Privacy policy

Introduction

With the following data protection declaration, we would like to inform you about the types of your personal data (hereinafter also referred to as “data”) that we process, for what purposes and to what extent. The data protection declaration applies to all processing of personal data carried out by us, both as part of the provision of 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 offer”).

The terms used are not gender-specific.

Status: 11 December 2022

Table of contents

Responsible

TGMP Consulting
Timur Güvercinci
Alteburgstraße 51
72762 Reutlingen

Authorised representatives:
Timur Güvercinci

E-mail: info[at]tgmp-consulting.de
Phone: +49 172 5744280
Imprint: https://tgmp-consulting.de/impressum

Overview of the processing

The following overview summarises the types of data processed and the purposes of their processing and refers to the data subjects.

Types of data processed

  • Inventory data.
  • Payment details.
  • Location data.
  • Contact details.
  • Content data.
  • Contract data.
  • Usage data.
  • Meta/communication data.

Categories of persons concerned

  • Customers.
  • Interested parties.
  • Communication partner.
  • Users.
  • Business and contractual partners.
  • Pupils/ Students/ Participants.

Purposes of the processing

  • Provision of contractual services and customer service.
  • Contact requests and communication.
  • Safety measures.
  • Direct marketing.
  • Reach measurement.
  • Tracking.
  • Office and organisational procedures.
  • Conversion measurement.
  • Managing and responding to enquiries.
  • Content Delivery Network (CDN).
  • Firewall.
  • Feedback.
  • Marketing.
  • Profiles with user-related information.
  • Provision of our online offer and user-friendliness.
  • Information technology infrastructure.

Relevant legal bases

Below you will find an overview of the legal basis of the GDPR on the basis of which we process personal data. Please note that in addition to the provisions of the GDPR, national data protection regulations may apply in your or our country of residence or domicile. Should more specific legal bases be relevant in individual cases, we will inform you of these in the data protection declaration.

  • Consent (Art. 6 para. 1 sent. 1 lit. a) DSGVO) – The data subject has given his/her consent to the processing of personal data relating to him/her for a specific purpose or purposes.
  • Contract performance and pre-contractual enquiries (Art. 6 (1) p. 1 lit. b) DSGVO) – Processing is necessary for the performance of a contract to which the data subject is party or for the performance of pre-contractual measures taken at the data subject’s request.
  • Legal obligation (Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. c) DSGVO) – Processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which the controller is subject.
  • Legitimate interests (Art. 6 (1) p. 1 lit. f) DSGVO) – Processing is necessary to protect the legitimate interests of the controller or a third party, unless such interests are overridden by the interests or fundamental rights and freedoms of the data subject which require the protection of personal data.

In addition to the data protection regulations of the General Data Protection Regulation, national regulations on data protection apply in Germany. These include, in particular, the Act on Protection against Misuse of Personal Data in Data Processing (Federal Data Protection Act – BDSG). In particular, the BDSG contains special regulations on the right to information, the right to erasure, the right to object, the processing of special categories of personal data, the processing for other purposes and the transmission and automated decision-making in individual cases, including profiling. Furthermore, it regulates data processing for purposes of the employment relationship (Section 26 BDSG), in particular with regard to the establishment, implementation or termination of employment relationships as well as the consent of employees. Furthermore, data protection laws of the individual federal states may apply.

Security measures

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to ensure a level of protection appropriate to the risk in accordance with the legal requirements, taking into account the state of the art, the implementation costs and the nature, scope, circumstances and purposes of the processing as well as the different probabilities of occurrence and the extent of the threat to the rights and freedoms of natural persons.

The measures include, in particular, ensuring the confidentiality, integrity and availability of data by controlling physical and electronic access to the data, as well as access to, entry into, disclosure of, assurance of availability of and segregation of the data. We also have procedures in place to ensure the exercise of data subjects’ rights, the deletion of data and responses to data compromise. Furthermore, we already take the protection of personal data into account in the development or selection of hardware, software and procedures in accordance with the principle of data protection, through technology design and through data protection-friendly default settings.

TLS encryption (https): In order to protect your data transmitted via our online offer, we use TLS encryption. You can recognise such encrypted connections by the prefix https:// in the address bar of your browser.

Transmission of personal data

In the course of our processing of personal data, the data may be transferred to or disclosed to other bodies, companies, legally independent organisational units or persons. The recipients of this data may include, for example, service providers commissioned with IT tasks or providers of services and content that are integrated into a website. In such cases, we observe the legal requirements and, in particular, conclude corresponding contracts or agreements that serve to protect your data 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 the disclosure or transfer of data to other persons, bodies or companies, this is only done in accordance with the legal requirements.

