Data protection
It is very important to us that all visitors to our website feel comfortable and safe. For this reason, the protection of your data is of utmost importance to us. Below, we inform you in detail about the processing of your data when using our website and our online shop.
By "your data", we mean personal data. Personal data is information that can be used to identify you, either directly or by combining it with other data. This includes, for example: your name, your address, your email address, your telephone number, your customer number or your order number, your user behavior, your IP address.
Statistical data that we collect, for example, when you visit our website and which cannot be linked to your person, are not considered personal data.
Controller and Contact Details
The controller within the meaning of data protection law is
DTA Ecommerce LLC
ROTTSENTO
Heinkelstraße 10, 71634 Ludwigsburg
Tel. +18388348031
Email kontakt@rottsento.com
(hereinafter "ROTTSENTO", "we" or "us")
Please address any questions or requests regarding the protection of your data by post to our data protection team at ROTTSENTO, Heinkelstraße 10, 71634 Ludwigsburg or by email to kontakt@rottsento.com.
Contact details of the Data Protection Officer
For all questions regarding data protection, you can also contact our data protection officer at any time. He can be reached at the postal address mentioned above and at the email address kontakt@rottsento.com (subject: "Attn: Data Protection Officer").
Customer account, contract processing and contact
Order and purchase data, shipment tracking
If you place an order in our online shop (or make a purchase by other means), we collect your order and purchase data. This includes, for example:
- Details of purchased items (description, size, color, price, etc.)
- Details of the chosen payment method
- In the case of purchase on account: Your payment data (encrypted) for automatic payment allocation
- Your delivery and billing address
- Your declarations of withdrawal, complaints and other communications in connection with your orders or purchases
- Your order number
- Your order status (e.g., "Shipped" or "Returned") and your payment status
- Data from service providers involved in contract execution, e.g., your parcel tracking number or the address of a parcel locker for shipping
- If you enter a temporary or one-time voucher code, your email address and billing address to verify the validity of the voucher
- For parcel shipments, we transmit your email address, order and address data to the shipping service provider so that you can receive shipment tracking updates and information about any delivery discrepancies or delays. (This is done, for example, by transmitting data to the parcel service or a tracking service provider.)
- When delivering to a parcel locker, we transmit your post number, name, and address to the delivery service (e.g., DHL) for address reconciliation to prevent fraud.
Furthermore, we create a customer account for each customer, in which the aforementioned data is stored. Under "My Account", you can view your essential order data at any time after registration. We process your data so that we can process and deliver your order, and so that you can track the status of your shipment, as well as to handle returns, complaints and warranty cases if necessary, and to check the validity of a voucher code. In addition, we process your data to comply with legal retention obligations. The legal basis for the aforementioned data processing is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR (performance of the contract or implementation of pre-contractual measures) or Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR based on our legitimate interest in being able to process your orders in the best possible way, arrange delivery, and realize any necessary reversals.
Registration and Account
When you place an order with us, you can subsequently register on our website or create an online customer account. (Registration is only possible after the first order, with the assignment of a customer number.) For registration, we require the following data:
- Your email address
- A password chosen by you
(Note: A customer number may be assigned to you with your first order, but it is not strictly necessary for registration.)
- have an overview of your past orders,
- can shop with us easily and conveniently,
- can view and manage your personal data, and
- can track the shipping status of your orders.
Contact Us
You have various ways to contact us (e.g., by phone or email). In this context, we process your telephone and/or mobile number as well as your email address exclusively for communication with you – for example, to contact you regarding inquiries about your order. Providing this contact information is voluntary, but it facilitates communication within the scope of your order. Without this information, we cannot reach you for any inquiries.
The legal basis for the aforementioned data processing is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR, insofar as the processing is for the performance of a contract or for the implementation of pre-contractual measures, and otherwise Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR based on our legitimate interest in being able to communicate efficiently with you and answer your inquiries.
Payment Processing
We offer various payment methods, e.g., purchase on account or in installments (subject to creditworthiness, more details can be found in our General Terms and Conditions) as well as payment by credit card or PayPal. Depending on the payment method you choose during the ordering process, we pass on the payment data collected for this purpose to the credit institution commissioned with the payment, to payment service providers commissioned by us, or to the payment service you have selected (e.g., PayPal). Without the transmission of this payment data and the involvement of corresponding payment service providers, payment and contract processing are not possible.
