Privacy · Last updated · 4 July 2026 · Legal

You aren't the product.

The Short Version

We collect no personal data.

By design

CivicByte does not sell data, run ads, or require accounts — the tools are free and none of them has a login. The only measurement we do is aggregate, non-identifying page-view counting, so we know which tools get used.

Every live CivicByte tool runs in your own browser, talking directly to the public-data API behind it — NYC Open Data (HPD, DOI, and 311 datasets) and NYC Planning's GeoSearch for address matching. The search happens on your device. The response renders in your browser. We sit in the middle only as the static page that loads the code; we are not on the path of your queries.

We do not intercept, log, or store anything you type into the tools or pull back from the city. Your searches never touch a CivicByte server — there isn't one on that path.

Editorial board · NYC, 2026

The Details

The whole policy, numbered.

Eight sections
  1. 01 What we collect We collect no names, emails, or profiles from users of the tools, and the tools have no accounts or logins. We may count page views in aggregate (via a standard analytics service) to see which tools are used; we never see or store what you search. Pages load fonts from Google Fonts, which involves your browser requesting files from Google. Section ·
  2. 02 How the tools work Every live tool runs in your browser, querying NYC Open Data and NYC GeoSearch directly. Your searches do not pass through our servers, and we keep no record of them. A private admin dashboard used by the site's maintainers has its own login; it holds nothing about visitors. Section ·
  3. 03 Submissions & email The Submit form opens your own mail client addressed to civicbytedev@gmail.com with the contents pre-filled. You choose whether to send; we only see what arrives in the inbox. Your browser also keeps a local draft copy on your own device so you don't lose work — it is never sent to us. Section ·
  4. 04 Third-party tools listed in the directory Some tools we list are built and maintained by third parties. Those are independent services with their own privacy practices — review each one as you use it. We are not their data processor. Section ·
  5. 05 Open source All CivicByte code is open source under MIT. The website is at github.com/civicbytedev/civicbytedev.github.io. You can inspect exactly what runs in your browser. Section ·
  6. 06 Children's privacy CivicByte does not knowingly collect personal information from anyone, including children under 13. The tools require no accounts and store no searches; the only measurement is aggregate page-view counting. Section ·
  7. 07 Changes to this policy If we update this policy, the new version replaces this page with a fresh "last updated" date. Section ·
  8. 08 Contact Questions about this policy? Email civicbytedev@gmail.com. We read every message. Section →

Read the founding note, or browse the tools we built around it.

The Story → Browse the tools →