Privacy Policy

Introduction and Overview

We have written this privacy policy (version 20.06.2024-112819013) to explain to you, in accordance with the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and applicable national laws, which personal data (hereinafter referred to as “data”) we process as data controllers and which data processors (e.g., providers) we commission process, will process in the future, and what lawful options you have. The terms used are to be understood as gender-neutral. In short: We inform you comprehensively about the data we process about you.

Privacy policies usually sound very technical and use legal jargon. This privacy policy, however, aims to describe the most important things as simply and transparently as possible. Where it promotes transparency, technical terms are explained in a reader-friendly manner, links to further information are provided, and graphics are used. We inform you in clear and simple language that we only process personal data within our business activities when there is a corresponding legal basis. This is certainly not possible if one gives very brief, unclear, and legally technical explanations, as is often standard on the internet when it comes to data protection. We hope you find the following explanations interesting and informative and that you may find one or two pieces of information that you did not know yet.

If you still have questions, we would like to ask you to contact the responsible office mentioned below or in the imprint, follow the provided links, and view further information on third-party sites. Our contact details can also be found in the imprint.

Scope of Application

This privacy policy applies to all personal data we process in the company and to all personal data processed by companies commissioned by us (data processors). By personal data, we mean information in the sense of Art. 4 No. 1 GDPR, such as the name, email address, and postal address of a person. The processing of personal data ensures that we can offer and bill our services and products, whether online or offline. The scope of this privacy policy includes:

– All online presences (websites, online shops) that we operate
– Social media appearances and email communication
– Mobile apps for smartphones and other devices

In short: The privacy policy applies to all areas where personal data is processed in the company via the mentioned channels. Should we enter into legal relationships with you outside these channels, we will inform you separately if necessary.

Legal Bases

In the following privacy policy, we provide you with transparent information about the legal principles and regulations, i.e., the legal bases of the General Data Protection Regulation, which allow us to process personal data.

Regarding EU law, we refer to the REGULATION (EU) 2016/679 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 27 April 2016. You can read this EU General Data Protection Regulation online on EUR-Lex, the access to EU law, at https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=celex%3A32016R0679.

We process your data only if at least one of the following conditions applies:

– Consent (Article 6(1)(a) GDPR): You have given us your consent to process data for a specific purpose. An example would be the storage of the data you entered in a contact form.
– Contract (Article 6(1)(b) GDPR): To fulfill a contract or pre-contractual obligations with you, we process your data. For example, if we enter into a purchase contract with you, we need personal information in advance.
– Legal obligation (Article 6(1)(c) GDPR): If we are subject to a legal obligation, we process your data. For example, we are legally obliged to keep invoices for accounting purposes. These usually contain personal data.
– Legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR): In the case of legitimate interests that do not restrict your fundamental rights, we reserve the right to process personal data. For example, we need to process certain data to operate our website securely and economically. This processing is thus a legitimate interest.

Other conditions such as performing tasks in the public interest and exercising public authority, as well as protecting vital interests, generally do not apply to us. If such a legal basis should be applicable, it will be indicated at the relevant point.

In addition to the EU regulation, national laws also apply:

– In Austria, this is the Federal Act on the Protection of Natural Persons with regard to the Processing of Personal Data (Data Protection Act), abbreviated as DSG.
– In Germany, the Federal Data Protection Act, abbreviated as BDSG, applies.

If other regional or national laws apply, we will inform you in the following sections.

Contact Details of the Responsible Party

If you have questions about data protection or the processing of personal data, you can find the contact details of the responsible person or office below:

UNIHA Wasser Technologie GmbH
Oberfeldstraße 8, 4020 Linz, Austria
Email: office@uniha.at
Phone: +43 732 66 38 37
Imprint: www.uniha.at/imprint

Storage Duration

As a general criterion, we store personal data only as long as it is necessary to provide our services and products. This means that we delete personal data as soon as the reason for data processing no longer exists. In some cases, we are legally obliged to retain certain data even after the original purpose has ceased to exist, for example, for accounting purposes.

If you request the deletion of your data or revoke your consent to data processing, the data will be deleted as quickly as possible, provided there is no obligation to retain it.

We will inform you further below about the specific duration of the respective data processing, provided we have further information on this.

Rights According to the General Data Protection Regulation

According to Articles 13 and 14 of the GDPR, we inform you about the following rights to ensure fair and transparent data processing:

– Right to information (Article 15 GDPR): You have the right to know whether we process data about you. If so, you have the right to receive a copy of the data and to know the following information:
– The purpose of the processing
– The categories of data processed
– Who receives the data and if the data is transferred to third countries, how the security can be guaranteed
– How long the data will be stored
– The existence of the right to rectification, erasure, or restriction of processing and the right to object to the processing
– That you can lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority (links to these authorities can be found below)
– The origin of the data, if we did not collect it from you
– Whether profiling is carried out, i.e., whether data is automatically evaluated to create a personal profile of you
– Right to rectification (Article 16 GDPR): You have the right to have the data corrected if you find errors.
– Right to erasure (“Right to be forgotten”) (Article 17 GDPR): You have the right to request the deletion of your data.
– Right to restriction of processing (Article 18 GDPR): You have the right to restrict the processing, meaning that we may only store the data but not use it further.
– Right to data portability (Article 20 GDPR): You have the right to request your data in a common format.
– Right to object (Article 21 GDPR): You have the right to object to the processing of your data, which will result in a change in the processing.
– If the processing of your data is based on Article 6(1)(e) (public interest, exercise of official authority) or Article 6(1)(f) (legitimate interest), you can object to the processing. We will review as quickly as possible whether we can legally comply with this objection.
– If data is used for direct advertising, you can object to this type of data processing at any time. We may no longer use your data for direct marketing thereafter.
– If data is used for profiling, you can object to this type of data processing at any time. We may no longer use your data for profiling thereafter.
– Right not to be subject to automated decision-making (Article 22 GDPR): Under certain circumstances, you have the right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing (e.g., profiling).
– Right to lodge a complaint (Article 77 GDPR): You have the right to complain to a supervisory authority at any time if you believe that the processing of personal data violates the GDPR.

In short: You have rights – do not hesitate to contact the responsible office listed above!

If you believe that the processing of your data violates data protection law or that your data protection rights have otherwise been violated, you can lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority. In Austria, this is the Data Protection Authority, whose website you can find at https://www.dsb.gv.at/. In Germany, each federal state has its own data protection officer. For more information, you can contact the Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (BfDI). The following local data protection authority is responsible for our company:

Austrian Data Protection Authority
Director: Dr. Matthias Schmidl
Address: Barichgasse 40-42, 1030 Vienna
Phone: +43 1 52 152-0
Email: dsb@dsb.gv.at
Website: https://www.dsb.gv.at/

Data Transfer to Third Countries

We transfer or process data only in countries outside the scope of the GDPR (third countries) if you consent to this processing or if there is another legal permission. This is particularly true if the processing is legally required or necessary to fulfill a contractual relationship and, in any case, only to the extent that this is generally permitted. Your consent is the most important reason for us to have data processed in third countries. The processing of personal data in third countries such as the USA, where many software manufacturers offer services and have their server locations, can mean that personal data is processed and stored in unexpected ways.

We explicitly point out that, according to the European Court of Justice, an adequate level of protection for data transfer to the USA currently only exists if a US company processing personal data of EU citizens in the USA is an active participant in the EU-US Data Privacy Framework. More information can be found at: https://commission.europa.eu/document/fa09cbad-dd7d-4684-ae60-be03fcb0fddf_en

Data processing by US services that are not active participants in the EU-US Data Privacy Framework can mean that data may not be processed and stored anonymously. Furthermore, US government authorities may access certain data. Additionally, collected data may be linked with data from other services of the same provider if you have a corresponding user account. Where possible, we try to use server locations within the EU if offered. We will inform you at the appropriate points in this privacy policy if data transfer to third countries occurs.

Data Processing Security

To protect personal data, we have implemented both technical and organizational measures. Where possible, we encrypt or pseudonymize personal data. This makes it as difficult as possible for third parties to deduce personal information from our data within our capabilities.

Art. 25 GDPR speaks of “data protection by design and by default” and means that one always considers security in both software (e.g., forms) and hardware (e.g., access to the server room) and implements appropriate measures. We will go into specific measures below if necessary.

TLS Encryption with https

TLS, encryption, and https sound very technical and they are. We use HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) to transfer data securely on the Internet. This means that the entire transmission of all data from your browser to our web server is secured – no one can “listen in”.

Thus, we have introduced an additional security layer and comply with data protection through technology design (Article 25(1) GDPR). By using TLS (Transport Layer Security), an encryption protocol for secure data transmission on the Internet, we can ensure the protection of confidential data. You can recognize the use of this data transmission security by the small lock symbol in the top left corner of the browser, to the left of the internet address (e.g., examplepage.de), and the use of the schema https (instead of http) as part of our internet address. If you want to know more about encryption, we recommend searching for “Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure wiki” on Google to get good links to further information.

Communication

Communication Summary

Affected parties: All who communicate with us via phone, email, or online form
Processed data: e.g., phone number, name, email address, entered form data. More details can be found with each contact method used
Purpose: Handling communication with customers, business partners, etc.
Storage duration: Duration of the business case and legal requirements
Legal bases: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR (contract), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests)

When you contact us and communicate via phone, email, or online form, personal data may be processed.

The data is processed to handle and address your inquiry and the related business transaction. The data is stored for as long as the business case lasts or as required by law.

Affected Parties

The aforementioned processes affect all those who seek to contact us through the communication channels we provide.

Phone

If you call us, call data is pseudonymized and stored on the respective device and the telecommunications provider used. Additionally, data such as name and phone number may be sent via email and stored to respond to the inquiry. The data is deleted once the business case is concluded and legal regulations permit.

Email

When you communicate with us via email, data may be stored on the respective device (computer, laptop, smartphone, etc.) and data may be stored on the email server. The data is deleted once the business case is concluded and legal regulations permit.

Online Forms

When you communicate with us via online form, data is stored on our web server and may be forwarded to an email address of ours. The data is deleted once the business case is concluded and legal regulations permit.

Legal Bases

The processing of data is based on the following legal grounds:

Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent): You give us consent to store and use your data for business-related purposes;
Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR (contract): It is necessary to fulfill a contract with you or a data processor such as the telephone provider, or we need to process the data for pre-contractual activities, such as preparing an offer;
Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests): We want to handle customer inquiries and business communication professionally. Certain technical facilities such as email programs, Exchange servers, and mobile operators are necessary to operate communication efficiently.

Data Processing Agreement (DPA)

In this section, we explain what a data processing agreement is and why it is needed. Since the term “data processing agreement” is quite a mouthful, we will often use the acronym DPA in the text. Like most companies, we do not work alone but also use services from other companies or individuals. By involving various companies or service providers, we may transfer personal data for processing. These partners then act as data processors with whom we conclude a contract, the so-called data processing agreement (DPA). Most importantly for you to know is that the processing of your personal data is done solely according to our instructions and must be regulated by the DPA.

Who are Data Processors?

As a company and website owner, we are responsible for all the data we process from you. In addition to the controllers, there may also be data processors. This includes any company or person processing personal data on our behalf. Specifically, according to the GDPR definition: any natural or legal person, public authority, agency, or other body processing personal data on our behalf is considered a data processor. Therefore, data processors can include service providers such as hosting or cloud providers, payment or newsletter providers, or large companies like Google or Microsoft.

To better understand the terminology, here is an overview of the three roles in the GDPR:

Data subject (you as a customer or interested party)
Controller (us as the company and client)
Processor (service providers such as web hosts or cloud providers)

Content of a Data Processing Agreement

As mentioned above, we have concluded a DPA with our partners who act as data processors. It primarily states that the data processor processes the data to be processed exclusively according to the GDPR. The contract must be concluded in writing, but in this context, an electronic conclusion is also considered “in writing.” The processing of personal data only takes place based on the contract. The contract must include:

Binding to us as the controller
Duties and rights of the controller
Categories of data subjects
Nature of personal data
Type and purpose of data processing
Subject matter and duration of data processing
Place of data processing

The contract also includes all the duties of the data processor. The most important duties are:

Ensuring data security measures
Implementing possible technical and organizational measures to protect the rights of the data subject
Keeping a data processing record
Cooperating with the data protection supervisory authority upon request
Conducting a risk analysis regarding the received personal data
Sub-processors may only be commissioned with the written consent of the controller

To see what a DPA looks like, you can view a sample contract at https://www.wko.at/service/wirtschaftsrecht-gewerberecht/eu-dsgvo-mustervertrag-auftragsverarbeitung.html.

Cookies

Cookies Summary

Affected parties: Visitors to the website
Purpose: Depending on the respective cookie. More details can be found below or from the software manufacturer that sets the cookie
Processed data: Depending on the respective cookie. More details can be found below or from the software manufacturer that sets the cookie
Storage duration: Depending on the respective cookie, can vary from hours to years
Legal bases: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests)

What are Cookies?

Our website uses HTTP cookies to store user-specific data. The following explains what cookies are and why they are used, so you can better understand the following privacy policy.

Whenever you surf 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.

One thing is undeniable: cookies are really useful little helpers. Almost all websites use cookies. More precisely, they are HTTP cookies, as there are also other types of cookies for different applications. HTTP cookies are small files stored on your computer by our website. These cookie files are automatically placed in the cookie folder, essentially the “brain” of your browser. A cookie consists of a name and a value. One or more attributes must also be specified when defining a cookie.

Cookies store certain user data from you, such as language or personal page settings. When you visit our site again, your browser sends the “user-related” information back to our site. Thanks to the cookies, our website knows who you are and offers you the settings you are accustomed 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 both first-party cookies and third-party cookies. First-party cookies are created directly by our site, while third-party cookies are created by partner websites (e.g., Google Analytics). Each cookie is evaluated individually as each cookie stores different data. The expiration time of a cookie also varies, ranging 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.

For example, cookie data can look like this:

Name: _ga
Value: GA1.2.1326744211.152112819013-9
Purpose: Differentiation of website visitors
Expiration date: After 2 years

Minimum Browser Support

A browser should 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

Types of Cookies

The specific cookies we use depend on the services employed and are clarified in the following sections of the privacy policy. Here, we want to briefly discuss the different types of HTTP cookies.

There are 4 types of cookies:

Essential Cookies These cookies are necessary to ensure basic functions of the website. For example, these cookies are needed when a user adds a product to the cart, continues browsing on other pages, and only goes to the checkout later. These cookies prevent the cart from being cleared, even if the user closes their browser window.
Functional Cookies These cookies collect information about user behavior and whether the user receives any error messages. They also measure the loading time and behavior of the website under different browsers.
Targeted Cookies These cookies provide a better user experience. For example, they store entered locations, font sizes, or form data.
Advertising Cookies Also known as targeting cookies, these serve to deliver personalized advertising to the user. This can be very useful but also quite annoying.

Usually, when you visit a website for the first time, you are asked which types of cookies you want to allow. This decision is also stored in a cookie.

If you want to know more about cookies and do not shy away from technical documentation, we recommend https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc6265, the Request for Comments of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) named “HTTP State Management Mechanism.”

Purpose of Processing through Cookies

The purpose ultimately depends on the respective cookie. More details can be found below or from the software manufacturer that sets the cookie.

What Data is Processed?

Cookies are small helpers for many different tasks. Unfortunately, it is not possible to generalize which data is stored in cookies, but we will inform you about the processed or stored data within the scope of the following privacy policy.

Storage Duration of Cookies

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

You also have control over the storage duration. You can manually delete all cookies at any time via your browser (see below “Right to Object”). Furthermore, cookies based on consent will be deleted at the latest after you revoke your consent, with the legality of storage up to that point remaining unaffected.

Right to Object – How Can I Delete Cookies?

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

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

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 placed on your computer
Internet Explorer: Delete and manage cookies
Microsoft Edge: Delete and manage cookies

If you generally do not want to have cookies, you can set your browser to always inform you when a cookie is about to be set. This way, you can decide for each cookie whether to allow it or not. The procedure varies depending on the browser. It is best to search for instructions on Google with the term “delete cookies Chrome” or “disable cookies Chrome” if you are using a Chrome browser.

Legal Basis

Since 2009, there have been the so-called “cookie guidelines.” These state that the storage of cookies requires your consent (Article 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR). However, there are still very different reactions to these guidelines within EU countries. In Austria, this guideline was implemented in § 165 para. 3 of the Telecommunications Act (2021). In Germany, the cookie guidelines were not implemented as national law. Instead, this guideline was largely implemented in § 15 para. 3 of the Telemedia Act (TMG), which has been replaced by the Digital Services Act (DDG) since May 2024.

For absolutely necessary cookies, there are legitimate interests (Article 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR), even if there is no consent. These are mostly 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.

As far as non-essential cookies are used, this is only done with your consent. The legal basis is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR.

In the following sections, you will be informed more precisely about the use of cookies if the software used employs cookies.

Web Analytics Introduction

Summary of Web Analytics Privacy Policy

👥 Data subjects: Website visitors
🤝 Purpose: Analysis of visitor data to optimize the website offering
📓 Processed data: Access statistics including location data, device information, access duration and time, navigation behavior, click behavior, and IP addresses. For more details, see the specific web analytics tool used.
📅 Storage duration: Depends on the web analytics tool used
⚖️ Legal bases: Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR (consent), Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR (legitimate interests)

What is Web Analytics?

We use software on our website to analyze visitor behavior – commonly referred to as web analytics. These tools collect data that is stored, managed, and processed by the respective analytics provider (also known as tracking tool). The collected data helps generate insights into user behavior and provides us, the website operator, with reports. Many tools also offer testing options, such as A/B testing to see which version of a page performs better. For this, user profiles may be created, and cookies used for data storage.

Why do we use Web Analytics?

Our website aims to offer the best service in our field. To achieve this, we analyze visitor behavior to continuously improve the user experience and tailor our content to user interests and preferences.

What data is processed?

Depending on the analytics tool used, data may include viewed content, clicked buttons/links, time of page visits, browser type, device type, operating system, and potentially location data. IP addresses are also stored but are usually pseudonymized. No directly identifiable personal data (e.g., name, email) is stored.

Duration of Data Processing

We process personal data only as long as necessary to provide our services. Legal obligations (e.g., accounting) may extend the duration.

Right to Object

You can withdraw your consent to cookie use at any time via our cookie management tool or browser settings.

Legal Basis

We use analytics tools based on your consent via cookie popup (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR). We also have a legitimate interest in improving our services (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR), but only use tools with your consent.

For more on cookies, see our general cookie policy. For more details on each tool, see the sections below.

Web Analytics Introduction

Web Analytics Privacy Policy Summary

👥 Data subjects: Visitors of the website
🤝 Purpose: Evaluation of visitor information to optimize the web offering
📓 Processed data: Access statistics, which include data such as locations of access, device data, access duration and time, navigation behavior, click behavior, and IP addresses. More details can be found with the respective Web Analytics tool used.
📅 Storage duration: depends on the Web Analytics tool used
⚖️ Legal bases: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests)

What is Web Analytics?

We use software on our website to evaluate the behavior of website visitors, called Web Analytics or Web Analysis for short. In doing so, data is collected which the respective Analytics tool provider (also called tracking tool) stores, manages, and processes. With the help of the data, analyses about user behavior on our website are created and made available to us as website operators. Additionally, most tools offer various testing options. For example, we can test which offers or content are best received by our visitors. For this, we show you two different offers for a limited period. After the test (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 also be created, and the data stored in cookies.

Why do we conduct Web Analytics?

With our website, we have a clear goal in mind: we want to provide the best web offering on the market for our industry. To achieve this goal, we want to offer the best and most interesting content and also ensure that you feel completely comfortable on our website. With the help of web analytics tools, we can closely examine the behavior of our website visitors and then improve our web offering accordingly for you and us. For example, we can recognize how old our visitors are on average, where they come from, when our website is most visited, or which content or products are particularly popular. All this information helps us to optimize the website and thus best adapt it to your needs, interests, and wishes.

