Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

GoAusbildung is operated by Qogent Learning Solutions Private Limited ("we," "us," "our"). This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, share and protect your information when you use GoAusbildung (the "Platform").

GoAusbildung helps you find jobs and prepare your own applications. When you choose to apply, we send you to the employer's website. You send your CV, letter and documents to the employer yourself there. We do not send your application to the employer.

By accessing or using GoAusbildung, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with this policy, please discontinue use of our Platform immediately.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Personal Information

We collect personal information that you voluntarily provide to us, including but not limited to:

• Full name, date of birth, nationality, and gender
• Contact information (email address, phone number, mailing address)
• Educational background (academic qualifications, transcripts, certificates)
• Professional information (work experience, skills, career goals)
• Language proficiency levels (German language test results)
• Identification documents (passport, visa documents, ID cards)
• Payment records for plan purchases (order, plan, amount, currency and payment status); card and bank details are entered with our payment processors, and we never receive full card numbers
• Application materials (CVs, cover letters, motivation letters)
• Profile photo and any uploaded documents

2.2 Marketplace-Specific Information

When you use our job and profile tools, we also collect:

• Profile Data: Professional headline, bio, preferred sectors, city preferences, availability dates
• Profile Visibility Settings: Your chosen privacy controls for profile sections (public/private settings)
• Profile Score: A score from 0 to 100 based on the details you add to your profile
• Job Application Data: Jobs you choose to track, dates, status updates and notes you add
• Search and Browse History: Jobs you view, search queries, filter preferences

2.3 Usage Data

We automatically collect certain information when you access our Platform:

• IP address, browser type, and operating system
• Device identifiers and mobile network information
• Pages visited, time spent on pages, and click patterns
• Referral sources and search queries
• Application usage data and feature interactions
• Performance data and error reports
• Job posting views and application funnel analytics

2.4 Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use cookies, web beacons, and similar tracking technologies to enhance your experience, analyze usage patterns, and deliver personalized content. For detailed information, please refer to our Cookie Policy.

2.5 Third-Party Information

We may receive information about you from third parties, including:

• Educational institutions and training providers
• Language assessment services (TestDaF, Goethe-Institut)
• German embassy and visa processing centers
• Verification services for document authentication
• Social media platforms (if you connect your accounts)
• Payment processors and financial institutions

3. How We Use Your Information

We use your personal information for the following purposes:

3.1 Marketplace Operations

• Job Discovery: Showing you relevant Ausbildung job postings from employers
• Application Tracking: Keeping the applications and updates you choose to add to your dashboard
• Profile Management: Saving your profile and showing its public page if you choose to make it public
• Matching and Recommendations: Recommending jobs based on your profile, preferences, and qualifications
• Profile Strength Scoring: Calculating your profile completeness score (0-100) to help you optimize your profile

3.2 Service Provision

• Helping you prepare CVs, cover letters and application kits
• Matching you with suitable training programs and employers
• Helping you track applications you send yourself
• Providing personalized career guidance tools
• Providing information about German certificate requirements and recording certificates you submit
• Managing your account and user profile
• Processing one-time plan payments and payments under business and partner agreements, and maintaining required financial records

3.3 Feature and Billing Data Processing

When you use our features, free or paid, we process the data needed to deliver them. When you buy a plan, we also process the payment data needed to complete and record the purchase:

• Feature Data: Features used, activity dates, and status where applicable
• Payment Data: For plan purchases we keep the order ID, the payment processor's order ID, the plan, the amount, the currency and the payment status. To take the payment we share your name, email address and phone number with Cashfree (payments in Indian rupees), or your email address with Stripe (payments in other currencies). Card and bank details are entered directly with the processor; we never receive or store full card numbers
• Usage Data: Number of AI application kits generated, CV exports, cover letter exports, and feature activity
• AI Interaction Data: Prompts and inputs provided to AI features, and generated content (cover letters, application materials)
• Eligibility Data: German level answers you provide and certificate records you submit

Legal Basis: We process feature data to deliver the service you requested and on the basis of our legitimate interest in operating the platform; plan payment data and business and partner payment data are processed for the performance of the relevant contract (GDPR Art. 6(1)(b)) and to meet our financial record-keeping obligations (GDPR Art. 6(1)(c)).

3.4 Communication

• Sending application updates and status notifications
• Providing customer support and responding to inquiries
• Sharing important service announcements and policy updates
• Sending job recommendations and marketplace updates (with consent)
• Conducting surveys and collecting feedback

3.5 Legal and Compliance

• Complying with visa and immigration requirements
• Verifying your identity and eligibility for Ausbildung programs
• Preventing fraud and ensuring platform security
• Enforcing our Terms of Service and other agreements
• Responding to legal requests and protecting our rights
• Maintaining records as required by law

3.6 Analytics and Improvement

• Analyzing usage patterns to improve our Platform and marketplace algorithms
• Developing new features and services
• Conducting research and generating statistics (using anonymized data)
• Personalizing your experience and job recommendations
• Testing and optimizing platform performance
• Improving job-student matching accuracy

4. Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR Compliance)

Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), we process your personal data based on:

• Contract Performance: Using the data needed to provide your account, profile, application tools and tracking
• Legal Obligation: Compliance with visa, immigration, and regulatory requirements
• Legitimate Interest: Improving our services, preventing fraud, ensuring security, and operating our marketplace effectively
• Consent: Marketing communications, optional data processing, and profile visibility settings (which you may withdraw at any time)

5. How We Share Your Information

5.1 Sharing with Employers (Marketplace Data Sharing)

When you choose to apply for a job, we send you to the employer's own website. You choose what CV, letter and documents to send there. GoAusbildung does not send your application or uploaded documents to that employer.

We count job views and keep the applications you choose to track, so you can see your application records in your dashboard. Opening an employer's website does not tell us whether you sent an application there.

If you make your profile public, anyone with its link can view it, including employers. The public page shows your name, photo and other profile details, with section controls as described below. If your profile is private, people cannot see it on the public page. Applying on an employer's site does not change this setting.

5.2 Granular Profile Visibility Controls

You can choose which sections appear on your public profile. These controls apply to anyone who opens the public page, including employers. You can show or hide:

• Work experience details
• Skills and proficiencies
• Visa status and work authorization
• Availability date
• Preferred cities and locations
• Professional bio
• Headline and tagline

These settings control your GoAusbildung public profile. They do not change what you choose to send on an employer's website.

5.3 What Employers Can Do With Your Data

The employer's own privacy policy covers the information you give them on their website. Read it before sending your application. Contact the employer about how they use, store or delete that information.

5.4 Employer Data Processing Responsibilities

Employers handle the applications you send on their own websites. GoAusbildung does not manage those applications or the employer's use of your data.

5.5 Training Providers and Educational Partners

If a job link takes you to a school or training provider, you send your application there yourself. Their privacy policy covers the data you give them. We do not send them your application materials when you open the link.

5.6 Service Providers

We engage third-party service providers to support our operations, including:

• Cloud hosting and data storage providers (Supabase, Google Cloud Storage)
• Payment processors and financial services (Cashfree for payments in Indian rupees, Stripe for payments in other currencies)
• Email and communication platforms (Resend)
• Analytics and tracking tools (Google Analytics)
• AI services (Google Gemini, OpenAI, OpenRouter)
• Customer support platforms

These service providers are contractually obligated to protect your information and use it only for the purposes we specify. They act as data processors on our behalf.

5.7 Government Authorities

We may share your information with German immigration authorities, embassies, and visa processing centers as required for visa applications and compliance with immigration laws.

5.8 Legal Requirements

We may disclose your information when required to:

• Comply with legal obligations, court orders, or government requests
• Enforce our Terms of Service and other agreements
• Protect the rights, property, or safety of GoAusbildung, our users, or the public
• Investigate and prevent fraud, security issues, or illegal activities

5.9 Business Transfers

In the event of a merger, acquisition, reorganization, or sale of assets, your personal information may be transferred to the successor entity. We will notify you of any such change and provide options regarding your information.

6. Marketplace-Specific Data Processing

6.1 Profile Strength Scoring System

We calculate a profile strength score (0-100) based on the completeness of your profile across 5 categories:

• Basic Information (30 points)
• Professional Profile (30 points)
• Education (20 points)
• Languages & Skills (10 points)
• Documents (10 points)

This score is used to:

• Help you identify areas to improve your profile
• Provide "quick wins" suggestions for profile optimization

6.2 Job Matching Algorithms

We use algorithms to match students with suitable job postings based on:

• Your profile information (sectors, skills, education, experience)
• German language proficiency level
• Location preferences and availability dates
• Profile strength score
• Job posting requirements and preferences
• Previous application patterns and success rates

6.3 Employer Verification Data

We keep company details, such as names, locations and website links, to show company pages and job listings. An employer does not receive your application data from us when you open a job link.

6.4 Communication and Messaging Data

GoAusbildung does not provide messaging between candidates and employers. Contact employers using the details on their own websites.

6.5 Application Tracking and Analytics

We keep the applications you choose to track, including the job, company, status, dates and notes you add. You can update or delete these records in your dashboard. These changes do not update or withdraw an application on an employer's website.

We use these records to show your application history and help you plan your next steps. We also count job views to understand how job listings are used.

6.6 Automated Translation Data

Job postings are automatically translated from German to English using AI services (Google Gemini 2.5 Flash). We process:

• Original German job posting text (created by employers)
• English translations (AI-generated for students)
• Translation metadata (timestamp, model used, accuracy indicators)

Important: Automated translations may contain errors. The German version is the authoritative version. We recommend verifying important details directly with employers.

6.7 Verified Candidate Partner Sharing

Becoming Verified is free. If you become Verified and a real partner route fits your profile, we may ask for consent to share relevant profile, document, and contact details with an authorized German partner agency.

We keep this sharing limited and transparent:

• Partner agencies hold the employer relationships. We share candidate details only when the agency route appears relevant to your profile.
• Consent is specific. We record what you allowed us to share, with whom, and when.
• You can withdraw future sharing. Withdrawal does not control data already received by a partner agency, but it stops new sharing from GoAusbildung.
• No job guarantee. Sharing a Verified profile does not promise placement, interviews, salary, or employer acceptance.

We also use service providers needed to store, secure, and process this data, as listed in Section 5.

7. International Data Transfers

As a global marketplace platform, your personal information may be transferred to and processed in countries outside your country of residence, including India, Germany, and the European Union.

We ensure that all international data transfers comply with applicable data protection laws, including GDPR. We implement appropriate safeguards such as:

• Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) approved by the European Commission
• Adequacy decisions for countries with equivalent data protection standards
• Binding Corporate Rules and Privacy Shield frameworks (where applicable)
• Appropriate technical and organizational measures to ensure data security

Specific Data Processing Locations:

• Database: Supabase (Asia-Pacific South region - Singapore)
• File Storage: Google Cloud Storage (Germany and EU servers)
• Analytics: Google Analytics (Global)
• AI Processing: Google Gemini (Global), OpenAI (US), OpenRouter (US)
• Email Services: Resend (US/EU)
• Payment Processing: Cashfree (India) for payments in Indian rupees; Stripe (Global with EU data residency) for payments in other currencies

8. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law.

Specific retention periods include:

• Account Data: Retained while your account is active and for 2 years after account closure
• Profile Information: Retained while your account is active; deleted upon account deletion request
• Job Application Records: Retained for 7 years from application submission (for visa and legal compliance purposes)
• Application Materials (CVs, Documents): Retained for 3 years or until you request deletion
• Communication Records: Retained for 3 years for quality assurance and dispute resolution
• Payment Information: Retained for as long as tax and accounting laws require
• Marketing Data: Retained until you withdraw consent or for 2 years of inactivity
• Analytics Data: Retained for 2 years in anonymized form
• Security Logs: Retained for 1 year for fraud prevention and security purposes

8.1 Billing and Service Data Retention

For plan purchases and business and partner agreements, additional retention periods apply:

• Service Records: Retained for 7 years after service completion where required for tax and financial compliance
• Payment Transaction History: Retained for as long as tax and accounting laws require
• AI-Generated Content: Cover letters and application kits are retained for 2 years or until you delete them
• German Certificate Records: Retained for 5 years (certificates may be requested by employers/authorities)
• Usage Metrics: Monthly usage counts (kits generated, exports) retained for 2 years for anti-abuse and analytics

AI-generated content remains accessible unless you delete it or request deletion where legally available.

Employer Data: Employers keep the data you give them on their own websites under their own privacy policies. Contact the employer to ask for deletion. Deleting a GoAusbildung tracking record does not delete an application you sent elsewhere.

After the retention period expires, we will securely delete or anonymize your personal information in accordance with our data retention policy and applicable laws.

9. Your Rights and Choices

Depending on your location, you may have the following rights regarding your personal information:

9.1 GDPR Rights (European Union)

• Right to Access: Request copies of your personal data we hold
• Right to Rectification: Correct inaccurate or incomplete information
• Right to Erasure: Request deletion of your personal data ("right to be forgotten")
• Right to Restriction: Limit how we use your information
• Right to Data Portability: Receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format
• Right to Object: Object to processing based on legitimate interests or for direct marketing
• Right to Withdraw Consent: Withdraw consent for data processing at any time
• Right to Lodge a Complaint: File a complaint with your local data protection authority

9.2 Marketplace-Specific Rights

As a marketplace user, you also have the right to:

• Control Profile Visibility: Set your GoAusbildung profile to public or private at any time
• Choose What to Show: Show or hide sections of your public profile
• Manage Tracking Records: Update or delete the applications you track here. Contact the employer to withdraw an application you sent on their site
• Access Your Data: Ask us for a copy of the personal data we hold about you
• Delete Account: Request complete account deletion (see limitations below)

9.3 Limitations on Data Deletion

Please note the following limitations:

• Employer-Held Data: We cannot delete data you gave an employer on their own website. Contact the employer to ask for deletion.
• Legal Retention: We must retain certain data for legal compliance (e.g., financial records for 7 years, application records for visa compliance)
• Anonymized Data: We may retain anonymized, non-identifiable data for analytics and research purposes

9.4 How to Exercise Your Rights

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at:

• Email: privacy@goausbildung.com
• Subject line: "Data Privacy Request"
• Include: Your full name, registered email address, and specific request

We will respond to your request within 30 days (or as required by applicable law). We may require identity verification before processing your request to protect your data security.

9.5 Profile Privacy Settings

You can manage your public profile in your account dashboard:

• Open Settings and find Public Profile
• Choose between Public or Private profile visibility
• Toggle individual profile section visibility (10 granular controls)
• Open your public profile link to see what it shows

9.6 Marketing Communications

You can opt out of marketing emails by:

• Clicking the "unsubscribe" link in any marketing email
• Updating your communication preferences in your account settings
• Contacting us at hello@goausbildung.com

If you stop marketing messages, we will still send you messages about your account, such as account notices and security alerts.

10. Data Security

We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction. Our security practices include:

• SSL/TLS encryption for all data transmission (HTTPS)
• AES-256 encryption for data at rest
• Row-Level Security (RLS) policies on all database tables
• Regular security audits and vulnerability assessments
• Multi-factor authentication options for account protection
• Access controls and authentication mechanisms
• Employee training on data protection and confidentiality
• Incident response and breach notification procedures
• Regular backups and disaster recovery plans
• Rate limiting and DDoS protection
• Automated security monitoring and alerting

Account Security: You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials. We recommend:

• Using a strong, unique password
• Not sharing your account credentials with anyone
• Logging out of public or shared computers
• Enabling multi-factor authentication if available
• Notifying us immediately of any unauthorized access

However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your information using commercially reasonable means, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

11. Children's Privacy

Our services are intended for users aged 18 and above. We do not knowingly collect personal information from individuals under 18 years of age without verifiable parental consent. If you are under 18, please do not use our Platform or provide any personal information without parental permission.

If we become aware that we have collected personal information from a child under 18 without proper parental consent, we will take steps to delete such information immediately. If you believe we have collected information from a child, please contact us at privacy@goausbildung.com.

12. Third-Party Links and Services

Our Platform may contain links to third-party websites, services, or applications that are not owned or controlled by GoAusbildung. This Privacy Policy does not apply to those third-party services.

Third-party services include:

• External job boards or recruitment platforms
• Language testing services (TestDaF, Goethe-Institut)
• Social media platforms
• Payment processors
• Educational institutions and training providers

We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of third-party sites. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party services before providing your personal information.

13. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements, or for other operational reasons. When we make material changes, we will:

• Update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this policy
• Notify you via email at your registered email address
• Display a prominent notice on our Platform
• Provide a reasonable period (at least 30 days) for you to review the changes
• Obtain your consent if required by applicable law
• Maintain an archive of previous policy versions

Your continued use of our Platform after the effective date of the updated Privacy Policy constitutes your acceptance of the changes. If you do not agree with the updated policy, you must discontinue use of our services and may request account deletion.

14. Contact Information

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us:

15. EU Representative

For users in the European Union, we have appointed a GDPR representative as required by Article 27 of the GDPR. You may contact our EU representative for any data protection inquiries:

Email: eu-representative@goausbildung.com

16. Supervisory Authority

If you are located in the European Economic Area, you have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection supervisory authority if you believe we have violated your privacy rights under GDPR.

However, we encourage you to contact us first at privacy@goausbildung.com so we can address your concerns directly and attempt to resolve any issues before you involve the supervisory authority.