Privacy Policy

“FilterKilter,” “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to the operator of the website located at www.filterkilter.com. You can reach us at admin@filterkilter.com.

We try to collect as little as possible. Depending on how you use the site, the categories of information we may collect are:

• Automatically collected technical data — IP address, browser type and version, operating system, referring URL, pages viewed, timestamps, and approximate geography. This is used to operate the site, fight abuse, and measure aggregate usage.
• Optional account data — if you choose to sign in, we store your email address, display name, and a hashed authentication credential via our identity provider (Google Firebase Authentication). You are not required to create an account to use the site.
• Feedback you submit — when you use the Feedback form, we store the message you send and, optionally, any email address you choose to provide so we can reply.

We use a small number of cookies and local-storage entries:

• Strictly necessary — session and security cookies needed to keep the site running and signed-in users authenticated.
• Analytics — Vercel Web Analytics records aggregate, cookie-less page-view and Core Web Vitals data. It does not use third-party cookies and does not track you across sites.
• Affiliate tracking — when you click a retailer link, a tagged URL is passed to that retailer (e.g., Amazon, Best Buy, Dell). The retailer may then set its own cookies on its own domain under its own privacy policy. We never see the contents of those cookies.

Most browsers let you block or delete cookies in their settings. Doing so will not break FilterKilter’s core functionality, but it may prevent retailers from attributing a purchase to us, which is how we fund the site.

Using this site may cause data to be sent to the following service providers, each under their own privacy policy:

• Vercel (hosting, Web Analytics, Speed Insights) — vercel.com/legal/privacy-policy.
• Google (Firebase Authentication, Firestore) — used for optional sign-in and backend storage. policies.google.com/privacy.
• Affiliate networks and retailers — including Amazon Associates, Best Buy, Walmart, Dell, HP, Lenovo, ASUS, Acer, Microsoft, Newegg, and the networks that administer those programs (Impact, Rakuten Advertising, Partnerize, CJ Affiliate, AvantLink). When you click an outbound link, the destination retailer receives the standard referral data any browser sends to any site you click through to.

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information.

• To operate, secure, and debug the site.
• To measure aggregate traffic and performance so we know which guides are useful and which pages need work.
• To respond to feedback and support messages you send us.
• To attribute qualifying purchases to FilterKilter via affiliate programs so the site can stay free for readers.

We do not use your information to build advertising profiles, and we do not run third-party display ads on this site.

• Browse anonymously. You can use the site without creating an account.
• Block cookies. Use your browser’s privacy settings to block or clear cookies at any time.
• Do Not Track. We honor the spirit of Do Not Track by not running cross-site advertising trackers. Vercel Web Analytics is cookie-less by design.
• Affiliate opt-out. Each affiliate network offers its own opt-out. Amazon’s is documented at amazon.com/adprefs.
• Delete your account or feedback. Email admin@filterkilter.com and we will remove your account and any personal data we hold.

If you are a resident of the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or California, you have the right to access, correct, delete, and port your personal data, and to object to or restrict certain processing. To exercise any of these rights, email us at admin@filterkilter.com and we will respond within the time frame required by applicable law. We do not sell personal information as that term is defined by the California Consumer Privacy Act.

We retain account data for as long as the account is active, feedback submissions for as long as they are useful for product improvement, and technical logs for a short rolling window. You can request deletion at any time.

FilterKilter is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided personal information, please contact us and we will delete it.

We may update this policy from time to time. When we do, we’ll change the “Last updated” date at the top of this page. Material changes will be announced on the site.

Questions about privacy? Email us at admin@filterkilter.com. See also: Affiliate Disclosure and Terms & Conditions.