CalFresh Calculator ("we," "us," or "our") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, what we do not collect, and what rights you have when you use our website at calfreshcalculator.com. We have designed our site from the ground up to minimize data collection and maximize your privacy. Our calculator runs entirely in your browser, which means your personal financial information never leaves your device.
By accessing or using CalFresh Calculator, you agree to the practices described in this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with any part of this policy, please do not use our website.
1. Information We Collect
1.1 Information You Provide Voluntarily
We collect only the information you choose to provide to us directly. This may include:
- Email correspondence: When you contact us at calfreshcalculator@gmail.com, we receive your email address, name (if you include it), and the content of your message. We use this information solely to respond to your inquiry.
- Newsletter subscriptions: If you voluntarily subscribe to our email newsletter, we collect your email address. You may unsubscribe at any time using the link in every email we send.
We do not require you to create an account, provide your name, phone number, Social Security number, or any other personally identifying information to use our calculator.
1.2 Information Collected Automatically
When you visit our website, certain technical information is collected automatically by our analytics and advertising services. This information is collected through cookies and similar technologies (see Section 3 below). The automatically collected information includes:
- Pages visited and the order in which they were visited
- Time spent on each page
- Referring website or search engine (including search terms used to find us)
- Geographic region (country and state/province level only, not precise location)
- Device type (desktop, mobile, tablet)
- Browser type and version
- Operating system
- Screen resolution
- Language preference
This information is collected in aggregate form and is used to understand how visitors use our site so we can improve it. It is not used to identify individual users.
2. Calculator Data Handling
This section is important and we want to be completely transparent: our SNAP eligibility calculator processes all data entirely within your web browser using client-side JavaScript. No personal or financial information you enter into the calculator is ever transmitted to our servers or any third-party server.
When you use the calculator, the following happens:
- You enter information such as your household size, income, deductions, and state of residence into the calculator form.
- Your browser performs the eligibility calculation locally using JavaScript. The data never leaves your device.
- The results are displayed on your screen. They are not saved, logged, transmitted, or stored anywhere.
- When you close the browser tab or navigate away from the calculator page, all entered data is automatically cleared from your browser's memory.
We do not collect, store, process, or have access to:
- Your household income or expense figures
- Your household size
- Your state of residence in connection with calculator inputs
- Your estimated benefit amounts
- Any other data you enter into the calculator
This means there is no database of user calculations. There is no record of who used the calculator or what results they received. Your calculator session is entirely private and ephemeral.
3. Use of Cookies and Tracking Technologies
We use cookies and similar tracking technologies on our website for the purposes described below. A cookie is a small text file that is stored on your device by your web browser.
3.1 Essential Cookies
We do not use any essential cookies that are required for the basic functioning of our calculator. The calculator works without cookies entirely.
3.2 Google Analytics Cookies
We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors find and use our website. Google Analytics sets the following cookies on your device:
- _ga: Used to distinguish unique users. Persists for 2 years.
- _ga_[ID]: Used to maintain session state. Persists for 2 years.
- _gid: Used to distinguish unique users within a 24-hour period. Persists for 24 hours.
- _gat: Used to throttle request rate. Persists for 1 minute.
Google Analytics collects anonymized data about page views, session duration, traffic sources, and device characteristics. We have enabled IP address anonymization in Google Analytics, which means Google truncates your IP address before processing it, providing an additional layer of privacy.
We use Google Analytics data solely to: (a) understand which content is most helpful to our visitors, (b) identify and fix usability issues, (c) measure traffic trends, and (d) improve our website. We do not use Google Analytics to identify individual users or to create user profiles for marketing purposes.
3.3 Google AdSense Cookies
We display advertisements through Google AdSense to support the free operation of our website. Google AdSense uses cookies to serve advertisements based on your prior visits to our website or other websites. AdSense cookies may include:
- __gads: Used for ad targeting and frequency capping.
- __gac: Contains Google Ads click information.
- 1P_JAR: Used for ad personalization. Persists for 1 month.
These cookies enable Google to display advertisements that may be relevant to you and to limit the number of times you see the same ad. You can learn more about how Google uses cookies for advertising at Google's advertising privacy page.
3.4 Other Tracking Technologies
We do not use browser fingerprinting, web beacons (pixel tags), or flash cookies. Our use of tracking technologies is limited to the cookies described in Sections 3.2 and 3.3 above.
