COOKIE POLICY
[VERSION: 15 OCTOBER 2018]

1. What are cookies?

Cookies are small text files that are stored on your computer. They make it possible to retain information for a specific period of time. We use cookies to ensure that our services function properly and in order to show targeted and relevant advertisement on a range of websites in the internet and social media, based on data collected by means of cookies. With the cookies used, we also measure and analyze the validity and reach of our advertisement so that we can enhance and refine our marketing strategy.

After a browser session is terminated, most of the cookies we use are deleted from your hard drive (“session cookies”). The so-called “permanent cookies” remain on your computer, however, and enable us to recognise you upon your next visit.

2. Which types of cookies do we use?

We use the following cookies:

Strictly necessary cookies. These are cookies that are necessary for the provision of the services. This includes cookies that enable you to log into protected areas of our services.

Functionality cookies. These cookies serve to recognize you when you go back to our services. That way we can personalize our content for you, welcome you by your name and store your preferences (e.g. your language or country settings). These cookies do not track your browsing activities on other websites.

Analytic / performance cookies. These cookies collect anonymized or pseudonymized data on how our services are used. For example, we use Google Analytics (see below) to understand how customers reach our websites, navigate through or use them, and to improve the functionality of our websites and applications, e.g. as we ensure that users can easily find areas they have looked for. The data stored by these cookies do not contain any personal data which determine your identity.

Targeting cookies. These cookies record your visit of our services, the websites you visited and the links you clicked on. We use the data to better adapt our services and advertisement contained therein to your interests. Also, we use these cookies to reduce the amount of advertisement placed for you and to measure the validity of a marketing campaign. For this purpose we transfer these data to third parties.

Third party cookies. These cookies are placed by our business partners and service providers for the purposes described above.

You will find further details on certain cookies that we use as well as the purposes for which they are used in the sections below.

3. The use of social media plugins

For data protection reasons, we do not directly include social media plugins (e.g. the Facebook like button) in our web presence. When you retrieve our sites, no data is therefore transferred to social media platforms.

However, you do have the option of using social media plugin functions. We use the “Shariff solution” developed by the c’t magazine in order to provide a data protection compliant alternative to classical social plugins.

What does the “Shariff solution” mean? It means that as a first step, all data and functions necessary to display the Facebook buttons are made available by our webserver. The data is not transferred to the social media platform (e.g. Facebook) until you decide to share an article through the respective button and click on it. The respective social media platform is the data controller of the data collected by it and shared by you. For further details on the data processing, please read the privacy policy of the respective social media platform.

4. Used Cookies

AddThis (Functionality Cookie)

These functionality cookies enable you to use social media functionality, e.g. you can use these cookies to share contributions on our websites or our website with third parties or recommend them to third parties.

Awin (Targeting Cookie)

These targeting cookies are provided by Awin. They collect information about website usage via a cookie ID assigned to you, including your session ID, IP address, pages you visit and locations you view, in order to provide interest-based content and personalised advertisements on external websites. Awin enables its partner companies, especially publishers, to set retargeting cookies. Cookies are used to track views ("Views"), clicks and orders ("Orders"). The purpose of these cookies is statistical evaluation, fraud prevention as well as the possibility to assign individual Orders. Awin does not store and use cookies and IP addresses to analyse user behavior or to create user profiles.

Awin’s cookies have a storage period between five days and one year, depending on their purpose and the information stored. Your session ID is automatically deleted at the end of the session.

You can object to this interest-based advertising via the following link:

http://modules.affili.net/consent/program/16962

It is also possible to manage your cookie preferences at http://www.youronlinechoices.com/ .

