Privacy & Cookies
Last updated: 2026-10-13
Summary
We use Google Analytics on every page to count visits and see which tools are used. It does not receive the numbers you type into a calculator or anything you paste into a tool. Advertising choices are handled by Google's consent message where it applies. You can block analytics in your browser and every page and tool still works.
Who operates this site
PracticalBench is operated by the site's operator.
Privacy contact: privacy@practicalbench.com
What data is processed
| What | When | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Analytics events: page views, tool usage by category (never your calculator inputs) | Every page visit, through Google Analytics | Understanding which tools are useful; improving the site |
| Advertising identifiers | When Google AdSense is active, according to the choice recorded by Google's certified CMP | Serving and measuring ads to support the free tools |
| Your name (optional), email address and message | You email us | To respond to your support request |
| Basic connection data such as IP address and requested URL | Processed by AWS CloudFront to deliver each request; standard access logging is disabled | Delivering the website. PracticalBench does not currently retain or analyze first-party traffic logs |
We do not collect the numbers you type into a calculator, the content you paste into a tool, or file contents you select — those are processed in your browser and never sent to us, unless a specific tool's own page says otherwise.
Ad blockers
PracticalBench is supported by advertising. Using an ad blocker never prevents access to any page or tool. No ad-block detection or ad-block notice is currently enabled.
Cookies and local storage
Essential storage
Google's consent system may store your advertising privacy decision to remember it on later visits. Theme and language preferences, saved tools and recently used tools stay in your browser; those local settings and lists are not sent to our servers. Separately, as described below, Google Analytics records page visits and tool categories, but not calculator inputs, pasted content or those saved/recent lists. An old PracticalBench consent setting, if your browser still has one, is deleted on your next visit.
Analytics cookies
Google Analytics runs on every page and sets its own cookies (named _ga and _ga_…) to tell new visits from returning ones. It is not switched off by the advertising consent message. We use it to understand which pages and tool categories people visit. It records:
- Which page you're on — the address without anything after a
?or#, so shared calculation values are never sent - Which tool category you're using (never your actual calculator inputs or results)
- The website you came from (its domain only)
- Approximate location (country level), browser type and device type, as Google Analytics reports them
To stop Google Analytics, block cookies or tracking for google-analytics.com and googletagmanager.com in your browser settings, use a content blocker, or install Google's official Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on. Every calculator and tool keeps working.
Advertising cookies
This site shows ads served by Google AdSense. Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this website or other websites. Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to you based on your visits to this site and/or other sites on the internet.
You can opt out of personalised advertising by visiting Google's Ads Settings. You can also opt out of some third-party vendors' use of cookies for personalised advertising at www.aboutads.info, or, in the UK and EU, www.youronlinechoices.com.
Where it applies, advertising consent is collected by Google's certified consent message. You can refuse advertising consent and continue using every page and tool. Read how Google uses information from sites that use its services and how Google uses cookies in advertising.
Changing your advertising choice
Where Google's consent message applies to you, a "Google privacy choices" link appears in the footer; use it to reopen that message and change your choice. Google's US state opt-out messages provide their own controls. These controls cover advertising; for analytics, see the blocking options above.
Third-party processors
Analytics events are processed by Google Analytics under its own privacy terms. Email messages are handled by the email service providers used to deliver and receive them. Advertising is served by Google AdSense and the third-party ad vendors Google works with. No personal data is sold to anyone by us.
International transfers
Google Analytics may process data in multiple countries, including outside the UK and EEA. Advertising networks may do the same when advertising is enabled under Google's consent controls.
Retention
Analytics data is retained according to Google Analytics' retention settings. Email messages are kept only as long as needed to resolve your query. Advertising data follows your ad network's retention policy.
Your rights
Depending on your location, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, or object to processing of your personal data. To exercise these rights, contact us using the details below.
Contact details
General questions and suggestions: hello@practicalbench.com
Calculator or tool problems: support@practicalbench.com
Privacy and data enquiries: privacy@practicalbench.com
Changes to this notice
We'll update this notice whenever our data handling changes and update the "Last updated" date above. Material changes will be announced on the site.