⚠️ This translation is still pending legal review. The German version is legally binding.
View the German version →Privacy Policy
Personal data (hereinafter usually referred to as "data") is processed by us only to the extent necessary and for the purpose of providing a functional and user-friendly website, including its content and the services offered there.
According to Art. 4 No. 1 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679, i.e. the General Data Protection Regulation (hereinafter referred to as "GDPR"), "processing" means any operation or set of operations performed on personal data, whether or not by automated means, such as collection, recording, organisation, structuring, storage, adaptation or alteration, retrieval, consultation, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination or otherwise making available, alignment or combination, restriction, erasure or destruction.
With the following privacy policy, we inform you in particular about the nature, scope, purpose, duration and legal basis of the processing of personal data, insofar as we decide alone or jointly with others on the purposes and means of processing. In addition, we inform you below about the third-party components we use for optimisation purposes and to increase the quality of use, insofar as third parties process data on their own responsibility.
Our privacy policy is structured as follows:
I. Information about us as data controllers
II. Rights of users and data subjects
III. Information on data processing
I. Information about us as data controllers
The party responsible for this website under data protection law is:
Marcel Strahl
Am End 9A
41189 Mönchengladbach
Email: [email protected]
II. Rights of users and data subjects
With regard to the data processing described in more detail below, users and data subjects have the right
- to confirmation as to whether data concerning them is being processed, to information on processed data, to further information on data processing and to copies of the data (cf. also Art. 15 GDPR);
- to correction or completion of incorrect or incomplete data (cf. also Art. 16 GDPR);
- to the immediate erasure of data concerning them (cf. also Art. 17 GDPR), or, alternatively, if further processing is necessary in accordance with Art. 17 (3) GDPR, to a restriction of processing in accordance with Art. 18 GDPR;
- to receive the data concerning them and provided by them and to transmit this data to other providers / controllers (cf. also Art. 20 GDPR);
- to lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority if they consider that data concerning them is being processed by the provider in breach of data protection regulations (cf. also Art. 77 GDPR).
In addition, the provider is obliged to inform all recipients to whom data has been disclosed about any rectification or erasure of data or restriction of processing, in accordance with Art. 16, 17 (1), 18 GDPR. However, this obligation does not apply if such notification proves impossible or involves a disproportionate effort. Notwithstanding this, the user has a right to information about these recipients.
Likewise, under Art. 21 GDPR, users and data subjects have the right to object to the future processing of data concerning them, provided that the data is processed by the provider in accordance with Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR. In particular, an objection to data processing for the purposes of direct marketing is permissible.
III. Information on data processing
Your data processed when using our website will be deleted or blocked as soon as the purpose of storage no longer applies, the deletion of the data does not conflict with any statutory retention obligations, and no other information is provided below regarding specific processing procedures.
Cookies
a) Session cookies
We use so-called cookies on our website. Cookies are small text files or other storage technologies that are placed and stored on your end device by the internet browser you use. These cookies process certain information about you, such as your browser or location data, or your IP address, in an individual scope.
This processing makes our website more user-friendly, effective, and secure, as the processing enables, for example, the display of our website in different languages or the offering of a shopping cart function.
The legal basis for this processing is Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR, insofar as these cookies process data for the initiation or execution of a contract.
If the processing does not serve to initiate or execute a contract, our legitimate interest lies in improving the functionality of our website. The legal basis is then Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR.
When you close your internet browser, these session cookies are deleted.
b) Third-party cookies
If applicable, cookies from partner companies with whom we cooperate for the purposes of advertising, analysis, or the functionality of our website may also be used on our website.
Please refer to the following information for details, in particular on the purposes and legal bases of processing such third-party cookies.
c) How to remove cookies
You can prevent or restrict the installation of cookies by setting your internet browser. You can also delete cookies that have already been stored at any time. However, the steps and measures required for this depend on your specific internet browser. If you have any questions, please use the help function or documentation of your internet browser, or contact its manufacturer or support. For so-called Flash cookies, however, processing cannot be prevented via the browser settings. Instead, you must change the setting of your Flash player. The steps and measures required for this also depend on the Flash player you are using. If you have any questions, please use the help function or documentation of your Flash player or contact the manufacturer or user support.
If you prevent or restrict the installation of cookies, however, this may result in not all functions of our website being fully usable.
d) Cookies set and used by this website:
| Cookie Name | Description | Set when |
|---|---|---|
| cookieBanner | Required to detect on the next visit whether the cookie banner should be displayed or not. | always, as it is necessary. |
| analytics | Required to detect whether the user wants to be tracked by analytics tools such as Matomo. | only if "Analytics" was actively set in the cookie banner. |
| _pk_id | Set by Matomo if tracking has been allowed, to identify a user. | only if "Analytics" was actively set in the cookie banner. |
| NEXT_LOCALE | Stores the chosen language preference for future visits. | only when the language switcher was actively used. |
Contact requests / contact options
If you contact us via the contact form or email, the data you provide will be used to process your request. Providing the data is necessary to process and answer your request – without providing it, we cannot answer your request or only to a limited extent.
The legal basis for this processing is Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR.
Your data will be deleted once your request has been conclusively answered, provided that no statutory retention obligations prevent deletion, such as in the case of subsequent contract execution.
Server data
For technical reasons, in particular to ensure a secure and stable website, data is transmitted by your internet browser to us or to our web space provider. With these so-called server log files, the type and version of your internet browser, the operating system, the website from which you switched to our website (referrer URL), the website(s) on our website that you visit, the date and time of the respective access, and the IP address of the internet connection from which our website is used, are recorded.
This data collected in this way is temporarily stored, but not together with other personal data of yours.
This storage is based on Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR. Our legitimate interest lies in the improvement, stability, functionality, and security of our website.
The data will be deleted at the latest after seven days, unless further retention is required for evidentiary purposes. Otherwise, the data is excluded from deletion in whole or in part until the final clarification of an incident.
General links to profiles on third-party providers
The provider uses links on the website to the social networks listed below.
The legal basis is Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR. The provider's legitimate interest is in improving the quality of use of the website.
The plugins are integrated via a linked graphic. Only by clicking on the corresponding graphic is the user forwarded to the service of the respective social network.
After the customer has been forwarded, information about the user is collected by the respective network. This is initially data such as IP address, date, time, and visited page. If the user is logged in to their user account on the respective network at that time, the network operator may be able to assign the information collected from the specific visit of the user to the user's personal account. If the user interacts via a "Share" button of the respective network, this information can be stored in the user's personal account and possibly published. If the user wants to prevent the information collected from being directly assigned to their user account, the user must log out before clicking on the graphic. There is also the option to configure the respective user account accordingly.
The following social networks are linked by the provider:
Meta Platforms Ireland Limited, 4 Grand Canal Square, Dublin 2, Ireland.
Privacy policy: https://www.facebook.com/policy.php
Matomo (formerly: PIWIK)
We use Matomo (formerly: "PIWIK") on our website. This is open source software that allows us to analyse the use of our website. Your IP address, the website(s) on our website that you visit, the website from which you switched to our website (referrer URL), the time you spent on our website, and the frequency of access to one of our websites are processed.
To collect this data, Matomo stores a cookie on your end device via your internet browser. This cookie is valid for one week.
If you have given consent for this processing, the legal basis is Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR. The legal basis can also be Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR. Our legitimate interest lies in the analysis and optimisation of our website.
However, we use Matomo with the anonymisation function "Automatically Anonymize Visitor IPs". This anonymisation function shortens your IP address by two bytes, so that an assignment to you or to the internet connection you use is impossible.
If you do not agree with this processing, you have the option of preventing the storage of the cookie by a setting in your internet browser. For more information, please see "Cookies" above.
In addition, you have the option of ending the analysis of your usage behaviour by means of a so-called opt-out. To activate the opt-out, please open the cookie banner via the footer and withdraw your consent to analysis.
CloudFlare
To secure our website and to optimise loading times, we use the CloudFlare service as a so-called CDN (Content Delivery Network). This is a service from Cloudflare Inc., 101 Townsend Street, San Francisco, California 94107, USA, hereinafter referred to as "CloudFlare".
The legal basis is Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR. Our legitimate interest lies in the secure operation of our website and its optimisation.
When you access our website, your requests are routed via the CloudFlare server. Statistical access data on the visit to our website is collected and a cookie is stored by CloudFlare via your internet browser on your end device. The access data includes
– your IP address,
– the page(s) of our website you have accessed,
– the type and version of the internet browser you are using,
– the operating system you are using,
– the website from which you switched to our website (referrer URL),
– the time you spent on our website, and
– the frequency of access to our web pages.
The data is used by CloudFlare for the purpose of statistical evaluations of access and for the security and optimisation of the offer.
If you do not agree with this processing, you have the option of preventing the installation of cookies by means of the appropriate settings in your internet browser. Please refer to the information under "Cookies" above for details.
CloudFlare provides further information on the collection and use of data, as well as on your rights and options for protecting your privacy, at
https://www.cloudflare.com/privacypolicy/
Functional cookies — Language preference
We set the NEXT_LOCALE cookie (lifetime 12 months) as soon as you actively use the language switcher. The cookie stores only your language preference (de or en) and contains no personal data. It is used to deliver the correct language version on future visits, with no tracking purpose. Legal basis: Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (legitimate interest in functionality), §25 (2) No. 2 TTDSG (technically required for user-requested functionality).