Data Protection

Table of contents

1. Objective and responsible body
2. Fundamental information on data processing
3. Processing of personal data
4. Collection of access data
5. Cookies & reach measurement
6. Google Analytics
7. Google re/marketing services
8. Facebook social plugins
9. Newsletter
10. Integration of third-party services and content
11. User rights and deletion
12. Changes to the data protection declaration

1. Objective and responsible body

This data protection declaration clarifies the nature, scope and objective of any processing (including, but not limited to, collection, processing, use and obtaining consent) of personal data within our online services and the websites, functions and content related thereto (hereinafter jointly referred to as "online services" or "website"). The data protection declaration shall apply irrespective of the domains, systems, platforms and devices (e.g. desktop or mobile) on which the online services are implemented.

The provider of the online services and the data protection authority responsible is Gleichweit GmbH (hereinafter referred to as "provider", "we" or "us"). Please refer to our “Company details” section for contact information.

The term "user" covers all customers and visitors who access our online services. Terms such as "user" are neutral in gender.

2. Fundamental information on data processing

We process the personal data of users only in compliance with the relevant data protection regulations in line with the principles of data minimization and data avoidance. This means that user data will only be processed should legal permission be granted, especially if the data is required for the provision of our contractual duties and online services, or is prescribed by law, or if consent has been given.

We implement organizational, contractual and technical security measures in line with the latest technological standards in order to ensure that the provisions of data protection laws are complied with and to protect the data processed by us against accidental or intentional manipulation, loss, destruction or access by unauthorized persons.

Insofar as contents, tools or other resources of other providers (hereinafter jointly referred to as "third-party providers") are used in the framework of this data protection declaration and their registered office is in a foreign country, it is to be assumed that a transfer of data to the domicile states of the third-party providers takes place. Data may be transferred to third countries either subject to legal permission, user consent or special contractual clauses guaranteeing the security of the data as required by law.

3. Processing of personal data

The personal data will be processed for the following purposes, in addition to the use explicitly stated in this data protection declaration, based on legal permissions or consent of the users:
– The provision, execution, maintenance, optimization and safeguarding of our services and user benefits;
– The ensuring of effective customer service and technical support.

We shall only transfer user data to third parties if this is required for billing purposes (e.g. to a payment service provider) or for other purposes when this is necessary in order to fulfill our contractual obligations towards users (e.g. address communication to suppliers).

When you establish contact with us (via contact form or e-mail), your details will be stored for the purpose of processing your enquiry and in the event that follow-up questions should arise.
Personal data will be deleted provided that it has fulfilled its intended purpose and there are no obligations to retain it.

4. Collection of access data

We collect data about each access to the server on which our services are located (so-called server log files). The access data includes the name of the website accessed, file, date and time of access, amount of data transferred, notification of successful access, browser type including version, the operating system of the user, referrer URL (the previously visited page), IP address and the requesting provider.

We use the logged data without allocating it to the user's identity or other profiling in accordance with the statutory provisions solely for statistical evaluations for the purpose of operation, security and optimization of our online services. However, we reserve the right to subsequently review the logged data should there be a justified suspicion of illegal use as a result of concrete indications.

5. Cookies & reach measurement

Cookies contain information that is transferred from our web server or third party web servers to the user's web browser and stored there for later retrieval. Users are informed about the use of cookies within the framework of pseudonymous reach measurement as part of this data protection declaration.

Our online services can also be viewed without the use of cookies. If users do not wish cookies to be stored on their computer, they are asked to deactivate the corresponding option in the system settings of their browser. Stored cookies can be deleted in the system settings of the browser. Excluding cookies can lead to functional limitations of our online services.

You can manage many online ad cookies from companies via the US site https://www.aboutads.info/choices or the EU site https://www.youronlinechoices.com/uk/your-ad-choices/.

6. Google Analytics

This website uses Google Analytics, a web analysis service from Google Inc. (”Google”). Google uses cookies. The information created by the cookie concerning your use of our online services is generally transmitted to a Google server in the USA and stored there.

Google uses this information on our behalf to analyze your use of our online services, to compile reports on activities within these online services and to provide other services related to the use of these online services and of the Internet. Pseudonymous user profiles can be created from the processed data.

We only use Google Analytics with IP anonymization enabled. This means that the IP address of the user is truncated by Google within member states of the European Union or in other signatory states to the Agreement on the European Economic Area. The full IP address will only be transferred to a Google server in the USA and truncated there in exceptional cases.

The IP address transmitted by the user's browser is not merged with other data from Google. The user has the option to prevent the storage of cookies by setting their browser software accordingly; the user can also prevent Google from collecting the data generated by the cookie and related to their use of the online services and Google from processing this data by downloading and installing the browser plug-in available under the following link: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=de.

More information about Google's use of data for advertising purposes, settings and objection options can be found on Google's web pages: https://www.google.com/intl/de/policies/privacy/partners ("Use of data by Google when using the websites or apps of our partners"), https://www.google.com/policies/technologies/ads ("Use of data for advertising purposes"), https://www.google.de/settings/ads ("Manage information Google uses to display advertising") and https://www.google.com/ads/preferences ("Determine which advertising Google shows you").

7. Google re/marketing services

We use the marketing and remarketing services (in short: "Google marketing services") of Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA ("Google").

Google marketing services allow us to display advertisements for and on our website more selectively to present users only with ads that potentially match their interests. When users are e.g. shown ads for products in which they showed an interest on other websites, this is referred to as "remarketing". Therefore, when you visit our and other web pages where Google marketing services are active, Google directly executes a code from Google and incorporates it into the website's so-called (re)marketing tags (invisible graphics or code, also known as "web beacons"). This helps ensure that an individual cookie, i.e. a small file, is stored on the user's device (comparable technologies can also be used instead of cookies). The cookies can be set by various domains, including google.com, doubleclick.net, invitemedia.com, admeld.com, googlesyndication.com or googleadservices.com. Such files contain information on which websites the user visits, what content they are interested in and what offerings they have clicked on, as well as technical information on the browser and operating system, referring websites, time of visit and other information on the use of the online services. The IP address of the user is also logged; within the scope of Google Analytics, we note that the IP address is truncated within member states of the European Union or in other signatory states to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, and only in exceptional cases is it transmitted entirely to a Google server in the USA and truncated there. The IP address is not merged with user data within other services offered by Google. The information referred to above may also be linked to such information from other sources. If the user then visits other websites, ads adapted to their interests may be displayed.

User data is processed pseudonymously as part of Google marketing services. I.e. Google does not e.g. store and process the name or e-mail address of the user, but processes the relevant cookie-related data within pseudonymous user profiles. This means that from the perspective of Google, the ads are not managed and displayed for a specifically identified person, but for the cookie holder, regardless of who this cookie holder is. This does not apply if a user has explicitly authorized Google to process the data without such pseudonymization. The information that "DoubleClick" collects about users is transmitted to Google and stored on Google's servers in the USA.

The Google marketing services we use include the online advertising program "Google AdWords". When Google AdWords is used, each AdWords customer receives a different "conversion cookie". This means that cookies cannot be tracked via the websites of AdWords customers. The information collected by the cookie is used to generate conversion statistics for AdWords customers who have opted for conversion tracking. AdWords customers see the total number of users who clicked on their ad and were redirected to a page provided with a conversion tracking tag. However, they do not receive any information that enables identifying users personally.

We may incorporate third-party advertisements based on Google's "DoubleClick" marketing service. DoubleClick uses cookies that enable Google and its partner websites to display ads based on users' visits to this website or other websites on the Internet.

We may also incorporate third-party advertisements based on Google's "AdSense" marketing service. AdSense uses cookies that enable Google and its partner websites to display ads based on users' visits to this website or other websites on the Internet.

Another Google marketing service used by us is "Google Tag Manager", which helps to integrate further Google analysis and marketing services into our website (e.g. “AdWords”, “DoubleClick” or “Google Analytics”).

More information on the use of data by Google for marketing purposes can be found on the overview page: https://www.google.com/policies/technologies/ads, Google's data protection declaration can be found at https://www.google.com/policies/privacy.

Should you wish to opt out of the collection of data by Google marketing services, you may use the settings and opt-outs provided by Google: https://www.google.com/ads/preferences.

8. Facebook social plugins

Our online services use social plugins ("plugins") of the social network facebook.com, which is operated by Facebook Ireland Ltd., 4 Grand Canal Square, Grand Canal Harbour, Dublin 2, Ireland ("Facebook"). The plugins can be recognized by one of the Facebook logos (white "f" on a blue tile, the term "like" or a "thumbs up" symbol) or by the addition "Facebook social plugin". The list and appearance of the Facebook social plugins can be viewed here: https://developers.facebook.com/docs/plugins/.

Once a user invokes a function of this online service that contains such a plugin, their device establishes a direct connection with Facebook's servers. The content of the plugin is transmitted directly to the user's device by Facebook and integrated into the online service. User profiles can be created from the processed data. We therefore have no influence on the scope of the data that Facebook collects through this plugin and therefore inform users in accordance with our state of knowledge.

By integrating the plugins, Facebook receives the information that a user has accessed the corresponding page of a website. When a user is logged in to Facebook, Facebook can assign the visit to their Facebook account. If users interact with the plugins, for example by clicking the "Like" button or leaving a comment, the corresponding information is transmitted directly to Facebook from the users’ device and stored there. If a user is not a member of Facebook, it is nevertheless possible for Facebook to find out and store their IP address. In Germany, only an anonymous IP address is stored, according to Facebook.

The purpose and scope of the data collection and the further processing and use of the data by Facebook, as well as the related rights and settings options to protect the privacy of users, can be found in the data protection notice of Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy/.

If a user is a Facebook member and does not wish for Facebook to collect information about them through this online service and link it to their member data stored on Facebook, they must log out of Facebook and delete their cookies before using our online services. Further settings and objections to the use of data for advertising purposes are possible within the Facebook profile settings: https://www.facebook.com/settings?tab=ads or via the US page https://www.aboutads.info/choices/ or the EU page https://www.youronlinechoices.com/. The settings do not depend on the platform, i.e. they are applied to all devices, such as desktop computers or mobile devices.

9. Newsletter

We would like to use the following information to inform you about the contents of our newsletter as well as the registration, mailing and statistical evaluation procedures and your rights of objection. By subscribing to our newsletter, you agree to receive it and to the procedures described here.

Content of the newsletter: we send newsletters, e-mails and other electronic notifications that contain advertising information (hereinafter referred to as "newsletter") only with the consent of the recipient or with legal permission. Provided that the contents of the newsletter are specifically described within the scope of a registration, they are decisive for the consent of the user. Our newsletters also contain information on: our products, services, promotions and information about our company.

Double opt in and logging: registration to our newsletter takes place in a so-called double opt-in procedure. I.e. You will receive an e-mail after registration asking you to confirm your registration. Such a confirmation is necessary so that no one can register with third-party e-mail addresses. Registrations to our newsletter are logged so that the registration process can be verified in accordance with legal requirements. This includes storing the registration and confirmation times as well as the IP address. The changes made to your data stored with the dispatch service provider are also logged.

Dispatch service provider: the newsletter is sent by mailchimp. The data protection regulations of the dispatch service provider can be viewed here: https://mailchimp.com/legal/privacy/.

The e-mail addresses of our newsletter recipients, as well as any other data described within the framework of this notice, are stored on the servers of the dispatch service provider. The dispatch service provider uses this information to dispatch and analyze the newsletter on our behalf. The dispatch service provider may also, in line with its own information, use this data to optimize or improve its own services, e.g. for the technical optimization of the dispatch and the presentation of the newsletter or for economic purposes with a view to determining from which countries the recipients originate. However, the dispatch service provider shall not use the data provided by our newsletter recipients to write to them itself or pass them on to third parties.

Registration data: you only need to enter your e-mail address to subscribe to the newsletter. Optionally we kindly ask you to enter the following data: first and last name for personalization of the newsletter and e-mail address.

Statistical survey and analyses – the newsletters contain a so-called "web-beacon", i.e. a pixel-sized file which is retrieved from the server of the dispatch service provider when the newsletter is opened. This retrieval process initially involves the collection of technical information, such as information on the browser and your system, as well as your IP address and time of retrieval. This information is used to improve the services from a technical point of view, based on the technical data or the target groups and their reading behavior, based on their access points (which can be determined by IP address) or access times. Statistical surveys also include establishing whether newsletters are opened, when they are opened and which links are clicked. For technical reasons, this information can be assigned to the individual newsletter recipients. However, it is neither our nor the dispatch service provider's aim to observe individual users. Rather, we use these analyses 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.

Cancellation/revocation – you can unsubscribe from our newsletter at any time, i.e. revoke your consent. Your consent to its dispatch by the dispatch service provider and the statistical analyses shall expire at the same time. A separate cancellation of the dispatch by the dispatch service provider or the statistical analysis is unfortunately not possible. A link to unsubscribe from the newsletter can be found at the end of each newsletter.

10. Integration of third-party services and content

It may be the case that content or services from third parties, such as city maps or fonts from other websites, are integrated within our online services. The integration of content from third-party providers always assumes that the third-party providers recognize the IP address of the users, since without it they would not be able to send the content to the user's browser. The IP address is therefore required so that these contents can be displayed. The providers of third-party content can also set their own cookies and process the user data for their own purposes. User profiles can be created from the processed data. We will use such content as much as possible in accordance with the principles of data avoidance and data minimization and will select third-party providers which are reliable with regard to data security.

The following provides an overview of third-party providers as well as their contents, together with links to their data protection declarations, which contain further information on the processing of data and possible ways of objecting (so-called opt-outs), some of which are already mentioned here:

– External fonts from Google, Inc., https://www.google.com/fonts (“Google Fonts”). Google Fonts are integrated by a server request at Google (usually in the USA). Data protection declaration: https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/, opt out: https://www.google.com/settings/ads/.

– Maps of the "Google Maps" service of the third-party provider Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA. Data protection declaration: https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/, opt out: https://www.google.com/settings/ads/.

11. User rights and deletion of data

Users have the right to request at no cost information about the personal data that we have stored about them.
Users also have the right to request the correction of inaccurate data, to revoke their consent, to block and delete their personal data as well as the right to lodge a complaint with the competent supervisory authority should unlawful data processing be assumed.

The data that we have stored will be deleted as soon as it is no longer required for its intended purpose and there are no legal obligations for it to be retained.

12. Changes to the data protection declaration

We reserve the right to change the data protection declaration so that it can be adapted to reflect changes in the legal situation or changes to the service or data processing. This applies, however, only with regard to declarations on data processing. To the extent that user consents are required or components of the data protection declaration contain regulations governing the contractual relationship with the users, changes shall only be made subject to agreement by the users.
Users are requested to regularly keep themselves informed about the content of the data protection declaration.