### **Preamble**
With the following privacy policy we would like to inform you which types of your personal data (hereinafter also abbreviated as “data”) we process for which purposes and in which scope. The privacy statement applies to all processing of personal data carried out by us, both in the context of providing our services and in particular on our websites, in mobile applications and within external online presences, such as our social media profiles (hereinafter collectively referred to as “online services”).The terms used are not gender-specific.
**Last Update: 13. August 2020**
### **Overview of processing operations**
The following table summarises the types of data processed, the purposes for which they are processed and the concerned data subjects.
### **Categories of Processed Data**
- Inventory data (e.g. names, addresses).
- Content data (e.g. text input, photographs, videos).
- Contact data (e.g. e-mail, telephone numbers).
- Meta/communication data (e.g. device information, IP addresses).
- Usage data (e.g. websites visited, interest in content, access times).
- Contract data (e.g. contract object, duration, customer category).
- Payment Data (e.g. bank details, invoices, payment history).
### **Categories of Data Subjects**
- Business and contractual partners.
- Prospective customers.
- Communication partner (Recipients of e-mails, letters, etc.).
- Customers.Users (e.g. website visitors, users of online services).
### **Purposes of Processing**
- Affiliate Tracking.
- Provision of our online services and usability.
- Conversion Tracking.
- Office and organisational procedures.
- Content Delivery Network (CDN).
- Direct marketing (e.g. by e-mail or postal).
- Feedback (e.g. collecting feedback via online form).contact requests and communication.
- Profiling (Creating user profiles).
- Web Analytics (e.g. access statistics, recognition of returning visitors).
- Security measures.
- Targeting (e.g. profiling based on interests and behaviour, use of cookies).
- Contractual services and support.
- Managing and responding to inquiries.
### **Legal Bases for the Processing**
In the following we inform you about the legal basis of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), on the basis of which we process personal data. Please note that, in addition to the regulations of the GDPR, the national data protection regulations may apply in your country or in our country of residence or domicile. If, in addition, more specific legal bases are applicable in individual cases, we will inform you of these in the data protection declaration.
- **Consent (Article 6 (1) (a) GDPR) –** The data subject has given consent to the processing of his or her personal data for one or more specific purposes.
- **Performance of a contract and prior requests (Article 6 (1) (b) GDPR) –** Performance of a contract to which the data subject is party or in order to take steps at the request of the data subject prior to entering into a contract.
- **Compliance with a legal obligation (Article 6 (1) (c) GDPR) –** Processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which the controller is subject.
- **Protection of vital interests (Article 6 (1) (d) GDPR) –** Processing is necessary in order to protect the vital interests of the data subject or of another natural person.
- **Legitimate Interests (Article 6 (1) (f) GDPR) –** Processing is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by the controller or by a third party, except where such interests are overridden by the interests or fundamental rights and freedoms of the data subject which require protection of personal data.
### **Security Precautions**
We take appropriate technical and organisational measures in accordance with the legal requirements, taking into account the state of the art, the costs of implementation and the nature, scope, context and purposes of processing as well as the risk of varying likelihood and severity for the rights and freedoms of natural persons, in order to ensure a level of security appropriate to the risk.
The measures include, in particular, safeguarding the confidentiality, integrity and availability of data by controlling physical and electronic access to the data as well as access to, input, transmission, securing and separation of the data. In addition, we have established procedures to ensure that data subjects’ rights are respected, that data is erased, and that we are prepared to respond to data threats rapidly. Furthermore, we take the protection of personal data into account as early as the development or selection of hardware, software and service providers, in accordance with the principle of privacy by design and privacy by default.
SSL encryption (https): In order to protect your data transmitted via our online services in the best possible way, we use SSL encryption. You can recognize such encrypted connections by the prefix https:// in the address bar of your browser.
### **Transmission and Disclosure of Personal Data**
In the context of our processing of personal data, it may happen that the data is transferred to other places, companies or persons or that it is disclosed to them. Recipients of this data may include, for example, payment institutions within the context of payment transactions, service providers commissioned with IT tasks or providers of services and content that are embedded in a website. In such a case, the legal requirements will be respected and in particular corresponding contracts or agreements, which serve the protection of your data, will be concluded with the recipients of your data.
