MeStudent Worldwide Privacy Policy

Date of last revision: 14 April 2021

    Welcome to our Privacy Policy

  1. We have developed and operate an online Platform, which seeks to empower Students in the pursuit of their dreams and aspirations of studying overseas. It does this by connecting Students with other Students as well as with Service Providers who may be able to assist the Students with their dream of studying overseas.
  2. This is our privacy policy and, for European GDPR purposes, we are the “controller” in relation to it. It tells you what kind of “personal information” (or “personal data”, if you are from the European Union, the United Kingdom or Switzerland), we collect and hold (store), how and for what purpose we collect and store this information, how you can access it, our use of cookies (the digital kind), and some other important matters.
  3. This policy applies to the personal information that we collect and further process from all Users of our Platform (i.e. both Students and Service Providers). However, much of the policy will only apply to Students.
  4. We have drafted this policy in plain English, with the aim of being easy to understand. However, this is still a legal document. You should read this carefully. If there is anything in this document that you do not understand or that you do not agree with, please do not use the Platform and/or any of our services. To make it easier to read, there is a definition section at the end of this policy.
  5. More information about the specific services covered by this privacy policy can be found on our website at www.mestudent.com. If you have any questions or concerns about our use of your personal information, then please contact us using the contact details provided at the bottom of this privacy policy.

    6. First thing first – our commitment to privacy

  6. We value and recognise the importance of your privacy. We know that in some cases you are trusting us with confidential, important and sensitive information, and we value and respect that. We thank you for the opportunity of trusting us and our Users with your shared experiences. We are committed to protecting your privacy and will only use the personal information that we collect in accordance with this policy.

    7. Second thing – personal information that you share via the Platform

  7. The Platform allows you to share your personal information including your experiences, photos, stories and videos with other Users and Service Providers. You should exercise caution and common sense when disclosing any personal information to other Users and Service Providers via the Platform. We cannot control what other Users and Service Providers do with such information. It is possible that they may disclose such information to other persons and entities.

    8. Third thing – this is a global privacy policy but different local rules may apply

  8. This is a “global” privacy policy, but different local rules may sometimes apply depending on where you are physically located in the world. With that in mind you will see that some parts of the privacy policy only apply to people physically located in or outside certain parts of the world (e.g. in Europe (i.e. the European Economic Area ("EEA"), the UK and Switzerland) or Australia).

    9. Purposes for which we collect, hold, use and disclose personal information

  9. We collect, hold, use and disclose personal information in order to:
    1. Operate, maintain and support the Platform.
    2. To provide you and other Users with our services.
    3. To facilitate applications and agreements between Students and Service Providers.
    4. To analyse it so that we can develop new improved features and services in the future, as well as to help provide you with more helpful advertising.
    5. To assist us with providing you with information about things you may want to do, buy and/or experience, that we hope is relevant to you (i.e. ‘helpful’ ads and information). This will include sending you direct marketing messages where you have consented to this occurring.
    6. In order to comply with our legal and regulatory obligations.
    7. Any other reason with your consent to the disclosure or for which we provide you with the required notice.

    10. What kind of information do we collect and why?

  10. To provide you with access to the Platform and our services we collect certain personal information. The broad categories of personal information that we collect are explained below, including the reasons for why they are collected:
    1. Registration information: information that you provide to us to register for access to the Platform and to complete your profile. This may include your name, contact details (e.g. email address, telephone number, address), date of birth, languages spoken, and information shared from your social media accounts. This information allows you access to the Platform, us to contact you, as well as helping Users to learn a bit more about you, to interact with you, and vice versa.
    2. Identity information and documents: this could include information you upload to the Platform that may be relevant for a Service Provider application. It may also include copies of documents that you upload to the Platform, which may be used to verify your identity and other background details about you. This may include documents such as copies of your driver’s licence, passport, birth certificate, transcripts from an educational institution and police record checks. This information is collected as it may be necessary for you to enter into transactions via the Platform, such as applying for a visa or expressing an interest to study with an Education Provider.
    3. User-generated content: content generated and uploaded by you or others to the Platform. This may include photos, videos, messages and other posts that you share with other users on the Platform. This information helps you and others share experiences, and to grow and develop the MeStudent community.
    4. Usage information: data and information about how you use the Platform. This may include information about how often you log into the Platform, what features you use, what device you use (e.g. mobile phone, computer, iPad) and other metadata. This information is used to improve your and other Users' experience, including to develop better features and provide you with personalised advertising.
    5. Transaction information: information in relation to any transactions that you enter into which are facilitated via the Platform. This may include information required for you to apply to study with an Education Provider. This information is used to help you enter into transactions with Service Providers. It may also be analysed to improve the service and advertising that is offered.
    6. Third-party information: information we receive from a third party which relates to you. For example, this may include information we receive from an Education Provider about your enrolment status or from a payment processor. This information helps you engage with our service providers, helps us provide better services to you and helps us keep track of transactions with Third Parties that are facilitated by the Platform since our business model relies on commissoins.
  11. There are certain kinds of information that we do not collect. In particular, we do not collect information which relates to minors (people under the age of 18) who are not entitled to access the Platform.

    12. What is the legal basis for our collection and further processing of your personal information?

  12. Please note that we sometimes need to collection personal information in order to comply and fulfil our contractual and statutory obligations. If you do not provide information that is required for statutory or contractual purposes, then we may not be able to provide one or more of our services to you.
  13. If you are physically located in Australia, then:
    1. By logging into the Platform, using our services and/or providing us with your personal information, you accept and agree to the terms of this policy, and consent to us collecting and using your personal information, as set out in this policy.
    2. In some cases, we may also ask for your consent for specific types of processing (e.g. when requesting sensitive data about you).
    3. You can withdraw your consent by letting us know. However, if you withdraw your consent, then we will not be able to provide you with access to the Platform and/or provide you with our services. In cases where we have specifically requested your consent you will be able to withdraw your consent through the consent settings on the platform.
  14. If you are physically located outside of Australia (e.g. in Europe) then:
    1. Our legal basis for collecting and using the personal information described above will depend on the personal information concerned and the specific context in which we collect it.
    2. However, we will normally collect personal information from you only where we have your consent to do so, where we need the personal information to perform a contract with you, or where the processing is in our legitimate interests and not overridden by your data protection interests or fundamental rights and freedoms. In some cases, we may also have a legal obligation to collect personal information from you or may otherwise need the personal information to protect your vital interests or those of another person.
    3. If we collect and use your personal information in reliance on our legitimate interests (or those of any third party), we will make clear to you at the relevant time what those legitimate interests are.
    4. If you have questions about or need further information concerning the legal basis on which we collect and use your personal information, please contact us using the contact details provided under the “How to contact us” heading below.

    15. How do we collect personal information?

  15. We collect personal information in several ways:
    1. Directly from you: when you provide this to us directly, such as by completing your profile, uploading documents and/or communicating with us.
    2. Use of the Platform: by monitoring activity and usage of the Platform by you and other Users, including through the use of cookies and web beacons (please refer to our Cookies Policy for more information about our use of cookies).
    3. From third parties: when third parties provide information to us in relation to you, such as in the context of transactions that are facilitated via the Platform and/or where you authorise us to receive information on your behalf.
    4. From public sources: we may collect personal information which is otherwise in the public domain (e.g., information available by public search such as via Google, LinkedIn and/or other online services).

    16. How do we hold personal information?

  16. We generally hold personal information that we collect electronically on our secure servers in the European Economic Area. These servers are either operated by us or provided by third party providers. Sometimes we may also hold personal information in hard copy. We have adopted security measures to protect the confidentiality and security of the information that we hold.

    17. How long do we hold information?

  17. We hold personal information for as long as necessary for the purposes for which we collected the information. We may retain your personal information for a longer period of time where this is necessary to comply with our legal obligations, or where this is necessary to protect our interests.
  18. Where we decide that it is no longer necessary to hold your personal information, we will delete this from our secure servers. Personal information in hard copy format will be shredded and dispose of using secure document management services.

    19. Who do we share your personal information with?

    Personal information about you that you or anyone else posts or uploads to the Platform may be visible to other Users

  19. Where you or anyone else posts or uploads personal information on the public section of the Platform about you, it will be accessible and visible to other Users, including Service Providers, that you have allowed access to it through your privacy setting decisions on the Platform. The public section of the Platform includes:
    1. My Wall;
    2. My Experiences;
    3. About Me;
    4. Photos; and
    5. Public forums and discussion groups
  20. You can view and adjust the personal information that is visible to other Users using the Privacy settings on the Platform.

    21. Search engines

  21. Your information within the public section of the Platform may also be shared with search engine providers so that they can index it and show it within search results.
  22. As a default setting only your name and the fact you are a member of the platform may be shared with search engine providers.
  23. You can adjust the personal information that may be shared with search engine providers by adjusting your privacy settings on the Platform.

    24. We may disclose (share) your personal information in some cases

  24. We may disclose your personal information to our employees, contractors, agents, related bodies corporate and third parties engaged by us in order to help us fulfil the purposes for processing personal information outlined in clause 9 above.
  25. We may disclose your personal information to Service Providers, where you are a Student and this disclosure is necessary for you to make an application with the Service Provider. For example, it may be necessary to share some of your identity documents with an Education Provider for you to make an application with them.
  26. Where you are Service Provider or acting on behalf of a Service Provider, we may disclose your personal information to Students if necessary for an actual or potential transaction between you and the Student.
  27. Where we provide your personal information to third parties, we require them to protect any private and confidential information that we may provide to them. We also contractually require them to have appropriate controls and processes in place, to maintain the security of such information. All our employees have executed confidentiality agreements.
  28. We may disclose your personal information where this is required to comply with a legal requirement, such as a law, regulation, court order, subpoena, warrant, in the course of legal proceedings and/or in response to a request from a law enforcement agency.
  29. Where you expressly consent to us doing this, we may disclose some of your personal information to market the Platform to potential users. For example, you may allow us to use some of your personal information, such as your first name and profile photo in our marketing materials. We will only do this if you expressly consent to us doing this.
  30. We may share anonymised and aggregated information about the use of our Platform for academic research, promotional purposes or for the purposes of improving our service.

    31. International Transfers of Personal Information

  31. Any personal information about you that has been uploaded to the public section of the Platform by you or anyone else may be accessed by other Users anywhere in the world. Who can access this will depend on what you have set your privacy settings to on the Platform.
  32. If you are a Student, then any information that has not been uploaded to the public section of the Platform, but which is required for an application with a Service Provider, may only be accessed by an individual Service Provider anywhere in the world after you have actively provided your consent on the Platform to the individual Service Provider accessing this personal information.
  33. Your personal information may be accessed outside of the European Economic Area, United Kingdom or Switzerland by our employees, contractors, agents, related bodies corporate and third parties engaged by us in order to help us fulfil the purposes for processing personal information outlined in clause 9.
  34. If you are physically located in the European Economic Area, United Kingdom or Switzerland then:
    1. The access to personal information about you on MeStudent by Students who are outside of the European Economic Area, United Kingdom or Switzerland is undertaken in the course of a purely personal or household activity.
    2. The access to personal information about you on MeStudent by Service Providers and other third parties who are outside of the European Economic Area, United Kingdom or Switzerland is on the basis of one or more of the following:
      1. The European Union's standard contractual clauses and any further supplementary data protection measures that may have been deemed suitable.
      2. Your explicit consent where this may be appropriate because of the sensitive nature of the particular personal information and the possible risks related to transfer of that information to countries that may not provide an equivalent level of data protection to that in the European Economic Area, United Kingdom and Switzerland.
      3. The transfer is necessary for the performance of a contract between you and the Service Provider or the implementation of pre-contractual measures taken at your request.
      4. The transfer is necessary for the conclusion or performance of a contract, concluded in your interest, between a Service Provider and ourselves.
      We will put in place suitable safeguards to protect your personal information when it is accessed outside of the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom or Switzerland by our employees, contractors, agents, related bodies corporate and third parties. For example, we may put in place standard contractual clauses and any further supplementary data protection measures that may have been deemed suitable.
    If you are physically located outside of the European Economic Area, United Kingdom or Switzerland (e.g. in Australia) then where we store or disclose your information outside of the country in which you are located, this will be consistent with the terms of this privacy policy. That is, it will only be for the purposes that are consistent with the purposes for which we collect and use information under this policy, and will be subject to same security measures as any information collected, held and used in the country in which you are located.

