Privacy Policy

This policy explains what information DotDashKey collects when you visit the site, how it's used, and the choices available to you. DotDashKey is a reference and translator site; it does not require an account to use any of its tools.

The Translators Themselves Are Local to Your Browser

Every translator on this site (Morse, NATO phonetic, braille, binary/hex, Caesar cipher, pigpen, A1Z26, and the Morse trainer) runs entirely as JavaScript in your own browser. Text you type into a translator is processed on your device and is not transmitted to, logged by, or stored on any DotDashKey server. If the Morse trainer stores your practice progress, that progress is saved using your browser's local storage on your own device, not on a server, and it is never transmitted anywhere.

Analytics

DotDashKey uses Google Analytics (GA4) to understand aggregate traffic patterns — which pages are visited, how people generally navigate the site, and which tools are most used — so we can improve the site. Google Analytics sets cookies (typically named starting with _ga) and assigns your browser a pseudonymous client identifier so that visits can be grouped together over time. This is standard behavior for Google Analytics and is not disabled on this site. Google acts as a data processor for this analytics data and may combine it with other information it holds, subject to Google's own privacy policy, available at https://policies.google.com/privacy. If you would prefer not to be tracked by Google Analytics, you can use a browser extension such as Google's own Analytics opt-out add-on, or a browser/extension that blocks third-party analytics scripts.

Advertising

DotDashKey may display advertising, including through Google AdSense, to help support the cost of running the site alongside donations and product sales. Advertising partners may use cookies or similar technologies to serve relevant ads and measure their performance; we do not run our own cross-site advertising tracking network beyond what a standard ad-serving partner requires. Where advertising is present, it is clearly distinguishable from editorial content.

Contact Form and Newsletter

If you use the contact form, the information you submit (typically your email address and message) is used only to respond to you and is not sold or shared with third parties for marketing purposes. If you subscribe to any DotDashKey newsletter, your email address is stored with our email service provider and used only to send the updates you signed up for; every email includes an unsubscribe link, and unsubscribing removes you from future sends.

Payments

Donations and product purchases are processed by Stripe. DotDashKey does not receive or store your full payment card details — Stripe handles that directly, subject to Stripe's own privacy policy and PCI-compliant infrastructure.

Server Logs

Like virtually all websites, DotDashKey's hosting provider (Vercel) automatically logs basic technical information for security and reliability purposes, such as IP address, browser type, and request timestamps. These logs are used for operating and securing the site, not for building an advertising profile of individual visitors beyond what is described above.

Your Choices

You can use most of this site's translators with your browser's cookies disabled or with tracking-protection features enabled; the core translator functionality does not depend on cookies. To ask what data we hold about you, or to request deletion of information tied to a contact-form submission or newsletter subscription, use the Contact page.

Children's Privacy

DotDashKey is a general-audience reference site, not a service directed at children, and it does not knowingly collect personal information from children. Parents and educators frequently use the site's tools and the Code & Cipher Activity Pack with children in a supervised classroom or scouting context, which is welcomed, but any account-level information (such as a contact-form submission or newsletter signup) should be provided by an adult.

International Visitors

DotDashKey is accessible worldwide, and visitors from the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, and other jurisdictions with their own data-protection frameworks have the rights those frameworks provide, including the right to request what data is held about you and to request its deletion, as described above. Data processed by Google Analytics, Stripe, and our email service provider is subject to those providers' own compliance frameworks and data-processing agreements, in addition to this policy.

Changes to This Policy

If this policy changes materially, the updated version will be posted on this page with a new effective date. Checking back periodically, especially before providing any personal information through the contact form or newsletter signup, is a reasonable practice.