Privacy Policy

1. An overview of data protection

General information

The following information will provide you with an easy to navigate overview of what will happen with your personal data when you visit this website. The term “personal data” comprises all data that can be used to personally identify you. For detailed information about the subject matter of data protection, please consult our Data Protection Declaration, which we have included beneath this copy.

Data recording on this website

Who is the responsible party for the recording of data on this website (i.e., the “controller”)?

The data on this website is processed by the operator of the website, whose contact information is available under section “Information about the responsible party (referred to as the “controller” in the GDPR)” in this Privacy Policy.

How do we record your data?

We collect your data as a result of your sharing of your data with us. This may, for instance be information you enter into our contact form.

Other data shall be recorded by our IT systems automatically or after you consent to its recording during your website visit. This data comprises primarily technical information (e.g., web browser, operating system, or time the site was accessed). This information is recorded automatically when you access this website.

What are the purposes we use your data for?

A portion of the information is generated to guarantee the error free provision of the website. Other data may be used to analyze your user patterns.

What rights do you have as far as your information is concerned?

You have the right to receive information about the source, recipients, and purposes of your archived personal data at any time without having to pay a fee for such disclosures. You also have the right to demand that your data are rectified or eradicated. If you have consented to data processing, you have the option to revoke this consent at any time, which shall affect all future data processing. Moreover, you have the right to demand that the processing of your data be restricted under certain circumstances. Furthermore, you have the right to log a complaint with the competent supervising agency.

Please do not hesitate to contact us at any time if you have questions about this or any other data protection related issues.

Analysis tools and tools provided by third parties

There is a possibility that your browsing patterns will be statistically analyzed when your visit this website. Such analyses are performed primarily with what we refer to as analysis programs.

For detailed information about these analysis programs please consult our Data Protection Declaration below.

2. Hosting and Content Delivery Networks (CDN)

Hosting with Amazon Web Services (AWS)

We are hosting our website with AWS. The provider is Amazon Web Services EMEA SARL, 38 Avenue John F. Kennedy, 1855 Luxembourg (hereinafter referred to as “AWS”).

When you visit our website, your personal data will be processed on AWS servers. This may also result in the transfer of personal data to the parent company of AWS in the United States. The transfer of data to the US is based on the EU’s standard contractual clauses. For details please consult: https://aws.amazon.com/de/blogs/security/aws-gdpr-data-processing-addendum/.

For more information, please see the AWS Data Privacy Policy: https://aws.amazon.com/de/privacy/?nc1=f_pr.

AWS is used on the basis of Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. We have a legitimate interest in a depiction of our website that is as reliable as possible. If your respective consent was obtained, processing will occur exclusively based on Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR. This consent may be revoked at any time.

Data processing

We have concluded a data processing agreement (DPA) with the above-mentioned provider. This is a contract mandated by data privacy laws that guarantees that they process personal data of our website visitors only based on our instructions and in compliance with the GDPR.

Cloudflare

We use the “Cloudflare” service provided by Cloudflare Inc., 101 Townsend St., San Francisco, CA 94107, USA. (hereinafter referred to as “Cloudflare”).

Cloudflare offers a content delivery network with DNS that is available worldwide. As a result, the information transfer that occurs between your browser and our website is technically routed via Cloudflare’s network. This enables Cloudflare to analyze data transactions between your browser and our website and to work as a filter between our servers and potentially malicious data traffic from the Internet. In this context, Cloudflare may also use cookies or other technologies deployed to recognize Internet users, which shall, however, only be used for the herein described purpose.

The use of Cloudflare is based on our legitimate interest in a provision of our website offerings that is as error free and secure as possible (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).

Data transmission to the US is based on the Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) of the European Commission. Details can be found here: https://www.cloudflare.com/privacypolicy/.

For more information on Cloudflare’s security precautions and data privacy policies, please follow this link: https://www.cloudflare.com/privacypolicy/.

Data processing

Google Cloud CDN

We use the Google Cloud CDN content delivery network. The provider is Google Ireland Limited (“Google”), Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland.

Google offers a globally distributed content delivery network. Technically, the transfer of information between your browser and our website is routed through the Google network. This enables us to increase the global accessibility and performance of our website.

The use of Google Cloud CDN is based on our legitimate interest in the most error-free and secure provision of our website (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).

Data transmission to the US is based on the Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) of the European Commission. Details can be found here: https://cloud.google.com/terms/eu-model-contract-clause.

You can find more information about Google Cloud CDN here: https://cloud.google.com/cdn/docs/overview?hl=en.

Data processing

3. General information and mandatory information

Data protection

The operators of this website and its pages take the protection of your personal data very seriously. Hence, we handle your personal data as confidential information and in compliance with the statutory data protection regulations and this Data Protection Declaration.

Whenever you use this website, a variety of personal information will be collected. Personal data comprises data that can be used to personally identify you. This Data Protection Declaration explains which data we collect as well as the purposes we use this data for. It also explains how, and for which purpose the information is collected.

We herewith advise you that the transmission of data via the Internet (i.e., through e-mail communications) may be prone to security gaps. It is not possible to completely protect data against third-party access.

Information about the responsible party (referred to as the “controller” in the GDPR)

The data processing controller on this website is:

AIMPACE Inc.
170-422 Richards Street
Vancouver BC V6B 2Z4 – Canada

Telefon: + 1 (778) 8000770
E-Mail: email(@)testdrive-heroes.com

The controller is the natural person or legal entity that single-handedly or jointly with others makes decisions as to the purposes of and resources for the processing of personal data (e.g., names, e-mail addresses, etc.).

Storage duration

Unless a more specific storage period has been specified in this privacy policy, your personal data will remain with us until the purpose for which it was collected no longer applies. If you assert a justified request for deletion or revoke your consent to data processing, your data will be deleted, unless we have other legally permissible reasons for storing your personal data (e.g., tax or commercial law retention periods); in the latter case, the deletion will take place after these reasons cease to apply.

Designation of a data protection officer as mandated by law

We have appointed a data protection officer for our company.

AIMPACE Inc.
170-422 Richards Street
Vancouver BC V6B 2Z4 – Canada

Telefon: + 1 (778) 8000770
E-Mail: email(@)testdrive-heroes.com

Information on data transfer to the USA and other non-EU countries

Among other things, we use tools of companies domiciled in the United States or other from a data protection perspective non-secure non-EU countries. If these tools are active, your personal data may potentially be transferred to these non-EU countries and may be processed there. We must point out that in these countries, a data protection level that is comparable to that in the EU cannot be guaranteed. For instance, U.S. enterprises are under a mandate to release personal data to the security agencies and you as the data subject do not have any litigation options to defend yourself in court. Hence, it cannot be ruled out that U.S. agencies (e.g., the Secret Service) may process, analyze, and permanently archive your personal data for surveillance purposes. We have no control over these processing activities.

Revocation of your consent to the processing of data

A wide range of data processing transactions are possible only subject to your express consent. You can also revoke at any time any consent you have already given us. This shall be without prejudice to the lawfulness of any data collection that occurred prior to your revocation.

Right to object to the collection of data in special cases; right to object to direct advertising (Art. 21 GDPR)

IN THE EVENT THAT DATA ARE PROCESSED ON THE BASIS OF ART. 6(1)(E) OR (F) GDPR, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO AT ANY TIME OBJECT TO THE PROCESSING OF YOUR PERSONAL DATA BASED ON GROUNDS ARISING FROM YOUR UNIQUE SITUATION. THIS ALSO APPLIES TO ANY PROFILING BASED ON THESE PROVISIONS. TO DETERMINE THE LEGAL BASIS, ON WHICH ANY PROCESSING OF DATA IS BASED, PLEASE CONSULT THIS DATA PROTECTION DECLARATION. IF YOU LOG AN OBJECTION, WE WILL NO LONGER PROCESS YOUR AFFECTED PERSONAL DATA, UNLESS WE ARE IN A POSITION TO PRESENT COMPELLING PROTECTION WORTHY GROUNDS FOR THE PROCESSING OF YOUR DATA, THAT OUTWEIGH YOUR INTERESTS, RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS OR IF THE PURPOSE OF THE PROCESSING IS THE CLAIMING, EXERCISING OR DEFENCE OF LEGAL ENTITLEMENTS (OBJECTION PURSUANT TO ART. 21(1) GDPR).

