Privacy policy

Introduction and overview

We have drawn up this data protection declaration (version 20.10.2023-122652241) in order to provide you with information in accordance with the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and applicable national laws to explain which personal data (data for short) we as the controller - and the processors (e.g. providers) commissioned by us - process, will process in the future and what lawful options you have. The terms used are to be understood as gender-neutral.

In a nutshell: We inform you comprehensively about the data we process about you.

Privacy statements usually sound very technical and use legalese.

Technical terms. This privacy statement, on the other hand, is intended to describe the most important things to you as simply and transparently as possible. Insofar as it is conducive to transparency, technical Terms explained in a reader-friendly waylinks to further information are provided, and Graphics has been brought into use. With it, we inform in clear and simple language that we only process personal data in the course of our business activities if there is a corresponding legal basis. This is certainly not possible by providing the most concise, unclear and legalistic explanations possible, as is often standard practice on the internet when it comes to data protection. I hope you find the following explanations interesting and informative and perhaps there is one or two pieces of information you did not know yet.

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

Scope of application

This data protection declaration applies to all personal data processed by us in the company and to all personal data processed by companies commissioned by us.

(processors). By personal data, we mean information within the meaning of Art. 4 No. 1 DSGVO, 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 appearances and e-mail communication .
• Mobile apps for smartphones and other devices.

In a nutshell: The data protection declaration applies to all areas in which personal data is processed in a structured manner within the company via the aforementioned channels. 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 the REGULATION (EU) 2016/679 OF THE

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND COUNCIL of 27 April 2016. These data protection

EU basic regulation can of course be found online on EUR-Lex, the access to EU law, at https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/DE/ALL/?uri=celex%3A32016R0679 read. We only process your data if at least one of the following conditions applies:

1. Consent (Article 6 paragraph 1 lit. a DSGVO): You have given us your consent to process data for a specific purpose. An example would be the storage of your entered data of a contact form.
2. Contract (Article 6 paragraph 1 lit. b DSGVO): In order to conclude a contract or pre-contractual

To fulfil obligations with you, we process your data. For example, if we conclude a sales contract with you, we need personal information in advance.

3. Legal obligation (Article 6 paragraph 1 lit. c DSGVO): If we are subject to a legal obligation, we process your data. For example, we are legally obliged to keep invoices for accounting purposes. These usually contain personal data.
4. Legitimate interests (Article 6(1) lit. f DSGVO): 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 economically efficiently. This processing is therefore a legitimate interest.

Other conditions such as the perception of recordings in the public interest and The exercise of public authority and the protection of vital interests do not generally occur in our company. If such a legal basis should be relevant, it will be indicated at the appropriate place.

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

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

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

Contact details of the responsible person

If you have any questions about data protection or the processing of personal data, you will find the contact details of the responsible person or office below:

SORO

Würthgasse 8/10, 1190 Vienna, Austria
E-mail: info@soro.co.at
Phone: 0664 3117275

Imprint: https://www.soro.co.at/impressum/

Storage period

The fact that we only store personal data for as long as is absolutely necessary for the provision of our services and products applies as a general criterion with us. This means that we delete personal data as soon as the reason for processing the data 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.

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

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

Rights under the General Data Protection Regulation

In accordance with Articles 13, 14 of the GDPR, we inform you of the following rights you have to ensure that data is processed fairly and transparently:

• According to Article 15 of the GDPR, you have the right to know whether we are processing data about you. 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 complain to a supervisory authority (links to these authorities can be found below);
  • the origin of the data if we have not collected it from you;
  • whether profiling is carried out, i.e. whether data is automatically evaluated to arrive at a personal profile of you.
• You have a right to rectify data under Article 16 of the GDPR, which means that we must correct data if you find errors.
• According to Article 17 of the GDPR, you have the right to erasure ("right to be forgotten"), which specifically means that you may request the deletion of your data.
• According to Article 18 of the GDPR, you have the right to restriction of processing, which means that we may only store the data but not use it any further.
• According to Article 20 of the 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 of the GDPR, you have a right to object, which, once enforced, entails a change in 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 may object to the processing. We will then check as soon as possible whether we can legally comply with this objection.
  • If data is used to carry out direct marketing, you can object to this type of data processing at any time. We are then no longer allowed to use your data for direct marketing.
  • If data is used to carry out profiling, you can object to this type of data processing at any time. We are then no longer allowed to use your data for profiling.
• You may have the right under Article 22 of the GDPR not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing (for example profiling).
• According to Article 77 of the 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 data processing of personal data violates the GDPR.

In a nutshell: 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 can be found at https://www.dsb.gv.at/ find. In Germany, there is a data protection commissioner 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:

Austria Data Protection Authority

Leader: Andrea Jelinek, M.D.
Address: Barichgasse 40-42, 1030 Vienna
Telephone no.: +43 1 52 152-0
E-mail address: dsb@dsb.gv.at
Website: https://www.dsb.gv.at/

Data processing security

To protect personal data, we have implemented both technical and organisational measures. 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.

Article 25 of the GDPR speaks of "data protection through technical design and through data protection-friendly default settings" 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 that appropriate measures should be taken. In the following, we will go into more detail on specific measures, if necessary.

TLS encryption with https

TLS, encryption and https sound very technical and they are. We use HTTPS (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 - no one can "listen in".

With this, we have 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.de) 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

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

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

Persons concerned

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

Phone

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 subsequently be sent by e-mail and stored for the purpose of responding to enquiries. The data is deleted as soon as the business case 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,...) and data is stored on the e-mail server. The data is deleted as soon as the business case 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, if necessary, forwarded to an e-mail address of ours. The data is deleted as soon as the business case has been terminated and legal requirements permit.

Legal basis

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

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

Cookies

What are cookies?

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

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

Whenever you browse 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 applications. HTTP cookies are small files that are stored on your computer by our website. These cookie files are automatically placed in the cookie folder, which is the "brain" of your browser. A cookie consists of a name and a value. When defining a cookie, one or more attributes must also be specified.

Cookies store certain user data about you, such as language or personal data.

Page settings. When you return to our site, your browser transmits the "user-related" information back to our site. Thanks to the cookies, our site knows who you are and offers you the setting you are used to. In some browsers, each cookie has its own file, in others, such as Firefox, all cookies are stored in a single file.

The following graphic shows a possible interaction between a web browser such as Chrome and the web server. In this case, the web browser requests a website and receives from the server a

cookie, 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 site, third-party cookies are created by partner websites (e.g. Google Analytics). Each cookie is to 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 "pests". Cookies also cannot access information on your PC.

Cookie data, for example, can look like this:

Name: _ga

Value: GA1.2.1326744211.152122652241-9

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 are the different types of cookies?

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.

One can distinguish between 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 places a product in the shopping cart, then continues surfing on other pages and later goes to the checkout. These cookies do not delete the shopping cart, even if the user closes his browser window.

Purposeful cookies

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

Targeting cookies

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

Advertising cookies

These cookies are also called targeting cookies. They are used to deliver individually adapted advertising to the user. This can be very practical, but also very annoying.

Usually, when you visit a website for the first time, you are 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/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 cookie in question. More details can be found 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 about what data is stored in cookies, but we will inform you about the data processed or stored within the framework of the following data protection declaration.

Storage period of cookies

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

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

Right of objection - how can I delete cookies?

You decide how and whether you want to use cookies. Regardless of which service or website the cookies come from, you always have the option to delete, disable or only partially allow cookies. For example, you can block third-party cookies but allow all other cookies.

If you want to find out which cookies have been stored in your browser, if you want to change or delete cookie settings, you can find 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 placed on your computer..

Internet Explorer: Deleting and managing cookies.

Microsoft Edge: Delete and manage cookies.

If you generally do not want cookies, you can set up your browser so that it always informs you when a cookie is to be set. In this way, you can decide for each individual cookie whether you allow the cookie or not. The procedure varies depending on the browser. It is best to search for the instructions in Google with 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 states that the storage of cookies is a Consent (Article 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO) is required from you. Within the EU countries, however, there are still very different reactions to these directives. In Austria, however, this directive was implemented in § 96 para. 3 of the Telecommunications Act (TKG). In Germany, the Cookie Directive has not been implemented as national law. Instead, this directive was largely implemented in § 15 para.3 of the Telemedia Act (TMG).

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

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

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

Social Media Introduction

What is social media?

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

Why do we use social media?

For years, social media platforms have been the place where people communicate online and in

Get in touch. With our social media presences, we can present our products and

services to interested parties. The social media elements integrated on our website help you to switch to our social media content quickly and without complications.

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

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

The essence of the agreement is then reproduced below for the platform concerned.

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

What data is processed?

The exact data that is stored and processed depends on the provider of the social media platform. But usually it is data such as telephone numbers, email addresses, data that you enter in a contact form, user data such as what

buttons you click, who you like or follow, when you visited which pages, information about your device and your IP address. Most of this data is stored in cookies. Especially if you have a profile on the visited social media channel and are logged in, data can be linked to your profile.

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

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

Duration of data processing

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

accounting, is required by law, this storage period may also be exceeded.

Right of objection

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

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

Legal basis

If you have consented that data from you can be processed and stored by integrated social media elements, this consent is deemed to be the legal basis of the data processing (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO). In principle, if you have given your consent, your data will also be processed on the basis of our legitimate interest. (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO) We only use these tools if you have given us your consent to do so. Nevertheless, we only use the tools if you have given your consent. Most social media platforms also set cookies in your browser.

browser to store data. That is why we recommend that you read our privacy text about cookies carefully and look at the privacy policy or cookie policy of the respective service provider.

Information on specific social media platforms - if available - can be found in the following sections.

Facebook privacy policy

What are Facebook tools?

We use selected tools from Facebook on our website. Facebook is a social media network of the company Meta Platforms Inc. or, for the European region, of the company Meta Platforms Ireland Limited, 4 Grand Canal Square, Grand Canal Harbour, Dublin 2, Ireland. With the help of these tools, we can offer you and people who are interested in our products and services the best possible offer.

If data is collected from you and forwarded via our embedded Facebook elements or via our Facebook page (fan page), both we and Facebook Ireland Ltd. are responsible for this. Facebook is solely responsible for the further processing of this data. Our joint obligations have also been set out in a publicly available agreement at https://www.facebook.com/legal/controller_addendum anchored.

This states, for example, that we must clearly inform you about the use of Facebook tools on our website. Furthermore, we are also responsible for ensuring that the tools are securely integrated into our website in accordance with data protection law. Facebook, on the other hand, is responsible for the data security of Facebook products, for example. If you have any questions about data collection and data processing by Facebook, you can contact the company directly. If you direct the question to us, we are obliged to forward it to Facebook.

Below we provide an overview of the different Facebook tools, what data is sent to Facebook and how you can delete this data.

Among many other products, Facebook also offers the so-called "Facebook Business Tools". This is the official name of Facebook. However, since the term is hardly known, we have decided to call them simply Facebook Tools. Among them are:

• Facebook Pixel
• Social plug-ins (such as the "Like" or "Share" button)
• Facebook Login
• Account Kit
• APIs (programming interface)
• SDKs (collection of programming tools)
• Platform integrations
• Plugins
• Codes
• Specifications
• Documentations
• Technologies and services

Through these tools, Facebook expands services and has the ability to obtain information about user activity outside of Facebook.

Why do we use Facebook tools on our website?

We only want to show our services and products to people who are really interested in them. With the help of advertisements (Facebook ads), we can reach exactly these people. However, Facebook needs information about people's wishes and needs in order to show them suitable ads. Thus, information about user behaviour (and contact data) on our website is made available to the company. As a result, Facebook collects better user data and can show interested people the right ads about our products or services. The tools thus enable customised advertising campaigns on Facebook.

Facebook calls data about your behaviour on our website "event data". This is also used for measurement and analysis services. Facebook can thus create "campaign reports" on our behalf about the impact of our advertising campaigns.

We also use analytics to gain better insight into how you use our services, website or products. As a result, we use some of these tools to optimise your user experience on our website. For example, social plug-ins allow you to share content on our site directly on Facebook.

What data is stored by Facebook tools?

By using individual Facebook tools, personal data (customer data) can be sent to Facebook. Depending on the tools used, customer data such as name, address, telephone number and IP address may be sent.

Facebook uses this information to match the data with the data it itself has from you (if you are a Facebook member). Before customer data is transmitted to Facebook, a so-called "hashing" takes place. This means that a data record of any size is transformed into a string of characters. This also serves to encrypt data.

In addition to contact details, "event data" is also transmitted. Event data" refers to the information that we receive about you on our website. For example, which sub-pages you visit or which products you buy from us. Facebook does not share the information it receives with third parties (such as advertisers) unless it has explicit permission or is legally required to do so.

"Event data" can also be linked to contact details. This allows Facebook to offer better personalised advertising. After the matching process already mentioned, Facebook deletes the contact data again.

In order to deliver ads in an optimised way, Facebook only uses event data when it has been aggregated with other data (collected by Facebook in other ways).

Facebook also uses this event data for security, safety, development and research purposes. Much of this data is transferred to Facebook via cookies. Cookies are small text files that are used to store data or information on your computer.

browsers are used. Depending on the tools used and whether you are a Facebook member, different numbers of cookies are created in your browser. In the descriptions of the individual Facebook tools, we go into more detail about individual Facebook cookies. General information about the use of Facebook cookies can also be found at https://www.facebook.com/policies/cookies.

How long and where is the data stored?

In principle, Facebook stores data until it is no longer needed for its own services and Facebook products. Facebook has servers all over the world where its data is stored. However, customer data is deleted within 48 hours after it has been compared with its own user data.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

In accordance with the Basic Data Protection Regulation, you have the right to information, correction, transferability and deletion of your data.

A complete deletion of the data only takes place if you delete your Facebook account completely. And this is how deleting your Facebook account works:

1. Click on Settings on the right side of Facebook.
2. Then click on "Your Facebook information" in the left-hand column.
3. Now click "Deactivation and deletion".
4. Now select "Delete account" and then click on "Continue and delete account".
5. Now enter your password, click on "Continue" and then on "Delete account".

The storage of data that Facebook receives via our site takes place, among other things, via cookies (e.g. for social plugins). In your browser, you can deactivate, delete or manage individual or all cookies. Depending on which browser you use, this works in different ways. Under the section "Cookies" you will find the corresponding links to the respective instructions of the most popular browsers.

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

Legal basis

If you have consented that data from you can be processed and stored by integrated Facebook tools, this consent is deemed to be the legal basis for the data processing (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO). In principle, your data will also be used on the basis of our legitimate interest (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO) We only use these tools if you have given us your consent to do so. Nevertheless, we only use the tools if you have given your consent. Most social media platforms also set cookies in your browser to store data. That is why we recommend that you read our privacy text on cookies carefully and view Facebook's privacy policy or cookie policy.

Facebook also processes data from you in the USA, among other places. Facebook and Meta Platforms are active participants 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.