What data is processed?

What data is stored exactly depends, of course, on the analysis tools used. But as a rule, it is stored, for example, 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 agreed that location data may also be collected, these can 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 usually stored in a pseudonymized form (i.e., in an unrecognizable and shortened form). For the purpose of tests, web analysis, and web optimization, no direct data such as your name, your age, your address, or your email address is stored. All this data, if collected, is stored pseudonymized. Thus, you cannot be identified as a person.

The following example schematically shows how Google Analytics works as an example of client-based web tracking with JavaScript code.

Schematic data flow in Google Analytics

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

Duration of data processing

We inform you about the duration of data processing further below, if we have more information on this. In general, we process personal data only as long as it is absolutely necessary for the provision of our services and products. If it is legally required, such as in the case of accounting, this storage duration can also be exceeded.

Right to object

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

Legal basis

The use of Web Analytics requires your consent, which we obtained via our cookie popup. This consent constitutes the legal basis for the processing of personal data according to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR, as can occur when using Web Analytics tools.

In addition to consent, we also have a legitimate interest in analyzing the behavior of website visitors and thus technically and economically improving our offering. With the help of Web Analytics, we recognize website errors, can identify attacks, and improve profitability. The legal basis for this is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests). Nevertheless, we only use the tools if you have given your consent.

Since cookies are used with Web Analytics tools, we also recommend reading our general privacy policy on cookies. To find out which data about you is stored and processed exactly, you should read the privacy policies of the respective tools.

Web Hosting Introduction

Web Hosting Summary

Affected parties: Visitors to the website
Purpose: Professional hosting of the website and ensuring the operation
Processed data: IP address, time of website visit, browser used, and other data. More details can be found below or from the respective web hosting provider
Storage duration: Depending on the provider, but generally 2 weeks
Legal bases: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests)

What is Web Hosting?

When you visit websites today, certain information – including personal data – is automatically created and stored, as is the case on this website. This data should be processed as sparingly as possible and only with justification. By website, we mean the entirety of all web pages on a domain, i.e., everything from the homepage to the very last subpage (like this one). By domain, we mean, for example, example.com or sampledomain.com.

If you want to view a website on a computer, tablet, or smartphone, you use a program called a web browser. You probably know some web browsers by name: Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, and Apple Safari. We briefly call them browsers or web browsers.

To display the website, the browser must connect to another computer where the website’s code is stored: the web server. Operating a web server is a complicated and laborious task, which is usually taken over by professional providers, the hosts. They offer web hosting and ensure the reliable and error-free storage of website data. A lot of technical terms, but please bear with us; it gets better!

When the browser on your computer (desktop, laptop, tablet, or smartphone) connects and during the data transfer to and from the web server, personal data may be processed. On the one hand, your computer stores data, and on the other hand, the web server must store data for some time to ensure proper operation.

Why Do We Process Personal Data?

The purposes of data processing are:

Professional hosting of the website and ensuring operational security
Maintaining operational and IT security
Anonymous evaluation of access behavior to improve our offer and, if necessary, for law enforcement or claims enforcement

What Data is Processed?

Even while you are visiting our website, our web server, which is the computer where this website is stored, typically automatically saves data such as:

The complete internet address (URL) of the accessed webpage
Browser and browser version (e.g., Chrome 87)
The operating system used (e.g., Windows 10)
The address (URL) of the previously visited page (referrer URL) (e.g., https://www.examplesource.com/whereicamefrom/)
The hostname and IP address of the device from which access is made (e.g., COMPUTERNAME and 194.23.43.121)
Date and time

This data is stored in files known as web server log files.

How Long is Data Stored?

The data mentioned above is usually stored for two weeks and then automatically deleted. We do not share this data, but we cannot rule out that these data might be accessed by authorities in the event of unlawful behavior.

In short: Your visit is logged by our provider (the company that runs our website on special computers (servers)), but we do not share your data without consent!

Legal Basis

The legality of processing personal data in the context of web hosting is derived from Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests), as the use of professional hosting by a provider is necessary to securely and user-friendly present the company on the internet and, if necessary, pursue attacks and claims arising from it.

Usually, there is a data processing agreement (DPA) between us and the hosting provider in accordance with Art. 28 GDPR, ensuring compliance with data protection and guaranteeing data security.

World4You Privacy Policy

World4You Privacy Policy Summary

Affected parties: Visitors to the website
Purpose: Website storage and accessibility on the internet
Processed data: IP address, but primarily technical data
Storage duration: Log files are deleted after 14 days
Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests)

What is World4You?

You may have heard of the web hosting provider World4You, especially popular in Austria. The service provider is the Austrian company World4You Internet Services GmbH, Hafenstraße 35, 4020 Linz, Austria.

Since 1998, the company from the capital of Upper Austria has been active in the field of web hosting. World4You operates several of its own data centers in Austria and relies on in-house technology, ensuring reliable operation and fast server connection. As mentioned in our web hosting introduction, data from you may also be transferred to and processed on World4You’s servers. Primarily, this involves technical data such as browser version or operating system, but personal data such as your IP address may also be processed.

Why Do We Use World4You?

We, like you, value reliability, speed, and security in a website. Even if you visit our site in the middle of the night or we have many visitors, it must function flawlessly. Subpages should load quickly, and in case of problems, there should be a good backup system to secure our content and protect all data. To ensure this, we need a reliable web host. We believe we have found a partner in World4You that meets our requirements. World4You has its own data centers, providing a fixed bandwidth that makes the website quickly accessible. We also appreciate the personal support from the company.

What Data Does World4You Process?

World4You may process personal data from you. While visiting our website, our web server automatically stores data. This includes personal data such as your IP address, but primarily technical data like the internet address of the accessed website, device information such as browser version, operating system, and the URL of the previously visited website. Additionally, the time of your visit to our website and, if applicable, location data are recorded. The IP address can be used to enhance the website’s security, identify potential errors, and conduct anonymous statistical analyses. Cookies may also be used for data storage.

How Long and Where is the Data Stored?

The data is stored on World4You’s own servers. The exact retention period of the data depends heavily on the type of data and individual configurations. Generally, World4You stores the data as long as necessary to fulfill their obligations. Data collected solely for providing the website is deleted after the end of the session. Data stored in so-called log files is deleted after 14 days at the latest. However, data may be stored longer to serve as evidence in potential legal disputes.

How Can I Delete My Data or Prevent Data Storage?

You have the right to access, correct, delete, and restrict the processing of your personal data at any time. You can also revoke your consent to data processing at any time.

If you do not want these cookies to be set and data to be stored, you can prevent this in your browser settings. In your browser, you can manage, disable, or delete cookies. Depending on your browser, this works differently.

In the “Cookies” section, you will find the corresponding links to the instructions for the most popular browsers.

Legal Basis

We have a legitimate interest in using World4You to offer our online service. The corresponding legal basis is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests).

You can, of course, use this support if you have specific questions about data protection at World4You. The privacy policy of the website, which you can find at https://www.world4you.com/en/company/privacy-policy.html, is also recommended. The FAQs at https://www.world4you.com/faq/en/gdpr.html have their own GDPR section, where you can find many useful information.

Data Processing Agreement (DPA) with World4You

In accordance with Article 28 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), we have concluded a data processing agreement (DPA) with World4You (World4You Internet Services GmbH, Hafenstraße 35, 4020 Linz, Austria). What a DPA is and what it must contain can be found in our general section “Data Processing Agreement (DPA).”

This contract is legally required because World4You processes personal data on our behalf. It clarifies that World4You may only process data they receive from us according to our instructions and must comply with the GDPR. The link to the DPA can be found at https://www.world4you.com/faq/en/gdpr/faq.does-world4you-provide-a-data-processing-agreement.html.

Website Builder Systems Introduction

Website Builder Systems Privacy Policy Summary

Affected parties: Visitors to the website
Purpose: Optimization of our service performance
Processed data: Data such as technical usage information like browser activity, clickstream activities, session heatmaps, contact data, IP address, or your geographical location. More details can be found below in this privacy policy and in the provider’s privacy policy.
Storage duration: Depends on the provider
Legal bases: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent)

What are Website Builder Systems?

We use a website builder system for our website. Builder systems are special forms of content management systems (CMS). With a builder system, website operators can easily create a website without programming knowledge. In many cases, web hosts also offer builder systems. By using a builder system, personal data may also be collected, stored, and processed. In this privacy text, we provide you with general information about data processing through builder systems. More detailed information can be found in the provider’s privacy policy.

Why Do We Use Website Builder Systems for Our Website?

The biggest advantage of a builder system is its ease of use. We want to offer you a clear, simple, and well-structured website that we can manage and maintain ourselves without external support. A builder system now offers many helpful functions that we can use without programming knowledge. This allows us to design our web presence according to our wishes and offer you an informative and pleasant experience on our website.

What Data is Stored by a Builder System?

The specific data stored depends on the builder system used. Each provider processes and collects different data from website visitors. Typically, technical usage information such as the operating system, browser, screen resolution, language and keyboard settings, hosting provider, and the date of your website visit are collected. Tracking data (e.g., browser activity, clickstream activities, session heatmaps, etc.) may also be processed. Additionally, personal data may be collected and stored, usually including contact details such as email address, phone number (if provided), IP address, and geographical location data. You can find more information about the data stored in the provider’s privacy policy.

How Long and Where is the Data Stored?

We will inform you further below about the duration of data processing if we have more information on this. Generally, we process personal data only as long as it is absolutely necessary for providing our services and products. It is possible that the provider stores your data according to its own regulations, over which we have no control.

Right to Object

You always have the right to access, correct, and delete your personal data. If you have any questions, you can also contact the responsible parties of the website builder system at any time. Contact details can be found either in our privacy policy or on the provider’s website.

Cookies used by the provider for its functions can be managed, disabled, or deleted in your browser. Depending on your browser, this works differently. Please note that not all functions may work as usual if cookies are disabled or deleted.

Legal Basis

We have a legitimate interest in using a website builder system to optimize our online service and present it to you efficiently and user-friendly. The corresponding legal basis is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests). We only use the builder system to the extent that you have given your consent.

As far as the processing of data for the operation of the website is not absolutely necessary, the data will only be processed based on your consent. This particularly concerns tracking activities. The legal basis is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR.

With this privacy policy, we have provided you with the most important general information about data processing. If you want to know more, you can find further information – if available – in the following section or in the provider’s privacy policy.

WordPress.com Privacy Policy

WordPress.com Privacy Policy Summary

Affected parties: Visitors to the website
Purpose: Optimization of our service performance
Processed data: Data such as technical usage information like browser activity, clickstream activities, session heatmaps, contact data, IP address, or your geographical location. More details can be found further below in this privacy policy.
Storage duration: It primarily depends on the type of stored data and the specific settings.
Legal bases: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests)

What is WordPress?

We use the well-known content management system WordPress.com for our website. The service provider is the American company Automattic Inc., 60 29th Street #343, San Francisco, CA 94110, USA.

Founded in 2003, the company quickly developed into one of the most well-known content management systems (CMS) worldwide. A CMS is software that helps us design our website and present content beautifully and orderly. Content can include text, audio, and video. By using WordPress, personal data may also be collected, stored, and processed. Typically, technical data such as the operating system, browser, screen resolution, or hosting provider is stored. However, personal data such as IP address, geographical data, or contact data may also be processed.

Why Do We Use WordPress on Our Website?

We have many strengths, but programming is not one of our core competencies.

Nevertheless, we want to have a powerful and attractive website that we can manage and maintain ourselves. With a website builder system or a content management system like WordPress, this is possible. With WordPress, we do not need to be programming experts to offer you a beautiful website. Thanks to WordPress, we can quickly and easily manage our website without technical knowledge. If technical problems arise or we have special requests for our website, we still have our specialists who are proficient in HTML, PHP, CSS, and more.

The ease of use and comprehensive functions of WordPress allow us to design our web presence according to our wishes and provide you with a good user experience.

What Data is Processed by WordPress?

Non-personal data includes technical usage information such as browser activity, clickstream activities, session heatmaps, and data about your computer, operating system, browser, screen resolution, language and keyboard settings, internet provider, and the date of the page visit.

Additionally, personal data is collected. This primarily includes contact data (email address or phone number if you provide it), IP address, or your geographical location.

WordPress can also use cookies to collect data. These often include data about your behavior on our website. For example, it can be recorded which subpages you particularly like to view, how long you stay on individual pages, when you leave a page (bounce rate), or which settings (e.g., language selection) you have made. Based on this data, WordPress can also better tailor its marketing measures to your interests and user behavior. When you visit our website again, our website will be displayed as you previously set it.

WordPress can also use technologies such as pixel tags (web beacons) to clearly identify you as a user and possibly offer interest-based advertising.

How Long and Where is the Data Stored?

The storage duration of data depends on various factors. It primarily depends on the type of stored data and the specific settings of the website. Generally, data at WordPress is deleted when it is no longer needed for their purposes. There are, of course, exceptions, especially when legal obligations require longer data retention. Web server logs that contain your IP address and technical data are deleted by WordPress or Automattic after 30 days. During this period, Automattic uses the data to analyze traffic on its own websites (e.g., all WordPress sites) and fix potential problems. Deleted content on WordPress websites is also kept in the trash for 30 days to allow for restoration; thereafter, they may remain in backups and caches until they are deleted. The data is stored on Automattic’s servers in the USA.

