Privacy & Cookie Policy

Last updated: March 28, 2026

Introduction

This Privacy & Cookie Policy describes how Second Stage GmbH (“we”, “us”, “our”) collects, uses, and protects your personal data when you visit secondstage.io (the “Website”).

1. Data Controller

Second Stage GmbH
Roedernstr. 5, 13053 Berlin, Germany
Email: hello@secondstage.io
Registered at: District Court Berlin, HRB 263433 B

2. Types of Data Collected

Data you provide directly

When you submit our contact form, we collect the following information:

• Name
• Email address
• Company name (optional)
• Subject and message content

Data collected automatically

When you browse the Website, the following data may be collected automatically through cookies and similar technologies:

• Usage data — pages visited, time on site, referral source, browser type, device type, screen resolution, and similar anonymous browsing information.
• IP address — anonymized before storage where applicable (see Section 5).

3. Purposes of Processing

We process your personal data for the following purposes:

• Responding to inquiries — to answer messages submitted through the contact form.
• Analytics — to understand how visitors use the Website and to improve our content and services.
• Live chat support — to provide real-time assistance via the Brevo Conversations widget.
• Spam protection — to detect and prevent automated or fraudulent form submissions.
• Legal compliance — to meet our obligations under applicable law.

4. Legal Bases for Processing (GDPR Art. 6)

• Consent (Art. 6(1)(a)) — for analytics cookies (Google Analytics). You may grant or withdraw consent at any time via the cookie banner.
• Legitimate interest (Art. 6(1)(f)) — for essential website functionality, spam protection, and Vercel Analytics (which does not use cookies and collects no personally identifiable information).
• Contract performance (Art. 6(1)(b)) — for processing contact form submissions in order to respond to your request.

5. Third-Party Services

Google Analytics (GA4)

We use Google Analytics 4 to collect anonymous usage statistics. Google Analytics is only loaded after you accept analytics cookies via the cookie consent banner. IP addresses are anonymized. Google may transfer data to servers in the United States; appropriate safeguards are in place (EU–U.S. Data Privacy Framework).

Provider: Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland.
Privacy policy: policies.google.com/privacy

Vercel Analytics

We use Vercel Analytics to monitor website performance. Vercel Analytics is privacy-focused: it does not use cookies and does not collect personally identifiable information.

Provider: Vercel Inc., 440 N Barranca Ave #4133, Covina, CA 91723, USA.
Privacy policy: vercel.com/legal/privacy-policy

Brevo (Conversations & SMTP)

We use the Brevo Conversations widget for live chat support and Brevo SMTP to deliver contact form submissions to our team. Messages you send via the contact form are transmitted through Brevo’s email infrastructure.

Provider: Brevo (Sendinblue), 106 boulevard Haussmann, 75008 Paris, France.
Privacy policy: brevo.com/legal/privacypolicy

Google Fonts

We use Google Fonts (Geist Sans and Geist Mono) to display typefaces on the Website. Fonts are loaded via Next.js font optimization, which self-hosts the font files — no requests are made to Google servers at page load.

6. Cookie Policy

Cookies are small text files stored on your device. We use cookies and similar tracking technologies as described below. You can manage your preferences via the cookie consent banner displayed on your first visit.

Strictly necessary

These are essential for the Website to function. They do not require consent.

• cookie-consent (localStorage) — stores your cookie consent preference. Duration: persistent.

Analytics (require consent)

These cookies are only set after you click “Accept” on the cookie banner.

How to manage cookies

In addition to the cookie consent banner, you can control cookies through your browser settings. Most browsers allow you to block or delete cookies. Please note that disabling cookies may affect the functionality of the Website.

7. Data Retention

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes described in this policy, unless a longer retention period is required by law. Contact form data is retained for the duration of our business correspondence and deleted thereafter.

8. International Data Transfers

Some of the third-party services we use (Google, Vercel) may process data outside the European Economic Area. Where this is the case, appropriate safeguards are in place, including the EU–U.S. Data Privacy Framework or Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs), to ensure an adequate level of data protection.

9. Your Rights under GDPR

As a data subject under the General Data Protection Regulation, you have the right to:

• Access — request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Rectification — request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Erasure — request deletion of your personal data (“right to be forgotten”).
• Restriction — request that we restrict processing of your data.
• Data portability — receive your data in a structured, commonly used format.
• Objection — object to processing based on legitimate interests.
• Withdraw consent — withdraw your consent at any time (e.g., via the cookie banner) without affecting the lawfulness of prior processing.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at hello@secondstage.io.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. The competent authority for Second Stage GmbH is the Berliner Beauftragte für Datenschutz und Informationsfreiheit (Berlin Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information).

10. Children’s Privacy

The Website is not directed at children under 16 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe that a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us so that we can delete it.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy & Cookie Policy from time to time. We will post the revised version on this page with an updated “Last updated” date. We encourage you to review this page periodically.

12. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy & Cookie Policy or wish to exercise your data protection rights, please contact us or email us at hello@secondstage.io.