Privacy Policy

Preamble

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 privacy policy applies to all processing of personal data by us, both in the context of providing our services and, in particular, on our websites, in mobile applications and within external online presences, such as our social media profiles (hereinafter collectively referred to as „Online Offer“).

The terms used are gender neutral.

Status: September 15, 2023

Index

Preamble
Responsible person
Overview of processing operations
Legal Basis
Security Measures
Transfers of Personal Data
International data transfers
Data subjects‘ rights
Use of Cookies
Business Services
Providing online services and web hosting
Blogs and publishing media
Contact and request management
Newsletters and electronic alerts
Web analytics, monitoring and optimization
Social media presence
Plugins and embedded features and content

Responsible

weldmetrix GmbH
Tech Park Vienna
Gutheil-Schoder-Gasse 17
1230 Vienna
Austria

E-Mail-Address: info@weldmetrix.com

Imprint: www.weldmetrix.com/imprint

Relevant legal bases

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

Consent (Art. 6 Para. 1 S. 1 lit. a) GDPR) – The data subject has given his or her consent to the processing of personal data concerning him or her for a specific purpose or several specific purposes.
Fulfillment of a contract and pre-contractual inquiries (Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. b) GDPR) – Processing is necessary for the performance of a contract to which the data subject is a party or to carry out pre-contractual measures at the request of the data subject take place.
Legal obligation (Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. c) GDPR) – Processing is necessary to fulfill a legal obligation to which the controller is subject.
Legitimate interests (Art. 6 Para. 1 S. 1 lit. f) GDPR) – Processing is necessary to safeguard the legitimate interests of the controller or a third party, unless the interests or fundamental rights and freedoms of the data subject are infringing on the protection of personal data Data requirements predominate.

National data protection regulations in Austria: In addition to the data protection regulations of the GDPR, national data protection regulations apply in Austria. This includes, in particular, the Federal Law on the Protection of Natural Persons when Processing Personal Data (Data Protection Act – DSG). The Data Protection Act contains, in particular, special regulations on the right to information, the right to rectification or deletion, the processing of special categories of personal data, processing for other purposes and transmission as well as automated decision-making in individual cases.

Note on the validity of the GDPR and Swiss GDPR: This data protection notice serves to provide information in accordance with both the Swiss Federal Data Protection Act (Swiss GDPR) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). For this reason, we ask you to note that the terms of the GDPR are used due to their broader spatial application and comprehensibility. In particular, instead of the terms “processing” of “personal data”, “overriding interest” and “particularly sensitive personal data” used in the Swiss DSG, the terms “processing” of “personal data” as well as “legitimate interest” and “special categories” used in the GDPR are used of data“. However, the legal meaning of the terms will continue to be determined according to the Swiss Data Protection Act within the scope of the Swiss Data Protection Act.

Overview of processing

The following overview summarizes 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.
Contact details.
Content data.
Contract data.
Usage Data.
Meta, communication and procedural data.

Categories of data subjects

Customers.
Interested persons.
Communication partner.
User.
Business and contractual partners.

Purposes of processing

Provision of contractual services and fulfillment of contractual obligations.
Contact inquiries and communication.
Safety measures.
Direct marketing.
Range measurement.
Office and organizational procedures.
Managing and responding to inquiries.
Feedback.
Marketing.
Profiles with user-related information.
Provision of our online offering and user-friendliness.
Information technology infrastructure.

Safety measures

We take appropriate technical and organizational measures in accordance with the legal requirements, taking into account the state of the art, the implementation costs and the type, 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 to ensure a level of protection appropriate to the risk.

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 the access, input, disclosure, ensuring availability and their separation. We have also set up procedures to ensure that the rights of those affected are exercised, the deletion of data and responses to data threats. We also take the protection of personal data into account when developing or selecting 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): To protect your data transmitted via our online offering, we use TLS encryption. You can recognize such encrypted connections by the prefix https:// in the address bar of your browser.

Transfer of personal data

As part of our processing of personal data, the data may be transmitted to or disclosed to other bodies, companies, legally independent organizational 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 appropriate contracts or agreements with the recipients of your data that serve to protect your data.

International data transfers

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 in the context of using third-party services or disclosing or transmitting data to other persons , positions or companies, this only takes place in accordance with the legal requirements. If the level of data protection in the third country has been recognized by means of an adequacy decision (Art. 45 GDPR), this serves as the basis for the data transfer. Furthermore, data transfers only take place if the level of data protection is otherwise secured, in particular through standard contractual clauses (Art. 46 Para. 2 lit. c) GDPR), express consent or in the case of contractually or legally required transfer (Art. 49 Para. 1 GDPR). . We will also inform you about the basics of third-country transfers for the individual providers from the third country, with the adequacy decisions taking precedence as the basics. Information on third country transfers and existing adequacy decisions can be found in the EU Commission’s information offering: https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/law-topic/data-protection/international-dimension-data-protection_de.

EU-US Trans-Atlantic Data Privacy Framework: Im Rahmen des sogenannten „Data Privacy Framework” (DPF) hat die EU-Kommission das Datenschutzniveau ebenfalls für bestimmte Unternehmen aus den USA im Rahmen der Angemessenheitsbeschlusses vom 10.07.2023 als sicher anerkannt. Die Liste der zertifizierten Unternehmen als auch weitere Informationen zu dem DPF können Sie der Webseite des Handelsministeriums der USA unter https://www.dataprivacyframework.gov/ (in Englisch) entnehmen. Wir informieren Sie im Rahmen der Datenschutzhinweise welche von uns eingesetzten Diensteanbieter unter dem Data Privacy Framework zertifiziert sind.

Rights of data subjects

Rights of the data subjects under the GDPR: As a data subject, you are entitled to various rights under the GDPR, which arise in particular from Articles 15 to 21 of the GDPR:

Right to object: You have the right, for reasons arising from your particular situation, to object at any time to the processing of your personal data, which is carried out on the basis of Article 6 (1) (e) or (f) of the GDPR; This also applies to profiling based on these provisions. If your personal data is processed for the purpose of direct advertising, you have the right to object at any time to the processing of your personal data for the purpose of such advertising; This also applies to profiling insofar as it is connected to such direct advertising.
Right to revoke consent: You have the right to revoke your consent at any time.
Right to information: You have the right to request confirmation as to whether the data in question is being processed and to receive information about this data as well as further information and a copy of the data in accordance with legal requirements.
Right to rectification: In accordance with legal requirements, you have the right to request that the data concerning you be completed or that incorrect data concerning you be corrected.
Right to deletion and restriction of processing: In accordance with the legal requirements, you have the right to demand that data concerning you be deleted immediately or, alternatively, to request that the processing of the data be restricted in accordance with the legal requirements.
Right to data portability: You have the right to receive data concerning you that you have provided to us in a structured, common and machine-readable format in accordance with legal requirements or to request that it be transmitted to another person responsible.
Complaint to a 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, your place of work or the place of the alleged infringement, if you believe that the processing of your data concerns you personal data violates the requirements of the GDPR.

Use of cookies

Cookies are small text files or other storage 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 cart in an e-shop, the content accessed or the functions used of an online offer. Cookies can also be used for various purposes, e.g. for the purposes of the functionality, security and comfort of online offerings as well as the creation of analyzes of visitor flows.

Information on consent: We use cookies in accordance with legal regulations. We therefore obtain prior consent from users, unless this is not required by law. In particular, consent is not necessary if the storage and reading of the information, including cookies, is absolutely necessary in order to provide users with a telemedia service they have expressly requested (i.e. our online offering). Strictly necessary cookies generally include cookies with functions related to the display and operability of the online offering, load balancing, security, storage of users‘ preferences and choices or similar to the provision of the main and secondary functions of those requested by users purposes related to the online offering. The revocable consent is clearly communicated to the users and contains information on the respective cookie use.

Notes on data protection legal bases: The data protection legal basis on which we process users‘ personal data using cookies depends on whether we ask users for consent. If users consent, the legal basis for processing your data is their declared consent. Otherwise, the data processed using cookies will be processed on the basis of our legitimate interests (e.g. in the commercial operation of our online offering and improving its usability) or, if this is within the scope of the fulfillment of our contractual obligations, if the use of cookies is necessary for our purposes to fulfill contractual obligations. We will explain the purposes for which we process cookies in the course of this data protection declaration or as part of our consent and processing processes.

