Ascend Vanta Legal & Trust Center
Cookie Policy
Ascend Vanta uses cookies and similar technologies to operate our website, improve performance, understand how visitors interact with our content, and support relevant marketing in a responsible, transparent, and privacy-conscious way.
Overview
This Cookie Policy explains how Ascend Vanta may use cookies, pixels, tags, scripts, local storage, tracking technologies, analytics tools, advertising tools, and similar technologies on our website and related digital experiences.
Cookies help websites function, remember certain preferences, measure performance, understand visitor behavior, and support relevant marketing. Some cookies are necessary for the website to work properly. Others are optional and may depend on a visitor’s cookie choice.
Ascend Vanta’s approach is simple: cookies should be used with purpose, explained clearly, and managed in a way that gives visitors confidence and control.
Strictly Necessary Cookies
Strictly necessary cookies are required for the website to function properly. These cookies may support core website operations, security, accessibility, load balancing, spam protection, form handling, cookie preference storage, and basic technical functions.
Because these cookies are necessary to provide the website experience or requested website functionality, they may operate without optional cookie consent where permitted by applicable law.
- Saving cookie consent choices
- Maintaining basic website functionality
- Supporting website security
- Protecting forms from spam or abuse
- Managing session behavior
- Supporting accessibility and responsive design
- Preventing technical errors or service interruptions
Visitors may be able to block some strictly necessary cookies through browser settings, but doing so may cause parts of the website to stop working properly.
Analytics Cookies
Analytics cookies help Ascend Vanta understand how visitors use the website. This may include information about page visits, traffic sources, device type, browser type, approximate location, time on page, navigation paths, and conversion activity.
Analytics helps us improve website structure, content quality, page speed, user experience, service messaging, local SEO, and marketing strategy.
- Understand which pages visitors view
- Measure how users move through the website
- Identify content that performs well
- Improve page speed and usability
- Evaluate website conversion paths
- Understand traffic sources and campaign performance
- Support better reporting and refinement
Where required or appropriate, analytics cookies should only operate after a visitor accepts cookies.
Marketing and Advertising Cookies
Marketing cookies may be used to measure advertising performance, understand campaign results, support retargeting, improve ad relevance, track conversions, and help Ascend Vanta evaluate how marketing efforts contribute to business outcomes.
These cookies may be placed by Ascend Vanta or by third-party advertising platforms, social media platforms, analytics providers, tag management systems, CRM tools, or other marketing technology providers.
- Measure ad performance
- Track campaign source and conversion activity
- Support remarketing or retargeting where permitted
- Understand lead generation performance
- Improve paid advertising strategy
- Reduce irrelevant or repetitive advertising
- Connect website actions to campaign reporting
Marketing cookies are considered non-essential. Where applicable, they should only operate after a visitor accepts cookies.
Functional Cookies
Functional cookies help improve the browsing experience by remembering preferences, supporting enhanced features, and making the website easier to use.
Functional cookies may support preference settings, embedded tools, scheduling features, chat experiences, personalization features, or other optional website enhancements.
- Remember user preferences
- Support embedded website features
- Improve browsing convenience
- Support interactive tools or widgets
- Maintain preferred display or experience settings
Functional cookies may be optional depending on the tool, feature, or applicable privacy requirement.
How Long Cookie Choices Are Stored
Ascend Vanta may store a visitor’s cookie choice in the browser or device so the website remembers whether the visitor accepted or rejected cookies.
Cookie choices may remain stored until the visitor clears browser data, changes browser or device, uses private browsing, updates cookie preferences, or until Ascend Vanta updates its cookie consent version.
If Ascend Vanta materially changes the cookies, tools, tracking technologies, or policy structure used on the website, visitors may be asked to make a new cookie choice.
Browser and Device Controls
Visitors may also control cookies through browser or device settings. Most browsers allow users to block, delete, or manage cookies.
Browser settings may allow visitors to:
- Delete stored cookies
- Block cookies from specific websites
- Block third-party cookies
- Clear browsing data
- Limit tracking technologies
- Manage privacy and security preferences
Blocking cookies may affect website functionality, performance, forms, embedded tools, or user experience.
Third-Party Cookies and Tools
Ascend Vanta may use third-party platforms to support website hosting, analytics, advertising, SEO, performance monitoring, forms, CRM management, automation, scheduling, security, and marketing operations.
These third-party providers may set or access cookies when their tools are used on the website, depending on cookie choices, browser settings, and applicable privacy requirements.
- Analytics platforms
- Advertising platforms
- Tag management tools
- Website hosting providers
- Security and spam protection tools
- CRM and lead management systems
- Email and automation platforms
- Scheduling or embedded widget providers
- Form and conversion tracking tools
- Performance monitoring tools
Ascend Vanta aims to work with reputable service providers and expects third-party tools to handle information responsibly and in accordance with their own privacy and cookie practices.
Examples of Tools That May Use Cookies
Depending on the current website setup, Ascend Vanta may use or later add tools that support analytics, advertising, forms, automation, website performance, or security.
These may include tools such as:
- Google Analytics or similar analytics platforms
- Google Tag Manager or similar tag management tools
- Meta Pixel or similar advertising pixels
- Search engine advertising and remarketing tools
- CRM and lead tracking platforms
- Form security and spam protection tools
- Email marketing or automation systems
- Website performance and optimization tools
- Embedded scheduling or communication tools
This list may change as Ascend Vanta’s website, services, technology stack, and marketing systems evolve.
Cookies and Personal Information
Some cookies and tracking technologies may collect or relate to information that can identify, relate to, describe, or be associated with a person, device, browser, or household depending on applicable privacy law.
