Privacy Policy

1. User Consent & Jurisdiction

By accessing or using our website (mycollegebuddy.com) and our related mobile applications or counseling services, you hereby consent to this Privacy Policy and agree to its terms.

This Privacy Policy applies solely to our online activities and is valid for visitors to our website regarding the information that they share and/or collect on My College Buddy. This policy is not applicable to any information gathered offline or via alternate external channels unless explicitly specified in writing.

2. Information We Collect

The personal information that you are requested to provide, and the purposes for which you are asked to provide it, will always be made clear to you at the point of interaction.

• Contact & Academic Inquiries: When you submit a callback request, download an official brochure, or request counseling, we collect your full name, 10-digit mobile number, email address, current city, target degree, and target academic stream.
• Direct Communications: If you contact our corporate helpdesk directly, we may receive supplementary details such as your phone number, email address, message contents, attachments, or any other context you provide voluntarily.
• User Account Credentials: If you register an account, we may store your name, email address, academic credentials, target entrance examination scores, and preferred institution preferences.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect in various legitimate ways, including to:

• Provide, operate, personalize, and maintain the functionality of our website.
• Connect you with certified academic counselors for 1-on-1 counseling, cutoff assistance, and choice-locking support.
• Process your requests for official college brochures, syllabus guides, and tuition fee estimates.
• Communicate critical admission alerts, entrance examination deadlines, and counseling updates via SMS, WhatsApp, email, or telephone.
• Prevent fraudulent activities, security vulnerabilities, and abusive bots.

4. Log Files & Analytics

My College Buddy follows standard web industry procedures for utilizing log files. These files log visitors when they navigate websites. The data captured includes Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, browser type, Internet Service Provider (ISP), date/time stamps, referring/exit pages, and click paths. This information is not linked to any personally identifiable information and is evaluated strictly for performance diagnostics, trend analytics, and server administration.

5. Cookies & Web Beacons

Like modern digital platforms, My College Buddy uses 'cookies' to store session preferences, compare drawer selections, and customized search parameters. This optimizes the user experience by delivering tailored content based on the visitor's browser type, selected stream filters, and device parameters.

6. Google DoubleClick DART Cookies

Google is a third-party vendor on our platform. It utilizes cookies, known as DART cookies, to serve relevant advertisements to visitors based on visits to mycollegebuddy.com and other sites across the internet. Visitors may opt out of the use of DART cookies by visiting the Google Ad and Content Network Privacy Policy at: policies.google.com/technologies/ads.

7. Third-Party Advertising Policies

Third-party ad servers or networks use technologies such as cookies, JavaScript, or Web Beacons within advertisements displayed on My College Buddy. These are sent directly to users' browsers and automatically capture IP addresses to measure campaign performance and personalize advertisement content.

Note that My College Buddy does not exercise operational control over external cookies used by third-party advertisers. You can choose to disable cookies through your personal browser configuration settings.

8. CCPA Privacy Rights (Do Not Sell My Personal Information)

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and recognized international consumer privacy standards, users possess specific data rights:

• Right to Disclosure: Request that a business disclose the categories and specific pieces of personal data collected about consumers.
• Right to Deletion: Request that a business permanently delete personal data collected from the consumer.
• Right to Opt-Out: Request that a business that sells personal data cease selling the consumer's data. (My College Buddy does not sell consumer data.)

Upon submitting a verifiable request, we will respond within 30 calendar days.

9. GDPR Data Protection Rights

We ensure that every visitor is aware of their data protection entitlements:

• Right to Access: You have the right to request copies of your personal data held in our systems.
• Right to Rectification: You may request correction of inaccurate data or completion of missing academic information.
• Right to Erasure: You may request removal of your personal records under certain statutory criteria.
• Right to Restrict Processing: You have the right to request restricted handling of your data under specific conditions.
• Right to Data Portability: You may request transmission of data collected to another entity or directly to you.

10. Children's Privacy Protection

Safeguarding younger learners is of paramount importance. We encourage parents, guardians, and teachers to observe and monitor their digital learning activity. My College Buddy does not knowingly solicit or collect personally identifiable information from children under the age of 13. If you believe your child has submitted personal information on our portal, please contact us immediately to expunge such records.

11. Data Security & Storage Standards

All student interactions, counseling submissions, and communication data across mycollegebuddy.com are encrypted via 256-bit Secure Socket Layer (SSL/TLS) protocols. Our servers are safeguarded behind strict enterprise firewalls, indexed query isolation, and threat filtering mechanisms.