Last updated: May 27, 2026
At Georgia Driving Academy (“GDA,” “we,” “us,” and “our”), we commit to integrity, mutual respect, and protecting each person’s privacy. This Privacy Notice (“Notice”) describes how we collect, use, protect, and disclose personal information obtained through https://gda.edu/ (“Site”) and other channels.
GDA is owned by Education Affiliates, Inc. (“EDAFF”), which provides centralized operational support to GDA and certain affiliated institutions. This support may include marketing, lead generation, inquiry intake, call-center operations, communications management, and routing inquiries to the institution associated with the consumer’s request. When you contact us, respond to an advertisement, submit an inquiry, or interact with our Site, your personal information may be collected or processed by EDAFF on GDA’s behalf and used to route and respond to your inquiry. We do not transfer inquiries or leads to another affiliated institution for that institution’s separate marketing purposes unless you direct us to do so, consent, or the transfer is otherwise permitted by applicable law.
This Notice describes our personal information practices. Where applicable law requires consent or provides you with a right to opt out, we will obtain consent or honor your opt-out rights as required.
Scope of this Policy
We use the term “personal information” to describe information that can reasonably be associated with you and can be used to identify you. Personal information does not include information that has been deidentified or aggregated.
This Notice explains how personal information we collect from you will be used by us or on our behalf. We encourage you to read this Notice carefully as it contains important information about:
- What information we, or our third party service providers, may collect about you;
- How we will use the information we collect about you;
- Whether we will disclose your details to anyone else; and
- Your choices and rights regarding the personal information you have provided to us. .
For details about your rights related to our collection and use of your data, navigate to the “Your Privacy Rights” section below.
1. HOW WE COLLECT PERSONAL INFORMATION
We collect and receive personal information through the following methods:
- Personal information you provide to us. You may give us your personal information directly, for example, when you contact us with inquiries, complete forms on our Site, subscribe to receive our marketing communications or provide feedback to us.
- Personal information we collect automatically, including through cookies and other similar technologies. When you access and use our Site, we may collect Technical Data and Usage Data (as herein defined) automatically, including through our use of cookies and other similar technologies.
- Personal information we obtain from third parties. We may obtain personal information from third parties. Such third parties may include event suppliers and organizations we work with, analytics providers, data suppliers, third-party directories and third parties that provide technical services to us so that we can provide our Site. They may also include social networks and other technology providers (for instances, when you click on one of our Facebook or Google ads). We may also receive lead information from marketing partners, lead generators, and advertising platforms. Lead sourcing is generally intended to be relevant to the location of the school you contacted, but leads may sometimes include individuals from other states.
- Personal data that is publicly available. We may collect personal data that is available from public sources or that you or a third party may otherwise publish (for example on websites, posts on social media platforms, or speeches at events).
Cookies and Tracking Technologies
Our Site uses cookies and similar tracking technologies (such as pixel tags, web beacons, and local storage) to collect information about your browsing activity. A “cookie” is a small data file that is placed on your device when you visit a website. Cookies and similar technologies allow us to recognize your browser or device, maintain your preferences, understand how you interact with our Site, and support the purposes described in this Notice.
We may use the following categories of cookies and similar technologies on our Site:
- Strictly Necessary Cookies, which are essential for the operation of our Site and enable you to navigate and use its features (these cookies cannot be disabled);
- Performance and Analytics Cookies, which collect information about how visitors use our Site, such as which pages are visited most frequently, and help us improve the Site’s functionality (these may be set by us or by third-party analytics providers);
- Functional Cookies, which allow our Site to remember choices you have made (such as language or region preferences) and provide enhanced features; and
- Advertising and Targeting Cookies, which are used to deliver advertisements that are more relevant to you and your interests, to limit the number of times you see a particular advertisement, and to measure the effectiveness of advertising campaigns. Advertising and targeting cookies may be set by third-party advertising networks and platforms with our permission.
Some cookies on our Site are set by third parties, including analytics providers and advertising partners, who may use cookies and similar technologies to collect information about your online activities over time and across different websites and platforms. Cookies may be session-based (which expire when you close your browser) or persistent (which remain on your device for a set period or until you delete them).
You can manage your cookie preferences through your browser settings. Most browsers allow you to block or delete cookies, although doing so may affect the functionality of certain features of our Site.
In addition, you may opt out of interest-based advertising by participating advertising networks by visiting the Digital Advertising Alliance at www.aboutads.info/choices or the Network Advertising Initiative at www.networkadvertising.org/choices. Where required by applicable law, we provide a mechanism to opt out of targeted advertising, including through recognized opt-out preference signals such as Global Privacy Control (GPC), where technically required and supported by applicable law.
For more information on how to exercise your opt-out rights, see the “Your Privacy Rights” section below.
2. CATEGORIES OF PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT
- Identity Data. Name (first, middle, and last); and title, username and password (as it relates to persons with access to our Student Portal).
- Contact Data. Email address; telephone number; and postal/delivery address.
- Communications Data includes correspondence or messages (including SMS, Site forms or emails), the nature of your inquiry and other personal information which you choose to provide to us through these sources.
- Usage Data. Data observed or collected in relation to browsing activity on our Site and interaction with our emails. This may include information about pageviews and events on our Site; information about the webpage or other source that users were previously on before reaching our Site; or information about when a browsing session started and ended.
- Technical Data. IP address; details of the website that you are viewing, such as full web page URL; browser type, device type and operating system and any other information available to us about the device you are using; location information derived from IP address (generally approximate, such as city/region), and any other data collected for technical diagnostics purposes), and any relevant unique identifiers assigned to a device or browser (including cookie identifiers).
- Marketing Data. Marketing preferences; and service communication preferences.
- Advertising Partner Data. Information we receive from advertising or analytics partners about interactions with our ads or visits to our Site (for example, ad click or conversion information and related identifiers).
- Sensitive identifiers and health information. If you apply for or enroll in a program, we may collect sensitive personal information where necessary for identity verification, enrollment, applicant screening, safety, regulatory compliance, financial aid, payment, or related administrative purposes. This may include Social Security number, driver’s license or state identification number, and, where applicable, medical information or drug/alcohol testing information. We use sensitive personal information only for the purposes disclosed at collection, as reasonably necessary to provide or maintain requested services, or as otherwise permitted by law. We do not sell sensitive personal information. We do not use this information for unrelated purposes.
If you apply for financial aid, financing, or payment-related services, we may collect and process related information as described in this Notice. Additional privacy notices may apply to information collected directly by financing, payment, or servicing partners.
3. HOW WE MAY USE YOUR INFORMATION
We may collect, use, disclose and otherwise process personal information for the following purposes:
- Services and Support. To enable our Site, communicate with you through the Site, provide troubleshooting, technical support, and for similar support purposes, respond to your inquiries, and otherwise fulfill your requests.
- Analytics and Improvement. To better understand how users access and use the Site, and for other research and analytical purposes, such as to evaluate, develop, and improve our Site, educational resources and business operations, and for internal quality control and training purposes.
- To respond to your questions, send you requested materials and newsletters, as well as information and materials regarding our program offerings. We may also use this information to send administrative information to you, for example, information regarding our offerings and changes to our terms and policies.
- Marketing and Advertising. For marketing, advertising, and promotional purposes. For example, to send you promotional information about our program offerings, including information about new offerings, as well any other information that you sign up to receive. We may use cookies and similar technologies to understand the effectiveness of our advertising and, where permitted, to show ads that are more relevant to you. Where required by law, we will offer a way to opt out of targeted advertising.
- Research and Surveys. To administer surveys and questionnaires, such as for market research or user satisfaction purposes.
- Security and Protection of Rights. To protect the Site and our business operations, and to protect our rights or those of our stakeholders; to prevent and detect fraud, unauthorized activities and access, and other misuse; where we believe necessary to investigate, prevent or take action regarding illegal activities, suspected fraud, situations involving potential threats to the safety or legal rights of any person or third party, or violations of our Terms of Use.
- Compliance and Legal Process. To comply with applicable legal or regulatory obligations, including as part of a judicial proceeding, to respond to a subpoena, warrant, court order, or other legal process, or as part of an investigation or request, whether formal or informal, from law enforcement or a governmental authority.
- Auditing, Reporting, and Other Internal Operations. To conduct financial, tax and accounting audits, audits and assessments of our operations, including our privacy, security and financial controls, as well as for risk and compliance purposes. We may also use personal information to maintain appropriate business records and enforce our policies and procedures.
- General Business and Operational Support. To assess and implement mergers, acquisitions, reorganizations, bankruptcies, and other business transactions such as financings, and to administer our business, accounting, auditing, compliance, recordkeeping, and legal functions.
4. DISCLOSURE OF YOUR INFORMATION TO THIRD PARTIES
We may disclose personal information to the following categories of third parties:
- We may disclose personal information to our parent company, subsidiaries, and other affiliated entities to route and respond to inquiries, manage communications and preferences, maintain suppression lists, and support internal business operations. These affiliates process personal information for operational purposes, to support GDA, or as otherwise described in this Notice and permitted by law. We do not transfer inquiry information to another affiliated institution for that institution’s separate marketing purposes unless you direct us to do so, consent, or the transfer is otherwise permitted by applicable law.
- Service Providers and Contractors. We may disclose personal information to vendors, service providers, contractors, and other entities that perform services on our behalf or support our operations. These may include providers of Site hosting, information technology and security services, analytics, communications, customer relationship management, identity verification, payment processing, document management, auditing, consulting, and legal services. These parties are authorized to use personal information only as necessary to provide services to us or as otherwise permitted by law.
- Analytics, advertising, and lead management partners. We may disclose identifiers, device information, internet or other electronic network activity information, and similar personal information to analytics providers, advertising networks, social media platforms, marketing or measurement partners, and lead management platforms. We use this information to understand Site usage, measure marketing performance, manage advertising campaigns, support targeted advertising where permitted by law, and route advertising-generated inquiries. We do not use personal information of consumers we know or should know are minors for targeted advertising or sale where prohibited by applicable law. We do not transfer inquiry information to another affiliated institution for that institution’s separate marketing purposes unless you direct us to do so, consent, or the transfer is otherwise permitted by applicable law.
- Financing, Payment, and Verification Partners. If you apply for or use financing, student financial aid, payment plans, or related services, we may disclose relevant personal information to payment processors, financing and servicing partners, identity verification providers, fraud prevention providers, and other parties involved in administering, servicing, or collecting on accounts, to the extent applicable and permitted by law.
- Government Entities, Regulators, and Law Enforcement. We may disclose personal information to government entities, regulators, administrative agencies, courts, law enforcement, or other parties where required to comply with applicable law, regulation, legal process, or governmental request, or where we determine disclosure is otherwise appropriate to protect legal rights or comply with legal obligations.
- Professional Advisors and Parties Involved in Disputes or Claims. We may disclose personal information to auditors, accountants, attorneys, consultants, insurers, and other professional advisors, and to relevant parties in connection with legal claims, investigations, audits, compliance reviews, or dispute resolution.
- Business Transaction Counterparties. We may disclose personal information in connection with an actual or proposed merger, acquisition, financing, investment, reorganization, sale of assets, bankruptcy, or other corporate transaction, including to counterparties and their advisors as part of due diligence and transaction planning, subject to applicable confidentiality and legal requirements.
- Other Parties at Your Direction or With Your Consent. We may disclose personal information to other third parties where you direct us to do so, request such disclosure, or otherwise consent.
We may also use and disclose deidentified or aggregated information for lawful business purposes, including analytics, research, operational improvement, and reporting, provided such information cannot reasonably be used to identify you.
Where required by applicable law, we will not disclose personal information to third parties for purposes that are materially different from those described in this Notice without providing any required additional notice or obtaining any required consent.
5. YOUR PRIVACY RIGHTS
- Access, correction, and deletion requests. If you would like to request access to, correction of, or deletion of personal information we maintain about you, you may contact us at 1-866-856-1855. We will review and respond consistent with applicable law and our legitimate business needs (for example, to maintain required records, prevent fraud, or comply with legal obligations).
- State law rights vary. Depending on where you live, you may have additional privacy rights (including the right to opt out of targeted advertising). We provide any required rights and disclosures based on your state of residency and how we collect/use your information.
Updating Your Contact Information and Marketing Communications Opt-Out Choices
- You can opt out of marketing emails by using the unsubscribe link in our emails.
- You can access, update, and change the contact information you provide to use in connection with a request for information, and modify your opt-out choices, by contacting us at [email protected]. You may unsubscribe from certain e-mail communications from GDA by clicking on unsubscribe links in those e-mails.
- To be removed from receiving future SMS communications, you can opt out by texting STOP, QUIT, END, OPT OUT, CANCEL, or UNSUBSCRIBE.
- If GDA receives an opt-out or unsubscribe request from you, GDA thereafter (i) will not contact you directly with marketing messages about GDA products or services, and (ii) will not use personal information obtained from your use of the Site to contact you with marketing messages.
Please note, however, that any such “opt out” only applies to GDA and will not apply to any other third parties to which GDA has already supplied your personal information.
6. DATA PROCESSING LOCATION
GDA is based in the United States, and we process personal information in the United States. If you access the Site from outside the United States, your information will be processed in the United States.
7. HOW WE SECURE PERSONAL INFORMATION
We are committed to keeping personal information secure and we have implemented information security policies, rules and technical measures to protect personal data under our control from unauthorized access, improper use or disclosure, unauthorised modification and unlawful destruction or accidental loss. In addition, our personnel and data processors (third parties that process personal data on our behalf) are obliged to respect the confidentiality of the personal information relating to users of our Website and those who purchase our Services.
8. HOW LONG WE KEEP PERSONAL INFORMATION
We will only keep your personal information for as long as necessary for the purposes set out in this Privacy Notice. We will retain and use your personal information to the extent necessary to comply with our legal obligations (for example, if we are required to retain your data to comply with applicable laws), resolve disputes, and enforce our legal agreements and policies.
If any personal information is only useful for a short period (e.g. for a specific activity, promotion or marketing campaign), we will not retain it for longer than the period for which it is used by us.
We retain sensitive personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary to fulfill the purposes described above, including to meet legal and compliance obligations, and then delete or deidentify it consistent with our retention practices.
If you have opted out of receiving marketing communications from us, we will need to retain certain personal information on a suppression list indefinitely so that we know not to send you further marketing communications in the future. However, we will not use this personal information to send you further marketing unless you subsequently opt back in to receive such marketing.
9. CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF 13
Our Site is not intended for children under 13 years of age and do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. No one under age 13 may provide any information to or on the Site. If you are under 13, do not use or provide any information on the Site. If we learn we have collected or received personal information from a child under 13 without verification of parental consent, we will delete that information. If you believe we might have any information from or about a child under 13, please contact us using the information in our “How to Contact Us” section in this Notice.
10. THIRD PARTY LINKS ON OUR SITE
This Notice also does not apply to third-party websites linked on our Site. We have no control over these third-party websites, apps or Services and this Privacy Notice does not apply to your interaction with the relevant third parties.
11. CHANGES TO THIS NOTICE
We may update this Notice from time to time. When we do, we will update the “Last Updated” date above and post the revised Notice on our Site.
If we make material changes to how we collect, use, or share personal information, we will provide additional notice as required by law. Where required, we will provide you a reasonable opportunity to withdraw consent for any materially different processing of personal information that we previously collected based on your consent.
12. HOW TO CONTACT US
If you have questions or concerns about this Notice please contact us by email at [email protected] , calling 1-866-856-1855 or via postal mail at:
Education Affiliates, Inc.
5026-D Campbell Blvd.
Baltimore, MD 21236
410-633-2929
