Marketing & Communications Policy

This policy explains how GradGermany ("we", "us") sends marketing and promotional communications, separately from our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy. It is written to comply with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (India) ("DPDP Act") and, where applicable, the EU GDPR.

1. Consent first — nothing is on by default

• We send marketing communications only after you have given us explicit, separate consent — for example by ticking the optional marketing checkbox on one of our forms. Marketing consent is never bundled into accepting our Terms.
• Analytics and marketing cookies are off by default. They are activated only after you opt in via the cookie banner, and you can change your choice at any time.
• Declining marketing consent has no effect on the services you receive from us.

2. What we send (with consent)

• Admission deadlines and intake reminders for German universities
• Scholarship and Ausbildung opportunities
• Information about GradGermany services, German courses, and events
• Occasional newsletters and study-in-Germany guidance

Channels: email, and — where you have shared your number for this purpose — WhatsApp/SMS. We do not cold-call you for marketing.

3. What is NOT marketing

Communications needed to deliver the service you asked for are sent regardless of marketing consent: your profile evaluation result, application status updates, consultant messages, appointment confirmations, document requests, account security and verification emails. These are service communications under our Terms.

4. Records of your consent

Each consent decision (granted, declined, or withdrawn) is recorded with a timestamp, the policy version in force, and the technical source of the action. This consent log is how we demonstrate compliance as a data fiduciary under the DPDP Act, and how we make sure you never receive marketing you did not ask for.

5. Withdrawing consent — as easy as giving it

• Click the unsubscribe link included in every marketing email — effective immediately.
• Manage your notification preferences in the student portal.
• Email [email protected] with the subject "Withdraw marketing consent".
• Reply "STOP" to any WhatsApp/SMS marketing message.

Withdrawal stops future marketing; it does not affect the lawfulness of communications sent while your consent was active, nor your service communications.

6. Third parties & data sharing

We never sell or rent your personal data. Marketing emails are delivered through our email service processors acting on our instructions. Advertising/measurement cookies (e.g. Meta Pixel, Google) run only if you opted in to marketing cookies via the cookie banner.

7. Your rights & grievances (DPDP Act, 2023)

You have the right to access, correct, and erase your personal data, the right to grievance redressal, and the right to nominate. To exercise any right or raise a grievance about marketing communications, contact our Grievance Officer at [email protected]. We respond within the timelines prescribed under the DPDP Act. If unsatisfied, you may complain to the Data Protection Board of India.

8. Changes to this policy

When this policy materially changes we update the version above; consents are always recorded against the version in force at the time. Continued receipt of marketing after a change does not replace your right to withdraw at any time.