4. Third-Party Services
We use the following third-party services on our website. Each has its own privacy policy governing how it handles data:
4.1 Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. ("Google"). It helps us understand website traffic and usage patterns. Google Analytics collects information using cookies and similar technologies and reports website trends without identifying individual visitors. We have configured Google Analytics with IP anonymization enabled. For more information, please read Google's Privacy Policy.
4.2 Google AdSense
Google AdSense is an advertising service provided by Google that displays ads on our website. AdSense uses cookies and web beacons to serve ads based on visits to our site and other websites. Google may use the DoubleClick DART cookie to serve advertisements. Users may opt out of the DART cookie by visiting Google Ad Settings. For more information, read Google's Privacy Policy.
4.3 Content Delivery Network (CDN)
We use third-party CDNs (including Google Fonts and Google Tag Manager) to deliver fonts and scripts efficiently. These services may log technical information such as your IP address, the page requested, and your browser type as part of standard HTTP request processing. We do not control these logs, and they are subject to the CDN provider's privacy policy.
4.4 Social Media Links
Our website contains links to our social media profiles on LinkedIn and Facebook. These links direct you to the respective platforms. We do not embed social media widgets or tracking pixels on our site. Clicking a social media link will take you to the external platform, which has its own privacy policy.
5. Data Sharing and Disclosure
We do not sell, rent, trade, or otherwise share your personal information with third parties for their marketing purposes. We share information only in the following limited circumstances:
- With service providers: We share limited technical data with Google (Analytics and AdSense) as described in Section 4. These services process data according to Google's privacy policies, not under our direct control.
- When required by law: We may disclose information if required to do so by law, regulation, legal process, or governmental request. However, because we collect minimal personal information and do not store calculator data, the scope of any such disclosure would be extremely limited.
- To protect our rights: We may disclose information to protect the rights, property, or safety of CalFresh Calculator, our users, or the public.
- Business transfers: In the unlikely event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, user information (limited to email addresses of subscribers and correspondents) would be transferred to the acquiring entity under the same privacy protections described in this policy.
We have no financial incentive to share personal data. Our revenue comes exclusively from non-personalized and personalized display advertising through Google AdSense.
6. Data Retention and Deletion
We retain personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes described in this policy:
- Email correspondence: We retain emails and our replies for up to 12 months after the conversation concludes, then they are permanently deleted.
- Newsletter subscriptions: We retain your email address as long as you remain subscribed. When you unsubscribe, your email address is removed from our mailing list within 48 hours.
- Google Analytics data: Google retains Analytics data for 14 months by default, after which it is automatically deleted. We have configured our Analytics account to delete data older than 14 months.
- Calculator data: Not retained at all. Calculator inputs and results exist only in your browser's temporary memory and are destroyed when you close the page or navigate away.
7. Your Rights
You have the following rights regarding your personal information:
7.1 Right to Access
You may request a copy of the personal information we hold about you. Because we collect minimal data, any response will be limited. To make a request, email calfreshcalculator@gmail.com with "Data Access Request" in the subject line.
7.2 Right to Correction
You may request correction of any inaccurate personal information we hold. Contact us at the email address above with "Data Correction Request" in the subject line.
7.3 Right to Deletion
You may request deletion of your personal information. We will delete your data within 30 days of receiving a verified request, except where retention is required by law. Email us with "Data Deletion Request" in the subject line.
7.4 Right to Opt Out of Tracking
You may opt out of Google Analytics tracking by installing the Google Analytics Opt-Out Browser Add-on. You may opt out of personalized advertising through Google AdSense by visiting Google Ad Settings and turning off ad personalization. You may also control cookies through your browser settings (see Section 9 below).
8. Children's Privacy (COPPA Compliance)
Our website is not directed to children under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. The SNAP eligibility calculator is designed for adults who are applying for benefits on behalf of their households. If we become aware that we have inadvertently collected personal information from a child under 13, we will take immediate steps to delete that information.
In compliance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), we do not:
- Allow children under 13 to create accounts (our site has no accounts)
- Collect persistent identifiers from children for behavioral targeting
- Use behavioral advertising targeting children
- Require personal information as a condition of using our calculator
If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided personal information to us, please contact us immediately at calfreshcalculator@gmail.com and we will take steps to remove the information.
9. California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) Rights
The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) grants California residents specific rights regarding their personal information. Under the CCPA, you have the right to:
- Know: Request that we disclose what personal information we collect, use, and share about you. You may make this request up to twice per 12-month period.
