Privacy Policy — ScholarPlanner

1. Overview

ScholarPlanner ("we", "us", or "our") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, store, and protect your personal information when you use our website and services (collectively, the "Service").

Summary: We collect information you provide directly (profile, contact, payment), information generated by your use (activity logs), and limited technical data. We use this information to provide the Service, send notifications, and improve the platform. We do not sell your personal information to third parties.

By using the Service, you consent to the practices described in this policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the Service.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information You Provide

Category	Data Collected	Required?
Account	Name, email, password	Yes
Profile	Education level, degree, field of study, CGPA, country, age, study preferences, funding preferences	For matching
WhatsApp	WhatsApp phone number (for alerts)	For alerts
Payment	Transaction reference, payment method used, amount, date	For subscriptions
Support	Name, email, message content	When contacting us

2.2 Information Collected Automatically

Device information: Browser type, operating system, device type, screen resolution
Usage data: Pages visited, features used, time spent, click patterns, scholarship interactions
Technical data: IP address (anonymized where possible), log data, error reports

2.3 Information We Do NOT Collect

We do not collect: your national ID number, passport number, academic transcripts, financial records, or any sensitive government documents. We never ask for these and you should never share them through our platform.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use your personal information for the following purposes:

Provide the Service: Create and manage your account, generate scholarship matches, display scholarship details, provide application links
Send notifications: Deliver WhatsApp and email alerts about matching scholarships and deadline reminders
Process payments: Process subscription payments and maintain transaction records
Improve the Service: Analyze usage patterns to improve matching accuracy, user experience, and content quality
Communicate with you: Respond to support requests, send account-related notifications, inform you of changes to the Service
Prevent abuse: Detect and prevent fraudulent activity, spam, security threats, and violations of our Terms of Service
Comply with law: Meet legal obligations and respond to lawful requests from authorities

We do not use your personal information to build advertising profiles or sell data to data brokers.

4. WhatsApp Notification Data

When you subscribe to WhatsApp alerts:

Your WhatsApp phone number is stored securely and used only for sending scholarship notification messages
Messages are sent through verified WhatsApp Business communication gateways (WACRM)
Message content is limited to scholarship name, match score, key details, and a link to the full opportunity page on our website
We do not read your WhatsApp messages, access your contacts, or receive any personal conversations from your device

Note: By providing your WhatsApp number, you acknowledge that notification messages will be transmitted through WhatsApp infrastructure. You can stop WhatsApp notifications at any time from your dashboard notification preferences.

5. Cookies & Tracking Technologies

We use essential cookies and session storage:

Type	Purpose	Duration
Essential	Session authentication, security, CSRF protection	Session
Preference	Remember your notification and display preferences	Up to 1 year
Analytics	Understand how the Service is used (anonymized)	Up to 2 years

6. Third-Party Sharing

We do not sell your personal information.

We may share your information only with essential service providers bound by strict confidentiality:

Hosting and Infrastructure: Secure cloud database and web server providers.
Payment Gateways: CashMaal, JazzCash for subscription processing.
Communication Providers: WhatsApp Business messaging gateways and transactional email SMTP servers.
Legal Compliance: When required by lawful court orders or authorized government requests.

7. Data Storage

Your data is stored in high-security databases utilizing encrypted connections. We retain your profile data as long as your account remains active.

8. Data Security

We implement enterprise-grade technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information:

Encryption in transit with modern TLS/HTTPS.
Strong password hashing (BCrypt with dynamic salting).
Strict CSRF tokens and SQL injection parameterized queries.
Automated session fixation and brute-force throttling protections.

9. Data Retention

Account and profile data are retained while your account is active. You can request complete deletion of your profile and data at any time through our contact or support channels.

10. Your Rights

You have the right to access, review, modify, export, or delete your personal profile at any time via your Profile Dashboard.

11. Children's Privacy

Our platform is designed for higher education and university students. We do not knowingly collect personal data from individuals under 16 years of age.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically. Significant changes will be announced on the platform or via email alerts.

13. Contact Us About Privacy

For any privacy-related inquiries or data requests, please visit our Contact Page or reach out to our team.