Privacy policy
We have compiled this privacy policy (edition 02.03.2021-321267542) in order to explain to you which data we collect, how we use data and which options you have as a visitor to our website in accordance with the stipulations of Regulation (EU) 2016/679, the General Data Protection Regulation.
Data protection explanations usually sound highly technical. However, this version is intended to describe the most important things as simply and clearly as possible. Wherever possible, technical terms are explained in a way that is easy to understand. In addition, we wish to inform you that we only collect and use data through this website when a corresponding legal basis exists. That would be impossible by using brief technical explanations, which is often the case for the Internet when it comes to data protection. I hope that you will find the following explanations interesting and informative, and perhaps there will be some information you were previously unaware of.
However, if you still have questions, please click on the links provided and read the more detailed information provided by third parties, or simply send us an e-mail. Our contact details can be found in the legal notice.
When you visit websites these days, certain data is compiled and stored automatically, and that is also the case with this website. The data collected should be kept to a minimum and only collected for a reason. Incidentally, by website we mean all the online pages of a domain, i.e. everything from the first (home) page right down to the last subpage (like this one).
Right at this moment, while you are reading this, our web server (i.e. the computer on which this website is stored) – for reasons of operational reliability, compilation of access statistics, etc. – is storing data, generally automatically, such as:
- the complete Internet address (URL) of the website called up,
- the browser and browser version (e.g. Chrome 87),
- the operating system used (e.g. Windows 10),
- the address (URL) of the website visited beforehand (referrer URL),
- the host name and IP address of the device from which you accessed the Internet, and
- date and time
in files, the “web server logs”. These files are normally stored for two weeks and then automatically erased. We do not pass on these data, but cannot rule out that these data are viewed by authorities in the case of illegal behaviour.
In other words: Your visit is recorded by our provider, i.e. the company that allows our website to run on special computers (servers), but we do not pass on your data to anyone else!
Our website uses HTTP cookies to store data specific to users. What cookies are and why they are used is explained below so that you have a better understanding of this privacy policy.
What are cookies exactly?
You use a browser whenever you surf the Internet. Well-known browsers are, for example, Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge. Most websites store small text files in your browser. These files are known as cookies.
One thing cannot be denied: Cookies are very useful things. Almost all websites use cookies, specifically, HTTP cookies, because there are other cookies used for other purposes. HTTP cookies are small files that are stored by our website on your computer. These cookie files are stored automatically in the cookie folder, essentially the “brain” of your browser. A cookie consists of a name and a value. When defining a cookie, one or more further attributes must be specified as well.
Cookies store certain elements of your user data, e.g. language or personal website settings. When you call up our website, your browser transmits the “user-related” information back to our website. So, thanks to the cookies, our website knows who you are and offers you your familiar standard setting. In some browsers, every cookie has its own file, in others, e.g. Firefox, all cookies are stored in one single file.
There are first-party and third-party cookies: First-party cookies are compiled directly by our website, third-party cookies are compiled by partner websites (e.g. Google Analytics). Every cookie must be evaluated separately because every cookie stores different data. The expiry time of a cookie also varies from a few minutes right up to a few years. Cookies are not software programs and do not contain any viruses, Trojans or other “bugs”, and cannot access any information on your computer.
What cookie types are there?
The question regarding which specific cookies we use depends on the services used and is explained in the following sections of this privacy policy. At this point we shall briefly list the various types of HTTP cookie.
There are four different types of cookie:
Essential cookies
These cookies are required to guarantee the basic functionality of the website. For example, these cookies are needed when a user places an item in the shopping cart, then visits other pages before switching to the checkout. These cookies make sure that the shopping cart is not emptied, even when the user closes their browser window.
Functional cookies
These cookies collect information about user behaviour and whether the user has received any error messages. In addition, these cookies help to measure the loading time of the website and its behaviour in various browsers.
Performance cookies
These cookies improve user-friendliness. For example, they store any locations, font sizes or enquiry form data entered by the user.
Advertising cookies
These cookies are also known as targeting cookies. They are used to show advertisements customised to the particular user. This can be very practical, but also very annoying.
Normally, when you visit a website for the first time, you are asked about which types of cookie you wish to allow. And this decision is stored in a cookie, of course.
How can I delete cookies?
You decide whether and how you wish to use cookies. Irrespective of from which service or which website the cookies originate, you always have the option of deleting cookies, allowing only certain cookies or deactivating cookies. For example, you can block cookies from third parties but allow all other cookies.
If you wish to find out which cookies have been stored in your browser, wish to change cookie settings or delete cookies, then you can find out how to do this in your browser settings:
Chrome: Clear, enable and manage cookies in Chrome
Safari: Manage cookies and website data in Safari
Firefox: Clear cookies and site data
Internet Explorer: Delete and manage cookies
Microsoft Edge: Delete cookies in Microsoft Edge
If you never want to have any cookies, you can set your browser so that it always warns you when a cookie is about to be set. You can therefore decide to allow or reject every single cookie. The procedure varies depending on the browser. To find out how to do this, carry out a Google search with the term “clear cookies [name of browser]” or “deactivate cookies [name of browser]”.
What is the situation with my data privacy?
The EU ePrivacy Directive (the “cookie law”) was passed in 2002 and amended in 2009. It specifies that you have to consent to the storage of cookies. However, there have been very different reactions to this directive among the EU member states. For example, the ePrivacy Directive has not been passed into national law in Germany. Instead, this directive is essentially implemented in art. 15, para. 3, of the German Telemedia Act (TMG, Telemediengesetz).
If you wish to find out more about cookies and are not put off by technical documents, then we recommend reading https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc6265, the Request for Comments of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), called the “HTTP State Management Mechanism”.
Our website uses the Borlabs cookie consent technology to obtain your consent to the storage of certain cookies in your browser and for their data privacy protection compliant documentation. The provider of this technology is Borlabs – Benjamin A. Bornschein, Georg-Wilhelm-Str. 17, 21107 Hamburg, Germany (hereinafter referred to as Borlabs).
Whenever you visit our website, a Borlabs cookie will be stored in your browser, which archives any declarations or revocations of consent you have entered. These data are not shared with the provider of the Borlabs technology.
The recorded data shall remain archived until you ask us to eradicate them, delete the Borlabs cookie on your own or the purpose of storing the data no longer exists. This shall be without prejudice to any retention obligations mandated by law. To review the details of Borlabs’ data processing policies, please visit https://de.borlabs.io/kb/welche-daten-speichert-borlabs-cookie/
We use the Borlabs cookie consent technology to obtain the declarations of consent mandated by law for the use of cookies. The legal basis for the use of such cookies is Art. 6 Sect. 1 Sentence 1 lit. c GDPR.
Change cookie preferencesPersonal data that you send to us electronically via this website, e.g. name, e-mail address, postal address or other personal details provided within the scope of completing an enquiry form, are used by us together with the time and the IP address only in connection with the respective specified purpose, are securely stored and are not transmitted to third parties.
Therefore, we use personal data only for communicating with those visitors who expressly request that we contact them and for processing the products and services offered on this website. We do not pass on your personal data without your consent, but cannot rule out that these data are viewed by authorities in the case of illegal behaviour.
If you send us personal data by e-mail, i.e. not connected with this website, then we cannot guarantee a secure transmission and the protection of your data. Our recommendation is: Never send confidential data unencrypted via e-mail.
The legal basis according to GDPR, art. 6, para. 1(a) (Lawfulness of processing), is that you give us your consent to process the data you have entered. You can withdraw your consent at any time – an informal e-mail is sufficient. Our contact details can be found in the legal notice.
According to the provisions of the GDPR, you are entitled to the following rights:
- Right to rectification (GDPR, art. 16)
- Right to erasure (“right to be forgotten”) (GDPR, art. 17)
- Right to restriction of processing (GDPR, art. 18)
- Right to notification regarding rectification or erasure of personal data or restriction of processing (GDPR, art. 19)
- Right to data portability (GDPR, art. 20)
- Right to object (GDPR, art. 21)
- Right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing, including profiling (GDPR, art. 22)
If you believe that the processing of your data infringes data protection legislation or your data protection rights have been infringed in any other way, then you can contact the Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (BfDI).
In this part of the privacy policy, we tell you whether and how we evaluate the data concerning your visit to this website. The data collected is generally evaluated anonymously and your behaviour on this website does not allow us to identify you.
The following sections provide more information about the options for objecting to this visitor data evaluation.
TLS, encryption and https all sounds highly technical – and it is. We use HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) to send data securely across the Internet without fear of others accessing the data. This means that the complete transmission of all data from your browser to our web server is secure – nobody can “listen in”.
We have therefore introduced an additional layer of security and satisfy data protection requirements by way of a technical process (GDPR, art. 25, para. 1). We guarantee protection for confidential data by using TLS (Transport Layer Security), an encryption protocol for the secure transmission of data across the Internet.
You can recognise that this secure method of data transmission is being used by way of the small padlock symbol in your browser to the left of the Internet address and the use of the abbreviation https (instead of http) as part of our Internet address.
If you would like to find out more about encryption, we recommend entering the search term “Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure wiki” in your browser and following the links to further information.
We use the Google Tag Manager. The provider is Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland.
Google Tag Manager is a tool that allows us to embed tracking or statistical tools and other technologies on our website. The Google Tag Manager itself does not create user profiles, does not store cookies and does not perform any independent analyses. It only serves to manage and play out the tools integrated via it. However, the Google Tag Manager records your IP address, which may also be transferred to Google’s parent company in the United States.
The use of the Google Tag Manager is based on Art. 6 (1) lit. f DSGVO. The website operator has a legitimate interest in a quick and uncomplicated integration and management of various tools on his website. If a corresponding consent has been requested, the processing is carried out exclusively on the basis of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO and § 25 para. 1 TTDSG, insofar as the consent includes the storage of cookies or access to information in the user’s terminal device (e.g. device fingerprinting) as defined by the TTDSG. The consent can be revoked at any time.
This website uses functions of the web analysis service Google Analytics. The provider is Google Ireland Limited (“Google”), Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland.
Google Analytics enables the website operator to analyze the behavior of website visitors. In doing so, the website operator receives various usage data, such as page views, dwell time, operating systems used and the origin of the user. This data is summarized in a user ID and assigned to the respective end device of the website visitor.
Furthermore, Google Analytics allows us to record your mouse and scroll movements and clicks, among other things. Furthermore, Google Analytics uses various modeling approaches to supplement the collected data sets and uses machine learning technologies in the data analysis.
Google Analytics uses technologies that enable the recognition of the user for the purpose of analyzing user behavior (e.g. cookies or device fingerprinting). The information collected by Google about the use of this website is usually transferred to a Google server in the USA and stored there.
The use of this service is based on your consent according to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO and § 25 para. 1 TTDSG. The consent can be revoked at any time.
Data transfer to the USA is based on the standard contractual clauses of the EU Commission. Details can be found here: https://business.safety.google/adscontrollerterms/sccs/.
Browser Plugin
You can prevent the collection and processing of your data by Google by downloading and installing the browser plugin available at the following link: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=en.
For more information on how Google Analytics handles user data, please see Google’s privacy policy: https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/6004245?hl=en.
Google signals
We use Google signals. When you visit our website, Google Analytics collects, among other things, your location, search history and YouTube history, as well as demographic data (visitor data). This data can be used for personalized advertising with the help of Google signals. If you have a Google account, Google Signal’s visitor data is linked to your Google account and used for personalized advertising messages. The data is also used to create anonymized statistics on the user behavior of our users.
Contract data processing
We have executed a contract data processing agreement with Google and are implementing the stringent provisions of the German data protection agencies to the fullest when using Google Analytics.
We use Google Maps from Google Inc. on our website. Google Ireland Limited (Gordon House, Barrow Street Dublin 4, Ireland) is responsible for all Google services in Europe. Google Maps allows us to show you locations better and hence adapt our service to your needs. By using Google Maps, data is transmitted to Google and stored on the Google servers. In the following, we explain in more detail just what Google Maps is, why we use this Google service, which data are stored and how you can prevent this.
What is Google Maps?
Google Maps is a web mapping platform operated by the Google company. Google Maps allows you to search for the exact locations of places, points of interest, accommodation or companies online via a desktop computer, tablet or app. If companies take part in Google My Business, further information about the company is displayed next to the location. To display route directions, a map segment of a location can be embedded in a website by means of HTML code. Google Maps can display the Earth’s surface as a road map or as a satellite image. Very accurate presentations are possible thanks to the Street View images and the high-resolution satellite images.
Why do we use Google Maps on our website?
The aim of all our efforts on this website is to offer you a helpful, meaningful visit. Embedding Google Maps enables us to provide you with the most important information about various locations. You can see at a glance where our offices and distributors can be found. The route planner always shows you the best/quickest route to us. You can select directions for car, public transport, walking or cycling. We regard the provision of Google Maps as part of our customer service.
Which data are stored by Google Maps?
Google Maps must collect and store data from you so that it can provide a full service. That data includes the search terms entered, your IP address and also the latitude and longitude of your location. If you use the route planning function, then the start address you enter is also stored. However, this data storage takes place on the Google Maps websites. We can only inform you about it, have no influence on it. As we have embedded Google Maps in our website, Google sets at least one cookie (name: NID) in your browser. This cookie stores data about your user behaviour. Google uses these data chiefly to optimise its own services and provide personalised ads for you.
The following cookies are set in your browser as a result of embedding Google Maps:
Name: NID
Value: 188=h26c1Ktha7fCQTx8rXgLyATyITJ321267542-5
Purpose: NID is used by Google to adapt ads to your Google search. The cookie helps Google to “remember” your most frequent search queries or your interaction with ads in the past. Therefore, you are always shown personalised ads. The cookie includes a unique ID that Google uses to collect your personalised settings for advertising purposes.
Expires: after 6 months
Note: We cannot guarantee the completeness of the details regarding the data stored. Changes can never be ruled out, especially when it comes to the use of cookies. To identify the NID cookie, a test page was set up on which only Google Maps was embedded.
Where and for how long are the data stored?
The Google servers are located in data centres all over the world. However, most of the servers are located in America. For this reason, your data are increasingly stored in the USA. The exact locations of the Google data centres are listed here: https://www.google.com/about/datacenters/locations/
Google distributes the data across various data media so that the data can be retrieved faster and better protected against potential manipulation attempts. Every data centre also has specific emergency programs. For example, if there are problems with the Google hardware or a natural disaster knocks out the servers, the data is nevertheless still quite well protected.
Google stores some data for a fixed period. For other data, Google merely provides the option of deleting that data manually. Moreover, the company also anonymises information (e.g. advertising data) in server logs by deleting part of the IP address and cookie information after 9 or 18 months.
How can I delete my data and/or prevent data being stored?
The automatic delete function for location and activity data introduced in 2019 means that data for determining location and web/app activity are stored for either 3 or 18 months – depending on your decision – and then deleted. In addition, it is possible to delete this data at any time manually via your Google account. If you wish to prevent your location from being acquired, then you must switch off “Web & App Activity” in your Google account. To do this, click on “Manage your Google Account”, select “Data and privacy” and then toggle “Web & App Activity” on or off.
Google is an active participant in the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework, which regulates the correct and secure transfer of personal data. You can find out more about this here: https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt000000001L5AAI. If you would like to find out more about data processing by Google, we recommend that you read Google’s own privacy policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en.
This site uses so-called web fonts provided by Google for the uniform display of fonts. The Google Fonts are installed locally. A connection to Google servers does not take place.
For more information about Google Web Fonts, please see https://developers.google.com/fonts/faq and Google’s privacy policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en.
If you subscribe to our newsletter, you send the aforementioned personal data and give us the right to contact you by e-mail. We use the data stored within the scope of subscribing to the newsletter exclusively for our newsletter and do not pass on the data to third parties.
If you unsubscribe from the newsletter (and the link for this can be found at the bottom of every newsletter), then we erase all the data that were stored in conjunction with your newsletter subscription.
We embed elements for social media services in our website in order to display images, videos and texts.
When you visit pages that display these elements, data is transmitted from your browser to the respective social media service and stored by that service. We have no access to this data. The following link takes you to the pages of the respective social media service where you can find out how the service processes your data:
- The Google privacy policy applies for YouTube: https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en
We have embedded YouTube videos in our website so that we can present interesting videos directly on our website. YouTube is a video portal that has been a subsidiary of Google since 2006. The portal is operated by YouTube, LLC, 901 Cherry Ave., San Bruno, CA 94066, USA. When you call up a page on our website which includes a YouTube video, your browser is automatically connected to the YouTube, or rather Google, servers. Various data are transmitted depending on the settings. Google Ireland Limited (Gordon House, Barrow Street Dublin 4, Ireland) is responsible for all data processing in Europe.
In the following, we explain which data are processed, why we embed YouTube videos and how you can manage or delete your data.
What is YouTube?
Users can view, rate and comment on videos on YouTube and upload their own, all free of charge. In recent years, YouTube has become one of the most important social media channels worldwide. To enable us to show videos on our website, YouTube provides a code snippet that we embed in our website.
Why do we use YouTube videos on our website?
YouTube is the video platform with the most visitors and best content. We endeavour to offer you the best possible user experience when visiting our website. And that means it is simply essential to include interesting videos. The embedded videos enable us to provide you with further helpful content that complements our texts and images. In addition, embedded videos make our website more visible to the Google search engine. Even if we place advertising via Google Ads, Google – thanks to the data collected – really only shows these ads to people interested in our offers.
Which data does YouTube store?
As soon as you visit one of our pages that includes a YouTube video, YouTube sets at least one cookie that stores your IP address and our URL. If you are logged into your YouTube account, then YouTube can assign your interaction with our website to your profile, usually with the help of cookies. The data includes length of session, bounce rate, approximate location and technical information such as type of browser, screen resolution or your Internet provider. Further data could be contact data, possible ratings, the sharing of content via social media or inclusion among your YouTube favourites.
If you are not logged into your Google or YouTube account, then Google stores data with a unique ID that can be linked to your device, browser or app. Therefore, your preferred language setting is retained, for example. However, many interaction data cannot be stored because fewer cookies are set.
The cookies that were set in the browser during a test are listed below. We list the cookies that were set without being logged into a YouTube account, but also the cookies that were set when logged on. The list does not claim to be exhaustive because the user data always depends on the interaction with YouTube.
Name: YSC
Value: b9-CV6ojI5Y321267542-1
Purpose: This cookie registers a unique ID in order to store statistics about the video viewed.
Expires: after the end of the session
Name: PREF
Value: f1=50000000
Purpose: This cookie also registers your unique ID. PREF provides Google with statistics about how you use YouTube videos on our website.
Expires: after 8 months
Name: GPS
Value: 1
Purpose: This cookie registers your unique ID on mobile devices in order to track the GPS location.
Expires: after 30 minutes
Name: VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE
Value: 95Chz8bagyU
Purpose: This cookie attempts to estimate the bandwidth of the user on our website (with embedded YouTube video).
Expires: after 8 months
Further cookies that are set when you are logged into your YouTube account:
Name: APISID
Value: zILlvClZSkqGsSwI/AU1aZI6HY7321267542-
Purpose: This cookie is used to compile a profile of your interests. The data are used for personalised ads.
Expires: after 2 years
Name: CONSENT
Value: YES+AT.de+20150628-20-0
Purpose: This cookie stores the status of the consent of a user regarding the use of various Google services. CONSENT also has a security function in that it checks users and protects user data against unauthorised access.
Expires: after 19 years
Name: HSID
Value: AcRwpgUik9Dveht0I
Purpose: This cookie is used to compile a profile of your interests. These data can help to display personalised ads.
Expires: after 2 years
Name: LOGIN_INFO
Value: AFmmF2swRQIhALl6aL…
Purpose: Information about your login data is stored in this cookie.
Expires: after 2 years
Name: SAPISID
Value: 7oaPxoG-pZsJuuF5/AnUdDUIsJ9iJz2vdM
Purpose: This cookie functions by creating a unique ID for your browser and your device. It is used to compile a profile of your interests.
Expires: after 2 years
Name: SID
Value: oQfNKjAsI321267542-
Purpose: This cookie stores your Google account ID and the time of your last login in a digitally signed and encrypted form.
Expires: after 2 years
Name: SIDCC
Value: AN0-TYuqub2JOcDTyL
Purpose: This cookie stores data about how you use the website and which ads you might have seen prior to visiting our website.
Expires: after 3 months
Where and for how long are the data stored?
The data that YouTube obtains from you and processes are stored on the Google servers. Most of the servers are located in America. The exact locations of the Google data centres are listed here: https://www.google.com/about/datacenters/locations/.
Your data is distributed across the servers so that your data can be retrieved faster and are better protected against manipulation.
The data acquired is stored by Google for different lengths of time. You can delete some data at any time, other data are deleted automatically after a certain time and yet other data are stored by Google for a longer period. Some data stored in your Google account (e.g. items from “My activity”, photos or documents, products) remain stored until you delete them. It is even possible to delete some data linked to your device, browser or app when you are not logged into a Google account.
How can I delete my data and/or prevent data being stored?
You can delete data in your Google account manually. The automatic delete function for location and activity data introduced in 2019 means that data are stored for either 3 or 18 months – depending on your decision – and then deleted.
YouTube is a subsidiary of Google and so they have a common privacy policy. If you would like to find out more about what happens to your data, we recommend that you read the following privacy policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en.
We have embedded the YouTube “Subscribe” button in our website. The button is in the form of the classic YouTube logo – the word “Subscribe” or “YouTube” in white against a red background plus the white “Play” symbol to the left. However, the button can also appear with a different design.
Our YouTube channel contains a number of interesting, exciting videos. The embedded “Subscribe” button allows you to subscribe to our channel directly from our website without having to call up the YouTube website separately. Our aim here is to make it easier for you to access our comprehensive content. Please note that YouTube can store and process your data.
If you see a “Subscribe” button on our website, then – according to Google – YouTube sets at least one cookie. This cookie stores your IP address and our URL. YouTube can therefore also obtain information about your browser, your approximate location and your language setting. The following four cookies were set in our test without being logged into YouTube.
Name: YSC
Value: b9-CV6ojI5321267542Y
Purpose: This cookie registers a unique ID in order to store statistics about the video viewed.
Expires: after the end of the session
Name: PREF
Value: f1=50000000
Purpose: This cookie also registers your unique ID. PREF provides Google with statistics about how you use YouTube videos on our website.
Expires: after 8 months
Name: GPS
Value: 1
Purpose: This cookie registers your unique ID on mobile devices in order to track the GPS location.
Expires: after 30 minutes
Name: VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE
Value: 32126754295Chz8bagyU
Purpose: This cookie attempts to estimate the bandwidth of the user on our website (with embedded YouTube video).
Expires: after 8 months
Note: These cookies were set after a test and the list does not claim to be exhaustive.
If you are logged into your YouTube account, YouTube can use cookies to store data regarding your activities/interaction with our website and assign these data to your YouTube account. YouTube therefore acquires information about, for example, the length of time you spent browsing our website, which browser you use, which screen resolution you prefer or which activities you perform.
YouTube uses this data to improve its own services and offers, but also to provide analyses and statistics for advertisers (who use Google Ads).
Contact
Information obligation according to TMG art. 5
Richtbergstr. 8
97493 Bergrheinfeld
Germany
VAT ID No: DE 134 175 871
Register: Companies Register
Regd. No: HRB 2673
Registered with: Schweinfurt Local Court
Tel: +49 (0)9721 78960
Mail: info@mayerschaltechnik.de
Managing Directors:
Bernhard Mayer, Andrea Neubert