Last updated: December 11, 2024
Le Cercle Français ("we," "us," "our," or "the Company") is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. This comprehensive Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, share, and protect your personal information when you visit our website, use our services, or interact with us in any way. This policy applies to all users of our French language learning platform, including students, parents, guardians, and any other individuals who engage with our educational services.
Our services are hosted and operated through Hostinger International Ltd., a leading web hosting provider that ensures high standards of security and data protection. By using our services, you acknowledge that your data may be processed and stored on Hostinger's secure servers, which are located in various data centers across the European Union and comply with applicable data protection regulations.
We collect various types of information to provide you with the best possible French learning experience. This information falls into several categories:
When you register for our services or create an account, we collect personal information that you voluntarily provide, including but not limited to: your full name, email address, phone number, billing address, emergency contact information, and preferred communication methods. For students under 18, we collect this information from their parents or legal guardians.
To provide personalized French language instruction, we collect information about your child's current French language proficiency level, learning goals, preferred learning style, previous language learning experience, academic background, special learning needs or accommodations, progress assessments, homework submissions, class participation records, and feedback from instructors. This educational data helps our certified teachers tailor their instruction methods to each student's individual needs.
Our website and learning platform, hosted on Hostinger's secure infrastructure, automatically collect certain technical information when you access our services. This includes your IP address, browser type and version, operating system, device information, time zone settings, browser plug-in types and versions, and geographic location data. We also collect usage data such as pages visited, time spent on our platform, click patterns, login frequency, and feature usage statistics.
We use the collected information for various legitimate purposes related to providing high-quality French language education and maintaining our business operations:
We maintain strict control over your personal information and only share it under specific circumstances and with trusted partners who help us deliver our educational services:
We share relevant student information with our certified French teachers and educational staff to provide effective instruction and support. Our teachers are bound by confidentiality agreements and professional teaching standards that require them to protect student privacy and use information only for educational purposes.
Our platform is hosted by Hostinger International Ltd., which provides secure web hosting services with data centers located primarily in Lithuania and other EU countries. Hostinger maintains ISO 27001 certification and implements robust security measures to protect your data. They act as our data processor and are contractually obligated to protect your information according to applicable data protection laws, including GDPR.
We use secure, PCI-compliant payment processors to handle billing and payment transactions. These processors only receive the minimum information necessary to process payments and are required to maintain strict security standards. We do not store complete credit card information on our servers.
We may disclose your information if required by law, court order, or other legal process, or if we believe disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, ensure student safety, investigate fraud, or comply with law enforcement requests.
Protecting your personal information is our top priority. We implement comprehensive security measures at multiple levels to safeguard your data:
Our platform is hosted on Hostinger's enterprise-grade infrastructure, which features advanced security measures including SSL encryption, DDoS protection, regular security audits, firewall protection, and 24/7 monitoring. Hostinger's data centers are physically secured with biometric access controls, surveillance systems, and environmental controls to prevent unauthorized access and equipment damage.
All data transmission between your device and our servers is encrypted using industry-standard SSL/TLS protocols. Personal information stored in our databases is encrypted using advanced encryption algorithms. We regularly update our encryption methods to maintain the highest security standards and protect against emerging threats.
We implement strict access controls to ensure that only authorized personnel can access personal information. Our staff members receive regular training on data protection and privacy best practices. User accounts are protected by secure authentication methods, and we encourage users to create strong passwords and enable two-factor authentication when available.
We conduct regular security assessments, vulnerability testing, and penetration testing to identify and address potential security weaknesses. Our security protocols are continuously reviewed and updated to address new threats and maintain compliance with current security standards and regulations.
As an educational service provider specializing in children's French language instruction, we take children's privacy protection extremely seriously and comply with all applicable laws regarding the collection and use of children's personal information:
We only collect personal information from children under the age of 18 with the explicit consent of their parents or legal guardians. Parents maintain full control over their child's personal information and can review, modify, or request deletion of their child's data at any time. We provide parents with clear information about what data we collect, how we use it, and who has access to it.
We collect only the minimum amount of information necessary to provide effective French language instruction and ensure student safety. This includes academic progress data, learning preferences, and communication necessary for educational purposes. We do not collect unnecessary personal information or use children's data for marketing purposes.
Our online learning platform is designed with child safety in mind. All interactions between students and teachers are conducted through our secure platform, which includes monitoring capabilities to ensure appropriate educational interactions. We maintain strict guidelines for teacher-student communication and require all teachers to complete background checks and child safety training.
As a service provider operating internationally with hosting infrastructure in the European Union, we are committed to complying with applicable international data protection laws, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR):
We process personal information based on several legal grounds: performance of our educational service contract with you, legitimate interests in providing and improving our educational services, compliance with legal obligations, and in the case of children's data, parental consent. We ensure that all data processing activities have a clear legal basis and are necessary for the specified purposes.
If you are located in the European Union or your data is subject to GDPR, you have specific rights regarding your personal information, including the right to access your data, correct inaccuracies, request deletion (where applicable), restrict processing, object to certain types of processing, and data portability. You also have the right to withdraw consent for processing based on consent and to file complaints with supervisory authorities.
When we transfer personal information outside the European Economic Area, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the European Commission. Our hosting provider, Hostinger, maintains data centers within the EU and complies with applicable data protection regulations to ensure your data remains protected during processing and storage.
We retain personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected and to comply with our legal, regulatory, and business requirements:
Student educational records, including progress reports, assessments, and learning materials, are retained for a period of 7 years after the completion of studies to allow for academic reference and to comply with educational record-keeping requirements. This retention period also enables us to provide academic transcripts and references if requested by former students or parents.
Personal account information is retained while your account remains active and for a reasonable period thereafter to allow for account reactivation if desired. When you request account deletion or after extended periods of inactivity, we will delete or anonymize your personal information, except where retention is required by law or for legitimate business purposes.
When personal information reaches the end of its retention period or when deletion is requested, we ensure secure disposal using industry-standard methods that make the information irrecoverable. This includes secure deletion from our databases and any backup systems maintained by our hosting provider, Hostinger.
Our website uses cookies and similar tracking technologies to enhance your browsing experience, analyze website usage, and provide personalized content. We are committed to transparency about our use of these technologies:
We use essential cookies that are necessary for the website to function properly, including session management and security features. Performance cookies help us understand how visitors interact with our website by collecting anonymous usage statistics. Functional cookies enable enhanced features and personalization based on your preferences. We do not use advertising or tracking cookies for marketing purposes.
You can control cookie settings through your browser preferences and our cookie consent banner. While you can disable most cookies, please note that blocking essential cookies may affect the functionality of our website and learning platform. We provide clear information about cookie purposes and allow you to make informed choices about non-essential cookies.
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at:
Email: contact@lecerclefrancais.in
Address: 60 rue François 1er - PARIS 75008