Subject to express consent or contractually or legally required transfer, we only process or allow data to be processed in third countries with a recognised level of data protection, contractual obligation through so-called standard protection clauses of the EU Commission, in the presence of certifications or binding internal data protection regulations (Art. 44 to 49 DSGVO, information page of the EU Commission: https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/law-topic/data-protection/international-dimension-data-protection_de).

Data deletion

The data processed by us will be deleted in accordance with the legal requirements as soon as their consents permitted for processing are revoked or other permissions cease to apply (e.g. if the purpose of processing this data has ceased to apply or it is not required for the purpose). If the data are not deleted because they are required for other and legally permissible purposes, their processing is limited to these purposes. I.e. the data is blocked and not processed for other purposes. This applies, for example, to data that must be retained for reasons of commercial or tax law or whose storage is necessary for the assertion, exercise or defence of legal claims or for the protection of the rights of another natural or legal person.

Our privacy notices may also contain further information on the retention and deletion of data, which will take precedence for the respective processing operations.

Use of cookies

Cookies are small text files or other memory notes that store information on end devices and read information from the end devices. For example, to save the login status in a user account, the contents of a shopping basket in an e-shop, the contents called up or the functions used in an online offer. Cookies can also be used for various purposes, e.g. for the purpose of functionality, security and comfort of online offers as well as the creation of analyses of visitor flows.

Consent notices: We use cookies in accordance with the law. We therefore obtain prior consent from users, except where this is not required by law. In particular, consent is not required if the storage and reading of information, i.e. including cookies, is absolutely necessary in order to provide the user with a telemedia service (i.e. our online offer) expressly requested by the user. The revocable consent is clearly communicated to the users and contains the information on the respective cookie use.

Notes on legal bases under data protection law: The legal basis under data protection law on which we process users’ personal data with the help of cookies depends on whether we ask users for consent. If users consent, the legal basis for processing their data is their declared consent. Otherwise, the data processed using cookies is processed on the basis of our legitimate interests (e.g. in the business operation of our online offer and improvement of its usability) or, if this is done in the context of the performance of our contractual obligations, if the use of cookies is necessary to fulfil our contractual obligations. We explain the purposes for which we process the cookies in the course of this data protection declaration or as part of our consent and processing procedures.

Storage duration: With regard to the storage duration, the following types of cookies are distinguished:

  • Temporary cookies (also: session cookies): Temporary cookies are deleted at the latest after a user has left an online offer and closed their end device (e.g. browser or mobile app).
  • Permanent cookies: Permanent cookies remain stored even after the terminal device is closed. For example, the login status can be saved or preferred content can be displayed directly when the user visits a website again. Likewise, user data collected with the help of cookies can be used to measure reach. Unless we provide users with explicit information on the type and storage duration of cookies (e.g. when obtaining consent), users should assume that cookies are permanent and that they can be stored for up to two years.

General information on revocation and objection (opt-out): Users can revoke the consents they have given at any time and also file an objection to processing in accordance with the legal requirements in Art. 21 DSGVO. Users can also declare their objection via their browser settings, e.g. by deactivating the use of cookies (although this may also limit the functionality of our online services). An objection to the use of cookies for online marketing purposes can also be declared via the websites https://optout.aboutads.info and https://www.youronlinechoices.com/.

Further guidance on processing operations, procedures and services:

  • Processing of cookie data on the basis of consent: We use a cookie consent management procedure in which the consent of users to the use of cookies, or to the processing and providers mentioned in the cookie consent management procedure, can be obtained and managed and revoked by users. The declaration of consent is stored in order not to have to repeat the request and to be able to prove the consent in accordance with the legal obligation. The storage can take place on the server side and/or in a cookie (so-called opt-in cookie or with the help of comparable technologies) in order to be able to assign the consent to a user or their device. Subject to individual information on the providers of cookie management services, the following information applies: The duration of the storage of consent can be up to two years. A pseudonymous user identifier is created and stored with the time of consent, information on the scope of consent (e.g. which categories of cookies and/or service providers) and the browser, system and end device used.

Business services

We process data of our contractual and business partners, e.g. customers and interested parties (collectively referred to as “contractual partners”) in the context of contractual and comparable legal relationships as well as related measures and in the context of communication with contractual partners (or pre-contractual), e.g. to answer enquiries.

We process this data in order to fulfil our contractual obligations. These include, in particular, the obligations to provide the agreed services, any update obligations and remedies in the event of warranty and other service disruptions. Furthermore, we process the data to safeguard our rights and for the purpose of the administrative tasks associated with these obligations as well as the company organisation. Furthermore, we process the data on the basis of our legitimate interests in proper and business management as well as security measures to protect our contractual partners and our business operations from misuse, endangerment of their data, secrets, information and rights (e.g. for the involvement of telecommunications, transport and other auxiliary services as well as subcontractors, banks, tax and legal advisors, payment service providers or tax authorities). Within the framework of applicable law, we only disclose the data of contractual partners to third parties to the extent that this is necessary for the aforementioned purposes or to fulfil legal obligations. Contractual partners will be informed about further forms of processing, e.g. for marketing purposes, within the framework of this data protection declaration.

We inform the contractual partners of the data required for the above-mentioned purposes before or in the course of data collection, e.g. in online forms, by means of special labelling (e.g. colours) or symbols (e.g. asterisks or similar), or in person.

We delete the data after the expiry of statutory warranty and comparable obligations, i.e., in principle after 4 years, unless the data is stored in a customer account, e.g., as long as it must be retained for legal archiving reasons. The statutory retention period for documents relevant under tax law as well as for commercial books, inventories, opening balances, annual financial statements, the work instructions required to understand these documents and other organisational documents and accounting vouchers is ten years and for received commercial and business letters and reproductions of sent commercial and business letters six years. The period shall begin at the end of the calendar year in which the last entry was made in the book, the inventory, the opening balance sheet, the annual accounts or the management report was drawn up, the commercial or business letter was received or sent or the accounting document was created, furthermore the recording was made or the other documents were created.

Insofar as we use third-party providers or platforms to provide our services, the terms and conditions and data protection notices of the respective third-party providers or platforms apply in the relationship between the users and the providers.

  • Types of data processed: 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. subject matter of contract, term, customer category).
  • Persons concerned: Interested parties; business and contractual partners; pupils/ students/ participants.
  • Purposes of processing: provision of contractual services and customer service; contact requests and communication; office and organisational procedures; administration and response to requests.
  • Legal basis: Contract performance and pre-contractual enquiries (Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. b) DSGVO); Legal obligation (Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. c) DSGVO); Legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. f) DSGVO).

Further guidance on processing operations, procedures and services:

  • Education and training services: We process the data of the participants of our education and training offers (uniformly referred to as “trainees”) in order to be able to provide them with our training services. The data processed in this context, the type, scope, purpose and necessity of their processing are determined by the underlying contractual and training relationship. The forms of processing also include the performance assessment and evaluation of our services and those of the teachers. In the course of our activities, we may also process special categories of data, in particular information on the health of students and trainees as well as data revealing ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs. For this purpose, we obtain the explicit consent of the trainees, if required, and otherwise only process the special categories of data if it is necessary for the provision of the training services, for the purposes of preventive health care, social protection or the protection of vital interests of the trainees; legal basis: fulfilment of the contract and pre-contractual enquiries (Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. b) DSGVO).

Payment procedure

Within the framework of contractual and other legal relationships, due to legal obligations or otherwise on the basis of our legitimate interests, we offer efficient and secure payment options to data subjects and use other service providers in addition to banks and credit institutions for this purpose (collectively “payment service providers”).

The data processed by the payment service providers include inventory data, such as the name and address, bank data, such as account numbers or credit card numbers, passwords, TANs and checksums, as well as the contract, sum and recipient-related information. The information is required to carry out the transactions. However, the data entered is only processed by the payment service providers and stored with them. I.e. we do not receive any account or credit card related information, but only information with confirmation or negative information of the payment. Under certain circumstances, the data may be transmitted by the payment service providers to credit agencies. The purpose of this transmission is to check identity and creditworthiness. Please refer to the general terms and conditions and the data protection information of the payment service providers.

The terms and conditions and the data protection notices of the respective payment service providers apply to the payment transactions and can be accessed within the respective websites or transaction applications. We also refer to these for further information and the assertion of revocation, information and other data subject rights.

  • Types of data processed: inventory data (e.g. names, addresses); payment data (e.g. bank details, invoices, payment history); contract data (e.g. subject matter of contract, term, customer category); usage data (e.g. websites visited, interest in content, access times); meta/communication data (e.g. device information, IP addresses).
  • Affected persons: Customers; Interested parties.
  • Purposes of processing: provision of contractual services and customer service.
  • Legal basis: Contract fulfilment and pre-contractual enquiries (Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. b) DSGVO).