### **Data Processing in Third Countries**
If we process data in a third country (i.e. outside the European Union (EU), the European Economic Area (EEA)) or the processing takes place in the context of the use of third party services or disclosure or transfer of data to other persons, bodies or companies, this will only take place in accordance with the legal requirements.
Subject to express consent or transfer required by contract or law, we process or have processed the data only in third countries with a recognised level of data protection, on the basis of special guarantees, such as a contractual obligation through so-called standard protection clauses of the EU Commission or if certifications or binding internal data protection regulations justify the processing (Article 44 to 49 GDPR, information page of the EU Commission: [https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/law-topic/data-protection/international-dimension-data-protection_en).](https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/law-topic/data-protection/international-dimension-data-protection_en).)
We use Mighty Networks (a US-based company) for the sprinters Online Community. On joining the community you are agreeing to Mighty Network Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.
Inside the Community we use the services of other US-based companies to embed content and enrich the community in other ways. In doing so, some of your personal data might be shared with US government agencies without giving you the rights you have under GDPR.
Here’s the list of companies we currently work with, and the type of personal data that is shared with them:
Google LLC for embedding YouTube videos and showing content in Google Drive in the community (your IP address will be transmitted to Google LLC)
This list of companies might change at any time.
### **Use of Cookies**
Cookies are text files that contain data from visited websites or domains and are stored by a browser on the user’s computer. A cookie is primarily used to store information about a user during or after his visit within an online service. The information stored can include, for example, the language settings on a website, the login status, a shopping basket or the location where a video was viewed. The term “cookies” also includes other technologies that fulfil the same functions as cookies (e.g. if user information is stored using pseudonymous online identifiers, also referred to as “user IDs”).
**The following types and functions of cookies are distinguished:**
- **Temporary cookies (also: session cookies):** Temporary cookies are deleted at the latest after a user has left an online service and closed his browser.
- **Permanent cookies:** Permanent cookies remain stored even after closing the browser. For example, the login status can be saved or preferred content can be displayed directly when the user visits a website again. The interests of users who are used for range measurement or marketing purposes can also be stored in such a cookie.
- **First-Party-Cookies:** First-Party-Cookies are set by ourselves.
- **Third party cookies:** Third party cookies are mainly used by advertisers (so-called third parties) to process user information.
- **Necessary (also: essential) cookies:** Cookies can be necessary for the operation of a website (e.g. to save logins or other user inputs or for security reasons).
- **Statistics, marketing and personalisation cookies:** Cookies are also generally used to measure a website’s reach and when a user’s interests or behaviour (e.g. viewing certain content, using functions, etc.) are stored on individual websites in a user profile. Such profiles are used, for example, to display content to users that corresponds to their potential interests. This procedure is also referred to as “tracking”, i.e. tracking the potential interests of users. . If we use cookies or “tracking” technologies, we will inform you separately in our privacy policy or in the context of obtaining consent.
**Information on legal basis:** The legal basis on which we process your personal data with the help of cookies depends on whether we ask you for your consent. If this applies and you consent to the use of cookies, the legal basis for processing your data is your declared consent. Otherwise, the data processed with the help of cookies will be processed on the basis of our legitimate interests (e.g. in a business operation of our online service and its improvement) or, if the use of cookies is necessary to fulfil our contractual obligations.
**Retention period:** Unless we provide you with explicit information on the retention period of permanent cookies (e.g. within the scope of a so-called cookie opt-in), please assume that the retention period can be as long as two years.
**General information on Withdrawal of consent and objection (Opt-Out):** Respective of whether processing is based on consent or legal permission, you have the option at any time to object to the processing of your data using cookie technologies or to revoke consent (collectively referred to as “opt-out”). You can initially explain your objection using the settings of your browser, e.g. by deactivating the use of cookies (which may also restrict the functionality of our online services). An objection to the use of cookies for online marketing purposes can be raised for a large number of services, especially in the case of tracking, via the websites [https://www.aboutads.info/choices/](https://www.aboutads.info/choices/) and [https://www.youronlinechoices.com.](https://www.youronlinechoices.com./) In addition, you can receive further information on objections in the context of the information on the used service providers and cookies.
