Privacy Policy

Personal data (usually referred to just as “data” below) will only be processed by us to the extent necessary and for the purpose of providing a functional and user-friendly website, including its contents, and the services offered there.

Per Art. 4 No. 1 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679, i.e. the General Data Protection Regulation (hereinafter referred to as the “GDPR”), “processing” refers to any operation or set of operations such as collection, recording, organization, structuring, storage, adaptation, alteration, retrieval, consultation, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination, or otherwise making available, alignment, or combination, restriction, erasure, or destruction performed on personal data, whether by automated means or not.

The following privacy policy is intended to inform you in particular about the type, scope, purpose, duration, and legal basis for the processing of such data either under our own control or in conjunction with others. We also inform you below about the third-party components we use to optimize our website and improve the user experience which may result in said third parties also processing data they collect and control.

Our privacy policy is structured as follows:

I. Information about us as controllers of your data
II. The rights of users and data subjects
III. Information about the data processing

I. Information about us as controllers of your data

The party responsible for this website (the “controller”) for purposes of data protection law is:

Martin Backes
Kottbusser Damm 101
10967 Berlin, Germany

Email: post [at] martinbackes [dot] com

II. The rights of users and data subjects

With regard to the data processing to be described in more detail below, users and data subjects have the right

  • to confirmation of whether data concerning them is being processed, information about the data being processed, further information about the nature of the data processing, and copies of the data (cf. also Art. 15 GDPR);
  • to correct or complete incorrect or incomplete data (cf. also Art. 16 GDPR);
  • to the immediate deletion of data concerning them (cf. also Art. 17 DSGVO), or, alternatively, if further processing is necessary as stipulated in Art. 17 Para. 3 GDPR, to restrict said processing per Art. 18 GDPR;
  • to receive copies of the data concerning them and/or provided by them and to have the same transmitted to other providers/controllers (cf. also Art. 20 GDPR);
  • to file complaints with the supervisory authority if they believe that data concerning them is being processed by the controller in breach of data protection provisions (see also Art. 77 GDPR).

In addition, the controller is obliged to inform all recipients to whom it discloses data of any such corrections, deletions, or restrictions placed on processing the same per Art. 16, 17 Para. 1, 18 GDPR. However, this obligation does not apply if such notification is impossible or involves a disproportionate effort. Nevertheless, users have a right to information about these recipients.

Likewise, under Art. 21 GDPR, users and data subjects have the right to object to the controller’s future processing of their data pursuant to Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f) GDPR. In particular, an objection to data processing for the purpose of direct advertising is permissible.

III. Information about the data processing

Your data processed when using our website will be deleted or blocked as soon as the purpose for its storage ceases to apply, provided the deletion of the same is not in breach of any statutory storage obligations or unless otherwise stipulated below.

Server data

For technical reasons, the following data sent by your internet browser to us or to our server provider will be collected, especially to ensure a secure and stable website: These server log files record the type and version of your browser, operating system, the website from which you came (referrer URL), the webpages on our site visited, the date and time of your visit, as well as the IP address from which you visited our site.

The data thus collected will be temporarily stored, but not in association with any other of your data.

The basis for this storage is Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f) GDPR. Our legitimate interest lies in the improvement, stability, functionality, and security of our website.

The data will be deleted within no more than seven days, unless continued storage is required for evidentiary purposes. In which case, all or part of the data will be excluded from deletion until the investigation of the relevant incident is finally resolved.

Cookies

a) Session cookies

We use cookies on our website. Cookies are small text files or other storage technologies stored on your computer by your browser. These cookies process certain specific information about you, such as your browser, location data, or IP address.

This processing makes our website more user-friendly, efficient, and secure, allowing us, for example, to display our website in different languages or to offer a shopping cart function.

The legal basis for such processing is Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. b) GDPR, insofar as these cookies are used to collect data to initiate or process contractual relationships.

If the processing does not serve to initiate or process a contract, our legitimate interest lies in improving the functionality of our website. The legal basis is then Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f) GDPR.

When you close your browser, these session cookies are deleted.

b) Third-party cookies

If necessary, our website may also use cookies from companies with whom we cooperate for the purpose of advertising, analyzing, or improving the features of our website.

Please refer to the following information for details, in particular for the legal basis and purpose of such third-party collection and processing of data collected through cookies.

c) Disabling cookies

You can refuse the use of cookies by changing the settings on your browser. Likewise, you can use the browser to delete cookies that have already been stored. However, the steps and measures required vary, depending on the browser you use. If you have any questions, please use the help function or consult the documentation for your browser or contact its maker for support. Browser settings cannot prevent so-called flash cookies from being set. Instead, you will need to change the setting of your Flash player. The steps and measures required for this also depend on the Flash player you are using. If you have any questions, please use the help function or consult the documentation for your Flash player or contact its maker for support.