Further guidance on processing operations, procedures and services:

  • Mastercard: Payment services (technical connection of online payment methods); Service provider: Mastercard Europe SA, Chaussée de Tervuren 198A, B-1410 Waterloo, Belgium; Legal basis: Contract fulfilment and pre-contractual enquiries (Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. b) DSGVO); Website: https://www.mastercard.de/de-de.html; Privacy policy: https://www.mastercard.de/de-de/datenschutz.html.
  • PayPal: Payment services (technical connection of online payment methods) (e.g. PayPal, PayPal Plus, Braintree); Service provider: PayPal (Europe) S.à r.l. et Cie, S.C.A., 22-24 Boulevard Royal, L-2449 Luxembourg; Legal basis: Contract fulfilment and pre-contractual enquiries (Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. b) DSGVO); Website: https://www.paypal.com/de; Privacy policy: https://www.paypal.com/de/webapps/mpp/ua/privacy-full.
  • Visa: payment services (technical connection of online payment methods); service provider: Visa Europe Services Inc, London Branch, 1 Sheldon Square, London W2 6TT, GB; Legal basis: Contract performance and pre-contractual enquiries (Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. b) DSGVO); Website: https://www.visa.de; Privacy policy: https://www.visa.de/nutzungsbedingungen/visa-privacy-center.html.

Provision of the online offer and web hosting

We process users’ data in order to provide them with our online services. For this purpose, we process the user’s IP address, which is necessary to transmit the content and functions of our online services to the user’s browser or terminal device.

  • Types of data processed: Usage data (e.g. websites visited, interest in content, access times); meta/communication data (e.g. device information, IP addresses); content data (e.g. entries in online forms).
  • Data subjects: Users (e.g. website visitors, users of online services).
  • Purposes of processing: provision of our online offer and user-friendliness; information technology infrastructure (operation and provision of information systems and technical devices (computers, servers, etc.).); security measures; content delivery network (CDN); firewall.
  • Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. f) DSGVO).

Further guidance on processing operations, procedures and services:

  • Provision of online offer on rented storage space: For the provision of our online offer, we use storage space, computing capacity and software that we rent or otherwise obtain from a corresponding server provider (also called “web hoster”); Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. f) DSGVO).
  • Collection of access data and log files: Access to our online offer is logged in the form of so-called “server log files”. The server log files may include the address and name of the web pages and files accessed, the date and time of access, the volume of data transferred, notification of successful access, browser type and version, the user’s operating system, referrer URL (the previously visited page) and, as a rule, IP addresses and the requesting provider. The server log files may be used on the one hand for security purposes, e.g. to avoid overloading the servers (especially in the case of abusive attacks, so-called DDoS attacks) and on the other hand to ensure the utilisation of the servers and their stability; Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. f) DSGVO); Deletion of data: Log file information is stored for a maximum of 30 days and then deleted or anonymised. Data whose further storage is necessary for evidentiary purposes is exempt from deletion until the final clarification of the respective incident.
  • E-mail dispatch and hosting: The web hosting services we use also include the dispatch, receipt and storage of e-mails. For these purposes, the addresses of the recipients and senders as well as further information regarding the e-mail dispatch (e.g. the providers involved) and the contents of the respective e-mails are processed. The aforementioned data may also be processed for the purpose of recognising SPAM. Please note that e-mails on the Internet are generally not sent in encrypted form. As a rule, e-mails are encrypted in transit, but (unless a so-called end-to-end encryption procedure is used) not on the servers from which they are sent and received. We can therefore not assume any responsibility for the transmission path of the e-mails between the sender and the reception on our server; legal basis: legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. f) DSGVO).
  • Limelight: content delivery network (CDN); service provider: Limelight Networks, 222 South Mill Avenue, 8th Floor, Tempe, AZ 85281; Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. f) DSGVO); Website: https://de.limelight.com; Privacy policy: https://de.limelight.com/legal/.
  • Wordfence: Firewall and security and error detection functions; Service provider: Defiant, Inc, 800 5th Ave Ste 4100, Seattle, WA 98104, USA; Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. f) DSGVO); Website: https://www.wordfence.com; Privacy policy: https://www.wordfence.com/privacy-policy/; Standard contractual clauses (ensuring level of data protection for processing in third countries): https://www.wordfence.com/standard-contractual-clauses/.

Blogs and publication media

We use blogs or comparable means of online communication and publication (hereinafter “publication medium”). Readers’ data are processed for the purposes of the publication medium only 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 data protection notice.

  • Types of data processed: inventory data (e.g. names, addresses); contact data (e.g. e-mail, telephone numbers); content data (e.g. entries in online forms); 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: provision of contractual services and customer service; feedback (e.g. collecting feedback via online form); provision of our online offer and user friendliness.
  • Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. f) DSGVO).

Further guidance on processing operations, procedures and services:

  • Retrieval of WordPress emojis and smilies: Retrieval of WordPress emojis and smilies – Within our WordPress blog, graphical emojis (or smilies), i.e. small graphic files expressing emotions, are used for the purpose of efficient integration of content elements, obtained from external servers. The providers of the servers collect the IP addresses of the users. This is necessary so that the emoji files can be transmitted to the users’ browsers; service provider: Aut O’Mattic A8C Ireland Ltd, Grand Canal Dock, 25 Herbert Pl, Dublin, D02 AY86, Ireland; Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. f) DSGVO); Website: https://automattic.com; Privacy policy: https://automattic.com/privacy.
  • Profile pictures from Gravatar: Profile pictures – We use the service Gravatar within our online offer and in particular on the blog. Gravatar is a service where users can register and store profile pictures and their email addresses. If users leave posts or comments on other online presences (especially blogs) with the respective email address, their profile pictures can be displayed next to the posts or comments. For this purpose, the email address provided by the users is transmitted to Gravatar in encrypted form for the purpose of checking whether a profile is stored for it. This is the sole purpose of the transmission of the email address. It is not used for other purposes, but is deleted afterwards. The use of Gravatar is based on our legitimate interests, as we use Gravatar to offer post and comment authors the opportunity to personalise their posts with a profile picture. By displaying the images, Gravatar obtains the IP address of users, as this is necessary for a communication between a browser and an online service. If users do not want a user image linked to their Gravatar email address to appear in the comments, they should use an email address that is not on file with Gravatar to comment. We also point out that it is also possible to use an anonymous email address or no email address at all if users do not want their email address to be sent to Gravatar. Users can completely prevent the transmission of data by not using our commenting system; service provider: Aut O’Mattic A8C Ireland Ltd, Grand Canal Dock, 25 Herbert Pl, Dublin, D02 AY86, Ireland; Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. f) DSGVO); Website: https://automattic.com; Privacy policy: https://automattic.com/privacy.

Contact and enquiry management

When contacting us (e.g. by contact form, e-mail, telephone or via social media) as well as in the context of existing user and business relationships, the information of the inquiring persons is processed insofar as this is necessary to answer the contact enquiries and any requested measures.

  • Types of data processed: contact data (e.g. e-mail, telephone numbers); content data (e.g. entries in online forms); usage data (e.g. websites visited, interest in content, access times); meta/communication data (e.g. device information, IP addresses).
  • Affected persons: Communication partner.
  • Purposes of processing: contact requests and communication; managing and responding to requests; feedback (e.g. collecting feedback via online form); providing our online offer and user experience.
  • Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. f) DSGVO); contract performance and pre-contractual enquiries (Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. b) DSGVO).

Further guidance on processing operations, procedures and services:

  • Contact form: If users contact us via our contact form, e-mail or other communication channels, we process the data communicated to us in this context for the purpose of processing the communicated request; Legal basis: Contract performance and pre-contractual enquiries (Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. b) DSGVO), Legitimate Interests (Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. f) DSGVO).

Promotional communication via e-mail, post, fax or telephone

We process personal data for the purposes of promotional communication, which may take place via various channels, such as e-mail, telephone, post or fax, in accordance with legal requirements.

Recipients have the right to revoke consent given at any time or to object to promotional communication at any time.

After revocation or objection, we store the data required to prove the previous entitlement to contact or send up to three years after the end of the year of revocation or objection on the basis of our legitimate interests. The processing of this data is limited to the purpose of a possible defence against claims. On the basis of the legitimate interest in permanently observing the revocation or objection of the users, we further store the data required to avoid a renewed contact (e.g. depending on the communication channel, the e-mail address, telephone number, name).

  • Types of data processed: inventory data (e.g. names, addresses); contact data (e.g. e-mail, telephone numbers).
  • Affected persons: Communication partner.
  • Purposes of processing: direct marketing (e.g. by e-mail or post).
  • Legal basis: Consent (Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. a) DSGVO); Legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. f) DSGVO).

Web analysis, monitoring and optimisation

Web analytics (also referred to as “reach measurement”) is used to evaluate the flow of visitors to our online offering and may include behaviour, interests or demographic information about visitors, such as age or gender, as pseudonymous values. With the help of the reach analysis, we can, for example, recognise at what time our online offer or its functions or content are most frequently used or invite re-use. Likewise, we can understand which areas need optimisation.

In addition to web analysis, we may also use testing procedures, e.g. to test and optimise different versions of our online offer or its components.

Unless otherwise stated below, profiles, i.e. data summarised for a usage process, can be created for these purposes and information can be stored in a browser or in a terminal device and read from it. The information collected includes, in particular, websites visited and elements used there as well as technical information such as the browser used, the computer system used and information on usage times. If users have agreed to the collection of their location data from us or from the providers of the services we use, location data may also be processed.

The IP addresses of the users are also stored. However, we use an IP masking procedure (i.e. pseudonymisation by shortening the IP address) to protect users. In general, no clear user data (such as e-mail addresses or names) is stored in the context of web analysis, A/B testing and optimisation, 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 purpose of the respective procedures.

