Cookie Policy

Information collected by cookies and other tracking technologies

Cookies:

Cookies are a form of data that is stored on your computer by a website you visit, and enables your browser to be reallocated. Information is transmitted via cookies to the location that uses the cookie. Cookies can store various information, such as your language preference, the duration of your visit to our website and any data you enter on the website, meaning you do not have to re-enter the required data each time you fill out forms on the website, for example. Information stored in cookies can also be used to identify your preferences and to align content according to your areas of interest.

There are various types of cookies: Session cookies comprise an amount of data that is only temporarily stored in your device's memory, then deleted when you close your browser. Permanent or persistent cookies are automatically deleted after a predetermined period of time, which may differ depending on the cookie. This type of cookie also enables information to be stored in text files on your computer. However, you can also delete these cookies at any time via your browser settings.

First-party cookies are set by the website you are currently visiting. Only this website may read information from these cookies. Third-party cookies are set by organisations other than the one that operates the website you are visiting. These cookies are used by marketing companies, among other parties.

In addition to cookies, we also use similar technologies (hereinafter referred to as "cookies") to work out your preferences and align content according to your area of interest.

The legal basis for processing any personal data via cookies, and for its storage duration, may vary. Insofar as the data processing is based on our overriding legitimate interests, the legal basis is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR. This is the basis on which we set essential cookies, i.e. those required for the smooth operation of our website and for the provision of basic functions and services. The stated purpose thus corresponds to our legitimate interest. If the cookies are not strictly necessary, we will obtain your consent to set them. The legal basis for this is your voluntary consent (Art. 6 para. 1 a GDPR).

The cookies and similar technologies used on this website are divided into the following categories:

You can delete any cookies already stored on your device at any time. If you wish to prevent cookies from being stored, you can do so via the settings in your Internet browser. Alternatively, you can also install an "ad blocker". Please note that some features of our website may not work if you have disabled the use of cookies.

Upon visiting our website, all users are informed via a banner about our use of cookies and are referred to this Privacy Policy. As a user, you are also asked to consent to the use of certain cookies, especially those relevant for personalisation and marketing activities. If you have previously given your consent in this way, you may revoke it at any time with future effect by going to the cookie settings, removing the tick next to the type of processing you agreed to, then confirming your selection.

More information on analysis tools and third-party vendors

1.1 Google Analytics

Provided you have given your consent, this website uses Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google LLC (1600 Amphitheater Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA). The legal entity responsible for users in the EU/EEA and Switzerland is Google Ireland Limited, Google Building Gordon House, 4 Barrow St, Dublin, D04 E5W5, Ireland. Our usage includes the Universal Analytics operating mode. This makes it possible to assign data, sessions and interactions across multiple devices to a pseudonym User ID and thus analyse user activity across different devices.

Google Analytics uses cookies to enable your use of the website to be analysed. The information generated by this cookie about your use of the website is generally transmitted to a Google server in the USA and stored there. However, as an IP anonymiser is enabled on this website, Google will shorten your IP address within the Member States of the European Union or within other Contracting Parties to the Agreement on the European Economic Area. Only in exceptional cases will the full IP address be transferred to a Google server in the USA and shortened there instead. The IP address provided by your browser within the scope of Google Analytics will not be merged with other Google data.

During your visit to the website, the following data is collected:

The pages you have visited, known as your "click path"
Any "website goals" you have reached (known as conversions, e.g. newsletter registrations, downloads, purchases)
Your user behaviour (e.g. clicks, dwell time and bounce rates)
Your approximate location (region)
Your IP address (shortened)
Technical information about your browser and the devices you use (e.g. your language setting, screen resolution)
Your Internet service provider
Your referrer URL (which website/advertising material you used to access this website)

On behalf of the website operator, Google will use this information to evaluate your use of the website, to compile reports on website activities and to provide the website operator with additional services related to website and Internet use.

Recipient: The recipient of the data is Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland in its capacity as data processor. For this purpose, we have entered into a data processing contract with Google. Google LLC, based in California, USA, and in some cases US authorities, can access the data stored by Google. Transmission to third countries: Transferral of data to the USA cannot be excluded.

You can prevent cookies from being stored by adjusting your browser software settings accordingly; however, we would like to point out that in this case you may not be able to use the functionality of this website to its full extent. Furthermore, you can prevent Google from collecting the data generated by the cookie in relation to your website usage (including your IP address), and from processing this data by downloading and installing https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=en-GB.

