1. Who We Are
SYNTAX ("we", "us", "our") is an independent educational platform for computer science students, providing written courses, articles, and a community forum. Our registered address is Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
This Privacy Policy applies to all services operated under the syntax.edu domain and any associated mobile applications. By using SYNTAX, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy.
2. What We Collect
We collect information in two ways: information you give us directly, and information collected automatically when you use the platform.
Information you provide:
- Account data — your name, email address, and password when you create an account.
- Profile information — optional details such as your university, year of study, and profile picture.
- Community content — posts, replies, and votes you make in the community forum.
- Newsletter subscription — your email address if you subscribe to our weekly digest.
- Contact form submissions — any messages you send us via the contact page.
Information collected automatically:
- Usage data — pages visited, articles read, course progress, and time spent on lessons.
- Device data — browser type, operating system, screen resolution, and referring URLs.
- IP address — used for approximate geolocation (country level only) and security purposes.
- Cookies and local storage — see Section 4 for full details.
We do not collect payment information directly. If we introduce paid features in future, payments will be processed by a third-party provider (such as Stripe) and we will never store card details ourselves.
3. How We Use Your Information
We use the information we collect solely to operate and improve SYNTAX. Specifically:
- To create and manage your account and remember your preferences.
- To save and display your course progress across sessions.
- To send the weekly digest newsletter if you have subscribed (you can unsubscribe at any time).
- To respond to your support requests and contact form submissions.
- To analyse aggregate, anonymised usage patterns so we can improve content quality and site performance.
- To detect and prevent fraud, abuse, and security incidents.
We do not use your data to serve you advertisements, build advertising profiles, or sell it to any third party for marketing purposes.
4. Cookies & Tracking
We use a minimal set of cookies, all of which serve a functional or analytical purpose:
- Session cookie — keeps you logged in while you browse. Expires when you close your browser, or after 30 days if you choose "Stay signed in".
- Preference cookie — remembers your display preferences (e.g. font size). Expires after 1 year.
- Analytics cookie — we use a self-hosted, privacy-friendly analytics tool (no data leaves our servers). It stores an anonymised session identifier. No cross-site tracking. Expires after 24 hours.
We do not use Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, or any other third-party advertising or tracking scripts. You can disable cookies in your browser settings; note that some site features (such as staying logged in) require session cookies to function.
5. Data Sharing
We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. We share data only in the following limited circumstances:
- Service providers — we use a small number of trusted infrastructure providers (hosting, transactional email). These providers process data only on our instructions and are bound by data processing agreements.
- Legal obligation — we may disclose information if required to do so by law, court order, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of SYNTAX, our users, or the public.
- Business transfer — in the unlikely event of a merger or acquisition, your data would be transferred as part of that transaction. You would be notified by email and given the option to delete your account.
Community posts and forum replies you make are publicly visible by design. Please do not post personally identifiable information in public threads.
6. Data Retention
We retain your account data for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, your personal data (name, email, profile information) is permanently deleted within 30 days. Anonymised usage statistics may be retained indefinitely as they cannot be linked back to you.
Community posts you have made will be anonymised (your username replaced with "Deleted User") unless you specifically request full deletion of content, which we will honour within 14 days of a valid request.
7. Your Rights
Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the following rights regarding your personal data:
- Access — request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
- Rectification — request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
- Erasure — request deletion of your personal data ("right to be forgotten").
- Portability — receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
- Objection — object to certain types of processing, including direct marketing.
- Withdrawal of consent — where processing is based on your consent (e.g. newsletter), you may withdraw it at any time.
To exercise any of these rights, email us at privacy@syntax.edu. We will respond within 30 days. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.
8. Security
We take security seriously. All data is transmitted over HTTPS/TLS. Passwords are hashed using bcrypt and are never stored in plain text. Access to production systems is restricted to a small number of authorised team members using multi-factor authentication.
That said, no system is entirely immune to breach. In the event of a data breach that affects your personal data, we will notify you by email within 72 hours of becoming aware of it, in accordance with applicable law.
9. Children's Privacy
SYNTAX is intended for users aged 16 and older. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 16. If you believe a child under 16 has provided us with personal data, please contact us at privacy@syntax.edu and we will delete it promptly.
10. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make material changes, we will notify registered users by email and update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.
Your continued use of SYNTAX after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.
11. Contact Us
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your data, please reach out:
- Email: privacy@syntax.edu
- Contact form: syntax.edu/contact
- Postal address: SYNTAX, 3480 Rue University, Montreal, QC H3A 0E9, Canada
We aim to respond to all privacy-related enquiries within 5 business days.