Data Protection

Legal Basis for the Processing of Personal Data

Where we obtain the consent of the data subject for processing operations involving personal data, Article 6(1)(a) of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) serves as the legal basis.

In the processing of personal data necessary for the performance of a contract to which the data subject is a party, Article 6(1)(b) GDPR serves as the legal basis. This also applies to processing operations required to carry out pre-contractual measures.

Where processing of personal data is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which our company is subject, Article 6(1)(c) GDPR serves as the legal basis.

In the event that vital interests of the data subject or another natural person require the processing of personal data, Article 6(1)(d) GDPR serves as the legal basis.

If processing is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by our company or a third party, and such interests are not overridden by the interests, fundamental rights, and freedoms of the data subject, Article 6(1)(f) GDPR serves as the legal basis for processing.

1. WHEN DO WE USE AND PROCESS PERSONAL DATA?

We are aware that the careful handling of your personal data is of great importance to you. Data protection is also a high priority for us. We therefore strictly comply with the applicable legal provisions when collecting, processing, and using your data.

For purely informational use of our website, it is generally not necessary for you to provide personal data. However, in certain cases we require such data from you, for example when you contact us.

Your data helps us to personalize and continuously improve your purchasing experience. We use personal data in particular to process orders, deliver goods, handle payments, prevent misuse of our website, and inform you about orders, products, services, and offers.

To enable faster and easier communication than by post, we ask you to provide your email address. We will, of course, use it for advertising purposes only if you have expressly consented.

2. WHAT DO WE DO WITH YOUR PERSONAL DATA?

2.1

We also use your data for market and opinion research. Data that you provide in the context of such measures is used exclusively for statistical purposes and in anonymized form. You may object at any time to the use of your data for market and opinion research purposes.

Your responses to surveys conducted for market and opinion research purposes will not be disclosed to third parties or published. We do not store survey responses together with your personal data.

If we commission third parties to conduct market or opinion research surveys, your data will be transferred in compliance with the provisions of the GDPR and the requirements for data processing agreements pursuant to Article 28 GDPR.

2.2

Postal mailings do not require prior explicit consent. We reserve the right to use your first and last name as well as your postal address for our own advertising purposes, for example to send you information and offers relating to our products by letter post.

This serves to safeguard our legitimate interests in promoting our products to customers in accordance with Article 6(1) sentence 1 lit. f GDPR. You may object at any time to the storage and use of your data for these purposes by contacting us using the details provided in this Privacy Policy.

3. DO I HAVE A RIGHT OF ACCESS?

In accordance with Article 15 GDPR, we are at any time prepared to provide you with information about all personal data stored about you.

Right of Withdrawal and Right to Object

You are informed that you may withdraw any data protection consent granted to us at any time with effect for the future. You may also object at any time to the creation of user profiles for advertising and market research purposes, as well as for the needs-based design of our website, insofar as this is carried out under this Privacy Policy.

You may contact our data protection team informally by email at: franknimsgern@me.com

Access, Erasure, Restriction

You have the right at any time to obtain, free of charge, information about your stored personal data, its origin and recipients, and the purpose of data processing. You also have the right to rectification, restriction, or erasure of such data, provided that its storage is unlawful or no longer necessary. For this purpose and for any further questions regarding personal data, you may contact our external data protection officer at any time by email (contact details see section 19).

4. HOW DO WE PROTECT YOUR PERSONAL DATA?

When you log into the “Account” area or contact us, your personal data is transmitted to us. To prevent unauthorized access, we encrypt this data using the SSL (Secure Socket Layer) procedure. This is currently the most common and secure method of data transmission on the internet and is used as standard whenever sensitive data is transmitted.

All customer information is stored on secure servers that are not accessible to unauthorized persons and are protected against external access by a firewall.

We maintain additional security measures to protect our customers’ personal data. In connection with these measures, you may occasionally be required to provide proof of identity before we disclose personal information to you. For example, access to your account is possible only by entering a password.

Further processing of your data by third parties takes place only within the framework of data processing agreements. We regularly verify compliance with technical and organizational measures in accordance with statutory requirements.

5. DO WE USE COOKIES?

To make visiting our website attractive and to enable the use of certain functions, we use technologies including so-called cookies on various pages. Cookies are small text files that are automatically stored on your device. Some of the cookies we use are deleted after the end of the browser session (so-called session cookies). Other cookies remain on your device and allow us to recognize your browser on your next visit (persistent cookies).

We use technologies that are strictly necessary for the use of certain functions of our website (e.g., shopping cart function). Through these technologies, IP address, time of visit, device and browser information, and information about your use of our website (e.g., shopping cart contents) are collected and processed. This serves our overriding legitimate interests in an optimized presentation of our offer pursuant to Article 6(1) sentence 1 lit. f GDPR.

We also use technologies to fulfill legal obligations (e.g., to document consent to the processing of personal data), as well as for web analytics and online marketing. Further information, including the respective legal basis for data processing, can be found in the following sections of this Privacy Policy.

5.1 Use of the Complianz Cookie Plugin for Consent Management

We use the Complianz consent plugin on our website to inform you about the cookies and other technologies we use and, where legally required, to obtain, manage, and document your consent to the processing of your personal data. This is necessary pursuant to Article 6(1) sentence 1 lit. c GDPR in order to comply with our legal obligation under Article 7(1) GDPR to demonstrate consent.

Complianz is a service provided by Complianz B.V., CoC 717814475, Kalmarweg 14-5, 9723 JG Groningen (NL), email: support@complianz.io
, which processes your data on our behalf. When you visit our website, the Complianz web server stores a server log file containing your anonymized IP address, date and time of visit, device and browser information, and information about your consent behavior. Your data will be deleted after three years unless you have expressly consented to further use pursuant to Article 6(1) sentence 1 lit. a GDPR or we reserve the right to use data beyond this period where legally permitted and disclosed in this statement.

Cookies

Like many other websites, we use “cookies.” Cookies are small text files transferred from a website server to your hard drive. This automatically provides us with certain data such as IP address, browser used, operating system, and your internet connection.

Cookies cannot be used to launch programs or transmit viruses to a computer. Based on the information contained in cookies, we can facilitate navigation and ensure the correct display of our website.

Under no circumstances will the data collected by us be passed on to third parties or linked to personal data without your consent.

You can, of course, view our website without cookies. Internet browsers are regularly configured to accept cookies. You can deactivate the use of cookies at any time via your browser settings. Please use the help functions of your browser to learn how to change these settings. Please note that individual functions of our website may not work if you deactivate cookies.

If you are under 16 years of age and wish to consent to voluntary services, you must obtain permission from your legal guardians.

We use cookies and other technologies on our website. Some are essential, while others help us improve this website and your experience. Personal data (e.g., IP addresses) may be processed, for example for personalized ads and content or ad and content measurement. You may withdraw or adjust your selection at any time at: https://franknimsgern.com/. Please note that, depending on your individual settings, not all website functions may be available.

Some services process personal data in the United States. By consenting to the use of these services, you also consent to the processing of your data in the United States pursuant to Article 49(1)(a) GDPR. The Court of Justice of the European Union considers the United States a country with an inadequate level of data protection under EU standards. There is a risk that U.S. authorities may process personal data in surveillance programs without effective legal remedies for Europeans.

5.2 Cookies and Access Statistics

We use session cookies from VG Wort, Munich, to measure access to texts in order to determine the likelihood of copying. Session cookies are small units of information stored in the visitor’s computer memory. A randomly generated unique identification number (session ID) is stored in a session cookie, along with information about its origin and storage period. Session cookies cannot store other data.

These measurements are carried out by Kantar Germany GmbH using the Scalable Central Measurement Method (SZM). They help determine the probability of text copying for the purpose of remunerating statutory claims of authors and publishers. We do not collect personal data via cookies.

Many of our pages contain JavaScript calls through which we report access figures to VG Wort. This enables our authors to participate in VG Wort distributions, which ensure statutory remuneration for the use of copyrighted works pursuant to Section 53 of the German Copyright Act (UrhG).

Our services can also be used without cookies. Most browsers are set to accept cookies automatically. However, you can deactivate cookie storage or configure your browser to notify you when cookies are sent.

