OPERUS / DATA & TRANSPARENCY
Privacy policy
Clear information about what Operus processes – and deliberately does not process.

Controller
The controller responsible for processing personal data on this website is:
Scope and overview
This policy applies to the publicly accessible operus.de website. Operus does not use advertising trackers, cross-device profiles, social-media plugins or externally loaded fonts. The website remains fully usable without consent. Technically necessary data is processed for secure server operation; Operus’ own audience statistics and the voluntary “Worth reading” reaction are activated only after the appropriate consent.
Hosting and server logs
This website is hosted by STRATO GmbH, Otto-Ostrowski-Straße 7, 10249 Berlin, Germany. When you visit, technical data such as your IP address, request time, requested page, browser, operating system and previously visited page may be processed and stored in server logs.
This data helps deliver the website reliably, identify errors and prevent attacks. The legal basis is Article 6(1)(f) GDPR. My legitimate interest is the secure and reliable operation of the website.
According to STRATO, it stores visitors’ IP addresses for a maximum of seven days to detect and prevent attacks.
TLS encryption
This website uses TLS encryption to protect data during transmission. You can recognise an encrypted connection by “https://” in your browser’s address bar.
Email contact
The email mailbox is hosted by STRATO GmbH. When you contact Operus by email, the sender address, content and technical metadata are processed to answer the request. The legal basis is Article 6(1)(f) GDPR or, for pre-contractual enquiries, Article 6(1)(b). Contacting Operus is voluntary. Without a reachable sender address, I cannot answer your enquiry. Data is deleted when no longer required and no statutory duty requires retention.
Privacy choice
Your browser stores your choice, the decision time and the consent version so your decision is respected on later visits. This storage is necessary to provide your selected privacy setting under section 25(2)(2) TDDDG.
Your choice remains stored until you change it or clear your browser data. If the consent version changes, previous permissions no longer apply and you will be asked again.
First-party audience statistics
With your consent, I collect information about which pages are visited, how long they are actively read and how far readers progress. This also includes language, general information about the browser, device and screen size, and how visitors arrive, for example through a search engine or an external link.
The statistics use a random identifier instead of your name. The identifier stored on the server changes daily. Full IP addresses and the exact address of the referring page are not stored in the statistics. No external analytics services are used.
Individual statistics records are automatically deleted after seven days. Combined statistics without visitor identifiers are retained for long-term analysis without a fixed deletion date.
The legal basis is your consent under Article 6(1)(a) GDPR together with section 25(1) TDDDG.
“Worth reading” reaction
With separate consent, you can mark articles as “Worth reading” with a heart. A random identifier allows your choice to be saved and later removed. The article, language, your choice and its time are stored. These are not linked to your name or email address.
Your reaction remains stored until you remove it. Withdrawing consent takes effect immediately and your browser requests deletion of your saved reactions. If deletion fails, the data needed for deletion is retained and the browser tries again on your next visit, when you open privacy settings or when your internet connection returns. After successful deletion, this data is removed from your browser.
If you have already cleared your browser data, your previous reactions can no longer be identified automatically. Individual statistics records about reactions are deleted after seven days.
The legal basis is your consent under Article 6(1)(a) GDPR together with section 25(1) TDDDG.
Browser storage and withdrawal
Only after your consent, audience statistics store a random identifier in your browser until the browser session ends. After your consent, “Worth reading” stores a random identifier and your article choices in your browser until they are deleted. No optional statistics or reaction identifiers are created and no corresponding events are transmitted before consent.
You can withdraw your consent at any time through “Privacy settings” at the bottom of the page. Further collection stops immediately and the statistics session identifier is removed. The procedure described above applies to deleting article reactions.
Processing before withdrawal remains lawful. Combined statistics without visitor identifiers can no longer be linked to individual visits and adjusted afterwards.
Recipients and transfers
STRATO receives the data required for hosting and operation as a processor. Optional statistics and reactions are processed by Operus itself; no external analytics provider receives them. No transfer to a country outside the European Union or European Economic Area is intended for the processing described here. If you voluntarily follow an external link, the destination provider’s privacy information applies.
Your rights
Subject to the applicable legal requirements, you have the right to access, rectification, erasure, restriction of processing and data portability. You may object to processing based on legitimate interests under the applicable legal requirements. To exercise your rights, simply send a message to the contact address above.
Right to complain
You have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority if you believe that the processing of your personal data infringes the GDPR.
Changes
This privacy policy will be updated whenever data processing changes. The current version published here applies.