**Processing Cookie Data on the Basis of Consent:** Before we process or have processed data within the context of the usage of cookies, we ask the users for their consent, which can be revoked at any time. Before the consent has not been given, we may use cookies that are necessary for the operation of our online services.
**Processed data types:** Usage data (e.g. websites visited, interest in content, access times), Meta/communication data (e.g. device information, IP addresses).
**Data subjects:** Users (e.g. website visitors, users of online services).
**Legal Basis:** Consent (Article 6 (1) (a) GDPR), Legitimate Interests (Article 6 (1) (f) GDPR).
### **Commercial Services**
We process data of our contractual and business partners, e.g. customers and interested parties (collectively referred to as “contractual partners”) within the context of contractual and comparable legal relationships as well as associated actions and communication with the contractual partners or pre-contractually, e.g. to answer inquiries.
We process this data in order to fulfil our contractual obligations, safeguard our rights and for the purposes of the administrative tasks associated with this data and the business-related organisation. We will only pass on the data of the contractual partners within the scope of the applicable law to third parties insofar as this is necessary for the aforementioned purposes or for the fulfilment of legal obligations or with the consent of data subjects concerned (e.g. telecommunications, transport and other auxiliary services as well as subcontractors, banks, tax and legal advisors, payment service providers or tax authorities). The contractual partners will be informed about further processing, e.g. for marketing purposes, as part of this privacy policy.
Which data are necessary for the aforementioned purposes, we inform the contracting partners before or in the context of the data collection, e.g. in on-line forms by special marking (e.g. colors), and/or symbols (e.g. asterisks or the like), or personally.
We delete the data after expiry of statutory warranty and comparable obligations, i.e. in principle after expiry of 4 years, unless the data is stored in a customer account or must be kept for legal reasons of archiving (e.g., as a rule 10 years for tax purposes). In the case of data disclosed to us by the contractual partner within the context of an assignment, we delete the data in accordance with the specifications of the assignment, in general after the end of the assignment.
If we use third-party providers or platforms to provide our services, the terms and conditions and privacy policies of the respective third-party providers or platforms shall apply in the relationship between the users and the providers.
**Online Shop and E-Commerce:** We process the data of our customers in order to enable them to select, purchase or order the selected products, goods and related services, as well as their payment and delivery, or performance of other services.
The required details are identified as such in the course of the ordering or comparable purchasing process and include the details required for delivery, or other way of making the product aviable and invoicing as well as contact information in order to be able to hold any consultation.
**Processed data types:** Inventory data (e.g. names, addresses), Payment Data (e.g. bank details, invoices, payment history), Contact data (e.g. e-mail, telephone numbers), Contract data (e.g. contract object, duration, customer category), Usage data (e.g. websites visited, interest in content, access times), Meta/communication data (e.g. device information, IP addresses).
**Data subjects:** Prospective customers, Business and contractual partners, Customers.
**Purposes of Processing:** Contractual services and support, contact requests and communication, Office and organisational procedures, Managing and responding to inquiries, Security measures.
**Legal Basis:** Performance of a contract and prior requests (Article 6 (1) (b) GDPR), Compliance with a legal obligation (Article 6 (1) (c) GDPR), Legitimate Interests (Article 6 (1) (f) GDPR).
### Provision of online services and web hosting
In order to provide our online services securely and efficiently, we use the services of one or more web hosting providers from whose servers (or servers they manage) the online services can be accessed. For these purposes, we may use infrastructure and platform services, computing capacity, storage space and database services, as well as security and technical maintenance services.
The data processed within the framework of the provision of the hosting services may include all information relating to the users of our online services that is collected in the course of use and communication. This regularly includes the IP address, which is necessary to be able to deliver the contents of online services to browsers, and all entries made within our online services or from websites.
**E-mail Sending and Hosting:** The web hosting services we use also include sending, receiving and storing e-mails. For these purposes, the addresses of the recipients and senders, as well as other information relating to the sending of e-mails (e.g. the providers involved) and the contents of the respective e-mails are processed. The above data may also be processed for SPAM detection purposes. Please note that e-mails on the Internet are generally not sent in encrypted form. As a rule, e-mails are encrypted during transport, but not on the servers from which they are sent and received (unless a so-called end-to-end encryption method is used). We can therefore accept no responsibility for the transmission path of e-mails between the sender and reception on our server.
