Data protection

Introduction and overview

We have written this data protection declaration (version 07.11.2023-112666150) to provide you with the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and applicable national laws to explain which personal data (data for short) we as controllers – and the processors commissioned by us (e.g. providers) – process, will process in the future and what legal options you have. The terms used are to be understood as gender-neutral.
In short: We will inform you comprehensively about the data we process about you.

Privacy policies usually sound very technical and use legal terms. This data protection declaration, however, is intended to describe the most important things to you as simply and transparently as possible. To the extent that it promotes transparency, technicalTerms explained in a reader-friendly way, links to further information are provided andGraphics brought into use. We thereby inform you in clear and simple language that we only process personal data as part of our business activities if there is a corresponding legal basis. This is certainly not possible if you make as brief, unclear and legal-technical statements as possible, as are often standard 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 didn’t know before.
If you still have questions, we would like to ask you to contact the responsible body named below or in the legal notice, follow the existing links and look at further information on third-party sites. You can of course also find our contact details in the legal notice.

scope of application

This data protection declaration applies to all personal data processed by us in the company and to all personal data that companies commissioned by us (contract processors) process. By personal data we mean information within the meaning of Article 4 No. 1 GDPR such as a person’s name, email address and postal address. The processing of personal data ensures that we can offer and bill our services and products, whether online or offline. The scope of this data protection declaration includes:

• all online presences (websites, online shops) that we operate
• Social media presence and email communication
• mobile apps for smartphones and other devices

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

Legal basis

In the following data protection declaration 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 April 27, 2016. You can of course access this EU General Data Protection Regulation online on EUR-Lex, the access to the EU -Right, under https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/DE/ALL/?uri=celex%3A32016R0679 read up.

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

1. consent (Article 6 paragraph 1 lit. a GDPR): You have given us your consent to process data for a specific purpose. An example would be saving the data you entered on a contact form.
2. Contract (Article 6 paragraph 1 lit. b GDPR): 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 paragraph 1 lit. c GDPR): 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 paragraph 1 lit. f GDPR): 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.

Other conditions such as the perception of recordings in the public interest and the exercise of public authority as well as the protection of vital interests generally do not apply to us. If such a legal basis is relevant, it will be shown in the appropriate place.

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

• In Austria this is the Federal Law on the Protection of Natural Persons in the Processing of Personal Data (Data Protection Act), shortDSG.
• In Germany is that validFederal Data Protection Act, short BDSG.

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

Contact details of the person responsible

If you have any questions about data protection or the processing of personal data, you will find the contact details of the responsible person or body below:
Matthias Popp
Hammerstraße 80,
4453 Trattenbach
Austria
Authorized representative: Matthias Popp
E-Mail: office@appicenter.at

Storage period

Our general criterion is that we only store personal data for as long as is absolutely necessary to provide our services and products. This means that we delete personal data as soon as the reason for data processing no longer exists. In some cases, we are legally obliged to store certain data even after the original purpose has ceased, for example for accounting purposes.

If you wish to have your data deleted or revoke your consent to data processing, the data will be deleted as quickly as possible and unless there is an obligation to store it.

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

Rights under the General Data Protection Regulation

In accordance with Articles 13, 14 GDPR, we inform you of the following rights to which you are entitled so that data is processed fairly and transparently:

• According to Article 15 GDPR, you have a right to information as to whether we are processing your data. If this is the case, you have the right to receive a copy of the data and to know the following information:
  • for what purpose 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 is stored;
  • the existence of the right to rectification, deletion 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 did not collect it from you;
  • whether profiling is carried out, i.e. whether data is automatically evaluated in order to create a personal profile for you.
• According to Article 16 GDPR, you have the right to rectification of data, which means that we must correct data if you find errors.
• According to Article 17 GDPR, you have the right to deletion (“right to be forgotten”), which specifically means that you can request the deletion of your data.
• According to Article 18 GDPR, you have the right to restrict processing, which means that we are only allowed to store the data but not use it any further.
• According to Article 20 GDPR, you have the right to data portability, which means that upon request we will provide you with your data in a common format.
• According to Article 21 GDPR, you have a right to object, which, once enforced, will result in a change to the processing.
  • If the processing of your data is based on Article 6 Paragraph 1 Letter e (public interest, exercise of official authority) or Article 6 Paragraph 1 Letter f (legitimate interest), you can object to the processing. We will then check as quickly as possible whether we can legally comply with this objection.
  • If data is used to conduct direct advertising, you can object to this type of data processing at any time. We may then no longer use your data for direct marketing.
  • If data is used to carry out profiling, you can object to this type of data processing at any time. We are then no longer allowed to use your data for profiling.
• According to Article 22 GDPR, you may have the right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing (e.g. profiling).
• According to Article 77 GDPR, you have the right to lodge a complaint. This means that you can complain to the data protection authority at any time if you believe that the processing of personal data violates the GDPR.

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

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 you can find at https://www.dsb.gv.at/ find. In Germany there is a data protection officer for each federal state. For further information you can contact Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (BfDI) turn around. The following local data protection authority is responsible for our company:

Austria data protection authority

Head:M.Sc. dr. Andrea Jelinek
Address:Barichgasse 40-42, 1030 Vienna
Telephone number.:+43 1 52 152-0
Email-Address:dsb@dsb.gv.at
Website: https://www.dsb.gv.at/

Data transfer to third countries

We only transfer or process data to countries outside the scope of the GDPR (third countries) if you consent to this processing or there is other legal permission. This applies in particular if the processing is required by law or necessary to fulfill a contractual relationship and in any case only to the extent that this is generally permitted. In most cases, your consent is the most important reason why we have data processed in third countries. Processing personal data in third countries such as the USA, where many software manufacturers provide services and have their server locations, may mean that personal data is processed and stored in unexpected ways.

We expressly point out that, in the opinion of the European Court of Justice, there is currently only an adequate level of protection for data transfer to the USA if a US company that processes personal data of EU citizens in the USA is an active participant in the EU-US Data Privacy Frameworks is. You can find more information about this at: https://commission.europa.eu/document/fa09cbad-dd7d-4684-ae60-be03fcb0fddf_en

Data processing by US services that are not active participants in the EU-US Data Privacy Framework may result in data not being processed and stored anonymously. Furthermore, US government authorities may have access to individual data. It can also happen that collected data is linked to data from other services from the same provider, provided you have a corresponding user account. If possible, we try to use server locations within the EU, if this is offered.
We will inform you in more detail about data transfer to third countries in the appropriate places in this data protection declaration, if this applies.

Communication

Communication summary👥 Affected people: Anyone who communicates with us by phone, email or online form📓 Processed data: e.g. E.g. telephone number, name, email address, entered form data. You can find more details about this under the type of contact used🤝 Purpose: Handling communication with customers, business partners, etc.📅 Storage period: Duration of the business case and the legal regulations⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. b GDPR (contract), Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests)

If you contact us and communicate by telephone, email or online form, personal data may be processed.

The data will be processed to process and process your question and the related business transaction. The data is stored for as long as the law requires.

Affected people

The above-mentioned processes affect everyone who tries to contact us via the communication channels we provide.

Telephone

If you call us, the call data will be stored pseudonymously on the respective device and by the telecommunications provider used. In addition, data such as name and telephone number can then be sent by email and saved to answer your query. The data will be deleted as soon as the business transaction has ended and legal requirements allow it.

E-mail

If you communicate with us via email, data may be stored on the respective device (computer, laptop, smartphone, etc.) and data may be stored on the email server. The data will be deleted as soon as the business transaction has ended and legal requirements allow it.

Online Forms

If you communicate with us using an online form, data will be stored on our web server and, if necessary, forwarded to one of our email addresses. The data will be deleted as soon as the business transaction has ended and legal requirements allow it.

Legal basis

The processing of data is based on the following legal bases:

• Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent): You give us your consent to store your data and to continue using it for purposes relevant to the business transaction;
• Art. 6 Paragraph 1 Letter b GDPR (contract): There is a need to fulfill a contract with you or a processor such as. B. the telephone provider or we need to use the data for pre-contractual activities, such as: B. the preparation of an offer;
• Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests): We want to conduct customer inquiries and business communication in a professional framework. For this purpose, certain technical facilities such as: B. E-mail programs, exchange servers and mobile phone operators are necessary in order to be able to operate communication efficiently.

Order processing agreement (AVV)

In this section we would like to explain to you what a data processing agreement is and why it is needed. Because the word “order processing agreement” is quite a tongue twister, we will often only use the acronym AVV here in the text. Like most companies, we do not work alone, but also use the services of other companies or individuals. Due to the involvement of various companies or service providers, we may pass on personal data for processing. These partners then act as processors with whom we conclude a contract, the so-called data processing agreement (AVV). The most important thing for you to know is that the processing of your personal data takes place exclusively according to our instructions and must be regulated by the AVV.

Who are processors?

As a company and website owner, we are responsible for all data that we process from you. In addition to those responsible, there can also be so-called processors. This includes every company or person who processes personal data on our behalf. More specifically and according to the GDPR definition: any natural or legal person, authority, institution or other body that processes personal data on our behalf is considered a processor. Processors can therefore be service providers such as hosting or cloud providers, payment or newsletter providers or large companies such as Google or Microsoft.

To make the terminology easier to understand, here is an overview of the three roles in the GDPR:

affected person (You as a customer or interested party) →Responsible person (we as a company and client) →Processor (Service providers such as web hosts or cloud providers)

Content of an order processing contract

As already mentioned above, we have concluded an AVV with our partners who act as processors. Above all, this states that the processor processes the data to be processed exclusively in accordance with the GDPR. The contract must be concluded in writing, although in this context the electronic contract conclusion is also considered “written”. The processing of personal data only takes place on the basis of the contract. The contract must contain the following:

• Binding to us as those responsible
• Obligations and rights of the person responsible
• Categories of data subjects
• Type of personal data
• Type and purpose of data processing
• Subject and duration of data processing
• Place of data processing

The contract also contains all of the processor’s obligations. The most important duties are:

• To ensure data security measures
• to take possible technical and organizational measures to protect the rights of the data subject
• to maintain a data processing directory
• to cooperate with the data protection supervisory authority upon request
• carry out a risk analysis in relation to the personal data received
• Sub-processors may only be commissioned with the written consent of the person responsible

You can find out what an AVV looks like in concrete terms at: https://www.wko.at/service/wirtschaftsrecht-gewerberecht/eu-dsgvo-mustervertrag-auftragsverarbeitung.html view. A sample contract is presented here.

Cookies

Cookies summary👥 Affected: Visitors to the website🤝 Purpose: depending on the respective cookie. You can find more details about this below or from the manufacturer of the software that sets the cookie.📓 Data processed: Depending on the cookie used. You can find more details about this below or from 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 GDPR (consent), Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests)

What are cookies?

Our website uses HTTP cookies to store user-specific data.
Below we explain what cookies are and why they are used so that you can better understand the following privacy policy.

Whenever you surf the Internet, you use a browser. Well-known 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 cannot be denied: Cookies are really useful little helpers. Almost all websites use cookies. To be more precise, they are HTTP cookies, as there are also other cookies for other areas of application. HTTP cookies are small files that our website stores on your computer. These cookie files are automatically stored in the cookie folder, 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 visit our site again, your browser sends the “user-related” information back to our site. Thanks to cookies, our website knows who you are and offers you the settings 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.

The following graphic shows a possible interaction between a web browser such as: B. Chrome and the web server. The web browser requests a website and receives a cookie back from the server, which the browser uses again as soon as another page is requested.

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 because each cookie stores different data. The expiry time of a cookie also varies from a few minutes to a few years. Cookies are not software programs and do not contain viruses, Trojans or other “malicious” things. Cookies also cannot access information on your PC.

For example, cookie data might look like this:

Name: _ga
Value: GA1.2.1326744211.152112666150-9
Purpose of use: Differentiation of website visitors
Expiry Date: after 2 years

A browser should be able to support these minimum sizes:

• Mindestens 4096 Bytes pro Cookie
• At least 50 cookies per domain
• At least 3000 cookies in total

What types of cookies are there?

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

There are 4 types of cookies:

Essential cookies
These cookies are necessary to ensure basic functions of the website. For example, these cookies are needed when a user puts a product in the shopping cart, then continues surfing on other pages and only later checks out. These cookies do not delete the shopping cart, even if the user closes their browser window.

Purposeful cookies
These cookies collect information about user behavior and whether the user receives any error messages. These cookies are also used to measure the loading time and behavior of the website on different browsers.

Targeting cookies
These cookies ensure better user experience. For example, entered locations, font sizes or form data are saved.

Advertising cookies
These cookies are also called targeting cookies. They serve to provide the user with individually tailored advertising. This can be very practical, but also very annoying.

Typically, when you first visit a website, you will be asked which of these types of cookies you would like to allow. And of course this decision is also saved in a cookie.

If you would like to know more about cookies and are not afraid of technical documentation, we recommend https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc6265, dem Request for Comments der Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) namens “HTTP State Management Mechanism”.

Purpose of processing via cookies

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

Which data is processed?

Cookies are little helpers for many different tasks. Unfortunately, it is not possible to generalize which data is stored in cookies, but we will inform you about the data processed or stored in the following data protection declaration.

Storage period of cookies

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

You also have an influence on the storage period. You can delete all cookies manually at any time via your browser (see also “Right to object” below). Furthermore, cookies that are based on consent will be deleted at the latest after you revoke your consent, although the legality of storage remains unaffected until then.

Right to object – how can I delete cookies?

You decide for yourself how and whether you want to use cookies. Regardless of which service or website the cookies come from, you always have the option of deleting cookies, deactivating them or only partially allowing them. For example, you can block third-party cookies but allow all other cookies.

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

Chrome: Delete, enable and manage cookies in Chrome

Safari: Manage cookies and site data with Safari

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

Internet Explorer: Deleting and managing cookies

Microsoft Edge: Deleting and managing 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 means you can decide for each individual cookie whether you allow the cookie or not. The procedure varies depending on the browser. The best thing to do is to search for the instructions in Google using the search term “delete cookies Chrome” or “deactivate cookies Chrome” in the case of a Chrome browser.

Legal basis

The so-called “Cookie Guidelines” have existed since 2009. It states that storing cookies is aconsent (Article 6 Paragraph 1 Letter a GDPR) is required from you. However, there are still very different reactions to these guidelines within the EU countries. In Austria, however, this directive was implemented in Section 96 Paragraph 3 of the Telecommunications Act (TKG). In Germany, the cookie guidelines have not been implemented as national law. Instead, this directive was largely implemented in Section 15 Paragraph 3 of the Telemedia Act (TMG).

Cookies that are absolutely necessary exist, even if consent is not givenlegitimate interests (Article 6 Paragraph 1 Letter f GDPR), which in most cases is of an economic nature. We want to provide website visitors with a pleasant user experience and certain cookies are often absolutely necessary for this.

If non-essential cookies are used, this will only happen with your consent. The legal basis in this respect is Article 6 Paragraph 1 Letter a GDPR.

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

Web Analytics Introduction

Web Analytics Privacy Policy Summary👥 Affected: Visitors to the website🤝 Purpose: Evaluation of visitor information to optimize the website.📓 Data processed: Access statistics, which include data such as access locations, device data, access duration and time, navigation behavior, click behavior and IP addresses. You can find more details about this in the web analytics tool used.📅 Storage period: depends on the web analytics tool used⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests)

What is Web Analytics?

We use software on our website to evaluate the behavior of website visitors, known as web analytics for short. Data is collected, which the respective analytical tool provider (also called tracking tool) stores, manages and processes. The data is used to create analyzes of user behavior on our website and make them available to us as the website operator. In addition, most tools offer various testing options. For example, we can test which offers or content are best received by our visitors. We will show you two different offers for a limited period of time. After the test (so-called A/B test), we know which product or content our website visitors find more interesting. For such test procedures, as well as for other analytics procedures, user profiles can also be created and the data can be stored in cookies.

Why do we do web analytics?

We have a clear goal in mind with our website: we want to provide the best web offering on the market for our industry. In order to achieve this goal, we want to offer the best and most interesting offer on the one hand and, on the other hand, make sure that you feel completely comfortable on our website. With the help of web analysis tools, we can take a closer look at the behavior of our website visitors and then improve our website accordingly for you and us. For example, we can see how old our visitors are on average, where they come from, when our website is most visited or which content or products are particularly popular. All of this information helps us to optimize the website and thus best adapt it to your needs, interests and wishes.

Which data is processed?

Of course, exactly which data is stored depends on the analysis tools used. However, it is usually stored, for example, what content you view on our website, what buttons or links you click on, when you access a page, what browser you use, what device (PC, tablet, smartphone, etc.) you use website you visit or what computer system you use. If you agreed that location data may also be collected, this can also be processed by the web analysis tool provider.

Your IP address is also stored. According to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), IP addresses are personal data. However, your IP address is usually stored pseudonymously (i.e. in an unrecognizable and shortened form). For the purpose of testing, web analysis and web optimization, no direct data such as your name, age, address or email address is stored. All of this data, if collected, is stored pseudonymously. This means you cannot be identified as a person.

The following example shows schematically how Google Analytics works as an example of client-based web tracking with Java script code.

How long the respective data is stored always depends on the provider. Some cookies only store data for a few minutes or until you leave the website, other cookies can store data for several years.

Duration of data processing

We will inform you below about the duration of data processing if we have further information. In general, we only process personal data for as long as it is absolutely necessary to provide our services and products. If required by law, for example in the case of accounting, this storage period can also be exceeded.

Right to object

You also have the right and the opportunity to revoke your consent to the use of cookies or third-party providers 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, deactivating or deleting cookies in your browser.

Legal basis

The use of web analytics requires your consent, which we obtained with our cookie popup. This consent states loudly Art. 6 Paragraph 1 Letter a GDPR (consent) represents the legal basis for the processing of personal data, as may occur when collected by web analytics tools.

In addition to consent, we have a legitimate interest in analyzing the behavior of website visitors and thus improving our offering technically and economically. With the help of web analytics, we detect website errors, identify attacks and improve profitability. The legal basis for this isArt. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests). However, we only use the tools if you have given your consent.

Since cookies are used in web analytics tools, we also recommend that you read our general privacy policy on cookies. To find out exactly which of your data is stored and processed, you should read the data protection declarations of the respective tools.

Information about special web analytics tools, if available, can be found in the following sections.

Facebook Conversions API Privacy Policy

We use Facebook Conversions API, a server-side event tracking tool, on our website. The service provider is the American company Meta Platforms Inc. The company Meta Platforms Ireland Limited (4 Grand Canal Square, Grand Canal Harbour, Dublin 2, Ireland) is responsible for the European area.

Facebook also processes your data in the USA, among other places. Facebook or Meta Platforms is an active participant in the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, which regulates the correct and secure transfer of personal data from EU citizens to the USA. You can find more information about this at https://commission.europa.eu/document/fa09cbad-dd7d-4684-ae60-be03fcb0fddf_en.

Facebook also uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46 Paragraphs 2 and 3 GDPR). 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 the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and the Standard Contractual 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 USA. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the resolution and the corresponding standard contractual clauses here: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de

The Facebook data processing conditions, which refer to the standard contractual clauses, can be found at https://www.facebook.com/legal/terms/dataprocessing.

You can find out more about the data processed through the use of Facebook Conversions API in the Privacy Policy https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy.

Google Analytics privacy policy

Google Analytics Privacy Policy Summary👥 Affected: Visitors to the website🤝 Purpose: Evaluation of visitor information to optimize the website.📓 Data processed: Access statistics, which include data such as access locations, device data, access duration and time, navigation behavior and click behavior. You can find more details about this further down in this data protection declaration.📅 Storage period: individually adjustable, by default Google Analytics stores 4 data for 14 months⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests)

What is Google Analytics?

