Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

Uttaranchal College ("we", "our", "us") is a professional education consultancy based in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India. We operate the website uttaranchalcollege.com and provide free admission counselling and guidance services to students seeking admission in colleges across Uttarakhand and North India.

We are not a college, university, or educational institution. We act as an intermediary between students and colleges, providing honest, unbiased guidance to help students make informed decisions about their higher education.

2. Information We Collect

We collect information you voluntarily provide to us when you use our website. This includes:

Personal Identification Information:

• Full name (first and last name)
• Mobile phone number
• Email address
• State of residence

Academic Information:

• Educational qualification (Class 12, Graduation, Diploma etc.)
• Percentage or CGPA in last examination
• Entrance exam scores or ranks (JEE, NEET, CAT etc.) if provided
• Programme of interest (Engineering, Pharmacy, Management etc.)

Communication Preferences:

• Preferred time to be contacted
• Preferred contact method (phone, WhatsApp, email)
• Any specific questions or messages you submit

Technical Information (collected automatically):

• IP address and browser type
• Pages visited and time spent on the website
• Referring website (how you arrived at our site)
• Device type (mobile, desktop, tablet)
• Geographic location (country and city level only)

We collect technical information through Google Analytics and standard web server logs. This information does not personally identify you and is used only for improving website performance and understanding visitor behaviour.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information you provide exclusively to deliver our education consultancy services. Specifically, we use your information to:

• Contact you via phone, WhatsApp, or email to discuss your admission requirements
• Provide personalised college recommendations based on your academic profile and preferences
• Send you information about relevant programmes, admission deadlines, and scholarship opportunities
• Follow up on your admission application progress
• Respond to enquiries and questions you submit through our contact forms
• Improve our website content and services based on aggregated usage data
• Comply with applicable Indian laws and regulations

4. How We Share Your Information

We take your privacy seriously. We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to any third party for commercial purposes.

Your information may be shared in the following limited circumstances:

• With partner colleges (with your consent): If you express interest in a specific college and request us to assist with your application, we may share your name, contact details, and academic profile with that college's admissions team on your behalf. We will always inform you before doing so.
• Service providers: We use trusted third-party services including Google Analytics (website analytics), WP Mail SMTP (email delivery), and Contact Form 7 (form processing). These providers access your data only to perform services on our behalf and are bound by confidentiality obligations.
• Legal compliance: We may disclose your information when required by law, court order, or governmental authority in India.

All third-party service providers we use are required to handle your data in accordance with applicable data protection laws.

5. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Our website uses cookies — small text files stored on your device — to improve your browsing experience and analyse website traffic. We use the following types of cookies:

• Essential cookies: Required for the website to function correctly. These cannot be disabled.
• Analytics cookies (Google Analytics): Help us understand how visitors use our website. Data collected is anonymous and aggregated.
• Functional cookies: Remember your preferences such as language settings.

You can control and delete cookies through your browser settings at any time. Disabling cookies may affect some features of our website. For more information about Google Analytics and how to opt out, visit tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

6. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to provide our counselling services and fulfil the purposes outlined in this policy. Specifically:

• Active enquiry data is retained for up to 2 years from the date of your last interaction with us
• If you request deletion of your data, we will remove it within 30 days of your request
• Anonymised and aggregated analytics data may be retained indefinitely as it cannot identify individual users
• Data required for legal or regulatory compliance may be retained for longer periods as required by Indian law

7. Your Rights

As a user of our website and a resident of India, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Right to Access: You may request a copy of the personal information we hold about you
• Right to Correction: You may ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information
• Right to Deletion: You may request that we delete your personal data from our records
• Right to Withdraw Consent: You may withdraw consent for us to contact you at any time by calling or emailing us
• Right to Opt Out: You may ask us to stop contacting you for counselling purposes at any time

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details provided in Section 12 of this policy. We will respond to your request within 30 days.

8. Security of Your Information

We implement reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorised access, loss, or misuse. These measures include:

• SSL/TLS encryption on all pages of our website (HTTPS)
• Restricted access to personal data — only authorised counsellors and staff can access enquiry data
• Regular security reviews of our WordPress website and plugins
• Secure email communication for sending follow-up responses

While we take all reasonable precautions, no method of electronic transmission or storage is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security of your data transmitted over the internet.

9. Third-Party Links

Our website may contain links to third-party websites such as college websites, government portals (UGC, AICTE, PCI), and social media platforms. These websites have their own privacy policies, and we have no control over how they handle your data.

We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party websites you visit through links on our website. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of those external sites.

10. Children's Privacy

Our services are intended for students who are typically 17 years of age or older seeking higher education admissions. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 13.

If a parent or guardian believes their child under 13 has submitted personal information through our website, please contact us immediately at the details in Section 12 and we will delete that information promptly.

Students between 13 and 17 years of age should use our website only with the knowledge and consent of a parent or guardian.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements, or the services we offer. When we make significant changes, we will:

• Update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page
• Post a notice on our website homepage if the changes are material

We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically. Your continued use of our website after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.

12. Contact Us

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