  • Types of data processed: 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: Reach measurement (e.g. access statistics, recognition of returning visitors); profiling with user-related information (creation of user profiles); tracking (e.g. interest/behaviour-related profiling, use of cookies); provision of our online offer and user-friendliness.
  • Security measures: IP masking (pseudonymisation of the IP address).
  • Legal basis: Consent (Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. a) DSGVO).

Further guidance on processing operations, procedures and services:

  • Google Analytics: web analysis, reach measurement and measurement of user flows; service provider: Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland; Legal basis: Consent (Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. a) DSGVO); Website: https://marketingplatform.google.com/intl/de/about/analytics/; Privacy policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy; Order processing agreement: https://business.safety.google/adsprocessorterms; Standard contractual clauses (guaranteeing level of data protection for processing in third countries): https://business.safety.google/adsprocessorterms; Opt-out option: Opt-Out-Plugin: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=de, Settings for the display of advertisements: https://adssettings.google.com/authenticated; Further information: https://privacy.google.com/businesses/adsservices (Types of processing as well as data processed).

Online marketing

We process personal data for online marketing purposes, which may include, in particular, marketing advertising space or displaying promotional and other content (collectively, “content”) based on users’ potential interests and measuring its effectiveness.

For these purposes, so-called user profiles are created and stored in a file (so-called “cookie”) or similar procedures are used, by means of which the information about the user relevant for the presentation of the aforementioned content is stored. This information may include, for example, content viewed, websites visited, online networks used, but also communication partners and technical information such as the browser used, the computer system used and information on usage times and functions used. If users have consented to the collection of their location data, this may also be processed.

The IP addresses of the users are also stored. However, we use available IP masking procedures (i.e. pseudonymisation by shortening the IP address) to protect users. In general, no clear user data (such as e-mail addresses or names) is stored within the scope of the online marketing process, but pseudonyms. This means that we as well as the providers of the online marketing procedures do not know the actual identity of the users, but only the information stored in their profiles.

The information in the profiles is usually stored in the cookies or by means of similar procedures. These cookies can later generally also be read on other websites that use the same online marketing procedure and analysed for the purpose of displaying content as well as supplemented with further data and stored on the server of the online marketing procedure provider.

Exceptionally, clear data may be associated with the profiles. This is the case if, for example, the users are members of a social network whose online marketing procedures we use and the network links the users’ profiles with the aforementioned data. We ask you to note that users can make additional agreements with the providers, e.g. by giving their consent as part of the registration process.

In principle, we only receive access to summarised information about the success of our advertisements. However, in the context of so-called conversion measurements, we can check which of our online marketing methods have led to a so-called conversion, i.e., for example, to a contract being concluded with us. The conversion measurement is used solely to analyse the success of our marketing measures.

Unless otherwise stated, we ask you to assume that cookies used will be stored for a period of two years.

  • Types of data processed: 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: Reach measurement (e.g. access statistics, recognition of returning visitors); tracking (e.g. interest/behaviour-based profiling, use of cookies); marketing; profiling with user-related information (creation of user profiles); conversion measurement (measurement of the effectiveness of marketing measures).
  • Security measures: IP masking (pseudonymisation of the IP address).
  • Legal basis: Consent (Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. a) DSGVO).
  • Possibility of objection (opt-out): We refer to the data protection notices of the respective providers and the opt-out options given for the providers. If no explicit opt-out option has been specified, you have the option of switching off cookies in your browser settings. However, this may restrict the functions of our online offer. We therefore recommend the following additional opt-out options, which are offered in summary for the respective regions: a) Europe: https://www.youronlinechoices.eu. b) Canada: https://www.youradchoices.ca/choices. c) USA: https://www.aboutads.info/choices. d) Cross-territory: https://optout.aboutads.info.

Further guidance on processing operations, procedures and services:

  • Google Ads and conversion measurement: We use the online marketing procedure “Google Ads” to place ads in the Google advertising network (e.g., in search results, in videos, on web pages, etc.) so that they are displayed to users who have a presumed interest in the ads (so-called “conversion”). We also measure the conversion of the ads. However, we only learn the anonymous total number of users who clicked on our ad and were redirected to a page marked with a so-called “conversion tracking tag”. However, we ourselves do not receive any information with which users can be identified; service provider: Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland; Legal basis: Consent (Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. a) DSGVO); Website: https://marketingplatform.google.com; Privacy policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy; Further information: Types of processing as well as data processed: https://privacy.google.com/businesses/adsservices; Data processing conditions between data controllers and standard contractual clauses for third country transfers of data: https://business.safety.google/adscontrollerterms.

Presence in social networks (social media)

We maintain online presences within social networks and process user data in this context in order to communicate with users active there or to offer information about us.

We would like to point out that user data may be processed outside the European Union. This may result in risks for the users because, for example, the enforcement of the users’ rights could be made more difficult.

Furthermore, user data within social networks is usually processed for market research and advertising purposes. For example, usage profiles can be created based on the usage behaviour and resulting interests of the users. The usage profiles can in turn be used, for example, to place advertisements within and outside the networks that presumably correspond to the interests of the users. For these purposes, cookies are usually stored on the users’ computers, in which the usage behaviour and the interests of the users are stored. Furthermore, data independent of the devices used by the users may also be stored in the usage profiles (especially if the users are members of the respective platforms and are logged in to them).

For a detailed presentation of the respective forms of processing and the options to object (opt-out), we refer to the data protection declarations and information provided by the operators of the respective networks.

In the case of requests for information and the assertion of data subject rights, we would also like to point out that these can be asserted most effectively with the providers. Only the providers have access to the users’ data and can take appropriate measures and provide information directly. If you still need help, you can contact us.

  • Types of data processed: contact data (e.g. e-mail, telephone numbers); content data (e.g. entries in online forms); 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: contact requests and communication; feedback (e.g. collecting feedback via online form); marketing.
  • Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. f) DSGVO).

Further guidance on processing operations, procedures and services:

  • LinkedIn: Social network; Service provider: LinkedIn Ireland Unlimited Company, Wilton Plaza Wilton Place, Dublin 2, Ireland; Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. f) DSGVO); Website: https://www.linkedin.com; Privacy policy: https://www.linkedin.com/legal/privacy-policy; Order processing agreement: https://legal.linkedin.com/dpa; Standard contractual clauses (ensuring level of data protection for processing in third countries): https://legal.linkedin.com/dpa; Opt-out: https://www.linkedin.com/psettings/guest-controls/retargeting-opt-out.
  • Twitter: social network; service provider: Twitter International Company, One Cumberland Place, Fenian Street, Dublin 2 D02 AX07, Ireland, parent company: Twitter Inc, 1355 Market Street, Suite 900, San Francisco, CA 94103, USA; Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. f) DSGVO); Privacy policy: https://twitter.com/privacy, (Settings: https://twitter.com/personalization).
  • Xing: Social network; Service provider: New Work SE, Am Strandkai 1, 20457 Hamburg, Germany; Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. f) DSGVO); Website: https://www.xing.de; Privacy policy: https://privacy.xing.com/de/datenschutzerklaerung.

Plugins and embedded functions and content

We integrate functional and content elements into our online offer that are obtained from the servers of their respective providers (hereinafter referred to as “third-party providers”). These can be, for example, graphics, videos or city maps (hereinafter uniformly referred to as “content”).

The integration always requires that the third-party providers of this content process the IP address of the user, as without the IP address they would not be able to send the content to their browser. The IP address is thus required for the display of this content or function. We endeavour to only use content whose respective providers only use the IP address to deliver the content. Third-party providers 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 analyse 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 contain, among other things, technical information about the browser and operating system, referring websites, time of visit and other information about the use of our online offering, as well as being linked to such information from other sources.

  • Types of data processed: 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. entries in online forms); location data (information on the geographical position of a device or a person).
  • Data subjects: Users (e.g. website visitors, users of online services).
  • Purposes of the processing: Provision of our online offer and user-friendliness.
  • Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. f) DSGVO).

Further guidance on processing operations, procedures and services:

  • Integration of third-party software, scripts or frameworks (e.g. jQuery): We integrate software into our online offer that we retrieve from servers of other providers (e.g. function libraries that we use for the purpose of presentation or user-friendliness of our online offer). In doing so, the respective providers collect the IP address of the user and may process this for the purpose of transmitting the software to the user’s browser and for security purposes, as well as for the evaluation and optimisation of their offer. – We integrate software into our online offer that we retrieve from servers of other providers (e.g. function libraries that we use for the purpose of presentation or user-friendliness of our online offer). In doing so, the respective providers collect the IP address of the user and may process this for the purpose of transmitting the software to the user’s browser and for security purposes, as well as for the evaluation and optimisation of their offer; legal basis: legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. f) DSGVO).
  • Google Fonts (provision on own server): Provision of font files for the purpose of a user-friendly presentation of our online offer; Service provider: The Google Fonts are hosted on our server, no data is transmitted to Google; Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. f) DSGVO).
  • Google Maps: We integrate the maps of the “Google Maps” service of the provider Google. The data processed may include, in particular, IP addresses and user location data; Service provider: Google Cloud EMEA Limited, 70 Sir John Rogerson’s Quay, Dublin 2, Ireland; Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. f) DSGVO); Website: https://mapsplatform.google.com/; Privacy policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy.
  • YouTube videos: Video content; Service provider: Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland; Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. f) DSGVO); Website: https://www.youtube.com; Privacy policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy; Opt-out: Opt-Out-Plugin: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=de, Settings for the display of advertisements: https://adssettings.google.com/authenticated.

Amendment and update of the privacy policy

We ask you to regularly inform yourself about the content of our data protection declaration. We adapt the data protection declaration as soon as the changes in the data processing carried out by us make this necessary. We will inform you as soon as the changes require an act of cooperation on your part (e.g. consent) or other individual notification.

Where we provide addresses and contact details of companies and organisations in this privacy statement, please note that the addresses may change over time and please check the details before contacting us.

Rights of the data subjects

As a data subject, you are entitled to various rights under the GDPR, which arise in particular from Art. 15 to 21 GDPR:

  • Right to object: You have the right to object at any time, on grounds relating to your particular situation, to the processing of personal data concerning you which is carried out on the basis of Article 6(1)(e) or (f) DSGVO; this also applies to profiling based on these provisions. If the personal data concerning you are processed for the purpose of direct marketing, you have the right to object at any time to the processing of personal data concerning you for the purpose of such marketing; this also applies to profiling insofar as it is related to such direct marketing.
  • Right of revocation for consents: You have the right to revoke any consent you have given at any time.
  • Right of access: You have the right to request confirmation as to whether data in question is being processed and to be informed about this data and to receive further information and a copy of the data in accordance with the legal requirements.
  • Right to rectification: In accordance with the law, you have the right to request that data concerning you be completed or that inaccurate data concerning you be rectified.
  • Right to erasure and restriction of processing: You have the right, in accordance with the law, to request that data relating to you be erased immediately or, alternatively, to request restriction of the processing of the data in accordance with the law.
  • Right to data portability: You have the right to receive data relating to you that you have provided to us in a structured, common and machine-readable format in accordance with the legal requirements or to request that it be transferred to another controller.
  • Complaint to the supervisory authority: Without prejudice to any other administrative or judicial remedy, you have the right 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 requirements of the GDPR.

Definitions of terms

This section provides you with an overview of the terms used in this privacy policy. Many of the terms are taken from the law and defined primarily in Art. 4 of the GDPR. The legal definitions are binding. The following explanations, on the other hand, are primarily intended to help you understand them. The terms are sorted alphabetically.

  • Content Delivery Network (CDN): A “Content Delivery Network” (CDN) is a service with the help of which the contents of an online offer, in particular large media files such as graphics or programme scripts, can be delivered faster and more securely with the help of regionally distributed servers connected via the Internet.
  • Firewall: A firewall is a security system that protects a computer network or an individual computer from unwanted network access.
  • Conversion measurement: Conversion measurement (also referred to as “visit action evaluation”) is a procedure that can be used to determine the effectiveness of marketing measures. For this purpose, a cookie is usually stored on the user’s devices within the websites on which the marketing measures take place and then retrieved again on the target website. For example, this allows us to track whether the ads we have placed on other websites have been successful.
  • Personal data: “Personal data” means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (hereinafter “data subject”); an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier (e.g. cookie) or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person.
  • Profiles with user-related information: The processing of “profiles with user-related information”, or “profiles” for short, includes any type of automated processing of personal data that consists of using these personal data to analyse, evaluate or predict certain personal aspects relating to a natural person (depending on the type of profiling, this may include different information concerning demographics, behaviour and interests, such as interaction with websites and their content, etc.) (e.g. interests in certain content or products, click behaviour on a website or location). Cookies and web beacons are often used for profiling purposes.
  • Reach measurement: Reach measurement (also referred to as web analytics) is used to evaluate the visitor flows of an online offer and can include the behaviour or interests of visitors in certain information, such as website content. With the help of reach analysis, website owners can see, for example, at what time visitors visit their website and what content they are interested in. This enables them, for example, to better adapt the content of the website to the needs of their visitors. For the purposes of reach analysis, pseudonymous cookies and web beacons are often used to recognise returning visitors and thus obtain more precise analyses of the use of an online offer.
  • Location data: Location data is generated when a mobile device (or another device with the technical requirements for location determination) connects to a radio cell, a WLAN or similar technical means and functions for location determination. Location data is used to indicate the geographically determinable position on earth at which the respective device is located. Location data can be used, for example, to display map functions or other information dependent on a location.
  • Tracking: We speak of “tracking” when the behaviour of users can be traced across several online services. As a rule, behavioural and interest information with regard to the online offers used is stored in cookies or on servers of the providers of the tracking technologies (so-called profiling). This information can then be used, for example, to display advertisements to users that are likely to correspond to their interests.
  • Controller: 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.
  • Processing: “Processing” means any operation or set of operations which is performed upon personal data, whether or not by automatic means. The term is broad and covers virtually any handling of data, be it collection, analysis, storage, transmission or erasure.

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