Privacy Policy

Personal data (usually referred to just as “data” below) will only be processed by us to the extent necessary and for the purpose of providing a functional and user-friendly website, including its contents, and the services offered there.

Per Art. 4 No. 1 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679, i.e. the General Data Protection Regulation (hereinafter referred to as the “GDPR”), “processing” refers to any operation or set of operations such as collection, recording, organization, structuring, storage, adaptation, alteration, retrieval, consultation, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination, or otherwise making available, alignment, or combination, restriction, erasure, or destruction performed on personal data, whether by automated means or not.

The following privacy policy is intended to inform you in particular about the type, scope, purpose, duration, and legal basis for the processing of such data either under our own control or in conjunction with others. We also inform you below about the third-party components we use to optimize our website and improve the user experience which may result in said third parties also processing data they collect and control.

Our privacy policy is structured as follows:

I. The rights of users and data subjects
II. Information about the data processing

I. The rights of users and data subjects

With regard to the data processing to be described in more detail below, users and data subjects have the right

• to confirmation of whether data concerning them is being processed, information about the data being processed, further information about the nature of the data processing, and copies of the data (cf. also Art. 15 GDPR);
• to correct or complete incorrect or incomplete data (cf. also Art. 16 GDPR);
• to the immediate deletion of data concerning them (cf. also Art. 17 DSGVO), or, alternatively, if further processing is necessary as stipulated in Art. 17 Para. 3 GDPR, to restrict said processing per Art. 18 GDPR;
• to receive copies of the data concerning them and/or provided by them and to have the same transmitted to other providers/controllers (cf. also Art. 20 GDPR);
• to file complaints with the supervisory authority if they believe that data concerning them is being processed by the controller in breach of data protection provisions (see also Art. 77 GDPR).

In addition, the controller is obliged to inform all recipients to whom it discloses data of any such corrections, deletions, or restrictions placed on processing the same per Art. 16, 17 Para. 1, 18 GDPR. However, this obligation does not apply if such notification is impossible or involves a disproportionate effort. Nevertheless, users have a right to information about these recipients.

Likewise, under Art. 21 GDPR, users and data subjects have the right to object to the controller’s future processing of their data pursuant to Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f) GDPR. In particular, an objection to data processing for the purpose of direct advertising is permissible.

II. Information about the data processing

Your data processed when using our website will be deleted or blocked as soon as the purpose for its storage ceases to apply, provided the deletion of the same is not in breach of any statutory storage obligations or unless otherwise stipulated below.

Google Analytics

We use Google Analytics on our website. This is a web analytics service provided by Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043 (hereinafter: Google).

Through certification according to the EU-US Privacy Shield https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt000000001L5AAI&status=Active Google guarantees that it will follow the EU’s data protection regulations when processing data in the United States.

The Google Analytics service is used to analyze how our website is used. The legal basis is Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f) GDPR. Our legitimate interest lies in the analysis, optimization, and economic operation of our site.

Usage and user-related information, such as IP address, place, time, or frequency of your visits to our website will be transmitted to a Google server in the United States and stored there. However, we use Google Analytics with the so-called anonymization function, whereby Google truncates the IP address within the EU or the EEA before it is transmitted to the US.

The data collected in this way is in turn used by Google to provide us with an evaluation of visits to our website and what visitors do once there. This data can also be used to provide other services related to the use of our website and of the internet in general.

Google states that it will not connect your IP address to other data. In addition, Google provides further information with regard to its data protection practices at https://www.google.com/intl/de/policies/privacy/partners, including options you can exercise to prevent such use of your data.

In addition, Google offers an opt-out add-on at https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=en in addition with further information. This add-on can be installed on the most popular browsers and offers you further control over the data that Google collects when you visit our website. The add-on informs Google Analytics’ JavaScript (ga.js) that no information about the website visit should be transmitted to Google Analytics. However, this does not prevent information from being transmitted to us or to other web analytics services we may use as detailed herein.

Facebook plug-in

Our website uses the plug-in of the Facebook social network. Facebook.com is a service provided by Facebook Inc., 1601 S. California Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA. In the EU, this service is also operated by Facebook Ireland Limited, 4 Grand Canal Square, Dublin 2, Ireland, hereinafter both referred to as “Facebook.”

Through certification according to the EU-US Privacy Shield https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt0000000GnywAAC&status=Active Facebook guarantees that it will follow the EU’s data protection regulations when processing data in the United States.

The legal basis is Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f) GDPR. Our legitimate interest lies in improving the quality of our website.

Further information about the possible plug-ins and their respective functions is available from Facebook at https://developers.facebook.com/docs/plugins/

If the plug-in is stored on one of the pages you visit on our website, your browser will download an icon for the plug-in from Facebook’s servers in the USA. For technical reasons, it is necessary for Facebook to process your IP address. In addition, the date and time of your visit to our website will also be recorded.

If you are logged in to Facebook while visiting one of our plugged-in websites, the information collected by the plug-in from your specific visit will be recognized by Facebook. The information collected may then be assigned to your personal account at Facebook. If, for example, you use the Facebook Like button, this information will be stored in your Facebook account and published on the Facebook platform. If you want to prevent this, you must either log out of Facebook before visiting our website or use an add-on for your browser to prevent the Facebook plug-in from loading.

Further information about the collection and use of data as well as your rights and protection options in Facebook’s privacy policy found at https://www.facebook.com/policy.php

MailChimp – Newsletter

We offer you the opportunity to register for our free newsletter via our website.

We use MailChimp, a service of The Rocket Science Group, LLC, 512 Means Street, Suite 404, Atlanta, GA 30318, USA, hereinafter referred to as “The Rocket Science Group”.

Through certification according to the EU-US Privacy Shield https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt0000000TO6hAAG&status=Active the Rocket Science Group guarantees that it will follow the EU’s data protection regulations when processing data in the United States. In addition, the Rocket Science Group offers further information about its data protection practices at http://mailchimp.com/legal/privacy/

If you register for our free newsletter, the data requested from you for this purpose, i.e. your email address and, optionally, your name and address, will be processed by The Rocket Science Group. In addition, your IP address and the date and time of your registration will be saved. During the registration process, your consent to receive this newsletter will be obtained together with a concrete description of the type of content it will offer and reference made to this privacy policy.

The newsletter then sent out by The Rocket Science Group will also contain a tracking pixel called a web beacon. This pixel helps us evaluate whether and when you have read our newsletter and whether you have clicked any links contained therein. In addition to further technical data, such as data about your computer hardware and your IP address, the data processed will be stored so that we can optimize our newsletter and respond to the wishes of our readers. The data will therefore increase the quality and attractiveness of our newsletter.

The legal basis for sending the newsletter and the analysis is Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. a) GDPR.

You may revoke your prior consent to receive this newsletter under Art. 7 Para. 3 GDPR with future effect. All you have to do is inform us that you are revoking your consent or click on the unsubscribe link contained in each newsletter.