Privacy Policy

1Privacy

This privacy policy explains what information we collect, how we use data and what choices you have as a visitor to this website. It applies to all data processing operations carried out in connection with our website.

2Automatic Data Storage

When you visit websites nowadays, certain information is created and stored automatically, and the same is true of this website.

Whenever you visit our website — as you are doing right now — our web server (the computer on which this website is stored) automatically stores data such as

• the address (URL) of the page accessed
• the browser and browser version
• the operating system used
• the address (URL) of the previously visited page (referrer URL)
• the hostname and IP address of the device used to access the site
• date and time

in files (web server log files).

As a rule, web server log files are retained for two weeks and then automatically deleted. We do not pass this data on to third parties, but we cannot rule out that this data may be inspected in the event of unlawful conduct.

3Cookies

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 privacy policy below.

What exactly are cookies?

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

There is no denying it: cookies are really useful little helpers. Almost every website uses cookies. More precisely, these are HTTP cookies, because there are other kinds of cookies for other areas of application. HTTP cookies are small files that are stored on your computer by our website. These cookie files are automatically placed in the cookie folder, effectively the „brain“ of your browser. A cookie consists of a name and a value. When defining a cookie, one or more attributes must also be specified.

Cookies store certain user data about you, such as language or personal page settings. When you call up our site again, your browser sends the „user-related“ information back to our site. Thanks to cookies, our website knows who you are and offers you the settings you are used to. In some browsers each cookie has its own file, in others such as Firefox all cookies are stored in a single file.

There are both first-party cookies and third-party cookies. First-party cookies are created directly by our site; third-party cookies are created by partner websites (e. g. Google Analytics). Each cookie is to be assessed individually, as each cookie stores different data. The expiry time of a cookie also varies from a few minutes to a few years. Cookies are not software programs and do not contain viruses, Trojans or other „malware“. Nor can cookies access information on your PC.

This is an example of what cookie data might look like:

A browser should be able to support these minimum sizes:

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

What types of cookies are there?

The question of which cookies we use in particular depends on the services used and will be clarified in the following sections of the privacy policy. At this point we would like to briefly address the different types of HTTP cookies.

There are 4 types of cookies:

Essential cookies
These cookies are necessary to ensure basic website functionality. For example, these cookies are needed when a user places a product in a shopping cart, then continues browsing other pages and only later goes to the checkout. Thanks to these cookies the shopping cart is not deleted, even when the user closes their browser window.

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

Targeting cookies
These cookies ensure a better user experience. For example, entered locations, font sizes or form data are saved.

Advertising cookies
These cookies are also known as targeting cookies. They serve the purpose of delivering individually tailored advertising to the user. This can be very practical, but also very annoying.

Typically, on your first visit to a website, you are asked which of these cookie types you wish to allow. And of course this decision is also stored in a cookie.

How can I delete cookies?

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

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

• Chrome: Clear, 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 cookies, you can set up your browser so that it always informs you when a cookie is to be set. This way, for each individual cookie you can decide whether to allow the cookie or not. The procedure varies from browser to browser. It is best to look up the instructions in Google with the search term „delete cookies Chrome“ or „disable cookies Chrome“ in the case of a Chrome browser.

What about my privacy?

The so-called „cookie guidelines“ have existed since 2009. They state that the storage of cookies requires your consent. Within the EU countries, however, there are still very different reactions to these guidelines. In Austria, this guideline was implemented in section 96(3) of the Telecommunications Act (TKG).

If you would like to know more about cookies and do not shy away from technical documentation, we recommend https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc6265, the Request for Comments from the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) called „HTTP State Management Mechanism“.

4Storage of Personal Data

Personal data that you send to us electronically on this website, such as your name, email address, postal address or other personal information in the context of submitting a form or comments on the blog, will be used by us, together with the time and the IP address, only for the respective stated purpose, will be securely stored and will not be disclosed to third parties.

We therefore use your personal data only for communication with those visitors who expressly request contact and for processing the services and products offered on this website. We will not pass your personal data on without your consent, but we cannot rule out that this data may be inspected in the event of unlawful conduct.

If you send us personal data by email — that is, off this website — we cannot guarantee secure transmission and the protection of your data. We recommend that you never transmit confidential data unencrypted by email.

5Rights under the GDPR

Under the provisions of the GDPR and the Austrian Data Protection Act (DSG), you are in principle entitled to the following rights:

• Right to rectification (Article 16 GDPR)
• Right to erasure („right to be forgotten“) (Article 17 GDPR)
• Right to restriction of processing (Article 18 GDPR)
• Right to be notified — notification obligation in connection with the rectification or erasure of personal data or restriction of processing (Article 19 GDPR)
• Right to data portability (Article 20 GDPR)
• Right to object (Article 21 GDPR)
• Right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing — including profiling (Article 22 GDPR)

If you believe that the processing of your data violates data protection law or that your data protection claims have otherwise been infringed, you can lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority, which in Austria is the Data Protection Authority, whose website you can find at https://www.dsb.gv.at/.

6TLS encryption with https

We use https to transmit data securely on the internet (data protection by design, Article 25(1) GDPR). By using TLS (Transport Layer Security), an encryption protocol for the secure transmission of data on the internet, we can protect the confidentiality of data. You can recognise the use of this safeguarding of data transmission by the small padlock symbol in the upper left of your browser and by the use of the scheme https (instead of http) as part of our internet address.