Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

eStudent 360 ("we", "us", "our") is a free, cross-disciplinary student mentorship platform operated by FacioTech Foundation. We are committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal information responsibly. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, and the choices and rights available to you.

eStudent 360 currently operates in Ghana and Canada. We aim to comply with the Ghana Data Protection Act, 2012 (Act 843), the Canadian Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), Quebec's Law 25, and Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL).

2. Who We Are

The data controller responsible for your personal information is FacioTech Foundation, operating eStudent 360 from Accra, Ghana and Toronto, Canada. For privacy questions, or to reach our Data Protection Officer (DPO), see the Contact & Data Protection Officer section below.

3. Information We Collect

3.1 Information You Provide

Account information: Name, email address, phone number (optional), country, date of birth, academic stage.
Profile information: Education history, career interests, expertise areas, availability, profile photo.
Communications: Messages sent through the platform, session notes, feedback.
Guardian information: For users under 18, guardian name, email, phone, relationship to the student, and consent records.

3.2 Information Collected Automatically

Device information: Browser type, operating system, device type.
Usage data: Pages visited, features used, session duration.
Cookies & analytics: Essential session cookies plus optional analytics (see our Cookie Policy).

4. How We Use Your Information

We use your information to:

Match mentorships: Pair students with appropriate mentors based on interests, goals, language, and availability.
Operate the platform: Account management, session scheduling, messaging, and career pathways.
Keep users safe: Monitor for safety concerns, verify mentor credentials, and protect minors.
Communicate with you: Service notifications, session reminders, and platform updates (with your consent for non-essential communications).
Improve our service: Aggregated and de-identified analytics to improve features and user experience.

We never sell, rent, or trade your personal information. eStudent 360 is a free platform with no advertising-based or commercial data monetization.

5. Our Lawful Basis

Depending on your country and the activity, we rely on your consent (and, for minors, verified guardian consent), the performance of our service to you, our legitimate interest in keeping the platform safe, and compliance with legal obligations such as safeguarding reports.

6. Age Requirements & Minors

You must be at least 12 years old to create an eStudent 360 account. We do not knowingly create accounts for children under 12. If we learn that we have collected information from a child under 12 without appropriate consent, we will take steps to delete it.

Because eStudent 360 is designed for students, we treat the protection of minors as a priority and apply additional safeguards described throughout this policy and in our Safety & Trust information.

For students under 18, we require verified consent from a parent or guardian before full mentoring participation is enabled. During sign-up we collect the guardian's details and a record of their consent.

Granting consent: A guardian confirms their relationship to the student and approves the student's participation.
Viewing & managing consent: Guardians can review their consent and the student's activity through their account.
Withdrawing consent: A guardian may withdraw consent at any time, which pauses or ends the student's mentoring participation.
Renewal: Guardian consent is reviewed and renewed periodically (currently on an annual basis).

8. Data Storage & Sovereignty

We aim to store personal data in the country where you register, so that Ghana user data is held in Ghana and Canada user data is held in Canada wherever practicable. All data is encrypted in transit (TLS) and at rest using industry-standard encryption.

9. Cross-Border Transfers (Ghana to Canada)

eStudent 360 connects students and mentors across Ghana and Canada. When a mentorship or a support request involves people or staff in both countries, limited personal information necessary for that relationship (for example, profile details shared between a matched mentor and student) may be processed across borders.

Where personal information is transferred between Ghana and Canada, we limit it to what is necessary, apply safeguards, and de-identify or aggregate data where possible. We do not transfer your personal information to countries other than Ghana and Canada for our own purposes.

We share your information only with:

Your mentor or mentee: Profile information necessary for the mentorship relationship.
Service providers (sub-processors): Trusted vendors who help us run the platform (such as hosting and analytics providers), bound to protect your data and use it only on our instructions.
Partner institutions: Only with your explicit consent, and limited to non-sensitive information.
Legal authorities: When required by law, or to protect the safety of users — especially minors.

11. Analytics & Cookies

We use cookies and similar technologies to operate the platform and, with your consent, to understand how it is used. Essential cookies (such as your login session and preferences) are always active. Optional analytics are only enabled if you opt in.

We are introducing the following analytics services to measure and improve the platform:

Google Analytics 4 (GA4): Aggregated usage measurement provided by Google. GA4 may set cookies and process usage data; it is enabled only with your analytics consent.
PostHog: Product analytics that helps us understand feature usage and improve the experience, enabled only with your analytics consent.

These services receive usage information rather than the content of your private messages, and we configure them to minimize the personal data involved. For the full list of cookies and how to manage them, see our Cookie Policy.

12. Your Privacy Rights

Subject to applicable law, you can ask us to:

Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Correct: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information.
Delete: Request deletion of your personal data (subject to legal retention requirements).
Export: Request your data in a portable format.
Withdraw consent: Withdraw any optional consent at any time.
Complain: Lodge a complaint with the Ghana Data Protection Commission or the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.

You can update much of your information directly in your account settings. For access, export, or deletion requests, please contact us at privacy@estudent360.com or through your account settings. These requests are handled as support tickets by our team — we are not able to offer instant, automated erasure, but we aim to acknowledge requests promptly and complete them within the timeframe required by applicable law (generally within 30 days).

For accounts belonging to minors, a parent or guardian may make these requests on the student's behalf.

13. Data Retention

Active accounts: Data is retained while your account is active.
Inactive accounts: Accounts inactive for an extended period (currently 2 years) may be deactivated and their data deleted, with prior notice.
Deletion requests: When you ask us to delete your account, our team removes your personal data within the timeframe required by law; some de-identified or aggregated analytics that cannot be linked back to you may be retained.
Legal obligations: Some records (for example, safeguarding or legal-compliance records) may be retained longer where the law requires.

14. Security

We use technical and organizational safeguards including encryption in transit and at rest, role-based access controls, and incident-response procedures. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so while we work hard to protect your information we cannot guarantee absolute security. If we become aware of a breach affecting your personal data, we will notify you and the relevant authorities as required by law.

15. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will revise the "Last updated" date and, for material changes, notify you by email or an in-app notice. Continued use of the platform after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

16. Contact & Data Protection Officer

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, our data practices, or wish to exercise your rights, contact us at:

Privacy / Data Protection Officer: privacy@estudent360.com
Organization: FacioTech Foundation
Locations: Accra, Ghana & Toronto, Canada