Our Commitment to Your Privacy

At InterStudies we arrange educational programmes for young people from around the world to have the experience of their life. We are committed to safety and protection for our potential and existing customers as well as our network, and looking after any personal data you share with us is an important part of this.

We want you to be confident that your data is safe and secure with us, and we would like you to understand how we use the data to offer our students and host families a better and more unique and inspiring experience. You can find more information about us on the website: About InterStudies

If you cannot, or will not, provide us with the personal information we reasonably require, we may be unable to provide you with the information, goods or services you have requested.

What this Privacy Notice covers

The data controller is InterStudies Ltd. (referred to in this Notice as “we” or “us”).

We are committed to doing the right thing when it comes to how we collect, use and protect your personal data.

• What types of personal data we collect and why we collect it.
• When and how we may share personal data within the InterStudies network and our partner organisations.
• The choices you have, including how to access and update your personal data.

We have tried to keep this Notice as simple as possible, but if you are not familiar with terms such as data controller, special categories of personal data, then read about these and some others in Key terms.

Personal data we collect

When you register for our services, you may provide us with:

• Your personal details, including, but not limited to: your address, email address, phone number, country of residence and date of birth
• Your account login details, such as your username and the password you chose.

When you browse our web sites or use our mobile apps, we may collect:

• Travel preferences
• Information about your browsing behavior on our websites and mobile apps
• Information about when you click on one of our adverts, including those shown on other organisations’ websites
• Information about the way you access our digital services, including operating system, IP address, online identifiers and browser details
• Social preferences, interests and activities
When you or your child travel with us, we may collect:
• Passenger information, passport details, other ID document details
• Insurance details
• Relevant medical data and any special, dietary, religious or disability requests
• Information about your purchases, how you paid for it and credit or other payment information
• Information about your browsing behavior on our websites and mobile apps
• Information about when you click on one of our adverts, including those shown on other organisations’ websites
• Information about the way you access our digital services, including operating system, IP address, online identifiers and browser details
• Social preferences, interests and activities

When you or your family host for us, we may collect:

• Family member information including, but not limited to: your current address and 5-year address history, email address, phone number, dates of births of family members, previous surnames used, employment status
• Relevant medical data and any special, dietary, religious or disability requests of host family members
• Social preferences, interests and activities
• Sort code, account number and IBAN in order to facilitate monthly payments
• We will also collect additional documentation including identification in order to process necessary safeguarding checks (DBS / Garda Checks)

When you contact us or we contact you or you take part in promotions, competitions, surveys or questionnaires about our services, we may collect:

• Personal data you provide when you connect with us, including by email, post and phone or through social media, such as your name, username and contact details
• Details of emails and other digital communications we send to you that you open, including any links in them that you click on
• Your feedback and contributions to customer surveys and questionnaires

Other sources of personal data:

• We may use personal data from other sources, such as specialist companies that supply information, retail partners and public registers
• Your insurance company, their agents and medical staff may exchange relevant personal data and special categories of personal data with us in circumstances where we/they need to act on your behalf or in the interest of other customers or in an emergency
• If you log-in using your social network credentials to connect to our platforms and online services e.g. Facebook, Google+ and Twitter, you will agree to share your user details with us. For example, your name, email address, date of birth, location and any other information you choose to share with us

Personal data you provide about other individuals:

• We use personal data about other individuals provided by you, such as your parents / child / siblings / other relatives / friends
• By providing other people’s personal data, you must be sure that they agree to this and you are allowed to provide it. You should also ensure that, where appropriate, they understand how their personal data may be used by us.

Using your personal data

We use your personal data in a variety of ways, as explained below.

To provide the products and services you request

We need to process your personal data so that we can manage your application, account or booking, provide you with the programmes, products and services you want to buy or engage with and help you with any orders and refunds you may ask for.

To manage and improve our programmes, products, services and day-to-day operations

We use personal data to manage and improve our programmes, products, websites, mobile apps and other services.

We monitor how our services are used to help protect your personal data, detect and prevent fraud, other crimes and the misuse of services. This helps us to make sure that you can safely use our services.

We may use personal data to respond to and to manage security operations, accidents or other similar incidents, including medical and insurance purposes.

We use personal data to carry out market research and internal research and development, and to develop and improve our product range, services, IT systems, security, know-how and the way we communicate with you.

