Our websites take data protection and privacy issues very seriously.

1. We do not use tracking cookies on our sites. Our sites do not use Google Analytics.

2. We do use a cookie to avoid showing you the same pop-up each time you visit the site. This cookie does not contain any personal information. We also store a cookied if you choose to remain logged into any of our membership sites.

3. If you leave a comment on a blog post, then the information you enter (name, e-mail address, website) will be stored on our server. This is necessary for your comment to appear on the blog. The information may also be stored in a cookie.

4. If you sign up to our newsletter, your e-mail address will be stored on our server. This is necessary to deliver you the newsletter. The sign-up form transmits your data in an encrypted form.

5. Our newsletters always include a link in the footer to unsubscribe at any time.

6. Each of our websites has a page called the “Impressum” showing our full address and contact details. There are also included in the footer of any e-mails.  In the past this page has also been referred to as “Imprint”.

7. Our servers are located in the European Union with a German hosting company. Our data backups are stored within the European Union.  Our logfiles contain anonymised IP addresses.  However if our sites come under attack, eg. lots of attempts to log in with false passwords, when we store the real IP address to defend against the attack.

8. Our IT helpdesk system, Zendesk, is provided by Zendesk, Inc.,1019 Market Street #300, San Francisco, CA 94103, USA.  Zendesk is a certified participant of the Privacy Shield programme, that governs how data from the European Union is processed by US-based companies. Click here to read Zendesk’s privacy policy.

9. We do not at any time allow 3rd party access to personal data, nor do we sell personal data in any form.

10. Our websites contain graphics, banners, and sometimes embedded frames that are provided by our advertisers. It is possible, that they store a 3rd-party cookie on your browser. You can block these cookies by making the necessary changes to the privacy settings in your web browser. Videos hosted on YouTube and embedded in our sites may also store 3rd-party cookies.

11. You have the right to request that we disclose which personal information we have stored, as well as the right to have this corrected, restricted or deleted, as long as we are not required to store it to fulfil legal obligations.

What are cookies?

Cookies are small files that are used in your web browser for a variety of reasons. When you log into a website, or buy something online, for example. Although they do not usually contain personal data directly, they can be used to track your movements through a website. Some advertisers may use them to see which website other than this one you have visited.

Most of the cookies that we use are so-called “session cookies” that automatically get deleted after your visit.  To revoke permission, click on the following button:

Copyright Collective (VG Wort)

The articles on our sites are registered with the VG Wort. The VG Wort collects anonymous statistics about these posts.