Datenschutz

Data protection

We have prepared this privacy policy (version 11.12.2019-111220018) to explain to you, in accordance with the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and the Data Protection Act (DSG), what information we collect, how we use data and what choices you have as a visitor to this website.

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

Automatic data storage

Nowadays, when you visit websites, certain information is automatically created and stored, including on this website.

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

• the address (URL) of the website accessed
• Browser and browser version
• the operating system used
• the address (URL) of the previously visited page (referrer URL)
• the host name and IP address of the device from which access is made
• the 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 the possibility of this data being viewed in the event of unlawful behavior.

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.

What exactly are cookies?

Whenever you surf the internet, you use 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 denied: 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 are stored on your computer by our website. These cookie files are automatically stored in the cookie folder, the “brain” of your browser, so to speak. 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 transmits 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.

There are both first-party cookies and third-party cookies. First-party cookies are created directly by our website, 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 “malware”. Cookies also cannot access information on your PC.

Cookie data can look like this, for example:

Name: _ga
Value: GA1.2.1326744211.152111220018 Purpose: Differentiation of website visitors
Expiry date: after 2 years

A browser should be able to support these minimum sizes:

• At least 4096 bytes per 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.

A distinction can be made between 4 types of cookies:

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

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

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

Advertising cookies
These cookies are also known as targeting cookies. They are used to deliver customized advertising to the user. This can be very practical, but also very annoying.

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

How can I delete cookies?

You decide 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, 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, activate and manage cookies in Chrome

Safari: Managing cookies and website data with Safari

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

Internet Explorer: Deleting and managing cookies

Microsoft Edge: Deleting and managing cookies

If you generally do not want to have cookies, you can set up your browser so that it always informs you when a cookie is to be set. You can then decide for each individual cookie whether or not to allow it. The procedure differs depending on the browser. It is best to search for the instructions in Google using the search term “delete cookies Chrome” or “deactivate cookies Chrome” in the case of a Chrome browser.

What about my data protection?

The so-called “cookie guidelines” have been in place since 2009. These state that the storage of cookies requires your consent. However, there are still very different reactions to these directives within the EU countries. In Austria, however, this directive has been implemented in Section 96 (3) of the Telecommunications Act (TKG).

If you want to know more about cookies and do not shy away from 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 your name, e-mail address, address or other personal details when submitting a form or comments on the blog, will be used by us together with the time and IP address only for the purpose stated in each case, stored securely and not passed on to third parties.

We therefore only use your personal data to communicate with those visitors who expressly request contact and to process the services and products offered on this website. We do not pass on your personal data without your consent, but we cannot rule out the possibility of this data being viewed in the event of unlawful behavior.

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

Evaluation of visitor behavior

In the following privacy policy, we inform you whether and how we analyze data from your visit to this website. The evaluation of the collected data is generally anonymous and we cannot draw any conclusions about your person from your behavior on this website.

You can find out more about how to object to this evaluation of visit data in the following privacy policy.

TLS encryption with https

We use https to transmit data tap-proof 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 data transmission security by the small lock symbol at the top left of the browser and the use of the https scheme (instead of http) as part of our Internet address.

Google Fonts privacy policy

We use Google Fonts on our website. These are the “Google fonts” of Google Inc (1600 Amphitheatre Parkway Mountain View, CA 94043, USA).

You do not need to log in or enter a password to use Google fonts. Furthermore, no cookies are stored in your browser. The files (CSS, fonts) are requested via the Google domains fonts.googleapis.com and fonts.gstatic.com. According to Google, requests for CSS and fonts are completely separate from all other Google services. If you have a Google account, you do not need to worry that your Google account data will be transmitted to Google while using Google Fonts. Google records the use of CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) and the fonts used and stores this data securely. We will take a closer look at exactly how the data is stored.

What are Google Fonts?

Google Fonts (formerly Google Web Fonts) is a directory of over 800 fonts that Google LLC makes available to its users free of charge.

Many of these fonts are published under the SIL Open Font License, while others are published under the Apache License. Both are free software licenses.

Why do we use Google Fonts on our website?

With Google Fonts, we can use fonts on our own website without having to upload them to our own server. Google Fonts is an important component in keeping the quality of our website high. All Google fonts are automatically optimized for the web and this saves data volume and is a great advantage, especially for use on mobile devices. When you visit our site, the low file size ensures a fast loading time. Furthermore, Google Fonts are secure web fonts. Different image synthesis systems (rendering) in different browsers, operating systems and mobile devices can lead to errors. Such errors can sometimes visually distort texts or entire websites. Thanks to the fast Content Delivery Network (CDN), there are no cross-platform problems with Google Fonts. Google Fonts supports all common browsers (Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera) and works reliably on most modern mobile operating systems, including Android 2.2+ and iOS 4.2+ (iPhone, iPad, iPod). We use Google Fonts so that we can present our entire online service as beautifully and uniformly as possible.

What data is stored by Google?

When you visit our website, the fonts are reloaded via a Google server. This external call transmits data to the Google server. In this way, Google also recognizes that you or your IP address is visiting our website. The Google Fonts API was developed to reduce the use, storage and collection of end user data to what is necessary for the proper provision of fonts. Incidentally, API stands for “Application Programming Interface” and is used, among other things, as a data transmitter in the software sector.

Google Fonts stores CSS and font requests securely at Google and is therefore protected. Google can use the collected usage figures to determine how well the individual fonts are received. Google publishes the results on internal analysis pages, such as Google Analytics. Google also uses data from its own web crawler to determine which websites use Google fonts. This data is published in the Google Fonts BigQuery database. Entrepreneurs and developers use the Google web service BigQuery to analyze and move large amounts of data.

However, it should be noted that every Google Font request also automatically transmits information such as language settings, IP address, browser version, browser screen resolution and browser name to the Google servers. It is not clear whether this data is also stored or whether it is clearly communicated by Google.

How long and where is the data stored?

Google stores requests for CSS assets for one day on your servers, which are mainly located outside the EU. This allows us to use the fonts with the help of a Google stylesheet. A stylesheet is a format template that can be used to quickly and easily change the design or font of a website, for example.

The font files are stored by Google for one year. Google’s aim is to fundamentally improve the loading time of websites. If millions of websites refer to the same fonts, they are cached after the first visit and immediately reappear on all other websites visited later. Sometimes Google updates font files to reduce the file size, increase language coverage and improve the design.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

The data that Google stores for one day or one year cannot simply be deleted. The data is automatically transmitted to Google when the page is accessed. To delete this data prematurely, you must contact Google support at https://support.google.com/?hl=de&tid=111220018. In this case, you can only prevent data storage if you do not visit our site.

Unlike other web fonts, Google allows us unrestricted access to all fonts. This means we have unlimited access to a sea of fonts and can therefore get the most out of our website. You can find out more about Google Fonts and other issues at https://developers.google.com/fonts/faq?tid=111220018. Although Google addresses data protection issues there, it does not provide any really detailed information about data storage. It is relatively difficult to get really precise information from Google about stored data.

You can also find out which data is generally collected by Google and what this data is used for at https://www.google.com/intl/de/policies/privacy/.

Google Maps privacy policy

We use Google Maps from Google Inc (1600 Amphitheatre Parkway Mountain View, CA 94043, USA) on our website. With Google Maps, we can show you locations better and thus adapt our service to your needs. By using Google Maps, data is transmitted to Google and stored on Google servers. We would now like to explain in more detail what Google Maps is, why we use this Google service, what data is stored and how you can prevent this.

What is Google Maps?

Google Maps is an internet map service provided by Google Inc. Google Maps allows you to search for the exact location of cities, places of interest, accommodation or businesses online using a PC, tablet or app. If companies are represented on Google My Business, further information about the company is displayed in addition to the location. To display directions, map sections of a location can be integrated into a website using HTML code. Google Maps shows the earth’s surface as a street map or as an aerial or satellite image. Thanks to the Street View images and the high-quality satellite images, very accurate representations are possible.

Why do we use Google Maps on our website?

All our efforts on this site are aimed at providing you with a useful and meaningful time on our website. By integrating Google Maps, we can provide you with the most important information on various locations. You can see at a glance where we are based. The directions always show you the best or quickest way to reach us. You can call up the directions for routes by car, public transport, on foot or by bike. For us, providing Google Maps is part of our customer service.

What data is stored by Google Maps?

In order for Google Maps to be able to offer its full service, the company must collect and store data from you. This includes the search terms entered, your IP address and also the latitude and longitude coordinates. If you use the route planner function, the start address you enter is also saved. However, this data storage takes place on the Google Maps websites. We can only inform you about this, but cannot influence it. As we have integrated Google Maps into our website, Google sets at least one cookie (name: NID) in your browser. This cookie stores data about your user behavior. Google uses this data primarily to optimize its own services and to provide you with individual, personalized advertising.

The following cookie is set in your browser due to the integration of Google Maps:

Name: NID
Value: 188=h26c1Ktha7fCQTx8rXgLyATyITJ111220018 Purpose: NID is used by Google to customize ads to your Google searches. With the help of the cookie, Google “remembers” your most frequently entered search queries or your previous interaction with ads. So you always get customized ads. The cookie contains a unique ID that Google uses to collect your personal settings for advertising purposes.
Expiration date: after 6 months

Note: We cannot guarantee the completeness of the stored data. Changes can never be ruled out, especially when using cookies. In order to identify the NID cookie, a separate test page was created where only Google Maps was integrated.

How long and where is the data stored?

Google servers are located in data centers all over the world. However, most of the servers are located in America. For this reason, your data is increasingly stored in the USA. Here you can read exactly where the Google data centers are located: https://www.google.com/about/datacenters/inside/locations/?hl=de

Google distributes the data on different data carriers. This means that the data can be accessed more quickly and is better protected against any attempts at manipulation. Each data center also has special emergency programs. If, for example, there are problems with the Google hardware or a natural disaster paralyzes the servers, the data is almost certainly still protected.

Google stores some data for a fixed period of time. For other data, Google only offers the option of deleting it manually. Furthermore, the company also anonymizes information (such as advertising data) in server logs by deleting part of the IP address and cookie information after 9 and 18 months respectively.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

With the automatic deletion function for location and activity data introduced in 2019, location and web/app activity information is stored for either 3 or 18 months – depending on your decision – and then deleted. You can also manually delete this data from your history at any time via your Google account. If you want to completely prevent your location from being recorded, you must pause the “Web and app activity” section in your Google account. Click on “Data and personalization” and then on the “Activity settings” option. Here you can switch the activities on or off.

You can also deactivate, delete or manage individual cookies in your browser. Depending on which browser you use, this always works slightly differently. The following instructions show you how to manage cookies in your browser:

Chrome: Delete, activate and manage cookies in Chrome

Safari: Manage cookies and website data with Safari

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

Internet Explorer: Delete and manage cookies

Microsoft Edge: Delete and manage cookies

If you generally do not want to have cookies, you can set up your browser so that it always informs you when a cookie is to be set. This allows you to decide for each individual cookie whether you want to allow it or not.

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=a2zt0000000TO6hAAG. If you would like to find out more about Google’s data processing, we recommend that you read the company’s own privacy policy at https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=de.

Google Ads (Google AdWords) conversion tracking privacy policy

We use Google Ads (formerly Google AdWords) as an online marketing measure to advertise our products and services. In this way, we want to make more people aware of the high quality of our offers on the Internet. As part of our advertising measures through Google Ads, we use the conversion tracking of Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA (“Google”) on our website. With the help of this free tracking tool, we can better tailor our advertising offer to your interests and needs. In the following article, we will go into more detail about why we use conversion tracking, what data is stored and how you can prevent this data storage.

What is Google Ads conversion tracking?

Google Ads (formerly Google AdWords) is the in-house online advertising system of Google LLC. We are convinced of the quality of our offer and want as many people as possible to get to know our website. In the online sector, Google Ads offers the best platform for this. Of course, we also want to gain a precise overview of the cost-benefit factor of our advertising campaigns. That’s why we use the Google Ads conversion tracking tool.

But what exactly is a conversion? A conversion occurs when you go from being a purely interested website visitor to an active visitor. This always happens when you click on our ad and then perform another action, such as visiting our website. We use Google’s conversion tracking tool to record what happens after a user clicks on our Google Ads ad. For example, we can see whether products are purchased, services are used or whether users have signed up for our newsletter.

Why do we use Google Ads conversion tracking on our website?

We use Google Ads to draw attention to our offer on other websites. The aim is to ensure that our advertising campaigns really only reach those people who are interested in our offers. With the conversion tracking tool, we can see which keywords, ads, ad groups and campaigns lead to the desired customer actions. We can see how many customers interact with our ads on a device and then carry out a conversion. This data allows us to calculate our cost-benefit factor, measure the success of individual advertising measures and consequently optimize our online marketing measures. We can also use the data obtained to make our website more interesting for you and adapt our advertising offer even more individually to your needs.

What data is stored with Google Ads Conversion Tracking?

We have integrated a conversion tracking tag or code snippet on our website in order to better analyze certain user actions. If you click on one of our Google Ads ads, the “Conversion” cookie from a Google domain is stored on your computer (usually in the browser) or mobile device. Cookies are small text files that store information on your computer.

Here is the data of the most important cookies for Google’s conversion tracking:

Name: Conversion
Value: EhMI_aySuoyv4gIVled3Ch0llweVGAEgt-mr6aXd7dYlSAGQ111220018 Purpose: This cookie stores every conversion you make on our site after you have come to us via a Google Ads.
Expiry date: after 3 months

Name: _gac
Value: 1.1558695989.EAIaIQobChMIiOmEgYO04gIVj5AYCh2CBAPrEAAYASAAEgIYQfD_BwE
Purpose: This is a classic Google Analytics cookie and is used to record various actions on our website.
Expiry date: after 3 months

Note: The _gac cookie only appears in connection with Google Analytics. The above list is not exhaustive, as Google always uses other cookies for analytical evaluation.

As soon as you complete an action on our website, Google recognizes the cookie and saves your action as a so-called conversion. As long as you are browsing our website and the cookie has not yet expired, we and Google will recognize that you have found us via our Google Ads ad. The cookie is read and sent back to Google Ads with the conversion data. It is also possible that other cookies are used to measure conversions. Google Ads conversion tracking can be further refined and improved with the help of Google Analytics. For ads that Google displays in various places on the web, cookies with the name “__gads” or “_gac” may be set under our domain. Since September 2017, various campaign information has been stored by analytics.js using the _gac cookie. The cookie stores this data as soon as you visit one of our pages for which the automatic tagging of Google Ads has been set up. Unlike cookies that are set for Google domains, Google can only read these conversion cookies when you are on our website. We do not collect or receive any personal data. We receive a report with statistical evaluations from Google. For example, we find out the total number of users who have clicked on our ad and we can see which advertising measures were well received.

How long and where is the data stored?

At this point, we would like to point out that we have no influence on how Google uses the data collected. According to Google, the data is encrypted and stored on secure servers. In most cases, conversion cookies expire after 30 days and do not transmit any personal data. The cookies with the name “Conversion” and “_gac” (which is used in connection with Google Analytics) have an expiration date of 3 months.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

You have the option of not participating in Google Ads conversion tracking. If you deactivate the Google conversion tracking cookie via your browser, you block conversion tracking. In this case, you will not be included in the statistics of the tracking tool. You can change the cookie settings in your browser at any time. This works slightly differently for each browser. Here you will find instructions on how to manage cookies in your browser:

Chrome: Delete, activate and manage cookies in Chrome

Safari: Manage cookies and website data with Safari

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

Internet Explorer: Delete and manage cookies

Microsoft Edge: Delete and manage cookies

If you generally do not want to have cookies, you can set up your browser so that it always informs you when a cookie is to be set. This allows you to decide for each individual cookie whether or not to allow it. Downloading and installing this browser plug-in at https://support.google.com/ads/answer/7395996 will also deactivate all “advertising cookies”. Please note that deactivating these cookies does not prevent advertisements, but only personalized advertising.

Through certification for the American-European data protection agreement “Privacy Shield”, the American company Google LLC must comply with the data protection laws applicable in the EU. If you would like to find out more about data protection at Google, we recommend Google’s general privacy policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=de.

Google Analytics privacy policy

We use Google Analytics from Google LLC (1600 Amphitheatre Parkway Mountain View, CA 94043, USA) on this website to statistically analyze visitor data. Google Analytics uses targeted cookies for this purpose.

Cookies from Google Analytics

• _ga
  • Expiry time: 2 years
  • Usage: Differentiation of website visitors
  • Example value: GA1.2.1326744211.152111220018
• _gid
  • Expiry time: 24 hours
  • Usage: Differentiation of website visitors
  • Example value: GA1.2.1687193234.152111220018
• _gat_gtag_UA_<property-id>
  • Expiry time: 1 minute
  • Use: Used to throttle the request rate. If Google Analytics is provided via Google Tag Manager, this cookie is given the name _dc_gtm_ <property-id>.
  • Exemplary value: 1

Further information on terms of use and data protection can be found at http://www.google.com/analytics/terms/de.html or at https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/6004245?hl=de.

Pseudonymization

Our concern in terms of the GDPR is to improve our offer and our website. As the privacy of our users is important to us, user data is pseudonymized.

Deactivation of data collection by Google Analytics

Using the browser add-on to deactivate Google Analytics JavaScript (ga.js, analytics.js, dc.js), website visitors can prevent Google Analytics from using their data.

You can prevent Google from collecting the data generated by the cookie and relating to your use of the website and from processing this data by Google by downloading and installing the browser plug-in available at the following link: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=de

Google Analytics IP anonymization

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

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

Google Analytics reports on demographic characteristics and interests

We have activated the functions for advertising reports in Google Analytics. The reports on demographic characteristics and interests contain information on age, gender and interests. This allows us to get a better picture of our users without being able to assign this data to individual persons. 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 the use of the activities and information of your Google account under “Settings for advertising” at https://adssettings.google.com/authenticated via a checkbox.

Google Analytics data processing addendum

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 out more about the data processing addendum for Google Analytics here: https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/3379636?hl=de&utm_id=ad

Google reCAPTCHA privacy policy

Our primary goal is to secure and protect our website for you and for us in the best possible way. To ensure this, we use Google reCAPTCHA from Google Inc (1600 Amphitheatre Parkway Mountain View, CA 94043, USA). With reCAPTCHA we can determine whether you are really a flesh-and-blood person and not a robot or other spam software. By spam, we mean any unsolicited information that is sent to us electronically. With the classic CAPTCHAs, you usually had to solve text or picture puzzles to verify your identity. With reCAPTCHA from Google, we don’t usually have to bother you with such puzzles. In most cases, all you have to do is tick a box to confirm that you are not a bot. With the new Invisible reCAPTCHA version, you no longer even have to tick the box. You can find out exactly how this works and, above all, which data is used for this in the course of this privacy policy.

