How To Abroad

Privacy Policy / Disclaimer

Two students from the University of Bayreuth came up with the idea to better inform people about studying abroad in Germany. Since the two founders are studying in Germany, they often receive questions from others that are interested in studying abroad as well. People ask questions such as: How can you apply to a German university? And which university should I apply to? Considering the questions like these that the co-founders receive, they decided to make a website where they would share information on how to study abroad in Germany.

Firstly, they looked into which information is out there already. Apparently, there are consultancies that charge a huge sum of money (between €400 and €1000 ) to provide information on studying abroad. These services of consultancies are not accessible to everyone. Since the founders feel that everyone should have equal access to education, they decided that they would create a website where individuals can easily access all the information required to make an informed decision about studying in Germany. This led to the formation of How to Abroad. Initially, we will be covering German universities only, but if the information proves helpful, we might also expand our website to include universities in other European countries.

 

Our focus at present would be to provide information related to the following topics :

  • Pursuing a master’s degree in Germany
  • The application process of German universities, TU9, and much more
  • Housing accommodation in Germany
  • Visa process in Germany
  • Pre -post-admission assistance.

Our motto at present is very simple: Help those who want to study in Germany.

 

What personal data do we collect and why do we collect it?

 

Comments

When visitors leave comments on the site we collect the data shown in the comments form, and also the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help spam detection.

An anonymized string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/. After approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment.

 

Media

If you upload images to the website, you should avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS) included. Visitors to the website can download and extract any location data from images on the website.  All the media in the post have a source in it and in case it does not have a source it has been picked up from the Facebook page of the institute.

 

Logos of the University / University of Applied Science (Hochschule)

The logos used here are the respective copyright of their owners.

All the logos that you see in the content belong to the university/university of applied science (Hochschule) itself and we have no rights over it. If you do not like the logos being present please contact us at info@howtoabroad.com and we will look into it and do the needful. These logos are just used so that they make the post look relevant to the university.

 

Contact forms

We only collect names, emails, phone numbers, and messages. All of this is stored in our email server and is not stored in any other database. This information is stored so that people who reach out to us using the contact form could be replied to. We understand that data is sensitive. Being from the computer science field, we take data protection more seriously than anyone else.

 

Cookies

If you leave a comment on our site you may opt-in to saving your name, email address, and website in cookies. These are for your convenience so that you do not have to fill in your details again when you leave another comment. These cookies will last for one year.

If you visit our login page, we will set a temporary cookie to determine if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.

When you log in, we will also set up several cookies to save your login information and your screen display choices. Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for a year. If you select “Remember Me”, your login will persist for two weeks. If you log out of your account, the login cookies will be removed.

If you edit or publish an article, an additional cookie will be saved in your browser. This cookie includes no personal data and simply indicates the post ID of the article you just edited. It expires after 1 day.

 

Embedded content from other websites

Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website.

These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracking your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.

 

Google Analytics

We use Google Analytics, for measuring how the website is performing and where are the users coming from. To know more about what google analytics is collecting you need to visit:  https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/4597324?hl=en

Google Recaptcha:

Both howtoabroad.com and app.howtoabroad.com are protected by Google reCAPTCHA. The following policies apply:

Third-Party Ads / Links

Well, you might have seen ads displaying products or services or you might have seen links to another website. These links/ads might take you to another website of which might not govern the privacy policy. If any mishap takes place on that website, we will not be responsible for it. Once you are out of the “http://howtoabroad.com/” domain, this privacy policy is not valid.

For your safety, we request to have an antivirus installed in the system and be aware of the website where you are being redirected.  You can even write us a mail stating the existence of a bad/malicious link on our website

Since HowToabroad is a trusted website we make every possible effort to make sure that you “the user ” will not have any bad experience. We have made every effort to check the links that are being provided here plus we are using the most trusted advertising service aka Google Adsense. But still, in case if we might have missed something it is advised that you read the privacy policy of the other website where you are being redirected.

 

Subscribe to our Blog

Well, you might have seen a widget, where we are giving you an option to subscribe to our blog or you might have seen a red floating bar where we are giving you an option to subscribe to our mailing list. The only thing that is saved with us is the email id which is provided by you and is not shared with anyone. We keep it pretty safe with us only.

Liability

How To Abroad cannot be held liable either for mistakes in editorial or technical aspects, neither omissions nor correctness of the content. In particular, How To Abroad does not guarantee completeness or correctness of the information contained on external websites which can be accessed via links from How To Abroad’s websites. Despite accurate research on the content of such linked external websites, How To Abroad cannot be held liable for its content. Only the content providers of such external sites are liable for their content. Should you notice any mistake in the technical or editorial aspects of the How To Abroad site, please do not hesitate to inform us.

If you have any other queries you can contact us at our contact us page or email us at info@howtoabroad.com

Data Protection Regulation

We store your data to support two primary user types:

  1. Students seeking to apply for universities in Germany.

  2. Job seekers looking to evaluate their profile fit and receive AI-generated job matches.

All data is securely stored on Microsoft Azure servers with authentication managed via Google Firestore for the platform app.howtoabroad.com.

Personal Data Collection:
Personal data is only collected when you voluntarily provide it. No additional personal data is collected without your consent. Any processing of personal data beyond legally permitted use will only occur based on your explicit consent.

Affected Data:

  • Application details (e.g., academic background, documents)

  • Job preferences and professional profile data

Purpose of Processing:

  • To facilitate student applications to German universities

  • To generate personalized job recommendations using AI

Categories of Recipients:

  • Public authorities when required by law

  • Authorized external service providers for hosting, authentication, or data processing

  • Partner organizations in the context of application support or job matching, with your consent

Duration of Data Storage

Student Data:
Application-related data submitted by students is automatically deleted after six months unless the student explicitly consents to a longer retention period, for example, for inclusion in our applicant pool or for future application support.

In addition, you can assert your rights to information, correction or deletion, restriction of processing, or exercise your right to object to processing and the right to data portability at any time. You have the option of emailing us (hr@howtoabroad.com) .

You also have the right to contact the data protection supervisory authority in the event of complaints.

 

Usage of app.howtoabroad.com

We are excited to introduce the beta version of app.howtoabroad.com—a platform designed to help users independently manage and track their university and job application processes.

Key Notes:

  • Data Retention:
    For university application tracking, only course-related documents are subject to automatic deletion after six months. Job tracker data will not be affected and will remain stored unless manually deleted by the user.

  • Use of Google Gemini API:
    We integrate the Google Gemini API for AI-powered features such as resume building, motivation letter generation, and extracting job details from URLs. Please refer to Google Gemini API’s Privacy Policy to understand how your data is processed on their end.

Job Tracker Chrome Extension

Our Chrome extension enhances your job tracking experience by allowing you to extract and save job details directly from job listing pages.

Privacy Practices:

  • Active Tab Access:
    We require access to the active tab only to read its HTML content for extracting job information (e.g., job title, company, salary).

  • Cookies:
    We access cookies solely from app.howtoabroad.com to manage your login session. No third-party cookies are accessed, collected, or stored.

  • Data Handling:

    • No data is transmitted unless you explicitly click “Extract Job Details.”

    • Data is saved only when you choose to click “Add Job Data.”

    • We do not store any personal or private user information—only the job-related details you choose to save.

This extension is built with your privacy in mind, ensuring that only explicitly shared information is processed or stored.

GDPR Compliance

1. Introduction
This Privacy Policy explains how HowToAbroad (hereinafter referred to as “we,” “our,” or “us”) collects, uses, and protects your personal data in compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

2. Data We Collect
We collect and process the following types of personal data when you use our platform, app.howtoabroad.com:

  • Personal Identifiable Information: Name, email address (used for account creation and login).

  • Resume Data: Information you provide when creating your resume, including name, skills, experience, education (e.g., high school marks, German grades, GRE scores), and other optional sections.

  • Job Tracking Information: Data related to job applications, including status (applied, viewed, rejected).

  • Google Analytics Data: We collect analytical data to improve our services through Google Analytics.

3. Legal Basis for Data Processing
We process your personal data based on the following legal grounds:

  • Consent: You provide explicit consent when using AI features, such as generating resumes or job/course recommendations.

  • Contractual Necessity: We process personal data to provide the requested services, such as resume generation and job tracking.

  • Legitimate Interests: We use your data for the operation and improvement of our services, provided these interests do not override your privacy rights.

4. Consent Management

  • You provide consent when using features like resume generation or AI-driven job matching by actively clicking the “Generate with AI” button.

  • You can withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us at info@howtoabroad.com.

5. Data Retention
We retain your data for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this policy. If you do not engage with our platform for 6 months, we may delete your personal data, unless required otherwise by law.

6. User Rights under GDPR
As a user, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

  • Right of Access: You can request to view the data we hold about you at any time.

  • Right to Rectification: You can correct or update your personal data (except for the email address associated with your account).

  • Right to Data Portability: You can request to download your personal data.

  • Right to Erasure: You can request the deletion of your account and associated data by emailing info@howtoabroad.com with the subject “Delete User”.

  • Right to Withdraw Consent: You can withdraw your consent for the processing of personal data at any time by contacting us.

7. Data Transfers

Your personal data is stored on Microsoft Azure PostgreSQL servers located in India. While India is not currently recognized by the European Union as providing an adequate level of data protection, we ensure GDPR-compliant protection of your personal data through Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) provided by Microsoft Azure under their Data Protection Addendum.

By using our services, you consent to the transfer and processing of your data on servers located in India.

We are actively monitoring the growth of our user base within the European Union and, in response to increased engagement from EU-based users, we plan to migrate to EU-based servers to enhance local data privacy and reduce cross-border data transfer requirements.

Should any new third-party services be introduced that handle personal data, we will transparently update this Privacy Policy with relevant details and safeguards.

8. Third-Party Services
We do not use any third-party applications for storing or processing personal data, except for Google Analytics. When using Google Analytics, please note that Google may process data according to its own privacy policy, which may include cross-border data transfers.
For more details on how Google handles your data, please refer to their Privacy Policy.

9. Cookies and Tracking Technologies
We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve user experience and analyze traffic on our platform, primarily through Google Analytics. You have the right to opt-out of non-essential cookies. A cookie consent banner will be presented to you when you first visit our platform.

10. Contact Information
If you have any questions or concerns regarding how your data is processed, or if you wish to exercise any of your GDPR rights, please contact us at:
Email: info@howtoabroad.com

 

Transparency & Support
At HowToAbroad, we are an independently run, underfunded platform created to help students and professionals with international opportunities. While we are committed to maintaining GDPR compliance and safeguarding your personal data, we also believe in being transparent about our journey.

If you believe in what we’re building and would like to support our mission, we welcome any form of funding, collaboration, or sponsorship. Please reach out to us at info@howtoabroad.com for more details.

 

Note: This privacy policy is subject to change at any time without prior notice. Please review this section periodically for updates.

Last Updated: 30-06-2025