Preamble

With the following data protection declaration, we would like to inform you about which types of your personal data (hereinafter also referred to as "data") we process, for what purposes and to what extent. The data protection declaration applies to all processing of personal data carried out by us, both in the context of the provision of our services and in particular on our websites, in mobile applications and within external online presences, such as our social media profiles (hereinafter collectively referred to as "online offer").
The terms used are not gender-specific.
Status: October 21, 2024

responsible person

Caspar Zinn,
AIDAR GmbH
Ohmoor 97a
22455 Hamburg,
Germany
E-Mail: team@aidar.ai
Imprint: https://www.aidar.ai/imprint.html

Overview of processing

The following overview summarizes the types of data processed and the purposes of their processing and refers to the persons affected.
Types of data processed
Inventory data.
Payment data.
Contact data.
Content data.
Contract data.
Usage data.
Meta, communication and process data.
Image and/or video recordings.
Sound recordings.
Log data.
Creditworthiness data.
Categories of persons affected
Service recipients and clients.
Employees
Interested parties.
Communication partners.
Users.
Business and contractual partners.
Persons depicted.
Third parties.
Customers.
Purposes of processing
Provision of contractual services and fulfillment of contractual obligations.
Communication.
Security measures.
Direct marketing.
Range measurement.
Office and organizational procedures.
Organizational and administrative procedures.
Feedback.
Marketing.
Profiles with user-related information.
Provision of our online offering and user-friendliness.
Assessment of creditworthiness and credit rating.
Information technology infrastructure.
Financial and payment management.
Public relations.
Sales promotion.
Business processes and business management procedures.

Relevant legal bases

Relevant legal bases under the GDPR: Below you will find an overview of the legal bases of the GDPR on the basis of which we process personal data. Please note that in addition to the provisions of the GDPR, national data protection regulations may apply in your or our country of residence or domicile. If more specific legal bases are also relevant in individual cases, we will inform you of these in the data protection declaration.
Consent (Art. 6 Para. 1 Clause 1 Letter a) GDPR) - The data subject has given their consent to the processing of personal data concerning them for a specific purpose or several specific purposes.
Performance of a contract and pre-contractual inquiries (Art. 6 Para. 1 Clause 1 Letter b) GDPR) - The processing is necessary for the performance of a contract to which the data subject is a party or for the implementation of pre-contractual measures that are carried out at the request of the data subject.
Legal obligation (Art. 6 Para. 1 Clause 1 lit. c) GDPR) - Processing is necessary to fulfill a legal obligation to which the controller is subject.
Legitimate interests (Art. 6 Para. 1 Clause 1 lit. f) GDPR) - Processing is necessary to protect the legitimate interests of the controller or a third party, provided that the interests, fundamental rights and freedoms of the data subject, which require the protection of personal data, do not prevail.
National data protection regulations in Germany: In addition to the data protection regulations of the GDPR, national regulations on data protection apply in Germany. This includes in particular the law on protection against misuse of personal data in data processing (Federal Data Protection Act - BDSG). The BDSG contains in particular special regulations on the right to information, the right to deletion, the right to object, the processing of special categories of personal data, processing for other purposes and transmission as well as automated decision-making in individual cases, including profiling. Furthermore, the state data protection laws of the individual federal states may apply.
Note on the validity of the GDPR and the Swiss DSG: This data protection notice serves to provide information in accordance with the Swiss DSG as well as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). For this reason, we ask you to note that the terms of the GDPR are used due to the broader spatial application and comprehensibility. In particular, instead of the terms "processing" of "personal data", "overriding interest" and "personal data requiring particular protection" used in the Swiss DSG, the terms "processing" of "personal data" as well as "legitimate interest" and "special categories of data" used in the GDPR are used. The legal meaning of the terms, however, continues to be determined according to the Swiss DSG within the scope of the validity of the Swiss DSG.

Security measures

In accordance with the legal requirements, taking into account the state of the art, the implementation costs and the nature, scope, circumstances and purposes of the processing as well as the different probabilities of occurrence and the extent of the threat to the rights and freedoms of natural persons, we take appropriate technical and organizational measures to ensure a level of protection appropriate to the risk.
The measures include in particular ensuring the confidentiality, integrity and availability of data by controlling physical and electronic access to the data as well as the access, input, transfer, securing availability and separation of data. We have also set up procedures that ensure the exercise of data subjects' rights, the deletion of data and reactions to threats to data. We also take the protection of personal data into account when developing or selecting hardware, software and procedures in accordance with the principle of data protection, through technology design and through data protection-friendly default settings.
Securing online connections through TLS/SSL encryption technology (HTTPS): To protect user data transmitted through our online services from unauthorized access, we use TLS/SSL encryption technology. Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and Transport Layer Security (TLS) are the cornerstones of secure data transmission on the Internet. These technologies encrypt the information transmitted between the website or app and the user's browser (or between two servers), protecting the data from unauthorized access. TLS, as the advanced and more secure version of SSL, ensures that all data transmissions meet the highest security standards. If a website is secured by an SSL/TLS certificate, this is signaled by the display of HTTPS in the URL. This serves as an indicator for users that their data is being transmitted securely and encrypted.

Transmission of personal data

As part of our processing of personal data, it may happen that these are transmitted to other bodies, companies, legally independent organizational units or persons or disclosed to them. The recipients of this data may include, for example, service providers commissioned with IT tasks or providers of services and content that are integrated into a website. In such cases, we comply with the legal requirements and in particular conclude appropriate contracts or agreements with the recipients of your data that serve to protect your data.

International data transfers

Data processing in third countries: If we process data in a third country (i.e. outside the European Union (EU), the European Economic Area (EEA)) or if the processing takes place in the context of the use of third-party services or the disclosure or transmission of data to other persons, bodies or companies, this will only be done in accordance with the legal requirements. If the level of data protection in the third country has been recognized by means of an adequacy decision (Art. 45 GDPR), this serves as the basis for the data transfer. Otherwise, data transfers only take place if the level of data protection is otherwise ensured, in particular by standard contractual clauses (Art. 46 para. 2 lit. c) GDPR), express consent or in the case of contractual or legally required transmission (Art. 49 para. 1 GDPR). Furthermore, we will inform you of the basis for third country transfers by individual providers from the third country, whereby the adequacy decisions take priority. Information on third country transfers and the existing adequacy decisions can be found in the information provided by the EU Commission:
https://commission.europa.eu/law/law-topic/data-protection/international-dimension-data-protection_en?prefLang=de.
As part of the so-called "Data Privacy Framework" (DPF), the EU Commission has also recognized the level of data protection for certain companies from the USA as secure within the framework of the adequacy decision of July 10, 2023. The list of certified companies as well as further information on the DPF can be found on the website of the US Department of Commerce at https://www.dataprivacyframework.gov/ s(in English). As part of the data protection information, we inform you which service providers we use are certified under the Data Privacy Framework.

General information on data storage and deletion

We delete personal data that we process in accordance with the statutory provisions as soon as the underlying consent is revoked or there are no further legal bases for the processing. This applies to cases in which the original purpose of processing no longer applies or the data is no longer required. Exceptions to this rule exist if legal obligations or special interests require the data to be stored or archived for a longer period.
In particular, data that must be stored for commercial or tax law reasons or the storage of which is necessary for legal prosecution or to protect the rights of other natural or legal persons must be archived accordingly.
Our data protection information contains additional information on the storage and deletion of data that applies specifically to certain processing processes.
If there are several details on the storage period or deletion periods for a date, the longest period is always decisive.
If a period does not expressly begin on a specific date and is at least one year, it automatically starts at the end of the calendar year in which the event triggering the period occurred. In the case of ongoing contractual relationships in the context of which data is stored, the period-triggering event is the time at which the termination or other termination of the legal relationship takes effect.
We only process data that is no longer stored for the originally intended purpose, but due to legal requirements or other reasons, for the reasons that justify its storage.

Further information on processing procedures, methods and services:
Storage and deletion of data: The following general periods apply to storage and archiving under German law:
10 years - retention period for books and records, annual financial statements, inventories, management reports, opening balance sheet and the work instructions and other organizational documents required to understand them, accounting documents and invoices (Section 147 Paragraph 3 in conjunction with Paragraph 1 Nos. 1, 4 and 4a AO, Section 14b Paragraph 1 UStG, Section 257 Paragraph 1 Nos. 1 and 4, Paragraph 4 HGB).
6 years - Other business documents: received commercial or business letters, reproductions of sent commercial or business letters, other documents insofar as they are relevant for the taxation of e.g. B. Hourly wage slips, operating accounting sheets, calculation documents, price labels, but also payroll documents, provided they are not already accounting documents and cash register slips (Section 147 Paragraph 3 in conjunction with Paragraph 1 Nos. 2, 3, 5 AO, Section 257 Paragraph 1 Nos. 2 and 3, Paragraph 4 HGB).
3 years - Data that is required to consider potential warranty and compensation claims or similar contractual claims and rights and to process related inquiries, based on previous business experience and standard industry practices, are stored for the duration of the regular statutory limitation period of three years (Sections 195, 199 BGB).