This may include IP address, device identifiers, browser information, approximate location, website activity, conversion behavior, referral source, and advertising interactions.
When cookie data is considered personal information under applicable law, Ascend Vanta aims to handle that information in accordance with its Privacy Policy and applicable privacy rights.
More information is provided in Ascend Vanta’s Privacy Policy.
Global Privacy Rights and Cookie Choices
Privacy and cookie rules may vary by region. Visitors from Massachusetts, other U.S. states, California, the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Canada, and other countries or regions may have different privacy rights depending on applicable law.
These rights may include the ability to request access, correction, deletion, restriction, objection, consent withdrawal, portability, opt-out of sale or sharing, or other privacy-related actions.
Cookie choices may also relate to rights involving targeted advertising, tracking, profiling, analytics, consent, or personal information sharing.
Ascend Vanta aims to respect valid privacy and cookie-related requests in accordance with applicable law.
California and Do Not Sell or Share Rights
California residents may have rights related to the sale or sharing of personal information, including information collected through certain cookies, advertising pixels, or tracking technologies.
Ascend Vanta does not sell personal information as a core business practice.
If certain analytics, advertising, retargeting, or tracking technologies are considered “sharing” under applicable California privacy law, visitors may use the cookie banner, browser controls, or Ascend Vanta’s privacy request process to manage applicable choices.
Additional information may be provided on Ascend Vanta’s Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information page.
GDPR, UK GDPR, and International Cookie Standards
Visitors from the European Economic Area, United Kingdom, Switzerland, or other regions with privacy and electronic communications laws may have additional rights relating to cookies and personal data.
Where required, non-essential cookies should only operate after a valid consent choice. Consent should be clear, informed, specific, and freely given.
Visitors may withdraw or change cookie consent where available. Withdrawal of consent does not affect any processing that occurred before consent was withdrawn.
Ascend Vanta aims to structure cookie use in a way that respects international privacy expectations and supports trust across different regions.
Massachusetts Security Considerations
Ascend Vanta is based in Massachusetts and takes the protection of personal information seriously.
Cookie-related data that is connected to personal information may be handled with reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards appropriate to the nature of the information, the purpose of processing, and the technology used.
Ascend Vanta aims to use reasonable safeguards for systems, vendors, tools, and platforms involved in collecting, storing, processing, or transmitting personal information.
Security, Fraud Prevention, and Website Protection
Some cookies and similar technologies may be used to support website security, prevent spam, detect abuse, protect forms, monitor performance, and reduce unauthorized activity.
These technologies may help Ascend Vanta protect visitors, website systems, client information, business assets, and digital infrastructure.
- Spam prevention
- Bot detection
- Form security
- Abuse prevention
- Website performance monitoring
- Fraud prevention
- System reliability
- Technical troubleshooting
Security-related cookies may be treated as strictly necessary when they are required to protect the website or provide a requested website function.
Local Storage and Similar Technologies
In addition to traditional cookies, Ascend Vanta may use browser storage technologies such as local storage or session storage.
These technologies may be used to remember cookie choices, improve site behavior, support preferences, or maintain certain website functions during a browsing session.
Visitors can usually clear local storage or session storage through browser settings, privacy settings, or by clearing browsing data.
Embedded Content and External Platforms
Ascend Vanta’s website may include embedded content or links from third-party platforms, such as videos, maps, scheduling tools, social media content, forms, payment tools, or other interactive features.
Embedded content may behave as if the visitor has visited the third-party website directly. These third parties may use cookies, collect data, track interactions, or monitor engagement depending on their own policies and the visitor’s settings.
Ascend Vanta is not responsible for the cookie practices, privacy practices, security practices, or content of third-party platforms.
How Cookie Data Supports Ascend Vanta’s Growth Systems
Ascend Vanta uses data responsibly to improve strategy, design, marketing, performance, and user experience.
Cookie and analytics information may help us understand which pages visitors find useful, what services generate interest, how campaigns perform, where users may experience friction, and how website experiences can be improved.
This supports Ascend Vanta’s core belief: marketing should not be random. It should be measured, refined, and built around clarity.
Data Retention for Cookie Information
Cookie-related information may be retained for different periods depending on the cookie type, platform, purpose, browser settings, consent settings, legal requirements, business needs, or third-party tool configuration.
Some cookies may expire when a browser session ends. Others may remain for a longer period to remember preferences, measure analytics, or support marketing attribution.
Visitors can delete cookies through browser settings at any time.
When Cookies May Change
Ascend Vanta’s cookie use may change as the website, services, analytics, advertising, security tools, CRM systems, automation workflows, or technology providers evolve.
Examples of changes may include adding or removing analytics tools, updating advertising pixels, changing consent controls, improving website security, adding new forms, integrating new scheduling tools, or refining marketing systems.
When meaningful changes occur, Ascend Vanta may update this Cookie Policy and may request a new cookie choice where appropriate.
Changes to This Cookie Policy
Ascend Vanta may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes in website functionality, cookie practices, technology providers, privacy standards, legal requirements, or business operations.
When changes are made, the updated version may be posted on the Ascend Vanta website.
Continued use of the website after updates means the revised Cookie Policy applies going forward.
Ascend Vanta’s Cookie Promise
Ascend Vanta believes trust is part of the digital experience.
Cookies should not feel hidden, confusing, or careless. They should support website performance, better communication, safer systems, and more relevant experiences while respecting user choice.
We aim to use cookies with clarity, purpose, security, and respect so visitors can interact with Ascend Vanta confidently.