Privacy Policy

1. Controller

The controller for data processing on this website is:
Denis Khaskin, PathIT
Gutenbergstr. 128, 50823 Köln
Email:denis.khaskin@path-it.com

2. General

Protecting your personal data matters to me. I process your data solely on the basis of the applicable law (GDPR, German BDSG). This website is deliberately data-minimal: no cookies are set for marketing or analytics, and no tracking services are used.

For the external Google services used (reCAPTCHA to protect the forms from spam, and the appointment booking), a consent banner is shown on your first visit; these services are only loaded after your consent. Your choice is stored locally in your browser (localStorage entry “pathit-consent” — technically necessary, not a tracking cookie) and can be changed at any time via “Cookie settings” in the footer.

3. Hosting and server log files

This website is hosted with Google Cloud (Google Cloud EMEA Limited / Google LLC). When the pages are accessed, technically necessary access data is processed (including IP address, date and time of access, page requested, amount of data transferred, browser type). This processing serves the secure and stable operation of the website on the basis of the legitimate interest under Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. A data processing agreement pursuant to Art. 28 GDPR is in place with the hosting provider.

4. Getting in touch

If you contact me by email or phone, I process your details to handle your enquiry. The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR (initiation or performance of a contract) or (f) GDPR (legitimate interest in responding). The data is deleted once it is no longer required and no statutory retention obligations apply.

5. Appointment booking (Google Calendar Appointment Scheduling)

To arrange a first call, I offer online appointment booking via “Google Calendar Appointment Scheduling” (provider: Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland). The booking window is deliberately loaded only when you actively click “Book a first call” — simply visiting the website transfers no data to Google for this purpose.

Only after your consent in the cookie banner and this click is content loaded from Google servers; in doing so your IP address and interaction data may be transmitted to Google and cookies or similar technologies may be set. The legal basis is your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR) as well as Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR (initiation of a contractual relationship). If you have not consented, the button instead opens the booking page in a new tab. The processing serves solely to arrange the appointment. A transfer to the USA cannot be ruled out; Google relies here, among other things, on the EU Standard Contractual Clauses. For more information, see Google’s privacy policy:https://policies.google.com/privacy.

6. Forms (download & quote requests)

For the free download of our guide as well as for quote requests for individual services, we collect the following details via the same form: salutation, first and last name, email address, company, company size and industry. The purpose is to handle your request — sending the requested document or preparing a quote — and to initiate contact.

The legal basis is the consent you explicitly give in the form (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR) as well as Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR. As proof we store the consent wording, the timestamp and your IP address. The data is stored in a database at Google Cloud (EU region); a data processing agreement pursuant to Art. 28 GDPR is in place. The document is delivered via an email service provider.

If you additionally opted in to receiving practical tips and news (optional), we also process your email address for that purpose on the basis of your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR). You can withdraw this consent at any time with effect for the future (e.g. via an unsubscribe link or an informal email).

7. Newsletter (blog updates by email)

You can subscribe to our newsletter to be notified by email about new blog posts and news. The email address and salutation are required; you may optionally also provide a title, first and last name, phone number(s), job title, LinkedIn profile and how you heard about us. Sign-up uses the double opt-in procedure: after subscribing you receive a confirmation email, and only once you click the link it contains is your email address added to the list. This ensures the sign-up genuinely comes from you.

The legal basis is your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR). As proof we store the consent wording, the time of sign-up and of confirmation, and your IP address. You can withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future — via the unsubscribe link in every newsletter email or by an informal email to us.

We use the service Brevo (Sendinblue GmbH, Köpenicker Straße 126, 10179 Berlin) to send and manage the newsletter. Brevo processes your data on our behalf; a data processing agreement pursuant to Art. 28 GDPR is in place. To measure performance, Brevo may record whether and when emails are opened and links they contain are clicked.

8. Spam protection (Google reCAPTCHA)

To protect our forms (download and quote requests as well as newsletter sign-up) from abusive automated use, we use “reCAPTCHA v3” by Google (provider: Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland). reCAPTCHA analyses user behaviour in the background based on various signals in order to distinguish humans from bots; you usually do not have to solve a visible puzzle.

The reCAPTCHA script is loaded from Google servers only after you have consented in the cookie banner and then opened a form — simply visiting the website transfers no data to Google. After your consent, opening the form may transmit your IP address as well as interaction and device information to Google and set cookies or similar technologies. The legal basis is your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR), which you can withdraw at any time with effect for the future via “Cookie settings” in the footer. Without consent, reCAPTCHA is not loaded; the forms remain usable and are then protected from automated abuse by a technical check field (honeypot). A transfer to the USA cannot be ruled out; Google relies here, among other things, on the EU Standard Contractual Clauses. For more information, see Google’s privacy policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy

9. Your rights

You have the right to access (Art. 15), rectification (Art. 16), erasure (Art. 17), restriction of processing (Art. 18), data portability (Art. 20) and to object (Art. 21 GDPR). To exercise them, contact the address above. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority.

10. Currency of this policy

This privacy policy is updated whenever the data processing on this website changes (e.g. through new features or embedded services).