Rights of the data subjects

Rights of the data subjects under the GDPR: As a data subject, you have various rights under the GDPR, which arise in particular from Art. 15 to 21 GDPR:
Right of objection: You have the right, for reasons arising from your particular situation, to object at any time to the processing of personal data concerning you that is carried out on the basis of Art. 6 (1) (e) or (f) GDPR; this also applies to profiling based on these provisions. If the personal data concerning you are processed in order to conduct direct advertising, you have the right to object at any time to the processing of personal data concerning you for the purpose of such advertising; this also applies to profiling insofar as it is related to such direct advertising.
Right of withdrawal for consents: You have the right to withdraw consents granted at any time.
Right to information: You have the right to request confirmation as to whether the data in question is being processed and to request information about this data as well as further information and a copy of the data in accordance with the legal requirements.
Right to rectification: You have the right, in accordance with the legal requirements, to request that the data concerning you be completed or that incorrect data concerning you be rectified.
Right to deletion and restriction of processing: In accordance with the legal requirements, you have the right to request that the data concerning you be deleted immediately or, alternatively, to request that the processing of the data be restricted in accordance with the legal requirements.
Right to data portability: You have the right to receive the data concerning you that you have made available to us in a structured, common and machine-readable format in accordance with the legal requirements or to request that it be transmitted to another responsible party.
Complaint to a supervisory authority: Without prejudice to any other administrative or judicial remedy, you have the right to complain to a supervisory authority, in particular in the Member State of your habitual residence, place of work or place of the alleged infringement if you believe that the processing of personal data concerning you violates the provisions of the GDPR.

Business services

We process data from our contractual and business partners, e.g. B. Customers and interested parties (collectively referred to as "contractual partners"), within the framework of contractual and comparable legal relationships and related measures and with regard to communication with the contractual partners (or pre-contractually), for example to answer inquiries.
We use this data to fulfill our contractual obligations. This includes in particular the obligations to provide the agreed services, any updating obligations and remedying warranty and other service disruptions. In addition, we use the data to protect our rights and for the purposes of the administrative tasks associated with these obligations and the company organization. In addition, we process the data on the basis of our legitimate interests in both proper and commercial management and in security measures to protect our contractual partners and our business operations from misuse, endangerment of their data, secrets, information and rights (e.g. the involvement of telecommunications, transport and other auxiliary services as well as subcontractors, banks, tax and legal advisors, payment service providers or tax authorities). Within the framework of applicable law, we only pass on the data of contractual partners to third parties to the extent that this is necessary for the aforementioned purposes or to fulfill legal obligations. The contractual partners are informed about other forms of processing, for example for marketing purposes, within the framework of this data protection declaration.
We inform the contractual partners which data is required for the aforementioned purposes before or during the data collection, e.g. in online forms, by special marking (e.g. colors) or symbols (e.g. asterisks or similar), or in person.
We delete the data after the expiry of statutory warranty and comparable obligations, i.e. generally after four years, unless the data is stored in a customer account, e.g. as long as it must be kept for legal reasons of archiving (e.g. for tax purposes, usually ten years). We delete data that was disclosed to us by the contractual partner as part of an order in accordance with the specifications and generally after the end of the order.
Types of data processed: Inventory data (e.g. full name, home address, contact information, customer number, etc.); payment data (e.g. bank details, invoices, payment history); contact data (e.g. postal and email addresses or telephone numbers). Contract data (e.g. subject matter of the contract, term, customer category).
Affected persons: service recipients and clients; interested parties. Business and contractual partners. Purposes of processing: provision of contractual services and fulfillment of contractual obligations; communication; office and organizational procedures; organizational and administrative procedures. Business processes and business management procedures.
Storage and deletion: deletion in accordance with the information in the section "General information on data storage and deletion".
Legal basis: fulfillment of contract and pre-contractual inquiries (Art. 6 Para. 1 Clause 1 lit. b) GDPR); Legal obligation (Art. 6 Para. 1 Clause 1 lit. c) GDPR). Legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. f) GDPR).

Further information on processing procedures, methods and services:

Customer management and customer relationship management (CRM):
Procedures that are required within the framework of customer management and customer relationship management (CRM) (e.g. customer acquisition in compliance with data protection requirements, measures to promote customer retention and loyalty, effective customer communication, complaint management and customer service with consideration of data protection, data management and analysis to support the customer relationship, administration of CRM systems, secure account management, customer segmentation and target group formation); Legal basis: Contract fulfillment and pre-contractual inquiries (Art. 6 Para. 1 Clause 1 lit. b) GDPR), legitimate interests (Art. 6 Para. 1 Clause 1 lit. f) GDPR).

Contact management and contact maintenance:
Procedures required in the context of organizing, maintaining and securing contact information (e.g. setting up and maintaining a central contact database, regularly updating contact information, monitoring data integrity, implementing data protection measures, ensuring access controls, carrying out backups and restores of contact data, training employees in the effective use of contact management software, regularly checking communication history and adapting contact strategies);

Customer account:
Customers can create an account within our online offering (e.g. customer or user account, "customer account" for short). If the registration of a customer account is necessary, customers will be informed of this as well as of the information required for registration. Customer accounts are not public and cannot be indexed by search engines. As part of the registration and subsequent logins and use of the customer account, we save the customers' IP addresses along with the access times in order to be able to prove registration and prevent any misuse of the customer account. If the customer account has been terminated, the customer account data will be deleted after the termination date, unless it is kept for purposes other than making it available in the customer account or must be kept for legal reasons (e.g. internal storage of customer data, order processes or invoices). It is the customer's responsibility to back up their data when terminating the customer account; Legal basis: Contractual performance and pre-contractual inquiries (Art. 6 Para. 1 Clause 1 Letter b) GDPR), legitimate interests (Art. 6 Para. 1 Clause 1 Letter f) GDPR).

Watchlist/Wishlist:
Customers can create a product/wishlist. In this case, the products will be stored as part of the fulfillment of our contractual obligations until the account is deleted, unless the product list entries are removed by the customer or we expressly inform the customer of different storage periods; legal basis: contract fulfillment and pre-contractual inquiries (Art. 6 Para. 1 Clause 1 Letter b) GDPR).

General payment transactions:
Procedures that are required when carrying out payment transactions, monitoring bank accounts and controlling payment flows (e.g. creating and checking transfers, processing direct debit transactions, checking account statements, monitoring incoming and outgoing payments, direct debit management, account reconciliation, cash management); Legal basis: Contract fulfillment and pre-contractual inquiries (Art. 6 Para. 1 Clause 1 Letter b) GDPR), legitimate interests (Art. 6 Para. 1 Clause 1 Letter f) GDPR).

Accounting, accounts payable accounting, accounts receivable accounting:
Procedures that are required for the recording, processing and control of business transactions in the area of ​​accounts payable and accounts receivable accounting (e.g. creation and checking of incoming and outgoing invoices, monitoring and management of open items, implementation of payment transactions, processing of dunning, account reconciliation in the context of receivables and liabilities, accounts payable accounting and accounts receivable accounting); Legal basis: Contract fulfillment and pre-contractual inquiries (Art. 6 Para. 1 S. 1 lit. b) GDPR), Legal obligation (Art. 6 Para. 1 S. 1 lit. c) GDPR), Legitimate interests (Art. 6 Para. 1 S. 1 lit. f) GDPR).

Financial accounting and taxes:
Procedures required for the recording, administration and control of financially relevant business transactions as well as for the calculation, reporting and payment of taxes (e.g. account assignment and posting of business transactions, preparation of quarterly and annual financial statements, implementation of payment transactions, processing of dunning, account reconciliation, tax advice, preparation and submission of tax returns, processing of tax matters); Legal basis: Contract fulfillment and pre-contractual inquiries (Art. 6 Para. 1 Clause 1 lit. b) GDPR), Legal obligation (Art. 6 Para. 1 Clause 1 lit. c) GDPR), Legitimate interests (Art. 6 Para. 1 Clause 1 lit. f) GDPR).

Marketing, advertising and sales promotion:
Procedures that are required within the framework of marketing, advertising and sales promotion (e.g. market analysis and target group determination, development of marketing strategies, planning and implementation of advertising campaigns, design and production of advertising materials, online marketing including SEO and social media campaigns, event marketing and trade fair participation, customer loyalty programs, sales promotion measures, performance measurement and optimization of marketing activities, budget management and cost control); Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 Para. 1 Clause 1 Letter f) GDPR).

Economic analyses and market research:
In order to fulfil business purposes and to identify market trends and the wishes of contractual partners and users, the available data on business transactions, contracts, inquiries, etc. are analysed. The group of persons affected may include contractual partners, interested parties, customers, visitors and users of the controller's online offering. The analyses are carried out for the purposes of business evaluations, marketing and market research (e.g. to determine customer groups with different characteristics). If available, profiles of registered users are taken into account, including their information on the services they have used. The analyses are used exclusively by the controller and are not disclosed externally, unless they are anonymous analyses with summarized, i.e. anonymized values. In addition, the privacy of the users is taken into account; the data is processed as pseudonymously as possible for analysis purposes and, where possible, anonymously (e.g. as summarized data); Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. f) GDPR).

Public relations:
Procedures that are required within the framework of public relations (e.g. development and implementation of communication strategies, planning and implementation of PR campaigns, creation and distribution of press releases, maintenance of media contacts, monitoring and analysis of media response, organization of press conferences and public events, crisis communication, creation of content for social media and company websites, maintenance of corporate branding); Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 Para. 1 Clause 1 Letter f) GDPR).

Providers and services used in the course of business activities

As part of our business activities, we use additional services, platforms, interfaces or plug-ins from third-party providers ("services" for short) in compliance with legal requirements. Their use is based on our interests in proper, lawful and - This text area must be activated with a premium license. - premiumtext premiumtext premiumtext premiumtext premiumtext premiumtext premiumtext premiumtext premiumtext premiumtext
Types of data processed:
Inventory data (e.g. full name, home address, contact information, customer number, etc.); payment data (e.g. bank details, invoices, payment history); contact data (e.g. postal and e-mail addresses or telephone numbers); content data (e.g. textual or visual messages and contributions as well as the information relating to them, such as details of authorship or time of creation). Contract data (e.g. subject matter of the contract, term, customer category).
Data subjects:
Service recipients and clients; interested parties; business and contractual partners. Employees (e.g. employees, applicants, temporary workers and other employees).
Purposes of processing:
Provision of contractual services and fulfillment of contractual obligations; office and organizational procedures. Business processes and commercial procedures.
Storage and deletion:
Deletion in accordance with the information in the section "General information on data storage and deletion".
Legal basis:
Legitimate interests (Art. 6 Para. 1 Clause 1 Letter f) GDPR).

Further information on processing procedures, methods and services:

DATEV:
Software for accounting, communication with tax consultants and authorities and with document storage; Service provider: DATEV eG, Paumgartnerstr. 6 - 14, 90429 Nuremberg, Germany; Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 Para. 1 Clause 1 lit. f) GDPR); Website: https://www.datev.de/web/de/mydatev/datev-cloud-anwendungen/; Datenschutzerklärung: https://www.datev.de/web/de/m/ueber-datev/datenschutz/. Data processing agreement: Provided by the service provider.

Payment Procedures

In the context of contractual and other legal relationships, due to legal obligations, or based on our legitimate interests, we offer data subjects efficient and secure payment options. For this purpose, we use banks, credit institutions, and other service providers (collectively referred to as "payment service providers").
The data processed by the payment service providers includes inventory data, such as name and address, banking details, such as account or credit card numbers, passwords, TANs, and checksums, as well as contract-related, transaction-related, and recipient-related information. This data is required in order to carry out the transactions. However, the data entered is processed and stored solely by the respective payment service providers. That means we do not receive any account- or credit card-related information, but only information confirming (or rejecting) the payment. In some cases, the payment service providers may transmit the data to credit reporting agencies (Wirtschaftsauskunftereien) for the purpose of identity and creditworthiness checks. For further information, we refer to the general terms and conditions and privacy policies of the respective payment service providers.
For all payment transactions, the terms and conditions and the privacy policies of the respective payment service providers apply, which are available on their websites and/or within the respective transaction applications. We also refer to these for further information and for asserting rights to withdrawal, access, and other rights of data subjects.

Categories of data processed:

• - Inventory data (e.g., full name, residential address, contact details, customer number, etc.)
• - Payment data (e.g., bank account details, invoices, payment history)
• - Contract data (e.g., subject matter of contract, duration, customer classification)
• - Usage data (e.g., page visits and duration, click paths, usage intensity and frequency, device types and operating systems used, interactions with content and features)
• - Meta, communication, and procedural data (e.g., IP addresses, timestamps, identification numbers, involved individuals)

Data subjects:

• - Recipients of services and clients
• - Business and contractual partners
• - Prospective customers

Purposes of processing:

• - Performance of contractual services and fulfillment of contractual obligations
• - Business processes and commercial administration

Retention and deletion:

• - Deletion is carried out in accordance with the information provided in the section "General Information on Data Storage and Deletion."

Legal bases:

• - Performance of a contract and pre-contractual inquiries (Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. b GDPR)
• - Legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. f GDPR)

Additional information on processing activities, procedures, and services:

Stripe: Payment services (technical integration of online payment methods); Service provider: Stripe, Inc., 510 Townsend Street, San Francisco, CA 94103, USA; Legal basis: Performance of a contract and pre-contractual inquiries (Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. b GDPR); Website: https://stripe.com; Privacy policy: https://stripe.com/de/privacy; Basis for third-country transfers: Data Privacy Framework (DPF).

Provision of the online offer and web hosting

We process the data of users in order to be able to make our online services available to them. For this purpose, we process the user's IP address, which is necessary to transmit the content and functions of our online services to the user's browser or device.
Types of data processed:
Usage data (e.g. page views and length of stay, click paths, intensity and frequency of use, device types and operating systems used, interactions with content and functions); meta, communication and process data (e.g. IP addresses, time information, identification numbers, people involved); protocol data (e.g. log files relating to logins or the retrieval of data or access times). Content data (e.g. textual or visual messages and contributions as well as the information concerning them, such as details of authorship or time of creation).

Affected persons:
Users (e.g. website visitors, users of online services).

Purposes of processing:
Provision of our online offer and user-friendliness; Information technology infrastructure (operation and provision of information systems and technical devices (computers, servers, etc.).); Security measures. Provision of contractual services and fulfillment of contractual obligations.

Storage and deletion:
Deletion in accordance with the information in the section "General information on data storage and deletion".

Legal basis:
Legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. f) GDPR).

Further information on processing procedures, methods and services:

Provision of online offering on rented storage space:
To provide our online offering, we use storage space, computing capacity and software that we rent from a corresponding server provider (also called a "web host") or obtain from other sources; legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 Para. 1 Clause 1 Letter f) GDPR).

Collection of access data and log files:
Access to our online offering is logged in the form of so-called "server log files". The server log files can include the address and name of the websites and files accessed, the date and time of access, the amount of data transferred, notification of the successful completion of the transaction, browser types and versions, the operating system used, and the IP address from which the request was sent.

Collection of access data and log files:
Access to our online offering is logged in the form of so-called "server log files". The server log files can include the address and name of the websites and files accessed, the date and time of access, the amount of data transferred, notification of successful access, browser type and version, the user's operating system, referrer URL (the previously visited page) and, as a rule, IP addresses and the requesting provider. The server log files can be used for security purposes, e.g. to avoid overloading the servers (especially in the case of abusive attacks, so-called DDoS attacks), and to ensure the utilization of the servers and their stability; legal basis: legitimate interests (Art. 6 Para. 1 Clause 1 Letter f) GDPR). Deletion of data: Log file information is stored for a maximum of 30 days and then deleted or anonymized. Data that needs to be retained for evidentiary purposes is exempt from deletion until the respective incident has been finally resolved.

E-mail sending and hosting:
The web hosting services we use also include the sending, receiving and storing of e-mails. For these purposes, the addresses of the recipients and senders as well as other information regarding the e-mail sending (e.g. the providers involved) and the contents of the respective e-mails are processed. The aforementioned data can also be processed for the purposes of detecting SPAM. Please note that e-mails are generally not sent encrypted on the Internet. As a rule, e-mails are encrypted during transport, but (unless a so-called end-to-end encryption process is used) not on the servers from which they are sent and received. We cannot therefore accept any responsibility for the transmission path of the e-mails between the sender and the reception on our server; Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 Para. 1 Clause 1 lit. f) GDPR).
Microsoft Azure:
Interface access (so-called "API") to AI-based services designed to understand and generate natural language and associated inputs and data, analyze information and make predictions ("AI", i.e. "artificial intelligence", is to be understood in the applicable legal sense of the term); Service provider: Microsoft Ireland Operations Limited, One Microsoft Place, South County Business Park, Leopardstown, Dublin 18, D18 P521, Ireland; Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 Para. 1 Clause 1 lit. f) GDPR). Website: https://azure.microsoft.com . Privacy Policy: https://privacy.microsoft.com/de-de/privacystatement . Data Processing Agreement: https://azure.microsoft.com/de-de/support/legal/.
1&1 IONOS:
Services in the field of providing information technology infrastructure and related services (e.g. storage space and/or computing capacity); Service provider: 1&1 IONOS SE, Elgendorfer Str. 57, 56410 Montabaur, Germany; Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. f GDPR); Website: https://www.ionos.de; Privacy policy: https://www.ionos.de/terms-gtc/terms-privacy; Data processing agreement: https://www.ionos.de/hilfe/datenschutz/allgemeine-informationen-zur-datenschutz-grundverordnung-dsgvo/auftragsverarbeitung/.

Use of cookies

The term "cookies" refers to functions that store information on users' devices and read it from them. Cookies can also be used for various purposes, such as for the purposes of the functionality, security and convenience of online services, as well as for the creation of analyses of visitor flows. We use cookies in accordance with legal regulations. If necessary, we obtain the consent of users in advance. If consent is not necessary, we rely on our legitimate interests. This applies if the storage and reading of information is essential in order to be able to provide expressly requested content and functions. This includes, for example, the storage of settings and ensuring the functionality and security of our online service. Consent can be revoked at any time. We provide clear information about the scope of these cookies and which cookies are used.

Notes on data protection legal bases:
Whether we process personal data using cookies depends on consent. If consent is given, it serves as the legal basis. Without consent, we rely on our legitimate interests, which are explained above in this section and in the context of the respective services and procedures.

Storage period:
With regard to the storage period, the following types of cookies are distinguished:

Temporary cookies (also: session cookies):
Temporary cookies are deleted at the latest after a user has left an online service and closed their device (e.g. browser or mobile application).

Permanent cookies:
Permanent cookies remain stored even after the device is closed. For example, the log-in status can be saved and preferred content can be displayed directly when the user visits a website again. The user data collected using cookies can also be used to measure reach. If we do not provide users with explicit information about the type and storage period of cookies (e.g. when obtaining consent), they should assume that they are permanent and that the storage period can be up to two years.

General information on revocation and objection (opt-out):
Users can revoke the consent they have given at any time and also object to processing in accordance with the legal requirements, including by using the privacy settings of their browser.

Cookie settings/opt-out option:
Update cookies preferences

Types of data processed:
Meta, communication and procedural data (e.g. IP addresses, time information, identification numbers, people involved). Usage data (e.g. page views and length of stay, click paths, intensity and frequency of use, device types and operating systems used, interactions with content and functions).

Affected persons:
Users (e.g. website visitors, users of online services).

Purposes of processing:
Provision of our online offer and user-friendliness.

Legal basis:
Legitimate interests (Art. 6 Para. 1 Clause 1 Letter f) GDPR). Consent (Art. 6 Para. 1 Clause 1 lit. a) GDPR).

Further information on processing processes, procedures and services:
Processing of cookie data based on consent: We use a consent management solution in which the consent of users is obtained for the use of cookies or for the procedures and providers mentioned in the consent management solution. This procedure is used to obtain, log, manage and revoke consent, in particular with regard to the use of cookies and comparable technologies that are used to store, read and process information on users' end devices. As part of this procedure, users' consent is obtained for the use of cookies and the related processing of information, including the specific processing and providers mentioned in the consent management procedure. Users also have the option of managing and revoking their consent. The declarations of consent are stored in order to avoid a further query and to be able to provide proof of consent in accordance with the legal requirements. The data is stored on the server side and/or in a cookie (so-called opt-in cookie) or using comparable technologies in order to be able to assign the consent to a specific user or their device. If no specific information is available about the providers of consent management services, the following general information applies: The duration of the storage of the consent is up to two years. A pseudonymous user identifier is created, which is stored together with the time of the consent, the information on the scope of the consent (e.g. relevant categories of cookies and/or service providers) and information about the browser, the system and the device used; legal basis: consent (Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. a) GDPR).

Cookie opt-out:
In the footer of our website you will find a link via which you can change your cookie settings and revoke corresponding consents; Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 Para. 1 Clause 1 lit. f) GDPR).

TermsFeed:
Consent management: Procedures for obtaining, logging, managing and revoking consents, in particular for the use of cookies and similar technologies for storing, reading and processing information on users' end devices and their processing; Service provider: TermsFeed, USA (Reseller: Bright Market (dba FastSpring), 801 Garden St., Santa Barbara, CA 93101, USA); Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 Para. 1 Clause 1 lit. f) GDPR); Website: https://www.termsfeed.com/cookie-consent/. Privacy Policy:: https://www.termsfeed.com/legal/privacy-policy/.

Registration, login and user account

Users can create a user account. During registration, users are provided with the required obligatory information and this is processed for the purposes of providing the user account on the basis of contractual obligation. The data processed includes in particular the login information (user name, password and an email address).
When using our registration and login functions and using the user account, we save the IP address and the time of the respective user action. The storage is based on our legitimate interests as well as those of the users in protection against misuse and other unauthorized use. This data is generally not passed on to third parties unless it is necessary to pursue our claims or there is a legal obligation to do so.
Users can be informed about processes that are relevant to their user account, such as B. technical changes, be informed by email.
Types of data processed:
Inventory data (e.g. full name, home address, contact information, customer number, etc.); contact data (e.g. postal and email addresses or telephone numbers); content data (e.g. textual or visual messages and contributions as well as the information relating to them, such as e.g. information on authorship or time of creation); usage data (e.g. page views and time spent, click paths, intensity and frequency of use, device types and operating systems used, interactions with content and functions). Protocol data (e.g. log files relating to logins or retrieval of data or access times).

Affected persons:
Users (e.g. website visitors, users of online services).

Purposes of processing:
Provision of contractual services and fulfillment of contractual obligations; Security measures; organizational and administrative procedures. Provision of our online offer and user-friendliness.

Storage and deletion:
Deletion in accordance with the information in the section "General information on data storage and deletion". Deletion after termination.

Legal basis:
Performance of contract and pre-contractual inquiries (Art. 6 Para. 1 Clause 1 lit. b) GDPR). Legitimate interests (Art. 6 Para. 1 Clause 1 lit. f) GDPR).

Further information on processing procedures, methods and services:
Registration with pseudonyms:
Users may use pseudonyms as user names instead of real names; legal basis: contract fulfillment and pre-contractual inquiries (Art. 6 Para. 1 Clause 1 Letter b) GDPR).

User profiles are not public:
User profiles are not publicly visible and not accessible.

Deletion of data after termination:
If users have terminated their user account, their data with regard to the user account will be deleted, subject to legal permission, obligation or consent of the users; Legal basis: Contract fulfillment and pre-contractual inquiries (Art. 6 Para. 1 Clause 1 lit. b) GDPR).

No obligation to retain data:
It is the responsibility of users to save their data before the end of the contract if the contract is terminated. We are entitled to irretrievably delete all of the user's data stored during the term of the contract; Legal basis: Contract fulfillment and pre-contractual inquiries (Art. 6 Para. 1 Clause 1 lit. b) GDPR).

Contact and inquiry management

When you contact us (e.g. by post, contact form, email, telephone or via social media) and within the framework of existing user and business relationships, the details of the inquiring persons are processed to the extent that this is necessary to answer the contact inquiries and any requested measures.
Types of data processed:
Inventory data (e.g. full name, home address, contact information, customer number, etc.); contact data (e.g. postal and email addresses or telephone numbers); content data (e.g. textual or visual messages and contributions as well as the information relating to them, such as e.g. information on authorship or time of creation); Usage data (e.g. page views and time spent, click paths, intensity and frequency of use, device types and operating systems used, interactions with content and functions). Meta, communication and process data (e.g. IP addresses, time information, identification numbers, people involved).

Affected persons:
Communication partners.

Purposes of processing:
Communication; organizational and administrative procedures; feedback (e.g. collecting feedback via online form). Provision of our online offer and user-friendliness.

Storage and deletion:
Deletion in accordance with the information in the section "General information on data storage and deletion".
Legal basis:
Legitimate interests (Art. 6 Para. 1 Clause 1 lit. f) GDPR). Contractual performance and pre-contractual inquiries (Art. 6 Para. 1 Clause 1 lit. b) GDPR).

Further information on processing procedures, methods and services:
Contact form:
When you contact us via our contact form, by email or other communication channels, we process the personal data sent to us to answer and process the respective request. This usually includes information such as name, contact information and, if necessary, other information that is communicated to us and is necessary for appropriate processing. We use this data exclusively for the stated purpose of contact and communication; legal basis: contract fulfillment and pre-contractual inquiries (Art. 6 Para. 1 Clause 1 lit. b) GDPR), legitimate interests (Art. 6 Para. 1 Clause 1 Clause f) GDPR).

Video conferences, online meetings, webinars and screen sharing

We use platforms and applications from other providers (hereinafter referred to as "conference platforms") for the purposes of conducting video and audio conferences, webinars and other types of video and audio meetings (hereinafter collectively referred to as "conference"). When selecting the conference platforms and their services, we observe the legal requirements.

Processed by conference platforms:
As part of participation in a conference, the conference platforms process the personal data of the participants listed below. The extent of the processing depends on the one hand on which data is required as part of a specific conference (e.g. providing access data or real names) and which optional information is provided by the participants. In addition to processing for the purpose of conducting the conference, participants’ data can also be processed by the conference platforms for security purposes or service optimization. The data processed includes personal data (first name, last name), contact information (email address, telephone number), access data (access codes or passwords), profile pictures, information on professional position/function, the IP address of the Internet access, information on the participants’ end devices, their operating system, the browser and its technical and language settings, information on the content of the communication processes, i.e. entries in chats as well as audio and video data, as well as the use of other available functions (e.g. surveys). The content of the communications is encrypted to the extent technically provided by the conference providers. If the participants are registered as users on the conference platforms, then further data can be processed in accordance with the agreement with the respective conference provider.

Logging and recordings:
If text entries, participation results (e.g. from surveys) and video or audio recordings are logged, this will be communicated transparently to the participants in advance and they will be asked for their consent if necessary.

Participants' data protection measures:
Please note the details of how your data is processed by the conference platforms in their data protection notices and, as part of the settings of the conference platforms, select the security and data protection settings that are optimal for you. Please also ensure that data and personal data are protected in the background of your recording for the duration of a video conference (e.g. by informing roommates, locking doors and using the function to obscure the background, if technically possible). Links to the conference rooms and access data must not be passed on to unauthorized third parties.

Notes on legal bases:
If, in addition to the conference platforms, we also process the users' data and ask the users for their consent to use the conference platforms or certain functions (e.g. consent to a recording of conferences), the legal basis for processing is this consent. Furthermore, our processing may be necessary to fulfill our contractual obligations (e.g. in participant lists, in the case of processing discussion results, etc.). In addition, the users' data is processed on the basis of our legitimate interests in efficient and secure communication with our communication partners.

Types of data processed:
Inventory data (e.g. full name, home address, contact information, customer number, etc.); contact data (e.g. postal and email addresses or telephone numbers); content data (e.g. textual or visual messages and contributions as well as the information relating to them, such as e.g. details of authorship or time of creation); usage data (e.g. page views and time spent, click paths, intensity and frequency of use, device types and operating systems used, interactions with content and functions); image and/or video recordings (e.g. photographs or video recordings of a person); sound recordings. Protocol data (e.g. log files relating to logins or retrieval of data or access times).

Affected persons:
Communication partners; Users (e.g. website visitors, users of online services). People depicted.

Purposes of processing:
Provision of contractual services and fulfillment of contractual obligations; Communication. Office and organizational procedures.

Storage and deletion:
Deletion in accordance with the information in the section "General information on data storage and deletion".

Legal basis:
Legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. f) GDPR).

Further information on processing procedures, methods and services:
Microsoft Teams:
Audio and video conferences, chat, file sharing, integration with Office 365 applications, real-time collaboration on documents, calendar functions, task management, screen sharing, optional recording; Service provider: Microsoft Ireland Operations Limited, One Microsoft Place, South County Business Park, Leopardstown, Dublin 18, D18 P521, Ireland; Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. f) GDPR); Website: https://www.microsoft.com/de-de/microsoft-teams/; Privacy Policy: https://privacy.microsoft.com/de-de/privacystatement, Safety instructions: https://www.microsoft.com/de-de/trustcenter. Basis for third country transfers: Data Privacy Framework (DPF).

Audio content

We use hosting services from service providers to offer our audio content for listening and downloading. We use platforms that enable the uploading, storage and distribution of audio material.

Types of data processed:
Usage data (e.g. page views and length of stay, click paths, intensity and frequency of use, device types and operating systems used, interactions with content and functions); meta, communication and procedural data (e.g. IP addresses, time information, identification numbers, people involved); protocol data (e.g. log files relating to logins or the retrieval of data or access times); contact details (e.g. postal and email addresses or telephone numbers). Content data (e.g. textual or visual messages and posts as well as the information relating to them, such as details of authorship or time of creation).

Affected persons:
Users (e.g. website visitors, users of online services).

Purposes of processing:
Range measurement (e.g. access statistics, recognition of returning visitors); profiles with user-related information (creation of user profiles); provision of our online offer and user-friendliness. Feedback (e.g. collecting feedback via online form).

Storage and deletion:
Deletion in accordance with the information in the section "General information on data storage and deletion".

Legal basis:
Legitimate interests (Art. 6 Para. 1 Clause 1 lit. f) GDPR).

Further information on processing procedures, methods and services:
Spotify Music Player Widget:
Spotify Music Player Widget; Service provider: Spotify AB, Regeringsgatan 19, SE-111 53 Stockholm, Sweden; Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 Para. 1 Clause 1 lit. f) GDPR); Website: https://www.spotify.com/de/ . Privacy Policy: https://www.spotify.com/de/legal/privacy-policy/.

Cloud services

We use software services accessible via the Internet and running on the servers of their providers (so-called "cloud services", also referred to as "software as a service") for the storage and management of content (e.g. document storage and management, exchange of documents, content and information with specific recipients or publication of content and information).

Within this framework, personal data can be processed and stored on the servers of the providers if they are part of communication processes with us or are otherwise processed by us, as set out in this data protection declaration. This data can include in particular master data and contact details of users, data on transactions, contracts, other processes and their contents. The providers of the cloud services also process usage data and metadata, which they use for security purposes and to optimize the service.

If we use cloud services to provide forms or other documents and content for other users or publicly accessible websites, the providers can store cookies on users' devices for web analysis purposes or to remember user settings (e.g. in the case of media control).

Types of data processed:
Inventory data (e.g. full name, home address, contact information, customer number, etc.); contact data (e.g. postal and email addresses or telephone numbers); content data (e.g. textual or visual messages and contributions as well as information relating to them, such as e.g. information on authorship or time of creation). Usage data (e.g. page views and length of stay, click paths, intensity and frequency of use, device types and operating systems used, interactions with content and functions).

Data subjects:
Interested parties; communication partners. Business and contractual partners.

Purposes of processing:
Office and organizational procedures. Information technology infrastructure (operation and provision of information systems and technical equipment (computers, servers, etc.).).

Storage and deletion:
Deletion in accordance with the information in the section "General information on data storage and deletion".

Legal basis:
Legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. f) GDPR).

Further information on processing procedures, methods and services:
Dropbox:
Cloud storage service; service provider: Dropbox, Inc., 333 Brannan Street, San Francisco, California 94107, USA; legal basis: legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. f) GDPR); Website: https://www.dropbox.com/de; Privacy Policy: https://www.dropbox.com/privacy; Data Processing Agreement: https://assets.dropbox.com/documents/en/legal/dfb-data-processing-agreement.pdf. Basis Third country transfers: Data Privacy Framework (DPF).

Newsletter and electronic notifications

We send newsletters, emails and other electronic notifications (hereinafter "newsletters") only with the consent of the recipient or on the basis of a legal basis. If the contents of the newsletter are mentioned when registering for the newsletter, these contents are decisive for the consent of the user. To register for our newsletter, it is usually sufficient to provide your email address. However, in order to be able to offer you a personalized service, we may ask you to provide your name for a personal address in the newsletter or for further information if this is necessary for the purpose of the newsletter.
Deletion and restriction of processing: We can store the unsubscribed email addresses for up to three years on the basis of our legitimate interests before we delete them in order to be able to prove that consent was previously given. The processing of this data is limited to the purpose of a potential defense against claims. An individual request for deletion is possible at any time, provided that the previous existence of consent is confirmed at the same time. In the case of obligations to permanently observe objections, we reserve the right to store the email address in a block list (so-called "block list") for this purpose alone.
The registration process is logged on the basis of our legitimate interests for the purpose of proving that it has been carried out properly. If we commission a service provider to send emails, this is done on the basis of our legitimate interests in an efficient and secure shipping system.
Content:

Information about us, our services, campaigns and offers.
Types of data processed:
Inventory data (e.g. full name, home address, contact information, customer number, etc.); contact details (e.g. postal and email addresses or telephone numbers); Meta, communication and process data (e.g. IP addresses, time information, identification numbers, people involved). Usage data (e.g. page views and length of stay, click paths, intensity and frequency of use, device types and operating systems used, interactions with content and functions).

Affected persons:
Communication partners.

Purposes of processing:
Direct marketing (e.g. by email or post).

Legal basis:
Consent (Art. 6 Para. 1 Clause 1 lit. a) GDPR). Legitimate interests (Art. 6 Para. 1 Clause 1 lit. f) GDPR).

