Cookies – Summary

• 👥 Data subjects: Visitors to the website
• 🤝 Purpose: Depends on the respective cookie. More details can be found below and/or from the provider of the software that sets the cookie.
• 📋 Processed data: Depends on the respective cookie. More details can be found below and/or from the provider of the software that sets the cookie.
• 📅 Storage period: Depends on the respective cookie, can vary from a few hours to several years
• ⚖️ Legal bases: Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR (consent), Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR (legitimate interests)

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What are cookies?

Our website uses HTTP cookies to store user-specific data.

In the following, we explain what cookies are and why they are used so that you can better understand this Cookie Policy and the related Privacy Policy.

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

There is no denying it: cookies are really useful little helpers. Almost all websites use cookies. More precisely, they are HTTP cookies, because there are also other cookies for other application areas. HTTP cookies are small files that are stored by our website on your computer. These cookie files are automatically placed in the cookie folder, which can be thought of as the "memory" of your browser. A cookie consists of a name and a value. When defining a cookie, one or more attributes must also be specified.

Cookies store certain user data, such as language settings or personal site settings. When you visit our site again, your browser sends the "user-related" information back to our website. Thanks to the cookies, our website knows who you are and offers you the settings you are used to. In some browsers, each cookie has its own file, in others, such as Firefox, all cookies are stored in a single file. There are first-party cookies as well as third-party cookies. First-party cookies are created directly by our site, third-party cookies are created by partner websites (e.g. Google Analytics). Each cookie must be evaluated individually, because each cookie stores different data. The lifetime of a cookie also varies from a few minutes to several years. Cookies are not software programs and do not contain viruses, trojans or other "malware". Cookies also cannot access information on your PC.

Cookie data can, for example, look like this:

• Name: _ga
• Value: GA1.2.1326744211.152123082061-9
• Purpose: Distinguishing website visitors
• Expiry date: after 2 years

A browser should at least be able to support the following minimum sizes:

• At least 4096 bytes per cookie
• At least 50 cookies per domain
• At least 3000 cookies in total

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What types of cookies are there?

Which cookies we use in particular depends on the services used and is explained in the following sections of the Privacy Policy. At this point, we would like to briefly explain the different types of HTTP cookies.

Four types of cookies can be distinguished:

Essential cookies

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

Functional cookies

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

Performance/Preference cookies

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

Advertising cookies

These cookies are also called targeting cookies. They are used to deliver individually tailored advertising to users. This can be very useful, but also very annoying.

You are usually asked which of these types of cookies you wish to allow when you visit a website for the first time. And of course this decision is also stored in a cookie.

If you would like to know more about cookies and are not put off by technical documentation, we recommend https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc6265, the "HTTP State Management Mechanism" Request for Comments of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).

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Purpose of processing via cookies

The purpose ultimately depends on the respective cookie. More details on this can be found further below and/or from the provider of the software that sets the cookie.

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Which data is processed?

Cookies are small helpers that perform many different tasks. Unfortunately, it is not possible to generalise which data is stored in cookies, but we will inform you in the context of this Cookie Policy and our Privacy Policy about the data processed or stored.

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Storage period of cookies

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

You also have influence on the storage period yourself. You can delete all cookies manually at any time via your browser (see also "Right to object" below). Furthermore, cookies that are based on your consent are deleted at the latest after you withdraw your consent, whereby the lawfulness of the storage up to that point remains unaffected.

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Right to object – how can I delete cookies?

You decide for yourself how and whether you wish to use cookies. Regardless of the service or website from which the cookies originate, you always have the option to delete, deactivate or only partially allow cookies. For example, you can block cookies from third-party providers while allowing all other cookies.

If you want to find out which cookies have been stored in your browser, change your cookie settings or delete cookies, you can find this in the settings of your browser:

• Chrome: Delete, enable and manage cookies in Chrome
• Safari: Manage cookies and website data with Safari
• Firefox: Delete cookies to remove data that websites have stored on your computer
• Internet Explorer: Delete and manage cookies
• Microsoft Edge: Delete and manage cookies

If you generally do not want to have any cookies, you can configure your browser so that it always informs you when a cookie is about to be set. This way, you can decide for each individual cookie whether you allow it or not. The procedure varies depending on the browser. It is best to search for the instructions in a search engine using the search term "delete cookies Chrome" or "disable cookies Chrome" in the case of a Chrome browser.

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Legal basis

Since 2009, there have been the so-called "Cookie Directives". These state that storing cookies requires your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR). Within the EU countries, however, there are still very different reactions to these directives. In Austria, this directive was implemented in Section 165(3) of the Telecommunications Act (TKG) 2021. In Germany, the cookie directives were not implemented as national law. Instead, they were largely implemented in Section 15(3) of the German Telemedia Act (TMG), which has been replaced by the Digital Services Act (Digitale-Dienste-Gesetz, DDG) since May 2024.

For cookies that are strictly necessary, legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR) exist even if no consent has been given; in most cases, these interests are of an economic nature. We want to provide visitors to the website with a pleasant user experience, and certain cookies are often absolutely necessary for this.

Where cookies that are not absolutely necessary are used, this only happens if you have given your consent. The legal basis in this case is Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR.

In the following sections, you will be informed in more detail about the use of cookies, insofar as software used by us employs cookies.

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Web Analytics – Introduction

What is web analytics?

We use software on our website to analyse the behaviour of website visitors, known as web analytics or web analysis. In the process, data is collected which the respective analytics tool provider (also known as a tracking tool) stores, manages and processes. Using the data, analyses about user behaviour on our website are created and made available to us as the website operator. In addition, most tools offer various testing options. For example, we can test which offers or content are best received by our visitors. To do this, we show you two different offers for a limited period of time. After the test (the so-called A/B test), we know which product or content our website visitors find more interesting. For such test procedures, as well as for other analytics procedures, user profiles can be created and data can be stored in cookies.

Why do we use web analytics?

We have a clear goal with our website: we want to offer the best web presence on the market for our industry. To achieve this goal, we want, on the one hand, to offer the best and most interesting offer and, on the other hand, to ensure that you feel completely comfortable on our website. With the help of web analytics tools, we can take a closer look at the behaviour of our website visitors and then improve our web offer for you and us accordingly. This allows us to see, for example, how old our visitors are on average, where they come from, when our website is visited the most or which content or products are particularly popular. All this information helps us to optimise the website and adapt it as well as possible to your needs, interests and wishes.

Which data is processed?

Which data is stored in detail depends of course on the analytics tools used. However, it is usually stored which content you view on our website, which buttons or links you click, when you call up a page, which browser you use, which device (PC, tablet, smartphone, etc.) you use to visit the website or which computer system you use. If you have agreed that location data may also be collected, this data may also be processed by the web analytics tool provider.

Your IP address is also stored. According to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), IP addresses are personal data. However, your IP address is generally stored in pseudonymised form (i.e. in a partially masked and shortened form). For the purpose of testing, web analysis and web optimisation, no direct data such as your name, age, address or email address is generally stored. All this data, insofar as it is collected, is stored in pseudonymised form. This means that you cannot be identified as a person.

How long the respective data is stored depends on the provider. Some cookies store data only for a few minutes or until you leave the website, others can store data for several years.

Duration of data processing

Where we have more detailed information on the duration of data processing, we will inform you of this below. In general, we only process personal data for as long as is absolutely necessary for the provision of our services and products. If, as in the case of accounting, a longer storage period is prescribed by law, this period may be exceeded.

Right to object

You also have the right and the possibility at any time to withdraw your consent to the use of cookies and/or third-party providers. This is possible either via our cookie management tool or via other opt-out functions. For example, you can also prevent data from being collected via cookies by managing, deactivating or deleting cookies in your browser.

Legal basis

The use of web analytics requires your consent, which we have obtained with our cookie pop-up. This consent constitutes, in accordance with Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR, the legal basis for the processing of personal data, as it can occur in the context of collection by web analytics tools.

In addition to consent, we have a legitimate interest in analysing the behaviour of website visitors and thus improving our offer technically and economically. With the help of web analytics, we recognise errors on the website, can identify attacks and improve profitability. The legal basis for this is Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR (legitimate interests). However, we only use the tools if you have given your consent.

As web analytics tools usually use cookies, we also recommend that you read our general information on cookies. To find out which data about you is stored and processed exactly, you should read the data protection notices of the respective tools.

Information on special web analytics tools is provided – where available – in the following sections.

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Google Analytics Privacy Policy

What is Google Analytics?

We use on our website the analytics tracking tool Google Analytics in the version Google Analytics 4 (GA4) provided by the American company Google Inc. For the European Economic Area (EEA), the company Google Ireland Limited (Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland) is responsible for all Google services. Google Analytics collects data about your actions on our website. By combining various technologies such as cookies, device IDs and login information, you as a user can also be identified across different devices. This allows your actions to be analysed across platforms.

If you click on a link, for example, this event is stored in a cookie and sent to Google Analytics. Using the reports that we receive from Google Analytics, we can better adapt our website and our service to your wishes. In the following, we explain the tracking tool in more detail and, in particular, inform you about which data is processed and how you can prevent this.

Google Analytics is a tracking tool that is used to analyse the traffic on our website. The basis of these measurements and analyses is a pseudonymous user identification number. This identifier does not contain any personal data such as name or address, but serves to assign events to an end device. GA4 uses an event-based model that records detailed information on user interactions such as page views, clicks, scrolling and conversion events. GA4 also incorporates various machine learning functions to better understand user behaviour and certain trends. GA4 relies on modelling using machine learning. This means that missing data can be estimated based on the collected data in order to optimise analysis and also to provide forecasts.

In order for Google Analytics to work in general, a tracking code is integrated into the code of our website. When you visit our website, this code records various events that you perform on our website. With the event-based data model of GA4, we as website operators can define and track specific events in order to obtain analyses of user interactions. In this way, in addition to general information such as clicks or page views, it is also possible to track specific events that are important for our business. Such specific events can be, for example, submitting a contact form or purchasing a product.

As soon as you leave our website, this data is sent to the Google Analytics servers and stored there.

Google processes the data and we receive reports about your user behaviour. These reports can include, among others, the following:

• Audience reports: By means of audience reports, we get to know our users better and know more precisely who is interested in our services.
• Advertising reports: Advertising reports make it easier for us to analyse and improve our online advertising.
• Acquisition reports: Acquisition reports provide us with useful information about how we can attract more people to our services.
• Behaviour reports: Here we learn how you interact with our website. We can track which path you take on our site and which links you click.
• Conversion reports: A conversion is a process in which you perform a desired action as a result of a marketing message. For example, when you move from being a mere website visitor to a buyer or newsletter subscriber. With the help of these reports, we learn more about how our marketing measures are received by you. This is how we want to increase our conversion rate.
• Real-time reports: Here we always find out immediately what is happening on our website. For example, we can see how many users are currently reading this text.

In addition to the analysis reports mentioned above, Google Analytics 4 offers, among others, the following functions:

• Event-based data model: This model records very specific events that can occur on our website. For example, playing a video, purchasing a product or subscribing to our newsletter.
• Advanced analysis functions: With these functions, we can better understand your behaviour on our website or certain general trends. For example, we can segment user groups, carry out comparative analyses of target groups or track your path on our website.
• Predictive modelling: Based on collected data, missing data can be estimated using machine learning, which can predict future events and trends. This can help us develop better marketing strategies.
• Cross-platform analysis: Data can be collected and analysed both from websites and from apps. This offers us the possibility of analysing user behaviour across platforms, provided you have of course consented to data processing.

Why do we use Google Analytics on our website?

Our goal with this website is clear: we want to offer you the best possible service. The statistics and data from Google Analytics help us to achieve this goal.

The statistically analysed data gives us a clear picture of the strengths and weaknesses of our website. On the one hand, we can optimise our site so that it is more easily found by interested people in search engines. On the other hand, the data helps us to better understand you as a visitor. We therefore know very precisely what we need to improve on our website in order to offer you the best possible service. The data also helps us to carry out our advertising and marketing measures in a more individual and cost-effective way. After all, it only makes sense to show our products and services to people who are interested in them.

Which data is stored by Google Analytics?

Google Analytics creates, with the help of a tracking code, a random, unique ID that is linked to your browser cookie. This is how Google Analytics recognises you as a new user and assigns you a user ID. When you visit our site again, you are recognised as a "returning" user. All collected data is stored together with this user ID. Only then is it possible to evaluate pseudonymous user profiles.

In order to be able to analyse our website with Google Analytics, a property ID must be inserted in the tracking code. The data is then stored in the corresponding property. For every new property created, the default is a Google Analytics 4 property. Depending on the property used, data is stored for different lengths of time.

By means of identifiers such as cookies, app instance IDs, user IDs or custom event parameters, your interactions are measured across platforms, provided you have consented to this. Interactions are all types of actions that you perform on our website. If you also use other Google systems (such as a Google account), data generated by Google Analytics can be linked to third-party cookies. Google does not pass on Google Analytics data unless we, as the website operator, authorise it. Exceptions may occur if this is required by law.

According to Google, IP addresses are not logged or stored in Google Analytics 4. However, Google uses the IP address data for the derivation of location data and deletes it immediately afterwards. All IP addresses collected from users in the EU are therefore deleted before the data is stored in a data centre or on a server.

Since Google Analytics 4 focuses on event-based data, the tool uses significantly fewer cookies than previous versions (such as Google Universal Analytics). Nevertheless, there are some specific cookies that are used by GA4. These include, for example:

• Name: _ga
  Value: 2.1326744211.152123082061-5
  Purpose: By default, analytics.js uses the _ga cookie to store the user ID. In general, it is used to distinguish website visitors.
  Expiry date: after 2 years
• Name: _gid
  Value: 2.1687193234.152123082061-1
  Purpose: This cookie is also used to distinguish website visitors.
  Expiry date: after 24 hours
• Name: _gat_gtag_UA_<property-id>
  Value: 1
  Purpose: Used to throttle the request rate. If Google Analytics is provided via Google Tag Manager, this cookie is given the name _dc_gtm_<property-id>.
  Expiry date: after 1 minute

Note: This list cannot claim to be exhaustive, as Google may change its choice of cookies from time to time. One of the aims of GA4 is also to improve data protection. The tool therefore offers some options for controlling data collection. For example, we can determine the storage period ourselves and also control data collection.

Below we show you an overview of the most important types of data collected with Google Analytics:

• Heatmaps: Google creates so-called heatmaps. Heatmaps show us exactly those areas that you click on. This gives us information about where you are "moving" on our site.
• Session duration: Google refers to the time you spend on our site without leaving it as the session duration. If you are inactive for 20 minutes, the session ends automatically.
• Bounce rate: A bounce occurs when you view only one page on our website and then leave the website again.
• Account creation: If you create an account or place an order on our website, Google Analytics collects this data.
• Location: IP addresses are not logged or stored in Google Analytics. However, location data is derived before the IP address is deleted.
• Technical information: Technical information includes, among other things, your browser type, your internet provider or your screen resolution.
• Source of origin: Google Analytics – and we – are of course also interested in which website or which advertising campaign you used to reach our site.

Other data includes contact details, any ratings, playing media (e.g. when you play a video via our site), sharing content via social media or adding content to your favourites. The list does not claim to be exhaustive and is only intended to provide general orientation on the data storage by Google Analytics.

How long and where is the data stored?

Google has servers distributed all over the world. You can read exactly where the Google data centres are located here: https://datacenters.google/

Your data is distributed across various physical data storage devices. This has the advantage that the data is faster to access and better protected against manipulation. Each Google data centre has appropriate emergency programmes for your data. For example, if hardware fails at Google or natural disasters bring servers down, the risk of a service interruption at Google remains low.

The retention period of the data depends on the properties used. The storage period is always set individually for each property. Google Analytics offers us four options for controlling the storage period:

• 2 months: This is the shortest storage period.
• 14 months: By default, data remains stored for 14 months in GA4.
• 26 months: Data can also be stored for 26 months.
• Data is only deleted when we delete it manually.

In addition, there is the option that data is only deleted when you no longer visit our website within the period selected by us. In this case, the retention period is reset each time you visit our site again within the specified period.

When the selected period has expired, the data is deleted once a month. This retention period applies to your data that is linked to cookies, user identifiers and advertising IDs (e.g. cookies from the DoubleClick domain). Reporting results are based on aggregated data and are stored independently of user data. Aggregated data is a merging of individual data into a larger unit.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

Under the data protection law of the European Union, you have the right to obtain information about your data, to update it, to delete it or to restrict its processing. Using the browser add-on to deactivate Google Analytics JavaScript (analytics.js, gtag.js), you can prevent Google Analytics 4 from using your data. You can download and install the browser add-on at https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=de. Please note that this add-on only disables data collection by Google Analytics.

If you want to deactivate, delete or manage cookies in general, you will find the relevant instructions for the most common browsers in the "Cookies" section above.

Legal basis

The use of Google Analytics requires your consent, which we have obtained with our cookie pop-up. This consent constitutes, in accordance with Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR, the legal basis for the processing of personal data, as it can occur in the context of collection by web analytics tools.

In addition to consent, we have a legitimate interest in analysing the behaviour of website visitors and thus improving our offer technically and economically. With the help of Google Analytics, we recognise errors on the website, can identify attacks and improve profitability. The legal basis for this is Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR (legitimate interests). However, we only use Google Analytics if you have given your consent.

Google also processes data about you in the USA, among other countries. Google is an active participant in the EU–US Data Privacy Framework, which regulates the correct and secure data transfer of personal data of EU citizens to the USA. You can find more information on this at https://commission.europa.eu/document/fa09cbad-dd7d-4684-ae60-be03fcb0fddf_en.

In addition, Google uses so-called standard contractual clauses (Art. 46(2) and (3) GDPR). Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) are templates provided by the European Commission and are intended to ensure that your data continues to comply with European data protection standards, even if it is transferred to third countries (such as the USA) and stored there. Through the EU–US Data Privacy Framework and through the Standard Contractual Clauses, Google undertakes to comply with the European level of data protection when processing your relevant data, even if the data is stored, processed and managed in the USA. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the corresponding Standard Contractual Clauses, among other places, here: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de

The Google Ads Data Processing Terms, which refer to the Standard Contractual Clauses, can be found at https://business.safety.google/intl/de/adsprocessorterms/.

We hope we have been able to give you a good overview of the most important information on data processing by Google Analytics. If you want to learn more about the tracking service, we recommend the following two links: https://marketingplatform.google.com/about/analytics/terms/de/ and https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/6004245?hl=de.

If you want to find out more about data processing in general, please read Google's Privacy Policy at https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=de.

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Data Processing Agreement with Google Analytics

In accordance with Article 28 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), we have concluded a data processing agreement with Google. You can read what such an agreement is and, in particular, what must be included in a data processing agreement in our general section "Data Processing Agreement (DPA)".

This agreement is legally required because Google processes personal data on our behalf. It clarifies that Google may only process data it receives from us in accordance with our instructions and must comply with the GDPR. You can find the Google Ads Data Processing Terms at https://business.safety.google/intl/de/adsprocessorterms/.

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Google Analytics reports on demographic characteristics and interests

We have activated the advertising reporting features in Google Analytics. The reports on demographic characteristics and interests contain information on age, gender and interests. This allows us to obtain a better picture of our users – without being able to assign these data to individual persons. You can find out more about the advertising functions at https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/3450482?hl=de_AT&utm_id=ad.

You can stop the use of the activities and information from your Google account for advertising purposes via the "Ad settings" at https://adssettings.google.com/authenticated by unchecking the relevant boxes.

Source: Created with the Privacy Policy Generator by AdSimple

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