On our website we use the analysis tracking tool Google Analytics in version Google Analytics 4 (GA4) from the American company Google Inc. For the European area, the company Google Ireland Limited (Gordon House, Barrow Street Dublin 4, Ireland) is for everyone Google services responsible. Google Analytics collects data about your actions on our website. Through the combination of different technologies such as cookies, device IDs and login information, you as a user can be identified across different devices. This means your actions can also be analyzed across platforms.

For example, if you click on a link, this event is stored in a cookie and sent to Google Analytics. The reports we receive from Google Analytics allow us to better tailor our website and service to your needs. Below we will go into more detail about the tracking tool and, above all, inform you about what data is processed and how you can prevent this.

Google Analytics is a tracking tool that is used to analyze traffic on our website. The basis of these measurements and analyzes is a pseudonymous user identification number. This number does not contain any personal data such as name or address, but is used to assign events to a device. GA4 uses an event-based model that captures detailed information about user interactions such as page views, clicks, scrolling, conversion events. In addition, various machine learning functions have been built into GA4 to better understand user behavior and certain trends. GA4 relies on modeling with the help of machine learning functions. This means that based on the data collected, missing data can also be extrapolated in order to optimize the analysis and also to be able to make forecasts.

In order for Google Analytics to work, a tracking code is built into the code of our website. When you visit our website, this code records various events that you perform on our website. With GA4’s event-based data model, we as website operators can define and track specific events to obtain analysis of user interactions. In addition to general information such as clicks or page views, specific events that are important for our business can also be tracked. Such special events could be, for example, sending a contact form or purchasing a product.

As soon as you leave our website, this data is sent to the Google Analytics servers and stored there.

Google processes the data and we receive reports about your user behavior. These may include, among others, the following reports:

• Target group reports: Through target group reports we get to know our users better and know more precisely who is interested in our service.
• Display Reports: Display reports make it easier for us to analyze and improve our online advertising.
• Acquisition reports: Acquisition reports give us helpful information about how we can attract more people to our service.
• Behavioral reports: This is where we learn how you interact with our website. We can track the route you take on our site and which links you click on.
• Conversion reports: Conversion is the process in which you take a desired action based on a marketing message. For example, when you go from being just a website visitor to a buyer or newsletter subscriber. These reports help us learn more about how our marketing efforts are being received by you. This is how we want to increase our conversion rate.
• Real-time reports: Here we always find out immediately what is happening on our website. For example, we can see how many users are currently reading this text.

In addition to the analysis reports mentioned above, Google Analytics 4 also offers the following functions, among others:

• Event-based data model: This model captures very specific events that may occur on our website. For example, playing a video, purchasing a product or signing up for our newsletter.
• Advanced analytics features: These features allow us to better understand your behavior on our website or certain general trends. For example, we can segment user groups, carry out comparative analyzes of target groups or track your path on our website.
• Predictive modeling: Based on collected data, machine learning can extrapolate missing data that predicts future events and trends. This can help us develop better marketing strategies.
• Cross-platform analysis: Data collection and analysis is possible from both websites and apps. This gives us the opportunity to analyze user behavior across platforms, provided you have of course consented to data processing.

Why do we use Google Analytics on our website?

Our goal with this website is clear: we want to offer you the best possible service. The statistics and data from Google Analytics help us achieve this goal.

The statistically evaluated data shows us a clear picture of the strengths and weaknesses of our website. On the one hand, we can optimize our site so that interested people can find it more easily on Google. On the other hand, the data helps us to better understand you as a visitor. We therefore know exactly what we need to improve on our website in order to offer you the best possible service. The data also helps us to carry out our advertising and marketing measures more individually and cost-effectively. After all, it only makes sense to show our products and services to people who are interested in them.

What data does Google Analytics store?

Google Analytics creates a random, unique ID associated with your browser cookie using a tracking code. This is how Google Analytics recognizes you as a new user and you are assigned a user ID. The next time you visit our site, you will be recognized as a “returning” user. All collected data is stored together with this user ID. This makes it possible to evaluate pseudonymous user profiles.

In order to be able to analyze our website with Google Analytics, a property ID must be inserted into the tracking code. The data is then saved in the corresponding property. The Google Analytics 4 property is the default for every newly created property. Depending on the property used, data is stored for different lengths of time.

Using identifiers such as cookies, app instance IDs, user IDs or custom event parameters, your interactions are measured across platforms, provided you have consented. Interactions are all types of actions that you take on our website. If you also use other Google systems (such as a Google account), data generated via Google Analytics may be linked to third-party cookies. Google does not pass on Google Analytics data unless we as website operators authorize this. Exceptions may occur if required by law.

According to Google, Google Analytics 4 does not log or store IP addresses. However, Google uses the IP address data to derive location data and deletes it immediately afterwards. All IP addresses collected from users in the EU are deleted before the data is stored in a data center or on a server.

Because Google Analytics 4 focuses on event-based data, the tool uses significantly fewer cookies compared to previous versions (like Google Universal Analytics). However, there are some specific cookies used by GA4. These include, for example:

Name: _ga
Value:2.1326744211.152112666150-5
Purpose of use: By default, analytics.js uses the _ga cookie to store the user ID. Basically, it is used to distinguish website visitors.
Expiry Date: after 2 years

Name: _gid
Value:2.1687193234.152112666150-1
Purpose of use: The cookie is also used to distinguish website visitors
Expiry Date: after 24 hours

Name: _gat_gtag_UA_<property-id>
Value: 1
Purpose of use: Used to reduce request rate. If Google Analytics is provided via Google Tag Manager, this cookie is named _dc_gtm_ <property-id>.
Expiry Date:after 1 minute

Annotation: This list cannot claim to be complete, as Google continually changes its choice of cookies. GA4 also aims to improve data protection. Therefore, the tool offers some options for controlling data collection. For example, we can set the storage period ourselves and also control data collection.

Here we show you an overview of the main types of data collected with Google Analytics:

Heat maps: Google creates so-called heatmaps. Heatmaps show exactly the areas you click on. This gives us information about where you are on our site.

Session duration: Google refers to the time that you spend on our site without leaving the site as session duration. If you have been inactive for 20 minutes, the session ends automatically.

Bounce rate Bounce rate is when you only view one page on our website and then leave our website again.

Account creation: If you create an account or place an order on our website, Google Analytics collects this data.

Location: IP addresses are not logged or stored in Google Analytics. However, shortly before the IP address is deleted, derivatives for location data are used.

Technical information: Technical information includes, but is not limited to, your browser type, your Internet provider or your screen resolution.

Source of origin: Of course, Google Analytics and we are also interested in which website or advertising you came to our site from.

Other data includes contact details, any reviews, playing media (e.g. when you play a video via our site), sharing content via social media or adding it to your favorites. The list does not claim to be complete and only serves as a general guide to data storage by Google Analytics.

How long and where is the data stored?

Google has their servers spread all over the world. You can read exactly where the Google data centers are located here: https://www.google.com/about/datacenters/locations/?hl=de

Your data is distributed on different physical storage media. This has the advantage that the data can be accessed more quickly and is better protected against manipulation. Every Google data center has appropriate emergency programs for your data. For example, if Google’s hardware fails or natural disasters paralyze servers, the risk of service disruption at Google remains low.

The retention period of the data depends on the properties used. The storage period is always determined specifically for each individual property. Google Analytics offers us four options for controlling storage duration:

• 2 months: this is the shortest storage period.
• 14 months: By default, data is stored at GA4 for 14 months.
• 26 months: you can also save the data for 26 months.
• Data will not be deleted until we delete it manually

In addition, there is also the option that data will only be deleted if you no longer visit our website within the period chosen by us. In this case, the retention period will be reset each time you visit our website again within the specified period.

Once the specified period has expired, the data will be deleted once a month. This retention period applies to your data linked to cookies, user recognition and advertising IDs (e.g. cookies from the DoubleClick domain). Report results are based on aggregated data and are stored independently of user data. Aggregated data is a fusion of individual data into a larger unit.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

Under European Union data protection law, you have the right to access, update, delete or restrict your data. You can use the browser add-on to deactivate Google Analytics JavaScript (analytics.js, gtag.js) to prevent Google Analytics 4 from using your data. You can download the browser add-on at https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=de download and install. Please note that this add-on only deactivates data collection by Google Analytics.

If you generally want to deactivate, delete or manage cookies, you will find the relevant links to the relevant instructions for the most popular browsers under the “Cookies” section.

Legal basis

The use of Google Analytics requires your consent, which we obtained with our cookie popup. This consent states loudly Art. 6 Paragraph 1 Letter a GDPR (consent) represents the legal basis for the processing of personal data, as may occur when collected by web analytics tools.

In addition to consent, we have a legitimate interest in analyzing the behavior of website visitors and thus improving our offering technically and economically. With the help of Google Analytics, we detect errors on the website, identify attacks and improve profitability. The legal basis for this isArt. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests). However, we only use Google Analytics if you have given your consent.

Google also processes your data in the USA, among other places. Google is an active participant in the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, which regulates the correct and secure transfer of personal data from EU citizens to the USA. You can find more information about this at https://commission.europa.eu/document/fa09cbad-dd7d-4684-ae60-be03fcb0fddf_en.

Google also uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46 Paragraphs 2 and 3 GDPR). 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 the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and the Standard Contractual 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 USA. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the resolution and the corresponding standard contractual clauses here: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de

The Google Ads Data Processing Terms, which refer to the standard contractual clauses, can be found at https://business.safety.google/intl/de/adsprocessorterms/.

We hope we were able to provide you with the most important information about data processing by Google Analytics. If you want to find out more about the tracking service, we recommend these two links: https://marketingplatform.google.com/about/analytics/terms/de/ and https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/6004245?hl=de.

If you want to find out more about data processing, please use the Google data protection declaration https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=de.

Order processing agreement (AVV) Google Analytics

We have concluded an order processing agreement (AVV) with Google in accordance with Article 28 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). You can find out exactly what an AVV is and, above all, what must be contained in an AVV in our general section “Order Processing Agreement (AVV)”.

This contract is required by law because Google processes personal data on our behalf. This clarifies that Google may only process data that you receive from us according to our instructions and must comply with the GDPR. The link to the order data processing conditions can be found at https://business.safety.google/intl/de/adsprocessorterms/

Google Analytics reports on demographics and interests

We have activated the advertising reporting functions in Google Analytics. Demographics and interests reports include information about age, gender, and interests. This allows us to get a better picture of our users – without being able to assign this data to individual people. You can find out more about the advertising functions athttps://support.google.com/analytics/answer/3450482?hl=de_AT&utm_id=ad.

You can control the use of your Google Account activities and information under “Ad Settings”. https://adssettings.google.com/authenticated end with checkbox.

Google Analytics IP anonymization

We have implemented IP address anonymization from Google Analytics on this website. This function was developed by Google so that this website can comply with the applicable data protection regulations and recommendations of the local data protection authorities if they prohibit the storage of the full IP address. The anonymization or masking of the IP takes place as soon as the IP addresses arrive in the Google Analytics data collection network and before the data is stored or processed.

You can find more information about IP anonymization athttps://support.google.com/analytics/answer/2763052?hl=de.

Email marketing introduction

Email marketing summary👥 Affected: Newsletter subscribers🤝 Purpose: Direct advertising via email, notification of system-relevant events📓 Processed data: Data entered during registration but at least the email address. You can find more details about the email marketing tool used.📅 Storage period: Duration of the subscription⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests)

What is Email Marketing?

In order to always keep you up to date, we also use email marketing. If you have agreed to receive our emails or newsletters, your data will also be processed and stored. Email marketing is a part of online marketing. This involves sending news or general information about a company, product or service via email to a specific group of people who are interested in it.

If you want to participate in our email marketing (usually via newsletter), you usually just need to register with your email address. To do this, fill out an online form and submit it. However, it may also happen that we ask you for your title and name so that we can write to you personally.

Basically, registering for newsletters works with the help of the so-called “double opt-in procedure”. After you have registered for our newsletter on our website, you will receive an email confirming your newsletter registration. This ensures that the email address belongs to you and that no one has logged in with someone else’s email address. We, or a notification tool we use, logs each login. This is necessary so that we can prove that the registration process was legally correct. The time of registration, the time of registration confirmation and your IP address are usually stored. Additionally, it will also be logged if you make changes to your saved data.

Why do we use email marketing?

Of course, we want to stay in touch with you and always present you with the most important news about our company. For this purpose, we use, among other things, email marketing – often just called “newsletter” – as an essential part of our online marketing. If you agree or as permitted by law, we will send you newsletters, system emails or other notifications by email. When we use the term “newsletter” in the following text, we mainly mean emails sent on a regular basis. Of course, we do not want to bother you in any way with our newsletter. That’s why we always strive to only offer relevant and interesting content. You can find out more about our company, our services or products. Since we are always improving our offers, you will always find out via our newsletter when there is news or when we are currently offering special, lucrative promotions. If we commission a service provider who offers a professional sending tool for our email marketing, we do this in order to be able to offer you fast and secure newsletters. The purpose of our email marketing is basically to inform you about new offers and also to get closer to our business goals.

Which data is processed?

If you become a subscriber to our newsletter via our website, you will confirm your membership in an email list by email. In addition to your IP address and email address, your title, name, address and telephone number can also be stored. However, only if you agree to this data storage. The data marked as such is necessary so that you can participate in the service offered. Providing information is voluntary, but failure to provide it will result in you not being able to use the service. In addition, information about your device or your preferred content on our website may also be stored. To learn more about how data is stored when you visit a website, see the “Automatic data storage” section. We record your declaration of consent so that we can always prove that it complies with our laws.

Duration of data processing

If you unsubscribe your email address from our email/newsletter distribution list, we may store your address for up to three years based on our legitimate interests so that we can still prove your consent at the time. We are only allowed to process this data if we have to defend ourselves against any claims.

However, if you confirm that you have given us your consent to subscribe to the newsletter, you can submit an individual deletion request at any time. If you permanently object to your consent, we reserve the right to save your email address in a blacklist. As long as you have voluntarily subscribed to our newsletter, we will of course also keep your email address.

Right to object

You have the option to cancel your newsletter subscription at any time. All you have to do is revoke your consent to subscribe to the newsletter. This usually only takes a few seconds or one or two clicks. You will usually find a link to unsubscribe from the newsletter right at the end of each email. If you really cannot find the link in the newsletter, please contact us by email and we will cancel your newsletter subscription immediately.

Legal basis

Our newsletter is sent based on your consent (Article 6 Paragraph 1 Letter a GDPR). This means that we can only send you a newsletter if you have previously actively registered for it. If necessary, we may also send you advertising messages if you have become our customer and have not objected to the use of your email address for direct advertising.