**Collection of Access Data and Log Files:** We, ourselves or our web hosting provider, collect data on the basis of each access to the server (so-called server log files). Server log files may include the address and name of the web pages and files accessed, the date and time of access, data volumes transferred, notification of successful access, browser type and version, the user’s operating system, referrer URL (the previously visited page) and, as a general rule, IP addresses and the requesting provider.
The server log files can be used for security purposes, e.g. to avoid overloading the servers (especially in the case of abusive attacks, so-called DDoS attacks) and to ensure the stability and optimal load balancing of the servers .
**Content-Delivery-Network:** We use a so-called “Content Delivery Network” (CDN). A CDN is a service with whose help contents of our online services, in particular large media files, such as graphics or scripts, can be delivered faster and more securely with the help of regionally distributed servers connected via the Internet.
**Processed data types:** Content data (e.g. text input, photographs, videos), Usage data (e.g. websites visited, interest in content, access times), Meta/communication data (e.g. device information, IP addresses).Data subjects: Users (e.g. website visitors, users of online services).Purposes of Processing: Content Delivery Network (CDN).Legal Basis: Legitimate Interests (Article 6 (1) (f) GDPR).
### **Blogs and publication media**
We use blogs or comparable means of online communication and publication (hereinafter “publication medium”). Readers’ data will only be processed for the purposes of the publication medium to the extent necessary for its presentation and communication between authors and readers or for security reasons. For the rest, we refer to the information on the processing of visitors to our publication medium within the scope of this privacy policy.
**Comment subscriptions:** When users leave comments or other contributions, their IP addresses may be stored based on our legitimate interests. This is done for our safety, if someone leaves illegal contents (insults, forbidden political propaganda, etc.) in comments and contributions. In this case, we ourselves can be prosecuted for the comment or contribution and are therefore interested in the author’s identity.
Furthermore, we reserve the right to process user data for the purpose of spam detection on the basis of our legitimate interests.
On the same legal basis, in the case of surveys, we reserve the right to store the IP addresses of users for the duration of the surveys and to use cookies in order to avoid multiple votes.
The personal information provided in the course of comments and contributions, any contact and website information as well as the content information will be stored permanently by us until the user objects.
**Processed data types:** Inventory data (e.g. names, addresses), Contact data (e.g. e-mail, telephone numbers), Content data (e.g. text input, photographs, videos), Usage data (e.g. websites visited, interest in content, access times), Meta/communication data (e.g. device information, IP addresses).
**Data subjects:** Users (e.g. website visitors, users of online services).
**Purposes of Processing:** Contractual services and support, Feedback (e.g. collecting feedback via online form), Security measures, Managing and responding to inquiries.
**Legal Basis:** Performance of a contract and prior requests (Article 6 (1) (b) GDPR), Legitimate Interests (Article 6 (1) (f) GDPR), Consent (Article 6 (1) (a) GDPR), Pprotection of vital interests (Article 6 (1) (d) GDPR).
### **Contacting us**
When contacting us (e.g. by contact form, e-mail, telephone or via social media), the data of the inquiring persons are processed insofar as this is necessary to answer the contact enquiries and any requested activities.
The response to contact enquiries within the framework of contractual or pre-contractual relationships is made in order to fulfil our contractual obligations or to respond to (pre)contractual enquiries and otherwise on the basis of the legitimate interests in responding to the enquiries.
**Processed data types:** Inventory data (e.g. names, addresses), Contact data (e.g. e-mail, telephone numbers), Content data (e.g. text input, photographs, videos).Data subjects: Communication partner (Recipients of e-mails, letters, etc.).
**Purposes of Processing:** contact requests and communication.
**Legal Basis:** Performance of a contract and prior requests (Article 6 (1) (b) GDPR), Legitimate Interests (Article 6 (1) (f) GDPR).