In addition, Facebook uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46. para. 2 and 3 DSGVO). Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) are templates provided by the EU Commission and are intended to ensure that your data comply with European data protection standards even if they are transferred to third countries (such as the USA) and stored there. Through the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and through 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 US. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the corresponding standard contractual clauses here, among other places: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de.

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

We hope we have brought you closer to the most important information about the use and data processing by Facebook tools. If you want to learn more about how Facebook uses your data, we recommend that you read the data policies on https://www.facebook.com/privacy/policy/.

Facebook Login Privacy Policy

We have integrated the practical Facebook login on our site. This allows you to easily log in to our site with your Facebook account without having to create another user account. If you decide to register via the Facebook login, you will be redirected to the social media network Facebook. There, the registration takes place via your Facebook user data. Through this login procedure, data about you or your user behaviour is stored and transmitted to Facebook.

In order to store the data, Facebook uses various cookies. In the following, we show you the most important cookies that are set in your browser or already exist when you log in to our site via the Facebook login:

Name: fr

Value: 0jieyh4c2GnlufEJ9..Bde09j...1.0.Bde09j

Intended use: This cookie is used to ensure that the social plugin on our website works as well as possible.

Expiry date: After 3 months

Name: datr

Value: 4Jh7XUA2122652241SEmPsSfzCOO4JFFl

Intended use: Facebook sets the "datr" cookie when a web browser accesses facebook.com, and the cookie helps identify login activity and protect users. Expiry date: After 2 years

Name: _js_datr

Value: deleted

Intended use: This session cookie is set by Facebook for tracking purposes, even if you do not have a Facebook account or are logged out. Expiry date: after the close of the meeting

Remark: The cookies listed are only a small selection of the cookies available to Facebook. Other cookies are, for example, _ fbp, sb or wd. A complete list is not possible, as Facebook has a large number of cookies and uses them variably.

On the one hand, the Facebook login offers you a quick and easy registration process, on the other hand it gives us the opportunity to share data with Facebook. This allows us to better tailor our offer and promotions to your interests and needs. Data that we receive from Facebook in this way is public data such as

• Your Facebook name
• Your profile picture
• a deposited e-mail address
• Friends lists
• Button information (e.g. "Like" button)
• Birthday date
• Language
• Residence

IIn return, we provide Facebook with information about your activities on our website. This includes information about the device you are using, which of our sub-pages you visit or which products you have purchased from us.

By using Facebook Login, you consent to the data processing. You can revoke this agreement at any time. If you would like to find out more information about data processing by Facebook, we recommend that you read the Facebook privacy policy at https://www.facebook.com/privacy/policy/.

Provided you are logged in to Facebook, you can change your settings for advertisements under https://www.facebook.com/adpreferences/advertisers/?entry_product=ad_settings_screen change itself.

Facebook Social Plug-ins Privacy Policy

So-called social plug-ins of the company Meta Platforms Inc. are installed on our website. You can recognise these buttons by the classic Facebook logo, such as the "Like" button (the hand with raised thumb) or by a clear "Facebook Plug-in" marking. A social plug-in is a small part of Facebook that is integrated into our site. Each plug-in has its own function. The most commonly used functions are the well-known "Like" and "Share" buttons.

The following social plug-ins are offered by Facebook:

• "Save" button
• "Like" button, share, send and quote
• Page plug-in
• Comments
• Messenger plug-in
• Embedded posts and video player
• Group plug-in

At https://developers.facebook.com/docs/plugins you will find more detailed information on how the individual plug-ins are used. We use the social plug-ins on the one hand to offer you a better user experience on our site and on the other hand because Facebook can optimise our advertisements.

Provided you have a Facebook account or https://www.facebook.com/ Facebook has already set at least one cookie in your browser. In this case, your browser sends information to Facebook via this cookie as soon as you visit our site or interact with social plug-ins (e.g. the "Like" button).

The information obtained is deleted or anonymised again within 90 days. According to Facebook, this data includes your IP address, which website you visited, the date, the time and other information concerning your browser.

To prevent Facebook from collecting a lot of data during your visit to our website and connecting it with Facebook data, you must log out of Facebook while visiting the website.

If you are not logged in to Facebook or do not have a Facebook account, your browser sends less information to Facebook because you have fewer Facebook cookies. Nevertheless, data such as your IP address or which website you are visiting may be transmitted to Facebook. We would like to point out that we do not know the exact content of the data. However, we try to inform you as best as possible about the data processing according to our current state of knowledge. You can also find out how Facebook uses the data in the company's data policy under https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy/update read up.

The following cookies are set in your browser as a minimum when you visit a website with social plug-ins from Facebook:

Name: dpr

Value: Not specified

Intended use: This cookie is used to enable the social plug-ins on our website to work.

Expiry date: after the close of the meeting

Name: fr

Value: 0jieyh4122652241c2GnlufEJ9..Bde09j…1.0.Bde09j

Intended use: The cookie is also necessary for the plug-ins to function properly. Expiry date:: After 3 months

Remark: These cookies were set after a test, even if you are not a Facebook member.

Provided you are logged in to Facebook, you can change your settings for advertisements under https://www.facebook.com/adpreferences/advertisers/ change it yourself. If you are not a Facebook user, you can click on https://www.youronlinechoices.com/de/praferenzmanagement/?tid=122652241 basically manage your usage-based online advertising. There you have the option to deactivate or activate providers.

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

Facebook Fanpage Privacy Policy

We also have a Facebook fan page for our website. The service provider is the American company Meta Platforms Inc. Meta Platforms Ireland Limited (4 Grand Canal Square, Grand Canal Harbour, Dublin 2, Ireland) is responsible for the European region.

Facebook also processes data from you in the USA, among other places. Facebook and Meta Platforms are active participants 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.

In addition, Facebook uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46. para. 2 and 3 DSGVO). Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) are templates provided by the EU Commission and are intended to ensure that your data comply with European data protection standards even if they are transferred to third countries (such as the USA) and stored there. Through the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and through 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 US. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the corresponding standard contractual clauses here, among other places: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de.

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

You can find out more about the data processed through the use of Facebook in the Privacy Policy on https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy.

Instagram privacy policy

What is Instagram?

We have integrated Instagram functions on our website. Instagram is a social media platform of the company Instagram LLC, 1601 Willow Rd, Menlo Park CA 94025, USA.

Instagram has been a subsidiary of Meta Platforms Inc. since 2012 and is one of Facebook's products. Embedding Instagram content on our website is called embedding. This allows us to show you content such as buttons, photos or videos from Instagram directly on our website. When you call up web pages on our website that have an Instagram function integrated, data is transmitted to Instagram, stored and processed. Instagram uses the same systems and technologies as Facebook. Your data is thus processed across all Facebook companies.

In the following, we would like to give you a more detailed insight into why Instagram collects data, what data it is and how you can largely control the data processing. As Instagram belongs to Meta Platforms Inc., we obtain our information on the one hand from the Instagram guidelines, but on the other hand also from the Meta data protection guidelines themselves.

Instagram is one of the most popular social media networks worldwide. Instagram combines the advantages of a blog with the advantages of audiovisual platforms like YouTube or Vimeo. You can upload photos and short videos on "Insta" (as many of the users casually call the platform), edit them with various filters and also distribute them on other social networks. And if you don't want to be active yourself, you can also just follow other interesting users.

Why do we use Instagram on our website?

Instagram is the social media platform that has really gone through the roof in recent years.

And of course we have also reacted to this boom. We want you to feel as comfortable as possible on our website. That's why a varied preparation of our content is a matter of course for us. Through the embedded Instagram features, we can enrich our content with helpful, funny or exciting content from the Instagram world. Since Instagram is a subsidiary of Facebook, the data collected can also be useful to us for personalised advertising on Facebook. This way, only people who are really interested in our products or services receive our ads.

Instagram also uses the collected data for measurement and analysis purposes. We get aggregate statistics and thus more insight about your likes and interests. It is important to note that these reports do not identify you personally.

What data is stored by Instagram?

If you come across one of our pages that have Instagram features (such as Instagram images or plugins) built in, your browser automatically connects to Instagram's servers. In the process, data is sent to Instagram, stored and processed. And this is regardless of whether you have an Instagram account or not. This includes information about our website, about your computer, about purchases you have made, about advertisements you see and how you use our offer. Furthermore, the date and time of your interaction with Instagram is also stored. If you have an Instagram account or are logged in, Instagram stores significantly more data about you.

Facebook distinguishes between customer data and event data. We assume that this is exactly the case with Instagram. Customer data are, for example, name, address, telephone number and IP address. This customer data is only transmitted to Instagram if it has been "hashed" beforehand. Hashing means that a data record is transformed into a character string. This makes it possible to encrypt the contact data. In addition, the above-mentioned "event data" is also transmitted. By "event data" Facebook - and consequently also Instagram - understands data about your user behaviour. It may also happen that contact data is combined with event data. The contact data collected is compared with the data that Instagram already has about you.

The collected data is transmitted to Facebook via small text files (cookies), which are usually set in your browser. Depending on the Instagram functions used and whether you have an Instagram account yourself, different amounts of data are stored.

We assume that data processing on Instagram works the same way as on Facebook. This means: if you have an Instagram account or www.instagram.com Instagram has set at least one cookie. If this is the case, your browser sends information to Instagram via the cookie as soon as you come into contact with an Instagram function.

After 90 days at the latest (after matching), these data are deleted or deleted again.

anonymised. Although we have intensively studied Instagram's data processing, we cannot say exactly what data Instagram collects and stores.

In the following, we show you cookies that are set in your browser at least when you click on an Instagram function (such as a button or an Insta picture). In our test, we assume that you do not have an Instagram account. If you are logged in to Instagram, significantly more cookies are set in your browser, of course.

These cookies were used in our test:

Name: csrftoken

Value: ""

Intended use: This cookie is most likely set for security reasons to prevent falsification of requests. However, we were not able to find out more about this.

Expiry date: After one year

Name: mid

Value: ""

Intended use: Instagram sets this cookie to optimise its own services and offers on and off Instagram. The cookie sets a unique user ID.

Expiry date: after the end of the meeting

Name: fbsr_122652241124024

Value: no information

Intended use: This cookie stores the log-in request for users of the Instagram app.

Expiry date: after the end of the meeting

Name: rur

Value: ATN

Intended use: This is an Instagram cookie that ensures functionality on Instagram.

Expiry date: after the end of the meeting

Name: url

Value: “{”194.96.75.33”: 1901}:1iEtYv:Y833k2_UjKvXgYe122652241”

Intended use: This cookie is used for Instagram's marketing purposes.

Expiry date: after the end of the meeting

Remark: We cannot make any claim to completeness here. Which cookies are set in individual cases depends on the embedded functions and your use of Instagram.

How long and where is the data stored?

Instagram shares the information it receives between Facebook companies with external partners and with people you connect with around the world. The data processing is carried out in compliance with its own data policy. Your data is distributed on Facebook servers around the world, partly for security reasons. Most of these servers are located in the USA.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

Thanks to the Basic Data Protection Regulation, you have the right of access, portability, rectification and deletion of your data. You can manage your data in the Instagram settings. If you want to delete your data on Instagram completely, you must permanently delete your Instagram account.

And this is how deleting the Instagram account works:

First open the Instagram app. On your profile page, go down and click on "Help section". Now you will come to the company's website. On the website, click on "Manage your account" and then on "Delete your account".

If you delete your account entirely, Instagram will delete posts such as your photos and status updates. Information that other people have shared about you is not part of your account and therefore will not be deleted.

As mentioned above, Instagram stores your data primarily via cookies. These

You can manage, deactivate or delete cookies in your browser. Depending on your browser, the administration always works a little differently. Under the section "Cookies" you will find the corresponding links to the respective instructions of the most popular browsers.

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

Legal basis

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

Instagram also processes data from you in the USA, among other places. Instagram and Meta Platforms are active participants in the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, which ensures the correct and secure processing of your data.

data transfer of personal data of EU citizens to the US is regulated. You can find more information on this at https://commission.europa.eu/document/fa09cbad-dd7d-4684-ae60-be03fcb0fddf_en.

In addition, Instagram uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46. para. 2 and 3 DSGVO). Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) are templates provided by the EU Commission and are intended to ensure that your data comply with European data protection standards even if they are transferred to third countries (such as the USA) and stored there. Through the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and through the standard contractual clauses, Instagram undertakes to comply with the European level of data protection when processing your relevant data, even if the data is stored, processed and managed in the US. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the corresponding standard contractual clauses here, among other places: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de.

We have tried to bring you closer to the most important information about Instagram's data processing. At https://privacycenter.instagram.com/policy/ you can take a closer look at Instagram's data policies.

Blogs and publication media Introduction

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. In the process, we may also store and process data about you. This may be necessary so that we can present content appropriately, communication works and security is increased. In our data protection text, we go into general details about which of your data can be processed. Exact details on data processing always depend on the tools and functions used. You will find precise information on data processing in the data protection notices of the individual providers.

Why do we use blogs and publication media?

Our biggest concern with our website is to offer you interesting and exciting content and at the same time your opinions and content are important to us. That's why we want to create a good interactive exchange between us and you. With various blogs and publication possibilities 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 data we use.

communication functions. Very often, the IP address, user name and published content are stored. This is done primarily 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 details about 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, provided 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 possibility to revoke 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 through cookies by managing, deactivating or deleting cookies in your browser.

Since cookies may also be used with publication media, 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 data protection statements 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 DSGVO) in fast and good communication with you or other customers, business partners and visitors. Insofar as the use serves the settlement of contractual relationships or their initiation, the legal basis is furthermore Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. b. DSGVO.

Certain processing, in particular the use of cookies and the use of comment or message functions, requires your consent. If and insofar as you have consented that data from you can be processed and stored by integrated publication media, this consent is considered the legal basis for data processing (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO). Most of the communication functions we use set cookies in your browser to store data. Therefore, we recommend that you read our data protection text on cookies carefully and view the data protection declaration or cookie policy 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 posts. If you use this function, your IP address may be stored for security reasons. This is how we protect ourselves from illegal content such as insults, unauthorised advertising or prohibited political propaganda. In order to identify whether comments are spam, we may also store and process user data 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 really only vote once.

Cookies may also be used for storage purposes. All data that we store from you (such as content or information about you) will remain stored until you object.

WordPress Emojis Privacy Policy

We also use so-called emojis and smilies in our blog. We don't need to explain exactly what emojis are here. You know these laughing, angry or sad faces. They are graphic elements or files that we make available and are loaded from another server. The service provider for retrieving WordPress emojis and smilies is Automattic Inc, 60 29th Street #343, San Francisco, CA 94110, USA. This third-party provider stores your IP address in order to be able to transmit the emoji files to your browser.

Automattic also processes data from you in the USA, among other places. Automattic 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.

In addition, Automattic uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46. para. 2 and 3

GDPR). Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) are templates provided by the EU Commission and are intended to ensure that your data comply with European data protection standards even if they are transferred to and stored in third countries (such as the USA).

Through the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and 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, among other places: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de.

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

You can find out more about the data processed through the use of WordPress emojis in the privacy policy on https://automattic.com/privacy/.

Cookie Consent Management Platform Introduction

What is a Cookie Consent Management Platform?

We use Consent Management Platform (CMP) software on our website to help us and you deal correctly and safely with scripts and cookies in use. The software automatically creates a cookie pop-up, scans and controls all scripts and cookies, provides cookie consent for you as required by data protection law and helps us and you to keep track of all cookies.

With most cookie consent management tools, all existing cookies are identified and categorised. You as a website visitor then decide yourself whether and which scripts and cookies you allow or do not allow. The following graphic shows the relationship between browser, web server and CMP.

Why do we use a cookie management tool?

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

What data is processed?

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

Duration of data processing

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

Right of objection

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

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

Legal basis

If you agree to cookies, personal data about you will be processed and stored via these cookies. If we receive personal data from you through your Consent (Article 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO), this consent is also the legal basis for the use of cookies or the processing of your data. In order to be able to manage the consent to cookies and to enable you to give your consent, cookie consent management platform software is used. The use of this software enables us to efficiently operate the website in a legally compliant manner, which is a legitimate interest (Article 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO).

Security & Anti-Spam

What is Security & Anti-Spam Software?

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

Why do we use security & anti-spam software?

We place particular emphasis on security on our website. After all, it is not only our security that is at stake, but above all yours. Unfortunately, cyber threats have become 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 cyberattack. And that is why a good defence system is absolutely necessary. A security system monitors all incoming and outgoing connections to our network or computer. In order 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. Unauthorised data traffic is thus better prevented and we protect ourselves from cybercrime.

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

Exactly what data is collected and stored depends, of course, on the service in question. However, we always endeavour to use only 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 detect possible incoming threats in good time. This data is processed within the scope of the services and in compliance with applicable laws. This also includes the GDPR for US providers (via the standard contractual clauses). These security services also work in some cases with third-party providers who may store and/or process data under instruction and in accordance with the data protection policies and further security measures. The data storage is mostly done via cookies.

Duration of data processing

We will inform you about the duration of data processing below, provided 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. In many cases, we unfortunately lack precise information from the providers about the length of storage.

Right of objection

You also have the right and the possibility to revoke your consent to the use of cookies or third-party security software 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.

Since cookies may also be used with such security services, 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 statements 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 DSGVO) in a good security system against various cyber attacks.

Certain processing operations, in particular the use of cookies as well as 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 considered the legal basis for data processing (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO). Most of the services we use set cookies in your browser to store data. That is why we recommend that you read our privacy text on cookies carefully and view the privacy policy or cookie policy of the respective service provider.

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

Audio & Video Introduction

What are audio and video elements?

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

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

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 are aware that content is no longer conveyed merely in text and static images. Instead of just giving you a link to a video, we offer you audio and video formats directly on our website that are entertaining or informative and ideally even both. This enhances our service and makes it easier for you to access interesting content. Thus, in addition to our texts and images, we also offer video and/or audio content.

What data is stored by audio & video elements?

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

Duration of data processing

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

Right of objection

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

Since the integrated audio and video functions on our site 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 data protection declarations 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 shall be deemed to be the legal basis for the data processing. (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO). In principle, your data will also be used on the basis of our legitimate interest (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO) The data is stored and processed 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

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 call up a page on our website that has a YouTube video embedded, your browser automatically connects to YouTube's servers or to the video portal.

Google. In the process, various data are transferred (depending on the settings). Google Ireland Limited (Gordon House, Barrow Street Dublin 4, Ireland) is responsible for all data processing in Europe.

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

On YouTube, users can watch, rate, comment and upload videos for free. Over the last few years, YouTube has become one of the most important social media channels worldwide. In order for us to be able to display videos on our website, YouTube provides a code snippet that we have incorporated on 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 strive to offer you the best possible user experience on our website. And of course, we can't do without interesting videos. With the help of our embedded videos, we provide you with further helpful content in addition to our texts and images. In addition, the embedded videos make our website easier to find on the Google search engine.

Also, when we run ads through Google Ads, Google - thanks to the data it collects - can really only show those ads to people who are interested in what we have to offer.

What data is stored by YouTube?

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

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

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 complete because the user data always depends on the interactions on YouTube.

Name: YSC

Value: b9-CV6ojI5Y122652241-1

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

Expiry date: after the close of the meeting

Name: PREF

Value: f1=50000000

Intended use: This cookie also registers your unique ID. Google gets statistics about 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 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 embedded YouTube video).

Expiry date: After 8 months

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

Name: APISID

Value: zILlvClZSkqGsSwI/AU1aZI6HY7122652241-

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 use various Google services. CONSENT is also used for security purposes to verify 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 about your interests. This data helps us 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 about your interests.

Expiry date: After 2 years

Name: SID

Value: oQfNKjAsI122652241-

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

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

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

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

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

Legal basis

If you have consented that data from you can be processed and stored through embedded YouTube elements, this consent shall be deemed the legal basis of the data processing (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO). In principle, your data will also be used on the basis of our legitimate interest (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO) stored and processed for the purpose of fast and good communication with you or other customers and business partners.

Nevertheless, we only use the embedded YouTube elements if you have given your consent. YouTube also sets cookies in your browser to store data. That is why we recommend that you read our privacy text about cookies carefully and view the privacy policy or cookie policy of the respective service provider.

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 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.

In addition, Google uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46. para. 2 and 3 DSGVO). Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) are templates provided by the EU Commission and are intended to ensure that your data comply with European data protection standards even if they are 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 US. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the corresponding standard contractual clauses here, among other places: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de.

The Google Ads Data Processing Terms, which 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 common

Privacy policy. If you would like to find out more about how we handle your data, we recommend that you read the data protection declaration at https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=de.

YouTube Subscribe Button Privacy Policy

We have installed the YouTube Subscribe button on our website. You can usually recognise the button by the classic YouTube logo. The logo shows the words "Subscribe" or "YouTube" in white letters on a red background and the white "Play" symbol to the left. However, the button can also be displayed in a different design.

Our YouTube channel always offers you funny, interesting or exciting videos. With the built-in "Subscribe" button, you can subscribe to our channel directly from our website and do not have to go to the YouTube website. We want to make it as easy as possible for you to access our extensive content. Please note that YouTube may store and process your data.

When you see a built-in subscription button on our site, YouTube sets at least one cookie - according to Google. This cookie stores your IP address and our URL. YouTube can also learn information about your browser, your approximate location and your default language this way. In our test, the following four cookies were set without being logged in to YouTube:

Name: YSC

Value: b9-CV6ojI5122652241Y

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

Expiry date: after the close of the meeting

Name: PREF

Value: f1=50000000

Intended use: This cookie also registers your unique ID. Google gets statistics about 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 GPS location.

Expiry date: after 30 minutes

Name: VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE

Value: 12265224195Chz8bagyU

Intended use: This cookie attempts to estimate the user's bandwidth on our websites (with embedded YouTube video). Expiry date: After 8 months

Remark: These cookies were set after a test and cannot claim to be complete.

When you are logged into your YouTube account, YouTube can view many of your

YouTube stores actions/interactions on our website with the help of cookies and assigns them to your YouTube account. YouTube thereby receives, for example, information on how long you surf our site, which browser type you use, which screen resolution you prefer or which actions you perform.

YouTube uses this data on the one hand to improve its own services and offers, and on the other hand to provide analyses and statistics for advertisers (who use Google Ads).

Web design introduction

What is web design?

We use various tools on our website that serve our web design. Web design is not, as often assumed, only about our website looking pretty, but also about functionality and performance. But of course, making a website look right is also one of the big 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 goal is to use web design 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 impressions and experiences that the website visitor experiences on a website. A sub-item of user experience is usability. This is about 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 easily and quickly find what you are looking for. In order to offer you the best possible experience on our website, we also use so-called third-party web design tools. Under the category

In this privacy policy, "web design" includes all services that improve the design of our website. These can be, for example, fonts, various plug-ins 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. Therefore, a good and professional web design became more and more important for us as well. 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 offers if you feel completely comfortable.

What data is stored by web design tools?

When you visit our website, web design elements may be embedded in our pages that can also process data. Exactly what data is involved depends, of course, heavily on the tools used. Below you can see exactly which tools we use for our website. We recommend that you also read the respective data protection statement of the tools used for more detailed information on data processing. In most cases, you will find out there which data is processed, whether cookies are used and how long the data is stored. Fonts such as Google Fonts, for example, 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

The length of time for which data is processed is very individual and depends on the

web design elements. For example, if cookies are used, the retention period can be as short as a minute or as long as a few years. Please read up on this. For this, we recommend on the one hand our general text section on cookies as well as the data protection declarations of the tools used. There you will 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. In the case of legal requirements, data can also be stored for longer.

Right of objection

You also have the right and the possibility to revoke your consent to the use of cookies or third-party providers at any time. This works either via our cookie management tool or via other opt-out functions. You can also prevent data collection through 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 if data is automatically collected directly when a page is called up 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 the support under https://support.google.com/?hl=de.

Legal basis

If you have consented to web design tools being used, the

Legal basis of the corresponding data processing this consent. According to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO (consent), this consent constitutes the legal basis for the processing of personal data, as may occur during the collection by web design tools. From our side, there is also a legitimate interest in improving the web design on our website. After all, only then can we provide you with a beautiful and professional web offer. The corresponding legal basis for this is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO (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.

Adobe Fonts Privacy Policy

We use Adobe Fonts, a web font hosting service, on our website.

The service provider is the American company Adobe Inc. The Irish company Adobe Systems Software Ireland Companies, 4-6 Riverwalk, Citywest Business Campus, Dublin 24, Ireland, is responsible for the European region.

Adobe also processes data from you in the USA, among other places. Adobe 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 US. You can find more information on this at https://commission.europa.eu/document/fa09cbad-dd7d-4684-ae60-be03fcb0fddf_en.

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

You can find more information on Adobe's standard contractual clauses at https://www.adobe.com/at/privacy/eudatatransfers.html.

You can find out more about the data processed through the use of Adobe Fonts in the Privacy Policy at https://www.adobe.com/at/privacy.html.

Font Awesome Privacy Policy

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 (specifically icons) is loaded via the Font Awesome Content Delivery Network (CDN). In this way, the texts or fonts and icons are displayed appropriately on each end device. In this privacy policy, we go into more detail about the data storage and data processing by this service.

Icons are playing an increasingly important role for websites. Font Awesome is a web font specially developed for web designers and web developers. With Font Awesome, icons can be scaled and coloured as desired with the help of the CSS stylesheet language. In this way, they replace old image icons. Font Awesome CDN is the easiest way to upload icons or fonts to 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?

Through Font Awesome, content on our website can be better presented. This makes it easier for you to find your way around our website and to grasp the content. With the icons, you can even sometimes replace whole words and save space. This is especially handy when we optimise content especially for smartphones. These icons are inserted as HMTLCode instead of as an image. 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 is only 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. Thus, as soon as you call up one of our pages, the corresponding icons are also provided by Font Awesome.

In order for the web fonts to be loaded, your browser must establish a connection to the servers of the company Fonticons, Inc. In the process, your IP address is recognised. 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 of the page called up are also transmitted.

This data is collected and stored for the following reasons:

• to optimise content delivery networks
• to detect and correct technical errors
• to protect CDNs from misuse and attacks
• to be able to calculate 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 of your PC will be used automatically. As far as we know at present, no cookies are set. We are in contact with the privacy department of Font Awesome 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 also located in the United States of America. However, the CDN servers are located worldwide and store user data wherever you are. In identifiable form, the data is usually only stored for a few weeks. Aggregated statistics on usage from the CDNs may be stored for longer. Personal data is not included here.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

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

Legal basis

If you have consented to Font Awesome being used, the legal basis of the relevant data processing is that consent. This consent constitutes, according to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO (consent) constitutes the legal basis for the processing of personal data as may occur when collected by Font Awesome.

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

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

If you would like to know 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

What are Google Fonts?

On our website we use Google Fonts. These are the "Google Fonts" of the company 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 have 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, the 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 about your Google account information being 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 look at exactly how the data storage looks in more detail.

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

Many of these fonts are published under the SIL Open Font License, while others are published under the Apache License. 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 and do not have to upload them to our own server. Google Fonts is an important component to keep 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 distort the appearance of texts or entire web pages. 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).

So we use the Google Fonts so that we can present our entire online service as beautifully and consistently as possible.

What data is stored by Google?

When you visit our website, the fonts are reloaded via a Google server. This external call-up transmits data to the Google servers. 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. By the way, 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 thus protected. Through the collected usage figures, Google can determine how well the individual fonts are received. Google publishes the results on internal analysis pages, such as Google Analytics. In addition, 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 examine and move large amounts of data.

It should be noted, however, that each Google Font request automatically transmits information such as language settings, IP address, browser version, browser screen resolution and browser name to the Google servers. Whether this data is also stored cannot be clearly determined or is not 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 fonts with the help of a Google stylesheet. A stylesheet is a format template that can be used to easily and quickly change the design or font of a website, for example.

The font files are stored by Google for one year. Google thus pursues the goal of fundamentally improving the loading time of websites. When millions of web pages refer to the same fonts, they are cached after the first visit and immediately reappear on all other web pages visited later. Sometimes Google updates font files to reduce file size, increase language coverage and improve 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. In order to be able to delete this data prematurely, you must contact Google support on https://support.google.com/?hl=de&tid=122652241 contact. You can only prevent data storage in this case if you do not visit our site.

Unlike other web fonts, Google allows us unrestricted access to all the

Fonts. We can therefore access an unlimited sea of fonts and thus get the best out of them for our website. You can find out more about Google Fonts and other questions at https://developers.google.com/fonts/faq?tid=122652241. There, Google does address privacy-related matters, but really detailed information about data storage is not included. It is relatively difficult to get really precise information about stored data from Google.

Legal basis

If you have consented to Google Fonts being used, the legal basis for the corresponding data processing is this consent. According to the Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO (consent) constitutes the legal basis for the processing of personal data as may occur in the case of collection by Google Fonts.

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

Google also processes data from you 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 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.

In addition, Google uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46. para. 2 and 3 DSGVO). Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) are templates provided by the EU Commission and are intended to ensure that your data comply with European data protection standards even if they are 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 US. These clauses are based on a

Implementing Decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the corresponding standard contractual clauses here, among other places: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de

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

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

Google Fonts Local Privacy Policy

On our website we use Google Fonts from the company Google Inc. The company Google Ireland Limited (Gordon House, Barrow Street Dublin 4, Ireland) is responsible for the European area. We have integrated the Google fonts locally, i.e. on our web server - not on Google's servers. As a result, there is no connection to Google servers and thus no data transfer or storage.

What are Google Fonts?

Google Fonts used to be called Google Web Fonts. This is an interactive directory of over 800 fonts that can be Google free of charge. With Google Fonts, you could use fonts without uploading them to your own server. But to prevent any information transfer to Google servers in this regard, we have downloaded the fonts to our server. In this way, we act in accordance with data protection and do not send any data to Google Fonts.

Online map services Introduction

What are online map services?

We also use online map services for our website as an extended service. Google Maps is probably the service you are most familiar with, but there are other providers who specialise in creating digital maps. Such services allow you to view locations, route maps or other geographical information directly from our website. With an integrated map service, you no longer have to leave our website to view the route to a location, for example. In order for the online map to work on our website, map sections are integrated using HTML code. The services can then display street maps, the surface of the earth or aerial or satellite images. If you use the built-in map service, data is also transmitted to the tool used and stored there. This data may also include personal data.

Why do we use online map services on our website?

Generally speaking, our aim is to make your time on our website a pleasant one. And of course your time is only pleasant if you can easily find your way around our website and find all the information you need quickly and easily. That's why we thought an online map system could be another significant improvement to our website service. Without leaving our website, you can easily view route descriptions, locations or even points of interest with the help of the map system. Of course, it is also super practical that you can see at a glance where we are located, so that you can find us quickly and safely. As you can see, there are simply many advantages and we clearly consider online map services on our website as part of our customer service.

What data are stored by online map services?

When you open a page on our website that has an online map function built in, personal data may be transmitted to the respective service and stored there. In most cases, this is your IP address, which can also be used to determine your approximate position. In addition to the IP address, data such as search terms entered and latitude and longitude coordinates are also stored. If you enter an address for route planning, for example, this data is also stored. The data is not stored by us, but on the servers of the integrated tools. You can imagine it like this: You are on our website, but when you interact with a map service, this interaction actually happens on their website. In order for the service to function properly, at least one cookie is usually also set in your browser. Google Maps, for example, also uses cookies to record user behaviour in order to optimise its own service and to be able to serve personalised advertising. You can find out more about cookies in our "Cookies" section.

How long and where is the data stored?

Each online map service processes different user data. Provided we have further

information is available, we will inform you about the duration of data processing below in the corresponding sections on the individual tools. In principle, personal data is only kept for as long as is necessary for the provision of the service. Google Maps, for example, stores certain data for a fixed period of time, while you have to delete other data yourself. With Mapbox, for example, the IP address is stored for 30 days and then deleted. As you can see, each tool stores data for a different length of time. We therefore recommend that you take a close look at the data protection statements of the tools used.

The providers also use cookies to store data on your user behaviour with the map service. You can find more general information on cookies in our "Cookies" section, but you can also find out which cookies may be used in the data protection texts of the individual providers. In most cases, however, this is only an exemplary list and is not complete.

Right of objection

You always have the possibility and also the right to access your personal data and also to object to the use and processing. You can also revoke the consent you have given us at any time. As a rule, the easiest way to do this is via the cookie consent tool. However, there are also other opt-out tools that you can use. You can also manage, delete or deactivate possible cookies set by the providers used yourself with just a few mouse clicks. However, it may then happen that some functions of the service no longer work as usual. How you manage cookies in your browser also depends on the browser you use. In the section "Cookies" you will also find links to the instructions of the most important browsers.

Legal basis

If you have consented to the use of an online map service, the legal basis for the corresponding data processing is this consent. According to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO (consent), this consent constitutes the legal basis for the processing of personal data as it may occur when collected by an online map service.

We also have a legitimate interest in using an online map service to optimise our service on our website. The corresponding legal basis for this is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO (Legitimate Interests). However, we only ever use an online map service if you have given your consent. We definitely want to have this stated again at this point.

Information on special online map services - if available - can be found in the following sections.

Google Maps Privacy Policy

What is Google Maps?

We use Google Maps from Google Inc. on our website. Google Ireland Limited (Gordon House, Barrow Street Dublin 4, Ireland) is responsible for all Google services in Europe. Google Maps enables us to better show you locations and thus adapt our service to your needs. By using Google Maps, data is transmitted to Google and stored on Google servers. Here we would like to go into more detail about what Google Maps is, why we use this Google service, what data is stored and how you can prevent this.

Google Maps is an internet mapping service provided by Google. With Google Maps you can search for exact locations of cities, sights, accommodation or businesses online via a PC, tablet or app. If companies are represented on Google My Business, further information about the company is displayed in addition to the location. To show how to get there, map sections of a location can be integrated into a website using HTML code. Google Maps shows the earth's surface as a street map or as an aerial or satellite image. Thanks to the Street View images and the high-quality satellite images, very accurate representations are possible.

Why do we use Google Maps on our website?

All our efforts on this site are aimed at providing you with a useful and meaningful time on our website. By integrating Google Maps, we can provide you with the most important information on various locations. You can see at a glance where we are located. The directions will always show you the best or fastest way to reach us. You can call up the directions for routes by car, public transport, on foot or by bicycle. For us, providing Google Maps is part of our customer service.

What data is stored by Google Maps?

In order for Google Maps to be able to offer its service in full, the company must collect and store data from you. This includes, among other things, the search terms entered, your IP address and also the latitude and longitude coordinates. If you use the route planner function, the start address entered is also stored. However, this data storage takes place on the Google Maps website. We can only inform you about this, but cannot influence it. Since we have integrated Google Maps into our website, Google sets at least one cookie (name: NID) in your browser. This cookie stores data about your user behaviour. Google uses this data primarily to optimise its own services and to provide you with individual, personalised advertising.

The following cookie is set in your browser due to the integration of Google Maps:

Name: NID

Value: 188=h26c1Ktha7fCQTx8rXgLyATyITJ122652241-5

Intended use: NID is used by Google to customise ads to your Google searches. With the help of the cookie, Google "remembers" your most frequently entered search queries or your previous interaction with ads. So you always get tailored ads.

The cookie contains a unique ID that Google uses to collect your personal preferences for advertising purposes.

Expiry date: After 6 months

Remark: We cannot guarantee the completeness of the data stored. Especially when using cookies, changes can never be ruled out. In order to identify the NID cookie, a separate test page was created where only Google Maps was integrated.

How long and where is the data stored?

Google servers are located in data centres around the world. However, most servers are located in America. For this reason, your data is also increasingly stored in the USA.

You can find out exactly where Google's data centres are located here: https://www.google.com/about/datacenters/locations/?hl=de

Google distributes the data on different data carriers. This means that the data can be retrieved more quickly and is better protected against any attempts at manipulation. Each data centre also has special emergency programmes. If, for example, there are problems with Google's hardware or a natural disaster brings the servers to a standstill, the data will pretty much remain protected anyway.

Google stores some data for a set period of time. For other data, Google only offers the option to delete it manually. The company also anonymises information (such as advertising data) in server logs by deleting part of the IP address and cookie information after 9 and 18 months respectively.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

With the automatic deletion of location and activity data introduced in 2019, location and web/app activity information will be stored for either 3 or 18 months - depending on your decision - and then deleted. In addition, you can also manually delete this data from your history at any time via your Google Account. If you want to completely prevent your location tracking, you must pause the "Web and app activity" section in the Google Account. Click "Data and personalisation" and then on the "Activity setting" option. Here you can switch the activities on or off.

You can also deactivate, delete or manage individual cookies in your browser.

Depending on which browser you use, this always works slightly differently. Under the section "Cookies" you will find the corresponding links to the respective instructions of the most popular browsers.

