Cookies are not viruses, but text files, which are neither evaluated by the browser nor run in the memory. As a result, they can not duplicate or spread in other networks to reproduce again. Because they are not capable of these functions, they are not subject to the standard definition of viruses. However, cookies may potentially be used for harmful purposes. Cookies can be utilized as a kind of spyware because they can be used to store information about preferences, the audit trail and the specific navigation behavior of a user on different websites. Many anti-spyware products, therefore, indicate cookies as a possible threat.

1. What are Cookies?

Cookies are small text files which are sent from the visited websites to the navigation device (usually a browser) used by the user and are then stored in the appropriate browser folder. This happens while the user is visiting a website. When you visit the same websites later, the saved text files will be sent back to the sites.

Cookies are used to improve browsing, to save the user’s account details (username, password, etc.), and to record the interests and preferences of the user to create targeted marketing campaigns or services related to the activity of the person responsible for data processing such as newsletters, service messages on the website, etc. If the use of cookies is restricted, this affects the usability of the contents of the website when it is visited. At any time, the user has the option to block cookies as a precaution or to remove them from the cache of the browser. However, blocking or deleting cookies may cause the services offered by the web application to be unavailable.

1. Types of Cookies

Session cookies are temporary files that exist only during the user’s navigation session. When the browser window is closed, the session cookies expire. Session cookies are generally used to identify users when they go to a website and to recognize the user and his preferences when navigating the pages of the site so that the information gathered during previous visits can be made available to him again. The best-known example is the “virtual shopping basket” feature of an e-commerce website: When you visit a catalogue page and select some articles, the session cookies remember the selection made so that the goods remain in a virtual shopping cart when you leave the page. If the user were to leave the page without activating session cookies, the new page could not recognize the activities performed on the previous pages, and the shopping cart would always be empty.

Persistent cookies are files that remain active even after the browser has been closed, and they help the websites to memorize the user’s data and settings for another visit. This allows faster access since re-access is not required. In addition to the authentication, these cookies also enable other website features: language selection, topic selection, saving of menu settings, bookmarks, favorites, and more. The preferences collected during a visit will be retrieved at the next visit when you use persistent cookies.

Technical cookies are indispensable for the correct operation of our website. Without them, the user could not navigate through the site and not use its features. Cookies of this kind are “technical”, meaning they are permanent or session cookies and allow the transfer of the user-specified information from one page to the next during the ordering process. Because these cookies are essential, their deactivation could lead to an impairment of website usage. The content would then be severely restricted or no longer usable. These cookies do not collect information that would enable the identification of the visitor, unless the user registers on the site and then navigates to the log-in area.

Cookies for profiling and recording navigation are indispensable to analyze the way visitors use our website and to monitor the access to the website. This allows us to offer high-quality expertise and to personalize our supply based on the pages actually visited by the users. For example, we could use cookies of this type to determine which pages are particularly popular, which is the most effective method for connecting the pages, or why some pages get error messages. These cookies do not collect information that would enable the identification of a visitor. All collected data is summarized and thus anonymized and used to improve the functioning of our website.

1. Third-party cookies

There are different types of cookies. Some of them are referred to as third-party cookies. They are, for example, used by the site the visitor has first visited and which contains ads that originate from a different server or third-party website. The browser collects the information from different sources so that all items are displayed on the same page visited by the user. In this way, more cookies are created in the folder of the corresponding browser. These cookies can be removed from the settings of the browser directly or by using certain (sometimes free) programs. It is also possible to block the creation of cookies as a precaution. In this case, however, some of the services on the website may not function as intended or happen to be not accessible at all.

Google Analytics is a service provided by Google Inc., which provides detailed statistics about website traffic and its source. It is the most frequently used statistical service. Google Analytics is able to record all visitors, who get to the site using external links, including visits via search engines, social networks, and reference sites, but also direct visits. Google Analytics also displays pay-per-click advertising, email marketing, and other links within PDF documents. For more information, please click here.

The Google Tag Manager is a platform that allows you to send data to your Google Analytics / Google AdWords account with just one JavaScript and handle the data conveniently. It allows you to handle all the tags used for surveys within websites. Tags are small code elements of the website, which allow an evaluation of the traffic and the visitor behavior as well as the verification of the effectiveness of online advertising and the social channels. In addition, they enable the use of audience-specific remarketing and targeting, the testing and optimization of the website and much more. For further information, please click (here.

This website collects and stores data for marketing purposes and optimization using technologies of the Westrick GmbH (www.webtrekk.com). With this data, it is possible to create usage profiles by using pseudonyms. Cookies may be used for this purpose, too. These cookies are small text files that are stored in the temporary memory of the user’s internet browser. Cookies enable recognition of the internet browser. The data collected using Westrick technology is not used for the personal identification of the website visitor and is not linked to the personal data of the person to whom the pseudonym refers, as long as there is no explicit consent of the affected person. At any time, the user may object to the collection and storage of the data with effect for the future.

1. Deactivation of cookies

The majority of browsers is configured to allow you to accept, check, or potentially disable cookies by the browser’s own settings. The cookies are connected to the used browser and can be deactivated directly in the browser. Please visit the websites of the various internet browser manufacturers Microsoft, Apple, Google, etc., and the corresponding help menus to get information about the deactivation of cookies.

1. Cookie information

In accordance with the provisions of the Data Protection Act and in particular Articles 13 and 122, as well as with regard to the action taken by the Data Protection Officer, we inform you that you can at any time change the consent to use cookies that you have given.

LeatherPiks records the consent of the user by means of a technical cookie designed for this purpose, which the Data Protection Officer considers to be a “not particularly invasive” tool. The user may refuse his consent and/or change his opinion on the use of cookies by the website at any time by going to the cookie information, which is accessible from each side of the website.

The user is entitled to exercise his rights in accordance with Article 7 of the Data Protection Act at any time, in particular to claim a copy of the processed data, its updating, information on its origin, the purpose and modalities of processing, its correction or amendment, its deletion and its anonymization or blocking for unlawful processing and to contradict the processing of the data for legitimate reasons.

To exercise these rights, please write to LeatherPiks at the company’s registered office or send an e-mail to: orders@leatherpiks.com.

If you want the permissions to be changed after approval has already been given, they must be deleted via the browser as described above, otherwise the already installed cookies will not be removed. Please note that it is in no way possible to control third-party cookies. Therefore, if consent has already been given, it is necessary to delete the cookies via the browser (in the specific section) or to request the opt-out directly from the third-party provider.

Finally, we would like to point out that the provisions of our Privacy Policy and the corresponding data protection information apply to all of the cases that are not expressly regulated in the Cookie Policy at hand.