Cookie Policy

What cookies and similar technologies are

Cookies are small text files that a website stores in the browser to retain information between page views – such as your language preference or your consent decision. Similar technologies include the browser's localStorage (storage without automatic transmission to the server) as well as tracking pixels and third-party scripts. Legally, Section 25 TDDDG treats all these accesses to end devices equally: non-essential accesses require your consent.

Necessary storage (without consent, Section 25 (2) TDDDG)

For basic operation, we exclusively use the following: storage of your cookie decision itself (so the banner does not reappear on every visit, storage duration up to 12 months), storage of your language and currency selection, and – exclusively in the logged-in customer area – a session cookie (HttpOnly, Secure) that carries your login and expires after no more than 7 days. These storage items contain no advertising identifiers and are not transmitted to third parties.

Services requiring consent: Statistics

After your consent to the 'Statistics' category, we use Google Analytics 4 (Google Ireland Ltd.). Cookies from the _ga family are set (lifespan up to 24 months); we store the reports for 14 months. IP addresses are not stored by GA4. Without your consent, no Analytics code is loaded – we work with Google Consent Mode v2 in 'denied by default' mode.

Services requiring consent: Marketing

After consenting to "Marketing", we use Google Ads measurement (conversion tracking, remarketing); this may set cookies such as _gcl_au and Google advertising identifiers (lifespan typically 90 days to 24 months, depending on the cookie). The sole purpose is to measure and control our own advertising; we do not sell data and do not place third-party advertising on this website.

Change or revoke your decision

You can open the consent dialog at any time via the "Cookie Settings" link in the footer and grant or revoke each category individually – revocation takes effect immediately for the future. Additionally, you can view and delete cookies via your browser settings; deleting our necessary storage will only cause the banner to reappear.

What we deliberately do not use

No fingerprinting techniques, no social media pixels from third-party platforms, no advertising networks other than the mentioned Google Ads measurement, no cookie sharing with data brokers, no personalized pricing. We deliver fonts, images, and scripts from our own servers – no font or CDN tracking by third parties occurs.

Practical Example Step by Step

Imagine you visit baduno.com for the first time. When the website loads, a cookie banner appears offering you the choice between 'Only necessary cookies' and 'Accept all cookies'. If you click 'Only necessary cookies', only the decision cookie is set, which stores your selection for up to 12 months. At the same time, it checks whether your language preference has already been saved by your browser or a previous session – a cookie is also set for this without your consent. When you log in to your customer area, a session cookie is created that maintains your login during the session and expires after no later than 7 days or when you close the browser. None of these cookies are used for advertising purposes or shared with third parties.

If, on the other hand, you choose 'Accept all cookies', you consent to the Statistics and Marketing categories. At that moment, Google Analytics 4 is activated: it sets cookies from the _ga family, which collect anonymized visit data such as page views and dwell time. For marketing, the _gcl_au cookie is set to measure whether you came via one of our ads. Important: These cookies are only set after your active consent. You can change or revoke your decision at any time via the 'Cookie settings' link. If you revoke, the corresponding cookie sets are removed from your browser and data processing is stopped for the future. The necessary cookies remain as they are required for the operation of the website.

Common Misunderstandings

A common misconception is that all cookies inevitably collect personal data. This is not the case. Necessary cookies only store technical settings such as your language selection or login status – they contain no advertising identifiers and cannot be linked to your person. Another fallacy: cookies are inherently harmful. Cookies are plain text files that cannot execute programs or contain malicious code. The risk does not come from the cookie itself, but from the way third parties process data. That is precisely why we only use third parties with your consent and do not pass on data to data brokers.

Some visitors assume that without cookie consent the website cannot function fully. This is true for the logged-in customer area – here a session cookie is technically necessary. For the public area, however, the website works perfectly even without consent cookies; only statistics and marketing functions remain disabled. Finally, it is occasionally assumed that deleting all browser cookies is a permanent solution. In fact, this also removes your stored decision, so the cookie banner will reappear on your next visit. Our solution stores your consent only on your device – we do not maintain a central database of your preferences.

Interaction with our other policies

This Cookie Policy is a specific part of our Privacy Policy. While the Privacy Policy generally describes which personal data we process for what purposes, the Cookie Policy focuses on technical access to your terminal device. Pursuant to § 25 TDDDG, we distinguish between necessary access and access requiring consent. The consents you give in the cookie banner are legally effective and are documented in our consent management system. This documentation is not detailed in the Privacy Policy but is specified here in the Cookie Policy.

Our Terms and Conditions, on the other hand, govern the contractual relationship between you and Baduno GmbH – they contain no information on data processing. For data processing in the customer area, we refer to the separate data processing agreements concluded with our business customers. If you work in our system as a customer, the specific security measures described in our Privacy Policy also apply. In summary: The Cookie Policy answers the 'how' of technical storage, the Privacy Policy answers the 'why' and 'for what purpose' of data processing – both complement each other. If you have any questions about how they interact, our data protection team will be happy to help.