- Delete: Request that we delete personal information we have collected about you, subject to certain exceptions.
- Opt Out of Sale: Request that we not sell your personal information. We do not sell personal information, so this right is already satisfied. We have never sold personal information and have no plans to do so.
- Non-Discrimination: Exercise your CCPA rights without receiving discriminatory treatment. We will not deny, charge differently for, or provide a different quality of service if you exercise your privacy rights.
To exercise any of these rights, please email calfreshcalculator@gmail.com with "CCPA Request" in the subject line and specify which right you wish to exercise. We will respond within 45 days, as required by law.
Categories of personal information we collect (CCPA disclosure):
- Category A: Identifiers — Email address (only if you contact us or subscribe to our newsletter). We do not collect names, phone numbers, or government identifiers.
- Category B: Internet activity — Pages visited, session duration, and navigation patterns (collected via Google Analytics in aggregate, anonymized form).
- Category C: Device information — Browser type, operating system, device type, and screen resolution (collected via Google Analytics).
We do not collect sensitive personal information as defined under the CCPA (such as Social Security numbers, financial account numbers, or health information). Calculator inputs are processed entirely in your browser and are not collected by us.
10. Do Not Track Signals
Some web browsers offer a "Do Not Track" (DNT) feature that signals to websites that you do not wish to be tracked. There is currently no industry standard for how websites should respond to DNT signals. Our website does not respond to DNT signals at this time. However, you can achieve the same result by:
- Installing the Google Analytics Opt-Out Add-on to disable Google Analytics tracking
- Visiting Google Ad Settings to disable ad personalization
- Configuring your browser to block third-party cookies
- Using a browser extension that blocks tracking scripts
We are committed to respecting your privacy choices and will continue to monitor DNT standards as they evolve.
11. Email Communications
If you voluntarily subscribe to our email newsletter, we will send you periodic updates about SNAP income limit changes, new calculator features, and educational content. We will not send you unsolicited commercial emails.
Every email we send includes an unsubscribe link. When you click it, your email address is removed from our mailing list within 48 hours. We use a third-party email service to deliver our newsletter, and that service may track email opens and link clicks for delivery optimization purposes. We do not share your email address with any other third party for marketing purposes.
If you contact us by email but do not subscribe to our newsletter, we will only use your email address to respond to your specific inquiry. We will not add you to any mailing list without your explicit consent.
12. Security Measures
We implement reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect the limited personal information we handle. These measures include:
- HTTPS encryption: Our entire website is served over HTTPS, which encrypts all data transmitted between your browser and our server.
- Client-side processing: Calculator data is processed entirely in your browser and is never transmitted to our servers, eliminating the risk of server-side data breaches for calculator inputs.
- Minimal data collection: By collecting and storing the minimum amount of personal information necessary, we reduce the potential impact of any security incident.
- Access controls: Access to our systems and email correspondence is limited to authorized personnel only.
- Regular review: We periodically review our security practices and update them as needed.
While we strive to protect your information, no method of transmission over the Internet or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security. In the event of a data breach, we will notify affected users within 72 hours, as required by applicable law.
13. International Data Transfers
Our website is operated from the United States and is primarily intended for users in the United States. If you access our website from outside the United States, please be aware that your information may be transferred to and processed in the United States. By using our website, you consent to this transfer. Google Analytics and Google AdSense also process data in the United States, subject to Google's privacy practices.
14. Policy Changes and Notification
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or other factors. When we make changes, we will:
- Update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this policy
- If the changes are material, post a prominent notice on our homepage for at least 30 days
- If required by law, obtain your consent before applying the changes
We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your information. Your continued use of our website after any changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.
15. Contact Information for Privacy Inquiries
If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us:
- Email: calfreshcalculator@gmail.com
- Subject line: Please include "Privacy Inquiry" or "CCPA Request" as applicable
- Mailing address: CalFresh Calculator, c/o Wasim Akram, San Francisco Bay Area, CA
We will respond to all privacy-related inquiries within 48 hours, and to CCPA requests within 45 days as required by California law.
Key Takeaway: CalFresh Calculator is designed with privacy as a core principle. Our SNAP eligibility calculator runs entirely in your browser — your personal financial information is never transmitted, stored, or accessible to us. The only personal information we collect is what you voluntarily provide when you contact us or subscribe to our newsletter. We do not sell your data. We do not create user profiles for tracking purposes. We use Google Analytics and Google AdSense with IP anonymization enabled to understand site usage and support our free service.