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

Legal basis

If you have consented to Google Maps being used, the legal basis for the corresponding data processing is this consent. According to the Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO (consent) constitutes the legal basis for the processing of personal data as may occur during the collection by Google Maps.

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

Google also processes data from you 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 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.

In addition, Google uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46. para. 2 and 3 DSGVO). Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) are templates provided by the EU Commission and are intended to ensure that your data comply with European data protection standards even if they are 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 US. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the corresponding standard contractual clauses here, among other places: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de

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

If you would like to learn more about Google's data processing, we recommend that you read the company's own privacy policy at https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=de.

OpenStreetMap Privacy Policy

What is OpenStreetMap?

We have integrated map sections of the online map tool "OpenStreetMap" on our website. This is a so-called open source mapping, which we can access via an API (interface). This function is offered by the OpenStreetMap Foundation, St John's Innovation Centre, Cowley Road, Cambridge, CB4 0WS, United Kingdom. By using this map function, your IP address will be forwarded to OpenStreetMap. In this privacy policy, you will find out why we use functions of the OpenStreetMap tool, where which data is stored and how you can prevent this data storage.

The OpenStreetMap project was launched in 2004. The aim of the project is and was to create a free map of the world. Users collect data worldwide about buildings, forests, rivers and roads. Over the years, an extensive digital map of the world has been created by users themselves. Of course, the map is not complete, but in most regions it contains a lot of data.

Why do we use OpenStreetMap on our website?

Our website should first and foremost be helpful to you. And from our point of view, it is always helpful when you can find information quickly and easily. On the one hand, of course, it is about our services and products, but on the other hand, you should also have access to other helpful information. That's why we also use the map service OpenStreetMap. Because this way we can show you, for example, exactly how to find our company. The map shows you the best way to us and your journey becomes child's play.

What data is stored by OpenStreetMap?

When you visit one of our websites that offers OpenStreetMap, user data is transmitted to the service and stored there. OpenStreetMap collects information about your interactions with the digital map, your IP address, data about your browser, device type, operating system and on which day and at what time you used the service. Tracking software is also used to record user interactions. The company specifies the analysis tool "Piwik" in its own privacy policy.

The data collected is subsequently accessible to the relevant working groups of the OpenStreetMap Foundation. According to the company, personal data is not shared with other individuals or companies unless legally necessary. The third-party provider Piwik does store your IP address, but in shortened form.

The following cookie may be set in your browser when you interact with OpenStreetMap on our website:

Name: _osm_location

Value: 9.63312%7C52.41500%7C17%7CM

Intended use: The cookie is needed to unlock the content of OpenStreetMap.

Expiry date: After 10 years

If you want to view the full-screen map, you will be linked to the OpenStreetMap website. There, among other things, the following cookies can be stored in your browser:

Name: _osm_totp_token

Value: 148253122652241-2

Intended use: This cookie is used to ensure the operation of the map section.

Expiry date: after one hour

Name: _osm_session

Value: 1d9bfa122e0259d5f6db4cb8ef653a1c

Intended use: With the help of the cookie, session information (i.e. user behaviour) can be stored.

Expiry date: after the close of the meeting

Name: _pk_id.1.cf09

Value: 4a5.1593684142.2.1593688396.1593688396122652241-9

Intended use: This cookie is set by Piwik to store or measure user data such as click behaviour.

Expiry date: After one year

How long and where is the data stored?

The API servers, databases and ancillary services servers are currently located in the United Kingdom (Great Britain and Northern Ireland) and the Netherlands. Your IP address and user information, which is stored in shortened form by the web analytics tool Piwik, is deleted after 180 days.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

You have the right to access your personal data and object to its use and processing at any time. You can manage, delete or deactivate cookies that may be set by OpenStreetMap in your browser at any time. However, this will prevent the service from functioning to its full extent. For each browser, managing, deleting or disabling cookies works slightly differently. Under the section "Cookies" you will find the corresponding links to the respective instructions of the most popular browsers.

Legal basis

If you have consented to OpenStreetMap being used, the legal basis of the corresponding data processing is this consent. According to the Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO (consent) constitutes the legal basis for the processing of personal data as may occur in the course of collection by OpenStreetMap.

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

If you would like to learn more about OpenStreetMap's data processing, we recommend that you read the company's privacy policy at https://wiki.osmfoundation.org/wiki/Privacy_Policy.

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 terms (such as cookies, IP address). However, we do not want to use these without explanation. Below you will now find an alphabetical list of important terms used that we may not have sufficiently addressed in the previous privacy statement. If these terms have been taken from the GDPR and are definitions, we will also quote 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 term:

"Processor" a natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which processes personal data on behalf of the controller;

Explanation: As a company and website owner, we are responsible for all the data we process from you. In addition to data controllers, there may also be so-called processors. This includes any company or person who processes personal data on our behalf. Processors can therefore be service providers such as tax advisors, 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 term:

"Consent" any freely given specific, informed and unambiguous indication of the data subject's wishes in the form of a statement or other unambiguous affirmative act by which the data subject signifies his or her agreement to personal data relating to him or her being processed;

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. In most cases, you can also make individual settings and thus decide for yourself which data processing you allow and which you do not. If you do not consent, no personal data of yours may be processed. 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 term:

"personal data" 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 therefore all data that can identify you as a person. This is usually data such as:

• Name
• Address
• E-mail address
• Postal address
• Telephone number
• Date of birth
• Identification numbers such as national insurance number, tax identification number, identity card number or matriculation number
• Bank data such as account number, credit information, account balances, etc.

According to the European Court of Justice (ECJ), your IP address to the personal

Data. IT experts can use your IP address to at least determine the approximate location of your device and subsequently you as the connection owner. Therefore, the storage of an IP address also requires a legal basis within the meaning of 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 convictions are the
• Union affiliation genetic
• Data such as data obtained from
• blood or saliva samples are taken
• biometric data (this is information on mental, physical or behavioural characteristics that can identify a person).
• Health data
• Data on sexual orientation or sexual life

Profiling

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation, the term:

"Profiling" any automated processing of personal data which consists in using such personal data to evaluate certain personal aspects relating to a natural person, in particular to analyse or predict aspects relating to that natural person's performance at work, economic situation, health, personal preferences, interests, reliability, behaviour, location or change of location;

Explanation: Profiling involves gathering various pieces of 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 programmes, for example, collect data about your behaviour and interests on a website. This results in a special user profile, with the help of which advertising can be played to a specific target group.

Responsible

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation, the term:

"Person in charge" 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 designation may be provided for under Union or Member State law;

Explanation: In our case, we are responsible for the processing of your personal data and consequently the "controller". If we pass on collected data to other service providers for processing, they are "processors". This requires the signing of a "contract for processing" (AVV).

Processing

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation, the term:

"Processing" any operation or set of operations which is performed upon personal data, whether or not by automatic means, such as collection, recording, organisation, filing, storage, adaptation or alteration of personal data. Modification, reading out, interrogation, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination or any other form of making available, alignment or linking, restriction, deletion or destruction;

Remark: When we talk about processing in our privacy statement, we mean any kind of data processing. This includes, as mentioned above in the original GDPR declaration, not only the collection but also the storage and processing of data.

Closing words

Congratulations! If you are reading these lines, you have really "fought" your way through our entire data protection statement, 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 do not only want to tell you what data is processed, but also explain the reasons for the use of various software programmes. As a rule, data protection statements sound very technical and legalistic. However, since most of you are not web developers or lawyers, we also wanted to take a different linguistic approach 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 office. We wish you a good time and hope to see you on our website again soon.

All texts are protected by copyright.