Privacy policy

Introduction and overview

We have written this privacy statement (version 12.11.2021-311876300) to explain to you, in accordance with the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and applicable national laws, which personal data (data for short) we as the controller – and the processors (e.g. providers) commissioned by us – process, will process in the future and what lawful options you have. The terms used are to be understood as gender-neutral.
In short, we inform you comprehensively about data we process about you.

Privacy statements usually sound very technical and use legal terminology. This privacy statement, on the other hand, is intended to describe the most important things to you as simply and transparently as possible. To the extent that it is conducive to transparency, technical terms are explained in a reader-friendly manner, links to further information are provided and graphics are used. In this way, we inform you in clear and simple language that we only process personal data in the course of our business activities if there is a corresponding legal basis. This is certainly not possible by providing the most concise, unclear and legalistic explanations possible, as is often standard practice on the Internet when it comes to data protection. I hope you find the following explanations interesting and informative, and perhaps there is one or two pieces of information that you did not yet know.
If you still have questions, we would like to ask you to contact the responsible party named below or in the imprint, to follow the links provided and to look at further information on third-party sites. Our contact details can of course also be found in the imprint.

Scope

This data protection declaration applies to all personal data processed by us in the company and to all personal data processed by companies commissioned by us (order processors). By personal data, we mean information within the meaning of Art. 4 No. 1 DSGVO, such as a person’s name, e-mail address and postal address. The processing of personal data ensures that we can offer and invoice our services and products, whether online or offline. The scope of this privacy policy includes:

   • all online presences (websites, online stores) that we operate
   • social media presences and email communications
   • mobile apps for smartphones and other devices

In short, the data protection declaration applies to all areas in which personal data is processed in the company via the aforementioned channels in a structured manner. If we enter into legal relationships with you outside of these channels, we will inform you separately if necessary.

Legal basis

In the following privacy statement, we provide you with transparent information about the legal principles and regulations, i.e. the legal bases of the General Data Protection Regulation, which enable us to process personal data.
As far as EU law is concerned, we refer to REGULATION (EU) 2016/679 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 27 April 2016. You can of course read this EU General Data Protection Regulation online on EUR-Lex, the access to EU law, at https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/DE/TXT/?uri=celex%3A32016R0679.

We only process your data if at least one of the following conditions applies:

  1. Consent (Article 6(1) lit. a DSGVO): You have given us your consent to process data for a specific purpose. An example would be the storage of your entered data of a contact form.
  2. Contract (Article 6(1)(b) DSGVO): In order to fulfill a contract or pre-contractual obligations with you, we process your data. For example, if we conclude a purchase contract with you, we need personal information in advance.
  3. Legal obligation (Article 6(1)(c) DSGVO): If we are subject to a legal obligation, we process your data. For example, we are legally obliged to keep invoices for accounting purposes. These usually contain personal data.
  4. Legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) DSGVO): In the case of legitimate interests that do not restrict your fundamental rights, we reserve the right to process personal data. For example, we need to process certain data in order to operate our website securely and economically efficiently. This processing is therefore a legitimate interest.

Further conditions such as the performance of recordings in the public interest and the exercise of official authority as well as the protection of vital interests do not generally occur with us. If such a legal basis should be relevant, it will be indicated at the appropriate place.

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

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

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

Contact details of the responsible person

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

PELZ GmbH & Co. KG
Herr Gordon Pelz
Werkstoffprüfung – Qualitätssicherung
Gewerbepark Genend
Carl-Zeiss-Straße 37
D–47445 Moers

Phone +49-2841-16940-40
Fax +49-2841-16940-49
info@pelz.de
pelz.de/imprint

 

Storage duration

The fact that we only store personal data for as long as is absolutely necessary for the provision of our services and products applies as a general criterion with us. This means that we delete personal data as soon as the reason for processing the data no longer exists. In some cases, we are required by law to store certain data even after the original purpose has ceased to exist, for example for accounting purposes.

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

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

Rights under the General Data Protection Regulation

According to Article 13 of the GDPR, you have the following rights to ensure fair and transparent processing of data:

  • According to Article 15 of the GDPR, you have the right to know whether we are processing data about you. If this is the case, you have the right to receive a copy of the data and the following information:
    • the purpose for which we carry out the processing;
    • the categories, i.e. the types of data that are processed;
    • who receives this data and, if the data is transferred to third countries, how security can be guaranteed;
    • how long the data will be stored;
    • the existence of the right to rectification, erasure or restriction of processing and the right to object to processing;
    • that you can complain to a supervisory authority (links to these authorities can be found below);
    • the origin of the data if we have not collected it from you;
    • whether profiling is carried out, i.e. whether data is automatically evaluated in order to arrive at a personal profile of you.
  • You have a right to rectify data according to Article 16 of the GDPR, which means that we must correct data if you find errors.
  • According to Article 17 of the GDPR, you have the right to erasure (“right to be forgotten”), which specifically means that you may request the deletion of your data.
  • According to Article 18 of the GDPR, you have the right to restriction of processing, which means that we may only store the data but not use it any further.
  • According to Article 19 of the GDPR, you have the right to data portability, which means that we will provide you with your data in a common format upon request.
  • According to Article 21 of the GDPR, you have a right to object, which, once enforced, entails a change in processing.
    • If the processing of your data is based on Article 6(1)(e) (public interest, exercise of official authority) or Article 6(1)(f) (legitimate interest), you may object to the processing. We will then check as soon as possible whether we can legally comply with this objection.
    • If data is used to conduct direct marketing, you may object to this type of data processing at any time. We may not use your data for direct marketing thereafter.
    • If data is used to perform profiling, you can object to this type of data processing at any time. We may not use your data for profiling thereafter.
  • According to Article 22 of the GDPR, you may have the right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing (for example, profiling).

In short: You have rights – do not hesitate to contact the responsible body listed above with us!

If you believe that the processing of your data violates data protection law or your data protection rights have been violated in any other way, you can complain to the supervisory authority. For Austria, this is the data protection authority, whose website can be found at https://www.dsb.gv.at/. In Germany, there is a data protection officer for each federal state. For more information, you can contact the Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (BfDI). The following local data protection authority is responsible for our company:

North Rhine-Westphalia Data Protection Authority

State Commissioner for Data Protection: Bettina Gayk
Adress: Kavalleriestraße 2-4, 40213 Düsseldorf
Phone.: 02 11/384 24-0
E-Mail: poststelle@ldi.nrw.de
Website: https://www.ldi.nrw.de/

Data processing security

To protect personal data, we have implemented both technical and organizational measures. Where possible, we encrypt or pseudonymize personal data. In this way, we make it as difficult as possible, within the scope of our possibilities, for third parties to infer personal information from our data.

Article 25 of the GDPR refers to “data protection by technical design and by data protection-friendly default settings” and thus means that both software (e.g., forms) and hardware (e.g., access to the server room) should always be designed with security in mind and that appropriate measures should be taken. If necessary, we will go into more detail on specific measures below.

TLS encryption with https

TLS, encryption and https sound very technical and they are. We use HTTPS (the Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure stands for “secure hypertext transfer protocol”) to transfer data over the internet in a tap-proof way.
This means that the complete transmission of all data from your browser to our web server is secured – no one can “listen in”.

Thus, we have implemented an additional layer of security and fulfill data protection by design of technology Article 25(1) DSGVO). By using TLS (Transport Layer Security), an encryption protocol for secure data transmission on the Internet, we can ensure the protection of confidential data.
You can recognize the use of this protection of data transmission by the small lock symbol at the top left of the browser, to the left of the Internet address (e.g., beispielseite.de) and the use of the scheme https (instead of http) as part of our Internet address.
If you want to know more about encryption, we recommend the Google search for “Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure wiki” to get good links to further information.

Cookies

Cookies summary
Data subjects: visitors to the website
Purpose: depending on the cookie in question. More details can be found below or from the manufacturer of the software that sets the cookie.
Data processed: Depending on the cookie used in each case. More details can be found below or at the manufacturer of the software that sets the cookie.
Storage period: depending on the respective cookie, can vary from hours to years.
Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO (consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit.f DSGVO (legitimate interests).

What are cookies?

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

Whenever you browse the Internet, you use a browser. Popular browsers include Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Microsoft Edge. Most websites store small text files in your browser. These files are called cookies.

One thing can’t be denied: Cookies are really useful little helpers. Almost all websites use cookies. More precisely, they are HTTP cookies, as there are other cookies for other applications. HTTP cookies are small files that are stored on your computer by our website. These cookie files are automatically placed in the cookie folder, effectively the “brain” of your browser. A cookie consists of a name and a value. When defining a cookie, one or more attributes must also be specified.

Cookies store certain user data about you, such as language or personal page settings. When you return to our site, your browser transmits the “user-related” information back to our site. Thanks to cookies, our site knows who you are and offers you the setting you are used to. In some browsers each cookie has its own file, in others, such as Firefox, all cookies are stored in a single file.

There are both first-party cookies and third-party cookies. First-party cookies are created directly by our site, third-party cookies are created by partner websites (e.g. Google Analytics). Each cookie must be evaluated individually, as each cookie stores different data. Also, the expiration time of a cookie varies from a few minutes to a few years. Cookies are not software programs and do not contain viruses, Trojans or other “pests”. Cookies also cannot access information on your PC.

For example, cookie data can look like this:

Name: _ga
Value: GA1.2.1326744211.152311876300-9
Intended use: differentiation of website visitors
Expiration date: after 2 years

A browser should be able to support these minimum sizes:

  • At least 4096 bytes per cookie
  • At least 50 cookies per domain
  • At least 3000 cookies in total

What are the types of cookies?

The question of which cookies we use in particular depends on the services used and is clarified in the following sections of the privacy policy. At this point, we would like to briefly discuss the different types of HTTP cookies.

One can distinguish 4 types of cookies:

Essential cookies
These cookies are necessary to ensure basic website functionality. For example, these cookies are needed when a user adds a product to the shopping cart, then continues to browse other pages and later proceeds to checkout. These cookies do not delete the shopping cart even if the user closes his browser window.

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

Target-oriented cookies
These cookies provide a better user experience. For example, entered locations, font sizes or form data are stored.

Advertising cookies
These cookies are also called targeting cookies. They are used to deliver customized advertising to the user. This can be very convenient, but also very annoying.

Usually, when you visit a website for the first time, you are asked which of these cookie types you want to allow. And of course, this decision is also stored in a cookie.

If you want to know more about cookies and are not afraid of technical documentation, we recommend https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc6265, the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Request for Comments called “HTTP State Management Mechanism”.

Purpose of processing via cookies

The purpose ultimately depends on the cookie in question. You can find more details below or from the manufacturer of the software that sets the cookie.

What data is processed?

Cookies are small helpers for many different tasks. Unfortunately, it is not possible to generalize what data is stored in cookies, but we will inform you about the processed or stored data in the following privacy policy.

Cookies storage duration

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

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

Right to object – how can I delete cookies?

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

If you want to determine which cookies have been stored in your browser, if you want to change or delete cookie settings, you can find this in your browser settings:

Chrome: Delete, enable and manage cookies in Chrome

Safari: Managing cookies and website data with Safari

Firefox: Delete cookies to remove data that websites have placed on your computer

Internet Explorer: Delete and manage cookies

Microsoft Edge: Delete and manage cookies

If you do not want to have cookies in principle, you can set up your browser so that it always informs you when a cookie is to be set. In this way, you can decide for each individual cookie whether you allow the cookie or not. The procedure varies depending on the browser. It is best to search for the instructions in Google using the search term “delete cookies Chrome” or “disable cookies Chrome” in the case of a Chrome browser.

Legal basis

The so-called “Cookie Guidelines” have been in place since 2009. These state that the storage of cookies requires your consent (Article 6 (1) a DSGVO). Within the EU countries, however, there are still very different reactions to these directives. In Austria, however, this directive was implemented in Section 96 (3) of the Telecommunications Act (TKG). In Germany, the Cookie Directives were not implemented as national law. Instead, the implementation of this directive took place largely in § 15 para.3 of the Telemedia Act (TMG).

For absolutely necessary cookies, even if there is no consent. there are legitimate interests (Article 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO), which in most cases are of an economic nature. We want to provide visitors to the website with a pleasant user experience and for this purpose certain cookies are often absolutely necessary.

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

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

Web hosting

Web hosting summary
Concerned parties: visitors of the website
Purpose: Professional hosting of the website and securing its operation.
Processed data: IP address, time of website visit, browser used and other data. More details can be found below or with the respective web hosting provider used.
Storage period: depends on the respective provider, but usually 2 weeks.
Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit.f DSGVO (Legitimate Interests).

What is web hosting?

When you visit websites nowadays, certain information – including personal data – is automatically created and stored, including on this website. This data should be processed as sparingly as possible and only with justification. By the way, by website we mean the entirety of all web pages on a domain, i.e. everything from the home page (homepage) to the very last subpage (like this one). By domain, we mean, for example, example.de or sampleexample.com.

If you want to view a website on a screen, you use a program called a web browser to do it. You probably know some web browsers by name: Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, and Apple Safari.

This web browser needs to connect to another computer where the website’s code is stored: the web server. Running a web server is a complicated and costly task, which is why this is usually done by professional providers, the providers. These offer web hosting and thus ensure reliable and error-free storage of website data.

When the browser on your computer (desktop, laptop, smartphone) connects and during data transfer to and from the web server, personal data may be processed. On the one hand, your computer stores data, and on the other hand, the web server must also store data for a while to ensure proper operation.

Why do we process personal data?

The purposes of data processing are:

  1. Professional hosting of the website and securing its operation
  2. to maintain operational and IT security
  3. Anonymous evaluation of access behavior for the improvement of our offer and, if necessary, for criminal prosecution or the pursuit of claims

What data is processed?

Even while you are visiting our website right now, our web server, which is the computer on which this website is stored, usually automatically stores data such as

  • the complete Internet address (URL) of the accessed website (e.g. https://www.beispielwebsite.de/beispielunterseite.html?tid=311876300)
  • browser and browser version (e.g. Chrome 87)
  • the operating system used (e.g. Windows 10)
  • the address (URL) of the previously visited page (referrer URL) (e.g. https://www.beispielquellsite.de/vondabinichgekommen.html/)
  • the host name and IP address of the device being accessed (e.g. COMPUTERNAME and 194.23.43.121)
  • date and time
  • in files, the so-called web server log files

How long is data stored?

As a rule, the above data is stored for two weeks and then automatically deleted. We do not pass on this data, but we cannot rule out the possibility that this data may be viewed by authorities in the event of unlawful conduct.

In short, your visit is logged by our provider (company that runs our website on special computers (servers)), but we do not share your information without consent!

Legal basis

The lawfulness of the processing of personal data in the context of web hosting results from Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO (protection of legitimate interests), because the use of professional hosting with a provider is necessary to present the company on the Internet in a secure and user-friendly manner and to be able to pursue attacks and claims from this if necessary.

Between us and the hosting provider there is usually a contract on commissioned processing pursuant to Art. 28 f. DSGVO, which ensures compliance with data protection and guarantees data security.

Website Building Block Systems

Website Building Block Systems Privacy Policy Summary
 Data subjects: Visitors to the website
Purpose: Optimization of our service performance
Data Processed: Data such as technical usage information such as browser activity, clickstream activity, session heatmaps, as well as contact details, IP address or your geographical location. More details can be found below in this privacy policy and in the privacy policy of the providers.
Storage period: depends on the provider
Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO (Legitimate Interests), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO (Consent).

What are website building systems?

We use a website building block system for our website. Building block systems are special forms of a content management system (CMS). With a building block system, website owners can create a website very easily and without programming knowledge. In many cases, web hosts also offer building block systems. By using a modular system, personal data of you may also be collected, stored and processed. In this data protection text, we provide you with general information about data processing by modular systems. You can find more detailed information in the provider’s data protection statements.

Why do we use website building systems for our website?

The biggest advantage of a modular system is the ease of use. We want to provide you with a clear, simple and concise website that we can easily operate and maintain ourselves – without external support. Meanwhile, a modular system offers many helpful functions that we can use even without programming knowledge. This allows us to design our web presence according to our wishes and to offer you an informative and pleasant time on our website.

What data is stored by a modular system?

Exactly what data is stored depends, of course, on the website builder system used. Each provider processes and collects different data of the website visitor. But as a rule, technical usage information such as operating system, browser, screen resolution, language and keyboard settings, hosting provider and the date of your website visit are collected. Furthermore, tracking data (e.g. browser activity, clickstream activity, session heatmaps, etc.) may also be processed. In addition, personal data may also be collected and stored. This is mostly contact data such as e-mail address, telephone number (if you have provided it), IP address and geographical location data. You can find out exactly what data is stored in the provider’s privacy policy.

How long and where is the data stored?

We will inform you about the duration of the data processing below in connection with the website construction kit system used, provided we have further information on this. You will find detailed information about this in the provider’s privacy policy. In general, we only process personal data for as long as is absolutely necessary for the provision of our services and products. It may be that the provider stores data from you according to its own specifications, over which we have no control.

Right of objection

You always have the right to information, correction and deletion of your personal data. If you have any questions, you can also contact the person responsible for the website construction system used at any time. You can find contact details either in our privacy policy or on the website of the relevant provider.

You can delete, deactivate or manage cookies that providers use for their functions in your browser. Depending on which browser you use, this works in different ways. Please note, however, that all functions may then no longer work as usual.

Legal basis

We have a legitimate interest in using a website construction kit system to optimize our online service and to present it efficiently and in a user-friendly manner for you. The corresponding legal basis for this is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO (Legitimate Interests). Nevertheless, we only use the construction kit insofar as you have given your consent.

Insofar as the processing of data is not absolutely necessary for the operation of the website, the data will only be processed on the basis of your consent. This applies in particular to tracking activities. The legal basis in this respect is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO.

With this privacy policy, we have brought you closer to the most important general information around data processing. If you wish to obtain more detailed information in this regard, you will find further information – if available – in the following section or in the provider’s privacy policy.

WordPress.com Privacy Policy

We use WordPress.com, a website building system, for our website. The service provider is the American company Automattic Inc., 60 29th Street #343, San Francisco, CA 94110, USA.

WordPress also processes data from you in the USA, among other places. We would like to point out that according to the opinion of the European Court of Justice, there is currently no adequate level of protection for the transfer of data to the USA. This may be accompanied by various risks to the legality and security of data processing.

As a basis for data processing with recipients located in third countries (outside the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, thus especially in the USA) or a data transfer there, WordPress uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46. para. 2 and 3 DSGVO). Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) are templates provided by the EU Commission and are intended to ensure that your data complies with European data protection standards even if it is transferred to third countries (such as the USA) and stored there. Through these clauses, WordPress undertakes to comply with the European level of data protection when processing your relevant data, even if the data is stored, processed and managed in the USA. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the corresponding standard contractual clauses here, among other places: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de

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

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

Cookie Consent Management Platform

Cookie Consent Management Platform
Summary

Data subjects: website visitors
Purpose: To obtain and manage consent for certain cookies and thus the use of certain tools.
Data Processed: Data used to manage the cookie settings set, such as IP address, time of consent, type of consent, individual consents. More details can be found at the respective tool used.
Storage period: Depends on the tool used, you have to be prepared for periods of several years.
Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO (consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit.f DSGVO (legitimate interests).

What is a Cookie Consent Management Platform?

We use a Consent Management Platform (CMP) software on our website, which helps us and you to handle used scripts and cookies correctly and safely. The software automatically creates a cookie popup, scans and controls all scripts and cookies, provides cookie consent for you as required by data protection laws, and helps us and you keep track of all cookies. With most cookie consent management tools, all existing cookies are identified and categorized. You as a website visitor then decide for yourself whether and which scripts and cookies you allow or disallow.

Why do we use a cookie management tool?

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

What data is processed?

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

Duration of data processing

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

Right of objection

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

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

Legal basis

If you consent to cookies, personal data about you will be processed and stored via these cookies. If we are allowed to use cookies through your consent (Article 6 (1) lit. a DSGVO), this consent is also the legal basis for the use of cookies or the processing of your data. In order to be able to manage the consent to cookies and to enable you to give your consent, cookie consent management platform software is used. The use of this software enables us to operate the website in an efficient manner in compliance with the law, which constitutes a legitimate interest (Article 6 (1) (f) DSGVO).

Social media

Social media privacy policy summary
Data subjects: Visitors to the website
Purpose: Presentation and optimization of our service, contact with visitors, interested parties, etc., advertising.
Processed data: Data such as phone numbers, email addresses, contact details, user behavior data, information about your device and your IP address.
You can find more details on this with the respective social media tool used.
Storage period: depending on the social media platforms used.
Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO (consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO (legitimate interests).

What is social media?

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

Why do we use social media?

For years, social media platforms have been the place where people communicate and get in touch online. Our social media presences enable us to bring our products and services closer to prospective customers. The social media elements embedded on our website help you to be able to switch to our social media content quickly and without complications.

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

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

Please note that when using the social media platforms or our built-in elements, data from you may also be processed outside the European Union, as many social media channels, for example Facebook or Twitter, are American companies. As a result, you may no longer be able to claim or enforce your rights with regard to your personal data as easily.

What data is processed?

Exactly what data is stored and processed depends on the provider of the social media platform. But usually it is data such as phone numbers, email addresses, data you enter in a contact form, user data such as which buttons you click, who you like or follow, when you visited which pages, information about your device and your IP address. Most of this data is stored in cookies. Especially if you yourself have a profile at the visited social media channel and are logged in, data can be linked to your profile.

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

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

Duration of data processing

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

Right of objection

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

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

Legal basis

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

You can find information about specific social media platforms – if available – in the following sections.

Facebook privacy policy

Facebook Privacy Policy Summary
Data subjects: visitors to the website
Purpose: Optimization of our service performance
Data Processed: Data such as customer data, user behavior data, information about your device and your IP address.
More details can be found below in the privacy policy.
Storage period: until the data is no longer useful for Facebook’s purposes.
Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO (Consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO (Legitimate Interests).

What are Facebook tools?

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

If data is collected from you and forwarded via our embedded Facebook elements or via our Facebook page (Fanpage), both we and Facebook Ireland Ltd. are responsible for this. Facebook is solely responsible for the further processing of this data. Our joint obligations have also been set out in a publicly available agreement at https://www.facebook.com/legal/controller_addendum. This states, for example, that we must clearly inform you about the use of Facebook tools on our site. Furthermore, we are also responsible for ensuring that the tools are securely integrated into our website in accordance with data protection law. Facebook, on the other hand, is responsible for the data security of Facebook products, for example. If you have any questions about data collection and data processing by Facebook, you can contact the company directly. If you direct the question to us, we are obliged to forward it to Facebook.

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

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

  • Facebook pixel
  • social plug-ins (such as the “Like” or “Share” button)
  • Facebook login
  • account kit
  • APIs (programming interface)
  • SDKs (collection of programming tools)
  • Platform integrations
  • Plugins
  • Codes
  • Specifications
  • Documentations
  • Technologies and services

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

Why do we use Facebook tools on our website?

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

Data about your behavior on our website is called “event data” by Facebook. This is also used for measurement and analysis services. Facebook can thus create “campaign reports” on our behalf about the impact of our advertising campaigns. Furthermore, analytics give us better insight into how you use our services, website or products. As a result, we use some of these tools to optimize your user experience on our website. For example, social plug-ins allow you to share content on our site directly on Facebook.

What data is stored by Facebook tools?

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

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

In addition to contact data, “event data” is also transmitted. Event data” refers to the information that we receive about you on our website. For example, which subpages you visit or which products you buy from us. Facebook does not share the information it receives with third parties (such as advertisers) unless it has explicit permission or is legally required to do so. “Event data” may also be associated with contact information. This allows Facebook to offer better personalized advertising. After the matching process already mentioned, Facebook deletes the contact data again.

In order to be able to deliver ads in an optimized way, Facebook only uses event data if it has been combined with other data (collected by Facebook in other ways). Facebook also uses this event data for security, protection, development, and research purposes. Much of this data is transferred to Facebook via cookies. Cookies are small text files used to store data or information in browsers. Depending on the tools you use and whether you are a Facebook member, different numbers of cookies are created in your browser. We go into more detail about individual Facebook cookies in the descriptions of each Facebook tool. General information about the use of Facebook cookies can also be found at https://www.facebook.com/policies/cookies.

How long and where is the data stored?

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

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

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

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

1) On the right side of Facebook, click Settings.

2) Then click on “Your Facebook information” in the left column.

3) Now click “Deactivation and deletion”.

4) Now select “Delete account” and then click “Continue and delete account”.

5) Now enter your password, click “Continue” and then click “Delete account”.

The storage of data that Facebook receives via our site is done, among other things, via cookies (e.g. for social plugins). In your browser, you can disable, delete or manage individual or all cookies. Depending on which browser you use, this works in different ways. The following instructions show how to manage cookies in your browser:

Chrome: Delete, enable and manage cookies in Chrome

Safari: Managing cookies and website data with Safari

Firefox: Delete cookies to remove data that websites have placed on your computer

Internet Explorer: Delete and manage cookies

Microsoft Edge: Delete and manage cookies

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

Legal basis

If you have consented that data from you can be processed and stored by integrated Facebook tools, this consent is considered the legal basis for data processing (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO). In principle, your data will also be stored and processed on the basis of our legitimate interest (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO) in fast and good communication with you or other customers and business partners. Nevertheless, we only use the tools insofar as you have given your consent. Most social media platforms also set cookies in your browser to store data. That is why we recommend that you read our privacy text about cookies carefully and view Facebook’s privacy policy or cookie policy.

Facebook also processes data from you in the USA, among other places. We would like to point out that according to the opinion of the European Court of Justice, there is currently no adequate level of protection for the transfer of data to the USA. This may be associated with various risks to the legality and security of data processing.

As a basis for data processing with recipients located in third countries (outside the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, i.e. in particular in the USA) or a data transfer there, Facebook uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46. para. 2 and 3 DSGVO). Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) are templates provided by the EU Commission and are intended to ensure that your data complies with European data protection standards even if it is transferred to third countries (such as the USA) and stored there. Through these clauses, Facebook undertakes to comply with the European level of data protection when processing your relevant data, even if the data is stored, processed and managed in the US. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the corresponding standard contractual clauses here, among other places: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de

Facebook’s data processing terms and conditions, which comply with the standard contractual clauses, can be found at https://www.facebook.com/legal/terms/dataprocessing.

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

Instagram privacy policy

Instagram Privacy Policy Summary
 Data subjects: Visitors to the website
Purpose: Optimization of our service performance
Processed data: Data such as user behavior data, information about your device and your IP address.
You can find more details about this below in the privacy policy.
Storage period: until Instagram no longer needs the data for its purposes.
Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO (Consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO (Legitimate Interests).

What is Instagram?

We have integrated Instagram functions on our website. Instagram is a social media platform of the company Instagram LLC, 1601 Willow Rd, Menlo Park CA 94025, USA. Instagram has been a subsidiary of Facebook Inc. since 2012 and is one of the Facebook products. Embedding Instagram content on our website is called embedding. This allows us to show you content such as buttons, photos or videos from Instagram directly on our website. When you call up web pages on our website that have an Instagram function integrated, data is transmitted to Instagram, stored and processed. Instagram uses the same systems and technologies as Facebook. Your data is thus processed across all Facebook companies.

In the following, we want to give you a more detailed insight into why Instagram collects data, what kind of data it is and how you can largely control the data processing. Since Instagram belongs to Facebook Inc., we obtain our information from the Instagram policies on the one hand, but also from the Facebook data policies themselves on the other hand.

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

Why do we use Instagram on our website?

Instagram is the social media platform that has really gone through the roof in recent years. And of course, we have also responded to this boom. We want you to feel as comfortable as possible on our website. That’s why a varied preparation of our content is a matter of course for us. Through the embedded Instagram features, we can enrich our content with helpful, funny or exciting content from the Instagram world. Since Instagram is a subsidiary of Facebook, the data collected can also serve us for personalized advertising on Facebook. This way, only people who are really interested in our products or services receive our ads.

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

What data is stored by Instagram?

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

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

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

We assume that Instagram’s data processing works the same as Facebook’s. This means that if you have an Instagram account or have visited www.instagram.com, Instagram has at least set a cookie. If this is the case, your browser sends info to Instagram via the cookie as soon as you come into contact with an Instagram function. At the latest after 90 days (after matching), this data is deleted again or anonymized. Although we have intensively studied Instagram’s data processing, we cannot say exactly what data Instagram collects and stores.

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

These cookies were used in our test:

Name: csrftoken
Value: “”
Purpose: This cookie is most likely set for security reasons, to prevent falsification of requests. However, we could not find out more precisely.
Expiration date: after one year

Name: mid
Value: “”
Purpose: Instagram sets this cookie to optimize its own services and offers on and off Instagram. The cookie sets a unique user ID.
Expiration date: after the end of the session

Name: fbsr_311876300124024
Value: not specified
Purpose: This cookie stores the log-in request for users of the Instagram app.
Expiration date: after the end of the session

Name: rur
Value: ATN
Purpose: This is an Instagram cookie that ensures functionality on Instagram.
Expiration date: after the end of the session

Name: urlgen
Wert: “{”194.96.75.33”: 1901}:1iEtYv:Y833k2_UjKvXgYe311876300”
Purpose: This cookie is used for Instagram’s marketing purposes.
Expiration date: after the end of the session.

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

How long and where is the data stored?

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

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

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

And this is how deleting Instagram account works:

First, open the Instagram app. On your profile page, go down and click on “Help section”. Now you will get to the company’s website. On the webpage, click “Manage account” and then click “Delete your account”.

If you delete your account entirely, Instagram will delete posts such as your photos and status updates. Information that other people have shared about you does not belong to your account and consequently will not be deleted.

As mentioned above, Instagram stores your data primarily via cookies. You can manage, disable or delete these cookies in your browser. Depending on your browser, the management always works a bit differently. Here we show you the instructions for the most important browsers.

Chrome: Delete, enable and manage cookies in Chrome

Safari: Managing cookies and website data with Safari

Firefox: Delete cookies to remove data that websites have placed on your computer

Internet Explorer: Delete and manage cookies

Microsoft Edge: Delete and manage cookies

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

Legal basis

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

Instagram and Facebook, respectively, also process data in the USA, among other places. We would like to point out that according to the opinion of the European Court of Justice, there is currently no adequate level of protection for the transfer of data to the USA. This may be associated with various risks for the legality and security of data processing.

As a basis for data processing at recipients located in third countries (outside the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, i.e. in particular in the USA) or a data transfer there, Facebook uses standard contractual clauses approved by the EU Commission (= Art. 46. para. 2 and 3 DSGVO). These clauses oblige Facebook to comply with the EU level of data protection when processing relevant data outside the EU as well. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the clauses here, among other places: https://ec.europa.eu/germany/news/20210604-datentransfers-eu_de.

We have tried to bring you closer to the most important information about Instagram’s data processing. On https://help.instagram.com/519522125107875
you can take a closer look at Instagram’s data policies.

Font Awesome Privacy Policy

Font Awesome Privacy Policy Summary
Data subjects: Visitors to the website
Purpose: optimization of our service
Data processed: such as IP address and and which icon files are loaded.
More details can be found below in this privacy policy.
Storage period: files in identifiable form are stored for a few weeks
Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO (Consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO (Legitimate Interests).

What is Font Awesome?

We use Font Awesome from the American company Fonticons (307 S. Main St., Suite 202, Bentonville, AR 72712, USA) on our website. When you visit one of our websites, the Font Awesome web font (specifically icons) is loaded via the Font Awesome Content Delivery Network (CDN). This way, the texts or fonts and icons are displayed appropriately on each device. In this privacy statement, we go into more detail about the data storage and data processing by this service.

Icons play an increasingly important role for websites. Font Awesome is a web font designed specifically for web designers and web developers. With Font Awesome, for example, icons can be scaled and colored as desired using the CSS stylesheet language. In this way, they replace old image icons. Font Awesome CDN is the easiest way to upload the icons or fonts to your website. For this, we just had to add a small line of code to our website.

Why do we use Font Awesome on our website?

Font Awesome allows content on our website to be presented in a better way. This makes it easier for you to navigate our website and grasp the content. With the icons you can even sometimes replace whole words and save space. That’s especially handy when we optimize content specifically for smartphones. These icons are inserted as HMTL code instead of an image. This allows us to edit the icons with CSS exactly as we want. At the same time, we also improve our loading speed with Font Awesome because it’s only HTML elements and not icon images. All these advantages help us to make the website even clearer, fresher and faster for you.

What data is stored by Font Awesome?

Font Awesome Content Delivery Network (CDN) is used to load icons and symbols. CDNs are networks of servers that are distributed around the world, making it possible to quickly load files from nearby locations. Thus, as soon as you access one of our pages, the corresponding icons are also provided by Font Awesome.

In order for the web fonts to load, your browser must connect to the servers of Fonticons, Inc. In the process, your IP address is recognized. Font Awesome also collects data about which icon files are downloaded and when. Furthermore, technical data such as your browser version, screen resolution or the time of the page accessed is also transmitted.

These data are collected and stored for the following reasons:

  • to optimize content delivery networks
  • to detect and fix technical errors
  • to protect CDNs from abuse and attacks
  • to charge fees from Font Awesome Pro customers
  • to know the popularity of icons
  • to know what computer and software you are using

If your browser does not allow web fonts, a default font of your PC will be used automatically. As far as we know at the moment, no cookies are set. We are in contact with Font Awesome’s privacy department and will let you know as soon as we learn more.

How long and where is the data stored?

Font Awesome stores data about Content Delivery Network usage on servers also located in the United States of America. However, the CDN servers are located around the world and store user data wherever you are. In identifiable form, the data is usually stored for only a few weeks. Aggregated statistics about usage from the CDNs may be stored longer. Personal data is not included here.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

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

Legal basis

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

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

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

If you would like to learn more about Font Awesome and its data practices, we encourage you to review our privacy policy at https://fontawesome.com/privacy and the help page under https://fontawesome.com/help.

Google Fonts Privacy policy

Google Fonts Privacy Policy Summary
Data subject: Visitors to the website
Purpose: Optimization of our service performance
Data Processed: Data such as IP address and CSS and font requests.
More details can be found below in this privacy policy.
Storage period: Font files are stored by Google for one year.
Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO (Consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO (Legitimate Interests).

What are Google Fonts?

On our website we use Google Fonts. These are the “Google Fonts” of the company Google Inc. For the European area, the company Google Ireland Limited (Gordon House, Barrow Street Dublin 4, Ireland) is responsible for all Google services.

For the use of Google Fonts you do not have to log in or provide a password. Furthermore, no cookies are stored in your browser. The files (CSS, fonts) are requested via the Google domains fonts.googleapis.com and fonts.gstatic.com. According to Google, the requests for CSS and fonts are completely separate from all other Google services. If you have a Google account, you don’t need to worry that your Google account information, while using Google Fonts, will be transmitted to Google. Google records the usage of CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) and the fonts used and stores this data securely. We’ll take a detailed look at exactly what this data storage looks like.

