Cookie Policy

This Cookie Policy explains how ("zukunftlab.de," "we," "us," or "our"), a company incorporated and registered in the State of Delaware, United States, uses cookies and similar tracking technologies when you visit our website and use our flight deal alert service (the "Service"). It describes what these technologies are, why we use them, and your rights to control their use.

This Cookie Policy should be read in conjunction with our Privacy Policy, which provides detailed information about how we collect, use, and protect your personal data.

By continuing to use our website after being presented with the cookie consent notice, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Cookie Policy and consent to the use of cookies as described herein, except for those categories you have explicitly declined.

1. What Are Cookies?

Cookies are small text files that are placed on your device (computer, tablet, smartphone, or other internet-enabled device) when you visit a website. Cookies are widely used by website operators to make their websites work more efficiently, to provide a better and more personalised user experience, and to gather information about usage patterns.

Cookies are stored in your web browser and contain information such as your preferences, session data, or a unique identifier. When you return to a website, the site can read the cookie and retrieve the stored information to provide a tailored experience.

1.1 Session Cookies vs. Persistent Cookies

• Session cookies are temporary cookies that are stored in your browser's memory only for the duration of your browsing session. They are automatically deleted when you close your browser. Session cookies are essential for maintaining your login state and ensuring the security of your session as you navigate between pages.
• Persistent cookies remain on your device for a predetermined period of time (specified in the cookie) or until you manually delete them. Persistent cookies are used to remember your preferences and settings across multiple visits, so you do not have to reconfigure them each time you return.

1.2 First-Party vs. Third-Party Cookies

• First-party cookies are set directly by the website you are visiting (in this case, zukunftlab.de) and can only be read by that website. These cookies are typically used for essential functionality and remembering your preferences.
• Third-party cookies are set by a domain other than the one you are visiting. These cookies are typically used by third-party services that are integrated into the website, such as payment processors or analytics providers.

1.3 Similar Technologies

In addition to cookies, we may use similar technologies such as:

• Web beacons (pixel tags): Small, transparent images embedded in web pages or emails that allow us to track whether a page or email has been viewed and to collect certain technical information.
• Local storage: HTML5 local storage allows websites to store data on your device that persists even after the browser is closed. We may use local storage for similar purposes as persistent cookies.
• Session storage: Similar to local storage, but the data is cleared when the browser session ends.

2. How We Use Cookies

We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:

• To operate the Service: Essential cookies are required for core functionality such as user authentication, session management, security protections, and load balancing. Without these cookies, the Service cannot function properly.
• To remember your preferences: Functional cookies store your settings and preferences (such as your selected departure airports, notification settings, and display preferences) so that you do not have to reconfigure them each time you visit.
• To understand usage patterns: Analytics cookies help us understand how visitors interact with our website, which pages are most popular, how users navigate between pages, and whether users encounter any errors. This information helps us improve the Service and create a better user experience.
• To ensure security: Security-related cookies help us detect and prevent fraudulent activity, protect against cross-site request forgery (CSRF) attacks, and maintain the integrity of your account and transactions.
• To process payments: When you subscribe to a paid plan, our payment processor (Stripe) may set cookies that are necessary for secure payment processing and fraud prevention.

3. Types of Cookies We Use

We categorise the cookies used on our website into the following groups:

3.1 Essential Cookies (Strictly Necessary)

These cookies are strictly necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually set in response to actions you take, such as logging in, setting your privacy preferences, or filling in forms. Without these cookies, certain features of the Service will not work.

• Session cookie
  Purpose: Maintains your authenticated session and security token as you navigate between pages. Ensures you remain logged in during your browsing session.
  Type: First-party, session cookie.
  Expiry: Deleted when you close your browser (or after 2 hours of inactivity).
• CSRF token cookie
  Purpose: Protects against cross-site request forgery attacks by validating that form submissions and state-changing requests originate from our website.
  Type: First-party, session cookie.
  Expiry: Deleted when you close your browser.
• Cookie consent cookie
  Purpose: Stores your cookie consent preferences so that we can respect your choices on subsequent visits and do not present the consent banner repeatedly.
  Type: First-party, persistent cookie.
  Expiry: 12 months from the date it is set.
• Security cookie
  Purpose: Used to detect and prevent suspicious or fraudulent login activity, including brute-force login attempts and account takeover attacks.
  Type: First-party, persistent cookie.
  Expiry: 30 days.

3.2 Functional Cookies (Preferences)

These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation based on your interactions. They may be set by us or by third-party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies, some or all of these features may not function properly.

• Preference cookie
  Purpose: Stores your user preferences, including your selected departure airport(s), notification display settings, preferred language, and other customisable settings within the Service.
  Type: First-party, persistent cookie.
  Expiry: 12 months from the date it is set.
• Recent activity cookie
  Purpose: Remembers the flight deals you have recently viewed, allowing you to easily return to deals you were interested in.
  Type: First-party, persistent cookie.
  Expiry: 30 days.
• Notification state cookie
  Purpose: Tracks whether you have been shown certain in-app notifications or banners (such as feature announcements or service updates) to avoid showing them repeatedly.
  Type: First-party, persistent cookie.
  Expiry: 90 days.

3.3 Analytics Cookies

These cookies help us understand how visitors interact with our website by collecting information about pages visited, time spent on the site, navigation patterns, errors encountered, and other usage metrics. All analytics data is collected in an anonymised or aggregated form and is used solely to improve the Service.

• Analytics identifier cookie
  Purpose: Assigns a randomly generated identifier to distinguish unique visitors for analytics purposes. This identifier does not contain any personally identifiable information and is not linked to your account.
  Type: First-party, persistent cookie.
  Expiry: 12 months.
• Analytics session cookie
  Purpose: Groups page views and interactions into a single session for analytics reporting. Used to calculate session duration, pages per session, and bounce rate.
  Type: First-party, session cookie.
  Expiry: 30 minutes of inactivity or when you close your browser.
• Performance cookie
  Purpose: Collects information about page load times, error rates, and other technical performance metrics to help us identify and resolve performance issues.
  Type: First-party, session cookie.
  Expiry: Deleted when you close your browser.

We use privacy-focused analytics that do not create individual user profiles, do not track users across websites, and do not share data with advertising networks. Our analytics approach is designed to provide us with the insights we need to improve the Service while respecting your privacy.

3.4 Marketing Cookies

We do not currently use marketing or advertising cookies. We do not display third-party advertisements on our website, and we do not use cookies to track your browsing activity across other websites for advertising purposes. We do not participate in any advertising networks or real-time bidding exchanges.

If we decide to introduce marketing cookies in the future, we will update this Cookie Policy, notify you in advance, and obtain your explicit consent before setting any marketing cookies on your device.

4. Third-Party Cookies

We minimise the use of third-party cookies on our website. The third-party cookies that may be set on our website are as follows:

4.1 Stripe (Payment Processing)

When you visit pages related to subscription management or payment, or when you complete a payment transaction, Stripe may set cookies on your device. These cookies are necessary for:

• Secure processing of payment transactions.
• Fraud detection and prevention.
• Compliance with regulatory requirements for online payments (such as PCI DSS and Strong Customer Authentication under PSD2).

Stripe's use of cookies is governed by Stripe's Privacy Policy and Stripe's Cookie Policy. These cookies are essential for the secure processing of payments and cannot be disabled if you wish to use our paid plans.

4.2 No Advertising Third-Party Cookies

We do not use third-party advertising cookies, social media tracking pixels, or any other third-party tracking technologies designed to monitor your browsing activity across websites for the purpose of delivering targeted advertisements. Your browsing activity on zukunftlab.de is not shared with advertising networks.

5. Cookie Consent

5.1 How We Obtain Consent

In accordance with the EU ePrivacy Directive (2002/58/EC, as amended by 2009/136/EC), the GDPR, and applicable data protection law, we obtain your consent before placing non-essential cookies on your device. When you first visit our website, you will be presented with a cookie consent banner that clearly explains the categories of cookies we use and allows you to make informed choices about which categories you wish to accept.

5.2 Consent Choices

Through our cookie consent mechanism, you can:

• Accept all cookies: Consent to the use of all cookie categories described in this policy.
• Customise your preferences: Choose to accept only certain categories of cookies (for example, accepting functional cookies but declining analytics cookies).
• Reject non-essential cookies: Decline all non-essential cookies. Only strictly necessary cookies will be set.

5.3 Essential Cookies and Consent

Essential cookies (described in Section 3.1) do not require your consent, as they are strictly necessary for the provision of the Service that you have explicitly requested. These cookies are set regardless of your consent preferences.

5.4 Withdrawing Consent

You can change or withdraw your cookie consent at any time by:

• Clicking the "Cookie Settings" link available in the footer of our website to revisit the cookie consent banner and update your preferences.
• Deleting cookies from your browser (see Section 6 below for instructions).
• Adjusting your browser settings to block certain categories of cookies.

Please note that withdrawing consent for certain cookies may affect the functionality of the Service.

6. Managing Cookies

6.1 Browser Settings

Most web browsers allow you to control cookies through their settings. You can typically configure your browser to accept all cookies, reject all cookies, notify you when a cookie is set, or delete cookies that have already been set. Please note that if you choose to block or delete cookies, certain features of our Service may not function properly.

Instructions for managing cookies in popular browsers:

• Google Chrome: Settings > Privacy and security > Cookies and other site data. You can view, delete, and block cookies, and configure per-site cookie permissions.
• Mozilla Firefox: Settings > Privacy & Security > Cookies and Site Data. You can clear existing cookies, block third-party cookies, or manage per-site exceptions.
• Apple Safari: Preferences > Privacy > Manage Website Data. Safari also offers Intelligent Tracking Prevention, which automatically limits cross-site tracking.
• Microsoft Edge: Settings > Cookies and site permissions > Manage and delete cookies and site data. You can block or allow cookies on a per-site basis.
• Opera: Settings > Privacy & security > Cookies. You can manage cookie permissions and block third-party cookies.

6.2 Mobile Devices

If you access our Service from a mobile device, you can manage cookies and similar technologies through your mobile browser settings. Additionally, your mobile operating system may offer settings to limit tracking:

• iOS: Settings > Safari > Privacy & Security, where you can manage cookie settings and enable "Prevent Cross-Site Tracking."
• Android: Open your browser app, access its settings, and navigate to the privacy or cookies section to manage your preferences.

6.3 Impact of Disabling Cookies

If you choose to disable or block certain cookies, please be aware of the following potential impacts:

• Disabling essential cookies: May prevent you from logging in, maintaining your session, or using core features of the Service.
• Disabling functional cookies: Your preferences and settings may not be remembered between visits, requiring you to reconfigure them each time.
• Disabling analytics cookies: Will not affect your use of the Service, but will prevent us from understanding and improving how you interact with the website.

7. Data Collected Through Cookies

The information collected through cookies may include:

• Your IP address (which may be truncated or anonymised for analytics purposes).
• Browser type and version.
• Operating system.
• Referring URL (the page that linked you to our site).
• Pages visited and interactions on our site.
• Date and time of your visit.
• Session duration.
• Your cookie consent preferences.

This information is used in accordance with our Privacy Policy. We do not use cookie data to identify you personally (except for essential cookies related to authentication) and do not share cookie data with advertising networks or data brokers.

8. Legal Basis for Using Cookies

Our legal basis for using cookies depends on the category of cookie:

• Essential cookies: These cookies are set on the basis of our legitimate interest in providing a secure and functional Service (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR) and because they are strictly necessary for the provision of a service explicitly requested by you (Article 5(3) ePrivacy Directive).
• Functional, analytics, and any future marketing cookies: These cookies are set based on your consent (Article 6(1)(a) GDPR and Article 5(3) ePrivacy Directive), which you can provide or withdraw through our cookie consent mechanism.

9. Cookies and Children

Our Service is not directed to individuals under the age of 16. We do not knowingly set non-essential cookies for, or collect data through cookies from, individuals under 16 years of age. If we become aware that we have set non-essential cookies on a device belonging to a child under 16 without valid parental consent, we will take steps to delete those cookies.

10. Changes to This Cookie Policy

We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the cookies we use, changes in our practices, changes in applicable law, or for other operational, legal, or regulatory reasons. When we make changes, we will:

• Update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page.
• For material changes (such as introducing new categories of cookies or new third-party cookie providers), present you with an updated cookie consent notice so that you can review and adjust your preferences.
• For non-material changes (such as clarifications that do not affect the types of cookies used), changes may take effect immediately upon posting.

We encourage you to periodically review this Cookie Policy to stay informed about how we use cookies.

11. Further Information

If you would like to learn more about cookies in general, including how to see what cookies have been set on your device and how to manage or delete them, you can visit the following independent resources:

• www.allaboutcookies.org — Comprehensive information about cookies and how to manage them.
• www.youronlinechoices.eu — A guide to online behavioural advertising and opt-out options provided by the European Interactive Digital Advertising Alliance (EDAA).

12. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Cookie Policy or our use of cookies and similar technologies, please contact us:

• Email: [email protected]
• Company:
• Address:

We are committed to addressing your questions and resolving any concerns promptly. If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with your local Data Protection Authority. You can find your local authority at the European Data Protection Board website.