IF YOUR PERSONAL DATA IS BEING PROCESSED IN ORDER TO ENGAGE IN DIRECT ADVERTISING, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO OBJECT TO THE PROCESSING OF YOUR AFFECTED PERSONAL DATA FOR THE PURPOSES OF SUCH ADVERTISING AT ANY TIME. THIS ALSO APPLIES TO PROFILING TO THE EXTENT THAT IT IS AFFILIATED WITH SUCH DIRECT ADVERTISING. IF YOU OBJECT, YOUR PERSONAL DATA WILL SUBSEQUENTLY NO LONGER BE USED FOR DIRECT ADVERTISING PURPOSES (OBJECTION PURSUANT TO ART. 21(2) GDPR).

Right to log a complaint with the competent supervisory agency

In the event of violations of the GDPR, data subjects are entitled to log a complaint with a supervisory agency, in particular in the member state where they usually maintain their domicile, place of work or at the place where the alleged violation occurred. The right to log a complaint is in effect regardless of any other administrative or court proceedings available as legal recourses.

Right to data portability

You have the right to demand that we hand over any data we automatically process on the basis of your consent or in order to fulfil a contract be handed over to you or a third party in a commonly used, machine readable format. If you should demand the direct transfer of the data to another controller, this will be done only if it is technically feasible.

SSL and/or TLS encryption

For security reasons and to protect the transmission of confidential content, such as purchase orders or inquiries you submit to us as the website operator, this website uses either an SSL or a TLS encryption program. You can recognize an encrypted connection by checking whether the address line of the browser switches from “http://” to “https://” and also by the appearance of the lock icon in the browser line.

If the SSL or TLS encryption is activated, data you transmit to us cannot be read by third parties.

Encrypted payment transactions on this website

If you are under an obligation to share your payment information (e.g. account number if you give us the authority to debit your bank account) with us after you have entered into a fee-based contract with us, this information is required to process payments.

Payment transactions using common modes of paying (Visa/MasterCard, debit to your bank account) are processed exclusively via encrypted SSL or TLS connections. You can recognize an encrypted connection by checking whether the address line of the browser switches from “http://” to “https://” and also by the appearance of the lock icon in the browser line.

If the communication with us is encrypted, third parties will not be able to read the payment information you share with us.

Information about, rectification and eradication of data

Within the scope of the applicable statutory provisions, you have the right to at any time demand information about your archived personal data, their source and recipients as well as the purpose of the processing of your data. You may also have a right to have your data rectified or eradicated. If you have questions about this subject matter or any other questions about personal data, please do not hesitate to contact us at any time.

Right to demand processing restrictions

You have the right to demand the imposition of restrictions as far as the processing of your personal data is concerned. To do so, you may contact us at any time. The right to demand restriction of processing applies in the following cases:

In the event that you should dispute the correctness of your data archived by us, we will usually need some time to verify this claim. During the time that this investigation is ongoing, you have the right to demand that we restrict the processing of your personal data.
If the processing of your personal data was/is conducted in an unlawful manner, you have the option to demand the restriction of the processing of your data in lieu of demanding the eradication of this data.
If we do not need your personal data any longer and you need it to exercise, defend or claim legal entitlements, you have the right to demand the restriction of the processing of your personal data instead of its eradication.
If you have raised an objection pursuant to Art. 21(1) GDPR, your rights and our rights will have to be weighed against each other. As long as it has not been determined whose interests prevail, you have the right to demand a restriction of the processing of your personal data.

If you have restricted the processing of your personal data, these data – with the exception of their archiving – may be processed only subject to your consent or to claim, exercise or defend legal entitlements or to protect the rights of other natural persons or legal entities or for important public interest reasons cited by the European Union or a member state of the EU.

Rejection of unsolicited e-mails

We herewith object to the use of contact information published in conjunction with the mandatory information to be provided in our Site Notice to send us promotional and information material that we have not expressly requested. The operators of this website and its pages reserve the express right to take legal action in the event of the unsolicited sending of promotional information, for instance via SPAM messages.

4. Recording of data on this website

Cookies

Our websites and pages use what the industry refers to as “cookies.” Cookies are small text files that do not cause any damage to your device. They are either stored temporarily for the duration of a session (session cookies) or they are permanently archived on your device (permanent cookies). Session cookies are automatically deleted once you terminate your visit. Permanent cookies remain archived on your device until you actively delete them, or they are automatically eradicated by your web browser.

In some cases, it is possible that third-party cookies are stored on your device once you enter our site (third-party cookies). These cookies enable you or us to take advantage of certain services offered by the third party (e.g., cookies for the processing of payment services).

Cookies have a variety of functions. Many cookies are technically essential since certain website functions would not work in the absence of the cookies (e.g., the shopping cart function or the display of videos). The purpose of other cookies may be the analysis of user patterns or the display of promotional messages.

Cookies, which are required for the performance of electronic communication transactions (required cookies) or for the provision of certain functions you want to use (functional cookies, e.g., for the shopping cart function) or those that are necessary for the optimization of the website (e.g., cookies that provide measurable insights into the web audience), shall be stored on the basis of Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR, unless a different legal basis is cited. The operator of the website has a legitimate interest in the storage of cookies to ensure the technically error free and optimized provision of the operator’s services. If your consent to the storage of the cookies has been requested, the respective cookies are stored exclusively on the basis of the consent obtained (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR); this consent may be revoked at any time.

You have the option to set up your browser in such a manner that you will be notified any time cookies are placed and to permit the acceptance of cookies only in specific cases. You may also exclude the acceptance of cookies in certain cases or in general or activate the delete function for the automatic eradication of cookies when the browser closes. If cookies are deactivated, the functions of this website may be limited.

In the event that third-party cookies are used or if cookies are used for analytical purposes, we will separately notify you in conjunction with this Data Protection Policy and, if applicable, ask for your consent.

Server log files

The provider of this website and its pages automatically collects and stores information in so-called server log files, which your browser communicates to us automatically. The information comprises:

The type and version of browser used
The used operating system
Referrer URL
The hostname of the accessing computer
The time of the server inquiry
The IP address

This data is not merged with other data sources.

This data is recorded on the basis of Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. The operator of the website has a legitimate interest in the technically error free depiction and the optimization of the operator’s website. In order to achieve this, server log files must be recorded.

Contact form

If you submit inquiries to us via our contact form, the information provided in the contact form as well as any contact information provided therein will be stored by us in order to handle your inquiry and in the event that we have further questions. We will not share this information without your consent.

The processing of these data is based on Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR, if your request is related to the execution of a contract or if it is necessary to carry out pre-contractual measures. In all other cases the processing is based on our legitimate interest in the effective processing of the requests addressed to us (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR) or on your agreement (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR) if this has been requested.

The information you have entered into the contact form shall remain with us until you ask us to eradicate the data, revoke your consent to the archiving of data or if the purpose for which the information is being archived no longer exists (e.g., after we have concluded our response to your inquiry). This shall be without prejudice to any mandatory legal provisions, in particular retention periods.

Request by e-mail, telephone, or fax

If you contact us by e-mail, telephone or fax, your request, including all resulting personal data (name, request) will be stored and processed by us for the purpose of processing your request. We do not pass these data on without your consent.

These data are processed on the basis of Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR if your inquiry is related to the fulfillment of a contract or is required for the performance of pre-contractual measures. In all other cases, the data are processed on the basis of our legitimate interest in the effective handling of inquiries submitted to us (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR) or on the basis of your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR) if it has been obtained.

The data sent by you to us via contact requests remain with us until you request us to delete, revoke your consent to the storage or the purpose for the data storage lapses (e.g. after completion of your request). Mandatory statutory provisions – in particular statutory retention periods – remain unaffected.

Communication via WhatsApp

For communication with our customers and other third parties, one of the services we use is the instant messaging service WhatsApp. The provider is WhatsApp Ireland Limited, 4 Grand Canal Square, Grand Canal Harbour, Dublin 2, Ireland.

The communication is encrypted end-to-end (peer-to-peer), which prevents WhatsApp or other third parties from gaining access to the communication content. However, WhatsApp does gain access to metadata created during the communication process (for example, sender, recipient, and time). We would also like to point out that WhatsApp has stated that it shares personal data of its users with its U.S.-based parent company Facebook. Further details on data processing can be found in the WhatsApp privacy policy at: https://www.whatsapp.com/legal/#privacy-policy.

The use of WhatsApp is based on our legitimate interest in communicating as quickly and effectively as possible with customers, interested parties and other business and contractual partners (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). If a corresponding consent has been requested, data processing is carried out exclusively on the basis of the consent; this consent may be revoked at any time with effect for the future.

The communication content exchanged between and on WhatsApp remains with us until you request us to delete it, revoke your consent to storage or the purpose for which the data is stored ceases to apply (e.g. after your request has been processed). Mandatory legal provisions, in particular retention periods, remain unaffected.

We use WhatsApp in the “WhatsApp Business” variant.

Data transmission to the US is based on the Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) of the European Commission. Details can be found here: https://www.whatsapp.com/legal/business-data-transfer-addendum?lang=en.

We have set up our WhatsApp accounts in such a way that there is no automatic synchronization of data with the address book on the smartphones in use.

We have concluded a data processing agreement (DPA) with the above-mentioned provider.

Use of Chatbots

We use chatbots to communicate with you. Chatbots have the capability to respond to your questions and other entries without the assistance of humans. To do this, chatbots analyze your entries and other data to give matching responses (e.g., names, email addresses and other contact information, customer numbers and other identification, orders, and chat progresses). The chatbot can also register your IP address, log files, location information and other meta data. The data is archived on the servers of the chatbot provider.

It is possible to generate user profiles based on the recorded data. Moreover, the data can be used to display interest-related advertising if the other legal requirements are met (in particular if consent has been obtained). Moreover, it is possible to link chatbots to analytical and advertising tools.

The recorded data can also be used to improve our chatbots and their response patterns (machine learning).

We or the chatbot operator retain the data you enter until you ask us to delete it, revoke your consent to archive it or if the purpose for the data storage is no longer in effect (e.g., once your inquiry has been fully processed). This does not affect mandatory statutory provisions – in particular, retention time frames.

The legal basis for the use of chatbots is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR, if the chatbot is used to negotiate a contract or in conjunction with the fulfillment of a contract. If pertinent consent has been requested, the processing shall occur exclusively on the basis of Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR; the consent may be revoked at any time. In all other cases, the use is based on our legitimate interest in the most effective client communication possible (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).

Registration on this website

You have the option to register on this website to be able to use additional website functions. We shall use the data you enter only for the purpose of using the respective offer or service you have registered for. The required information we request at the time of registration must be entered in full. Otherwise, we shall reject the registration.

To notify you of any important changes to the scope of our portfolio or in the event of technical modifications, we shall use the e-mail address provided during the registration process.

We shall process the data entered during the registration process on the basis of your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR).

The data recorded during the registration process shall be stored by us as long as you are registered on this website. Subsequently, such data shall be deleted. This shall be without prejudice to mandatory statutory retention obligations.

Registration with Google

Instead of registering directly on this website, you can register with Google. The provider of this service is Google Ireland Limited (“Google”), Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland.

To register with Google, you must only enter your Google name and password. Google will identify you and confirm your identity to our website.

When you sign in with Google, we may be able to use certain information in your account to complete your profile with us. You decide whether you want this information to be used and if so, which information it is, within the framework of your Google security settings, which you can find here: https://myaccount.google.com/security and https://myaccount.google.com/permissions.

The data processing associated with Google’s registration is based on our legitimate interest in making the registration process as simple as possible for our users (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). Since the use of the registration function is voluntary and the users themselves can decide on the respective access options, no conflicting predominant rights of the data subjects are apparent.

Registration with Facebook Connect

Instead of registering directly on this website, you also have the option to register using Facebook Connect. The provider of this service is Facebook Ireland Limited, 4 Grand Canal Square, Dublin 2, Ireland. According to Facebook’s statement the collected data will be transferred to the USA and other third-party countries too.

If you decide to register via Facebook Connect and click on the “Login with Facebook”/„Connect with Facebook” button, you will be automatically connected to the Facebook platform. There, you can log in using your username and password. As a result, your Facebook profile will be linked to this website or our services. This link gives us access to the data you have archived with Facebook. These data comprise primarily the following:

Facebook name
Facebook profile photo and cover photo
Facebook cover photo
E-mail address archived with Facebook
Facebook-ID
Facebook friends lists
Facebook Likes (“Likes” information)
Date of birth
Gender
Country
Language

This information will be used to set up, provide and customize your account.

The registration via Facebook Connect and the affiliated data processing transactions are implemented on the basis of your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR). You may revoke this consent at any time, which shall affect all future transactions thereafter.

Insofar as personal data is collected on our website with the help of the tool described here and forwarded to Facebook, we and Facebook Ireland Limited, 4 Grand Canal Square, Grand Canal Harbour, Dublin 2, Ireland are jointly responsible for this data processing (Art. 26 DSGVO). The joint responsibility is limited exclusively to the collection of the data and its forwarding to Facebook. The processing by Facebook that takes place after the onward transfer is not part of the joint responsibility. The obligations incumbent on us jointly have been set out in a joint processing agreement. The wording of the agreement can be found under: https://www.facebook.com/legal/controller_addendum. According to this agreement, we are responsible for providing the privacy information when using the Facebook tool and for the privacy-secure implementation of the tool on our website. Facebook is responsible for the data security of Facebook products. You can assert data subject rights (e.g., requests for information) regarding data processed by Facebook directly with Facebook. If you assert the data subject rights with us, we are obliged to forward them to Facebook.

Data transmission to the US is based on the Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) of the European Commission. Details can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/legal/EU_data_transfer_addendum, https://de-de.facebook.com/help/566994660333381 and https://www.facebook.com/policy.php.

For more information, please consult the Facebook Terms of Use and the Facebook Data Privacy Policies. Use these links to access this information: https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy/ and https://www.facebook.com/legal/terms/.

The comment function on this website

When you use the comment function on this website, information on the time the comment was generated and your e-mail-address and, if you are not posting anonymously, the username you have selected will be archived in addition to your comments.

Storage of the IP address

Our comment function stores the IP addresses of all users who enter comments. Given that we do not review the comments prior to publishing them, we need this information in order to take action against the author in the event of rights violations, such as defamation or propaganda.

Subscribing to comments

As a user of this website, you have the option to subscribe to comments after you have registered. You will receive a confirmation e-mail, the purpose of which is to verify whether you are the actual holder of the provided e-mail address. You can deactivate this function at any time by following a respective link in the information e-mails. The data entered in conjunction with subscriptions to comments will be deleted in this case. However, if you have communicated this information to us for other purposes and from a different location (e.g., when subscribing to the newsletter), the data shall remain in our possession.

Storage period for comments

Comments and any affiliated information shall be stored by us and remain on this website until the content the comment pertained to has been deleted in its entirety or if the comments had to be deleted for legal reasons (e.g., insulting comments).

Legal basis

Comments are stored on the basis of your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR). You have the right to revoke at any time any consent you have already given us. To do so, all you are required to do is sent us an informal notification via e-mail. This shall be without prejudice to the lawfulness of any data collection that occurred prior to your revocation.

5. Social media

Facebook plug-ins (Like & Share button)

We have integrated plug-ins of the social network Facebook on this website. The provider of this service is Facebook Ireland Limited, 4 Grand Canal Square, Dublin 2, Ireland. According to Facebook’s statement the collected data will be transferred to the USA and other third-party countries too.

You will be able to recognize Facebook plug-ins by the Facebook logo or the “Like” button on this website. An overview of the Facebook plug-ins is available under the following link: https://developers.facebook.com/docs/plugins/.

Whenever you visit this website and its pages, the plug-in will establish a direct connection between your browser and the Facebook server. As a result, Facebook will receive the information that you have visited this website with your plug-in. However, if you click the Facebook “Like” button while you are logged into your Facebook account, you can link the content of this website and its pages with your Facebook profile. As a result, Facebook will be able to allocate the visit to this website and its pages to your Facebook user account. We have to point out, that we as the provider of the website do not have any knowledge of the transferred data and its use by Facebook. For more detailed information, please consult the Data Privacy Declaration of Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/privacy/explanation.

If you do not want Facebook to be able to allocate your visit to this website and its pages to your Facebook user account, please log out of your Facebook account while you are on this website.

The use of the Facebook plug-in is based on Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. The operator of the website has a legitimate interest in being as visible as possible on social media. If a respective declaration of consent has been obtained, the data shall be processed exclusively on the basis of Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR. This declaration of consent may be revoked at any time.

Twitter plug-in

We have integrated functions of the social media platform Twitter into this website. These functions are provided by Twitter International Company, One Cumberland Place, Fenian Street, Dublin 2, D02 AX07, Ireland. While you use Twitter and the “Re-Tweet” function, websites you visit are linked to your Twitter account and disclosed to other users. During this process, data are transferred to Twitter as well. We must point out, that we, the providers of the website and its pages do not know anything about the content of the data transferred and the use of this information by Twitter. For more details, please consult Twitter’s Data Privacy Declaration at: https://twitter.com/en/privacy.

The use of Twitter plug-ins is based on Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. The operator of the website has a legitimate interest in being as visible as possible on social media. If a respective declaration of consent has been obtained, the data shall be processed exclusively on the basis of Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR. This declaration of consent may be revoked at any time.

Data transmission to the US is based on the Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) of the European Commission. Details can be found here: https://gdpr.twitter.com/en/controller-to-controller-transfers.html.

You have the option to reset your data protection settings on Twitter under the account settings at https://twitter.com/account/settings.

Instagram plug-in

We have integrated functions of the public media platform Instagram into this website. These functions are being offered by Facebook Ireland Ltd., 4 Grand Canal Square, Grand Canal Harbour, Dublin 2, Ireland.

If you are logged into your Instagram account, you may click the Instagram button to link contents from this website to your Instagram profile. This enables Instagram to allocate your visit to this website to your user account. We have to point out that we as the provider of the website and its pages do not have any knowledge of the content of the data transferred and its use by Instagram.

Data are stored and analyzed on the basis of Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. The website operator has a legitimate interest in the highest possible visibility on social media. If a respective declaration of consent has been obtained, the data will be processed exclusively on the basis of Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR. Any such consent may be revoked at any time.

Insofar as personal data is collected on our website with the help of the tool described here and forwarded to Facebook or Instagram, we and Facebook Ireland Limited, 4 Grand Canal Square, Grand Canal Harbour, Dublin 2, Ireland are jointly responsible for this data processing (Art. 26 DSGVO). The joint responsibility is limited exclusively to the collection of the data and its forwarding to Facebook or Instagram. The processing by Facebook or Instagram that takes place after the onward transfer is not part of the joint responsibility. The obligations incumbent on us jointly have been set out in a joint processing agreement. The wording of the agreement can be found under: https://www.facebook.com/legal/controller_addendum. According to this agreement, we are responsible for providing the privacy information when using the Facebook or Instagram tool and for the privacy-secure implementation of the tool on our website. Facebook is responsible for the data security of Facebook or Instagram products. You can assert data subject rights (e.g., requests for information) regarding data processed by Facebook or Instagram directly with Facebook. If you assert the data subject rights with us, we are obliged to forward them to Facebook.

Data transmission to the US is based on the Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) of the European Commission. Details can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/legal/EU_data_transfer_addendum, https://help.instagram.com/519522125107875 and https://de-de.facebook.com/help/566994660333381.

For more information on this subject, please consult Instagram’s Data Privacy Declaration at: https://instagram.com/about/legal/privacy/.

Tumblr plug-in

This website and its pages use buttons of the Tumblr platform. The provider is Tumblr, Inc., 35 East 21st St, 10th Floor, New York, NY 10010, USA.

These buttons enable you to share a report or a page on Tumblr or to follow the provider on Tumblr. If you access one of our websites via the Tumblr button, your browser will establish a direct connection with Tumblr’s servers. We do not have any control over the volume of data Tumblr collects and transfers with the assistance of this plug-in. Based on the current status of the information we have the IP address of the user and the URL of the respective website are both transferred.

For further information on this subject, please consult Tumblr’s Data Privacy Declaration at: https://www.tumblr.com/privacy/en.

LinkedIn plug-in

This website uses functions of the LinkedIn network. The provider is LinkedIn Ireland Unlimited Company, Wilton Plaza, Wilton Place, Dublin 2, Ireland.

Any time you access a page of this website that contains functions of LinkedIn, a connection to LinkedIn’s servers is established. LinkedIn is notified that you have visited this website with your IP address. If you click on LinkedIn’s “Recommend” button and are logged into your LinkedIn account at the time, LinkedIn will be in a position to allocate your visit to this website to your user account. We have to point out that we as the provider of the websites do not have any knowledge of the content of the transferred data and its use by LinkedIn.

The use of the LinkedIn plug-in is based on Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. The operator of the website has a legitimate interest in being as visible as possible on social media. If a respective declaration of consent has been obtained, the data shall be processed exclusively on the basis of Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR. This declaration of consent may be revoked at any time.

Data transmission to the US is based on the Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) of the European Commission. Details can be found here: https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/62538/datenubertragung-aus-der-eu-dem-ewr-und-der-schweiz?lang=en.

For further information on this subject, please consult LinkedIn’s Data Privacy Declaration at: https://www.linkedin.com/legal/privacy-policy.

XING plug-in

This website uses functions of the XING network. The provider is the New Work SE, Dammtorstraße 30, 20354 Hamburg, Germany.

Any time one of our sites/pages that contains functions of XING is accessed, a connection with XING’s servers is established. As far as we know, this does not result in the archiving of any personal data. In particular, the service does not store any IP addresses or analyze user patterns.

For more information on data protection and the XING share button please consult the Data Protection Declaration of Xing at: https://www.xing.com/app/share?op=data_protection.

Pinterest plug-in

We use social plug-ins of the social network Pinterest on this website. The network is operated by Pinterest Europe Ltd., Palmerston House, 2nd Floor, Fenian Street, Dublin 2, Ireland.

If you access a site or page that contains such a plug-in, your browser will establish a direct connection with Pinterest’s servers. During this process, the plug-in transfers log data to Pinterest’s servers in the United States. The log data may possibly include your IP address, the address of the websites you visited, which also contain Pinterest functions. The information also includes the type and settings of your browser, the data and time of the inquiry, how you use Pinterest and cookies.

For more information concerning the purpose, scope and continue processing and use of the data by Pinterest as well as your affiliated rights and options to protect your private information, please consult the data privacy information of Pinterest at: https://about.pinterest.com/en/privacy-policy.

6. Analysis tools and advertising

Google Tag Manager

We use the Google Tag Manager. The provider is Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland

The Google Tag Manager is a tool that allows us to integrate tracking or statistical tools and other technologies on our website. The Google Tag Manager itself does not create any user profiles, does not store cookies, and does not carry out any independent analyses. It only manages and runs the tools integrated via it. However, the Google Tag Manager does collect your IP address, which may also be transferred to Google’s parent company in the United States.

The Google Tag Manager is used on the basis of Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. The website operator has a legitimate interest in the quick and uncomplicated integration and administration of various tools on his website. If the relevant consent has been requested, the processing is carried out exclusively on the basis of Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR; the consent can be revoked at any time.

Google Analytics

This website uses functions of the web analysis service Google Analytics. The provider of this service is Google Ireland Limited (“Google”), Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland.

