This Cookie Policy explains how Box Scholar collects, uses, and manages cookies and similar tracking technologies when using www.box-scholar.org to provide personalized career and academic guidance for Grade 12 students.
Effective: August 21, 2025
This Cookie Policy explains how Box Scholar uses cookies and similar tracking technologies on our website, www.box-scholar.org, to deliver, enhance, and personalize your experience as a user. Our platform is designed to guide Grade 12 students in discovering their dream careers through AI-powered assessments, personalized roadmaps, and expert university guidance. By using our website, you consent to our use of cookies as described in this policy.
Cookies are small text files stored on your device (such as a computer, tablet, smartphone, or other internet-enabled device) when you visit a website. These files contain unique identifiers that allow websites to recognize your device, store preferences, and collect data about your interactions with the site. Cookies play a critical role in improving website functionality, personalizing user experiences, and analyzing usage patterns to optimize services.
In addition to cookies, we may use other tracking technologies, such as web beacons (also known as pixel tags or clear GIFs), local storage, and device identifiers. These technologies work similarly to cookies by collecting data about your browsing behavior, but they may differ in how they are stored or accessed. For simplicity, this policy refers to all such technologies collectively as 'cookies' unless otherwise specified.
Our use of cookies is integral to delivering the Box Scholar experience, including AI-powered career matching, interactive assessments, and personalized university recommendations. This policy outlines the types of cookies we use, their purposes, how we manage them, and your rights to control their use.
We categorize cookies based on their functionality and purpose. Below, we provide an in-depth explanation of each category, including specific examples and their roles in enhancing your experience on our platform.
Essential cookies are critical to the basic operation of our website and cannot be disabled without impairing core functionality. These cookies ensure that you can navigate the site, access secure areas, and use essential features of the Box Scholar platform. They enable session management, protect your account by verifying your identity, store your cookie preferences, and retain data entered in forms (e.g., during career assessments). Examples include session cookies (temporary, expire when you close your browser), authentication cookies (enable persistent login sessions), and CSRF tokens (protect against cross-site request forgery attacks). Retention period: Most are session-based, expiring when you close your browser; others may persist for up to 24 hours.
Performance and analytics cookies collect anonymized data about how users interact with our website, helping us understand which features are most popular, identify areas for improvement, and optimize the user experience. They measure traffic (e.g., page views, time spent), track navigation patterns, identify technical issues, and support A/B testing. Examples include Google Analytics cookies (_ga, _gid) for anonymous usage tracking, Hotjar cookies for heatmaps and user interaction analysis, and custom analytics cookies for feature engagement. Retention period: Up to 2 years, with data aggregated and anonymized.
Functional cookies enhance your experience by enabling personalized features and remembering your preferences. These optional cookies can be disabled, though this may limit certain functionalities. They tailor content (e.g., career recommendations), save assessment progress, store language/region settings, and support accessibility features. Examples include assessment progress cookies, preference cookies (e.g., currency or notification settings), and community interaction cookies for forum engagement. Retention period: Up to 1 year.
Marketing and tracking cookies enable us to deliver personalized advertisements and measure the effectiveness of our marketing efforts. These optional cookies are set by us or third-party advertising partners. They support targeted advertising, campaign performance tracking, social media integration, and retargeting. Examples include Google Ads cookies, Facebook Pixel, Twitter cookies, and LinkedIn Insight Tag. Retention period: Up to 2 years, depending on the third-party provider.
Cookies are integral to delivering the Box Scholar experience, which combines AI technology with human expertise to guide Grade 12 students toward their dream careers.
Essential cookies ensure our website operates smoothly, allowing you to log in, complete assessments, and access secure areas.
Functional cookies store your assessment responses to provide tailored career recommendations, such as suggesting suitable career paths based on your interests and strengths.
Cookies help us deliver personalized university recommendations and track your progress through application guidance features.
Cookies facilitate interactions in our peer community, such as connecting you with like-minded students or saving your forum preferences.
Performance cookies provide insights into how students use our platform, helping us refine features like interactive assessments or achievement tracking.
Marketing cookies enable us to promote our Explorer, Discoverer, and Achiever plans effectively, ensuring students and families are aware of our offerings.
We partner with third-party services to enhance our website’s functionality and marketing efforts. These partners may set their own cookies, which are subject to their respective privacy policies.
Collects anonymized data to analyze website traffic and user behavior. See Google’s Privacy Policy[](https://policies.google.com/privacy) for details.
Processes payments for our Discoverer (R20/month) and Achiever (R50/month) plans securely. See Stripe’s Privacy Policy[](https://stripe.com/privacy).
Provides heatmaps and user behavior analytics to improve site usability. See Hotjar’s Privacy Policy[](https://www.hotjar.com/legal/policies/privacy/).
Platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn set cookies for sharing features and advertising. Refer to their respective privacy policies for more information.
We may use ad networks like Google Ads or LinkedIn Ads to promote our platform. These partners set cookies to track ad performance and deliver relevant ads.
Third-party cookies may collect data such as your IP address, browser type, or general location (e.g., city-level data). We do not control how third parties process this data, but we ensure our partners comply with applicable data protection laws.
We respect your right to control how cookies are used on our website.
Upon your first visit to www.box-scholar.org, a consent banner allows you to accept or decline non-essential cookies (e.g., performance, functional, and marketing cookies). You can revisit these settings at any time via a link in the website footer.
Most web browsers allow you to block, delete, or manage cookies. For example: Google Chrome (Settings > Privacy and Security > Cookies and Other Site Data), Mozilla Firefox (Preferences > Privacy & Security > Cookies and Site Data), Safari (Settings > Privacy > Cookies and Website Data). For detailed instructions, visit www.aboutcookies.org.uk/managing-cookies. Note that disabling essential cookies may prevent you from accessing core features, such as logging into your account or completing AI assessments.
Global Users: Opt out of interest-based advertising via http://optout.aboutads.info/. EEA Residents: Use http://www.youronlinechoices.eu/ to manage ad preferences. Google Analytics Opt-Out: Install the Google Analytics Opt-Out Browser Add-On[](https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout).
Our website does not currently respond to browser DNT signals, as there is no universal standard for implementing DNT. However, you can still manage cookies using the methods above.
Cookies may collect personal information, such as your IP address, browsing behavior, or assessment responses, to provide personalized services. We handle this data in accordance with our Privacy Policy[](https://www.box-scholar.org/privacy-policy) and applicable data protection laws.
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR): For users in the European Economic Area (EEA), we ensure compliance with GDPR requirements, such as obtaining consent for non-essential cookies and providing clear information about data processing. Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA): For users in South Africa, we adhere to POPIA to protect your personal information. Other Jurisdictions: We comply with relevant data protection laws based on your location.
For subscribed users (e.g., Discoverer or Achiever plan members), we may combine cookie data with account information (e.g., your name, email, or assessment results) to deliver personalized career recommendations, university guidance, or counselor sessions. For example, cookies may track your progress in the Achiever plan’s premium assessments to ensure seamless access to monthly counselor sessions or application essay reviews.
You have the following rights regarding your data: Access (request a copy of your data), Rectification (correct inaccurate data), Deletion (request data deletion), Objection (object to specific data processing), and Portability (request a transferable copy of your data). To exercise these rights, contact us at info@box-scholar.org. We will respond within the timeframes required by applicable laws (e.g., 30 days under GDPR).
As Box Scholar is designed for Grade 12 students, some users may be under 18. We take extra care to protect the privacy of minors.
We do not knowingly use marketing cookies to target users under 16 without parental consent.
Essential and functional cookies are used to deliver core services, such as career assessments, which are integral to our platform’s purpose.
Parents or guardians can contact us at info@box-scholar.org to review or delete a minor’s data.
We implement robust security measures to protect data collected via cookies.
Secure transmission of data using HTTPS and TLS protocols.
Limiting access to cookie data to authorized personnel only.
Monitoring our systems to detect and address vulnerabilities.
Aggregating analytics data to prevent identification of individual users.
Despite these measures, no online system is completely secure. If you suspect a data breach, contact us immediately at info@box-scholar.org.
We may update this Cookie Policy periodically to reflect changes in our practices, technology, or legal requirements.
Updates will be posted on this page with a revised 'Last Updated' date. For significant changes, we may notify you via a prominent notice on our website, an email to subscribed users (e.g., those on the Explorer, Discoverer, or Achiever plans), or a prompt to review updated cookie preferences via our consent banner.
We encourage you to review this policy regularly to stay informed about how we use cookies.
If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Cookie Policy or our use of cookies, please contact us at info@box-scholar.org or via www.box-scholar.org/contact. For additional information about how we process your personal data, please review our Privacy Policy[](https://www.box-scholar.org/privacy-policy).
Additional details about our cookie practices and their implications.
If you access our website from outside South Africa, cookie data may be transferred to our servers in South Africa or third-party servers (e.g., Google Analytics in the U.S.). We ensure these transfers comply with data protection laws, such as GDPR’s standard contractual clauses for EEA users.
Specific retention periods vary by cookie type, as noted above. You can delete cookies at any time using your browser settings to reset these periods.
Disabling cookies may affect features like personalized career matches, progress tracking in assessments, or access to community forums. For example, disabling functional cookies may require you to restart assessments from scratch.