Privacy Policy

1. Controller

The controller within the meaning of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is:

PAH Media Stiftung
Priesterausbildungshilfe e.V.
Paul-Kemp-Straße 9
53173 Bonn, Germany
Phone: 0228-84251861
Email: info@godmag.de

2. Hosting and Server Log Data

Our website is operated on servers of Hetzner Online GmbH (Industriestr. 25, 91710 Gunzenhausen, Germany) within the European Union. A data processing agreement under Art. 28 GDPR is in place with Hetzner.

When you access our pages, the web server automatically processes access data (so-called server log files): IP address, date and time of access, page accessed, browser and operating system used. This data is used exclusively to ensure trouble-free operation, error analysis and defence against attacks (legal basis: Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR) and is automatically deleted after a short time.

3. Cookies and Local Storage

Without your consent, we only use cookies and entries in your browser's local storage that are technically necessary or provide a function you yourself use: a login cookie for registered users (session management), your decision in the cookie banner, and your settings – such as the colour scheme (light/dark), the location for articles near you, the language or country version of the website, or which comments you have already reported. As long as GodMag is published in several versions, a cookie also remembers for 24 hours the country our own server determined from your IP address on first access (only the country code; the IP address is not stored), so that we can offer you the appropriate version. The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR and § 25(2) TDDDG.

For the duration of the browser tab, your browser also remembers where your visit came from – for our own statistics, without a cookie and without identifying you personally (Section 4). We only set Google's advertising and analytics cookies (Section 5) if you have given consent via the cookie banner; you can change your decision at any time via “Cookie Settings” at the bottom of every page. All cookies and entries with name, purpose, and storage duration can be found in our Cookie Policy.

4. Reach Measurement without Cookies (Own Statistics)

To find out which articles are read and how visitors find us, we operate our own statistics on our servers within the European Union. No cookies are set and no identifiers are stored in your browser. For each page view, we process the page visited (address and title), the time, the domain of the referring website, and campaign tags in the accessed link (UTM parameters, such as those we use in our newsletters and posts on social networks), as well as device type, operating system, and browser family (without version numbers).

From your IP address and browser identifier, a daily value is generated in working memory, which ensures that multiple visits by the same browser on the same day are counted only once as a “visitor”. The key used for this is discarded daily, so that visits on different days cannot be linked. The IP address is also matched to a country, a region and approximately a city (using the “IP to City Lite” database from DB-IP.com); the IP address itself is not stored.

For articles, we also record whether they were read (half the page scrolled through or visible for 30 seconds), as well as clicks on the sharing buttons. On the job board, we additionally count clicks on “Apply now” and submitted applications per job listing, and on the event platform, started and paid bookings per event. Employers and organisers only see these figures as totals without any personal reference.

For the duration of your visit (until the browser tab is closed), your browser stores in what is known as session storage which page you came from and which campaign tag the first link carried, so that a later newsletter registration, application, or booking can be attributed to the correct source. This information does not contain any personal identifier and is deleted when the tab is closed. Upon registration, application, or booking, we then store the source (for example, newsletter, search engine, or social network), the campaign tag, the landing page, and the domain of the referring page.

Individual data is automatically deleted after 13 months; daily totals without personal reference are retained. Logged-in staff members are not counted. The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR (legitimate interest in measuring reach and improving our offering). You may object to this processing at any time for reasons arising from your particular situation (Art. 21 GDPR), by email to info@godmag.de.

5. Google Analytics and Google AdSense (only with consent)

If you consent via the cookie banner, we integrate Google Analytics (audience measurement) and Google AdSense (advertisements) from Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland. In doing so, cookies are set and data about your use (including shortened IP address, device and browser information, displayed advertisements) is transmitted to Google; transmission to the USA is possible (basis: EU-US Data Privacy Framework and Standard Contractual Clauses). The legal basis is your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR, Section 25(1) TDDDG), which you may withdraw at any time with effect for the future via the cookie settings. Further information: https://policies.google.com/privacy and https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites.

