Privacy Policy

1. Information We Do NOT Collect

Sarah's Free Utility Tools is designed from the ground up to be privacy-respecting. We want to be crystal clear about what we don't do:

• No Personal Data: We don't collect names, email addresses, IP addresses (permanently), or any personal identifiers.
• No Accounts: We don't require account creation or login of any kind.
• No File Storage: We don't store files you process with our tools (PDFs, images, texts, etc.). Everything stays on your device.
• No Tracking Cookies: We don't use tracking cookies for user profiling without consent.
• No Databases: We don't maintain user databases.
• No Device Fingerprinting: We don't use fingerprinting or device identification techniques.

Every tool on Sarah's Free Utility Tools processes data exclusively in your browser's memory. When you convert a PDF, the document never leaves your device. When you count characters in a text, the counting happens locally. We have zero access to your files.

2. Local Processing & Security

All our tools use browser-based APIs to perform computations locally:

• 📁 File API — for reading files you select (PDFs, images, etc.)
• 🎨 Canvas API — for image manipulation, QR code generation, and rendering
• ⚙️ Web Workers — for background processing (PDF splitting, merging, etc.)
• 💾 Local Storage — for saving your preferences (e.g., checklist data, theme choices). This data never leaves your browser and you can clear it anytime.

We implement strict security headers: Content Security Policy (CSP), X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff, X-Frame-Options: DENY, and HSTS (Strict-Transport-Security) to mitigate common web vulnerabilities (XSS, clickjacking, MIME type sniffing, protocol downgrade attacks).

Your data never leaves your device — no servers, no uploads, no risk of data breach.

3. Google Analytics with Consent Mode v2

We use Google Analytics 4 (GA4) to understand how visitors interact with our website — what pages are visited, how long they stay, referral sources, and general usage patterns. This helps us improve the tools and prioritize features. We take your privacy seriously, which is why we implement Google Consent Mode v2.

How Consent Mode v2 Works

Google Consent Mode v2 allows us to communicate your cookie preferences to Google. Here's what happens:

• Default State (Before Consent): When you first visit our site, all Google tags are set to denied. No analytics data is collected, no advertising cookies are set, and no personal data is sent to Google.
• After You Accept: If you click "Accept" on our cookie banner, we update Google tags to granted. Only then does Google Analytics start collecting anonymized usage data.
• If You Reject or Ignore: If you click "Reject" or simply ignore the banner, Google tags remain denied. No data is collected.

What Google Analytics Collects (After Consent)

We have configured Google Analytics with the strictest privacy settings:

• IP Anonymization: Your IP address is truncated (anonymized) immediately after transmission to Google's servers. The full IP address is never stored.
• No Personal Identifiers: We don't send any personal data (names, emails, user IDs) to Google.
• Data Retention: Google Analytics data is automatically deleted after 14 months (minimum retention period).
• Disabled Signals: We disable "Google Signals" (cross-device reporting) and "Ad Personalization Signals".

What Data Is Collected

Data Type	Collected?	Notes
Full IP Address	❌ No	Anonymized (last octet removed)
Browser/OS Info	✅ Yes	User agent string (anonymized)
Pages Visited	✅ Yes	URLs of our pages only (no external)
Time on Site	✅ Yes	Aggregated, not per-user
Referral Source	✅ Yes	How you found us (Google, direct, etc.)
Device Type	✅ Yes	Mobile, desktop, tablet
Your Files/Content	❌ No	Never uploaded or processed by Google
Personal Identifiers	❌ No	No names, emails, or IDs

How to Opt Out

Even after consenting, you can opt out of Google Analytics tracking at any time:

• Install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on (blocks GA across all sites).
• Use your browser's "Do Not Track" setting (honored by our site).
• Clear your cookies and local storage, then click "Reject" on our cookie banner next time.

4. Google AdSense (Advertising)

We display advertisements through Google AdSense to keep our tools free. Google may use cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to our website or other websites. These cookies allow Google and its partners to serve ads based on your browsing history.

• With Consent Mode v2, personalized ads are blocked until you accept cookies.
• If you reject cookies, you will see non-personalized ads (contextual ads only, no behavioral targeting).
• Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads based on your visit to our site and/or other sites on the Internet.
• You may opt out of personalized advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings.
• Alternatively, you can opt out of third-party cookies for personalized advertising at www.aboutads.info.

5. Third-Party Services

We use only two third-party services, both from Google:

• 📊 Google Analytics (with Consent Mode v2, anonymized IP, aggregated data only)
• 📢 Google AdSense (non-personalized ads until you consent)

No other third-party services (social widgets, external scripts, analytics, etc.) are integrated. Our site is self-contained and static.

For details on how Google handles data, see Google's Privacy Policy and Google's Advertising Cookies Policy.

6. Your Privacy Rights (GDPR, LGPD, CCPA)

Since we collect no personal data, there is essentially no data to access, modify, or delete. However, you have full control over your browser environment:

• Right to Access: We have no personal data about you to provide.
• Right to Deletion: Simply clear your browser cache and local storage.
• Right to Opt Out: Use our cookie banner to reject analytics and advertising cookies.
• Right to Withdraw Consent: Clear your localStorage (or use the banner again) to change your choice anytime.

You can also:

• Use private/incognito browsing mode (no data persists after closing).
• Disable cookies entirely in your browser settings.
• Use ad blockers if you prefer an ad-free experience (though advertising is how we keep the site free).

7. Children's Privacy

Sarah's Free Utility Tools does not knowingly collect any personal information from children under the age of 13. Since we collect no personal information from anyone, this is inherently guaranteed. All tools are suitable for use by people of all ages without privacy concerns. We comply with COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act).

8. Data Retention

Any data stored locally on your device (via localStorage) remains on your device until you clear it. We have no servers, no databases, and no access to this data. Google Analytics data (after consent) is retained for 14 months as per our settings, after which it is automatically deleted.

9. International Data Transfers

Google LLC (the provider of Google Analytics and AdSense) is headquartered in the United States. By consenting to cookies, you acknowledge that your anonymized usage data may be processed in the US. Google participates in the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and the Swiss-US Data Privacy Framework, ensuring adequate protection for data transfers from the EEA and Switzerland.

10. Changes to This Policy

If we ever change our privacy practices, we will update this page and note the date of revision. The current version will always be available at this URL. We encourage you to review this page periodically.

11. Contact

If you have questions about this privacy policy, our privacy practices, or wish to exercise your data protection rights, please visit our Contact page or email us directly.