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Privacy policy

Last updated November 1, 2026. The short version: no accounts, no advertising or tracking cookies, and nothing sold.

Who runs this site

thisWATT (thiswatt.com) is an independent research publication. For any privacy question or request, email info@thiswatt.com.

Visit statistics, without cookies

We count visits ourselves, without cookies or third-party analytics. For each page view we record the page, the referring website, any campaign tags in the link you followed, device type, browser and operating system, the region from your browser's language setting, how long the page was on screen and how far it was scrolled, words you search for in our product finder, and an anonymous visitor code. That code is a one-way hash of your IP address and browser details combined with a random value that changes every day and is deleted after two days, so it can't identify you or link your visits across days. Your IP address is never stored. Visits from known bots and from our own admin sessions aren't counted, and if your browser sends a Global Privacy Control or Do Not Track signal, we don't create the visitor code at all.

When you click a link to Amazon or another retailer, we record which link it was, the page it was on, where on the page it sat and the time, with the same anonymous daily code and never your IP address. Once you leave thisWATT, the retailer's own cookies and privacy notice apply. Amazon, for example, uses its cookies to credit a purchase to us, under Amazon's Privacy Notice.

Server logs

Our web server keeps standard access logs, which include IP addresses, for security and troubleshooting. Log files are deleted automatically 14 days after they are rotated.

What's stored in your browser

We set no advertising or tracking cookies. Only these are kept in your browser, and clearing your browser's site data for thiswatt.com removes all of them:

  • Theme (localStorage key thiswatt-theme): your light or dark choice.
  • Saved and recently viewed products (localStorage keys thiswatt-saved and thiswatt-recent): kept in your browser. They reach our server only if you choose to compare your saved items, as part of that page's address.
  • A closed top-pick bar (sessionStorage key thiswatt-sticky-pick): if you close the floating top-pick bar on a guide, it stays closed until you close the tab.

Email

If you email us, we keep your message and address only to reply and to track any correction, and we delete them on request.

Your rights

  • We don't sell or share personal information as California's privacy law (CCPA/CPRA) defines those terms, and we don't use it for targeted advertising.
  • If you're in the UK or the EU, you have rights under the UK GDPR and the GDPR, including access, correction, deletion and objection. Our limited processing (anonymous visit counts, security logs and replying to email) rests on our legitimate interest in running and securing the site and answering you.
  • Visitors in Canada can make the same requests under PIPEDA.
  • Because we hold almost nothing tied to you, there's usually nothing to access or delete, but email us and we'll check.

Children

thisWATT is a general-audience site and isn't aimed at children. We don't knowingly collect information from children under 13.

Changes

If we change what we collect, we'll update this page and its date before the change goes live.