1 Who We Are

Rock Calculator is a free online material estimation tool designed to help homeowners, contractors, and landscapers calculate accurate quantities of gravel, rock, and other landscaping materials.

This privacy policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect your personal information when you use our website and calculator tool. We are committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring transparency about our data practices.

2 Comments

When you leave comments on our website, we collect and store the data shown in the comment form.

What Data We Collect From Comments:

• Name: Your display name as entered in the comment form
• Email Address: Your email (not displayed publicly)
• Website: Optional website URL you provide
• Comment Content: The text of your comment
• IP Address: Your computer’s IP address for spam detection
• Browser User Agent: Information about your web browser

Gravatar Integration

We use Gravatar, a service provided by Automattic Inc. An anonymized string created from your email address (called a hash) is sent to Gravatar to see if you have a profile picture associated with your email. This allows us to display your Gravatar profile picture next to your comment if you have one.

Important: The hash cannot be used to retrieve your email address. For more information about Gravatar’s privacy practices, see their privacy policy.

Comment Moderation

Comments are subject to moderation before they appear on the site. Once approved, your profile picture (if you use Gravatar) is visible to the public in the context of your comment. Your email address remains private and is not displayed publicly.

3 Media

If you upload images to our website (through comments or other features), we provide the following guidance:

How to Remove EXIF Data:

• Use image editing software like Photoshop or free tools like Pixlr
• Use online EXIF removal tools before uploading
• Check your smartphone camera settings to disable location tagging
• Use tools specific to your device to strip metadata

Responsibility: We are not responsible for any location data or other metadata you choose to include in your uploaded images. Please review and clean your images before upload.

4 Cookies

We use cookies to enhance your experience on Rock Calculator. Cookies are small text files stored on your device that help us remember your preferences and improve functionality.

Comment Cookies

If you leave a comment on our site, you may opt-in to saving your name, email address, and website in cookies. These cookies are for your convenience so you don’t have to fill in these details when leaving another comment.

• Duration: Comment cookies last for one year
• Purpose: Auto-fill form fields on future comments
• Opt-in: You control whether these are saved

Login Cookies

When you visit our login page, we set a temporary cookie to determine if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data.

• Purpose: Test cookie functionality
• Duration: Discarded when you close your browser
• Data Stored: None (session only)

Session Authentication Cookies

When you log in to your account, we set several cookies to save your login information and screen display preferences:

When you log out of your account, all login cookies are automatically removed from your browser.

5 Embedded Content From Other Websites

Articles on our site may include embedded content such as videos, images, or articles from other websites (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.). Embedded content from external sites behaves exactly as if you visited the other website directly.

Third-Party Data Collection

These external websites may:

• Collect data about you independently
• Use cookies on your device
• Embed additional third-party tracking
• Monitor your interaction with their content
• Track your activity if you’re logged into their service

6 Who We Share Your Data With

Third-Party Services

We may share limited data with the following types of services:

• Spam Detection Services: Your comment data and IP address to detect spam
• Gravatar (Automattic): An anonymized email hash for profile pictures
• Web Hosting Provider: Basic server logs and analytics

Password Reset Emails

If you request a password reset, your IP address will be included in the password reset email for security purposes. This allows you to verify the request came from your device.

Legal Requirements

We may disclose your personal information if required by law, court order, or government request. We will attempt to notify you of such disclosures unless legally prohibited.

We do not sell or rent your personal data to third parties for marketing purposes.

7 How Long We Retain Your Data

Comments

Comments and their metadata (author name, email, date) are retained indefinitely. This allows us to:

• Automatically recognize and approve follow-up comments
• Skip spam moderation for approved commenters
• Maintain historical discussion context

User Accounts

For users who register accounts on our website, we store the personal information they provide in their user profile indefinitely, unless you request deletion.

Cookies & Session Data

Temporary session data and cookies are automatically deleted based on the durations listed in the Cookies section above.

Logs & Backups

Server logs containing IP addresses and access information are typically retained for 30-90 days for security and performance monitoring.

8 What Rights You Have Over Your Data

Access Your Data

If you have an account or have left comments, you can request to receive an exported file containing all personal data we hold about you. This includes:

• Profile information
• Comments and their metadata
• Email address and contact information
• Any other data associated with your account

Edit Your Data

You can see, edit, or delete your personal information at any time by logging into your account. You can update:

• Your profile information
• Your email address
• Your display name
• Any optional profile details

Exception: You cannot change your username after account creation for security reasons.

Delete Your Data

You can request complete deletion of your personal data. However, please note:

• We may retain data required for administrative, legal, or security purposes
• Public comments may remain on the site but will be anonymized
• Some data may be retained in backups for 30-90 days

9 Where Your Data Is Sent

Spam Detection

Your comments and associated data (IP address, browser user agent) are processed through automated spam detection services. These services:

• Analyze content for spam patterns
• Compare IP addresses against known spam sources
• Check comment links for malicious activity
• Automatically flag suspicious submissions

Server Location

Your data is stored on servers located in the United States. By using Rock Calculator, you consent to the transfer of your information to the U.S. and its storage there.

Third-Party Integrations

We use the following third-party services:

• Gravatar (Automattic): Profile picture retrieval (see their privacy policy)
• Web Hosting: Server infrastructure and backups
• Spam Detection: Automated content moderation

10 Contact Us

If you have questions about this privacy policy or how we handle your data, please contact us:

Response Time: We’ll respond to your privacy inquiry within 30 days. If you have concerns about how we handle your data, we encourage you to reach out so we can address them.

Additional Information