Privacy Policy

Website: smbs.education · Last updated: 21 October 2026

1. Data controller

The controller responsible for processing your personal data on smbs.education is SMBS Group Sàrl (Swiss Montreux Business School), UID CHE-282.074.431, Rue du Cygne 2, CH-1820 Montreux, Switzerland. For any questions about data protection or to exercise your rights, contact us at study@smbs-montreux.ch or by post at the address above.

2. What data we collect

• Contact data you enter in our application request form: full name, email address, phone number and country of residence.
• Admission-related answers: highest completed education, years of work experience and your preferred intake.
• Online application data, if you apply online: title, surname and first name, date of birth, sex, nationality, country of birth, correspondence address, phone, email, payment preferences, your on-screen signature and the documents you attach (diploma or CV and a photo of your passport or ID card). We do not ask for your passport number. Nationality means your citizenship as shown in your passport (not ethnic origin); we use it, together with your name and date of birth, to issue your diploma, transcript and apostille correctly and for the anonymised student statistics our accreditation bodies request.
• Your communication preferences, for example whether you agreed to receive our materials on WhatsApp.
• Technical and usage data: IP address, approximate location derived from it (country, region, city), browser and device information, the page you came from, advertising campaign parameters (UTM tags and Meta click identifiers) and your interactions with our pages and emails, such as opening the brochure.
• Cookies and similar technologies described in section 7.

3. Why we process your data and on what legal basis

We process personal data in accordance with the Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP) and, where applicable, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

• To answer your request and handle your admission — sending the brochure, application form and admission steps, reviewing your eligibility and communicating with you about enrollment (GDPR Art. 6(1)(b), pre-contractual measures).
• To contact you about your request and application by WhatsApp — sending the materials you requested, reminders about your application and answers to your questions. In the EEA, the UK and Switzerland we do this only with your separate consent (GDPR Art. 6(1)(a)); elsewhere, on the basis of the notice shown when you submit the form. You can stop WhatsApp messages at any time by replying STOP.
• To measure and improve our advertising — sending conversion events to Meta and using marketing cookies (GDPR Art. 6(1)(a), consent where required; otherwise our legitimate interest under Art. 6(1)(f) in measuring the effectiveness of our advertising, which you can object to at any time).
• To keep the website secure and prevent spam and fraud (GDPR Art. 6(1)(f), legitimate interests).
• To meet legal obligations, such as accounting and tax requirements (GDPR Art. 6(1)(c)).

Where processing is based on consent, you can withdraw it at any time without affecting processing carried out before the withdrawal.

4. Who receives your data

We do not sell or rent personal data. We share it only with service providers who process it on our behalf and under confidentiality obligations:

Our admissions team at SMBS has access to your data to handle your request.

Documents you attach to the online application (diploma, CV, ID) are sent over an encrypted connection directly to the SMBS Admissions Office mailbox together with your signed application form. Copies are kept in a private storage area of our admissions system (Cloudflare R2, Europe), accessible only to authorised SMBS staff, and are deleted when they are no longer needed for your admission, at the latest within the period described in section 6. Photos are reduced in size in your browser before upload, which also removes hidden metadata such as the location where the photo was taken.

5. International transfers

Some providers process data outside Switzerland and the European Economic Area, including in the United States. Such transfers are based on appropriate safeguards, in particular the Swiss-U.S. and EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework or the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses adapted for Swiss law.

6. How long we keep your data

We keep your data for as long as needed to handle your request and admission. If your request does not lead to enrollment, we delete or anonymise your data within 24 months of our last contact, unless a longer period is required by law. Data of enrolled students is kept in accordance with statutory retention periods.

7. Cookies

• Necessary storage: we store your cookie choice in your browser so that we do not ask you again.
• Marketing cookies (Meta Pixel): _fbp and _fbc help us measure which advertisements lead to application requests.

Visitors from Switzerland, the EEA and the United Kingdom are asked for consent before marketing cookies are set. In other countries marketing cookies are enabled by default and you can decline them in the banner. You can change your choice at any time: Cookie settings.

8. Your rights

Under the FADP and the GDPR you have the right to:

• access your personal data and receive a copy of it;
• have inaccurate data corrected;
• have your data deleted when it is no longer needed;
• restrict processing in certain cases;
• receive your data in a portable format;
• object to processing based on legitimate interests, including advertising measurement;
• withdraw your consent at any time.

To exercise these rights, write to study@smbs-montreux.ch. You can also lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority: in Switzerland, the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC), Feldeggweg 1, CH-3003 Bern; in the EU, the data protection authority of your country of residence.

9. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy to reflect changes to our services or legal requirements. The current version is always published on this page with its update date.

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