Privacy statement

It is extremely important for us to protect your personal data.

We therefore comply with the applicable legal regulations for the protection, lawful handling and secrecy of personal data as well as data security, in particular the Data Protection Act as amended ("DSG") and the General Regulation on Data Protection ("GDPR"). The following information describes which personal data we will process if necessary when you visit our website at www.life-traisen.at ("website").

1. Name and address of the Data Controller

Responsible for the processing of your personal data in accordance with the data protection provisions is:

VERBUND AG
Am Hof 6a
1010 Vienna
(hereinafter "VERBUND", "we", "us")

The contact details of the data protection officer: datenschutz@verbund.com.

2. Processing in the context of "website"

2.1. What kind of personal data will we process?

During your visit to our website, we will automatically collect the following personal data:

  • Date and time of access to a page of our website
  • Data about your device (device ID)
  • IP address
  • Name and version of your internet browser
  • Session ID

2.2. Legal basis of the data processing

Where the data of your visit to our website are concerned, we justify the processing on the basis of our legitimate interest in accordance with Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR, which consists of giving our website a user-friendly design and protecting our website against attacks. On the basis of your voluntary consent pursuant to Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR in conjunction with Section 165(3) TKG, we process your personal data to create usage statistics and to display personalised advertising. You can revoke your voluntarily given consent at any time.

2.3. Purpose of data processing

We process your data relating to the visit to our website for the following purposes:

  • in order to make our website and its functions available to you, and to improve and develop this website further;
  • in order to be able to compile statistics on the use of our website;
  • in order to be able to identify, prevent and investigate attacks on our website;
  • in order to show personalised page suggestions.

2.4. Data retention period

We will generally store your data relating to the visit to our website for a period of three months. A longer retention period will apply only to the extent this is required to investigate identified attacks on our website and beyond that only until the end of the relevant limitation periods, statutory retention periods or any legal disputes.

2.5. Data recipients

We will not forward personal data collected on the basis of your use of the website to third parties, unless this is required for the fulfilment of our obligations or is mandatory for legal or official reasons. In order to operate and administer the website, we regularly use IT service providers which, in accordance with our order and instructions, may under certain circumstances also have access to personal data in order to be able to render the commissioned IT services.

We will also transmit your personal data to the following recipients:

  • to external third parties to the extent required by our legitimate interest (e.g. auditors, insurance companies in the event of an insured event, legal representatives as the occasion requires, etc.);
  • to authorities and other public bodies to the extent required by law (e.g. financial authorities, courts, etc.).

Your data will not be passed to any other third parties for their own purposes without your consent.

3. Processing in the context of "making contact/enquiries"

3.1. What kind of personal data will we process?

When you contact us by email or telephone, we will process the personal data you give us (email, name, telephone number, as well your enquiry or the associated documents) for the purposes of processing your enquiry and respond to you accordingly.

These data are provided by you on a voluntary basis; they are neither legally nor contractually prescribed, nor are they required in order to enter into a contract with us. However, if you do not provide these data, VERBUND will not be able to process your enquiry accordingly.

3.2. Legal basis and purpose of the data processing

The legal basis for the processing of the data is our legitimate interest in accordance with Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR, which lies in processing and dealing with your enquiry.

3.3. Retention period

Your data will be stored until your enquiry has been dealt with and beyond that for a period of three months, so that we can respond appropriately to subsequent questions. A longer retention period will be applied only on the basis of statutory retention periods or for defence purposes in any legal disputes.

3.4. Data recipients

We use service providers (e.g. IT service providers) which, in accordance with our orders and instructions, may under certain circumstances also have access to personal data in order to be able to render the commissioned services.

We may also transmit your personal data to the following recipients:

  • on the basis of our legitimate interests, to VERBUND Group companies or other third parties involved, for example, in the project or cooperation (e.g. experts, specialists) to the extent required,
  • as the occasion requires, also to external third parties such as, for example, legal representatives, insurance companies in the event of an insured event, auditors;
  • to authorities and other public bodies to the extent required by law (e.g. financial authorities, courts, etc.). 

4. Cookies

4.1. What are cookies?

Cookies and similar web storage technologies, such as scripts, web beacons, tracking URLs, pixels or tags (hereinafter referred to as "cookies") are used on our website. Cookies are small files that are stored on your end device (e.g. PC, smartphone or tablet) when you visit our website. Each time you visit our website, the cookie and the website "communicate" with each other so that your device can be recognized. This is useful for you as well as for us: Cookies serve the purpose of enabling the correct functioning of our website, expanding the range of functions and optimizing the website functions. This allows the website to remember certain entries and settings (e.g. language, font size) over a certain period of time so that you do not have to make them again each time you visit the website.

We use first-party and third-party cookies. First-party cookies come directly from our website and only send information to us. However, our website may also contain technologies from other providers (third parties) which we integrate into our website for advertising purposes and which may set their own cookies on your end device.

In many cases, cookies do not identify you as a person, but rather your device. In some cases, however, it is possible to link certain cookies to personal data. There are therefore cookies that require your consent before they can be used on your device and cookies that can be used without your consent because they are technically necessary for us to provide our services ("necessary cookies"). In the case of necessary cookies, the data processing is necessary for the purpose of data security measures and to prevent misuse and is therefore based on our legitimate interests in accordance with Art. 6(1f) GDPR in conjunction with Art 96(3) TKG. We use all other cookies on our website exclusively on the basis of your prior express consent in accordance with Art. 6(1a) GDPR in conjunction with Art 165(e) TKG via the cookie banner. 

Insofar as the settings you have made or the voluntary consent you have given also include providers who transfer data to countries without an adequacy decision pursuant to Art 45(3) GDPR and without suitable guarantees pursuant to Art 46 GDPR, your consent pursuant to Art 49 GDPR also applies here. There is a risk that your data transmitted in this way may be subject to access by authorities in these countries for control and monitoring purposes and that no effective legal remedies are available against this.

Our website gives you the possibility to accept the use of cookies by clicking on the "Agree to cookies" button on our cookie banner, which automatically appears the first time you visit our website or when you click on the always-visible "fingerprint" button at the bottom left of the website. By clicking on the "Reject cookies" button, you reject all non-essential cookies. After clicking on "Settings", you can allow or reject certain categories of cookies. In "Settings" you can also see the full list of cookies and which category they belong to. If you do not check the boxes and click on "Confirm selection", no cookie-based services requiring your consent will be loaded.

4.2. Which cookies are used?

We make use of operationally necessary cookies for our website, in order to offer you an optimal website experience. Additional cookies are only used if you provide your consent. We use these for statistical purposes or to show you information tailored to your requirements. You can decide which categories you would like to allow and can also change your cookie settings at any time. You can find further information on the cookies we use in our cookie banner. By clicking on "Agree to cookies", you consent to the use of all cookies. By clicking on the "Reject cookies" button, you reject all non-essential cookies. To change your cookie settings and allow only certain categories, go to "Settings", modify the relevant checkboxes and click on "Confirm selection". Please note that we also use services of providers located in the United States on our website. If you give your consent to the cookies necessary to use these services, this consent will also apply pursuant to Art. 49 (1) GDPR. It is therefore also possible that authorities located in the United States will be able to access your transmitted data and you will have no effective legal remedy against this.

4.2.1. Necessary Cookies

These cookies are necessary for operating the website and ensure basic functionalities. These kinds of cookies also enable access to secured areas, so that, for example, users remain logged into the secured area on each visit without have to enter their user name and password again. The website cannot function correctly without these cookies.

4.2.2. Statistics-Cookies

In order to constantly improve our website, we use cookies that collect aggregated and anonymised information about the use of our website, which we then use for statistical and analytical purposes. We are therefore able to analyse, for example, how frequently a website is used and whether it contains error messages.

4.2.3. Marketing-Cookies

We use marketing cookies to show you tailored advertising based on your use and interests while you surf the internet. These cookies are used to restrict how often the user sees an advertisement, to measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign and to understand how people behave after looking at an advertisement.

4.3. How long are cookies stored?

With regard to the storage duration, a distinction must be made between "session cookies" and "persistent cookies". Session cookies are automatically deleted when you leave our website. Persistent cookies, on the other hand, remain on your terminal device either until the cookies reach an expiry date set by us or you manually delete them from your browser. We use such persistent cookies to recognise you on your next visit to our website. You can find the precise storage duration in our cookie settings, that are always available via the button in the bottom left of our website (fingerprint icon).

4.4. How can I deactivate cookies?

You can revoke your consent granted to us at any time with effect for the future by deleting the corresponding cookies and preventing the saving of cookies as described here. You can also decide at your discretion which categories of cookies you would like to allow and can also change your cookie settings in the cookie banner.
In addition, you can also make general changes to all cookie settings at any time via your browser. Most browsers accept cookies automatically. The use of certain cookies may also be required to open a website or to save the objection to the use of other cookies. You can delete all cookies that are already on your computer and you can set most browsers to prevent them from being placed or to require your explicit consent before saving a cookie. You can also separately activate "Block third-party cookies". As a rule, the Help function in the menu bar of your web browser shows you how to reject new cookies and how to deactivate cookies that have already been received. Learn how by visiting, for example: http://www.aboutcookies.org/. In the following you will additionally find a summary of links that provide detailed information on the deactivation of cookies in commonly used browsers.

However, please note that if you deactivate cookies, you may not be able to use all functions of this website to the fullest extent possible. In this case, you may have to manually make a number of settings each time you visit the website and accept that several functions may be impaired.

5. Tools

On the basis of the consent, you can voluntarily grant via the cookie banner (Art. 6(1) (a) GDPR), VERBUND uses different tools.

5.1. Google Analytics

VERBUND uses Google Analytics, a web analysis service provided by Google Inc. ("Google"). Google Analytics also uses cookies, which enable analysis of how you use the website. The information generated by the cookies about your usage of this website will be transmitted to a Google server in the USA and stored there. Please note that Google Analytics has been extended on this website with the code "gat._anonymizeIp();", in order to assure the anonymised collection of IP addresses. The IP address of the users is therefore truncated on the website before it is saved on the Google servers (so-called IP masking). The full IP address will therefore not be transmitted to a server of Google in the USA. Only in exceptional circumstances will the full IP address be transmitted to a server of Google in the USA and truncated there. At the request of VERBUND, Google will use the information to analyse the use of the website, to compile reports on the website activities for the website operator, and to render further services associated with the use of the website and the use of the internet.

You can prevent the installation of cookies by making the relevant settings in your browser software (so-called "browser add-on"); however, please note that in this case you may not be able to use all functions of this website to the fullest extent possible.

Furthermore, you can prevent the data generated by the cookie and referring to your use of the website (incl. your previously anonymised IP address) being sent to Google as well as the processing of these data by Google by downloading and installing the relevant browser plugin. The current link is: http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=en.
You can find more information on the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy of Google at https://marketingplatform.google.com/about/analytics/terms/us/.

5.2. Google Adwords Conversion Tracking

This website uses the service Google Conversion Tracking of Google Ireland Limited. (Google Ireland Limited, Google Building Gordon House, 4 Barrow Street, Dublin D04 E5W5, Ireland). Google Adwords places a cookie on the visitor's computer if the visitor has reached our website via a Google ad. These cookies expire after 30 days and cannot be used to identify the user. If the user visits certain pages of the Adwords customer's website and the cookie has not yet expired, Google and the customer can see that the user clicked on the ad and was forwarded to this page. Each Adwords customer receives a different cookie. Cookies can therefore not be traced via the websites of Adwords customers. The information collected with the aid of the conversion cookie serves to create conversion statistics for Adwords customers who have opted for conversion tracking.
The Adwords customers learn about the total number of users who clicked on their ad and were forwarded to a page provided with a conversion tracking tag. However, they do not receive any information that could allow them to identify users in person. If visitors would prefer not to participate in the tracking method, they can also reject the placing of a cookie required for this – such as through a browser setting that generally deactivates the automatic placing of cookies. Visitors can also deactivate cookies for conversion tracking by setting their browser to block cookies from the domain „www.googleadservices.com“. You can find more information on how Google uses data at https://www.google.com/intl/en/policies/privacy.

5.3. Google Tag Manager

This website uses Google Tag Manager of Google Ireland Limited (Google Ireland Limited, Google Building Gordon House, 4 Barrow Street, Dublin D04 E5W5, Ireland). Google Tag Manager is a solution that allows marketers to manage website tags through a single interface. The 'Tag Manager' tool itself, which implements the tags, is a cookie-less domain and does not collect any personal data. The tool provides for the triggering of other tags which in turn may collect data. Google Tag Manager does not access these data. If a deactivation has been performed at domain or cookie level, this remains in place for all tracking tags that are implemented with Google Tag Manager.

5.4. Google Signals

VERBUND has activated Google Signals, an additional service of Google Ireland Limited (Google Ireland Limited, Google Building Gordon House, 4 Barrow Street, Dublin D04 E5W5, Ireland). This feature sends aggregated (non-personal) data, such as interests or demographics of Google users who have activated personalised advertisements, to Google Analytics. The data are used by VERBUND for remarketing purposes. Cross-device user behaviour can also be measured. You can find more information about Google Signals at https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/7532985?hl=en.

5.5. Outbrain

This website uses technology from Outbrain (Outbrain UK Limited 5th Floor, The Place 175 High Holborn, London United Kingdom). Outbrain is a provider of native ads and works with publishers worldwide. The Outbrain pixel will not be displayed and the user's data will not be shared if no marketing consent has been given. Such data may consist of: which publisher/placement the click came from, from which device, browser, operating system, ad, time, country, region, interest categorised by the article, the ad that was clicked on. Everything anonymised on an anonymous user ID. The purpose of the Pixel is to facilitate retargeting in the Outbrain network and thereby display relevant ads to users.

5.6. Plugins

We use social media and other 3rd-party plugins on our website. To ensure optimal protection of your data, we use the service of Shariff for social media plugins. This program prevents the social media services from tracking your visit on our website, as long as you do not actively interact with the social media plugins. Therefore, no direct contact is established between you as a user of our website and the social media service. Only when you actively click the button or otherwise interact with the plugins is the respective social media service able to process your data. In detail:

5.6.1. Social media plugins

  • Facebook: Facebook Inc. (Facebook Ireland Ltd., 4 Grand Canal Square, Grand Canal Harbour, Dublin 2, Ireland); more detailed information: http://www.facebook.com/policy.php
  • Twitter: Twitter Inc. (Twitter International Company, One Cumberland Place, Fenian Street, Dublin 2, D02 AX07, Ireland); more detailed information: http://twitter.com/privacy

5.6.2. Google Maps

On this website, map information is provided via the function "Google Maps" of Google Ireland Limited. (Google Ireland Limited, Google Building Gordon House, 4 Barrow Street, Dublin D04 E5W5, Ireland). In the course of using this function, Google also processes data on how this function is used by visitors to our website. You can find more information on how Google uses data at https://www.google.com/intl/en/policies/privacy.

6. Your rights

In principle, you have the right to information, correction, erasure, restriction, data portability, revocation of a granted consent and objection in respect of your data processed by VERBUND. To exercise these rights, please contact datenschutz@verbund.com. If you believe that the processing of your data violates data protection law or your data protection claims have otherwise been violated in any way, you can submit a complaint to the national supervisory authority where you live. In Austria, this supervisory authority is the Data Protection Authority.

version as of November 2023