Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how HowLongUntil5.com ("we", "us", "the Site") handles information when you use the Site. We built the countdown to work without accounts and to collect as little information as possible.

1. Information we collect

We do not ask for your name or email address, and we do not run user accounts. The countdown is calculated entirely in your browser. Your chosen start time, finish time and sound preference are stored locally on your device (using localStorage) so they're remembered next time. You can clear it at any time through your browser settings.

Like almost every website, our hosting provider (Vercel Inc.) automatically processes technical data such as your IP address, browser type, referring page and time of request in server logs to deliver the Site securely and prevent abuse.

If you email us, we receive your email address and whatever you choose to include in your message, and we use it only to reply.

2. Cookies and Google AdSense advertising

We use Google AdSense to show advertising that keeps the Site free. Google and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to serve and measure ads. In particular:

• Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on a user's prior visits to this website or other websites.
• Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to our users based on their visit to this Site and/or other sites on the Internet.
• Users may opt out of personalized advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings. Alternatively, you can opt out of some third-party vendors' use of cookies for personalized advertising by visiting www.aboutads.info.
• Third-party vendors and ad networks other than Google may also serve ads on this Site. You can see the list of Google's certified ad providers and learn more in Google's ad technology provider documentation.

For more on how Google uses data when you use our partners' sites, see How Google uses information from sites or apps that use its services. If ads are not personalized, Google may still use cookies for frequency capping, aggregated reporting and fraud prevention.

3. Analytics (Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager)

We use Google Analytics 4, loaded through Google Tag Manager, to understand how the Site is used so we can improve it. Google Analytics collects information such as the pages or sections you view, how long you stay, your device and browser type, your approximate location (country or city, derived from your IP address) and the website that referred you. It also records simple interactions such as choosing a finish time or preset, copying a share link, turning the chime on or off and switching the light/dark theme, including the finish time you picked.

Google Analytics uses first-party cookies (such as _ga and _ga_*) to distinguish visitors and sessions. It does not log or store IP addresses, and we do not use it to identify you personally. Learn more in how Google uses information from sites that use its services. You can opt out with the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

4. Consent for visitors in the EEA, UK and Switzerland

Where required by law (including the GDPR, UK GDPR and ePrivacy rules), you'll be asked for consent through a Google-certified consent management platform before analytics or personalized advertising cookies are set. Until you consent, Google tags run in a restricted mode that does not store cookies (Google Consent Mode). You can change or withdraw your consent at any time using the privacy/cookie settings link shown by that consent message.

5. Your privacy rights (including California/CCPA)

We do not sell personal information in the traditional sense. However, sharing of cookie identifiers with advertising partners may count as "sharing" under some U.S. state laws. You can opt out using the links above or through your browser's privacy controls (for example, blocking third-party cookies or enabling Global Privacy Control). You may also contact us with any privacy request.

6. Children's privacy

The Site is not directed to children under 13 (or under 16 in the EEA), and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

7. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The effective date at the top shows when it was last revised.

8. Contact

Questions about privacy? Email hello@howlonguntil5.com. See also our Terms of Service.