Cookies, web beacons and similar technology (Cookie Notice)

1. Information regarding the technologies we use

When you use our Services, we and authorised third-party providers make use of cookies and similar technologies. We make use of cookies and similar technologies which will not be saved on your device or which will only be saved on your device for as long as your browser is active (e.g. session cookies). Furthermore, we make use of cookies and similar technologies which will be saved on your device for a longer period (e.g. persistent cookies). Where possible, we take appropriate security measures to prevent unauthorised access to our cookies and similar technologies. A unique identifier (ID) ensures that only we and authorised third-party providers have access to data that has been collected by means of cookies and similar technologies.

The cookies and similar technologies used by us have various functions:

• They can be (technically) necessary for the provision of our Services
• They help us to technically enhance our Services (e.g. monitoring of error messages and loading times)
• They help us to improve your user experience (e.g. by saving the font size and data entered into webforms)
• They enable us to show you more relevant ads.

2. What are cookies, web beacons and similar technologies?

Cookies

Cookies are small text files (typically made up of letters and numbers) which are placed in the memory of your browser or device when you make use of our Services, in particular when you visit our website or when you open a message. Cookies allow for a recognition of a specific device or browser. There are different types of cookies:

• Session cookies (also called session-based cookies) expire at the end of your session (e.g. when closing your browser window) and enable the entity using them to track your activities during this one session.
• Persistent cookies remain stored on your device between sessions and enable us, for example, to track your settings or activities on several websites.
• First-party cookies are set by the provider whose online service you are using (e.g. the operator of the website you are visiting).
• Third-party cookies are set by a provider other than the provider whose online service you are using (e.g. the operator of a website other than the one you are visiting).

View our list of cookies here.

Web Beacons

Web beacons (also known as pixel tags or clear GIFs) are small graphic images that are used in connection with the provision of our services and which typically work in conjunction with cookies to track the use of an online service by its users. For example, when we send you emails, web beacons allow us to track if you opened the emails and clicked links to measure campaign performance and improve features.

Similar Technologies

Similar technologies are technologies which enable the entity using it to track your user behaviour. This can be done by local shared objects or local storage, such as flash cookies, HTML 5 cookies and other web application software methods, all of which store information in your browser or device. Additionally, there are other technologies that function without local storage in your end device and instead make use of, inter alia, browser functions. In this context, a "fingerprint" of your system is created that serves as a unique identifier.

These technologies may function across all your browsers and in some cases are not fully managed by your browser, but may need to be managed directly from your installed applications or your device. We sometimes use the terms "cookies" and "similar technologies" interchangeably.

3. Why do we use these technologies?

Some of our Services can only be offered using cookies, web beacons and similar technologies. In general, these technologies enable us to track your user behaviour and identify you – even across devices. You can find more information about the personal data that we collect using cookies and similar technologies in our User Privacy Notice.

The cookies, web beacons and similar technologies used in connection with our Services serve the following functions:

Technologies which are operationally necessary

We use cookies, web beacons and similar technologies that are necessary for the operation of our Services. This includes technologies that allow you access to our sites, services, applications and tools, which are required to monitor the functioning of the site, prevent fraudulent activity and improve security, or that allow you to make use of our functions such as shopping carts, saved search, or similar functions.

Technologies which are performance-related

We use cookies, web beacons or other similar technologies to assess the performance of our Services. This happens, inter alia, to analyse how visitors use our services, how users use our messaging tools, if and how items and links are viewed, or how to improve our services.

Technologies which are functionality-related

We use cookies, web beacons or other similar technologies that allow us to offer you enhanced functionality when accessing or using our Services. These technologies may, inter alia, identify you when you sign in to our Services or they may store your settings or the items viewed, so that we can enhance the presentation of content within our Services and facilitate it (e.g. by means of the "stay signed in" function).

Technologies which are advertising- or targeting-related

We use cookies, web beacons or other similar technologies to deliver content tailored to your interests, including advertisements, in connection with the provision of our Services or within third-party online services (retargeting, remarketing). This includes using technologies to determine how relevant the advertisements and contents are for you, which ads have already been shown to you, how often they have been shown, when and where they have been shown and if you have reacted by carrying out an activity – such as clicking on an ad or purchasing an item. For this purpose, data will be combined with data already collected regarding your interests.

Inter alia, we collect data regarding your device (e.g. the operating system and its version) to provide a uniform service on all your devices. You can find further information on personal data that we collect by the means of cookies and similar technologies in our User Privacy Notice.

4. Which service providers do we co-operate with?

Google Analytics

We use Google Analytics, an analysis tool of Google LLC and Google Ireland Ltd. ("Google") to continuously improve our Services. The use includes the Universal Analytics operating mode. This makes it possible to assign data, sessions and interactions across multiple devices to a pseudonymous user ID and thus analyse a user's activities across multiple devices. Google Analytics uses cookies that are stored on your device and that enable us to analyse your use of our Services. The data collected by the cookies regarding the use of our Services (including your IP address) are usually transferred to a Google server in the USA and stored there (see additional information for users in the European Economic Area below in this section).

On our behalf, Google processes this data to evaluate the use of our Services, to compile reports on usage activities and to provide us with further services associated with the use of our Services. Your IP address transmitted in the context of Google Analytics will not be combined with other data from Google.

The data collected via Google Analytics is automatically deleted after 14 months. Data whose retention period has been reached is automatically deleted once a month.

You can prevent the collection of data through the Google Analytics cookie by adjusting your browser settings accordingly. If you deactivate cookies, you may not be able to use all functions of our Services to their full extent, however.

In addition, you can prevent the collection of data related to your use of the Services (including your IP address) via the Google Analytics cookie and the processing of this data by Google by installing the following browser plugin.

Further information about Google Analytics can be found in the terms of use and in the privacy policy of Google.

Google reCAPTCHA: Prevention of Automatic Access

We make use of Google reCAPTCHA ("reCAPTCHA") within the provision of our Services. reCAPTCHA is used to check and prevent interactions through automated access, for example through so-called 'bots' (computer programs that perform tasks automatically and independently). reCAPTCHA is used in particular to check whether data input in connection with our Services (e.g. in a contact form) is carried out by a human or by an automated program. For this purpose, reCAPTCHA analyses the behaviour of the user on the basis of various characteristics. This analysis automatically begins as soon as the user connects with the online service, e.g. visits the website. For the purposes of this analysis, reCAPTCHA evaluates various pieces of information (e.g. IP address, duration of the user's visit to the online service or the user's mouse movements). The data collected during the analysis is forwarded to Google. The analyses by reCAPTCHA are carried out entirely in the background.

For more details, please read Google's information on reCAPTCHA and Google's Privacy Notice.

5. What security measures do we take to protect your data