What is reCAPTCHA?

reCAPTCHA is a free captcha service from Google that protects websites from spam software and misuse by non-human visitors. This service is most commonly used when you fill out forms on the Internet. A Captcha service is a type of automatic Turing test that is designed to ensure that an action on the Internet is performed by a human and not by a bot. In the classic Turing test (named after the computer scientist Alan Turing), a human determines the difference between a bot and a human. With captchas, this is also done by a computer or software program. Classic captchas work with small tasks that are easy for humans to solve but present considerable difficulties for machines. With reCAPTCHA, you no longer have to actively solve puzzles. The tool uses modern risk techniques to distinguish humans from bots. All you have to do here is tick the “I am not a robot” text field, and with Invisible reCAPTCHA even this is no longer necessary. With reCAPTCHA, a JavaScript element is integrated into the source code and then the tool runs in the background and analyzes your user behaviour. The software calculates a so-called captcha score from these user actions. Google uses this score to calculate the probability that you are human even before you enter the captcha. reCAPTCHA or captchas in general are always used when bots could manipulate or abuse certain actions (e.g. registrations, surveys, etc.).

Why do we use reCAPTCHA on our website?

We only want to welcome people of flesh and blood on our site. Bots and spam software of all kinds can safely stay at home. That’s why we do everything we can to protect ourselves and offer you the best possible user-friendliness. For this reason, we use Google reCAPTCHA from Google. This way we can be pretty sure that we remain a “bot-free” website. By using reCAPTCHA, data is transmitted to Google to determine whether you are actually a human being. reCAPTCHA therefore serves to ensure the security of our website and, by extension, your security. For example, without reCAPTCHA it could happen that a bot registers as many e-mail addresses as possible during registration in order to subsequently “spam” forums or blogs with unwanted advertising content. With reCAPTCHA, we can prevent such bot attacks.

What data is stored by reCAPTCHA?

reCAPTCHA collects personal data from users in order to determine whether the actions on our website actually originate from people. The IP address and other data that Google requires for the reCAPTCHA service may therefore be sent to Google. IP addresses are almost always truncated within the member states of the EU or other signatory states to the Agreement on the European Economic Area before the data is sent to a server in the USA. The IP address is not combined with other Google data unless you are logged in with your Google account while using reCAPTCHA. First, the reCAPTCHA algorithm checks whether Google cookies from other Google services (YouTube, Gmail, etc.) have already been placed on your browser. Then reCAPTCHA places an additional cookie in your browser and takes a snapshot of your browser window.

The following list of collected browser and user data does not claim to be exhaustive. Rather, they are examples of data that, to our knowledge, are processed by Google.

• Referrer URL (the address of the page from which the visitor comes)
• IP address (e.g. 256.123.123.1)
• Information about the operating system (the software that enables your computer to operate. Common operating systems are Windows, Mac OS X or Linux)
• Cookies (small text files that store data in your browser)
• Mouse and keyboard behavior (every action you perform with the mouse or keyboard is saved)
• Date and language settings (which language or date you have preset on your PC is saved)
• All JavaScript objects (JavaScript is a programming language that enables websites to adapt to the user. JavaScript objects can collect all kinds of data under one name)
• Screen resolution (indicates how many pixels the image display consists of)

It is undisputed that Google uses and analyzes this data even before you click on the “I am not a robot” checkbox. With the Invisible reCAPTCHA version, you don’t even have to check the box and the entire recognition process runs in the background. Google does not tell you in detail exactly how much and what data it stores.

The following cookies are used by reCAPTCHA: Here we refer to the reCAPTCHA demo version from Google at https://www.google.com/recaptcha/api2/demo. All these cookies require a unique identifier for tracking purposes. Here is a list of cookies that Google reCAPTCHA has set on the demo version:

Name: IDE
Value: WqTUmlnmv_qXyi_DGNPLESKnRNrpgXoy1K-pAZtAkMbHI-111220018 Purpose: This cookie is set by the company DoubleClick (also owned by Google) to register and report the actions of a user on the website when interacting with advertisements. This allows the effectiveness of advertising to be measured and appropriate optimization measures to be taken. IDE is stored in browsers under the domain doubleclick.net.
Expiration date: after one year

Name: 1P_JAR
Value: 2019-5-14-12
Purpose: This cookie collects statistics on website usage and measures conversions. A conversion occurs, for example, when a user becomes a buyer. The cookie is also used to display relevant advertisements to users. The cookie can also be used to prevent a user from seeing the same ad more than once.
Expiration date: after one month

Name: ANID
Wert: U7j1v3dZa1112200180xgZFmiqWppRWKOr
Purpose: We were unable to find out much information about this cookie. In Google’s privacy policy, the cookie is mentioned in connection with “advertising cookies” such as “DSID”, “FLC”, “AID”, “TAID”. ANID is stored under domain google.com.
Expiration date: after 9 months

Name: CONSENT
Value: YES+AT.de+20150628-20-0
Purpose: The cookie stores the status of a user’s consent to the use of various Google services. CONSENT is also used for security purposes to verify users, prevent fraudulent login information and protect user data from unauthorized attacks.
Expiration date: after 19 years

Name: NID
Wert: 0WmuWqy111220018zILzqV_nmt3sDXwPeM5Q
Intended use: NID is used by Google to customize advertisements to your Google searches. With the help of the cookie, Google “remembers” your most frequently entered search queries or your previous interaction with ads. So you always get customized ads. The cookie contains a unique ID to collect the user’s personal settings for advertising purposes.
Expiration date: after 6 months

Name: DV
Value: gEAABBCjJMXcI0dSAAAANbqc111220018 Purpose: As soon as you have checked the “I am not a robot” box, this cookie is set. The cookie is used by Google Analytics for personalized advertising. DV collects information in anonymized form and is also used to make user distinctions.
Expiration date: after 10 minutes

Note: This list cannot claim to be exhaustive, as experience has shown that Google changes its choice of cookies from time to time.

How long and where is the data stored?

