Privacy policy
The short version: our calculators run entirely in your browser. When you submit a result, we record the anonymised inputs and outcome, with no personal identifiers attached. No accounts, no IP addresses stored, nothing that can be traced back to you.
Who we are
FindTheNorm.com is a data reference site publishing personal calculators built on peer-reviewed research. The site is operated by an individual publisher based in the United Kingdom.
For privacy enquiries, contact: [email protected]
What data we collect
Anonymous calculator data
When you submit a calculator, we record anonymised statistical data including the inputs you entered and the result category you received. For example: duration in minutes and a category label such as "Adequate".
This data contains no personal identifiers. Specifically, we never store:
- Your IP address (used only to derive country, then immediately discarded)
- Your user agent or browser fingerprint
- The time of day
- Any session identifier that could link submissions across visits
What we do store, against each submission: the calculator name, the numeric inputs, the result category, the date (not time), and the country derived from your IP. This data cannot be traced back to you and falls outside the scope of personal data under GDPR Article 4.
This data is used to improve our benchmarks, understand usage patterns, and may be used in anonymised research. It is never used for targeted advertising or sold to third parties.
Session token (localStorage)
Your browser generates a random anonymous identifier (for example: anon_k7p2qx8rmt4j) on your first visit and stores it in localStorage, not a cookie. This token is included with each calculator submission purely to enable a future optional feature: if you later create an account, you will be able to claim your previous anonymous results by linking this token to your account at that point, with your explicit consent.
The token is never linked to your identity on our servers unless you actively consent to it during account creation. If you never create an account, the token is useless and your submissions remain permanently anonymous. You can clear it at any time by clearing site data in your browser.
Analytics
We use Cloudflare Web Analytics to understand how people use the site, which pages are visited, where traffic comes from, and which calculators are popular. Cloudflare Web Analytics is a privacy-respecting analytics tool that:
- Sets no cookies
- Collects no personal data
- Does not track you across sites
- Is fully compliant with GDPR, CCPA, and PECR without requiring a cookie banner
The data Cloudflare collects (page views, referrers, device type, country) is aggregated and anonymous. It cannot be used to identify you.
Advertising
We display third-party advertisements to support the site. Ad networks may use cookies and similar tracking technologies to serve relevant ads and measure performance. This is standard industry practice and operates independently of anything we collect.
You can opt out of interest-based advertising via:
- Your Online Choices (EU/UK)
- Digital Advertising Alliance (US)
We currently use two advertising and affiliate systems:
- Google AdSense, which displays contextual advertisements. Google may use cookies to serve relevant ads. You can review Google's privacy policy at policies.google.com/privacy and opt out of personalised advertising at adssettings.google.com.
- Amazon Associates, where some links go to Amazon products. When you click a qualifying link, Amazon may set a cookie to attribute the referral. Amazon's privacy policy is at amazon.com/privacy.
Affiliate links
Some pages include affiliate links, if you click one and make a purchase, we may earn a commission. This never affects the editorial content or data presented in our calculators. Affiliate clicks may be tracked by the merchant or affiliate network.
Cookies and local storage
FindTheNorm.com sets no cookies. We store one item in localStorage: the anonymous session token described above. Third-party services embedded on the site (ad networks) may set their own cookies subject to their own privacy policies.
Your rights
Because we collect no personal data, there is nothing for us to provide, correct, or delete on request. If you have a concern about data a third-party service may hold about you, contact that service directly.
UK and EU residents have rights under UK GDPR and the EU GDPR respectively. Since we collect no personal data, those rights are not engaged by anything we do, but you are welcome to contact us if you have questions.
Data retention
We retain no personal data. Anonymous calculator submissions (which contain no personal identifiers) are retained indefinitely for benchmark and research purposes. Plausible's aggregated analytics data is retained for as long as the account is active.
Changes to this policy
If we make material changes, for example, adding a user account system or a new ad partner, we will update the date at the top of this page. We will not introduce practices that collect personal data without updating this policy first.
Contact
Questions about privacy: [email protected]