Privacy Policy

Last updated: 30 July 2026

ToolFern ("ToolFern", "we", "us", "our") is an independently operated website at https://toolfern.com. This policy explains, in specific and non-generic terms, what information is collected when you use the site, why, who it's shared with, and the choices and rights you have over it. It applies to every page on https://toolfern.com. By using the site, you agree to the practices described here; if you don't agree, please don't use the site.

The short version

• Most tools do the actual conversion/edit in your browser, but the file you pick and the result a tool produces are also uploaded to our storage, see "Files you process with our tools" below.
• You don't need an account, a name, or an email address to use any tool today. We're building optional accounts so you can see a history of what you've processed and redo it later.
• We do collect standard technical and analytics data on every visit, described in full below, including your IP address, approximate location, device information and which pages/tools you use.
• We use Google Analytics, and may display ads through Google AdSense, Monetag and Adsterra, all of which can set their own cookies and identifiers for measurement and ad personalization.
• You have rights over this data under GDPR, UK GDPR and CCPA/CPRA, explained below, and can exercise them by emailing us.

Who is responsible for your data

ToolFern is operated by Muhammad Mutaher as an independent website, not a registered company. For the purposes of GDPR and similar laws, ToolFern acts as the data controller for the analytics and technical data described below, and as a processor's customer for the third-party services (Google, Monetag, Adsterra, Cloudflare) that operate under their own privacy policies, linked throughout this page. Contact for any privacy matter: [email protected].

Information we collect

1. Files you process with our tools

ToolFern's converters, compressors, editors and generators run client-side first, the actual conversion or edit happens in your browser using JavaScript on your own device, not on a remote server. Separately, the file you select and the file a tool produces as output are also uploaded to our storage (hosted on Cloudflare R2), tagged with which tool was used, a session identifier, and your IP address. Today this is used to monitor that tools are working correctly and to build the account history and "redo" feature we're developing, described below; it isn't yet tied to a login because accounts don't exist yet. If you'd rather we not keep a file we've stored, email us and we'll delete it, see "Your privacy rights" below.

Accounts (in progress): we're building optional user accounts so that, once you're signed in, you can see a history of the files you've processed and revisit or redo them without re-uploading. Using a tool while signed out will still work exactly as it does today; this page will be updated with the details (what's kept, for how long, and how to delete it) before accounts go live.

2. First-party analytics (our own database)

We run our own lightweight analytics on a Cloudflare-hosted database, independent of Google. On a normal visit this records, per page view or tool action: the tool or page slug, the type of event (view, action, etc.), a randomly generated session identifier stored in your browser (not tied to your name and not usable to identify you personally), your IP address, an approximate country/region/city derived from that IP, your device type, browser and operating system, the referring page, the page path, and a timestamp. This lets us see which tools are actually used, catch broken tools quickly, and get a rough sense of traffic and geography. We never log file contents, form values, or anything you type into a calculator.

3. Google Analytics 4

We use Google Analytics 4 (Google tag, measurement ID beginning "G-") to understand traffic at a higher level, page views, session duration, referral sources and general audience trends. Google Analytics sets its own first-party cookies and may combine data across sites you visit, under Google's own privacy policy. You can opt out of Google Analytics tracking site-wide using the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

4. Advertising

We fund the site primarily through advertising, currently through one or more of Google AdSense, Monetag and Adsterra. These networks (and the third-party vendors they work with) may set cookies or use similar identifiers on your device to serve ads, measure ad performance, and, where permitted, personalize which ads you see based on your visits to this and other websites. We do not control what these networks do with data once it reaches them; their own privacy policies govern that:

• Google Privacy Policy (covers AdSense)
• Monetag Privacy Policy
• Adsterra Privacy Policy

You can opt out of personalized advertising from Google specifically at Google Ads Settings, and from most other ad networks at once via the industry opt-out pages at aboutads.info/choices (US) or youronlinechoices.eu (EU). Opting out reduces ad personalization; it doesn't stop ads from showing, since the site still needs advertising revenue to stay free.

5. Server and security logs

Our hosting and content-delivery network, Cloudflare, automatically logs standard technical request data (IP address, request headers, timestamps) for every request to keep the site online, block abuse and bot traffic, and diagnose outages. This is standard practice for essentially every website and is retained only as long as Cloudflare's own infrastructure requires for those security purposes.

6. If you contact us

If you email us, we receive whatever you choose to include, typically your email address and message content. We use it only to respond to you and don't add it to any marketing list.

Cookies and similar technologies, summarized

We don't use cookies for accounts or logins, because the site doesn't have either. You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings at any time; some ad personalization and analytics accuracy may degrade if you do, but no tool will stop working.

Legal basis for processing (GDPR / UK GDPR)

If you're in the EEA, UK or a similar jurisdiction, our legal bases are: legitimate interest for first-party analytics and security logging (we have a genuine interest in keeping the site running and understanding usage, balanced against your privacy, and this data is not used to identify you personally), and consent for non-essential third-party cookies used for advertising and detailed analytics, which you can decline or withdraw at any time through the opt-out links above or your browser's cookie controls.

How we share information

We do not sell your personal information, or the files described above, to data brokers or any third party, and we do not use uploaded files for advertising or analytics purposes. We do share the technical and analytics data described above with the service providers who process it on our behalf or under their own advertising terms: Google (Analytics and AdSense), Monetag, Adsterra, and Cloudflare (hosting, storage, CDN and security, the infrastructure that both stores the files described above and serves this site). Each operates under its own privacy policy, linked above. We may also disclose information if required by law, to protect our legal rights, or to investigate fraud or abuse of the site.

Your privacy rights

If you're in the EEA or UK (GDPR / UK GDPR)

You have the right to access, correct, delete or restrict the personal data we hold about you, to receive a copy in a portable format, to object to processing based on legitimate interest, and to withdraw consent at any time without affecting past processing. Because we don't operate accounts, most of what we hold about a given visitor is pseudonymous analytics data tied to a session identifier and IP address rather than a name; tell us what you'd like done and we'll act on it to the extent we're able to identify the relevant data. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.

If you're in California (CCPA / CPRA)

California residents have the right to know what personal information we collect, to request deletion, to correct inaccurate information, and to opt out of the "sale" or "sharing" of personal information, a term that under California law can include the use of advertising cookies for cross-context behavioral advertising, even though no money changes hands. You can exercise this by using the ad opt-out links above, by enabling a recognized Global Privacy Control signal in your browser (which we honor as an opt-out request where technically detectable), or by emailing us directly. We do not knowingly sell or share the personal information of anyone under 16.

Other regions

Wherever you're located, you're welcome to email us with any request about your data and we'll do our best to honor it consistently with applicable law.

International data transfers

ToolFern uses US-based service providers (Google) and globally distributed infrastructure (Cloudflare), meaning data described above may be processed in the United States or other countries outside your own. These providers maintain their own safeguards for international transfers, including Standard Contractual Clauses where applicable; see their respective privacy policies linked above for details.

Data retention

We keep first-party analytics data only as long as it's useful for the purposes described above, understanding usage trends and diagnosing problems, and delete or aggregate older records as part of routine maintenance. Uploaded files (see "Files you process with our tools") are kept until you ask us to delete them or, once accounts launch, until you delete them yourself from your account history. Third-party services (Google, Monetag, Adsterra, Cloudflare) retain data according to their own published retention schedules, which we don't control.

Do Not Track

Some browsers offer a "Do Not Track" signal. There's no common industry standard for how sites should respond to it, so like most websites, ToolFern does not currently respond to Do Not Track signals differently from a normal visit; use the specific opt-out mechanisms above instead, which we do honor.

Children's privacy

ToolFern is a general-audience site and is not directed at children under 13 (or under 16 in the EEA/UK). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children in that age range. If you believe a child has provided us personal information, contact us and we'll remove it.

Security

We rely on Cloudflare's infrastructure for standard protections (HTTPS encryption in transit, DDoS mitigation, bot filtering). Uploaded files are stored at an unguessable, unlisted URL rather than a public directory, but are not currently protected by a login, since accounts don't exist yet, treat any link to a stored file as accessible to anyone who has it. No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure, and we don't store payment details or passwords, we don't collect either.

Third-party links

Pages on ToolFern may link to external websites, including advertisers and, occasionally, affiliate partners (see our Affiliate Disclosure). We aren't responsible for the privacy practices of any site we link to; read their policies before providing them any information.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as the site, laws, or the advertising/analytics tools we use change. The "last updated" date at the top of this page always reflects the current version, and material changes will be reflected here when they happen.

Contact

Questions, requests, or complaints about privacy: [email protected]. We aim to respond within a reasonable time, and in any case within the timeframes required by applicable law.