Privacy Policy

Last updated: 30 May 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how Fluids Pad collects, uses, and protects your personal information. It is written in compliance with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA) of the Republic of South Africa.

1. Who We Are

Fluids Pad is an independent engineering reference website operated by an individual developer based in South Africa. For the purposes of POPIA, the developer acts as the responsible party (information officer) for all personal information processed through this Service.

Contact: info@fluidspad.com

2. What Personal Information We Collect

Email address (voluntary)

We collect your email address only if you voluntarily provide it — for example, when downloading a calculation report, joining our notification list, or submitting feedback. You are never required to provide an email address to use any calculator on this website.

Usage data (anonymous, automatic)

We use Google Analytics 4 to collect anonymous information about how the website is used: which pages are visited, how long users spend on each page, which calculators are most used, and general geographic region (country/province level). This data does not identify you personally.

Google Analytics may use cookies and similar technologies to collect this data. You can opt out of Google Analytics tracking at any time using the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

Feedback and messages (voluntary)

If you submit feedback through the feedback widget, we collect the content of your message and, if provided, your email address. This is used solely to respond to your feedback and improve the Service.

AI interactions (not stored)

The AI practice and assistant features are powered by Anthropic’s API. Your questions and the AI responses are not stored by us. Anthropic may process this data according to their own Privacy Policy.

Local storage (on your device)

Some features (such as calculation history, saved designs, and dark mode preference) store data in your browser’s local storage. This data stays on your device and is not transmitted to our servers. You can clear it at any time by clearing your browser’s local storage.

3. Why We Collect This Information

Information	Purpose	Legal basis (POPIA)
Email address	Send notifications about new tools and updates; respond to feedback	Consent (you provide it voluntarily)
Anonymous usage data	Understand which calculators are used; improve the Service	Legitimate interest (improving a free public service)
Feedback messages	Respond to user feedback; identify bugs and improvements	Consent (you submit it voluntarily)

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to any third party for their own marketing purposes. We do not use your information for profiling or automated decision-making.

4. Email Communications

If you provide your email address, you consent to receiving occasional emails from us about new calculators, tools, or relevant engineering content. We use Mailchimp to manage our mailing list. Every email we send includes an unsubscribe link. You can unsubscribe at any time with no consequences.

We will never send you unsolicited commercial communications unrelated to the Service, and we will never share your email address with third parties for their own marketing purposes.

5. Third-Party Processors

The following third parties process data on our behalf:

Google Analytics — anonymous website usage statistics. Governed by Google’s Privacy Policy. Data is anonymised before transmission where possible.
Mailchimp (Intuit Inc.) — email list management. Your email address is stored on Mailchimp’s servers if you subscribe. Mailchimp complies with GDPR and operates internationally.
Anthropic — AI question answering for the Practice and AI Assistant features. Your queries are processed by Anthropic’s API.
Vercel — website hosting. Standard web server logs (IP address, browser type) may be retained briefly for security purposes.

6. How Long We Keep Your Information

Email address: retained in Mailchimp for as long as you remain subscribed. Deleted within 30 days of an unsubscribe request.
Feedback messages: retained for up to 24 months to track improvement themes, then deleted.
Analytics data: retained by Google Analytics for 14 months (our configured retention period), then automatically deleted.

7. Your Rights Under POPIA

As a data subject under POPIA, you have the following rights regarding your personal information:

Right of access — you may request a copy of the personal information we hold about you
Right to correction — you may request that inaccurate information be corrected
Right to deletion (erasure) — you may request that your personal information be deleted
Right to object — you may object to the processing of your personal information
Right to withdraw consent — where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time
Right not to be subject to automated decisions — we do not use automated profiling or decision-making

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at info@fluidspad.com. We will respond within 30 days.

8. Complaints — Information Regulator

If you believe your personal information has been processed in a manner that violates POPIA, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa:

Information Regulator (South Africa)

Website: inforegulator.org.za

Email: inforeg@justice.gov.za

Physical address: JD House, 27 Stiemens Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2001

We would appreciate the opportunity to address any concern directly before you contact the Regulator — please email us first.

9. Cookies

This website uses cookies in the following ways:

Analytics cookies (Google Analytics) — track anonymous page views and usage patterns. These are third-party cookies set by Google.
Functional local storage — your theme preference (dark/light mode) and calculation history are stored in browser local storage, not in cookies. No data from local storage is transmitted to our servers.

You can manage or delete cookies through your browser settings. Disabling analytics cookies will not affect your ability to use any calculator.

10. Children’s Privacy

The Service is not directed at children under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The “Last updated” date at the top of this page shows when it was last revised. Significant changes will be noted in our newsletter to subscribers.

12. Contact

For any questions about this Privacy Policy or to exercise your POPIA rights:

Information Officer: Fluids Pad
Email: info@fluidspad.com