Privacy Policy
Last updated October 5, 2026.
How Old Is That (howoldisthat.com) is run by Graham Calihan. The site is built to work without collecting much at all. This page lists everything it does collect, and every other company that handles data when you use it.
The short version
- No accounts, no advertising trackers, no cookies set by us.
- Serial and model numbers are decoded in your browser. Camera images and photos never leave your device.
- We only store what you choose to send: "Was this right?" answers and contact messages.
- We do not sell or share personal information.
What stays on your device
- Serials and model numbers you type. Decoding runs in your browser. They are added to the page address so you can share a result. Anyone you send that link to will see them.
- Camera and photos. The scanner and "Read it from a photo" read text on your device. Images are not uploaded or stored. The camera turns on only when you press Start camera, and only after your browser asks for permission.
- Equipment report. Items you add to the report, and the property name you type there, are saved in your browser’s local storage. We never receive them. Clearing your browser data or pressing Clear list deletes them.
- Offline copy. Pages you visit may be cached by your browser so the checker works without a signal.
What we collect
- "Was this right?" answers. When you press Yes, No, or Send it to us, we store the serial, brand, model format, the date we showed, your answer, any year or brand you typed, the page, the time, and your country (worked out from your connection by our host; we do not store your IP address with the answer). We use these only to check and improve the decoding rules.
- Contact messages. If you use the contact form we store your email address and message so we can reply.
Other companies involved
- Netlify hosts the site and stores feedback and messages. Like any web host it processes your IP address and browser details to deliver pages and may keep short-term server logs. See Netlify’s privacy policy.
- jsDelivr, a public content network, delivers the text reader the first time you use the camera or a photo. It sees your IP address like any server. See jsDelivr’s privacy policy.
- Stores and other sites you click through to, including parts stores, have their own privacy policies. Partner links tell the store you came from us so we can earn a commission, and the store may set its own cookies when you arrive.
How long we keep it
Feedback is kept while it helps us maintain the decoding rules. Contact messages are kept as long as needed to handle them. You can ask us to delete either at any time.
Your choices and rights
You can use every checker without sending us anything. To ask what we hold about you, or to have it corrected or deleted, use the form on the About page. Depending on where you live (for example California, other U.S. states, the EU or the UK), you may have legal rights to access, correct, delete or object to the use of your information. We honor those requests for everyone. We do not sell or share personal information for advertising.
Children
The site is not aimed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect information from them.
Security
The site runs over HTTPS. We collect little, which keeps the risk low, but no method of storage or transmission is perfectly secure.
Changes
If this policy changes, the date at the top will change too. If the site starts using advertising or analytics, this page will say so before it happens.
Contact
Privacy questions and requests go through the form on the About page.