1. Who we are
GlobalSchoolGuide ("we", "us", "our") is an independent editorial directory of international schools, written for expat families. We are operated by an independent publisher headquartered in the European Economic Area. We are the data controller for personal data collected through this website and our email communications.
2. What data we collect
We collect only what we need to operate the site and to communicate with you when you've asked us to. Specifically:
Information you give us directly
- Newsletter subscription: email address, and (optionally) first name and destination city.
- Contact form / school listing application / guide download: name, email, message body, and any optional fields you choose to fill in (e.g. school name, role, phone).
- Reviews: if you submit a parent review, your name (or pseudonym), email (used only to verify, never published), city, school, child's age range, and the review content.
- Compare and Quiz tools: any selections you make are stored in your browser only (localStorage). They are not sent to our servers unless you explicitly submit them.
Information collected automatically
- Usage data: pages viewed, referrer, approximate location (country / region only), device type, browser type. Collected via privacy-focused analytics. see cookies below.
- Technical data: IP address (truncated and not stored beyond 30 days), browser session identifiers strictly necessary for the site to function.
3. Why we collect it (lawful basis)
Under GDPR and equivalent laws we rely on the following lawful bases:
- Consent. for newsletter subscription and optional cookies.
- Performance of a contract. when you request something specific (e.g. a guide download, school listing application).
- Legitimate interests. running and improving the site, preventing fraud, basic analytics in aggregate. We balance these interests against your privacy rights and use the least-intrusive method available.
- Legal obligation. where we are required to retain or disclose data by law (e.g. tax records).
4. How we use it
- To send you the newsletters, guides or replies you've requested.
- To respond to your messages via the contact form or partnerships form.
- To verify and publish parent reviews (with your nominated name only. never your email).
- To improve our editorial coverage by analysing aggregate usage trends (which cities and curricula readers care about most).
- To prevent abuse, spam and fraud. for example by detecting unusual review submission patterns.
We do not use your data for automated decision-making or profiling that produces legal or similarly significant effects on you.
5. Who we share it with
We do not sell your personal data. Ever. We do not share it with international schools, school search agents, or relocation companies. except in two narrow circumstances:
- You explicitly ask us to. For example, if you fill in a school's enquiry form on a Premium-listed school's profile, the form data is delivered to that school's admissions team. The form makes this clear at the point of submission.
- Service providers we contract with. We use a small number of carefully chosen processors that handle data on our behalf, under data-processing agreements that prohibit them from using your data for any other purpose:
- Form processing: Formspree (Maine, USA. operating under Standard Contractual Clauses)
- Email delivery: a GDPR-compliant email service provider
- Web hosting: Cloudflare and our static-site host (EU-based)
- Analytics: privacy-focused analytics provider (cookieless, IP-anonymised)
We may disclose data when legally required (court order, regulator demand, fraud investigation). We will challenge overbroad requests where appropriate.
6. How long we keep it
- Newsletter subscriptions: until you unsubscribe (one-click in every email) plus 30 days for technical wind-down.
- Contact form messages: 24 months, then deleted unless we're in active correspondence with you.
- Parent reviews: indefinitely (the review is published to inform other parents). The email used to verify is deleted within 90 days of publication.
- Analytics aggregates: 26 months, then anonymised or deleted.
- Server logs: 30 days.
7. Your rights
If GDPR, UK GDPR, CCPA, or an equivalent law applies to you, you have the right to:
- Access the personal data we hold about you.
- Rectify data that is inaccurate or incomplete.
- Erase your data ("right to be forgotten") in most circumstances.
- Restrict or object to certain processing.
- Port your data to another service in a structured format.
- Withdraw consent at any time without affecting prior lawful processing.
- Complain to your national data-protection authority (e.g. ICO in the UK, CNIL in France, the Irish DPC for EU complaints concerning us).
To exercise any of these rights, contact us via the contact form. We respond within 30 days, free of charge, unless your request is manifestly unfounded or excessive.
8. Cookies and analytics
We use the minimum cookies needed to operate the site. We deliberately avoid third-party advertising trackers, social-network pixels, and behavioural advertising cookies. Specifically:
- Strictly necessary cookies: session cookies needed for the site to function. No consent required under GDPR.
- Functional cookies: remember your filter and sort preferences (set in your browser only). No personally identifiable information.
- Analytics: we use a privacy-focused, cookieless analytics provider that aggregates traffic without setting any cookies, without recording IP addresses, and without cross-site tracking. No personal data leaves your browser.
If we ever introduce optional cookies (e.g. embedded video), we will surface a consent banner with explicit opt-in.
9. International transfers
Some of our processors are based outside your country (notably in the United States). For transfers of personal data outside the EEA / UK we rely on the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs), supplementary safeguards, and. where relevant. recipient certifications under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework. Where neither applies, we collect explicit consent for the specific transfer.
10. Children's data
This site is intended for adults researching schools on behalf of children. We do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under the age of 16. Parents who submit reviews referencing their children may include the child's age range and grade. we do not collect or store the child's name, image, or personally identifying details.
If you believe a child has submitted personal data to us, please contact us immediately and we will delete it.
11. Security
We protect your data with industry-standard technical and organisational measures: TLS encryption in transit, encrypted storage at rest, principle-of-least-privilege access controls, regular security reviews, and incident-response procedures. No system is perfectly secure, but we treat your data as if it were our own. If a breach affecting your rights and freedoms ever occurs, we will notify you and the relevant supervisory authority within 72 hours, as required by GDPR.
12. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy as our practices evolve or as the law changes. The "Last updated" date at the top of the page reflects the most recent revision. Material changes (anything that expands the categories of data collected, the purposes of processing, or the recipients we share data with) will be notified to newsletter subscribers by email at least 14 days before they take effect, and you'll have the option to unsubscribe before they apply.
If anything here is unclear, please ask. We'd rather take 5 minutes to explain than leave you uncertain about how your data is handled. Use our contact form and we'll respond within 2 business days.