Imprint

Information about the service provider.

Steven Marx

Stiftergasse 6,
6890 Lustenau,
Austria

Tel.: +43 699 17081711
E-Mail: steven.marx@me.com

EU dispute settlement

In accordance with the Regulation on Online Dispute Resolution in Consumer Affairs (ODR Regulation), we would like to inform you about the Online Dispute Resolution Platform (OS Platform).
Consumers have the opportunity to submit complaints to the European Commission's Online Dispute Resolution Platform at https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/main/index.cfm?event=main.home2.show&lng=DE . The necessary contact details can be found above in our legal notice.

However, we would like to point out that we are not willing or obliged to participate in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board.

Photo credits

The images, photos and graphics on this website are protected by copyright.

The image rights are:
Photos by www.expedia.com

All texts are protected by copyright.

Source: Created with the Imprint Generator from AdSimple

Privacy Policy

Introduction and overview

We have written this privacy policy (version 24.09.2024-122875548) to explain to you, in accordance with the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and applicable national laws, which personal data (data for short) we as the responsible party - and the processors commissioned by us (e.g. providers) - process, will process in the future and what legal options you have. The terms used are to be understood as gender-neutral.
In short: We provide you with comprehensive information about the data we process about you.

Data protection statements usually sound very technical and use legal jargon. This data protection statement, on the other hand, is intended to describe the most important things to you as simply and transparently as possible. As far as transparency is concerned, technical terms are explained in a reader-friendly manner , links to further information are provided and graphics are used. We are thus informing you in clear and simple language that we only process personal data as part of our business activities if there is a corresponding legal basis. This is certainly not possible if you give statements that are as brief, unclear and legal-technical as possible, as are often standard on the Internet when it comes to data protection. I hope you find the following explanations interesting and informative and perhaps there is some information in there that you did not know before.
If you still have any questions, we would like to ask you to contact the responsible body named below or in the imprint, follow the existing links and look at further information on third-party websites. You can of course also find our contact details in the imprint.

scope

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

• all online presences (websites, online shops) that we operate

• Social media presence and email communication

• mobile apps for smartphones and other devices

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

Legal basis

In the following privacy policy, we provide you with transparent information on the legal principles and regulations, i.e. the legal bases of the General Data Protection Regulation, that allow us to process personal data.
As far as EU law is concerned, we refer to REGULATION (EU) 2016/679 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 27 April 2016. You can of course read this EU General Data Protection Regulation online on EUR-Lex, the gateway to EU law, at https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=celex%3A32016R0679 .

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

1. Consent (Article 6 paragraph 1 letter a GDPR): You have given us your consent to process data for a specific purpose. An example would be the storage of the data you entered in a contact form.

2. Contract (Article 6 paragraph 1 letter b GDPR): We process your data in order to fulfil a contract or pre-contractual obligations with you. For example, if we conclude a purchase contract with you, we need personal information in advance.

3. Legal obligation (Article 6 paragraph 1 letter c GDPR): We process your data if we are subject to a legal obligation. For example, we are legally obliged to keep invoices for accounting purposes. These usually contain personal data.

4. Legitimate interests (Article 6 paragraph 1 letter f GDPR): In the case of legitimate interests that do not restrict your fundamental rights, we reserve the right to process personal data. For example, we need to process certain data in order to be able to operate our website securely and economically efficiently. This processing is therefore a legitimate interest.

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

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

• In Austria this is the Federal Act on the Protection of Natural Persons with regard to the Processing of Personal Data ( Data Protection Act ), or DSG for short .

• In Germany, the Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG for short ) applies .

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

Storage period

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

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

We will inform you below about the specific duration of each data processing operation, provided we have further information on this.

Rights under the General Data Protection Regulation

In accordance with Articles 13 and 14 of the GDPR, we inform you of the following rights to which you are entitled in order to ensure fair and transparent data processing:

• According to Article 15 GDPR, you have the right to know whether we process data about you. If this is the case, you have the right to receive a copy of the data and to be informed of the following information:

  • for what purposes we carry out the processing;

  • the categories, i.e. the types of data that are processed;

  • who receives this data and, if the data is transferred to third countries, how security can be guaranteed;

  • how long the data is stored;

  • the existence of the right to rectification, erasure or restriction of processing and the right to object to processing;

  • that you can complain to a supervisory authority (links to these authorities can be found below);

  • the origin of the data if we did not collect it from you;

  • whether profiling is carried out, i.e. whether data is automatically evaluated in order to create a personal profile of you.

• You have the right to rectification of data according to Article 16 GDPR, which means that we must correct data if you find any errors.

• According to Article 17 GDPR, you have the right to erasure (“right to be forgotten”), which specifically means that you can request that your data be deleted.

• According to Article 18 GDPR, you have the right to restrict processing, which means that we may only store the data but not use it any further.

• According to Article 20 GDPR, you have the right to data portability, which means that we will provide you with your data in a common format upon request.

• According to Article 21 GDPR, you have the right to object, which, once enforced, will result in a change in the processing.

  • If the processing of your data is based on Article 6 Paragraph 1 Letter e (public interest, exercise of official authority) or Article 6 Paragraph 1 Letter f (legitimate interest), you can object to the processing. We will then check as quickly as possible whether we can legally comply with this objection.

  • If data is used to conduct direct advertising, you can object to this type of data processing at any time. We may no longer use your data for direct marketing after this.

  • If data is used to carry out profiling, you can object to this type of data processing at any time. We may no longer use your data for profiling after this.

• According to Article 22 GDPR, you may have the right not to be subjected to a decision based solely on automated processing (e.g. profiling).

• According to Article 77 of the GDPR, you have the right to complain. This means that you can complain to the data protection authority at any time if you believe that the processing of personal data violates the GDPR.

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

If you believe that the processing of your data violates data protection law or that your data protection rights have been violated in any other way, you can complain to the supervisory authority. For Austria, this is the Data Protection Authority, whose website you can find at https://www.dsb.gv.at/ . In Germany, there is a data protection officer for each federal state. For more information, you can contact the Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (BfDI) . The following local data protection authority is responsible for our company:

Austria Data Protection Authority

Head: Dr. Matthias Schmidl
Address: Barichgasse 40-42, 1030 Vienna
Telephone number: +43 1 52 152-0
Email address: dsb@dsb.gv.at
Website: https://www.dsb.gv.at/

Communication

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

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

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

Affected persons

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

Telephone

When you call us, the call data is stored pseudonymously on the respective device and by the telecommunications provider used. In addition, data such as name and telephone number can be sent by email afterwards and stored to answer your query. The data is deleted as soon as the business transaction has been completed and legal requirements permit it.

Email

If you communicate with us by email, data may be saved on the respective device (computer, laptop, smartphone, etc.) and data may be saved on the email server. The data will be deleted as soon as the business transaction has been completed and legal requirements permit it.

Online Forms

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

Legal basis

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

• Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent): You give us your consent to store your data and to continue to use it for the purposes related to the business case;

• Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR (contract): There is a need to fulfil a contract with you or a processor such as the telephone provider or we have to process the data for pre-contractual activities, such as preparing an offer;

• Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (legitimate interests): We want to handle customer inquiries and business communication in a professional setting. For this, certain technical facilities such as email programs, exchange servers and mobile phone operators are necessary in order to be able to conduct communication efficiently.

Cookies

Cookies summary
👥 Affected parties: visitors to the website
🤝 Purpose: depends on the respective cookie. You can find more details below or from the manufacturer of the software that sets the cookie.
📓 Data processed: depends on the cookie used. You can find more details below or from the manufacturer of the software that sets the cookie.
📅 Storage period: depends on the respective cookie, can vary from hours to years
⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests)

What are cookies?

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

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

One thing cannot be denied: cookies are really useful little helpers. Almost all websites use cookies. To be more precise, they are HTTP cookies, as there are other cookies for other areas of application. HTTP cookies are small files that are stored on your computer by our website. These cookie files are automatically stored in the cookie folder, the "brain" of your browser. A cookie consists of a name and a value. When defining a cookie, one or more attributes must also be specified.

Cookies store certain user data about you, such as language or personal page settings. When you visit our site again, your browser sends the "user-related" information back to our site. Thanks to cookies, our website knows who you are and offers you the settings you are used to. In some browsers, each cookie has its own file, in others, such as Firefox, all cookies are stored in a single file.

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

There are both first-party cookies and third-party cookies. First-party cookies are created directly by our site, third-party cookies are created by partner websites (eg Google Analytics). Each cookie must be evaluated individually, as each cookie stores different data. The expiration 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 "malware". Cookies also cannot access information on your PC.

For example, cookie data can look like this:

Name: _ga
Value: GA1.2.1326744211.152122875548-9
Purpose: Differentiation of website visitors
Expiry date: after 2 years

A browser should be able to support these minimum sizes:

• Mindestens 4096 Bytes pro Cookie

• At least 50 cookies per domain

• At least 3000 cookies in total

What types of cookies are there?

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

There are 4 types of cookies:

Essential cookies
These cookies are necessary to ensure basic functions of the website. For example, these cookies are needed when a user puts a product in the shopping cart, then continues browsing on other pages and only later goes to the checkout. These cookies ensure that the shopping cart is not deleted, even if the user closes their browser window.

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

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

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

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

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

Purpose of processing via cookies

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

What data is processed?

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

Storage period of cookies

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

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

Right to object – how can I delete cookies?

You decide how and whether you want to use cookies. Regardless of which service or website the cookies come from, you always have the option of deleting, deactivating or only partially allowing cookies. 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:

Chrome: Delete, enable and manage cookies in Chrome

Safari: Managing cookies and website data with Safari

Firefox: Clear cookies to remove data that websites have stored on your computer

Internet Explorer: Deleting and managing cookies

Microsoft Edge: Delete and manage cookies

If you do not want cookies at all, you can set up your browser so that it always informs you when a cookie is about to be placed. This way you can decide for each individual cookie whether you want to allow the cookie or not. The procedure varies depending on the browser. The best thing to do is to search for instructions on Google using the search term “delete cookies Chrome” or “deactivate cookies Chrome” in the case of a Chrome browser.

Legal basis

The so-called "cookie guidelines" have been in place since 2009. They state that the storage of cookies requires your consent (Article 6 Paragraph 1 Letter a of GDPR). However, there are still very different reactions to these guidelines within the EU countries. In Austria, however, this directive was implemented in Section 165 Paragraph 3 of the Telecommunications Act (2021). In Germany, the cookie guidelines were not implemented as national law. Instead, this directive was largely implemented in Section 15 Paragraph 3 of the Telemedia Act (TMG), which has been replaced by the Digital Services Act (DDG) since May 2024.

For absolutely necessary cookies, even if no consent has been given, there are legitimate interests (Article 6 Paragraph 1 Letter f of GDPR), which in most cases are of an economic nature. We want to give visitors to the website a pleasant user experience and for this, certain cookies are often absolutely necessary.

If cookies that are not absolutely necessary are used, this only happens with your consent. The legal basis in this respect is Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. a GDPR.

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

Webhosting Introduction

Web hosting summary
👥 Affected parties: visitors to the website
🤝 Purpose: professional hosting of the website and securing operations
📓 Data processed: IP address, time of website visit, browser used and other data. You can find more details below or from the web hosting provider used.
📅 Storage period: depends on the respective provider, but usually 2 weeks
⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 Para. 1 lit.f GDPR (legitimate interests)

What is web hosting?

When you visit websites these days, certain information - including personal data - is automatically created and saved, including on this website. This data should be processed as sparingly as possible and only with justification. By website we mean the totality of all web pages on a domain, i.e. everything from the start page (homepage) to the very last subpage (like this one). By domain we mean example.de or musterbeispiel.com , for example .

When you want to view a website on a computer, tablet or smartphone, you use a program called a web browser. You probably know some web browsers by name: Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox and Apple Safari. We call them browsers or web browsers for short.

To display the website, the browser must connect to another computer where the website code is stored: the web server. Operating a web server is a complicated and time-consuming task, which is why it is usually handled by professional providers. They offer web hosting and ensure that website data is stored reliably and error-free. A lot of technical terms, but please stay tuned, it gets better!

When the browser connects to your computer (desktop, laptop, tablet or smartphone) and during data transfer to and from the web server, personal data may be processed. On the one hand, your computer stores data, and on the other hand, the web server must also store data for a while to ensure proper operation.

A picture is worth a thousand words, so the following graphic illustrates the interaction between the browser, the Internet and the hosting provider.

Why do we process personal data?

The purposes of data processing are:

1. Professional hosting of the website and security of operations

2. to maintain operational and IT security

3. Anonymous evaluation of access behavior to improve our offering and, if necessary, for criminal prosecution or the pursuit of claims

What data is processed?

Even while you are currently visiting our website, our web server, which is the computer on which this website is stored, usually automatically stores data such as

• the complete Internet address (URL) of the website accessed

• Browser and browser version (e.g. Chrome 87)

• the operating system used (e.g. Windows 10)

• the address (URL) of the previously visited page (referrer URL) (e.g. https://www.beispielquellsite.de/vondabinichgekommen/ )

• the hostname and IP address of the device from which access is made (e.g. COMPUTERNAME and 194.23.43.121)

• Date and time

• in files, the so-called web server log files

How long is data stored?

As a rule, the above data is stored for two weeks and then automatically deleted. We do not pass this data on, but cannot rule out that this data will be viewed by authorities in the event of illegal behavior.

In short: Your visit is logged by our provider (company that runs our website on special computers (servers)), but we do not share your data without your consent!

Legal basis

The legality of the processing of personal data in the context of web hosting arises from Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (protection of legitimate interests), because the use of professional hosting with a provider is necessary in order to present the company on the Internet in a secure and user-friendly manner and to be able to pursue attacks and claims arising from this if necessary.

There is usually a contract for order processing between us and the hosting provider in accordance with Art. 28 f. GDPR, which ensures compliance with data protection and guarantees data security.

Webhosting Provider External Privacy Policy

Below you will find the contact details of our external hosting provider, where you can find out more about data processing in addition to the information above:

Hostinger International, Ltd
Subject: Privacy Policy
61 Lordou Vironos Street
6023 Larnaca
Cyprus

You can find out more about data processing by this provider in the privacy policy .

Website Modular Systems Introduction

Website modular systems data protection declaration summary
👥 Affected parties: Visitors to the website
🤝 Purpose: Optimization of our service
📓 Data processed: Data such as technical usage information such as browser activity, clickstream activities, session heatmaps as well as contact details, IP address or your geographical location. You can find more details about this further down in this data protection declaration and in the data protection declaration of the providers.
📅 Storage period: depends on the provider
⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests), Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent)

What are website builder systems?

We use a website modular system for our website. Modular systems are special forms of a content management system (CMS). With a modular system, website operators can create a website very easily and without any programming knowledge. In many cases, web hosts also offer modular systems. By using a modular system, personal data can also be collected, stored and processed. In this data protection text, we give you general information about data processing by modular systems. You can find more information in the provider's data protection declarations.

Why do we use website builders for our website?

The biggest advantage of a modular system is its ease of use. We want to offer you a clear, simple and well-organized website that we can easily operate and maintain ourselves - without external support. A modular system now offers many helpful functions that we can use even without programming knowledge. This allows us to design our web presence according to our wishes and offer you an informative and pleasant time on our website.

What data is stored by a modular system?

Which data is stored depends, of course, on the website construction kit system used. Each provider processes and collects different data from website visitors. However, technical usage information such as operating system, browser, screen resolution, language and keyboard settings, hosting provider and the date of your website visit are usually collected. Tracking data (e.g. browser activity, clickstream activities, session heatmaps, etc.) can also be processed. Personal data can also be collected and stored. This usually includes contact data such as email address, telephone number (if you have provided this), IP address and geographical location data. You can find out exactly which data is stored in the provider's privacy policy.

How long and where is the data stored?

We will inform you about the duration of data processing below in connection with the website modular system used, provided we have further information about it. You can find detailed information about this in the provider's privacy policy. In general, we only process personal data for as long as it is absolutely necessary to provide our services and products. It is possible that the provider stores your data according to its own specifications, over which we have no influence.

Right of objection

You always have the right to information, correction and deletion of your personal data. If you have any questions, you can contact the person responsible for the website modular system used at any time. You can find contact details either in our privacy policy or on the website of the relevant provider.

You can delete, deactivate or manage cookies that providers use for their functions in your browser. This works in different ways depending on which browser you use. Please note, however, that not all functions may then work as usual.

Legal basis

We have a legitimate interest in using a website construction kit system to optimize our online service and present it to you in an efficient and user-friendly manner. The legal basis for this is Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (legitimate interests). However, we only use the construction kit if you have given your consent.

If the processing of data is not absolutely necessary for the operation of the website, the data will only be processed on the basis of your consent. This particularly applies to tracking activities. The legal basis in this respect is Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. a GDPR.

With this privacy policy, we have provided you with the most important general information about data processing. If you would like more detailed information on this, you can find further information - if available - in the following section or in the provider's privacy policy.

Blogs and publication media Introduction

Blogs and publication media Data protection declaration Summary
👥 Affected parties: Visitors to the website
🤝 Purpose: Presentation and optimization of our service as well as communication between website visitors, security measures and administration
📓 Data processed: Data such as contact details, IP address and published content.
You can find more details in the tools used.
📅 Storage period: depends on the tools used
⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests), Art. 6 Para. 1 S. 1 lit. b. GDPR (contract)

What are blogs and publication media?

We use blogs or other means of communication on our website with which we can communicate with you and you can communicate with us. We may also store and process your data. This may be necessary so that we can display content appropriately, communication works and security is increased. In our privacy policy we generally explain which of your data can be processed. Exact details on data processing always depend on the tools and functions used. You can find detailed information about data processing in the privacy policy of the individual providers.

Why do we use blogs and publication media?

Our main concern with our website is to offer you interesting and exciting content, and at the same time, your opinions and content are important to us. That is why we want to create a good interactive exchange between us and you. With various blogs and publication options, we can achieve exactly that. For example, you can write comments on our content, comment on other comments or, in some cases, even write contributions yourself.

What data is processed?

Exactly which data is processed always depends on the communication functions we use. Very often, IP addresses, user names and published content are stored. This is done primarily to ensure security, prevent spam and to be able to take action against illegal content. Cookies can also be used to store data. These are small text files that are stored in your browser with information. You can find more information about the data collected and stored in our individual sections and in the data protection declaration of the respective provider.

Duration of data processing

We will inform you below about the duration of data processing if we have further information. For example, post and comment functions store data until you revoke the data storage. In general, personal data is only stored for as long as it is absolutely necessary to provide our services.

Right of objection

You also have the right and the option to revoke your consent to the use of cookies or third-party communication tools at any time. This works either via our cookie management tool or via other opt-out functions. For example, you can also prevent data collection through cookies by managing, deactivating or deleting cookies in your browser.

Since cookies can also be used in publication media, we also recommend that you read our general privacy policy on cookies. To find out exactly which of your data is stored and processed, you should read the privacy policies of the respective tools.

Legal basis

We use the means of communication primarily on the basis of our legitimate interests (Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f GDPR) in fast and good communication with you or other customers, business partners and visitors. Insofar as the use serves the processing of contractual relationships or their initiation, the legal basis is also Art. 6 Para. 1 S. 1 lit. b. GDPR.

Certain processing operations, in particular the use of cookies and the use of comment or message functions, require your consent. If and to the extent that you have consented that your data can be processed and stored by integrated publication media, this consent is considered the legal basis for data processing (Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. a GDPR). Most of the communication functions we use set cookies in your browser to store data. We therefore recommend that you read our privacy policy text about cookies carefully and view the privacy statement or cookie policy of the respective service provider.

Information about specific tools – if available – can be found in the following sections.

Blog posts and comment functions Privacy policy

There are various online communication tools that we can use on our website. For example, we use blog posts and comment functions. This gives you the opportunity to comment on content or write posts. If you use this function, your IP address may be saved for security reasons. This way we protect ourselves from illegal content such as insults, unauthorized advertising or prohibited political propaganda. In order to determine whether comments are spam, we can also save and process user information based on our legitimate interest. If we start a survey, we also save your IP address for the duration of the survey so that we can be sure that everyone involved really only votes once. Cookies may also be used for storage purposes. All data that we save from you (such as content or information about you) will remain saved until you object.

Affiliate Programs Introduction

Partner programs data protection declaration summary
👥 Affected parties: visitors to the website
🤝 Purpose: economic success and the optimization of our service.
📓 Data processed: access statistics that contain data such as locations of access, device data, access duration and time, navigation behavior, click behavior and IP addresses. Personal data such as name or email address can also be processed.
📅 Storage period: personal data is usually stored by partner programs until it is no longer required
⚖️ Legal basis: Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests)

What are affiliate programs?

We use partner programs from different providers on our website. By using a partner program, your data can be transferred to the respective partner program provider, stored and processed. In this privacy policy text, we give you a general overview of data processing by partner programs and show you how you can prevent or revoke data transfer. Every partner program (also called an affiliate program) is based on the principle of commission. A link or an advertisement with a link is placed on our website and if you are interested in it and click on it and purchase a product or service in this way, we receive a commission (advertising cost reimbursement).

Why do we use affiliate programs on our website?

Our goal is to provide you with a pleasant time with lots of helpful content. To achieve this, we put a lot of work and time into developing our website. With the help of partner programs, we have the opportunity to be paid a little for our work. Of course, every partner link always has something to do with our topic and shows offers that might interest you.

What data is processed?

In order to be able to determine whether you have clicked on a link we have used, the affiliate program provider must know that it was you who followed the link via our website. This means that the affiliate program links used must be correctly assigned to the following actions (closing a deal, purchase, conversion, impression, etc.). Only then can the commissions be billed.

In order for this assignment to work, a value can be appended to a link (in the URL) or information can be stored in cookies. This stores information such as which page you came from (referrer), when you clicked on the link, an identifier for our website, what the offer is and a user identifier.

This means that as soon as you interact with products and services from an affiliate program, this provider also collects data from you. Exactly which data is stored depends on the individual provider. For example, the Amazon affiliate program distinguishes between active and automatic information. Active information includes name, email address, telephone number, age, payment information or location information. In this case, the automatically stored information includes user behavior, IP address, device information and the URL.

Duration of data processing

We will inform you about the duration of data processing below, if we have further information. In general, personal data is only processed for as long as it is necessary to provide the services and products. Data stored in cookies is stored for different lengths of time. Some cookies are deleted as soon as you leave the website, others can be stored in your browser for several years if they are not actively deleted. The exact duration of data processing depends on the provider used; in most cases you should expect a storage period of several years. In the respective data protection declarations of the individual providers you will usually find precise information about the duration of data processing.

Right of objection

You always have the right to information, correction and deletion of your personal data. If you have any questions, you can contact the person responsible for the partner program provider you use at any time. You can find contact details either in our specific data protection declaration or on the website of the relevant provider.

You can delete, deactivate or manage cookies that providers use for their functions in your browser. Depending on which browser you use, this works in different ways.

Legal basis

If you have consented to the use of partner programs, the legal basis for the corresponding data processing is this consent. According to Art. 6 Paragraph 1 Letter a of GDPR (consent), this consent represents the legal basis for the processing of personal data, as may occur when collected by a partner program.

We also have a legitimate interest in using a partner program to optimize our online service and our marketing measures. The legal basis for this is Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (legitimate interests) . However, we only use the partner program if you have given your consent.

Information about special partner programs – if available – can be found in the following sections.

Explanation of terms used

We always try to make our privacy policy as clear and understandable as possible. However, this is not always easy, especially when it comes to technical and legal topics. It often makes sense to use legal terms (such as personal data) or certain technical expressions (such as cookies, IP address). However, we do not want to use these without explanation. Below you will find an alphabetical list of important terms used that we may not have covered sufficiently in the previous privacy policy. If these terms have been taken from the GDPR and are definitions, we will also list the GDPR texts here and add our own explanations if necessary.

Supervisory authority

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation:

‘supervisory authority’ means an independent public authority established by a Member State pursuant to Article 51;

Explanation: “Supervisory authorities” are always state-run, independent institutions that also have the authority to issue instructions in certain cases. They are used to carry out so-called state supervision and are located in ministries, special departments or other authorities. There is an Austrian data protection authority for data protection in Austria , and in Germany there is a separate data protection authority for each federal state.

Processor

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation:

‘processor’ means a natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which processes personal data on behalf of the controller;

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

Supervisory authority concerned

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation:

‘concerned supervisory authority’ means a supervisory authority which is concerned by the processing of personal data because

a)

the controller or processor is established in the territory of the Member State of that supervisory authority,

b)

such processing significantly affects or is likely to significantly affect data subjects residing in the Member State of that supervisory authority, or

c)

a complaint has been lodged with that supervisory authority;

Explanation: In Germany, each federal state has its own supervisory authority for data protection. If your company is based (head office) in Germany, the respective supervisory authority in the federal state is generally your contact person. In Austria, there is only one supervisory authority for data protection for the entire country .

consent

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation:

‘consent’ of the data subject means any freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous indication of the data subject’s wishes by which he or she, by a statement or by a clear affirmative action, signifies agreement to the processing of personal data concerning him or her;

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

Personal data

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation:

‘personal data’ means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (hereinafter ‘data subject’); an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person;

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

• Name

• Address

• E-Mail-Address

• Postal address

• Telephone number

• birth date

• Identification numbers such as social security number, tax identification number, identity card number or registration number

• Bank details such as account number, credit information, account balances and much more.

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

• racial and ethnic origin

• political opinions

• religious or ideological beliefs

• union membership

• genetic data such as data obtained from blood or saliva samples

• biometric data (this is information about mental, physical or behavioural characteristics that can identify a person).
  Health data

• Data on sexual orientation or sex life

Profiling

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation:

‘profiling’ means any form of automated processing of personal data consisting of the use of personal data to evaluate certain personal aspects relating to a natural person, in particular to analyse or predict aspects concerning that natural person’s performance at work, economic situation, health, personal preferences, interests, reliability, behaviour, location or movements;

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

Responsible

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation:

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

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

processing

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation:

‘processing’ means any operation or set of operations which is performed on personal data or on sets of 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;

Note: When we talk about processing in our privacy policy, we mean any kind of data processing. As mentioned above in the original GDPR statement, this includes not only the collection but also the storage and processing of data.

Closing words

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

All texts are protected by copyright.

Source: Created with the data protection generator from AdSimple