Privacy policy

Who we are

UniversitySwitch is a guidance service for international students, operating at universityswitch.com. For any question about this policy or your data, email info@universityswitch.com.

What we collect

We collect two kinds of information, and only two.

What you tell us

The contact-page message builder prepares text in your browser. It does not submit a form to us or store a draft on our server. We receive the message only when you send it through WhatsApp or your email provider. Separate cashback forms send the information you submit to our inbox, and we keep a copy in our own database so an application is not lost if an email goes astray.

The WhatsApp buttons open a chat with us in WhatsApp, with a short first message that names the page you were reading. Nothing reaches us until you press send. What you send is delivered through WhatsApp and is subject to WhatsApp's own privacy policy as well as this one.

What your browser sends

Our host records standard server logs, including IP address, browser type and the pages requested. If you accept analytics and marketing cookies, the Meta Pixel also records your visit. If you decline, it is not loaded at all.

When you tap a WhatsApp, phone or email button, we count the tap: the page, which button, the topic of the prepared message, the country and type of device, and, when you arrived from another website or a campaign link on that same page, that website, the campaign tags in the link and the page you arrived on. This uses no cookie and stores no IP address or anything else that identifies you. To stop anyone flooding these counts, we keep a one-way code made from your IP address (for IPv6, from its network part) that changes every day and is deleted after two days.

We do not run user accounts, we do not ask for passwords, and we do not process payments on this site. We never ask for your passport number, bank details or visa credentials through this website. If anyone claiming to be us asks you for those through a web form, it is not us.

Cookies and tracking

The site sets no advertising or analytics cookies until you accept them. The banner shown on your first visit is a genuine choice and declining is fully functional — the site works the same either way.

• Essential storage. We remember your cookie choice in your browser's local storage so we do not ask again. This is not shared with anyone.
• Visit source. If you accept, your browser's session storage remembers which website or campaign link brought you here, until you close the tab, so a tap later in the visit can be credited to it. If you decline, nothing is stored.
• Meta Pixel. Loaded only if you accept. It tells Meta that a browser visited certain pages, which we use to understand which guides lead to enquiries. Meta may link this to a Facebook or Instagram account.
• Google Analytics. The tag exists in our pages but is not configured with a live measurement ID, so no analytics data is currently collected. If we activate it, it will be gated behind the same consent choice.

You can change your mind at any time using the cookie settings link, which is also in the banner.

Who receives your information

• FormSubmit delivers submissions from separate application forms to our email inbox. The consultation message builder does not use this service.
• Email providers deliver messages you choose to send through your email app.
• WhatsApp and Meta receive your message and phone number if you message us on WhatsApp, and receive pixel data if you accepted cookies.
• Hostinger hosts the site and processes server logs.
• Cloudflare runs the database that holds the cashback application copies and the tap counts.

We do not sell your data. We do not share it with universities or agents without you asking us to. If a consultation reaches the point where we would introduce you to an institution, we ask you first.

We may be compensated by partner institutions through referral commissions if you enrol. That never changes what we tell you about a university, and it is disclosed on our About page.

How long we keep it

Enquiries and cashback applications stay in our email inbox, our database and any connected CRM for as long as we are helping you, and for up to two years afterwards so we can pick up a conversation you return to. Tap counts identify no one and are kept as statistics. Server logs are retained by our host on their own schedule. Ask us to delete your enquiry or application and we will delete every copy.

Your rights

Wherever you live, you can ask us what we hold about you, ask us to correct it, or ask us to delete it. Email info@universityswitch.com and we will respond within 30 days.

If you are in the UK or the European Economic Area, the UK GDPR and GDPR give you those rights formally, plus the right to object to processing, the right to data portability, and the right to complain to your national supervisory authority. Our lawful basis is your consent for cookies, and legitimate interest or your explicit request for handling an enquiry you sent us.

Children

This site is aimed at prospective and current university students. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 16. If you believe a child has sent us information, email us and we will delete it.

Changes

If we change how we handle data we will update this page and the date at the top. Material changes to cookie use will re-prompt your consent choice.