Privacy Notice

D.A.S. Akademie Deutsche Akademie für Sprachen GmbH
Last updated: 3 September 2026

This notice explains how we use personal data when you visit our website, look for or book a course, use YOUR CourseMatch or CREATE YOUR COURSE, organise a group, join a DAS Live Session, contact us or apply to teach with us.

1. Who is responsible for your data?

The controller is:

D.A.S. Akademie Deutsche Akademie für Sprachen GmbH
Torstraße 125
10119 Berlin
Germany
Email: infoberlin@das-akademie.de

2. Hosting and server logs

Our website is hosted on servers operated by OVH GmbH, St. Johanner Str. 41–43, 66111 Saarbrücken, Germany, in a data centre located in Germany.

When you open our website, the server processes technical access data. This may include your IP address, the date and time of access, the address requested, the amount of data transferred and information about your browser and operating system.

We use this information to provide the website securely and reliably and to detect and investigate attacks or technical problems. The legal basis is Article 6(1)(f) GDPR. Our legitimate interest is the secure and reliable operation of the website.

Server logs are kept only for as long as they are needed for operations and security. Data required to investigate a specific security incident may be retained until the investigation has been completed.

3. Cookies and similar technologies

We use storage and access on your device where it is technically necessary for a feature you have expressly requested, for example the shopping cart, checkout, security functions or remembering your cookie choice. Where section 25 TDDDG applies, strictly necessary access is based on section 25(2) TDDDG. The related processing of personal data is based, depending on the feature, in particular on Article 6(1)(b) or (f) GDPR.

We use optional analytics technologies only with your consent. The legal bases are section 25(1) TDDDG and Article 6(1)(a) GDPR. You can withdraw your consent for the future at any time through the cookie settings.

4. Website analytics with Google Analytics 4

On pages where we use Google Analytics 4, the service is activated only after you have consented. The provider is Google Ireland Limited. We use analytics to understand how people use our website and which content and journeys are useful to visitors.

The service may process online identifiers and technical information about your device, browser, use of the website and pages visited. In our intended configuration, we do not send names, email addresses, order numbers or free-text messages as analytics events. We therefore do not describe the resulting usage data as simply “anonymous”.

The legal basis is your consent under Article 6(1)(a) GDPR together with section 25(1) TDDDG. Where Google processes data outside the European Economic Area, the transfer is based on the data-transfer mechanisms applicable to the processing concerned.

5. Website resources served locally

Where fonts, icons, images or other website resources are served from our own server, simply loading those files does not create an additional connection to an external content provider.

6. Placement test

Our free placement test helps you identify a suitable course level. The recommendation is guidance for choosing a course and is not a legally significant automated decision about you within the meaning of Article 22 GDPR.

Where the test is evaluated in your browser, individual answers are not stored permanently on our server. If you have consented to analytics, the recommended level may be sent to our analytics system as a statistical event without direct identifiers. Nothing is sent for analytics if you have not given analytics consent.

7. Contacting us

If you contact us by email or through a form, we use the data you provide, in particular your contact details and the content of your message.

If your enquiry relates to a contract or steps you ask us to take before entering into a contract, the legal basis is Article 6(1)(b) GDPR. For other enquiries, we rely on Article 6(1)(f) GDPR and our legitimate interest in responding to your request.

We delete enquiry data when it is no longer needed for that purpose, unless statutory retention, evidential or limitation periods require us to keep it longer.

8. YOUR CourseMatch

When you use YOUR CourseMatch, we process the information you provide to find a suitable course. This may include:

the language you want to learn and your goal,
your level or the fact that you do not yet know it,
your preferred format,
preferred times and intensity,
your preferred start,
your name and email address if you ask for an alert,
the status of your request or start alert.

We use this information to show relevant options and, if you ask us to, to let you know when a suitable start date becomes available to book. The legal basis is Article 6(1)(b) GDPR.

A start alert is not a newsletter subscription. We do not automatically use the request as permission to send general marketing email.

CourseMatch requests that do not result in a booking and no longer have an active start alert are deleted or anonymised within six months. We keep an active start alert until it has been fulfilled or ended and for no more than one further month. If the requested alert cannot be fulfilled within twelve months, we delete or anonymise it unless you actively renew it.

