Last Updated: 19 May 2026
Any capitalised key terms used throughout this Global Applicant Privacy Notice (“Notice”) are defined in the Definitions Section of this Notice or the California Applicant Privacy Addendum.
This Notice informs you of how Coursera collects, uses, stores, shares and otherwise processes Personal Information of Applicants during the recruitment process in accordance with applicable privacy and data protection laws and regulations.
The applicable Coursera Recruiting Entity in Appendix II is the data controller of the Personal Information processed about you, meaning it determines the means and purposes of processing your Personal Information.
For Applicants residing in California, please refer to the California Applicant Privacy Addendum in Appendix I for additional information about the processing of your Personal Information including your privacy rights under California Privacy Laws.
This Notice contains the following information:
Applicants Individuals who apply for a position with Coursera or who register interest in receiving information about future job opportunities.
Coursera Coursera entities listed in Appendix II of this Notice (together "Coursera", "we" or "us").
Coursera Careers Site The website located here (and any successor locations designated by Coursera) where Coursera posts job adverts and enables Applicants to apply for a position or register interest in receiving information about future job opportunities.
Coursera Recruiting Entity The Coursera entity in the country where you reside, which can be found in Appendix II of this Notice.
EEA The European Economic Area, which includes all European Union member states together with Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway.
Personal Information Any information that identifies you or could be used to identify you. This includes details such as your name, contact information, CV, education and work history, and other information that relates to you. In some countries this may be called personal data or personally identifiable information.
Sensitive Personal Information Specific types of Personal Information that are given higher levels of protection under applicable laws and regulations. This includes information about your health, racial or ethnic background, and biometric information used to identify you. In
some countries this may be called sensitive data or special category data.
Categories of Personal Information Collected
Examples
2.1. Cookies
(a) We and our approved third parties may use cookies and other similar technologies (collectively, “cookies”) when you visit the Coursera Careers Site. These cookies allow us to store and honor your preferences and settings; combat fraud; deliver and measure the effectiveness of advertising campaigns; and analyze how the Coursera Careers Site is performing.
(b) You have a variety of tools to control the data collected by cookies. For example, you can use controls in your internet browser to limit how the websites you visit are able to use cookies and to withdraw your consent by clearing or blocking cookies.
2.2. Sensitive Personal Information
(a) Where applicable, permitted and/or required by applicable laws and regulations, or when you explicitly consent, we may collect and process Sensitive Personal Information about you should you choose to provide it. Examples of Sensitive Personal Information that we may process include:
a. National Identity Information such as:
i. Biometric information (where used for the purpose of uniquely identifying
you).
b. Voluntary Demographic Information such as:
i. Racial or ethnic origin;
ii. Gender identity; and
iii. Health information (information about physical or mental health, or disability status).
2.3. Criminal background checks
(a) Where applicable, permitted and/or required by applicable laws and regulations, we may hold information about criminal convictions. We will only collect information about criminal convictions during the recruitment process if it is appropriate given the nature of the role and where we are legally able to do so. We will use information about criminal convictions and offences to assess suitability for a particular role and to comply with our obligations as required by applicable laws and regulations.
2.4. Failure to provide Personal Information
(a) If you do not provide information necessary to progress your application, do not complete the background check as described in Section (“What categories of Personal Information do we collect?”), or if the background check determines that you are not suitable for the role you have applied for, we may be unable to progress your application. For example: (a) if we are unable to verify your right to work or your experience, education, and qualifications, or: (b) the background check indicates that you have a criminal record, we may not be able to proceed with your application.
3.1. We collect Personal Information about you from the following sources:
a. Directly from you (information that you provide to us during the recruitment process);
b. Indirectly from you (such as through your use of the Coursera Careers Site);
c. Third party recruiters, staffing companies or executive search agencies;
d. Background check providers, former employers and/or education institutions;
e. Publicly available sources such as professional networking websites (e.g., LinkedIn/GitHub);
f. Your named referees;
g. Travel agencies engaged to arrange Applicant travel; and
h. Corporate transactions (e.g. as part of an acquisition, merger, divestment).
4.1. We process your Personal Information for the following purposes:
a. To communicate with you throughout the recruitment process;
b. To assess your qualifications, skills, and suitability for the considered position;
c. To verify your provided information and carry out background checks;
d. To make adjustments to the recruitment process;
e. To book travel for on-site interviews, if applicable;
f. To consider you for, and inform you about future job opportunities;
g. To prepare your employment or services agreement if you are offered a position at Coursera;
h. To assist with obtaining an immigration visa or work permit (if applicable);
i. To comply with applicable laws and regulations;
j. To monitor and assess our equal opportunity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility programs on an aggregated basis;
k. To store and honor your preferences and settings; combat fraud; deliver and measure the effectiveness of advertising campaigns; and analyze how the Coursera Careers Site is performing;
l. To conduct data analytics in order to improve our recruitment process; and
m. To undertake and administer a corporate transaction. This includes the sale, assignment, or other transfer of all or part of our business, or the acquisition and integration of all or part of another business (for example integrating or enabling access to information about Applicants between us and the acquired business).
4.2. AI and Automated decision-making
a. We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to assist in evaluating applications. These tools help identify relevant skills or experience from your application and prevent fraud. However, any insights or recommendations generated by these tools are used to support, and not replace, the judgment of our talent acquisition teams and hiring managers.
b. Automated decision-making means a decision based solely on automated processing (including profiling) of Personal Information, without any human involvement, that produces legal effects concerning you, or similarly significantly affects you. Coursera does not carry out automated decision-making of this kind in relation to Applicants. If this ever changes, we will update this Notice and provide appropriate notice in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.
4.3. Data Analytics
a. Coursera uses Personal Information to perform data analytics. These analytics leverage Personal Information contained in and across Coursera’s recruitment systems (such as Greenhouse) and enable the Talent Acquisition Team to obtain aggregated data-driven insights. These insights are used to better understand, maintain, evaluate and improve our recruitment process.
5.1. The legal basis for processing Personal Information may vary by country, as well as by the category of Personal Information and the purpose of collection and processing. Where required by applicable laws and regulations, we specify the specific legal basis for processing Personal Information before collecting and processing such Personal Information in the table below.
5.2. Applicants residing in the U.K., the EEA or Switzerland
a. We rely on different legal bases for collecting and processing your Personal Information (as set out in the table below). Where we rely on our legitimate interest, you can object to this processing in certain circumstances. In such cases, we will cease processing your Personal Information unless we have compelling legitimate grounds to continue processing or where it is required for legal reasons. For more information on how to object or exercise any other privacy right, please refer to Section 10 (“What privacy rights do Applicants have”).
Purpose of Processing
Category of Personal Information
Legal basis for processing
6.1. We share Personal Information with third parties, including third-party service providers and other entities in our group.
6.2. We require third parties to respect the security of Personal Information and to treat it in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.
6.3. Disclosure within the Coursera group
a. Your Personal Information may be shared with any company that is a member of the Coursera group (including Coursera Inc. based in the U.S.) in order to carry out the recruitment activities specified in this Notice.
b. We may also share your Personal Information with our group companies where they provide services to us, such as IT systems, data hosting, talent acquisition services, and legal support.
6.4. Disclosure to other third parties
a. We will share your Personal Information with third parties where required by applicable laws and regulations, where it is necessary to administer the recruitment process or where we have another legitimate interest in doing so under applicable laws and regulations.
b. We will share your Personal Information with the following categories of third parties:
i. other parties, such as legal and regulatory authorities (including government departments and tax authorities), accountants, auditors, lawyers and other outside professional advisors;
ii. companies that provide products and services to us, such as:
A. providers of recruiting tools such as Greenhouse;
B. travel agencies;
C. background check providers;
D. document signing platforms;
E. police and immigration authorities; and
F. IT suppliers, including providers of cloud storage, back-up and disaster recovery, cyber security, email and telecommunications.
c. We will also disclose your Personal Information to third parties in some other circumstances:
i. if we sell or buy any business or assets, we may disclose your Personal Information to the prospective seller or buyer (or Personal Information held by Coursera may be one of the transferred assets);
ii. if we are under a duty to disclose or share your Personal Information in order to comply with any legal obligation, any lawful request from regulatory or law enforcement officials and as may be required to meet national security or law enforcement requirements or prevent illegal
activity;
iii. to respond to any claims, to protect our rights or rights of a third party, to protect the safety of any person or to prevent any illegal activity; and
iv. to protect the rights, property or safety of Coursera, our employees or other persons.