### **Newsletter and Electronic Communications**
We send newsletters, e-mails and other electronic communications (hereinafter referred to as “newsletters”) only with the consent of the recipient or a legal permission. Insofar as the contents of the newsletter are specifically described within the framework of registration, they are decisive for the consent of the user. Otherwise, our newsletters contain information about our services and us.
In order to subscribe to our newsletters, it is generally sufficient to enter your e-mail address. We may, however, ask you to provide a name for the purpose of contacting you personally in the newsletter or to provide further information if this is required for the purposes of the newsletter.
**Double opt-in procedure:** The registration to our newsletter takes place in general in a so-called Double-Opt-In procedure. This means that you will receive an e-mail after registration asking you to confirm your registration. This confirmation is necessary so that no one can register with external e-mail addresses.
The registrations for the newsletter are logged in order to be able to prove the registration process according to the legal requirements. This includes storing the login and confirmation times as well as the IP address. Likewise the changes of your data stored with the dispatch service provider are logged.
**Deletion and restriction of processing:** We may store the unsubscribed email addresses for up to three years based on our legitimate interests before deleting them to provide evidence of prior consent. The processing of these data is limited to the purpose of a possible defense against claims. An individual deletion request is possible at any time, provided that the former existence of a consent is confirmed at the same time. In the case of an obligation to permanently observe an objection, we reserve the right to store the e-mail address solely for this purpose in a blacklist.
**Information on legal bases:** The sending of the newsletter is based on the consent of the recipients or, if consent is not required, on the basis of our legitimate interests in direct marketing. Insofar as we engage a service provider for sending e-mails, this is done on the basis of our legitimate interests. The registration procedure is recorded on the basis of our legitimate interests for the purpose of demonstrating that it has been conducted in accordance with the law.
**Contents:** Information about new or updated resources, events or websites or services we are launching.
**Analysis and performance measurement:** The newsletters contain a so-called “web-beacon”, i.e. a pixel-sized file, which is retrieved from our server when the newsletter is opened or, if we use a mailing service provider, from its server. Within the scope of this retrieval, technical information such as information about the browser and your system, as well as your IP address and time of retrieval are first collected.
This information is used for the technical improvement of our newsletter on the basis of technical data or target groups and their reading behaviour on the basis of their retrieval points (which can be determined with the help of the IP address) or access times. This analysis also includes determining whether newsletters are opened, when they are opened and which links are clicked. For technical reasons, this information can be assigned to the individual newsletter recipients. It is, however, neither our endeavour nor, if used, that of the shipping service provider to observe individual users. The evaluations serve us much more to recognize the reading habits of our users and to adapt our content to them or to send different content according to the interests of our users.
The evaluation of the newsletter and the measurement of success is carried out, subject to the express consent of the user, on the basis of our legitimate interests for the purposes of using a user-friendly and secure newsletter system which serves both our business interests and the expectations of the user.
A separate objection to the performance measurement is unfortunately not possible, in this case the entire newsletter subscription must be cancelled or objected to.
Processed data types: Inventory data (e.g. names, addresses), Contact data (e.g. e-mail, telephone numbers), Meta/communication data (e.g. device information, IP addresses), Usage data (e.g. websites visited, interest in content, access times).
Data subjects: Communication partner (Recipients of e-mails, letters, etc.).
**Purposes of Processing:** Direct marketing (e.g. by e-mail or postal).
**Legal Basis:** Consent (Article 6 (1) (a) GDPR), Legitimate Interests (Article 6 (1) (f) GDPR).
**Opt-Out:** You can cancel the receipt of our newsletter at any time, i.e. revoke your consent or object to further receipt. You will find a link to cancel the newsletter either at the end of each newsletter or you can otherwise use one of the contact options listed above, preferably e-mail.
### **Services and service providers being used:**
**Service Provider:** Flodesk ****Email marketing platform;
**Website:** [https://flodesk.com](https://flodesk.com/);
[**Flodesk Privacy Policy.**](https://www.privacypolicies.com/privacy/view/bb9c8c7ecbee39b15f2f5be574def422)
### **Web Analysis, Monitoring and Optimization**
Web analysis is used to evaluate the visitor traffic on our website and may include the behaviour, interests or demographic information of users, such as age or gender, as pseudonymous values. With the help of web analysis we can e.g. recognize, at which time our online services or their functions or contents are most frequently used or requested for repeatedly, as well as which areas require optimization.
