Privacy policy

A. General Information

1. Controller and Content of this Privacy Policy

We, Eduquant AG (Forchstrasse 76, 8008 Zurich), are the operator of the EduQuant platform and the website eduquant.ch (hereinafter referred to as the 'Website') and, unless otherwise stated, are responsible for the data processing activities listed in this Privacy Policy.

To help you understand what personal data we collect and for what purposes, please review the following information. We primarily adhere to the legal requirements of Swiss data protection law, particularly the Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP).

Please note that the following information is subject to periodic review and changes. We therefore recommend that you check this Privacy Policy regularly. Furthermore, other companies may be legally responsible or jointly responsible for certain data processing activities listed below, in which case the information provided by these companies is also relevant.

2. Contact Person for Data Protection

If you have questions about data protection or wish to exercise your rights, please contact our data protection officer by sending an email to the following address: datenschutz@eduquant.ch

3. Your Rights

If the legal requirements are met, you, as a person affected by data processing, have the following rights:

Right to Information: You have the right to request free access to your personal data stored with us at any time, if we process such data. This allows you to verify what personal data we are processing about you and ensure that we use it in compliance with applicable data protection regulations.

Right to Rectification You have the right to have incorrect or incomplete personal data corrected and to be informed about the correction. In such cases, we will inform the recipients of the affected data about the adjustments made, unless this is impossible or involves disproportionate effort.

Right to Deletion You have the right to request the deletion of your personal data under certain circumstances. In some cases, particularly when there are legal retention obligations, the right to deletion may be excluded. In such cases, a restriction of processing may replace deletion where applicable.

Right to Restrict Processing You have the right to request that the processing of your personal data be restricted.

Right to Data Portability You have the right to receive the personal data you have provided to us in a readable format free of charge.

Right to Object You can object to data processing at any time, particularly for processing related to direct marketing (e.g., advertising emails).

Right to Withdraw Consent You generally have the right to withdraw consent you have given at any time. However, processing activities based on your consent prior to withdrawal remain lawful.

To exercise these rights, please send us an email at the following address: datenschutz@eduquant.ch

Right to Lodge a Complaint You have the right to lodge a complaint with a competent supervisory authority, for example, regarding the manner in which your personal data is processed.

4. Data Security

We employ appropriate technical and organizational security measures to protect your personal data stored with us against loss and unlawful processing, particularly unauthorized access by third parties. Our employees and service providers are obligated to maintain confidentiality and comply with data protection regulations. Furthermore, these individuals are granted access to personal data only to the extent necessary to perform their duties.

Our security measures are continually updated in line with technological advancements. However, the transmission of information over the internet and electronic communication methods always carries certain security risks, and we cannot provide an absolute guarantee for the security of information transmitted in this way.

5. Contacting Us

If you contact us via our contact addresses and channels (e.g., email, telephone, or contact form), your personal data will be processed. The data you provide, such as your company name, your name, your position, your email address or telephone number, and your inquiry, will be processed. Additionally, the time of receipt of the inquiry will be documented. Mandatory fields in contact forms are marked with an asterisk (*).

We process this data solely to address your inquiry (e.g., providing information about a product, supporting contract execution such as returning products, incorporating your feedback to improve our services, etc.).

6. Use of Your Data for Marketing Purposes

6.1 Central Data Storage and Analysis in the CRM System

If a clear assignment to your person is possible, we will store and link the data described in this Privacy Policy, i.e., in particular, your personal information, your contact inquiries, your contract data, and your browsing behavior on our websites in a central database. This serves the efficient management of customer data, allows us to respond adequately to your inquiries, and facilitates the efficient provision of the services you request and the execution of the associated contracts.

We analyze this data to further develop our offers based on your needs and to display and suggest information and offers that are as relevant to you as possible. We also use methods to predict possible interests and future orders based on your website usage.

