Privacy Policy

Overview

StudLoans ("we," "us," or "our") operates the website studloans.com. This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, disclose, and protect information when you visit our website. By using our site, you consent to the practices described in this policy.

Information We Collect

StudLoans is designed with privacy in mind. Our calculators and tools operate entirely in your web browser. The loan balances, income figures, and other financial information you enter into our calculators are processed locally on your device and are never transmitted to our servers or stored in any database.

We may collect the following types of information:

• Usage data: Pages visited, time spent on pages, referring URLs, browser type, device type, and operating system, collected through Google Analytics.
• Contact information: If you voluntarily contact us via email, we receive your email address and the content of your message.
• Lead form data: If you voluntarily submit your name and email through our rate comparison forms, we collect that information to provide you with relevant loan options.
• Cookies and similar technologies: Small data files stored on your device by your browser. See the "Cookies" section below for details.

How We Use Your Information

We use collected information for the following purposes:

• To analyze site traffic and improve our content and tools
• To display relevant advertisements that support our free services
• To respond to inquiries submitted through our contact page
• To connect users with relevant lending partners when requested
• To detect and prevent technical issues and abuse

Cookies

Our site uses the following categories of cookies:

• Essential cookies: Required for basic site functionality, such as remembering your cookie consent preference. These are stored in your browser's localStorage.
• Analytics cookies (Google Analytics / GA4): Help us understand how visitors interact with our site by collecting anonymous usage data. You can opt out by rejecting cookies in our consent banner or by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.
• Advertising cookies (Google AdSense): Used to serve relevant advertisements and measure ad performance. Google may use cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to our site or other websites. You can manage ad personalization at Google Ads Settings.
• Affiliate tracking cookies: When you click a link to a partner lender, cookies may be set to track the referral source. These are set by the partner's website, not by us.

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Most browsers allow you to block or delete cookies. However, blocking essential cookies may affect site functionality.

Google AdSense

We use Google AdSense to display advertisements on our site. Google AdSense uses cookies, including the DoubleClick DART cookie, to serve ads based on your visits to our site and other sites on the internet. Google's use of the DART cookie enables it to serve ads based on your browsing history. You may opt out of the use of the DART cookie by visiting the Google Ad Settings page. For more information about how Google uses data when you use our site, visit Google's Privacy & Terms.

Affiliate Links and Third-Party Partners

When you click on a link to a lender or financial service provider on our site, that link may contain an affiliate tracking code. This code tells the lender that you were referred from our site. We may receive compensation if you apply for and are approved for a financial product through these links. Clicking these links does not cost you anything additional. For full details about our affiliate relationships, see our Affiliate Disclosure.

Third-Party Services

Our site uses the following third-party services that may collect data:

• Cloudflare: Our site is hosted on Cloudflare Workers. Cloudflare may collect IP addresses, browser information, and other technical data as part of providing hosting and CDN services. See Cloudflare's Privacy Policy.
• Google Analytics (GA4): Collects anonymized usage statistics. See Google's Privacy Policy.
• Google AdSense: Serves advertisements and may use cookies for ad personalization. See Google's Privacy Policy.
• Skimlinks: Automatically affiliates outbound commerce links. See Skimlinks Privacy Policy.

Data Security

Our site is served over HTTPS, encrypting all data transmitted between your browser and our servers. Since we do not collect or store personal financial data from our calculators, there is minimal risk of data exposure from our services. However, no method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Data Retention

Analytics data is retained according to Google Analytics default retention settings (14 months). Contact form emails are retained as long as necessary to respond to your inquiry. Lead form submissions are stored in server logs and retained for up to 12 months.

Your Rights Under GDPR (European Users)

If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA), you have the following rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR):

• Right of access: You can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Right to rectification: You can ask us to correct inaccurate data.
• Right to erasure: You can ask us to delete your personal data.
• Right to restriction: You can ask us to restrict processing of your data.
• Right to data portability: You can request your data in a machine-readable format.
• Right to object: You can object to processing of your personal data, including for direct marketing.
• Right to withdraw consent: You can withdraw consent at any time by adjusting your cookie preferences or contacting us.

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

Your Rights Under CCPA (California Residents)

If you are a California resident, you have the following rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA):

• Right to know: You can request information about the categories of personal information we collect, the purposes for collection, and the categories of third parties with whom we share it.
• Right to delete: You can request deletion of your personal information.
• Right to opt out: You can opt out of the sale of your personal information. We do not sell personal information in the traditional sense, but use of advertising cookies may constitute a "sale" under CCPA. You can opt out by rejecting cookies via our consent banner.
• Right to non-discrimination: We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your CCPA rights.

To exercise these rights, contact us at hello@studloans.com.

Do Not Track

Our site does not currently respond to "Do Not Track" browser signals. However, you can control tracking through our cookie consent banner and by adjusting your browser settings.

Children's Privacy

Our site is not directed at children under the age of 13 (or 16 in the EEA). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If we become aware that we have collected personal information from a child, we will take steps to delete it promptly.

International Data Transfers

Our site is hosted in the United States via Cloudflare's global network. If you access our site from outside the United States, your data may be transferred to and processed in the United States. By using our site, you consent to this transfer.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated revision date. We encourage you to review this policy periodically. Your continued use of the site after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

Contact

If you have questions about this privacy policy or wish to exercise your data rights, contact us at hello@studloans.com or visit our contact page.