Privacy Policy

1. Controller

The controller responsible for processing personal data on this website (Art. 4(7) GDPR) is:

Academia Germany
Bochum, Germany
Email: info@academiagermany.com
Phone: +49 1521 6696484

2. Data we collect

• Contact form & email: name, email, phone (optional), service of interest and message content.
• Consultation bookings: details you submit through our scheduling tool.
• Server logs: IP address, browser type, referrer URL, date/time — stored short-term for security and abuse prevention.
• Cookies: only strictly necessary cookies. No tracking or advertising cookies are set without your consent.

3. Purpose & legal basis

• Responding to your enquiry — Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR (pre-contractual measures).
• Providing our consulting services — Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR (contract performance).
• Operating and securing the website — Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR (legitimate interest).
• Any non-essential cookies or marketing — Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR (your consent).

4. Storage period

Personal data is kept only as long as necessary for the purposes above or to comply with legal retention obligations (e.g. tax law: 6–10 years). Enquiries with no follow-up are deleted within 6 months.

5. Recipients & transfers

We use carefully selected service providers (web hosting, email, scheduling and analytics) under data processing agreements pursuant to Art. 28 GDPR. Where data is transferred outside the EU/EEA, we rely on EU Standard Contractual Clauses or an adequacy decision.

6. Your rights

Under the GDPR you have the right to:

• Access your data (Art. 15)
• Rectification (Art. 16) and erasure (Art. 17)
• Restriction of processing (Art. 18)
• Data portability (Art. 20)
• Object to processing (Art. 21)
• Withdraw consent at any time (Art. 7(3))
• Lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority — for us: Landesbeauftragte für Datenschutz und Informationsfreiheit Nordrhein-Westfalen (LDI NRW).

To exercise any of these rights, email info@academiagermany.com.

7. Cookies

This website uses only strictly necessary cookies required for basic operation. We do not use advertising or cross-site tracking cookies. If we add analytics in the future, we will request your consent first via a cookie banner, in line with §25 TTDSG.

8. Security

Our site is served over HTTPS. We apply appropriate technical and organisational measures (Art. 32 GDPR) to protect personal data against loss, misuse and unauthorised access.

9. International users

Academia Germany is based in Germany and the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) applies to all personal data we process, regardless of your country of residence.

If you access our services from outside the European Union or European Economic Area (e.g. India, USA, UK, Canada, Australia, Nigeria, UAE, or any other country), please note that your data will be transferred to, stored in, and processed in Germany. By using our website and submitting your personal data, you acknowledge and consent to this transfer.

The GDPR provides strong data protection rights and is recognised globally as a high standard. In most cases, compliance with the GDPR also satisfies the core requirements of other national data protection laws (such as the UK GDPR, Canada’s PIPEDA, Australia’s Privacy Act, Singapore’s PDPA, and similar statutes). If you believe your local law gives you additional rights not covered above, please contact us and we will address your request in good faith.

10. Notice for users in India (DPDP Act 2023)

As we work with many students based in India, we also respect the principles of the Indian Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act). If you are located in India:

• Purpose & consent: we process your personal data only for the specific purpose you share it with us (e.g. study consultation, application support) and on the basis of your free, specific and informed consent under §6 DPDP Act.
• Your rights as a Data Principal: you have the right to access a summary of your data (§11), to request correction or erasure (§12), to nominate another person to exercise your rights in case of incapacity (§14), and to withdraw consent at any time (§6(4)).
• Grievance redressal: you may raise any data-related grievance with us at info@academiagermany.com. We will respond within a reasonable period as required by §13 DPDP Act.
• Cross-border transfer: because our services are delivered from Germany, your data is transferred to and stored in the EU/EEA. The EU is recognised as having strong data protection standards under the GDPR.
• Children: for users under 18 (a “Child” under the DPDP Act), processing is only carried out with verifiable consent of a parent or lawful guardian (§9 DPDP Act).
• Indian Data Protection Board: if your concern is not resolved, you may approach the Data Protection Board of India established under §18 DPDP Act.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy to reflect changes in our services or legal requirements. The current version is always available on this page.