Privacy

We have written this data protection declaration (version 10/26/2020-311225157) to explain to you in accordance with the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 what information we collect, how we use data and what options you have as a visitor to this website.

Unfortunately, it is in the nature of things that these explanations sound very technical, but we have tried to describe the most important things as simply and clearly as possible.

Automatic data storage

When you visit websites these days, certain information is automatically created and stored, including on this website.

If you visit our website as you are now, our web server (computer on which this website is stored) automatically saves data such as

  • the address (URL) of the
  • Browser and browser
  • the operating syste
  • the address (URL) o
  • the host name and t
  • Date and Time

in files (web server log files).

As a rule, web server log files are stored for two weeks and then automatically deleted. We do not pass this data on, but we cannot rule out that this data will be viewed in the event of illegal behavior.

Cookies

Our website uses HTTP cookies to save user-specific data. In the following we explain what cookies are and why they are used so that you can better understand the following data protection declaration.

What exactly are cookies?

Whenever you surf the Internet, you are using a browser. Well-known browsers include Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge. Most websites save small text files in your browser. These files are called cookies.

One thing cannot be dismissed out of hand: Cookies are really useful little helpers. Almost all websites use cookies. More precisely, 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 placed in the cookie folder, which is 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 your usual standard settings. In some browsers, each cookie has its own file, in others, such as Firefox, all cookies are stored in a single file.

There are both first-party cookies and third-party cookies. First-party cookies are created directly from our side, third-party cookies are created by partner websites (e.g. Google Analytics). Each cookie must be evaluated individually, as 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 "pests". Cookies cannot access information on your PC either.

For example, cookie data can look like this:

  • Name: _ga
  • Expiry time: 2 years
  • Use: Differentiation of website visitors
  • Exemplary value: GA1.2.1326744211.152311225157

A browser should support the following minimum sizes:

  • A cookie should be able to contain at least 4096 bytes
  • At least 50 cookies should be able to be stored per domain
  • A total of at least 3000 cookies should be able to be stored

What types of cookies are there?

The question of which cookies we specifically use 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:

Absolutely necessary cookies
These cookies are necessary to ensure the 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 goes to checkout later. These cookies do not delete the shopping cart, even if the user closes his browser window.

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

Goal-oriented cookies
These cookies ensure better user-friendliness. For example, entered locations, font sizes or form data are saved.

Advertising cookies
These cookies are also called targeting cookies. They serve to deliver customized advertising to the user. That can be very practical, but also very annoying.

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

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 originate from, you always have the option of deleting cookies, only partially allowing them or deactivating them. For example, you can block third-party cookies but allow all other cookies.

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

If you generally do not want cookies, you can set up your browser so that it always informs you when a cookie is to be set. For each individual cookie, you can decide whether or not to allow the cookie. The procedure is different depending on the browser. It is best to search for the instructions in Google with the search term “delete cookies Chrome” or “deactivate cookies Chrome” in the case of a Chrome browser or replace the word “Chrome” with the name of your browser, e.g. Edge, Firefox, Safari.

What about my data protection?

The so-called “cookie guidelines” have existed since 2009. It states that the saving of cookies requires your consent. Within the EU countries, however, there are still very different reactions to these guidelines. In Germany, the cookie guidelines have not been implemented as national law. Instead, this guideline was largely implemented in Section 15 (3) of the Telemedia Act (TMG).

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

Storage of personal data

Personal data that you transmit to us electronically on this website, such as name, e-mail address, address or other personal information in the context of submitting a form or comments in the blog, are saved by us together with the time and the IP Address is only used for the specified purpose, stored securely and not passed on to third parties.

We therefore only use your personal data for communication with those visitors who expressly request contact and for processing the services and products offered on this website. We do not pass on your personal data without your consent, but we cannot rule out that this data will be viewed in the event of illegal behavior.

If you send us personal data by email - outside of this website - we cannot guarantee the secure transmission and protection of your data. We recommend that you never send confidential data unencrypted by e-mail.

