Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

Apex Education & Overseas Consultant (AEOC), trading as Apex Education & Overseas Consultant, operates this website at https://aeoc.in. Our registered offices are at:

• Head Office: 4th Floor, Tulsi Landmark, Opposite Kidney Hospital, Petlad Road, Nadiad, Gujarat – 387001, India
• Branch Office: 4th Floor, Radhasoami Samipya, Opposite Home Science College, Patel Society, Mota Bazaar, Vallabh Vidyanagar, Anand, Gujarat – 388120, India

For privacy enquiries: hello@aeoc.in

2. What Data We Collect

2.1 Data You Provide Directly

• Consultation / contact forms: full name, email address, phone number, country of interest, service of interest, branch preference, and any message you include.
• Course enrolment: name, email, phone, and payment details processed via Razorpay (we do not store card details).

2.2 Data Collected Automatically

• Log data: IP address, browser type, referring URL, pages visited, and timestamps.
• Analytics: We use Vercel Analytics (cookieless, GDPR-friendly) to understand aggregate traffic patterns. No cross-site tracking cookies are set.

2.3 Data We Do Not Collect

• We do not collect sensitive personal data (Aadhaar numbers, biometrics, financial account numbers) directly.
• We do not knowingly collect data from children under 13.

3. How We Use Your Data

• Respond to enquiries — to contact you via phone, WhatsApp, or email about your study-abroad or coaching enquiry.
• Deliver services — to manage your coaching enrolment, application milestones, visa tracking, and document checklist.
• Service communications — to send appointment reminders, status updates, and documents relevant to your application.
• Marketing communications — to send newsletters, scholarship alerts, or event invitations (only with your opt-in consent; you may unsubscribe at any time).
• Improve our platform — to analyse aggregate usage data and improve website performance.
• Compliance — to comply with applicable laws and respond to lawful requests from authorities.

4. Legal Bases for Processing (India DPDP & applicable law)

• Consent: For marketing messages and cookies (where applicable). You may withdraw consent at any time.
• Contract performance: When you enrol in a course or engage AEOC for visa / study-abroad services.
• Legitimate interests: To follow up on a consultation enquiry you submitted, to prevent fraud, and to secure our systems.
• Legal obligation: Where required by Indian law (e.g., financial record-keeping).

5. Data Sharing

AEOC does not sell your personal data. We share data only with:

• Internal staff: Counsellors, trainers, and operations staff within AEOC who need access to provide your requested service.
• Technology service providers: Supabase (database hosting), Razorpay (payment processing), AWS SES / Resend (email delivery), WATI / Interakt (WhatsApp Business API), Vercel (hosting). All providers are contractually bound to process data only on our instructions.
• Universities and visa authorities: Only the data you explicitly provide for application purposes and only with your consent.
• Law enforcement / regulators: Where legally required.

6. Data Retention

• Enquiry / lead data is retained for up to 3 years after last contact, or until you request deletion.
• Client application data is retained for up to 7 years to meet regulatory requirements for immigration-related records.
• Payment records are retained for 8 years per Indian tax law.
• Marketing opt-in records are retained for the lifetime of your subscription plus 2 years.

7. Your Rights

Under India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 and applicable law, you have the right to:

• Access — request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Correction — request correction of inaccurate data.
• Erasure — request deletion of your data (subject to legal retention requirements).
• Objection — object to processing based on legitimate interests or for marketing purposes.
• Portability — request your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
• Grievance — raise a complaint with AEOC's Data Protection Officer or with the relevant Data Protection Board of India.

To exercise any right, email hello@aeoc.in with subject "Data Rights Request". We will respond within 30 days.

8. Cookies

This website does not use advertising or third-party tracking cookies. We use a strictly necessary session cookie for authenticated users only. Vercel Analytics collects anonymous aggregate data without setting persistent cookies.

You may disable cookies in your browser settings without affecting your ability to browse public pages of this site.

9. Security

We implement industry-standard technical and organisational measures including TLS encryption in transit, access-controlled cloud storage, role-based data access controls, and regular security reviews. No method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure; we cannot guarantee absolute security.

10. Third-Party Links

Our website links to university websites, government immigration portals, and social media platforms. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those third parties. We encourage you to read their privacy policies before providing personal data.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of material changes by posting a notice on our website and, where appropriate, by email. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page indicates when the latest revision was made.

12. Contact & Grievance Officer

For privacy concerns, data requests, or complaints, contact our Data Protection Officer: