Privacy Policy

1. Overview

Food Stamp Eligibility Calculator ("we," "us," or "our") operates foodstampeligibilitycalculator.com (the "Site"). This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect when you visit the Site, how that information is used, and the choices you have about your data. We built this Site with one core principle: a person checking whether they qualify for food assistance should not have to give up their privacy to get an answer. That principle shapes every decision described below.

We are not a government agency, not a SNAP outreach contractor, and not an affiliate of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) or any state SNAP office. We are an independent informational website that provides a free, browser-based eligibility estimator. Because we do not process real SNAP applications and never transmit your inputs to any government agency, the data you enter into the calculator never leaves your device unless you voluntarily send us an email.

This policy applies to all visitors, regardless of whether you use the calculator, read our blog, browse state-specific pages, or simply land on the Site from a search engine. By using the Site, you consent to the practices described here. If you do not agree with any part of this policy, please discontinue use of the Site.

2. Information We Collect

We deliberately minimize the information we collect. The categories below describe everything we may receive or generate, and we collect nothing beyond these categories.

2.1 Information You Provide Voluntarily

• Email correspondence: If you email us at foodstampeligibilitycalculator@gmail.com to report a correction, ask a question, or request help, we receive the content of your email, your email address, and any attachments you include. We retain these emails only as long as needed to respond and to maintain a record of reported corrections.
• Calculator inputs (NOT collected): The numbers you enter into the eligibility calculator — household size, income, expenses, state, etc. — are processed entirely in your browser and are never transmitted to our server. We do not see, store, log, or have access to these inputs.

2.2 Information Collected Automatically

• Server logs: Like virtually every web server, our hosting provider records standard request logs: IP address (truncated in our analytics), timestamp, requested URL, user agent string, and referring URL. These logs are retained for up to 30 days for security and abuse prevention, then automatically deleted.
• Analytics data: We use privacy-respecting first-party analytics to count aggregate page views, device type (mobile/tablet/desktop), and approximate geographic region (country-level). We do not use cross-site tracking and we do not build individual user profiles.
• Cookies and local storage: See Section 5 below for details.

2.3 Information We Never Collect

• Your name, mailing address, phone number, or date of birth
• Your Social Security Number, SNAP case number, or EBT card number
• Your household income, expenses, or bank account details (calculator inputs stay in your browser)
• Your precise geographic location (we only see country-level data in analytics)
• Information about your health, immigration status, or disability status

3. How We Use Information

We use the limited information we receive for the following specific purposes:

• To operate and maintain the Site. Server logs help us diagnose errors, defend against abuse, and keep the Site online.
• To improve our content. Aggregate page-view counts tell us which articles and state pages are most useful, so we know where to invest editing time. We do not use individual user data to make these decisions.
• To respond to your emails. If you write to us, we use your email address and message content solely to reply and to track any corrections you report.
• To comply with legal obligations. If we receive a valid court order or lawful government request, we may be required to disclose server logs. We have never received such a request as of the date of this policy.

We do not sell, rent, barter, or share your information with data brokers, marketing firms, or third-party advertising networks beyond what is described in Section 6 below.

4. What Happens to Calculator Inputs

You can verify this yourself. Open your browser's developer tools (F12 in most browsers), switch to the Network tab, and run the calculator. You will see requests for static assets (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, images) but you will not see any request that includes your household data. The calculator works offline once the page has loaded.

This design was a deliberate choice. People checking whether they qualify for food assistance are often in financially vulnerable situations. Asking them to hand over personal financial data to an unfamiliar website in order to use a free tool felt wrong to us. So we built the calculator so it never needs that data to leave the browser.

5. Cookies & Local Storage

We use a small number of cookies and local storage items. None of them are used to track you across other websites.

• Session ID (local storage): A randomly generated string stored in your browser's local storage. It is used only to deduplicate analytics counts (so that reloading a page does not count as two visits). It contains no personal information and is not shared with any third party.
• Privacy preference cookie (if you dismiss banners): If we display a consent banner for third-party advertising cookies and you click "accept" or "reject," your choice is stored in a cookie so we do not ask you again.
• Third-party advertising cookies: See Section 6 below.

You can clear all cookies and local storage at any time through your browser's settings. Doing so will not affect your ability to use the calculator or read our content.

6. Third-Party Advertising

To keep the Site free for everyone, we display advertising. We are a publisher partner of Journey by Mediavine, a third-party ad management service. Mediavine manages the display, delivery, and measurement of advertisements on this Site on our behalf, including relationships with demand-side platforms, supply-side platforms, and ad exchanges.

Third-party advertising vendors are separate companies with their own privacy policies. We do not control their data practices and are not responsible for how they collect, use, or share information. The use of cookies and similar technologies by these vendors is subject to their own privacy policies, which we encourage you to review.

You can opt out of personalized advertising from Mediavine, Google, and other participating advertising companies using the following industry opt-out tools:

• Google Ads Settings — manage your Google advertising profile
• Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) opt-out — opt out of interest-based advertising from participating companies
• European Interactive Digital Advertising Alliance (EDAA) — opt out for users in the European Economic Area
• Mediavine Privacy Policy — review how Mediavine handles data

Opting out of personalized advertising does not mean you will see fewer ads. It means you will see ads that are not based on your inferred interests or past browsing behavior. You may still see contextual ads based on the content of the page you are currently viewing.

Consent for advertising cookies: For visitors in jurisdictions that require consent for personalized advertising (including the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, and California under the CCPA), our consent management platform will display a cookie banner asking for your consent before non-essential advertising cookies are set. You may withdraw consent at any time by clearing your cookies or by using the cookie preferences link in the footer of this Site.

ads.txt disclosure: In accordance with industry standards, our ads.txt file is publicly accessible and lists all authorized sellers of our digital ad inventory. Our ads.txt is maintained by Mediavine to ensure only authorized demand partners can transact on our inventory.

7. Analytics

We use first-party, privacy-respecting analytics to understand aggregate Site usage. Our analytics configuration:

• Does not set cross-domain tracking cookies
• Does not collect or store full IP addresses (only country-level geography is derived)
• Does not build individual user profiles
• Reports only aggregate metrics (total page views, top pages, top countries, device categories)

We do not use Google Analytics' Audience Reporting or Remarketing features. We do not share analytics data with advertising networks.

8. Children's Privacy

The Site is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. SNAP eligibility is generally relevant to adults who head households; the calculator asks for income and expense figures that a child would not have. If you believe a child under 13 has provided us with personal information (for example, by emailing us), please contact us at foodstampeligibilitycalculator@gmail.com and we will delete that information immediately.

9. Your Rights (CCPA, GDPR)

If you are a resident of California, the European Union, the United Kingdom, or another jurisdiction with strong data protection laws, you have specific rights regarding your personal information.

9.1 California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)

Under the CCPA, California residents have the right to:

• Know what personal information we collect about them and how it is used
• Delete their personal information (subject to legal exceptions)
• Opt out of the "sale" or "sharing" of their personal information. We do not sell personal information. To the extent that third-party advertising cookies constitute "sharing," you can opt out using the controls in Section 6.
• Non-discrimination: We will not treat you differently for exercising these rights

Because we collect almost no personal information (see Section 2), exercising these rights is straightforward: email us at foodstampeligibilitycalculator@gmail.com and we will respond within 30 days.

9.2 General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

Under the GDPR, residents of the European Economic Area and the United Kingdom have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you
• Rectify inaccurate personal data
• Erasure ("right to be forgotten")
• Restrict or object to processing
• Data portability
• Withdraw consent at any time (for processing based on consent)
• Lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority

Our lawful basis for processing is legitimate interest (operating and securing the Site) for server logs, and consent for any non-essential cookies set by third-party advertisers. You can withdraw consent for advertising cookies using the controls in Section 6.

10. Data Retention

We retain personal information only as long as necessary for the purpose described:

• Server logs: 30 days, then automatically deleted
• Email correspondence: Retained for the life of the Site plus 12 months, so we can refer back to reported corrections
• Analytics aggregates: Indefinitely (these are aggregate counts, not personal data)
• Calculator inputs: 0 seconds — never transmitted, never stored

11. Data Security

We take reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect the limited information we hold:

• HTTPS encryption: All traffic between your browser and our server is encrypted with TLS 1.2 or higher
• Server hardening: Operating system patches applied within 7 days of release; SSH key-only authentication; firewall restricting admin interfaces to authorized IPs
• Minimal data collection: The most effective security measure is not storing data in the first place. Because we do not collect personal financial data, there is nothing for an attacker to steal
• Access controls: Only the site owner (Wasim Akram) has administrative access to the server and database

No method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure. If you have concerns about transmitting information, we recommend using the calculator offline (the page works once loaded) and emailing us only the minimum information needed.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will change the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. If we make material changes — for example, if we begin collecting a new category of personal information — we will post a prominent notice on the homepage for at least 30 days before the change takes effect.

We encourage you to review this page periodically. Your continued use of the Site after a change takes effect constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

13. Contact Us