Privacy Policy

Last updated: August 2026

Who we are

CollegesNest is operated by BytePixels Technologies Pvt. Ltd., Lahore, Pakistan ("we", "us"). We are the data controller for the information described here. This policy applies to the CollegesNest website at collegesnest.com and to the CollegesNest Android application, which presents the same service. Contact details are at the bottom.

Information we collect

We only collect what the service needs to work. Specifically:

• Account details — your name, email address and, if you add one, your phone number. If you sign in with Google we receive only your basic Google profile: name, email address and whether that email is verified. We never receive your Google password.
• Profile details you choose to add — academic background, grades and test scores, study preferences and target countries, budget expectations, interests, achievements and work experience. All of this is optional.
• Things you do on the platform — universities you save, applications you track, questions and answers you post in the community, and messages you send to alumni.
• Images you upload — your profile and cover photos.
• Technical and usage data — your IP address (used for rate limiting and abuse prevention), approximate country, and which outbound university links are clicked. Click records are used in aggregate to report interest to universities.

We do not collect precise location, contacts, photos beyond what you deliberately upload, call logs, SMS, or any data from other apps on your device. The Android app is a wrapper around the website and requests no additional device permissions beyond internet access and (only when you tap to upload a picture) access to the file you pick.

How we use it

To run the platform: to show your shortlist and applications, power search and recommendations, let you connect with alumni and the community, send you service emails (password resets, security notices, deletion confirmations), keep the service secure, and respond when you contact support. We do not sell your personal data, and we do not use it for advertising profiles.

Who we share it with

Only with the providers needed to operate the service: our hosting provider, our database provider, our object storage provider for uploaded images, and our email provider for the service emails listed above. They process data on our instructions only. Sponsored placements on the site are clearly labelled and the sponsor receives no personal data about you — only aggregate click counts. We may disclose information if the law requires it.

What you control

Every section of your profile has its own visibility setting — public, students only, friends, or private. Financial details are private by default, and contact details are visible only to signed-in students unless you change that. You can view, correct or remove any of it from your profile, change how you sign in from settings, and delete your account entirely at any time.

How long we keep it

• While your account is open — we keep your account and profile data so the service works.
• When you delete your account — your personal data is erased immediately (see below).
• Backups — encrypted backups roll over on a 30-day cycle, so a copy may persist in backup storage for up to 30 days before being overwritten.
• Security and rate-limit logs — kept for up to 90 days, then discarded.
• Legally required records — where the law obliges us to retain a record, we keep only that record and only for as long as we must.

Deleting your account and data

You can permanently delete your account and personal data yourself, at any time, from collegesnest.com/delete-account — in the app, or in any browser. You do not need to install or reinstall the app to reach it. It is also linked from Settings → Danger zone and from the site footer.

Deletion is permanent and immediate. It erases your account, profile, saved universities, tracked applications, private messages, AI conversations, notifications, submitted forms and uploaded images. Questions and answers you posted in the community keep their text — so other students' replies still make sense — but every link to you is removed and they show as "Deleted user". Moderation and analytics records are stripped of your identity rather than deleted, so they can no longer be traced to you.

Deactivating or freezing an account is not what we do here: deletion means the data is gone. If you cannot sign in, email support@collegesnest.com from any address and we will verify you another way and delete the account within 30 days.

Data security

Passwords are stored only as salted bcrypt hashes, never in plain text. Password-reset links are stored hashed, expire after an hour and work once. Sessions use short-lived signed tokens that can be revoked, and the whole site is served over HTTPS. We take reasonable measures to protect your data — though no online service can promise perfect security.

Children

CollegesNest is intended for students aged 13 and over who are researching higher education. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has given us their information, contact us and we will delete it.

Cookies

We use a small number of strictly necessary cookies — mainly to keep you signed in and to remember your cookie choice. We do not use advertising or cross-site tracking cookies.

Changes to this policy

If we make a material change we will update the date at the top of this page and, where the change significantly affects you, tell you in the app or by email.

Contact us

For anything about your privacy or your data — including access, correction and deletion requests — email support@collegesnest.com. For everything else, team@collegesnest.com or the contact page. We normally reply within one working day, and always within 30 days for a formal data request.

BytePixels Technologies Pvt. Ltd., Lahore, Pakistan.

Questions? Get in touch — we usually reply within a day.