6.5. Restrictions on the use of Personal Information by those we share it with
a. Some of these third parties may process your Personal Information in countries which are outside of the country where you reside. For more information oncross-border transfers, please refer to Section 7 (“Cross-border transfers of Personal Information”).
b. Any third parties with whom we share your Personal Information are limited (by law and/or by contract) in their ability to use your Personal Information and the purposes for which they use it. Any third parties with whom we share your Personal Information are subject to privacy and security obligations consistent with this Notice and applicable laws and regulations. In respect of third party service providers who are processing your Personal Information on our behalf, we only permit them to process your Personal Information for specified purposes and in accordance with our instructions.
7.1. As set out in Section 6 (“Who do we share Personal Information with”), your Personal Information may be transferred and processed outside the country in which you reside by other members of our group (in the U.S. for example) or third parties for the purposes mentioned in Section 4 (“How do we use and otherwise process Personal Information”). This processing may take place in countries that may not provide the same level of protection for your Personal Information as the country in which you reside.
7.2. If we transfer any Personal Information about you to another member(s) of our group (including Coursera, Inc.) or third-party data processors, we will take appropriate measures to enable members of our group and our service providers to protect your Personal Information adequately in accordance with this Notice and applicable laws and regulations. For example, these measures include complying with specific cross border data transfer requirements under applicable laws and regulations such as participating in approved data transfer frameworks and/or entering into Standard Contractual Clauses.
7.3. For Applicants residing in the U.K., the EEA or Switzerland (or another region that offers similar protections), we participate in and commit to adhering to the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, the U.K. extension to the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, and the Swiss-U.S. Data Privacy Framework when transferring data from the EEA, U.K. or Switzerland to the U.S. Please refer to our Data Privacy Framework Notice in Section 7.4 (“EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework”) for further information. Where we cannot transfer Personal Information on the basis of the Data Privacy Framework, we rely on another approved transfer mechanism including the Standard Contractual Clauses and the U.K. Addendum (as applicable). If you want to obtain a copy of the transfer mechanism we use, please contact us using the details in Section 14 (“Further questions or making a complaint”).
7.4. EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework
a. Coursera, Inc. complies with the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (“EU-U.S. DPF”) and the U.K. Extension to the EU-U.S. DPF and the Swiss-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (“Swiss-U.S. DPF”) as set forth by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Coursera, Inc. has certified to the U.S. Department of Commerce that it adheres to the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework Principles (the “EU-U.S. DPF Principles”) with regard to the processing of Personal Information received from the European Union and the U.K. in reliance on the EU-U.S. DPF and the U.K. Extension to the EU-U.S. DPF. Coursera has certified to the U.S. Department of Commerce that it adheres to the Swiss-U.S. Data Privacy Framework Principles (“Swiss-U.S. DPF Principles”) with regard to the processing of Personal Information received from Switzerland in reliance on the Swiss-U.S. DPF. If there is any conflict between the terms in this Notice and theEU-U.S. DPF Principles and/or the Swiss-U.S. DPF Principles, the Principles shall govern. Further information is available in Coursera Inc.’s Data Privacy Framework Notice here. To learn more about the Data Privacy Framework Program, and to view our certification, please visit https://www.dataprivacyframework.gov/.
b. Under the EU-U.S. DPF and the U.K. Extension to the EU-U.S. DPF and the Swiss-U.S. DPF, we will offer you the opportunity to opt-out of your Personal Information (or to provide explicit consent for Sensitive Personal Information) being: (i) disclosed to a third party (other than an agent performing tasks on behalf of and under the instructions of Coursera, Inc.); or (ii) used for a purpose materially different from the purpose for which it was originally collected (as set out in this Notice), or subsequently authorized by you, when the circumstances arise. If you have further questions related to the above, you can also contact us at privacy-legal@coursera.org.
c. We will regularly review our compliance with the statements set forth in this Notice regarding our compliance with the EU-U.S. DPF and the U.K. Extension to the EU-U.S. DPF and the Swiss-U.S. DPF, and we will provide an independent way to resolve complaints about our privacy practices. We encourage interested persons to first contact us (contact information provided below), and we will investigate and attempt to resolve any complaints and disputes regarding use and disclosure of Personal Information in accordance with the Principles. In compliance with the EU-U.S. DPF and the U.K. Extension to the EU-U.S. DPF and the Swiss-U.S. DPF, Coursera, Inc. commits to cooperate and comply respectively with the advice of the panel established by the EU data protection authorities and the U.K. Information Commissioner’s Office and the Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner with regard to unresolved complaints concerning our handling of Personal Information received in reliance on the EU-U.S. DPF and the U.K. Extension to the EU-U.S. DPF and the Swiss-U.S. DPF in the context of the recruitment process. Note that under certain conditions, you may invoke binding arbitration. Please visit https://www.dataprivacyframework.gov/ for more information.
d. In the context of an onward transfer, Coursera, Inc. has responsibility for the processing of Personal Information it receives under the EU-U.S. DPF and the U.K. Extension to the EU-U.S. DPF and the Swiss-U.S. DPF and subsequent transfers to a third party acting as an agent on its behalf. Coursera, Inc. shall remain liable under the Principles if its agent processes such Personal Information in a manner inconsistent with the Principles, unless Coursera, Inc. proves that it is not responsible for the event giving rise to the damage.
e. Coursera, Inc. is subject to the investigatory and enforcement powers of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and other authorized statutory bodies.
f. Further details on the steps we take to protect your Personal Information, in these cases, are available from us on request by contacting us at
privacy-legal@coursera.org.
8.1. If your application leads to you becoming a Coursera employee or contractor, relevant information we collect about you during the application process will become part of your employment or services record and retained in accordance with applicable laws and regulations and our internal policies and procedures.
8.2. If your application is unsuccessful, and you do not want to be considered for future job opportunities, we will retain your Personal Information for two years or as long as necessary to:
a. Comply with our legal obligations such as immigration and visa requirements; or
b. To resolve any disputes related to the application process.
8.3. If you have consented to being considered for future job opportunities, we will retain your Personal Information for three years. After this period, you will be asked to renew your consent.
8.4. In some circumstances we may anonymise your Personal Information so that it can no longer be associated with you, in which case we may use such information without further notice to you.
9.1. We will implement industry standard physical, technical, and administrative security measures such as pseudonymisation, encryption and access controls to keep your Personal Information confidential and secure.
9.2. Any third parties with whom we share your Personal Information are limited (by law and/or by contract) in their ability to use your Personal Information and the purposes for which they use it. Any third parties with whom we share your Personal Information are subject to privacy and security obligations consistent with this Notice and applicable laws and regulations. In respect of third party service providers who are processing your Personal Information on our behalf, we only permit them to process your Personal Information for specified purposes and in accordance with our instructions.
10.1. You have certain rights in relation to your Personal Information. If you would like further information in relation to these or would like to exercise any one of them please contact privacy-legal@coursera.org. In certain circumstances and depending on applicable laws
and regulations, you have the right to:
a. request that we provide access to your Personal Information along with further information on the processing of it and provide you with a copy of any Personal Information which we hold about you;
b. request that we update any of your Personal Information which we hold about you and is out of date or incorrect or incomplete;
c. request that we delete any Personal Information which we hold about you;
d. request that we restrict the way that we process your Personal Information;
e. request that we provide your Personal Information to a third party;
f. not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing, including profiling;
g. object to our use of your Personal Information;
h. withdraw your consent where our processing of your Personal Information is based on your consent;
i. nominate an individual on your behalf to exercise your privacy rights;
j. grievance redressal; and
k. not be discriminated against for exercising your privacy rights.
10.2. We will consider all privacy rights requests and will respond within the time period stated by applicable laws and regulations. Certain Personal Information may be exempt from such requests in certain circumstances, for example where we are required to continue processing your Personal Information to comply with a legal obligation or where an exemption is permitted under applicable laws and regulations. We will explain any such exemptions or limitations to you when responding to your request.
10.3. We may request you provide us with information necessary to confirm your identity and comply with your right to access the information (or to exercise any of your other rights). This is an appropriate security measure designed to help prevent your Personal Information from being disclosed to individuals who are not entitled to receive it.
10.4. You will not have to pay a fee to access your Personal Information (or to exercise any of the other rights). However, as permitted by applicable laws and regulations we may charge a reasonable fee if your request for access is clearly unfounded or excessive. Alternatively, we may refuse to comply with the request in certain circumstances.
11.1. We reserve the right to make changes to this Notice at any time. Any changes to this Notice will be posted on this page therefore please make sure to read this Notice prior to submitting your Personal Information. Substantial changes to this Notice will be highlighted on the Coursera Careers Site or may be emailed to you.
12.1. If you have any queries or complaints (including about a breach of the Australian Privacy Principles) about our collection, use or storage of your Personal Information, or if you wish to exercise any of your rights in relation to your Personal Information, please contact privacy-legal@coursera.org. We will investigate and attempt to resolve any such complaint or dispute regarding the use or disclosure of your Personal Information.
12.2. For Applicants residing in the U.K., the EEA, Switzerland, or other region that offers similar data protection rights, you may also lodge a complaint with your local data protection supervisory authority or seek a remedy through the courts. In the U.K., the relevant supervisory authority is the Information Commissioner’s Office which can be contacted at https://ico.org.uk/. A list of EEA supervisory authorities and how to contactthem is available from the European Data Protection Board at https://edpb.europa.eu/about-edpb/about-edpb/members_en. In Switzerland, the supervisory authority is the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC) available at https://www.edoeb.admin.ch/de.
12.3. Applicants with disabilities may access this notice in an alternative format by contacting recruiting@coursera.org.
This California Staff Privacy Addendum (this “Addendum”) applies to all Applicants residing in the U.S. state of California. Coursera does not sell or otherwise disclose this Personal Information for monetary or other consideration to any third parties.
We adopt this Addendum to comply with the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (“CCPA”) as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act of 2023 (“CPRA”) and any terms defined in the CCPA and CPRA have the same meaning when used in this Notice (together “California Privacy Laws”). This Addendum is incorporated into the Global Applicant Privacy Notice. In the event of a conflict between this Addendum and the Global Applicant Privacy Notice, this Addendum will control only with respect to the Personal Information of Applicants residing in California.
We will only process your Personal Information in accordance with this Addendum and the Global Applicant Privacy Notice unless otherwise required by applicable laws and regulations. We take steps to limit the Personal Information that we collect and process about you to what is appropriate and reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this Addendum and the Global Applicant Privacy
Notice.
What Categories of Personal Information Do We Collect and How Do We Use This Information?
For the purposes of this Addendum, Personal Information means any information about an identifiable individual. Personal Information excludes anonymous or de-identified data that is not associated with a particular individual. To carry out our recruitment activities and obligations, we may collect, store, and process the following categories of Personal Information for the purpose of administering the recruitment
process with you:
Category of Personal Information
Personal Information Collected
Business Purpose
Sensitive Personal Information Categories
We may collect and process the Sensitive Personal Information in the table below, when you voluntarily provide them for the following legitimate business purposes, to carry out our obligations under employment law, or as applicable laws and regulations otherwise permit. Where we have a legitimate need to process Sensitive Personal Information about you for purposes not identified above, we will only do so after providing you with notice and, if required by applicable laws and regulations, obtaining your prior consent. The following categories of Sensitive Personal Information, if collected, may receive special protection:
Category of Sensitive Personal Information
Business Purpose
Government identifiers
Including:
Racial or ethnic origin
Citizenship or immigration information
Unique identifying biometric information
Health information
Sources of Personal Information
We collect Personal Information directly from you. We may also combine Personal Information collected from other sources with the Personal Information you provide to us. To learn more about how we collect Personal Information, please refer to Section 3 of the Global Applicant Privacy Notice (“How do we collect Personal Information?”).
Disclosure of Personal Information
We may share your Personal Information as necessary for the purposes described in this Addendum. To learn more about who we share Personal Information with, please refer to Section 6 of the Global Applicant Privacy Notice (“Who do we share Personal Information with?”).
Retention and Security of Personal Information
We keep your Personal Information for no longer than necessary for the purposes for which the Personal Information is collected and processed. To learn more about how long we store Personal Information for, please refer to Section 8 of the Global Applicant Privacy Notice ("How long do we store Personal Information for?"). In the event your Personal Information is implicated in a data breach, we will attempt to contact you where permitted or required by law. To learn more about how we protect your Personal Information, please refer to Section 9 of the Global Applicant Privacy Notice (“How do we protect Personal Information?”).
Your Rights
You may have certain rights in respect of your Personal Information under California Privacy Laws. You may not be discriminated against because you exercise your rights under applicable California Privacy Laws. A summary of the rights that may be applicable to you can be found in Section 10 of the Global Applicant Privacy Notice (“What privacy rights do Applicants have?”). In addition to those rights, you may also have other rights, including:
Rights to opt-out of sale/sharing of Personal Information.
We do not sell or share (as the terms are defined under California Privacy Laws) Personal Information, so no opt-out is currently offered.
Right to Limit Use of Sensitive Personal Information
As described in the “Sensitive Personal Information” section, above, we may collect, process, or disclose Sensitive Personal Information under California Privacy Laws. You may have the right to limit the use or disclosure of your Sensitive Personal Information. We do not use or disclose Sensitive Personal Information for purposes other than those listed in the “Sensitive Personal Information” section above, without your consent or as permitted or required under applicable laws and regulations, so we do not offer Applicants an ability to limit our use of Sensitive Personal Information.
Right to opt-out of solely automated decisions / profiling producing legal or similarly significant effects
You may have the right to opt out of solely automated decisions or profiling which produces legal or similarly significant effects for individuals. We do not undertake solely automated decisions or profiling which produces legal or similarly significant effects for individuals, so no opt-out is currently offered.
Exercising your rights
You can make privacy requests as follows: send an email to privacy-legal@coursera.org with details of your specific request.
We may ask that you provide certain information to verify your identity, and the information we request from you will depend on your prior interactions with us and the sensitivity of the Personal Information at issue. Once confirmed, we will respond to your request in accordance with California Privacy Laws. If we deny your request, we will explain why. Under California Privacy Laws, you may designate an authorized agent to make certain requests on your behalf. However, we may need to verify your authorized agent’s identity and authority to act on your behalf. We may require a copy of a valid power of attorney given to your authorized agent pursuant to applicable laws and regulations. If you have not provided your agent with such a power of attorney, we may ask you to take additional steps permitted by law to verify that your request is authorized, such as by providing your agent with written and signed permission to exercise your rights on your behalf, the information we request to verify your identity, and confirmation that you have given the authorized agent permission to submit the request.
Country
Coursera Recruiting Entity
United States
Coursera, Inc.
United Kingdom
Coursera UK Limited
Canada
Coursera Canada Limited
Australia
Coursera Australia Pty Ltd
India
Coursera India Private Limited
France
Coursera France SAS
Germany
Coursera Germany GmbH
Saudi Arabia
Coursera Limited
Singapore
Coursera Singapore Pte. Limited
United Arab Emirates
Coursera, FZ-LLC