Technical audit · 29.05.2026

mpg.de

Max Planck Society

Policy changed — see what exactly · 2026-08-21 →

The Max Planck Society — 84 research institutes, Germany's largest research organization. 39 requests, 5 domains. Ruby on Rails. Roboto and Merriweather served locally, including Cyrillic. Usercentrics as the CMP — undeclared. Matomo on MPG's own server — declared, not active in the HAR. Set-Cookie — zero.

Request timeline

+0 ms · homepage

www.mpg.de/de — HTML, Apache, Ruby on Rails. A link preload for Roboto 700 woff2 is set in the response header. CSP: frame-ancestors 'self' https://statistik.mpg.de — discloses the Matomo domain.

+280 ms · fonts

Roboto (300, 300italic, regular, 700 — covering Latin, extended Latin, Greek, and Cyrillic) and Merriweather (regular) — five woff2 files, local. mpg_icons-webfont — MPG's own icon font, local. No Google Fonts.

+283 ms · Usercentrics loader

web.cmp.usercentrics.eu/ui/loader.js and WebSdk.lib (+313 ms) — the CMP loader. Followed by banner settings (oO9e28BlWRtyf2), GdprCmpController (+710 ms), a session pixel (+597 ms).

+465 ms · JS bundles

mpg_base.js, mpg_fouc.js, mpg_amd.js, mpg_amd_bundle.js — all local. KaTeX for rendering mathematical formulas — local.

Declared versus actual

✓ Matomo (statistik.mpg.de) — declared, MPG's own server, pk_id and pk_sess cookies — declared

✓ Session cookies — declared as technically necessary (§25(2) TDDDG, Art. 6(1)(f)) — declared

+ Usercentrics (web.cmp.usercentrics.eu, v1.api.service.cmp.usercentrics.eu, app.usercentrics.eu, uct.service.usercentrics.eu) — not mentioned — not declared

Context

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft is Germany’s largest fundamental research organization, bringing together 84 institutes. Nobel laureates: 39 since its founding. Apache, Ruby on Rails. HAR: 39 requests, 5 domains.

Fonts with Cyrillic — local

MPG uses Roboto in four weights with an extended character set: Latin, extended Latin, Greek, Cyrillic — all woff2 files served locally. Merriweather Regular and MPG’s own icon font, mpg_icons-webfont, are also local. A link-preload for Roboto 700 is set directly in the HTTP response header. No Google Fonts.

CSP discloses Matomo — not active in the HAR

The Content-Security-Policy contains frame-ancestors 'self' https://statistik.mpg.de — the host of MPG’s own Matomo instance. The privacy policy describes Matomo with pk_id and pk_sess cookies, IP anonymization, and storage and processing on MPG’s own servers. There are no requests to statistik.mpg.de in the homepage HAR — Matomo was not activated.

Usercentrics — undeclared

Usercentrics makes 7 requests: loader.js, WebSdk, banner settings, GdprCmpController, a 1px session pixel, TCF configuration, and uct analytics (the last returned status 0 — timeout or blocked). The settingsId oO9e28BlWRtyf2 identifies the configuration. Usercentrics is absent from the privacy policy — neither by its own name, nor as a CMP, nor in a cookies section.

KaTeX — for scientific content

The JS bundles include KaTeX — a library for rendering mathematical formulas in TeX/LaTeX notation. Loaded locally, consistent with the profile of a scientific organization.

Conclusion

www.mpg.de has one finding: Usercentrics as the CMP is not declared in the privacy policy. The technical stack is otherwise clean — no ad networks, no external trackers. Matomo on MPG’s own server is correctly declared and is not active in the HAR.

Evidence

How to verify: download the file and compute its checksum — sha256sum file.har (Linux, macOS) or certutil -hashfile file.har SHA256 (Windows); it must match the one shown. The conclusions apply to the scope of this measurement — see the limitations of the method.

Original (audit)

HAR file: de/mpg-de-2026-05-29.har

SHA-256: ad7bdd208944d530b19e059f659a83aa6b5249e1eac368239ee1337ec1fcb791

Re-check snapshot

Awaiting changes

HAR files are stored on EU infrastructure (Proton Drive). SHA-256 is published for integrity verification.

Want a response from the company about this audit? → Open the tool

Fill in once — it will be inserted into every letter below:

Filing date:

All fields are required to print the document — this is a formal requirement of the letter itself (the particulars of an official submission), not data collection: nothing is sent or saved anywhere, it all stays in your browser and disappears when you close the page. See the methodology for details.

Step 1. Data access request (GDPR Art. 15)

Send this letter directly to the company first — before contacting the regulator it has the right to respond (GDPR Art. 12(3) — 30 days).

Тема: Запрос доступа к персональным данным (ст. 15 GDPR) — mpg.de

Кому: [укажите адрес компании — DPO / поддержка / юридический отдел]
От: [Ваше имя], [контактный email]

Прошу предоставить доступ к моим персональным данным, обрабатываемым в связи с использованием сайта mpg.de.

1. Категории данных и цели обработки (ст. 15(1)(a)-(c))
На основании независимого технического анализа сайта прошу подтвердить и подробно раскрыть следующие категории обработки:

1) Usercentrics (web.cmp.usercentrics.eu, v1.api.service.cmp.usercentrics.eu, app.usercentrics.eu, uct.service.usercentrics.eu) — CMP-платформа, выполняющая 7 запросов с settingsId=oO9e28BlWRtyf2 — не упомянута в политике конфиденциальности. Политика декларирует Matomo на собственном сервере MPG, но не описывает платформу управления согласием.


2. Получатели, сроки хранения и передача за пределы ЕЭЗ (ст. 15(1)(c)-(d), 46)
Прошу также указать полный список третьих лиц-получателей, применимые сроки хранения по каждой категории и правовые основания передачи данных за пределы ЕЭЗ, если таковая происходит. Полный технический разбор с доказательствами (сохранённый сетевой журнал, контрольная сумма SHA-256) опубликован по адресу: https://gdpru.eu/en/audits/de-mpg-de/

3. Автоматизированная обработка и профилирование (ст. 15(1)(h))
Прошу сообщить, применяется ли в отношении меня автоматизированное принятие решений или профилирование, и если да — раскрыть логику такой обработки.

С уважением,

[Ваше имя]
[контактный email]
[Страна]


[Дата]

Subject: Data access request (GDPR Art. 15) — mpg.de

To: [insert the company's address — DPO / support / legal department]
From: [Your name], [contact email]

I request access to my personal data processed in connection with the website mpg.de.

1. Categories of data and purposes of processing (Art. 15(1)(a)-(c))
I request information on all categories, purposes, and recipients of my data processed on this site — regardless of whether any non-compliance has been identified to date.

2. Recipients, retention periods, and transfers outside the EEA (Art. 15(1)(c)-(d), 46)
I also request the full list of third-party recipients, the applicable retention period for each category, and the legal basis for any transfer of data outside the EEA. The full technical audit with evidence (saved network log, SHA-256 checksum) is published at: https://gdpru.eu/en/audits/de-mpg-de/

3. Automated processing and profiling (Art. 15(1)(h))
Please state whether I am subject to automated decision-making or profiling, and if so, disclose the logic involved.

Sincerely,

[Your name]
[contact email]
[Country]

[Date]

30 days have passed since contacting the company with no response? → Show the regulator complaint letter

Ready-to-send complaint letter

Where to file: Federal Commissioner for Data Protection (BfDI) — file a complaint online →

The regulator reviews complaints in its national language. There is an officially translated template from the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) — you can use it instead of or alongside this letter: Official EDPB complaint form (PDF, your language)

Тема: Жалоба на обработку персональных данных — mpg.de

1. Предмет жалобы
Я подаю жалобу в отношении обработки моих персональных данных сайтом mpg.de.

2. Обстоятельства
Я посетил сайт mpg.de и обнаружил признаки несоответствия обработки моих персональных данных требованиям GDPR. Технический разбор, опубликованный на gdpru.eu 29.05.2026 (открытая методология, воспроизводимые измерения), документирует следующие признаки:

1) Usercentrics (web.cmp.usercentrics.eu, v1.api.service.cmp.usercentrics.eu, app.usercentrics.eu, uct.service.usercentrics.eu) — CMP-платформа, выполняющая 7 запросов с settingsId=oO9e28BlWRtyf2 — не упомянута в политике конфиденциальности. Политика декларирует Matomo на собственном сервере MPG, но не описывает платформу управления согласием.

Полная техническая документация опубликована по адресу: https://gdpru.eu/en/audits/de-mpg-de/

3. Положения GDPR, соблюдение которых прошу проверить
GDPR Art. 13(1)(e)

4. Требование
Прошу проверить изложенные обстоятельства и, если несоответствие подтвердится, принять меры, предусмотренные статьёй 58(2) GDPR.

5. Приложения
Полная доказательная база — HAR-файл, контрольная сумма SHA-256 и цитата из политики конфиденциальности сайта, документирующая указанное противоречие — опубликована и проверяема по ссылке в пункте 2 выше.

С уважением,

[Ваше имя]
[контактный email]
[Страна]

[Дата]

Subject: Complaint regarding personal data processing — mpg.de

1. Subject of the complaint
I am filing a complaint regarding the processing of my personal data by the website mpg.de.

2. Circumstances
I visited the website mpg.de and found indications that the processing of my personal data does not comply with the GDPR. The technical analysis published on gdpru.eu on 29 May 2026 (open methodology, reproducible measurements) documents the following indications:

Full technical documentation is published at: https://gdpru.eu/en/audits/de-mpg-de/

3. GDPR provisions I ask you to examine


4. Request
I request that you examine the circumstances described and, if non-compliance is confirmed, apply the measures provided for in Article 58(2) GDPR.

5. Attachments
The full evidence base — the HAR file, its SHA-256 checksum and the quotation from the site's privacy policy documenting the stated contradiction — is published and verifiable at the link in point 2 above.

Sincerely,

[Your name]
[contact email]
[Country]


[Date]