Spark, the AI assistant
Every question you type and every reply Spark gives is saved, with the time and a random conversation number that is made fresh each time a page loads, so I can read the chats and improve the answers. A shortened one-way hash of your IP address is saved with them to limit abuse; the address itself is not stored. To write a reply, your message is sent to an AI language model. Please do not type private details into the chat.
The contact form
The form saves your name, email, company if you give one, the topics you tick and your message, with the time and the same IP hash. I use them only to reply to you.
Article comments
A comment saves your name, email, the comment, the time and the IP hash. Your name and comment are shown on the article once approved. Your email is never shown; it is used to confirm the comment and to recognize you as a returning commenter.
Analytics
The site loads Google Tag Manager, which may run Google Analytics (page views, device type, approximate location, how you arrived) and Microsoft Clarity (anonymous recordings of mouse movement, clicks and scrolling, so I can see how the site is used). These tools set their own cookies and do not receive your name or anything you type into Spark, the contact form or a calculator.
Bot checks, fonts and your browser
The contact form and comments use Cloudflare Turnstile to keep bots out, which runs a check in your browser. Fonts load from Google Fonts. The site sets one session cookie to protect the forms from forgery. The calculators remember your unit choice (metres or feet) in your own browser, and nothing you type into a calculator leaves your device.
How long it is kept
Chat transcripts are kept for 12 months and then deleted automatically. Commenter email addresses are kept for 12 months and then deleted; the comment itself stays on the article under your name. Contact form messages stay until I delete them by hand. Anyone can ask for earlier deletion. Backup copies of the database are kept for 14 days and then removed.
Deleting your data
Send a note through the contact form and tell me what to remove: the chat, the message or the comment, with roughly when you sent it. I delete it and confirm by reply.
