Privacy Policy

1.1 Information You Provide Directly

When you use CollegeAdda, you may voluntarily provide us with personal information including: your full name, email address, mobile number, city and state of residence, academic stream and qualification, preferred colleges and courses, and any messages or queries submitted through our counseling or contact forms.

1.2 Information Collected Automatically

When you visit our website, we automatically collect certain technical information such as your IP address, browser type and version, operating system, referring URLs, pages visited, time spent on pages, and device identifiers. This information is collected through cookies, web beacons, and similar tracking technologies.

1.3 Information from Third Parties

We may receive information about you from third-party sources such as social media platforms (if you interact with our social media pages), advertising partners, and analytics providers. This information is used to improve our services and personalise your experience.

We use the information we collect for the following purposes:

2.1 Service Delivery

To provide college discovery, comparison, and counseling services; to respond to your inquiries and connect you with our expert counselors; to send you relevant college and admission information; and to personalise your experience on our platform.

2.2 Communication

To send you important updates about admission deadlines, exam schedules, and counseling sessions; to send promotional communications about our services (with your consent); and to respond to your support requests and feedback.

2.3 Analytics and Improvement

To analyse usage patterns and improve our website and services; to conduct research and generate aggregate, anonymised statistics; and to detect, prevent, and address technical issues or fraudulent activity.

2.4 Legal Compliance

To comply with applicable Indian laws and regulations, including the Information Technology Act, 2000, the Information Technology (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules, 2011, and any other applicable legislation.

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties. We may share your information in the following limited circumstances:

3.1 With Colleges and Institutions

With your explicit consent, we may share your contact details and academic profile with colleges and institutions you have expressed interest in, to facilitate the admission inquiry process.

3.2 With Service Providers

We engage trusted third-party service providers to assist in operating our website and delivering our services (such as cloud hosting, email delivery, analytics, and payment processing). These providers are contractually obligated to keep your information confidential and use it only for the purposes we specify.

3.3 For Legal Reasons

We may disclose your information if required to do so by law, court order, or government authority, or if we believe in good faith that such disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, your safety, or the safety of others.

3.4 Business Transfers

In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of all or a portion of our assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you via email or prominent notice on our website before your information becomes subject to a different privacy policy.

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to enhance your browsing experience, analyse website traffic, and understand where our visitors are coming from. Cookies are small text files stored on your device.

4.1 Types of Cookies We Use

Essential cookies: Required for the website to function properly and cannot be disabled. Analytics cookies: Help us understand how visitors interact with our website (e.g., Google Analytics). Preference cookies: Remember your settings and preferences for a better experience. Marketing cookies: Used to deliver relevant advertisements and track campaign effectiveness.

4.2 Managing Cookies

You can control and manage cookies through your browser settings. Please note that disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of our website. You may also opt out of Google Analytics by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

We implement reasonable security practices and procedures as mandated under the Information Technology (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules, 2011. These include technical measures such as SSL/TLS encryption for data in transit, access controls, and regular security assessments.

However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of any login credentials associated with your account.

We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. When determining the appropriate retention period, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure, and the purposes for which we process the data.

Counseling inquiry data is typically retained for up to 3 years. Website analytics data is retained in aggregated form. You may request deletion of your personal data at any time by contacting us (see Section 9).

Under applicable Indian law and as a matter of good practice, you have the following rights with respect to your personal information:

7.1 Right to Access

You have the right to request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.

7.2 Right to Correction

You have the right to request that we correct any inaccurate or incomplete personal information we hold about you.

7.3 Right to Deletion

You have the right to request that we delete your personal information, subject to certain legal obligations that may require us to retain it.

7.4 Right to Withdraw Consent

Where we process your information based on your consent, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawal of consent will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before the withdrawal.

7.5 Right to Opt Out of Marketing

You may opt out of receiving promotional communications from us at any time by clicking the "unsubscribe" link in any marketing email or by contacting us directly.

Our website may contain links to third-party websites, including college and university official websites, government portals (such as NIC, NTA, MCC), and social media platforms. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of these third-party sites. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party sites you visit.

Our services are intended for students who are at least 16 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 16 without verifiable parental consent. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us immediately and we will take steps to delete such information.

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or the handling of your personal information, please contact our Grievance Officer:

Grievance Officer — CollegeAdda

Email: collegeaddainfo@gmail.com Phone: 9475077501 Address: D1, 4th Floor, Jawahar Lal Nehru Road, Amarabati Colony, Durgapur, West Bengal, India We will endeavour to respond to your request within 30 days of receipt, as required under applicable Indian law.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or other factors. When we make material changes, we will notify you by updating the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page and, where appropriate, by sending you an email notification. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.