Google Analytics Privacy Policy

On our website we use the analysis tracking tool Google Analytics (GA) from the American company Google LLC (1600 Amphitheatre Parkway Mountain View, CA 94043, USA). Google Analytics collects data about your actions on our website. For example, when you click on a link, that action is stored in a cookie and sent to Google Analytics. The reports we receive from Google Analytics enable us to better tailor our website and services to your needs. In the following we will go into more detail about the tracking tool and inform you above all about what data is stored and how you can prevent this.

What is Google Analytics?

Google Analytics is a tracking tool that is used to analyze the traffic on our website. To make Google Analytics work, a tracking code is built into the code of our website. When you visit our website, this code records various actions that you perform on our website. As soon as you leave our website, this data is sent to the Google Analytics servers and stored there.

Google processes the data, and we receive reports about your user behavior. These reports may include the following:

– Target group reports: Through target group reports we get to know our users better and know more precisely who is interested in our service.

– Advertisement Reports: Advertisement Reports help us to analyze and improve our online advertising.

– Acquisition reports: Acquisition reports give us helpful information about how we can get more people interested in our service.

– Behavioral Reports: Here we learn how you interact with our website. We can track which path you take on our site and which links you click on.

– Conversion reports: Conversion is the process by which you perform a desired action based on a marketing message. For example, when you go from being a mere website visitor to a buyer or newsletter subscriber. We use these reports to learn more about how our marketing activities are received by you. This is how we want to increase our conversion rate.

– Real-time reports: Here we always know immediately what is happening on our website. For example, we see how many users are reading this text.

Why do we use Google Analytics on our website?

Our goal with this website is clear: We want to offer you the best possible service. The statistics and data from Google Analytics help us to achieve this goal.

The statistically evaluated data give us a clear picture of the strengths and weaknesses of our website. On the one hand, we can optimize our site so that it is easier for interested people to find it on Google. On the other hand, the data helps us to better understand you as a visitor. We therefore know exactly what we need to improve on our website in order to offer you the best possible service. The data also helps us to carry out our advertising and marketing measures more individually and cost-effectively. After all, it only makes sense to show our products and services to people who are interested.

Which data is stored by Google Analytics?

Google Analytics uses a tracking code to create a random, unique ID associated with your browser cookie. This allows Google Analytics to recognize you as a new user. The next time you visit our site, you will be recognized as a “returning” user. All collected data is stored together with this User ID. This is the only way to evaluate pseudonymous user profiles.

Through identifiers such as cookies and app instance IDs, your interactions on our website are measured. Interactions are all kinds of actions you perform on our website. If you also use other Google systems (such as a Google account), data generated by Google Analytics can be linked to third-party cookies. Google does not share any Google Analytics data unless we, as the website operator, authorize it. Exceptions may be made if required by law.

The following cookies are used by Google Analytics:

Name: _ga
Value:2.1326744211.152221120704-5
Purpose: By default, analytics.js uses the _ga cookie to store the user ID. Basically, it serves to differentiate the website visitors.

Expiry date: after 2 years

Name: _gid
Value:2.1687193234.152221120704-1
Purpose: The cookie also serves to differentiate the website visitors

Expiry date: after 24 hours

Name: _gat_gtag_UA_
Value: 1
Purpose: Used to lower the request rate. If Google Analytics is provided through the Google Tag Manager, this cookie is named _dc_gtm_.

Expiration date: after 1 minute

Name: AMP_TOKEN
Value: none
Purpose: Used to lower the request rate. If Google Analytics is provided through the Google Tag Manager, this cookie is named _dc_gtm_.

Expiration date: after 30 seconds up to one year

Name: __utma
Value:1564498958.1564498958.1564498958.1
Purpose: With this cookie you can track your behavior on the website and measure its performance. The cookie is updated each time information is sent to Google Analytics.

Expiry date: after 2 years

Name: __utmt
Value: 1
Purpose: The cookie is used like _gat_gtag_UA_ to throttle the request rate.

Expiration date: after 10 minutes

Name: __utmb
Value: 3.10.1564498958
Purpose: This cookie is used to determine new sessions. It is updated every time new data or information is sent to Google Analytics.
Expiration date: after 30 minutes

Name: __utmc
Value: 167421564
Purpose: This cookie is used to establish new sessions for returning visitors. This is a session cookie and is only stored until you close the browser.
Expiration date: After closing the browser

Name: __utmz
Value: m|utmccn=(referral)|utmcmd=referral|utmcct=/
Purpose: The cookie is used to identify the source of traffic to our website. This means that the cookie stores where you came to our website from. This could have been another site or an advertising campaign.
Expiry date: after 6 months

Name: __utmv
Value: not specified
Purpose: The cookie is used to store user-defined user data. It is always updated when information is sent to Google Analytics.
Expiration date: after 2 years

Note: This list cannot claim to be complete, as Google changes the choice of its cookies again and again.

Here we show you an overview of the most important data collected with Google Analytics:

Heat Maps: Google creates so-called heat maps. With Heatmaps, you can see exactly those areas that you click on. This way we get information where you are “on the road” on our site.

Session Duration: Google defines session duration as the time you spend on our site without leaving the site. If you’ve been inactive for 20 minutes, the session ends automatically.

Bounce Rate: We talk about a bouncer if you only look at one page on our website and then leave our website again.

Account creation: When you create an account or place an order on our website, Google Analytics collects this data.

IP address: The IP address is only shown in abbreviated form so that no clear assignment is possible.

Location: The IP address can be used to determine the country and your approximate location. This process is also known as IP location determination.

Technical information: Technical information includes your browser type, your Internet provider or your screen resolution.

Source of Origin: Google Analytics or we are of course also interested in which website or which advertisement brought you to our site.

Other data includes contact details, any ratings, media playback (e.g. if you play a video on our site), sharing content via social media or adding to your favourites. This list is not intended to be exhaustive and serves only as a general guide to data storage by Google Analytics.

How long, and where is the data stored?

Google has distributed your servers around the world. Most servers are located in America and therefore your data is usually stored on American servers. Here you can find out exactly where the Google data centers are located: https://www.google.com/about/datacenters/inside/locations/?hl=de

Your data is distributed on different physical media. This has the advantage that the data can be retrieved more quickly and is better protected against manipulation. In every Google data center there are appropriate emergency programs for your data. For example, if Google’s hardware fails or natural disasters paralyze servers, the risk of a service interruption at Google remains low.

Google Analytics has a standard retention period of 26 months for your user data. Then your user data will be deleted. However, we have the option of choosing the retention period for user data ourselves. We have five options for this:

  • Cancellation after 14 months
  • Cancellation after 26 months
  • Cancellation after 38 months
  • Cancellation after 50 months
  • No automatic deletion

When the specified period has expired, the data is deleted once a month. This retention period applies to your data linked to cookies, user recognition and advertising IDs (e.g. cookies from the DoubleClick domain). Reporting results are based on aggregated data and are stored independently of user data. Aggregated data is a fusion of individual data into a larger entity.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

Under European Union data protection law, you have the right to access, update, delete or restrict your data. You can use the browser add-on to disable Google Analytics JavaScript (ga.js, analytics.js, dc.js) to prevent Google Analytics from using your information. You can download the browser add-on at https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=de. Please note that this add-on only disables the data collection by Google Analytics.

If you basically want to deactivate, delete or manage cookies (independently of Google Analytics), there are separate instructions for each browser.

Google Analytics 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 more information on this at https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt000000001L5AAI&tid=221120704.

We hope we could give you the most important information about data processing by Google Analytics. If you want to learn more about the tracking service, we recommend these two links: http://www.google.com/analytics/terms/de.html and https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/6004245?hl=de.

Google Analytics IP Anonymization

We have implemented the IP address anonymization of Google Analytics on this website. This function was developed by Google so that this website can comply with the applicable data protection regulations and recommendations of local data protection authorities if they prohibit the storage of the complete IP address. The anonymization or masking of the IP takes place as soon as the IP addresses arrive in the Google Analytics data collection network and before the data is saved or processed.

You can find more information on IP anonymization at https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/2763052?hl=de.

Google Analytics reports on demographic characteristics and interests

We have enabled the advertising reporting features in Google Analytics. The demographic and interest reports include information about age, gender and interests. This allows us to get a better picture of our users without having to associate this data with individual people. You can learn more about the advertising features at https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/3450482?hl=de_AT&utm_id=ad.

You can control the use of your Google Account activities and information under “Advertising settings” on https://adssettings.google.com/authenticated.

Google Analytics Deactivation Link

If you click on the following deactivation link, you can prevent Google from recording further visits to this website. Attention: Deleting cookies, using the incognito/private mode of your browser, or using another browser will result in data being collected again.

[google_analytics_optout]Disable Google Analytics[/google_analytics_optout]

Google Analytics Google Signals Privacy Policy

We have activated the Google signals in Google Analytics. This updates existing Google Analytics features (advertising reports, remarketing, cross-device reports, and reports on interests and demographics) to provide aggregated and anonymous information about you, if you have allowed personalized ads in your Google Account.

What’s special about this is that it is cross-device tracking. This means that your data can be analyzed across devices. By enabling Google signals, data is collected and linked to your Google Account. Google can thus recognize, for example, when you view a product on our website via a smartphone and only later purchase the product via a laptop. By activating Google signals, we can launch cross-device remarketing campaigns that would otherwise not be possible in this form. Remarketing means that we can also show you our offer on other websites.

In Google Analytics, the Google signals also collect additional visitor data such as location, search history, YouTube history and data about your actions on our website. This allows Google to provide us with better advertising reports and more useful information about your interests and demographics. These include your age, what language you speak, where you live, or what gender you are. In addition, social criteria such as your occupation, marital status and income are also collected. All these characteristics help Google Analytics to define groups of people or target groups.

The reports also help us to better assess your behaviour, wishes and interests. This enables us to optimize and adapt our services and products for you. These data expire by default after 26 months. Please note that this data is only collected if you have allowed personalised advertising in your Google Account. It is always aggregated and anonymous data and never data about individual people. You can manage or delete this data in your Google Account.

Google Analytics add-on for data processing

We have concluded a direct customer agreement with Google for the use of Google Analytics by accepting the “data processing addendum” in Google Analytics.

You can find out more about the data processing addendum for Google Analytics here: https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/3379636?hl=de&utm_id=ad

Source: Created with an imprint generator, translated by DeepL.