Privacy Policy and UK GDPR Privacy Notice

Last Updated: 22 September 2026

United Towers Yurtdisi Egitim ve Danismanlik Hizmetleri A.S. ("United Towers", "we", "us" or "our") is committed to protecting the privacy and security of personal data.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, share and protect personal data in connection with our international education consultancy services and our website.

United Towers is established in Turkey. Where the UK General Data Protection Regulation ("UK GDPR") applies to a particular processing activity, this Privacy Policy also provides the information required under the UK GDPR. We also seek to follow the transparency principles of the UK GDPR when assisting students with applications to UK educational institutions.

For information specifically relating to the processing of personal data under Turkish data protection law, please see our KVKK Aydinlatma Metni.

1. Who We Are

United Towers provides international education consultancy and application support services to students and prospective students who wish to study abroad. Our services include counselling and assistance in connection with universities, colleges, language schools, summer programmes and other educational programmes.

For the personal data that we collect and use for our own education consultancy and student support activities, United Towers generally determines the purposes and means of processing and therefore acts as a data controller.

In limited circumstances, where we process personal data solely on the documented instructions of a university, educational institution or partner organisation, United Towers may instead act as a data processor in relation to that specific processing activity.

United Towers Yurtdisi Egitim ve Danismanlik Hizmetleri A.S.
Address: Gumussuyu Mah. Mete Cad. No.20/9, Beyoglu, Istanbul, Turkey
Telephone: +90 212 244 50 05
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.unitedtowers.com

2. Personal Data We Collect

The personal data we collect depends on the services you request and the requirements of the educational institution or programme to which you wish to apply.

We may process the following categories of personal data:

Identity Data

Name, surname, date of birth, nationality, gender where relevant to an application, and passport or identity document information.

Contact Data

Postal address, email address, telephone number and preferred communication method.

Education and Academic Data

Current or previous school and university information, academic history, qualifications, grades, GPA, transcripts, diplomas, certificates, language proficiency information and academic or language test results.

Application Data

Personal statements, statements of purpose, reference letters, application forms, offer-related documents and other information or documents necessary to prepare and submit an application to an educational institution or programme.

Visa and Immigration Data

Where visa assistance is requested, we may process passport information, travel history, previous visa information, financial or sponsorship information and other documents required for visa or immigration purposes.

Travel and Accommodation Data

Where relevant to the services requested, travel dates, accommodation preferences, flight details, transfer arrangements and related information.

Financial and Transaction Data

Payment, invoice, transaction and accounting information where required in connection with a programme or service.

Parent and Guardian Data

Where a student is under the age of 18, or where otherwise necessary for the service requested, we may process the identity, contact and relevant supporting information of parents, guardians or legal representatives.

Communications Data

Information contained in emails, online forms, telephone communications, meetings and other communications between you and United Towers.

Technical and Website Data

IP address, browser information, device information, website usage data, security logs and information obtained through cookies and similar technologies.

Special Category Data

In limited circumstances, an educational institution, accommodation provider, insurance provider or visa process may require information concerning health, disability, accessibility requirements or other information that may constitute special category personal data.

We only process special category personal data where it is necessary for the relevant service and an appropriate legal basis and additional condition under applicable data protection law exists, including explicit consent where required.

3. How We Collect Personal Data

In the ordinary course of our business, students and prospective students contact United Towers directly and provide their personal data to us for the purpose of receiving education counselling and application support.

We may collect personal data:

• directly from you during consultations, meetings and communications;
• through enquiry, registration and application forms;
• through our website;
• through email, telephone and other communication channels;
• from a parent, guardian or legal representative where appropriate;
• from documents and information that you provide to us for an application;
• through cookies and similar technologies when you use our website; and
• in limited cases, from an application partner or service provider involved in an application you have asked us to manage.

United Towers does not ordinarily receive admission decisions, CAS documents or similar official student documentation from UK universities on behalf of the student. Such documents and official communications are generally issued by the relevant educational institution directly to the student.

4. Why We Use Personal Data

We may process personal data for the following purposes:

• responding to enquiries about studying abroad;
• providing education counselling and programme information;
• assessing suitable universities, schools, courses and programmes based on information provided by the student;
• preparing and submitting applications requested by the student;
• communicating with universities, schools and application partners in connection with an application;
• assisting with application documentation and admission processes;
• providing visa application assistance where requested;
• arranging or assisting with accommodation, insurance, transfers or related services where requested;
• communicating with the student about the services being provided;
• managing our contractual and customer relationships;
• processing payments, invoices and accounting records;
• responding to enquiries, complaints and data protection requests;
• maintaining the security of our website, systems and services;
• complying with legal and regulatory obligations;
• establishing, exercising or defending legal claims; and
• sending marketing communications where the required consent has been obtained.

5. Lawful Bases for Processing

Where the UK GDPR applies, we rely on an appropriate lawful basis for each processing activity.

6. Legitimate Interests

Where we rely on legitimate interests, those interests may include:

• responding to prospective student enquiries;
• providing and improving our education consultancy services;
• maintaining appropriate business and service records;
• protecting our website and information systems;
• preventing fraud, misuse and security incidents;
• managing complaints and disputes; and
• establishing, exercising or defending our legal rights.

Where we rely on legitimate interests, we consider the nature of the processing and balance our interests against the rights, interests and reasonable expectations of the individual concerned.

7. Who We Share Personal Data With

A key part of our service is submitting information and documentation provided by the student to the educational institution or programme selected by the student.

Depending on the services requested, we may share personal data with:

• universities, colleges, language schools and other educational institutions;
• summer schools and other education programme providers;
• authorised application and recruitment partners through whom an institution accepts applications;
• UCAS or other application platforms where relevant;
• accommodation providers;
• insurance providers;
• transport and transfer providers;
• visa application centres, embassies, consulates and other relevant authorities where required for a service requested by the student;
• banks and payment service providers;
• IT, hosting, cloud, software and communication service providers;
• professional advisers such as accountants and legal advisers; and
• public authorities where disclosure is required by law.

We only share personal data where there is an appropriate reason to do so and limit the information shared to what is reasonably necessary for the relevant purpose.

A university, school, application partner or other organisation receiving personal data may act as a separate data controller for its own admissions, enrolment or service activities. Its own privacy notice will apply to those activities.

8. International Transfers

United Towers is established in Turkey and provides international education services. The nature of our services means that personal data provided to us in Turkey may need to be shared with universities, schools, application partners and service providers located in the United Kingdom and other countries.

For example, when a student asks United Towers to submit an application to a UK university, the personal data and application documents provided by the student may be transferred by United Towers to the relevant UK university directly or through an authorised application partner.

The sending of personal data by United Towers from Turkey to a UK educational institution is carried out in accordance with the data protection laws applicable to United Towers, including applicable Turkish requirements concerning international transfers of personal data.

United Towers does not ordinarily receive CAS documents, admission decisions or other official student records from UK universities. These are generally communicated by the institution directly to the student.

If a UK organisation transfers personal data to United Towers in circumstances where the international transfer provisions of the UK GDPR apply, the relevant transfer will be subject to an appropriate lawful transfer mechanism agreed between the organisations where required by law. Such mechanisms may include an International Data Transfer Agreement, a UK Addendum to approved standard contractual clauses, an applicable adequacy regulation or another mechanism recognised under UK data protection law.

9. How Long We Keep Personal Data

We retain personal data only for as long as it is reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected and for any additional period required to meet legal, regulatory, contractual, accounting or reporting obligations.

Retention periods may vary depending on the type of information and the service provided.

When determining the appropriate retention period, we consider:

• the purpose for which the personal data was collected;
• whether an enquiry developed into an application or contracted service;
• the duration of the application and education consultancy process;
• the nature and sensitivity of the personal data;
• requirements imposed by educational institutions or programme providers where applicable;
• legal, tax, accounting and record-keeping requirements;
• applicable limitation periods for legal claims; and
• whether continued retention is necessary to establish, exercise or defend legal rights.

Where personal data is no longer required, it is deleted, destroyed or anonymised in accordance with applicable legal requirements and our internal data retention practices.

10. Information Required to Provide Our Services

Certain personal data is required in order for us to provide education consultancy services or submit an application requested by you.

For example, a university may require passport information, academic transcripts, qualifications and language test results in order to assess an application.

Where requested information is necessary for a particular application or service and you do not provide it, we may be unable to submit the application or provide that part of the requested service.

Where providing information is optional, we will treat it accordingly.

11. Automated Decision-Making and Profiling

United Towers does not make decisions about students based solely on automated processing, including profiling, where those decisions produce legal effects or similarly significant effects on the individual.

Our consultants may use the information provided by students to identify potentially suitable education options, but final counselling and application support decisions involve human involvement.

Universities and other educational institutions make their own independent admissions decisions. United Towers does not determine whether an applicant will be admitted to a university or other educational institution.

12. Marketing Communications

Where required by applicable law, we send optional marketing communications only where the appropriate consent has been obtained.

You are not required to agree to marketing in order to receive education counselling, request information or ask us to process an education application.

You may withdraw your consent to marketing communications at any time by contacting us or by using any unsubscribe or preference-management option included in the relevant communication.

13. Withdrawal of Consent

Where we rely on consent as the lawful basis for processing personal data, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.

Withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before consent was withdrawn.

You may withdraw your consent by contacting [email protected] or through any other withdrawal mechanism provided for the relevant processing activity.

14. Your Rights Under the UK GDPR

Where the UK GDPR applies to our processing of your personal data, you may, subject to the conditions and exemptions contained in applicable law, have the following rights:

• Right of access: You may ask whether we process personal data relating to you and request a copy of the personal data that we hold.
• Right to rectification: You may request correction of inaccurate personal data and completion of incomplete personal data.
• Right to erasure: You may request deletion of your personal data in circumstances provided by applicable law.
• Right to restriction of processing: You may request that processing of your personal data is restricted in certain circumstances.
• Right to object: You may object to certain processing based on legitimate interests and you may object at any time to processing for direct marketing purposes.
• Right to data portability: In certain circumstances, you may request personal data that you provided to us in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format or request its transfer to another organisation.
• Rights concerning automated decision-making: You may have rights in relation to decisions based solely on automated processing where those decisions have legal or similarly significant effects.
• Right to withdraw consent: Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time.

15. How to Exercise Your Rights

If you wish to exercise a data protection right or have a question concerning our use of personal data, please contact:

United Towers Yurtdisi Egitim ve Danismanlik Hizmetleri A.S.
Email: [email protected]
Address: Gumussuyu Mah. Mete Cad. No.20/9, Beyoglu, Istanbul, Turkey

We may ask you to provide information reasonably necessary to verify your identity before responding to a request. This is intended to protect personal data against unauthorised disclosure.

Where the UK GDPR applies, requests will be handled within the timeframe required by applicable UK data protection law.

16. Right to Complain to the Information Commissioner's Office

If you have concerns about how we process your personal data, we encourage you to contact us first so that we can investigate and respond to your concerns.

Where the UK GDPR applies, you also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's independent data protection supervisory authority.

Information about how to make a complaint and the ICO's current contact details are available at ico.org.uk .

17. How We Protect Personal Data

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures designed to protect personal data against accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure or access.

Access to personal data is limited to employees and authorised service providers who require access for legitimate business purposes and who are subject to appropriate confidentiality and data protection obligations.

Where an educational institution or application partner requires applications to be submitted through a secure agent or application portal, we use the authorised portal or other approved submission method provided for that purpose.

18. Personal Data Relating to Children

Some of the education programmes that we assist with are available to students under the age of 18.

Where we process personal data relating to a child, we take account of the student's age, the nature of the service and applicable legal requirements. Where appropriate, information, authorisation or consent may be obtained from a parent, guardian or legal representative.

19. Cookies and Similar Technologies

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies for purposes including website operation, security, functionality, analytics and, where permitted, advertising and marketing measurement.

For further information about the cookies used on our website and how you can manage your preferences, please see our Cookie Policy.

20. Third-Party Privacy Notices

Universities, educational institutions, application partners and other service providers may process personal data as independent data controllers for their own purposes.

For example, once an application is submitted to a university, the university will normally process the application under its own admissions procedures and privacy notice.

We recommend reviewing the privacy notice of the relevant institution or service provider to understand how that organisation processes personal data.

21. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, processing activities, technology or applicable legal requirements.

The latest version will be published on this page together with the date of the most recent update.

22. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or our processing of personal data, please contact:

United Towers Yurtdisi Egitim ve Danismanlik Hizmetleri A.S.
Address: Gumussuyu Mah. Mete Cad. No.20/9, Beyoglu, Istanbul, Turkey
Telephone: +90 212 244 50 05
Email: [email protected]