To personalize your experience

We want to ensure that marketing communications relating to our programmes, products and services, and those of our suppliers, partner organisations, retail partners and the InterStudies network, including online advertising, are relevant to your interests.

To do this, we may use your personal data to better understand your interests so that we can try to predict what other services and information you might be most interested in. This enables us to tailor our communications to make them more relevant and interesting for you.

Looking at your browsing behaviour and interests helps us to better understand you as a customer and it allows us to provide you with personalised offers and services.

We may also measure your responses to marketing communications relating to products and services we offer, which enables us to offer you products and services that better meet your needs as a customer.

If you do not want to receive a personalised service from us, you can change your preference online via our Consent Contact Form, over the phone or by writing (e.g. email) to us at any time. We will update our records as soon as we can.

To make contact and interact with you

We want to serve you better as a customer so if you contact us, for example by email, post, and phone or via social media, we may use personal data to provide clarification or assistance to you.

We need to process your personal data so that we can manage any promotions and competitions you choose to enter, including those we run with our suppliers and retail partners. For example, if you win a prize.

We may invite you to take part in customer surveys, questionnaires and other market research activities carried out by InterStudies and/or by other organisations on our behalf.

We do not sell your personal data to third parties.

Consent to use your image, comments or videos

Students who have participated in one of our programmes may have provided consent to use their images, comments or videos in our marketing materials.

You can withdraw that consent at any time via our Personal Data Contact Form

Marketing communications

From time to time we may send you relevant offers and news about our products and services in a number of ways, including by email. We will only do this if you previously agreed to receive these marketing communications.

When you apply to, book or register with us we will ask if you would like to receive marketing communications. You can change your marketing preferences online, over the phone, using an ‘unsubscribe’ link in our marketing emails or via our Personal Data Contact Form at any time. Of course, the choice is entirely yours, but if you say you do not want to receive marketing information from us this will prevent you from receiving offers or promotions that may be of interest to you.

You may still receive service-related communications from us. For example, confirming your payment and providing important information about the use of our products or services.

Market research

We like to hear your views to help us to improve our products and services, so we may contact you for market research purposes. You always have the choice about whether to take part or continue in our market research.

Sharing personal data with suppliers, sub-contractors and retail partners

In order to provide the programmes, products or services requested by you we may share personal data with e.g. suppliers of travel or accommodation arrangements, including host families, hotels, airlines, and transport companies.

We also work with carefully selected suppliers and sub-contractors that carry out certain functions on our behalf. For example, companies that help us with IT services, storing and combining data, marketing, advertising campaign, market research, processing payments and delivering products, services and or elements of our programmes.

We may need to share personal data to establish, exercise or defend our legal rights; this includes providing personal data to others for the purposes of preventing fraud and reducing credit risk.

When we share personal data with other organisations we require them to keep it safe, and they must not use your personal data for their own marketing purposes.

We only share the minimum personal data that enable our suppliers, sub-contractors and retail partners to provide their services to you and us.

Sharing personal data with regulatory authorities

So that you/your child can travel, it may be mandatory (as required by government authorities at the point(s) of departure and/or destination) to disclose and process your personal data for immigration, border control, security and anti-terrorism purposes, or any other purposes which they determine appropriate.

We may share the minimum personal data necessary with other public authorities if the law says we must, or we are legally allowed to do so.

Sharing personal data within the InterStudies network

Our Privacy Notice applies to all the services offered by InterStudies but excludes services that have separate privacy notices that do not incorporate this Privacy Notice. We may share the minimum personal data necessary with other companies within the InterStudies network for example, to provide the programmes, products and services you request; to manage and improve our programmes, products, services and day-to-day operations; to help to personalise your experience; where appropriate, to make contact and interact with you; and, if allowed and appropriate, for marketing or market research purposes.

Protecting your personal data

We know how important it is to protect and manage your personal data. We take appropriate security measures to help protect your personal data from accidental loss and from unauthorized access, use, alteration and disclosure.

The security of your data also depends on you. For example, where we have given you or where you have chosen a password for access to certain services, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential.

The personal data that we collect from you may, in some cases, be transferred to, and stored at, a destination outside the European Economic Area (“EEA”). It may also be processed by organisations operating outside the EEA who work for us or for one of our suppliers. We put in place appropriate protections to make sure your personal data remains adequately protected and that it is treated in line with this Notice. These protections include, but are not limited to, appropriate contract clauses, such as standard contract clauses approved by the European Commission, and appropriate security measures.

Data retention

We will retain your personal data for only as long as it is necessary for the uses set out in this Privacy Notice and/or to meet legal and regulatory requirements. After this period, we will securely erase personal data. If data is needed after this period for analytical, historical or other legitimate business purposes, we will take appropriate measures to anonymize this data.

About cookies and similar technologies

Cookies are small data files that allow a website to collect and store a range of data on your desktop computer, laptop or mobile device. Cookies help us to provide important features and functionality on our websites and mobile apps, and we use them to improve your customer experience. Please see our separate Cookie Notice.

Links to other websites

Our websites or mobile apps may contain links to websites operated by other organisations that have their own privacy notices. Please make sure you read the terms and conditions and privacy notice carefully before providing any personal data on another organisation’s website as we do not accept any responsibility or liability for websites of other organisations.

Social media features

Our websites or mobile apps may contain social media features such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest that have their own privacy notices. Please make sure you read their terms and conditions and privacy notice carefully before providing any personal data as we do not accept any responsibility or liability for these features.

Accessing and updating your personal data; and complaints

You have a right to ask for a copy of the personal data we hold about you, although you should be able to access online the personal data associated with your account or booking. You can write to us asking for a copy of other personal data we hold about you.

Please include any details to help us identify and locate your personal data. Where we can provide data access, we will do so free of charge except where further copies are requested in which case we may charge a reasonable fee based on administrative costs.

We want to make sure that the personal data we hold about you is accurate and up to date. If any of the details we hold are incorrect, please let us know.

You can also ask for your personal data to be rectified or erased, to object to the processing of your personal data and, where technically feasible, to ask for personal data you provided to be transmitted to another organisation.

We will update or erase your data, unless we must keep it for legitimate business or legal purposes.

You can also contact us if you have a complaint about how we collect, store or use your personal data.

Please note that we may ask you to verify your identity before we can act on your request or complaint. We may also ask you for more information to help ensure that you are authorized to make such a request or complaint when you contact us on behalf of someone else.

Legal basis for processing personal data

We will only collect and use your personal data if at least one of the following conditions applies:

• We have your consent;

Example: Customer account
You give us permission to process your personal data when you send us an application.

• It is necessary for a contract with you or to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract;

Example: To provide the programmes, products and services you request
We need to process your personal data so that we can manage your booking, arrange your programme, provide you with the products and services you want to buy and help you with any orders and refunds you may ask for.

• It is necessary for us to comply with a legal obligation;

Example: Sharing personal data with regulatory authorities
So that you can travel, it may be mandatory (as required by government authorities at the point(s) of departure and/or destination) to disclose and process your personal data for immigration, border control.

• It is necessary to protect your vital interests or those of another individual;

Example: In an emergency
Your insurance company, their agents and medical staff may exchange relevant personal data and special categories of personal data with us in circumstances where we/they need to act on your behalf or in the interest of other customers or in an emergency.

• It is in the public interest or we have official authority; or

Example: Security operations
We may use personal data to respond to and to manage security operations, accidents or other similar incidents, including medical and insurance purposes.

• It is in our or a third party’s legitimate interests and these are not overridden by your interests or rights.

Example: To personalize your experience
We may use your personal data to better understand your interests so that we can try to predict what other products, services and information you might be most interested in. This enables us to tailor our communications to make them more relevant and interesting for you.

Where we need to process special categories of personal data, for example health data for medical reasons, we will only do so if one or more additional conditions apply. For example, we have your explicit consent; it is necessary to protect the vital interests of you or another individual and you are physically or legally incapable of giving consent; it is necessary to establish, exercise or defend legal claims; it is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest.

How to access, control, and correct your personal information
Do you have a data subject request? Please use the Personal Data Contact Form.

How to report a data breach
Do you feel that your information has been breached? Please use our Personal Data Contact Form.

If you have any queries regarding data protection which are not answered on this page please contact our data protection officer at dpo@interstudies.com.

Changes to our Notice

This Notice replaces all previous versions. We may change the Notice at any time so please check it regularly on our website(s) for any updates. If the changes are significant, we will provide a prominent notice on our website(s).

Last update: 10th August, 2020