The legal basis for the aforementioned data processing is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR for the performance of the contract or the implementation of pre-contractual measures, as well as Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR based on our legitimate interest in offering you additional payment options and carrying out efficient financial processing.
Credit Check
- CRIF GmbH, Leopoldstraße 244, 80807 Munich (for credit and identity checks)
- Wirtschafts-Informationsdienst GmbH (WID), Schwägrichenstr. 3, 04107 Leipzig (for further identity and address checks)
- Riverty GmbH (formerly Arvato Financial Solutions), Gütersloher Straße 123, 33415 Verl (for any escrow collection to be carried out)
CRIF GmbH also uses the transmitted data for address verifications as well as identity and credit checks with other companies. Riverty GmbH also uses the data to assess payment reliability for other companies.
Your Date of Birth
You can voluntarily provide us with your date of birth in your customer account or during the ordering process. Providing this information is voluntary and not providing it will not have any negative impact on your order. If you provide us with your date of birth, we process it, for example, to send you birthday wishes and special offers.
(Note: Your date of birth is not required for credit checks, unless it is used in rare cases by the credit agency for better identity verification.)
Newsletter, Reviews, Surveys and Advertising
Email Newsletter
If you subscribe to one of our email newsletters, we use the data you provide with your express consent to send you the respective newsletter. The newsletter contains current offers and information from rottsento.com (e.g., on new products, promotions, etc.). Our personalized newsletter includes interesting offers, trends, promotions, tips, and, if applicable, voluntary surveys. For this purpose, we evaluate your customer data as well as your purchase and click behavior.
For sending our personalized newsletter, we use the so-called double opt-in procedure. This means that we will only send you a newsletter by email if you have previously expressly confirmed to us that we should activate the newsletter service. After you subscribe to the newsletter, you will first receive a notification email asking you to confirm that you actually wish to receive our newsletter by clicking on a link. When you subscribe to our newsletter, we also store your IP address and the date of subscription. This storage serves solely as proof in case of misuse of your email address by a third party who has registered you for the newsletter without your knowledge or authorization.
Our newsletters about interesting products, personal birthday greetings, shopping cart reminders, product reviews, etc. are personalized for you. This means that the data you have provided to us (such as date of birth and other personal data) as well as your purchasing and click behavior are evaluated for this purpose. This data has been provided to us exclusively by you personally, not by third parties. In the newsletter, we use industry-standard technologies to measure interactions with the newsletter (e.g., whether an email has been opened, which links have been clicked). We also use this data in pseudonymized form for general statistical evaluations and to optimize our content and customer communication. This is done with the help of small graphics embedded in the emails (so-called tracking pixels). If you have consented to this personalization, the data will be collected in a personalized manner and the identifiers will be linked to your other personal data (a direct assignment to your person will be established).
Should you no longer wish to receive newsletters from us at any time, you can revoke your consent at any time with effect for the future free of charge. You will incur no costs other than the transmission costs at the basic rates (e.g., those of your internet/email provider). You will find an unsubscribe link at the end of each newsletter. In addition, you can also revoke your consent at any time by email to kontakt@rottsento.com (also without additional costs).
The legal basis for the aforementioned data processing in the context of the newsletter is your consent in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR.
Product recommendations (existing customers)
As an existing ROTTSENTO customer, you will regularly receive product recommendations by email – within the framework of legal requirements and independently of a newsletter subscription – unless you have already objected. At least once a week, we send you emails with products that might be of interest to you. In this way, we want to provide you with information about products from our range that might interest you based on your last purchases with us (determined based on your customer data and your purchasing and click behavior).
If you no longer wish to receive such emails with product recommendations based on your past purchasing behavior in the future, you can object free of charge at any time with effect for the future. You will not incur any costs other than the transmission costs at the basic rates. Please contact us in writing using the contact details provided above or use the unsubscribe link that you will find in every such email.
The legal basis for the aforementioned data processing is our legitimate interest pursuant to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR, to send you product recommendations in the form of direct advertising for similar products, in conjunction with Section 7 para. 3 UWG.
Product reviews (existing customers)
As a customer of rottsento.com, you will receive an email from us after a purchase – also within the framework of legal requirements and independently of a newsletter subscription – with a request for a review of the products you ordered, provided you have not already objected. We use the email address you provided during the purchase.
A submitted product review is usually published with the nickname you have chosen. Submitting reviews is of course voluntary.
If you no longer wish to receive such emails requesting product reviews, you can object free of charge at any time with future effect. Simply send a message to the contact details provided above. Alternatively, you will also find an unsubscribe link in every review request email.
The legal basis for the aforementioned data processing is our legitimate interest pursuant to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR, to enable buyers to review products in order to promote our products and encourage sales of similar products, in conjunction with Section 7 para. 3 UWG.
Our own postal advertising
Furthermore, we reserve the right to store your first and last name, your delivery and billing address and – if received from you within the framework of the contractual relationship – your title, academic degree, year of birth, and your professional, industry or business designation in summarized lists and to use them for our own advertising purposes. This means we may also send you interesting offers and information about our products by post. You can object to the storage and use of your data for these purposes at any time by sending a message to the contact options provided above.
The legal basis for the aforementioned data processing is our legitimate interest pursuant to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR, to send you advertising by post that is of interest to you. If you object, your address will be blocked for further promotional mailings. We point out that, for organizational reasons, in individual cases, promotional materials may still be sent by post even after your objection has been received. This is technically conditioned and does not mean that we have not implemented your objection.
Postal advertising through lettershop procedure
We process the following data for our own or third-party marketing purposes based on legitimate interests: name, first name, address, date of birth if applicable, and purchase data.
If we process data for third-party marketing purposes, we transmit it to other companies (e.g., retailers, mail order companies with interesting offers, or charitable organizations) using the so-called lettershop procedure. If we process data for our own marketing purposes, we may transmit the data directly to specialized service providers such as Deutsche Post Direkt GmbH (Troisdorf) or household databases such as AZ Direct GmbH (Gütersloh). We transmit data to Trebbau direct media GmbH (Cologne) and AZ Direct GmbH (Gütersloh) for both our own marketing purposes (directly) and for third-party marketing purposes in the lettershop procedure. The lettershop procedure ensures that the data is not directly passed on to the advertising third parties, but is transmitted in trust to a lettershop for data security reasons.
Of course, you can object to the use, processing, and disclosure of your data for advertising purposes at any time by informing us at the contact details provided above.
The legal basis for the aforementioned data processing is our legitimate interest pursuant to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR, to send you advertising for our products.
New Customer Acquisition and Existing Customer Acquisition
We enrich our customer data with information we receive from selected companies for the purpose of new customer acquisition and existing customer marketing. The information we receive from these partner companies includes, for example, characteristics of consumer behavior, mail-order information, details about the respective living situation, and micro-geographical data. This information comes, for example, from household surveys on consumer and lifestyle topics as well as from home valuations. It helps us to distinguish active from inactive customers, to reactivate dormant customers, to estimate the probability that existing customers might be interested in certain products, and to strengthen customer relationships.
In some cases, we also receive address data from partner companies to be able to address potential new customers who match our customer profile. The specific source of this data can be found in such cases on the address label of the promotional mailing (e.g., next to your address on the catalog).
The legal basis for the aforementioned data processing is our legitimate interest pursuant to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR, to expand your customer profile and to send you more targeted advertising.
Contests and Surveys
If you participate in one of our surveys, we use your data for market and opinion research. We generally use survey data exclusively anonymized for internal purposes. If, in exceptional cases, a survey is not conducted anonymously, we collect personal data therein exclusively with your consent.
The legal basis for processing personal data in the context of non-anonymous surveys is your consent in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR.
Interest Data
The legal basis for the aforementioned data processing is our legitimate interest pursuant to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR, to be able to offer you personalized advertising.
We point out that we do not make automated decisions in individual cases based solely on your data that produce legal effects concerning you or similarly significantly affect you (profiling within the meaning of Art. 22 GDPR does not take place, except for the advertising purposes mentioned above with your right to object).