In addition to web analysis, we can also use test procedures, e.g. to test and optimize different versions of our online services or their components.
For these purposes, so-called user profiles can be created and stored in a file (so-called “cookie”) or similar procedures in which the relevant user information for the aforementioned analyses is stored. This information may include, for example, content viewed, web pages visited and elements and technical data used there, such as the browser used, computer system used and information on times of use. If users have consented to the collection of their location data, these may also be processed, depending on the provider.
The IP addresses of the users are also stored. However, we use any existing IP masking procedure (i.e. pseudonymisation by shortening the IP address) to protect the user. In general, within the framework of web analysis, A/B testing and optimisation, no user data (such as e-mail addresses or names) is stored, but pseudonyms. This means that we, as well as the providers of the software used, do not know the actual identity of the users, but only the information stored in their profiles for the purposes of the respective processes.
**Information on legal basis:** If we ask the users for their consent to the use of third party providers, the legal basis of the processing is consent. Furthermore, the processing can be a component of our (pre)contractual services, provided that the use of the third party was agreed within this context. Otherwise, user data will be processed on the basis of our legitimate interests (i.e. interest in efficient, economic and recipient friendly services). In this context, we would also like to refer you to the information on the use of cookies in this privacy policy.
**Processed data types:** Usage data (e.g. websites visited, interest in content, access times), Meta/communication data (e.g. device information, IP addresses).Data subjects: Users (e.g. website visitors, users of online services).Purposes of Processing: Web Analytics (e.g. access statistics, recognition of returning visitors), Targeting (e.g. profiling based on interests and behaviour, use of cookies), Conversion Tracking, Profiling (Creating user profiles).Security measures: IP Masking (Pseudonymization of the IP address).Legal Basis: Consent (Article 6 (1) (a) GDPR), Legitimate Interests (Article 6 (1) (f) GDPR).
### **Services and service providers being used:**
**Matomo:** The information generated by the cookie about your use of this website will only be stored on our server and not disclosed to third parties;
**Service provider:** Web analytics/ reach measurement in self-hosting; **Website: [https://matomo.org/](https://matomo.org/);**
**Retention period:** The cookies have a maximum storage period of 13 months.
### **Affiliate-Programmes und Affiliate-Links**
Within our online services, we include so-called affiliate links or other references (which for example may include search forms, widgets or discount codes) to the offers and services of third parties (collectively referred to as “affiliate links”). When users follow affiliate links or subsequently take advantage of offers, we may receive commission or other benefits (collectively referred to as “commission”) from these third parties.
In order to be able to track whether the users have followed the offers of an affiliate link used by us, it is necessary for the respective third party to know that the users have followed an affiliate link used within our online services. The assignment of affiliate links to the respective business transactions or other actions (e.g., purchases) serves the sole purpose of commission settlement and is removed as soon as it is no longer required for this purpose.
For the purposes of the aforementioned affiliate link assignment, the affiliate links may be supplemented by certain values that may be a component of the link or otherwise stored, for example, in a cookie. The values may include in particular the source website (referrer), time, an online identifier of the operator of the website on which the affiliate link was located, an online identifier of the respective offer, the type of link used, the type of offer and an online identifier of the user.
**Information on legal basis:** If we ask the users for their consent to the use of third party providers, the legal basis of the processing is consent. Furthermore, the processing can be a component of our (pre)contractual services, provided that the use of the third party was agreed within this context. Otherwise, user data will be processed on the basis of our legitimate interests (i.e. interest in efficient, economic and recipient friendly services). In this context, we would also like to refer you to the information on the use of cookies in this privacy policy.
**Processed data types:** Contract data (e.g. contract object, duration, customer category), Usage data (e.g. websites visited, interest in content, access times), Meta/communication data (e.g. device information, IP addresses).
**Data subjects:** Users (e.g. website visitors, users of online services).
**Purposes of Processing:** Affiliate Tracking.Legal Basis: Consent (Article 6 (1) (a) GDPR), Performance of a contract and prior requests (Article 6 (1) (b) GDPR), Legitimate Interests (Article 6 (1) (f) GDPR).