Opt-out option:
You can cancel your subscription to our newsletter at any time, i.e. revoke your consent or object to further receipt. You will find a link to cancel the newsletter either at the end of each newsletter or you can use one of the contact options listed above, preferably email.

Further information on processing methods, procedures and services:
Measurement of opening and click rates:
The newsletters contain a so-called "web beacon", i.e. a pixel-sized file that is retrieved from our server or its server, if we use a shipping service provider, when the newsletter is opened. As part of this retrieval, both technical information, such as information about the browser and your system, as well as your IP address and the time of retrieval are initially collected. This information is used to technically improve our newsletter based on the technical data or the target groups and their reading behavior based on their retrieval locations (which can be determined using the IP address) or the access times. This analysis also includes determining whether and when the newsletters are opened and which links are clicked. The information is assigned to the individual newsletter recipients and stored in their profiles until it is deleted. The evaluations are used to identify 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 measurement of the opening and click rates as well as the storage of the measurement results in the user profiles and their further processing are based on the consent of the users. A separate revocation of the success measurement is unfortunately not possible; in this case the entire newsletter subscription must be canceled or revoked. In this case the stored profile information is deleted; legal basis: consent (Art. 6 Para. 1 Clause 1 lit. a) GDPR).

Reminder emails about the ordering process:
If users do not complete an ordering process, we can remind users of the ordering process by email and send them a link to continue it. This function can be useful, for example, if the purchase process could not be continued due to a browser crash, oversight or forgetfulness. The dispatch takes place on the basis of consent, which users can revoke at any time; legal basis: consent (Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. a) GDPR).

SendGrid:
Email delivery and communication platform for transactional and marketing emails; Service provider: Twilio Ireland Limited, 25–28 North Wall Quay, North Wall, Dublin 1, D01 H104, Ireland; Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. f GDPR); Website: https://sendgrid.com; Privacy policy: https://www.twilio.com/legal/privacy; Data processing agreement: https://www.twilio.com/legal/data-protection-addendum. Basis for third-country transfers: Data Privacy Framework (DPF), Standard Contractual Clauses (https://www.twilio.com/legal/data-protection-addendum), Data Privacy Framework (DPF), Standard Contractual Clauses (https://www.twilio.com/legal/data-protection-addendum).

Web analysis, monitoring and optimization

Web analysis (also known as "reach measurement") is used to evaluate the flow of visitors to our online offering and can include behavior, interests or demographic information about visitors, such as age or gender, as pseudonymous values. With the help of reach analysis, we can, for example, identify at what time our online offering or its functions or content are used most frequently, or invite reuse. It is also possible for us to understand which areas require optimization.

In addition to web analysis, we can also use test procedures to test and optimize different versions of our online offering or its components.

Unless otherwise stated below, profiles, i.e. data summarized for a usage process, can be created for these purposes and information can be stored in a browser or in a device and then read out. The information collected includes in particular websites visited and elements used there as well as technical information, such as the browser used, the computer system used and information on usage times. If users have consented to the collection of their location data to us or to the providers of the services we use, the processing of location data is also possible.

In addition, the IP addresses of the users are stored. However, we use an IP masking process (i.e. pseudonymization by shortening the IP address) to protect users. In general, no clear user data (such as email addresses or names) is stored as part of web analysis, A/B testing and optimization, but rather pseudonyms. This means that neither we nor the providers of the software used know the actual identity of the users, but only the information stored in their profiles for the purpose of the respective procedures.

Notes on legal bases:
If we ask users for their consent to the use of third-party providers, the legal basis for data processing is consent. Otherwise, the user data is processed on the basis of our legitimate interests (i.e. interest in efficient, economical and recipient-friendly services). In this context, we would also like to draw your attention to the information on the use of cookies in this data protection declaration.

Types of data processed:
Usage data (e.g. page views and length of stay, click paths, usage intensity and frequency, device types and operating systems used, interactions with content and functions). Meta, communication and procedural data (e.g. IP addresses, time information, identification numbers, people involved).

Affected persons:
Users (e.g. website visitors, users of online services).

Purposes of processing:
Range measurement (e.g. access statistics, recognition of returning visitors); profiles with user-related information (creation of user profiles). Provision of our online offer and user-friendliness.

Storage and deletion:
Deletion in accordance with the information in the section "General information on data storage and deletion". Storage of cookies for up to 2 years (Unless otherwise stated, cookies and similar storage methods can be stored on users' devices for a period of two years.).

Security measures:
IP masking (pseudonymization of the IP address).

Legal basis:
Consent (Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. a) GDPR). Legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. f) GDPR).

Further information on processing procedures, methods and services:

Google Analytics:
We use Google Analytics to measure and analyze the use of our online offering on the basis of a pseudonymous user identification number. This identification number does not contain any unique data, such as names or email addresses. It is used to assign analysis information to a device in order to recognize which content users have accessed within one or several usage processes, which search terms they have used, accessed these again or interacted with our online offering. The time of use and its duration are also stored, as are the sources of the users who refer to our online offering and technical aspects of their devices and browsers. Pseudonymous profiles of users are created with information from the use of various devices, whereby cookies may be used. Google Analytics does not log or store individual IP addresses for EU users. However, Analytics provides rough geographic location data by deriving the following metadata from IP addresses: city (and the derived latitude and longitude of the city), continent, country, region, subcontinent (and ID-based counterparts). For EU traffic, IP address data is used exclusively for this derivation of geolocation data before being immediately deleted. It is not logged, is not accessible and is not used for any further purposes. When Google Analytics collects measurement data, all IP queries are performed on EU-based servers before the traffic is forwarded to Analytics servers for processing; Service provider: Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland; Legal basis: Consent (Art. 6 Para. 1 Clause 1 lit. a) GDPR); Website: https://marketingplatform.google.com/intl/de/about/analytics/; security measures: IP-Masking (pseudonymization of the IP address); privacy policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy; data processing agreement: https://business.safety.google/adsprocessorterms/; Basis Third country transfers: Data Privacy Framework (DPF); Widerspruchsmöglichkeit (Opt-Out): Opt-Out-Plugin: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=de, Settings for the display of advertisements: https://myadcenter.google.com/personalizationoff. More information: https://business.safety.google/adsservices/ (Types of processing and data processed).

Presences in social networks (social media)

We maintain online presences within social networks and process user data in this context in order to communicate with the users active there or to offer information about us.

We would like to point out that user data may be processed outside the European Union. This may result in risks for users because, for example, it could make it more difficult to enforce user rights.

Furthermore, user data within social networks is usually processed for market research and advertising purposes. For example, user profiles can be created based on user behavior and the resulting interests of users. The latter may in turn be used to place advertisements within and outside the networks that presumably correspond to the interests of users. Therefore, cookies are usually stored on the users' computers in which the user's usage behavior and interests are stored. In addition, data can also be stored in the user profiles regardless of the devices used by the users (especially if they are members of the respective platforms and are logged in there).

For a detailed description of the respective processing methods and the objection options (opt-out), we refer to the data protection declarations and information provided by the operators of the respective networks.

In the case of requests for information and the assertion of data subject rights, we would also like to point out that these can be asserted most effectively with the providers. Only the latter have access to the user data and can take appropriate measures and provide information directly. If you still need help, you can contact us.

Types of data processed: Contact data (e.g. postal and email addresses or telephone numbers):
Content data (e.g. textual or visual messages and contributions as well as the information relating to them, such as details of authorship or time of creation). Usage data (e.g. page views and length of stay, click paths, intensity and frequency of use, device types and operating systems used, interactions with content and functions).

Data subjects:
Users (e.g. website visitors, users of online services).

Purposes of processing
Communication; feedback (e.g. collecting feedback via online form). Public relations.

Storage and deletion
Deletion in accordance with the information in the section "General information on data storage and deletion".

Legal basis:
Legitimate interests (Art. 6 Para. 1 Clause 1 lit. f) GDPR).

Types of data processed:
Contact details (e.g. postal and email addresses or telephone numbers); Content data (e.g. textual or visual messages and posts as well as the information relating to them, such as information on authorship or time of creation). Usage data (e.g. Page views and length of stay, click paths, intensity and frequency of use, device types and operating systems used, interactions with content and functions).

Affected persons:
Users (e.g. website visitors, users of online services).

Purposes of processing:
Communication; feedback (e.g. collecting feedback via online form). Public relations.

Storage and deletion:
Deletion in accordance with the information in the section "General information on data storage and deletion".

Legal basis:
Legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. f) GDPR).

Further information on processing procedures, methods and services:
Instagram: Social network, enables the sharing of photos and videos, commenting and favorite posts, sending messages, subscribing to profiles and pages; Service provider: Meta Platforms Ireland Limited, Merrion Road, Dublin 4, D04 X2K5, Ireland; Legal basis: Legitimate Interests (Art. 6 Para. 1 Clause 1 lit. f) GDPR); Website: https://www.instagram.com ; Privacy Policy: https://privacycenter.instagram.com/policy/ . basis for third-party transfers: Data Privacy Framework (DPF).

