Privacy Policy

Effective date: July 24, 2026

VerifiedScholars.com (“Verified Scholars,” “the Platform,” “we,” “our,” or “us”) respects your privacy and is committed to protecting the personal information you share with us. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, store, and protect personal information when you visit our website, contact us, or use our tutoring and study guidance services.

This Policy is intended to comply with Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (“PIPEDA”) and, where applicable, provincial privacy laws such as Alberta’s Personal Information Protection Act, British Columbia’s Personal Information Protection Act, and Quebec’s private-sector privacy law. Where we send electronic communications, we also aim to follow Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (“CASL”).

By using Verified Scholars, you agree to the practices described in this Privacy Policy.

1. Information We Collect

We collect only the personal information reasonably needed to provide, manage, secure, and improve our services.

Information you provide directly may include:

• Your name, email address, phone number, and other contact details.
• Information submitted through website forms, chat, email, WhatsApp, SMS, phone, or other communication channels.
• Details about the tutoring or study guidance you request, including subject area, study level, learning goals, and service preferences.
• Data you choose to share for educational support.
• Billing details and transaction-related information, although full payment card details are processed by secure third-party payment providers and are not stored by us.
• Any feedback, questions, complaints, or support requests you send to us.

Information collected automatically may include:

• IP address.
• Browser type, device type, operating system, and approximate location.
• Pages visited, time spent on pages, referral sources, and interaction data.
• Cookie identifiers and similar tracking information.
• Technical logs used for website security, troubleshooting, analytics, and fraud prevention.

We do not intentionally collect more information than is necessary for the purposes described in this Policy.

2. How We Use Your Information

We may use personal information to:

• Respond to your inquiries and service requests.
• Connect you with suitable Scholars for tutoring or study guidance.
• Provide educational support, feedback, explanations, study planning, or related assistance.
• Process payments, invoices, refunds, and transaction records.
• Communicate with you about your request, service updates, support issues, or policy changes.
• Improve our website, services, user experience, and internal processes.
• Monitor service quality and help resolve disputes or complaints.
• Detect, prevent, and address fraud, misuse, security incidents, or prohibited activity.
• Comply with legal, tax, accounting, regulatory, or contractual obligations.
• Send marketing or promotional communications where permitted by law and your consent choices.

3. Legal Basis for Processing

Under Canadian privacy law, we collect, use, and disclose personal information only for purposes that a reasonable person would consider appropriate in the circumstances.

We rely on the following bases:

• Consent: We may collect, use, or disclose your information with your express or implied consent, depending on the type of information and the context.
• Service necessity: We use your information to respond to your request and provide the tutoring or study guidance you asked for.
• Legal obligations: We may process information where needed for tax, accounting, consumer protection, legal compliance, or lawful requests.
• Security and fraud prevention: We may use limited information to protect the Platform, users, Scholars, and payment systems.
• Legitimate operational purposes: We may use non-sensitive information for service improvement, analytics, troubleshooting, and internal administration, where permitted by applicable law.

You may withdraw consent at any time, subject to legal or contractual limits. If you withdraw consent, we may no longer be able to provide some services.

4. Data Sharing and Third Parties

We do not sell your personal information.

We may share personal information only where reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this Policy, including with:

• Scholars: Independent contractors who provide tutoring or study guidance.
• Payment processors: Third-party providers that securely process payments, refunds, and billing information.
• Website and hosting providers: Services that help operate, maintain, and secure the Platform.
• Communication providers: Tools used for email, website chat, WhatsApp, SMS, phone, or customer support.
• Analytics providers: Services that help us understand website traffic and improve performance.
• Professional advisers: Lawyers, accountants, compliance advisers, or insurers where needed.
• Legal authorities: Courts, regulators, law enforcement, or government bodies where disclosure is required or permitted by law.

Some third-party providers may store or process information outside Canada. If your information is transferred outside Canada, it may be subject to the laws of the country where it is processed. We take reasonable steps to ensure that third parties protect personal information appropriately.

5. Data Retention

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary to fulfill the purposes described in this Policy, provide services, resolve disputes, maintain business records, prevent fraud, and comply with legal, tax, accounting, or regulatory obligations.

Retention periods may vary depending on the type of information. For example:

• Service records may be kept for a reasonable period to support customer service, quality control, and dispute resolution.
• Payment and transaction records may be kept as required for accounting and legal compliance.
• Communication records may be retained to manage inquiries, complaints, or service history.
• Website analytics data may be retained in aggregated or limited form for performance review.

When personal information is no longer required, we will delete, anonymize, or securely dispose of it, unless continued retention is required or permitted by law.

6. Your Privacy Rights

Subject to applicable Canadian privacy laws, you may have the right to:

• Request access to the personal information we hold about you.
• Ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
• Withdraw consent for certain uses of your information.
• Request deletion of information where continued retention is not required.
• Ask questions about our privacy practices.
• Challenge our compliance with this Policy or applicable privacy law.
• Ask about third-party service providers that may process your information.

To make a privacy request, contact us using the details in the “Contact Us” section. We may need to verify your identity before responding. We will respond within a reasonable time and in accordance with applicable law.

7. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Verified Scholars may use cookies, pixels, tags, local storage, analytics tools, and similar technologies to operate the website and understand how visitors use it.

Cookies are small files stored on your device when you visit a website. They help websites remember preferences, improve functionality, measure traffic, and support security.

We may use the following types of cookies:

• Essential cookies: Required for website operation, security, form functionality, and basic user experience.
• Preference cookies: Used to remember choices such as language, region, or display preferences.
• Analytics cookies: Used to understand website traffic, page performance, and visitor interaction. These may include tools such as Google Analytics where enabled.
• Security cookies: Used to detect suspicious activity, prevent fraud, and protect the Platform.
• Marketing cookies: Used only where applicable and permitted to measure campaigns or provide relevant communications.

You can manage cookies through your browser settings. Most browsers allow you to block, delete, or limit cookies. Some parts of the website may not work properly if essential cookies are disabled.

Where required, we may display a cookie banner or consent tool allowing you to accept, reject, or manage certain non-essential cookies. You may also opt out of certain analytics or advertising tools through browser settings or provider-level opt-out mechanisms.

We do not knowingly use tracking technologies to target children.

8. Communications and Marketing

We may contact you about your service request through email, website chat, WhatsApp, SMS, phone, or similar channels, depending on the information you provide and the communication method you choose.

Where we send promotional or marketing messages, we will do so in accordance with CASL and other applicable laws. You may unsubscribe from marketing emails or request that we stop sending promotional messages at any time.

Transactional or service-related messages, such as payment confirmations, service updates, or support replies, may still be sent where necessary.

9. Security of Personal Information

We use reasonable physical, technical, and administrative safeguards to protect personal information against loss, theft, unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, misuse, or modification.

These safeguards may include secure systems, access controls, encrypted payment processing, limited internal access, and confidentiality expectations for Scholars and service providers.

No online platform can guarantee complete security. You should avoid sending highly sensitive information unless it is necessary for the requested service.

10. Children’s Privacy

Verified Scholars is not intended for use by children without appropriate consent and supervision.

Users must be at least 18 years old to use the Platform independently. Users under 18 may use the services only with the consent and supervision of a parent or legal guardian.

We do not knowingly collect personal information from minors without appropriate consent. If you believe a minor has provided us with personal information without proper consent, please contact us. We will review the matter and take reasonable steps to delete the information where required.

11. Updates to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, technology, legal requirements, or privacy practices.

The updated version will be posted on this page with a revised effective date. If changes are material, we may provide additional notice where appropriate.

Your continued use of Verified Scholars after updates are posted means you acknowledge the revised Policy.

12. Contact Us

If you have questions, requests, or concerns about this Privacy Policy or how we handle personal information, please contact us:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: https://verifiedscholars.com/contact-us/