More information is available under:

https://www.awin.com/de/rechtliches/privacy-policy-DACH   

Criteo (Targeting Cookie)

These targeting cookies are provided by Criteo. They collect information about Web site usage via a cookie or advertising ID assigned to you, including IP address, Internet service provider, terminal device information (device type, operating system, version), date and time of access, your location (as indicated by the abbreviated IP address), referral and exit pages, pages you visit, and locations or products you view, your search behavior, number of ads displayed to you. Criteo uses this information to provide interest-based content and personalised advertisements on external websites, analyse trends, and optimise Criteo’s services. Criteo combines cookie IDs and your mobile ID to enhance Criteo’s IT synchronisation and provide you with a seamless online experience. Criteo shortens your IP address for targeting purposes, but uses your full IP address for fraud prevention and investigation, attribution of sales, and marketing reports with aggregated data.

Criteo will only process any data collected through cookies with your consent or if Criteo has a legitimate interest in processing it.

Criteo’s cookies have a storage period between one hour and five years (opt-out cookie), depending on the purpose and the information stored. Your session ID is automatically deleted at the end of the session.

You can object to this interest-based advertising via the following link: http://www.criteo.com/de/privacy/.  

It is also possible to manage your cookie preferences at http://www.youronlinechoices.com/.

More information and an opt-out possibility is available under:

http://www.criteo.com/de/privacy/  

Google Analytics (Analytical / performance cookie)

These analytical and performance cookies collect specific information that can be used in various combinations; this combined information is used for purposes of reporting and analyzing website and marketing performance to make improvements to our websites and services. The information may also be shared with other Google products so that we and others can provide you with interest-based content and personalised advertisements on external websites.

The information generated by the cookies about the use of this website by the users is generally transferred to and stored by Google on servers in the United States. Since we have activated IP anonymisation, Google shortens your IP address within member states of the European Union or in other signatory states to the Agreement on the European Economic Area. Only in exceptional cases the full IP address is transferred to a Google server in the USA and shortened there. On behalf of the service provider of this website, Google will use this information for the purpose of evaluating the use of the website by users, compiling reports on website activity and providing other services to the service provider relating to website activity and internet usage. The IP address transmitted by your browser as part of Google Analytics is not combined with other data from Google.

You may refuse the use of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your browser, however please note that if you do this you may not be able to use the full functionality of this website. You can also prevent Google from collecting the data generated by the cookie and related to your use of the website (including your IP address) and Google from processing this data by downloading and installing the browser plugin available under the following link: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=de

More information is available under:

https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/collection/analyticsjs/cookie-usage

You can prevent Google Analytics from collecting data by clicking on the following link. An opt-out cookie is set which permanently prevents the future collection of your data when you visit these websites:

Google Maps (Functionality Cookie)

When you use Google Maps, information about your use (in particular the IP address of your computer) is transferred to a Google Inc. server in the US and stored there. We have no influence over the further processing of data by Google Inc.

You can read the terms of use of Google Maps here:

http://www.google.com/intl/de_de/help/terms_maps.html.

For detailed information about Google’s privacy policy, please see: http://www.google.de/intl/de/policies/privacy/.

Google Dynamic Remarketing (Targeting Cookie)

These targeting cookies enable us to target visitors to our website with targeted advertising as part of marketing campaigns for our products on the websites of our advertising partners. This form of advertising is anonymous. The insertion of advertising media on the websites of our partners is based on a cookie technology ("DoubleClick Cookie") and the previous visit to our website. The data is collected and stored by Google. Our advertising partners do not receive any information about the data stored in the cookie. In addition to the IP address of the computer used, an ID number is stored in the cookie with which Google can determine how often you have visited which website. Apart from the IP address, no other personal data is stored. The data stored in the cookie are not combined with other personal data to form user profiles. You can manage your ad preferences in Google Ad Help (https://support.google.com/ads/answer/7395996).

5. Deactivating and activating cookies

The Help function of most web browsers help you how to prevent your browser from accepting new cookies, how you make your browser informing of a new cookie, or how you deactivate any cookies received.

6. Contact

For any questions or suggestions relating to data protection, please refer to our data protection officer: Dr. Uwe Schläger, datenschutz nord GmbH, office@datenschutz-nord.de, phone 0049 421 69 66 32 0.