LinkedIn: Social network - We are jointly responsible with LinkedIn Ireland Unlimited Company for the collection (but not further processing) of visitor data created for the purposes of creating the "Page Insights" (statistics) of our LinkedIn profiles. This data includes information about the types of content users view or interact with, or the actions they take, as well as information about the devices used by users (e.g. IP addresses, operating system, browser type, language settings, cookie data) and information from the user's profile, such as job function, country, industry, hierarchy level, company size and employment status. Data protection information on the processing of user data by LinkedIn can be found in LinkedIn's privacy policy: https://www.linkedin.com/legal/privacy-policy

We have entered into a special agreement with LinkedIn Ireland ("Page Insights Joint Controller Addendum (the 'Addendum')", https://legal.linkedin.com/pages-joint-controller-addendum), which in particular regulates which security measures LinkedIn must observe and in which LinkedIn has agreed to comply with the rights of those affected (i.e. users can, for example, send information or deletion requests directly to LinkedIn). The rights of users (in particular to information, deletion, objection and complaint to the responsible supervisory authority) are not restricted by the agreements with LinkedIn. The joint responsibility is limited to the collection of the data by and transmission to Ireland Unlimited Company, a company based in the EU. The further processing of the data is the sole responsibility of Ireland Unlimited Company, which in particular concerns the transmission of the data to the parent company LinkedIn Corporation in the USA; Service provider: LinkedIn Ireland Unlimited Company, Wilton Place, Dublin 2, Ireland; Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 Para. 1 Clause 1 Letter f) GDPR); Website: https://www.linkedin.com; Privacy Policy: https://www.linkedin.com/legal/privacy-policy ; basis for third-party transfers: Data Privacy Framework (DPF). possibility of objection (Opt-Out): https://www.linkedin.com/psettings/guest-controls/retargeting-opt-out.

Plug-ins and embedded functions and content

We integrate functional and content elements into our online offering that are obtained from the servers of their respective providers (hereinafter referred to as "third-party providers"). These can be, for example, graphics, videos or city maps (hereinafter referred to uniformly as "content").
The integration always requires that the third-party providers of this content process the IP address of the users, as they would not be able to send the content to their browser without an IP address. The IP address is therefore required for the display of this content or functions. We endeavor to only use content whose respective providers only use the IP address to deliver the content. Third parties can 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 can also be stored in cookies on the user's device and can contain, among other things, technical information about the browser and operating system, referring websites, the time of visit and other information about the use of our online offer, but can also be linked to such information from other sources.
We use the 'Spotify' player (Spotify AB, Regeringsgatan 19, 111 53 Stockholm, Sweden) to integrate music on our website. By using 'Spotify' we pursue the purpose of integrating audio content (music) on this website. When you visit our website, a connection is established to the 'Spotify' servers. 'Spotify' uses so-called cookies, which are stored on your device. The information about which website you have visited is sent to the 'Spotify' server. In addition, access data, in particular the IP address, browser information, the previously visited website and the date and time of the server request are sent to 'Spotify'. This happens regardless of whether you are logged into your 'Spotify' user account or whether you do not have a user account. If you are logged in as a member of 'Spotify', 'Spotify' assigns this information to your personal user account. When you use the widget, such as playing a song by activating the play button, this information is also assigned to your user account. 'Spotify' stores your data as usage profiles and processes them regardless of whether you have a user account with 'Spotify' for the purposes of personalized advertising, market research and/or needs-based website design. The legal basis for the processing is Art. 6 Para. 1 Clause 1 Letter a) GDPR. 'Spotify' also processes your data on servers in the USA. There is no adequacy decision by the EU Commission for data transfer to the USA. The legal basis is your consent in accordance with Art. 49 Para. 1 Letter a) GDPR. Further information on data protection and the storage period at 'Spotify' can be found at https://www.spotify.com/de/legal/privacy-policy/.
Notes on legal bases:
If we ask users for their consent to the use of third-party providers, the legal basis for data processing is permission. Otherwise, the user data is processed on the basis of our legitimate interests (i.e. interest in efficient, economical and recipient-friendly services). In this context, we would also like to draw your attention to the information on the use of cookies in this data protection declaration.
Types of data processed:
Usage data (e.g. page views and length of stay, click paths, usage intensity and frequency, device types and operating systems used, interactions with content and functions). Meta, communication and procedural data (e.g. IP addresses, time information, identification numbers, people involved).

Affected persons:
Users (e.g. website visitors, users of online services).

Purposes of processing:
Provision of our online offer and user-friendliness.

Storage and deletion:
Deletion in accordance with the information in the section "General information on data storage and deletion". Storage of cookies for up to 2 years (Unless otherwise stated, cookies and similar storage methods can be stored on users' devices for a period of two years.).

Legal basis:
Consent (Art. 6 Para. 1 Clause 1 lit. a) GDPR). Legitimate interests (Article 6 paragraph 1 sentence 1 letter f) GDPR).
Further information on processing procedures, methods and services:
Integration of third-party software, scripts or frameworks (e.g. jQuery):
We integrate software into our online offering that we retrieve from servers of other providers (e.g. function libraries that we use to display or make our online offering more user-friendly). The respective providers collect the IP address of the users and can process this for the purposes of transmitting the software to the user's browser and for security purposes, as well as for evaluating and optimizing their offering. - We integrate software into our online offering that we retrieve from servers of other providers (e.g. function libraries that we use to display or make our online offering more user-friendly). The respective providers collect the IP address of the users and can process it for the purposes of transmitting the software to the user's browser as well as for security purposes and for evaluating and optimizing their offer; legal basis: legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. f) GDPR).

Google Fonts (obtained from Google server):
Obtaining fonts (and symbols) for the purpose of technically safe, maintenance-free and efficient use of fonts and symbols with regard to timeliness and loading times, their uniform presentation and consideration of possible licensing restrictions. The provider of the fonts is informed of the user's IP address so that the fonts can be made available in the user's browser. In addition, technical data (language settings, screen resolution, operating system, hardware used) is transmitted that is necessary for the provision of the fonts depending on the devices used and the technical environment. This data can be processed on a server of the provider of the fonts in the USA - When visiting our online offer, the user's browser sends their browser HTTP requests to the Google Fonts Web API (i.e. a software interface for retrieving the fonts). The Google Fonts Web API provides users with Google Fonts Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and then the fonts specified in the CCS. These HTTP requests include (1) the IP address used by the user to access the Internet, (2) the requested URL on the Google server, and (3) the HTTP headers, including the User Agent, which describes the browser and operating system versions of website visitors, and the Referring URL (i.e., the web page on which the Google Font should appear). IP addresses are neither logged nor stored on Google servers, and they are not analyzed. The Google Fonts Web API logs details of HTTP requests (requested URL, User Agent, and Referring URL). Access to this data is restricted and strictly controlled. The requested URL identifies the font families for which the user wants to load fonts. This data is logged so that Google can determine how often a particular font family is requested. The Google Fonts Web API requires the user agent to adapt the font that is generated for the respective browser type. The user agent is logged primarily for debugging purposes and used to generate aggregated usage statistics that measure the popularity of font families. These aggregated usage statistics are published on the Google Fonts Analytics page. Finally, the referral URL is logged so that the data can be used to maintain production and generate an aggregated report on the top integrations based on the number of font requests. According to Google, it does not use any of the information collected by Google Fonts to create profiles of end users or to display targeted ads; Service provider: Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland; Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 Para. 1 Clause 1 lit. f) GDPR); Website: https://fonts.google.com/; Datenschutzerklärung: https://policies.google.com/privacy; Basis for third country transfers: Data Privacy Framework (DPF). Further information: https://developers.google.com/fonts/faq/privacy?hl=de.

Font Awesome (obtained from the provider's server):
Obtaining fonts (and symbols) for the purpose of technically secure, maintenance-free and efficient use of fonts and symbols with regard to up-to-dateness and loading times, their uniform presentation and consideration of possible licensing restrictions. The provider of the fonts is informed of the user's IP address so that the fonts can be made available in the user's browser. In addition, technical data (language settings, screen resolution, operating system, hardware used) is transmitted that is necessary for the provision of the fonts depending on the devices used and the technical environment; service provider: Fonticons, Inc. ,6 Porter Road Apartment 3R, Cambridge, MA 02140, USA; Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 Para. 1 Clause 1 lit. f) GDPR); Website: https://fontawesome.com/. Datenschutzerklärung: https://fontawesome.com/privacy.

Spotify Music Player Widget:
Spotify Music Player Widget; Service provider: Spotify AB, Regeringsgatan 19, SE-111 53 Stockholm, Sweden; Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. f) GDPR); Website:https://www.spotify.com/de/. Privacy Policy: https://www.spotify.com/de/legal/privacy-policy/.

Management, organization and auxiliary tools

We use services, platforms and software from other providers (hereinafter referred to as "third-party providers") for the purposes of organizing, managing, planning and providing our services. When selecting third-party providers and their services, we comply with legal requirements.
In this context, personal data can be processed and stored on the servers of the third-party providers. This can affect various data that we process in accordance with this data protection declaration. This data can include, in particular, master data and contact details of the users, data on transactions, contracts, other processes and their contents.
If users are referred to the third-party providers or their software or platforms as part of communication, business or other relationships with us, the third-party providers can process usage data and metadata for security purposes, to optimize the service or for marketing purposes. We therefore ask you to observe the data protection information of the respective third-party providers.
Types of data processed:
Content data (e.g. textual or visual messages and contributions as well as the information relating to them, such as details of authorship or time of creation); Usage data (e.g. page views and length of stay, click paths, intensity and frequency of use, device types and operating systems used, interactions with content and functions). Meta, communication and process data (e.g. IP addresses, time information, identification numbers, people involved).

Persons affected:
Communication partners. Users (e.g. website visitors, users of online services).

Purposes of processing:
Provision of contractual services and fulfillment of contractual obligations. Office and organizational procedures.

Storage and deletion:
Deletion in accordance with the information in the section "General information on data storage and deletion".

Legal basis:
Legitimate interests (Art. 6 Para. 1 Clause 1 lit. f) GDPR).
Further information on processing procedures, methods and services:
Calendly:
Online appointment scheduling and appointment management; Service provider: Calendly LLC., 271 17th St NW, Ste 1000, Atlanta, Georgia, 30363, USA; Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 Para. 1 Clause 1 lit. f) GDPR); Website: https://calendly.com/de; Privacy Policy: https://calendly.com/privacy; data processing agreement: https://calendly.com/dpa. basis for third-country transfers: standard contractual clauses ( https://calendly.com/dpa ).

AI software (on own server):
Use of "artificial intelligence" in the applicable legal sense of the term, i.e. software based primarily on certain logic and essentially autonomously natural language or other inputs and data to understand and generate, analyze information and make predictions; service provider: execution on servers and/or computers under own data protection responsibility; legal basis: legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. f) GDPR).

GitHub:
Platform for version control of software projects. Developers can upload their code to repositories and track changes as well as use tools for project management in software development; service provider: GitHub B.V., Netherlands, https://support.github.com/contact/privacy; Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. f) GDPR); Website:https://github.com. privacy policy: https://docs.github.com/de/site-policy/privacy-policies/github-general-privacy-statement.

Notion:
Project management - organization and administration of teams, groups, workflows, projects and processes; Service provider: Notion Labs, Inc., 548 Market St #74567, San Francisco, CA 94104-5401, USA; Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 Para. 1 Clause 1 lit. f) GDPR); Website: https://www.notion.so/de/product; Privacy Policy: https://www.notion.so/Privacy-Policy-3468d120cf614d4c9014c09f6adc9091; Data processing agreement: Provided by the service provider. Basis for third country transfers: Standard contractual clauses (Provided by the service provider).

Changes and updates

We ask you to regularly inform yourself about the content of our data protection declaration. We will adapt the data protection declaration as soon as changes to the data processing we carry out make this necessary. We will inform you as soon as the changes require you to cooperate (e.g. consent) or any other individual notification.
If we provide addresses and contact information for companies and organizations in this data protection declaration, please note that the addresses may change over time and please check the information before contacting us.

Definitions of terms

This section provides you with an overview of the terms used in this data protection declaration. Insofar as the terms are defined by law, their legal definitions apply. The following explanations, however, are primarily intended to help you understand.
Employees:
Employees are people who are in an employment relationship, be it as employees, staff or in similar positions. An employment relationship is a legal relationship between an employer and an employee, which is defined by an employment contract or an agreement. It includes the employer's obligation to pay the employee remuneration while the employee performs his or her work. The employment relationship comprises various phases, including the establishment, in which the employment contract is concluded, the implementation, in which the employee carries out his work activities, and the termination, when the employment relationship ends, whether by termination, termination agreement or otherwise. Employee data is all information that relates to these people and is in the context of their employment. This includes aspects such as personal identification data, identification numbers, salary and bank details, working hours, holiday entitlements, health data and performance assessments.

Inventory data:
Inventory data includes essential information that is necessary for the identification and administration of contractual partners, user accounts, profiles and similar assignments. This data may include, among other things, personal and demographic information such as names, contact information (addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses), dates of birth and specific identifiers (user IDs). Inventory data forms the basis for any formal interaction between people and services, institutions or systems by enabling unambiguous association and communication.

Content data:
Content data includes information generated during the creation, editing and publication of all types of content. This category of data can include text, images, videos, audio files and other multimedia content published on various platforms and media. Content data is not only limited to the actual content, but also includes metadata that provides information about the content itself, such as tags, descriptions, author information and publication dates

Contact data:
Contact data is essential information that enables communication with people or organizations. It includes, among others, telephone numbers, postal addresses and email addresses, as well as communication tools such as social media handles and instant messaging identifiers.

Meta, communication and procedural data:
Meta, communication and procedural data are categories that contain information about the way data is processed, transmitted and managed. Metadata, also known as data about data, includes information that describes the context, origin and structure of other data. It can include information about the file size, the date of creation, the author of a document and the change history. Communication data records the exchange of information between users across different channels, such as email traffic, call logs, social media messages and chat histories, including the people involved, timestamps and transmission paths. Procedural data describes the processes and procedures within systems or organizations, including workflow documentation, logs of transactions and activities, and audit logs used to track and review events.

Usage data:
Usage data refers to information that records how users interact with digital products, services or platforms. This data includes a wide range of information that shows how users use applications, which features they prefer, how long they stay on certain pages and which paths they use to navigate through an application. Usage data can also include frequency of use, timestamps of activities, IP addresses, device information and location data. They are particularly valuable for analyzing user behavior, optimizing user experiences, personalizing content and improving products or services. In addition, usage data plays a crucial role in identifying trends, preferences and potential problem areas within digital offerings.

Personal data:
"Personal data" is all information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (hereinafter "data subject"); an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified directly or indirectly, in particular by assignment to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier (e.g. cookie) or to one or more special characteristics that express the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person.

Profiles with user-related information:
The processing of "profiles with user-related information", or "profiles" for short, includes any type of automated processing of personal data that consists in using this personal data to analyze, evaluate or predict certain personal aspects relating to a natural person (depending on the type of profiling, this may include different information relating to demographics, behavior and interests, such as interaction with websites and their content, etc.) (e.g. interests in certain content or products, click behavior on a website or location). Cookies and web beacons are often used for profiling purposes.

Log data:
Log data is information about events or activities logged in a system or network. This data typically contains information such as timestamps, IP addresses, user actions, error messages and other details about the use or operation of a system. Log data is often used to analyze system problems, monitor security or to create performance reports.

Reach measurement:
Reach measurement (also known as web analytics) is used to evaluate the visitor flows of an online offering and can include the behavior or interests of visitors in certain information, such as website content. With the help of reach analysis, operators of online offerings can, for example, recognize at what time users visit their websites and what content they are interested in. This enables them, for example, to better adapt the content of the websites to the needs of their visitors. For the purposes of reach analysis, pseudonymous cookies and web beacons are often used to recognize returning visitors and thus obtain more precise analyses of the use of an online offering.

Responsible party:
The "responsible party" is the natural or legal person, public authority, institution or other body which alone or jointly with others decides on the purposes and means of processing personal data.

Processing:
"Processing" is any operation or set of operations carried out with or without the aid of automated procedures in connection with personal data. The term is broad and covers practically every handling of data, be it the collection, evaluation, storage, transmission or deletion.

Contract data:
Contract data is specific information relating to the formalization of an agreement between two or more parties. It documents the conditions under which services or products are provided, exchanged or sold. This category of data is essential for managing and fulfilling contractual obligations and includes both the identification of the contracting parties and the specific terms and conditions of the agreement. Contract data may include start and end dates of the contract, the type of agreed services or products, pricing agreements, payment terms, termination rights, renewal options and special terms or clauses. It serves as the legal basis for the relationship between the parties and is crucial for clarifying rights and obligations, enforcing claims and resolving disputes.

Payment data
Payment data includes all information required to process payment transactions between buyers and sellers. This data is crucial for e-commerce, online banking and any other form of financial transaction. It includes details such as credit card numbers, bank details, payment amounts, transaction data, verification numbers and billing information. Payment data may also include information about payment status, chargebacks, authorizations, and fees.