### **Plugins and embedded functions and content**
Within our online services, we integrate functional and content elements that are obtained from the servers of their respective providers (hereinafter referred to as “third-party providers”). These may, for example, be graphics, videos or social media buttons as well as contributions (hereinafter uniformly referred to as “Content”).
The integration always presupposes that the third-party providers of this content process the IP address of the user, since they could not send the content to their browser without the IP address. The IP address is therefore required for the presentation of these contents or functions. We strive to use only those contents, whose respective offerers use the IP address only for the distribution of the contents. Third parties may also use so-called pixel tags (invisible graphics, also known as “web beacons”) for statistical or marketing purposes. The “pixel tags” can be used to evaluate information such as visitor traffic on the pages of this website. The pseudonymous information may also be stored in cookies on the user’s device and may include technical information about the browser and operating system, referring websites, visit times and other information about the use of our website, as well as may be linked to such information from other sources.
**Information on legal basis:** If we ask users for their consent (e.g. in the context of a so-called “cookie banner consent”), the legal basis for processing is this consent. Otherwise, user data will be processed on the basis of our legitimate interests (i.e. interest in the analysis, optimisation and economic operation of our online services. We refer you to the note on the use of cookies in this privacy policy.
**Processed data types:** Usage data (e.g. websites visited, interest in content, access times), Meta/communication data (e.g. device information, IP addresses), Inventory data (e.g. names, addresses), Contact data (e.g. e-mail, telephone numbers), Content data (e.g. text input, photographs, videos).
**Data subjects:** Users (e.g. website visitors, users of online services).
**Purposes of Processing:** Provision of our online services and usability, Contractual services and support, Security measures, Managing and responding to inquiries.
**Legal Basis:** Consent (Article 6 (1) (a) GDPR), Performance of a contract and prior requests (Article 6 (1) (b) GDPR), Legitimate Interests (Article 6 (1) (f) GDPR).
### **Services and service providers being used:**
**YouTube videos:** Video contents; Service provider: Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland, , parent company: Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA;
**Website: [https://www.youtube.com](https://www.youtube.com/);**
**Privacy Policy: [https://policies.google.com/privacy](https://policies.google.com/privacy);**
**Opt-Out: Opt-Out-Plugin: [https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=en](https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=en),**
**Settings for the Display of Advertisements: [https://adssettings.google.com/authenticated](https://adssettings.google.com/authenticated).**
### **Erasure of data**
The data processed by us will be erased in accordance with the statutory provisions as soon as their processing is revoked or other permissions no longer apply (e.g. if the purpose of processing this data no longer applies or they are not required for the purpose).
If the data is not deleted because they are required for other and legally permissible purposes, their processing is limited to these purposes. This means that the data will be restricted and not processed for other purposes. This applies, for example, to data that must be stored for commercial or tax reasons or for which storage is necessary to assert, exercise or defend legal claims or to protect the rights of another natural or legal person.
Further information on the erasure of personal data can also be found in the individual data protection notices of this privacy policy.
### **Changes and Updates to the Privacy Policy**
We kindly ask you to inform yourself regularly about the contents of our data protection declaration. We will adjust the privacy policy as changes in our data processing practices make this necessary. We will inform you as soon as the changes require your cooperation (e.g. consent) or other individual notification.
If we provide addresses and contact information of companies and organizations in this privacy policy, we ask you to note that addresses may change over time and to verify the information before contacting us.
### **Rights of Data Subjects**
As data subject, you are entitled to various rights under the GDPR, which arise in particular from Articles 15 to 21 of the GDPR:
**Right to Object:** You have the right, on grounds arising from your particular situation, to object at any time to the processing of your personal data which is based on letter (e) or (f) of Article 6(1) GDPR, including profiling based on those provisions. Where personal data are processed for direct marketing purposes, you have the right to object at any time to the processing of the personal data concerning you for the purpose of such marketing, which includes profiling to the extent that it is related to such direct marketing.
