Privacy Policy

The German version of this privacy policy (Datenschutzerklärung) is the legally binding one. This translation is provided for information only.

1. Controller

The controller responsible for data processing on this website is:

FinEdu GmbH
Neckarstraße 218
70190 Stuttgart
Germany

Represented by: Dr. Alexander Merz and Florian Wagner
Phone: +49 176 96244089
E-mail: info[at]sterngucker.de

The controller is the natural or legal person who alone or jointly with others determines the purposes and means of the processing of personal data.

2. General information

We take the protection of your personal data seriously. We treat your personal data confidentially and in accordance with the statutory data protection regulations and this privacy policy. Please note that data transmission over the internet (for example when communicating by e-mail) can have security gaps. Complete protection of data against access by third parties is not possible.

3. Hosting and server log files

This website is hosted by an external service provider within the European Union. The provider automatically collects and stores information in so-called server log files, which your browser transmits automatically. These are: browser type and version, operating system used, referrer URL, host name of the accessing computer, time of the server request and IP address.

This data is not merged with other data sources. It is processed on the basis of Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. The website operator has a legitimate interest in the technically error-free presentation and optimisation of the website. Log files are deleted after a short retention period.

4. Cookies

Our website uses cookies. Cookies are small text files that are stored on your device and do no harm. We use both session cookies, which are deleted automatically at the end of your visit, and persistent cookies, which remain on your device until you delete them.

Cookies that are technically necessary to provide the website are stored on the basis of Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. All other cookies — in particular those used for reach measurement and for the attribution of affiliate purchases — are only stored on the basis of your consent pursuant to Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR and Section 25(1) TDDDG. You can withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future.

You can set your browser so that you are informed about the setting of cookies, allow cookies only in individual cases, exclude the acceptance of cookies for certain cases or in general, and activate the automatic deletion of cookies when closing the browser. If cookies are deactivated, the functionality of this website may be limited.

5. Google Analytics 4

This website uses the web analytics service Google Analytics 4. The provider is Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland.

Google Analytics enables us to analyse the behaviour of our visitors — for example which pages are opened and how long they are read. For this purpose, cookies or comparable recognition technologies are used and the collected data is transmitted to Google servers, possibly also in the USA. Google Analytics 4 truncates IP addresses before storage; the full IP address is not stored.

In addition to standard events, we record our own events, in particular clicks on affiliate links (affiliate_link_click) and the use of interactive elements such as our telescope adviser. These events contain no personal information — only the target page clicked, the partner and the page of origin.

Use is based on your consent pursuant to Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR and Section 25(1) TDDDG. Consent can be withdrawn at any time with effect for the future. Insofar as personal data is transferred to the USA, Google relies on the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and on the standard contractual clauses of the EU Commission.

Further information: https://policies.google.com/privacy. You can also prevent collection by Google Analytics using the browser add-on available at https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

6. Google Tag Manager

We use Google Tag Manager, provided by Google Ireland Limited. Tag Manager itself does not collect personal data; it is used solely to integrate and manage services such as Google Analytics 4. It does, however, trigger the integrated services, for which the legal bases described here apply.

7. Facebook Pixel

We use the Facebook Pixel from Facebook on our website; it is integrated via Google Tag Manager. The Facebook Pixel is a snippet of JavaScript code that loads a set of functions with which Facebook can track your actions if you came to our website via a Facebook ad. When, for example, you perform an action on our website, the pixel is triggered and stores your actions in one or more cookies.

These cookies allow Facebook to match your user data (such as IP address and user ID) with the data of your Facebook account; Facebook then deletes this data. The collected data is anonymous and not visible to us and can only be used in the context of ad placements. If you are a Facebook user and logged in, your visit to our website is automatically assigned to your Facebook user account.

We want to show our content only to people who are actually interested in it. The Facebook Pixel helps us tailor our advertising to your interests, so that Facebook users who have allowed personalised advertising see suitable ads. Facebook also uses the collected data for its own analysis and advertising purposes.

8. Google Ads and conversion tracking

This website uses Google Ads (formerly AdWords), an online advertising programme of Google. As part of Google Ads we use conversion tracking: if you click on an ad placed by Google, a cookie for conversion tracking is set. These cookies expire after 30 days and are not used to identify users personally. If you visit certain pages of this website while the cookie is still valid, Google and we can recognise that you clicked on the ad and were forwarded to this page.

Each Google Ads customer receives a different cookie, so the cookies cannot be tracked across the websites of Google Ads customers. The information collected with the conversion cookie is used to create conversion statistics; we learn the total number of users who clicked on our ad and were forwarded to a page with a conversion tracking tag, but no information that identifies users personally. If you do not wish to take part in tracking, you can object by disabling the Google conversion tracking cookie in your browser settings.

The storage of conversion cookies and the use of this tracking tool are based on Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR; we have a legitimate interest in analysing user behaviour in order to optimise both our website and our advertising. More information: https://policies.google.com/privacy.

9. Contact and telescope advice

If you send us an enquiry via our contact form or by e-mail, or if you use our free telescope advice service, we store the data you provide — including the contact details you give — in order to process the enquiry and in case of follow-up questions. We do not pass this data on without your consent.

This data is processed on the basis of Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR, insofar as your request relates to the performance of a contract or to pre-contractual measures. In all other cases, processing is based on our legitimate interest in the effective handling of enquiries (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR) or on your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR).

The data you send remains with us until you ask us to delete it, withdraw your consent, or the purpose for storing it no longer applies. Mandatory statutory retention periods remain unaffected.

Our telescope advice e-mails may contain affiliate links. Clicks on these links are counted in our own reach measurement in aggregate form; we do not create individual user profiles from them.

10. Location lookup on the page “Heute am Himmel”

On our German-language page “Heute am Himmel” (tonight’s sky) we show rise and set times and visibilities for your approximate location. To do this, our server looks up your IP address in a database stored locally on our server (IP-to-City Lite by DB-IP.com, licence CC BY 4.0) and derives an approximate place and coordinates from it. For this function the IP address is not transmitted to third parties and not stored; no cookie is set. The lookup only works for Germany, Austria and Switzerland; otherwise you see the values for the reference location Frankfurt am Main.

The legal basis is our legitimate interest in a presentation that suits your location (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). You can object by accessing the page via a proxy or VPN; the page then shows the values for Frankfurt am Main.

11. Reader ratings of devices

On some device pages you can rate a telescope with stars (no free text). So that each person can rate a device only once, we store with each vote, in addition to the device, number of stars, language and time, two check values: a hash (one-way encryption) of your IP address and browser identifier (user agent), and a hash of a random identifier that we store in your browser in the cookie “sg_bew_kz” (lifetime one year). The IP address itself is not stored in plain text. The check values are pseudonymous data and are used exclusively to prevent multiple votes.

The legal basis is our legitimate interest in a rating that cannot be manipulated (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR); the cookie is necessary for the vote you requested (Section 25(2) No. 2 TDDDG). The data remains stored for as long as the rating is displayed on the page.

12. Newsletter

If you would like to receive our newsletter, we require an e-mail address as well as information that allows us to verify that you are the owner of the e-mail address provided and that you agree to receive the newsletter. This data is used exclusively for sending the requested information and is processed on the basis of your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR). You can withdraw your consent at any time, for example via the unsubscribe link in every newsletter.

Sign-up and delivery run on our own web server. As proof of the double opt-in procedure we store the e-mail address, the chosen language, the page on which you signed up, your IP address and the times of sign-up, confirmation and, where applicable, unsubscription. For each issue sent we log whether delivery to your address succeeded; addresses whose e-mails permanently bounce as undeliverable are blocked from further mailings. The data is stored until you unsubscribe and deleted afterwards.

Former newsletter delivery via Mailchimp

Until September 2026 we sent the newsletter via Mailchimp, a service of The Rocket Science Group LLC, 675 Ponce de Leon Ave NE, Suite 5000, Atlanta, GA 30308, USA. Since then, sign-up and delivery run exclusively on our own web server; new sign-ups are no longer transmitted to Mailchimp. The recipient list stored at Mailchimp until then will be deleted when the Mailchimp account is closed. The legal basis for the processing at that time was your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR).

This website is financed in part through affiliate programmes. We link to retailers’ offers; if a purchase is made via such a link, we receive a commission. The price does not change for you. Affiliate links are marked with an asterisk (*).

We participate in the following affiliate programmes: Astroshop.de (nimax GmbH, Otto-Lilienthal-Str. 9, 86899 Landsberg am Lech, Germany) and HighPoint Scientific (High Point Scientific, LLC, Montague, NJ, USA) for our English-language pages.

When you click an affiliate link, your request is forwarded to the respective retailer. Your IP address, the time of the click and a partner identifier are transmitted to the retailer, which usually sets a cookie in order to trace the origin of a later order. The retailer is solely responsible for data processing after the click.

The legal basis for the forwarding and the associated attribution is Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR; the website operator has a legitimate interest in being able to determine the amount of its remuneration. Where consent is requested, processing is based exclusively on Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR and can be withdrawn at any time.

Further information can be found in the privacy notices of our partners: Astroshop and HighPoint ScientificAstroshop.

14. YouTube

Some of our pages embed videos from YouTube. The provider is Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland. When you visit a page with an embedded video, a connection to YouTube’s servers is established and YouTube is informed which of our pages you have visited. If you are logged into your YouTube account, YouTube can assign your browsing behaviour to your personal profile; you can prevent this by logging out of your YouTube account.

YouTube is used in the interest of an appealing presentation of our online offers. This constitutes a legitimate interest within the meaning of Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. Where consent is requested, processing is based exclusively on Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR. Further information: https://policies.google.com/privacy.

15. Your rights

You have the right, at any time and free of charge, to obtain information about the origin, recipients and purpose of your stored personal data. You also have the right to request the rectification or erasure of this data, to request the restriction of processing, to object to processing, and to data portability in a commonly used, machine-readable format.

If processing is based on your consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time with effect for the future. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. The competent authority for us is the State Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information of Baden-Württemberg.

To exercise your rights, an informal message to the contact details given above is sufficient.

16. SSL/TLS encryption

For security reasons and to protect the transmission of confidential content, this site uses SSL or TLS encryption. You can recognise an encrypted connection by the fact that the address bar of your browser changes from “http://” to “https://” and by the lock symbol in your browser bar. When SSL or TLS encryption is activated, the data you transmit to us cannot be read by third parties.

17. Objection to promotional e-mails

We hereby object to the use of contact data published within the scope of our legal notice obligations for sending unsolicited advertising and information material. We expressly reserve the right to take legal action in the event of the unsolicited sending of advertising information.

This page also exists as a German version (Datenschutzerklärung), which is the only legally binding one. Last updated: August 2026.