How Can I Delete My Data or Prevent Data Storage?

You have the right and the possibility to access your personal data at any time and to object to its use and processing. You can also file a complaint with a governmental supervisory authority at any time.

In your browser, you can also manage, delete, or disable cookies individually. Please note that deactivated or deleted cookies may have negative impacts on the functions of our WordPress site. Depending on your browser, managing cookies works differently. In the “Cookies” section, you will find the corresponding links to the instructions for the most popular browsers.

Legal Basis

If you have consented to the use of WordPress, the legal basis for the corresponding data processing is this consent. According to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), this consent serves as the legal basis for processing personal data as it occurs when collected by WordPress.

We also have a legitimate interest in using WordPress to optimize our online service and present it attractively. The corresponding legal basis is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests). We only use WordPress to the extent that you have given your consent.

WordPress or Automattic processes data from you, among other things, in the USA. Automattic is an active participant in the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, which regulates the correct and secure transfer of personal data from EU citizens to the USA. More information can be found at https://commission.europa.eu/document/fa09cbad-dd7d-4684-ae60-be03fcb0fddf_en.

Automattic also uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46 para. 2 and 3 GDPR). Standard contractual clauses (SCC) are model contracts provided by the EU Commission to ensure that your data also complies with European data protection standards when transferred to third countries (e.g., the USA) and stored there. Through the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and standard contractual clauses, Automattic commits to complying with European data protection standards 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 here: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=en

More details on the privacy policy and what data is processed by WordPress can be found at https://automattic.com/privacy/.

Data Processing Agreement (DPA) with WordPress.com

In accordance with Article 28 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), we have concluded a data processing agreement (DPA) with WordPress.com. What a DPA is and what it must contain can be found in our general section “Data Processing Agreement (DPA).”

This contract is legally required because WordPress.com processes personal data on our behalf. It clarifies that WordPress.com may only process data they receive from us according to our instructions and must comply with the GDPR. The link to the DPA can be found at https://wordpress.com/support/data-processing-agreements/.

Cookie Consent Management Platform Introduction

Cookie Consent Management Platform Summary

Affected parties: Website visitors
Purpose: Obtaining and managing consent for specific cookies and thus the use of certain tools
Processed data: Data for managing the set cookie settings such as IP address, time of consent, type of consent, individual consents. More details can be found with the respective tool used.
Storage duration: Depends on the tool used; you should expect durations of several years
Legal bases: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests)

What is a Cookie Consent Management Platform?

We use a consent management platform (CMP) software on our website that facilitates the correct and secure handling of scripts and cookies used for us and you. The software automatically creates a cookie popup, scans and controls all scripts and cookies, provides the legally required cookie consent for you, and helps us and you keep track of all cookies. Most cookie consent management tools identify and categorize all existing cookies. As a website visitor, you then decide which scripts and cookies you want to allow or disallow.

Why Do We Use a Cookie Management Tool?

Our goal is to provide you with the best possible transparency in terms of data protection. Additionally, we are also legally required to do so. We want to inform you about all tools and cookies that can store and process data from you as accurately as possible. It is also your right to decide which cookies you accept and which you do not. To grant you this right, we first need to know exactly which cookies have landed on our website. Thanks to a cookie management tool that regularly scans the website for all existing cookies, we are aware of all cookies and can provide you with information in compliance with GDPR. Through the consent system, you can then accept or reject cookies.

What Data is Processed?

Within our cookie management tool, you can manage each cookie yourself and have complete control over the storage and processing of your data. Your consent declaration is stored so that we do not have to ask for your consent every time you visit our website, and we can prove your consent if legally required. This is stored either in an opt-in cookie or on a server. The storage duration of your cookie consent varies depending on the provider of the cookie management tool. Typically, this data (e.g., pseudonymous user ID, time of consent, details on cookie categories or tools, browser, device information) is stored for up to two years.

Duration of Data Processing

We will inform you further below about the duration of data processing if we have more information on this. Generally, we process personal data only as long as it is absolutely necessary for providing our services and products. Data stored in cookies is stored for different lengths of time. Some cookies are deleted immediately after leaving the website, while others can be stored in your browser for several years. The exact duration of data processing depends on the tool used; you should generally expect a storage period of several years. The provider’s privacy policies usually contain detailed information about the duration of data processing.

Right to Object

You also have the right and the possibility to revoke your consent to the use of cookies at any time. This can be done either through our cookie management tool or other opt-out functions. For example, you can prevent data collection through cookies by managing, disabling, or deleting cookies in your browser.

Information about specific cookie management tools, if available, can be found in the following sections.

Legal Basis

If you agree to the use of cookies, personal data will be processed and stored through these cookies. If we may use cookies based on your consent (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR), this consent is also the legal basis for the use of cookies and the processing of your data. To manage cookie consent and enable your consent, a cookie consent management platform software is used. The use of this software enables us to operate the website efficiently and legally compliant, which is a legitimate interest (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR).

Security & Anti-Spam

Security & Anti-Spam Privacy Policy Summary

Affected parties: Visitors to the website
Purpose: Cybersecurity
Processed data: Data such as your IP address, name, or technical data such as browser version
Storage duration: Data is usually stored until it is no longer needed to fulfill the service
Legal bases: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests)

What is Security & Anti-Spam Software?

Security & Anti-Spam software protects you and us from various spam or phishing emails and other possible cyber-attacks. Spam refers to unsolicited advertising emails sent in bulk, which are also called junk mail and can cause costs. Phishing emails are messages aimed at building trust through fake messages or websites to gain access to personal data. Anti-spam software typically protects against unwanted spam messages or malicious emails that could, for example, introduce viruses into our system. We also use general firewall and security systems to protect our computers from unwanted network attacks.

Why Do We Use Security & Anti-Spam Software?

We place great emphasis on security on our website. After all, it is not only about our security but also about your safety. Unfortunately, cyber threats are now commonplace in the world of IT and the internet. Often, hackers try to steal personal data from an IT system through a cyberattack. Therefore, a good defense system is absolutely necessary. A security system monitors all incoming and outgoing connections to our network or computer. To achieve even greater protection against cyberattacks, we use additional external security services alongside the standardized security systems on our computer. This better prevents unauthorized data traffic and protects us from cybercrime.

What Data is Processed by Security & Anti-Spam Software?

The exact data collected and stored depends on the specific service used. However, we always strive to use programs that collect or store data sparingly and only as necessary to fulfill the offered service. Generally, the service can store data such as name, address, IP address, email address, and technical data such as browser type or browser version. Performance and log data may also be collected to detect potential incoming threats early. These data are processed in the context of the services and in compliance with applicable laws. This includes compliance with the GDPR for US providers through standard contractual clauses. These security services sometimes work with third parties who store and/or process data according to instructions and in accordance with data protection policies and other security measures. Data storage is usually carried out using cookies.