    35. Cookies

  35. We use cookies on the Platform. To find out more about our use of cookies please refer to our cookie policy, which can be found here . Our cookie policy forms part of the privacy policy and any personal information collected via cookies will be treated in the same way as other personal information.

    36. Integration of MeStudent with other social networks and other third parties

  36. One of the features of our Platform is that it allows Users to easily share data between their third-party social media accounts and our Platform.
  37. In order to become a member of the Platform, you will need to log into the Platform using either your Facebook or Wechat login. Through this functionality:
    1. You are provided with a simple login method for the platform.
    2. You are provided with a simple way in which to supply us with the registration information which is necessary to access the platform and complete your profile.
    3. We are able to better authenticate you are who you say you are, as that is an important part of using our Platform.
    4. You are able do things like connect and invite your friends from those platforms, post content from MeStudent to those platforms and import content from those platforms to your MeStudent account (e.g., photos).
  38. We will only collect your personal information from a third-party social media account with your permission and in accordance with the privacy settings you have set up for that third-party social media account. Once collected, your personal information will be used for the purposes set out in this privacy policy at clause 9.
  39. We do not control the collection or further processing of personal information related to your use of the MeStudent Platform that may be undertaken by third parties like Facebook or Wechat through your use of their login functions. We therefore strongly suggest that you review their privacy policies, terms of service and privacy controls. With this in mind:
    1. You can review Facebook's privacy policy and terms of service by clicking on the links provided.
    2. You can review Wechat's privacy policy and terms of service by clicking on the links provided.
  40. In connection with the above you need to be aware that we do not control, and do not accept responsibility or liability for, the privacy policy of, and use of personal information by, any party other than us. This includes any User of our Platform, the operators of any website to which our Platform links, or third-party Service Providers to whom you directly provide your personal information to. We therefore also strongly encourage you to review these entities’ privacy policies, terms of service and privacy controls.
  41. Please also note that certain information which you have defined as private on a third-party social media account may become public on our Platform and to other users if you have made such information public on our Platform.

    42. Anonymity and pseudonymity

  42. If you are physically located in Australia then under the Australian Privacy Principles you have the option of not identifying yourself or of using a pseudonym, when dealing with us in respect to certain matters, unless this is impracticable or we are required or authorised by or under an Australian law, or a court/tribunal order, to deal with individuals who have identified themselves.
  43. If you have a general enquiry, you may be able to deal with us without identifying yourself or by using a pseudonym. However, in order to access the Platform and to receive our services, we will need you to identify yourself.

    44. Your data protection rights

  44. You have the following data protection rights:
    1. If you wish to access, correct, update or request deletion of your personal information, you can do so at any time by contacting us using the contact details provided under the “How to contact us” heading at the end of this policy.
    2. In addition, you can object to processing of your personal information, ask us to restrict processing of your personal information or request portability of your personal information. Again, you can exercise these rights by contacting us using the contact details provided under the “How to contact us” heading at the end of this policy.
    3. You have the right to opt-out of marketing communications we send you at any time. You can exercise this right by clicking on the “unsubscribe” or “opt-out” link in the marketing e-mails we send you. To opt-out of other forms of marketing (such as postal marketing or telemarketing), then please contact us using the contact details provided under the “How to contact us” heading at the end of this policy.
    4. Similarly, if we have collected and process your personal information with your consent, then you can withdraw your consent at any time by either using the tools provided on the platform or by contacting us using the contact details provided under the “How to contact us” heading at the end of this policy. Withdrawing your consent will not affect the lawfulness of any processing we conducted prior to your withdrawal, nor will it affect processing of your personal information conducted in reliance on lawful processing grounds other than consent.
    5. You have the right to complain to a data protection authority about our collection and use of your personal information. For more information, please contact your local data protection authority. Contact details for data protection authorities in the European Economic Area are available here and contact details for the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner can be found here.)
  45. We respond to all requests we receive from individuals wishing to exercise their data protection rights in accordance with applicable data protection laws.

    46. Compliance with different privacy laws

    Australian privacy laws

  46. MeStudent is based in Australia, and therefore subject to Australian laws and regulations, including those dealing with privacy. We are bound by and adhere to the Australia Privacy Principles under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and our privacy policy has been drafted with Australian privacy laws in mind.
  47. Sometimes we handle personal information relying on exemptions under Australian privacy laws, such as in relation to related bodies corporate, publicly available information and activities outside of Australia. Any permitted handling of personal information under such exemptions will take priority over this policy to the extent of any inconsistency. You can find out more information about the Privacy Act and the Australian Privacy Principles from the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.

    48. International privacy laws, including the GDPR

  48. While based in Australia, our Users come from all over the world. Therefore, we recognise that privacy laws in other countries may apply. We aim to comply with all applicable privacy laws, including the GDPR.
  49. For the purposes of the GDPR your Personal Data is controlled by Xcellerator Pty Ltd ACN 604 570 050.

    50. How to contact us

  50. We take our privacy obligations very seriously. If you have any questions, concerns or think that we may have breached our privacy law obligations, we ask that you tell us by sending an email using the contact details set out below.
  51. If you have any concerns or think that we may have breached our privacy law obligations, we ask that you explain your reasons in detail. We will investigate and aim to respond as soon as possible. We will try and work with you to resolve any concerns or dispute.
  52. Please feel free to contact us through one of the following methods:
    1. Xcellerator Pty Ltd
      MeStudent
      Level 40
      55 Collins Street
      Melbourne VIC 3000
      Australia
      [email protected]

    53. Changes to the Privacy Policy

  53. We may amend this policy from time to time, by publishing a new version on our website at: http://www.mestudent.com . You can see the date of the last revision at the beginning of this policy.
  54. If you are a User, we will also send you an email, to let you know about the changes and provide a link to the updated version of the policy
  55. All information held by us is governed by the latest version of this policy.

    56. Definitions

  56. In this policy, the following terms have the meaning set out below.
    Term Meaning
    GDPR European Union General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679.
    MeStudent Xcellerator Pty. Ltd – ACN 604 570 050 trading as "MeStudent" and our agents, contractors, directors, employees, representatives, and any other entity or person otherwise acting on our behalf is an Australian based entity.
    personal information Means personal information for the purposes of the Australian Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). "Personal information" also includes "personal data" for the purposes of the GDPR.
    Platform The online platform operated by us which, among many things, allows Students to connect with each other and share their experiences on studying abroad, being able to obtain a first-hand account of what life is like living, studying and working in a particular city or location. The Platform also allows Students to undertake research on and connect with Service Providers, such as you, and other Education Providers. The Platform is accessible at http://www.mestudent.com .
    Service Providers Entities and businesses that provide or wish to provide products and services to Students, who are Users of the Platform.
    Student/s Any current, prospective or former international student, who is a member of the Platform.
    User A member of the Platform.
    you or your You and your agents, contractors, directors, employees, representatives, and any other entity or person otherwise acting on your behalf.
    we, our or us Xcellerator Pty. Ltd – ACN 604 570 050 trading as "MeStudent" and our agents, contractors, directors, employees, representatives, and any other entity or person otherwise acting on our behalf ("the Company", "we", "us", "our") is an Australian based entity.