Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

EdLight Initiative, a not-for-profit corporation registered in Canada (Corporation No. 1376443-5) and based in Montréal, Québec, operates the EdLight Code platform through its technology division, EdLight Labs. EdLight Initiative ("EdLight," "we," "our," or "us") is responsible for your personal information and is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your personal information when you use the EdLight Code platform (the "Platform"). By using the Platform, you consent to the practices described here. If you do not agree, please discontinue use of the Platform.

2. Information We Collect

We collect the following categories of information:

• Account information: name, email address, and hashed password
• Learning activity: progress, completed lessons, exercise submissions, and project work
• Payment data: transaction IDs and payment status (we do not store full card numbers or mobile money PINs)
• Usage data: pages visited, time on platform, device type, browser, and IP address
• Communications: messages you send to our support team
• Referral data: referral codes used or generated by your account

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Provide, operate, and improve our educational services
• Track your learning progress, issue certificates, and verify completions
• Process payments and manage billing
• Communicate with you about your account, updates, and support requests
• Ensure the security and integrity of the Platform
• Comply with legal obligations and enforce our Terms of Service

4. Third-Party Services

We rely on the following third-party services to operate the Platform. By using EdLight, you acknowledge that your data may be processed by these providers under their own privacy policies:

• Google Firebase – authentication, database, and file storage
• Stripe – international card payment processing
• MonCash, NatCash, SogePay – mobile and card payments in Haiti
• Vercel – platform hosting and edge delivery
• Google Analytics and Google Ads – usage analytics and measuring the results of our ads (see Section 5)

EdLight is not responsible for the privacy practices of these third-party providers. We encourage you to review their respective privacy policies.

5. Cookies and Analytics

We use cookies and similar technologies to maintain your session, remember your language preferences, and measure how the Platform is used. We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors use the Platform, and Google Ads measurement to learn whether our ads lead people to visit and create an account. These tools may set cookies, read identifiers such as an ad click ID in the page address, and receive information about your device and your activity on the Platform (for example, pages viewed and the fact that an account was created, but not your name, email address or password). Visitors in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland have analytics and advertising cookies turned off by default; Google may still receive limited, cookieless signals. You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings, and you can opt out of Google Analytics with Google's browser add-on (tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout) and manage ad personalisation at adssettings.google.com. Some Platform features may not work properly without cookies.

6. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as your account is active or as necessary to provide our services. If you delete your account, we will delete or anonymize your personal data within 90 days, except where retention is required by law, for fraud prevention, or to resolve disputes. Learning activity records associated with issued certificates may be retained indefinitely to support certificate verification.

7. Data Security

We implement industry-standard technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These include encrypted connections (HTTPS), hashed passwords, and access controls. However, no method of electronic transmission or storage is 100% secure. EdLight cannot guarantee the absolute security of your data, and you use the Platform at your own risk.

8. We Do Not Sell Your Data

EdLight does not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties for their own marketing purposes. We may share data with service providers solely to operate the Platform (as described in Section 4), or as required by law.

9. Children's Privacy

The Platform is not directed to children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we become aware that we have inadvertently collected personal information from a child under 13, we will take steps to delete it promptly. If you believe we may have collected information from a child under 13, please contact us at info@edlight.org.

10. International Data Transfers

EdLight operates globally and your information may be processed and stored in countries outside Haiti, including the United States and Canada, where data protection laws may differ. By using the Platform, you consent to the transfer of your information to these countries. Where required by applicable law (including Quebec's Act Respecting the Protection of Personal Information in the Private Sector), we conduct a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) before transferring personal information outside Quebec, and we implement contractual safeguards to ensure an equivalent level of protection.

11. Your Rights

You have the following rights regarding your personal information, which you may exercise by contacting info@edlight.org. We will respond within 30 days. (a) Access & Correction: request a copy of your data or correct inaccuracies. (b) Deletion: request erasure of your personal data (subject to Section 6 retention rules). (c) Portability (Quebec residents): receive your data in a structured, commonly used, technological format. (d) Deindexing (Quebec residents): request that we cease disseminating your personal information or deindex any hyperlink attached to your name, where dissemination causes you injury. (e) Withdrawal of consent: withdraw consent to processing where processing is consent-based, without retroactive effect. (f) Object to profiling: object to personal information being used to make automated decisions about you or to profile you for commercial purposes.

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of material changes by email or a prominent notice on the Platform, with advance notice where applicable law requires it. Corrections and clarifications that do not change how we handle your information take effect when posted. Your continued use of the Platform after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the revised Policy.