6.2 Email Marketing and Newsletters

When you register for our email newsletter (e.g., when creating or within your customer account), the following data is collected. Mandatory fields are marked with an asterisk (*) in the registration form:

  • Email address

  • Salutation

  • First and last name

To prevent misuse and ensure that the owner of an email address has indeed provided their consent, we use the double opt-in process for registration. After submitting the registration, you will receive an email from us containing a confirmation link. To complete your newsletter registration, you must click this link. If you do not click the confirmation link within the specified period, your data will be deleted, and no newsletter will be sent to this address.

By registering, you consent to the processing of this data to receive messages from us about our company, our offers in education and tutoring, as well as related products and services. This may also include invitations to participate in contests or review one of the aforementioned products and services. Collecting salutation and name allows us to verify the registration's association with an existing customer account and personalize the content of the emails. Linking with a customer account helps us make the newsletter offers and content more relevant and better tailored to your potential needs.

We use your data for email distribution until you revoke your consent. Revocation is possible at any time, especially via the unsubscribe link in all our marketing emails.

Our marketing emails may contain a so-called web beacon or 1x1 pixel (tracking pixel) or similar technical tools. A web beacon is an invisible graphic linked to the user ID of the respective newsletter subscriber. For each sent marketing email, we receive information about which addresses have not yet received the email, to which addresses it was sent, and for which addresses the delivery failed. It also shows which addresses opened the email and for how long, and which links were clicked. Finally, we also receive information about which addresses have unsubscribed. We use this data for statistical purposes and to optimize promotional emails in terms of frequency, timing, layout, and content. This allows us to tailor the information and offers in our emails more closely to the individual interests of recipients.

The web beacon is deleted when you delete the email. To prevent the use of the web beacon in our marketing emails, please configure your email program to not display HTML in messages if this is not already set by default. You can find information on how to configure this setting in the help sections of your email software, e.g. here for Microsoft Outlook.

By signing up for the newsletter, you also consent to the statistical analysis of user behavior to optimize and adapt the newsletter.

We use the email delivery software Postmark provided by ActiveCampaign, LLC, 150 N. Michigan Ave Suite 1230, Chicago, IL, US, USA for marketing emails. Therefore, your data is stored in a database of ActiveCampaign LLC, which may access your data if necessary for providing the software and supporting its usage.

7. Disclosure to Third Parties and Third-Party Access

Without the support of other companies, we would not be able to provide our services in the desired form. To utilize the services of these companies, sharing your personal data to a certain extent is necessary. Such sharing occurs, for example, to fulfill the contract you have requested, e.g., to tutors we connect you with.

Further sharing occurs with selected service providers only to the extent necessary to provide the service. Various third-party service providers are explicitly mentioned in this Privacy Policy, such as in the sections on marketing. Examples include IT service providers (e.g., software solution providers), advertising agencies, and consulting firms.

Additionally, your data may be shared with authorities, legal advisors, or debt collection agencies if we are legally obliged to do so or if it is necessary to protect our rights, particularly to enforce claims arising from the relationship with you. Data may also be shared if another company intends to acquire our company or parts thereof, and such sharing is necessary to conduct due diligence or execute the transaction.

8. Transfer of Personal Data Abroad

We are authorized to transfer your personal data to third parties abroad if this is necessary to carry out the data processing activities mentioned in this Privacy Policy (see especially sections 12-15). The legal requirements for the disclosure of personal data to third parties are naturally observed. If the respective country does not have an adequate level of data protection, we ensure that your data is adequately protected by these companies through contractual arrangements.

9. Retention Periods

We store personal data only as long as necessary to perform the processing activities outlined in this Privacy Policy as part of our legitimate interests. For contract data, retention is required by legal retention obligations. Obligations requiring us to retain data arise from accounting regulations and tax laws. According to these regulations, business communications, concluded contracts, and booking records must be retained for up to 10 years. If we no longer need this data to provide services to you, the data will be locked. This means the data may only be used to fulfill retention obligations or defend and enforce our legal interests. Data will be deleted as soon as there are no retention obligations or legitimate interests requiring its retention.

