Last updated Oct 23, 2026
This page explains, in plain language, what happens to your information when you use College Visit Guides.
What we collect
Nothing that you type in. There are no accounts, logins, comments or contact forms on this site. The newsletter sign-up you may see is not live yet: the form is switched off, and it doesn't send or store anything. The trip planner (below) works in your browser and doesn't send us what you type. The one exception is the optional route planner inside your plan: the starting point you type there goes from your browser to our map provider, Geoapify, never to us (see The route planner).
The trip planner
The trip planner on our home page and trip guides asks for the trip and schools you're interested in, your visit dates, the city you're leaving from, whether you're driving or flying, your arrival airport if you're flying, and an email address.
Email sending isn't active yet. Right now the planner builds your plan on your own device and shows it on the page, along with a preview of the email we would send. What you type, including your email address, isn't sent to us or to anyone else, isn't saved in your browser, and disappears when you leave or reload the page. No email is sent.
If we turn on emailed plans later, we'll update this page first to explain what we keep, who sends the email for us and how to unsubscribe, and every email will include an unsubscribe link.
The route planner
Inside your plan you can ask for a drive route from a starting point, such as an airport or your home address, to the campuses on your trip, with other colleges and family-friendly places near the way. This only happens when you click “Plan my route.”
When you do, your browser sends the starting point you typed, the map locations of the campuses you picked, and the route line between them directly to Geoapify, the mapping service that processes them for us to find your starting point, plan the drive and look up places near the route. Like any web service, Geoapify also receives the standard technical details your browser sends (such as your IP address). Geoapify's privacy policy explains how it handles that data.
We never receive or store your starting point or your route: it isn't sent to our servers, isn't saved in your browser, and disappears when you leave or reload the page. The list of colleges near your route is loaded from our own site (it comes from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard) and is matched to your route on your device.
Analytics and cookies
We don't run analytics, advertising trackers or social-media widgets, and the site itself doesn't set cookies or save anything in your browser's storage. Our fonts and photos are served from this site, not loaded from outside services. The only outside service the site itself contacts is Geoapify, and only when you use the route planner (above).
Hosting
The site is hosted on Vercel. Like any web host, Vercel's servers receive the standard technical details your browser sends with every request (such as your IP address, browser type and the page you asked for) so they can deliver the page and keep the service running. Vercel's own privacy policy covers that.
When you click an Expedia or Viator link
Some hotel links go to Expedia and some tour links go to Viator. These are affiliate links (see our affiliate disclosure). When you click one, you leave this site. Expedia or Viator, and the affiliate networks they use, may then set their own cookies in your browser so they can tell that you came from us and credit us if you book. Their privacy policies apply from that point, not ours. We don't receive your name, email or payment details from them.
Other links
Our guides link to many university, museum and transit websites. Those sites have their own privacy practices.
Changes
If what the site does changes, for example when the newsletter or emailed trip plans go live, we'll update this page and the date at the top.
College Visit Guides is owned by Agate Capital LLC.