Legal
Privacy Policy
Last updated: 9 November 2026
This policy explains what information Tips4IELTS stores, why we store it and what happens when an account is deleted.
In short: we do not sell your data, share it for advertising or use advertising or analytics trackers. We only keep what the site needs to work, and when an account is deleted, its data is deleted with it.
If you study without an account
You can use the lessons without giving us any personal information. Your answers and progress stay in your own browser and are not sent to our database. You can remove them at any time by clearing your browser's data for this site.
What we store for accounts
| Information | Whose | Why we need it |
|---|---|---|
| Name, username and password (stored in a scrambled form that we cannot read) | Teachers and students | To create the account and log you in |
| Email address | Teachers who subscribe, and students whose teacher adds it | To identify the account and, for students, to send an email when a teacher starts a live lesson |
| Lesson progress and saved answers | Logged-in users | So that you can continue on any device |
| Writing submitted to a teacher, and the teacher’s feedback | Students and their teachers | So that teachers can give feedback |
| Pronunciation recordings | Teachers who choose to record | So that their students can listen to them |
| PayPal subscription reference, status and paid-until date | Subscribing teachers | To know whether a teacher’s account is active |
| Date of last login | Teachers and students | To show teachers and the site administrator when an account was last used |
| IP address after a login attempt | Anyone who tries to log in | To protect accounts from password guessing. These records are deleted after about 24 hours. |
Live lessons
During a live lesson, the teacher and student see the same screen, which includes any writing being marked, marks and comments, and a student’s notes in a speaking lesson. Those notes are deleted when the lesson ends. A record of the lesson is removed within about a day after it ends, except marks and comments on writing, which are saved as feedback on the student’s account. Voice or video calls take place in a separate app of your choice, and are not recorded or handled by this site.
Recording yourself
The Speaking recorder that students use to practise runs in your own browser. Those recordings are not uploaded to our site.
Who can see your information
- Students: your teacher can see your name, username, progress and the writing you submit to them.
- Teachers: your students can listen to any pronunciation recordings you make.
- The site administrator can see teacher accounts and manage them.
- Default pronunciation recordings made by the site administrator are available to everyone who uses the lessons.
Services we use
| Service | What it does | What it receives |
|---|---|---|
| Hostinger | Hosts the website and database | The information on this page, and standard server records such as IP addresses |
| PayPal | Takes teacher subscription payments | Your payment details go directly to PayPal, and we never see them. PayPal’s own privacy statement applies. |
| Google Fonts | Displays the fonts on the site | Your browser’s request for the font files, including your IP address |
The Listen buttons may use the speech feature built into your browser or device when no recording is available.
Cookies and browser storage
We use one essential cookie to keep you logged in for up to 30 days. We also use your browser's storage to keep your progress and answers on your device. We do not use advertising or analytics cookies. PayPal may set its own cookies on the teacher sign-up page.
How long we keep information
We keep an account's information until the account is deleted. If a teacher cancels their subscription, the account is kept so that they can renew without losing their students. It can be deleted at any time on request.
Deleting an account
- Deleting a student account permanently deletes the student's account, progress, saved answers, submitted writing, the teacher's feedback on that writing, and any live lessons.
- Deleting a teacher account also permanently deletes all of that teacher's students and their data, the teacher's recordings and the teacher's subscription record.
- Copies may remain in our hosting provider's routine backups for a limited time until those backups are replaced.
- PayPal keeps its own records of payments, which we cannot delete.
Deleting an account on this site does not cancel a PayPal subscription. Teachers should cancel in their PayPal account under Automatic payments.
Students under 18
Student accounts are created by teachers. Teachers are responsible for having any permission that is needed, including from a parent or guardian where a student is a child.
Your choices
You can ask to see, correct or delete your information. Students should ask their teacher, who can change or delete the account. Anyone can also contact us at the address below. You may also have further rights under the laws of your country.
Changes to this policy
If we change this policy, we will update it on this page and change the date at the top.
Contact
If you have a question about your information or want it deleted, email adam@tips4ielts.com. Students can also ask their teacher, who can change or delete their account.