← Our Policies
📅 Effective: 6 May 2026 · Last updated: 6 May 2026 · Version: 2.0
About this document
This Cookie Policy explains what cookies and similar technologies Stellar Mentoring UG uses on stellarmentoring.com and on the Stellar.Connect platform, what each cookie does, how long it lasts, and how you give or withdraw consent.
Plain English summary. We use a small number of "essential" cookies that are necessary for the site to work — these run automatically. Everything else (analytics, anything that could be marketing-related) is off by default and only runs if you actively opt in through the cookie banner. You can change your choice at any time using the "Cookie settings" link in the page footer.
This Cookie Policy complements our Privacy Policy, which describes how we process the personal data that some cookies generate.
Section 1
What is a cookie?
A cookie is a small text file that a website stores on your browser. Cookies let the site remember information across pages or visits — such as that you're signed in, the language you prefer, or whether you've already responded to the cookie banner.
"Similar technologies" we use include local storage and session storage (which work like cookies but live in different places in your browser), and pixel beacons (tiny invisible images that record that a page or email was opened). For brevity we refer to all of these as "cookies" in the rest of this document.
Section 2
Legal basis and your right to choose
Under the German Telekommunikation-Digitale-Dienste-Datenschutz-Gesetz (TTDSG) and the EU ePrivacy Directive, we are allowed to set cookies on your device only when one of two conditions is met:
- The cookie is strictly necessary to deliver the service you actively requested (so-called "essential cookies"); or
- You have given your active, informed consent for the cookie to be set.
Pre-ticked checkboxes do not count as consent. Continuing to use the site does not count as consent. You give consent only by clicking an explicit accept button for the cookie category in question. You can withdraw consent at any time, and withdrawal is as easy as giving consent.
Two-tier opt-in model. Our cookie banner offers two separate, independently switchable categories: Analytics and Marketing. You can accept both, accept one, or decline both. There is no bundled "Accept all" that hides the categories from you.
Section 3
The categories we use, what's in each, and your control
Below is a complete list of every cookie we set, grouped into three categories.
Essential — always on, no consent required
These are required for the site or platform to function. Without them, you cannot sign in, your form data is lost on submit, or basic security checks fail. They are not used for tracking.
| Cookie |
Purpose |
Duration |
Domain / first or third party |
stellar_consent | Records your cookie-banner choices so we don't ask again on every page | 12 months | stellarmentoring.com (first-party) |
CognitoIdentityServiceProvider.* | Maintains your sign-in session on the platform | Session (cleared on sign-out or browser close) | stellar-mentoring subdomain (first-party) |
aws-waf-token | CloudFront / WAF security checks (bot mitigation, rate limiting) | Session (cleared when you close the browser) | cloudfront.net (third-party — AWS infrastructure) |
turnstile_* | Cloudflare Turnstile — bot detection on signup forms | 30 minutes | challenges.cloudflare.com (third-party) |
Analytics — off by default, requires opt-in
Help us understand which pages are visited, which features people use, and where the site has problems. We use this only to improve the product, never for advertising.
| Cookie |
Purpose |
Duration |
Provider |
_ga | Google Analytics 4 — distinguishes unique visitors | 2 years | Google Ireland Ltd (data processed under EU-US Data Privacy Framework (where Google's certification applies) and EU Standard Contractual Clauses (Commission Decision 2021/914) for any residual transfers) |
_ga_* | GA4 — tracks session state for the specific property | 2 years | Google Ireland Ltd |
_gid | GA4 — distinguishes users for 24h session analytics | 24 hours | Google Ireland Ltd |
We use Google Analytics 4 (not the legacy Universal Analytics) with IP anonymisation enabled and ad-personalisation features disabled. GA4 is configured with IP anonymisation enabled and ad-personalisation features disabled. Aggregated traffic data may be processed in the United States under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and EU Standard Contractual Clauses (Commission Decision 2021/914)
Marketing — off by default, requires opt-in
We currently run no marketing or advertising cookies. We do not engage in retargeting and we do not share data with advertising networks. We currently run no marketing or advertising cookies and have no plans to introduce them in 2026. The cookie banner does not display a Marketing toggle until a marketing cookie is actually in use. If that ever changes, we will update this Policy and re-prompt you for consent before any marketing cookie is set.
Section 4
How to control your cookie choices
Through our cookie banner. The first time you visit stellarmentoring.com from a new device or browser, the banner asks for your choice. You can:
- Click "Accept all" to allow Essential + Analytics + Marketing (where Marketing is currently empty);
- Click "Accept selection" after toggling Analytics and Marketing individually;
- Click "Reject non-essential" to allow only Essential cookies.
Changing your mind later. Click "Cookie settings" in the footer of any page on stellarmentoring.com. The banner reopens with your current choices and you can change them. Your new choice takes effect immediately and we delete cookies from categories you have switched off (best-effort within your browser's permissions).
Through your browser. Every modern browser lets you view, restrict, or delete cookies and configure how new cookies are handled.
Disabling Essential cookies will break sign-in and other core functions. Disabling Analytics and Marketing has no effect on the Service for you.
Section 5
Global Privacy Control and Do Not Track
If your browser sends a Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal, we treat that as an opt-out from Analytics and Marketing cookies — you do not need to interact with the cookie banner. The legacy "Do Not Track" header has no agreed legal meaning and we do not act on it; we recommend GPC where supported.
Section 6
Changes to this Cookie Policy
If we add a cookie, change a duration, change a sub-processor, or change the consent mechanism, we update this document. The "Last updated" and "Effective" dates at the top tell you which version of the document is currently in force. Material changes are also reflected in the cookie banner (which re-asks for your choice) and announced in the in-app notification panel.
Section 7
Contact us
Stellar Mentoring UG (haftungsbeschränkt)
Neumarkter Strasse 6, 81673 Munich, Germany
Cookie questions and consent withdrawals (you can also use the in-banner controls): privacy@stellarmentoring.com
For full data-subject rights (GDPR Art. 15-22) see the Privacy Policy.