COOKIE POLICY

As of March 2024

In a nutshell – kurzgesagt GmbH (“KGS”) and our partners may use cookies or similar technologies such as tracking pixels to analyze trends, to administer and track user behavior during your visit to our website, online shop or use of our other products as our VR Experience ‘Out of Scale: A Kurzgesagt Adventure’ and/or our App ‘Universe in a Nutshell’ (jointly hereinafter referred to as “our websites”).

1. INRODUCTION

This Cookie Policy explains what cookies and tracking pixels are, the cookies and tracking pixels we use, what we use them for, and how you can adjust your settings in relation to the cookies and tracking pixels we use.

This Cookie Policy should be read together with our Website Privacy Policy, which sets out how and why we collect, store, use and share personal data generally, as well as your rights in relation to your personal data and details of how to contact us and the relevant supervisory authorities if you have a complaint.

We may change this Cookie Policy from time to time and publish updated versions to our websites, together with notices of changes where appropriate.

2. WHAT IS A COOKIE?

Cookies are text files that may – depending on your settings – be stored on the hard drive of your device (as your computer, tablet, mobile phone or any other device that can access the internet) when you visit a website or click on an advertisement. Cookies are used to identify the device on which they are saved and are operational for a limited period of time.

3. WHY DO WE USE COOKIES?

There are five different types of cookies that may be saved on your device while browsing our websites. The intended purpose of each is described below.

a. Essential cookies

Essential cookies help make our websites work by enabling basic functions required to navigate our websites, access secure areas, authenticate logins and use contact forms, as well as other enhanced functionalities. This type of cookie cannot be disabled. You can set your browser to block or alert you to them, but if you block their use some parts of our websites will not work.

b. Session cookies

Session cookies allow our websites to link your actions during a particular browser session. These cookies expire each time you close your browser and do not remain on your device afterwards.

c. Persistent cookies

Persistent cookies are stored on your device in between browser sessions. They are used to remember your preferences or actions across our websites, such as items you have viewed and added to your basket when browsing our online shop. These cookies remain on your device until they expire or you delete them.

d. Functional cookies

Functional cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources, so we can measure and improve the performance of our websites. They help us know which pages are the most and least popular and show us how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is usually aggregated and therefore anonymous and used only to improve how our websites work. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our websites and will not be able to monitor their performance.

e. Marketing cookies

Marketing cookies may be sent through our websites by our advertising partners, to help them build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal data but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device.

4. WHAT ARE TRACKING PIXELS?

In addition to the five types of cookies described above, we may use so-called tracking pixels on our websites to monitor the effectiveness of various elements of our websites (including advertising elements). Tracking pixels are very small 1x1 pixel images integrated into the code of our websites.

When you visit our websites, tracking pixels send a limited amount of information to the pixel server. This information is used only for statistical purposes in relation to (i) the number of different users of our websites; (ii) the number and type of pages visited; and (iii) the effectiveness of advertising strategies. The information collected may include, for example, your browser language, your IP address and your location data (for example, country of residency).

5. THE COOKIES AND PIXELS WE USE

The list available under Cookies Details in the Cookie Setting, accessible via the fingerprint button bottom right on each site of our websites, provides more information about the cookies and tracking pixels we use and why.

6. CONSENT TO USE COOKIES OR TRACKING PIXELS

a. Legal basis

We ask for your consent to place cookies, tracking pixels and any similar technologies on your device via our Cookie Management Service (see below), except where these are essential for us to provide you with a service that you have requested (e.g. to show our websites in the language chosen by you, to enable you to put items in your shopping basket in the online-shop etc.).

We use essential cookies on the basis of our legitimate interest in storing cookies for the technically error-free and optimized provision of our websites.

b. Consent Management Service (Usercentrics)

To obtain and document your consent, we use the consent management service Usercentrics of Usercentrics GmbH, Sendlinger Straße, 80331 Munich in Germany (“Usercentrics“).

When you enter our websites, the following personal data is transferred to Usercentrics:

Your consent(s) or the withdrawal of your consent(s),
your IP address,
Information about your browser,
Information about your end device,
Time of your visit.

Furthermore, the consent management service stores a cookie in your browser in order to be able to assign the consents given or their withdrawals to you. The data collected in this way is stored until you ask us to delete it, delete the corresponding cookie yourself or the purpose for storing the data no longer applies. Mandatory statutory retention obligations remain unaffected.

The cookie consent tool is used to obtain the legally required consent for the use of certain technologies.

Usercentrics acts for us as a data processor on the basis of a Data Processing Agreement (“DPA”) pursuant to Art. 28 GDPR. For more data protection information regarding Usercentrics, please visit: https://usercentrics.com/de/datenschutzerklaerung/

c. Cookie storage and use

Cookies are stored on your device and transmitted from it to our websites. Our cookies are stored in your browser until they are deleted or, if it is a session cookie, until the session has expired. Cookies that have already been saved can be deleted at any time. As a user, you therefore have full control over the use of cookies:

First, you can change the cookie settings at any time by clicking on the fingerprint symbol on our websites which directly leads you to the cookie management service (see above 6.b.).
You can deactivate or restrict the transmission of cookies by changing the settings in your browser (see below 6. d. – f.).

d. Adjusting your settings on different browsers

If you wish to restrict or block the use of cookies in general, you can configure your browser to display a warning message each time a cookie is about to be stored, or you can block all cookies. You can also manually delete any cookies already sent through your browser.

For ease of navigation, we recommend that you generally accept cookies on our websites and do not delete them. Otherwise, some of the features of our websites may not display or function properly, in case also essential cookies of our websites are blocked.

The possibility to generally block cookies varies from browser to browser. Use your browser’s help menu to find out how to adjust your cookie settings, or click on the relevant link below:

e. Blocking audience-measuring cookies

Audience-measuring cookies have been placed on our site by Google Analytics. You can refrain from consenting to the use of Google Analytics Cookies via our cookie management service, but as well block these cookies by clicking on the deactivation link below, downloading the add-on and installing it on your browser. The add-on is compatible with Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Opera.

Google Analytics deactivation link: Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

Please note that the add-on will save a cookie on your device, but that cookie will be used only to prevent your browser from transmitting data to Google Analytics.

For more information on Google Analytics’ privacy policy, click here: Safeguarding your data.

f. Tracking pixels and how to block them

Blocking cookies will not automatically block tracking pixels from sending information to the pixel server. You can refrain from consenting to the use of tracking pixels via our cookie management service, but as well block their use by setting your browser to be as restrictive as possible with external graphics, by adjusting your firewall settings and/or by using certain browser extensions. This may, however, restrict other functions.

7. HOW TO CONTACT US

Please contact us if you have any questions about this Cookie Policy or the information we hold about you. You can email us at: [email protected].