For more information on the Google Analytics Terms of Use and Google's Privacy Policy, please visit https://marketingplatform.google.com/about/analytics/terms/gb/ and https://policies.google.com/?hl=en-GB respectively.

Legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. a GDPR

Storage duration: Data sent by us in connection with cookies will be automatically deleted after 14 months. Data that has reached its retention period is automatically deleted once a month.

1.2 Google Tag Manager

For transparency, we would like to point out that we use Google Tag Manager, a service provided by Google Ireland Limited (registration number: 368047) of Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland. We use Tag Manager for Google Analytics and to integrate additional marketing services. Google Tag Manager does not collect any personal data in its own right. Google Tag Manager makes it easier for us to integrate and manage our tags. Tags are small code elements that are used, among other things, to measure traffic and visitor behaviour, as well as the impact of online advertising and social channels, to set up remarketing and audience targeting and to test and optimise websites. If you have disabled Google Tag Manager, this will be taken into account. For more information about Google Tag Manager, see https://marketingplatform.google.com/intl/gb/about/analytics/tag-manager/use-policy/.

1.3 Google Ads (formerly Google AdWords), remarketing and conversion tracking

We use the Google Ads service. Google Ads is an online advertising programme developed by Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheater Parkway Mountain View, CA 94043, USA. The data controller for users in the EU/EEA and Switzerland is Google Ireland Limited, Google Building Gordon House, 4 Barrow St, Dublin, D04 E5W5, Ireland.

This means that we place advertisements through Google Ads and also make use of Google remarketing and conversion tracking. These ads appear in response to searches on websites in Google's advertising network. We also use Ads remarketing lists for search ads, which allows us to customise search ad campaigns for users who have visited our site before. These services make it possible for us to combine our ads with certain search terms or to display ads to previous visitors, such as ads promoting services they have viewed on our website. This enables us to display interest-based advertising to users of our website on other sites within Google's advertising network (as a "Google ad" in the context of a Google search or on other websites).

Displaying interested-based ads requires analysis of online user behaviour. Google uses cookies to perform this analysis. When a user clicks an ad or visits our website, Google places a cookie on their computer. These cookies expire after 90 days. The information collected by the respective cookie is used to address the visitor in a targeted manner during subsequent searches. More information about the cookie technology used can also be found in the information provided by Google about website statistics and in Google's privacy policy. This technology tells Google and we as the customer that a user clicked an ad and was redirected to one of our webpages. The information obtained in this way is used solely for statistical analysis in order to optimise ads. We do not receive any information that could identify visitors personally. Your IP address is transferred to Google. Since we use Google IP masking on this website for Google Analytics, your IP address is anonymised. The statistics that Google provides us include the total number of users who clicked one of our ads and, if applicable, whether they were redirected to a page of our website that has a conversion tag. These statistics allow us to see which search terms led most frequently to users clicking our ad and which ads led to users contacting us via the contact form.

Whenever data is processed outside the EEA, where the standard of data protection falls short of that in Europe, we have concluded EU standard contractual clauses with the service provider in order to establish an adequate degree of data protection.

For more information about privacy with respect to Google Ads, please visit: https://policies.google.com/technologies/ads?hl=en

Data is collected and stored only on the basis of explicit consent as defined in Article 6(1)(a) GDPR. This consent can be withdrawn at any time with future effect.

1.4 Google marketing and remarketing services

To optimise our website and operate it profitably, we use the marketing and remarketing services (hereafter "Google marketing services") provided by Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheater Parkway Mountain View, CA 94043, USA. The data controller for users in the EU/EEA and Switzerland is Google Ireland Limited, Google Building Gordon House, 4 Barrow St, Dublin, D04 E5W5, Ireland.

Google marketing services allow us to display ads for our website in a more targeted manner, so that you are only shown ads that may be of interest to you. If you see ads for our services on other websites, for example, this is known as "remarketing". For these purposes, when you visit our website and other websites on which Google marketing services are active, Google runs a Google code directly to incorporate "(re)marketing tags" (invisible graphics or code, also known as "web beacons") into the website. These tags then store an individual cookie, i.e. a small file, on your device (comparable technologies can also be used instead of cookies).

Cookies can be placed by various domains, including google.com, doubleclick.net, invitemedia.com, admeld.com, googlesyndication.com and googleadservices.com. The file contains information about the websites you have visited, the content you are interested in and what you have clicked. It also contains technical information about your browser and operating system, referring sites, how long you spent on the website and other information about your use of the page. Your IP address is also recorded. In the context of Google Analytics, your IP address is truncated within the member states of the European Union or in other states party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area. Only in exceptional cases is your IP address transferred in full to a Google server in the United States and truncated there.
Your IP address is not merged with the data collected about you by other Google services. Google may link the information outlined above to such information from other sources. When you subsequently visit other websites, you may see ads that are tailored to your interests.

We process your data under a Google marketing services pseudonym. In other words, Google does not store and process your name or email address, but processes the relevant data using cookies within pseudonymous user profiles. The information that Google marketing services collect about users is transmitted to Google and stored on Google's servers in the United States.

We make use of various Google marketing services, including the online advertising programme "Google Ads" (formerly "Google AdWords"). In the case of Google Ads, each Ads customer is given a different "conversion cookie". This means that cookies cannot be tracked through the websites of Ads customers. The information obtained using the cookie is used to generate conversion statistics for Ads customers who have opted for conversion tracking. Ads customers are notified of the total number of users who clicked their ad and were redirected to a page that has a conversion tracking tag. However, they do not receive any information that could identify visitors personally.

In addition, we may use the "Google Tag Manager" to manage Google's analytics and marketing services and integrate them into our website.

For more information about Google's use of data for marketing purposes, please visit the overview page: https://www.google.com/policies/technologies/ads, Google's privacy policy is available at https://www.google.com/policies/privacy

Data is collected and stored only on the basis of explicit consent as defined in Article 6(1)(a) GDPR. This consent can be withdrawn at any time with future effect.

1.5 Google Floodlight/Online Marketing Tool Campaign Manager

Our website uses the online marketing tool Campaign Manager from Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway Mountain View, CA 94043, USA. The data controller for users in the EU/EEA and Switzerland is Google Ireland Limited, Google Building Gordon House, 4 Barrow St, Dublin, D04 E5W5, Ireland.

This tool uses cookies to deliver ads relevant to users, improve campaign performance reports or prevent users from seeing the same ads multiple times. In addition, Campaign Manager can use cookie IDs to capture what are known as conversions. This is the case when a user sees a Campaign Manager ad and later uses the same browser to visit the advertiser's website to buy something. According to Google, Campaign Manager cookies do not contain any personal information. The cookie ID or smartphone ID is linked to the browser, so if you use multiple devices, such as a phone, tablet and two different browsers on a laptop, each device or browser is identified separately. Based on the marketing tools used, your browser automatically establishes a direct connection to the Google server.

In addition, the use of the Floodlight Pixel allows us to understand whether you are performing certain actions on our website after you have accessed or clicked on one of our displays/video ads on Google or on another platform via Campaign Manager (conversion tracking). Campaign Manager uses this Pixel to identify the content with which you have engaged on our websites in order to send you targeted advertising later.

More information about Google's privacy policy in general: https://policies.google.com/privacy.

Data is collected and stored only on the basis of explicit consent as defined in Article 6(1) first sentence (a) GDPR. This consent can be withdrawn at any time with future effect.

1.6 Facebook Custom Audiences (Facebook Pixel)

We use the Custom Audiences service from Facebook Germany GmbH, Caffamachachreihe 7, Brahmsquartier, 20355 Hamburg, as part of usage-based online advertising.

To this end, we specify target groups of users based on certain characteristics who will subsequently have ads displayed within their Facebook network in Facebook Ads Manager. Users are selected by Facebook based on the profile information they have provided and other data supplied through their use of Facebook. If a user clicks on an ad and then goes to our website, the Facebook Pixel integrated on our website informs Facebook that the user has clicked on the ad banner. In essence, a non-reversible and non-personal checksum (hash value) is generated from your usage data and transmitted to Facebook for analytical and marketing purposes. A Facebook cookie is stored to collect information about your activities on our website (e.g. surfing behavior, subpages visited etc.). Your IP address is also stored and used to target the geographical relevance of your advertising.

Data is collected and stored only on the basis of explicit consent as defined in Article 6(1) first sentence (a) GDPR. This consent can be withdrawn at any time with future effect.

For more information about the purpose and scope of how data is collected, used and processed further by Facebook, as well as about your options for protecting your privacy, please refer to the Facebook Data Policy. You can adjust which ads you see on Facebook by following this link, or in your Facebook account settings.

For more information about Facebook's Custom Audiences service, go to:
https://en-gb.facebook.com/business/help/449542958510885.

For more information about data processing and the storage period for data, contact the provider or go to https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy.

The “Facebook Custom Audiences” function can also be disabled for logged-in users at https://www.facebook.com/settings/?tab=ads#_.

1.7 Hotjar

We use the web analytics service Hotjar to analyze usage of our website. Hotjar Ltd. (St Julian's Business Centre, 3, Elia Zammit Street, St Julian's STJ 1000, Malta) is compliant with all requirements set out in the Data Protection Act, Chapter 440 of the Laws of Malta (applicable law), which implements all relevant European Union data protection directives.

Using Hotjar, user behavior (mouse movements, clicks, scrolling, etc.) can be measured, recorded and evaluated. The tool also collects information about previously visited websites, the countries visitors are located in, devices used, operating systems and browsers. The IP address of the user's device is only ever collected and stored anonymously. The collected data is transmitted via an encrypted connection to servers located in Ireland (EU) and stored there.

We use Hotjar to better understand the needs of our users, to optimize our offering and to improve user experience on this website. Hotjar's technology helps us to gain a deeper understanding of how users experience our website (e.g. how much time users spend on which pages, which links they click on, what they like and what they do not like, etc.), which helps us to better align our offering with the feedback from our users. Hotjar also places cookies on your devices for this and other purposes. For detailed information on the cookies used, see: https://www.hotjar.com/legal/policies/cookie-information.

For more information about Hotjar's compliance with data protection laws, please visit: www.hotjar.com/privacy.

Data is collected and stored only on the basis of explicit consent as defined in Article 6(1)(a) GDPR. This consent can be withdrawn at any time with future effect.

1.8 Dotdigital

This website uses the services of DotDigital, a cloud-based marketing service provided by dotdigital EMEA Ltd, No. 1 London Bridge, London, SE1 9BG, UK.

DotDigital allows various marketing activities to be controlled and synchronised via a central user interface. DotDigital enables lead generation, centralised email and newsletter marketing and effective contact management in the form of user segmentation.

To fulfil the various functions, Dotdigital uses cookies, small text files that are stored locally in the cache of your web browser on your terminal device and enable an analysis of your use of the website by us. The cookies collect certain information such as the IP address, the location, the time of the page view, etc. Information collected by DotDigital is stored on DotDigital's servers and analysed on our behalf.

If personal data is processed in this way, the data is processed for statistical analysis of user behaviour for optimisation and marketing purposes in accordance with Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f DSGVO. Other legal bases for data processing that intervene in the context of specific DotDigital services (such as, for example, the express consent pursuant to Art.6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO when sending newsletters) remain unaffected by this.

We have concluded an order processing contract with DotDigital, by which we oblige DotDigital to protect our customers' data and not to pass it on to third parties.

You can permanently object to the collection of data by DotDigital by means of cookies and the setting of cookies by preventing the storage of cookies accordingly through your browser settings.

You can find more information about DotDigital's privacy policy at the following website address: https://dotdigital.com/terms/privacy-policy/.

As far as legally required, we have obtained your consent for the processing of your data as described above in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO. You can revoke your consent at any time with effect for the future. In order to exercise your revocation, please follow the option described above for making an objection.

1.9 Qualtrics

Our customer surveys use the services of Qualtrics CX Digital, a cloud-based customer experience management software provided by Qualtrics LLC, 333 West River Park Drive Provo, UT 84604, US, to conduct customer, product, and brand satisfaction surveys. We conduct the satisfaction surveys in order to continuously develop and improve our products and services.

Qualtrics CX Digital efficiently measures and visualizes the customer experience, leading to company-wide improvement activities.

To manage the status of surveys, Qualtrics uses cookies, small text files that are stored locally in the cache of your web browser on your terminal device. The cookies collect certain information such as the IP address, the browser, the progress of survey, etc. Information collected by Qualtrics is stored on Qualtrics' servers and analyzed on our behalf.

If personal data is processed in this way, the data is processed for statistical analysis of user behavior for optimization and marketing purposes in accordance with Article 6 para. 1a GDPR.

You can reject the storage of cookies through your browser settings, but you will not be able to respond to surveys if your browser completely disables the use of cookies. We have concluded a DPA (Data Processing Agreement) with Qualtrics, by which we oblige Qualtrics to protect our customers’ data and not to pass it on to third parties.

You can find more information about Qualtrics' privacy statement at the following website address: https://www.qualtrics.com/privacy-statement/.

As far as legally required, we have obtained your consent for the processing of your data as described above in accordance with Article 6 para. 1a GDPR. You can revoke your consent at any time with effect for the future. In order to exercise your revocation, please follow the option described above for making an objection.

Last modified: 16.01.2023