Information about special email marketing services and how they process personal data, if available, can be found in the following sections.

Explanation of terms used

We always strive to make our data protection declaration as clear and understandable as possible. However, this is not always easy, especially when it comes to technical and legal issues. It often makes sense to use legal terms (such as personal data) or certain technical terms (such as cookies, IP address). But we don’t want to use them without explanation. Below you will find an alphabetical list of important terms used that we may not have addressed sufficiently in the previous data protection declaration. If these terms were taken from the GDPR and they are definitions, we will also cite the GDPR texts here and add our own explanations if necessary.

Processor

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation, the term means:

“Processor” a natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body that processes personal data on behalf of the controller;

Explanation: As a company and website owner, we are responsible for all data that we process from you. In addition to those responsible, there can also be so-called processors. This includes every company or person who processes personal data on our behalf. In addition to service providers such as tax consultants, processors can also include hosting or cloud providers, payment or newsletter providers or large companies such as Google or Microsoft.

consent

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation, the term means:

“Consent” to the data subject, any voluntary, specific, informed and unambiguous indication of his or her wishes, in the form of a statement or other clear affirmative action, by which the data subject indicates that he or she consents to the processing of personal data relating to him or her;

Explanation:As a rule, such consent is given on websites via a cookie consent tool. You probably know that. Whenever you visit a website for the first time, you will usually be asked via a banner whether you agree to data processing. You can usually also make individual settings and decide for yourself which data processing you allow and which not. If you do not consent, no personal data about you may be processed. In principle, consent can of course also be given in writing, i.e. not via a tool.

Personal Data

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation, the term means:

“personal data” any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (hereinafter “data subject”); A natural person is considered to be identifiable if he or she can be identified directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or to one or more special characteristics that express the physical, physiological, genetic, psychological, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person;

Explanation: Personal data is all data that can identify you as a person. This is usually data such as:

• Name
• Address
• Email-Address
• Postal address
• Telephone number
• birth date
• Identification numbers such as social security number, tax identification number, ID card number or matriculation number
• Bank details such as account number, credit information, account balances and much more.

According to the European Court of Justice (ECJ), yours also countsIP address for the personal data. Using your IP address, IT experts can at least determine the approximate location of your device and subsequently you as the connection owner. Therefore, storing an IP address also requires a legal basis within the meaning of the GDPR. There are also so-called“special categories” of personal data that is particularly worthy of protection. These include:

• racial and ethnic origins
• political opinions
• religious or ideological beliefs
• union membership
• genetic data such as data collected from blood or saliva samples
• biometric data (this is information about psychological, physical or behavioral characteristics that can identify a person).
  Health data
• Data on sexual orientation or sex life

Profiling

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation, the term means:

„Profiling“ any type of automated processing of personal data, which consists in using such personal data to evaluate certain personal aspects relating to a natural person, in particular aspects relating to work performance, economic situation, health, personal preferences, interests , analyze or predict the reliability, behavior, location or movements of that natural person;

Explanation: Profiling involves collecting various information about a person in order to learn more about that person. In the web sector, profiling is often used for advertising purposes or for credit checks. Web or advertising analysis programs, for example, collect data about your behavior and interests on a website. This results in a special user profile that can be used to target advertising to a specific target group.

Responsible person

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation, the term means:

“responsible person” the natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which, alone or jointly with others, decides on the purposes and means of processing personal data; where the purposes and means of such processing are determined by Union or Member State law, the controller or the specific criteria for its nomination may be provided for by Union or Member State law;

Explanation: In our case, we are responsible for the processing of your personal data and therefore the “controller”. If we pass on collected data to other service providers for processing, they are “processors”. To do this, an “order processing agreement (AVV)” must be signed.

processing

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation, the term means:

“Processing” any operation or series of operations carried out with or without the aid of automated procedures in connection with personal data, such as the collection, recording, organization, structuring, storage, adaptation or modification, reading, querying, use, disclosure by transmission, distribution or other form of provision, alignment or association, restriction, deletion or destruction;

Annotation:When we talk about processing in our privacy policy, we mean any type of data processing. As mentioned above in the original GDPR declaration, this includes not only collecting but also storing and processing data.

Final word

Congratulations! If you are reading these lines, you have really “fought” your way through our entire privacy policy or at least scrolled this far. As you can see from the scope of our privacy policy, we do not take the protection of your personal data lightly.
It is important to us to inform you to the best of our knowledge and belief about the processing of personal data. We not only want to tell you which data is processed, but also explain the reasons for using various software programs. As a rule, data protection declarations sound very technical and legal. Since most of you are not web developers or lawyers, we wanted to take a different linguistic approach and explain the matter in simple and clear language. Of course, this is not always possible due to the subject matter. The most important terms are therefore explained in more detail at the end of the data protection declaration.
If you have any questions about data protection on our website, please do not hesitate to contact us or the responsible body. We wish you a wonderful time and hope to welcome you back to our website soon.

All texts are copyrighted.

Source: Created with the Privacy Generator by AdSimple