According to Article 6 Paragraph 1 a GDPR (lawfulness of processing), the legal basis is that you give us your consent to process the data you have entered. You can revoke this consent at any time - an informal e-mail is sufficient, you will find our contact details in the imprint.

Rights according to the General Data Protection Regulation

According to the provisions of the GDPR, you have the following rights:

  • Right to rectification (Article 16 GDPR)
  • Right to cancellation ("right to be forgotten") (Article 17 GDPR)
  • Right to restriction of processing (Article 18 GDPR)
  • Right to notification - obligation to notify in connection with the correction or deletion of personal
  • data or the restriction of processing (Article 19 GDPR)
  • Right to data portability (Article 20 GDPR)
  • Right to object (Article 21 GDPR)
  • Right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing - including profiling (Article 22 GDPR)

If you believe that the processing of your data violates data protection law or that your data protection claims have been violated in any other way, you can contact the  Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (BfDI).

Evaluation of visitor behavior

In the following data protection declaration, we inform you whether and how we evaluate data from your visit to this website. The analysis of the collected data is usually anonymous and we cannot infer your person from your behavior on this website.

You can find out more about how to object to this analysis of the visit data in the following data protection declaration.

TLS encryption with https

We use https to transfer data securely on the Internet (data protection through technology design,  Article 25 (1) GDPR). By using TLS (Transport Layer Security), an encryption protocol for secure data transmission on the Internet, we can ensure the protection of confidential data. You can recognize the use of this protection of data transmission by the small lock symbol in the top left of the browser and the use of the https (instead of http) scheme as part of our Internet address.

Google Analytics privacy policy

We use the Google Analytics (GA) analysis tracking tool from the American company Google Inc. on our website. Google Ireland Limited (Gordon House, Barrow Street Dublin 4, Ireland) is responsible for all Google services in Europe. Google Analytics collects data about your actions on our website. For example, if you click on a link, this action is saved in a cookie and sent to Google Analytics. With the help of the reports we receive from Google Analytics, we can better tailor our website and our service to your needs. In the following, we will go into more detail about the tracking tool and, above all, inform you about which data is stored and how you can prevent this.

What is Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a tracking tool that is used to analyze the traffic on our website. 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 actions that you carry out on our website. As soon as you leave our website, this data is sent to the Google Analytics server and stored there.

Google processes the data and we receive reports on your user behavior. These reports can include the following:

  • Target group reports: With target group reports, we get to know our users better and know more precisely who is interested in our service.
  • Ad reports: Ad reports make it easier for us to analyze and improve our online advertising.
  • Acquisition reports: Acquisition reports give us helpful information on how we can get more people excited about our service.
  • Behavioral Reports: This is where we learn how you interact with our website. We can understand which route you take on our site and which links you click.
  • Conversion reports: Conversion is a process in which you carry out a desired action based on a marketing message. For example, when you go from being a pure website visitor to being a buyer or newsletter subscriber. With the help of these reports we can find out more about how our marketing measures are 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 reading this text.

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 to achieve this goal.

The statistically evaluated data show 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 very well what we need to improve on our website in order to offer you the best possible service. The data also help 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.

Which data is saved by Google Analytics?

Google Analytics uses a tracking code to create a random, unique ID that is linked to your browser cookie. This is how Google Analytics recognizes you as a new user. The next time you visit our site, you will be recognized as a "returning" user. All collected data is saved together with this user ID. This is the only way to evaluate pseudonymous user profiles.

Your interactions on our website are measured through identifiers such as cookies and app instance IDs. Interactions are all types of actions that you carry out on our website. If you also use other Google systems (such as a Google account), data generated by Google Analytics can be linked to third-party cookies. Google does not pass on any Google Analytics data unless we, as the website operator, approve it. Exceptions may be made if required by law.

The following cookies are used by Google Analytics:

  • Name: _ga
    Value: 2.1326744211.152311225157-5
    Purpose: By default, analytics.js uses the _ga cookie to save the user ID. Basically, it is used to differentiate between website visitors.
    Expiry date: after 2 years
  • Name: _gid
    Value: 2.1687193234.152311225157-1
    Purpose: The cookie is also used to differentiate between website visitors.
    Expiry date: after 24 hours
  • Name: _gat_gtag_UA_<property-id>
    Value: 1
    Purpose: Used to lower the request rate. If Google Analytics is provided via the Google Tag Manager, this cookie is given the name _dc_gtm_ <property-id>.
    Expiry date: after 1 minute
  • Name: AMP_TOKEN
    Value: no information
    Purpose: The cookie has a token with which a user ID can be retrieved from the AMP client ID service. Other possible values ​​indicate a logout, a request, or an error.
    Expiry date: after 30 seconds up to a year
  • Name: __utma
    Value: 1564498958.1564498958.1564498958.1
    Purpose: This cookie can be used to track your behavior on the website and measure performance. The cookie is updated every time information is sent to Google Analytics.
    Expiry date: after 2 years
  • Name: __utmt
    Value: 1
    Purpose: The cookie is used like _gat_gtag_UA_<property-id> to throttle the request rate.
    Expiry date: after 10 minutes
  • Name: __utmb
    Value: 3.10.1564498958
    Purpose: This cookie is used to determine new sessions. It is updated every time new data or information is sent to Google Analytics.
    Expiry date: after 30 minutes
  • Name: __utmc
    Value: 167421564
    Purpose: This cookie is used to set new sessions for returning visitors. This is a session cookie and it is only saved until you close the browser again.
    Expiry date: after closing the browser
  • Name: __utmz
    Value: m|utmccn=(referral)|utmcmd=referral|utmcct=/
    Purpose: The cookie is used to identify the source of the traffic on our website. This means that the cookie saves where you came to our website from. That could have been another page or an advertisement.
    Expiry date: after 6 months
  • Name: __utmv
    Value: not specified
    Purpose: The cookie is used to save custom user data. It is always updated when information is sent to Google Analytics.
    Expiry date: after 2 years

Note: This list cannot claim to be complete, as Google keeps changing the selection of its cookies.

Here we show you an overview of the most important data that is collected with Google Analytics:

  • Heatmaps: Google creates so-called heatmaps. Via heatmaps you can see exactly those areas that you click on. That way we get information about where you are on our site.
  • Session duration: Google defines the session duration as the time that you spend on our site without leaving the site. If you have been inactive for 20 minutes, the session ends automatically.
  • Bounce rate : We are talking about a bounce if you only view one page on our website and then exit our website again.
  • Account creation: When you create an account or place an order on our website, Google Analytics collects this data.
  • IP address: The IP address is only shown in abbreviated form so that no clear assignment is possible.
  • Location: The country and your approximate location can be determined via the IP address. This process is also known as IP location determination.
  • Technical information: The technical information includes, among other things, your browser type, your Internet provider or your screen resolution.
  • Source of origin: Google Analytics or us, of course also interested in which website or which advertising you came to our site.

Further data are contact details, any ratings, the playing of media (e.g. when you play a video on 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 distributed your servers all over the world. Most of the servers are located in America and consequently your data is mostly stored on American servers. Here you can read exactly where the Google data centers are located:  https://www.google.com/about/datacenters/inside/locations/?hl=de

Your data is distributed on various physical data carriers. 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. If, for example, the hardware at Google fails or natural disasters paralyze servers, the risk of a service interruption at Google remains low.

A standard retention period for your user data of 26 months is set for Google Analytics. Then your user data will be deleted. However, we have the option of choosing the retention period for user data ourselves. We have five options for this:

  • Deletion after 14 months
  • Deletion after 26 months
  • Deletion after 38 months
  • Deletion after 50 months
  • No automatic deletion

When the specified period has expired, the data is deleted once a month. This retention period applies to your data which is linked to cookies, user identification 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 merging of individual data into a larger unit.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

According to the data protection law of the European Union, you have the right to receive information about your data, to update it, to delete it or to restrict it. With the help of the browser add-on to deactivate Google Analytics JavaScript (ga.js, analytics.js, dc.js), you prevent Google Analytics from using your data. You can download and install the browser add-on at  https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=de. Please note that this add-on only deactivates data collection by Google Analytics.

If you basically want to deactivate, delete or manage cookies (independent of Google Analytics), there are separate instructions for each browser:

Google Analytics is an active participant in the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework, which regulates the correct and secure transfer of personal data. You can find more information on this at  https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt000000001L5AAI&tid=311225157. We hope we have been 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: http://www.google.com/analytics/terms/de.html and https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/6004245?hl=de.

Google Analytics IP anonymization

We have implemented the IP address anonymization of 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 on IP anonymization at  https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/2763052?hl=de.

Google Analytics reports on demographics and interests

We have switched on the functions for advertising reports in Google Analytics. The demographics and interests reports include age, gender and interests. This enables us - without being able to assign this data to individual persons - to get a better picture of our users. You can find out more about the advertising functions at https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/3450482?hl=de_AT&utm_id=ad.

You can stop using the activities and information in your Google account under “Settings for advertising” at https://adssettings.google.com/authenticated by checking the box.

Google Analytics add-on for data processing

We have concluded a direct customer contract with Google for the use of Google Analytics by accepting the “data processing addendum” in Google Analytics.

You can find more about the addition on data processing for Google Analytics here: https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/3379636?hl=de&utm_id=ad

Google Analytics Google Signals Privacy Policy

We have activated the Google signals in Google Analytics. The existing Google Analytics functions (advertising reports, remarketing, cross-device reports and reports on interests and demographic characteristics) are updated to receive summarized and anonymized data from you, provided that you have allowed personalized ads in your Google account.

The special thing about it is that it is a cross-device tracking. That means your data can be analyzed across all devices. By activating Google signals, data is recorded and linked to the Google account. This enables Google to recognize, for example, when you are viewing a product on our website using a smartphone and only later buy the product using a laptop. Thanks to the activation of Google signals, we can start cross-device remarketing campaigns that would otherwise not be possible in this form. Remarketing means that we can also show you our offer on other websites.

In Google Analytics, additional visitor data such as location, search history, YouTube history and data about your actions on our website are recorded by the Google signals. This gives us better advertising reports and more useful information about your interests and demographic characteristics from Google. This includes your age, what language you speak, where you live or what gender you belong to. There are also social criteria such as your job, your marital status or your income. All of these features help Google Analytics to define groups of people or target groups.

The reports also help us to better assess your behavior, your wishes and interests. This enables us to optimize and adapt our services and products for you. By default, this data expires after 26 months. Please note that this data collection only takes place if you have allowed personalized advertising in your Google account. It is always aggregated and anonymous data and never individual data. You can manage or delete this data in your Google account.

Facebook-Pixel data protection declaration

We use the Facebook pixel from Facebook on our website. We have implemented a code for this on our website. The Facebook pixel is an excerpt from JavaScript code that loads a collection of functions with which Facebook can track your user actions, provided you came to our website via Facebook ads. For example, if you purchase a product on our website, the Facebook pixel is triggered and saves your actions on our website in one or more cookies. These cookies enable Facebook to compare your user data (customer data such as IP address, user ID) with the data in your Facebook account. Then Facebook deletes this data again. The data collected is anonymous and cannot be viewed by us and can only be used in the context of advertising. If you are a Facebook user yourself and are logged in, your visit to our website is automatically assigned to your Facebook user account.

We want to show our services and products only to those people who are really interested in them. With the help of Facebook pixels, our advertising measures can be better tailored to your wishes and interests. In this way, Facebook users (provided they have allowed personalized advertising) see appropriate advertising. Furthermore, Facebook uses the collected data for analysis purposes and its own advertisements.

In the following we show you the cookies that were set on a test page by integrating Facebook pixels. Please note that these are only sample cookies. Different cookies are set depending on the interaction on our website.

  • Name: _fbp
    Value: fb.1.1568287647279.257405483-6311225157-7
    Purpose: This cookie is used by Facebook to display advertising products.
    Expiry date: after 3 months
  • Name: fr
    Value: 0aPf312HOS5Pboo2r..Bdeiuf…1.0.Bdeiuf.
    Purpose: This cookie is used so that Facebook pixels also work properly.
    Expiry date: after 3 months
  • Name: comment_author_50ae8267e2bdf1253ec1a5769f48e062311225157-3
    Value: Name of the author
    Purpose: This cookie stores the text and the name of a user who leaves a comment, for example.
    Expiry date: after 12 months
  • Name: comment_author_url_50ae8267e2bdf1253ec1a5769f48e062
    Value: https%3A%2F%2Fwww.testseite…%2F (URL of the author)
    Purpose: This cookie saves the URL of the website, which the user enters in a text field on our website.
    Expiry date: after 12 months
  • Name: comment_author_email_50ae8267e2bdf1253ec1a5769f48e062
    Value: Author's email address
    Purpose: This cookie saves the email address of the user if he has made it known on the website.
    Expiry date: after 12 months

Note:  The cookies mentioned above relate to individual user behavior. Changes to Facebook can never be ruled out, especially when using cookies.

If you are logged in to Facebook, you can change your settings for advertisements yourself at https://www.facebook.com/ads/preferences/?entry_product=ad_settings_screen. If you are not a Facebook user, you can basically manage your usage-based online advertising at  http://www.youronlinechoices.com/de/praferenzmanagement/. There you have the option of deactivating or activating providers

If you want to find out more about Facebook's data protection, we recommend the company's own data guidelines at https://www.facebook.com/policy.php.

Facebook automatic extended comparison data protection declaration

As part of the Facebook pixel function, we have also activated the automatic advanced matching. This function of the pixel enables us to send hashed e-mails, names, gender, city, state, postcode and date of birth or telephone number as additional information to Facebook, provided that you have provided this data to us. This activation enables us to tailor advertising campaigns on Facebook even more precisely to people who are interested in our services or products.

Google Tag Manager privacy policy

For our website we use the Google Tag Manager from Google Inc. For the European area, Google Ireland Limited (Gordon House, Barrow Street Dublin 4, Ireland) is responsible for all Google services. This Tag Manager is one of many helpful marketing products from Google. Using the Google Tag Manager, we can centrally integrate and manage code sections from various tracking tools that we use on our website.

In this data protection declaration we want to explain in more detail what the Google Tag Manager does, why we use it and in what form data is processed.

What is the Google Tag Manager?

The Google Tag Manager is an organization tool with which we can integrate and manage website tags centrally and via a user interface. Tags are small sections of code that, for example, record (track) your activities on our website. For this, JavaScript code sections are used in the source code of our site. The tags often come from Google's internal products such as Google Ads or Google Analytics, but tags from other companies can also be integrated and managed via the manager. Such tags take on different tasks. You can collect browser data, feed marketing tools with data, integrate buttons, set cookies and also track users across multiple websites.

Why do we use Google Tag Manager for our website?

As the saying goes: organization is half the battle! And of course that also applies to the maintenance of our website. In order to make our website as good as possible for you and all people who are interested in our products and services, we need various tracking tools such as Google Analytics. The data collected by these tools shows us what interests you most, where we can improve our services and which people we should show our offers. And for this tracking to work, we have to integrate the corresponding JavaScript code into our website. In principle, we could incorporate each code section of the individual tracking tools separately into our source code. However, this takes a relatively long time and it is easy to lose track of things. That's why we use the Google Tag Manager. We can easily integrate the necessary scripts and manage them from one place. In addition, the Google Tag Manager offers an easy-to-use user interface and you do not need any programming knowledge. This is how we manage to keep our day jungle in order.

What data is saved by Google Tag Manager?

The Tag Manager itself is a domain that does not set cookies and does not store any data. He acts as a mere "administrator" of the implemented tags. The data record the individual tags of the various web analysis tools. The data is passed through to the individual tracking tools in Google Tag Manager and is not saved.

However, it looks completely different with the tags integrated in the various web analysis tools, such as Google Analytics. Depending on the analysis tool, various data about your web behavior are usually collected, saved and processed with the help of cookies. To do this, please read our data protection texts on the individual analysis and tracking tools that we use on our website.

In the Tag Manager account settings, we have allowed Google to receive anonymized data from us. However, this only concerns the use and use of our Tag Manager and not your data, which is stored via the code sections. We enable Google and others to receive selected data in anonymized form. We therefore consent to our website data being passed on anonymously. In spite of long research, we were unable to find out which summarized and anonymous data are exactly forwarded. In any case, Google will delete all information that could identify our website. Google combines the data with hundreds of other anonymous website data and creates user trends as part of benchmarking measures. Benchmarking compares your own results with those of your competitors. Processes can be optimized on the basis of the information collected.

How long and where is the data stored?

When Google stores data, this data is stored on its own Google servers. The servers are distributed all over the world. Most of them are in America. At  https://www.google.com/about/datacenters/inside/locations/?hl=de you can read exactly where the Google servers are located.

How long the individual tracking tools store your data can be found in our individual data protection texts for the individual tools.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

The Google Tag Manager itself does not set cookies, but manages tags from various tracking websites. In our data protection texts for the individual tracking tools, you will find detailed information on how to delete or manage your data.

Google is an active participant in the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework, which regulates the correct and secure transfer of personal data. You can find more information on this at https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt000000001L5AAI&tid=311225157. If you want to find out more about the Google Tag Manager, we recommend the FAQs at https://www.google.com/intl/de/tagmanager/faq.html.

Newsletter data protection declaration

If you subscribe to our newsletter, you transmit the above personal data and give us the right to contact you by email. We only use the data stored when registering for the newsletter for our newsletter and do not pass it on.

If you unsubscribe from the newsletter - you will find the link for this at the bottom of every newsletter - then we will delete all data that was saved when you registered for the newsletter.

Omnisend privacy policy

You can subscribe to a free newsletter on our website. The data provided during registration (e-mail address, name and language) will only be used for sending the newsletter. The legal basis for this data processing is Art. 6 (1) lit. a) GDPR. Our e-mail newsletters are sent via the technical service provider Omnisend, Soundest Limited, 22 Mare Street, London, E8 4RT, Great Britain (https://www.omnisend.com) to whom we pass on the data you provided when registering for the newsletter. This transfer takes place in accordance with Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f GDPR and serves our legitimate interest in using an effective, secure and user-friendly newsletter system. Please note that your data is usually transferred to an Omnisend server in the USA and stored there. Omnisend uses this information to send and statistically evaluate the newsletter on our behalf. For the evaluation, the e-mails sent contain so-called web beacons or tracking pixels, which represent one-pixel image files that are stored on our website. In this way it can be determined whether a newsletter message has been opened and which links have been clicked. Technical information is also recorded (e.g. time of access, IP address, browser type and operating system). The data is collected exclusively in pseudonymized form and is not linked to your other personal data; direct personal reference is excluded. This data is used exclusively for the statistical analysis of newsletter campaigns. The results of these analyzes can be used to better adapt future newsletters to the interests of the recipients. If you want to object to the data analysis for statistical evaluation purposes, you must unsubscribe from the newsletter. In addition, Omnisend can use this data in accordance with Art. 6 Para. 1 lit.f GDPR due to its own legitimate interest in the needs-based design and optimization of the service and for market research purposes, for example to determine which countries the recipients come from. However, Omnisend does not use the data of our newsletter recipients to write to them itself or to pass them on to third parties. To protect your data in the USA, we have concluded a data processing contract ("Data Processing Agreement") with Omnisned on the basis of the standard contractual clauses of the European Commission to enable the transmission of your personal data to Omnisend. If you are interested, this data processing contract can be requested at the following e-mail address: info@omnisend.com. Omnisend is also certified under the US-European data protection agreement "Privacy Shield" and is committed to complying with EU data protection requirements. You can view Omnisend's data protection regulations here: https://www.omnisend.com/privacy.