Privacy Policy

Last updated: July 2026

1. Introduction

Room Scholars ("we", "us", "our") operates the website roomscholars.com and is committed to protecting the privacy and security of your personal data. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and share your information when you use our platform to search for, enquire about, or book student accommodation worldwide.

By using our website, submitting enquiries, or creating an account, you consent to the practices described in this policy. We encourage you to read this policy carefully and contact us if you have any questions.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information You Provide

  • Account Registration: Full name, email address, phone number, password, and optionally your date of birth and profile photo.
  • Enquiry & Booking Forms: Name, email, phone number, preferred accommodation, university name, course details, move-in/move-out dates, nationality, gender, guardian details, and any messages you provide.
  • Payment Information: When making instant bookings, payment details are processed securely through our payment partner (Razorpay). We do not store full card numbers on our servers.
  • Communications: Any emails, chat messages, or phone conversations you have with our team.

2.2 Information Collected Automatically

  • Device & Browser Information: IP address, browser type and version, operating system, device type, screen resolution.
  • Usage Data: Pages visited, time spent on pages, click patterns, search queries, referral URLs, and navigation paths through our platform.
  • Location Data: Approximate geographic location based on your IP address to display relevant accommodation and currency.
  • Cookies & Tracking Technologies: We use cookies, local storage, and similar technologies as described in our Cookie Policy.

2.3 Information from Third Parties

  • Google Sign-In: If you log in using Google, we receive your name, email, and profile picture from Google.
  • Accommodation Providers: Property information, pricing, availability updates, and booking confirmations from our partner accommodation providers.
  • Analytics Services: Google Analytics provides aggregated website usage data.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use your personal data for the following purposes:

  • To process and manage your accommodation enquiries and bookings.
  • To communicate with you about your account, enquiries, and bookings via email, phone, or WhatsApp.
  • To personalise your experience and show relevant accommodation options based on your location, preferences, and search history.
  • To send transactional emails (booking confirmations, enquiry acknowledgments, payment receipts).
  • To send promotional communications about new properties, offers, and student accommodation tips (with your consent; you can opt out at any time).
  • To improve our platform, services, and user experience through analytics and user feedback.
  • To detect, prevent, and address fraud, security issues, and technical problems.
  • To comply with legal obligations and enforce our terms of service.
  • To send birthday wishes and personalized offers if you have provided your date of birth.

4. Legal Basis for Processing

We process your data based on:

  • Contractual Necessity: Processing required to fulfil your booking or enquiry.
  • Consent: Marketing emails, cookies, and optional data like date of birth.
  • Legitimate Interests: Improving our services, fraud prevention, and analytics.
  • Legal Obligation: Compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

5. Data Sharing & Disclosure

We may share your information with:

  • Accommodation Providers: Your name, contact details, and booking preferences are shared with the accommodation provider you enquire about or book with, so they can process your application.
  • Payment Processors: Razorpay processes payments on our behalf. They are PCI DSS compliant.
  • Analytics Providers: Google Analytics receives anonymized usage data.
  • Cloud Services: We use Cloudinary for image storage and MongoDB Atlas for database hosting, both with industry-standard security.
  • Legal Requirements: We may disclose your data if required by law, court order, or governmental authority.

We never sell your personal data to third parties for marketing purposes.

6. Data Retention

We retain your personal data for as long as necessary to provide our services and fulfil the purposes outlined in this policy:

  • Account Data: Retained as long as your account is active. You can request deletion at any time.
  • Enquiry Data: Retained for up to 3 years for follow-up and service improvement.
  • Booking Data: Retained for 7 years for legal and financial record-keeping.
  • Analytics Data: Aggregated data retained indefinitely; personal identifiers removed after 26 months.

7. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your data:

  • All data transmitted between your browser and our servers is encrypted using TLS/SSL (HTTPS).
  • Passwords are hashed using bcrypt with salt rounds and are never stored in plain text.
  • Access to personal data is restricted to authorized team members on a need-to-know basis.
  • Our database is hosted on MongoDB Atlas with encryption at rest and in transit.
  • We conduct regular security reviews and vulnerability assessments.

8. Your Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the following rights:

  • Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
  • Rectification: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
  • Erasure: Request deletion of your personal data ("right to be forgotten").
  • Restriction: Request that we limit processing of your data.
  • Portability: Request your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
  • Objection: Object to processing based on legitimate interests or for direct marketing.
  • Withdraw Consent: Withdraw consent at any time where processing is based on consent.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at hello@roomscholars.com. We will respond within 30 days.

9. International Data Transfers

Your data may be transferred to and processed in countries outside your country of residence, including the United Kingdom, India, and the United States (where our cloud service providers operate). We ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, including Standard Contractual Clauses and adequacy decisions where applicable.

10. Children's Privacy

Our services are intended for individuals aged 16 and above. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 16. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us and we will take steps to delete it.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of significant changes by posting a notice on our website or sending an email. The "Last updated" date at the top reflects the most recent revision.

12. Contact Us

If you have questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us:

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