Privacy Policy - Buildref

Last updated: August 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how Buildref (“we”, “us”, or “our”) collects, uses, and protects information when you visit buildref.net. By using this website, you agree to the practices described below.

1. Who we are

Buildref is a free online reference resource for civil and structural engineers. The website provides calculators, guides, software tutorials, and engineering references. The website address is https://buildref.net.

2. Information we collect

We do not require registration or account creation. We collect limited information automatically when you visit the site:

Usage data — pages visited, browser type, device type and approximate geographic location (country level). This is collected via Cloudflare Web Analytics, which does not use cookies and does not identify individual visitors.
Technical data — IP address, referring URL, and browser user agent string. This data is used for security and spam prevention.
Cookies — small text files stored in your browser. See Section 4 for details.

We do not collect names, email addresses, or any personally identifiable information unless you voluntarily contact us.

3. How we use your information

We use collected data for the following purposes:

To understand how visitors use the site and improve content and tools
To monitor site performance and fix technical issues
To detect and prevent spam or abusive traffic

4. Cookies

This website sets no analytics cookies and no advertising cookies.

The only cookies used are strictly necessary for the site to work:

wp-settings-* — WordPress interface preferences, set only for logged-in administrators.
pll_language — remembers whether you are browsing the English or German version of the site.
LiteSpeed Cache — performance cookies used to serve cached pages faster. They contain no personal data.

Because we use no tracking or advertising cookies, no consent banner is required. You can still block or delete cookies in your browser settings; the language switcher may then forget your choice.

5. Analytics

We use Cloudflare Web Analytics to understand how many people visit the site and which pages they use. It does not use cookies, does not fingerprint visitors and does not track individuals across sites or over time. No personal profiles are created and no data is sold or shared with advertisers.

6. Third-party services

We use the following third-party services that may collect data independently:

Cloudflare Web Analytics — privacy-friendly, cookieless traffic statistics
Yoast SEO — SEO plugin, no user data collected
LiteSpeed Cache — performance caching, no personal data collected

7. Data retention

We do not store personal data on our servers beyond standard server logs, which are retained for up to 30 days for security purposes. Cloudflare Web Analytics stores only aggregated, anonymous statistics and no personal profiles.

8. Your rights (GDPR)

If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA), you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

The right to access data we hold about you
The right to request correction or deletion of your data
The right to object to processing of your data
The right to data portability
The right to withdraw consent at any time

To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the details in Section 10.

9. Children’s privacy

This website is not directed at children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.

10. Contact

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your data, you can contact us via the About page on this website.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The date at the top of this page indicates when it was last revised. Continued use of the website after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.