Step-by-step practical example

Imagine you are visiting baduno.com for the first time. When the website loads, the cookie banner appears, offering you the choice between 'Only necessary cookies' and 'Accept all cookies'. If you click 'Only necessary cookies', only the decision cookie is set, which stores your choice for up to 12 months. At the same time, it checks whether your language preference has already been set by your browser or a previous session – a cookie is set for this purpose as well, without requiring consent. If you log into your customer area, a session cookie is created that maintains your login during the session and expires after a maximum of 7 days or when you close the browser. None of these cookies are used for advertising purposes or shared with third parties.

If, on the other hand, you choose 'Accept all cookies', Google Analytics 4 is also activated. Cookies from the _ga family are set, which are valid for up to 24 months. Your interactions on the website – such as pages visited or time spent – are recorded anonymously without storing your IP address. After 14 months, the aggregated reports are deleted. If you have also consented to the 'Marketing' category, Google Ads measurement is activated. Cookies such as _gcl_au may be set (90 days to 24 months). These are used exclusively for measuring the success of our own advertising campaigns and displaying personalized ads on other websites within the Google network. You can change or revoke your decision at any time via the 'Cookie Settings' link in the footer.

Common Misunderstandings

A common misunderstanding is that necessary cookies collect personal data or serve advertising purposes. In fact, they only store technically required information such as your language preference or login status. They contain no advertising identifiers and are not transmitted to third parties. Another misunderstanding concerns the duration of cookie storage: many users assume that cookies persist indefinitely. In our practice, necessary cookies have a maximum lifespan of 12 months; the session cookie expires after just 7 days or when the browser is closed. Even for consent-required services, you are not tracked permanently: analytics cookies expire after a maximum of 24 months, marketing cookies after 90 days to 24 months.

Some visitors fear that we can record their entire browsing behavior on the internet via cookies. This is not the case: our cookies and similar technologies only capture activity on baduno.com. Moreover, we do not use cross-site tracking or fingerprinting. Deleting cookies is also easy – via browser settings or revocation in the cookie banner. Revocation takes effect immediately for the future; if the decision cookie is deleted, the banner reappears for technical reasons and serves your informed consent.

Interaction with Our Other Policies

This Cookie Policy supplements our Privacy Policy and our Terms and Conditions. The Privacy Policy describes in detail which personal data we process, for what purposes and on what legal basis – including data collected via cookies and similar technologies. While the Privacy Policy provides an overarching overview, this Cookie Policy focuses on the technical details of storage on your device and consent management pursuant to § 25 TDDDG. Both documents are closely interlinked: When you consent to cookies requiring consent, you thereby allow us to process the resulting data in accordance with the Privacy Policy.

The Terms and Conditions do not contain specific cookie regulations, but refer to the Privacy Policy and this policy. Additionally, you can adjust your cookie decision at any time via the "Cookie Settings" in the footer – this corresponds to the principle of data minimization and transparency that we follow in all policies. Should you have any questions, our Data Protection Officer will be happy to assist you; the contact details can be found in the Privacy Policy.

Step-by-Step Practical Example

Imagine you revisit baduno.com after some time. Since only necessary cookies were saved previously, the cookie banner will not appear again – your decision is stored for up to 12 months. If you would now like to consent to analytics or marketing use, click on "Cookie Settings" in the footer and select the desired category. Immediately after your consent, the corresponding code is loaded: For analytics, the Google Analytics script is activated and sets the _ga cookies; for marketing, conversion tracking cookies are placed. These cookies remain active for the specified duration. If you later change your mind, you can revoke your consent at any time via the same link. Revocation causes the respective cookies to be deleted and no new data to be collected. However, data already collected prior to revocation remains in the reports for a maximum of 14 months (analytics) or until the end of the cookie lifespan (marketing). Important: Deleting all cookies via browser settings also removes your decision cookie – then the banner will appear again on your next visit, and you will have to decide again. This ensures that your preferences are respected at all times and you retain control.

Common Misunderstandings

A common misconception is that cookies are inherently dangerous or a security risk. In fact, the cookies we use are plain text files that contain no malware and do not store personal data such as passwords or credit card numbers. Another misunderstanding concerns the necessity of cookies: some users assume that the website would not function without consent. This is not the case – only strictly necessary cookies (for login, language preference, decision) are set even without your consent. Statistics and marketing cookies do not impair the basic functions of the site. The assumption that Google Analytics permanently stores your IP address is also incorrect: GA4 anonymizes IPs by default. Finally, there is often uncertainty about whether revoking consent deletes already collected data. Here, the rule is: revocation applies for the future; already aggregated values in reports remain until the regular deletion period, but are not linked to your person. This information is intended to help avoid misconceptions and provide a realistic picture of cookie usage on baduno.com.