If you prevent or restrict the installation of cookies, not all of the functions on our site may be fully usable.

Newsletter

If you register for our free newsletter, the data requested from you for this purpose, i.e. your email address and, optionally, your name and address, will be sent to us. We also store the IP address of your computer and the date and time of your registration. During the registration process, we will obtain your consent to receive this newsletter and the type of content it will offer, with reference made to this privacy policy. The data collected will be used exclusively to send the newsletter and will not be passed on to third parties.

The legal basis for this is Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. a) GDPR.

You may revoke your prior consent to receive this newsletter under Art. 7 Para. 3 GDPR with future effect. All you have to do is inform us that you are revoking your consent or click on the unsubscribe link contained in each newsletter.

Contact

If you contact us via email or the contact form, the data you provide will be used for the purpose of processing your request. We must have this data in order to process and answer your inquiry; otherwise we will not be able to answer it in full or at all.

The legal basis for this data processing is Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. b) GDPR.

Your data will be deleted once we have fully answered your inquiry and there is no further legal obligation to store your data, such as if an order or contract resulted therefrom.

Google reCAPTCHA

Our website uses Google reCAPTCHA to check and prevent automated servers (“bots”) from accessing and interacting with our website. This is a service provided by Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043 (hereinafter: Google).

Through certification according to the EU-US Privacy Shield

https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt000000001L5AAI&status=Active

Google guarantees that it will follow the EU’s data protection regulations when processing data in the United States.

This service allows Google to determine from which website your request has been sent and from which IP address the reCAPTCHA input box has been used. In addition to your IP address, Google may collect other information necessary to provide and guarantee this service.

The legal basis is Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f) GDPR. Our legitimate interest lies in the security of our website and in the prevention of unwanted, automated access in the form of spam or similar.

Google offers detailed information at

https://policies.google.com/privacy

concerning the general handling of your user data.

Google Fonts

Our website uses Google Fonts to display external fonts. This is a service provided by Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043 (hereinafter: Google).

Through certification according to the EU-US Privacy Shield

https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt000000001L5AAI&status=Active

Google guarantees that it will follow the EU’s data protection regulations when processing data in the United States.

To enable the display of certain fonts on our website, a connection to the Google server in the USA is established whenever our website is accessed.

The legal basis is Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f) GDPR. Our legitimate interest lies in the optimization and economic operation of our site.

When you access our site, a connection to Google is established from which Google can identify the site from which your request has been sent and to which IP address the fonts are being transmitted for display.

Google offers detailed information at

https://adssettings.google.com/authenticated

https://policies.google.com/privacy

in particular on options for preventing the use of data.

Twitter plug-in

Our website uses the plug-in of the Twitter social network. The Twitter service is operated by Twitter Inc., 795 Folsom St., Suite 600, San Francisco, CA 94107, USA (“Twitter”).

Through certification according to the EU-US Privacy Shield

https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt0000000TORzAAO&status=Active

Twitter guarantees that it will follow the EU’s data protection regulations when processing data in the United States.

The legal basis is Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f) GDPR. Our legitimate interest lies in improving the quality of our website.

If the plug-in is stored on one of the pages you visit on our website, your browser will download an icon for the plug-in from Twitter’s servers in the USA. For technical reasons, it is necessary for Twitter to process your IP address. In addition, the date and time of your visit to our website will also be recorded.

If you are logged in to Twitter while visiting one of our plugged-in websites, the information collected by the plug-in from your specific visit will be recognized by Twitter. The information collected may then be assigned to your personal account at Twitter. If, for example, you use the Twitter Tweet button, this information will be stored in your Twitter account and may be published on the Twitter platform. To prevent this, you must either log out of Twitter before visiting our site or make the appropriate settings in your Twitter account.

Further information about the collection and use of data as well as your rights and protection options in Twitter’s privacy policy found at

https://twitter.com/privacy

YouTube

We use YouTube on our website. This is a video portal operated by YouTube LLC, 901 Cherry Ave, 94066 San Bruno, CA, USA, hereinafter referred to as “YouTube”.

YouTube is a subsidiary of Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043 USA, hereinafter referred to as “Google”.

Through certification according to the EU-US Privacy Shield

https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt000000001L5AAI&status=Active

Google and its subsidiary YouTube guarantee that they will follow the EU’s data protection regulations when processing data in the United States.

We use YouTube in its advanced privacy mode to show you videos. The legal basis is Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f) GDPR. Our legitimate interest lies in improving the quality of our website. According to YouTube, the advanced privacy mode means that the data specified below will only be transmitted to the YouTube server if you actually start a video.

Without this mode, a connection to the YouTube server in the USA will be established as soon as you access any of our webpages on which a YouTube video is embedded.

This connection is required in order to be able to display the respective video on our website within your browser. YouTube will record and process at a minimum your IP address, the date and time the video was displayed, as well as the website you visited. In addition, a connection to the DoubleClick advertising network of Google is established.

If you are logged in to YouTube when you access our site, YouTube will assign the connection information to your YouTube account. To prevent this, you must either log out of YouTube before visiting our site or make the appropriate settings in your YouTube account.

For the purpose of functionality and analysis of usage behavior, YouTube permanently stores cookies on your device via your browser. If you do not agree to this processing, you have the option of preventing the installation of cookies by making the appropriate settings in your browser. Further details can be found in the section about cookies above.

Further information about the collection and use of data as well as your rights and protection options in Google’s privacy policy found at

https://policies.google.com/privacy

MailChimp – Newsletter

We offer you the opportunity to register for our free newsletter via our website.

We use MailChimp, a service of The Rocket Science Group, LLC, 512 Means Street, Suite 404, Atlanta, GA 30318, USA, hereinafter referred to as “The Rocket Science Group”.

Through certification according to the EU-US Privacy Shield

https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt0000000TO6hAAG&status=Active

the Rocket Science Group guarantees that it will follow the EU’s data protection regulations when processing data in the United States. In addition, the Rocket Science Group offers further information about its data protection practices at

http://mailchimp.com/legal/privacy/

If you register for our free newsletter, the data requested from you for this purpose, i.e. your email address and, optionally, your name and address, will be processed by The Rocket Science Group. In addition, your IP address and the date and time of your registration will be saved. During the registration process, your consent to receive this newsletter will be obtained together with a concrete description of the type of content it will offer and reference made to this privacy policy.

The newsletter then sent out by The Rocket Science Group will also contain a tracking pixel called a web beacon. This pixel helps us evaluate whether and when you have read our newsletter and whether you have clicked any links contained therein. In addition to further technical data, such as data about your computer hardware and your IP address, the data processed will be stored so that we can optimize our newsletter and respond to the wishes of our readers. The data will therefore increase the quality and attractiveness of our newsletter.

The legal basis for sending the newsletter and the analysis is Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. a) GDPR.

You may revoke your prior consent to receive this newsletter under Art. 7 Para. 3 GDPR with future effect. All you have to do is inform us that you are revoking your consent or click on the unsubscribe link contained in each newsletter.

Jetpack – WordPress Stats

Our website uses Jetpack with the WordPress Stats extension. This is a web analysis service provided by Automattic Inc, 132 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94107, USA, hereinafter referred to as “Automattic”.

Through certification according to the EU-US Privacy Shield

https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt0000000CbqcAAC&status=Active

Automattic guarantees that it will follow the EU’s data protection regulations when processing data in the United States.

The Jetpack: WordPress Stats services is used to analyze how our website is used. The legal basis is Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f) GDPR. Our legitimate interest lies in the analysis, optimization, and economic operation of our site.

Jetpack: WordPress Stats stores cookies on your device via your browser in order to analyze how you use our site.

Data such as your IP address, the pages you visit, the website from which you came (referrer URL), the duration of your visit, and the frequency of your visits will be processed. The data collected will be stored on an Automattic server in the USA. However, your IP address will be made anonymous immediately after processing and before it is stored.

If you do not agree to this processing, you have the option of preventing the installation of cookies by making the appropriate settings in your browser. Further details can be found in the section about cookies above.

SoundCloud

On our pages, plugins of the SoundCloud social network (SoundCloud Limited, Berners House, 47-48 Berners Street, London W1T 3NF, UK) may be integrated. The SoundCloud plugins can be recognized by the SoundCloud logo on our site.

When you visit our site, a direct connection between your browser and the SoundCloud server is established via the plugin. This enables SoundCloud to receive information that you have visited our site from your IP address. If you click on the “Like” or “Share” buttons while you are logged into your SoundCloud account, you can link the content of our pages to your SoundCloud profile. This means that SoundCloud can associate visits to our pages with your user account. We would like to point out that, as the provider of these pages, we have no knowledge of the content of the data transmitted or how it will be used by SoundCloud. For more information on SoundCloud’s privacy policy, please go to https://soundcloud.com/pages/privacy.

If you do not want SoundCloud to associate your visit to our site with your SoundCloud account, please log out of your SoundCloud account.

PayPal

Our website accepts payments via PayPal. The provider of this service is PayPal (Europe) S.à.r.l & Cie, S.C.A. (22-24 Boulevard Royal, L-2449 Luxembourg.

If you select payment via PayPal, the payment data you provide will be supplied to PayPal based on Art. 6 (1) (a) (Consent) and Art. 6 (1) (b) DSGVO (Processing for contract purposes). You have the option to revoke your consent at any time with future effect. It does not affect the processing of data previously collected.