Privacy Policy

Last Updated: August 19, 2025

Welcome to ApprenticeWatch! Your privacy is a top priority for us. This policy explains what information we collect, how we use it to give you a great experience, and the choices you have. We've written it to be as clear and straightforward as possible.

By using ApprenticeWatch, you agree to the way we handle information as described here.

The Information We Collect

To make ApprenticeWatch work, we collect a little bit of information. We've broken it down into what's required, what's optional, and what's collected automatically.

Information You Provide to Us

  • Account Information (Required): When you sign up, we need your Name and Email Address. If you sign up using a social account like Google or LinkedIn, we receive this information from them.

  • CV and Job Descriptions (Feature-Specific): When you use our AI CV Optimiser, we process the text from the CV and the job description you provide. This is essential for the feature to work.

  • Profile & Preference Information (Optional): To help you get the most out of ApprenticeWatch, you can choose to add more details to your profile. This is all optional, but it helps us personalise your experience:

    • Your Preferences: Your preferred sectors, course levels, and locations help us recommend relevant apprenticeships on your Dashboard.
    • Location Details: Providing your postcode or how far you're willing to travel helps us show you local opportunities on the Map View.
    • Date of Birth: Some apprenticeships have age requirements, and providing your DOB can help us filter for those.

Information We Collect Automatically

  • Usage Data: When you use our site, we automatically log information like your IP address, browser type, which pages you visit, and how long you spend on them. This helps us understand what's popular and how to improve our service.
  • Cookies: We use cookies (small files stored by your browser) to keep you logged in and remember your preferences. You can control these in your browser settings, but some parts of our site may not work correctly without them.

How and Why We Use Your Information

We use your data to make ApprenticeWatch useful and relevant to you. Here’s how:

  • To Provide and Personalise the Service: We use your account details and preferences to power your personalised Dashboard, recommend daily apprenticeships, run the AI CV Optimiser, and display opportunities on the Map View.
  • To Communicate with You: We use your email to send essential service updates (like a password reset), weekly apprenticeship recommendations, and other news. You can manage your notification preferences in your settings at any time.
  • To Improve ApprenticeWatch: We analyse usage data to understand trends, fix bugs, and develop new features. For our AI CV Optimiser, we may ask for your consent to use an anonymised version of your CV text to train and improve our model, helping everyone get better feedback.

Sharing Your Information

We don't sell your personal data. We only share it in specific situations:

  • With Service Providers: We work with trusted partners who help us operate our service, like cloud hosting providers (servers) and the AI technology behind our CV feature. They are contractually obligated to protect your data and can only use it to provide the service to us.
  • For Legal Reasons: We may have to share information if required by law or to protect the rights and safety of our users or the public.
  • In a Business Transfer: If ApprenticeWatch is involved in a merger or acquisition, your information may be transferred as part of that deal. We'll notify you before any such change.

Data Security, Storage & Transfers

Protecting your data is fundamental to us. Here's our commitment:

  • Strong Encryption: All personal data you provide is protected using military-grade encryption both when it's being sent over the internet and while it's stored on our servers.
  • Secure UK Storage: Your data is securely stored in data centers located in London, United Kingdom.
  • No Processing Outside Europe: We do not transfer or process your personal data outside of the European Economic Area (EEA) and the UK.

How Long We Keep Your Information

We believe in keeping your data only for as long as you need it.

  • While Your Account is Active: We'll retain your personal data for as long as your account remains active.
  • After Account Deletion: If you decide to delete your account, your personal data will be permanently deleted from our systems within 30 days.
  • For AI Improvement: For the purpose of improving our AI CV Optimiser, we may retain a fully **anonymised** version of your CV text after your account is deleted. This version has all personal identifiers (like your name, address, and email) completely removed, meaning it can no longer be linked to you in any way.

Your Privacy Rights & Choices

You are in control of your personal data. Under UK data protection law, you have the following rights:

  • The Right to Access: You can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
  • The Right to Rectification: You can correct any inaccurate information in your account settings.
  • The Right to Erasure (Deletion): You can request that we delete your personal data by deleting your account or contacting us.
  • The Right to Data Portability: You can request your data in a common, machine-readable format.
  • The Right to Object or Restrict Processing: You can object to us using your data for certain purposes, like direct marketing.

You can manage most of your data directly from your account settings. For anything else, please reach out to us at [email protected].

Our Legal Basis for Using Your Data

We only use your data when we have a valid legal reason to do so. This includes:

  • Performance of a Contract: We process your data to provide the core services you signed up for, like creating your account and finding apprenticeships.
  • Consent: For specific features, we'll ask for your explicit consent. This includes sending you marketing communications or using your anonymised CV data to improve our AI. You can withdraw your consent at any time.
  • Legitimate Interests: We use data for things like analytics and security to improve our service, but only in a way that respects your privacy rights.

Our Policy Towards Young People

ApprenticeWatch is designed for those seeking apprenticeships, primarily users aged 16 and over. The legal age to consent to data processing in the UK is 13. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under the age of 13. If you believe we have accidentally collected such information, please contact us so we can remove it.

Third-Party Services & Links

Our service integrates with some third-party tools to function. We also link to external sites (like apprenticeship application pages).

  • Analytics and Maps: We use Google Analytics 4 to understand site traffic and Mapbox to power our Map View.
  • AI Services: Our CV Optimiser is powered by the Google Gemini AI API. Your CV text is sent for analysis but is not stored by them or used to train their models.

We encourage you to review the privacy policies of these services. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of other sites.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. If we make significant changes, we’ll let you know via email or a notice on the site. The "Last Updated" date at the top will always show when it was last revised.

Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or your data, please don't hesitate to reach out.