Privacy Policy

1. Data Privacy at a Glance

General Information

The following information provides a simple overview of what happens to personal data when this website is visited. Personal data is any data by which a person can be individually identified. Detailed information on the subject of data privacy can be found in the privacy policy listed below this text.

Data Collection on This Website

Who is responsible for data collection on this website? Data processing on this website is carried out by the website operator. Contact details can be found in the legal notice (Impressum) of this website. How is data collected? Some data is collected when it is provided directly, for example by entering information into a contact form. Other data is collected automatically by the IT systems when the website is visited. This includes primarily technical data (e.g., internet browser, operating system, or time of page access). This data is collected automatically as soon as the website is accessed. What is the data used for? Some of the data is collected to ensure the website is provided without errors. Other data may be used to analyze user behavior. What rights are available regarding personal data? There is always the right to receive, free of charge, information about the origin, recipients, and purpose of stored personal data. There is also the right to request correction, blocking, or deletion of this data. For this and any other questions on the subject of data privacy, contact can be made at any time using the address provided in the legal notice. Furthermore, a right of complaint with the competent supervisory authority exists.

Analytics Tools and Third-Party Tools

When this website is visited, browsing behavior may be statistically analyzed. This is done with the self-hosted analytics software Matomo. The analysis is fully anonymized and cookieless; browsing behavior cannot be traced back to you. You can object to the analysis at any time via the cookie settings. Detailed information can be found in the section "Web analytics with Matomo (self-hosted)" in this privacy policy.

2. General Information and Mandatory Disclosures

Data Privacy

The operators of this website take the protection of personal data very seriously. Personal data is treated confidentially and in accordance with statutory data protection regulations and this privacy policy. When this website is used, various personal data is collected. Personal data is data by which a person can be individually identified. This privacy policy explains what data is collected and what it is used for. It also explains how and for what purpose this takes place. Please note that data transmission over the internet (e.g., when communicating by email) may be subject to security vulnerabilities. Complete protection of data from access by third parties is not possible.

Notice Regarding the Responsible Party

The responsible party for data processing on this website is: Bastian Glumm Frankenstr. 86 42653 Solingen Phone: 0212 – 725 88646 Email: bastian.glumm@solingenmagazin.de The responsible party is the natural or legal person who, alone or jointly with others, decides on the purposes and means of processing personal data (e.g., names, email addresses, etc.).

Withdrawal of Consent to Data Processing

Many data processing operations are only possible with explicit consent. Consent already given may be withdrawn at any time. An informal notification by email is sufficient for this purpose. The lawfulness of the data processing carried out prior to the withdrawal remains unaffected by the withdrawal.

Right to Complain to the Competent Supervisory Authority

In the event of violations of data protection law, the person affected has the right to lodge a complaint with the competent supervisory authority. The competent supervisory authority for data protection matters is the data protection commissioner of the federal state in which the company is headquartered. A list of data protection commissioners and their contact details can be found at the following link: https://www.bfdi.bund.de/DE/Infothek/Anschriften_Links/anschriften_links-node.html.

Right to Data Portability

There is the right to have data that is processed automatically on the basis of consent or in fulfillment of a contract handed over in a commonly used, machine-readable format, either to oneself or to a third party. If direct transfer of the data to another responsible party is requested, this will only be done to the extent that it is technically feasible.

SSL and TLS Encryption

For security reasons and to protect the transmission of confidential content, such as orders or inquiries submitted to the website operator, this site uses SSL or TLS encryption. An encrypted connection can be recognized by the fact that the browser address bar changes from "http://" to "https://" and by the lock icon in the browser bar. When SSL or TLS encryption is enabled, data transmitted cannot be read by third parties.

Access, Blocking, Deletion

Within the framework of applicable legal provisions, there is always the right to receive, free of charge, information about stored personal data, its origin and recipients, and the purpose of data processing, as well as, where applicable, the right to correction, blocking, or deletion of such data. For this and any other questions regarding personal data, contact can be made at any time using the address provided in the legal notice.

3. Data Collection on This Website

Cookies

This website uses what are known as cookies in some areas. Cookies do not cause any harm to a device and do not contain viruses. They serve to make the offering more user-friendly, more effective, and more secure. Cookies are small text files that are stored on a device and saved by the browser. Most of the cookies used are so-called "session cookies." They are automatically deleted after the visit ends. Other cookies remain stored on the device until they are deleted. These cookies make it possible to recognize the browser on the next visit. The browser can be configured to provide notification when cookies are set and to allow cookies only in individual cases, to exclude the acceptance of cookies for certain cases or in general, and to activate the automatic deletion of cookies when the browser is closed. If cookies are disabled, the functionality of this website may be limited. Cookies that are required to carry out the electronic communication process or to provide certain functions that have been requested (e.g., shopping cart functionality) are stored on the basis of Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. The website operator has a legitimate interest in storing cookies for the technically error-free and optimized provision of its services. Where other cookies (e.g., cookies for analyzing browsing behavior) are stored, they are addressed separately in this privacy policy.

Server Log Files

The provider of this website automatically collects and stores information in so-called server log files, which the browser transmits automatically. These include:

Browser type and browser version
Operating system used
Referrer URL
Hostname of the accessing device
Time of the server request
IP address

This data is not merged with other data sources. The legal basis for data processing is Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR, which permits the processing of data for the performance of a contract or pre-contractual measures.

Comment Function on This Website

When using the comment function on this site, in addition to the comment itself, the time of its creation, the email address, and, if posting is not done anonymously, the chosen username are also stored. Storage of IP Addresses The comment function stores the IP addresses of users who post comments. Since comments are not reviewed before being activated on this site, this data is needed in order to take action against the author in the event of legal violations such as defamatory content or incitement. Retention Period for Comments Comments and the associated data (e.g., IP address) are stored and remain on this website until the commented content has been completely deleted or the comments must be deleted for legal reasons (e.g., offensive comments). Legal Basis Comments are stored on the basis of consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR). Consent given may be withdrawn at any time. An informal notification by email is sufficient. The lawfulness of data processing operations already carried out remains unaffected by the withdrawal.

4. Analytics Tools and Advertising

For audience measurement we exclusively use the self-hosted analytics software Matomo. Detailed information can be found in the section “Web Analytics with Matomo (self-hosted)” below. Third-party advertising networks (such as Google AdSense) are currently not used on this website.

A newsletter subscription is available. The newsletter provides regular updates on current articles, tips, and news about life in Italy.

Double Opt-In Procedure

Newsletter registration is carried out using what is known as the double opt-in procedure. After signing up, a confirmation email containing a confirmation link is sent. The registration only becomes effective once that link is clicked.

Data Processed

Only an email address is required for registration. In addition, the time of registration and confirmation is stored as proof of consent. The data is used exclusively for sending the newsletter and is not shared with third parties.

Delivery Service Provider: MailerSend

Emails are sent via MailerSend SIA, Perkonu iela 2, LV-3101 Tukums, Latvia (EU). A data processing agreement (DPA) pursuant to Art. 28 GDPR has been concluded with MailerSend. Further information: https://www.mailersend.com/legal/privacy-policy

Legal Basis

Processing is carried out on the basis of consent pursuant to Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR. Consent may be withdrawn at any time by using the unsubscribe link in any email.

Unsubscribing and Data Deletion

Upon unsubscribing, all data will be completely deleted from the system. Deletion may also be requested at any time by email at info@vivereinitalien.de.

Web Analytics with Matomo (self-hosted)

This website uses Matomo, an open-source software for analyzing user behavior. The Matomo instance (matomo.omedas.de) is operated on our own servers within the European Union. It is technically maintained by our service provider Mamento Marketing, which acts as our data processor on the basis of a data processing agreement pursuant to Art. 28 GDPR. Collected data is not shared with any other third parties.

Matomo collects information about website usage exclusively in anonymized form. This includes:

Pages visited and time of access
Referring page (referrer)
Browser used and device type
Approximate region (derived from the anonymized IP address)

The IP address is truncated by the last two octets before storage (masking) and can therefore no longer be traced back to any individual. No cookies are set for recognition purposes, and cross-site tracking of individual visitors does not take place. The "Do Not Track" signal sent by the browser is respected.

Cookieless analytics without consent requirement

The analysis is carried out entirely without cookies and without accessing information stored on your device. No persistent visitor identifier is assigned; visitors are not recognized across visits. As there is no access to your device, this form of anonymous reach measurement does not require consent.

The legal basis for the processing is Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. Our legitimate interest lies in the anonymized statistical evaluation of the use of our website in order to improve our services. As the data is anonymized at the point of collection, any interference with your rights and freedoms is largely excluded.

Right to object (opt-out)

You can object to the analysis at any time with effect for the future (Art. 21 GDPR). To do so, open the cookie settings via the link at the bottom of the page and disable the "Statistics" category. In that case, the Matomo tracking code is not loaded and no data is transmitted to our analytics server. We also respect your browser's "Do Not Track" signal.

The collected raw data is automatically deleted after 14 months at the latest.

Further information on data privacy in Matomo can be found at: https://matomo.org/privacy-policy/

Push notifications

On our website you can subscribe to push notifications for new articles. Notifications are displayed directly by your browser as soon as we publish a new article or send the Sunday weekly recap. Registration happens exclusively via your browser's permission dialog, after you click "Turn on notifications".

What data do we process?

Push endpoint URL (anonymous identifier of your browser or device)
Encryption keys (p256dh and auth) used for secure delivery
Language (de, it or en) for localised notification texts
User-Agent (browser and operating system information)
Timestamps of subscription and last successful delivery

Legal basis

Your consent under Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR. You give this consent actively through your browser's permission dialog.

Transfer to third countries

Technical delivery is handled by the push service of your browser vendor: Google LLC (USA) via Firebase Cloud Messaging for Chrome and Edge, Mozilla Corporation (USA) for Firefox, and Apple Inc. (USA) for Safari. These providers are self-certified participants in the EU-US Data Privacy Framework (European Commission adequacy decision of 10 July 2023). The notification payload itself is transmitted end-to-end encrypted in accordance with RFC 8291; we do not share IP addresses or other personal data with these services.

Storage period

We keep your subscription until you withdraw it or until your endpoint is permanently unreachable (e.g. after multiple failed delivery attempts). In that case the record is removed automatically.

Withdrawing your consent

You can disable push notifications at any time: click the padlock icon to the left of your browser's address bar, open the notification settings for vivereinitalien.de and choose "Block". As soon as we detect the endpoint is no longer reachable, we delete the corresponding record from our database automatically.

Session replay via OpenReplay

This site uses the session-replay tool OpenReplay to understand where visitors get stuck or technical errors occur. The OpenReplay instance (openreplay.omedas.de) is operated by AWEOS GmbH on servers in Germany, acting as a data processor under a data processing agreement (Art. 28 GDPR). There is NO transfer to third countries.

Which data is processed?

Mouse movements, clicks and scroll position
Pages visited and time on page
Anonymised technical data (browser, OS, screen resolution)
Console logs and network metadata (URLs, HTTP status — NO request bodies or auth headers)

What is masked automatically?

All input fields (input, textarea) are masked in the browser before data reaches OpenReplay — content only appears as asterisks in recordings. In addition, email addresses, phone numbers and dates in free text are obscured automatically. Passwords, payment details and other sensitive inputs CANNOT be seen by us.

Legal basis

Your consent under Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR. Session replay only loads after your consent via our cookie banner (category "Statistics"). If your browser sends the "Do-Not-Track" signal, OpenReplay will not start even with consent granted.

Storage period

Recordings are kept for a maximum of 30 days and then deleted automatically. On request we delete your sessions at any time.

Withdrawing your consent

You can withdraw your consent at any time via the cookie settings (link "Cookie settings" in the footer). After withdrawal OpenReplay will no longer load on subsequent visits.