1. Who We Are

Study Mate Central is an online learning platform providing expert-led courses across a range of subjects including business, technology, health, and creative skills. We operate from the United Kingdom and our website is accessible at studymatecentral.org.uk.

For the purposes of data protection law, Study Mate Central is the Data Controller responsible for your personal information. If you have any questions about how we handle your data, please contact us at [email protected].

2. What Information We Collect

We collect personal information that you provide to us directly, as well as certain data gathered automatically when you use our platform. This may include:

Information You Provide to Us

• Full name and email address (when registering an account)
• Billing address and payment information (when making a purchase)
• Phone number (if provided via contact forms or enquiries)
• Course progress, quiz responses, and learning activity
• Messages, reviews, or feedback you submit through our platform
• Any other information you voluntarily share when contacting us by email, telephone, or form

Information Collected Automatically

• IP address and browser type
• Pages visited, time spent on site, and referral sources
• Device type and operating system
• Cookie data (see Section 7 for more detail)

All personal data is stored securely in our database and is only accessible by authorised personnel.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for the following purposes:

• To create and manage your account on our platform
• To process your course purchases and deliver access to purchased content
• To communicate with you about your orders, account, or support enquiries
• To send you important updates about your courses or platform changes
• To send you marketing emails about our products and services (where you have consented)
• To analyse how our platform is used and improve the user experience
• To comply with our legal obligations under UK law
• To protect the security and integrity of our platform

Our lawful basis for processing your data is typically one of the following: contractual necessity (to fulfil your course purchase), legitimate interests (to improve our platform), legal obligation, or your consent (for marketing communications).

4. Information Sharing & Third Parties

We do not sell your personal data. We will never sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties for their own marketing purposes.

However, we may share your information in the following limited circumstances:

• Service providers: We work with trusted third-party companies who assist in operating our platform (e.g. payment processors, email delivery services, hosting providers). These parties are only given access to data necessary to perform their function and are bound by data protection obligations.
• Third-party course platforms: If you access our courses through platforms such as Reed.co.uk, your data may also be subject to that platform’s privacy policy.
• Legal requirements: We may disclose your data if required to do so by law, or if we believe disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, your safety, or the safety of others.
• Business transfers: In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your data may be transferred as part of that process. We will notify you if this occurs.

5. Marketing Communications

With your permission, we may send you promotional emails about new courses, special offers, and platform updates. You can opt in to receive these during registration or at any later point.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in any of our marketing emails, or by emailing us at [email protected].

Please note: even if you unsubscribe from marketing emails, we may still send you essential service-related communications — such as purchase confirmations, account notices, or important platform updates.

6. How Long We Keep Your Data

We retain your personal data only for as long as is necessary to fulfil the purposes outlined in this policy, or as required by law. For example:

• Account data is retained for as long as your account remains active
• Purchase and transaction records are kept for up to 7 years in accordance with HMRC financial record-keeping requirements
• Marketing consent records are kept until you withdraw consent
• Support correspondence is retained for up to 2 years after the last interaction

When your data is no longer required, it is securely deleted or anonymised.

7. Cookies

Our website uses cookies — small text files stored on your device — to improve your browsing experience, remember your preferences, and analyse how our site is used.

We use the following types of cookies:

• Essential cookies: Required for the website to function (e.g. keeping you logged in)
• Analytical cookies: Help us understand how visitors use our site so we can improve it
• Marketing cookies: Used to deliver relevant advertisements and track campaign effectiveness (only where consented)

You can control and manage cookies through your browser settings at any time. Please note that disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of our website.

8. How We Protect Your Data

We take the security of your personal data seriously and have appropriate technical and organisational measures in place to protect it from unauthorised access, loss, or misuse. These include:

• SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) encryption across all pages of our website
• Secure, encrypted storage of payment information — we do not store full card details on our servers
• Restricted staff access to personal data on a need-to-know basis
• Regular security reviews and updates to our systems

While we take every reasonable step to protect your data, no method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure. If you suspect any unauthorised use of your account, please contact us immediately.

9. Your Rights Under UK GDPR

Under UK data protection law, you have the following rights regarding your personal information:

• Right of access: You can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you, free of charge. We will require identity verification before releasing any information.
• Right to rectification: You can ask us to correct any inaccurate or incomplete information we hold about you.
• Right to erasure: You can request that we delete your personal data in certain circumstances (also known as the “right to be forgotten”).
• Right to restrict processing: You can ask us to limit how we use your data in certain situations.
• Right to data portability: You can request a copy of your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
• Right to object: You can object to our processing of your data where we rely on legitimate interests as our lawful basis.
• Right to withdraw consent: Where processing is based on your consent, you may withdraw it at any time without affecting the lawfulness of prior processing.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at [email protected]. We will respond to all valid requests within 30 days.

If you are not satisfied with how we handle your data, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) — the UK’s independent data protection authority — at ico.org.uk or by calling 0303 123 1113.

10. Your Responsibilities

You are responsible for ensuring that the personal information you provide to us is accurate and up to date. Please notify us promptly of any changes to your details by updating your account or contacting our support team.

You are also responsible for keeping your account credentials confidential. Do not share your password with anyone. Study Mate Central will never ask for your password via email or phone.

11. Links to Other Websites

Our website may contain links to external websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of those sites. We encourage you to review the privacy policy of any third-party site you visit.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. The most current version will always be available on this page, with the date of the last update shown at the top. We encourage you to check back periodically.

Where changes are significant, we will notify you by email or via a notice on our website.

13. Contact Us

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

📧 Email: [email protected]🌐 Website: studymatecentral.org.uk