PRIVACY POLICY

Your calculator inputs never leave your browser. Here is everything else this site does and does not do with your data.

CalcWise runs almost entirely in your browser, not on a server. This page explains, plainly, the small amount of data that does exist because the site has to be hosted somewhere, and the large amount of data that simply never gets collected because there is no account system and no server-side processing of your inputs.

THE SHORT VERSION

The short version

CalcWise does not collect your personal information. There is no account system, no sign-up wall, and no calculator input of yours is ever sent to a server. Every calculation runs client-side, meaning the math happens in your browser, on your device, using a small script that ships with the page, not on a server somewhere.

CalcWise is hosted on Cloudflare Pages, which serves the site through Cloudflare's global content delivery network. Like any web host, Cloudflare's edge servers briefly process technical details about each request, things like your IP address and browser type, to route the page to you and guard against abuse. CalcWise does not receive or read a per-visitor log of that activity, and does not use it for marketing or profiling. The site also uses Plausible, a privacy-friendly analytics tool that counts page views in aggregate without cookies or personal data. It does not track who you are, only that a page was viewed.

If any of this changes, this page will say so, and the "Last reviewed" date at the bottom will update.

THE CALCULATORS

How the calculators handle your inputs

This is the part of the policy that is actually specific to CalcWise, so it is worth explaining in some detail.

Every calculator on this site, whether it is figuring depreciation, self-employment tax, or a break-even point, runs entirely client-side. That means the calculation happens inside your own browser, using a small JavaScript file that loads with the page, and the numbers you type in (an asset cost, a tax year, a business-use percentage, whatever the calculator asks for) are processed on your device. They are never transmitted to a server, because there is no server-side step in the calculation at all. Nobody at CalcWise, including Aaron, ever sees what you typed into a calculator.

Some calculators let you generate a share link, a URL with your inputs encoded into the query string (the part after the ? in the address bar), so you can bookmark a specific scenario or send it to someone else, like an accountant or a business partner. That encoding happens client-side too, in your browser. If you copy and send that URL, your inputs travel inside the link itself, because that is how you asked the feature to work. That is a choice you make on purpose, not something the site does in the background. If you never click the share button, no share URL is ever created.

Nothing you enter into a calculator is stored anywhere by CalcWise, in a database or otherwise, because there is no database. Close the tab, and the input is gone.

HOSTING & EDGE PROCESSING

What is collected

CalcWise is hosted on Cloudflare Pages and served through Cloudflare's content delivery network. Whenever your browser requests a page, Cloudflare's edge servers process a handful of technical details — your IP address, the request timestamp, your browser's user agent string (a short text your browser sends that identifies the browser and operating system), and the page that referred you — to route the request and deliver the page. That is inherent to how any CDN works; it is not something CalcWise built or asked for beyond using Cloudflare Pages as a host.

Unlike some hosts, Cloudflare Pages does not give CalcWise access to a per-visitor log of that activity. CalcWise cannot see who requested a specific page, when, or from where. There is no log file for Aaron to read, export, or search. Whatever Cloudflare does with that data on its own end — for routing, security, and abuse prevention — is governed by Cloudflare's own privacy policy, not CalcWise's, and CalcWise does not configure or expand that handling beyond Cloudflare's defaults.

Beyond that, the only other data collection is Plausible, a privacy-friendly analytics tool. Plausible counts page views in aggregate. It records that a page was viewed, not who viewed it. It does not use cookies, does not collect IP addresses, and does not build user profiles. See Plausible's own privacy policy for the specifics of what it does and does not collect.

Beyond Cloudflare's edge processing and Plausible's aggregate pageview counts, CalcWise collects nothing else. No form submissions (there is no contact form; email is a plain mailto link), no account data (there are no accounts), and no calculator inputs (they never leave your browser, as explained above).

COOKIES

Cookies

CalcWise does not set cookies. Neither does Cloudflare Pages, the host that serves this site — Cloudflare's CDN delivers static files without placing cookies in your browser. There are no authentication cookies, because there is nothing to log into. There are no preference cookies, because there are no user preferences saved anywhere. There are no marketing or advertising cookies. The analytics tool (Plausible) is cookie-free by design and does not set any cookies at all.

THIRD PARTIES

Third parties

Two third parties are involved in serving this site to you, and here is exactly what each one does.

Cloudflare hosts CalcWise and serves it through its global content delivery network (a distributed set of edge servers that serves the site from a location close to you). Cloudflare's edge servers process request-level technical data, like your IP address and browser type, to route each request and to help protect the site from abuse; that's inherent to how a CDN works. Unlike some hosts, Cloudflare Pages does not give CalcWise access to a per-visitor server log — CalcWise cannot see who requested a specific page or when. What Cloudflare does with that data at the edge is governed by Cloudflare's own privacy policy, not CalcWise's. Cloudflare states it is GDPR compliant and is certified under the EU–US Data Privacy Framework. See Cloudflare's privacy policy for the specifics of what it processes and how long it keeps anything.
Plausible provides privacy-friendly analytics for CalcWise. It counts page views in aggregate. No cookies, no IP addresses, no personal data, no session recording. The Plausible script loads from plausible.io and sends only the page URL and a pageview count. See Plausible's own privacy policy for the specifics of what it does and does not collect.

CHILDREN'S PRIVACY

Children's privacy

CalcWise is a general-audience site built for self-employed people and small business owners. It is not directed at children under 13, and it does not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. Since the site has no accounts and no data collection beyond what Cloudflare processes to serve the page, there is nothing for a child, or anyone else, to submit in the first place.

YOUR CHOICES

Your choices and privacy requests

Because CalcWise does not collect personal information about you, there is generally nothing to access, correct, or delete on its end. Your calculator inputs already stay on your device and are gone the moment you close the tab.

If you still have a privacy question, whether about hosting, analytics, or anything else on this page, email aaron@calcwise.org. I read everything that comes in. I am one person, so I cannot promise a fast reply, but I do read it and I will answer honestly.

DATA RETENTION

Data retention

CalcWise itself stores no user data, so there is nothing on this end with a retention period. Cloudflare processes some technical request data at the edge to serve and secure the site, but CalcWise does not have access to that data in the first place, so there is nothing for CalcWise to retain, extend, or shorten. How long Cloudflare itself keeps anything it processes is governed by Cloudflare's own privacy policy, not a setting CalcWise controls.

CHANGES

Changes to this policy

When this policy changes, the "Last reviewed" date at the bottom of this page updates, and the change is noted, the same commitment CalcWise makes for a calculator's tax figures: if something changes, it is fixed and the change is visible, not hidden. See the methodology page for the full version of that commitment.

The current analytics setup is Plausible, described above. If that ever changes, meaning if a different analytics tool is added or if the current setup is expanded to collect more than aggregate page views, this page will be updated first to describe exactly what is collected and why, and the date below will move to reflect it.

CONTACT

Contact

Privacy questions, corrections to this page, or general feedback about how CalcWise handles data are all welcome at aaron@calcwise.org. That inbox is Aaron Jegla, the one person behind the site — see the About page for who he is and how the site is built. For the full contact page, see Contact. This inbox is not the place for individual tax or financial advice; for that, see a CPA, enrolled agent, or tax attorney, as noted throughout the site.

Last reviewed July 7, 2026.