Privacy Policy
Introduction and overview
We have written this data protection declaration (version 12.10.2022-112224464) to explain to 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 legal 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 terms. This data protection declaration, 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 are explained in a reader-friendly manner, links to further information are provided and graphics are used. We are informing you in clear and simple language that we only process personal data in the context of our business activities if there is a corresponding legal basis. This is certainly not possible if you provide the briefest, most unclear and legal-technical explanations 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 some information there that you did not know before.
If you still have any questions, we would like to ask you to contact the responsible body named below or in the imprint, follow the existing links and look at further information on third-party websites. You can of course also find our contact details in the imprint.
Scope
This data protection declaration applies to all personal data processed by us in the company and to all personal data that companies commissioned by us (contract processors) process. By personal data we mean information within the meaning of Art. 4 No. 1 GDPR, such as a person’s name, e-mail address and postal address. The processing of personal data ensures that we can offer and bill for our services and products, whether online or offline. The scope of this data protection declaration includes:
all online presences (websites, online shops) that we operate
social media presences and email communication
mobile apps for smartphones and other devices
In short: The data protection declaration applies to all areas in which personal data is processed in a structured manner in the company 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 data protection declaration 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 read this EU General Data Protection Regulation online on EUR-Lex, the access to EU law, at https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=celex%3A32016R0679.
We only process your data if at least one of the following conditions applies:
- Consent (Article 6 paragraph 1 lit. a GDPR): You have given us your consent to process data for a specific purpose. An example would be the storage of your entered data in a contact form.
- Contract (Article 6 paragraph 1 lit. b GDPR): We process your data in order to fulfil a contract or pre-contractual obligations with you. For example, if we conclude a purchase contract with you, we need personal information in advance.
- Legal obligation (Article 6 paragraph 1 lit. 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.
- Legitimate interests (Article 6 paragraph 1 lit. 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 have to process certain data in order to be able to operate our website securely and economically efficiently. This processing is therefore a legitimate interest.
Other conditions such as the recording of data in the public interest and the exercise of public authority as well as the protection of vital interests do not generally apply to us. If such a legal basis should be applicable, it will be indicated at the appropriate point.
In addition to the EU regulation, national laws also apply:
- In Austria, this is the Federal Law on the Protection of Natural Persons with regard to the Processing of Personal Data (Data Protection Act), or DSG for short.
- In Germany, the Federal Data Protection Act, or BDSG for short, applies.
If other regional or national laws apply, we will inform you about them in the following sections.
Contact details of the person responsible
If you have any questions about data protection or the processing of personal data, you will find the contact details of the person or body responsible below:
Digital Champions Network
Dr. Klaus Niedl
c/o Austrian Computer Society (OCG)
Wollzeile 1
1010 Vienna
E-mail: [email protected]
Data protection information: https://www.ocg.at/ds
E-mail: [email protected]
Telephone: +43 1 512 02 35-0
Imprint: https://digichamps.eu/datenschutz/
Storage period
The fact that we only store personal data for as long as it is absolutely necessary to provide our services and products is a general criterion for us. This means that we delete personal data as soon as the reason for data processing no longer exists. In some cases, we are legally obliged to store certain data even after the original purpose no longer applies, 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 provided there is no obligation to store it.
We will inform you about the specific duration of the respective data processing below, provided we have further information about it.
Rights according to the General Data Protection Regulation
According to Articles 13 and 14 of the 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 of the GDPR, you have a right to information about whether we process data about you. If this is the case, you have the right to receive a copy of the data and to be informed of the following information:
- for what purpose 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 is stored;
- the existence of the right to rectification, erasure or restriction of processing and the right to object to processing;
- that you can complain to a supervisory authority (links to these authorities can be found below);
- the origin of the data if we did not collect it from you;
- whether profiling is carried out, i.e. whether data is automatically evaluated in order to create a personal profile of you.
- According to Article 16 GDPR, you have the right to rectification of data, which means that we must correct data if we find errors.
- According to Article 17 GDPR, you have the right to erasure (“right to be forgotten”), which specifically means that you can request that your data be erased.
- According to Article 18 GDPR, you have the right to restriction of processing, which means that we can 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 common format upon request.
- According to Article 21 GDPR, you have the right to object, which, if enforced, entails a change in the processing.
- 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 comply with this objection.
- If data is used to conduct direct advertising, you can object to this type of data processing at any time. We may no longer use your data for direct marketing after that.
- If data is used to conduct profiling, you can object to this type of data processing at any time. We may no longer use your data for profiling after that.
- According to Article 22 GDPR, you may have the right not to be subjected to a decision based solely on automated processing (for example profiling).
- According to Article 77 GDPR, you have the right to lodge a complaint. This means that you can complain to 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 complain to the supervisory authority. For Austria, this is the Data Protection Authority, whose website you can find at https://www.dsb.gv.at/. In Germany, there is a data protection officer for each federal state. For more information, you can contact the Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (BfDI). The following local data protection authority is responsible for our company:
Austria Data Protection Authority
Head: Mag. Dr. Andrea Jelinek
Address: Barichgasse 40-42, 1030 Vienna
Telephone number: +43 1 52 152-0
Email address: [email protected]
Website: https://www.dsb.gv.at/
Security of data processing
We have implemented both technical and organizational measures to protect personal data. Where possible, we encrypt or pseudonymize personal data. In doing so, we make it as difficult as possible for third parties to deduce personal information from our data.
Art. 25 GDPR speaks here of “data protection through technical design and through data protection-friendly default settings” and means that both software (e.g. forms) and hardware (e.g. access to the server room) are always considered to be secure and appropriate measures are taken. In the following, we will go into more detail about specific measures if necessary.
TLS encryption with https
TLS, encryption and https sound very technical and they are. We use HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) to transfer data securely over the Internet.
This means that the complete transfer of all data from your browser to our web server is secured – no one can “eavesdrop”.
We have thus introduced an additional security layer and comply with data protection through technology design (Article 25 Paragraph 1 GDPR). By using TLS (Transport Layer Security), an encryption protocol for secure data transfer over the Internet, we can ensure the protection of confidential data.
You can recognize the use of this data transfer security by the small lock symbol 
at the top left of the browser, to the left of the Internet address (e.g. examplepage.de) and the use of the https scheme (instead of http) as part of our Internet address.
If you would like to know more about encryption, we recommend doing a Google search for “Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure wiki” to get good links to further information.
Communication
👥 Affected parties: All those who communicate with us by telephone, email or online form
📓 Data processed: e.g. telephone number, name, email address, form data entered. You can find more details about this in the contact type used in each case
🤝 Purpose: Handling communication with customers, business partners, etc.
📅 Storage period: Duration of the business case and the legal regulations
⚖️ Legal basis: 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 by telephone, email or online form, personal data may be processed.
The data will be processed to handle and process your question and the related business transaction. The data will be stored for as long as the law requires.
Affected persons
The processes mentioned affect everyone who tries to contact us via the communication channels we provide.
Telephone
When you call us, the call data is stored pseudonymously on the respective end device and with the telecommunications provider used. In addition, data such as name and telephone number can then be sent by email and stored to answer the query. The data is deleted as soon as the business case has been completed and legal requirements allow it.
If you communicate with us by email, data may be stored on the respective end device (computer, laptop, smartphone, …) and data is stored on the email server. The data is deleted as soon as the business case has been completed and legal requirements allow it.
Online forms
If you communicate with us using an online form, data is stored on our web server and may be forwarded to an email address of ours. The data is deleted as soon as the business case has been completed and legal requirements allow it.
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 continue to use it for the purposes related to the business case;
- Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. b GDPR (contract): There is a need to fulfill a contract with you or a processor such as the telephone provider or we have to process the data for pre-contractual activities, such as preparing an offer;
- Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests): We want to handle customer inquiries and business communication in a professional context. For this, certain technical facilities such as e-mail programs, exchange servers and mobile phone operators are necessary in order to be able to operate the communication efficiently.
Data processing agreement (DPA)
In this section we would like to explain to you what a data processing agreement is and why it is needed. Because the word “data processing agreement” is quite a tongue twister, we will often use the acronym DPA in the text. Like most companies, we do not work alone, but also use the services of other companies or individuals ourselves. By involving various companies or service providers, we may pass on personal data for processing. These partners then act as data processors with whom we conclude a contract, the so-called data processing agreement (DPA). The most important thing for you to know is that the processing of your personal data is carried out exclusively in accordance with our instructions and must be regulated by the DPA.
Who are data processors?
As a company and website owner, we are responsible for all data that we process from you. In addition to the responsible parties, there may also be so-called data processors. This includes any company or person who processes personal data on our behalf. To be more precise and according to the GDPR definition: any natural or legal person, authority, institution or other body that processes personal data on our behalf is considered a processor. Processors can therefore be service providers such as hosting or cloud providers, payment or newsletter providers or large companies such as Google or Microsoft.
To make the terminology easier to understand, here is an overview of the three roles in the GDPR:
Affected party (you as a customer or interested party) → Controller (we as a company and client) → Processor (service provider such as web host or cloud provider)
Content of a data processing contract
As already mentioned above, we have concluded a data processing agreement with our partners who act as data processors. First and foremost, it states that the data processor processes the data to be processed exclusively in accordance with the GDPR. The contract must be concluded in writing, but in this context the electronic conclusion of the contract is also considered “in writing”. The personal data is only processed on the basis of the contract. The contract must contain the following:
- Commitment to us as the responsible party
- Duties and rights of the responsible party
- Categories of data subjects
- Type of personal data
- Type and purpose of data processing
- Subject and duration of data processing
- Place of implementation of data processing
The contract also contains all of the data processor’s duties. The most important duties are:
- To ensure data security measures
- To take possible technical and organizational measures to protect the rights of the data subject
- To maintain a data processing register
- To cooperate with the data protection supervisory authority upon request
- To carry out a risk analysis in relation to the personal data received
Subcontractors may only be commissioned with the written permission of the responsible party
You can see what such a data processing agreement looks like in concrete terms at https://www.wko.at/service/wirtschaftsrecht-gewerberecht/eu-dsgvo-mustervertrag-auftragsverarbeitung.html. A sample contract is presented here.
Cookies
👥 Affected parties: visitors to the website
🤝 Purpose: depends on the respective cookie. You can find more details below or from the manufacturer of the software that sets the cookie.
📓 Data processed: depends on the cookie used. You can find more details below or from the manufacturer of the software that sets the cookie.
📅 Storage period: 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.
In the following 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. To be more precise, they are HTTP cookies, as there are 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. 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 from you, such as language or personal page settings. When you visit our site again, your browser sends 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 when another page is requested.
There are both first-party cookies and third-party cookies. First-party cookies are created directly by our site, third-party cookies are created by partner websites (e.g. Google Analytics). Each cookie must be evaluated individually, as each cookie stores different data. The expiration time of a cookie also varies from a few minutes to a few years. Cookies are not software programs and do not contain viruses, Trojans or other “malware”. Cookies also cannot access information on your PC.
For example, cookie data can look like this:
Name: _ga
Value: GA1.2.1326744211.152112224464-9
Purpose: 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 discuss the different types of HTTP cookies.
There are 4 types of cookies:
Essential cookies
These cookies are necessary to ensure basic functions of the website. For example, these cookies are needed when a user puts a product in the shopping cart, then continues browsing on other pages and only goes to the checkout later. These cookies do not delete the shopping cart, even if the user closes their browser window.
Purposeful cookies
These cookies collect information about user behavior and whether the user receives any error messages. In addition, these cookies are also used to measure the loading time and behavior of the website in different browsers.
Targeted cookies
These cookies ensure better user-friendliness. For example, entered locations, font sizes or form data are saved.
Advertising cookies
These cookies are also called targeting cookies. They are used to provide the user with individually tailored advertising. This can be very useful, but also very annoying.
Usually, when you visit a website for the first time, you will be asked which of these types of cookies you would like to accept. And of course, this decision is also saved in a cookie.
If you want to know more about cookies and are not afraid of technical documentation, we recommend https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc6265, the Request for Comments of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) called “HTTP State Management Mechanism”.
Purpose of processing via cookies
The purpose ultimately depends on the respective cookie. You can find more details below or from the manufacturer of the software that sets the cookie.
What data is processed?
Cookies are little helpers for many different tasks. Unfortunately, it is not possible to generalize which data is stored in cookies, but we will inform you about the data processed or stored in the following data protection declaration.
Storage period of cookies
The storage period depends on the respective cookie and is specified further below. Some cookies are deleted after less than an hour, others can remain stored on a computer for several years.
You also have influence over the storage period yourself. You can manually delete all cookies at any time via your browser (see also “Right of objection” below). Furthermore, cookies based on consent are deleted at the latest after revoking your consent, whereby the legality of storage remains unaffected until then.
Right of objection – how can I delete cookies?
You decide how and whether you want to use cookies. Regardless of which service or website the cookies come 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.
If you do not want cookies at all, you can set up your browser so that it always informs you when a cookie is about to be placed. This way you can decide for each individual cookie whether you want to accept the cookie or not. The procedure varies depending on the browser. The best thing to do is to search for instructions on 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. They state that the storage of cookies requires your consent (Article 6 Paragraph 1 Letter a GDPR). However, there are still very different reactions to these guidelines within the EU countries. In Austria, however, this guideline was implemented in Section 96 Paragraph 3 of the Telecommunications Act (TKG). In Germany, the cookie guidelines were not implemented as national law. Instead, this guideline was largely implemented in Section 15 Paragraph 3 of the Telemedia Act (TMG).
For absolutely necessary cookies, even if no consent has been given, there are legitimate interests (Article 6 Paragraph 1 Letter f GDPR), which in most cases are of an economic nature. We want to give visitors to the website a pleasant user experience and certain cookies are often absolutely necessary for this.
If cookies that are not absolutely necessary are used, this only happens if you have given your consent. The legal basis in this respect is Art. 6 Paragraph 1 Letter a GDPR.
In the following sections you will be informed in more detail about the use of cookies, provided that the software used uses cookies.
Webhosting Introduction
Web hosting summary
👥 Affected parties: visitors to the website
🤝 Purpose: professional hosting of the website and securing operations
📓 Data processed: IP address, time of website visit, browser used and other data. You can find more details 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 created and stored, including on this website. This data should be processed as sparingly as possible and only with justification. By website, by the way, we mean the totality 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 program called a web browser. You probably know some web browsers by name: Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox and Apple Safari. We call them browsers or web browsers for short.
To display the website, the browser must connect to another computer where the website’s code is stored: the web server. Operating a web server is a complicated and time-consuming task, which is why it is usually done by professional providers. They offer web hosting and thus ensure reliable and error-free storage of website data. A lot of technical terms, but please stay tuned, it gets even better!
When the browser connects to your computer (desktop, laptop, tablet or smartphone) 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 also has to store data for a while to ensure proper operation.
A picture is worth a thousand words, so the following graphic illustrates the interaction between the browser, the Internet and the hosting provider.
Why do we process personal data?
The purposes of data processing are:
- Professional hosting of the website and securing operations
- to maintain operational and IT security
- Anonymous evaluation of access behavior to improve our offering and, if necessary, for criminal prosecution or the pursuit of claims
What data is processed?
Even while you are currently visiting our website, our web server, which is the computer on which this website is stored, usually automatically stores data such as
- the complete Internet address (URL) of the website 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 data is stored for two weeks and then automatically deleted. We do not pass this data on, but cannot rule out that this data will be viewed by authorities in the event of illegal behavior.
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 legality of the processing of personal data in the context of web hosting arises from Art. 6 Paragraph 1 Letter f of GDPR (protection of legitimate interests), because the use of professional hosting with a provider is necessary in order to present the company on the Internet in a secure and user-friendly manner and to be able to pursue attacks and claims arising from this if necessary.
There is usually 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.
DomainFactory data protection declaration
We use DomainFactory, among other things a web hosting provider, for our website. The service provider is the German company domainfactory GmbH, Oskar-Messter-Str. 33, 85737 Ismaning, Germany. You can find out more about the data that is processed through the use of DomainFactory in the data protection declaration at https://www.df.eu/de/datenschutz/.
Explanation of terms used
We always try to make our privacy policy as clear and understandable as possible. However, this is not always easy, especially when it comes to technical and legal topics. It often makes sense to use legal terms (such as personal data) or certain technical expressions (such as cookies, IP address). However, we do not want to use these without explanation. Below you will find an alphabetical list of important terms used that we may not have covered sufficiently in the previous privacy policy. If these terms have been taken from the GDPR and are definitions, we will also list the GDPR texts here and add our own explanations if necessary.
Processor
Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR
For the purposes of this regulation, the following term means:
“Processor” means a natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body that processes personal data on behalf of the controller;
Explanation: As a company and website owner, we are responsible for all data that we process from you. In addition to the controllers, there may also be so-called processors. This includes any company or person that processes personal data on our behalf. Processors can therefore be, in addition to service providers such as tax consultants, hosting or cloud providers, payment or newsletter providers or large companies such as Google or Microsoft.
