Privacy Policy

Shetu (“we”, “us”) is a conversational advisor that helps students plan higher education abroad with reliable, source-cited guidance. This policy explains what data we collect, why, and how we protect it. We have tried to keep it plain and clear, because being trustworthy with your information is the whole point of this project.

What we collect

• Account basics from Google. When you sign in with Google, we receive your name, email address, and Google account identifier. We use this only to create and identify your account. We do not receive your Google password.
• Your profile details. Information you choose to share in conversation (such as your target country, study level, field, English test score, and budget) so the advice can be personalised.
• Documents you upload to the Vault. Files you add (for example, a statement of purpose, CV, or transcript) so they can be stored and, if you ask, reviewed.
• Your conversations. The messages you send and the responses you receive, to provide the service during your session.
• Mentorship requests. If you ask for a human mentor, the topic and summary you provide so a mentor can follow up.

How we use your data

• To provide the advice and features you ask for.
• To personalise guidance to your situation.
• To store your documents securely so you can access and reuse them.
• To arrange human mentorship when you request it.

We do not sell your data, and we do not use it for advertising.

AI processing

Your messages and any document you choose to have reviewed are processed by a large language model hosted on Amazon Bedrock (within Amazon Web Services) to generate responses. This processing happens to answer you; it is not used to train the underlying model.

Where your data is stored

• Documents are stored in Amazon S3 with encryption at rest, in a private bucket with public access blocked. Each user’s files are isolated, and uploads and downloads use short-lived, signed links.
• Profile, conversation metadata, and mentorship requests are stored in Amazon DynamoDB.
• Data is hosted in Amazon Web Services (United States region).

Sharing

We share your data only with the infrastructure providers that run the service (Google for sign-in; Amazon Web Services for hosting, storage, and AI processing), and with a human mentor only when you explicitly request mentorship. We may disclose information if required by law.

Your choices and rights

• You can delete documents from your Vault at any time.
• You can request deletion of your account and associated data by contacting us (see below).
• You can stop using the service and revoke Google access from your Google account.

Retention

We keep your data while your account is active. If you ask us to delete your account, we remove your profile, conversations, mentorship requests, and Vault documents, except where we are required to retain something by law.

Children

Shetu is intended for users who are 18 or older. It is not directed at children.

A note on accuracy

Shetu provides source-cited guidance to help you get started, but it is not a substitute for the official university and immigration pages, nor for professional legal or immigration advice. Always verify important details with the official source.

Changes

We may update this policy. When we do, we will change the “last updated” date above.

Contact

For privacy questions or deletion requests, contact the project maintainer at the email address listed on the project’s public repository.