Privacy Policy

Effective March 23, 2025 · Last updated March 23, 2025

Qoollege (“we,” “us,” or “our”) is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and your rights with respect to that information when you use our website and web application (collectively, the “Service”). By using the Service, you agree to the practices described in this policy.

1. Information We Collect

1.1 Information You Provide Directly

  • Account Information: First name, last name, email address, date of birth, password, state of residence, and current grade level (for students).
  • Guardian Information: If you are under 18, we collect your parent’s or guardian’s email address to send them an invitation to create a linked account.
  • Payment Information: When you subscribe to a paid plan, payment details are collected and processed directly by our payment partner. We do not store full payment card details on our servers.
  • Communications: Messages you send us via email or through any contact form.

1.2 Information Collected Automatically

  • Usage Data: Pages visited, features used, session duration, clicks, and other interactions with the Service.
  • Device and Log Data: IP address, browser type, operating system, referring URLs, and timestamps.
  • Cookies and Similar Technologies: We use cookies to maintain your session and improve the Service. See Section 6 for details.

1.3 Information from Third Parties

  • Single Sign-On: If you register or sign in using a third-party identity provider, we receive your name and email address from that provider in accordance with their policies.
  • Referral Partners: If you arrive via a partner or referral link, we may receive limited information about that referral.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

  • Create and manage your account and authenticate your identity.
  • Provide personalized college recommendations and AI-powered guidance.
  • Send your parent or guardian an invitation when required for users under 18.
  • Process subscription payments and manage billing through our payment partners.
  • Send transactional emails (account verification, password reset, account activity notifications).
  • Send product updates or promotional content (you may opt out at any time).
  • Analyze usage trends to improve the quality and features of the Service.
  • Detect, prevent, and address technical issues, fraud, and abuse.
  • Comply with applicable legal obligations.

3. How We Share Your Information

We do not sell your personal information. We may share your information in the following circumstances:

  • Service Providers: We share data with trusted partners who help us operate the Service, including providers of payment processing, transactional email, product analytics, and authentication. These partners are contractually obligated to use your data only to provide services to us.
  • Linked Guardian Accounts: A guardian who accepts an invitation can view certain profile and progress information associated with the linked student account.
  • Legal Requirements: We may disclose information when required by law, court order, or governmental authority, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Qoollege, our users, or others.
  • Business Transfers: In connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may transfer to the acquiring entity subject to the same privacy protections.
  • With Your Consent: We may share information for any other purpose with your explicit consent.

4. Children’s Privacy (COPPA)

We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 without verifiable parental consent. If you believe we have inadvertently collected information from a child under 13, please contact us at info@qoollege.com and we will promptly delete that information.

For users between 13 and 17, we require a parent or guardian email address at registration. The parent or guardian receives an invitation to create a linked account, providing visibility into the student’s activity on the platform.

5. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide the Service and comply with our legal obligations. When you delete your account, we erase your personal information on the timeline set out in Deleting Your Qoollege Account and Data, except where we are required to retain it for legal, regulatory, or legitimate business purposes.

6. Deleting Your Qoollege Account and Data

You can ask us to delete your Qoollege account and the personal information held against it at any time, from the Qoollege mobile app or by email. You do not need an active subscription, and we do not charge for it.

6.1 From the Qoollege mobile app

  1. Open the Profile tab in the Qoollege app.
  2. Tap Delete Account.
  3. Tap Send confirmation code. We email a six-digit code to the address on your account, so that nobody else can close it on your behalf.
  4. Enter the code and tap Delete my account. The code is valid for ten minutes; you can request another one if it expires.

If you have a paid subscription that is still running, cancel it first — the app will tell you when this applies and link you to the right place.

6.2 By email, from any device

If you use Qoollege on the web, or you can no longer sign in, email info@qoollege.com from the address registered to your account, with “Delete my account” as the subject. We may ask you to confirm a detail on the account before we act, so that we are not acting on someone else’s request. We complete these requests within 30 days and email you when it is done.

6.3 What happens to your data

Deleting your account in the app takes effect immediately: you are signed out on every device, all notifications and reminders stop, and your profile, saved colleges, tasks, conversations with Ollie, and scholarship activity are no longer accessible in the Service. Because people sometimes change their minds, this information is held in a deactivated state rather than erased at once, and signing back in within 30 days restores your account exactly as you left it.

After 30 days, or as soon as you ask us to erase it by email, we permanently delete:

  • your account and profile — name, email address, date of birth, state, grade, and any guardian email you supplied;
  • your education details, interests, work experience, and test scores;
  • your saved and shortlisted colleges, recommendations, scholarship activity, and application tasks;
  • your conversations with Ollie;
  • your mobile devices’ notification tokens.

We keep a limited amount of information after deletion:

  • Billing and transaction records, where we are required to retain them for tax, accounting, and audit purposes. These are held by our payment processor and by us for the period the law requires.
  • Aggregated and de-identified analytics, which no longer identify you and cannot be linked back to you.
  • Records we must keep to comply with a legal obligation, resolve a dispute, or prevent fraud and abuse — kept only for as long as that purpose lasts.

Deleting your Qoollege account does not delete a linked parent/guardian account, which is a separate account with its own deletion process.

7. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use the following types of cookies:

  • Essential Cookies: Required for authentication and maintaining your session.
  • Analytics Cookies: Used by our analytics partners to help us understand how the Service is used so we can improve it. Data is aggregated and pseudonymized where possible.

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Note that disabling essential cookies may prevent you from using certain features of the Service.

8. Data Security

We implement reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These include encrypted data transmission (HTTPS), hashed password storage, and access controls. No method of transmission over the Internet is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

9. Your Rights and Choices

Depending on your location, you may have the right to:

  • Access: Request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
  • Correction: Request that we correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
  • Deletion: Request that we delete your personal information, subject to certain legal exceptions. To close your account entirely, see Deleting Your Qoollege Account and Data.
  • Opt-Out of Marketing: Unsubscribe from promotional emails using the link in any email we send, or by contacting us.
  • Data Portability: Request a machine-readable copy of your data where technically feasible.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at info@qoollege.com. We will respond within 30 days.

10. Third-Party Links

The Service may contain links to third-party websites. We are not responsible for their privacy practices. We encourage you to review their privacy policies before providing any personal information.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the Last Updated date above and, for material changes, notify you by email or in-app notice. Continued use of the Service after the effective date constitutes acceptance.

12. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, contact us at:

Qoollege
info@qoollege.com

By using the Service, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy. For our full usage terms, see our Terms of Service.