Cookie Policy

This Cookie Policy explains how DastN GmbH (“DastN”, “we”, “us”, or “our”) uses cookies and similar technologies on our website (dastn.com). We are a company based in Germany and comply with EU data protection laws, including the GDPR and applicable ePrivacy regulations. This policy outlines what cookies are, which types we use, why we use them, and your choices in managing them. It should be read in conjunction with our broader Privacy Policy (which provides more details on how we protect personal data). By using our website, you acknowledge the use of cookies under the terms of this policy. We obtain your consent for non-essential cookies via our cookie banner, while essential cookies are used under lawful basis as explained below.

Cookies are small text files that a website stores on your computer or mobile device when you visit. They allow the site to recognize your browser and remember certain information (such as user preferences or login status) between pages or visits. Cookies can be session cookies (which are temporary and deleted when you close your browser) or persistent cookies (which remain on your device until they expire or you delete them). We also use similar tracking technologies like pixels or web beacons (for example, the Meta/Facebook Pixel) that function in a similar way to cookies by tracking your actions on our site or when you open an email. In this policy, we refer to all these technologies collectively as “cookies.”

Cookies can be classified as first-party cookies (set by our website domain) or third-party cookies (set by external services or partners). Below, we describe the categories of cookies we use, their purpose, and how they operate.

Strictly necessary cookies are essential for the website to function properly and securely. They enable core features such as page navigation, security, and user authentication. These cookies are usually set in response to actions you take on our site, like logging in, navigating to secure areas, or remembering items in a shopping cart. For example, we may use a session cookie to maintain your login status as you move between pages. Without these cookies, the website would not be able to provide certain basic services or features, and the site may not perform correctly.

Consent and legal basis: We do not require your consent to use strictly necessary cookies, as they are needed to deliver the service you request (in accordance with the ePrivacy Directive’s exemptions and our legitimate interest under GDPR Art. 6(1)(f)). These cookies do not gather information for marketing or analytics purposes. Because they are essential, they cannot be disabled via our cookie preference center. (You could block all cookies in your browser, but this may cause our site to break or some features to become unavailable.) Strictly necessary cookies are typically session cookies that expire when you close your browser, or short-term cookies that expire soon after your visit.

Preference cookies (also known as functionality cookies) allow our website to remember the choices you make and tailor the site to provide enhanced features and content for you. These include remembering your site preferences such as language selection, region, or other customizable elements of the site (for example, remembering your preferred language or saving your login details for a future visit if you select a “remember me” option). Preference cookies improve your user experience by personalizing content and settings to you. If you disable these cookies, the website can still function, but you may need to re-enter your preferences or settings each time you visit, and some of our services may not remember your customizations.

Consent and legal basis: Preference cookies are not strictly necessary and therefore we will only use them if you have given consent via our cookie banner. On your first visit, if you choose to allow “functional” or preference cookies, we will set these cookies; if you opt out, we will not remember your preferences (beyond the essential default settings). The legal basis for processing data from preference cookies is your consent (GDPR Art. 6(1)(a)). These cookies generally persist for a longer duration so that your settings are remembered on future visits. For example, a language preference cookie might remain on your device for several weeks or months (or until you clear your cookies), so that the site displays in your chosen language by default.

Analytics cookies (also called performance or statistics cookies) help us understand how visitors use our website, so we can improve its performance, functionality, and content over time. Using these cookies, we collect anonymous or pseudonymous information about site usage — for instance, which pages are visited most often, how users navigate through the site, what errors might occur, and general usage patterns. This data is aggregated and does not directly identify you; it allows us to analyze trends and statistics (such as number of visitors, page load times, user interactions) to make our services better and more user-friendly.

We utilize third-party analytics tools, primarily Google Analytics (provided by Google LLC), which set cookies on our behalf. Google Analytics cookies (such as _ga, _gid) assign a random ID to your browser to distinguish unique users and generate statistical reports. These cookies may track information like your IP address, browser type, and pages visited. However, we have configured our analytics to comply with privacy requirements – for example, Google Analytics is set to anonymize your IP address in the EU (so that Google truncates or removes the last part of the IP address before storing it). The information collected via analytics cookies is transmitted to Google’s servers (which may be outside the EU, e.g. in the USA) in an anonymized form for analysis, and we use the results (reports) to understand website performance. We do not receive personally identifying information through these reports.

Consent and legal basis: Analytics cookies are not essential and will only be placed on your device if you explicitly consent (e.g., by clicking “I agree” or enabling analytics cookies in the cookie banner). The legal basis for using analytics cookies is your consent (GDPR Art. 6(1)(a)). If you do not consent or if you later withdraw your consent, no analytics cookies will be set (or they will be disabled), and your visits will not be tracked in our analytics. This will not affect your ability to use the website, but it will make it harder for us to improve our services based on user behavior. Analytics cookies are usually persistent cookies – they remain on your device for a set period to allow us to recognize you on subsequent visits. For example, the main Google Analytics cookie (_ga) typically persists for about 2 years unless you delete it, while others may last for shorter periods (such as _gid which lasts 24 hours). All analytics cookies will be automatically removed or stop functioning after their predefined expiration. You can also remove them manually at any time via your browser (or via our cookie settings if you withdraw consent).

