Privacy & Cookie Policy

Last updated: March 9, 2026

1. Who We Are

startOFFgrid.com provides free off-grid solar and battery system calculators, guides, and component reviews. This policy explains what data we collect and how we use it.

2. Data We Collect

Account Data (optional)

If you create an account, we store:

  • Email address – for login and password recovery
  • Display name – shown on your profile and any public setups
  • Google profile info – if you sign in with Google (name, email, profile picture). See section 4a below.
  • Saved setups – calculator configurations you choose to save

We store passwords using bcrypt hashing — we never store or see your plain-text password.

reCAPTCHA Data

We use Google reCAPTCHA v3 on our registration page to protect against automated abuse. reCAPTCHA may collect hardware and software information (such as device and application data) and send it to Google for analysis. This data is used solely for bot detection and is processed in accordance with Google's Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.

Analytics Data (with consent)

If you accept cookies, we use Google Analytics 4 (measurement ID: G-6MDG6ECEVJ) which collects:

  • Pages visited, time on site, and referral source
  • Device type, browser, screen resolution, and approximate location (country/city level)
  • No personal identifiers – IP addresses are anonymized by Google
Data We Do NOT Collect
  • We do not run advertising trackers or sell data to third parties
  • We do not use ad_storage, ad_user_data, or ad_personalization cookies
  • We do not share your email or account data with anyone

3. Cookies We Use

Cookie / Storage Purpose Type Duration
PHPSESSID Session management (login state) Essential Session
cookie_consent Stores your cookie consent choice Essential 1 year
_ga, _ga_* Google Analytics – anonymous usage statistics Analytics (requires consent) Up to 2 years

We also use localStorage to temporarily hold calculator data (e.g. pending setup transfer). This is not a cookie and contains no personal information.

4. Google Services

4a. Google Sign-In (OAuth)

If you choose to sign in with Google, we request access to the following information from your Google account:

  • Email address – used as your account identifier and for password recovery
  • Name – used as your display name on the Site
  • Profile picture – shown on your profile and public setups

We access this information only during sign-in. We do not access your Google contacts, Google Drive, Gmail, or any other Google services. We do not store your Google access token after the sign-in process completes.

Our use and transfer of information received from Google APIs adheres to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements. Specifically:

  • We only use Google data for the purposes described in this policy (account creation and authentication)
  • We do not transfer Google user data to third parties except as necessary to provide the service
  • We do not use Google user data for advertising purposes
  • We do not use Google user data for training AI models
  • A human reviews Google user data only when necessary for security purposes or to comply with applicable law

You can revoke startOFFgrid's access to your Google account at any time through your Google Account permissions page.

4b. Google Consent Mode v2

We implement Google Consent Mode v2 which means:

  • Analytics cookies are blocked by default until you click "Accept"
  • If you decline, Google Analytics runs in cookieless mode (no cookies are set, no personal data is collected)
  • Ad storage, ad user data, and ad personalization are always denied — we don't run ads

5. Data Retention and Deletion

We retain your account data for as long as your account is active. You can:

  • Delete individual setups from your My Setups page at any time
  • Delete your entire account by emailing [email protected] — we will delete your account and all associated data within 30 days

If you signed in with Google, deleting your account on startOFFgrid does not affect your Google account. You can separately revoke our access through Google Account permissions.

6. Your Rights (GDPR / EU Visitors)

If you are located in the European Union, you have the right to:

  • Access your personal data (account info and saved setups)
  • Rectify inaccurate data
  • Delete your account and all associated data
  • Withdraw consent for analytics cookies at any time using the cookie settings banner
  • Data portability – request a copy of your data

To exercise any of these rights, email us at [email protected].

7. Affiliate Links

Some pages contain affiliate links to Amazon. When you click an affiliate link and make a purchase, we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Amazon may set its own cookies when you visit their site — those are governed by Amazon's Privacy Notice.

8. Data Security

We protect your data through:

  • HTTPS encryption on all pages
  • Bcrypt password hashing
  • Prepared SQL statements to prevent injection
  • Session-based authentication with secure cookies

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy occasionally. The "last updated" date at the top will reflect the most recent revision.

10. Contact

For privacy-related questions or data requests, contact us at [email protected].