6. Newsletter

To send our newsletter, we use self-operated mailing software on our own servers in the EU; your data is not transmitted to third-party newsletter services. Registration follows the double opt-in procedure: you will receive a confirmation email and will only be added to the mailing list after confirming. We process your email address and any voluntarily provided name (legal basis: Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR). You can unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time via the unsubscribe link in every email or by sending a message to info@godmag.de; consent can be withdrawn at any time with effect for the future.

7. Comments

When you comment on articles, we store the name you provide, your email address if given, and the content of the comment in order to display the comment and prevent misuse (legal basis: Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). Comments can be deleted upon request; please contact info@godmag.de.

Before the editorial team reviews a comment, it passes through our automatic spam protection (Section 9): the comment text, the name provided and the article title are transmitted to the AI service of Anthropic PBC (USA), but not your e-mail address.

8. Registration and User Account

When you register a user account, we process the data you provide (e-mail address, name, password in encrypted form) to provide the account (legal basis: Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR). You may have your account deleted at any time.

9. Contact

When you contact us by email or via our contact form, your details (for the contact form: salutation, name, email address, subject and message) are processed to handle your request (Art. 6(1)(b) and/or (f) GDPR) and deleted as soon as they are no longer required for processing and no statutory retention obligations apply. We automatically delete contact form enquiries six months after they are marked as resolved, but no later than 24 months after receipt.

We log emails sent by us (for example, confirmations of your inquiries, bookings, and donations) with recipient address, subject, timestamp, and delivery status – not their content – in order to be able to verify dispatch and resolve delivery problems (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR). We delete these records by default after 12 months.

For every submission through our forms, we also store which page and which form it was sent from (and, if there are several language versions, which one), whether it came via the website or the app, the time, and the browser and operating system family without version numbers (for example, “Chrome · Android”) – not your IP address. This allows us to trace where and how a submission was sent (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).

Spam protection for our forms (contact form, comments, unsubscribe from mail): To protect against automated submissions, your browser solves a small computational task when filling out the form (ALTCHA, "proof of work"). It is issued by our own server and solved in your browser; no cookies are set and no third parties are involved. Your IP address is briefly processed in memory to limit repeated submissions.

We also automatically check free-text entries from these forms for spam. For this purpose, the text entered (for the contact form, the subject and message), the name provided, and the type of form are transmitted to the AI service of Anthropic PBC (USA) – not your email address, phone number, postal address, or IP address. The transfer to the USA is based on the EU-US Data Privacy Framework or on standard contractual clauses. Anthropic does not use the data to train its AI models and stores it only temporarily for abuse detection. Submissions classified as spam are stored in a separate folder accessible only to our team, from which mistakenly sorted-out submissions can be restored; this folder is automatically emptied after 30 days. The legal basis is Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR; our legitimate interest lies in preventing spam and abuse.

10. Social Media Presences

We link to our presences on social networks and publish editorial content there. No social media plugins or trackers are integrated on our website itself; no data is transmitted to social networks when you visit our pages. Data processing on the platforms themselves is governed by the respective provider's privacy policy.

11. Your Rights

You have the following rights toward us regarding your personal data: the right to information (Art. 15 GDPR), rectification (Art. 16 GDPR), erasure (Art. 17 GDPR), restriction of processing (Art. 18 GDPR), data portability (Art. 20 GDPR), and objection to processing (Art. 21 GDPR). You may withdraw any consent given at any time with effect for the future (Art. 7(3) GDPR). To exercise your rights, an email to info@godmag.de is sufficient. Data whose processing you withdraw or whose deletion you request will be deleted, provided no legal retention obligations apply.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority, e.g. the North Rhine-Westphalia State Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (LDI NRW).

12. Data Security

All data transmitted between your browser and our servers is encrypted using TLS (HTTPS). We take technical and organizational measures to protect your data against loss, misuse, and unauthorized access.

Last updated: October 2026