Privacy policy for Tool Lab

01Scope of this policy

This policy applies to the website toptoollab.com and to the browser-based tools published on it. It explains how the site operator handles information relating to you.

Throughout this document, “we”, “us” and “the operator” refer to the individual who owns and maintains toptoollab.com. Tool Lab is an independent, one-person project rather than a company; you can read more about who maintains it on the about page.

The most important distinction in this policy is between the files you process and your visit to the website. These are handled completely differently, and sections 2 and 3 address them separately.

02Your files and the tools

Files you open in a Tool Lab tool are never transmitted to any server. Each tool reads your file with the JavaScript File API and performs all processing in the memory of your browser tab, on your own device.

This is an architectural property rather than a promise of good behaviour. There is no upload endpoint in the code, which means:

• ✓The operator never receives a copy of your document, image or PDF.
• ✓No copy is written to any server, database, log or backup.
• ✓Nothing is retained after processing — the browser releases that memory when you close or reload the tab.
• ✓File contents are never used for analytics, advertising or model training.

One consequence worth stating plainly: because processing happens locally, the output is produced by your own device and the operator has no record that you used a tool at all, beyond the ordinary page-level analytics described in section 3.

03What the website collects

Visiting the website is separate from using the tools. Like almost every website, toptoollab.com processes a limited amount of technical data, primarily through third-party services.

What is not collected: the site has no registration, no newsletter, no comment form and no contact form. It therefore does not ask for or store your name, email address, password or payment details in the ordinary course of using the tools.

04Cookies and consent

Cookies are small files stored by your browser. This site uses a consent management platform provided by CookieYes to obtain and record your choices before non-essential cookies are set.

• ✓Strictly necessary — required for the site to load and for your consent choice to be remembered. These cannot be switched off.
• ✓Analytics — set by Google Analytics to measure which pages and tools are used.
• ✓Advertising — set by Google AdSense and its partners to serve ads and limit repetition.

You can change or withdraw your choices at any time by reopening the consent banner from the link in the site footer, or by clearing cookies in your browser settings. Withdrawing consent does not affect processing that already took place, and it does not affect your ability to use any tool — the tools work regardless of your cookie choices.

05Advertising

This site is funded by display advertising served through Google AdSense. Advertising is the only revenue source: there are no sponsored tools, no affiliate links inside the tools and no paid placement in any tool listing.

Google and its partners may use cookies or similar identifiers to serve ads based on your prior visits to this or other websites. You can review and adjust this directly with Google:

• →Personalised advertising can be turned off at My Ad Center.
• →Google explains its own handling of this data in its partner sites notice.

Advertising cookies are only set after you allow the advertising category in the consent banner, where consent is required in your jurisdiction.

06Why we may process data

If you are in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, the UK GDPR and GDPR require a lawful basis for each processing activity. Ours are:

Processing your files is not listed because it does not occur: the operator never receives them.

07Who receives data

Your personal information is not sold and not traded. Data is shared only with the service providers required to run the site:

Information may also be disclosed where required by law, court order or a competent authority, or where necessary to establish or defend a legal claim. If the site were ever transferred to a new owner, this policy would be published in updated form before any transfer of data.

08How long data is kept

• ✓Your files: not retained at any point, because they are never received. They exist only in your browser’s memory and are released when you close the tab.
• ✓Analytics data: retained by Google Analytics according to the retention period configured in that service, after which it is deleted automatically.
• ✓Advertising data: retained by Google under its own policies, linked in section 7.
• ✓Consent records: retained by CookieYes for as long as needed to evidence your choice, typically twelve months, after which you are asked again.
• ✓Server logs: retained by the web host for a short operational period and then rotated out.

09Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have some or all of the following rights over personal data relating to you. Residents of the EEA and UK have these under the GDPR; residents of California and several other US states have comparable rights under state law.

10International transfers

The service providers listed in section 7 operate internationally, so data described in this policy may be processed outside your country of residence, including in the United States.

Where data originating in the EEA, UK or Switzerland is transferred to a country without an adequacy decision, those providers rely on safeguards such as the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses and, where applicable, the EU–US Data Privacy Framework. Details are set out in each provider’s own policy, linked in section 7.

Your files are not affected by any of this, because they never leave your device.

11Children

This site is a general-audience utility and is not directed at children. It does not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 13, or under 16 where a higher age applies under local law.

Since no account can be created and no personal details are requested, the site is not designed to receive such information in the first place. If you believe a child has nonetheless provided personal data, contact us using section 14 and it will be deleted.

12Security

The strongest security measure on this site is structural: the tools do not collect your files, so there is no store of user documents that could be breached, misconfigured or subpoenaed.

For the website itself, traffic is served over HTTPS, the platform and its components are kept up to date, and administrative access is limited to the operator. No internet service can be guaranteed to be perfectly secure; if a breach ever occurred that affected personal data, affected users and the relevant authority would be notified as required by law.

13Changes to this policy

This policy will be updated when the site’s data practices change — for example if an analytics or advertising provider is added or removed. The “last updated” date at the top of the page always reflects the current version.

Material changes will be summarised at the top of this page for a reasonable period. Because there is no mailing list, this page is the single place where changes are announced.

14Contact

If you are in the EEA or UK and are not satisfied with the response, you may lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority.