1. Who we are
GetFundedScholar (getfundedscholar.com) is operated by Legal entity name to be supplied, registered address to be supplied, the data controller for the information described here. We are registered with Ghana's Data Protection Commission under registration number DPC number to be supplied. For any privacy question or request, email hello@getfundedscholar.com.
2. What we collect
- Account details: name, email and a one-way hash of your password (never the password itself). With "Sign in with Google" we receive your name, email, Google account ID and profile picture.
- Your matching profile: country, degree level, field of study, GPA, preferred destinations, funding preference and application experience.
- What you create: saved scholarships, your application tracker, CVs, cover letters, AI-drafted statements, checklists and any CV photo you upload.
- Messages with us: live chat conversations (including any files you send), and emails you send us.
- Contact preferences and consent record: your WhatsApp number if you add one, your reminder settings, and a dated log of what you agreed to or declined (see section 5).
- Payments: plan, amount, currency, the provider's reference and date. Card and mobile money details go straight to Paystack or Stripe; we never see or store them.
- Email engagement: whether a marketing email we sent was delivered, opened or a link in it clicked (see section 6).
- Security and usage data: IP address, browser type and the time of sign-in, sign-up and similar actions, used to keep accounts safe and stop abuse.
3. Why we use it, and our legal basis
- To provide the service you signed up for (matching, documents, tracker, reminders, support): performance of our contract with you.
- To take payments and keep accounting records: contract and legal obligation.
- Marketing emails and WhatsApp messages: only with your consent, which you can withdraw at any time.
- Security, fraud and abuse prevention, and improving the service: our legitimate interests, balanced against yours.
- Analytics cookies: only with your consent through the cookie banner.
We do not sell your personal data and we do not show third-party advertising.
4. AI features
Matching, document drafts and parts of our live chat are produced by an AI model (Claude, by Anthropic). To do this we send the relevant profile details and what you type to Anthropic, which processes them on our behalf and under its commercial terms does not use them to train its models. AI output can be wrong: always check scholarship details on the provider's official website. Match scores are guidance only; they are not decisions about you, and no scholarship provider sees them.
5. Marketing and your consent
- We only send marketing (scholarship picks, tips, offers) if you ticked the optional box or subscribed, and then confirmed by clicking the link we emailed you. This double opt-in stops anyone signing up an address that isn't theirs.
- We keep a record of each choice: what you agreed to, the exact wording you saw, when, where and from which IP address. This is how we prove consent, and it is kept even after you withdraw.
- Every marketing email has a one-click unsubscribe link. You can also change your choices on the email preferences page at any time.
- Service messages you rely on (password resets, receipts, deadline reminders for scholarships you saved) are not marketing; you control reminders in your profile.
6. Customer relationship records
We keep a customer record for people who use the service, subscribe or contact us, combining the information above. We use it to understand where people are in their journey (for example, signed up but haven't finished their profile) and to decide which helpful emails to send to those who agreed to receive them. This includes a simple engagement score calculated from your activity. It never results in decisions with legal or similarly significant effects on you. Emails we send may contain a small tracking image and tracked links so we can see whether they were opened or clicked; you can block this by turning off images in your email app.
7. Who else processes your data
- Anthropic (AI): profile details and text you submit to AI features and chat.
- Paystack and Stripe: payments.
- Resend: delivering our emails, including delivery and engagement events.
- Twilio: WhatsApp messages, only if you turn them on.
- Google: "Sign in with Google", website fonts, and analytics only if you accept analytics cookies.
- Our hosting provider: stores the database and files.
- Organisations you join: if you join a school's or agency's portal, it can see your name, email, plan and application-tracker activity. You are always asked to confirm before joining.
8. International transfers
Some of these providers process data outside your country, including in the United States and the European Union. We only use providers that protect personal data under contract, and we send them only what they need to do their job.
9. Cookies
We use essential cookies to keep you signed in and secure. Analytics or marketing cookies are only set if you choose "Accept" in our cookie banner, and rejecting is just as easy. Details are in our Cookie Policy; change your choice any time from "Cookie settings" at the bottom of every page.
10. How long we keep it
- Account data and your documents: while your account is open. When you delete your account they are erased immediately.
- Chat conversations: up to 24 months after the last message, unless you delete your account sooner.
- Security logs: up to 90 days.
- Payment records: as long as tax and accounting law requires (typically 6 years), without your name after account deletion.
- Consent records, and your email on our do-not-contact list after you unsubscribe or delete your account: kept so we can prove we respected your choice and never contact you again.
11. Your rights
You can access, correct, download or delete your data, object to processing based on legitimate interests, and withdraw consent at any time. Most of this is self-service in your profile ("Download my data", "Delete my account") and on the email preferences page. For anything else, email hello@getfundedscholar.com; we reply within 30 days. These rights come from Ghana's Data Protection Act, 2012 (Act 843), Nigeria's Data Protection Act 2023, Kenya's Data Protection Act 2019, and the GDPR where it applies. You may also complain to your national data protection authority (in Ghana, the Data Protection Commission).
12. Children
The service is for people aged 16 and over. If you are 16 or 17, you need your parent's or guardian's permission to use it. We do not knowingly collect data from anyone under 16; if you believe we have, contact us and we will delete it.
13. Security
Passwords are hashed, connections are encrypted (HTTPS), uploads are checked and re-encoded, access to admin tools is restricted and rate-limited. No system is perfectly secure; if a breach affects your data we will tell you and the regulator as the law requires.
14. Changes
If we change this policy we will update the date at the top, and for significant changes we will email account holders.