How ScholarTrail Protects Your Data
Privacy isn't just a promise—it's how we're built
1. First Things First: Your Data Stays Yours
At ScholarTrail, we believe finding scholarships should never come at the cost of your privacy.
That's why we've built our platform from the ground up with one thing in mind: you should be able to search, save, and plan for your future without worrying about who's watching, tracking, or selling your personal information.
2. What We Don't Do
Let's be super clear about what you won't find here:
Unlike many other platforms, we don't rely on advertising or data sales to fund our work. We're a nonprofit. That means you – not advertisers – are our priority.
3. What We Do to Keep You Safe
Now here's the (lightly) technical stuff—because protecting your privacy takes real infrastructure.
Encryption at Rest and In Transit
Your personal information is encrypted the moment it's entered and stays encrypted while it's stored. That means whether your data is sitting on our servers or moving between your device and our platform, it's protected from unauthorized access.
Minimal Data Collection
We only collect the information we need to provide accurate, relevant scholarship matches—nothing more. No filler forms. No bait-and-switch. No harvesting your profile for future upsells.
Automatic PII Purge After 2 Years of Inactivity
If your account has been inactive for two years, we don't just archive it—we permanently delete all personally identifiable information (PII). Your data won't sit around waiting to be exploited.
Ongoing Privacy Audits
We regularly review our systems and practices through privacy audits to ensure we're doing what we say—and that nothing slips through the cracks. This helps us stay compliant, transparent, and one step ahead of potential risks.
4. Accuracy Matters, Too
While this isn't technically a privacy feature, it's still about building trust:
We verify and update our entire scholarship database every month to make sure students are only matched with real, active opportunities. That way, you're not wasting your time—or your data—on outdated or broken links.
5. Why It All Matters
Students and families shouldn't have to choose between getting help and giving up privacy. The internet doesn't always work that way—but we do.
We designed ScholarTrail for people who want:
- ●Peace of mind
- ●Clarity and control
- ●And a scholarship search experience that puts people over profit
Whether you're planning for college or helping someone who is, we want you to know: your trust is not for sale.