Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy applies to all visitors and users of smarteducator.in, including anyone who:

• Browses our website without submitting any form
• Submits an enquiry, lead, contact, or newsletter subscription form
• Interacts with us via WhatsApp, phone, email, or social media
• Receives counselling support or ongoing admission assistance from our team

Our services are directed at users based in India only. If you access our site from outside India, please note that your data will be processed in India under Indian law. We do not knowingly solicit international users.

We only collect data that is necessary and relevant to help you find and enroll in the right online degree program. Here is a complete and transparent breakdown:

⚠️ We do not collect sensitive personal data such as Aadhaar numbers, PAN card details, bank account or card information, passwords, health data, biometric data, or caste/religion details. All course fee payments are made directly by you to the university — Smart Educator never handles, processes, or stores any payment credentials.

Every piece of data we collect has a specific, defined purpose. We do not collect data "just in case."

• Academic Counselling: To understand your educational background and course preference, so our counsellors can recommend the most suitable UGC-approved degree program for you.
• Callback & Follow-Up: To contact you via phone, SMS, WhatsApp, or email in direct response to your enquiry submission.
• Admission Support: To guide you through the university application process, document preparation, and enrollment steps. We act as a counselling and administrative support partner — all fees are paid directly by you to the university.
• Post-Enrollment Services: After you enroll, we send helpful reminders about university deadlines, exam schedules, semester updates, and other relevant communications.
• Marketing & Course Updates: To inform you about new programs, offers, webinars, and scholarship announcements — only if you have given consent.
• Website Analytics: To understand how visitors use our website, identify high-traffic pages, improve user experience, and optimise content using Google Analytics.
• Advertising & Remarketing: To measure ad campaign performance on Google and Meta, and to show relevant course ads to users who have previously visited our website.
• Legal & Regulatory Compliance: To meet our obligations under the DPDP Act 2023, IT Act 2000, TRAI guidelines, and any other applicable Indian laws.

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal data to any third party for commercial gain. Smart Educator acts as a counselling intermediary — we do not directly transfer your data to universities. You interact with universities independently during the admission process. Data may be shared only in these specific, limited situations:

• Internal Counselling Team: Your enquiry details are accessible to our in-house academic counsellors who will call or message you to guide your program selection.
• Technology & Operations Vendors: Trusted third-party service providers who operate our website hosting, CRM systems, SMS gateways, email platforms, and WhatsApp Business API. All are bound by confidentiality agreements and data processing obligations.
• Analytics & Advertising Platforms: Anonymised, aggregated data is shared with Google Analytics, Google Ads, and Meta (Facebook/Instagram Pixel) for performance measurement and targeted advertising. These platforms process data under their own privacy policies (see Section 06).
• Legal Authorities: When lawfully required to do so by a court order, government directive, or applicable Indian regulatory authority.
• Business Restructuring: In the event of a merger, acquisition, or business restructuring, your data may be transferred to the successor entity under equivalent privacy protections.

Cookies are small text files stored on your device when you visit a website. They help us remember your preferences and understand how our website is used. We use the following:

You can manage, block, or delete cookies at any time through your browser settings: Chrome → Settings → Privacy & Security → Cookies and other site data. Blocking non-essential cookies does not affect your ability to browse our website.

Smart Educator maintains official pages and uses tools from the following platforms. Each platform has its own independent privacy policy governing how your data is handled when you interact with our content on their platform or through their tools on our site.

When you click a social media link from our website, you leave smarteducator.in and enter a third-party platform. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of any external website or platform. We encourage you to review their policies before engaging.

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary for the purpose it was collected, or as required by applicable law. After that period, data is securely deleted or anonymised.

You may request deletion of your data at any time by emailing info@smarteducator.in, subject to any mandatory legal retention requirements.

We take data security seriously and have implemented multiple layers of technical and organisational safeguards:

• HTTPS / SSL Encryption: All data transmitted between your browser and our server is encrypted using TLS — you'll see the padlock icon in your browser address bar.
• Laravel Security Framework: Our platform is built on Laravel with built-in CSRF token validation on all forms, encrypted sessions, input sanitisation, SQL injection prevention, and XSS protection.
• Access Controls: User data is accessible only to authorised Smart Educator staff on a strict need-to-know basis. No open access is permitted.
• Secure Cloud Hosting: Our servers run on reputable, monitored cloud infrastructure with firewalls, regular backups, and intrusion detection.
• No Payment Data: We do not process or store any payment credentials. All course fees are paid by students directly to the respective university.
• Vendor Agreements: All third-party vendors handling data on our behalf are bound by confidentiality clauses and data processing agreements.
• Breach Notification: In the unlikely event of a data breach that affects your rights, we will notify you as required under Section 8 of the DPDP Act 2023.

While we take every reasonable precaution, no digital system is 100% immune to threats. We recommend you do not share passwords or sensitive personal information via email or unsecured networks.

Under India's Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act 2023 and the IT Act 2000, you have the following rights over your personal data. To exercise any right, email info@smarteducator.in with your full name and registered contact details. We will respond within 30 working days.

Smart Educator's programs are designed for individuals who are 18 years of age or older. We do not knowingly collect, store, or process personal data of anyone under 18. This is also consistent with Meta's, Google's, and WhatsApp's platform policies which restrict use by minors.

If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has submitted personal information through our website, please contact us immediately at info@smarteducator.in. We will take prompt action to delete such data from our records.

This Privacy Policy is governed by the laws of the Republic of India. Any disputes arising from this policy or our data practices shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts in Pune, Maharashtra, India.

We operate in compliance with the following laws and frameworks:

• Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023 — India's primary data protection legislation
• Information Technology Act, 2000 & IT (Amendment) Act, 2008
• IT (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures) Rules, 2011
• TRAI Regulations — governing SMS, telemarketing, and NDNC compliance
• GDPR Principles (EU) — applied as international best-practice for transparency, purpose limitation, data minimisation, and accountability, even though we serve Indian users only
• Meta Platform Policies — governing use of Facebook Pixel and Instagram integrations
• Google's Privacy Policy — governing use of Analytics, Ads, and YouTube embeds
• WhatsApp Business Policy — governing use of the WhatsApp Business API

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, technology, or applicable laws. When we make significant changes, we will:

• Update the Effective Date at the top of this page
• Post a visible notice on our homepage for a minimum of 30 days
• Notify registered users via email where required under the DPDP Act 2023

Your continued use of smarteducator.in after updated terms have been posted constitutes your acceptance of the revised Privacy Policy. We encourage you to review this page periodically to stay informed.