By inserting reCAPTCHA, data is transferred from you to the Google server. Where exactly this data is stored is not made clear by Google, even after repeated requests. Without having received confirmation from Google, it can be assumed that data such as mouse interaction, time spent on the website or language settings are stored on the European or American Google servers. The IP address that your browser transmits to Google is not merged with other Google data from other Google services. However, if you are logged into your Google account while using the reCAPTCHA plug-in, the data will be merged. The deviating data protection provisions of Google apply.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

If you do not want any data about you and your behavior to be transmitted to Google, you must log out of Google completely and delete all Google cookies before you visit our website or use the reCAPTCHA software. In principle, the data is automatically transmitted to Google as soon as you visit our website. To delete this data, you must contact Google support at https://support.google.com/?hl=de&tid=111220018.

Therefore, when you use our website, you consent to Google LLC and its representatives automatically collecting, processing and using data.

You can find out a little more about reCAPTCHA on Google’s web developer page at https://developers.google.com/recaptcha/. Although Google goes into more detail here about the technical development of reCAPTCHA, you will search in vain for precise information about data storage and data protection issues. A good overview of the basic use of data at Google can be found in the company’s own privacy policy at https://www.google.com/intl/de/policies/privacy/.

Facebook privacy policy

We use selected Facebook tools from Facebook on our website. Facebook is a social media network of the company Facebook Ireland Ltd, 4 Grand Canal Square, Grand Canal Harbour, Dublin 2 Ireland. With the help of these tools, we can offer you and people who are interested in our products and services the best possible experience. Below we provide an overview of the various Facebook tools, what data is sent to Facebook and how you can delete this data.

What are Facebook tools?

In addition to many other products, Facebook also offers the so-called “Facebook Business Tools”. This is the official term used by Facebook. However, as the term is hardly known, we have decided to simply call them Facebook tools. These include, among others:

• Facebook pixel
• Social plug-ins (such as the “Like” or “Share” button)
• Facebook login
• account kit
• APIs (programming interface)
• SDKs (collection of programming tools)
• Platform integrations
• plugins
• codes
• specifications
• Documentation
• Technologies and services

Through these tools, Facebook expands services and has the ability to obtain information about user activity outside of Facebook.

Why do we use Facebook tools on our website?

We only want to show our services and products to people who are really interested in them. With the help of advertisements (Facebook ads), we can reach precisely these people. However, Facebook needs information about people’s wishes and needs in order to show users suitable advertising. The company is therefore provided with information about user behavior (and contact details) on our website. As a result, Facebook collects better user data and can show interested people suitable advertising about our products or services. The tools thus enable customized advertising campaigns on Facebook.

Facebook calls data about your behavior on our website “event data”. This is also used for measurement and analysis services. Facebook can thus create “campaign reports” on our behalf about the impact of our advertising campaigns. Furthermore, analytics give us a better insight into how you use our services, website or products. This allows us to optimize your user experience on our website with some of these tools. For example, you can use the social plug-ins to share content on our site directly on Facebook.

What data is stored by Facebook tools?

By using individual Facebook tools, personal data (customer data) can be sent to Facebook. Depending on the tools used, customer data such as name, address, telephone number and IP address may be sent.

Facebook uses this information to match the data with its own data that it has about you (if you are a Facebook member). Before customer data is transmitted to Facebook, it is hashed. This means that a data set of any size is transformed into a character string. This also serves to encrypt data.

In addition to the contact data, “event data” is also transmitted. “Event data” refers to the information that we receive about you on our website. For example, which subpages you visit or which products you buy from us. Facebook does not share the information it receives with third parties (such as advertisers) unless the company has explicit permission or is legally obliged to do so. “Event data” can also be linked to contact details. This allows Facebook to offer better personalized advertising. After the aforementioned matching process, Facebook deletes the contact data again.

In order to deliver optimized ads, Facebook only uses the event data if it has been combined with other data (collected by Facebook in other ways). Facebook also uses this event data for security, protection, development and research purposes. Much of this data is transferred to Facebook via cookies. Cookies are small text files that are used to store data or information in browsers. Depending on the tools used and whether you are a Facebook member, different numbers of cookies are stored in your browser. We go into more detail about individual Facebook cookies in the descriptions of the individual Facebook tools. You can also find general information about the use of Facebook cookies at https://www.facebook.com/policies/cookies.

How long and where is the data stored?

In principle, Facebook stores data until it is no longer needed for its own services and Facebook products. Facebook has servers all over the world where your data is stored. However, customer data is deleted within 48 hours after it has been compared with your own user data.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

In accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation, you have the right to information, correction, transferability and deletion of your data.

The data will only be completely deleted if you delete your Facebook account completely. And this is how deleting your Facebook account works:

1) Click on Settings on the right-hand side of Facebook.

2) Then click on “Your Facebook information” in the left-hand column.

3) Now click on “Deactivation and deletion”.

4) Now select “Delete account” and then click on “Continue and delete account”

5) Now enter your password, click on “Next” and then on “Delete account”

The data that Facebook receives via our site is stored using cookies (e.g. for social plugins). You can deactivate, delete or manage individual or all cookies in your browser. Depending on which browser you use, this works in different ways. The following instructions show you how to manage cookies in your browser:

Chrome: Delete, activate and manage cookies in Chrome

Safari: Manage cookies and website data with Safari

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

Internet Explorer: Delete and manage cookies

Microsoft Edge: Delete and manage cookies

If you generally do not want to have cookies, you can set up your browser so that it always informs you when a cookie is to be set. This allows you to decide for each individual cookie whether you want to allow it or not.

Facebook 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=a2zt0000000TO6hAAG. We hope we have provided you with the most important information about the use and data processing by the Facebook tools. If you want to learn more about how Facebook uses your data, we recommend that you read the data policy at https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy/update.

Instagram privacy policy

We have integrated Instagram functions on our website. Instagram is a social media platform of the company Instagram LLC, 1601 Willow Rd, Menlo Park CA 94025, USA. Instagram has been a subsidiary of Facebook Inc. since 2012 and is a Facebook product. Embedding Instagram content on our website is called embedding. This allows us to show you content such as buttons, photos or videos from Instagram directly on our website. When you visit web pages on our website that have an Instagram function integrated, data is transmitted to Instagram, stored and processed. Instagram uses the same systems and technologies as Facebook. Your data is therefore processed across all Facebook companies.

