Privacy
Last updated 4 November 2026
The short version
- There are no accounts and no ads, and we don't sell anything about you.
- Files you import or build in the playground stay in your browser. They are never uploaded.
- We use Google Analytics to see which pages get used, which sets cookies. This page explains how to refuse it.
Who runs this site
HowItScales is run by Mrinal Maheshwari, who decides what is collected and why. For anything on this page, including complaints, write to privacy@howitscales.dev.
What we collect, and why
When you load a page
The site is hosted on Cloudflare, whose servers receive your IP address, browser details and the page you asked for. That is needed to deliver pages and protect the site from attacks.
Google Analytics
This tells us which pages are useful. It records the page's path and title, the site that sent you here, your device and browser type, your rough location, and a random visitor id kept in a cookie.
Google says it uses IP addresses for rough location and spam detection, then discards them. We have turned off its advertising features. Records are kept for up to 14 months.
It also counts which features get used, such as pressing Play, opening a component, importing a file or creating a share link. Those records hold only fixed words and counts, such as the kind of component or how many arrows a file had, and for playground files never their names, labels or contents.
It doesn't run in diagrams embedded on other websites, or on a visit that opens a share link, and it never receives your files or what you type into search.
Your files
A file you import or build is handled entirely in your browser. Your latest draft is saved there so that it survives a reload. Clearing this site's data removes it.
A share link holds the whole file inside the link itself, after the #, and browsers don't send that part to any server. Anyone you give the link to can read the file, so share it with care.
Cookies and browser storage
| Name | What it does | How long |
|---|---|---|
_ga, _ga_* | Cookies from Google Analytics that tell one visitor from another | Up to 2 years, often less depending on your browser |
his:playground-draft | Your playground draft | Until you clear it |
his:hint-dismissed | Remembers that you closed the first-visit hint | Until you clear it |
his:pending-import | Carries a file from the home page to the playground | Removed once the file arrives |
Refusing analytics
Block cookies for this site in your browser settings, or install Google's opt-out add-on. Clearing this site's data removes cookies already set.
In the European Economic Area, the UK and Switzerland, analytics cookies stay off, because we don't currently ask for that permission. Google may still receive a limited signal without cookies.
Who else is involved
Cloudflare hosts the site and Google provides analytics. Both process data on our behalf, and may do so outside your country, including outside India. We share data with nobody else, unless the law requires it.
Links such as Buy Me a Coffee and the sources cited on diagrams lead to other websites, whose own privacy rules apply once you're there.
If you are in India
India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 and its 2025 Rules give you rights over your personal data. Most of these duties are scheduled to begin in May 2027, and until then the Information Technology Act, 2000 and its 2011 rules on sensitive personal data apply. We offer the rights below now. You can:
- Ask what we hold about you, and how it is used and shared.
- Correct or erase your data.
- Withdraw consent at any time, by refusing analytics as described above.
- Nominate someone to use these rights for you if you die or can't act for yourself.
- Raise a complaint with us, and if you aren't satisfied, with the Data Protection Board of India.
Our grievance contact is Mrinal Maheshwari, at privacy@howitscales.dev. We aim to reply within 30 days. Without accounts we usually can't tell which record is yours, so we may ask for something that identifies it, such as the value of your analytics cookie.
HowItScales is meant for adults. If you are under 18, please use it only with a parent or guardian's permission, and block analytics as described above. If you believe we hold a child's data, tell us and we will erase it.
Changes to this page
If what we collect changes, this page changes with it, and the date at the top shows when.