Google Analytics enables the website operator to analyze the behavior patterns of website visitors. To that end, the website operator receives a variety of user data, such as pages accessed, time spent on the page, the utilized operating system and the user’s origin. Google may consolidate these data in a profile that is allocated to the respective user or the user’s device.

Furthermore, Google Analytics allows us to record your mouse and scroll movements and clicks, among other things. Google Analytics uses various modeling approaches to augment the collected data sets and uses machine learning technologies in data analysis.

Google Analytics uses technologies that make the recognition of the user for the purpose of analyzing the user behavior patterns (e.g., cookies or device fingerprinting). The website use information recorded by Google is, as a rule transferred to a Google server in the United States, where it is stored.

This analysis tool is used on the basis of Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. The operator of this website has a legitimate interest in the analysis of user patterns to optimize both, the services offered online and the operator’s advertising activities. If a corresponding agreement has been requested (e.g., an agreement to the storage of cookies), the processing takes place exclusively on the basis of Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR; the agreement can be revoked at any time.

Data transmission to the US is based on the Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) of the European Commission. Details can be found here: https://privacy.google.com/businesses/controllerterms/mccs/.

IP anonymization

On this website, we have activated the IP anonymization function. As a result, your IP address will be abbreviated by Google within the member states of the European Union or in other states that have ratified the Convention on the European Economic Area prior to its transmission to the United States. The full IP address will be transmitted to one of Google’s servers in the United States and abbreviated there only in exceptional cases. On behalf of the operator of this website, Google shall use this information to analyze your use of this website to generate reports on website activities and to render other services to the operator of this website that are related to the use of the website and the Internet. The IP address transmitted in conjunction with Google Analytics from your browser shall not be merged with other data in Google’s possession.

Browser plug-in

You can prevent the recording and processing of your data by Google by downloading and installing the browser plugin available under the following link: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=en.

For more information about the handling of user data by Google Analytics, please consult Google’s Data Privacy Declaration at: https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/6004245?hl=en.

Contract data processing

We have executed a contract data processing agreement with Google and are implementing the stringent provisions of the German data protection agencies to the fullest when using Google Analytics.

Demographic parameters provided by Google Analytics

This website uses the “demographic characteristics” function of Google Analytics, to be able to display to the website visitor compatible ads within the Google advertising network. This allows reports to be created that contain information about the age, gender, and interests of the website visitors. The sources of this information are interest-related advertising by Google as well as visitor data obtained from third-party providers. This data cannot be allocated to a specific individual. You have the option to deactivate this function at any time by making pertinent settings changes for advertising in your Google account or you can generally prohibit the recording of your data by Google Analytics as explained in section “Objection to the recording of data”.

Google Analytics E-Commerce-Tracking

This website uses the “E-Commerce Tracking” function of Google Analytics. With the assistance of E-Commerce Tracking, the website operator is in a position to analyze the purchasing patterns of website visitors with the aim of improving the operator’s online marketing campaigns. In this context, information, such as the orders placed, the average order values, shipping costs and the time from viewing the product to making the purchasing decision are tracked. These data may be consolidated by Google under a transaction ID, which is allocated to the respective user or the user’s device.

Archiving period

Data on the user or incident level stored by Google linked to cookies, user IDs or advertising IDs (e.g., DoubleClick cookies, Android advertising ID) will be anonymized or deleted after 14 months. For details, please click the following link: https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/7667196?hl=en

Mautic

We use the marketing tool Mautic. The provider is Acquia Inc, 53 State St, Boston, Massachusetts 02109, USA. (hereinafter “Mautic”).

Mautic is a tool for optimizing and automating our marketing activities. With Mautic we can, in particular, create landing pages and forms, plan, execute and evaluate marketing campaigns and manage our customer data.

We can also analyze the user behavior of our website visitors. Based on this information, further marketing actions can be triggered. For example, we record which customer has made a download from us and is therefore eligible for certain further marketing measures.

Mautic uses technologies that enable cross-site recognition of the user in order to analyze user behavior (e.g., cookies or device fingerprinting). Website visitors receive an individual ID with which they can be recognized when they visit the website again. In addition, the IP address, the language of the user, visited URLs and the time of access are recorded through Mautic.

The use of Mautic is based on the legitimate interest of the data controller to optimize its marketing campaigns. If appropriate consent has been obtained, the processing is carried out exclusively on the basis of Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR; consent can be revoked at any time.

IP-anonymization

We use Mautic with anonymized IPs. Your IP address is shortened within the Mautic application so that it can no longer be directly assigned to you.

Google Ads

The website operator uses Google Ads. Google Ads is an online promotional program of Google Ireland Limited (“Google”), Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland.

Google Ads enables us to display ads in the Google search engine or on third-party websites, if the user enters certain search terms into Google (keyword targeting). It is also possible to place targeted ads based on the user data Google has in its possession (e.g., location data and interests; target group targeting). As the website operator, we can analyze these data quantitatively, for instance by analyzing which search terms resulted in the display of our ads and how many ads led to respective clicks.

The use of Google Ads is based on Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. The website operator has a legitimate interest in marketing the operator’s services and products as effectively as possible.

Data transmission to the US is based on the Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) of the European Commission. Details can be found here: https://policies.google.com/privacy/frameworks and https://privacy.google.com/businesses/controllerterms/mccs/.

Google AdSense (not personalized)

This website uses Google AdSense, an ad embedding service provided by Google Ireland Limited (“Google”), Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland.

We use Google AdSense in the “non-personalized” mode. Contrary to the personalized mode, the ads are not based on your previous user patterns and the service does not generate a user profile for you. Instead, the service uses so-called “context information” to choose the ads that are posted for you to view. The selected ads are thus based e.g., on your location, the content of the website you are visiting at the time, or the search terms you are using. To learn more about the distinct differences between personalized targeting and targeting that has not been personalized by Google AdSense, please click on the following link: https://support.google.com/adsense/answer/9007336.

Please keep in mind that if Google Adsense is used in the non-personalized mode, it is possible that cookies are stored or comparable recognition technologies (e.g., device fingerprinting) are used.

AdSense is used on the basis of Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. The website operator has a legitimate interest in making the marketing of the website as effective as possible. If a respective declaration of consent was requested, processing shall occur exclusively on the basis of Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR; the given consent may be revoked at any time.

Data transmission to the US is based on the Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) of the European Commission. Details can be found here: https://privacy.google.com/businesses/controllerterms/mccs/.

You have the option to autonomously adjust the advertising settings in your user account. To do so, please click on the link provided below and log in: https://adssettings.google.com/authenticated.

For more information about Google’s advertising technologies, please click here: https://policies.google.com/technologies/ads and https://www.google.de/intl/de/policies/privacy/.

Google Remarketing

This website uses the functions of Google Analytics Remarketing. The provider of these solutions is Google Ireland Limited (“Google”), Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland.

Google Remarketing analyzes your user patterns on our website (e.g., clicks on specific products), to allocate a certain advertising target groups to you and to subsequently display matching online offers to you when you visit other online offers (remarketing or retargeting).

Moreover, it is possible to link the advertising target groups generated with Google Remarketing to device encompassing functions of Google. This makes it possible to display interest-based customized advertising messages, depending on your prior usage and browsing patterns on a device (e.g., cell phone) in a manner tailored to you as well as on any of your devices (e.g., tablet or PC).

If you have a Google account, you have the option to object to personalized advertising under the following link: https://www.google.com/settings/ads/onweb/.

The use of Google Remarketing is based on Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. The website operator has a legitimate interest in the marketing of the operator’s products that is as effective as possible. If a respective declaration of consent was requested, processing shall occur exclusively on the basis of Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR; the given consent may be revoked at any time.

For further information and the pertinent data protection regulations, please consult the Data Privacy Policies of Google at: https://policies.google.com/technologies/ads?hl=en.

Formation of Target Groups with Customer Reconciliation

For the formation of target groups, we use, among other things, the Google Remarketing customer reconciliation feature. To achieve this, we transfer certain customer data (e.g., email addresses) from our customer lists to Google. If the respective customers are Google users and are logged into their Google accounts, matching advertising messages within the Google network (e.g., YouTube, Gmail or in a search engine) are displayed for them to view.