In the following, we want to give you a more detailed insight into why Instagram collects data, what data is involved and how you can largely control data processing. Since Instagram belongs to Facebook Inc., we obtain our information from the Instagram guidelines on the one hand, but also from the Facebook data guidelines themselves on the other.

What is Instagram?

Instagram is one of the best-known social media networks in the world. Instagram combines the advantages of a blog with the benefits of audiovisual platforms such as YouTube or Vimeo. You can upload photos and short videos to “Insta” (as many users casually call the platform), edit them with various filters and also share them on other social networks. And if you don’t want to be active yourself, you can also just follow other interesting users.

Why do we use Instagram on our website?

Instagram is the social media platform that has really gone through the roof in recent years. And of course we have also responded to this boom. We want you to feel as comfortable as possible on our website. That’s why a varied presentation of our content is a matter of course for us. The embedded Instagram functions allow us to enrich our content with helpful, funny or exciting content from the Instagram world. As Instagram is a subsidiary of Facebook, the data collected can also be useful to us for personalized advertising on Facebook. This means that only people who are genuinely interested in our products or services receive our advertisements.

Instagram also uses the collected data for measurement and analysis purposes. We receive summarized statistics and thus more insight into your wishes and interests. It is important to note that these reports do not identify you personally.

What data is stored by Instagram?

When you visit one of our pages that has Instagram functions (such as Instagram images or plug-ins), your browser automatically connects to Instagram’s servers. In the process, data is sent to Instagram, stored and processed. This happens regardless of whether you have an Instagram account or not. This includes information about our website, your computer, purchases made, advertisements you see and how you use our services. The date and time of your interaction with Instagram are also stored. If you have an Instagram account or are logged in, Instagram stores significantly more data about you.

Facebook distinguishes between customer data and event data. We assume that this is exactly the case with Instagram. Customer data includes, for example, name, address, telephone number and IP address. This customer data is only transmitted to Instagram once it has been hashed. Hashing means that a data record is converted into a character string. This allows the contact data to be encrypted. The “event data” mentioned above is also transmitted. By “event data”, Facebook – and consequently Instagram – means data about your user behavior. Contact data may also be combined with event data. The contact data collected is compared with the data that Instagram already has about you.

The collected data is transmitted to Facebook via small text files (cookies), which are usually set in your browser. Depending on the Instagram functions used and whether you have an Instagram account yourself, different amounts of data are stored.

We assume that Instagram processes data in the same way as Facebook. This means that if you have an Instagram account or have visited www.instagram.com, Instagram has at least set a cookie. If this is the case, your browser sends information to Instagram via the cookie as soon as you come into contact with an Instagram function. This data is deleted or anonymized after 90 days at the latest (after reconciliation). Although we have looked closely at Instagram’s data processing, we cannot say exactly what data Instagram collects and stores.

Below we will show you the minimum cookies that are set in your browser when you click on an Instagram function (such as a button or an Insta image). In our test, we assume that you do not have an Instagram account. If you are logged in to Instagram, significantly more cookies will of course be set in your browser.

These cookies were used in our test:

Name: csrftoken
Value: “”
Purpose: This cookie is most likely set for security reasons to prevent falsification of requests. However, we were unable to find out more about this.
Expiration date: after one year

Name: mid
Value: “”
Purpose: Instagram sets this cookie to optimize its own services and offers in and outside of Instagram. The cookie defines a unique user ID.
Expiration date: after the end of the session

Name: fbsr_111220018124024
Value: not specified
Purpose: This cookie stores the log-in request for users of the Instagram app.
Expiration date: after the end of the session

Name: rur
Value: ATN
Purpose: This is an Instagram cookie that ensures functionality on Instagram.
Expiry date: after the end of the session

Name: urlgen
Value: “{\”194.96.75.33\”: 1901}:1iEtYv:Y833k2_UjKvXgYe111220018”
Purpose: This cookie is used for Instagram’s marketing purposes.
Expiry date: at the end of the session

Note: We cannot claim completeness here. Which cookies are set in individual cases depends on the embedded functions and your use of Instagram.

How long and where is the data stored?

Instagram shares the information received between the Facebook companies with external partners and with people you connect with worldwide. Data processing is carried out in compliance with its own data policy. For security reasons, among others, your data is distributed on Facebook servers around the world. Most of these servers are located in the USA.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

Thanks to the General Data Protection Regulation, you have the right to access, portability, rectification and erasure of your data. You can manage your data in the Instagram settings. If you want to completely delete your data on Instagram, you must permanently delete your Instagram account.

And this is how deleting your Instagram account works:

First open the Instagram app. Go to the bottom of your profile page and click on “Help section”. You will now be taken to the company’s website. On the website, click on “Manage your account” and then on “Delete your account”.

If you delete your account completely, Instagram will delete posts such as your photos and status updates. Information that other people have shared about you does not belong to your account and is therefore not deleted.

As mentioned above, Instagram stores your data primarily via cookies. You can manage, deactivate or delete these cookies in your browser. Depending on your browser, the management always works a little differently. Here we show you the instructions for the most important browsers.

Chrome: Delete, activate and manage cookies in Chrome

Safari: Manage cookies and website data with Safari

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

Internet Explorer: Delete and manage cookies

Microsoft Edge: Delete and manage cookies

You can also set up your browser so that you are always informed when a cookie is to be set. Then you can always decide individually whether you want to allow the cookie or not.

Instagram is a subsidiary of Facebook Inc. and Facebook is an active participant in the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework. This framework ensures correct data transfer between the USA and the European Union. You can find out more at https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt0000000TO6hAAG. We have tried to provide you with the most important information about data processing by Instagram. You can find out more about Instagram’s data policy at https://help.instagram.com/519522125107875
.

YouTube privacy policy

We have integrated YouTube videos on our website. This allows us to present interesting videos directly on our site. YouTube is a video portal that has been a subsidiary of Google LLC since 2006. The video portal is operated by YouTube, LLC, 901 Cherry Ave, San Bruno, CA 94066, USA. When you visit a page on our website that has a YouTube video embedded, your browser automatically connects to the YouTube or Google servers. Various data will be transmitted (depending on the settings). Google is responsible for all data processing and therefore Google’s data protection policy also applies.

In the following, we would like to explain to you in more detail what data is processed, why we have integrated YouTube videos and how you can manage or delete your data.

What is YouTube?

On YouTube, users can watch, rate, comment on and upload videos for free. Over the last few years, YouTube has become one of the most important social media channels worldwide. To enable us to display videos on our website, YouTube provides a code snippet that we have integrated into our site.

Why do we use YouTube videos on our website?

YouTube is the video platform with the most visitors and the best content. We strive to offer you the best possible user experience on our website. And of course, interesting videos are a must. With the help of our embedded videos, we provide you with further helpful content in addition to our texts and images. The embedded videos also make our website easier to find on the Google search engine. Even if we place ads via Google Ads, Google can – thanks to the data collected – only show these ads to people who are interested in our offers.

What data is stored by YouTube?

As soon as you visit one of our pages that has a YouTube video embedded, YouTube sets at least one cookie that stores your IP address and our URL. If you are logged into your YouTube account, YouTube can usually assign your interactions on our website to your profile using cookies. This includes data such as session duration, bounce rate, approximate location, technical information such as browser type, screen resolution or your internet provider. Other data may include contact details, any ratings, the sharing of content via social media or adding to your favorites on YouTube.

If you are not logged into a Google account or a YouTube account, Google stores data with a unique identifier that is linked to your device, browser or app. For example, your preferred language setting is retained. But a lot of interaction data cannot be saved because fewer cookies are set.

In the following list, we show cookies that were set in the browser in a test. On the one hand, we show cookies that are set without a logged-in YouTube account. On the other hand, we show cookies that are set with a logged-in account. The list cannot claim to be exhaustive because the user data always depends on the interactions on YouTube.

Name: YSC
Value: b9-CV6ojI5Y
Purpose: This cookie registers a unique ID to store statistics of the video viewed.
Expiry date: after end of session

Name: PREF
Value: f1=50000000
Purpose: This cookie also registers your unique ID. Google receives statistics on how you use YouTube videos on our website via PREF.
Expiration date: after 8 months

Name: GPS
Value: 1
Purpose: This cookie registers your unique ID on mobile devices to track the GPS location.
Expiry date: after 30 minutes

Name: VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE
Value: 95Chz8bagyU
Purpose: This cookie attempts to estimate the user’s bandwidth on our websites (with embedded YouTube video).
Expiry date: after 8 months

Other cookies that are set when you are logged in to your YouTube account:

Name: APISID
Wert: zILlvClZSkqGsSwI/AU1aZI6HY7111220018-
Purpose: This cookie is used to create a profile of your interests. The data is used for personalized advertisements.
Expiration date: after 2 years

Name: CONSENT
Value: YES+AT.de+20150628-20-0
Purpose: The cookie stores the status of a user’s consent to the use of various Google services. CONSENT is also used for security purposes to check users and protect user data from unauthorized attacks.
Expiration date: after 19 years

Name: HSID
Value: AcRwpgUik9Dveht0I
Purpose: This cookie is used to create a profile of your interests. This data helps to display personalized advertising.
Expiration date: after 2 years

Name: LOGIN_INFO
Value: AFmmF2swRQIhALl6aL…
Purpose: This cookie isused to store information about your login data.
Expiry date: after 2 years

Name: SAPISID
Value: 7oaPxoG-pZsJuuF5/AnUdDUIsJ9iJz2vdM
Purpose: This cookie works by uniquely identifying your browser and device. It is used to create a profile of your interests.
Expiration date: after 2 years

Name: SID
Value: oQfNKjAsI111220018-
Purpose: This cookie stores your Google Account ID and your last login time in digitally signed and encrypted form.
Expiry date: after 2 years

Name: SIDCC
Value: AN0-TYuqub2JOcDTyL
Purpose: This cookie stores information about how you use the website and what advertisements you may have seen before visiting our site.
Expiry date: after 3 months

How long and where is the data stored?

The data that YouTube receives from you and processes is stored on Google servers. Most of these servers are located in America. At https://www.google.com/about/datacenters/inside/locations/?hl=de you can see exactly where the Google data centers are located. Your data is distributed across the servers. This means that the data can be accessed more quickly and is better protected against manipulation.

Google stores the data collected for different lengths of time. You can delete some data at any time, others are automatically deleted after a limited time and others are stored by Google for a longer period of time. Some data (such as elements from “My activity”, photos or documents, products) that are stored in your Google account remain stored until you delete them. Even if you are not signed in to a Google Account, you can delete some data associated with your device, browser or app.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

In principle, you can delete data in your Google account manually. With the automatic deletion function for location and activity data introduced in 2019, information is stored for either 3 or 18 months, depending on your decision, and then deleted.

Regardless of whether you have a Google account or not, you can configure your browser so that cookies are deleted or deactivated by Google. Depending on which browser you use, this works in different ways. The following instructions show you how to manage cookies in your browser:

Chrome: Delete, activate and manage cookies in Chrome

Safari: Manage cookies and website data with Safari

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

Internet Explorer: Delete and manage cookies

Microsoft Edge: Delete and manage cookies

If you generally do not want to have cookies, you can set up your browser so that it always informs you when a cookie is to be set. This allows you to decide for each individual cookie whether you want to allow it or not. As YouTube is a subsidiary of Google, there is a joint privacy policy. If you want to find out more about how your data is handled, we recommend that you read the privacy policy at https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=de.

LinkedIn privacy policy

We use functions of the social media network LinkedIn of LinkedIn Corporation, 2029 Stierlin Court, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA, on our website.

By accessing pages that use such functions, data (IP address, browser data, date and time, cookies) are transmitted to LinkedIn, stored and analyzed.

If you have a LinkedIn account and are logged in, this data will be assigned to your personal account and the data stored in it.

The privacy policy, what information LinkedIn collects and how they use it can be found at https://www.linkedin.com/legal/privacy-policy.

Google AdSense privacy policy

We use Google AdSense on this website. This is an advertising program from Google Inc (1600 Amphitheatre Parkway Mountain View, CA 94043, USA). Google AdSense allows us to display advertisements on this website that are relevant to our topic. In this way, we offer you advertisements that ideally represent real added value for you. In this privacy policy about Google AdSense, we explain why we use Google AdSense on our website, which of your data is processed and stored and how you can prevent this data storage.

What is Google AdSense?

The Google AdSense advertising program has been around since 2003 and, unlike Google Ads (formerly Google AdWords), you cannot place ads yourself. Google AdSense is used to display advertisements on websites, such as ours. The biggest advantage of this advertising service compared to some others is that Google AdSense only shows you ads that match our content. Google has its own algorithm that calculates which advertisements you will see. Of course, we only want to show you advertising that interests you and offers you added value. Google checks which advertisements are suitable for our website and for our users based on your interests or user behavior and our offer. At this point, we would also like to mention that we are not responsible for the selection of advertisements. We only offer the advertising space on our website. Google selects the advertisements displayed. Since August 2013, the ads have also been adapted to the respective user interface. This means that whether you visit our website from your smartphone, PC or laptop, the ads adapt to your device.

Why do we use Google AdSense on our website?

Running a high-quality website requires a lot of dedication and commitment. Basically, we are never finished working on our website. We always try to maintain our site and keep it as up-to-date as possible. Of course, we also want to achieve economic success with this work. That is why we have opted for advertisements as a source of income. However, the most important thing for us is not to disturb your visit to our website with these advertisements. With the help of Google AdSense, you will only be offered advertising that matches our topics and your interests.

Similar to Google indexing for a website, a bot examines the relevant content and the corresponding offers on our website. The content of the ads is then adapted and presented on the website. In addition to the content overlaps between the ad and the website offer, AdSense also supports interest-based targeting. This means that Google also uses your data to offer advertising tailored to you. In this way, you receive advertising that ideally offers you real added value and we have a better chance of earning a little something.

What data is stored by Google AdSense?

Among other things, cookies are used so that Google AdSense can display customized advertising tailored to you. Cookies are small text files that store certain information on your computer.

In AdSense, cookies are intended to enable better advertising. The cookies do not contain any personally identifiable data. However, it should be noted that Google considers data such as “pseudonymous cookie IDs” (name or other identification feature is replaced by a pseudonym) or IP addresses to be non-personally identifiable information. Under the GDPR, however, this data may be considered personal data. Google AdSense sends a cookie to the browser after every impression (this is always the case when you see an ad), every click and every other activity that leads to a call to the Google AdSense server. If the browser accepts the cookie, it will be stored there.

As part of AdSense, third-party providers may be able to place and read cookies in your browser or use web beacons to store data that they receive through the provision of ads on the website. Web beacons are small graphics that perform a log file analysis and record the log file. This analysis enables statistical evaluation for online marketing.

Google may use these cookies to collect certain information about your user behavior on our website. This includes

• Information on how you interact with an ad (clicks, impressions, mouse movements)
• Information on whether an ad has already appeared in your browser at an earlier time. This data helps to prevent you from seeing an ad more often.

In doing so, Google analyzes and evaluates the data on the displayed advertising material and your IP address. Google uses the data primarily to measure the effectiveness of an advertisement and to improve the advertising offer. This data is not linked to personal data that Google may have about you via other Google services.

In the following, we will introduce you to cookies that Google AdSense uses for tracking purposes. Here we refer to a test website that only has Google AdSense installed:

Name: uid
Value: 891269189111220018 Purpose: The cookie is stored under the domain adform.net. It provides a uniquely assigned, machine-generated user ID and collects data about activity on our website.
Expiration date: after 2 months

Name: C
Value: 1
Purpose: This cookie identifies whether your browser accepts cookies. The cookie is stored under the domain track.adform.net.
Expiration date: after 1 month

Name: cid
Wert: 8912691894970695056,0,0,0,0
Purpose: This cookie is stored under the domain track.adform.net, stands for Client ID and is used to improve advertising for you. It can deliver more relevant advertising to the visitor and helps to improve campaign performance reports.
Expiration date: after 2 months

Name: IDE
Value: zOtj4TWxwbFDjaATZ2TzNaQmxrU111220018 Purpose: The cookie is stored under the doubkeklick.net domain. It is used to register your actions after viewing or clicking on the ad. This allows us to measure how well an advertisement is received by our visitors.
Expiration date: after 1 month

Name: test_cookie
Value: not specified
Purpose: You can use the “test_cookies” to check whether your browser supports cookies at all. The cookie is stored under the domain doubkeklick.net.
Expiration date: after 1 month

Name: CT592996
Value:733366
Purpose: Is stored under the domain adform.net. The cookie is set as soon as you click on an advertisement. We were unable to find out more detailed information about the use of this cookie.
Expiration date: after one hour

Note: This list cannot claim to be exhaustive, as experience has shown that Google changes its choice of cookies from time to time.

How long and where is the data stored?

Google records your IP address and various activities that you carry out on the website. Cookies store this information about the interactions on our website. According to Google, the company collects and stores the information provided in a secure manner on Google’s own servers in the USA.

If you do not have a Google account or are not logged in, Google usually stores the data collected with a unique identifier (ID) on your browser. The unique IDs stored in cookies are used, for example, to ensure personalized advertising. If you are logged into a Google account, Google may also collect personal data.

You can delete some of the data that Google stores at any time (see next section). Much of the information stored in cookies is automatically deleted after a certain period of time. However, there is also data that is stored by Google for a longer period of time. This is the case when Google has to store certain data for an indefinite, longer period of time for economic or legal reasons.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

You always have the option of deleting or deactivating cookies that are on your computer. How exactly this works depends on your browser.

Here you will find instructions on how to manage cookies in your browser:

Chrome: Delete, activate and manage cookies in Chrome

Safari: Manage cookies and website data with Safari

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

Internet Explorer: Delete and manage cookies

Microsoft Edge: Delete and manage cookies

If you generally do not want to have cookies, you can set up your browser so that it always informs you when a cookie is to be set. This allows you to decide for each individual cookie whether or not to allow it. Downloading and installing this browser plug-in at https://support.google.com/ads/answer/7395996 will also deactivate all “advertising cookies”. Please note that deactivating these cookies does not prevent advertisements, but only personalized advertising.

If you have a Google account, you can deactivate personalized advertising on the website https://adssettings.google.com/authenticated. You will still see ads here, but they will no longer be tailored to your interests. However, the ads will still be displayed based on a few factors, such as your location, browser type and the search terms used.

You can find out what data Google collects and what it uses this data for at https://www.google.com/intl/de/policies/privacy/.

Source: Created with the data protection generator of Content Marketing Agency Vienna in cooperation with Dr. Wallentin