What information we collect and why we collect it

Personal Information you Provide

On this Website, you can submit forms to request to receive more information about becoming a host family, a local coordinator and a participating school. You can also submit forms to start your host family and local coordinator application. We may ask for your personal information which includes your full name, city, zip code, state, phone number and email address. This information is collected primarily to contact you regarding your request to receive information and to create your account for the Application Process. We may also use this information for marketing purposes to keep you informed and involved with STSF activities such as campaigns, program updates, recruitment of host family and volunteers, new programs and services.

The Application Process requires you to have an account, directly connected to our data base system. You must complete the application process by providing us with true, current, complete and accurate information as prompted within the application system, and you will maintain and promptly update such information to keep it true, current, complete and accurate. If you provide any information that is false, inaccurate, out of date, or incomplete, STS Foundation may suspend or terminate your account and refuse any and all current or future use of the services or any portion thereof.

User Generated Content

We love to see the lifelong connections and the everlasting memories Students, Host Families and Local Coordinators build during their exchange experience! We regularly reach out to program participants to request the right to use their photos and videos to inspire others to become a part of an STS Foundation cultural exchange program. By responding to our request with the hashtag #mySTSFexperience or by sharing your content with STS Foundation, you are agreeing to the following:

You are the sole owner of the content (referred to as “User Generated Content”), such as photos, videos, audio, graphics, and texts. You give STS Foundation a non-exclusive license – meaning that you remain the sole owner of the User Generated Content – to reproduce, display, perform, distribute, and otherwise use your User Generated Content for marketing purposes in STS Foundation social media, email communication, website, printed materials, online advertising, and other marketing. This license to your User Generated Content is royalty-free, meaning that we do not owe you anything for using your User Generated Content, worldwide and perpetual. STS Foundation may transfer and sub-license your User Generated Content to any of its partners.

Information collected by automated means

When you visit this Website, we also collect information about your usage and devices used by automated means through the use of tracking technologies such as cookies and similar technologies. The information collected may include IP addresses, web browser and device type, click path, date/time stamps, and referring and exit pages. We use this information for marketing purposes and to improve the content and design of our site, to better provide efficient and meaningful online experiences to our users. Third-parties may use cookies to display ads based on a user’s prior visit(s) to this Website. This means that you may see STSF advertising online after visiting this Website.

How we protect your data

We take precautions to protect your information. Personal information collected by STSF is stored in secure operating environments inaccessible to the public. We do not sell or otherwise disclose the personal information we collect to any third party, except when necessary to provide services to you. We will not share your personal information with third parties for the third parties’ marketing purposes.

The information you provide during the Application Process, should you choose to participate in the STS Foundation program, may be viewed and stored in the United States, or any other country in which STS Foundation conducts business and where your exchange student is from. This information is highly protected and is stored in a secure and controlled environment. We do not release any personal information to anyone other than the STSF Partner Agencies overseas, Your Local Coordinator and the STS Foundation National Office and staff. Information is provided upon request to the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs for audit purposes. You are entirely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password and account. Furthermore, you are entirely responsible for any and all activities that occur under your account. You agree to notify STS Foundation immediately of any unauthorized use of your account or any other breach of security. STS Foundation will not be liable for any loss that you may incur as a result of someone else using your password or account, either with or without your knowledge. However, you could be held liable for losses incurred by STS Foundation or another party due to someone else using your account or password.

Your rights and choices

By accessing and using this Website, you consent and agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy. Any future change to this Privacy Policy will be posted on this page and indicate at the top of the policy when it was most recently updated.

You may opt-out of receiving email marketing at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link included in the marketing emails you receive from us. Opting-out of marketing emails does not limit our ability to communicate with you by email to provide our services and other information you may ask to receive by email.

You can access your Host Family and/or Local Coordinator account online by using your username and password. Once logged in, you can review the information collected during the Application Process.

You have the right to request to see what personal information we have about you, if any, to change or correct personal information we have about you, or have us delete personal information we have about you, subject to certain exceptions. You may do so at any time by sending a request via email at info@stsfoundation.org or by calling our toll-free number at 800-522-4678. Please note that in the framework of our legal retention, we are required to maintain certain information for a period of time. Therefore, you should not expect that all personal information will be deleted following your request.

Children’s privacy

Protecting children’s privacy is important to us. We do not knowingly solicit, request or collect personal information from children under the age of 13.

Links to other websites

This Website may contain links to other websites controlled and maintained by third parties. We strongly suggest you review the privacy policies of any linked sites as STSF is not responsible for the privacy practices or content on any website other than the stsfoundation.org website.

International users

This Website is intended for users located in the United States. Users of this Website outside of the United States, to the extent they provide any personal information to us, consent to having this personal information processed in the United States.