Privacy Policy

Data protection information

The Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften e.V. (MPG) takes the protection of your personal data very seriously. We process personal data gathered when visiting our websites in compliance with applicable data protection legislation. We neither publish your data nor transmit them to third parties on an unauthorized basis. In the following section, we explain which data we record when you visit one of our websites, and exactly how they are utilized:

A. General information

1. Scope of data processing

As a matter of principle, we gather and utilize users' personal data only to the extent required to ensure the functioning of our website and of our contents and services. The gathering and utilization of our users' personal data normally occurs after users have granted their consent. An exception occurs where data processing is legally permitted.

2. Legal basis of data processing

To the extent that permission of the affected individual is obtained for the processing of personal data, Article 6 (1) lit. a of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) serves as the legal basis.

In the processing of personal data to fulfil a contract whose contractual party is the individual affected, Article 6 (1) lit. b GDPR serves as the legal basis. This also applies to processing required to implement pre-contractual measures.

If processing is required to safeguard the justified interest of the MPG or a third party and the interests, basic rights and basic freedoms of the affected individual do not outweigh the first-mentioned interest, Article 6 (1) lit. f GDPR serves as the basis for such processing.

3. Data deletion and storage duration

The affected individual's personal data are deleted or blocked as soon as the purpose of the storage ceases to apply. Storage can also occur if provided for by European or national legislators in EU regulations, acts or other legislation to which the MPG is subject. A blocking or deletion of data then occurs only if a storage period prescribed by one of the aforementioned norms expires, unless a necessity exists in relation to the further storage of the data for the arrangement of a contract or the fulfilment of a contract.

4. Contact details of the individuals responsible

The entity responsible in the meaning of the General Data Protection Regulation and other national data protection acts as well as other data protection legislation is the

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften e.V. (MPG)
Hofgartenstrasse 8
D-80539 Munich
Telephone: +49 (89) 2108-0

Contact form: www.mpg.de/kontakt/anfragen


Internet: www.mpg.de

5. Data Protection Manager's contact details

The Data Protection Manager at the entity responsible is

Heidi Schuster
Hofgartenstrasse 8
D-80539 Munich
Telephone: +49 (89) 2108-1554
datenschutz@mpg.de

B. Provision of the website and creation of log files

Each time you visit our website, our service and applications automatically record data and information from the computer system of the visiting computer.

The following data are gathered temporarily:

  • Your IP address
  • Date and time of your access to the website
  • Address of the page visited
  • Address of the previously visited website (referrer)
  • Name and version of your browser/operating system (if transmitted)

These data are stored in our systems' log files. These data are not stored together with the user's other personal data.

The legal basis for the temporary saving of data and log files is Article 6 (1) lit. f GDPR. Storage occurs in log files in order to ensure the website's functionality. The data also help us optimize the websites, eliminate malfunctions and ensure our IT system security. Our justified interest in data processing pursuant to Article 6 (1) lit. f GDPR also lies in such purposes.

The data are deleted as soon as they are no longer required to achieve the purpose for which they were gathered. If data are gathered for the provision of the website, this is the case if the respective visit is ended. In the instance that data are stored in log files, this is the case after seven days at the latest. Storage above and beyond this period is possible. In this case, the users' IP addresses are deleted or removed so they can no longer be allocated to the visiting client.

The recording of data for the provision of the website and the storage of data in log files is essential to operate the website. As a consequence, users do not have an option to revoke such data recording.