Google Conversion-Tracking

This website uses Google Conversion Tracking. The provider of this service is Google Ireland Limited (“Google”), Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland.

With the assistance of Google Conversion Tracking, we are in a position to recognize whether the user has completed certain actions. For instance, we can analyze the how frequently which buttons on our website have been clicked and which products are reviewed or purchased with particular frequency. The purpose of this information is to compile conversion statistics. We learn how many users have clicked on our ads and which actions they have completed. We do not receive any information that would allow us to personally identify the users. Google as such uses cookies or comparable recognition technologies for identification purposes.

We use Google Conversion Tracking on the basis of Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. The operator of the website has a legitimate interest in the analysis of the user patterns with the aim of optimizing both, the operator’s web presentation and advertising. If a respective declaration of consent was requested (e.g., concerning the storage of cookies), processing shall occur exclusively on the basis of Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR; the given consent may be revoked at any time.

For more information about Google Conversion Tracking, please review Google’s data protection policy at: https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en

Google DoubleClick

This website uses features of Google DoubleClick. The provider is Google Ireland Limited (“Google”), Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland, (hereinafter “DoubleClick”).

DoubleClick is used to show you interest-based ads across the Google Network. Advertisements can be tailored to the interests of the viewer using DoubleClick. For example, our ads may appear in Google search results or in banners associated with DoubleClick.

To be able to display interest adequate promotional content to users, DoubleClick must recognize the respective visitor so that it can allocate the websites visited, the clicks and other user pattern information to the user. To do this, DoubleClick deploys cookies or comparable recognition technologies (e.g., device fingerprinting). The recorded information is consolidated into a pseudonym user profile so that the respective user can be shown interest adequate advertising.

The use of Google DoubleClick takes place in the interest of targeted advertising measures. This constitutes a legitimate interest within the meaning of Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. If a corresponding agreement has been requested (e.g., an agreement to the storage of cookies), the processing takes place exclusively on the basis of Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR; the agreement can be revoked at any time.

For further information on how to object to the advertisements displayed by Google, please see the following links: https://policies.google.com/technologies/ads and https://adssettings.google.com/authenticated.

Facebook Pixel

To measure conversion rates, this website uses the visitor activity pixel of Facebook. The provider of this service is Facebook Ireland Limited, 4 Grand Canal Square, Dublin 2, Ireland. According to Facebook’s statement the collected data will be transferred to the USA and other third-party countries too.

This tool allows the tracking of page visitors after they have been linked to the website of the provider after clicking on a Facebook ad. This makes it possible to analyze the effectiveness of Facebook ads for statistical and market research purposes and to optimize future advertising campaigns.

For us as the operators of this website, the collected data is anonymous. We are not in a position to arrive at any conclusions as to the identity of users. However, Facebook archives the information and processes it, so that it is possible to make a connection to the respective user profile and Facebook is in a position to use the data for its own promotional purposes in compliance with the Facebook Data Usage Policy. This enables Facebook to display ads on Facebook pages as well as in locations outside of Facebook. We as the operator of this website have no control over the use of such data.

The use of Facebook Pixel is based on Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. The operator of the website has a legitimate interest in effective advertising campaigns, which also include social media. If a corresponding agreement has been requested (e.g., an agreement to the storage of cookies), the processing takes place exclusively on the basis of Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR; the agreement can be revoked at any time.

Data transmission to the US is based on the Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) of the European Commission. Details can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/legal/EU_data_transfer_addendum und https://de-de.facebook.com/help/566994660333381.

In Facebook’s Data Privacy Policies, you will find additional information about the protection of your privacy at: https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy/.

You also have the option to deactivate the remarketing function “Custom Audiences” in the ad settings section under https://www.facebook.com/ads/preferences/?entry_product=ad_settings_screen. To do this, you first have to log into Facebook.

If you do not have a Facebook account, you can deactivate any user-based advertising by Facebook on the website of the European Interactive Digital Advertising Alliance: http://www.youronlinechoices.com/de/praferenzmanagement/.

LinkedIn Insight Tag

This website uses the Insight tag from LinkedIn. This service is provided by LinkedIn Ireland Unlimited Company, Wilton Plaza, Wilton Place, Dublin 2, Ireland.

Data processing by LinkedIn Insight tag

We use the LinkedIn Insight tag to obtain information about visitors to our website. Once a website visitor is registered with LinkedIn, we can analyze the key occupational data (e.g., career level, company size, country, location, industry, job title) of our website visitors to help us better target our site to the relevant audience. We can also use LinkedIn Insight tags to measure whether visitors to our websites make a purchase or perform other actions (conversion measurement). Conversion measurement can also be carried out across devices (e.g. from PC to tablet). LinkedIn Insight Tag also features a retargeting function that allows us to display targeted advertising to visitors to our website outside of the website. According to LinkedIn, no identification of the advertising addressee takes place.

LinkedIn itself also collects log files (URL, referrer URL, IP address, device and browser characteristics and time of access). The IP addresses are shortened or (if they are used to reach LinkedIn members across devices) hashed (pseudonymized). The direct identifiers of LinkedIn members are deleted by LinkedIn after seven days. The remaining pseudonymized data will then be deleted within 180 days.

The data collected by LinkedIn cannot be assigned by us as a website operator to specific individuals. LinkedIn will store the personal data collected from website visitors on its servers in the USA and use it for its own promotional activities. For details, please see LinkedIn’s privacy policy at https://www.linkedin.com/legal/privacy-policy#choices-oblig.

Legal basis

The use of LinkedIn Insight is based on Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. The website operator has a legitimate interest in effective advertising measures, including social media. If a corresponding consent has been requested (e.g. consent to the storage of cookies), the processing is carried out exclusively on the basis of Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR; the consent can be revoked at any time.

Data transmission to the US is based on the Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) of the European Commission. Details can be found here: https://www.linkedin.com/legal/l/dpa und https://www.linkedin.com/legal/l/eu-sccs.

Objection to the use of LinkedIn Insight Tag

You can object to LinkedIn’s analysis of user behavior and targeted advertising at the following link: https://www.linkedin.com/psettings/guest-controls/retargeting-opt-out.

In addition, LinkedIn members can control the use of their personal information for promotional purposes in the account settings. To prevent LinkedIn from linking information collected on our site to your LinkedIn account, you must log out of your LinkedIn account before you visit our site.

Data processing

7. Newsletter and postal advertising

Newsletter data

If you would like to subscribe to the newsletter offered on this website, we will need from you an e-mail address as well as information that allow us to verify that you are the owner of the e-mail address provided, and consent to the receipt of the newsletter. No further data shall be collected or shall be collected only on a voluntary basis. We shall use such data only for the sending of the requested information and shall not share such data with any third parties.

The processing of the information entered into the newsletter subscription form shall occur exclusively on the basis of your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR). You may revoke the consent you have given to the archiving of data, the e-mail address and the use of this information for the sending of the newsletter at any time, for instance by clicking on the “Unsubscribe” link in the newsletter. This shall be without prejudice to the lawfulness of any data processing transactions that have taken place to date.

The data deposited with us for the purpose of subscribing to the newsletter will be stored by us until you unsubscribe from the newsletter or the newsletter service provider and deleted from the newsletter distribution list after you unsubscribe from the newsletter or after the purpose has ceased to apply. We reserve the right to delete or block e-mail addresses from our newsletter distribution list at our own discretion within the scope of our legitimate interest in accordance with Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR.

After you unsubscribe from the newsletter distribution list, your e-mail address may be stored by us or the newsletter service provider in a blacklist to prevent future mailings. The data from the blacklist is used only for this purpose and not merged with other data. This serves both your interest and our interest in complying with the legal requirements when sending newsletters (legitimate interest within the meaning of Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). The storage in the blacklist is indefinite. You may object to the storage if your interests outweigh our legitimate interest.

