Privacy policy

Who am I and contact information for this blog

This blog and the content are provided by me as a private person without commercial interests.
Responsible in terms of data protection laws, in particular the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR):

Tobias Asböck
Riedbachstrasse 97
CH-3027 Bern

E-Mail: [email protected]
Website: https://blog.topedia.com

General

Based on Article 13 of the Swiss Federal Constitution and the data protection provisions of the Swiss Confederation (Data Protection Act, DSG), every person has the right to protection of their privacy as well as protection against misuse of their personal data. The operators of these pages take the protection of your personal data very seriously. We treat your personal data confidentially and in accordance with the legal data protection regulations as well as this privacy policy.

In cooperation with our hosting providers, we make every effort to protect the databases as well as possible against unauthorized access, loss, misuse or falsification.

We would like to point out that data transmission on the Internet (e.g. communication by e-mail) can have security gaps. A complete protection of data against access by third parties is not possible.

By using this website, you consent to the collection, processing and use of data in accordance with the following description. This website can generally be visited without registration. Data such as pages accessed or names of files accessed, date and time are stored on the server for statistical purposes without this data being directly related to your person. Personal data, in particular name, address or e-mail address are collected as far as possible on a voluntary basis. Without your consent, the data will not be passed on to third parties.

Processing of personal data

Personal data is any information that relates to an identified or identifiable person. A data subject is a person about whom personal data is processed. Processing includes any handling of personal data, regardless of the means and procedures used, in particular the storage, disclosure, acquisition, deletion, storage, modification, destruction and use of personal data.

We process personal data in accordance with Swiss data protection law. Furthermore, to the extent and insofar as the EU GDPR is applicable, we process personal data in accordance with the following legal bases in connection with Art. 6 (1) GDPR:
lit. a) Processing of personal data with the consent of the data subject.
lit. b) Processing of personal data for the fulfillment of a contract with the data subject as well as for the implementation of corresponding pre-contractual measures.
lit. c) Processing of personal data for the fulfillment of a legal obligation to which we are subject under any applicable law of the EU or under any applicable law of a country in which the GDPR is applicable in whole or in part.
lit. d) Processing of personal data in order to protect the vital interests of the data subject or another natural person.
lit. f) Processing of personal data to protect the legitimate interests of us or of third parties, unless the fundamental freedoms and rights and interests of the data subject are overridden. Legitimate interests include, in particular, our business interest in being able to provide our website, information security, the enforcement of our own legal claims and compliance with Swiss law.

We process personal data for the duration required for the respective purpose or purposes. In the case of longer-term retention obligations due to legal and other obligations to which we are subject, we restrict processing accordingly.

Storage period

The data is deleted as soon as it is no longer required for the purpose for which it was collected. This is generally the case for the data used to provide the website when the respective session has ended.

Comments

When visitors post comments on this blog, the blog collects the data displayed in the comment form, in addition to your IP address and the user agent string (this identifies the browser) to help detect spam.

An anonymized string may be created from your email address (also called a hash) and passed to the Gravatar service to check if you are using it. The privacy policy of the Gravatar service can be found here: https://automattic.com/privacy. After your comment is approved, your profile picture is publicly visible in the context of the comment.

Contact forms

The data you enter will be stored for the purpose of individual communication. For this purpose, the specification of a valid email address and a name is required. The email address is used for the assignment of the request and the subsequent response to the same. The specification of further data is optional. The email address will not be stored after the completion of the communication, unless you wish further contact.

Cookies

This blog uses cookies. These are small text files that make it possible to store specific information related to the user on the user’s terminal device while the user is using the website. Cookies make it possible, in particular, to determine the frequency of use and number of users of the pages, to analyze behavior patterns of page use, but also to make our offer more customer-friendly. Cookies remain stored beyond the end of a browser session and can be retrieved when you visit the site again. If you do not wish this to happen, you should set your Internet browser so that it refuses to accept cookies.

