Privacy Policy

1Who We Are

ZapScholar Institute ("ZapScholar", "we", "us", "our") is a digital marketing education institute based in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. We operate the website zapscholar.com and deliver the Practicalised Marketing Program and related services.

We are the data controller for all personal information collected through our website, contact forms, WhatsApp, phone, and enrolment processes.

Contact for privacy matters:
Email: support@zapscholar.com
Phone: +91 6305630367
Address: Hyderabad, Telangana, India

2Information We Collect

We collect personal information in the following ways:

Information you provide directly:

• Contact forms: Full name, phone number, email address, city, background (e.g. graduate, professional), goal, and any message you submit.
• Enrolment: Name, phone, email, city, educational background, payment details (processed by our payment provider — we do not store card numbers).
• WhatsApp / phone / email: Any personal information shared in conversations with our team.
• Counselling calls: Notes taken during counselling sessions to personalise our follow-up.

Information collected automatically:

• Website analytics: Pages visited, time on page, device type, browser, and approximate location (country/city level) via cookies and analytics tools.
• IP address: Collected automatically for security and fraud prevention purposes.

We do not collect sensitive personal data such as Aadhaar numbers, PAN numbers, bank account details, or health information.

3How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for the following purposes:

• Responding to enquiries: To reply to contact form submissions, WhatsApp messages, emails, and phone calls.
• Counselling and admissions: To conduct free counselling calls, assess fit for the programme, and process enrolment applications.
• Programme delivery: To deliver the Practicalised Marketing Program, send session links, share course materials, and coordinate with mentors.
• Communication: To send important updates about the programme, batch schedule, and administrative matters. We may also send marketing emails about future cohorts or new programmes — you can opt out at any time.
• Improving our services: To understand how users interact with our website and improve the experience.
• Legal and compliance: To comply with applicable Indian laws and regulations.

We do not use your data for automated decision-making or profiling that has significant effects on you.

4Legal Basis for Processing

We process your personal data on the following legal grounds:

• Your consent: When you submit a contact form, you consent to being contacted by ZapScholar. You can withdraw this consent at any time by emailing support@zapscholar.com.
• Contract performance: When you enrol in our programme, processing your data is necessary to deliver the contracted services.
• Legitimate interests: We may process data for our legitimate business interests, including improving our website, preventing fraud, and sending follow-up communications to prospective students who have expressed interest — provided these interests are not overridden by your rights.
• Legal obligation: In certain cases, we are required to process data to comply with Indian law.

5Data Sharing and Third Parties

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties.

We may share your data with the following categories of trusted third-party service providers, strictly to operate our services:

• Email delivery providers: To send emails on our behalf (e.g. contact form responses, batch updates).
• Payment processors: To handle programme fee payments securely. We do not store card or payment details ourselves.
• Video conferencing tools: To deliver live sessions (e.g. Zoom). By attending sessions, you agree to those platforms' own privacy policies.
• Collaboration tools: Discord and similar platforms used for cohort communication.
• Analytics providers: To understand website traffic (e.g. Google Analytics).
• CRM / marketing tools: To manage enquiries and student communications.

All third-party providers are contractually required to handle your data securely and only for the purposes we specify.

We may also disclose your information if required to do so by Indian law, court order, or government authority.

6Data Retention

We retain your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes described in this policy, unless a longer retention period is required by law.

• Enquiry / contact data: Retained for up to 2 years from your last interaction with us, unless you request deletion earlier.
• Enrolled students: Programme and payment records retained for 7 years for accounting and legal compliance purposes.
• Website analytics data: Anonymised aggregate data may be retained indefinitely; identifiable data is typically retained for 26 months.

Once the retention period expires, your data is securely deleted or anonymised.

7Cookies

Our website uses cookies — small text files stored on your device — to improve your experience and understand how the site is used.

Types of cookies we use:

• Essential cookies: Required for the website to function (e.g. form submissions, security). Cannot be disabled.
• Analytics cookies: Help us understand how visitors use the site (e.g. Google Analytics). These are anonymised where possible.
• Marketing cookies: May be used to track the effectiveness of our advertising (e.g. Meta Pixel, Google Ads). You can opt out of these.

You can manage or disable cookies through your browser settings. Disabling analytics and marketing cookies will not affect your ability to use the website. Disabling essential cookies may impact functionality.

8Your Rights

You have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Right to access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Right to rectification: Ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Right to erasure: Ask us to delete your personal data ("right to be forgotten"), subject to legal retention requirements.
• Right to withdraw consent: Withdraw consent to marketing communications at any time by emailing us or clicking "unsubscribe" in any email we send.
• Right to object: Object to processing based on legitimate interests.
• Right to data portability: Request your data in a structured, machine-readable format.

To exercise any of these rights, email us at support@zapscholar.com with the subject "Privacy Request". We will respond within 30 days.

9Data Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data from unauthorised access, loss, or misuse. These include:

• HTTPS encryption on all pages of our website
• Access controls — only authorised team members can access personal data
• Secure, reputable third-party tools for storing and processing data
• Regular review of our data handling practices

No method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure. While we use commercially reasonable safeguards, we cannot guarantee absolute security. If you have concerns, please contact us immediately at support@zapscholar.com.

10Third-Party Links

Our website may contain links to third-party websites — including social media platforms, payment providers, or external resources. This Privacy Policy applies only to zapscholar.com.

We are not responsible for the privacy practices of third-party websites. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any site you visit through a link from our website.

11Children's Privacy

ZapScholar's services are intended for individuals who are 18 years of age or older. We do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under the age of 18.

If you believe a minor has submitted personal data to us, please contact us at support@zapscholar.com and we will delete it promptly.

12Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, our services, or applicable law. When we make material changes, we will:

• Update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page
• Post a notice on our website
• Where required, notify enrolled students by email

Your continued use of our website or services after any changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy. We encourage you to review this page periodically.

13Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or how we handle your personal data, please contact us: