Privacy notice.

Zeitgeist Labs UG (haftungsbeschränkt)
Bötzowstraße 54
10407 Berlin, Germany

General enquiries: hello@zeitgeistlabs.ai
Privacy enquiries: privacy@zeitgeistlabs.ai

Our data protection officer is heyData GmbH, Schützenstraße 5, 10117 Berlin, www.heydata.eu, datenschutz@heydata.eu.

We keep the website deliberately lightweight. On zeitgeistlabs.ai we process:

• Server request logs – IP address, user agent, requested URL, timestamp and HTTP status code. Collected automatically by our hosting provider (Vercel, Frankfurt region) to operate and secure the website. Legal basis: Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR (legitimate interest in operating a secure, functioning website).
• Contact form – if you write to us using the form, we process your name, your email address and your message to answer your enquiry. The details are stored in our database (hosted by Neon, Frankfurt region); in addition, we send ourselves an internal notification with the same details via Resend (see Section 3). Legal basis: Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR (steps prior to entering a contract at your request) or Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR (legitimate interest in responding to enquiries). We delete the details two years after the last contact unless a business relationship is formed.
• Fellowship application – if you apply for the Fellowship, we process your name, your email address and your message to review your application and to contact you about it. Storage and internal notification as for the contact form. Legal basis: Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR (steps at your request prior to a possible collaboration). We delete the details no later than twelve months after your application unless a collaboration comes about. You can withdraw your application at any time via privacy@zeitgeistlabs.ai.
• Report signup (Traces of the Zeitgeist) – if you leave your email address on a project page under “Traces” to be notified when a report is published, we store it together with the project, page and language in our database (hosted by Neon, Frankfurt region) and send ourselves an internal notification via Resend. We use the address exclusively to send you access to the report and essential updates on that project, and keep it no longer than needed for that purpose. Legal basis: Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR (consent). You can withdraw your consent at any time by writing to privacy@zeitgeistlabs.ai.
• Email correspondence – if you write to hello@zeitgeistlabs.ai, careers@zeitgeistlabs.ai or privacy@zeitgeistlabs.ai, we process the contents of your message to respond to you. Legal basis: Art. 6(1)(b) or (f) GDPR. Retained for two years after last contact unless a business relationship is formed.
• Language preference cookie (NEXT_LOCALE) – on pages with a language toggle, a first-party cookie remembers whether you chose German or English. It stores only “en” or “de” and is set for 180 days. No tracking identifier, no profile. The cookie is strictly necessary to deliver the language you selected and is therefore exempt from prior consent under § 25(2) TDDDG.
• Interview security cookie (respondent_binding) – if you take part in an interview or survey on one of our interview pages, our server sets a first-party cookie that ties your browser to the participation record it created. No tracking identifier, no profile, not readable by scripts, expires after 24 hours. As a strictly necessary security cookie it is exempt from prior consent under § 25(2) TDDDG. Details are in the privacy policy for interviews.

We do not use any web analytics, tracking pixels, advertising cookies, heatmaps, session recordings, A/B testing or device fingerprinting on this website.

We do not embed third-party widgets (chat, calendar, video, maps) and do not load fonts, images or other content from third-party servers. That is why you see no cookie banner on this website.

The following processors based in a third country are involved on this website:

• Vercel Inc. – US company, EU region (Frankfurt). The website is served from the EU. The data processing agreement with Vercel incorporates the EU Standard Contractual Clauses, Module 2, per Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/914.
• Neon, Inc. – US company, EU region (Frankfurt). Hosts the database in which contact enquiries, Fellowship applications and report signups are stored; the data itself resides in the EU. The data processing agreement with Neon incorporates the EU Standard Contractual Clauses.
• Resend, Inc. – US company. When you submit the contact form, apply for the Fellowship or sign up for a report, your details are transmitted to Resend to deliver the internal notification email to us. The data processing agreement with Resend incorporates the EU Standard Contractual Clauses.

No other third-country transfers occur on this website. Data from voice or chat interviews is covered separately in the privacy policy for interviews.

You have the following rights under the General Data Protection Regulation:

• Right of access (Art. 15)
• Right to rectification of inaccurate data (Art. 16)
• Right to erasure (Art. 17)
• Right to restriction of processing (Art. 18)
• Right to data portability (Art. 20)
• Right to object to processing based on legitimate interests (Art. 21)
• Right to withdraw consent with effect for the future (Art. 7(3))
• Right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority (Art. 77)

To exercise any of these rights, contact privacy@zeitgeistlabs.ai. We will respond within 30 days.

Supervisory authority: Berliner Beauftragte für Datenschutz und Informationsfreiheit (Berlin Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information), Alt-Moabit 59–61, 10555 Berlin.

We will update this notice if the way we process data on the website changes. The date at the top of the page reflects the most recent update. Previous versions are available on request.