Privacy policy

Plain English first, legalese never. Here's exactly what happens to your data.

The big one: the tracker keeps your data on your device

The RunawayHair progress tracker and photo journal (the app/PWA) are built privacy-first:

• Your scalp photos, regimen, notes, and logs are stored locally on your own device (in your browser's on-device storage). They are never uploaded to us or anyone else.
• We can't see your photos. We don't have a copy. There is no account and no login for the core tracker.
• Backups happen only when you choose to export a file, which stays with you.
• If you clear your browser data or use the in-app "erase everything," it's gone - so keep your own backup.

This isn't a marketing line. It's how the tool is architected. No trackers, no cloud, no data broker.

The website itself

The RunawayHair website (this content site, runawayhair.com) collects only limited, aggregate information:

• Google Analytics (GA4), with Google Consent Mode v2. We use Google Analytics to understand which pages are useful and how many people visit - things like page views, approximate location (derived from IP, which Google truncates), device and browser type, and referral source. We use it only in aggregate to improve the content; we never use it to identify you personally, and we don't serve ads. Data is processed under Google's privacy policy.

  What happens before you choose. The Google tag loads on every page, but every consent signal (analytics_storage, ad_storage, ad_user_data, ad_personalization) starts as denied. Nothing is written to or read from cookies or local storage for measurement until you decide.

  If you accept. Analytics cookies (for example _ga) are set and we get full, ordinary analytics measurement.

  If you decline. No cookies are set and no identifiers are stored on your device. Google still receives an anonymous, cookieless ping for the page view. That ping carries no cookie or persistent identifier and cannot be tied back to you; Google uses it only to statistically model aggregate traffic and conversions. We also enable ads_data_redaction for non-consenting visitors, which strips ad-related identifiers from those pings, and url_passthrough, which passes basic campaign information in the URL rather than in a cookie.

  Changing your mind. Use the "Cookie preferences" link in the footer any time, or Google's browser opt-out add-on.

• No advertising. We run no ad networks and no cross-site ad-tracking.

• Server logs. Our host, Netlify, may keep standard access logs (for example IP address and browser type) for security and reliability, under Netlify's own privacy policy.

• Embedded tool. The interactive Evidence Map runs entirely in your browser and sends nothing anywhere.

Important: Google Analytics runs on the website only. The tracker app (runawayhair.app) has no analytics at all - your photos and regimen never leave your device.

Commercial & affiliate links

We don't currently use affiliate or sponsored links. If that ever changes, any such link will be clearly labeled, and it will never influence our evidence grades. Where we link to external sources, those sites operate under their own policies.

What we don't do

• We don't sell, rent, or trade your personal data.
• We don't upload, store, or have access to your tracker photos or health logs.
• We don't run ads or cross-site ad-tracking, and we run no analytics of any kind inside the tracker app.

Your rights

Depending on where you live (for example GDPR in the EU/UK, or CCPA in California), you may have rights to access, correct, or delete personal data. In practice there is very little of yours for us to hold: the tracker keeps your health data on your own device, and website analytics are aggregate and consent-gated - if you decline, no identifier is stored at all. For any request, contact us.

Children

RunawayHair is intended for adults. It is not directed at anyone under 18, and we don't knowingly collect data from minors.

Changes

We'll update this page as the site grows (for example, if we ever add analytics or commercial partners) and change the "Last updated" date above. Material changes will be noted.

Questions? Contact us.