Skip to content
World Chances

Privacy policy

Last updated:

Who we are

World Chances (https://worldchances.org) is run by First Byte LLC, Tajikistan. For privacy questions, use the contact form (subject "Privacy request") or write to hello@worldchances.org.

What we collect

  • Server logs. Like any website, our server records the IP address, browser, the page requested and the time. We use these records for security and troubleshooting and keep them for no longer than 30 days.
  • Contact form. Your name, email, subject, message, the page and the language. Instead of your IP address we store a one-way hash of it, only to limit the number of messages and stop spam. Messages are kept for up to 12 months and then deleted. The form is protected from spam by Cloudflare Turnstile (see "Spam protection" below).
  • Cookie-free visitor statistics. To learn which pages are useful, your browser sends us a short message when a page opens: the page address (without parameters), the domain of the site that linked to us (not the full address), your browser language, the device type (desktop, tablet or phone), a country, and the utm_source campaign label if the link has one. The country comes from a header added by our proxy server or, without it, from the region of your browser language (for example "en-GB"). Your IP address is not stored. To count unique visitors per day we store a hash of your IP address and browser made with a random "salt" that is replaced and deleted every day, so visits cannot be linked from one day to the next and you cannot be followed across days. No cookies or other browser storage are used for this, and no third-party analytics scripts are loaded. Bots are not counted. If your browser sends Do Not Track or Global Privacy Control, nothing is sent. Detailed records are kept for 90 days; after that only daily totals remain.
  • Email digest (optional). If you subscribe: your email address, the preferences you choose (types of opportunities, study level, nationality, language, frequency, deadline reminders), when you gave consent and which version of the consent text you saw, when you confirmed, and which programmes we have already sent you (so they are not repeated). See "Email digest" below.
  • The site has no user accounts and does not ask for or store payment details.

We do not sell personal data. We use contact form details only to reply to you, and subscribers' addresses only to send the digest.

Email digest

  • Purpose. Once a week we email you new programmes that match your preferences and, if you ask for them, reminders of deadlines that are close. Nothing else: no partner advertising, and we never give addresses to anyone for their own mailings.
  • Legal basis. Your consent, given on the sign-up form and confirmed through the link we email you (double opt-in). We keep the time of your consent and the version of the text you agreed to.
  • Unsubscribing. Every email has an "Unsubscribe" link, and mail programs show a one-click unsubscribe button. Unsubscribing deletes your address, preferences and send history at once. You can change your preferences through the link in any email; no account is needed.
  • Retention. As long as you are subscribed. Unconfirmed sign-ups are deleted after 7 days. The list of programmes sent to a subscriber is kept for up to 180 days. To limit repeated sign-ups we keep a one-way hash of the IP address for up to a day.
  • Suppression list. If emails to an address bounce because it does not exist, or you mark our email as spam, we keep only a one-way hash of the address so that we never email it again. We delete it on request.
  • Who sends the emails. An email delivery service (SMTP provider) sends the digest and processes your address and the message on our behalf. We do not track whether you open an email; links carry utm tags that only tell us a visit came from the digest, not from whom.

Spam protection (Cloudflare Turnstile)

  • Purpose. To stop automated spam, the contact form and the email sign-up form use Cloudflare Turnstile, a service of Cloudflare, Inc. It checks in the background that a person, not a program, is filling in the form; once in a while it asks you to tick a box.
  • When it loads. Only on pages with one of these forms, and only when the form comes into view or you start filling it in. No Cloudflare script is loaded on other pages.
  • What data. For the check, Cloudflare processes technical information about your browser and device: your IP address, the User-Agent header, a technical fingerprint of the TLS connection and the address of our site. When you send the form, our server sends the check result and your IP address to Cloudflare to confirm it. Cloudflare uses this data only to detect bots and to improve that protection, not for advertising. See the Cloudflare privacy policy and the Turnstile privacy addendum.
  • Our own checks. We also check that the form was not sent too quickly and that the message does not look like spam (for example, too many links). Rejected submissions are not stored: we only count them by reason, without any address or text, and keep those counts for 30 days.

Cookies

The site itself does not use tracking cookies: your language is part of the page address, and the visitor statistics described above work without cookies. A functional cookie is set only in the private administration area. Cookies and similar technologies are used by the advertising services described below, and only within the limits of your consent where consent is required.

Advertising by Google AdSense

We show ads through Google AdSense. Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this website or other websites. Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to you based on your visits to this site and/or other sites on the internet. You can read how Google uses information from sites that use its services here: policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites.

Consent in the EEA, the UK and Switzerland

Visitors from the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland see a consent message from a Google-certified consent management platform (Google AdSense "Privacy & messaging"). Until you give consent, advertising cookies are not used for personalisation and Google's advertising signals run in a restricted mode. You can change or withdraw your choice at any time on the cookie settings page.

How to opt out of personalised ads

  • You can turn off personalised advertising in Google's Ads Settings.
  • You can opt out of personalised advertising by other vendors at www.aboutads.info.
  • You can also block or delete cookies in your browser settings.

Legal bases

Server logs: our legitimate interest in keeping the site secure. Cookie-free visitor statistics: our legitimate interest in knowing which pages readers need (the data is minimal and cannot be used to follow you). Contact form: your request, which we answer. Spam protection of the forms (Cloudflare Turnstile): our legitimate interest in protecting the site and its readers from spam and abuse. Email digest: your consent, which you can withdraw at any time by unsubscribing. Suppression list: our legitimate interest in not emailing people who opted out or whose address does not exist. Personalised advertising in the EEA, the UK and Switzerland: your consent.

Processors and transfers

The site is hosted by a hosting provider, and the digest is sent by an email delivery service; both process data on our behalf. Cloudflare checks the forms for spam (see "Spam protection"). Cloudflare and Google may process data in other countries, including the United States, under their own privacy policies.

Your rights

You can ask for access to your data, its correction or deletion, object to or restrict its processing. You can unsubscribe with one click from any email; you can also ask through the contact form for your subscription data to be deleted or your address to be added to the suppression list. If you live in the EEA, the UK or Switzerland, you can also complain to your data protection authority.

Children

The site is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect their data.

Changes

If this policy changes, we will update this page and the date at the top.