of data at any time.

Legal basis

The use of WP Statistics requires your consent, which we have obtained with our cookie pop-up. According to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent) represents the legal basis for the processing of personal data as it may occur when collected by web analytics tools.

In addition to consent, we have a legitimate interest in analysing the behaviour of website visitors in order to improve our offering both technically and economically. With the help of WP Statistics, we recognise errors on the website, can identify attacks and improve efficiency. The legal basis for this is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests). Nevertheless, we only use WP Statistics if you have given your consent.

We would like to point out that, in the opinion of the European Court of Justice, there is currently no adequate level of protection for data transfer to the USA. Data processing is essentially carried out by WP Statistics. This may result in data not being processed and stored in anonymised form. Furthermore, US government authorities may be able to access individual data. It is also possible that this data may be linked to data from other possible WP Statistics services with which you have a user account.

We have now provided you with the most important information on data processing by WP Analytics. As the plugin does not use cookies and the data for statistical analysis is stored locally on the web server, your data is handled very carefully here. If you want to find out more about WP Analytics, you should read the company's privacy policy at https://wp-statistics.com/privacy-policy view.

Email marketing introduction

Email marketing summary 👥 Affected parties: Newsletter subscribers 🤝 Purpose: Direct advertising by e-mail, notification of system-relevant events 📓 Processed data: Data entered during registration, but at least the email address. You can find more details on this in the email marketing tool used. 📅 Storage period: Duration of the existence of the subscription ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests)

What is email marketing?

In order to keep you up to date, we also use the option of e-mail marketing. If you have consented to receiving our emails or newsletters, your data will also be processed and stored. Email marketing is a sub-area of online marketing. It involves sending news or general information about a company, products or services by email to a specific group of people who are interested in them.

If you want to take part in our e-mail marketing (usually by newsletter), you normally just need to register with your e-mail address. To do this, you fill in an online form and send it off. However, we may also ask you to provide your title and name so that we can write to you personally.

Basically, the registration for newsletters works with the help of the so-called "double opt-in procedure". After you have registered for our newsletter on our website, you will receive an e-mail confirming your newsletter registration. This ensures that the e-mail address belongs to you and that no-one has registered with a third-party e-mail address. We or a notification tool used by us logs each individual registration. This is necessary so that we can prove that the registration process is legally correct. As a rule, the time of registration, the time of registration confirmation and your IP address are saved. In addition, it is also logged when you make changes to your stored data.

Why do we use email marketing?

We naturally want to stay in contact with you and always provide you with the most important news about our company. To do this, we use email marketing - often simply referred to as "newsletters" - as an essential part of our online marketing. If you agree to this or if it is permitted by law, we will send you newsletters, system emails or other notifications by email. When we use the term "newsletter" in the following text, we mainly mean e-mails sent regularly. Of course, we do not want to bother you in any way with our newsletters. That is why we always endeavour to offer only relevant and interesting content. For example, you can find out more about our company, our services or products. As we are constantly improving our offers, you will always find out via our newsletter when there is news or when we are offering special, lucrative promotions. If we commission a service provider who offers a professional dispatch tool for our email marketing, we do so in order to be able to offer you fast and secure newsletters. The purpose of our e-mail marketing is basically to inform you about new offers and also to achieve our corporate goals.

What data is processed?

If you become a subscriber to our newsletter via our website, you confirm your membership of an e-mail list by e-mail. In addition to your IP address and e-mail address, your title, name, address and telephone number may also be stored. However, only if you consent to this data storage. The data marked as such is necessary so that you can participate in the service offered. Providing this information is voluntary, but if you do not provide it, you will not be able to use the service. In addition, information about your device or your favourite content on our website may also be stored. You can find out more about the storage of data when you visit a website in the "Automatic data storage" section. We record your declaration of consent so that we can always prove that it complies with our laws.

Duration of data processing

If you unsubscribe your e-mail address from our e-mail/newsletter distribution list, we may store your address for up to three years on the basis of our legitimate interests so that we can still prove that you gave your consent at the time. We may only process this data if we have to defend ourselves against any claims.

However, if you confirm that you have given us your consent to subscribe to the newsletter, you can submit an individual cancellation request at any time. If you permanently revoke your consent, we reserve the right to store your e-mail address in a blacklist. As long as you have voluntarily subscribed to our newsletter, we will of course retain your e-mail address.

Right of objection

You have the option of cancelling your newsletter subscription at any time. All you have to do is revoke your consent to the newsletter subscription. This usually only takes a few seconds or one or two clicks. You will usually find a link to cancel your newsletter subscription at the end of every email. If you really cannot find the link in the newsletter, please contact us by e-mail and we will cancel your newsletter subscription immediately.

Legal basis

Our newsletter is sent on the basis of your consent (Article 6(1)(a) GDPR). This means that we may only send you a newsletter if you have actively subscribed to it beforehand. We may also send you advertising messages if you have become our customer and have not objected to the use of your email address for direct advertising.

Information on specific email marketing services and how they process personal data, if available, can be found in the following sections.

MailChimp privacy policy

MailChimp privacy policy summary 👥 Affected parties: Newsletter subscribers 🤝 Purpose: Direct advertising by e-mail, notification of system-relevant events 📓 Processed data: Data entered during registration, but at least the e-mail address. 📅 Storage period: Duration of the existence of the subscription ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests)

What is MailChimp?

Like many other websites, we also use the services of the newsletter company MailChimp on our website. MailChimp is operated by the company Intuit Inc, 2700 Coast Ave, Mountain View, California 94043, USA. Thanks to MailChimp, we can send you interesting news very easily by newsletter. With MailChimp, we don't have to install anything and can still draw from a pool of really useful functions. In the following, we will go into more detail about this email marketing service and inform you about the most important data protection aspects.

MailChimp is a cloud-based newsletter management service. "Cloud-based" means that we do not have to install MailChimp on our own computer or server. Instead, we use the service via an IT infrastructure - which is available via the internet - on an external server. This way of using software is also known as SaaS (Software as a Service). The following diagram shows schematically how MailChimp distributes emails to newsletter recipients.

With MailChimp, we can choose from a wide range of different email types. Depending on what we want to achieve with our newsletter, we can carry out individual campaigns, regular campaigns, autoresponders (automatic emails), A/B tests, RSS campaigns (sending at a predefined time and frequency) and follow-up campaigns.

Why do we use MailChimp on our website?

We generally use a newsletter service so that we can stay in touch with you. We want to tell you what's new with us or what attractive offers we currently have in our programme. We always look for the simplest and best solutions for our marketing measures. And that's why we opted for MailChimp's newsletter management service. Although the software is very easy to use, it offers a large number of helpful features. This allows us to create interesting and attractive newsletters in just a short time. The design templates offered allow us to personalise each newsletter and thanks to the "responsive design", our content is also displayed legibly and beautifully on your smartphone (or other mobile device).

Using tools such as the A/B test or the extensive analysis options, we can see very quickly how our newsletters are received by you. This allows us to react if necessary and improve our offer or our services.

Another advantage is MailChimp's "cloud system". The data is not stored and processed directly on our server. We can retrieve the data from external servers and thus conserve our storage space. In addition, the maintenance effort is significantly lower.

What data is stored by MailChimp?

MailChimp maintains online platforms that enable us to contact you (if you have subscribed to our newsletter). If you become a subscriber to our newsletter via our website, you confirm your membership of a MailChimp email list by email. The date of registration and your IP address are stored so that MailChimp can also prove that you have registered with the "list provider". MailChimp also stores your email address, name, physical address and demographic information such as language or location.

This information is used to send you emails and to enable certain other MailChimp functions (such as analysing the newsletter).

MailChimp also shares information with third parties to provide better services. MailChimp also shares some data with third-party advertising partners to better understand the interests and concerns of its customers in order to provide more relevant content and targeted advertising.

Using so-called "web beacons" (small graphics in HTML emails), MailChimp can determine whether the email has arrived, whether it has been opened and whether links have been clicked on. All this information is stored on the MailChimp servers. This provides us with statistical analyses and allows us to see exactly how well our newsletter was received by you. In this way, we can customise our offer much better to your wishes and improve our service.

MailChimp may also use this data to improve its own service. This can be used, for example, to technically optimise the sending process or to determine the location (country) of the recipient.

The following cookies can be set by MailChimp. This is not a complete list of cookies, but rather an exemplary selection:

Name: AVESTA_ENVIRONMENT

Value: Prod

Intended use: This cookie is necessary to provide the Mailchimp services. It is always set when a user registers for a newsletter mailing list.

Expiry date: after the end of the meeting

Name: ak_bmsc

Value: F1766FA98C9BB9DE4A39F70A9E5EEAB55F6517348A7000001323003241-3

Intended use: The cookie is used to distinguish a human from a bot. This allows secure reports to be created about the use of a website.

Expiry date: after 2 hours

Name: bm_sv

Value: A5A322305B4401C2451FC22FFF547486~FEsKGvX8eovCwTeFTzb8//I3ak2Au…

Intended use: The cookie is from MasterPass Digital Wallet (a MasterCard service) and is used to offer a visitor a secure and simple virtual payment process. For this purpose, the user is identified anonymously on the website.

Expiry date: after 2 hours

Name: _abck

Value: 8D545C8CCA4C3A50579014C449B045323003241-9

Intended use: We were unable to find out more information about the purpose of this cookie

Expiry date: after one year

Sometimes it can happen that you open our newsletter via a specified link for better display. This is the case, for example, if your email programme is not working or the newsletter is not displayed correctly. The newsletter will then be displayed via a MailChimp website. MailChimp also uses cookies (small text files that store data on your browser) on its own websites. Personal data may be processed by MailChimp and its partners (e.g. Google Analytics). This data collection is the responsibility of MailChimp and we have no influence over it. In the "Cookie Statement" of MailChimp (under: https://mailchimp.com/legal/cookies/) you can find out exactly how and why the company uses cookies.

How long and where is the data stored?

As MailChimp is an American company, all data collected is also stored on American servers.

In principle, the data remains permanently stored on MailChimp's servers and is only deleted if you request this. You can have your contact deleted by us. This will permanently remove all your personal data for us and anonymise you in the MailChimp reports. However, you can also request the deletion of your data directly from MailChimp. All your data will then be removed there and we will receive a notification from MailChimp. After we receive the email, we have 30 days to delete your contact from all connected integrations.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

You can withdraw your consent to receive our newsletter at any time by clicking on the link at the bottom of the email you receive. If you have unsubscribed by clicking on the unsubscribe link, your data will be deleted from MailChimp.

If you access a MailChimp website via a link in our newsletter and cookies are set in your browser, you can delete or deactivate and manage these cookies at any time. Under the section "Cookies" you will find the corresponding links to the respective instructions for the most popular browsers.

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

Legal basis

The sending of our newsletter by MailChimp is based on your consent. Consent (Article 6(1)(a) GDPR). This means that we may only send you a newsletter if you have actively subscribed to it beforehand. If consent is not required, the newsletter will be sent on the basis of the legitimate interest in direct marketing (Article 6(1)(f)), insofar as this is permitted by law. We record your registration process so that we can always prove that it complies with our laws.

MailChimp also processes your data in the USA, among other places. MailChimp or Inuit is an active participant in the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, which regulates the correct and secure transfer of personal data from EU citizens to the USA. You can find more information on this at https://commission.europa.eu/document/fa09cbad-dd7d-4684-ae60-be03fcb0fddf_en.

In addition, MailChimp uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46 (2) and (3) GDPR). Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) 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 the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and the standard contractual clauses, MailChimp 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 USA. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the corresponding standard contractual clauses here: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de

The Mailchimp data processing conditions (Data Processing Addendum), which correspond to the standard contractual clauses, can be found at https://mailchimp.com/legal/data-processing-addendum/#Annex_C_-_Standard_Contractual_Clauses.

You can find out more about the use of cookies by MailChimp at https://mailchimp.com/legal/cookies/Information on data protection at MailChimp (Privacy) can be found at https://www.intuit.com/privacy/statement/ read more.

Blogs and publication media Introduction

Blogs and publication media Privacy policy summary 👥 Data subject: Visitors to the website 🤝 Purpose: Presentation and optimisation of our services as well as communication between website visitors, security measures and administration 📓 Processed data: Data such as contact details, IP address and published content. You can find more details on this in the tools used. 📅 Storage duration: depending on the tools used ⚖️ Legal bases: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests), Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. b. GDPR (contract)

What are blogs and publication media?

We use blogs or other means of communication on our website with which we can communicate with you on the one hand and you with us on the other. We may also store and process your data in the process. This may be necessary so that we can display content appropriately, communication works and security is increased. In our data protection text, we provide a general description of which of your data may be processed. Exact details on data processing always depend on the tools and functions used. You can find detailed information on data processing in the data protection notices of the individual providers.

Why do we use blogs and publication media?

Our greatest concern with our website is to offer you interesting and exciting content and at the same time your opinions and content are also important to us. That's why we want to create a good interactive exchange between us and you. With various blogs and publication options, we can achieve exactly that. For example, you can write comments on our content, comment on other comments or, in some cases, write articles yourself.

What data is processed?

Exactly which data is processed always depends on the communication functions we use. Very often, the IP address, user name and published content are stored. This is primarily done to ensure security protection, to prevent spam and to be able to take action against illegal content. Cookies can also be used for data storage. These are small text files that are stored with information in your browser. You can find more information on the data collected and stored in our individual sections and in the privacy policy of the respective provider.

Duration of data processing

We will inform you about the duration of data processing below if we have further information on this. For example, contribution and comment functions store data until you revoke the data storage. In general, personal data is only stored for as long as is absolutely necessary for the provision of our services.

Right of objection

You also have the right and the option to withdraw your consent to the use of cookies or third-party communication tools 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 by cookies by managing, deactivating or deleting cookies in your browser.

As publication media may also 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 policies of the respective tools.

Legal basis

We use the means of communication mainly on the basis of our legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR) in fast and good communication with you or other customers, business partners and visitors. Insofar as the use serves the processing of contractual relationships or their initiation, the legal basis is also Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. b. GDPR.

Certain processing operations, in particular the use of cookies and the use of comment or message functions, require your consent. If and insofar as you have consented to your data being processed and stored by integrated publication media, this consent is the legal basis for data processing (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR). Most of the communication functions we use set cookies in your browser to store data. We therefore recommend that you read our data protection text on cookies carefully and consult the privacy policy or cookie guidelines of the respective service provider.

Information on special tools - if available - can be found in the following sections.

Blog posts and comment functions Privacy policy

There are various online communication tools that we can use on our website. For example, we use blog posts and comment functions. This gives you the opportunity to comment on content or write articles. If you use this function, your IP address may be stored for security reasons. In this way, we protect ourselves against illegal content such as insults, unauthorised advertising or prohibited political propaganda. In order to recognise whether comments are spam, we may also store and process user information on the basis of our legitimate interest. If we start a survey, we also store your IP address for the duration of the survey so that we can ensure that all participants only vote once. Cookies may also be used for the purpose of storage. All data that we store about you (such as content or personal information) will remain stored until you object.

Content Delivery Networks Introduction

Content Delivery Networks Privacy Policy Summary 👥 Data subject: Visitors to the website 🤝 Purpose: Optimisation of our service performance (to be able to load the website faster) 📓 Processed data: Data such as your IP address You can find more details on this below and in the individual data protection texts. 📅 Storage period: Most of the data is stored until it is no longer required for the fulfilment of the service ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests)

What is a content delivery network?

We use a so-called content delivery network on our website. Such a network is usually just called a CDN. A CDN helps us to load our website quickly and easily, regardless of your location. Your personal data is also stored, managed and processed on the servers of the CDN provider used. In the following, we go into more detail about the service and its data processing. Detailed information on how your data is handled can be found in the provider's privacy policy.

Each Content Delivery Network (CDN) is a network of regionally distributed servers that are all connected to each other via the Internet. Via this network, website content (especially very large files) can be delivered quickly and smoothly, even during large load peaks. The CDN creates a copy of our website on your servers. As these servers are distributed worldwide, the website can be delivered quickly. The data transfer to your browser is therefore significantly shortened by the CDN.

Why do we use a content delivery network for our website?

A fast-loading website is part of our service. Of course, we know how annoying it is when a website loads at a snail's pace. Most people even lose patience and leave before the website has fully loaded. Of course we want to avoid that. That's why a fast-loading website is a natural part of our website offering. With a content delivery network, our website loads much faster in your browser. The use of a CDN is particularly helpful if you are abroad, because the website is delivered from a server near you.

What data is processed?

If you request a website or the content of a website and it is cached in a CDN, the CDN forwards the request to the server closest to you and this server delivers the content. Content delivery networks are structured in such a way that JavaScript libraries can be downloaded and hosted on npm and Github servers. Alternatively, WordPress plugins can also be downloaded from most CDNs if they are hosted on WordPress.org are hosted. Your browser may send personal data to the content delivery network we use. This includes data such as IP address, browser type, browser version, which website is loaded or the time and date of the page visit. This data is collected and stored by the CDN. Whether cookies are used for data storage depends on the network used. Please read the data protection texts of the respective service.

Right of objection

If you want to completely prevent this data transfer, you can use a JavaScript blocker (see for example https://noscript.net/) on your PC. Of course, our website will then no longer be able to offer the usual service (such as a fast loading speed).

Legal basis

If you have consented to the use of a content delivery network, the legal basis for the corresponding data processing is this consent. According to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent) represents the legal basis for the processing of personal data as it may occur when collected by a content delivery network.

We also have a legitimate interest in using a content delivery network to optimise our online service and make it more secure. The legal basis for this is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests). Nevertheless, we only use the tool if you have given your consent.

Information on special content delivery networks - if available - can be found in the following sections.

Cloudflare privacy policy

Cloudflare Privacy Policy Summary 👥 Data subject: Visitors to the website 🤝 Purpose: Optimisation of our service performance (to be able to load the website faster) 📓 Processed data: Data such as IP address, contact and log information, security fingerprints and performance data for websites You can find more details below in this privacy policy. 📅 Storage duration: most data is stored for less than 24 hours ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests)

What is Cloudflare?

We use Cloudflare from Cloudflare, Inc. (101 Townsend St., San Francisco, CA 94107, USA) on this website to make our website faster and more secure. Cloudflare uses cookies and processes user data. Cloudflare, Inc. is an American company that offers a content delivery network and various security services. These services are located between the user and our hosting provider. We will try to explain exactly what this means below.

A content delivery network (CDN), such as the one provided by Cloudflare, is nothing more than a network of connected servers. Cloudflare has distributed such servers around the world to bring websites to your screen faster. Simply put, Cloudflare creates copies of our website and places them on their own servers. Now, when you visit our website, a load balancing system ensures that the largest parts of our website are delivered from the server that can display our website to you the fastest. The data transfer route to your browser is significantly shortened by a CDN. This means that the content of our website is not only delivered to you by Cloudflare from our hosting server, but from servers all over the world. The use of Cloudflare is particularly helpful for users from abroad, as the site can be delivered from a server nearby. In addition to the fast delivery of websites, Cloudflare also offers various security services, such as DDoS protection or the web application firewall.

Why do we use Cloudflare on our website?

Of course, we want to offer you the best possible service with our website. Cloudflare helps us to make our website faster and more secure. Cloudflare offers us web optimisation as well as security services such as DDoS protection and web firewall. This also includes a Reverse proxy and the content distribution network (CDN). Cloudflare blocks threats and limits abusive bots and crawlers that waste our bandwidth and server resources. By storing our website on local data centres and blocking spam software, Cloudflare enables us to reduce our bandwidth usage by approximately 60%. Delivering content via a data centre near you and some web optimisation performed there reduces the average load time of a web page by about half. According to Cloudflare, the "I'm Under Attack Mode" setting can further mitigate attacks by displaying a JavaScript calculation task that must be solved before a user can access a web page. Overall, this makes our website significantly more powerful and less susceptible to spam or other attacks.

What data is processed by Cloudflare?

Cloudflare generally only forwards data that is controlled by website operators. The content is therefore not determined by Cloudflare, but always by the website operator itself. Cloudflare may also collect certain information about the use of our website and process data that is sent by us or for which Cloudflare has received corresponding instructions. In most cases, Cloudflare receives data such as IP address, contact and log information, security fingerprints and performance data for websites. Log data helps Cloudflare to recognise new threats, for example. This enables Cloudflare to ensure a high level of security protection for our website. Cloudflare processes this data as part of its services in compliance with applicable laws. This naturally also includes the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Cloudflare also works with third-party providers. These may only process personal data under the instruction of Cloudflare and in accordance with the data protection guidelines and other confidentiality and security measures. Cloudflare does not pass on any personal data without our explicit consent.

How long and where is the data stored?

Cloudflare stores your information mainly in the USA and the European Economic Area. Cloudflare may transfer and access the information described above from around the world. In general, Cloudflare stores user-level data for domains in the Free, Pro and Business versions for less than 24 hours. For Enterprise domains that have Cloudflare Logs (formerly Enterprise LogShare or ELS) enabled, data can be stored for up to 7 days. However, if IP addresses trigger security alerts at Cloudflare, there may be exceptions to the above retention period.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

Cloudflare only keeps data logs for as long as necessary and in most cases this data is deleted within 24 hours. Cloudflare also does not store any personal data, such as your IP address. However, there is information that Cloudflare stores indefinitely as part of its permanent logs in order to improve the overall performance of Cloudflare Resolver and to identify any security risks. You can find out exactly which permanent logs are stored at https://www.cloudflare.com/application/privacypolicy/ read more. All data that Cloudflare collects (temporary or permanent) is cleansed of all personal data. All permanent logs are also anonymised by Cloudflare.

Cloudflare states in their privacy policy that they are not responsible for the content they receive. For example, if you ask Cloudflare whether you can update or delete your content, Cloudflare always refers to us as the website operator. You can also completely prevent the entire collection and processing of your data by Cloudflare by deactivating the execution of script code in your browser or by integrating a script blocker in your browser.

Legal basis

If you have consented to Cloudflare being used, the legal basis for the corresponding data processing is this consent. According to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent) The legal basis for the processing of personal data, as may occur when Cloudflare collects it.

We also have a legitimate interest in using Cloudflare to optimise our online service and make it more secure. The legal basis for this is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests). Nevertheless, we only use Cloudflare if you have given your consent.

Cloudflare also processes your data in the USA, among other places. Cloudflare is an active participant in the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, which regulates the correct and secure transfer of personal data from EU citizens to the USA. You can find more information on this at https://commission.europa.eu/document/fa09cbad-dd7d-4684-ae60-be03fcb0fddf_en.

Cloudflare also uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46 (2) and (3) GDPR). Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) 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 the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and the Standard Contractual Clauses, Cloudflare 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 USA. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the corresponding standard contractual clauses here: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de.

You can find out more about the standard contractual clauses and data processed through the use of Cloudflare in the privacy policy on https://www.cloudflare.com/de-de/privacypolicy/.

Security & Anti-Spam

Security & Anti-Spam Privacy Policy Summary 👥 Data subject: Visitors to the website 🤝 Purpose: cyber security 📓 Processed data: Data such as your IP address, name or technical data such as browser version You can find more details on this below and in the individual data protection texts. 📅 Storage period: Most of the data is stored until it is no longer required for the fulfilment of the service ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests)

What is security & anti-spam software?

With so-called security and anti-spam software, you and we can protect ourselves from various spam or phishing emails and possible other cyberattacks. Spam refers to advertising emails from a mass mailing that you did not request yourself. Such emails are also known as data junk and can also cause costs. Phishing emails, on the other hand, are messages that aim to build trust via fake messages or websites in order to obtain personal data. Anti-spam software generally protects against unwanted spam messages or malicious emails that could introduce viruses into our system, for example. We also use general firewall and security systems to protect our computers from unwanted network attacks.

Why do we use security & anti-spam software?

We attach great importance to security on our website. After all, it's not just about our security, but above all about yours. Unfortunately, cyber threats are now part of everyday life in the world of IT and the Internet. Hackers often try to steal personal data from an IT system with the help of a cyber attack. And that is why a good defence system is absolutely essential. A security system monitors all incoming and outgoing connections to our network or computer. To achieve even greater security against cyber attacks, we also use other external security services in addition to the standardised security systems on our computer. This prevents unauthorised data traffic and protects us from cybercrime.

What data is processed by security & anti-spam software?

Exactly which data is collected and stored depends of course on the respective service. However, we always endeavour to only use programmes that collect data very sparingly or only store data that is necessary for the fulfilment of the service offered. In principle, the service may store data such as name, address, IP address, e-mail address and technical data such as browser type or browser version. Any performance and log data may also be collected in order to recognise possible incoming threats in good time. This data is processed as part of the services and in compliance with the applicable laws. This also includes the GDPR for US providers (via the standard contractual clauses). In some cases, these security services also work with third-party providers who may store and/or process data under instruction and in accordance with the data protection guidelines and other security measures. Data is usually stored via cookies.

Duration of data processing

We will inform you about the duration of data processing below if we have further information on this. For example, security programmes store data until you or we revoke the data storage. In general, personal data is only stored for as long as is absolutely necessary for the provision of the services. Unfortunately, in many cases we do not receive precise information from the providers about the length of storage.

Right of objection

You also have the right and the option to withdraw your consent to the use of cookies or third-party security software 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 by cookies by managing, deactivating or deleting cookies in your browser.

As such security services may also use cookies, we 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 policies of the respective tools.

Legal basis

We use the security services mainly on the basis of our legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR) in a good security system against various cyber attacks.

Certain processing operations, in particular the use of cookies and the use of security functions, require your consent. If you have consented to your data being processed and stored by integrated security services, this consent is the legal basis for data processing (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR). Most of the services we use set cookies in your browser to store data. We therefore recommend that you read our data protection text on cookies carefully and view the privacy policy or cookie guidelines of the respective service provider.

Information on special tools - if available - can be found in the following sections.

Akismet privacy policy

We use Akismet, an anti-spam solution for WordPress, for our website. The service provider is the American company Automattic Inc, 60 29th Street #343, San Francisco, CA 94110, USA.

Automattic also processes your data in the USA, among other places. Akismet or Automattic is an active participant in the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, which regulates the correct and secure transfer of personal data from EU citizens to the USA. You can find more information on this at https://commission.europa.eu/document/fa09cbad-dd7d-4684-ae60-be03fcb0fddf_en.

In addition, Automattic uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46 (2) and (3) GDPR). Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) 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 the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and the standard contractual clauses, Automattic 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 USA. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the corresponding standard contractual clauses here: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de.

The Data Processing Agreements, which refer to the standard contractual clauses, can be found at https://wordpress.com/support/data-processing-agreements/.

You can find out more about the data that is processed through the use of Akismet or WordPress in the privacy policy on https://automattic.com/de/privacy/.

UpdraftPlus privacy policy

We use UpdraftPlus, a backup and security system, for our website. The service provider is the British company Updraft WP Software Ltd. 11 Barringer Way, St. Neots, PE19 1LW, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom.

As a result of the UK's withdrawal from the European Union, the GDPR is no longer applicable to data transfers to the UK. However, the European Commission has decided on the basis of Art. 45 GDPR that the UK offers an adequate level of protection compared to the GDPR. The transfer of data there is therefore permitted. You can view the decision here (download): https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/DE/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32021D1772

You can find out more about the data processed through the use of UpdraftPlus in the Privacy Policy on https://updraftplus.com/data-protection-and-privacy-centre/.

Cloud services

Cloud services Privacy policy summary Data subjects: We as the website operator and you as the website visitor 🤝 Purpose: Security and data storage 📓 Processed data: Data such as your IP address, name or technical data such as browser version You can find more details on this below and in the individual data protection texts or in the data protection declarations of the providers 📅 Storage period: Most of the data is stored until it is no longer required for the fulfilment of the service ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests)

What are cloud services?

Cloud services provide us as website operators with storage space and computing power via the internet. Data can be transferred to an external system, processed and stored via the internet. This data is managed by the corresponding cloud provider. Depending on requirements, an individual person or even a company can choose the amount of storage space or computing power. Cloud storage is accessed via an API or storage protocols. API stands for Application Programming Interface and refers to a programming interface that connects software and hardware components.

Why do we use cloud services?

We use cloud services for several reasons. A cloud service offers us the opportunity to store our data securely. We also have access to the data from different locations and devices, giving us more flexibility and making our work processes easier. Cloud storage also saves us costs because we don't have to set up and manage our own infrastructure for data storage and data security. By centralising our data in the cloud, we can also expand our fields of application and manage our information much better.

As website operators and companies, we primarily use cloud services for our own purposes. For example, we use the services to manage our calendar, to store documents or other important information in the cloud. However, your personal data may also be stored in the process. This is the case, for example, if you provide us with your contact details (such as your name and email address) and we store our customer data with a cloud provider. Consequently, data that we process from you may also be stored and processed on external servers. If we offer certain forms or content from cloud services on our website, cookies may also be set for web analyses and advertising purposes. Furthermore, such cookies remember your settings (such as the language used) so that you will find your familiar web environment the next time you visit our website.

What data is processed by cloud services?

Much of the data we store in the cloud has no personal reference, but some data is considered personal data as defined by the GDPR. This often involves customer data such as name, address, IP address or telephone number or technical device information. Videos, images and audio files can also be stored in the cloud. Exactly how the data is collected and stored depends on the respective service. We only try to use services that handle the data in a very trustworthy and professional manner. In principle, the services, such as Amazon Drive, have access to the stored files in order to be able to offer their own service accordingly. However, the services require authorisations for this, such as the right to copy files for security reasons. This data is processed and managed as part of the services and in compliance with the applicable laws. This also includes the GDPR for US providers (via the standard contractual clauses). In some cases, these cloud services also work with third-party providers who may process data under instruction and in accordance with the data protection guidelines and other security measures. At this point, we would like to emphasise once again that all known cloud services (such as Amazon Drive, Google Drive or Microsoft Onedrive) obtain the right to access stored content in order to offer and optimise their own services accordingly.

Duration of data processing

We will inform you about the duration of data processing below if we have further information on this. In general, cloud services store data until you or we revoke the data storage or delete the data. In general, personal data is only stored for as long as is absolutely necessary for the provision of the services. However, it may take several months to permanently delete data from the cloud. This is the case because the data is usually not stored on just one server, but is distributed across various servers.

Right of objection

You also have the right and the option to revoke your consent to data storage in a cloud at any time. If cookies are used, you also have a right of cancellation here. This works either via our cookie management tool or via other opt-out functions. For example, you can also prevent data collection by cookies by managing, deactivating or deleting cookies in your browser. We also recommend our general privacy policy on cookies. To find out exactly what data of yours is stored and processed, you should read the privacy policies of the respective cloud providers.

Legal basis

We use cloud services mainly on the basis of our legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR) in a good security and storage system.

Certain processing operations, in particular the use of cookies and the use of storage functions, require your consent. If you have consented to your data being processed and stored by cloud services, this consent is the legal basis for data processing (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR). Most of the services we use set cookies in your browser to store data. We therefore recommend that you read our data protection text on cookies carefully and view the privacy policy or cookie guidelines of the respective service provider.

Information on special tools - if available - can be found in the following sections.

Google Drive privacy policy

We also use the Google Drive cloud service for our business. The service provider is the American company Google Inc. For the European region, the company Google Ireland Limited (Gordon House, Barrow Street Dublin 4, Ireland) is responsible for all Google services.

Google also processes your data in the USA, among other places. Google is an active participant in the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, which regulates the correct and secure transfer of personal data from EU citizens to the USA. You can find more information on this at https://commission.europa.eu/document/fa09cbad-dd7d-4684-ae60-be03fcb0fddf_en.

Google also uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46 (2) and (3) GDPR). Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) 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 the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and the standard contractual 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 USA. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the corresponding standard contractual clauses here: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de

The Google Ads Data Processing Terms, which refer to the standard contractual clauses, can be found at https://business.safety.google/intl/de/adsprocessorterms/

You can find out more about the data that is processed through the use of Google Drive in the privacy policy on https://policies.google.com/privacy.

Payment provider introduction

Payment provider privacy policy summary 👥 Data subject: Visitors to the website 🤝 Purpose: To enable and optimise the payment process on our website 📓 Processed data: Data such as name, address, bank details (account number, credit card number, passwords, TANs, etc.), IP address and contract data You can find more details on this in the respective payment provider tool used. 📅 Storage duration: depending on the payment provider used ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR (fulfilment of a contract)

What is a payment provider?

We use online payment systems on our website that enable us and you to make secure and smooth payments. Among other things, personal data may be sent to the respective payment provider, stored and processed there. Payment providers are online payment systems that enable you to place an order via online banking. Payment processing is carried out by the payment provider you have selected. We then receive information about the payment made. This method can be used by any user who has an active online banking account with PIN and TAN. There are hardly any banks that do not offer or accept such payment methods.

Why do we use payment providers on our website?

We naturally want to offer the best possible service with our website and our integrated online shop so that you feel comfortable on our site and make use of our offers. We know that your time is precious and that payment transactions in particular need to work quickly and smoothly. For these reasons, we offer you various payment providers. You can choose your favourite payment provider and pay in the usual way.

What data is processed?

Exactly which data is processed depends on the respective payment provider, of course. However, data such as name, address, bank details (account number, credit card number, passwords, TANs, etc.) are generally stored. This is necessary data in order to be able to carry out a transaction at all. In addition, any contract data and user data, such as when you visit our website, what content you are interested in or which subpages you click on, may also be stored. Your IP address and information about the computer you are using are also stored by most payment providers.

The data is usually stored and processed on the payment provider's servers. We as the website operator do not receive this data. We are only informed whether the payment has worked or not. For identity and credit checks, payment providers may forward data to the relevant body. The business and data protection principles of the respective provider always apply to all payment transactions. Therefore, please always check the payment provider's general terms and conditions and privacy policy. You also have the right to have data deleted or corrected at any time. Please contact the respective service provider regarding your rights (right of cancellation, right to information and right to be affected).

Duration of data processing

We will inform you about the duration of data processing below if we have further information on this. In general, we only process personal data for as long as is absolutely necessary for the provision of our services and products. If required by law, for example in the case of accounting, this storage period may also be exceeded. For example, we store accounting documents relating to a contract (invoices, contract documents, account statements, etc.) for 10 years (§ 147 AO) and other relevant business documents for 6 years (§ 247 HGB) after they are created.

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 payment provider used at any time. Contact details can be found either in our specific privacy policy or on the website of the relevant payment provider.

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

Legal basis

We therefore offer the following services for the handling of contractual and legal relationships (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR)
 In addition to traditional banking/credit institutions, we also offer other payment service providers. In the data protection declarations of the individual payment providers (such as Amazon Payments, Apple Pay or Discover) provides you with a detailed overview of data processing and data storage. In addition, you can always contact the persons responsible if you have any questions about data protection issues.

Information on the special payment providers - if available - can be found in the following sections.

PayPal privacy policy

PayPal Privacy Policy Summary 👥 Data subject: Visitors to the website 🤝 Purpose: Optimisation of the payment process on our website 📓 Processed data: Data such as name, address, bank details (account number, credit card number, passwords, TANs, etc.), IP address and contract data may be processed. More details can be found further below in this privacy policy. 📅 Storage period: Data is generally stored until the cooperation with PayPal is terminated ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR (contract processing), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent)

What is PayPal?

We use the online payment service PayPal on our website. The service provider is the American company PayPal Inc. The company PayPal Europe (S.à r.l. et Cie, S.C.A., 22-24 Boulevard Royal, L-2449 Luxembourg) is responsible for the European area.

With PayPal, all users can send and receive money electronically. The company was founded in 1998 and is now one of the best-known and largest online payment service providers in the world with over 325 million active customers.

Why do we use PayPal for our website?

There are various reasons why we use PayPal and offer it on our website. Since PayPal is one of the best-known online payment providers, many of our website visitors also use and trust this service. PayPal also offers high security standards for digital money transfers. The service uses various encryption methods to protect your personal data in the best possible way. We also appreciate the ease of use of PayPal and the possibility of international payments in different currencies. As a rule, transactions are processed very quickly, which is a further advantage for both us and you as a customer.

What data is processed by PayPal?

In its privacy policy, PayPal distinguishes between different categories of personal data that can be processed through the use of the service. These include login and contact data, identification and signature data, payment information, information on imported contacts, data from your account profile, device data such as your IP address, location data and so-called derived data. This is information that can be derived from transactions or other data. This may include purchasing habits, behavioural patterns, creditworthiness or personal preferences.

Then there is also personal data that is collected by third parties (such as identity checkers, fraud detection providers or your bank). This data includes information from credit agencies, transaction data, information on legal requirements, technical usage data, location data and also derived data.

PayPal and its partners also use tracking technologies such as cookies, pixel tags, web beacons and widgets to recognise you as a user, to customise content and to carry out analyses for interest-based advertising.

How long and where is the data stored?

In principle, PayPal stores the data for as long as it is necessary to fulfil its obligations and within the scope of the purpose. Personal data that is necessary for the customer relationship will be stored for 10 years after the end of the relationship. If PayPal is subject to a legal obligation, the retention period of the personal data is in accordance with the applicable law (e.g. insolvency law). PayPal also stores personal data for as long as necessary if storage is advisable with regard to legal disputes.

As PayPal is a global company, the service also has data centres worldwide where your data can be stored. This means that your data can also be stored on PayPal servers outside your country and also outside the scope of the GDPR.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

You have the right to information, correction or deletion and restriction of the processing of your personal data at any time. You can also withdraw your consent to the processing of data at any time.

If you want to deactivate, delete or manage cookies, you will find the relevant links to the instructions for the most popular browsers in the "Cookies" section.

Legal basis

We have a legitimate interest in integrating an external payment service with PayPal in order to make our offer more attractive and to improve it technically and economically. The legal basis for this is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests). We would like to point out that you can only use PayPal if you enter into a contractual relationship with PayPal. In this case, it may be necessary to provide further data protection and contractual declarations (e.g. consent).

PayPal also processes your data in the USA, among other places. We would like to point out that, in the opinion of the European Court of Justice, there is currently no adequate level of protection for data transfers to the USA. This may entail various risks for the legality and security of data processing.

PayPal uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46. para. 2 and 3 GDPR) as the basis for data processing with recipients based in third countries (outside the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, i.e. in particular in the USA) or data transfer there. Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) 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, PayPal 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 USA. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the corresponding standard contractual clauses here: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de

For more information on the standard contractual clauses and the data processed through the use of PayPal, please refer to the privacy policy at https://www.paypal.com/webapps/mpp/ua/privacy-full.

Audio & Video Introduction

Audio & Video Privacy Policy Summary 👥 Data subject: Visitors to the website 🤝 Purpose: Optimisation of our service performance 📓 Processed data: Data such as contact details, user behaviour data, information about your device and your IP address may be stored. You can find more details on this below in the corresponding data protection texts. 📅 Storage period: Data is generally stored for as long as it is required for the purpose of the service ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests)

What are audio and video elements?

We have integrated audio and video elements on our website so that you can 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 integrated functional elements from 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 integrated elements, you can listen to or watch the respective content via our website.

If you use audio or video elements on our website, your personal data 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 offer on our website. And we realise that content is no longer just conveyed in text and static images. Instead of simply giving you a link to a video, we offer you audio and video formats directly on our website that are entertaining or informative and ideally even both. This expands our service and makes it easier for you to access interesting content. We therefore offer video and/or audio content in addition to our texts and images.

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 server of the service provider. Your data is also transferred to the third-party provider and stored there. Some data is collected and stored regardless of whether you have an account with the third-party provider or not. This usually includes your IP address, browser type, operating system and other general information about your end device. In addition, most providers also collect information about your web activity. This includes, for example, 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 known as web beacons). Pseudonymised data is usually stored in cookies in your browser. You can always find out exactly which 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 privacy policy. In principle, personal data is only ever processed for as long as is absolutely necessary for the provision of our services or products. This generally 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, especially in cookies. Some cookies are deleted as soon as you leave the website, while others may be stored in your browser for several years.

Right of objection

You also have the right and the option to withdraw 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 by cookies by managing, deactivating or deleting cookies in your browser. The legality of the processing remains unaffected until the cancellation.

Since the integrated audio and video functions on our website usually also use cookies, you should also read our general privacy policy on cookies. You can find out more about the handling and storage of your data in the privacy policies of the respective third-party providers.

Legal basis

If you have consented to your data being processed and stored by integrated audio and video elements, this consent is the legal basis for data processing (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR). In principle, your data is also processed on the basis of our legitimate interest (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR) We store and process your data for the purpose of 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

YouTube privacy policy summary 👥 Data subject: Visitors to the website 🤝 Purpose: Optimisation of our service performance 📓 Processed data: Data such as contact details, user behaviour data, information about your device and your IP address may be stored. You can find more details below in this privacy policy. 📅 Storage period: Data is generally stored for as long as it is required for the purpose of the service ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests)

What is YouTube?

We have integrated 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 access a page on our website that has an embedded YouTube video, your browser automatically connects to the YouTube or Google servers. Various data will be transmitted (depending on the settings). Google Ireland Limited (Gordon House, Barrow Street Dublin 4, Ireland) is responsible for all data processing in Europe.

In the following, we would like to explain to you in more detail what 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 for free. Over the last few years, YouTube has become one of the most important social media channels worldwide. To enable us to display videos on our website, YouTube provides a code snippet that we have integrated 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 endeavour to offer you the best possible user experience on our website. And of course, interesting videos are a must. With the help of our embedded videos, we provide you with further helpful content in addition to our texts and images. The embedded videos also make our website easier to find on the Google search engine. Even if we place adverts via Google Ads, Google can - thanks to the data collected - only show these adverts to people who are interested in our offers.

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 with the help of 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, the sharing of content via social media or adding to your favourites on YouTube.

If you are not logged into a Google account or a YouTube account, Google stores data with a unique identifier that is linked to your device, browser or app. For example, your preferred language setting is retained. But a lot of interaction data cannot be saved because fewer cookies are set.

In the following list, we show cookies that were set in the browser in a test. On the one hand, we show cookies that are set without a logged-in YouTube account. On the other hand, we show cookies that are set with a logged-in account. The list cannot claim to be exhaustive because the user data always depends on the interactions on YouTube.

Name: YSC

Value: b9-CV6ojI5Y323003241-1

Intended use: This cookie registers a unique ID to store statistics of the video viewed.

Expiry date: after the end of the meeting

Name: PREF

Value: f1=50000000

Intended use: This cookie also registers your unique ID. Google receives statistics on how you use YouTube videos on our website via PREF.

Expiry date: after 8 months

Name: GPS

Value: 1

Intended use: This cookie registers your unique ID on mobile devices to track the GPS location.

Expiry date: after 30 minutes

Name: VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE

Value: 95Chz8bagyU

Intended use: This cookie attempts to estimate the user's bandwidth on our websites (with integrated YouTube video).

Expiry date: after 8 months

Other cookies that are set when you are logged in to your YouTube account:

Name: APISID

Value: zILlvClZSkqGsSwI/AU1aZI6HY7323003241-

Intended use: This cookie is used to create a profile of your interests. The data is used for personalised advertisements.

Expiry date: after 2 years

Name: CONSENT

Value: YES+AT.de+20150628-20-0

Intended use: The cookie stores the status of a user's consent to the use of various Google services. CONSENT is also used for security purposes to check users and protect user data from unauthorised attacks.

Expiry date: after 19 years

Name: HSID

Value: AcRwpgUik9Dveht0I

Intended use: This cookie is used to create a profile of your interests. This data helps to display personalised advertising.

Expiry date: after 2 years

Name: LOGIN_INFO

Value: AFmmF2swRQIhALl6aL...

Intended use: Information about your login data is stored in this cookie.

Expiry date: after 2 years

Name: SAPISID

Value: 7oaPxoG-pZsJuuF5/AnUdDUIsJ9iJz2vdM

Intended use: This cookie works by uniquely identifying your browser and device. It is used to create a profile of your interests.

Expiry date: after 2 years

Name: SID

Value: oQfNKjAsI323003241-

Intended use: This cookie stores your Google Account ID and your last login time in digitally signed and encrypted form.

Expiry date: after 2 years

Name: SIDCC

Value: AN0-TYuqub2JOcDTyL

Intended use: This cookie stores information about how you use the website and what adverts you may have seen before visiting our site.

Expiry date: after 3 months

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. Under https://www.google.com/about/datacenters/locations/?hl=de you can see exactly where the Google data centres are located. Your data is distributed across the servers. This means that the data can be accessed more quickly and is better protected against manipulation.

Google stores the data collected for different lengths of time. You can delete some data at any time, others are automatically deleted after a limited time and others are stored by Google for a longer period of time. Some data (such as elements from "My activity", photos or documents, products) that are stored in your Google account remain stored until you delete them. Even if you are not signed in to a Google Account, you can delete some data that is linked to your device, browser or app.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

In principle, you can delete data in your Google account manually. With the automatic deletion function for location and activity data introduced in 2019, information is stored for either 3 or 18 months, depending on your decision, and then deleted.

Regardless of whether you have a Google account or not, you can configure your browser so that cookies are deleted or deactivated by Google. Depending on which browser you use, this works in different ways. In the "Cookies" section, you will find the relevant links to the instructions for the most popular browsers.

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

Legal basis

If you have consented to your data being processed and stored by integrated YouTube elements, this consent is the legal basis for data processing (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR). In principle, your data is also processed on the basis of our legitimate interest (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR) We store and process your data for the purpose of fast and good communication with you or other customers and business partners. Nevertheless, we only use the integrated YouTube elements if you have given your consent. YouTube also sets cookies in your browser to store data. We therefore recommend that you read our data protection text on cookies carefully and consult the privacy policy or cookie guidelines of the respective service provider.

YouTube also processes your data in the USA, among other places. YouTube and Google are active participants in the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, which regulates the correct and secure transfer of personal data from EU citizens to the USA. You can find more information on this at https://commission.europa.eu/document/fa09cbad-dd7d-4684-ae60-be03fcb0fddf_en.

Google also uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46 (2) and (3) GDPR). Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) 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 the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and the standard contractual 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 USA. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the corresponding standard contractual clauses here: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de

The Google Ads Data Processing Terms, which refer to the standard contractual clauses, can be found at https://business.safety.google/intl/de/adsprocessorterms/.

As YouTube is a subsidiary of Google, there is a joint privacy policy. If you would like to find out more about how your data is handled, we recommend that you read the privacy policy at https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=de.

Survey and interview systems Introduction

Survey and interview systems Privacy policy Summary 👥 Data subject: Visitors to the website 🤝 Purpose: Evaluation of surveys on the website 📓 Processed data: Contact data, device data, access duration and time, IP addresses. You can find more details on this in the respective survey and questionnaire system used. 📅 Storage duration: depending on the tool used ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests)

What are survey and interview systems?

We are also happy to conduct various surveys and questionnaires via our website. These are always analysed anonymously. A survey or survey system is a tool integrated into our website that asks you questions (e.g. about our products or services) which you can answer if you participate. Your answers are always analysed anonymously. However, personal data may also be stored and processed after you have given your consent to data processing.

Why do we use survey and interview systems?

We want to offer you the best products and services in our industry. Surveys provide us with perfect feedback and tell us what you expect from us and our services. Based on these anonymous analyses, we can adapt our products and services to best meet your wishes and expectations. Furthermore, the information also helps us to target our advertising and marketing measures to those people who are really interested in what we have to offer.

What data is processed?

Personal data is only processed if it is necessary for the technical implementation or if you have consented to the processing of personal data. For example, your IP address is stored so that the survey can be displayed in your browser. Cookies may also be used so that you can continue your survey at a later date without any problems.

If you have consented to data processing, contact data such as your e-mail address or telephone number may be processed in addition to your IP address. Data that you enter in an online form, for example, will also be stored and processed. Some providers also store information about the web pages you have visited (on our website), when you started and ended the survey and various technical information about your computer.

How long is data stored?

How long the data is processed and stored depends primarily on the tools we use. You can find out more about the data processing of the individual tools below. The privacy policies of the providers usually state exactly which data is stored and processed and for how long. In principle, personal data is only processed for as long as is necessary for the provision of our services. If data is stored in cookies, the storage period varies greatly. The data can be deleted immediately after leaving a website, but it can also remain stored for several years. You should therefore look at each individual cookie in detail if you want to know more about data storage. In most cases, you will also find informative information about the individual cookies in the data protection declarations of the individual providers.

Right of objection

You also have the right and the option to withdraw your consent to the use of cookies or embedded survey systems 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 by cookies by managing, deactivating or deleting cookies in your browser.

As survey systems may 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 policies of the respective tools.

Legal basis

The use of survey systems requires your consent, which we have obtained with our cookie pop-up. According to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent) represents the legal basis for the processing of personal data as it may occur when collected by survey and interview systems.

In addition to consent, we have a legitimate interest in conducting a survey on our topic. The legal basis for this is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests). Nevertheless, we only use the tools if you have given your consent.

As survey systems use cookies, we recommend that you also read our general privacy policy on cookies. To find out exactly which of your data is stored and processed, you should read the privacy policies of the respective tools.

Information on the individual survey systems, if available, can be found in the following sections.

Microsoft Forms Privacy Policy

We use the online survey creator Microsoft Forms on our website. The service provider is the American company Microsoft Corporation, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA 98052-6399, USA.

Microsoft also processes your data in the USA, among other places. Microsoft is an active participant in the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, which regulates the correct and secure transfer of personal data from EU citizens to the USA. You can find more information on this at https://commission.europa.eu/document/fa09cbad-dd7d-4684-ae60-be03fcb0fddf_en.

Microsoft also uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46 (2) and (3) GDPR). Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) 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 the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and the standard contractual clauses, Microsoft 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 USA. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the corresponding standard contractual clauses here: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de

You can find more information on the standard contractual clauses at Microsoft at https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/compliance/regulatory/offering-eu-model-clauses

You can find out more about the data that is processed through the use of Microsoft in the privacy policy on https://privacy.microsoft.com/de-de/privacystatement.

Typeform privacy policy

We use Typeform, a survey software, for our website. The service provider is the Spanish company Typeform, 163 Carrer de Bac de Roda, Barcelona, Spain.

You can find out more about the data processed through the use of Typeform in the privacy policy on
https://admin.typeform.com/to/dwk6gt.

Web design introduction

Webdesign Privacy Policy Summary 👥 Data subject: Visitors to the website 🤝 Purpose: Improvement of the user experience 📓 Processed data: Which data is processed depends heavily on the services used. This usually involves the IP address, technical data, language settings, browser version, screen resolution and browser name. You can find more details on this in the respective web design tools used. 📅 Storage duration: depending on the tools used ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests)

What is web design?

We use various tools on our website that serve our web design. Web design is not, as is often assumed, just about making our website look pretty, but also about functionality and performance. But of course the right look of a website is also one of the major goals of professional web design. Web design is a branch of media design and deals with the visual as well as the structural and functional design of a website. The aim of web design is to improve your experience on our website. In web design jargon, this is referred to as user experience (UX) and usability. User experience refers to all the impressions and experiences that website visitors have on a website. Usability is a sub-item of user experience. This refers to the user-friendliness of a website. The main focus here is on ensuring that content, subpages or products are clearly structured and that you can find what you are looking for quickly and easily. In order to offer you the best possible experience on our website, we also use third-party web design tools. The "web design" category in this privacy policy therefore includes all services that improve the design of our website. These can be, for example, fonts, various plugins or other integrated web design functions.

Why do we use web design tools?

How you absorb information on a website depends very much on the structure, functionality and visual perception of the website. This is why good and professional web design has become increasingly important for us. We are constantly working on improving our website and also see this as an extended service for you as a website visitor. Furthermore, a beautiful and functioning website also has economic advantages for us. After all, you will only visit us and make use of our services if you feel completely at ease.

What data is stored by web design tools?

When you visit our website, web design elements may be integrated into our pages that can also process data. Exactly what data is involved naturally depends heavily on the tools used. Below you can see exactly which tools we use for our website. For more detailed information about data processing, we recommend that you also read the respective data privacy statements of the tools used. In most cases, this will tell you what data is processed, whether cookies are used and how long the data is stored. Fonts such as Google Fonts also automatically transmit information such as language settings, IP address, browser version, browser screen resolution and browser name to the Google servers.

Duration of data processing

How long data is processed is very individual and depends on the web design elements used. If cookies are used, for example, the storage period can be as short as one minute or as long as a few years. Please find out more about this. We recommend that you read our general text section on cookies as well as the data protection declarations of the tools used. There you can usually find out exactly which cookies are used and what information is stored in them. Google font files, for example, are stored for one year. This is to improve the loading time of a website. In principle, data is only stored for as long as is necessary for the provision of the service. Data can also be stored for longer if required by law.

Right of objection

You also have the right and the option to withdraw 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. You can also prevent data collection by cookies by managing, deactivating or deleting cookies in your browser. Under web design elements (mostly fonts), however, there is also data that cannot be deleted quite so easily. This is the case when data is automatically collected directly when a page is accessed and transmitted to a third-party provider (such as Google). In this case, please contact the support of the relevant provider. In the case of Google, you can reach support at https://support.google.com/?hl=de.

Legal basis

If you have consented to the use of web design tools, the legal basis for the corresponding data processing is this consent. According to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), this consent constitutes the legal basis for the processing of personal data, as may occur when it is collected by web design tools. We also have a legitimate interest in improving the web design on our website. After all, only then can we provide you with an attractive and professional website. The legal basis for this is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests). Nevertheless, we only use web design tools if you have given your consent. We would like to emphasise this again here in any case.

Information on special web design tools - if available - can be found in the following sections.

Font Awesome Privacy Policy

Font Awesome Privacy Policy Summary 👥 Data subject: Visitors to the website 🤝 Purpose: Optimisation of our service performance Processed data: such as IP address and which icon files are loaded You can find more details below in this privacy policy. 📅 Storage duration: Files in identifiable form are stored for a few weeks ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests)

What is Font Awesome?

We use Font Awesome from the American company Fonticons (307 S. Main St., Suite 202, Bentonville, AR 72712, USA) on our website. When you call up one of our websites, the Font Awesome web font (in particular icons) is loaded via the Font Awesome Content Delivery Network (CDN). This ensures that the texts, fonts and icons are displayed appropriately on every end device. In this privacy policy, we go into more detail about data storage and data processing by this service.

Icons are playing an increasingly important role for websites. Font Awesome is a web font that has been specially developed for web designers and web developers. With Font Awesome, icons can be scaled and coloured as desired using the CSS style sheet language. They thus replace old image icons. Font Awesome CDN is the easiest way to load icons or fonts onto your website. All we had to do was add a small line of code to our website.

Why do we use Font Awesome on our website?

Font Awesome allows content on our website to be better organised. This makes it easier for you to find your way around our website and grasp the content more easily. The icons can sometimes even be used to replace entire words and save space. This is particularly practical when we optimise content specifically for smartphones. These icons are inserted as HMTL code instead of images. This allows us to edit the icons with CSS exactly as we want. At the same time, we also improve our loading speed with Font Awesome because it only involves HTML elements and not icon images. All these advantages help us to make the website even clearer, fresher and faster for you.

What data is stored by Font Awesome?

The Font Awesome Content Delivery Network (CDN) is used to load icons and symbols. CDNs are networks of servers that are distributed worldwide and make it possible to quickly load files from nearby. This means that as soon as you call up one of our pages, the corresponding icons are provided by Font Awesome.

In order for the web fonts to be loaded, your browser must establish a connection to the servers of Fonticons, Inc. Your IP address is recognised in the process. Font Awesome also collects data about which icon files are downloaded and when. Furthermore, technical data such as your browser version, screen resolution or the time the page was called up is also transmitted.

This data is collected and stored for the following reasons:

• to optimise content delivery networks
• to recognise and rectify technical faults
• to protect CDNs from misuse and attacks
• to be able to charge fees from Font Awesome Pro customers
• to find out the popularity of icons
• to know which computer and software you are using

If your browser does not allow web fonts, a standard font from your PC will be used automatically. As far as we are currently aware, no cookies are set. We are in contact with Font Awesome's data protection department and will let you know as soon as we find out more.

How long and where is the data stored?

Font Awesome stores data about the use of the Content Delivery Network on servers in the United States of America. However, the CDN servers are located worldwide and store user data wherever you are. The data is usually only stored in identifiable form for a few weeks. Aggregated statistics on the use of the CDNs can also be stored for longer. Personal data is not included here.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

To the best of our knowledge, Font Awesome does not store any personal data about the content delivery networks. If you do not want data about the icons used to be saved, you will unfortunately not be able to visit our website. If your browser does not allow web fonts, no data will be transmitted or stored. In this case, your computer's default font will simply be used.

Legal basis

If you have consented to the use of Font Awesome, the legal basis for the corresponding data processing is this consent. According to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent) represents the legal basis for the processing of personal data as it may occur during the collection by Font Awesome.

We also have a legitimate interest in using Font Awesome to optimise our online service. The legal basis for this is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests). Nevertheless, we only use Font Awesome if you have given your consent.

We would like to point out that, in the opinion of the European Court of Justice, there is currently no adequate level of protection for data transfer to the USA. Data processing is essentially carried out by Font Awesome. This may result in data not being processed and stored in anonymised form. Furthermore, US government authorities may be able to access individual data. It is also possible that this data may be linked to data from other Font Awesome services with which you have a user account.

If you would like to find out more about Font Awesome and how they handle data, we recommend that you read their privacy policy at https://fontawesome.com/privacy and the help page at https://fontawesome.com/support.

Google Fonts privacy policy

Google Fonts privacy policy summary 👥 Data subject: Visitors to the website 🤝 Purpose: Optimisation of our service performance 📓 Processed data: Data such as IP address and CSS and font requests You can find more details below in this privacy policy. 📅 Storage duration: Font files are stored by Google for one year ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests)

What are Google Fonts?

We use Google Fonts on our website. These are the "Google fonts" of Google Inc. For the European area, the company Google Ireland Limited (Gordon House, Barrow Street Dublin 4, Ireland) is responsible for all Google services.

You do not need to log in or enter a password to use Google fonts. Furthermore, no cookies are stored in your browser. The files (CSS, fonts) are requested via the Google domains fonts.googleapis.com and fonts.gstatic.com. According to Google, requests for CSS and fonts are completely separate from all other Google services. If you have a Google account, you do not need to worry that your Google account data will be transmitted to Google while using Google Fonts. Google records the use of CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) and the fonts used and stores this data securely. We will take a closer look at exactly how the data is stored.

Google Fonts (formerly Google Web Fonts) is a directory of over 800 fonts that can be Google to your users free of charge.

Many of these fonts are published under the SIL Open Font Licence, while others have been published under the Apache licence. Both are free software licences.

Why do we use Google Fonts on our website?

With Google Fonts, we can use fonts on our own website without having to upload them to our own server. Google Fonts is an important component in keeping the quality of our website high. All Google fonts are automatically optimised for the web and this saves data volume and is a great advantage, especially for use on mobile devices. When you visit our site, the low file size ensures a fast loading time. Furthermore, Google Fonts are secure web fonts. Different image synthesis systems (rendering) in different browsers, operating systems and mobile devices can lead to errors. Such errors can sometimes visually distort texts or entire websites. Thanks to the fast Content Delivery Network (CDN), there are no cross-platform problems with Google Fonts. Google Fonts supports all common browsers (Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera) and works reliably on most modern mobile operating systems, including Android 2.2+ and iOS 4.2+ (iPhone, iPad, iPod). We use Google Fonts so that we can present our entire online service as beautifully and uniformly as possible.

What data is stored by Google?

When you visit our website, the fonts are reloaded via a Google server. This external call transmits data to the Google server. In this way, Google also recognises that you or your IP address is visiting our website. The Google Fonts API was developed to reduce the use, storage and collection of end user data to what is necessary for the proper provision of fonts. Incidentally, API stands for "Application Programming Interface" and serves, among other things, as a data transmitter in the software sector.

Google Fonts stores CSS and font requests securely at Google and is therefore protected. Google can use the collected usage figures to determine how well the individual fonts are received. Google publishes the results on internal analysis pages, such as Google Analytics. Google also uses data from its own web crawler to determine which websites use Google fonts. This data is published in the Google Fonts BigQuery database. Entrepreneurs and developers use the Google web service BigQuery to analyse and move large amounts of data.

However, it should be noted that every Google Font request also automatically transmits information such as language settings, IP address, browser version, browser screen resolution and browser name to the Google servers. It is not clear whether this data is also stored or whether it is clearly communicated by Google.

How long and where is the data stored?

Google stores requests for CSS assets for one day on its servers, which are mainly located outside the EU. This allows us to use the fonts with the help of a Google stylesheet. A stylesheet is a format template that can be used to quickly and easily change the design or font of a website, for example.

The font files are stored by Google for one year. Google's aim is to fundamentally improve the loading time of websites. If millions of websites refer to the same fonts, they are cached after the first visit and immediately reappear on all other websites visited later. Google sometimes updates font files to reduce the file size, increase language coverage and improve the design.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

The data that Google stores for one day or one year cannot simply be deleted. The data is automatically transmitted to Google when the page is accessed. To delete this data prematurely, you must contact Google support at https://support.google.com/?hl=de&tid=323003241 contact us. In this case, you can only prevent data storage if you do not visit our website.

Unlike other web fonts, Google allows us unrestricted access to all fonts. This means we have unlimited access to a sea of fonts and can therefore get the best out of our website. You can find out more about Google Fonts and other questions at https://developers.google.com/fonts/faq?tid=323003241. Although Google addresses data protection issues there, it does not provide any really detailed information about data storage. It is relatively difficult to obtain really precise information from Google about stored data.

Legal basis

If you have consented to the use of Google Fonts, the legal basis for the corresponding data processing is this consent. According to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent) represents the legal basis for the processing of personal data, as may occur when Google Fonts is used to collect data.

We also have a legitimate interest in using Google Font to optimise our online service. The legal basis for this is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests). Nevertheless, we only use Google Font if you have given your consent.

Google also processes your data in the USA, among other places. Google is an active participant in the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, which regulates the correct and secure transfer of personal data from EU citizens to the USA. You can find more information on this at https://commission.europa.eu/document/fa09cbad-dd7d-4684-ae60-be03fcb0fddf_en.

Google also uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46 (2) and (3) GDPR). Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) 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 the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and the standard contractual 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 USA. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the corresponding standard contractual clauses here: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de

The Google Ads Data Processing Terms, which refer to the standard contractual clauses, can be found at https://business.safety.google/intl/de/adsprocessorterms/.

You can also find out which data is generally collected by Google and what this data is used for at https://www.google.com/intl/de/policies/privacy/ read more.

Online booking systems Introduction

Online booking systems Privacy policy summary 👥 Data subject: Visitors to the website 🤝 Purpose: Improvement of the user experience and organisation 📓 Processed data: Which data is processed depends heavily on the services used. It is usually IP address, contact and payment data and/or technical data. You can find more details on this in the respective tools used. 📅 Storage duration: depending on the tools used ⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests)

What is an online booking system?

We use one or more booking systems so that you can make bookings via our website. 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 allows you to book and usually also pay directly online. You are probably already familiar with such booking systems from the catering or hotel industry. However, such systems are now used in a wide range of industries. Depending on the tool and settings, booking systems can be used both internally for us and for customers like you. As a rule, your personal data is also collected and stored.

Booking usually works as follows: You will find the booking system on our website, where you can book an appointment for a service directly with a click of the mouse and enter your details, and usually pay for it straight away. You may be able to enter various personal details on 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 as a free service for you. We want you to receive helpful information and feel completely at ease on our site. This also includes an online service that makes it as easy as possible for you to book appointments or services. Gone are the days when you had to wait days for a booking confirmation by phone or e-mail. With an online booking system, everything is done in just a few clicks and you can get on with other things. The system also makes it easier for us to manage all bookings and appointments. We therefore consider such a booking system to be absolutely sensible for both you and us.

What data is processed?

Of course, we cannot tell you exactly which data is processed in this general information text about booking systems. This always depends on the tool used and the functions and options it contains. In addition to the conventional booking function, many booking systems also offer a range of other features. For example, many systems also have an integrated external online payment system (e.g. from Stripe, Klarna or Paypal) and a calendar synchronisation function. Accordingly, depending on the functions, different and varying amounts of data can be processed. Data such as IP address, name and contact details, technical information about your device and the time of a booking are usually processed. If you also make a payment in the system, bank details such as account number, credit card number, passwords, TANs etc. are also stored and forwarded to the respective payment provider. We recommend that you read the 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. For this reason, we are not yet able to provide any specific information about the duration of data processing. In principle, however, personal data is only 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 find out more about this in our "Cookies" section. Please also take a look at the respective data protection declarations of the providers. These should explain how long your data is stored in each specific case.

Right of objection

If you have consented to data processing by a booking system, you naturally always have the option and the right to withdraw this consent. So please always be aware that you have rights in relation 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 as simple as that. The easiest way to revoke data processing is via a cookie consent tool or other opt-out functions offered. You can also manage data storage by cookies directly in your browser, for example. The legality of data processing remains unaffected until you revoke your consent.

Legal basis

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

Furthermore, we also have a legitimate interest in using booking systems because they allow us to expand our customer service and optimise our internal booking organisation. The legal basis for this is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests). Nevertheless, we only use the tools if you have given your consent. We would like to emphasise this again at this point.

Information on special booking systems - if available - can be found in the following sections.

Eventbrite privacy policy

We use Eventbrite, an online platform for event and ticket management, for our website. The service provider is the American company Eventbrite Inc, 535 Mission Street, 8th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94103, USA. For European legislation, the American company is represented by the Irish company Eventbrite Operations Limited (97 South Mall Cork, T12 XV54, Ireland).

Eventbrite also processes your data in the USA, among other places. Eventbrite is an active participant in the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, which regulates the correct and secure transfer of personal data of EU citizens to the USA. You can find more information on this at https://commission.europa.eu/document/fa09cbad-dd7d-4684-ae60-be03fcb0fddf_en.

Eventbrite also uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46 (2) and (3) GDPR). 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 the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and the Standard Contractual Clauses, Eventbrite 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 USA. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the corresponding standard contractual clauses here: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de.

You can find more information on the standard contractual clauses at Eventbrite in the data processing conditions at https://www.eventbrite.com/support/articles/en_US/Troubleshooting/data-processing-addendum-for-organizers?lg=en_US.

You can find out more about the data that is processed through the use of Eventbrite in the privacy policy on https://www.eventbrite.de/help/de/articles/460838/datenschutzrichtlinien-von-eventbrite/.

Closing words

Congratulations! If you are reading this, you have really "fought" your way through our entire privacy policy, or at least scrolled this far. As you can see from the scope of our privacy policy, we take the protection of your personal data anything but lightly.

It is important to us to inform you to the best of our knowledge and belief about the processing of personal data. However, we not only want to tell you which data is processed, but also explain the reasons for using various software programmes. As a rule, privacy policies sound very technical and legal. However, as most of you are not web developers or lawyers, we wanted to take a different approach in terms of language and explain the facts in simple and clear language. Of course, this is not always possible due to the subject matter. Therefore, the most important terms are explained in more detail at the end of the privacy policy.

If you have any questions about data protection on our website, please do not hesitate to contact us or the responsible organisation. We wish you a pleasant time and hope to welcome you back to our website soon.

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