A general objection to the use of cookies used for online marketing purposes can be declared for a large number of the services, especially in the case of tracking, via the U.S. site http://www.aboutads.info/choices/ or the EU site http://www.youronlinechoices.com/. Furthermore, the storage of cookies can be achieved by disabling them in the browser settings. Please note that in this case not all functions of this online offer can be used.

Embedded content from other websites

Posts on this blog may contain embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves exactly as if the visitor had visited the other website.

These websites may collect information about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking services, and record your interaction with that embedded content, including your interaction with the embedded content if you have a user account and are logged into that website.

Newsletter subscription

In this blog you could subscribe to a newsletter. The personal data transmitted to my blog when you subscribe to the newsletter will be specified in the input mask used for this purpose.

Topedia Blog will inform you as visitor at irregular intervals about recent blog posts via email. A visitor can only receive newsletters if (1) the visitor has a valid e-mail address and (2) the visitor registers for the newsletter mailing. A confirmation email will be sent to the email address entered by the visitor using the double opt-in procedure. This confirmation email serves to verify whether the owner of the email address as the visitor has authorized the receipt of the newsletter.

When registering for the newsletter we store the IP address used by the visitor at the time of registration, as well as the date and time of registration. The collection of this data is necessary to be able to trace the (possible) misuse of the email address of a visitor at a later point in time.

The personal data collected in the context of a registration for the newsletter will be used exclusively for sending the newsletter. Furthermore, newsletter subscribers could be informed if this is necessary for the operation of the newsletter service (e.g. for changes to the newsletter or in case of technical circumstances). For more information about the newsletter subscription please refer to the help about Topedia Blog emails.
No personal data collected as part of the newsletter service will be passed on to third parties. Your data will be stored and processed in Topedia Blog. The subscription to the newsletter can be cancelled by the subscriber at any time. The consent to the storage of personal data, which the subscriber has given us for the newsletter subscription, can be revoked at any time. For the revoking consent, a corresponding link can be found in each newsletter. Furthermore, it is possible to unsubscribe from the newsletter subscription at any time directly via my contact form. Please mention the email address used for the newsletter subscription.

Newsletter tracking

Newsletters from Topedia Blog contain a so-called tracking pixel. A tracking pixel is a miniature graphic that is embedded in emails that are sent in HTML format to enable log file recording and log file analysis. This enables a statistical evaluation of the success or failure of my newsletter campaigns. Based on the embedded tracking pixel we can see if and when an email was opened by a subscriber and which links in the email were called up by the subscriber.

Data collected via the tracking pixels contained in the newsletters are stored and evaluated by me as owner of the blog to optimize the newsletter service. This data will not be disclosed to third parties. Subscribers are entitled at any time to revoke the consent given via the double opt-in procedure. After revocation the blog owner will delete the data. We automatically interpret a withdrawal as a newsletter subscription revocation.

Embedded YouTube Videos

YouTube videos are embedded in some of the posts. The operator of the corresponding plugins is YouTube, LLC, 901 Cherry Ave, San Bruno, CA 94066, USA (hereinafter “YouTube”). When you visit a page with the YouTube plugin, a connection to YouTube servers is established. In the process, YouTube is informed which pages you are visiting. If you are logged into your YouTube account, YouTube can assign the surfing behavior to your personal account. You can prevent this by logging out of the YouTube account beforehand. If a YouTube video is started, the provider uses cookies that collect information about visitor behavior.

How long the blog stores your data

When you post a comment, the comment is saved indefinitely, including some metadata. This way we can automatically detect and approve follow-up comments instead of keeping them in a moderation queue.

What rights you have to your data

If you have posted comments, you may request an export of your personal including any data you have provided to the blog. In addition, you can request the deletion of all personal data that the blog has stored about you. This does not include data that we need to keep due to administrative, legal or security needs.

Where the blog sends your data

Comments could be examined by an automated service for spam detection.

Data storage location and data transmission

To protect the security of your data during transmissiont the blog uses state-of-the-art encryption methods (e.g. SSL) via HTTPS. Data collected for services on the Topedia Blog (e.g. newsletters) are stored in Swiss data centers. Data from other companies may be stored outside of Switzerland.