Postal advertising

We use your address in compliance with all legal regulations for the dispatch of postal advertising (postal advertising).

The legal basis for this is our legitimate interest in direct advertising according to Art. 6(1)(f) in conjunction with Recital 47 GDPR. If a corresponding consent has been requested, the processing is carried out exclusively on the basis of Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR; the consent can be revoked at any time. More specific regulations may be communicated to you, if necessary in the context of data collection and take precedence over the present regulation.

Your address will remain with us until the purpose of the data processing ceases to apply. If you assert a justified request for deletion or revoke your consent to postal advertising, your data will be deleted unless we have other legally permissible reasons for storing your personal data (e.g. tax or commercial law retention periods); in the latter case, the deletion will take place after these reasons no longer apply.

We use the following service provider for sending our postal mailings:

Pingen Ltd
Sihlquai 125
8005 Zürich- Switzerland

Data processing

8. Plug-ins and Tools

YouTube with expanded data protection integration

Our website embeds videos of the website YouTube. The website operator is Google Ireland Limited (“Google”), Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland.

We use YouTube in the expanded data protection mode. According to YouTube, this mode ensures that YouTube does not store any information about visitors to this website before they watch the video. Nevertheless, this does not necessarily mean that the sharing of data with YouTube partners can be ruled out as a result of the expanded data protection mode. For instance, regardless of whether you are watching a video, YouTube will always establish a connection with the Google DoubleClick network.

As soon as you start to play a YouTube video on this website, a connection to YouTube’s servers will be established. As a result, the YouTube server will be notified, which of our pages you have visited. If you are logged into your YouTube account while you visit our site, you enable YouTube to directly allocate your browsing patterns to your personal profile. You have the option to prevent this by logging out of your YouTube account.

Furthermore, after you have started to play a video, YouTube will be able to place various cookies on your device or comparable technologies for recognition (e.g. device fingerprinting). In this way YouTube will be able to obtain information about this website’s visitors. Among other things, this information will be used to generate video statistics with the aim of improving the user friendliness of the site and to prevent attempts to commit fraud.

Under certain circumstances, additional data processing transactions may be triggered after you have started to play a YouTube video, which are beyond our control.

The use of YouTube is based on our interest in presenting our online content in an appealing manner. Pursuant to Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR, this is a legitimate interest. If a corresponding agreement has been requested, the processing takes place exclusively on the basis of Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR; the agreement can be revoked at any time.

For more information on how YouTube handles user data, please consult the YouTube Data Privacy Policy under: https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en.

Vimeo Without Tracking (Do-Not-Track)

This website uses plugins of the Vimeo video portal. The provider is Vimeo Inc., 555 West 18th Street, New York, New York 10011, USA.

Whenever you visit one of our pages featuring Vimeo videos, a connection with the servers of Vimeo is established. In conjunction with this, the Vimeo server receives information about which of our sites you have visited. Vimeo also receives your IP address. However, we have set up Vimeo in such a way that Vimeo cannot track your user activities and does not place any cookies.

We use Vimeo to make our online presentation attractive for you. This is a legitimate interest on our part pursuant to Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. If a respective declaration of consent was requested (e.g. concerning the storage of cookies), processing shall occur exclusively on the basis of Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR; the given consent may be revoked at any time.

Data transmission to the US is based on the Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) of the European Commission and, according to Vimeo, on “legitimate business interests”. Details can be found here: https://vimeo.com/privacy.

For more information on the handling of user data, please consult Vimeo’s data privacy policy at: https://vimeo.com/privacy

Google Web Fonts (local embedding)

This website uses so-called Web Fonts provided by Google to ensure the uniform use of fonts on this site. These Google fonts are locally installed so that a connection to Google’s servers will not be established in conjunction with this application.

For more information on Google Web Fonts, please follow this link: https://developers.google.com/fonts/faq and consult Google’s Data Privacy Declaration under: https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en.

Font Awesome (local embedding)

This website uses Font Awesome to ensure the uniform use of fonts on this site. Font Awesome is locally installed so that a connection to Fonticons, Inc.’s servers will not be established in conjunction with this application.

For more information on Font Awesome, please and consult the Data Privacy Declaration for Font Awesome under: https://fontawesome.com/privacy.

Google Maps

This website uses the mapping service Google Maps. The provider is Google Ireland Limited (“Google”), Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland.

To enable the use of the Google Maps features, your IP address must be stored. As a rule, this information is transferred to one of Google’s servers in the United States, where it is archived. The operator of this website has no control over the data transfer. In case Google Maps has been activated, Google has the option to use Google web fonts for the purpose of the uniform depiction of fonts. When you access Google Maps, your browser will load the required web fonts into your browser cache, to correctly display text and fonts.

We use Google Maps to present our online content in an appealing manner and to make the locations disclosed on our website easy to find. This constitutes a legitimate interest as defined in Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. If a respective declaration of consent has been obtained, the data shall be processed exclusively on the basis of Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR. This declaration of consent may be revoked at any time.

Data transmission to the US is based on the Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) of the European Commission. Details can be found here: https://privacy.google.com/businesses/gdprcontrollerterms/ and https://privacy.google.com/businesses/gdprcontrollerterms/sccs/.

For more information on the handling of user data, please review Google’s Data Privacy Declaration under: https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en.

OpenStreetMap

We are using the mapping service provided by OpenStreetMap (OSM). The provider of this service is the Open-Street-Map Foundation (OSMF), 132 Maney Hill Road, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, B72 1JU, United Kingdom.

When you visit any website, into which OpenStreetMap has been embedded, your IP address and other information concerning your behavior patterns on this website will be transferred to the OSMF. Under certain circumstances, OpenStreetMap will save cookies in your browser or uses comparable technologies for recognition.

Furthermore, your location may be recorded if you have permitted this in your device settings, for instance on your cell phone. The provider of this website has no control over this type of data transfer. For details, please consult the Data Privacy Policy of OpenStreetMap under the following link: https://wiki.osmfoundation.org/wiki/Privacy_Policy.

We use OpenStreetMap with the objective of ensuring the attractive presentation of our online offers and to make it easy for visitors to find the locations we specify on our website. This establishes legitimate grounds as defined in Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. If a corresponding agreement has been requested (e.g. an agreement to the storage of cookies), the processing takes place exclusively on the basis of Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR; the agreement can be revoked at any time.

Google reCAPTCHA

We use “Google reCAPTCHA” (hereinafter referred to as “reCAPTCHA”) on this website. The provider is Google Ireland Limited (“Google”), Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland.

The purpose of reCAPTCHA is to determine whether data entered on this website (e.g., information entered into a contact form) is being provided by a human user or by an automated program. To determine this, reCAPTCHA analyzes the behavior of the website visitors based on a variety of parameters. This analysis is triggered automatically as soon as the website visitor enters the site. For this analysis, reCAPTCHA evaluates a variety of data (e.g., IP address, time the website visitor spent on the site or cursor movements initiated by the user). The data tracked during such analyses are forwarded to Google.

reCAPTCHA analyses run entirely in the background. Website visitors are not alerted that an analysis is underway.

Data are stored and analyzed on the basis of Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. The website operator has a legitimate interest in the protection of the operator’s websites against abusive automated spying and against SPAM. If a respective declaration of consent has been obtained, the data will be processed exclusively on the basis of Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR. Any such consent may be revoked at any time.

For more information about Google reCAPTCHA please refer to the Google Data Privacy Declaration and Terms Of Use under the following links: https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en and https://policies.google.com/terms?hl=en.

Wordfence

We have included Wordfence on this website. The provider is Defiant Inc, Defiant, Inc, 800 5th Ave Ste 4100, Seattle, WA 98104, USA (hereinafter Wordfence).

Wordfence is designed to protect our website from unwanted access or malicious cyberattacks. To accomplish this, our website establishes a permanent connection with Wordfence’s servers, which check and block their databases against access to our website.

The use of Wordfence is based on Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. The website operator has a legitimate interest in the most effective protection of his website against cyberattacks. If the appropriate consent has been requested, processing will be carried out exclusively on the basis of Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR; consent may be revoked at any time.