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

Temporary cookies (also: session or session cookies): Temporary cookies are deleted at the latest after a user has left an online offer and closed their device (e.g. browser or mobile application).
Permanent cookies: Permanent cookies remain stored even after the 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. User data collected using cookies can also be used to measure reach. Unless we provide users with explicit information about the type and storage period of cookies (e.g. as part of obtaining consent), users should assume that cookies are permanent and that the storage period can be up to two years.
General information on revocation and objection (so-called “opt-out”): Users can revoke the consent they have given at any time and object to the processing in accordance with the legal requirements. To do this, users can, among other things, restrict the use of cookies in their browser settings (which may also limit the functionality of our online offering). 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/.

Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 Para. 1 S. 1 lit. f) GDPR). Consent (Art. 6 Para. 1 Sentence 1 Letter a) GDPR).

Further information on processing processes, procedures and services:

Processing of cookie data on the basis of consent: We use a cookie consent management process, in which users consent to the use of cookies or the processing mentioned within the cookie consent management process and providers can be obtained and managed and revoked by users. The declaration of consent is saved so that it does not have to be asked again and to be able to prove 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 using comparable technologies) in order to be able to assign the consent to a user or their device. Subject to individual information about the providers of cookie management services, the following information applies: The duration of the storage of consent can be up to two years. Here, a pseudonymous user identifier is created and stored with the time of consent, information about the scope of the consent (e.g. which categories of cookies and/or service providers) as well as the browser, system and device used;
Legal basis: Consent (Art. 6 Para. 1 Sentence 1 Letter a) GDPR).

Business

We process data from our contractual and business partners, e.g. customers and interested parties (collectively referred to as “contractual partners”) within the framework of contractual and comparable legal relationships as well as associated measures and as part of communication with the contractual partners (or pre-contractual), e.g. to respond to inquiries answer.

We process this data to fulfill our contractual obligations. This includes, in particular, the obligations to provide the agreed services, any update obligations and remedies in the event of warranty and other service disruptions. In addition, we process the data to protect our rights and for the purposes of the administrative tasks associated with these obligations and the company organization. In addition, 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 and jeopardy of their data, secrets, information and rights (e.g. for the participation of telecommunications, transport and other auxiliary services as well as subcontractors, banks, tax and legal advisors, payment service providers or tax authorities). Within the scope of applicable law, we only pass on the data of contractual partners to third parties to the extent that this is necessary for the aforementioned purposes or to fulfill legal obligations. The contractual partners will be informed about other forms of processing, e.g. for marketing purposes, as part of this data protection declaration.

We inform the contractual partners which data is required for the aforementioned purposes before or as part of data collection, e.g. in online forms, through special identification (e.g. colors) or symbols (e.g. asterisks, etc.), or in person.

We delete the data after the expiry of statutory warranty and comparable obligations, i.e. generally 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 is ten years for documents relevant to tax law as well as for commercial books, inventories, opening balance sheets, annual financial statements, the work instructions and other organizational documents and accounting documents required to understand these documents, and six years for commercial and business letters received and copies of the commercial and business letters sent. The period begins 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 financial statements or the management report were prepared, the commercial or business letter was received or sent or the accounting document was created and the recording was also made has been made or the other documents have been created.

To the extent that 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 details (e.g. email, telephone numbers); Contract data (e.g. subject matter of the contract, term, customer category); Usage data (e.g. websites visited, interest in content, access times). Meta, communication and procedural data (e.g. IP addresses, times, identification numbers, consent status).
Data subjects: customers; Interested persons. Business and contractual partners.
Purposes of processing: provision of contractual services and fulfillment of contractual obligations; Safety measures; Contact inquiries and communication; Office and organizational procedures. Managing and responding to inquiries.
Legal basis: fulfillment of contract and pre-contractual inquiries (Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. b) GDPR); Legal obligation (Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. c) GDPR). Legitimate interests (Art. 6 Para. 1 Sentence 1 Letter f) GDPR).

Further information on processing processes, procedures and services:

Customer account: Customers can create an account within our online offering (e.g. customer or user account, “customer account” for short). If registration of a customer account is required, customers will be informed of this as well as the information required for registration. Customer accounts are not public and cannot be indexed by search engines. As part of the registration and subsequent logins and use of the customer account, we store the customers‘ IP addresses along with the access times in order to be able to prove registration and prevent any misuse of the customer account. If the customer account has been terminated, the customer account data will be deleted after the time of termination, unless it is retained for purposes other than provision in the customer account or must be retained for legal reasons (e.g. internal storage of customer data, order processes or invoices). It is the responsibility of customers to secure their data upon termination of the customer account;
Legal basis: fulfillment of contract and pre-contractual inquiries (Art. 6 Para. 1 Sentence 1 Letter b) GDPR).

Provision of online offerings and web hosting

We process users‘ data in order to be able 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 device.

Types of data processed: Usage data (e.g. websites visited, interest in content, access times). Meta, communication and procedural data (e.g. IP addresses, times, identification numbers, consent status).
Data subjects: Users (e.g. website visitors, users of online services).
Purposes of processing: Provision of our online offering and user-friendliness; Information technology infrastructure (operation and provision of information systems and technical devices (computers, servers, etc.); Safety measures. Provision of contractual services and fulfillment of contractual obligations.
Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 Para. 1 S. 1 lit. f) GDPR).

Further information on processing processes, procedures and services:

Collection of access data and log files: Access to our online offering is logged in the form of so-called “server log files”. The server log files include the address and name of the websites and files accessed, date and time of access, amount of data transferred, notification of successful retrieval, browser type and version, the user’s operating system, referrer URL (the previously visited page) and, as a rule, IP address. Addresses and the requesting provider belong. The server log files can be used on the one hand for security purposes, e.g. to avoid overloading the servers (particularly in the case of abusive attacks, so-called DDoS attacks) and on the other hand to ensure the utilization of the servers and their stability;
Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 Para. 1 S. 1 lit. f) GDPR).

Deletion of data: Log file information is stored for a maximum of 30 days and then deleted or anonymized. Data whose further storage is necessary for evidentiary purposes is excluded from deletion until the respective incident has been finally clarified.

1&1 IONOS: Services in the field of providing information technology infrastructure and related services (e.g. storage space and/or computing capacity);
Service provider: 1&1 IONOS SE, Elgendorfer Str. 57, 56410 Montabaur, Germany;
Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. f) GDPR);
Website: https://www.ionos.de;
Data protection declaration: https://www.ionos.de/terms-gtc/terms-privacy.
Order processing contract: https://www.ionos.de/hilfe/datenschutz/generale-information-zur-datenschutz-grundverfassung-dsgvo/vertragsprocessing/.
Blogs and publication media

We use blogs or comparable means of online communication and publication (hereinafter “publication medium”). Readers‘ data will only be processed for the purposes of the publication medium to the extent necessary for its presentation and communication between authors and readers or for security reasons. Furthermore, 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 details (e.g. email, telephone numbers); Content data (e.g. entries in online forms); Usage data (e.g. websites visited, interest in content, access times). Meta, communication and procedural data (e.g. IP addresses, times, identification numbers, consent status).
Data subjects: Users (e.g. website visitors, users of online services).
Purposes of processing: provision of contractual services and fulfillment of contractual obligations; Feedback (e.g. collecting feedback via online form); Provision of our online offering and user-friendliness; Safety measures. Managing and responding to inquiries.
Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 Para. 1 S. 1 lit. f) GDPR).

Further information on processing processes, procedures and services:

Comments and posts: When users leave comments or other posts, their IP addresses may be stored based on our legitimate interests. This is done for our security if someone leaves illegal content in comments and posts (insults, forbidden political propaganda, etc.). In this case, we ourselves can be prosecuted for the comment or post and are therefore interested in the identity of the author. We also reserve the right to process user information for spam detection based on our legitimate interests. We reserve the same legal basis In the case of surveys, we plan to store the IP addresses of users for their duration and to use cookies to avoid multiple voting. The personal information provided in the comments and posts, any contact and website information as well as the content information stored permanently by us until the user objects;
Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 Para. 1 S. 1 lit. f) GDPR).
Retrieval of WordPress emojis and smilies: Retrieval of WordPress emojis and smilies – Within our WordPress blog, graphic emojis (or smilies), i.e. small graphic files that express feelings, are used for the purpose of efficiently integrating content elements , obtained from external servers. The server providers collect the IP addresses of the users. This is necessary so that the emoji files can be delivered to 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 sentence 1 lit. f) GDPR);
Website: https://automattic.com;
Data protection declaration: https://automattic.com/privacy.
Basis for third country transfer: EU-US Data Privacy Framework (DPF).

Contact and inquiry management

When you contact us (e.g. by post, contact form, email, telephone or via social media) as well as within the framework of existing user and business relationships, the information provided by the inquiring person is processed to the extent that this is necessary to answer the contact request and any requested measures.

Types of data processed: contact details (e.g. email, telephone numbers); Content data (e.g. entries in online forms); Usage data (e.g. websites visited, interest in content, access times). Meta, communication and procedural data (e.g. IP addresses, times, identification numbers, consent status).
Affected persons: communication partners.
Purposes of processing: contact requests and communication; managing and responding to inquiries; Feedback (e.g. collecting feedback via online form). Provision of our online offering and user-friendliness.
Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 Para. 1 S. 1 lit. f) GDPR). Fulfillment of the contract and pre-contractual inquiries (Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. b) GDPR).

Further information on processing processes, procedures and services:

Contact form: If users contact us via our contact form, email or other communication channels, we process the data provided to us in this context to process the request communicated;

Legal basis: Contract fulfillment and pre-contractual inquiries (Art. 6 Para. 1 S. 1 lit. b) GDPR), legitimate interests (Art. 6 Para. 1 S. 1 lit. f) GDPR).

Newsletters and electronic notifications

We only send newsletters, emails and other electronic notifications (hereinafter “newsletter”) with the consent of the recipient or legal permission. If the contents are specifically described as part of a registration for the newsletter, they are decisive for the consent of the user. Our newsletters also contain information about our services and us.

In order to register for our newsletters, it is generally sufficient to provide your email address. However, we may ask you to provide a name so that you can be addressed personally in the newsletter, or other information if this is necessary for the purposes of the newsletter.

Double opt-in process: Registration for our newsletter generally takes place using a so-called double opt-in process. This means that after registering you will receive an email asking you to confirm your registration. This confirmation is necessary so that no one can log in with someone else’s email address. Registrations for the newsletter are logged in order to be able to provide evidence of the registration process in accordance with legal requirements. This includes storing the registration and confirmation times as well as the IP address. Changes to your data stored by the shipping service provider are also logged.

Deletion and restriction of processing: We can store the unsubscribed email addresses for up to three years based on our legitimate interests before we delete them in order to be able to prove that consent was previously given. The processing of this data is limited to the purpose of possible defense against claims. An individual request for deletion is possible at any time, provided that the previous existence of consent is confirmed at the same time. In the event of obligations to permanently observe contradictions, we reserve the right to store the email address in a blacklist (so-called “blocklist”) solely for this purpose.

The registration process is recorded on the basis of our legitimate interests for the purpose of providing evidence of its proper execution. If we commission a service provider to send emails, this is done on the basis of our legitimate interests in an efficient and secure shipping system.

Contents:

Information about us, our services, promotions and offers.

Types of data processed: inventory data (e.g. names, addresses); Contact details (e.g. email, telephone numbers); Meta, communication and procedural data (e.g. IP addresses, times, identification numbers, consent status). Usage data (e.g. websites visited, interest in content, access times).
Affected persons: communication partners.
Purposes of processing: Direct marketing (e.g. by email or post).
Legal basis: Consent (Art. 6 Para. 1 Sentence 1 Letter a) GDPR). Legitimate interests (Art. 6 Para. 1 Sentence 1 Letter f) GDPR).
Option to object (opt-out): You can cancel your receipt of our newsletter at any time, i.e. revoke your consent or object to further receipt. You will find a link to cancel the newsletter either at the end of each newsletter or you can use one of the contact options listed above, preferably email.

Further information on processing processes, procedures and services:

Measurement of opening and click rates: The newsletters contain a so-called „web beacon“, i.e. a pixel-sized file that is retrieved from our server when the newsletter is opened or, if we use a shipping service provider, from its server During this retrieval, technical information is first collected, such as information about the browser and your system, as well as your IP address and the time of retrieval. This information is used to technically improve our newsletter based on the technical data or the target groups and their reading behavior Retrieval locations (which can be determined using the IP address) or access times are used. This analysis also includes determining whether the newsletters are opened, when they are opened and which links are clicked. This information is assigned to the individual newsletter recipients and in their Profiles are stored until they are deleted. The evaluations help us to recognize the reading habits of our users and to adapt our content to them or to send different content according to the interests of our users. The measurement of the opening rates and click rates as well as the storage of the measurement results in the profiles the user.

Legal basis: Consent (Art. 6 Para. 1 Sentence 1 Letter a) GDPR).
Mailchimp: email delivery and email delivery and automation services;
Service Provider: Rocket Science Group, LLC, 675 Ponce De Leon Ave NE #5000, Atlanta, GA 30308, USA;
Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. f) GDPR);
Website: https://mailchimp.com;
Privacy Policy: https://mailchimp.com/legal/;
Order processing contract: https://mailchimp.com/legal/;
Basis for third country transfer: EU-US Data Privacy Framework (DPF), Standard Contractual Clauses (Provided by the service provider).
Further information: Special security measures: https://mailchimp.com/help/Mailchimp-european-data-transfers/.
Web analysis, monitoring and optimization

Web analysis (also referred to as „reach measurement“) is used to evaluate the flow of visitors to our online offering and can include behavior, interests or demographic information about visitors, such as age or gender, as pseudonymous values. With the help of reach analysis, we can, for example, identify at what time our online offering or its functions or content are used most frequently or invite reuse. We can also understand which areas require optimization.

In addition to web analysis, we can also use testing procedures, for example to test and optimize different versions of our online offering or its components.

Unless otherwise stated below, profiles, i.e. data summarized into a usage process, can be created for these purposes and information can be stored in a browser or in a device and read out 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 about times of use. If users have agreed to the collection of their location data to us or to the providers of the services we use, location data can also be processed.

The users’ IP addresses are also stored. However, we use an IP masking process (i.e. pseudonymization by shortening the IP address) to protect users. In general, as part of web analysis, A/B testing and optimization, no clear user data (such as email addresses or names) is stored, but rather pseudonyms. This means that we and the providers of the software used do not know the actual identity of the users, but only the information stored in their profiles for the purposes of the respective procedures.

Types of data processed: Usage data (e.g. websites visited, interest in content, access times). Meta, communication and procedural data (e.g. IP addresses, times, identification numbers, consent status).
Data subjects: Users (e.g. website visitors, users of online services).
Purposes of processing: Reach measurement (e.g. access statistics, recognition of returning visitors). Profiles with user-related information (creating user profiles).
Security measures: IP masking (pseudonymization of the IP address).
Legal basis: Consent (Art. 6 Para. 1 Sentence 1 Letter a) GDPR).

Further information on processing processes, procedures and services:

Matomo: Matomo is software that is used for web analysis and reach measurement purposes. When using Matomo, cookies are generated and stored on the user’s device. The user data collected when using Matomo is only processed by us and is not shared with third parties. The cookies are stored for a maximum period of 13 months: https://matomo.org/faq/general/faq_146/; Legal basis: Consent (Art. 6 Para. 1 Sentence 1 Letter a) GDPR). Deletion of data: The cookies have a storage period of a maximum of 13 months.

Presences in social networks (social media)

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

We would like to point out that user data may be processed outside the European Union. This can result in risks for users because, for example, it could make it more difficult to enforce users‘ rights.

Furthermore, user data within social networks is usually processed for market research and advertising purposes. For example, usage profiles can be created based on usage behavior and the resulting interests of 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 behavior and interests of the users are stored. Furthermore, data can also be stored in the usage profiles regardless of the devices used by the users (particularly if the users are members of the respective platforms and are logged in to them).

For a detailed description of the respective forms of processing and the options for objection (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 the rights of those affected, we would also like to point out that these can most effectively be asserted with the providers. Only the providers have access to user data and can take appropriate measures and provide information directly. If you still need help, you can contact us.

Types of data processed: contact details (e.g. email, telephone numbers); Content data (e.g. entries in online forms); Usage data (e.g. websites visited, interest in content, access times). Meta, communication and procedural data (e.g. IP addresses, times, identification numbers, consent status).
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 S. 1 lit. f) GDPR).

Further information on processing processes, 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 sentence 1 lit. f) GDPR);
Website: https://www.linkedin.com;
Privacy policy: https://www.linkedin.com/legal/privacy-policy;
Order processing contract: https://legal.linkedin.com/dpa;
Basis for third country transfer: standard contractual clauses (https://legal.linkedin.com/dpa).
Option to object (opt-out): https://www.linkedin.com/psettings/guest-controls/retargeting-opt-out.

Plugins and embedded functions and content

We include functional and content elements in our online offering 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 users‘ IP address, as without the IP address they would not be able to send the content to their browser. The IP address is therefore required to display this content or functions. We strive to only use content whose respective providers only use the IP address to deliver the content. Third parties may also use so-called pixel tags (invisible graphics, also known as “web beacons”) for statistical or marketing purposes. The “pixel tags” can be used to evaluate information such as visitor traffic on the pages of this website. The pseudonymous information can 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, the 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 and procedural data (e.g. IP addresses, times, identification numbers, consent status).
Data subjects: Users (e.g. website visitors, users of online services).
Purposes of processing: Provision of our online offering and user-friendliness; Marketing. Profiles with user-related information (creating user profiles).
Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 Para. 1 S. 1 lit. f) GDPR).

Further information on processing processes, procedures and services:

Integration of third-party software, scripts or frameworks (e.g. jQuery): We integrate software into our online offering that we retrieve from servers of other providers (e.g. function libraries that we use for the purpose of displaying or user-friendliness of our online offering). The respective providers collect the IP address of the user and can process it for the purpose of transmitting the software to the user’s browser as well as for security purposes and to evaluate and optimize their offer. – We integrate software into our online offering that we retrieve from servers of other providers (e.g. function libraries that we use for the purpose of displaying or user-friendliness of our online offering). The respective providers collect the IP address of the user and can process it for the purpose of transmitting the software to the user’s browser as well as for security purposes as well as to evaluate and optimize their offer;
Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 Para. 1 S. 1 lit. f) GDPR).
Google Fonts (provided on our own server): Provision of font files for the purpose of a user-friendly presentation of our online offering;
Service provider: The Google Fonts are hosted on our server, no data is transmitted to Google;
Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 Para. 1 S. 1 lit. f) GDPR).
LinkedIn plugins and content: LinkedIn plugins and content – This may include, for example, content such as images, videos or texts and buttons with which users can share content from this online offering within LinkedIn;

Service provider: LinkedIn Ireland Unlimited Company, Wilton Place, Dublin 2, Ireland;
Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. f) GDPR);
Website: https://www.linkedin.com;
Privacy policy: https://www.linkedin.com/legal/privacy-policy;
Order processing contract: https://legal.linkedin.com/dpa;
Basis for third country transfer: standard contractual clauses (https://legal.linkedin.com/dpa).
Option to object (opt-out): https://www.linkedin.com/psettings/guest-controls/retargeting-opt-out.
OpenStreetMap: We integrate the maps from the „OpenStreetMap“ service, which are offered on the basis of the Open Data Commons Open Database License (ODbL) by the OpenStreetMap Foundation (OSMF). The user data is used by OpenStreetMap exclusively for the purposes of displaying the map functions and for temporarily storing the selected settings. This data may include, in particular, IP addresses and location data of the users, which, however, are not collected without their consent (usually carried out as part of the settings of their devices or browsers);
Service provider: OpenStreetMap Foundation (OSMF);
Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. f) GDPR);
Website: https://www.openstreetmap.de.
Privacy policy: https://wiki.osmfoundation.org/wiki/Privacy_Policy.