Our website uses HTTP cookies to store user-specific data.
In the following we explain what cookies are and why they are used so that you can better understand the following privacy policy.
What are cookies?
Whenever you surf the Internet, you use a browser. Some well-known browsers include Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Microsoft Edge. Most web pages store small text files in your browser. These files are called cookies.
There is one thing that cannot be dismissed: Cookies are really useful little helpers. Almost all websites use cookies. More precisely, they are HTTP cookies, since there are also other 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 stored in the cookie folder, quasi 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 visit our site again, your browser transmits 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 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 sites (e.g. Google Analytics). Each cookie is evaluated individually, as each cookie stores different data. The expiration 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”. Cookies also cannot access information on your PC.
Cookie data can look like this, for example:
Name: _ga
Value: GA1.2.1326744211.152221120671-6
Purpose: differentiation of website visitors
Expiry date: after 2 years
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 is clarified in the following sections of the privacy policy. At this point we would like to briefly discuss the different types of HTTP cookies.
One can distinguish 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 places a product in the shopping cart, then continues surfing on other pages and only proceeds to checkout later. These cookies do not delete the shopping cart, even if the user closes his browser window.
Appropriate cookies
These cookies collect information about user behavior and whether the user receives any error messages. In addition, these cookies also measure the loading time and the behaviour of the website with different browsers.
Target-oriented cookies
These cookies ensure a better user-friendliness. For example, entered locations, font sizes or form data are stored.
Advertising cookies
These cookies are also called targeting cookies. They are used to deliver customized advertising to the user. This can be very practical, but also very annoying.
Usually, when you visit a website for the first time, you will be asked which of these types of cookie you wish to accept. And of course this decision is also stored in a cookie.
How can I delete cookies?
How and whether you want to use cookies is up to you. Regardless of which service or website the cookies come from, you always have the option of deleting, deactivating or only partially allowing 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 when you change or delete cookie settings, you can find this in your browser settings (German):
Chrome: Delete, activate 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 do not wish to receive cookies, you can set up your browser so that it always informs you when a cookie is to be set. This way you can decide for each individual cookie whether you want to allow it or not. The procedure varies from browser to browser. The best way to find the instructions is to search Google using the keyword “Delete Chrome cookies” or “Disable Chrome cookies” in the case of a Chrome browser.
What about my privacy?
The so-called “cookie guidelines” have been in place since 2009. These state that the storage of cookies requires the consent of the person you are visiting. Within the EU countries, however, there are still very different reactions to these guidelines. In Austria, however, this directive has been implemented in § 96 (3) of the Telecommunications Act (TKG).
If you want to know more about cookies and are not afraid of technical documentation, we recommend https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc6265, the Request for Comments of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) called “HTTP State Management Mechanism”.
Source: Created with an imprint generator, translated by DeepL.