Effective date: October 22, 2026
This policy explains what information GridCircuits (“we”, “us”) collects through gridcircuits.com, how we use it and the choices you have. Questions: contact@gridcircuits.com.
Summary
- Our calculators and tools run in your browser. The values you type are not sent to our server.
- We do not run advertising or sell personal information. We use Google Analytics to see which pages and tools are used, with ad features turned off; signed-in contributors are not tracked.
- If you apply to write for us or have a contributor account, we keep the details you give us to review your application and run your account. Your author profile is public; your email address is not.
Calculators and tools
Calculations happen in your web browser. Inputs and results are not transmitted to or stored on our server. Your browser’s local storage remembers your preferred unit system (US/Canada or IEC) on your device only. If you use “Copy link”, your inputs are encoded in the part of the link after the “#”, which browsers do not send to our server; anyone you share the link with can see those inputs. File tools (such as the image converter) process files in your browser; files are not uploaded.
Information collected automatically
Like most websites, our hosting provider’s servers record standard request logs: IP address, browser type, the page requested, the referring page and the date and time. We use these logs only to operate, secure and troubleshoot the site, and they are kept for a limited period set by our host. Our security plugin records the IP address and username of failed sign-in attempts to block brute-force attacks. Pages are served from a cache to make them fast; the cache does not store personal information about visitors.
Analytics
We use Google Analytics 4, provided by Google LLC, to understand how the site is used: pages viewed, how visitors arrived (for example a search engine or a link), approximate location at city or region level, device and browser type, and interactions such as scrolling, outbound link clicks and file downloads. Google Analytics 4 does not log or store IP addresses. We have turned off Google signals and ad personalization, we do not link Analytics with advertising products, and the tag is not loaded for signed-in contributors and editors. Data is kept for the period set in our Analytics settings, no longer than 14 months. Google processes this data under its own privacy policy. You can opt out with Google’s Analytics opt-out add-on or by blocking cookies in your browser; the calculators keep working either way.
Cookies
We do not use advertising cookies. Google Analytics sets first-party cookies (_ga and _ga_LPWR5EEWKN) to count visits and tell new visitors from returning ones; they expire after up to two years. When contributors and editors sign in, WordPress sets the cookies needed to keep you signed in and to remember editor preferences. If comments are enabled on an article and you leave one, WordPress may offer to save your name and email in a cookie for your next comment.
Contributor applications
When you apply on Write for GridCircuits we collect your name, email address, job title, credentials, organization (optional), LinkedIn profile, chosen topic and discipline, your pitch, an optional link to an outline or sample, an optional short bio, and your confirmation of our publishing rules. We also use your IP address briefly to limit repeated submissions.
We use this information only to review your application and contact you about it. It is stored in our website database and emailed to our editors. If your application is declined we delete it within 12 months; if it is approved, the relevant details are used to create your contributor account and author profile.
Contributor accounts and author profiles
If you are approved, we create a GridCircuits Contributor account with your name and email address. You can edit your profile at any time in My account.
- Public: your display name, job title, credentials, organization (if provided), region, expertise, LinkedIn link, photo and bio appear on your author page and alongside your articles and publications, together with your published work and any “Reviewed by” credit.
- Not public: your email address, password and draft work. Drafts are visible only to you, any named co-authors and our editors.
- Photos: if you upload a photo it is stored in our media library. If you do not, WordPress may show an avatar from Gravatar, a service operated by Automattic, which receives a scrambled (hashed) form of your email address to look up your image.
Authors keep the copyright in their work and grant GridCircuits a non-exclusive licence to publish it. Published articles and publications remain on the site with their byline unless you ask us to remove them.
Messages sent to contact@gridcircuits.com are forwarded to our editor’s mailbox and used only to reply to you. The site also sends service emails to contributors and editors, such as application decisions, password set-up links and review notifications.
How we share information
We do not sell or rent personal information, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioural advertising. We share it only with service providers that host and operate the site and its email (for example our web host and email services), with Google Analytics and Gravatar as described above, when required by law, or to protect the security of the site and its users.
Security and retention
The site is served over HTTPS, sign-in is protected against brute-force attempts, and access to applications and drafts is limited to editors. No system is perfectly secure, so please do not include confidential or critical-infrastructure information in applications, drafts or email. We keep account and profile information while your account is active and for a reasonable period afterwards, and delete it on request unless we must keep it by law.
Your choices and rights
- Update your profile at any time in My account.
- Ask us to access, correct or delete your personal information, or to close your contributor account, by emailing contact@gridcircuits.com. We respond within 30 days.
- California residents: under the CCPA/CPRA you may request access to and deletion or correction of your personal information. We do not sell or share personal information and will not discriminate against you for exercising your rights.
- Canada: under PIPEDA and applicable provincial laws you may request access to and correction of your personal information, and withdraw consent subject to legal limits.
Children
GridCircuits is a professional engineering resource and is not directed to children under 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.
Changes to this policy
If we change how we handle personal information, we will update this page and its effective date.
Contact
GridCircuits — contact@gridcircuits.com