PlainTools

Privacy policy

Last updated 2026-09-24

Draft — needs review. This page is a starting template, not legal advice. It has not been reviewed by a lawyer. Have it reviewed before relying on it.

The short version

PlainTools has no accounts, no sign-up and no server that stores what you look up. The tools run in your browser.

That has one consequence worth understanding: when you use a tool, your browser contacts the data source directly. Those outside services therefore see your IP address and whatever you typed into the tool, in the same way they would if you visited their own website. Every such service is listed below.

What this site collects itself

Nothing that identifies you. This site is a set of static files. There is no database, no login, no contact form and no server-side logging of your queries. Addresses, coordinates and other values you type into a tool are used to build the request and are not retained after you leave the page.

The site sets no cookies of its own and does not use browser storage to track you between visits.

This site uses Google Analytics to count visits and see which pages are used. It records usage data such as pages viewed, approximate location and device type.

Services your browser contacts

When you run a tool, your browser sends a request to the services below. Each one has its own privacy policy, which governs what it does with that request.

USDA NRCS Soil Data Access

Why it is contacted:
Looks up the soil survey record for a set of coordinates. Used by What Soil Type Is My Property?
What it receives:
Your IP address and the latitude/longitude being looked up. Your address text is never sent here — only the coordinates it resolved to.

Photon (Komoot)

Why it is contacted:
Turns a typed address into coordinates, and coordinates back into a place name. Used by What Soil Type Is My Property?, the Maps & Location tools, Convert Time Zones and the Gas Cost Calculator when you type a place.
What it receives:
Your IP address and the address text or coordinates you entered.
Its privacy policy:
https://www.komoot.com/privacy

USGS Elevation Point Query Service

Why it is contacted:
Returns the ground elevation for a set of coordinates. Used by What Is My Elevation?
What it receives:
Your IP address and the latitude/longitude being looked up.

Open-Meteo

Why it is contacted:
Returns ground elevation (Copernicus DEM) and the time zone for a set of coordinates. Used by the elevation, antipode, sun, moon and time zone tools among the Maps & Location tools, and by Convert Time Zones when you type a city.
What it receives:
Your IP address and the latitude/longitude being looked up.

FCC Area API

Why it is contacted:
Returns the 2020 Census county and state for a set of coordinates. Used by What County Am I In?, What State Am I In?, Coordinates to State and the Address to County Lookup.
What it receives:
Your IP address and the latitude/longitude being looked up.

US Census Bureau TIGERweb

Why it is contacted:
Returns Census boundaries — ZIP code areas and city limits — for a point or a list of ZIP codes. Used by What ZIP Code Am I In?, What City Am I In? and the ZIP Code Map Maker.
What it receives:
Your IP address and the latitude/longitude or the five-digit ZIP codes being looked up (never the names or values you attach to them).

FOSSGIS routing servers (OSRM and Valhalla)

Why it is contacted:
Calculate road, cycling and walking routes, distance tables and travel-time areas over OpenStreetMap. Used by the distance, drive-time, multi-stop and elevation-profile tools, and by the Gas Cost Calculator, when you ask for a route.
What it receives:
Your IP address and the coordinates of the points being routed.

gold-api.com

Why it is contacted:
Returns the live gold or silver spot price. Used by Gold Price per Gram.
What it receives:
Your IP address and which metal is being priced.
Its privacy policy:
https://gold-api.com/privacy

ExchangeRate-API (open access)

Why it is contacted:
Returns the day's currency exchange rates from US dollars. Used by Gold Price per Gram when you pick a currency other than US dollars.
What it receives:
Your IP address. No input you type is sent.

Google Maps (embed preview)

Why it is contacted:
Draws the preview in the Google Maps Embed Code Generator, only when you press Preview.
What it receives:
Your IP address, browser details, the place or route in the map, and the API key you typed (if any).

OpenStreetMap tile servers

Why it is contacted:
Serve the map images shown on the Maps & Location tools.
What it receives:
Your IP address, browser type, the page that requested the map, and which map squares are shown (which reveals the area being viewed).

Google Analytics

Why it is contacted:
Counts visits and which pages are used, sitewide.
What it receives:
Your IP address, approximate location, device/browser type, and the pages you view.

This list is generated from the site’s own configuration, so it stays in step with the tools that are actually published. If you would rather a service did not receive your query, do not run the tool that uses it — the tool page names its source before you enter anything.

Your choices

Because no personal data is stored here, there is nothing on this site to request, correct or delete. Requests about data held by the services listed above have to go to those services directly, using the contacts in their own privacy policies.

Depending on where you live, you may have rights under laws such as the GDPR or the CCPA. Those rights apply to whoever holds your data; for anything you typed into a tool, that is the service that received the request, not this site.

Children

This site is not directed at children and knowingly collects no information from anyone, of any age.

Changes and contact

If a new tool introduces a new outside service, it is added to the list above at the same time the tool is published, and the date at the top of this page changes. Questions go to [email protected].