Stetic Analytics

What Stetic is

Stetic is a privacy friendly web analytics service offered as an alternative to Google Analytics, operated by Stetic GmbH and made and hosted in Germany. It provides traffic statistics such as page views, referrers and visitor counts through a small JavaScript tag added to a website. The service is built around the goal of measuring audiences without intrusive tracking. For European websites it positions itself as a tool that can run without a cookie banner when configured correctly.

What data and cookies it collects

In its standard mode Stetic does not set tracking cookies in the visitor browser. Instead it relies on request data such as the page visited, the referrer and the user agent, and it uses a short time window to recognise that several page views belong to the same visit. The IP address is processed transiently to enable this session recognition rather than stored as a stable identifier. This cookieless approach keeps the collected data pseudonymous and aggregated.

GDPR and ePrivacy implications

Art. 5(3) of the ePrivacy Directive only requires consent when information is stored on or read from the visitor device. Because Stetic in cookieless mode does not store identifiers on the device, the core trigger for consent is generally not met. The processing of pseudonymous request data still falls under the GDPR and needs a legal basis, which for privacy friendly aggregated measurement can be legitimate interest under Art. 6(1)(f). The low intrusiveness of the design supports that balancing test.

Consent requirements

When Stetic is used in its cookieless configuration, a consent banner is generally not required because no non essential storage takes place. You should still inform visitors in your privacy notice that aggregated analytics are carried out and explain how to object. If you enable any optional feature that would store an identifier on the device, the consent requirement would return and you would need prior opt in. Verifying the active configuration is therefore an important step.

International data transfers

Stetic is hosted in Germany and processes data within the European Union, so in its standard setup there is no transfer to the United States or other third countries. This keeps the data within the protection of the European Economic Area and removes the need for Standard Contractual Clauses or a transfer impact assessment. You should still confirm the hosting arrangements with the provider and record them. Keeping data inside the European Union is one of the main compliance advantages of this service.

Practical compliance steps

Confirm that the cookieless mode is active and that no optional identifier storage is switched on. Mention Stetic in your privacy notice, state the legitimate interest basis and explain the right to object. Conclude a data processing agreement with Stetic GmbH and document that the data stays in Germany. Review the configuration periodically so the consent free status remains accurate.