C. Webanalyse

For the statistical data recording of utilization behaviour, we deploy the Matomo web analysis program (formerly: Piwik), which utilizes cookies and JavaScript to collect various information on your computer and transmit it to us automatically. Each time you visit our websites, our system records the following data and information from the visiting computer's computer system:

  • IP address, anonymized by shortening
  • Two cookies to differentiate different visitors (pk_id and pk_sess)
  • Previously visited URL (referrer), if communicated by the browser
  • Name and version of the operating system
  • Name, version and language setting of the browser
  • Optional User ID Date and time of the request
  • Title of the page being viewed (Page Title)
  • URL of the page being viewed (Page URL)
  • URL of the page that was viewed prior to the current page (Referrer URL)
  • Screen resolution being used
  • Time in local user’s timezone
  • Files that were clicked and downloaded (Download)
  • Links to an outside domain that were clicked (Outlink)
  • Pages generation time (the time it takes for webpages to be generated by the webserver and then downloaded by the user: Page speed)
  • Location of the user: country, region, city, approximate latitude and longitude (Geolocation)

Additionally, if JavaScript is activated:

  • URLs visited on this website
  • Times at which pages are visited
  • Type of HTML queries
  • Screen resolution and colour depth
  • Formats and techniques supported by the browser (e.g. cookies, Java, Flash, PDF, WindowsMedia, QuickTime, RealPlayer, Director, SilverLight, Google Gears)

The data is stored and evaluated exclusively on a server operated by MPI CEC.

The legal basis for the processing of users' personal data is Article 6 (1) lit. f GDPR. Processing of users' personal data enables us to analyze our users' utilization behaviour. The evaluation of the data we obtain enables us to aggregate information about the utilization of our websites' individual components. This helps us constantly improve our websites and their user-friendliness. Our justified interest in data processing pursuant to Article 6 (1) lit. f GDPR also lies in such purposes. The anonymization of the IP address sufficiently takes into consideration users' interest in the protection of their personal data.

The data is deleted after the final annual totals for the access statistics have been formed.

It goes without saying that you are able to revoke data gathering. You have the following independent possibilities to revoke data recording by the central server:

  1. In your browser, activate the do-not-track or do-not-follow settings. If these settings are active, our central server will not store any data relating to you. Important: The do-not-track instruction generally applies only for the device and browser in which you activate the setting. If you utilize several devices/browsers, you will need to separately activate do-not-track in all relevant locations.
  2. Use our opt-out function. Click on the checkbox in the following selection to stop or reactivate data collection. As long as the selection box is deactivated, our central server will not store any data from you. Important: For the opt-out, we need to store a special detection cookie in your browser. If you delete this or use a different PC/browser, then you must again object to the data collection on this page.

These data are not stored together with the user's other personal data.

D. Utilization of cookies

Our website utilizes cookies. Cookies are text files stored in the Internet browser or by the Internet browser on the user's computer system. If a user visits a website, a cookie can be stored on the user's operating system. This cookie contains a sequence of characters enabling the browser to be clearly identified when visiting the website again.

We deploy cookies to make our website more user-friendly. Some elements of our website also technically require the identification of the visiting browser after a change of page. The following data are saved and transmitted in the cookies:

  • Language settings (localization) of the browser: session cookie i18next
  • Session data (click path, pages visited, current language, and, where relevant, error messages for forms: session cookie MPG_session_r

Both cookies are deleted when the session is closed.

The legal basis for personal data processing while utilizing cookies is Article 6 (1) lit. f GDPR and § 25 para. 2 No. 2 TTDSG. Some functions of our website cannot be offered without the use of cookies. For these, it is absolutely necessary that the browser is recognized even after a page change. We require cookies for the following applications:

  • Transferring the browser's language setting: automatic selection of the homepage and spelling
  • Noting of form data entered: terms and entries in the contact form utilized in searches within the website

User data gathered by technically necessary cookies are not utilized to prepare user profiles. Our justified interest in personal data processing pursuant to Article 6 (1) lit. f GDPR also lies in such purposes.

Cookies are stored on the user's computer, which transmits them to our site. For this reason, you, as the user, also have full control over the utilization of cookies. You can deactivate or restrict the transmission of cookies through changing your Internet browser settings. Cookies that have already been saved can be deleted at any time. This can also occur automatically. If cookies for our website are deactivated, you may find not all of the website's functions can continue to be utilized in full.

In addition, we also utilize cookies on our website to enable users' utilization behaviour to be analyzed. For more information on this topic, please refer to the information provided under C.

E. Registration

On our websites, we offer users the option to register, entailing the entry of personal data in a data entry form. We generally gather your email address, family name and first name. We inform you about the specific processing of the data and we obtain your consent as part of the registration procedure. Reference is also made to this data protection statement.

The legal basis for the processing of data is the user's consent pursuant to Article 6 (1) lit. a GDPR. If registration serves to fulfil a contract whose contractual party is the user or to implement pre-contractual measures, the additional legal basis for the processing of data is Article 6 (1) lit. b GDPR. Registering the user is necessary to provide certain contents and services on our website or to fulfil a contract with the user or to implement pre-contractual measures. The data are deleted as soon as they are no longer required to achieve the purpose for which they were gathered. This is the case for data gathered during the registration process if registration is cancelled or modified on our websites. For the registration process to fulfil a contract or to implement pre-contractual measures, this is the case if the data are no longer required to fulfil the contract. After the contract ends, it may be necessary to continue to store the contractual partner's personal data in order to fulfil contractual or statutory obligations.

As a user, you can cancel the registration at any time. You can have the data saved in connection with yourself modified at any time. The procedure is described in more detail in the specific registration procedure. If the data are required to fulfil a contract or to implement pre-contractual measures, early deletion of the data is possible only to the extent that no contractual or statutory obligations prevent such deletion.

F. Facebook

The Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion has a Facebook company page that is linked to on this website. Facebook is a social network.

A social network is an Internet-based social meeting place, an online community that usually enables users to communicate with each other and interact in virtual space. A social network can serve as a platform for the exchange of opinions and experiences or enables the Internet community to provide personal or company-related information. Facebook enables social network users to create private profiles, upload photos and network via friendship requests, among other things.

Facebook is operated by Facebook, Inc, 1 Hacker Way, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA. The person responsible for the processing of personal data if a data subject lives outside the USA or Canada is Facebook Ireland Ltd, 4 Grand Canal Square, Grand Canal Harbour, Dublin 2, Ireland.

No Facebook components (Facebook plug-in) have been integrated on this website. For this reason, Facebook does not know which specific subpage of our website is visited by the person concerned. An overview of all Facebook plug-ins can be found at developers.facebook.com/docs/plugins/.

This website links to our Facebook page at the bottom of each page. By clicking on this link you leave this website and establish a direct connection between your browser and the Facebook servers.
The privacy policy for the MPI CEC Facebook page provides more detailed information about the collection, use and storage of your data when you visit the Facebook page.

The data policy published by Facebook, which is available at de-de.facebook.com/about/privacy/, provides information about the collection, processing and use of personal data by Facebook. It also explains what setting options Facebook offers to protect the privacy of the person concerned. In addition, various applications are available that make it possible to suppress data transmission to Facebook. Such applications can be used by the person concerned to suppress data transmission to Facebook.

G. Twitter

The Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion has a Twitter profile linked to this website.

Twitter is a multilingual, publicly accessible microblogging service on which users can publish and distribute so-called tweets, i.e. short messages limited to 280 characters. These short messages can be accessed by anyone, including those not registered on Twitter. The tweets are also displayed to the so-called followers of the respective user. Followers are other Twitter users who follow a user's tweets. Furthermore, Twitter makes it possible to address a broad audience via hashtags, links or retweets.

The operating company of Twitter is Twitter, Inc. 1355 Market Street, Suite 900, San Francisco, CA 94103, USA.

No Twitter components (Twitter plug-in) have been integrated on this website. However, it can happen that Twitter gets information about which specific subpage of our website is visited by the person concerned, since some browsers transmit such information by default. A complete overview of all Twitter plug-ins can be found at https://developer.twitter.com/en/docs/twitter-for-websites/overview.html.

This website links to our Twitter profile at the bottom of every page. By clicking on this link, you leave this website and establish a direct connection between your browser and the Twitter servers.

The data policy published by Twitter and available at https://twitter.com/de/privacy provides information on the collection, processing and use of personal data by Twitter. It also explains which settings Twitter offers to protect the privacy of the person concerned. In addition, various applications are available that make it possible to suppress data transmission to Twitter. Such applications can be used by the data subject to suppress data transmission to Twitter.

H. LinkedIn

The Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion has a LinkedIn company page that links to this website.

LinkedIn is a web-based social network for maintaining business contacts. A social network is an Internet-based social meeting place, an online community that usually enables users to communicate with each other and interact in virtual space. A social network can serve as a platform for the exchange of opinions and experiences or enables the Internet community to provide personal or company-related information. LinkedIn enables social network users to create private profiles, upload photos and network via connection requests, among other things.

The operating company of LinkedIn is LinkedIn Ireland Unlimited Company Wilton Place, Dublin 2, Ireland.

No LinkedIn components (LinkedIn plug-in) have been integrated on this website. Nevertheless, it may happen that LinkedIn obtains knowledge of which specific sub-page of our website is visited by the data subject, as some browsers transmit such information by default. A complete overview of when LinkedIn uses plug-ins can be found at https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/97562.

The data policy published by LinkedIn, which can be accessed at https://www.linkedin.com/legal/privacy-policy?trk=content_footer-privacy-policy#choices, provides information about the collection, processing and use of personal data by LinkedIn. It also explains the settings options LinkedIn offers to protect the privacy of the data subject. The data collection can be deactivated at any time by the logged-in user under the following link: https://www.linkedin.com/psettings/enhanced-advertising.

I. YouTube

The Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion has integrated components from YouTube on this website.

YouTube is an Internet video portal that enables video publishers to post video clips and other users to view, evaluate and comment on them free of charge. YouTube permits the publication of all kinds of videos, why both complete film and television programs, in addition, music videos, Trailer or by users of made-up videos are callable over the Internet portal.

The operating company of YouTube is YouTube, LLC, 901 Cherry Ave, San Bruno, CA 94066, USA. YouTube, LLC is a subsidiary of Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Pkwy, Mountain View, CA 94043-1351, USA.

Each time one of the individual pages of this website is accessed, which is operated by the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion and on which a YouTube component (YouTube video) has been integrated, the Internet browser on the information technology system of the person concerned is automatically prompted by the respective YouTube component to download a representation of the corresponding YouTube component from YouTube. Further information on YouTube can be found at https://www.youtube.com/yt/about/de/. As part of this technical process, YouTube and Google obtain information about which specific subpage of our website is visited by the person concerned.

If a person is logged into YouTube at the same time, YouTube recognizes which specific subpage of our website the person is visiting by calling up a subpage containing a YouTube video. This information is collected by YouTube and Google and assigned to the respective YouTube account of the person concerned.

YouTube and Google will receive information through the YouTube component that the user has visited our website whenever that person is logged into YouTube at the same time as accessing our website, regardless of whether that person clicks on a YouTube video or not. If no assignment of the data to a Google account is desired, the user should log out of his/her account before accessing it. However, the data will still be collected by Google and YouTube, but can no longer be assigned to the account.

The data protection regulations published by YouTube, which are available at https://www.google.de/intl/de/policies/privacy/, provide information about the collection, processing and use of personal data by YouTube and Google.

J. Rights of individuals affected

As an individual whose personal data are gathered as part of the aforementioned services, you have, in principle, the following rights, to the extent that no legal exceptions are applicable in individual cases:

  • Information (Article 15 GDPR)
  • Correction (Article 16 GDPR)
  • Deletion (Article 17 (1) GDPR)
  • Restriction of processing (Article 18 GDPR)
  • Data transmission (Article 20 GDPR)
  • Revocation of processing (Article 21 GDPR)
  • Revocation of consent (Article 7 (3) GDPR)
  • Right to complain to the regulator (Article 77 GDPR). For the MPG, this is the Bavarian Data Protection Authority (BayLDA), Postbox 1349, 91504 Ansbach.