**Right of withdrawal for consents:** You have the right to revoke consents at any time.
**Right of access:** You have the right to request confirmation as to whether the data in question will be processed and to be informed of this data and to receive further information and a copy of the data in accordance with the provisions of the law.
**Right to rectification:** You have the right, in accordance with the law, to request the completion of the data concerning you or the rectification of the incorrect data concerning you.
**Right to Erasure and Right to Restriction of Processing:** In accordance with the statutory provisions, you have the right to demand that the relevant data be erased immediately or, alternatively, to demand that the processing of the data be restricted in accordance with the statutory provisions.
**Right to data portability:** You have the right to receive data concerning you which you have provided to us in a structured, common and machine-readable format in accordance with the legal requirements, or to request its transmission to another controller.
**Complaint to the supervisory authority:** You also have the right, under the conditions laid down by law, to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, in particular in the Member State of your habitual residence, place of work or place of the alleged infringement if you consider that the processing of personal data relating to you infringes the GDPR.
### **Terminology and Definitions**
This section provides an overview of the terms used in this privacy policy. Many of the terms are drawn from the law and defined mainly in Article 4 GDPR. The legal definitions are binding. The following explanations, on the other hand, are intended above all for the purpose of comprehension. The terms are sorted alphabetically.
**Affiliate Tracking:** Affiliate tracking logs links that the linking websites use to refer users to websites with products or other offers. The owners of the respective linked websites can receive a commission if users follow these so-called “affiliate links” and subsequently take advantage of the offers (e.g. buy goods or use services). To this end, it is necessary for providers to be able to track whether users who are interested in certain offers subsequently follow the affiliate links. It is therefore necessary for the functionality of affiliate links that they are supplemented by certain values that become part of the link or are otherwise stored, e.g. in a cookie. The values include in particular the source website (referrer), time, an online identification of the owner of the website on which the affiliate link was located, an online identification of the respective offer, an online identifier of the user, as well as tracking specific values such as advertising media ID, partner ID and categorizations.
**Content Delivery Network (CDN):** A “Content Delivery Network” (CDN) is a service with whose help contents of our online services, in particular large media files, such as graphics or scripts, can be delivered faster and more securely with the help of regionally distributed servers connected via the Internet.
**Controller:** “Controller” means the natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which, alone or jointly with others, determines the purposes and means of the processing of personal data.
**Conversion Tracking:** “Conversion Tracking” refers to a procedure by which the effectiveness of marketing measures can be determined. As a rule, a cookie is stored on the devices of the users within the websites on which the marketing measures are carried out and then called up again on the target website (e.g. this enables us to track whether the ads we placed on other websites were successful).
**IP Masking:** IP masking is a method by which the last octet, i.e. the last two numbers of an IP address, are deleted so that the IP address alone can no longer be used to uniquely identify a person. IP masking is therefore a means of pseudonymising processing methods, particularly in online marketing.
**Personal Data:** “personal data” means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (“data subject”); an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person.
**Processing:** The term “processing” covers a wide range and practically every handling of data, be it collection, evaluation, storage, transmission or erasure.
**Profiling:** “Profiling” means any automated processing of personal data consisting in the use of such personal data to analyse, evaluate or predict certain personal aspects relating to a natural person (depending on the type of profiling, this includes information regarding age, gender, location and movement data, interaction with websites and their contents, shopping behaviour, social interactions with other people) (e.g. interests in certain contents or products, click behaviour on a website or the location). Cookies and web beacons are often used for profiling purposes.
**Targeting:** Tracking” is the term used when the behaviour of users can be traced across several websites. As a rule, behavior and interest information with regard to the websites used is stored in cookies or on the servers of the tracking technology providers (so-called profiling). This information can then be used, for example, to display advertisements to users presumably corresponding to their interests.
**Web Analytics:** Web Analytics serves the evaluation of visitor traffic of online services and can determine their behavior or interests in certain information, such as content of websites. With the help of web analytics, website owners, for example, can recognize at what time visitors visit their website and what content they are interested in. This allows them, for example, to optimize the content of the website to better meet the needs of their visitors.
For purposes of web analytics, pseudonymous cookies and web beacons are frequently used in order to recognise returning visitors and thus obtain more precise analyses of the use of an online service.