Advertising Partners
We also receive information from selected operators of online advertising networks (such as Google or Facebook) and from data providers who carry out advertising for us or together with us (hereinafter "advertising partners"). The information we receive from advertising partners includes, for example, demographic data and statistics (e.g., age, gender, region), device and access data, and the interests of our users. This information helps us to better understand our users, e.g., in the context of customer structure analyses and when segmenting by user groups. We only receive aggregated, encrypted, or anonymized data and cannot assign this data to a specific person, in particular to a specific user.
The legal basis for the aforementioned data processing is our legitimate interest pursuant to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR, to better understand our customer structure and to optimize our marketing.
Website Visit
When using our website for purely informational purposes – i.e., if you do not register or otherwise transmit information to us – we only collect the personal data that your browser transmits to our server. If you wish to view our website, we collect the following data that is technically necessary to display our website to you and to ensure stability and security (legal basis: legitimate interest pursuant to Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. f GDPR):
- IP address
- Date and time of the request
- Time zone difference to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)
- Content of the request (specific page)
- Access status/HTTP status code (result of the retrieval)
- Amount of data transferred in each case
- Website from which the request originates (referrer URL)
- Browser used (type and version)
- Operating system and its interface
- Language and version of the browser software
The processing of this data is necessary to enable a visit to the website at all and to ensure the long-term functionality and security of our systems. The mentioned data is also temporarily stored in internal log files for the mentioned purposes to create statistical information about the use of our website, to further develop our website regarding the usage habits of our visitors (e.g., if the proportion of mobile devices used to access the pages increases) and to generally maintain our website administratively.
The information stored in the log files is kept for 30 days and then archived (backed up).
Use of Blog Functions
On our weblog (blog), where we publish various articles about our activities, you can leave public comments. Your comment will be published under the respective blog post with the username you provided. We recommend using a pseudonym instead of your real name. Providing a username and your email address is required; all other information is voluntary. Your email address will not be published and is only visible to certain rottsento.com employees. We need your email address to be able to contact you if a third party complains that your comment is unlawful.
If you leave a comment, we also store your IP address. This storage is necessary for us to be able to defend ourselves against liability claims in cases of possible publication of illegal content. The legal basis for the aforementioned data processing is our legitimate interest pursuant to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR, to enable the display of comments and to protect ourselves against third-party rights (e.g., claims for legal infringements).
Please note that comments may be reviewed before publication. We reserve the right to delete comments if they contain unlawful, offensive, and/or discriminatory content. Otherwise, your comments will generally be stored indefinitely, unless the commenter asks us to delete them.
Use of Cookies
To make visiting our website attractive and to enable the use of certain functions, we use so-called cookies on various pages. Cookies are small text files that are stored on your end device and store certain settings and data for exchange with our system via your browser.
Which cookies are set on this website? Below we explain the cookies we use in detail:
1. Necessary Cookies
These cookies are technically necessary to make the basic functions of the site usable for you. For example, such cookies store form data (e.g., when you make entries in a contact form) or control the display of information (e.g., the display of the cookie banner). These technically necessary cookies cannot be deactivated, as the website would not function correctly without them. The legal basis for data processing in connection with technically necessary cookies is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR (processing for the provision of the requested website functions).
2. Functional Cookies
These cookies serve to make our website and our offer comfortable for you. Functional cookies enable us, for example, to show you content and product recommendations tailored to your interests or to evaluate your purchases. We only use these cookies if you have consented to their use (through your cookie settings when visiting the page). The legal basis for data processing in connection with functional cookies is your consent (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR). You can revoke your consent at any time by accessing the cookie settings on our website and changing your selection there.
Analytical and Marketing Cookies
Cloudflare (necessary cookies)
Our website uses services from Cloudflare, Inc., 665 3rd St. #200, San Francisco, CA 94107, USA. Cloudflare offers a globally distributed Content Delivery Network (CDN) with DNS services. Technically, the data transfer between your browser and our website is routed through the Cloudflare network. Cloudflare is thus able to analyze the data traffic between visitors and our websites, for example, to speed up the loading time of our pages or to detect and ward off attacks on our services. Cloudflare may also store cookies on your device for optimization and analysis purposes.
This serves to protect our legitimate interests in the security, performance and reliability of our website, which outweigh the interests of the data subject, in accordance with Art. 6 Para. 1 S. 1 lit. f GDPR. We have concluded a corresponding data processing agreement with Cloudflare based on the GDPR. The data is generally processed in Germany or other countries of the European Union. Insofar as processing takes place in third countries in certain cases, this only happens if either an adequate level of data protection in the third country has been determined by the EU Commission or on the basis of EU standard contractual clauses, or if an adequate level of data protection is otherwise ensured at the data recipient.
Web analytics (econda Analytics)
Our website uses the solutions and technologies of econda GmbH (www.econda.de) for the demand-oriented design and optimization of the site. Anonymized and – in the case of an order – pseudonymized data is collected, and usage profiles are created from this data using pseudonyms. For this purpose, cookies may be used that enable the recognition of an internet browser. The usage profiles are not merged with data about the bearer of the pseudonym without the express consent of the visitor – in particular, IP addresses are made unrecognizable (anonymized) immediately after receipt.
(Note: Alternatively or additionally, we may use Google Analytics, a web analysis service of Google Ireland Ltd., Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland. Google Analytics also uses cookies to enable an analysis of website usage. The information generated by the cookie about your use of our website is usually transmitted to a Google server and stored there. Google will use this information to evaluate your use of the website, to compile reports on website activity for us, and to provide other services related to website use and internet use. We have concluded a data processing agreement with Google; the EU standard contractual clauses apply to any data transfers to the USA. You can prevent the storage of cookies by a corresponding setting in your browser software; you can also prevent Google from collecting the data generated by the cookie and related to your use of the website, as well as Google's processing of this data, by installing a browser plugin. – This paragraph applies if we use Google Analytics.)*
Pseudonymous Usage Profiles (Personalization)
To offer you the best shopping experience at rottsento.com, we create a pseudonymous user profile. This allows us to get to know you better and to advise you online as individually as possible. This ensures that, above all, products are displayed according to your interests and that our offers are tailored to your personal needs. Furthermore, we can adapt our offer and our advertising on partner sites to your personal interests.
For the creation of the pseudonymous profile, we analyze, for example, your product interests based on the products you have viewed in the online shop, as well as your purchasing behavior based on the items you have added to your shopping cart and purchased. This is done, among other things, on the basis of the usage data collected in our web analysis tools.
Furthermore, your profile can be merged with existing data that allows conclusions about your product interests – e.g., whether an item has been exchanged or returned, or whether you have participated in discount campaigns. In addition, there is the data you have provided to us in the context of a purchase or registration, such as salutation, first and last name, email address, and date of birth.
When you visit the rottsento.com online shop, a pseudonymized ID is assigned to your browser. As long as you do not delete the cookies on this device, all activities – such as your surfing, clicking, and purchasing behavior – that you perform with the assigned browser will be assigned to your user profile.
If you log in as an existing customer to the rottsento.com online shop or complete an order, we link the device used and the corresponding browser to your user profile, for purposes such as authentication, security, and personalization.
(Example: If you are already a customer and log in, we can take your previous preferences into account to highlight suitable products for you.)*
The creation of such a pseudonymous user profile only takes place with your consent (by agreeing to marketing cookies). You can revoke this consent at any time by adjusting the cookie settings. In this case, the tracking cookies belonging to your profile will no longer be used.
Marketing Session Cookie (Audience Building)
On our website, we use a Marketing Session Cookie as part of our marketing cookies. Non-personal data such as session duration, browser type, device type, and pages viewed are recorded during your session and read out via Google Tag Manager or collected into target groups. This serves the following purposes: new customer acquisition, marketing for customer acquisition, target group tracking and optimization, and ensuring correct measurement of key performance indicators (KPIs). This data is only used if you have successfully given your consent beforehand (marketing consent).
As mentioned, a marketing cookie is used for this purpose, which stores the data for the duration of the session. The collected data is only gathered and used with your express consent.
Category: Marketing
Legal basis: Consent (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR)
Processed data:
- Session duration
- Number of pages viewed
- Device type
- Browser
Recipients of the data: Your data will only be passed on to relevant external marketing partners with your consent. If we use external processors, they are contractually obliged in accordance with Art. 28 GDPR and act according to our instructions.
Cookies & Storage Duration: The marketing session cookie stores data only for the duration of your session (temporary). Some marketing-related cookies may remain on your device for up to 30 days in individual cases. Place of processing: European Union, possibly USA (see section Data Transfer to Third Countries).
(The legal basis for data processing in connection with marketing cookies is, as already mentioned above, your consent (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR).)
Use and Application of Networks
For cooperation with partners, we have integrated components of so-called networks that offer affiliate marketing on our online shop. Affiliate marketing is an internet-based sales model that allows us to display advertisements (often remunerated by click or sale commissions) on third-party websites – i.e., with sales partners, also called affiliates or publishers.
For this purpose, we provide advertising materials (e.g., banners or other suitable means of internet advertising) via the respective affiliate network, which are integrated by affiliates on their own websites or promoted via other channels.
Networks: We currently use the affiliate network AWIN AG, Eichhornstraße 3, 10785 Berlin (see their privacy policy at affili.net). Depending on the development of our partner program, further affiliate networks may be added.
The respective network places a cookie on your system when you reach our website via an affiliate link. (General information on the use of cookies can be found above in the "Use of Cookies" section.) The network's tracking cookie stores the identification number of the affiliate partner who referred the potential customer, as well as the order number and the net value of the order. If you have used a voucher or discount during your purchase, this will also be transmitted. In addition, personal data such as the IP address and the cookie ID are stored for a limited period.
The purpose of storing this data is to process commission payments between us and the affiliate via the respective affiliate network.
You can prevent the setting of cookies by our website – as described above – at any time by making a corresponding setting in your internet browser and thus permanently object to the setting of cookies. Such a browser setting would also prevent the network from setting a cookie on your system. You can also delete already set cookies at any time via your browser or other software programs.
Bing Ads: Our online services also use conversion tracking from Microsoft Bing Ads, a service of Microsoft Corporation (One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA 98052-6399, USA). If you reach our website via a Microsoft Bing ad, a cookie will be placed on your device by Microsoft Bing Ads. This allows Microsoft Bing and us to recognize that someone clicked on an ad, was redirected to our website, and reached a predefined target page (conversion page). We only learn the total number of users who clicked on a Bing ad and then reached the conversion page – no personal information about the identity of individual users is shared.
If you do not wish to participate in this tracking procedure, you can refuse the setting of the necessary cookie – for example, via a browser setting that generally deactivates the automatic setting of cookies. Further information on data protection and the cookies used by Microsoft Bing can be found in Microsoft's privacy policy (available on the Microsoft website).
Google Ads Conversion Tracking: We use Google Ads to draw attention to our attractive offers on external websites with the help of advertising materials (so-called Google Ads). This allows us to determine the success of individual advertising measures based on the data from the advertising campaigns. We pursue the interest of showing you relevant advertising, making our website more interesting for you, and achieving a fair calculation of our advertising costs.
These advertising materials are delivered by Google via so-called Ad Servers. For this purpose, we use Ad Server cookies, which can measure certain parameters for success measurement (e.g., display of ads or clicks by users). If you reach our website via a Google ad, a cookie is stored on your PC by Google Ads. These cookies usually lose their validity after 30 days and are not intended to identify you personally. The unique cookie ID, the number of ad impressions per placement (frequency), the last impression (relevant for post-view conversions), and opt-out information (marking that a user no longer wishes to be addressed) are usually stored as analytical values for this cookie.
These cookies enable Google to recognize your internet browser. If a user visits certain pages of a Google Ads customer's website (like ours) and the cookie has not yet expired, Google and the customer can recognize that the user clicked on the ad and was redirected to this page. A different cookie is assigned to each Google Ads customer; cookies cannot therefore be tracked across the websites of different Ads customers. We ourselves do not collect and process any personal data in the aforementioned advertising measures. We only receive statistical evaluations from Google. Based on these evaluations, we can recognize which of the advertising measures used are particularly effective. We do not receive any further data from the use of the advertising materials; in particular, we cannot identify you based on this information.
Due to the marketing tools used, your browser automatically establishes a direct connection with Google's server. We have no influence on the scope and further use of the data collected by Google through the use of this tool. We therefore inform you according to our knowledge: By integrating Google Ads Conversion, Google receives the information that you have accessed the corresponding part of our website or clicked on an ad from us. If you are registered with a Google service, Google can assign the visit to your account there. Even if you are not registered with Google or are not logged in, there is a possibility that Google will find out and store your IP address.
How can you prevent tracking? You can prevent participation in this tracking procedure in various ways:
- by a corresponding setting in your browser software; in particular, suppressing third-party cookies means that you will not receive third-party ads,
- by deactivating cookies for conversion tracking by setting your browser to block cookies from the domain “www.googleadservices.com” (see, for example, the settings under www.google.com/settings/ads; note that this setting will be deleted if you clear your cookies).
(Further opt-out options offered by Google or industry-specific opt-out links may follow here.)
Google Remarketing: Our website uses Google Remarketing, a service of Google Ireland Ltd., Dublin, Ireland ("Google"). Google Remarketing uses cookies and comparable technologies to show you individualized advertising messages on websites that cooperate with Google. Cookies and similar technologies are also used to analyze website usage, which forms the basis for creating interest-based advertisements. Data processing generally takes place in Germany or other EU countries. Insofar as processing takes place in third countries in certain cases, this only happens if an adequate level of data protection has been established in the third country according to Art. 45 GDPR, on the basis of EU standard contractual clauses, or if an adequate level of data protection is otherwise ensured at the data recipient.
Facebook Custom Audience Pixel: For marketing purposes, our website uses so-called remarketing tags (also "Facebook Pixel") from the social network Facebook (a service of Facebook Inc., 1601 Willow Road, Menlo Park, California 94025, USA). When you visit our website, these tags establish a connection between your browser and a Facebook server. Facebook thereby receives the information that our website has been accessed with your IP address. Data processing generally takes place in Germany or other EU countries. Insofar as processing takes place in third countries (e.g., the USA) in certain cases, this only happens if the adequacy of the level of data protection in the third country has been established according to Art. 45 GDPR, on the basis of EU standard contractual clauses, or if an adequate level of data protection is otherwise ensured at the data recipient.
Facebook uses this information to provide us with statistical and anonymous data about the general use of our website as well as the effectiveness of our Facebook ads and Instagram ads. If you are a member of Facebook and/or Instagram and have allowed Facebook/Instagram through your account settings, Facebook/Instagram may also link the information collected about your visit to us with your respective user account and use it for targeted Facebook/Instagram ads. You can view and adjust the privacy settings of your Facebook or Instagram profile at any time.
If you deactivate data processing by Facebook, Facebook will only show you general, non-individualized advertising (i.e., ads that are not selected based on the information collected about you).
Further information on this can be found in the data policies of Facebook and Instagram (available at Facebook Data Policy and Instagram Data Policy).
(Note: Similar remarketing tags from other social networks such as Pinterest may be used to present interest-based advertising to you within the respective network. We would also only use such tags – such as the Pinterest pixel – with your consent. For more information, please refer to the privacy policies of the respective providers (e.g., Pinterest) and our cookie settings.)
Recipients of Data
Personal data collected by us is generally only passed on if one of the following cases applies:
- Consent: You have given us your express consent to the transfer of data in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR.
- Legal Claim: The transfer is necessary pursuant to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims, and there is no reason to assume that you have an overriding legitimate interest in the data not being transferred.
- Legal Obligation: We are legally obliged to transfer data in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. c GDPR.
- Contract/Initiation: The transfer is legally permissible and necessary in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR for the processing of contractual relationships with you or for the implementation of pre-contractual measures that are carried out at your request.
