PRIVACY POLICY - SSEF Education Online Courses
Last Updated: 01 September 2026
1. Introduction
SSEF respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal information.
This Privacy Policy explains how personal information is collected, used, stored, and shared when registering for, accessing, participating in, purchasing, or completing SSEF Education online Courses, whether free or paid. The general privacy policy of SSEF can be found here.
2. Information We Collect
We may collect:
- name;
- email address;
- country of residence;
- account information;
- enrolment records;
- Course progress and completion status;
- quiz or assessment results;
- Certificate information;
- communication records;
- technical information collected by the learning platform.
Payment card information is generally processed directly by payment providers and is not stored by SSEF.
3. How We Use Information
Personal information may be processed for participants in both free and paid Courses.
We may use personal information to:
- provide access to Courses;
- manage enrolments;
- track Course participation and completion;
- issue Certificates;
- communicate with participants;
- improve Course quality;
- evaluate learning outcomes and Course effectiveness;
- comply with legal obligations;
- maintain platform security.
We process your data based on contract performance (providing course access), legal compliance, and our legitimate interests (improving course quality, preventing fraud, and verifying certificates).
4. Service Providers
To operate online Courses, SSEF may share relevant personal information with trusted service providers including:
- Teachable (learning platform);
- Stripe (payment processing);
- Certifier (certificate issuance);
- Zapier (workflow automation);
- Typeform (surveys and forms);
- Mailchimp (emails and newsletters);
and other providers required to deliver Course-related services.
Personal information is shared only to the extent reasonably necessary to provide the relevant service.
5. No Sale of Personal Information
SSEF does not sell personal information to third parties.
SSEF does not use participant information for unrelated commercial resale purposes.
6. Cookies and Similar Technologies
The SSEF online learning platform and its service providers may use cookies, pixels, local storage technologies, and similar tools to:
- enable platform functionality;
- maintain user sessions and login status;
- remember user preferences;
- analyse platform usage and performance;
- improve user experience;
- support security and fraud prevention.
Some cookies may be operated by third-party providers such as Teachable, Stripe, analytics providers, or other technology partners.
Participants may manage cookie preferences through their browser settings. Disabling certain cookies may affect functionality of the Courses or Platform.
7. Course Analytics and Reporting
SSEF may retain participant and Course data, including enrolment records, Course progress, completion rates, assessment results, survey responses, reviews, and reporting exports.
Such information may be used to evaluate Course effectiveness, participant engagement, learning outcomes, and future educational development.
Data used for reporting may be aggregated, anonymised, or analysed internally.
8. Research and Educational Improvement
SSEF may analyse participant engagement, learning outcomes, assessment results, completion rates, survey responses, and other Course-related information for purposes including:
- educational research;
- Course development and improvement;
- quality assurance;
- programme evaluation;
- impact assessment;
- participant experience enhancement;
- development of future educational offerings.
Where reasonably practicable, SSEF may use aggregated or anonymised information that does not directly identify individual participants.
Such analysis is intended to improve the quality, effectiveness, and educational value of SSEF Courses and related learning activities.
9. Certificates
Where a participant satisfies the requirements for a Certificate, SSEF may share the participant's name and relevant completion information with certificate-generation providers for the purpose of issuing and validating Certificates.
SSEF may retain certificate records and verification data for authenticity and validation purposes.
10. Data Retention
Personal information will be retained only for as long as reasonably necessary to:
- operate Courses;
- maintain participant records;
- issue Certificates;
- respond to inquiries;
- satisfy legal, administrative, accounting, or operational requirements.
SSEF may retain records relating to participants of free Courses and paid Courses, including enrolment information, progress data, completion records, certificate issuance records, and related analytics for educational, administrative, quality-improvement, historical, reporting, research, and certificate-verification purposes.
11. International Transfers
Because SSEF and its service providers operate internationally, personal information may be processed or stored in countries outside the participant's country of residence.
By participating in the Courses, participants acknowledge such transfers.
12. Security
SSEF takes reasonable administrative, organisational, and technical measures to protect personal information from unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction.
However, no electronic system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.
13. Participant Rights
Subject to applicable law, participants may request:
- access to their personal information;
- correction of inaccurate information;
- deletion of information where appropriate;
- restriction of processing where legally applicable.
Requests may be submitted using the contact information below. To exercise these rights, submit your request to education@ssef.ch
14. Communications and Newsletters
SSEF may use participant contact information to communicate regarding:
- course administration and enrolment matters;
- certificates and course completion;
- updates to existing Courses;
- new SSEF online Courses;
- educational content and learning opportunities;
- webinars, events, seminars, and other educational activities offered by SSEF.
Participants may unsubscribe from promotional and marketing communications at any time by using the unsubscribe link contained in the communication or by contacting SSEF directly.
SSEF may continue to send administrative or service-related communications that are necessary for the operation of a participant's enrolment or account.
15. Third-Party Platforms
Participation in SSEF online Courses may require use of third-party platforms.
Those services maintain their own privacy policies and terms of use.
SSEF is not responsible for the privacy practices of third-party services.
16. Changes to this Policy
SSEF may update this Privacy Policy when necessary.
The updated version will be published on the Course platform together with the updated effective date.
17. Contact
Swiss Gemmological Institute SSEF
Aeschengraben 26
4051 Basel
Switzerland