LAST UPDATED — 17 AUGUST 2026
Draft notice. This is a structural template prepared for the Rea Automotive
site build, not legal advice. The cookie inventory below must be reconciled against what the
live site actually sets before publication — an inaccurate cookie table is itself a
compliance problem.
1. What Cookies Are
Cookies are small text files placed on your device when you visit a website. They let a
site remember your actions and preferences over time. Similar technologies — local
storage, session storage and pixels — perform comparable functions, and this policy
covers those too.
Duration
- Session cookies are erased when you close your browser.
- Persistent cookies remain until they expire or you delete them.
Origin
- First-party cookies are set by rea-automotive.com.
- Third-party cookies are set by another domain whose content is embedded in a page.
2. Legal Basis & Consent
Under § 25(2) TTDSG, cookies that are strictly necessary to deliver a service you have
requested may be set without consent. Everything else — analytics, marketing, embedded
media that profiles you — requires your prior, informed, freely given consent.
We do not set optional cookies before you consent. Declining is as easy as accepting,
there is no pre-ticked box, and refusing does not degrade access to any part of this site.
You may withdraw consent at any time, and withdrawal is as straightforward as giving it.
3. Essential Cookies
These are required for the site to function. They cannot be switched off through a
consent banner, though your browser can still block them — at the cost of some
functionality.
| Name |
Purpose |
Duration |
Type |
| rea_session |
Maintains your session state across page requests |
Session |
ESSENTIAL |
| rea_consent |
Records your cookie preferences so we do not ask repeatedly |
12 months |
ESSENTIAL |
| rea_csrf |
Protects enquiry form submissions against cross-site request forgery |
Session |
ESSENTIAL |
| rea_lang |
Remembers whether you selected the English or German site |
6 months |
ESSENTIAL |
4. Optional Cookies
These are set only after you consent, and only for the categories you agree to.
| Name |
Provider |
Purpose |
Duration |
| _pk_id |
Matomo (self-hosted) |
Distinguishes returning visitors for aggregate statistics |
13 months |
| _pk_ses |
Matomo (self-hosted) |
Groups page views into a single visit |
30 minutes |
| VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE |
YouTube |
Set if you play an embedded video; estimates bandwidth |
6 months |
| YSC |
YouTube |
Tracks views of embedded videos within a session |
Session |
We run analytics on a self-hosted Matomo instance with IP anonymisation enabled and no
data sharing with third parties. We do not use advertising or cross-site tracking cookies.
5. Third-Party Services
Google Fonts
This site currently loads typefaces from Google's font CDN, which transmits your IP
address to Google. Where a self-hosted alternative is available we prefer it; the build
team should consider self-hosting the Syne and Inter families to remove this transfer
entirely.
Embedded media
Video embeds load only after you consent to optional cookies. Until then a placeholder is
shown and no request reaches the video provider.
Hosting
Our hosting provider processes server log data on our behalf as a processor under
Art. 28 GDPR. This is not cookie-based and is covered in the
Privacy Policy.
6. Managing Cookies
You can change or withdraw your consent at any time using the cookie settings link in the
site footer, which reopens the preference panel. Changes take effect immediately, and
cookies for any category you switch off are deleted.
Implementation note. The consent banner and preference panel are not yet
built on this static site. A consent management platform must be in place — and blocking
optional cookies until consent is given — before launch.
7. Browser Controls
Independently of our banner, every major browser lets you block or delete cookies. Note
that blocking all cookies will break the enquiry form's security token and the language
preference.
- Chrome — Settings → Privacy and security → Third-party cookies
- Firefox — Settings → Privacy & Security → Cookies and Site Data
- Safari — Settings → Privacy → Manage Website Data
- Edge — Settings → Cookies and site permissions
Most browsers also offer a private or incognito mode that discards all cookies when the
window closes.
8. Changes To This Policy
We update this policy whenever the cookies we use change. The effective date at the top of
this page always reflects the current version, and material changes reset consent so you
are asked again rather than opted in silently.
Questions can go to privacy@rea-automotive.com.
See also our Privacy Policy and
Legal Notice.