Data transmission to the USA is based on the standard contractual clauses of the EU Commission. Details can be found here: https://www.wordfence.com/help/general-data-protection-regulation/.

Data processing

iThemes Security

We have integrated iThemes Security into this website. The provider is iThemes Media LLC, 1720 South Kelly Avenue Edmond, OK 73013, USA (hereinafter referred to as iThemes Security).

iThemes Security protects our website against undesirable access or malicious cyber-attacks. For this purpose, iThemes Security records, among other things, your IP address, the time, and source of login attempts and log files (e.g., the utilized browser). iThemes Security is installed locally on our servers.

iThemes Security transmits IP addresses of recurring attackers to a central database of iThemes in the US (Network Brute Force Protection) to prevent such attacks in the future.

The use of iThemes Security is based on Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. The website operator has a legitimate interest in protecting its website optimally against cyber-attacks. If your respective consents have been requested, processing shall occur exclusively on the basis of Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR; you may revoke such consent at any time.

9. eCommerce and payment service providers

Processing of data (customer and contract data)

We collect, process, and use personal data only to the extent necessary for the establishment, content organization or change of the legal relationship (data inventory). These actions are taken on the basis of Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR, which permits the processing of data for the fulfilment of a contract or pre-contractual actions. We collect, process, and use personal data concerning the use of this website (usage data) only to the extent that this is necessary to make it possible for users to utilize the services and to bill for them.

The collected customer data shall be eradicated upon completion of the order or the termination of the business relationship. This shall be without prejudice to any statutory retention mandates.

Data transfer upon closing of contracts for online stores, retailers, and the shipment of merchandise

We share personal data with third parties only if this is necessary in conjunction with the handling of the contract; for instance, with companies entrusted with the shipment of goods or the financial institution tasked with the processing of payments. Any further transfer of data shall not occur or shall only occur if you have expressly consented to the transfer. Any sharing of your data with third parties in the absence of your express consent, for instance for advertising purposes, shall not occur.

The basis for the processing of data is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR, which permits the processing of data for the fulfilment of a contract or for pre-contractual actions.

Data transfer upon closing of contracts for services and digital content

We share personal data with third parties only if this is necessary in conjunction with the handling of the contract; for instance, with the financial institution tasked with the processing of payments.

Any further transfer of data shall not occur or shall only occur if you have expressly consented to the transfer. Any sharing of your data with third parties in the absence of your express consent, for instance for advertising purposes, shall not occur.

The basis for the processing of data is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR, which permits the processing of data for the fulfilment of a contract or for pre-contractual actions.

Credit checks

We may conduct a credit check in the event that purchases are made on account or based on other payment terms that require us to extend credit (scoring). For this purpose, we transmit the data you have entered (e.g., name, address, age, or banking information) to a credit information agency. Based on this data, the probability of non-payment is determined. If the likelihood of non-payment is excessive, we may reject the respective payment term.

The credit check is performed on the basis of contractual fulfillment (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR) and to avert non-payment (justified interest pursuant to Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). If consent has been obtained, the credit check shall be performed on the basis of this consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR); the consent may be revoked at any time.

Payment services

We integrate payment services of third-party companies on our website. When you make a purchase from us, your payment data (e.g. name, payment amount, bank account details, credit card number) are processed by the payment service provider for the purpose of payment processing. For these transactions, the respective contractual and data protection provisions of the respective providers apply. The use of the payment service providers is based on Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR (contract processing) and in the interest of a smooth, convenient, and secure payment transaction (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). Insofar as your consent is requested for certain actions, Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR is the legal basis for data processing; consent may be revoked at any time for the future.

10. Online-based Audio and Video Conferences (Conference tools)

Data processing

We use online conference tools, among other things, for communication with our customers. The tools we use are listed in detail below. If you communicate with us by video or audio conference using the Internet, your personal data will be collected and processed by the provider of the respective conference tool and by us. The conferencing tools collect all information that you provide/access to use the tools (email address and/or your phone number). Furthermore, the conference tools process the duration of the conference, start and end (time) of participation in the conference, number of participants and other “context information” related to the communication process (metadata).

Furthermore, the provider of the tool processes all the technical data required for the processing of the online communication. This includes, in particular, IP addresses, MAC addresses, device IDs, device type, operating system type and version, client version, camera type, microphone or loudspeaker and the type of connection.

Should content be exchanged, uploaded, or otherwise made available within the tool, it is also stored on the servers of the tool provider. Such content includes, but is not limited to, cloud recordings, chat/ instant messages, voicemail uploaded photos and videos, files, whiteboards, and other information shared while using the service.

Please note that we do not have complete influence on the data processing procedures of the tools used. Our possibilities are largely determined by the corporate policy of the respective provider. Further information on data processing by the conference tools can be found in the data protection declarations of the tools used, and which we have listed below this text.

Purpose and legal bases

The conference tools are used to communicate with prospective or existing contractual partners or to offer certain services to our customers (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR). Furthermore, the use of the tools serves to generally simplify and accelerate communication with us or our company (legitimate interest in the meaning of Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). Insofar as consent has been requested, the tools in question will be used on the basis of this consent; the consent may be revoked at any time with effect from that date.

Duration of storage

Data collected directly by us via the video and conference tools will be deleted from our systems immediately after you request us to delete it, revoke your consent to storage, or the reason for storing the data no longer applies. Stored cookies remain on your end device until you delete them. Mandatory legal retention periods remain unaffected.

We have no influence on the duration of storage of your data that is stored by the operators of the conference tools for their own purposes. For details, please directly contact the operators of the conference tools.

Conference tools used

We employ the following conference tools:

Jitsi Meet

We use Jitsi Meet. When you communicate with us via Jitsi Meet, all the data related to this communication activity will be processed exclusively on our servers (On Premise).

11. Custom Services

Job Applications

We offer website visitors the opportunity to submit job applications to us (e.g., via e-mail, via postal services on by submitting the online job application form). Below, we will brief you on the scope, purpose and use of the personal data collected from you in conjunction with the application process. We assure you that the collection, processing and use of your data will occur in compliance with the applicable data privacy rights and all other statutory provisions and that your data will always be treated as strictly confidential.

Scope and purpose of the collection of data

If you submit a job application to us, we will process any affiliated personal data (e.g., contact and communications data, application documents, notes taken during job interviews, etc.), if they are required to make a decision concerning the establishment or an employment relationship. The legal grounds for the aforementioned are § 26 GDPR according to German Law (Negotiation of an Employment Relationship), Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR (General Contract Negotiations) and – provided you have given us your consent – Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR. You may revoke any consent given at any time. Within our company, your personal data will only be shared with individuals who are involved in the processing of your job application.

If your job application should result in your recruitment, the data you have submitted will be archived on the grounds of § 26 GDPR and Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR for the purpose of implementing the employment relationship in our data processing system.

Data Archiving Period

If we are unable to make you a job offer or you reject a job offer or withdraw your application, we reserve the right to retain the data you have submitted on the basis of our legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR) for up to 6 months from the end of the application procedure (rejection or withdrawal of the application). Afterwards the data will be deleted, and the physical application documents will be destroyed. The storage serves in particular as evidence in the event of a legal dispute. If it is evident that the data will be required after the expiry of the 6-month period (e.g., due to an impending or pending legal dispute), deletion will only take place when the purpose for further storage no longer applies.

Longer storage may also take place if you have given your agreement (Article 6(1)(a) GDPR) or if statutory data retention requirements preclude the deletion.

Admission to the applicant pool

If we do not make you a job offer, you may be able to join our applicant pool. In case of admission, all documents and information from the application will be transferred to the applicant pool in order to contact you in case of suitable vacancies.

Admission to the applicant pool is based exclusively on your express agreement (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR). The submission agreement is voluntary and has no relation to the ongoing application procedure. The affected person can revoke his agreement at any time. In this case, the data from the applicant pool will be irrevocably deleted, provided there are no legal reasons for storage.

The data from the applicant pool will be irrevocably deleted no later than two years after consent has been granted.