Privacy Policy

1. Information We Collect

When you register or use Everest Skills Academy, we collect the following categories of personal information:

• Account data — name, email address, password (stored as a bcrypt hash), and optional profile photo.
• Usage data — courses enrolled in, lessons completed, quiz scores, and progress percentages.
• Payment data — billing address and last-four card digits. Full card numbers are processed by our payment provider and never stored by us.
• Technical data — IP address, browser type, operating system, referring URL, and session identifiers collected via server logs and cookies.
• Communications — emails or messages you send to our support team.

2. How We Use Your Data

We use your personal information for the following purposes:

• Providing and improving our educational platform and services.
• Tracking your learning progress and issuing certificates upon course completion.
• Sending transactional emails — enrollment confirmations, password resets, and certificate notifications.
• Sending optional marketing communications (you may opt out at any time).
• Detecting and preventing fraud, abuse, and security incidents.
• Complying with applicable legal obligations.

3. Cookies

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to keep you logged in, remember your preferences, and analyse usage patterns. You can manage cookie preferences via your browser settings. For full details, see our Cookie Policy.

4. Data Sharing

We do not sell your personal data. We may share information with:

• Service providers — cloud hosting, email delivery, payment processing, and analytics — under strict data-processing agreements.
• Instructors — limited to aggregate enrolment counts for their courses, never individual identities without consent.
• Legal authorities — if required by law, court order, or to protect the safety of users or the public.

5. Data Retention

We retain your account data for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, we remove personal data within 30 days, except where we are legally required to retain it (e.g., financial records for tax purposes, retained for up to 7 years).

6. Your Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you.
• Correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Request deletion of your data ("right to be forgotten").
• Object to or restrict processing of your data.
• Receive your data in a portable format.
• Withdraw consent for marketing at any time.

To exercise any of these rights, email us at privacy@evrestskills.com.

7. Security

We implement industry-standard security measures including TLS encryption in transit, bcrypt password hashing, and access controls. However, no system is 100% secure and we encourage you to use a strong, unique password for your account.

8. Children's Privacy

Our platform is not directed at children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If we learn that a child has provided us with personal data, we will delete it promptly.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify registered users by email and post the updated policy on this page with a revised "last updated" date. Continued use of our services after changes constitutes acceptance.

10. Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy, please contact us: