Privacy Policy

Last updated: August 29, 2026

Who We Are

Tools HQ ("we," "us," "our") operates a set of free, browser-based utility tools, including a timezone meeting planner, PDF merge/split/organize tools, a currency converter, developer tools, and math calculators. This policy explains what information we collect across those tools, why, and what choices you have. Contact: handytoolshq@gmail.com.

Information We Collect

Automatically, and only after you accept our analytics banner: which pages you visit, an anonymous session identifier stored in your browser's local storage (not a cookie), the referring site, screen width, and which features you use (e.g., clicking "Best Alignment Slot" or downloading a file). Nothing is collected before you accept, and you can decline. Our server also records a hashed version of your IP address alongside this data — hashing reduces but does not guarantee anonymization, and we treat it as personal data for the purposes of this policy.

Information you provide: most tools require no input beyond what you type directly into them (a city name, a percentage, a JSON snippet). The timezone planner's AI natural-language search sends your typed query and any locations you've added to our server to compute a response; this is used to generate that response and is not linked back to your identity.

What we deliberately do not collect: the PDF toolkit (merge, split, rotate, reorganize) runs entirely in your browser — your files are never uploaded to our servers or seen by us. The developer tools (JSON formatter, Base64/URL encoder, timestamp converter) and math calculators likewise process everything locally in your browser using built-in JavaScript.

Cookies & Local Storage

We do not use tracking cookies on our public tool pages. We use your browser's local storage for an opt-in analytics identifier and your consent choice, as described above. Full detail: Cookie Policy.

Advertising

As of this policy's last update, ad placements on this site are placeholders — no ads are being served. Once we enable a real ad network (e.g., Google AdSense), that network may use cookies or similar technologies to serve and personalize ads, measure ad performance, and cap how often you see an ad. Visitors in the EEA, UK, and Switzerland will be shown a consent prompt before any personalized ad is served. You can generally opt out of personalized advertising via Google Ads Settings and industry tools such as youronlinechoices.eu (EU) or optout.aboutads.info (US).

Third-Party Services

Some tools load open-source libraries (pdf-lib.js, pdf.js) from the cdnjs.cloudflare.com CDN — like any CDN-hosted file, that request reveals your IP address to Cloudflare, the CDN operator. Fonts are self-hosted and not loaded from any third party.

Legal Basis for Processing (EEA/UK Visitors)

Where GDPR applies, our legal basis for the analytics described above is your consent — which is why nothing is collected until you accept the banner, and why declining or ignoring it means nothing is collected at all. Our legal basis for processing the AI search query you type (locations, natural-language text) is legitimate interest in providing the feature you're actively using, limited to what's needed to generate that one response.

Do Not Track

Some browsers offer a "Do Not Track" signal. There isn't yet a common standard for how sites should respond to it, so we don't currently respond to DNT signals differently — instead, the opt-in consent banner described above governs whether analytics run at all, regardless of DNT.

Data Retention

Analytics data is retained only as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose described above. You can remove your local analytics identifier and consent choice at any time by clearing your browser's site data for this domain.

Your Rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights over the personal data we hold about you:

• Access & portability — ask what data we hold about you and receive a copy.
• Correction — ask us to correct inaccurate data.
• Deletion — ask us to delete data we hold about you.
• Opt-out of sale/sharing — we do not sell or share personal data with third parties for their own marketing purposes, so there is nothing to opt out of today; if that ever changes, this policy will be updated first and this section will explain how to opt out.
• Non-discrimination — we won't treat you differently for exercising any of these rights.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at handytoolshq@gmail.com. Because most of what we collect is tied to an anonymous, browser-local identifier rather than an account, the fastest way to exercise your rights for that data is simply clearing your browser's site data for this domain — see Cookie Policy.

Children's Privacy

Tools HQ is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us so we can remove it.

Data Security

We use reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect information we hold, including serving the site over HTTPS and storing admin credentials using industry-standard password hashing. No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure.

International Users

Our servers are located in the United States. If you access our tools from outside the United States, your information may be processed in the United States.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. Material changes will be reflected by updating the "Last updated" date above.

Contact Us

Questions about this policy: handytoolshq@gmail.com.