cat ./privacy-policy.md

1. Data Protection at a Glance

General Information

The following notes provide a simple overview of what happens to your personal data when you visit this website. Personal data is any data that can be used to personally identify you. Detailed information on data protection can be found in our privacy policy listed below this text.

Data Collection on This Website

Who is responsible for data collection on this website?

Data processing on this website is carried out by the website operator. Their contact details can be found in the section "Information about the controller" in this privacy policy.

How do we collect your data?

Some data is collected when you provide it to us. This could, for example, be data you enter into a contact form.

Other data is collected automatically, or after you give your consent, when you visit the website through our IT systems. This data is mainly technical data (e.g. the internet browser, operating system or time the page was accessed). This data is collected automatically as soon as you access this website.

What do we use your data for?

Part of the data is collected to ensure the error-free provision of the website. Other data may be used to analyze your user behavior. If contracts can be concluded or initiated via the website, the data transmitted will also be processed for contract offers, orders or other inquiries.

What rights do you have regarding your data?

You have the right to receive information about the origin, recipients, and purpose of your stored personal data free of charge at any time. You also have the right to request the correction or deletion of this data. If you have given your consent to data processing, you can revoke this consent at any time for the future. You also have the right, under certain circumstances, to request the restriction of the processing of your personal data. Furthermore, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the competent supervisory authority.

You can contact us at any time regarding this and any other questions on the subject of data protection.

Analysis Tools and Third-Party Tools

When visiting this website, your browsing behavior may be statistically evaluated. This is done primarily using analysis programs.

Detailed information on these analysis programs can be found in the following privacy policy.

2. Hosting

We host the content of our website with the following provider:

Hetzner

The provider is Hetzner Online GmbH, Industriestr. 25, 91710 Gunzenhausen, Germany (hereinafter "Hetzner").

For details, please refer to Hetzner's privacy policy: https://www.hetzner.com/legal/privacy-policy/.

The use of Hetzner is based on Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. We have a legitimate interest in the most reliable possible presentation of our website. If corresponding consent has been requested, processing is carried out exclusively on the basis of Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR and Section 25(1) TDDDG (German Telecommunications Digital Services Data Protection Act), insofar as the consent includes the storage of cookies or access to information on the user's end device (e.g. device fingerprinting) within the meaning of the TDDDG. Consent can be revoked at any time.

Data Processing Agreement

We have entered into a data processing agreement (DPA) for the use of the above-mentioned service. This is a contract mandated by data protection law that ensures the processor processes the personal data of our website visitors only in accordance with our instructions and in compliance with the GDPR.

Cloudflare

This website uses the Cloudflare service to secure and accelerate the delivery of the website and to protect it against attacks (e.g. DDoS attacks). The provider is Cloudflare, Inc., 101 Townsend St., San Francisco, CA 94107, USA (hereinafter "Cloudflare").

Cloudflare operates a globally distributed DNS and content delivery network (CDN). This routes traffic between your browser and our hosting provider through Cloudflare's network. This allows Cloudflare to analyze requests and distinguish malicious traffic from legitimate traffic. In the process, technical data such as your IP address, browser type, access time and requested URL may be processed. Cloudflare may also set technically necessary cookies for security and load-balancing analysis.

The use of Cloudflare is based on Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. We have a legitimate interest in a reliable, high-performance and attack-resistant delivery of our website. If corresponding consent has been requested, processing is carried out exclusively on the basis of Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR and Section 25(1) TDDDG, insofar as the consent covers the storage of cookies or access to information on the user's end device. Consent can be revoked at any time.

Cloudflare also processes data in the USA. Cloudflare is certified under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework (DPF) and thereby commits to complying with European data protection standards. Details can be found in Cloudflare's privacy policy: https://www.cloudflare.com/privacypolicy/.

Data Processing Agreement

Server Log Files

The provider of these pages automatically collects and stores information in so-called server log files, which your browser automatically transmits to us. These are:

Browser type and version
Operating system used
Referrer URL
Host name of the accessing computer
Time of the server request
IP address

This data is not combined with other data sources.

This data is collected on the basis of Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. The website operator has a legitimate interest in the technically error-free presentation and optimization of their website — the server log files must be recorded for this purpose.

3. General Information and Mandatory Disclosures

Data Protection

The operators of these pages take the protection of your personal data very seriously. We treat your personal data confidentially and in accordance with statutory data protection regulations and this privacy policy.

When you use this website, various pieces of personal data are collected. Personal data is data that can be used to personally identify you. This privacy policy explains what data we collect and what we use it for. It also explains how and for what purpose this is done.

We would like to point out that data transmission over the internet (e.g. when communicating by email) may have security vulnerabilities. Complete protection of data against access by third parties is not possible.

Cookies

Our websites use so-called "cookies." Cookies are small data packages and do not cause any damage to your device. They are either stored temporarily for the duration of a session (session cookies) or permanently (persistent cookies) on your device. Session cookies are automatically deleted at the end of your visit. Persistent cookies remain stored on your device until you delete them yourself or they are automatically deleted by your web browser.

Some cookies are technically necessary to provide website functions, e.g. storing your selected language version via the Polylang plugin (see the "Polylang" section under item 6). Other cookies may be used to evaluate user behavior or to improve the security and delivery of the website (see the "Cloudflare" section under item 2).

Cookies that are required for carrying out the electronic communication process or for providing certain functions you desire are stored on the basis of Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. The website operator has a legitimate interest in storing technically necessary cookies for the technically error-free and optimized provision of its services. If corresponding consent has been requested, processing is carried out exclusively on the basis of Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR and Section 25(1) TDDDG, insofar as the consent covers the storage of cookies or access to information on the user's end device. Consent can be revoked at any time.

You can set your browser so that you are informed about the setting of cookies and only allow cookies in individual cases, exclude the acceptance of cookies for certain cases or in general, and activate automatic deletion of cookies when closing the browser. Deactivating cookies may limit the functionality of this website.

Information About the Controller

The controller responsible for data processing on this website is:

Benjamin Schneider
Ernst-Thälmann-Str. 16 A
99759 Sollstedt

Phone: +49 (0) 151 44901422
Email:

The controller is the natural or legal person who, alone or jointly with others, determines the purposes and means of processing personal data (such as names, email addresses, etc.).

Storage Period

Unless a more specific storage period has been specified within this privacy policy, your personal data will remain with us until the purpose for the data processing no longer applies. If you assert a legitimate request for deletion or revoke your consent to data processing, your data will be deleted, unless we have other legally permissible reasons for storing your personal data (e.g. tax or commercial retention periods); in the latter case, deletion will take place after these reasons cease to apply.

General Information on the Legal Basis for Data Processing on This Website

If you have consented to data processing, we process your personal data on the basis of Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR or Art. 9(2)(a) GDPR, if special categories of data are processed pursuant to Art. 9(1) GDPR. In the event of explicit consent to the transfer of personal data to third countries, data processing is also carried out on the basis of Art. 49(1)(a) GDPR. If you have consented to the storage of cookies or access to information on your device (e.g. via device fingerprinting), data processing is additionally carried out on the basis of Section 25(1) TDDDG. Consent can be revoked at any time. If your data is required for the performance of a contract or for the implementation of pre-contractual measures, we process your data on the basis of Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR. Furthermore, we process your data if this is required to fulfill a legal obligation, on the basis of Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR. Data processing may also be carried out on the basis of our legitimate interest pursuant to Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. Information on the relevant legal basis in each individual case is provided in the following paragraphs of this privacy policy.

Information on the Transfer of Data to Data-Protection-Non-Compliant Third Countries, and on the Transfer to US Companies That Are Not DPF-Certified

We use, among others, tools from companies based in third countries that are not data-protection compliant, as well as US tools whose providers are not certified under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework (DPF). When these tools are active, your personal data may be transferred to and processed in these countries. We would like to point out that no level of data protection comparable to that of the EU can be guaranteed in data-protection-non-compliant third countries.

We would like to point out that the USA, as a safe third country, generally has a level of data protection comparable to that of the EU. A transfer of data to the USA is permissible if the recipient holds a certification under the "EU-US Data Privacy Framework" (DPF) or has suitable additional guarantees. Information on transfers to third countries, including data recipients, can be found in this privacy policy.

Recipients of Personal Data

As part of our business activities, we work with various external parties. This sometimes requires the transfer of personal data to these external parties. We only pass on personal data to external parties if this is necessary as part of contract fulfillment, if we are legally obligated to do so (e.g. disclosure of data to tax authorities), if we have a legitimate interest in the disclosure under Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR, or if some other legal basis permits the data transfer. When using processors, we only pass on our customers' personal data on the basis of a valid data processing agreement. In the case of joint processing, a joint controller agreement is concluded.

Withdrawal of Your Consent to Data Processing

Many data processing operations are only possible with your express consent. You can revoke consent you have already given at any time. The legality of the data processing carried out until the revocation remains unaffected by the revocation.

Right to Object to the Collection of Data in Special Cases and to Direct Advertising (Art. 21 GDPR)

IF DATA PROCESSING IS BASED ON ART. 6(1)(E) OR (F) GDPR, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT AT ANY TIME, FOR REASONS ARISING FROM YOUR PARTICULAR SITUATION, TO OBJECT TO THE PROCESSING OF YOUR PERSONAL DATA; THIS ALSO APPLIES TO PROFILING BASED ON THESE PROVISIONS. THE RESPECTIVE LEGAL BASIS ON WHICH PROCESSING IS BASED CAN BE FOUND IN THIS PRIVACY POLICY. IF YOU OBJECT, WE WILL NO LONGER PROCESS YOUR AFFECTED PERSONAL DATA, UNLESS WE CAN DEMONSTRATE COMPELLING LEGITIMATE GROUNDS FOR THE PROCESSING THAT OUTWEIGH YOUR INTERESTS, RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS, OR IF THE PROCESSING SERVES THE ASSERTION, EXERCISE OR DEFENSE OF LEGAL CLAIMS (OBJECTION PURSUANT TO ART. 21(1) GDPR).

IF YOUR PERSONAL DATA IS PROCESSED FOR THE PURPOSE OF DIRECT ADVERTISING, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO OBJECT AT ANY TIME TO THE PROCESSING OF PERSONAL DATA CONCERNING YOU FOR THE PURPOSE OF SUCH ADVERTISING; THIS ALSO APPLIES TO PROFILING TO THE EXTENT THAT IT IS RELATED TO SUCH DIRECT ADVERTISING. IF YOU OBJECT, YOUR PERSONAL DATA WILL SUBSEQUENTLY NO LONGER BE USED FOR THE PURPOSE OF DIRECT ADVERTISING (OBJECTION PURSUANT TO ART. 21(2) GDPR).

Right to Lodge a Complaint with the Competent Supervisory Authority

In the event of violations of the GDPR, data subjects have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, in particular in the member state of their habitual residence, place of work, or place of the alleged violation. This right to lodge a complaint exists without prejudice to any other administrative or judicial remedy.

Right to Data Portability

You have the right to have data that we process automatically on the basis of your consent or in fulfillment of a contract handed over to you or to a third party in a common, machine-readable format. If you request the direct transfer of the data to another controller, this will only be done to the extent that it is technically feasible.

Information, Rectification and Erasure

Within the scope of applicable statutory provisions, you have the right at any time to free information about your stored personal data, its origin and recipients, and the purpose of data processing, and, if applicable, a right to rectification or erasure of this data. You can contact us at any time regarding this and any other questions on the subject of personal data.

Right to Restriction of Processing

You have the right to request the restriction of the processing of your personal data. You can contact us at any time for this purpose. The right to restriction of processing applies in the following cases:

If you dispute the accuracy of your personal data stored by us, we generally need time to verify this. For the duration of the verification, you have the right to request the restriction of the processing of your personal data.
If the processing of your personal data was/is unlawful, you can request the restriction of data processing instead of erasure.
If we no longer need your personal data, but you need it to assert, exercise or defend legal claims, you have the right to request the restriction of the processing of your personal data instead of erasure.
If you have lodged an objection pursuant to Art. 21(1) GDPR, a balance must be struck between your interests and ours. As long as it has not yet been determined whose interests prevail, you have the right to request the restriction of the processing of your personal data.

If you have restricted the processing of your personal data, this data — with the exception of its storage — may only be processed with your consent or for the assertion, exercise or defense of legal claims, or for the protection of the rights of another natural or legal person, or for reasons of important public interest of the European Union or a member state.

SSL or TLS Encryption

For security reasons and to protect the transmission of confidential content, such as orders or inquiries that you send to us as the site operator, this site uses SSL or TLS encryption. You can recognize an encrypted connection by the fact that the browser's address bar changes from "http://" to "https://" and by the lock icon in your browser bar.

If SSL or TLS encryption is activated, the data you transmit to us cannot be read by third parties.

4. Data Collection on This Website

Contact Form

If you send us inquiries via the contact form, the information you provide in the inquiry form, including the contact details you provide there, will be stored by us for the purpose of processing the inquiry and in case of follow-up questions. We do not share this data without your consent.

The processing of this data is based on Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR, if your inquiry is related to the fulfillment of a contract or is necessary for the implementation of pre-contractual measures. In all other cases, processing is based on our legitimate interest in the effective handling of inquiries addressed to us (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR) or on your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR), if this was requested; consent can be revoked at any time.

The data you enter in the contact form will remain with us until you ask us to delete it, revoke your consent to storage, or the purpose for storing the data no longer applies (e.g. after we have finished processing your inquiry). Mandatory statutory provisions — particularly retention periods — remain unaffected.

The contact form on this website is technically implemented using the WPForms plugin. Further information on this plugin can be found in the "WPForms" section under item 6 of this privacy policy.

Inquiries by Email, Phone or Fax

If you contact us by email, phone or fax, your inquiry, including all resulting personal data (name, inquiry), will be stored and processed by us for the purpose of handling your request. We do not share this data without your consent.

The data you send to us via contact inquiries will remain with us until you ask us to delete it, revoke your consent to storage, or the purpose for storing the data no longer applies (e.g. after we have finished handling your request). Mandatory statutory provisions — particularly statutory retention periods — remain unaffected.

5. Analysis Tools and Advertising

Matomo

This website uses the open source web analytics service Matomo.

With the help of Matomo, we are able to collect and analyze data on the use of our website by website visitors. This allows us to find out, among other things, when which page views took place and from which region they came. We also collect various log files (e.g. IP address, referrer, browsers and operating systems used) and can measure whether our website visitors carry out certain actions (e.g. clicks, purchases, etc.).

The use of this analysis tool is based on Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. The website operator has a legitimate interest in analyzing user behavior in order to optimize both its website and its advertising. If corresponding consent has been requested, processing is carried out exclusively on the basis of Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR and Section 25(1) TDDDG, insofar as the consent covers the storage of cookies or access to information on the user's end device (e.g. device fingerprinting) within the meaning of the TDDDG. Consent can be revoked at any time.

IP Anonymization

We use IP anonymization when analyzing with Matomo. Your IP address is shortened before analysis, so that it can no longer be clearly attributed to you.

Hosting

We host Matomo exclusively on our own servers, so that all analysis data remains with us and is not shared with third parties.

6. Plugins and Tools

Wordfence

We have integrated Wordfence on this website. The provider is Defiant Inc., 800 5th Ave Ste 4100, Seattle, WA 98104, USA (hereinafter "Wordfence").

Wordfence serves to protect our website from unwanted access or malicious cyberattacks. For this purpose, our website establishes a permanent connection to Wordfence's servers so that Wordfence can compare its databases with the accesses made on our website and block them if necessary.

The use of Wordfence is based on Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. The website operator has a legitimate interest in the most effective possible protection of its website against cyberattacks. If corresponding consent has been requested, processing is carried out exclusively on the basis of Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR and Section 25(1) TDDDG, insofar as the consent covers the storage of cookies or access to information on the user's end device (e.g. device fingerprinting) within the meaning of the TDDDG. Consent can be revoked at any time.

The transfer of data to the USA is based on the standard contractual clauses of the EU Commission. Details can be found here: https://www.wordfence.com/help/general-data-protection- regulation/.

Data Processing Agreement

WPForms

We have integrated the contact form plugin WPForms on this website. The provider is WPForms LLC, 5900 Balcones Drive STE 100, Austin, TX 78731, USA (hereinafter "WPForms").

WPForms is used exclusively for the technical provision and management of our contact form. The data you enter in the contact form is stored locally on our own server in the WordPress database and is not transmitted to WPForms or its servers in the USA, provided no additional cloud features (e.g. WPForms add-ons with external data processing) are activated.

The processing of data submitted via the form is based on the legal grounds stated in the "Contact Form" section of this privacy policy.

Polylang

This website uses the Polylang plugin to provide content in German and English. The provider is WP SYNTEX, 8 rue Jean Roisin, 59800 Lille, France.

To detect and retain your selected language version, Polylang stores a technically necessary cookie (pll_language) in your browser. No personal data is transmitted to the plugin's provider in this process; processing takes place exclusively on our own server.

The use of this cookie is based on Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. We have a legitimate interest in presenting our content correctly and in the appropriate language.

WP Mail SMTP

We use the WP Mail SMTP plugin to reliably deliver emails sent via this website (e.g. notifications from the contact form) through an external email delivery service, rather than via the server's default mail function. The plugin provider is WPForms LLC (address above).

During the mail delivery process, the data provided in the contact form or otherwise required for delivery (including sender address, subject, and message content) is transmitted to the SMTP delivery service we use.

Note: The specific SMTP delivery service in use had not yet been finalized at the time this privacy policy was drafted. This section must be completed once the service is configured in production — including the provider's name and address, any required data processing agreement, and details of any potential data transfer to third countries.

This use is based on Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. We have a legitimate interest in the reliable delivery of emails.

Source: https://www.e-recht24.de