Use of script libraries (Google Web Fonts)

This blog uses so-called web fonts provided by Google for the uniform display of fonts. When you call up a page, your browser loads the required web fonts into its browser cache in order to display texts and fonts correctly. If your browser does not support web fonts, a standard font is used by your computer.
You can find more information on Google Web Fonts at https://developers.google.com/fonts/faq and in Google’s privacy policy: https://www.google.com/policies/privacy.

Use of Google Analytics

This blog uses Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google Ireland Limited. If the data controller on this website is located outside the European Economic Area or Switzerland, then the Google Analytics data processing is carried out by Google LLC. Google LLC and Google Ireland Limited are hereinafter referred to as “”Google””.
The statistics obtained enable us to improve our offer and make it more interesting for you as a user. This blog also uses Google Analytics for a cross-device analysis of visitor flows, which is carried out via a user ID. If you have a Google user account, you can deactivate the cross-device analysis of your usage in the settings there under “”My data””, “”Personal data””.
The legal basis for the use of Google Analytics is Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. f DS-GVO. The IP address transmitted by your browser as part of Google Analytics will not be merged with other data from Google. We would like to point out that on this website Google Analytics has been extended by the code “”_anonymizeIp();”” to ensure anonymized collection of IP addresses. This means that IP addresses are processed in abbreviated form, which means that they cannot be linked to a specific person. If the data collected about you is related to a person, this is immediately excluded and the personal data is deleted immediately.
Only in exceptional cases will the full IP address be transferred to a Google server in the USA and shortened there. On behalf of the owner of this website, Google will use this information for the purpose of evaluating your use of the website, compiling reports on website activity and providing other services relating to website activity and internet usage to the website owner. For the exceptional cases in which personal data is transferred to the USA, Google has submitted to the EU-US Privacy Shield, https://www.privacyshield.gov/EU-US-Framework.
Google Analytics uses cookies. The information generated by the cookie about your use of this blog is usually transmitted to a Google server in the USA and stored there. You may refuse the use of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your browser, however please note that if you do this you may not be able to use the full functionality of this website. You can also prevent the collection of data generated by the cookie and related to your use of the website (including your IP address) to Google and the processing of this data by Google by downloading and installing the browser plugin.
Please note that if you delete all cookies on your terminal device, these opt-out cookies will also be deleted, i.e. you will have to set the opt-out cookies again if you wish to continue to prevent this form of data collection. The opt-out cookies are set per browser and computer/end device and must therefore be activated separately for each browser, computer or other end device.

Use of Google AdSense

e use Google AdSense on this blog. This is an advertising program of the company Google Inc. In Europe, the company Google Ireland Limited (Gordon House, Barrow Street Dublin 4, Ireland) is responsible for all Google services. Google AdSense allows us to display advertisements on this website that are relevant to our theme.

Google AdSense uses cookies to serve ads that are relevant to users, to improve campaign performance reports, or to prevent a user from seeing the same ads more than once. Via a cookie ID, Google records which ads are displayed in which browser and can thus prevent them from being displayed more than once. In addition, Google AdSense can use cookie IDs to record so-called conversions that are related to ad requests. This is the case, for example, when a user sees a Google Ads ad and later calls up the advertiser’s website with the same browser and buys something there. According to Google, Google Ads cookies do not contain any personal information.

Due to the marketing tools used, your browser automatically establishes a direct connection with Google’s server. Through the integration of Google Ads, Google receives the information that you have called up the corresponding part of our website or clicked on an advertisement from us. If you are registered with a Google service, Google can assign the visit to your account. Even if you are not registered with Google or have not logged in, there is a possibility that Google will obtain and store your IP address.

You can prevent participation in this tracking process in various ways:

  • by adjusting your browser software accordingly; in particular, the suppression of third-party cookies will result in you not receiving ads from third-party providers;
  • by disabling conversion tracking cookies by setting your browser to block cookies from the domain “”www.googleadservices.com””, https://adssettings.google.com, which setting will be deleted when you delete your cookies;
  • by disabling interest-based ads from the providers that are part of the “”About Ads”” self-regulatory campaign, via the link https://www.aboutads.info/choices, with this setting being deleted when you delete your cookies;
  • by permanently disabling them in your Firefox, Internetexplorer or Google Chrome browsers at the link https://www.google.com/settings/ads/plugin. We would like to point out that in this case you may not be able to use all functions of this offer in full.

The legal basis for the processing of your data is a balancing of interests, according to which the processing of your personal data described above is not opposed by any overriding interests on your part (Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. f DSGVO). You can find more information about Google Ads from Google at https://ads.google.com/intl/de_DE/home/, as well as about data protection at Google in general: https://www.google.de/intl/de/policies/privacy. Alternatively, you can visit the website of the Network Advertising Initiative (NAI) at https://www.networkadvertising.org.

Use of Cloudflare

This blog uses Cloudflare from Cloudflare, Inc. (101 Townsend St., San Francisco, CA 94107, USA) to make the website faster and more secure. Cloudflare uses cookies and processes user data. The data from Cloudflare is usually deleted after 24 hours. If your IP addresses trigger security alerts at Cloudflare there may be exceptions to the stated retention period.
Cloudflare, Inc. is an American company that provides a content delivery network and various security services. These services are located between the user and our hosting provider and act as a reverse proxy for websites. You can find Cloudflare’s privacy policy at https://www.cloudflare.com/de-de/privacypolicy. Cloudflare may store non-personal data for a longer period of time. Details can be found at https://www.cloudflare.com/application/privacypolicy.

The owner of this blog can block access for certain visitors (e.g. bots, crawlers…) or visitors from individual countries, or display additional security checks.

Use of Jetpack for WordPress

Topedia Blog has Jetpack integrated. Jetpack allows the blog an overview of the visitors to the page.
The operator of the Jetpack plug-in for WordPress is Aut O’Mattic A8C Ireland Ltd, Business Centre, No.1 Lower Mayor Street, International Financial Services Centre, Dublin 1, Ireland.

Jetpack sets a cookie on the information technology system of the data subject. What cookies are has already been explained above. Each time one of the individual pages on this blog is called up the internet browser on the visitor’s device is automatically triggered by the respective Jetpack component to transmit data to Automattic for analysis purposes. As part of this technical process Automattic obtains knowledge of data that is subsequently used to create an overview of website visits. The data thus obtained is used to analyze the behavior of the data subject who has accessed Topedia Blog, to optimize the website. The data collected via the Jetpack component will not be used to identify the visitor without obtaining the prior explicit consent of the visitor. Furthermore, the data is used from Quantcast. Quantcast uses the data for the same purposes as Automattic.

The visitor may prevent the setting of cookies by Topedia Blog, as described above, at any time by selecting the appropriate settings on the internet browser and thus object to the setting of cookies permanently. Such a setting of the internet browser used would also prevent Automattic/Quantcast from setting a cookie on the device of the visitor. Cookies already set by Automattic can be deleted at any time via the internet browser or other software programs.

The visitor has the opportunity to object to the collection of data generated by the Jetpack cookie and related to the use of this website as well as to the processing of this data by Automattic/Quantcast and to prevent such processing. For this purpose, the visitor must press the opt-out button under the link https://www.quantcast.com/opt-out, which sets an opt-out cookie. The opt-out cookie set with the objection is stored on the device used by the visitor. If the cookies on the device are deleted the visitor must call up the link again and set a new opt-out cookie.

With the setting of the opt-out cookie there is the possibility that Topedia Blog is no longer fully usable for the visitor.

The applicable data protection policy of Automattic are available at https://automattic.com/privacy, from Quantcast at https://www.quantcast.com/privacy.

Changes

I may change this privacy policy at any time without notice. If there are relevant changes to the newsletter subscription service, subscribers will be informed in advance via email. The current version published on this blog applies. If there are differences between the German and English version the German version applies.

Bern, 07.06.2023

Source of some chapters: BrainBox Solutions