Privacy

What the tools do with your data

Most tools on LabAnvil run entirely in your browser. Numbers, text and colours you enter are processed on your device and are not sent to or stored on our servers, unless a project's page clearly says otherwise.

The Secret Santa Generator is one that does. To run a draw it stores the names you enter, who each person buys for, the spending limit, date and note, and any wishlists people write. Nobody signs up and no email addresses are asked for: each person reaches their page through a private link with a long random key. A draw is deleted, with everything in it, 30 days after its exchange date, or 90 days after it was made when there's no date. The organizer can delete it sooner from the organizer page.

What the server records

Like almost every website, the server keeps standard logs: your IP address, browser type, the page requested and the time. These are used to keep the site running and to deal with abuse, and are not sold or shared. LabAnvil also counts how many times each project page is viewed, stored only as a daily total per project. That count holds no IP address, no browser details and nothing that identifies who viewed what.

Cookies and local storage

LabAnvil remembers whether you prefer light or dark mode using your browser's local storage. Some tools may save your inputs the same way so they're still there when you come back. This stays on your device and you can clear it at any time from your browser settings.

The site also sets a session cookie for ordinary browsing. Besides remembering which project pages you've already opened (so reloading doesn't count as a new visit), it may store the ids of projects you've favourited or recently viewed while browsing as a guest. Nothing in that cookie identifies you beyond those lists.

If you create an optional account, favourites and recently viewed projects are stored on the server against your account so they follow you between devices. Guest session favourites and recents are merged into the account when you sign in.

Analytics

LabAnvil uses Google Analytics to understand which pages people find useful and how they got here. It records things like the page you visited, roughly where in the world you are, and which site or search sent you. It is not used to identify you personally.

Analytics and advertising storage stay switched off until you accept them in the cookie banner, and you can change your mind at any time below. See how Google uses information from sites that use its services.

Advertising

LabAnvil shows ads served by Google AdSense. Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on your previous visits to this and other websites. Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads based on your visits to LabAnvil and elsewhere.

You can opt out of personalised advertising in Google's Ads Settings, or opt out of some third-party vendors' use of cookies at aboutads.info. See how Google uses information from sites that use its services.

Cookie choices

Nothing is stored on your device until you accept, and you can change your answer whenever you like. Your choice is remembered in this browser only, so you'll be asked again on another device.

Change cookie choices

Messages you send us

If you use the contact form, what you type is stored so it can be read and answered. A name and an email address are optional there: leave them blank and the message arrives anonymously. Messages are kept only as long as they're useful, and are never sold or shared.

Questions

Send a message through the contact form with any questions about privacy, or to ask for information about you to be removed from server logs.