2. How We Collect Your Data

We collect your personal data when you:

• submit an enquiry form on this website
• complete a lead form on Facebook or Instagram
• contact us directly by email or phone
• communicate with our agents during the consultation or application process

Occasionally we receive your details from a third party – for example, when a friend, family member or referral partner passes on your contact information with your knowledge, or when a university partner shares information with us in connection with your application. Where we receive your personal data from a third party rather than from you directly, we will tell you where we obtained it when we first contact you.

3. Why We Process Your Data

Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, we must have a lawful basis for processing your personal data. We rely on the following bases:

• Legitimate interests: to respond to your enquiry, assess your eligibility for our services, and provide guidance appropriate to your situation. This is the primary basis for processing enquiry data. Our legitimate interest is in providing an education consultancy service to people who have actively requested it.
• Contract performance: once you engage our services and we begin the application process on your behalf, we process your data to fulfil our obligations to you – including preparing your application and making referrals to university partners.
• Legal obligation: in limited circumstances we may process your data where required to comply with applicable law.
• Consent: for marketing communications and non-essential cookies, we process your data only with your consent, which you may withdraw at any time (see Section 9).

We do not make any decisions based solely on automated processing, including profiling, that have a legal or similarly significant effect on you. Any final decision about your eligibility or your application is made by a member of our team.

4. Immigration and Residency Status Data

To assess your eligibility for university study and Student Finance, we collect information about your immigration or residency status. While this is not a “special category” of personal data under UK GDPR, we treat it with heightened care. This data is used solely to establish whether you meet the eligibility criteria for home student fees and Student Finance funding. It is not shared with any party other than those listed in Section 6 of this policy, and only to the extent necessary.

5. How Long We Keep Your Data

• Enquiries that do not lead to an application: we retain your data for up to 5 years from the date of your last contact with us. After this period, your data is securely deleted.
• Active clients and enrolled students: we retain your data for 7 years following the end of your enrolment, to meet our legal and financial record-keeping obligations.
• Marketing communications: if you have given consent to receive marketing, we retain your contact details for this purpose until you withdraw your consent. You can withdraw consent at any time by contacting us at [email protected].

6. Who We Share Your Data With

We share your personal data only where necessary, with the following parties:

• University partners: when you proceed to a university application, we share the personal data required to submit that application with the relevant university. You will be informed before this takes place.
• YoUniMentor team members and agents: staff involved in handling your enquiry or supporting your application have access to your data. All team members are required to keep your data confidential.
• Zoho CRM: we use Zoho CRM to store and manage enquiry and client data. Zoho acts as a data processor on our behalf and is subject to its own privacy and data protection obligations.
• Meta Platforms (Facebook and Instagram): if you submitted your enquiry via a Facebook or Instagram lead form, your data was initially collected by Meta before being transferred to us. Meta acts as a data controller in its own right for that collection and is governed by its own privacy policy, available at facebook.com/privacy/policy.
• Google Analytics: we use Google Analytics to understand how visitors use this website. Google Analytics collects information about how visitors use the site. While we take steps to minimise the identification of individuals, this information may constitute personal data under data protection law.
• Microsoft Clarity: we use Microsoft Clarity to understand how visitors use our website – through usage metrics, heatmaps, and session recordings in which text and form inputs are automatically masked – so we can improve the site. Clarity uses cookies and similar technologies. This data is processed by Microsoft in line with the Microsoft Privacy Statement (privacy.microsoft.com). You can manage your preferences in our cookie settings.

We do not sell your personal data to any third party.

7. International Data Transfers

Some of our service providers, including Zoho, Meta, Google and Microsoft, operate internationally and may process your data outside the United Kingdom. Where your personal data is transferred outside the UK, we ensure it is protected by safeguards recognised under UK GDPR: either UK adequacy regulations covering the destination country, or approved contractual safeguards such as the UK International Data Transfer Agreement (IDTA) or Standard Contractual Clauses with the UK Addendum, as incorporated in each provider’s data processing terms. You can contact us at [email protected] for further information about the safeguards applied to your data.