Tracking online usage

In addition to the data mentioned in our Data Privacy Statement, when you use our websites and apps we also use technical aids for various functions, including cookies, which may be stored on your terminal device. 

Cookies are text files or information that is stored on your hard disc and assigned to the browser you are using so that the cookie can send certain information back to the originating site. Cookies cannot run any programs on your computer or infect your computer with viruses but are primarily designed to make surfing the internet faster and more user-friendly. We use the following types of cookies: 

  • Temporary cookies: These are deleted automatically when you close the browser and include session cookies. Session cookies store what is known as a session-ID, which is used to assign various requests from your browser to a common session. This allows your computer to be recognised when you come back to our website. The session cookies are deleted when you log out or close your browser.  
  • Persistent cookies: These are automatically deleted after a set time that varies depending on the cookie. You can see which cookies are stored on your device and for how long in your browser settings, and you can manually delete them. 

Other technologies 

These functions are not based on cookies, but on similar technical mechanisms, such as flash cookies, HTML5 objects, or an analysis of your browser settings. This allows us to deploy the technologies described below. Here, too, you can of course accept or reject the cookies or other technologies. 

Essential functions that are technically necessary to display the website

The technical structure of the website requires us to use certain technologies, particularly cookies. Without these, our website cannot be (correctly) displayed or the support functions cannot be enabled. This generally concerns temporary cookies that are deleted at the end of your visit, at the latest when you close your browser. You cannot reject these cookies if you want to use our website. Each of these cookies can be seen in the cookie banner. The legal basis for this processing is our legitimate interest. 

Optional cookies when granting your consent

Various cookies are only stored once you have given your consent which you can do the first time you visit our website via our cookie banner. The functions are then only activated (under the GDPR) or deactivated (under the FADP) when you have given your consent, and can be used to analyse and improve visits to our website, to make it easier for you to use various browsers and terminal devices, to recognise you if you visit the site again, to display adverts, or where applicable to target the adverts to your interests or measure their effectiveness. 

When you call up our services and at any time later, you have the choice of whether you generally permit the setting of cookies or for which individual additional functions you permit this. Thus, you can configure your browser in the settings so that it blocks certain cookies or similar technologies or deletes existing cookies and other data stored in the browser. You can also enhance your browser with software (so-called "plug-ins") that blocks tracking by certain third parties. You can find out more about this in the help pages of your browser (usually under the heading "Privacy").

You can also select the functions we use individually via the cookie banner; there you will also find more detailed information about the cookies used in each case. The revocation of your consent is possible at any time, without affecting the permissibility of the processing until the revocation.

Please note that our websites may no longer function to their full extent if you block cookies and similar technologies or object to their use and then it may no longer be possible to use all the services of our offer.

Each time you use the Internet, your browser automatically transmits certain data which we then store in log files.

  1. Information about the browser type and version used
  2. User's operating system
  3. User's Internet service provider 
  4. User's IP address
  5. Date and time of connection
  6. Website from which the user's system was referred to our website
  7. Websites that the user's system connects to from our website
  8. Name of the downloaded file
  9. Data volume transferred
  10. Message indicating if the download was successful

We store the log files for troubleshooting and security purposes. They are stored for up to 10 days and then deleted. Log files that need to continue to be stored for evidence purposes, are excluded from this deletion until the respective incident has been cleared up and may, in isolated cases, be passed on to the investigating authorities.

We need statistical information on the use of our online platforms in order to make them more user-friendly and to do market research. For this purpose we use the following web analytics tools. The browsing profiles created by these tools using analytics cookies or by evaluating the log files are not matched with the personal data. The tools either do not use users' IP addresses at all or truncate them as soon as they have been collected. The suppliers of the web analytics tools only process data on our behalf, in accordance with our instructions and not for their own purposes. 

In our Cookie Preference Center (cookie banner), you will find information on the respective provider for each web analysis tool used and whether or how you can object to the collection and processing of data by the tool. For tools that work with opt-out cookies, please note that the opt-out function is device- or browser-related and generally only applies to the end device or browser currently in use.

We are present on third-party platforms, such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram. We have no influence over the data privacy settings of these third-party platforms. 

The operators of these third-party platforms (for example in the case of Facebook: Meta) process your data for their own purposes. The third-party platforms also use cookies to track user behaviour on other websites and apps of the Group. This is particularly the case if you are already registered on these third-party platforms. You will find more details on this in the data privacy policy of the relevant operator.

We only receive an anonymized evaluation of the usage data from these platform operators. We do not receive a personal user profile from you. The anonymous usage statistics help us to better tailor our offerings to the needs and interests of our audience.

For this purpose, Meta/Facebook provides us with the following data, for example (anonymised and aggregated): age, sex, place of residence (country and region or town/city)

The following data, for example, is recorded anonymously over the entire usage period: time of use, interactions with posts (e.g. reactions, comments, click rate, views, shares), time spent watching videos, devices used, operating systems, software, location of use, browsing history (referring web pages), language, interests/topics.

We are not aware of what data the relevant third-party platform collects and for what purposes it processes that data. 

For more information on this, please contact the relevant platform operator.

To analyse the anonymised data and public interactions (e.g. comments and likes), we use the services of third-party platforms and comment management and analysis service providers. 
The anonymised statistical data is updated daily by Facebook, for example, and is made available for an analysis period including the previous day. To be able to track developments, parts of the data provided by Facebook are archived. However, this is only anonymised statistical data and it cannot be used to identify you. We archive comments and public interactions, such as likes and shares, for journalistic purposes.

We would like to point out that the operators of the platforms are mostly American companies and that their data can therefore also be processed outside of Switzerland and the European Union. This can result in risks because, for example, the enforcement of data subjects' rights can be more difficult. For more details, please refer to the data protection statements of the individual providers.

The data privacy policies of third-party providers and information on data subjects' rights on these platforms can be found on their websites:

When you register on third-party platforms, you have to accept the terms of use, including the way they process data. We have no influence over this usage agreement. Alternatively, you can access our programmes and services on our own websites