Consent
Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR
For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions apply:
‘Consent’ of the data subject means any freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous indication of the data subject’s wishes by which he or she, by a statement or by a clear affirmative action, signifies agreement to the processing of personal data concerning him or her;
Explanation: As a rule, such consent is given on websites via a cookie consent tool. You are probably familiar with this. Whenever you visit a website for the first time, you are usually asked via a banner whether you agree or consent to data processing. You can usually also make individual settings and decide for yourself which data processing you allow and which you do not. If you do not consent, no personal data may be processed from you. In principle, consent can of course also be given in writing, i.e. not via a tool.
Personal data
Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR
For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions apply:
‘personal data’ means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (hereinafter ‘data subject’); an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person;
Explanation: Personal data is all data that can identify you as a person. This is usually data such as:
- Name
- Address
- Email address
- Postal address
- Telephone number
- Date of birth
- Identification numbers such as social security number, tax identification number, ID card number or registration number
- Bank details such as account number, credit information, account balances and much more.
According to the European Court of Justice (ECJ), your IP address is also considered personal data. IT experts can use your IP address to determine at least the approximate location of your device and subsequently you as the connection owner. Therefore, storing an IP address also requires a legal basis in accordance with the GDPR. There are also so-called “special categories” of personal data that are also particularly worthy of protection. These include:
- racial and ethnic origin
- political opinions
- religious or ideological beliefs
- union membership
- genetic data such as data taken from blood or saliva samples
- biometric data (this is information about mental, physical or behavioural characteristics that can identify a person).
- health data
- data on sexual orientation or sex life
Profiling
Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR
For the purposes of this Regulation, the following terms shall apply:
‘Profiling’ means any form of automated processing of personal data consisting of the use of personal data to evaluate certain personal aspects relating to a natural person, in particular to analyse or predict aspects concerning that natural person’s performance at work, economic situation, health, personal preferences, interests, reliability, behaviour, location or movements;
Explanation: Profiling involves gathering various information about a person in order to learn more about that person. In the web sector, profiling is often used for advertising purposes or for credit checks. Web or advertising analysis programs collect data about your behavior and interests on a website, for example. This results in a special user profile that can be used to target advertising to a specific target group.
Controller
Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR
For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions apply:
‘Controller’ means the natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which, alone or jointly with others, determines the purposes and means of the processing of personal data; where the purposes and means of such processing are determined by Union or Member State law, the controller or the specific criteria for its nomination may be provided for by Union or Member State law;
Explanation: In our case, we are responsible for the processing of your personal data and are therefore the “controller”. If we pass on collected data to other service providers for processing, they are “contract processors”. For this, a “contract processing agreement (AVV)” must be signed.
All texts are protected by copyright.
Source: Created with the data protection generator from AdSimple
Web Analytics Introduction
Web Analytics Privacy Policy Summary
👥 Affected parties: Visitors to the website
🤝 Purpose: Evaluation of visitor information to optimize the web offering.
📓 Data processed: Access statistics that contain data such as locations of access, device data, access duration and time, navigation behavior, click behavior and IP addresses. You can find more details in the web analytics tool used.
📅 Storage period: depends 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 behavior of website visitors, known as web analytics or web analysis for short. Data is collected, which the respective analytic tool provider (also known as tracking tool) stores, manages and processes. The data is used to create analyses of user behavior on our website and make them available to us as website operators. In addition, most tools offer various testing options. For example, we can test which offers or content are most popular with our visitors. To do this, we show you two different offers for a limited period of time. After the test (so-called A/B test), we know which product or content our website visitors find more interesting. For such testing procedures, as for other analytics procedures, user profiles can also be created and the data stored in cookies.
Why do we use web analytics?
We have a clear goal in mind with our website: we want to provide the best web offering on the market for our industry. To achieve this goal, we want to offer the best and most interesting offering on the one hand and, on the other hand, make sure that you feel completely comfortable on our website. With the help of web analysis tools, we can take a closer look at the behavior of our website visitors and then improve our web offering for you and us accordingly. For example, we can see how old our visitors on average are, where they come from, when our website is visited most often or which content or products are particularly popular. All of this information helps us to optimize the website and thus adapt it as best as possible to your needs, interests and wishes.
Which data is processed?
The exact data that is stored depends, of course, on the analysis tools used. However, as a rule, for example, what content you view on our website, which buttons or links you click on, when you access a page, which browser you use, which device (PC, tablet, smartphone, etc.) you use to visit the website or which computer system you use is stored. If you have agreed that location data may also be collected, this can 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 pseudonymously (i.e. in an unrecognizable and shortened form). For the purposes of testing, web analysis and web optimization, no direct data, such as your name, age, address or email address, is stored. All of this data, if collected, is stored pseudonymously. This means that you cannot be identified as a person.
The following example shows a schematic of how Google Analytics works as an example of client-based web tracking with JavaScript code.
Schematic data flow in Google Analytics
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 again, other cookies can store data for several years.
Duration of data processing
We will inform you about the duration of data processing below, provided we have further information about it. In general, we only process personal data for as long as it is absolutely necessary to provide our services and products. If it is required by law, as in the case of accounting, for example, this storage period can also be exceeded.
Right of objection
You also have the right and the option to revoke your consent to the use of cookies or third-party providers at any time. This works either via our cookie management tool or via other opt-out functions. For example, you can also prevent data collection through cookies by managing, deactivating or deleting cookies in your browser.
Legal basis
The use of web analytics requires your consent, which we have obtained with our cookie popup. According to Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), this consent represents the legal basis for the processing of personal data, as it may occur when data is collected using web analytics tools.
In addition to consent, we have a legitimate interest in analyzing the behavior of website visitors and thus improving our offering technically and economically. With the help of web analytics, we can detect errors on the website, identify attacks and improve profitability. The legal basis for this is Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests). However, we only use the tools if you have given your consent.
As web analytics tools use cookies, we also recommend that you read our general privacy policy on cookies. To find out exactly which of your data is stored and processed, you should read the privacy policies of the respective tools.
Information on specific web analytics tools can be found – if available – in the following sections.
Google Analytics privacy policy
Google Analytics privacy policy summary
👥 Affected parties: Visitors to the website
🤝 Purpose: Evaluation of visitor information to optimize the website.
📓 Data processed: Access statistics that contain data such as locations of access, device data, access duration and time, navigation behavior, click behavior and IP addresses. You can find more details about this further down in this privacy policy.
📅 Storage period: depends on the properties used
⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests)
What is Google Analytics?
We use the analysis tracking tool Google Analytics (GA) from the American company Google Inc. on our website. In Europe, the company Google Ireland Limited (Gordon House, Barrow Street Dublin 4, Ireland) is responsible for all Google services. Google Analytics collects data about your actions on our website. For example, if you click on a link, this action is saved in a cookie and sent to Google Analytics. Using the reports we receive from Google Analytics, we can better tailor our website and service to your needs. Below, we will go into more detail about the tracking tool and inform you, above all, about which data is saved and how you can prevent it.
Google Analytics is a tracking tool that is used to analyze our website’s traffic. In order for Google Analytics to work, a tracking code is built into the code of our website. When you visit our website, this code records various actions that you perform on our website. As soon as you leave our website, this data is sent to the Google Analytics servers and saved there.
Google processes the data and we receive reports about your user behavior. These may include, among others, the following reports:
- Audience reports: Audience reports help us get to know our users better and know more precisely who is interested in our service.
- Advertising reports: Advertising reports help us analyze and improve our online advertising more easily.
- Acquisition reports: Acquisition reports give us useful information about how we can get more people interested in our service.
- Behavioral reports: Here we learn how you interact with our website. We can see which path you take on our site and which links you click on.
- Conversion reports: Conversion is a process in which you perform a desired action based on a marketing message. For example, when you go from being a pure website visitor to a buyer or newsletter subscriber. These reports help us learn more about how our marketing measures are received by you. This is how we want to increase our conversion rate.
- Real-time reports: Here we always find out immediately what is currently happening on our website. For example, we can see how many users are currently reading this text.
Why do we use Google Analytics on our website?
Our goal with this website is clear: we want to offer you the best possible service. The statistics and data from Google Analytics help us achieve this goal.
The statistically evaluated data shows us a clear picture of the strengths and weaknesses of our website. On the one hand, we can optimize our site so that it is easier for interested people to find on Google. On the other hand, the data helps us to better understand you as a visitor. We therefore know exactly what we need to improve on our website in order to offer you the best possible service. The data also helps us to carry out our advertising and marketing measures in a more personalized and cost-effective manner. After all, it only makes sense to show our products and services to people who are interested in them.
What data is stored by Google Analytics?
Google Analytics uses a tracking code to create a random, unique ID that is linked to your browser cookie. This is how Google Analytics recognizes you as a new user. The next time you visit our site, you will be recognized as a “returning” user. All data collected is stored together with this user ID. This is what makes it possible to evaluate pseudonymous user profiles.
In order to analyze our website with Google Analytics, a property ID must be inserted into the tracking code. The data is then stored in the corresponding property. The Google Analytics 4 property is the default for every newly created property. Alternatively, you can also create the Universal Analytics property. Depending on the property used, data is stored for different lengths of time.
Using identifiers such as cookies and app instance IDs, your interactions on our website are measured. Interactions are all types of actions that you perform on our website. If you also use other Google systems (such as a Google account), data generated via Google Analytics can be linked to third-party cookies. Google does not share Google Analytics data unless we as the website operator approve it. Exceptions may apply if required by law.
The following cookies are used by Google Analytics:
Name: _ga
Value: 2.1326744211.152112224464-5
Purpose: By default, analytics.js uses the cookie _ga to store the user ID. Basically, it is used to distinguish between website visitors.
Expiry date: after 2 years
Name: _gid
Value: 2.1687193234.152112224464-1
Purpose: The cookie is also used to distinguish between website visitors
Expiry date: after 24 hours
Name: _gat_gtag_UA_<property-id>
Value: 1
Purpose: Used to reduce the request rate. If Google Analytics is provided via the Google Tag Manager, this cookie is given the name _dc_gtm_ <property-id>.
Expiry date: after 1 minute
Name: AMP_TOKEN
Value: no information
Purpose: The cookie has a token that can be used to retrieve a user ID from the AMP Client ID service. Other possible values indicate a logout, a request, or an error.
Expiry date: after 30 seconds to a year
Name: __utma
Value: 1564498958.1564498958.1564498958.1
Purpose: This cookie can be used to track your behavior on the website and measure performance. The cookie is updated every time information is sent to Google Analytics.
Expiry date: after 2 years
Name: __utmt
Value: 1
Purpose: The cookie is used like _gat_gtag_UA_<property-id> to throttle the request rate.
Expiry date: after 10 minutes
Name: __utmb
Value: 3.10.1564498958
Purpose: This cookie is used to determine new sessions. It is updated every time new data or information is sent to Google Analytics.
Expiry date: after 30 minutes
Name: __utmc
Value: 167421564
Purpose: This cookie is used to determine new sessions for returning visitors. This is a session cookie and is only stored until you close the browser again.
Expiry date: After closing the browser
Name: __utmz
Value: m|utmccn=(referral)|utmcmd=referral|utmcct=/
Purpose: The cookie is used to identify the source of visitor traffic on our website. This means that the cookie stores where you came to our website from. This could have been another page or an advertisement.
Expiry date: after 6 months
Name: __utmv
Value: not specified
Purpose: The cookie is used to store user-defined user data. It is always updated when information is sent to Google Analytics.
Expiry date: after 2 years
Note: This list cannot claim to be complete, as Google constantly changes its choice of cookies.
Here we show you an overview of the most important data collected with Google Analytics:
Heatmaps: Google creates so-called heatmaps. Heatmaps show exactly the areas you click on. This gives us information about where you are “traveling” on our site.
Session duration: Google defines the session duration as the time you spend on our site without leaving the site. If you have been inactive for 20 minutes, the session ends automatically.
Bounce rate: A bounce occurs when you only view one page on our website and then leave our website again.
Account creation: When you create an account or place an order on our website, Google Analytics collects this data.
IP address: The IP address is only shown in abbreviated form so that no clear assignment is possible.
Location: The IP address can be used to determine the country and your approximate location. This process is also known as IP location determination.
Technical information: Technical information includes your browser type, your internet provider or your screen resolution.
Source of origin: Google Analytics and we are of course also interested in which website or advertisement you came to our site from.
Other data includes contact details, any ratings, playing media (e.g. when you play a video on our site), sharing content via social media or adding to your favorites. The list is not exhaustive and only serves as a general guide to data storage by Google Analytics.
How long and where is the data stored?
Google has its servers distributed around the world. Most servers are located in America and consequently your data is mostly stored on American servers. You can find out exactly where the Google data centers are located here: https://www.google.com/about/datacenters/locations/?hl=de
Your data is distributed across various physical data carriers. This has the advantage that the data can be accessed more quickly and is better protected against manipulation. Every Google data center has appropriate emergency programs for your data. If, for example, Google’s hardware fails or natural disasters paralyze servers, the risk of a service interruption at Google remains low.
The retention period of the data depends on the properties used. When using the newer Google Analytics 4 properties, the retention period of your user data is fixed at 14 months. For other so-called event data, we have the option of choosing a retention period of 2 months or 14 months.
For Universal Analytics properties, Google Analytics sets a standard retention period of 26 months for your user data. Your user data will then be deleted. However, we have the option of choosing the retention period for user data ourselves. We have five options available for this:
- Deletion after 14 months
- Deletion after 26 months
- Deletion after 38 months
- Deletion after 50 months
- No automatic deletion
How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?
Under European Union data protection law, you have the right to receive information about your data, to update it, to delete it or to restrict it. You can use the browser add-on to deactivate Google Analytics JavaScript (ga.js, analytics.js, dc.js) to prevent Google Analytics from using your data. You can download and install the browser add-on at https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=de. Please note that this add-on only deactivates data collection by Google Analytics.
If you generally want to deactivate, delete or manage cookies, you will find the relevant links to the respective instructions for the most popular browsers under the “Cookies” section.
Legal basis
The use of Google Analytics requires your consent, which we have obtained with our cookie popup. According to Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), this consent represents the legal basis for the processing of personal data, as may occur when data is collected using web analytics tools.
In addition to consent, we have a legitimate interest in analyzing the behavior of website visitors and thus improving our offering technically and economically. With the help of Google Analytics, we can detect errors on the website, identify attacks and improve profitability. The legal basis for this is Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests). However, we only use Google Analytics if you have given your consent.
Google 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 transfer to the USA. This can involve various risks for the legality and security of data processing.
Google uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46. Para. 2 and 3 GDPR) as the basis for data processing for recipients based in third countries (outside the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, i.e. in particular in the USA) or for data transfer there. Standard contractual clauses (SCC) are templates provided by the EU Commission and are intended to ensure that your data complies with European data protection standards even if it is transferred to third countries (such as the USA) and stored there. Through these clauses, Google undertakes to comply with European data protection standards 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/.
We hope we have been able to provide you with the most important information about data processing by Google Analytics. If you would like to find out more about the tracking service, we recommend these two links: https://marketingplatform.google.com/about/analytics/terms/de/ and https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/6004245?hl=de.
Data processing agreement (DPA) Google Analytics
We have concluded a data processing agreement (DPA) with Google in accordance with Article 28 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). You can read what a DPA is exactly and, above all, what must be included in a DPA in our general section “Data processing agreement (DPA)”.
This agreement is required by law because Google processes personal data on our behalf. It clarifies that Google may only process data it receives from us in accordance with our instructions and must comply with the GDPR. The link to the data processing terms and conditions can be found at https://business.safety.google/intl/de/adsprocessorterms/
Google Analytics in consent mode
Depending on your consent, in the so-called consent mode (or “consent mode”), personal data about you is processed by Google Analytics. You can choose whether or not to consent to Google Analytics cookies. This also means that you choose which data Google Analytics can process from you. This data collected is mainly used to carry out measurements of user behavior on the website, display targeted advertising and provide us with web analysis reports. As a rule, you consent to data processing by Google via a cookie consent tool. If you do not consent to data processing, only aggregated data is collected and processed. This means that data cannot be assigned to individual users and no user profile is created of you. You can also only consent to statistical measurement. No personal data is processed and therefore not used for advertisements or advertising measurement results.
Google Analytics IP anonymization
We have implemented Google Analytics IP address anonymization on this website. This function was developed by Google so that this website can comply with the applicable data protection regulations and recommendations of the local data protection authorities if they prohibit the storage of the full IP address. The IP is anonymized or masked as soon as the IP addresses arrive in the Google Analytics data collection network and before the data is stored or processed.
You can find more information about IP anonymization at https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/2763052?hl=de.
