Privacy Policy

1. Scope and responsible party

This policy applies to educoast.co.za, EduCoast accounts, Study Coast, course and institution features, prospectuses, study resources, document tools, communications and related services that link to it (together, the “Services”).

For information processed through the Services, EduCoast acts as the responsible party unless another notice says otherwise. Third-party websites, institutions and services have their own privacy practices.

2. Information we collect

Information you provide

• Account information such as your name, email address, profile picture, account identifier, verification status and sign-in provider.
• Messages, support requests, ratings, reports, comments, Study Coast discussions and other contributions.
• Files and related details you upload to document tools, Study Coast or another upload feature.
• Preferences or information you submit when using course, application, institution and study-resource features.

Information collected through use

• Pages, posts, courses, institutions, prospectuses and documents you view or download; searches; tool usage; timestamps; and interactions.
• Device, browser, approximate location derived from an IP address, referring page, cookie identifiers, security logs and diagnostic information.
• Advertising and analytics events where permitted by your settings and applicable law.

Public contributions may display the profile name and other information you choose to publish. Your email address is not displayed publicly merely because you hold an account.

3. File uploads and document processing

When you upload a file, we process the file and its metadata to provide the feature you selected. This can include conversion, splitting, merging, preview generation, optical character recognition, indexing, duplicate or malware checks, moderation and delivery of an output file.

• Document tools: source and output files may be stored temporarily to complete the job and make the result available. The applicable tool may display a specific expiry period; files are normally scheduled for automatic deletion after that period.
• Study Coast and community uploads: files attached to a discussion or comment may remain available with that contribution until removed, moderated, the contribution is deleted, or retention is no longer reasonably necessary.
• Review and safety: authorised systems or personnel may inspect files where reasonably necessary to address abuse, copyright complaints, security risks, misclassification or support requests.

Do not upload identity documents, banking details, passwords, confidential records, health information or another person’s personal information unless the feature expressly requires it and you are legally permitted to do so.

4. Why and how we use information

Depending on the context, processing is based on consent, performance of our agreement with you, compliance with legal obligations, or our legitimate interests where those interests do not unjustifiably interfere with your rights.

• Provide, secure, maintain and troubleshoot the Services.
• Create and authenticate accounts and prevent fraud, spam, scraping and abuse.
• Process files, deliver requested downloads and provide support.
• Moderate contributions and protect users, rights holders and EduCoast.
• Measure performance, understand usage and improve content and features.
• Send service messages and, where permitted, communications you requested.
• Meet legal, regulatory, recordkeeping and enforcement obligations.

5. Personalisation and recommendations

EduCoast may use your recent views, searches, downloads and course or institution interests to rank posts, courses, prospectuses, Study Coast discussions and sidebar recommendations. This is intended to make the Services more useful.

These recommendations are informational. They do not make admission, funding, employment or other decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects. You can reduce stored personalisation signals by signing out, clearing browser data where applicable, or contacting us about your account data.

5A. Browser push notifications

If you choose to enable browser notifications, EduCoast stores an encrypted browser subscription endpoint, device/browser information and your notification preferences. Browser push providers operated by your browser or device platform process the endpoint and deliver the alert. The notification may be based on Study Coast activity, application dates, prospectuses, courses, institutions or interests inferred from the activity described above.

Permission is optional. You can turn individual notification categories off in My Account, disable EduCoast on a particular device, or remove permission through the browser or operating-system settings. Expired and invalid browser subscriptions are removed automatically where possible.

6. Cookies, analytics and advertising

We use essential cookies for sign-in, security, session continuity and preferences. We may also use measurement and advertising technologies, including Google Analytics, Google advertising services and Ezoic, to understand audiences, fund the Services and select or measure advertisements.

These providers may receive cookie identifiers, device information, IP-derived information and interaction data under their own terms. Where a consent control is presented, your selection applies to the technologies covered by that control. Browser controls can also block or delete cookies, although essential features may then stop working.

See Ezoic’s disclosure for EduCoast and Google’s privacy information for details about their processing.

7. When information is shared

We do not sell your account profile as a list. We may disclose information:

• To hosting, storage, authentication, email, analytics, advertising, security and document-processing providers acting for or with us.
• When you intentionally publish a discussion, comment, rating, attachment or other public contribution.
• To advisers, auditors or a successor involved in a legitimate restructuring, subject to appropriate safeguards.
• Where reasonably necessary to comply with law, a lawful request, legal process, protect rights or safety, or investigate abuse.

Cross-border processing

Some service providers may process information outside South Africa. Where POPIA applies, we use appropriate contractual, legal or other safeguards intended to provide an adequate level of protection, consistent with section 72 of POPIA.

8. Retention and security

We retain information only for as long as reasonably needed for the purposes described here, applicable retention notices, dispute resolution, security, backups and legal obligations. Retention varies: account records generally remain while the account is active; activity may be retained for analytics and personalisation; public contributions remain until removed or no longer needed; tool files follow the tool’s displayed expiry where available.

Self-service account deletion

A signed-in user may schedule account deletion from the bottom of My Account. We apply a 14-day safety period and email the account address when deletion is requested, shortly before the deadline, when it is cancelled, and when it is completed. The user may cancel at any time before the deadline.

At completion, EduCoast removes or irreversibly anonymises sign-in credentials, connected Google or Facebook identifiers, tokens, profile details, notification subscriptions, ratings, follows, votes, stored personalisation activity and other private account data. Public Study Coast discussions and comments may remain where necessary to preserve the meaning of a conversation, but they are attributed to “Deleted EduCoast user” and are no longer connected to the person’s name, email, profile image or sign-in credentials. Limited records may be restricted rather than erased where retention is required by law, necessary for security or fraud evidence, needed to resolve a dispute, or required to protect another person’s rights.

Backups may retain protected copies for a limited rotation period before they are overwritten. Deleted information is not restored to the live service merely because it remains temporarily in a backup.

We use reasonable organisational and technical safeguards such as access controls, secure authentication, logging and restricted storage. No internet service or storage system can guarantee absolute security. If a security compromise affects personal information, we will assess and respond to it in accordance with applicable law.

9. Your privacy rights and choices

Subject to POPIA and other applicable law, you may ask us to:

• Confirm whether we hold personal information about you and request access to it.
• Correct or update inaccurate or incomplete information.
• Delete information that we are no longer authorised or required to retain.
• Object to certain processing or withdraw consent where consent is the basis.
• Stop qualifying direct marketing communications.

Signed-in users can download a machine-readable copy of account data or initiate account deletion from My Account. A manual privacy request remains available through our contact page for a person who cannot sign in or needs a more specific correction, restriction or deletion.

An automated export may not contain records that cannot safely be disclosed automatically, information about other people, or records subject to legal restrictions. We may need to verify your identity and may refuse or limit a request where permitted by law, explaining the basis where required.

10. Children’s information

EduCoast serves learners, including people under 18. A child should use account, community and upload features with the involvement of a parent or guardian. Where POPIA requires prior consent from a competent person for processing a child’s personal information, that consent must be provided.

Children should never publish or upload home addresses, identity numbers, school login details, private contact details or sensitive records. A parent or guardian may contact us about a child’s information.

11. Questions, requests and complaints

Contact us first so we can investigate and respond. You also have the right to complain to South Africa’s Information Regulator if you believe personal information has been processed contrary to POPIA.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy when the Services, providers or legal requirements change. We will publish the revised date and provide additional notice where a material change requires it.