Privacy Policy on the Use of the Scalable Central Measurement Method

Our website and mobile web offering use the “Scalable Central Measurement Method” (SZM) of Kantar Germany GmbH to determine statistical values for calculating the probability of text copying.

Anonymous measurement values are collected. Access measurement uses either a session cookie or a signature created from various automatically transmitted browser information to recognize computer systems. IP addresses are processed only in anonymized form.

The procedure was developed with data protection in mind. Its sole purpose is to determine the probability of copying individual texts. At no time are individual users identified. Your identity remains protected at all times. You will not receive advertising through this system.

6. Contact Form

If you contact us by email or via the /contact page, the information you provide will be stored for the purpose of processing your inquiry and for possible follow-up questions.

7. Hosting

The website is hosted by IONOS SE. The provider stores access log files and error log files on the server. These log files contain the visitor’s IP address and therefore personal data.

The following data is collected:

– Visited website
– Date and time of access
– Amount of data sent in bytes
– Source/reference from which you accessed the page
– Browser used
– Operating system used
– IP address used

The IP address is anonymized after 24 hours by zeroing the last octet. Deletion takes place after seven days at the latest.

The legal basis for the use of hosting services is the protection of our legitimate interests in the analysis, optimization, and secure and efficient operation of our website pursuant to Article 6(1) sentence 1 lit. f GDPR. In addition, cooperation with the hosting provider is based on a data processing agreement pursuant to Article 28 GDPR.

8. WHEN WILL YOUR DATA BE DELETED?

As a rule, all data will be deleted once the purpose of storage no longer applies. If statutory or contractual retention periods apply to certain data, the data will be restricted instead of deleted.

You also have the right to request deletion or correction of your data at any time. Where statutory or contractual retention obligations exist, processing will be restricted instead of deleted.

What Personal Data Is Used?

The following data is stored solely for the specified processing purposes:

When visiting our website:
– IP address

When contacting us:
– Email address

9. INFORMATION ON THE TRANSFER OF PERSONAL DATA TO OTHER MEMBERS OF OUR CORPORATE GROUP OUTSIDE THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AREA (EEA)

In order to fulfill our legal obligations and General Terms and Conditions, as well as to carry out marketing and advertising activities, we may transfer your data to members of our corporate group located outside the European Economic Area.

The amount of personal data transferred is limited to what is strictly necessary and relevant for the specified purpose.

We ensure that any transfer of your data complies with all applicable data protection laws. Through strict contractual arrangements, technical and organizational measures, and supplementary controls, we ensure that your data is adequately protected during transfer.

10. DO WE USE WEB ANALYTICS TOOLS?

Yes. Like most online businesses, we use web analytics services. Details of the services used are provided below.

10.1 Use of Google Services

We use the technologies described below provided by Google Ireland Ltd., Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland (“Google”). The information automatically collected by Google technologies regarding your use of our website is generally transmitted to a server of Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA, and stored there.

There is no adequacy decision of the European Commission for the United States. Our cooperation is based on the Standard Contractual Clauses of the European Commission. Where your IP address is collected via Google technologies, it is shortened by activating IP anonymization before being stored on Google’s servers. Only in exceptional cases is the full IP address transmitted to a Google server and shortened there. Unless otherwise stated for specific technologies, data processing is carried out on the basis of an agreement between joint controllers pursuant to Article 26 GDPR. Further information on data processing by Google can be found in Google’s privacy policy.

Google Analytics

For the purpose of website analysis, Google Analytics automatically collects and stores data (IP address, time of visit, device and browser information, and information about your use of our website), from which user profiles are created using pseudonyms. Cookies may be used for this purpose. Your IP address is generally not merged with other Google data. Data processing is carried out on the basis of a data processing agreement with Google.

We also use the Google Optimize extension of Google Analytics to create and conduct tests.

Google Ads

For advertising purposes in Google search results and on third-party websites, a Google Remarketing cookie is set when you visit our website. This enables interest-based advertising through the automatic collection and processing of data (IP address, time of visit, device and browser information, and information about your use of our website) and by means of a pseudonymous cookie ID based on the pages you have visited.

Further data processing only takes place if you have activated the “personalized advertising” setting in your Google account. If you are logged into Google while visiting our website, Google will use your data together with Google Analytics data to create and define audience lists for cross-device remarketing.

Google Maps

For the visual presentation of geographic information, Google Maps collects data about your use of the Maps functions, in particular your IP address and location data. This data is transmitted to Google and processed by Google. We have no influence over this subsequent data processing.

Google Fonts

For the consistent display of content on our website, data (IP address, time of visit, device and browser information) is collected via the “Google Fonts” script code, transmitted to Google, and subsequently processed by Google. We have no influence over this subsequent data processing.

YouTube Video Plugin

To integrate third-party content, data (IP address, time of visit, device and browser information) is collected via the YouTube video plugin in the extended data protection mode used by us. This data is transmitted to Google and processed by Google only when you play a video.

11. OUR CONNECTION TO SOCIAL NETWORKS

11.1 Use of Facebook Services for Web Analytics and Advertising Purposes

Use of Facebook Pixel

We use the Facebook Pixel as part of the technologies described below provided by Facebook Ireland Ltd., 4 Grand Canal Square, Dublin 2, Ireland (“Facebook”).

With the Facebook Pixel, data (IP address, time of visit, device and browser information, and information about your use of our website based on predefined events such as visiting a webpage or subscribing to a newsletter) is automatically collected and stored. User profiles are created using pseudonyms.

When you visit our website, the Facebook Pixel automatically sets a cookie that enables recognition of your browser on other websites by means of a pseudonymous cookie ID.

Facebook may combine this information with additional data from your Facebook account and use it to compile reports on website activity and to provide further services related to website usage, in particular personalized and group-based advertising.

The information automatically collected by Facebook technologies is generally transferred to a server of Facebook, Inc., 1601 Willow Road, Menlo Park, California 94025, USA, and stored there. There is no adequacy decision of the European Commission for the United States. Where the transfer of data to the USA falls within our responsibility, our cooperation is based on the Standard Contractual Clauses of the European Commission. Further information on data processing by Facebook can be found in Facebook’s privacy policy.

11.2 Meta Ads

We use Meta Ads to advertise this website on Facebook and other platforms. We define the parameters of the respective advertising campaigns. Facebook is responsible for the specific implementation, including the placement of advertisements to individual users.

Unless otherwise specified for individual technologies, data processing is carried out on the basis of an agreement between joint controllers pursuant to Article 26 GDPR. Joint controllership is limited to the collection of data and its transmission to Facebook Ireland. Subsequent data processing by Facebook Ireland is not covered by this arrangement.

Based on statistics created via Facebook Pixel regarding visitor activity on our website, we conduct group-based advertising on Facebook using Facebook Custom Audience by defining the characteristics of the respective target group.

Based on the pseudonymous cookie ID set by Facebook Pixel and the data collected regarding your usage behavior on our website, we conduct personalized advertising through Facebook Pixel Remarketing.

Through Facebook Pixel Conversions, we measure subsequent usage behavior for web analytics and event tracking when you access our website via a Facebook Ads advertisement. Data processing is carried out on the basis of a data processing agreement with Facebook.

11.3 Vimeo

We may embed videos from the “Vimeo” platform operated by Vimeo Inc., Attention: Legal Department, 555 West 18th Street, New York, New York 10011, USA. Vimeo’s privacy policy is available at: https://vimeo.com/privacy.

Please note that Vimeo may use Google Analytics. In this regard, we refer to Google’s privacy policy (https://policies.google.com/privacy), the opt-out options for Google Analytics (https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout), and Google’s settings for data usage for marketing purposes (https://adssettings.google.com/).

12. Online Presence on Social Media Platforms

13. RIGHT TO OBJECT AND RIGHT OF WITHDRAWAL

You may object to the use of your data at any time or withdraw your consent with effect for the future. Please contact: franknimsgern@me.com

You may also contact the data protection officer Frank Nimsgern or the responsible entity at:

Frank Nimsgern Group
Winnweg 37
66386 St. Ingbert
Germany

14. CONTACT THE DATA PROTECTION OFFICER

For any questions regarding data protection, you may contact our data protection officer, Frank Nimsgern, at any time:

Frank Nimsgern Group
Winnweg 37
66386 St. Ingbert
Germany
Email: franknimsgern@me.com