Privacy Policy
Your privacy matters to us. Learn how we collect, use, and protect your personal information.
Introduction
At StudyGate.io, we are committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring the security of your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our website or use our services. StudyGate.io operates under our parent company, Nova Sphere d.o.o Kragujevac, registered in Serbia. By using StudyGate.io, you consent to the data practices described in this policy.
What We Collect, and Where
- Contact form: your name, email, WhatsApp number, country, the university and programme you are interested in, and your message.
- University application form: the same details, plus which university and programme you are applying to and your agreement to our terms.
- Scholarship application: your name, date of birth, nationality, passport number, email, WhatsApp number, current or last institution, GPA, English proficiency, preferred field of study, destination country, intended intake, and your signed consent.
- Student reviews: the name, home country and destination you choose to display, your star rating, and your review text.
- Newsletter: your email address only.
- Chatbot: the messages you send to our assistant. Email addresses and anything resembling a password are automatically removed before the message is processed.
- Technical data: IP address and browser information used for rate limiting and security, plus general usage statistics.
Why We Collect It
- To prepare and submit your application to the university you choose, which is the core service you are asking us for.
- To reply to your enquiry by email or WhatsApp and give you accurate guidance on fees, visas and accommodation.
- To process scholarship applications. Passport number, date of birth and nationality are required by universities and immigration authorities to verify identity and eligibility, and are collected for no other purpose.
- To publish reviews from real students so other applicants can make an informed decision.
- To send you the newsletter and blog updates, if you asked for them.
- To prevent abuse: we limit how often the same visitor can submit forms or reviews, so our systems stay available to genuine students.
- To understand which pages are useful and improve the site.
What Happens to Your Data
- Contact and application submissions are stored in our secure database and are visible only to authorised StudyGate staff.
- Scholarship applications are sent to our team inbox as a signed PDF. Because they contain passport details, they are handled by email rather than stored in the public website database.
- Reviews are checked automatically before publication. If a review contains abuse, spam, contact details or nonsense, it is deleted from our database rather than published. Approved reviews are shown publicly with the name and country you provided.
- For review rate limiting we store a one-way hashed fingerprint of your connection, never your actual IP address, and it cannot be reversed back to you.
- Email delivery is logged so we can confirm whether a message reached you.
- We keep application data for as long as we are supporting your study journey, and remove it on request.
Who We Share It With
- Partner universities in Serbia, Germany and Malaysia, but only the details needed for the application you asked us to submit.
- Trusted service providers who host our website and database, deliver our emails, and provide the technology behind our AI assistant and review checks. They process data on our instructions only.
- Analytics services that give us anonymous visitor statistics.
- We never sell your personal information, and we do not share it for advertising.
How We Protect It
- All traffic is encrypted in transit with SSL/TLS.
- Every form input is sanitised on our servers before it is stored, so submitted content cannot be used to attack our database or the people who read your message.
- Database access is restricted by row-level security, so public visitors can never read other people's submissions.
- Admin accounts are protected with hashed passwords; we never store a password in readable form.
- Rate limits on every public form reduce automated abuse.
About Our AI Assistant
- Our chat assistant answers from a knowledge base built only from this website: our university pages, fees, programmes, FAQs and scholarship terms. It is not a general-purpose chatbot and will not answer questions outside studying in Serbia, Germany or Malaysia.
- Even so, AI can get things wrong. It may misread a figure, give an out-of-date fee, or state something with more confidence than it should.
- Please treat its answers as a helpful starting point, not as official confirmation. Always fact-check anything that affects a decision, especially tuition fees, deadlines, visa requirements and scholarship conditions.
- Universities and immigration authorities change their rules and fees regularly. For anything you are relying on, confirm it with our team or directly with the university before you act.
- Your chat messages are processed to generate a reply. Email addresses and anything resembling a password are removed automatically before processing, and we do not use your chats to identify you.
Reviews You Submit
- A review is published publicly with the name, home country and study destination you enter, so please share only what you are comfortable showing.
- Reviews are checked automatically before they appear. Anything containing abuse, spam, personal contact details or nonsense is deleted rather than published.
- You can have your review edited or removed at any time, for any reason, and you do not need to give us a justification.
- Message us on WhatsApp at +381 63 732 9095 or email info@studygate.io with the name you used, and we will remove it.
- Removal requests are actioned quickly, and the review will disappear from the site once our cache refreshes.
Your Rights
- Ask for a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
- Ask us to correct anything that is wrong.
- Ask us to delete your data, including any review you submitted - just message us on WhatsApp at +381 63 732 9095 or email info@studygate.io.
- Unsubscribe from emails at any time using the link in any newsletter, or the unsubscribe page.
- Withdraw your consent, or object to how we process your data.
- Email info@studygate.io and we will action any of the above.
Cookies & Browser Storage
- We do not use advertising or cross-site tracking cookies.
- Your browser stores a small amount of data to keep the site usable: the number of blog posts, the reviews shown on our homepage, and a note of when you dismissed the scholarship popup so it does not reappear straight away.
- Our analytics providers set cookies to measure page visits.
- You can clear or block all of this in your browser settings; the site will still work.
Data Retention
We retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law. When we no longer need your information, we will securely delete or anonymize it.
Children's Privacy
Our services are not directed to individuals under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us immediately.
International Data Transfer
As we operate internationally, your information may be transferred to and processed in countries outside your country of residence. We ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
Policy Updates
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or for legal reasons. We will notify you of any material changes by posting the new policy on this page with an updated effective date.
Questions? If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us.
Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your data, please reach out: