Privacy Policy

We at AdmitHub PBC, d.b.a. Mainstay and our affiliates (“Mainstay”, “we”, “us”, or “our”) have created this Privacy Policy to describe how we collect and use Personal Information (defined below) from and about the visitors to our web sites (including mainstay.com) (each, a “Site” and collectively, the “Sites”) and authorized users (“Users”, “you”, “your”) of the universities, colleges and organizations that are customers of the Mainstay platform (our “Partners”), and the choices that you have with regard to how we use your information.

This Privacy Policy applies to our Sites, mobile features, applications and any other interactive features or services owned or controlled by Mainstay that post a link to this Privacy Policy (each, a “Service” and collectively with the Sites, the “Services”), as well as any information we collect offline and combine with data collected through the Services. Certain features discussed in this Privacy Policy may not be offered on each Service at any particular time. This Privacy Policy does not govern information collected from our Partners’ students and other end users when they interact with the Services, such as through chatting with a bot on a Partner’s website; these activities are governed by our Chatbot Privacy Policy.

This Privacy Policy explains what Personal Information (defined below) we collect from Users, how we use and share that information, and your choices concerning our data practices. Additional information for California residents may be found here. This Privacy Policy is incorporated into and forms part of our Terms of Use.

Before using the Services or submitting any Personal Information to us, please review this Privacy Policy carefully and contact us if you have any questions. By using the Services, you agree to the practices described in this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to this Privacy Policy, please do not access the Sites or otherwise use the Services

1. PERSONAL INFORMATION COLLECTION.

We may collect information that, alone or in combination with other reasonably available information, can reasonably identify or relate to a specific individual or household (“Personal Information”) as follows:

1.1       Information You Provide: We collect Personal Information you voluntarily provide, such as when you register and use the Services, request information about or a demo of the Services, sign up for our newsletter, or chat with a bot on our Site. This Personal Information may include, but is not limited to your name, email address, phone number, physical address or zip code, account information (such as a password or other information that helps us confirm that it is you accessing your account) and demographic or other information about your interests and preferences. We will may also collect payment information (typically, credit card or bank account information) if you choose to purchase products or services through the Services.

1.2       Information Provided By Our Partners: If you are an authorized user, the Partner by whom you are employed or with whom you are associated may provide your Personal Information to register you to use the Services. This Personal Information includes, but is not limited to, your name, email address, phone number, and any other Personal Information our Partners may choose to provide.

1.3       Information Collected Automatically: We and our analytics providers, vendors and other service providers may automatically collect certain “Usage Information” whenever you access and use the Sites or certain Services. In addition, we automatically collect your IP address or other unique identifier (“Device Identifier”) for any computer, mobile phone or other device (any, a “Device”) you may use to access the Sites or Services. A Device Identifier is a number that is automatically assigned to your Device used to access a Service, and our servers identify your Device by its Device Identifier. Some mobile service providers may also provide us or our service providers with information regarding the physical location of the Device used to access a Service, internet service provider (ISP), date and time of your visit, browser language, browser type, referring and exit pages and URLs, amount of time spent on particular pages, which parts of our Services you use, which links you click, search terms, operating system, traffic and related statistics, keywords, and/or other general browsing or usage data. Usage Information is generally non-identifying, but if we associate it with you as a specific and identifiable person, we treat it as Personal Information.

Usage Information is collected via tracking technologies, including:

Cookies: Cookies are small text files stored on your computer that allow us to personalize the content of our Services. For more details on cookies please visit All About Cookies. Our Sites and certain Services may utilize Cookies to improve your current and future experience by allowing us to understand your usage of our Services and remember your settings and account configuration. For example, cookies help our systems recognize you if you return to our Services shortly after exiting them. Cookies can be turned off via your browser settings if you so choose. However, if you turn your cookies off, some features of our Services may not function properly.

Web Beacons: We, as well as our affiliate program partners, service providers, and other third parties, may employ a software technology called clear gifs (or “web beacons”), that help us better manage content on our Services by informing us of what content is effective. Clear gifs are tiny graphics with a unique identifier, similar in function to cookies, and are used to track the online movements of web users for our affiliate program. In contrast to cookies, which are stored on a user’s computer hard drive, clear gifs are embedded invisibly on web pages and are about the size of the period at the end of this sentence. This information is used to help improve the overall quality and experience of our Services. We tie the information gathered by clear gifs to our customers’ Personal Information.

An Embedded Script: We and service providers may use an embedded script, which is programming code that is designed to collect information about your interactions with the Services, such as the links you click on. The code is temporarily downloaded onto your computer or other device from our server or that of a service provider, and is deactivated or deleted when you disconnect from the Services. In addition, we may use a variety of other technologies that collect similar information for security and fraud detection purposes.

Flash & HTML5: We use Local Storage Objects (“LSOs”) such as HTML5 to store content, information and preferences, such as the messages you exchanged with the Services, to optimize the performance of the Services and provide certain features. Third parties with whom we partner to provide certain features on our site or to display advertising based upon your Web browsing activity use LSOs such as HTML5 & Flash to collect and store information. Various browsers may offer their own management tools for removing HTML5 LSOs. To manage Flash LSOs please click here.

2. OUR USE OF YOUR INFORMATION.

We may use information about you, including Personal Information, to: (1) process a transaction you initiate; (2) provide you with information, newsletters, products, services, or suggestions you request or may be interested in; (3) send or display to you and others using the Services special offers or advertisements from us, our advertisers, or third parties; (4) process your registration with our Services, including verifying your e-mail address is active and valid; (5) improve the Services and our products, and for internal business purposes, including the measurement of ad effectiveness; (6) communicate with you regarding your use of the Services and, in our discretion, changes to our policies; and (7) as described in the Privacy Policy and for purposes disclosed at the time you provide your Personal Information.

We may aggregate Personal Information and use the aggregated information, which does not identify you, to analyze the effectiveness of our Services, to improve and add features to our Services, and for other similar purposes. In addition, from time to time, we may analyze the general behavior and characteristics of Users of our Services and share aggregated information, like general user statistics, with prospective business partners. We may collect aggregated information through the Services, through cookies, and through other means described in this Privacy Policy.

3. INFORMATION SHARING.

We may share your Personal Information, without further notice to you unless required by applicable law, as described below or otherwise in this Privacy Policy:

  • Service Providers: We will share your Personal Information with unaffiliated entities that provide services to us or our Partners in connection with the Services, such as companies that provide hosting and other IT services, send messages and emails through the Services or on our behalf, offer customer service, process payment information, or target and serve our advertisements. To the extent feasible, these service providers are subject to confidentiality obligations which limit their use and disclosure of such information.
  • Administrative and Legal Reasons: We may also disclose your information, including Personal Information, in response to a subpoena, court order, or when otherwise required by law; in response to bankruptcy proceedings; to defend our rights; in response to a request from law enforcement; to provide information to a claimed owner of intellectual property who claims that content you have provided to us infringes on their rights; upon request of an academic institution connected to an investigation into academic integrity; to protect and/or defend any applicable Terms of Use or other policies applicable to the Services; or to protect the personal safety, rights, property or security of any organization or individual.
  • Business Transitions: Mainstay may share Personal Information with its parent, subsidiaries and affiliates, and investors primarily for business and operational purposes so long as any recipient agrees to comply with this Privacy Policy and applicable law with regard to such Personal Information. In the event that Mainstay goes through a business transition, such as a merger, acquisition by another company, or sale of all or a portion of its assets, bankruptcy, or other corporate change, including, without limitation, during the course of any due diligence process, your information, including Personal Information, will likely be among the assets transferred.
  • With Your Consent: We may share your Personal Information with third parties with your consent (if permissible under applicable law) provided at the time you provide us with information.

Mainstay may share non-Personal Information, such as aggregate or de-identified user statistics, demographic information, Usage Information, and related insights with our Partners and third parties, including advertisers, content providers, and analytics providers, for our marketing and advertising purposes.

4. THIRD PARTY AD NETWORKS AND ANALYTICS PROVIDERS.

We work with network advertisers, ad agencies, analytics service providers and other vendors to provide us with information regarding traffic on the Services, including the pages viewed and the actions users take when visiting the Services; to serve our advertisements on other websites, within mobile apps, and elsewhere online; and to provide us with information regarding the use of the Services and the effectiveness of our advertisements. For example, if you click on an Mainstay advertisement, our service provider(s) may be able to tell us the advertisement you clicked on and where you were viewing the advertisement.

We may share Usage Information about Site visitors with advertising companies, analytics providers and other vendors. We and these vendors may use cookies or other tracking technologies to collect information about your browsing activities over time and across different websites following your use of the Sites and use that information to serve targeted advertisements. Some of the companies who serve these targeted ads participate in a self-regulatory program that allows you to opt-out of having information about you used for this purpose, and you may access that opt-out by clicking here. Please note this does not opt you out of being served advertising. You may continue to receive generic ads while using the Services and elsewhere online.

Please note that your browser setting may allow you to automatically transmit a “Do Not Track” (DNT) signal to websites and online service you visit. DNT is a privacy preference that users can set in certain web browsers to inform websites and services that they do not want certain information about their webpage visits collected over time and across websites or online services. However, we do not recognize or respond to browser-initiated DNT signals, as the internet industry is still working to determine what DNT means, how to comply with DNT, and how to create a common approach to responding to DNT. To find out more about “Do Not Track”, please visit http://www.allaboutdnt.com.

5. MOBILE USE.

If you access the Services through a mobile device, it may be possible for you to transmit your mobile Device Identifier, your mobile carrier, or your physical location to Mainstay; however, Mainstay will not track such information in the background. If you transmit such information to Mainstay, we may store or use that information in compliance with this Privacy Policy.

You may be able to opt-in to receiving text messages from Mainstay. You may always opt-out by replying “#pause” or “STOP” to one of the text messages received. You also acknowledge and agree that use of the Services through a mobile device may cause data to be displayed on and through your mobile device which may be viewed by your mobile carrier or other access provider.

6. YOUR RIGHTS

Depending on where you live and the law governing your Personal Information, you may have certain rights, as described below and throughout this Privacy Policy.  For information applicable to California residents, please see here.

6.1       Updating your Account Information and Control over Mainstay Emails.

You may be able to review the information you provided to us on a Service and make any desired changes to the information, or to the settings for your account on that Service, by logging in to your account for that Service and editing or deleting the information. You also may be able to limit the information you receive from us by adjusting your settings. All changes to your email settings and preferences must be made in your account preferences page on the applicable Service or by using the unsubscribe button at the bottom of the Mainstay email. However, we reserve the right to send you information on our behalf and on behalf of our Partners in connection with providing the Services. If you no longer want to receive information from us, you will need to close your account for that Service.

6.2       Closing Your Account.

If you wish to close your account with one of our Services, please send your request via email at [email protected] and we will remove your Personal Information from the active databases for the Service(s) you request. Please let us know which Service(s) you wish to close and send your request using an email account that you have registered with Mainstay under your name. Requests to change your email preferences or unsubscribe from all emails may not be made through this email address, but rather must be submitted through one of the channels set out in the previous section. Even if your account is closed, information may remain in backup or archive records and we may retain certain data relevant to preventing fraud or future abuse or for legitimate business purposes, such as analysis of aggregated, non-personally-identifiable or de-identified data, account recovery or if required by law. All retained data will continue to be subject to this Privacy Policy.

6.3       Testimonials.

We display personal testimonials of satisfied customers on our Site in addition to other endorsements. With your consent we may post your testimonial along with your name. If you wish to update or delete your testimonial, you can contact us via email at [email protected].

7. THIRD PARTY CONTENT AND SERVICES.

Certain content provided through the Services may be hosted and served by third parties, including our Partners, and may include third party widgets, such as those that allow you to “like” or “share” content with third party web sites and online services. In addition, the Services may link to third party web sites or content over which Mainstay has no control and which are governed by the privacy policies and business practices of those third parties. Please also note that Mainstay content and widgets may be included on web pages and web sites that are not associated with us and over which we have no control. These third parties may independently collect data. Mainstay is not responsible or liable for the privacy practices or business practices of any third party.

8. SECURITY.

Mainstay takes data security very seriously. Mainstay takes commercially reasonable technical, physical, and administrative security measures to protect the Personal Information submitted to us, both during transmission and once we receive it. Such measures vary depending on the sensitivity of the information at issue. Please note that no method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100% secure. Therefore, while we strive to use commercially reasonable means to protect your Personal Information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security. In the event that Mainstay becomes aware of a data breach impacting your Personal Information, we will provide notification in compliance with all applicable laws. If you have any questions about security on our Services, you can email us at [email protected].

9. INTERNATIONAL USERS.

The Services are operated in the United States and intended only for Users located in the United States. However, if you access the Site or the Services from outside of the United States, please be aware that information we collect will be transferred to and processed in the United States. By using the Services, submitting any information on the Site, or otherwise providing us with any information, you fully understand and acknowledge this transfer, processing and storage of your information in the United States. We rely on our EU-U.S. Privacy Shield certification to transfer Personal Information that we receive from the EU and the United Kingdom (UK) to Mainstay in the U.S. (for more information, please read the “EU-U.S. Privacy Shield” section below).

10. EU-U.S. PRIVACY SHIELD

Privacy Shield Compliance. Mainstay complies with the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework as set forth by the U.S. Department of Commerce regarding the collection, use, and retention of Personal Information transferred from the EU and the UK to the United States. We have certified to the Department of Commerce that we adhere to the Privacy Shield Principles of Notice, Choice, Accountability for Onward Transfer, Security, Data Integrity and Purpose Limitation, Access, and Recourse, Enforcement and Liability (“Privacy Shield Principles”). If there is any conflict between the terms in this Privacy Policy, our Terms of Use and the Privacy Shield Principles, the Privacy Shield Principles shall take precedence. To learn more about the Privacy Shield program, the Privacy Shield Principles and to view our certification, please visit www.privacyshield.gov.

Mainstay’s Accountability for Data Processing. As described in the Privacy Shield Principles, Mainstay is accountable for Personal Information that it receives and subsequently transfers to third parties. If third parties that process Personal Information on our behalf do so in a manner that does not comply with the Privacy Shield Principles, we are accountable, unless we prove that we are not responsible for the event giving rise to the damage.

Choice. You may opt out of (i) the disclosure of your Personal Information to third parties that do not provide services to us and/or (ii) uses of your Personal Information for purposes that are materially different from the purposes for which the Personal Information was collected unless you have authorized such different purposes. To exercise these rights, please contact us at [email protected] as described below.

Access. Users in the EU and the UK have certain rights to access, correct, amend, or delete Personal Information where it is inaccurate, or has been processed in violation of the Privacy Shield Principles.

Complaints by EU/UK Individuals. In compliance with the Privacy Shield Principles, Mainstay commits to resolve complaints about our collection or use of your Personal Information. EU/UK individuals with inquiries or complaints regarding this Privacy Policy should first contact us via email [email protected] or by writing to us at the following mailing address: 1 Washington Mall #1349, Boston, MA 02108.

Independent Recourse Mechanism. Mainstay has further committed to refer unresolved Privacy Shield complaints to BBB EU Privacy Shield, an alternative dispute resolution provider located in the United States. If you do not receive timely acknowledgment of your complaint from us, or if we have not resolved your complaint, please contact or visit https://www.bbb.org/EU-privacy-shield/file-a-complaint/ for more information or to file a complaint. The services of BBB EU Privacy Shield are provided at no cost to you.

Arbitration and FTC powers. As further explained in the Privacy Shield Principles, binding arbitration before a Privacy Shield Panel will also be made available to you in order to address residual complaints not resolved by any other means. Mainstay is subject to the investigatory and enforcement powers of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. As described in the “Information Sharing” section of this Privacy Policy, we may share Personal Information to comply with legal and regulatory requirements, which includes the requirement to disclose Personal Information in response to lawful requests by public authorities, including to meet national security or law enforcement requirements.

11. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS.

In accordance with the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”), this section is intended to inform California residents of (1) the Personal Information that we collect and how we disclose that information, and (2) the privacy rights California residents may have relating to their Personal Information and how those rights can be exercised.

Personal Information Collection and Disclosure

The following disclosures are intended to provide additional information about (1) the categories of Personal Information we collect, and (2) how and to whom we disclose that Personal Information. Nothing in this section limits our ability to use or disclose information as described elsewhere in this Privacy Policy.

  • Categories of Personal Information Collected: In the past 12 months, we have collected the following categories of Personal Information, as described in greater detail in the “Personal Information Collection” section above:
    • Identification Information, such as your name, email address, phone number, physical address or zip code, account information (e.g., password or other information that helps us confirm that it is you accessing your account), and Device Identifiers.
    • Demographic Information, as well as information about your interests and preferences.
    • Online Activity Information, such as the Device used to access a Service, your internet service provider (ISP), date and time of your visit, browser language, browser type, operating system referring and exit pages and URLs, amount of time spent on particular pages, which parts of our Services you use, which links you click, search terms, traffic and related statistics, the location of the Device, keywords, and/or other general browsing data or Usage Information.
    • Commercial Information, such as purchase, payment (e.g., credit card or bank account information), and billing information if you choose to purchase products or services through the Services.
  • Sources of Personal Information: We collect the above categories of Personal Information from you, our Partners, our analytics providers, vendors, service providers, and as otherwise described in the “Personal Information Collection” section above.
  • Purposes of Collection and Disclosure: We collect and disclose the above categories of Personal Information for the business and commercial purposes described in the “Our Use Of Your Information” and “Information Sharing” sections above.
  • Categories of Personal Information Disclosed for a Business Purpose: In the past 12 months, we have disclosed for a business purpose all of the above categories of Personal Information to service providers and as described in the “Information Sharing” section above.
  • Categories of Personal Information Sold: Mainstay does not make your Personal Information available for purchase or otherwise share your information in exchange for monetary compensation.  Certain sharing of your information, however, may be considered a “sale” under the CCPA’s broad definition.  In particular, in the last 12 months, if you have visited our Sites, we may have shared your Identification Information, Demographic Information and Online Activity Information with advertising partners to match and serve our targeted advertisements on third party websites.  (You can find additional information about how you can control cookies here.)  See below for information about how to opt out of the sharing of your Personal Information for these purposes.

California Privacy Rights

To the extent provided for by the CCPA and subject to applicable exceptions and exclusions, California residents have the following privacy rights in relation to the Personal Information we collect:

  • The right to know what Personal Information we have collected and how we have used and disclosed that Personal Information.
  • The right to request deletion of your Personal Information.
  • The right to opt out of the sale of your Personal Information. 
  • The right to be free from discrimination for the exercise of your privacy rights.

Additionally, under California Civil Code Section 1798.83, California residents may have the right to request the categories of Personal Information we disclosed to third parties for their direct marketing purposes in the year preceding the request, the names and addresses of such third parties, and, in certain circumstances, examples of the products or services marketed by such third parties.

Exercising Your Rights: California residents can exercise the above privacy rights by filling out the form here, calling 1-855-955-1920, or emailing us at [email protected].

Verification: In order to protect your Personal Information from unauthorized access or deletion, we may require you to verify your credentials before you can submit a request to know or delete Personal Information. If you do not have an account with us, or if we suspect fraudulent or malicious activity, we may ask you to provide additional Personal Information for verification. If we cannot verify your identity, we will not provide or delete your Personal Information.

Authorized Agents: You may submit a request to know or a request to delete your Personal Information through an authorized agent. If you do so, we may require the agent to present signed written permission to act on your behalf and you may also be required to independently verify your identity with us and confirm that you have provided the agent permission to submit the request.

10.   CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY.

Mainstay may update this Privacy Policy at any time and any changes will be effective upon posting. Upon any update the “Last Updated” date at the top of this policy will be updated. In the event that there are material changes to the way we treat your Personal Information, You are responsible for regularly reviewing this Privacy Policy and your Mainstay account for notice of such modifications. Your continued use of the Services following an update to this Privacy Policy will constitute your acceptance of the updated Privacy Policy. We will notify you of material changes to the Privacy Policy on our Website and/or by email, and make additional efforts to notify customers of material changes that impact the treatment of data collected through our Services.

11. QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS.

If you have questions or comments about this Privacy Policy, or would like to access it in an alternative format, please contact us via email at [email protected] or mail at: 1 Washington Mall #1349, Boston, MA 02108.

Our Privacy Policy was last updated and is effective as of June 1, 2020.