Marketing (advertising) cookies are used to track visitors across websites and deliver targeted advertisements based on your interests. These cookies may be set through our site by third-party advertising and social media partners to collect information about your browsing habits, the pages and content you view, and your interactions with our marketing campaigns. The goal is to personalize advertising shown to you on other platforms and websites, measure the effectiveness of our ads, and limit repetitive ads.

For example, we use the Meta Pixel (Facebook Pixel) on our site, which is a small piece of code provided by Meta Platforms, Inc. that can place a cookie on your device (_fbp cookie) and track your activity on our website. This helps us and Meta show you relevant ads on Facebook or Instagram based on your visit to our site (for instance, if you visited our relocation services page, you might later see an ad for DastN on Facebook). Similarly, we may use Google Ads/DoubleClick cookies (from Google) to enable re-marketing campaigns — these cookies (such as IDE or others) help display our ads to you on Google search results or other websites you visit, based on your previous interactions with our site. These third-party marketing cookies build a pseudonymous profile of your interests and browsing behavior. They can also track when you interact with our ads (for example, if you click an ad and then take certain actions on our site, we can attribute that to the campaign for analytics).

Because these cookies involve third parties, the data collected (like your unique cookie ID and browsing info) may be combined with other information those third parties hold about you (for example, if you are a registered user of their services). Third-party cookies are subject to the third party’s privacy policies (e.g., see Google’s and Meta’s cookie/privacy policies) which will detail how they process your data. We do not have direct control over how those third-party cookies function beyond our use of them in our site’s code.

Consent and legal basis: Marketing and tracking cookies are only used with your explicit consent (GDPR Art. 6(1)(a)). When you first visit our site, these cookies will not be set unless you opt in to marketing cookies via the cookie banner (by selecting the appropriate option or “I agree” to all cookies). If you do not consent, you will still see our website and can access all content, but any advertisements you encounter off-site will not be tailored based on your visit to our site. If you do consent, you can withdraw your consent at any time (see “Managing Cookies” below) and we will stop using these cookies.

Marketing cookies are typically persistent cookies with fixed lifespans set by the third-party providers. They usually stay on your device for a certain duration unless you delete them. For instance, the Facebook Pixel cookie (_fbp) has a lifespan of around 90 days on your browser, and Google advertising cookies may remain for about 13 months (in line with industry standards in the EU) before they expire automatically. These cookies help ensure that, for that time period, our advertising systems recognize your browser and can serve you relevant ads. If you clear or block these cookies, the targeted advertising will cease from that point (and you may receive more general, non-personalized ads instead).

Data sharing and third-party involvement: Data from marketing cookies is shared with the respective third-party (such as Meta or Google) that provides them. We do not receive your personal data directly from Facebook or Google; rather, we receive aggregated advertising reports (for example, how many people clicked an ad and then visited our site). However, those third parties may use the information from the cookie for their own purposes, such as improving their advertising systems. Please refer to their privacy notices for details on how they handle your data. We only partner with reputable providers that are GDPR-compliant and, where applicable, we have data processing agreements in place. If any transfers of data occur outside the European Economic Area (EEA) (for example, to the USA), they will be protected by appropriate safeguards as described in our Privacy Policy.

You have the right to decide whether to accept or reject cookies (apart from the strictly necessary ones which are required for the site to function). When you first visit our site, you will see a cookie consent banner that allows you to choose which categories of cookies you want to allow. We provide an option to accept all non-essential cookies or to decline them (and use only essential cookies). Once you’ve made your choice, the banner will remember your preference by storing a simple preference cookie (so it doesn’t ask you every time). If at any time you wish to change your cookie preferences or withdraw consent, you can do so using the following methods:

• Cookie Settings on our Website: If our site includes a “Cookie Settings” tool or if you still see the cookie banner, you can adjust your preferences there. This tool lets you toggle different cookie categories on or off (except strictly necessary cookies, which are always active). For example, you might choose to disable analytics and marketing cookies while allowing functional cookies. Any changes you make will be saved and take effect immediately. If you have already consented and want to withdraw consent, you can click the “opt-out” or equivalent option in the cookie banner (if available), or clear your existing cookies (see below) which will usually trigger the consent banner to appear again on your next visit.
  
  
• Browser Settings: You can control cookies at the browser level by adjusting your web browser settings. Most browsers allow you to view, delete, or block cookies (all cookies or cookies from specific websites). For example, you can typically disable all third-party cookies, or block cookies from specific domains, or delete cookies when you close the browser. Each browser has a different method for managing cookies – refer to your browser’s Help or Settings section for instructions. Here are some general guides: in Chrome, you can go to Settings > Privacy and Security > Cookies and other site data; in Firefox, go to Options > Privacy & Security > Cookies and Site Data; in Safari, go to Preferences > Privacy; in Microsoft Edge, go to Settings > Cookies and site permissions. Through these settings, you can also clear any cookies that have already been set. Note: If you disable all cookies via your browser (especially if you block even essential cookies), our website may not function as intended. For instance, you might not be able to log in or use certain secure features. We recommend allowing at least the necessary cookies for an optimal experience.
  
  
• Opt-Out of Third-Party Tracking: In addition to the above, you can exercise choices directly with some of the third-party providers that we use. For example, to opt out of Google Analytics tracking on all websites, you can install the official Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on. For interest-based advertising from Google, Google provides ad settings (see your Google account Ad Personalization settings) where you can disable personalized ads. Similarly, for Meta (Facebook/Instagram), you can adjust your ad preferences in your Facebook account settings to control how your data is used for ads. There are also industry opt-out sites that allow you to opt out of many participating ad networks at once. For instance, the Network Advertising Initiative (NAI) opt-out page or the YourOnlineChoices (EU) website let you review and manage preferences for many marketing cookies from various advertisers. Keep in mind that using these opt-out mechanisms generally relies on an opt-out cookie – if you clear all cookies, you may need to opt out again.

Remember: Your cookie preferences apply only to the browser and device you use to set them. If you use our site from a different device or a different browser, or if you clear cookies, you may need to set your preferences again. We do not use any system that would circumvent your cookie choices: if you decline certain cookies, we will not use them, and if you later consent, we will begin using them at that time.

We retain data collected by cookies only as long as necessary for their purposes. Each cookie has its own expiration term built in. As mentioned above, session cookies are transient and get deleted automatically when you close your browser. Persistent cookies remain active until their set expiration or until you manually delete them. We have given some examples of cookie lifespans in the sections above (e.g., analytics cookies up to 2 years, marketing cookies around 3 to 13 months, etc.). In general, we aim to use reasonable retention periods for cookies and adhere to any local regulations or guidance (for instance, some EU regulators recommend not keeping non-essential cookies longer than 6–12 months if possible for tracking purposes). We periodically review the cookies in use and may update their durations or remove cookies that are no longer needed. For more information on the exact duration of any specific cookie we use, you can contact us or inspect the cookie through your browser’s tools (which often show the expiration date).

To reiterate, some cookies on our site are placed by third-party services that we integrate or use for analytics and advertising. In using these third-party tools (like Google Analytics and Meta Pixel), we ensure that we have appropriate agreements in place and that these providers offer appropriate data protection measures. However, any data collected via third-party cookies will be processed by the respective third party according to their own privacy policies. We recommend that you review the privacy and cookie policies of Google and Meta/Facebook (and any other third-party services listed in our Privacy Policy) to understand how they handle your information. If you have any concerns about specific third-party cookies, you can contact us for more details.

Our website may also occasionally embed content from other platforms (such as videos, maps, or social media plugins). When you view such content, those platforms might set their own cookies. For example, viewing an embedded YouTube video or a Google Map could set cookies by Google (in addition to those we’ve described). We will inform you wherever such third-party content is used and obtain consent if those cookies go beyond strictly necessary purposes. Any third-party cookie usage is intended to enhance your experience or help us advertise our services, but you remain in control via your consent choices.

In summary, the legal basis for processing personal data via cookies on our site depends on the cookie type:

• Essential cookies: These are processed based on our legitimate interest in providing a functioning, secure website and/or because they are necessary to deliver the service you explicitly request (GDPR Art. 6(1)(f) and Art. 6(1)(b)). We do not request consent for these, in line with ePrivacy rules, but we do inform you about them.
  
  
• Non-essential cookies (preferences, analytics, marketing): These are processed based on your consent (GDPR Art. 6(1)(a)). You have full control and can accept or refuse these cookies. We will only read or write these cookies on your device if you have given consent through our cookie banner or settings. You can withdraw consent at any time, which will stop any further data collection by those cookies (already collected data may still be processed in accordance with our Privacy Policy, but we will cease further collection).

We maintain records of users’ cookie consent choices to demonstrate compliance with legal obligations. If you have questions about the legal treatment of cookies or your privacy rights in relation to cookies (such as the right to withdraw consent or the right to request deletion of personal data collected via cookies), please see our Privacy Policy or contact us (see Contact Us section below).

We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the cookies we use or for other operational, legal, or regulatory reasons. If we make significant changes, we will notify you either by prominently posting a notice on our website or through other appropriate means. We encourage you to review this Cookie Policy periodically to stay informed about our use of cookies and related technologies. The “Last Updated” date below indicates when this policy was last revised. Any changes will become effective once the updated Cookie Policy is posted on our site. By continuing to use our website after changes become effective, you are deemed to have accepted the updated policy.