GOLE Privacy Policy

Effective Date: September 25, 2026

GOLE (“GOLE,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) provides tools that help students explore universities, understand admissions requirements, organize applications, compare options, and receive personalized guidance through GOLE Advisor.

This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, how we use it, when we share it, and the choices and rights available to you.

1. Information We Collect

When you create and use a GOLE account, we may collect information you provide directly, including your name, email address, country of residence, citizenship, education level, intended degree, academic interests, preferred countries, enrollment cycle, budget, scholarship preferences and similar profile information.

You may also choose to provide academic and admissions information such as grades, curriculum, GPA, SAT, ACT, IELTS, TOEFL, Duolingo English Test, AP, IB or other educational results.

GOLE may allow you to upload application-related documents such as transcripts, resumes, diplomas, test records and other materials. We process these documents only for GOLE features that require them and do not submit them to universities unless a future feature expressly asks for your authorization.

When you use GOLE to manage applications, we may store information including saved universities, application stages, deadlines, preparation status, application decisions and related workflow information.

We also process the messages you send to GOLE Advisor, together with the minimum account, profile, match, university or application context needed to answer your question or carry out an action you explicitly confirm.

If you sign in using Google, we receive the account information made available through the Google authentication process, such as your verified email address and basic profile information. We use Google Sign-In for authentication and account management.

We may automatically collect technical information such as device and browser information, authentication/session information, timestamps, error information and security logs necessary to operate and protect the service.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use personal information to provide and operate GOLE, authenticate users, create and maintain student profiles, generate university matches, personalize university discovery, track saved universities and applications, provide GOLE Advisor, respond to support requests, improve product reliability and protect the service against misuse or unauthorized access.

GOLE uses structured student information and verified university information to generate Match Scores and related classifications. A GOLE Match Score is a profile-fit indicator, not a probability of admission.

GOLE does not make university admission decisions on behalf of universities.

3. GOLE Advisor and Automated Systems

GOLE Advisor uses automated systems, including artificial intelligence, to help explain information, answer questions and assist with supported actions.

Where possible, GOLE uses deterministic database queries rather than AI to answer simple factual questions about your own account, such as your stored SAT score, IELTS score, budget or application stage.

For questions requiring explanation or synthesis, relevant GOLE data may be sent securely to an AI service provider. We seek to limit the information supplied to what is necessary for the requested response.

GOLE Advisor may occasionally produce incomplete or incorrect responses. You should verify material admissions requirements, deadlines and submission instructions before acting on them.

GOLE Advisor cannot determine whether you will be admitted to a university and does not provide admission probabilities or guarantees.

4. Live Official Research

GOLE Advisor may use Live Research when GOLE does not have enough verified information, when stored information may be outdated or when you explicitly ask GOLE to check an official source.

GOLE currently uses a research service to retrieve information from official university and authorized admissions websites.

For these research requests, GOLE is designed to send only information necessary to conduct the research, such as the university, requested fact, programme where relevant and application cycle.

We do not intentionally send your name, email address, uploaded documents, scores, budget or complete student profile to the external research service for university research.

Live Research results do not automatically modify GOLE's university database, Match Engine results or your student profile.

5. Service Providers

We may use trusted service providers to operate GOLE, including cloud infrastructure, authentication and database services, email or communications infrastructure, artificial-intelligence providers, security services and official-source web research providers.

For example, GOLE currently uses Supabase for parts of its authentication and data infrastructure, Google for optional Google Sign-In, and Firecrawl for targeted official-source research.

These providers process information on our behalf or according to their own applicable terms and privacy obligations.

We do not sell your personal information to advertisers.

We do not use your admissions profile or uploaded application documents for third-party targeted advertising.

6. Cookies and Local Storage

GOLE uses cookies, browser storage and similar technologies where necessary to maintain authentication sessions, protect accounts, remember product preferences and provide core functionality.

Some temporary product state, such as filters or conversation state, may be stored locally or for the duration of a browser session.

If GOLE later introduces additional analytics, advertising or non-essential tracking technologies, we will update our disclosures and obtain consent where required by applicable law.

7. How Long We Keep Information

We generally retain account and profile information for as long as your GOLE account remains active and for a reasonable period afterward where necessary for account recovery, security, legal obligations, dispute resolution or backup management.

Information may be deleted or anonymized when it is no longer reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected.

Different categories of information may have different retention periods.

8. Security

We use administrative, organizational and technical safeguards designed to protect personal information.

These safeguards may include authenticated access, user-level authorization controls, encrypted connections, server-side handling of private API credentials and access restrictions intended to prevent one user from accessing another user's information.

No online service can guarantee absolute security. You are responsible for protecting your account credentials and should contact us promptly if you believe your account has been compromised.

9. International Data Transfers

GOLE and its service providers may process information in countries other than the country where you live.

Where applicable law requires safeguards for international transfers, we seek to use appropriate contractual, technical or legal protections.

10. Your Privacy Rights

Depending on where you live, applicable privacy law may give you rights concerning your personal information, including rights to access, correct, delete or receive information about how your information is processed.

Users covered by the GDPR may also have rights including restriction, portability, objection and protections relating to certain automated decision-making.

Türkiye's Personal Data Protection Law No. 6698 (KVKK) similarly provides rights including learning whether personal data is processed, requesting information, learning the purpose of processing, requesting correction or deletion in applicable circumstances and objecting to certain outcomes produced solely through automated processing.

You may contact us to exercise applicable rights. We may need to verify your identity before completing a request.

11. Students Under 18

GOLE is primarily designed for students planning higher-education applications, some of whom may be under 18.

If you are under the age at which you can independently consent to the processing of personal information in your jurisdiction, you should use GOLE only with the involvement or permission of a parent or legal guardian where required.

GOLE is not intended for children under 13.

If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child in circumstances prohibited by applicable law, we will take appropriate steps to delete or otherwise address that information.

12. Third-Party Websites

GOLE may link to university websites, UCAS, Common App, national application systems and other third-party services.

GOLE does not control those services. Their own terms and privacy policies govern your interaction with them.

Opening an official application portal through GOLE does not mean GOLE has submitted an application on your behalf.

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy as GOLE evolves or legal requirements change.

When changes are material, we may provide additional notice through the service or by other appropriate means.

The effective date at the top of this Policy shows when it was last updated.

14. Current Service Operator / Data Controller

GOLE is currently operated by:

ARKLON Eğitim ve Yatırım Grup A.Ş.
Türkiye

This entity currently acts as the service operator and, where applicable, the data controller for GOLE.

15. Contact

For privacy questions or requests, contact:

GOLE
privacy@getgole.com