Privacy policy

Last updated: 30 October 2026

This policy explains what information NeatPencil handles when you use neatpencil.com, why, how long we keep it and the choices you have. NeatPencil is built so that the information that matters most, the names you type, never reaches us at all.

1. Who we are

NeatPencil is run by Zactonz Technologies (“we”, “us”), based in Lahore, Pakistan. We decide how the information described here is used, which makes us its “controller” under data protection laws such as the UK and EU GDPR. You can contact us about privacy at [email protected].

2. Names and words you type

Worksheets are made entirely in your web browser. The names, words and options you enter are kept in your browser’s session storage so the preview page can show your worksheets, and the PDF is built on your own device. They are:

• never sent to our server or to anyone else;
• never put in a web address, so they can’t appear in our server logs;
• cleared when you close the browser tab.

Because they never reach us, we hold no information about the children whose names you type, and we couldn’t see it even if asked. The same goes for class lists you import from a file: the file is read on your device and never uploaded.

3. Information we do handle

Server logs

Like almost every website, our server records each request it receives: your IP address, the date and time, the page or file requested (including any words you type into the site’s search box), the page you came from, and your browser and device type. We use these logs to keep the site secure, find and fix problems, and understand overall load. We don’t use them to build profiles of visitors or combine them with other information.

Emails you send us

If you email us, we receive your email address, your name if you include it, and whatever you write. We use it to reply, to fix what you report and to improve NeatPencil. We don’t add you to a mailing list; we don’t have one.

Messages through the contact form

The contact form asks for your email address, your name if you choose to give it, what your message is about and the message itself. It sends them to our inbox as an email, and keeps a private copy on the website, which only our administrators can see, in case an email goes astray. That copy is deleted automatically after 90 days. To stop spam, the website also keeps a scrambled (hashed) form of your IP address for one hour, to limit how many messages can be sent from one place. We use what you send only to reply and to improve NeatPencil.

Visits, through Google Analytics

We use Google Analytics 4 to learn how the site is used, such as which pages and worksheet makers people visit, so we can improve it. It works in one of three ways, depending on your choice in the banner at the bottom of the page:

• Before you choose, Google Analytics runs without cookies. For each page you view, your browser sends Google the page address and title, the page you came from, the time, your browser and device details (such as browser type, screen size and language) and whether you have chosen yet, with no cookie or identifier, so nothing on your device lets it link your visits together. Google uses your IP address only to estimate your country and region, and says it doesn’t store it. Google uses these records to estimate overall visitor numbers.
• If you accept, Google Analytics also sets two cookies, listed in our cookie policy, so it can tell when the same browser comes back.
• If you reject, nothing from Google loads on the pages you visit after that, and any Google Analytics cookies are deleted.

You can change your choice at any time with “Cookie settings” at the bottom of every page. Page addresses and titles never contain the names you type, so Google never receives them. Google signals and ad personalisation are switched off, and the data is never used for advertising. People signed in to edit the site are never counted.

4. Cookies and browser storage

Our own pages set no cookies. Google Analytics sets cookies only if you accept them. Besides the session storage described above, the site keeps your cookie choice and the region you pick (such as Australia or the United States) in your browser’s local storage, and never sends them to us. Our cookie policy lists everything.

5. What we don’t do

• No accounts, sign-ups or newsletters.
• No advertising, tracking pixels or social media plugins. Apart from Google Analytics, every page, font and script comes from our own server.
• No comments. The contact form is the only place that asks for personal information, and it’s used only to reply.
• No selling or sharing of personal information, and no targeted advertising.
• No profiling or automated decisions about you.

Analytics cookies are set only if you accept them, and choosing Reject stops Google Analytics altogether, so you don’t need a “Do Not Track” or Global Privacy Control signal to avoid them.

