Privacy Policy

We collect information to provide and improve our services. The types of data we gather include:

• Account Information: Name, email address, district, date of birth, and password when you create an account.
• Academic Profile: School, field of study, GPA, and enrollment status — only what you choose to add.
• Application Data: Scholarship applications you submit, including any essays or documents attached.
• Usage Data: Pages visited, search queries, filters used, and interaction patterns — collected anonymously to improve the platform.
• Organization Data: For poster accounts: organization name, logo, description, and contact details.

Your information is used solely to operate and improve ScholarBelize:

• Process scholarship applications and match students with opportunities
• Send application status updates and deadline reminders
• Improve platform experience through aggregated, anonymized analytics
• Communicate account changes, security alerts, and policy updates
• Prevent fraud and enforce our Terms of Service

We never sell your personal information to advertisers or third parties.

We share your information only in the following circumstances:

• With Scholarship Providers: When you apply, the organization receives your application data to review your candidacy.
• Service Providers: We use Supabase for database hosting and authentication. These providers process data on our behalf under strict contractual obligations.
• Legal Requirements: We may disclose data if required by law, court order, or to protect the safety of our users.

We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your data:

• All data is encrypted in transit (TLS 1.3) and at rest
• Authentication handled via Supabase Auth with secure session management
• Role-based access control ensures users only see data they're authorized to access
• Regular security audits and dependency updates

While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your data, no method of transmission over the Internet is 100% secure.

ScholarBelize uses minimal cookies essential for platform functionality:

• Session Cookies: Required for authentication and keeping you signed in.
• Analytics: Vercel Analytics collects anonymous usage data (page views, load times) to help us improve. No personally identifiable information is tracked.

We do not use advertising cookies or share cookie data with third-party advertisers.

You have full control over your personal data:

• Access: View all data we hold about you in your profile dashboard.
• Edit: Update your information at any time from your profile settings.
• Delete: Request full account deletion by contacting us. We'll remove all your data within 30 days.
• Export: Download a copy of your data by contacting our team.
• Withdraw Consent: Opt out of non-essential data processing at any time.

We keep your data only as long as necessary:

• Active Accounts: Data retained while your account exists and for 30 days after deletion request.
• Applications: Retained for the duration of the scholarship cycle plus 12 months for record-keeping.
• Analytics: Anonymized usage data may be retained indefinitely for platform improvement.

ScholarBelize is designed for students aged 13 and older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we discover that a child under 13 has provided us with personal data, we will promptly delete it. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us immediately.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will:

• Update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page
• Notify registered users via email for material changes
• Post the updated policy on this page with a revised effective date

Your continued use of ScholarBelize after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

For any questions about this Privacy Policy or your personal data, reach out to us: