Privacy and your choices

Public browsing and official links

Reading a guide does not require your name, email address or an application profile. The website and hosting infrastructure still need to deliver requests, and technical hosting logs are separate from the portal's optional aggregate counting. This page does not claim that every technical request is anonymous or that a hosting provider records nothing. Avoid interpreting an optional statistics choice as a switch that disables all infrastructure processing.

Following a funding link takes you to another organisation's website. That organisation controls its own forms, accounts and information handling. Review the destination and its privacy information before entering personal details. StudyAid ZA does not receive your application merely because you arrived through its directory. A provider may request evidence that this portal never needs; submit it only through the official process you have checked.

Your browser plan

The shortlist, progress stages and checklist can be kept in your browser for convenient planning. This local record supports your own actions and does not establish a relationship with a funding provider. Other people who can use the same browser may be able to see it. On shared devices, consider whether saving a plan is appropriate and clear the local copy when you finish.

Keep planning notes brief and avoid identity numbers, bank details, passwords or copies of documents. A reminder to request an academic record is more suitable than the contents of the record itself. Removing browser data can remove your local plan. Keep essential application confirmations separately. Clearing the local plan affects that browser copy; it does not erase a server copy that you previously created with optional sync.

Optional manual cross-device sync

Manual sync lets you save and load a plan using a private bearer key. There is no email account, password login or email recovery process attached to this feature. The key is held in the tab session. Treat it as an access credential: someone who obtains it may be able to access the saved plan. Do not paste it into a contact enquiry or share it with another person.

Saving creates or updates the plan stored on the server outside the public web root. Loading retrieves the saved version when you provide its key. These actions are manual rather than a promise of continuous background synchronisation. Revision protection is used to reduce accidental overwriting by an older copy. When a conflict occurs, review the saved state before choosing how to preserve your changes across devices.

Removing a synced plan

Use the explicit server-plan erase action to remove the saved server copy you can access. Clearing local storage, closing a tab or deleting a browser history entry does not perform this server deletion. Conversely, removing the server copy does not automatically clear copies already loaded into other browsers. Consider each place where you have kept the plan, including any personal notes or exports you made yourself.

If you lose the bearer key, the service has no email-based way to restore access. An enquiry email address cannot be treated as proof of ownership of an unrelated plan. A privacy enquiry can explain a problem, but it should not include identity documents or assume recovery is available. Keep a private copy of the key only if you intend to retain access, and remove it from shared-device sessions when finished.

Contact enquiries and consent

The enquiry form collects an email address, a topic, a message and explicit consent to submit the enquiry for handling. A name is optional and attachments are not accepted. The purpose is to review service questions, corrections and privacy requests. Do not use this form to send funding applications, financial records or identity evidence. Such information is unnecessary for reporting an incorrect link or asking how a portal feature works.

A successful submission produces a reference receipt on the page. There is no automatic email receipt and no guaranteed reply or response time. Messages are stored outside the public web root for operator review through cPanel. Supplying an email address does not create a subscription or a portal account. If you need to follow up, quote the receipt reference so the relevant enquiry can be identified more accurately.

Enquiry retention and service requests

The service targets retention of enquiries for ninety days. Cleanup runs when new submissions occur, so removal is not guaranteed at the exact time a record reaches ninety days. This distinction matters during a quiet period with no new submissions. The target applies to the enquiry store rather than a promise about all hosting logs or every record maintained independently by the hosting infrastructure.

Use the contact form to request access, correction or removal concerning an enquiry, or to ask about another feature described here. Explain the request and include an existing reference where possible. Do not attach identity documents or unrelated private records. Appropriate handling depends on locating the record and understanding the request; this page does not promise a particular outcome without that context or claim that an email address can unlock a private synced plan.

Optional aggregate page counts

Aggregate page counting is opt-in and off by default. The service respects Do Not Track. If you choose to enable counting, its purpose is to understand page use through page-and-day totals, rather than to build an individual reading history. The aggregate records retain ninety days of totals and do not contain raw IP addresses, visitor names or referrer details. These totals are distinct from the contents of a shortlist or enquiry.

A private abuse limiter uses daily salted keyed IP digests. Those digests are separate from aggregate page totals and help limit abuse of the counting service. Old digests are removed on the next service request after the day changes, rather than through a claim of immediate midnight deletion. The limiter's processing should not be confused with a public visitor list or with the hosting provider's separate technical logs.

External fonts, sharing and feeds

The site uses Google Fonts, so a browser can make requests to an external font service while displaying pages. That external request is different from the portal's optional aggregate counting. The font provider handles the request under its own arrangements. Following external links similarly involves another service. Consider these destinations separately when deciding which browser settings or external applications you want to use.

Sharing and email controls open your own applications; they do not automatically send messages from StudyAid ZA. RSS provides manually published updates for a reader you select. There is no connected subscription email, push notification or advertising service. Your use of an RSS reader or sharing application is subject to that service's handling. For questions about this portal's actual features, use the contact form and keep your enquiry limited to the information needed to explain the issue.

Reading tools, language options and your funding radar

The funding radar stores your chosen subject interests and the identifiers of notices you mark as read in this browser. It combines the website’s published programme records with your saved opportunity IDs and reading bookmarks. It is not an eligibility assessment or a direct offer from a funding provider. It refreshes when the page is opened; email delivery and phone push notifications are not enabled. You can reset radar preferences in the funding radar panel. Reading bookmarks and percentage progress are also stored locally and are separate from the optional private shortlist sync.

Read-aloud starts only when you press Listen. It uses voices exposed by your browser or operating system. Some voices operate on your device; others use the voice provider’s online speech service. The website does not request microphone access or make a recording. Choose a local device voice if you prefer to avoid an online voice service. Closing the reading panel stops its speech queue.

Non-English language links open the public page through Google Translate in a new tab. That is an external translation service with its own privacy practices. No ID documents, enquiry text or private sync key is intentionally passed into those translation links. Translations are automated and may misstate an important funding rule; check the original provider source. South African Sign Language requires an appropriate signed resource or interpreter and is not supplied by the automatic text-translation links.

The education news hub can request a small set of official SAnews headlines through our server. The server fetches a fixed public RSS address and caches the result; it does not forward your enquiry, interests, reading history or sync key to that feed. Following a headline opens the publisher’s external website. A successful feed fetch is not a manual verification of each article or a scholarship eligibility decision.