6. Our legal basis

Where laws such as the UK or EU GDPR apply, we rely on our legitimate interests: for server logs and the contact form’s spam check, keeping the site secure and working; for emails and contact form messages, answering you and improving the site; and for Google Analytics before you choose, understanding in aggregate how the site is used. These uses are limited and expected, and we’ve judged that they don’t override your rights. You can object to that measurement by choosing Reject. For Google Analytics cookies we rely on your consent, which you can withdraw at any time. Where the law requires us to keep or disclose information, we rely on that legal obligation.

7. Who we share information with

We share information only with:

• Our hosting provider, whose servers in Canada store the website, its logs, our email and the copies of contact form messages. It acts on our instructions and may not use the information for its own purposes.
• Google, which runs Google Analytics for us as our service provider (Google Ireland Limited for visitors in Europe and the UK, Google LLC elsewhere). It may process this information in the United States, and it is certified under the EU–US Data Privacy Framework and its UK extension.
• Authorities, if the law requires it, or where it’s needed to protect the safety, rights or property of others or of NeatPencil.
• A new owner, if NeatPencil is ever sold or transferred. They would have to keep to this policy for information collected under it.

8. Where information is stored

The website, its logs and our email are stored on servers in Canada. Our team works from Pakistan, so when we read logs, emails or contact form messages, that information is accessed from there. Pakistan doesn’t have the same data protection laws as the UK, the EU or Australia, so we keep what we access to the minimum needed and protect it as section 11 describes. Google Analytics data is held by Google, which may process it in the United States (see section 7).

9. How long we keep it

• Server logs: only as long as we need them for security and troubleshooting, and then deleted. Logs are kept in monthly files.
• Emails and contact form messages: as long as we need them to deal with your message and any follow-up, and then deleted. The copy of a form message kept on the website is deleted automatically after 90 days.
• The contact form’s spam check: the hashed IP address is deleted after one hour.
• Google Analytics: visit records are kept for up to 14 months, then deleted by Google. Its cookies expire after 13 months, and your cookie choice after 12 months, when we ask again.
• What you type: we never have it. Your browser clears it when you close the tab.

10. Children

NeatPencil is made for adults: teachers, parents, tutors and therapists. It isn’t directed at children, and we don’t knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 13, or under 16 where local law sets that age. Children use the printed worksheets, not the website. As section 2 explains, children’s names typed into a worksheet maker stay on the adult’s device. If you believe a child has sent us personal information, email us and we’ll delete it.

11. Security

The site is served only over an encrypted connection (HTTPS). Access to the server and its logs is limited to our team, and we keep the site’s software up to date. No system is perfectly secure, but keeping almost no personal information is the strongest protection we can offer.

12. Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to:

• ask what personal information we hold about you and get a copy;
• ask us to correct it or delete it;
• object to or ask us to restrict how we use it;
• receive it in a portable format;
• withdraw your consent to analytics cookies, at any time, with “Cookie settings” at the bottom of any page;
• opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information. We don’t sell or share it, so there’s nothing to opt out of.

To use any of these rights, email [email protected]. It’s free, and we’ll reply within one month. We may ask for information to confirm a request is yours. Server logs can only be matched to you by IP address and time, so to find your entries we’d need those details from you. We won’t treat you differently for using your rights.

If you’re unhappy with how we’ve handled your information, please tell us first. You can also complain to your local regulator, such as the Information Commissioner’s Office in the UK, your data protection authority in the EU, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner in New Zealand or Canada, or your state attorney general in the US.

13. If we add advertising

We plan to keep NeatPencil free with display advertising from Google AdSense. Advertising uses cookies and similar technology, so before any ads go live we will update this policy and our cookie policy to explain what they collect, who receives it and how to opt out. Visitors in the UK, the European Economic Area and Switzerland will be asked for consent first, and visitors in US states with privacy laws will be able to opt out. Ads will never have access to the names you type, which will still never leave your device.

14. Changes to this policy

When we change how information is handled, we’ll update this page and the date at the top before the change takes effect, and describe significant changes here.

15. Contact

Questions or requests about privacy go to [email protected]. We usually reply within two working days. This policy sits alongside our terms of use.