Google Fonts (formerly Google Web Fonts) is a directory of over 800 fonts that Google makes available to your users for free.

Many of these fonts are released under the SIL Open Font License, while others are released under the Apache license. Both are free software licenses.

Why do we use Google Fonts on our website?

With Google Fonts, we can use fonts on our own website, and not have to upload them to our own server. Google Fonts is an important component to keep the quality of our website high. All Google Fonts are automatically optimized for the web and this saves data volume and is a big advantage especially for mobile use. When you visit our site, the low file size ensures a fast loading time. Furthermore, Google Fonts are secure web fonts. Different image synthesis systems (rendering) in different browsers, operating systems and mobile devices can lead to errors. Such errors can sometimes visually distort texts or entire web pages. Thanks to the fast Content Delivery Network (CDN), there are no cross-platform problems with Google Fonts. Google Fonts supports all major browsers (Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera) and works reliably on most modern mobile operating systems, including Android 2.2+ and iOS 4.2+ (iPhone, iPad, iPod). So, we use Google Fonts to make our entire online service as beautiful and consistent as possible.

What data is stored by Google?

When you visit our website, the fonts are reloaded via a Google server. Through this external call, data is transmitted to the Google servers. In this way, Google also recognizes that you or your IP address is visiting our website. The Google Fonts API is designed to reduce the use, storage, and collection of end-user data to what is necessary for proper font delivery. API, by the way, stands for “Application Programming Interface” and is used, among other things, as a data transmitter in software.

Google Fonts stores CSS and font requests securely at Google and is thus protected. Through the collected usage figures, Google can determine how well the individual fonts are received. Google publishes the results on internal analysis pages, such as Google Analytics. In addition, Google also uses data from its own web crawler to determine which websites are using Google fonts. This data is published to the Google Fonts BigQuery database. Entrepreneurs and developers use Google’s BigQuery web service to be able to examine and move large amounts of data.

However, it is still important to remember that each Google Font request also automatically transmits information such as language settings, IP address, browser version, browser screen resolution, and browser name to Google’s servers. Whether this data is also stored cannot be clearly determined or is not clearly communicated by Google.

How long and where is the data stored?

Google stores requests for CSS assets for one day on its servers, which are mainly located outside the EU. This allows us to use fonts with the help of a Google stylesheet. A stylesheet is a format template that can be used to easily and quickly change the design or font of a website, for example.

The font files are stored by Google for one year. Google thus pursues the goal of fundamentally improving the loading time of web pages. If millions of web pages refer to the same fonts, they are cached after the first visit and immediately reappear on all other web pages visited later. Sometimes Google updates font files to reduce file size, increase language coverage, and improve design.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

The data that Google stores for one day or one year cannot simply be deleted. The data is automatically transmitted to Google when the page is accessed. To be able to delete this data prematurely, you must contact Google support on https://support.google.com/?hl=de&tid=311876300  Data storage you prevent in this case only if you do not visit our site.

Unlike other web fonts, Google allows us unlimited access to all fonts. So we can access an unlimited sea of fonts and get the most out of them for our website. You can find out more about Google Fonts and other issues at https://developers.google.com/fonts/faq?tid=311876300. There, Google addresses privacy-related matters, but really detailed information about data storage is not included. It is relatively difficult to get really precise information about stored data from Google.

Legal basis

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

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

Google also processes data from you in the USA, among other places. We would like to point out that according to the opinion of the European Court of Justice, there is currently no adequate level of protection for the transfer of data to the USA. This may be associated with various risks to the legality and security of data processing.

As a basis for data processing at recipients located in third countries (outside the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, i.e. in particular in the USA) or a data transfer there, Google uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46. para. 2 and 3 DSGVO). Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) are templates provided by the EU Commission and are intended to ensure that your data complies with European data protection standards even if it is transferred to third countries (such as the USA) and stored there. Through these clauses, Google undertakes to comply with the European level of data protection when processing your relevant data, even if the data is stored, processed and managed in the US. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the corresponding standard contractual clauses here, among other places:

 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de

The Google Ads Data Processing Terms, which also correspond to the standard contractual clauses for Google Fonts, can be found at. https://business.safety.google/adsprocessorterms/.

Which data is basically collected by Google and what this data is used for, you can also read on https://www.google.com/intl/de/policies/privacy/.

Google Fonts Local Privacy Policy

On our website we use Google Fonts of the company Google Inc. For the European area the company Google Ireland Limited (Gordon House, Barrow Street Dublin 4, Ireland) is responsible. We have embedded the Google fonts locally, i.e. on our web server – not on Google’s servers. This means that there is no connection to Google servers and thus no data transfer or storage.

What are Google Fonts?

Google Fonts used to be called Google Web Fonts. This is an interactive directory of over 800 fonts that Google provides for free. With Google Fonts, you could use fonts without uploading them to your own server. However, in order to prevent any information transfer to Google servers in this regard, we have downloaded the fonts to our server. This way we act privacy compliant and do not send any data to Google Fonts.

All texts are protected by copyright.

Source: Created with the privacy generator from AdSimple