9. CREATE YOUR COURSE

When you use CREATE YOUR COURSE, we process the information needed to assess your course request and look for suitable learners and teacher availability. This may include:

language and level,
preferred days,
time window and time zone,
preferred intensity,
earliest and latest acceptable start,
name and email address,
matching and setup status.

We use this information to work on your request, coordinate matching and teacher availability, and contact you when a suitable course is ready to book. The legal basis is Article 6(1)(b) GDPR.

CREATE YOUR COURSE does not itself create a paid booking. A course contract is made only through the separate booking process.

Requests that do not lead to a booking and no longer have an active start alert are deleted or anonymised within six months. Active start alerts follow the retention rule described in section 8.

10. Groups you organise and invitations

If you organise a group, we may process:

your contact details as the organiser,
details of the course requested,
email addresses you choose to invite,
invitation, join, booking and payment status,
the confirmation date used for the group-price rule,
personal links or codes used for the group page and booking.

If you invite someone

We send the invitation because you asked us to. At that point, the invited person may not have given us their email address directly. For this initial contact, we rely on Article 6(1)(f) GDPR. The legitimate interests are yours and ours in enabling the group you chose to organise.

An invitation is not newsletter consent. The invitation tells the recipient who provided their email address, why we are contacting them and where they can find this privacy notice.

If an invitation is not accepted, we delete or anonymise the personal data kept for it within three months, unless another legal basis requires longer retention.

If the person joins the group or starts a booking themselves, the later processing follows the steps they choose to take and, in particular, Article 6(1)(b) GDPR.

11. Personal links, tokens, codes and private group pages

We may use personal links, tokens or codes for private course and group pages. They help us connect an invitation, request or group securely with the right person and reduce unauthorised access.

We may process the token or code, its purpose and assignment, creation and expiry information and technical security data. We keep this data only for as long as needed for the feature, evidence of assignment and prevention of misuse. Depending on the feature, the legal bases are Article 6(1)(b) and (f) GDPR.

Please treat personal links like access credentials and do not share them indiscriminately.

12. Course bookings, contracts and participant details

When you book, we process the information needed to enter into and perform the contract and to handle payment. This may include:

name and billing address,
email address and any additional contact details you provide voluntarily,
course, level, period, start and end dates,
price, applicable price rule and, where relevant, group status,
company name and VAT number where relevant,
participant details where a booking for another person is permitted,
order number,
payment, contract and booking status,
the version of the contractual documents that applied when the contract was concluded.

The legal basis is Article 6(1)(b) GDPR. Where accounting, tax or evidential duties apply, we also process the required data under Article 6(1)(c) GDPR and retain it for the statutory periods that apply.

13. Visa documents

If you order the optional Visa Documents service, we process the information needed to prepare the personalised documents. In addition to your booking data, this may include further identification or course details where they are required for the document concerned.

We also record the processing status and, where necessary, the creation and sending of the documents. The legal basis is Article 6(1)(b) GDPR. Records that must be kept for statutory accounting or evidential purposes are retained for the relevant legal periods.

14. PayPal and card payments through PayPal

Our checkout may offer PayPal and card payments processed through PayPal. The payment service provider is PayPal (Europe) S.à r.l. et Cie, S.C.A., 22–24 Boulevard Royal, L-2449 Luxembourg.

If you choose one of these payment methods, the data required to process the payment is sent to PayPal or collected directly by PayPal. As a rule, we receive only the information we need to match the payment with your order and its payment status. We do not store full card details where you enter them directly with PayPal.

The legal basis for payment processing is Article 6(1)(b) GDPR. Where PayPal processes data outside the European Economic Area, the transfer is subject to the data-transfer mechanisms used by PayPal for the processing concerned.

For bank transfers, we process the usual bank, payment and booking details needed to match and administer the payment.

15. Transactional email and Brevo

We send emails that are needed for a feature you requested or for your contract. These may include:

receipt and booking confirmations,
payment and invoice information,
course confirmations and cancellations,
start alerts,
group and invitation messages,
DAS Live Session information and reminders,
confirmations of withdrawal and contract cancellation.

We use Brevo as a service provider for technical email delivery. Brevo processes the data needed to send and deliver these messages on our behalf. The legal basis for each message follows the underlying purpose, in particular Article 6(1)(b) or (c) GDPR.

We use contact details for general marketing or newsletters only where there is a separate lawful basis, in particular consent where required.

16. Online lessons and DAS Live Sessions on Zoom

We use Zoom for live online teaching and DAS Live Sessions. When you join, the service may process your display name, connection and device data and any audio, video or chat content you choose to provide during the session.

We use Zoom to deliver the lesson or Live Session you booked or requested. The legal basis is Article 6(1)(b) GDPR. Where a Live Session is provided following your registration without a separate paid contract, the processing is still necessary to provide the session you requested.

Within D.A.S. Akademie, access to participant data is limited to people who need it to organise or deliver the session. Zoom may use subprocessors to provide its service. Where data is processed outside the European Economic Area, the transfer is subject to the mechanisms provided for under the GDPR.

D.A.S. Akademie does not record its regular lessons or DAS Live Sessions. If a recording is planned for a particular session, we will inform the people concerned in advance and establish the appropriate legal basis separately.

17. Withdrawal and contract cancellation through the website

If you use our website to withdraw from or cancel a contract, we process the information needed to identify, record and confirm your declaration. This may include:

name and email address,
order number or other information identifying the contract,
the content of your declaration,
for cancellations, the type of cancellation, the reason you provide for an extraordinary cancellation and the requested end date,
the date and time the declaration is received,
the content and sending of the electronic confirmation.

The legal bases are Article 6(1)(c) and (b) GDPR. We keep evidence of declarations and confirmations only for as long as statutory retention, evidential or limitation periods require.

18. Teach with DAS / applications

If you apply through Teach with DAS or another agreed application route, we process the application data you provide. This may include:

name and contact details,
CV and submitted documents,
qualifications and teaching experience,
languages,
availability,
fee or salary expectations,
other information provided during the application process.

For applications for employment, the legal basis includes section 26 BDSG. For applications for freelance work or another contractual relationship, Article 6(1)(b) GDPR applies to pre-contract steps.

If an application is unsuccessful, we delete the application data once it is no longer needed for the recruitment process and legitimate evidential purposes. We keep applications for a longer-term talent pool only on an appropriate separate legal basis, normally your consent.

19. Recipients and transfers outside the EEA

Within D.A.S. Akademie, access to personal data is limited to people who need it for the relevant purpose.

Depending on the feature, we use external service providers, in particular:

hosting: OVH,
email delivery: Brevo,
video conferencing: Zoom,
website analytics after consent: Google Analytics,
payments: PayPal.

Where a provider processes personal data outside the European Economic Area, the transfer takes place only on the basis of a mechanism permitted by the GDPR, in particular an adequacy decision or appropriate safeguards such as Standard Contractual Clauses where required.

20. How long we keep personal data

We do not keep personal data longer than it is needed for the purpose for which it was collected. We then delete or anonymise it unless statutory retention, evidential or limitation periods require us to keep it longer.

The specific retention periods for CourseMatch, CREATE YOUR COURSE and unaccepted group invitations are set out above. Contract, tax and accounting records are kept for the statutory periods that apply.

21. Your rights

Subject to the statutory requirements, you have in particular the right to:

access your personal data,
correct inaccurate data,
have data erased,
restrict processing,
receive data in a portable format,
object to processing based on Article 6(1)(e) or (f) GDPR.

You can withdraw consent at any time for the future. This does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before the withdrawal.

For privacy requests, contact infoberlin@das-akademie.de.

22. Complaints

You have the right to complain to a data protection supervisory authority. The authority particularly responsible for us is:

Berliner Beauftragte für Datenschutz und Informationsfreiheit
Alt-Moabit 59–61
10555 Berlin
Germany
Email: mailbox@datenschutz-berlin.de

23. Changes to this notice

We update this notice when our website, the services we use or the legal requirements change. The version published on the website is the current version.