Privacy Policy · Abroad Ready.ai

This policy explains, in plain language, how Abroad Ready.ai handles your data. The behaviour described here is what the product actually does.

Who is responsible for your data

Abroad Ready.ai is the data controller for the personal data described in this policy. For any privacy request or question, contact privacy@abroadready.ai. If you are in the UK/EU and believe we have not resolved your concern, you also have the right to complain to your local data protection authority.

1. What we collect

Account info: name, email, password hash.
Profile info you provide for tailoring mock interviews: target country, intake, university, course, sponsor, prior refusals, and (optionally) a US F-1 ties & return plan.
Documents you choose to upload so we can personalise your mock and check your readiness — CV/résumé, statement of purpose, academic transcripts, certificates, passport, proof of funds, and your I-20. These can contain sensitive financial and immigration information (for example, your I-20's estimated cost and funding sources); we use them only to generate your interview questions, consistency and funding-coverage checks, and report. Uploading documents is optional and you can delete any document at any time from your documents page.
Mock interview transcripts (your spoken answers, transcribed to text).
Voice recordings, handled as described below.
Usage analytics (which pages you visit, which features you use).
Technical and security metadata: your IP address, browser/device (user-agent), and sign-in timestamps, recorded in our security audit log to protect your account and prevent abuse.

2. Voice recording handling

This product is voice-first, so this section matters and we treat it seriously.

Explicit consent before we record. The first time you start a voice mock we ask for your explicit consent. If you don't consent we don't record — you can answer by text in Practice mode instead. You can stop being recorded going forward by declining, or by revoking microphone permission in your browser or device.
Recorded so you can be graded and replay. When you consent, your spoken answers are recorded and stored so we can transcribe and grade them and let you play your answer back in your report.
90-day retention. Recordings are kept for up to 90 days, then automatically deleted by a scheduled job. Your transcript and scorecard remain after the recording expires.
Transcripts are stored so you can review your scorecard and track progress across mocks.
Delete on request. To remove recordings you've already made before the 90 days elapse, delete your account data from Account → Privacy — that purges your stored audio along with your other personal data.
No third-party training. We do not sell your audio or transcripts, and we do not allow third-party AI vendors to use your audio or transcripts to train their models. Vendor processing is governed by data processing agreements. The full list of sub-processors and what each does is at /privacy/sub-processors.
Encryption in transit and at rest. Audio and transcripts are encrypted in transit (TLS) and at rest (provider-managed encryption at our database and object storage layers).

3. How we use your data

To run mock interviews and generate your scorecard.
To improve our country-specific question banks and personas, using aggregated and de-identified signals only.
To send transactional emails (account, billing). We will only send marketing emails if you opt in.

4. Who we share data with

Our cloud and AI vendors (database, voice, LLM) strictly as needed to run the product, under data processing agreements.
Nobody else, unless we are legally compelled. We will tell you if that ever happens, where the law allows.

5. Legal basis for processing

Contract — to provide the mock-interview service you signed up for (accounts, sessions, scorecards, billing).
Consent — voice recording (and its retention so you can replay it), uploading documents (CV/SOP/I-20/etc.), and any marketing email. You can withdraw consent at any time: decline recording or revoke microphone permission, delete uploaded documents whenever you like, and delete your stored audio + data from Account → Privacy.
Legitimate interests — securing the service, preventing abuse, and improving our question banks using aggregated, de-identified signals.
Legal obligation — where we must retain or disclose data to comply with applicable law.

6. Your rights

You can access, export, correct, and delete your data at any time from Account → Privacy, or by emailing us. Depending on your location (including under UK/EU GDPR) you have the right to access, rectification, erasure, restriction, portability, and objection. Account deletion removes transcripts, audio, and profile data and cannot be undone.

7. How long we keep data

Account & profile — for as long as your account is active; deleted on account closure.
Transcripts & scorecards — kept so you can review your progress, until you delete them or close your account.
Uploaded documents (CV, SOP, transcripts, certificates, passport, proof of funds, I-20) — kept while your account is active so they keep personalising your mocks; deleted when you delete the document or close your account.
Voice recordings — kept up to 90 days after you consent to recording, then automatically deleted by a scheduled job; removed sooner if you delete your account data.
Payment records — retained as required for financial/tax record-keeping, then deleted.

8. International transfers

Our cloud, voice, and AI providers may process data in countries outside your own. Where data is transferred internationally, we rely on appropriate safeguards such as Standard Contractual Clauses and our providers' data processing agreements.

9. Cookies

We use strictly-necessary cookies to keep you signed in, and — only with your consent — analytics cookies to understand product usage. You can accept or decline non-essential cookies in the cookie banner, and change your choice at any time.

10. Children

The service is intended for users aged 18 and over (or the age of majority in your country). We do not knowingly collect data from children. Younger applicants should use the service under a parent or guardian.

11. Changes & contact

We may update this policy as the product evolves; we will revise the “last updated” date above and, for material changes, notify you in-app or by email. Privacy questions: privacy@abroadready.ai.