Data Protection

1. Data protection at a glance

GENERAL INFORMATION
The following information provides a simple overview of what happens to your personal data when you visit our website. Personal data are all data with which you can be personally identified. You can find detailed information on the subject of data protection in our data protection declaration below this text.

DATA COLLECTION ON OUR WEBSITE
Who is responsible for data collection on this website?
The data processing on this website is carried out by the website operator. You can find their contact details in the imprint of this website.

How do we collect your data?
On the one hand, your data is collected when you communicate it to us. This can be, for. E.g. data that you enter in a contact form.

Other data are automatically recorded by our IT systems when you visit the website. This is mainly technical data (e.g. internet browser, operating system or time of the page was viewed). This data is collected automatically as soon as you enter our website.

What do we use your data for?
Some of the data is collected in order to ensure that the website is error-free. Other data can be used to analyze your user behavior.

What are your rights with regard to your data?
You have the right to receive information about the origin, recipient and purpose of your stored personal data free of charge at any time. You also have the right to request the correction, blocking or deletion of this data. You can contact us at any time at the address given in the legal notice if you have any further questions about data protection. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the competent supervisory authority.

THIRD-PARTY ANALYSIS TOOLS AND TOOLS
When you visit our website, your surfing behavior can be statistically evaluated. This is done primarily with cookies and so-called analysis programs. Your surfing behavior is usually analyzed anonymously; surfing behavior cannot be traced back to you. You can object to this analysis or prevent it by not using certain tools. You can find detailed information on this in the following data protection declaration.

You can object to this analysis. We will inform you about the possibilities of objection in this data protection declaration.

2. General information and mandatory information

DATA PROTECTION
The operators of this website take the protection of your personal data very seriously. We treat your personal data confidentially and in accordance with the statutory data protection regulations and this data protection declaration.

When you use this website, various personal data are collected. Personal data are data with which you can be personally identified. This data protection declaration explains which data we collect and what we use it for. It also explains how and for what purpose this is done.

We point out that data transmission over the Internet (e.g. when communicating by e-mail) can have security gaps. A complete protection of the data against access by third parties is not possible.

NOTE TO THE RESPONSIBLE BODY
The responsible body for data processing on this website is:

August Graef GNU GmbH
Wernerstraße 28
42285 Wuppertal
Phone: +49 (0) 202 280 44 0
info@graef-gnu.com

The responsible body is the natural or legal person who, alone or jointly with others, decides on the purposes and means of processing personal data (e.g. names, email addresses, etc.).

WITHDRAWAL OF YOUR CONSENT TO DATA PROCESSING
Many data processing operations are only possible with your express consent. You can revoke your consent at any time. An informal e-mail to us is sufficient. The legality of the data processing carried out before the revocation remains unaffected by the revocation.

RIGHT TO COMPLAIN WITH THE COMPETENT SUPERVISORY AUTHORITY
In the event of violations of data protection law, the person concerned has the right to lodge a complaint with the competent supervisory authority. The competent supervisory authority for data protection issues is the state data protection officer of the federal state in which our company is based. A list of data protection officers and their contact details can be found at the following link: https://www.bfdi.bund.de/DE/Infothek/Anschriften_Links/anschriften_links-node.html .

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

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

INFORMATION, BLOCKING, DELETION
Within the framework of the applicable legal provisions, you have the right to free information about your stored personal data, their origin and recipient and the purpose of the data processing and, if necessary, a right to correct, block or delete this data. You can contact us at any time at the address given in the legal notice if you have any further questions on the subject of personal data.

3. Data collection on our website

COOKIES
Some of the websites use so-called cookies. Cookies do not harm your computer and do not contain viruses. Cookies serve to make our offer more user-friendly, more effective and safer. Cookies are small text files that are stored on your computer and saved by your browser.

Most of the cookies we use are so-called “session cookies”. They are automatically deleted after your visit. Other cookies remain stored on your device until you delete them. These cookies enable us to recognize your browser the next time you visit.

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

Cookies that are required to carry out the electronic communication process or to provide certain functions you want (e.g. shopping cart function) are stored on the basis of Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f GDPR saved. The website operator has a legitimate interest in storing cookies for the technically error-free and optimized provision of its services. If other cookies (e.g. cookies for analyzing your surfing behavior) are stored, these will be treated separately in this data protection declaration.

SERVER LOG FILES
The website provider automatically collects and stores information in so-called server log files, which your browser automatically transmits to us. These are:

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

This data will not be merged with other data sources.

The basis for data processing is Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f GDPR, which allows the processing of data for the fulfillment of a contract or pre-contractual measures.

CONTACT FORM
If you send us inquiries using the contact form, your details from the inquiry form, including the contact details you provided there, will be stored by us for the purpose of processing the request and in case of follow-up questions. We do not pass on this data without your consent.

The processing of the data entered in the contact form takes place exclusively on the basis of your consent (Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. a GDPR). You can revoke this consent at any time. An informal e-mail to us is sufficient. The legality of the data processing operations carried out before the revocation remains unaffected by the revocation.

The data you enter in the contact form will remain with us until you ask us to delete it, revoke your consent to storage or the purpose for data storage no longer applies (e.g. after your request has been processed). Mandatory legal provisions – in particular retention periods – remain unaffected.

4. Analysis tools and advertising

GOOGLE ANALYTICS
This website uses functions of the web analysis service Google Analytics. The provider is Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheater Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA.

Google Analytics uses so-called “cookies”. These are text files that are saved on your computer and that enable your use of the website to be analyzed. The information generated by the cookie about your use of this website is usually transferred to a Google server in the USA and stored there.

The storage of Google Analytics cookies is based on Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f GDPR. The website operator has a legitimate interest in analyzing user behavior in order to optimize both its website and its advertising.

IP anonymization
We have activated the IP anonymization function on this website. As a result, your IP address will be shortened by Google within member states of the European Union or in other contracting states of the Agreement on the European Economic Area before it is transmitted to the USA. The full IP address is only transmitted to a Google server in the USA and shortened there in exceptional cases. On behalf of the operator of this website, Google will use this information to evaluate your use of the website, to compile reports on website activity and to provide the website operator with other services relating to website activity and internet usage. The IP address transmitted by your browser as part of Google Analytics will not be merged with other Google data.

Browser plugin
You can prevent the storage of cookies by setting your browser software accordingly; however, we would like to point out that in this case you may not be able to use all functions of this website to their full extent. You can also prevent Google from collecting the data generated by the cookie and relating to your use of the website (including your IP address) and from processing this data by Google by downloading the browser plug-in available under the following link and install: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=de .

Objection against data collection
You can prevent Google Analytics from collecting your data by clicking on the following link. An opt-out cookie will be set which prevents the collection of your data on future visits to this website: Deactivate Google Analytics.

You can find more information on how Google Analytics handles user data in the Google Privacy Policy: https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/6004245?hl=de .

Order data processing
We have concluded an order data processing contract with Google and fully implement the strict requirements of the German data protection authorities when using Google Analytics.

Demographic characteristics in Google Analytics
This website uses the “demographic characteristics” function of Google Analytics. This allows reports to be created that contain information on the age, gender and interests of the site visitors. This data comes from interest-based advertising from Google as well as from visitor data from third-party providers. These data cannot be assigned to a specific person. You can deactivate this function at any time via the ad settings in your Google account or generally prohibit the collection of your data by Google Analytics as described in the point “Objection to data collection”.

GOOGLE RECAPTCHA
We use “Google reCAPTCHA” (hereinafter “reCAPTCHA”) on our websites. The provider is Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheater Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA (“Google”).

The purpose of reCAPTCHA is to check whether data is entered on our website (e.g. in a contact form) by a person or by an automated program. To do this, reCAPTCHA analyzes the behavior of the website visitor based on various characteristics. This analysis begins automatically as soon as the website visitor enters the website. For the analysis, reCAPTCHA evaluates various information (e.g. IP address, length of stay of the website visitor on the website or mouse movements made by the user). The data collected during the analysis are forwarded to Google.

The reCAPTCHA analyzes run completely in the background. Website visitors are not informed that an analysis is taking place.

The data processing takes place on the basis of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR. The website operator has a legitimate interest in protecting its web offers from abusive automated spying and from SPAM.

For more information on Google reCAPTCHA and Google’s privacy policy, see the following links: https://www.google.com/intl/de/policies/privacy/ and https://www.google.com/recaptcha/intro/android.html .

MATOMO
1. scope of data processing
We use the open source software tool Matomo on our website to analyze the surfing behavior of our users. When individual pages of our website are accessed, the following data is stored

3 bytes of the IP address of the user’s accessing system
the website accessed
the website from which the user accessed the website (referrer)
the subpages that are accessed from the accessed website
the time spent on the website
the frequency with which the website is accessed
The software runs exclusively on the servers of our website. This data is only stored there. The data is not passed on to third parties. The software is set so that the IP addresses are not stored in full, but the last byte of the IP address is masked (e.g. 192.168.100.xxx). In this way, it is no longer possible to assign the shortened IP address to the calling computer.

2. legal basis
The legal basis for the processing of users’ personal data is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR.

3. purpose of the data processing
The processing of this personal data enables us to analyze the surfing behavior of our users. By evaluating the data obtained, we are able to compile information about the use of the individual components of our website. This helps us to constantly improve our website and its user-friendliness. These purposes also constitute our legitimate interest in processing the data in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR. By anonymizing the IP address, the interest of users in the protection of their personal data is sufficiently taken into account.

4. possibility of objection and removal
We offer our users the option of opting out of the analysis process on our website. To do so, you must follow the corresponding link. In this way, a cookie is set on your system which signals to our system not to store the user’s data. If you delete the corresponding cookie from your own system in the meantime, you must set the opt-out cookie again.
You can find more information on the privacy settings of the Matomo software under the following link: https://matomo.org/docs/privacy/.

You may choose to prevent this website from aggregating and analyzing the actions you take here. Doing so will protect your privacy, but will also prevent the owner from learning from your actions and creating a better experience for you and other users.

5. Plugins and Tools

GOOGLE WEB FONTS
This site uses so-called web fonts, which are provided by Google, for the uniform display of fonts. When you access a page, your browser loads the required web fonts into your browser cache in order to display texts and fonts correctly.

For this purpose, the browser you are using must connect to the Google servers. This gives Google knowledge that our website has been accessed via your IP address. The use of Google Web Fonts is in the interest of a uniform and appealing presentation of our online offers. This represents a legitimate interest within the meaning of Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f GDPR.

If your browser does not support web fonts, a standard font will be used by your computer.

For more information on Google Web Fonts, see https://developers.google.com/fonts/faq and in Google’s privacy policy: https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/ .

GOOGLE MAPS
This site uses the Google Maps map service via an API. The provider is Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheater Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA.

To use the functions of Google Maps, it is necessary to save your IP address. This information is usually transmitted to a Google server in the USA and stored there. The provider of this site has no influence on this data transfer.

The use of Google Maps is in the interest of an appealing presentation of our online offers and an easy findability of the places we have indicated on the website. This represents a legitimate interest within the meaning of Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f GDPR.

You can find more information on handling user data in Google’s privacy policy: https://www.google.de/intl/de/policies/privacy/ .

PURECHAT
This site uses the Purechat chat service. The provider is Purechat Inc, 13835 N Northsight Blvd Suite 205 Scottsdale AZ, 85260, USA.

To use the Purechat functions, it is necessary to save your IP address. This information is usually transmitted to a Purechat server in the USA and stored there. The provider of this site has no influence on this data transfer.

Purechat is used in the interest of a comfortable communication option for users of our online offers. This represents a legitimate interest within the meaning of Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f GDPR.

You can find more information on handling user data in Purechat’s privacy policy: https://purechat.com/privacy .