Newsletter Privacy Policy

When you sign up for our newsletter, you submit the above personal information and give us the right to contact you by email. We use the data stored as part of the registration for the newsletter exclusively for our newsletter and do not pass it on.

If you unsubscribe from the newsletter - you will find the link for this at the very bottom of each newsletter - we will delete all data that was stored with the newsletter registration.

Google reCAPTCHA Privacy Policy

Our primary goal is to secure and protect our website for you and for us in the best possible way. To ensure this, we use Google reCAPTCHA of the company Google Inc. For the European area, the company Google Ireland Limited (Gordon House, Barrow Street Dublin 4, Ireland) is responsible for all Google services. With reCAPTCHA we can determine whether you are really a flesh and blood human being and not a robot or other spam software. By spam we mean any unsolicited information sent to us electronically. With the classic CAPTCHAS, you usually had to solve text or image puzzles to verify the information. With reCAPTCHA from Google, we usually don't have to bother you with such puzzles. Here, in most cases, it is enough to simply check a box to confirm that you are not a bot. With the new Invisible reCAPTCHA version, you don't even have to set a checkmark anymore. You'll learn exactly how this works and, more importantly, what data is used to do it later in this privacy policy.

What is reCAPTCHA?

reCAPTCHA is a free captcha service from Google that protects websites from spam software and abuse by non-human visitors. The most common use of this service is when you fill out forms on the web. A captcha service is a kind of automatic Turing test, designed to ensure that an action on the Internet is performed by a human and not by a bot. In the classic Turing test (named after computer scientist Alan Turing), a human determines the distinction between a bot and a human. In captchas, the computer or a software program also does this. Classic captchas work with small tasks that are easy for humans to solve, but present significant difficulties for machines. With reCAPTCHA, you no longer have to actively solve puzzles. The tool uses modern risk techniques to distinguish humans from bots. Here, you only need to check the "I am not a robot" text box, or with Invisible reCAPTCHA, even that is no longer necessary. With reCAPTCHA, a JavaScript element is included in the source code and then the tool runs in the background and analyzes your user behavior. From these user actions, the software calculates a so-called captcha score. Google uses this score to calculate even before the captcha is entered how likely you are to be a human. reCAPTCHA, or captchas in general, are always used when bots could manipulate or abuse certain actions (such as registrations, surveys, etc.).

Why do we use reCAPTCHA on our website?

We only want to welcome flesh and blood people to our site. Bots or spam software of any kind may confidently stay at home. That's why we pull out all the stops to protect ourselves and offer the best possible user experience for you. For this reason we use Google reCAPTCHA from Google. This way we can be pretty sure that we remain a "bot-free" website. By using reCAPTCHA, data is transmitted to Google to determine whether you are actually human. reCAPTCHA is therefore used to ensure the security of our website and, by extension, your security. For example, without reCAPTCHA, it could happen that a bot registers as many e-mail addresses as possible during registration in order to "spam" forums or blogs with unwanted advertising content. With reCAPTCHA we can avoid such bot attacks.

What data is stored by reCAPTCHA?

reCAPTCHA collects personal data from users to determine whether actions on our website really originate from humans. Thus, the IP address and other data required by Google for the reCAPTCHA service may be sent to Google. IP addresses are almost always shortened beforehand within the member states of the EU or other contracting states to the Agreement on the European Economic Area before the data ends up on a server in the USA. The IP address is not combined with other data from Google unless you are logged in with your Google account while using reCAPTCHA. First, the reCAPTCHA algorithm checks whether Google cookies from other Google services (YouTube. Gmail, etc.) are already placed on your browser. Then, reCAPTCHA places an additional cookie on your browser and collects a snapshot of your browser window.

The following list of collected browser and user data, does not claim to be exhaustive. Rather, it is examples of data that, to our knowledge, Google processes.

Referrer URL (the address of the page from which the visitor came)
IP address (e.g. 256.123.123.1)
Information about the operating system (the software that enables the operation of your computer. Known operating systems are Windows, Mac OS X or Linux)
Cookies (small text files that store data in your browser)
Mouse and keyboard behavior (every action you perform with the mouse or keyboard is stored)
Date and language settings (which language or date you have preset on your PC is saved)
All JavaScript objects (JavaScript is a programming language that allows websites to adapt to the user. JavaScript objects can collect all kinds of data under one name)
Screen resolution (shows how many pixels the image display consists of)
It is undisputed that Google uses and analyzes this data even before you click on the "I am not a robot" checkbox. With the Invisible reCAPTCHA version even the ticking is omitted and the whole recognition process runs in the background. How much and which data Google stores exactly, Google does not tell you in detail.

The following cookies are used by reCAPTCHA: Here we refer to the reCAPTCHA demo version from Google at https://www.google.com/recaptcha/api2/demo. All these cookies require a unique identifier for tracking purposes. Here is a list of cookies that Google reCAPTCHA has set on the demo version:

Name: IDE
Value: WqTUmlnmv_qXyi_DGNPLESKnRNrpgXoy1K-pAZtAkMbHI-111612843-8
Purpose: This cookie is set by the DoubleClick company (also owned by Google) to register and report a user's actions on the website in dealing with advertisements. In this way, advertising effectiveness can be measured and appropriate optimization measures can be taken. IDE is stored in browsers under the domain doubleclick.net.
Expiration date: after one year

Name: 1P_JAR
Value: 2019-5-14-12
Purpose: This cookie collects statistics on website usage and measures conversions. A conversion occurs, for example, when a user becomes a buyer. The cookie is also used to display relevant advertisements to users. Furthermore, the cookie can be used to prevent a user from seeing the same ad more than once.
Expiration date: after one month

Name: ANID
Wert: U7j1v3dZa1116128430xgZFmiqWppRWKOr
Purpose: We could not find out much info about this cookie. Google's privacy policy mentions the cookie in the context of "advertising cookies" such as "DSID", "FLC", "AID", "TAID". ANID is stored under domain google.com.
Expiration date: after 9 months

Name: CONSENT
Value: YES+AT.en+20150628-20-0
Purpose: The cookie stores the status of a user's consent to use different services provided by Google. CONSENT is also used for security purposes to verify users, prevent credential fraud, and protect user data from unauthorized attacks.
Expiration date: after 19 years

Name: NID
Wert: 0WmuWqy111612843zILzqV_nmt3sDXwPeM5Q
Purpose: NID is used by Google to customize ads to your Google search. With the help of the cookie, Google "remembers" your most typed search queries or your previous interaction with ads. This way you will always get tailored ads. The cookie contains a unique ID to collect personal settings of the user for advertising purposes.
Expiration date: after 6 months

Name: DV
Wert: gEAABBCjJMXcI0dSAAAANbqc111612843-4
Purpose: Once you tick the "I am not a robot" box, this cookie will be set. The cookie is used by Google Analytics for personalized advertising. DV collects information in anonymous form and is further used to make user distinctions.
Expiration date: after 10 minutes

Note: This list cannot claim to be exhaustive, as Google's experience has shown that the choice of cookies is always subject to change.

How long and where is the data stored?

By inserting reCAPTCHA, data is transferred from you to the Google server. Where exactly this data is stored, Google does not make clear, even after repeated inquiries. Without having received confirmation from Google, it can be assumed that data such as mouse interaction, time spent on the website or language settings are stored on Google's European or American servers. The IP address that your browser transmits to Google is generally not merged with other Google data from other Google services. However, if you are logged into your Google account while using the reCAPTCHA plug-in, the data will be merged. The deviating data protection provisions of the Google company apply to this.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

If you do not want any data about you and your behavior to be transmitted to Google, you must log out of Google completely and delete all Google cookies before you visit our website or use the reCAPTCHA software. Basically, as soon as you visit our site, the data is automatically transmitted to Google. To delete this data again, you must contact Google support at https://support.google.com/?hl=de&tid=111612843.

So, when you use our website, you agree that Google LLC and its agents automatically collect, process and use data.

You can learn a little more about reCAPTCHA on Google's web developer page at https://developers.google.com/recaptcha/. Google does go into more detail about the technical development of reCAPTCHA here, but you will search in vain for precise information about data storage and privacy-related issues there as well. A good overview of the basic use of data at Google can be found in the in-house privacy policy at https://www.google.com/intl/de/policies/privacy/.