Octorank

This Privacy Policy clarifies the type, scope and purpose of the processing of personal data (hereinafter referred to as "data") within our online offering and the associated websites, functions and content as well as external online presences, such as our social media profile (hereinafter jointly referred to as the "Online Offer"). With regard to the terms used, such as "personal data" or their "processing", we refer to the definitions in Art. 4 of the Basic Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Controller:

Name/Co.: Octorank UG (haftungsbeschränkt)
Street/No.: Wegedornstraße 32
Postal code, city, country: 12524 Berlin, Germany
Commercial Register/No.: Amtsgericht Berlin-Charlottenburg, HRB 185243 B
Directors: Tim Vogelsang, André Rieck
Telephone: +49 30 12088686
E-mail address: info@octorank.com

Types of data processed:

Inventory data (name, user name)
Contact details (e-mail address)
Content data (text input, uploads (images, videos, sounds, pdfs, etc.))
Contract data (for example contract object, duration, customer category)
Payment data (for example bank details, payment history)
Metacommunication data (IP address)
Usage data (times of creation and update of account and associated data)
information relating to the competitions and invitations for tenders organized for the Online Offer and other projects

Processing of special categories of data (Art. 9 para. 1 GDPR):

No special categories of data will be processed.

Categories of data subjects involved in the processing:

Visitors and users of the Online Offer
Customers and their employees
employees

In the following, we will refer to the persons concerned collectively as "users".

Purpose of the processing:

Provision of the Online Offer, its contents and functions.
Provision of contractual services, service and customer care.
Answer contact requests and communicate with users.
Marketing and advertising
Security measures (verification of authenticity of participants)
Carrying out competitions and invitations to tender via the Online Offer

Last update: 15.10.2018

Applicable legal bases

In accordance with Art. 13 GDPR we inform you about the legal basis of our data processing. If the legal basis is not mentioned in the Privacy Policy, the following applies: The legal basis for obtaining consent is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a and Art. 7 GDPR, the legal basis for processing in order to fulfil our services and carry out contractual measures as well as answer inquiries is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR, the legal basis for processing in order to fulfil our legal obligations is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. c GDPR, and the legal basis for processing for the purposes of our legitimate interests is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR. In the event that vital interests of the data subject or another natural person necessitate the processing of personal data, Art. 6 para. 1 lit. d GDPR serves as the legal basis.

Changes and Updates to the Privacy Policy

We ask you to inform yourself regularly about the content of our Privacy Policy. We will adapt the Privacy Policy as soon as changes in the data processing we carry out make this necessary. We will inform you as soon as the changes require your cooperation (e.g. consent) or other individual notification.

Safety Precautions

We take appropriate technical and organizational measures in accordance with Art. 32 GDPR, taking into account the state of the art, the costs of implementation and the nature, scope, context and purposes of the processing as well as the varying likelihood and severity for the rights and freedoms of natural persons, to ensure a level of security appropriate to the risk; these measures include in particular ensuring the confidentiality, integrity and availability of data by controlling the physical access to the data as well as the access to, inputting, passing on, ensuring the availability and separation of the data concerning them. In addition, we have established procedures to ensure that data subjects' rights are exercised, that data is deleted and that we react to data threats. Furthermore, we take the protection of personal data into account as early as the development or selection of hardware, software and processes, in accordance with the principle of data protection through technology design and through data protection-friendly default settings (Art. 25 GDPR).

The security measures include in particular the encrypted transmission of data between your browser and our server.

Cooperation with processors and third parties

Insofar as we disclose data to other persons and companies (processors or third parties) within the scope of our processing, transfer them to them or otherwise grant them access to the data, this shall only take place on the basis of legal permission (e.g. if a transfer of the data to third parties, such as payment service providers, pursuant to Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. b GDPR is necessary for the performance of the contract), if you have consented to this, if a legal obligation provides for this or on the basis of our legitimate interests (e.g. when using agents, web hosts, etc.).

If we commission third parties with the processing of data on the basis of a so-called "order processing contract", this is done on the basis of Art. 28 GDPR.

Transfers to third countries

If we process data in a third country (i.e. outside the European Union (EU) or the European Economic Area (EEA)) or if this is done in the context of the use of third-party services or disclosure or transfer of data to third parties, this will only occur if it is done to fulfil our (pre)contractual obligations, on the basis of your consent, a legal obligation or on the basis of our legitimate interests. Subject to legal or contractual permissions, we process or allow the data to be processed in a third country only if the special requirements of Art. 44 et seqq. GDPR are met. This means that the processing takes place, for example, on the basis of special guarantees, such as the officially recognized determination of a data protection level corresponding to the EU (e.g. for the USA through the "Privacy Shield") or the observance of officially recognized special contractual obligations (so-called "standard contractual clauses").

Rights of data subjects

You have the right to request confirmation as to whether the data in question will be processed and to be informed of this data and to receive further information and a copy of the data in accordance with Art. 15 GDPR.
According to Art. 16 GDPR, you have the right to request the completion of data concerning you or the correction of incorrect data concerning you.
Pursuant to Art. 17 GDPR, you have the right to demand that the relevant data be deleted immediately or, alternatively, to demand a restriction on the processing of the data pursuant to Art. 18 GDPR.
You have the right to demand that the data concerning you which you have provided to us be received in accordance with Art. 20 DSGVO and that it be transferred to other responsible parties.
Pursuant to Art. 77 GDPR, you also have the right to file a complaint with the competent supervisory authority.

Right to withdraw

You have the right to withdraw consents granted pursuant to Art. 7 para. 3 GDPR with effect for the future.

Right to object

You may object at any time to the future processing of the data concerning you in accordance with Art. 21 GDPR. The objection may in particular be lodged against processing for the purposes of direct marketing.

Cookies and right to object to direct advertising

We use temporary and permanent cookies, i.e. small files that are stored on users' devices (explanation of the term and function, see last section of this Privacy Policy). In some cases the cookies serve security purposes or are necessary for the operation of our online offer (e.g. for the presentation of the website) or to save the user decision when confirming the cookie banner. In addition, we or our technology partners use cookies to measure the range and for marketing purposes, about which users are informed in the course of the Privacy Policy.

A general objection to the use of cookies for online marketing purposes can be raised for a large number of services, especially in the case of tracking, via the US website http://www.aboutads.info/choices/ or the EU website http://www.youronlinechoices.com/ Furthermore, the storage of cookies can be refused by switching them off in the browser settings. Please note that in this case not all functions of this online offer can be used.

Deletion of data

The data processed by us will be deleted or their processing will be restricted in accordance with Art. 17 and 18 GDPR. Unless expressly stated in this Privacy Policy, the data stored by us will be deleted as soon as they are no longer required for their intended purpose and there are no legal obligations to retain them. If the data are not deleted because they are required for other legally permissible purposes, their processing will be restricted. This means that the data will be blocked and not processed for other purposes. This applies, for example, to data that must be stored for commercial or tax reasons.
According to legal requirements, the documents are stored in particular for 6 years in accordance with § 257 para. 1 of the German Commercial Code (HGB) (commercial books, inventories, opening balance sheets, annual financial statements, commercial letters, accounting records, etc.) and for 10 years in accordance with § 147 para. 1 of the German Tax Code (AO) (books, records, management reports, accounting records, commercial and business letters, documents relevant for taxation, etc.).

Provision of contractual services

We process inventory data (e.g., names and addresses as well as contact data of users), contract data (e.g., services used, names of contact persons, payment information) for the purpose of fulfilling our contractual obligations and services pursuant to Art. 6 Para. 1 lit b. GDPR. The entries marked as mandatory in online forms are required for the conclusion of the contract.
Users can create a user account, in particular by viewing their submissions to competitions. Within the framework of registration, the required mandatory information will be communicated to the users. The user accounts are not public and cannot be indexed by search engines, but can be set by the user. If users have terminated their user account, their data will be deleted with regard to the user account, subject to its retention for commercial or tax reasons pursuant to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. c GDPR. It is the responsibility of the users to secure their data before the end of the contract in the event of termination. We are entitled to irretrievably delete all user data stored during the term of the contract.
Within the scope of registration and renewed registrations as well as use of our online services, we store the IP address and the time of the respective user action. The storage is based on our legitimate interests, as well as the user's protection against misuse and other unauthorized use. This data will not be passed on to third parties unless it is necessary to pursue our claims or there is a legal obligation to do so pursuant to Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. c GDPR.
We process usage data (e.g., participation in competitions) and content data (e.g., entries in the contact form or user profile) for advertising purposes in a user profile in order to inform the user, for example, of participation in new competitions based on their previous participation.
The deletion takes place after expiration of legal warranty and comparable obligations, the necessity of data retention is reviewed every three years; in the case of legal archiving obligations, the deletion takes place after their expiration (end of commercial (6 years) and tax (10 years) retention obligation); information in the customer account remain until its deletion.

Contacting us

When contacting us (via contact form or e-mail), the user's details will be processed in order to settle the contact request and its processing in accordance with Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. b GDPR.
The user data can be stored in our Customer Relationship Management System ("CRM System") or comparable inquiry organization.
We use the CRM system "Freshdesk" and the chat tool "Freshchat" from Freshworks, Inc. (1250 Bayhill Drive, Suite 315, San Bruno, CA 94066, USA) on the basis of our legitimate interests (efficient and fast processing of user enquiries). For this purpose we have concluded a contract with Freshworks with so-called standard contract clauses in which Freshworks undertakes to process the user data only in accordance with our instructions and to comply with the EU data protection level. Freshworks is also certified under the Privacy Shield Agreement, providing an additional guarantee of compliance with European data protection legislation ( https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt0000000GnbQAAS&status=Active).
We will delete the requests if they are no longer necessary. We check the necessity every two years; inquiries from customers who have a customer account are stored permanently and refer to the customer account details for deletion. In the case of statutory archiving obligations, deletion takes place after their expiration (end of commercial (6 years) and tax (10 years) retention obligation).

Comments and Contributions

If users leave comments or other contributions, their IP addresses will be stored for 7 days on the basis of our legitimate interests within the meaning of Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f GDPR.
This is done for our safety, if someone leaves illegal contents (insults, forbidden political propaganda, etc.) in comments and contributions. In this case, we ourselves can be prosecuted for the comment or contribution and are therefore interested in the author's identity.

Collection of access data and log files

On the basis of our legitimate interests within the meaning of Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f GDPR, we collect data about each access to the server on which this service is located (so-called server log files). The access data includes the name of the website accessed, file, date and time of access, amount of data transferred, notification of successful access, browser type and version, the user's operating system, referrer URL (the previously visited page), IP address and the requesting provider.
Log file information is stored for a maximum of seven days for security reasons (e.g. to clarify abuse or fraud) and then deleted. Data, the further storage of which is necessary for evidence purposes, are excluded from deletion until the respective incident has been finally clarified.

DigitalOcean

On the basis of our legitimate interests (i.e. interest in the optimization and economic operation of our online offer in the sense of Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f GDPR), we use the Cloud Computing Platform of the company DigitalOcean LLC ("DigitalOcean"). This means that DigitalOcean provides us with services such as infrastructure services, computing capacity, storage space, security and technical maintenance. An order processing contract exists.
DigitalOcean is certified under the Privacy Shield Agreement and thus offers a guarantee of compliance with European data protection legislation ( https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt0000000TQNgAAO&status=Active).
Data processing and storage takes place on servers in computer centers in Germany.

Amazon Web Services

On the basis of our legitimate interests (i.e. interest in the optimization and economic operation of our online offer in the sense of Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f GDPR) we use the services S3 and CloudFront of the company Amazon Web Services, Inc. ("Amazon Web Services"). This means that Amazon Web Services provides file storage and caching of these for us. An order processing contract exists.
Amazon Web Services is certified under the Privacy Shield Agreement and thus provides a guarantee of compliance with European data protection legislation ( https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt0000000TOWQAA4&status=Active).

Sparkpost

On the basis of our legitimate interests (i.e. interest in the economic operation of our online service as defined in Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f GDPR) we use Sparkpost, the Email Delivery Service of Message Systems, Inc. ("Sparkpost"). This means that Sparkpost is used for email communication with our users. An order processing contract exists.
Sparkpost is certified under the Privacy Shield Agreement and thus offers a guarantee of compliance with European data protection law ( https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt0000000KzTTAA0&status=Active).

Rollbar

On the basis of our legitimate interests (i.e. interest in the economic operation of our online service as defined in Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f GDPR) we use the Error Reporting Tool from Rollbar, Inc. ("Rollbar"). That means Rollbar notifies us about errors on the website. An order processing contract exists.
Rollbar is certified under the Privacy Shield Agreement and thus offers a guarantee of compliance with European data protection law ( https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt0000000TNcNAAW&status=Active).
In the event of an error, personal data such as IP address, name of the website accessed, date and time of access, browser type and version, the user's operating system are transmitted to Rollbar for efficient error detection and correction. The data will be stored for a maximum period of 14 days or until the completion of the error correction and then deleted.

Online presences in social media

On the basis of our legitimate interests within the meaning of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR, we maintain online presences within social networks and platforms in order to communicate with customers, interested parties and users active there and to inform them about our services. When calling up the respective networks and platforms, the terms and conditions and the data processing guidelines of their respective operators apply.
Unless otherwise stated in our Privacy Policy, we process the data of users who communicate with us within social networks and platforms, e.g. post articles on our online presence or send us messages.

Cookies & range measurement

Cookies are pieces of information that are transferred from our web server or third party web servers to the user's web browser and stored there for later retrieval. Cookies can be small files or other types of information storage.
We use "session cookies", which are only stored for the duration of the current visit to our online presence (e.g. to enable the storage of your login status or the submission preview function and thus the use of our online offer at all). A randomly generated unique identification number, a so-called session ID, is stored in a session cookie. In addition, a cookie contains information about its origin and the storage period. These cookies cannot store any other data. Session cookies are deleted when you have finished using our online service and log out or close your browser, for example.
Users are informed about the use of cookies within the scope of pseudonymous range measurement by this Privacy Policy.
If users do not wish cookies to be stored on their computer, they are asked to deactivate the corresponding option in the system settings of their browser. Stored cookies can be deleted in the system settings of the browser. The exclusion of cookies can lead to functional restrictions of this online offer.
You may opt-out of the use of cookies to measure reach and for advertising purposes via the Network Advertising Initiative's opt-out page (http://optout.networkadvertising.org/) and additionally the US website (http://www.aboutads.info/choices) or the European website (http://www.youronlinechoices.com/uk/your-ad-choices/).

Google Analytics

On the basis of our legitimate interests (i.e. interest in the analysis, optimization and economic operation of our online offer in the sense of Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f GDPR) we use Google Analytics, a web analysis service of Google LLC ("Google"). Google uses cookies. The information generated by the cookie about the use of the online offer by the user is usually transferred to a Google server in the USA and stored there.
Google is certified under the Privacy Shield Agreement and thereby offers a guarantee of compliance with European privacy laws ( https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt000000001L5AAI&status=Active).
Google will use this information on our behalf to evaluate the use of our online services by users, to compile reports on the activities within this online service and to provide us with other services associated with the use of this online service and the Internet. Pseudonymous user profiles of the users can be created from the processed data.
We only use Google Analytics with IP anonymization enabled. This means that the IP address of the user is shortened by Google within member states of the European Union or in other contracting states of the Agreement on the European Economic Area. Only in exceptional cases is the full IP address transmitted to a Google server in the USA and shortened there.
The IP address transmitted by the user's browser is not merged with other Google data. Users may refuse the use of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on their browser; users can also prevent Google from collecting the data generated by the cookie and related to their use of the online service as well as the processing of these data by Google by downloading and installing the browser plugin available under the following link: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=en.
For more information about Google's use of data and about setting and objection options, please visit the following Google webpages: https://www.google.com/intl/en/policies/privacy/partners ("Use of data by Google when using the websites or apps of our partners"), https://policies.google.com/technologies/ads ("Use of data for advertising purposes"), https://adssettings.google.com/authenticated ("Manage information Google uses to display advertising").
Otherwise, personal data will be anonymized or deleted after 14 months.

Google Tag Manager

On the basis of our legitimate interests (i.e. interest in the analysis, optimization and economic operation of our online offer in the sense of Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f GDPR) we use Google Tag Manager, with which we can manage so-called website tags via a Google LLC ("Google") interface.
Google is certified under the Privacy Shield Agreement and thereby offers a guarantee of compliance with European privacy laws ( https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt000000001L5AAI&status=Active).
The Tag Manager itself does not process any personal user data. Terms of use: https://www.google.com/intl/en/tagmanager/use-policy.html.

Google Re/Marketing Services

On the basis of our legitimate interests (i.e. interest in the analysis, optimisation and economic operation of our online offer in the sense of Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f GDPR) we use the marketing and remarketing services ('Google Marketing Services') of Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA (“Google”).
Google is certified under the Privacy Shield Agreement and thereby offers a guarantee of compliance with European privacy laws ( https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt000000001L5AAI&status=Active).
Google's marketing services allow us to display advertisements for and on our website in a more targeted manner to show users only ads that potentially match their interests. If, for example, a user is shown ads for products in which he is interested on other websites, this is referred to as "remarketing". For these purposes, when you visit our and other websites on which Google marketing services are active, Google directly executes a code from Google and incorporates so-called (re)marketing tags (invisible graphics or code, also known as "web beacons") into the website. With their help, an individual cookie, i.e. a small file, is stored on the user's device (comparable technologies can also be used instead of cookies). The cookies can be set by various domains, including google.com, doubleclick.net, invitemedia.com, admeld.com, googlesyndication.com or googleadservices.com. In this file it is noted which websites the user visits, which contents he is interested in and which offers he has clicked, furthermore technical information about the browser and operating system, referring websites, visiting time as well as further information about the use of the online offer. The IP address of the user is also recorded, whereby we inform within the scope of Google Analytics that the IP address within member states of the European Union or in other contracting states of the Agreement on the European Economic Area is shortened and only in exceptional cases completely transmitted to a Google server in the USA and shortened there. The IP address is not merged with user data within other Google offers. Google may also link the above information to such information from other sources. If the user subsequently visits other websites, the ads tailored to the user's interests can be displayed.
User data is processed pseudonymously within the framework of Google marketing services. I.e. Google does not store and process the name or e-mail address of the user, but processes the relevant data cookie-related within pseudonymous user profiles. This means that, from Google's point of view, the ads are not administered and displayed for a specifically identified person, but for the cookie holder, regardless of who this cookie holder is. This does not apply if a user has expressly permitted Google to process the data without this pseudonymization. The information about users collected by Google marketing services is transmitted to Google and stored on Google's servers in the United States.
One of the Google marketing services we use is the online advertising program "Google AdWords". In the case of Google AdWords, each AdWords customer receives a different "conversion cookie”. Cookies can therefore not be tracked via the websites of AdWords customers. The information collected through the cookie is used to generate conversion statistics for AdWords customers who have opted for conversion tracking. AdWords customers see the total number of users who clicked on their ad and were redirected to a page with a conversion tracking tag. However, you will not receive any information that personally identifies users.
You can find out more about Google's use of data for marketing purposes on the overview page: https://policies.google.com/technologies/ads, Google's privacy policy can be found at https://policies.google.com/privacy.
If you wish to opt out of interest-based advertising through Google marketing services, you can use the Google settings and opt-out options: https://adssettings.google.com/authenticated.

Facebook Pixels, Custom Audiences and Facebook Marketing Services

Due to our legitimate interests in the analysis, optimization and economic operation of our online service, the so-called "Facebook Pixel" of the social network Facebook, which is operated by Facebook Inc., 1 Hacker Way, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA, or if you are resident in the EU, Facebook Ireland Ltd., 4 Grand Canal Square, Grand Canal Harbour, Dublin 2, Ireland ("Facebook"), is used within our online service.
Facebook is certified under the Privacy Shield Agreement and thus offers a guarantee of compliance with European data protection law ( https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt0000000GnywAAC&status=Active).
With the help of the Facebook pixel, Facebook is on the one hand able to determine the visitors of our online offer as a target group for the presentation of ads (so-called "Facebook ads"). Accordingly, we use Facebook pixels to display Facebook ads placed by us only to Facebook users who have shown an interest in our online offering or who have certain features (e.g., interests in certain topics or products that are determined on the basis of the websites visited) that we transmit to Facebook (so-called "custom audiences"). With the help of Facebook pixels, we also want to ensure that our Facebook ads correspond to the potential interest of users and do not appear annoying. The Facebook pixel also enables us to track the effectiveness of Facebook ads for statistical and market research purposes by showing whether users were referred to our website after clicking on a Facebook ad (known as "conversion").
Facebook processes the data in accordance with the Facebook Data Usage Policy. Accordingly, general information about the presentation of Facebook ads in the Facebook Data Usage Policy: https://www.facebook.com/policy.php. Special information and details about Facebook pixels and how they work can be found in the help section of Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/business/help/651294705016616.
You may opt out of Facebook pixel collection and use of your information to display Facebook ads. To set what types of ads you see within Facebook, you can go to the page set up by Facebook and follow the instructions on the settings for usage-based ads: https://www.facebook.com/settings?tab=ads. The settings are platform-independent, i.e. they are adopted for all devices, such as desktop computers or mobile devices.
To prevent the collection of your information using the Facebook pixel on our website, please click the following link: Facebook-Opt-Out Note: When you click the link, an "Opt-Out" cookie is stored on your device. If you delete the cookies in this browser, you must click the link again. Furthermore, the opt-out only applies within the browser used by you and only within our web domain on which the link was clicked.
You may also opt out of the use of cookies to measure reach and for advertising purposes via the Network Advertising Initiative's opt-out page (http://optout.networkadvertising.org/) and the US website (http://www.aboutads.info/choices) or the European website (http://www.youronlinechoices.com/uk/your-ad-choices/).

Newsletter

With the following information we inform you about the contents of our newsletter as well as the registration, dispatch and statistical evaluation procedures and your rights of objection. By subscribing to our newsletter, you agree to the receipt and procedures described.
Content of the newsletter: We send newsletters, e-mails and other electronic notifications containing advertising information (hereinafter "newsletter") only with the consent of the recipient or a legal permission. Insofar as the contents of the newsletter are specifically described within the framework of registration, they are decisive for the consent of the user. In addition, our newsletters contain information about our products, offers, promotions and our company.
Double-Opt-In and logging: The registration to our newsletter takes place in a so-called Double-Opt-In procedure. This means that you will receive an e-mail after registration asking you to confirm your registration. This confirmation is necessary so that no one can register with external e-mail addresses. The registrations for the newsletter are logged in order to be able to prove the registration process according to the legal requirements. This includes storing the login and confirmation times as well as the IP address. Likewise the changes of your data stored with the dispatch service provider are logged.
The newsletter is sent via "MailChimp", a newsletter distribution platform of the US provider Rocket Science Group, LLC, 675 Ponce De Leon Ave NE #5000, Atlanta, GA 30308, USA. You can view the privacy policy of the shipping service provider here: https://mailchimp.com/legal/privacy/. The Rocket Science Group LLC d/b/a MailChimp is certified under the Privacy Shield Agreement and thereby provides a guarantee of compliance with the European Privacy Level ( https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt0000000TO6hAAG&status=Active).
Furthermore, according to its own information, the shipping service provider may use this data in pseudonymous form, i.e. without allocation to a user, to optimize or improve its own services, e.g. for technical optimization of shipping and the presentation of the newsletter or for statistical purposes, in order to determine from which countries the recipients come. However, the shipping service provider does not use the data of our newsletter recipients to write to them itself or pass them on to third parties.
Registration data: To subscribe to the newsletter, it is sufficient to enter your e-mail address. Optionally we ask you to enter a name in the newsletter in order to address you personally.
Success measurement - The newsletters contain a so-called "web beacon", i.e. a file the size of a pixel, which is retrieved from the server of the dispatch service provider when the newsletter is opened. Within the scope of this retrieval, technical information such as information about the browser and your system, as well as your IP address and time of retrieval are first collected. This information is used for the technical improvement of the services on the basis of technical data or target groups and their reading behavior on the basis of their retrieval points (which can be determined with the help of the IP address) or access times. Statistical surveys also include determining whether newsletters are opened, when they are opened and which links are clicked. For technical reasons, this information can be assigned to the individual newsletter recipients. However, it is neither our nor the shipping service provider's intention to observe individual users. The evaluations serve us much more to recognize the reading habits of our users and to adapt our content to them or to send different content according to the interests of our users.
The dispatch of the newsletter and the performance measurement are based on the consent of the recipients according to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a, Art. 7 GDPR in conjunction with § 7 para. 2 no. 3 of the German Law against Unfair Competition (UWG) or on the legal permission according to § 7 para. 3 of the German Law against Unfair Competition.
The registration procedure is recorded on the basis of our legitimate interests pursuant to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR and serves as proof of consent to receive the newsletter.
Cancellation/withdrawal - Newsletter recipients can cancel the receipt of our newsletter at any time, i.e. withdraw their consent. You will find a link to cancel the newsletter at the end of each newsletter. At the same time, their consent to the success measurement expires. A separate withdrawal of the success measurement is unfortunately not possible, in this case the entire newsletter subscription must be cancelled. With the cancellation of the newsletter, the personal data are deleted, unless their retention is legally required or justified, in which case their processing is limited only to these exceptional purposes. In particular, we may store the deleted e-mail addresses for up to three years on the basis of our legitimate interests before we delete them for the purpose of sending the newsletter in order to be able to prove that you have previously given your consent. The processing of these data is limited to the purpose of a possible defense against claims. An individual deletion request is possible at any time, provided that the former existence of a consent is confirmed at the same time.

Integration of third-party services and content

Within the scope of our online offer and on the basis of our legitimate interests (i.e. interest in the analysis, optimization and economic operation of our online offer within the meaning of Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f GDPR) we apply content or service offers from third parties in order to integrate their content and services, such as videos or fonts (hereinafter uniformly referred to as "content"). This always presupposes that the third-party providers of this content perceive the IP address of the user, since they would not be able to send the content to their browser without the IP address. The IP address is therefore required for the presentation of these contents. We strive to use only those contents, whose respective offerors use the IP address only for the distribution of the contents. Third parties may also use so-called pixel tags (invisible graphics, also known as "web beacons") for statistical or marketing purposes. The "pixel tags" can be used to evaluate information such as visitor traffic on the pages of this website. The pseudonymous information may also be stored in cookies on the user's device and may include technical information about the browser and operating system, referring websites, visit times and other information about the use of our website, as well as may be linked to such information from other sources.
The following presentation provides an overview of third-party providers and their contents, along with links to their data protection declarations, which contain further information on the processing of data and, in some cases already mentioned here, possible objections (so-called Opt-Out):
- Videos from the "YouTube" platform of third-party provider Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA. Privacy Policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy, Opt-Out: https://adssettings.google.com/authenticated.
- Functions of the SoundCloud service are integrated into our online offering. These features are provided by SoundCloud Limited, Rheinsberger Str. 76/77 10115 Berlin, Germany ("SoundCloud"). If you visit a page that contains such a plugin, your browser will connect directly to the SoundCloud servers. The plugin transmits protocol data to the SoundCloud server. This log information may include your IP address, the address of websites visited that also include SoundCloud features, browser type and settings, date and time of request, your use of SoundCloud, and cookies. Privacy policy: https://soundcloud.com/pages/privacy/05-2018.
- Within our online offer functions of the service embedly are integrated. These functions are provided by A Medium Corporation, 799 Market St., 5th Floor San Francisco, CA 94102, USA ("embedly"). If you call a page that contains such a plugin, your browser will establish a direct connection to the embedly servers. The plugin transmits protocol data to the server of embedly in the USA. This log data may include your IP address, browser type and settings, date and time of the request, your use of embedly and cookies. Privacy policy: http://embed.ly/legal/privacy.