Duration of Data Processing

We will inform you further below about the duration of data processing if we have more information on this. For example, security programs store data until you or we revoke the data storage. Generally, personal data is stored only as long as necessary for providing the services. In many cases, we unfortunately lack precise information from the providers about the length of storage.

Right to Object

You also have the right and the possibility to revoke your consent to the use of cookies or third-party security software at any time. This can be done either through our cookie management tool or other opt-out functions. For example, you can prevent data collection through cookies by managing, disabling, or deleting cookies in your browser.

Since cookies may be used for such security services, we recommend reading our general privacy policy on cookies. To find out which data is stored and processed, you should read the privacy policies of the respective tools.

Legal Basis

We primarily use security services based on our legitimate interest (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR) in a good security system against various cyberattacks.

Certain processing activities, particularly the use of cookies and security functions, require your consent. If you have consented to the processing and storage of your data through embedded security services, this consent serves as the legal basis for data processing (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR). Most of the services we use set cookies in your browser to store data. Therefore, we recommend reading our privacy text on cookies and the privacy policy or cookie guidelines of the respective service provider.

Information about specific tools can be found, if available, in the following sections.

Web Design Introduction

Web Design Privacy Policy Summary

Affected parties: Visitors to the website
Purpose: Improvement of the user experience
Processed data: The data processed strongly depends on the services used. Usually, it includes IP address, technical data, language settings, browser version, screen resolution, and browser name. More details can be found with the respective web design tools used.
Storage duration: Depends on the tools used
Legal bases: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests)

What is Web Design?

We use various tools on our website that serve our web design. Web design is not just about making our website look good but also about functionality and performance. However, the right look is one of the main goals of professional web design. Web design is a subset of media design and deals with the visual, structural, and functional design of a website. The goal is to improve your experience on our website with the help of web design. In web design jargon, this is referred to as user experience (UX) and usability. User experience encompasses all the impressions and experiences a visitor has on a website. Usability focuses on the user-friendliness of a website, emphasizing clear structure and ease of finding what you are looking for. To provide you with the best possible experience on our website, we also use so-called web design tools from third-party providers. The category “web design” in this privacy policy includes all services that improve our website’s design. These can include fonts, various plugins, or other integrated web design functions.

Why Do We Use Web Design Tools?

How you perceive information on a website heavily depends on the structure, functionality, and visual appearance of the website. Therefore, good and professional web design has become increasingly important to us. We constantly work on improving our website and see this as an extended service for you as a website visitor. Additionally, a well-functioning and attractive website also has economic benefits for us. After all, you will only visit us and use our services if you feel completely comfortable.

What Data is Processed by Web Design Tools?

When you visit our website, web design elements embedded in our pages can also process data. The specific data processed depends heavily on the tools used. Below, you will find details on the tools we use for our website. We recommend reading the privacy policies of the tools used for more information on data processing. Typically, you will find information about the data processed, whether cookies are used, and how long the data is stored. For example, fonts like Google Fonts automatically transmit information such as language settings, IP address, browser version, screen resolution, and browser name to Google’s servers.

Duration of Data Processing

The duration of data processing is very individual and depends on the web design elements used. If cookies are used, the retention period can be as short as one minute or several years. Please inform yourself accordingly. We recommend reading our general text section on cookies and the privacy policies of the tools used. There, you will typically find information on the exact cookies used and the information stored. Google Font files, for example, are stored for one year to improve the website’s loading time. Generally, data is only kept as long as necessary to provide the service. In the case of legal requirements, data may be stored longer.

Right to Object

You also have the right and the possibility to revoke your consent to the use of cookies or third-party providers at any time. This can be done either through our cookie management tool or other opt-out functions. You can also prevent data collection through cookies by managing, disabling, or deleting cookies in your browser. However, please note that not all functions may work as usual under web design elements (usually fonts). This is the case when data is automatically collected and transmitted to a third party (e.g., Google) upon page access. Please contact the support of the respective provider in such cases. In the case of Google, you can reach support at https://support.google.com/?hl=en.

Legal Basis

If you have consented to the use of web design tools, the legal basis for the corresponding data processing is this consent. According to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), this consent serves as the legal basis for processing personal data, as it occurs when collected by web design tools. We also have a legitimate interest in improving the web design on our website. After all, we can only provide you with a beautiful and professional online offer. The corresponding legal basis is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests). We only use web design tools to the extent that you have given your consent. We want to emphasize this once again.

Information about specific web design tools can be found, if available, in the following sections.

Adobe Fonts Privacy Policy

We use Adobe Fonts, a web font hosting service, on our website. The service provider is the American company Adobe Inc. For the European region, the responsible company is Adobe Systems Software Ireland Companies, 4-6 Riverwalk, Citywest Business Campus, Dublin 24, Ireland.

Adobe processes data from you, among other things, in the USA. Adobe is an active participant in the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, which regulates the correct and secure transfer of personal data from EU citizens to the USA. More information can be found at https://commission.europa.eu/document/fa09cbad-dd7d-4684-ae60-be03fcb0fddf_en.

Additionally, Adobe uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46 para. 2 and 3 GDPR). Standard contractual clauses (SCC) are model contracts provided by the EU Commission to ensure that your data complies with European data protection standards when transferred to third countries (e.g., the USA) and stored there. Through the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and standard contractual clauses, Adobe commits to complying with European data protection standards 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 here: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=en

More information on Adobe’s standard contractual clauses can be found at https://www.adobe.com/privacy/eudatatransfers.html.

More information about the data processed by Adobe Fonts can be found in their privacy policy at https://www.adobe.com/privacy.html.

Font Awesome Privacy Policy

Font Awesome Privacy Policy Summary

Affected parties: Visitors to the website
Purpose: Optimization of our service performance
Processed data: Such as IP address and which icon files are loaded
Storage duration: Files in identifiable form are stored for a few weeks
Legal bases: Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests)

What is Font Awesome?

We use Font Awesome, a web font from the American company Fonticons (307 S. Main St., Suite 202, Bentonville, AR 72712, USA), on our website. When you access one of our web pages, the web font Font Awesome (specifically icons) is loaded via the Font Awesome Content Delivery Network (CDN). This ensures that texts and fonts, and icons are displayed correctly on every device. In this privacy policy, we go into more detail about data storage and data processing by this service.

Icons play an increasingly important role on websites. Font Awesome is a web font specifically developed for web designers and web developers. With Font Awesome, icons can be scaled and colored as desired using the stylesheet language CSS, replacing old image icons. The Font Awesome CDN is the easiest way to load icons or fonts onto your website. For this, we only needed to include a small line of code on our website.

Why Do We Use Font Awesome on Our Website?

Font Awesome helps us better prepare content on our website, allowing you to better navigate and understand the content. Icons can sometimes replace entire words, saving space, especially useful when optimizing content for smartphones. These icons are inserted as HTML code instead of images, allowing us to style the icons with CSS as we want. At the same time, using Font Awesome improves our loading speed, as it is just HTML elements and not icon images. All these advantages help us make the website clearer, fresher, and faster for you.

What Data is Processed by Font Awesome?

To load icons and symbols, the Font Awesome Content Delivery Network (CDN) is used. CDNs are networks of servers distributed worldwide, enabling files to be quickly loaded from nearby locations. When you access one of our pages, the corresponding icons are provided by Font Awesome.

For web fonts to be loaded, your browser must connect to the servers of Fonticons, Inc. In doing so, your IP address is recognized. Font Awesome also collects data about which icon files are downloaded when. Additionally, technical data such as your browser version, screen resolution, or the time the page was accessed is transmitted.

These data are collected and stored for the following reasons:

To optimize content delivery networks
To identify and fix technical errors
To protect CDNs from abuse and attacks
To charge fees to Font Awesome Pro customers
To understand the popularity of icons
To know which computer and software you use

If your browser does not allow web fonts, a default font from your PC will be used automatically. As far as we know, no cookies are set. We are in contact with Font Awesome’s privacy department and will inform you as soon as we learn more.

How Long and Where is the Data Stored?

Font Awesome stores data about the use of the content delivery network on servers in the United States. However, CDN servers are distributed worldwide and store user data wherever you are located. Data in identifiable form is usually stored for only a few weeks. Aggregated statistics on CDN usage may be stored longer. Personal data is not included in these statistics.

How Can I Delete My Data or Prevent Data Storage?

To the best of our knowledge, Font Awesome does not store personal data through the content delivery networks. If you do not want data to be stored about the icons used, you unfortunately cannot visit our website. If your browser does not allow web fonts, no data will be transmitted or stored. In this case, the default font of your computer will be used.

Legal Basis

If you have consented to the use of Font Awesome, the legal basis for the corresponding data processing is this consent. According to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent), this consent serves as the legal basis for processing personal data, as it occurs when collected by Font Awesome.

We also have a legitimate interest in using Font Awesome to optimize our online service. The corresponding legal basis is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests). We only use Font Awesome to the extent that you have given your consent.

We would like to point out that, according to the opinion of the European Court of Justice, there is currently no adequate level of protection for data transfer to the USA. Data processing is essentially carried out by Font Awesome. This may result in data not being processed and stored anonymously. Furthermore, US government authorities may access individual data. Additionally, this data may be linked with data from other services of Font Awesome if you have a user account with them.

If you want to learn more about Font Awesome and their data handling, we recommend reading their privacy policy at https://fontawesome.com/privacy and the help page at https://fontawesome.com/support.

Explanation of Terms Used

We strive to make our privacy policy as clear and understandable as possible. However, this is not always easy, especially with technical and legal topics. It often makes sense to use legal terms (e.g., personal data) or specific technical expressions (e.g., cookies, IP address). We do not want to use these without explanation. Below is an alphabetical list of important terms used that we may not have explained adequately in the previous sections. If these terms are taken from the GDPR and are definitions, we will also include the GDPR texts and possibly add our explanations.

Data Processor

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation:

‘processor’ means a natural or legal person, public authority, agency, or other body which processes personal data on behalf of the controller;

Explanation: As a company and website owner, we are responsible for all data we process from you. Besides the controllers, there can also be so-called processors. This includes any company or person processing personal data on our behalf. Processors can therefore include service providers such as tax consultants, hosting or cloud providers, payment or newsletter providers, or large companies like Google or Microsoft.

Consent

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation:

‘consent’ of the data subject means any freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous indication of the data subject’s wishes by which he or she, by a statement or by a clear affirmative action, signifies agreement to the processing of personal data relating to him or her;

Explanation: On websites, such consent is usually obtained through a cookie consent tool. You are likely familiar with this. Whenever you visit a website for the first time, you are usually asked via a banner whether you agree to data processing or consent. Usually, you can also make individual settings and decide for yourself which data processing you allow and which not. If you do not consent, no personal data from you should be processed. Generally, consent can also be given in writing, not just through a tool.

Personal Data

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation:

‘personal data’ means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (‘data subject’); an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural, or social identity of that natural person;

Explanation: Personal data includes all information that can identify you as a person. Typically, these are data such as:

Name
Address
Email address
Postal address
Phone number
Date of birth
Identification numbers like social security number, tax identification number, ID card number, or student ID number
Bank data like account number, credit information, account balances, etc.

According to the European Court of Justice (ECJ), your IP address also counts as personal data. IT experts can use your IP address to determine at least the approximate location of your device and, consequently, identify you as the connection owner. Therefore, storing an IP address also requires a legal basis under the GDPR. There are also so-called “special categories” of personal data that are particularly worthy of protection. These include:

Racial and ethnic origin
Political opinions
Religious or philosophical beliefs
Trade union membership
Genetic data such as data obtained from blood or saliva samples
Biometric data (information on physical, physiological, or behavioral characteristics that can identify a person)
Health data
Data on sexual orientation or sexual life

Profiling

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation:

‘profiling’ means any form of automated processing of personal data consisting of the use of personal data to evaluate certain personal aspects relating to a natural person, in particular to analyze or predict aspects concerning that natural person’s performance at work, economic situation, health, personal preferences, interests, reliability, behavior, location, or movements;

Explanation: Profiling involves collecting various information about a person to learn more about that person. In the web area, profiling is often used for advertising purposes or credit checks. Web or advertising analysis programs, for example, collect data about your behavior and interests on a website. This creates a specific user profile that helps target advertising to a specific audience.

Controller

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation:

‘controller’ means the natural or legal person, public authority, agency, or other body which, alone or jointly with others, determines the purposes and means of the processing of personal data; where the purposes and means of such processing are determined by Union or Member State law, the controller or the specific criteria for its nomination may be provided for by Union or Member State law;

Explanation: In our case, we are responsible for processing your personal data and thus the “controller.” If we pass on collected data to other service providers for processing, they are “processors.” For this, a “data processing agreement (DPA)” must be signed.

Processing

Definition according to Article 4 of the GDPR

For the purposes of this Regulation:

‘processing’ means any operation or set of operations which is performed on personal data or on sets of personal data, whether or not by automated means, such as collection, recording, organization, structuring, storage, adaptation or alteration, retrieval, consultation, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination, or otherwise making available, alignment or combination, restriction, erasure, or destruction;

Explanation: When we refer to processing in our privacy policy, we mean any form of data processing. This includes, as mentioned in the original GDPR definition, not only collecting but also storing and processing data.

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Source: Created with the Data Protection Generator Austria by AdSimple