Legal
Cookie policy
The platform keeps cookie use narrow. Essential cookies stay on for login, security, and consent state. Optional cookies are currently limited to embedded external media and remain blocked until accepted.
Last updated 2026-04-18
How consent works on this site
The site uses a global consent banner. Essential cookies remain active because they are needed for login, security, and remembering your cookie preference.
Optional cookies are currently limited to embedded YouTube playback. If you deny optional cookies, podcast video playback inside the site remains blocked until you change that choice.
What is not active by default
Analytics and marketing cookies are not active in the current production baseline. If either category is introduced later, the consent baseline must be updated and visitors must be asked to review the new choice.
The site does not currently load support-chat widgets, advertising tags, or analytics pixels by default.
How to withdraw or change consent
You can change the optional-cookie choice at any time from this cookie policy page. If optional cookies are denied, a small Cookie settings control also stays visible on the site.
Changing the consent choice affects future optional-media loading. It does not automatically delete cookies or storage already created by third-party providers before withdrawal.
When this policy must be updated
Any new cookie, local-storage key, session-storage key, external iframe, analytics script, marketing tag, payment provider, or support widget must update this policy and the consent implementation before release.
Whenever the categories or provider disclosures change materially, the consent version should be bumped so visitors are prompted to review the updated choice again.
Controller and legal contact
Publish a monitored email, phone number, and location here so the privacy and cookie notices identify the site controller clearly.
- Controller
- Dark Blue Cave Academy
- Controller email
- Controller location
- Prishtina, Kosovo
Current cookie and external-media disclosures
Every cookie or third-party media technology in production should appear here with its purpose, legal basis, recipients, and retention.
Cookie consent preference
EssentialAlways activeTechnology and provider
Technology: dbc_cookie_consent
Provider: Dark Blue Cave Academy
Activation: Set when the visitor accepts or denies optional cookies.
Purpose, legal basis, and data
Stores whether the visitor accepted or denied optional cookies so the site can respect that choice across visits.
Legal basis: Legitimate interests in recording and respecting the visitor's consent choice and preventing repeated prompts.
- consent status
- consent-version marker
Recipients and retention
- Dark Blue Cave Academy
- hosting and infrastructure processors
Retention: 180 days.
Authentication, session, and anti-forgery cookies
EssentialAlways activeTechnology and provider
Technology: authjs.* and __Secure-authjs.* cookies
Provider: Dark Blue Cave Academy / Auth.js
Activation: Set only when the site needs authentication or auth-security state.
Purpose, legal basis, and data
Keeps signed-in users authenticated, protects callback and anti-forgery flows, and maintains secure session state.
Legal basis: Necessary for the requested sign-in flow and justified by legitimate interests in account security.
- session or token identifiers
- callback or anti-forgery state
- basic session continuity metadata
Recipients and retention
- Dark Blue Cave Academy
- hosting, session, and authentication processors
Retention: Session cookies or short platform-managed durations, depending on the auth cookie purpose and security requirements.
Auth-flow redirect state
EssentialAlways activeTechnology and provider
Technology: dbc_auth_flow and dbc_auth_flow_next
Provider: Dark Blue Cave Academy
Activation: Set only when a sign-in or sign-up flow is started.
Purpose, legal basis, and data
Preserves the requested sign-in or sign-up intent and safe return path across Google auth redirects.
Legal basis: Necessary for the requested sign-in flow and justified by legitimate interests in secure redirect handling.
- auth-flow intent
- safe next-path value
Recipients and retention
- Dark Blue Cave Academy
- hosting and authentication processors
Retention: Up to 10 minutes.
Embedded YouTube player
Optional mediaConsent requiredTechnology and provider
Technology: YouTube embedded player and related Google storage or cookies
Provider: YouTube / Google
Activation: Blocked until optional cookies are accepted and the visitor chooses to load playback.
Purpose, legal basis, and data
Loads optional podcast playback inside the site after the visitor accepts media cookies.
Legal basis: Consent.
- IP address
- browser and device details
- player interactions
- online identifiers or cookies managed by YouTube or Google
Recipients and retention
- YouTube / Google
- Dark Blue Cave Academy only for the local consent record
Retention: Only after consent. Third-party retention is controlled by YouTube or Google. The local consent record lasts 180 days.
Operational baseline
This is the current production baseline used by the consent system.
- The consent preference is stored in dbc_cookie_consent for 180 days.
- Analytics and marketing cookies are not active in the current production baseline.
- Podcast thumbnails are served through a first-party route so normal browsing does not load YouTube-hosted images directly in the visitor's browser.
Complaints and consent withdrawal
Visitors can revisit consent choices at any time and may complain to AIP if they believe their rights were infringed.