B. Special Notes for Our Website

10. Logfile Data

When visiting our website, the servers of our hosting providers (Vercel Inc., 440 N Barranca Ave #4133, Covina, CA 91723, USA, and Fly.io Inc., 200 W Madison St Ste 2143 #69109, 60606 Chicago, USA) temporarily store each access in a log file (logfile). The following data is collected without your intervention and stored by us until automatic deletion:

  • The IP address of the requesting computer,

  • The date and time of access,

  • The name and URL of the retrieved file,

  • The website from which access was made, including any search terms used,

  • The operating system of your computer and the browser you use (including type, version, and language settings),

  • Device type in case of access via mobile phones,

  • The city or region from where access occurred,

  • The name of your Internet Access Provider.

The collection and processing of this data are carried out to enable the use of our website (establishing a connection), to ensure the long-term security and stability of the system, as well as for error and performance analysis, and allows us to optimize our website (see also section 13).

In the event of an attack on the website's network infrastructure or suspected unauthorized or abusive website use, the IP address and other data will be analyzed for clarification and defense purposes and may be used to identify and take civil or criminal action against the relevant users.

Finally, when visiting our website, we use cookies and applications or tools based on the use of cookies. In this context, the data described here may also be processed. Further details can be found in the following sections of this Privacy Policy, particularly section 11.

11. Cookies

Cookies are information files stored by your web browser on the hard drive or memory of your computer when you visit our website. Cookies are assigned identification numbers, which allow your browser to be identified and the information contained in the cookie to be read.

Cookies help make your visit to our website simpler, more pleasant, and more meaningful. We use cookies for various purposes that are required for the use of the website as desired by you, i.e., 'technically necessary' cookies. For example, we use cookies to identify you as a registered user after logging in, so you don't have to log in again while navigating through different subpages. The provision of shopping cart and order functions also relies on cookies. Furthermore, cookies perform other technical functions necessary for the website's operation, such as load balancing (distributing the website's performance load across various servers to reduce the burden on servers). Cookies are also used for security purposes, for example, to prevent unauthorized posting of content. Finally, we use cookies as part of the design and programming of our website, e.g., to enable the uploading of scripts or codes.

Most internet browsers automatically accept cookies. However, when accessing our website, we ask for your consent to the non-essential cookies we use, particularly for cookies from third-party providers for marketing purposes. Through the relevant buttons in the cookie banner, you can configure your desired settings. Details about the services and data processing associated with each cookie can be found within the cookie banner and in the subsequent sections of this Privacy Policy.

You may also configure your browser to prevent cookies from being stored on your computer or to always display a notice when you receive a new cookie. On the following pages, you will find explanations on how to configure cookie settings in selected browsers:

Disabling cookies may result in not being able to use all functions of our website.

12. Google SiteSearch / Google Custom Search Engine

This website uses Google SiteSearch/Google Custom Search Engine from Google LLC (1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA). This allows us to provide you with an efficient search function on our website.

When using our search fields, your browser may transmit the logfile data listed in Section 10 (including your IP address) and the search term you entered to Google, provided that you have JavaScript installed in your browser. If you wish to prevent this data transfer, you can disable JavaScript in your browser settings (typically found in the 'Privacy' menu). Please note that the search function and other features of the website may be impaired in this case.

For further processing of the data by Google, please refer to Google's privacy policies. www.google.com/intl/de_de/policies/privacy.

13. Tracking and Web Analytics Tools

13.1 General Information on Tracking

To design our website according to your needs and to continuously optimize it, we use the web analytics services listed below. In this context, pseudonymized usage profiles are created, and cookies are used (see also Section 11). The information generated by the cookie about your use of this website is generally transmitted, stored, and processed on a server of the service provider, including potentially on servers abroad, e.g., in the USA (see also Section 8 for guarantees implemented).

The data processing provides us with the following information, among others:

  • Navigation paths taken by a visitor on the site (including viewed content and selected or purchased products),

  • Time spent on the website or subpage,

  • The subpage from which the website was exited,

  • The country, region, or city from where access occurred,

  • Device type (type, version, color depth, resolution, browser window width and height),

  • Returning or new visitor.

The service provider will use this information on our behalf to evaluate website usage, compile reports on website activities for us, and provide additional services related to website and internet usage for the purposes of market research and tailored design of these web pages. For these processes, we and the service providers may be considered joint controllers under data protection law to a certain extent.

You can revoke your consent or object to the processing at any time by configuring your browser settings to reject or disable the relevant cookies (see also Section 11) or using the service-specific options described below.

For further processing of the data by the respective service provider as the sole controller under data protection law, including any potential disclosure of this information to third parties such as authorities under national legal provisions, please refer to the service provider's privacy notices.

13.2 Hotjar

We use Hotjar (Hotjar Ltd., Dragonara Business Centre 5th Floor, Dragonara Road, Paceville St Julian's STJ, 3141 Malta) to better understand the needs of our users and optimize the offerings and experience on this website. Using Hotjar's technology, we gain a better understanding of user experiences (e.g., how much time users spend on certain pages, which links they click, what they like or dislike, etc.), helping us align our offerings with user feedback. Hotjar uses cookies and other technologies to collect data on user behavior and devices, including the IP address of the device (collected and stored only in anonymized form during website use), screen size, device type (unique device identifiers), browser information, geographic location (country only), and preferred language for displaying our website. Hotjar stores this information on our behalf in a pseudonymized user profile. Hotjar is contractually prohibited from selling the data collected on our behalf.

For more information, see the 'about Hotjar' section on Hotjar's help page..

13.3 Mixpanel

We use the tracking tool from mixpanel.com to understand how our customers use our online services and to continuously improve them. Mixpanel is a web analytics service from Mixpanel Inc., 405 Howard St., 2nd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105, USA. The service uses cookies for its web analytics. The statistical evaluation of user behavior helps us improve our offerings and make them more interesting for you as a user.

You can object to the collection and storage of data for web analysis purposes at any time with future effect. To learn how to object to the use of Mixpanel, see here.. Please note that a cookie will be set on your device to ensure that no data about you is collected and evaluated. Therefore, you should not delete this cookie.

We have entered into a contract with Mixpanel to ensure that Mixpanel uses your data only for the purposes described. You can find this contract here.

We have entered into a contract with Mixpanel to ensure that Mixpanel uses your data only for the purposes described. You can read it here For an overview of how Mixpanel protects your data, see here..

14. Social Media

14.1 Social Media Profiles

On our website, we have included links to our profiles on the following social network providers:

  • Meta Platforms Inc., 1601 S California Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA

  • Instagram Inc., 1601 Willow Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA

  • Twitter Inc., 1355 Market Street, Suite 900, San Francisco, CA 94103, USA

  • Linkedin Unlimited Company, Wilton Place, Dublin 2, Ireland

When you click on the social network icons, you will be automatically redirected to our profile on the respective network. A direct connection between your browser and the server of the respective social network is established in the process. This informs the network that you visited our website and clicked on the link using your IP address.

If you click on a network link while logged into your user account with that network, the content of our website can be linked to your profile, so the network can directly associate your visit to our website with your account. If you wish to prevent this, you should log out before clicking the respective links. A connection between your access to our website and your user account will occur in any case if you log in to the respective network after clicking the link. The respective provider is responsible for the associated data processing under data protection law. Please refer to the information on the network's website for further details.

14.2 Social Media Plugins

On our website, you can use social plugins from the following providers:

  • Meta Platforms Inc., 1601 S California Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA, Privacy Notices;

  • Instagram Inc., 1601 Willow Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA, Privacy Notices;

  • Twitter Inc., 1355 Market Street, Suite 900, San Francisco, CA 94103, USA, Privacy Notices;

  • Linkedin Unlimited Company, Wilton Place, Dublin 2, Ireland, Privacy Notices.

We use social plugins to make it easier for you to share content from our website. Social plugins help increase the visibility of our content on social networks and thus contribute to better marketing.

The plugins are initially disabled on our websites and therefore do not send data to social networks when you simply visit our website. To enhance data protection, we have integrated the plugins so that a connection to the network servers is not automatically established. Only when you activate the plugins and thereby give your consent to data transmission and processing by the social network providers does your browser establish a direct connection to the servers of the respective social network.

The content of the plugin is transmitted directly from the social network to your browser and integrated into the website by the browser. This gives the respective provider the information that your browser has accessed the corresponding page of our website, even if you do not have an account with that social network or are not logged in. This information (including your IP address) is transmitted directly from your browser to a server of the provider (usually in the USA) and stored there. We have no control over the scope of data collected by the provider through the plugin, whereby we may be considered joint controllers with the providers under data protection law to a certain extent.

If you are logged into the social network, it can directly associate your visit to our website with your user account. If you interact with the plugins, the corresponding information is also transmitted directly to a server of the provider and stored there. The information (e.g., that you like one of our products) may also be published on the social network and potentially displayed to other users of the social network. The social network provider may use this information for advertising purposes and tailoring its offerings to your needs. This may involve creating usage, interest, and relationship profiles to evaluate your use of our website regarding the advertisements displayed on the social network, inform other users about your activities on our website, and provide additional services related to using the social network. For the purpose and scope of data collection, further processing, and use of data by the social network providers, as well as your rights and settings options for protecting your privacy, please refer to the respective provider's privacy notices.

If you do not want the social network provider to associate the data collected through our website with your user account, you must log out of the social network before activating the plugins. You can revoke your consent at any time by informing the plugin provider of your withdrawal according to the instructions in its privacy notices.

15. Online Advertising and Targeting

15.1 General Information

We use services from various companies to provide you with interesting online offers. Your user behavior on our website and other providers' websites is analyzed to display personalized online advertisements tailored to you.

Most technologies for tracking your user behavior ('tracking') and targeted advertising ('targeting') use cookies (see also Section 11), which allow your browser to be recognized across different websites. Depending on the service provider, it may also be possible to recognize you online even when using different devices (e.g., laptop and smartphone). This could happen, for example, if you have registered with a service you use on multiple devices.

In addition to the data already mentioned, collected when visiting websites ('logfile data,' see Section 10) and using cookies (Section 11), the following data is specifically used to determine the most relevant advertisements for you:

  • Personal information provided during registration or use of a service from advertising partners (e.g., your gender, age group)

  • User behavior (e.g., search queries, interactions with advertisements, types of websites visited, viewed and purchased products, subscribed newsletters)

We and our service providers use this data to determine if you belong to the target audience we address and consider this in selecting advertisements. For example, after visiting our site, you may see advertisements for products you viewed on other websites ('re-targeting'). Depending on the amount of data, a user profile may also be created, which is evaluated automatically, and advertisements are selected based on the information stored in the profile, such as belonging to specific demographic segments or potential interests or behaviors. Such advertisements may be presented to you on various channels, including our website or app (in the context of on-site and in-app marketing) and advertisements provided by online advertising networks we use, such as Google.

The data may also be evaluated for billing purposes with the service provider and assessing the effectiveness of advertising campaigns to better understand the needs of our users and customers and improve future campaigns. This evaluation may include information that a specific action (e.g., visiting certain sections of our websites or submitting information) is attributed to a specific advertisement. Furthermore, we receive aggregated reports from service providers about ad activities and information on how users interact with our website and advertisements.

You can revoke your consent at any time by configuring your browser settings to reject or disable cookies (see also Section 11). Additional options for blocking advertisements can also be found in the respective service provider's information, such as those provided here. Google.

15.2 Google Ads

This website uses Google's online advertising services (Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA, 'Google'). Google uses cookies, such as the DoubleClick cookie, to recognize your browser when visiting other websites. The information generated by these cookies about your visit to these websites (including your IP address) is transmitted to and stored on a Google server in the USA (see also Section 8). For more information on Google's data protection practices, see their privacy policy here..

You can revoke your consent at any time by configuring your browser settings to reject or disable cookies (see also Section 11). Additional options for blocking advertisements can also be found here..

16. Registering for a Customer Account

If you create a customer account on our website, we collect the following data, with mandatory fields in the corresponding form marked with an asterisk (*):

  • Personal Information:

    • Name*

    • First name*

    • Phone number*

    • Study program and current semester

  • Login Information:

    • Email address*

    • Password*

  • Additional Information:

    • IBAN (for tutors only)*

    • Gender

We use personal information to verify your identity and the prerequisites for registration. The email address and password serve as login credentials to ensure that the correct person uses the website under your details. Your email address is also required for verification and confirmation of account creation and for future communications necessary for contract processing. Additionally, this data is stored in the customer account for future contract completions. You may also add further information to the account, such as your preferred payment method.

We also use this data to provide an overview of ordered products and services received (see especially Section 17) and an easy way to manage your personal data, administer our website and contractual relationships, i.e., to establish, structure, process, and amend contracts concluded with you via your customer account.

We process language and gender information to show you offer suggestions on the website tailored to your profile and personal needs, for statistical collection and evaluation of selected offers, and to optimize our suggestions and offerings.

To prevent misuse, you must keep your login details confidential and close the browser window when you have finished communicating with us, especially if you share the computer with others.

17. Booking Services

When you book services on the website, we need various data to process the contract. If you do not log in with your customer account (see Section 17), we collect the following data, depending on the product or service, with mandatory fields in the corresponding form marked with an asterisk (*):

  • Name*

  • First name*

  • Billing and delivery address*

  • Email address*

  • Phone number*

We use the data to verify your identity before concluding a contract. We also need your email address to confirm your order and for future communication required for contract processing. We store your data along with the order's metadata (e.g., time, order number, etc.), the data on ordered/booked services (e.g., name, price, and features of the product, 'product data'), payment data (e.g., payment method selected, payment confirmation and time, see also Section 19), as well as the data related to the processing and fulfillment of the contract (e.g., product returns, use of service or warranty claims) in our CRM database (see also Section 6.1) to ensure accurate order processing and contract fulfillment.

If necessary to fulfill the contract, we will also share the required information with any third-party service providers (e.g., shipping companies).

Providing non-mandatory information is voluntary. We process this data to tailor our offering to your personal needs, facilitate contract processing, contact you via an alternative communication method if necessary for contract fulfillment, or for statistical collection and evaluation to optimize our offerings.

18. Online Payment Processing

When you purchase services or products on our website, depending on the product or service and the desired payment method, additional data, such as your credit card information or login details for your payment provider, may be required in addition to the information mentioned in Section 16. This information and the fact that you purchased a service for the respective amount and time are transmitted to the respective payment service providers (e.g., payment solution providers, credit card issuers, and credit card acquirers). Always refer to the information provided by the respective company, particularly their privacy policy and terms and conditions.

To prevent payment defaults, the required data, particularly your personal information, may also be transmitted to a credit agency for automated creditworthiness assessment. The credit agency may assign you a so-called score value. This value is an estimate of the future risk of payment default, e.g., represented as a percentage. The value is calculated using mathematical-statistical procedures and data from the credit agency from other sources. Based on the information received, we reserve the right not to offer the payment method 'invoice.'

19. Submitting Reviews

To assist other users in their purchasing decisions and support our quality management (particularly addressing negative feedback), you can review ordered products on our website. The data you provide will be processed and published on the website, including your review, its timestamp, any comment added to the review, or the name you provided.

We reserve the right to delete unlawful reviews and contact you for a statement in case of suspicion.

20. Recording Lessons

For quality assurance purposes, we are interested in recording lessons conducted via videoconference. These recordings are used to improve the quality of our services and investigate any complaints. Before recording begins, we will inform you about the planned recording and, if necessary, obtain your consent. You are not obligated to agree to the recording and can revoke your consent at any time. During recording, an icon will indicate that the lesson is being recorded. The recordings will be deleted no later than two (2) weeks after the recording. If complaints about a recorded lesson are received during this period, the recordings will be retained until the complaint is resolved but no longer than ten (10) years.