privacy policy

This Privacy Policy explains how SIMPLETEFL LTD trading as simpleTEFL ("simpleTEFL", "we", "us", or "our") collects, uses, stores, and shares personal data when you:

• visit simpletefl.com;
• use our course platform at academy.simpletefl.com;
• buy or enrol in one of our courses;
• request a certificate or certificate verification;
• contact us for support; or
• sign up to receive emails from us.

For the purposes of data protection law, SIMPLETEFL LTD is the data controller of the personal data covered by this Privacy Policy.

Contact details
simpleTEFL
Email: [email protected]
Address: 128 City Road, London, EC1V 2NX, United Kingdom

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or about how we handle your personal data, please contact us using the details above.

This Privacy Policy applies to personal data we collect through:

• our marketing website;
• our course platform and student accounts;
• our checkout and payment processes;
• our email communications;
• our customer support channels; and
• cookies and similar technologies used on our website and academy.

This policy does not apply to third-party websites, apps, or services that may be linked from our website or platform. Those services have their own privacy policies and terms.

Depending on how you use simpleTEFL, we may collect the following categories of personal data.

3.1 information you give us directly

This may include:

• your name;
• email address;
• telephone number, if you provide one;
• billing address;
• shipping address, if you order a printed certificate or another physical item;
• country or location information you provide;
• account login details;
• course enrolment details;
• information you submit through forms, checkout pages, or support requests;
• certificate details, such as your certificate number, issue date, and verification-related information;
• marketing preferences; and
• any other information you choose to send to us.

3.2 course and account information

If you create an account or enrol on a course, we may collect and generate information such as:

• account profile information;
• course progress;
• lesson completion data;
• quiz or checkpoint results;
• certificate completion status;
• download or verification activity; and
• communications relating to your account or course.

3.3 payment and transaction information

When you make a purchase, we may receive transaction-related information such as:

• what you bought;
• the date and time of the transaction;
• payment status;
• order value;
• transaction identifiers; and
• limited billing information.

We do not generally store full payment card details on our own systems. Payments are processed by third-party payment providers, as described below.

3.4 information collected automatically

When you use our website or academy, we may automatically collect technical and usage data such as:

• IP address;
• browser type and version;
• device type;
• operating system;
• language preferences;
• pages viewed;
• referring URLs;
• approximate location based on IP;
• timestamps and interaction data; and
• cookie identifiers and similar technology data.

3.5 information from third parties

We may receive personal data from third-party providers where relevant to operating our business and delivering our services, including:

• course-platform providers;
• payment providers;
• email and marketing providers;
• analytics and advertising providers; and
• support or communication providers.

We use personal data for the following purposes.

4.1 to provide our courses and services

We use your personal data to:

• create and manage your account;
• enrol you on a course;
• deliver course content and track progress;
• issue and verify certificates;
• provide customer support;
• process purchases;
• arrange delivery of printed certificates or other physical items, where applicable; and
• send important service messages about your account, purchases, certificates, or course access.

4.2 to communicate with you

We use your personal data to:

• respond to enquiries;
• provide support;
• send transactional and service-related emails;
• notify you about important changes to your account, course, certificates, or this policy; and
• send marketing emails where we are allowed to do so.

4.3 to improve and protect simpleTEFL

We use personal data to:

• operate, maintain, and improve our website, academy, and services;
• understand how people use our site and courses;
• troubleshoot problems;
• detect, prevent, and investigate fraud, abuse, security incidents, or other misuse;
• maintain records;
• protect our legal rights; and
• comply with legal, tax, accounting, and regulatory obligations.

4.4 for analytics and advertising

Where permitted by law and subject to your cookie choices where required, we may use personal data and cookie-based information to:

• measure website usage;
• understand campaign performance;
• improve our marketing;
• limit repeated advertising;
• run remarketing or advertising campaigns; and
• analyse how visitors move between our website, academy, and checkout flows.

Depending on the purpose, we rely on one or more of the following lawful bases:

5.1 contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to:

• create and manage your account;
• deliver the course or service you purchased;
• process payments;
• issue certificates;
• provide support linked to your purchase or account; and
• fulfil our contractual obligations to you.

5.2 legitimate interests

We process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate interests, including to:

• run and improve our business;
• provide support;
• keep records;
• prevent fraud and misuse;
• secure our systems;
• understand how our services are used; and
• communicate with users about our services.

When we rely on legitimate interests, we consider and balance any potential impact on your rights and freedoms.

5.3 consent

We rely on consent where required, including for:

• certain marketing emails;
• certain analytics, advertising, and similar tracking technologies; and
• any other processing where consent is the most appropriate lawful basis.

You can withdraw consent at any time. This will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before consent was withdrawn.

5.4 legal obligation

We may process personal data where necessary to comply with legal obligations, for example in relation to:

• tax and accounting requirements;
• lawful requests from authorities;
• fraud prevention; or
• regulatory or compliance obligations.

Payments for simpleTEFL products and services may be processed by third-party payment providers, including:

• Stripe
• PayPal

Depending on your device, browser, and payment setup, Apple Pay or Google Pay may also be available through those providers.

These payment providers process payment information in accordance with their own privacy policies and terms. We do not generally store full payment card details on our own systems.

If you sign up to receive marketing emails, request updates, or otherwise consent to marketing communications, we may use your email address and related engagement data to send you newsletters, offers, updates, and similar communications.

We currently use MailerLite to help manage and send email campaigns.

You can unsubscribe from marketing emails at any time by:

• clicking the unsubscribe link in the email; or
• contacting us at [email protected].

Even if you unsubscribe from marketing emails, we may still send you service-related communications where necessary for your account, purchases, or course access.

We use cookies and similar technologies on our website and academy.

Some cookies are strictly necessary for the operation of the site and cannot be switched off in our systems.

Other cookies or similar technologies may be used for purposes such as:

• analytics;
• performance measurement;
• remembering preferences;
• advertising;
• campaign attribution; and
• remarketing.

Where required by law, we will ask for your consent before using non-essential cookies or similar technologies.

You can manage your cookie preferences through our cookie banner or your browser settings. Please note that blocking some cookies may affect how the website or academy functions.

For more detailed information, please see our Cookie Policy or cookie settings interface.

We may share personal data with trusted third parties where necessary to run simpleTEFL and deliver our services.

These may include:

• LearnWorlds, which hosts our course platform and student learning environment;
• Stripe and PayPal, which process payments;
• Apple Pay and Google Pay, where made available through our payment providers;
• Google Analytics and Google Ads, where used and permitted by your cookie choices and applicable law;
• MailerLite, which helps us manage email communications;
• support, communications, hosting, development, or security providers we use to operate the business;
• professional advisers such as accountants, lawyers, insurers, or auditors, where necessary;
• postal or courier providers, where you order a printed certificate or another physical item; and
• regulators, law enforcement, courts, or other authorities where disclosure is required or permitted by law.

Some of these third parties may act as processors on our behalf, while others may act as independent controllers for the processing they carry out.

We do not sell your personal data.

Some of our service providers may process personal data outside the UK.

Where personal data is transferred internationally, we take steps designed to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, for example by relying on:

• adequacy regulations;
• approved contractual protections; or
• other lawful transfer mechanisms.

You can contact us if you would like more information about international transfers relevant to your personal data.

We keep personal data only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this policy, including to provide services, keep business records, resolve disputes, enforce agreements, and comply with legal obligations.

How long we keep data depends on the type of data and the reason we hold it. For example:

• account and course data: for as long as your account remains active and for a reasonable period afterwards;
• transaction and billing records: for as long as necessary for tax, accounting, and legal compliance;
• support correspondence: for as long as reasonably necessary to manage the enquiry and keep appropriate records;
• marketing data: until you unsubscribe, withdraw consent, or we otherwise stop using it for marketing;
• cookie and analytics data: according to the relevant cookie duration, your settings, and our operational needs; and
• certificate and verification records: for as long as necessary to support certificate authenticity, verification, and record keeping.

If we no longer need personal data, we will delete it or anonymise it where appropriate.

Depending on your location and the law that applies, you may have rights in relation to your personal data, including the right to:

• access your personal data;
• receive a copy of your personal data;
• request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data;
• request deletion of your personal data;
• request restriction of processing;
• object to certain types of processing;
• request transfer of your data to another provider, where applicable;
• withdraw consent where we rely on consent; and
• complain to a supervisory authority, including the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) in the UK.

If you would like to exercise any of your rights, please contact us at [email protected].

We may need to verify your identity before responding to certain requests.

In most cases, we will not charge a fee for handling a valid request, although we reserve the right to charge a reasonable fee or refuse a request where the law allows us to do so.

In some cases, we need certain personal data in order to provide our services. If you do not provide the information we need, we may not be able to:

• create your account;
• enrol you on a course;
• process your payment;
• issue your certificate;
• deliver a printed certificate; or
• respond fully to your request.

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures designed to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, disclosure, alteration, or destruction.

However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Our website or academy may include links to third-party websites, services, or resources. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those third parties. We encourage you to read their privacy policies before providing them with your personal data.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to our services, our providers, the law, or the way we process personal data.

When we make material changes, we will update the Last updated date at the top of this page and, where appropriate, take additional steps to bring the changes to your attention.

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or would like to exercise your rights, please contact:

simpleTEFL
Email: [email protected]