Some of the data processing may be carried out by service providers who act on our behalf (so-called processors). In addition to the recipients expressly mentioned in this privacy policy, these may include, in particular, data centers (for storing our website and databases), software providers, IT service providers (maintenance of our systems), agencies, market research companies, consulting companies, suppliers and logistics service providers (shipping companies, freight forwarders) as well as postal service providers (for letter mail) and, if applicable, printing companies or lettershops. Insofar as we pass on data to such service providers, they may only use the data to fulfill their tasks on our behalf. The service providers have been carefully selected and commissioned by us, are contractually bound by our instructions, and have appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect the rights of the data subjects. We regularly monitor the service providers for compliance with these requirements.
In addition, data may be disclosed in connection with official inquiries, court orders and legal proceedings if this is necessary for legal prosecution or enforcement.
Data Transfer to Third Countries
As explained in this privacy policy, we use services whose providers are partly located in so-called third countries (outside the European Union or the European Economic Area) or process personal data there. This applies in particular to some of the aforementioned marketing and tracking services (e.g., companies in the USA).
For all transfers of personal data to a third country, we ensure that the specific requirements of Art. 44 et seq. GDPR are met. Such a transfer only takes place if an adequacy decision of the EU Commission exists for the third country, or if we have agreed on so-called standard data protection clauses (standard contractual clauses) with the service provider, or if an adequate level of data protection is otherwise ensured with the recipient.
However, we would like to point out that – if there is no adequacy decision or appropriate safeguards – there may be a risk when transferring data to third countries. It is possible that authorities in the respective third country (e.g., intelligence services) may gain access to the transmitted data without us or you being aware of it. Such authorities could evaluate the data, and it may be that data subject rights are not enforceable.
We point out these risks to you, where relevant, also within the cookie banner when obtaining your consent.
Storage Period
In principle, we only store personal data for as long as it is necessary to fulfill the purposes for which we collected the data, or to fulfill contractual or legal obligations.
Personal data that we process on the basis of your consent or due to our overriding legitimate interests will be stored until you withdraw your consent or object. In this case, we will delete the affected data immediately, unless we still need the data until the expiry of statutory limitation periods for evidence purposes for civil law claims or due to statutory retention obligations.
For evidentiary purposes, we store contract data (orders, contract documents, etc.) for three years from the end of the year in which the business relationship with you ends. Any civil law claims expire at the earliest at this time according to the statutory regular period.
Even after that, we must continue to store parts of your data for accounting reasons. We are obliged to do so due to legal documentation requirements arising, for example, from the German Commercial Code, the Fiscal Code, the Banking Act, the Money Laundering Act and the Securities Trading Act. The retention periods for documents prescribed there range from two to ten years.
Your Rights
You have – subject to the respective legal requirements – the following rights with regard to your personal data:
- Right to information about your personal data stored by us (Art. 15 GDPR),
- Right to rectification of inaccurate or completion of incomplete data (Art. 16 GDPR),
- Right to erasure of your data (Art. 17 GDPR),
- Right to restriction of processing (blocking) of your data (Art. 18 GDPR),
- Right to data portability (provision of the data you have provided in a structured, common, machine-readable format) (Art. 20 GDPR),
- Right to withdraw granted consents (with effect for the future) (Art. 7 para. 3 GDPR),
- Right to object to certain data processing (Art. 21 GDPR) – in particular, you can object to the processing of your data for direct marketing at any time.
Data Security
We maintain current technical and organizational measures to ensure data security, in particular to protect your personal data from risks during data transmissions and from unauthorized access by third parties. We regularly adapt these measures to the current state of technology.
To secure the personal data you enter on the website, we use the standard Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) procedure in conjunction with the highest encryption level supported by your browser. This is usually 256-bit encryption. You can recognize encrypted transmission by the display of the lock symbol in the address or status bar of your browser. If SSL is activated, the data you transmit to us cannot be read by third parties.
(Please note that you should never share your password with third parties. Our employees will also never ask you for your password.)
Changes to the Privacy Policy
We update this privacy policy occasionally, for example, when we adapt our website or offers or when legal requirements change. The current version can be found on our website in the "Privacy" section. Changes are effective upon their publication on our website. We therefore recommend that you regularly review this privacy policy.
(Status of this privacy policy: February 2025)
