Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Welcome to Sowygau Online English Language School ("we," "our," or "us"). At Sowygau, we are committed to protecting your privacy and personal information. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our website sowygau.com, use our services, or interact with our platform.

By accessing or using our services, you consent to the practices described in this Privacy Policy. Please read this Privacy Policy carefully to understand our practices regarding your personal data.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Personal Information

We may collect the following types of personal information:

• Contact Information: Name, email address, phone number, and mailing address.
• Account Information: Username, password, account preferences, and profile details.
• Educational Information: English proficiency level, learning history, assessment results, and course progress.
• Payment Information: Credit card details, billing address, and transaction history (note that payment processing is handled by secure third-party payment processors).
• Communication Data: Messages, feedback, reviews, and correspondence exchanged with our team or instructors.

2.2 Automatically Collected Information

When you use our website or services, we automatically collect certain information, including:

• Device Information: IP address, browser type, operating system, device type, and unique device identifiers.
• Usage Data: Pages visited, time spent on pages, links clicked, learning activities completed, and interaction with our platform.
• Cookies and Similar Technologies: Information collected through cookies, web beacons, and similar tracking technologies.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for various purposes, including:

• Providing, maintaining, and improving our educational services and platform
• Creating and managing your account
• Processing payments and sending transaction notifications
• Personalizing your learning experience and recommending appropriate courses
• Communicating with you about your account, courses, updates, and promotional offers
• Monitoring and analyzing usage patterns and trends to enhance our website functionality
• Ensuring compliance with our terms of service and applicable laws
• Detecting, preventing, and addressing technical issues, fraud, or other illegal activities
• Responding to your inquiries, comments, and feedback

4. Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR Compliance)

For users in the European Economic Area (EEA), we process your personal data based on the following legal grounds:

• Contract Performance: Processing necessary to fulfill our contractual obligations to you, including providing our educational services.
• Legitimate Interests: Processing necessary for our legitimate interests, such as improving our services, marketing, and preventing fraud.
• Consent: Processing based on your specific consent, which you may withdraw at any time.
• Legal Compliance: Processing necessary to comply with applicable laws and regulations.

5. Data Sharing and Disclosure

We may share your information with the following categories of recipients:

• Service Providers: Third-party vendors who help us operate our business, such as cloud storage providers, payment processors, and analytics services.
• Educational Partners: Teachers, tutors, and educational content providers who deliver services through our platform.
• Legal Requirements: When required by law, court order, or governmental authority.
• Business Transfers: In connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, where your data would be transferred as a business asset.

We do not sell your personal information to third parties for marketing purposes.

6. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures include:

• Encryption of sensitive data in transit and at rest
• Regular security assessments and vulnerability testing
• Access controls and authentication procedures
• Employee training on data protection and security practices
• Monitoring systems for potential security breaches

While we strive to protect your personal information, no method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security of your data.

7. Your Rights and Choices

Depending on your location, you may have certain rights regarding your personal information:

• Access: Request information about the personal data we hold about you.
• Rectification: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information.
• Erasure: Request deletion of your personal data under certain circumstances.
• Restriction: Request limitation of processing of your personal data.
• Data Portability: Request transfer of your personal data to you or a third party.
• Objection: Object to processing of your personal data for certain purposes.
• Withdraw Consent: Withdraw previously given consent for data processing.

To exercise these rights, please contact us through the provided contact information. We will respond to your request within the timeframe required by applicable law.

8. Data Retention

We retain your personal information 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. The criteria used to determine our retention periods include:

• The duration of your relationship with Sowygau
• Legal obligations to retain data for certain periods
• Relevant statutes of limitations
• Ongoing or potential disputes or legal claims
• Guidelines issued by relevant data protection authorities

9. Children's Privacy

Our services are not directed to children under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16. If you are a parent or guardian and believe that your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us. If we become aware that we have collected personal information from children without verification of parental consent, we will take steps to remove that information from our servers.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or for other operational, legal, or regulatory reasons. The updated version will be indicated by an updated "Last revised" date at the bottom of this page. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes. Changes are effective when posted on this page.