Privacy Policy

1. Information We Collect

Calculator Inputs

All calculator inputs (home size, loan amounts, cost estimates, etc.) are processed entirely within your browser using JavaScript. The figures you type are never transmitted to our servers, stored in any database, or shared with any third party. When you close or refresh the page, the inputs are gone.

We do collect anonymous, aggregate statistics about calculations — nothing personal is collected. When a result appears, we record which calculator ran, your approximate country, and the broad range each input and the result fell into (for example “$350k–$500k”), never the figures themselves. There is no identifier that lasts beyond the day, no IP address is stored, and these records cannot be linked to you or to each other.

Contact Form

If you contact us, we collect the name, email address, subject, and message you provide. This information is transmitted via Formspree (a third-party form processor) to our inbox and is used solely to respond to your inquiry. It is not used for marketing.

Behavioral Analytics

What triggers collection depends on where you're visiting from. To determine this, we perform a one-time, non-stored lookup of your approximate country from your IP address before any consent decision is shown — your IP is not retained. EU, UK, and EEA visitors then see a banner and nothing is collected until you click "Accept all." Visitors from other regions, including the US and India, have analytics on by default with a visible option to opt out at any time (via the banner notice or the "Cookie preferences" link in the footer) — consistent with the opt-out model described in Section 2 below. Once active, we collect the following automatically:

• A randomly generated session ID stored in sessionStorage (rciq_sid) — expires when you close the tab
• Your approximate country, read from your browser’s own language settings. We no longer derive location from your IP address, and no third-party service is asked about you; we never collected or stored your actual IP address, and we no longer record state or city at all
• Coarse device type only (mobile / tablet / desktop) — we no longer record your browser’s full user-agent string
• Pages visited, page titles, and referrer URL
• UTM campaign parameters (if present in the URL)
• Scroll depth milestones (25%, 50%, 75%, 100%)
• Time spent on each page
• Which calculator fields you interact with — the field names only, never the values you type into them
• Clicks on site links and calls to action

This data is stored in our Supabase database. It helps us understand which calculators are used most, where estimates may be inaccurate, and how to prioritize improvements. For EU, UK, and EEA visitors, none of it is collected until you accept cookies in the consent banner; for other regions it is on by default, with an opt-out available at any time.

Anonymous Aggregate Analytics (Always On)

Separately from the behavioral analytics above, we collect a minimal set of anonymous, aggregate statistics for every visit, regardless of your cookie choice:

• The page path visited and approximate time spent on it
• Referrer source (e.g., Google, Direct, a specific site) and coarse device type (mobile / tablet / desktop)
• Approximate country, read from your browser’s own language and time-zone settings — we no longer look your location up from your IP address, and no third party is asked about you
• A one-way, non-reversible code derived from your IP address, browser, and the current date, used only to avoid double-counting the same visit — it changes every day and cannot identify you or be linked across days

This pipeline does not use cookies, localStorage, sessionStorage, or any identifier that persists beyond a single day, so it does not require the consent described above. It exists to give us basic traffic counts (visits, pages, countries, referral sources) even when analytics cookies are declined. It is never combined with the behavioral analytics data, never shared with advertisers, and never used to build a profile of any individual visitor.

Google Analytics

With your consent, we also use Google Analytics to understand aggregate traffic patterns. Google Analytics collects anonymized usage data using its own cookies. See our Cookie Policy for details. You can opt out at any time using the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

2. Lawful Basis for Processing

3. Third-Party Data Processors

We use the following third-party processors. Each is bound by a data processing agreement and may not use your data for their own purposes.

4. Cookies and Browser Storage

See our Cookie Policy for a complete breakdown of every item stored in your browser, what it does, and how to remove it.

5. How We Use Your Information

• To respond to contact form inquiries
• To understand aggregate usage patterns and improve the site
• To identify which calculators need accuracy improvements
• To maintain security and prevent abuse
• To comply with legal obligations

6. Information Sharing

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. We share data only with the processors listed in Section 3, solely to operate the site. We may disclose information if required by law, court order, or to protect the rights and safety of RealCostIQ or others.

7. Your Rights

8. Data Retention

• Contact form submissions: retained until your inquiry is resolved, then deleted within 90 days
• Behavioral analytics: retained for 12 months, then deleted from our Supabase database
• Anonymous aggregate analytics: retained for approximately 13 months, then automatically deleted on a scheduled basis
• Google Analytics data: subject to Google's standard retention policies
• Calculation statistics: anonymous range data with no identifier that lasts beyond the day, retained indefinitely in aggregate because it cannot be traced to anyone

9. Children's Privacy

Our site is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.

10. Changes to This Policy

We will post updates to this page with a revised effective date. For material changes, we will add a notice on the site. Where legally required (e.g., for EU/UK users), material changes to the processing purposes will prompt a new consent decision.

11. Contact

For privacy questions, data requests, or to exercise any of the rights above, contact us or email Support@RealCostIQ.com. We will respond within 30 days.