Privacy Policy - Buildref

Last updated: May 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, time spent on pages, browser type, device type, and approximate geographic location (country/city level). This is collected via Google Analytics 4.
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 display relevant advertising through Google AdSense
To detect and prevent spam or abusive traffic

4. Cookies

This website uses cookies. Cookies are small files stored on your device that help the site function correctly and allow us to analyse traffic.

We use the following types of cookies:

Analytics cookies — set by Google Analytics 4 to track page views, session duration, and user behaviour anonymously.
Advertising cookies — set by Google AdSense to display relevant ads based on your browsing activity. These may include personalised advertising if you have not opted out.
Performance cookies — set by LiteSpeed Cache to serve cached pages faster. These contain no personal data.

You can control or disable cookies through your browser settings. Note that disabling cookies may affect how some parts of the site function.

5. Google Analytics

We use Google Analytics 4 to collect anonymised data about how visitors interact with this site. Google Analytics uses cookies to track sessions and page views. The data collected is aggregated and does not identify individual users.

You can opt out of Google Analytics tracking by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

For more information, see Google’s Privacy Policy.

6. Google AdSense and advertising

This website uses Google AdSense to display advertisements. Google AdSense uses cookies and similar technologies to show ads based on your prior visits to this website and other websites on the internet.

Google’s use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads based on your visit to this and other websites. You may opt out of personalised advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings.

For more information about how Google uses data when you use our site, visit How Google uses data when you use our partners’ sites or apps.

7. Third-party services

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

Google Analytics 4 — website analytics (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense — advertising (Privacy Policy)
Yoast SEO — SEO plugin, no user data collected
LiteSpeed Cache — performance caching, no personal data collected

8. 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. Google Analytics data is retained for 14 months by default, as configured in our GA4 property.

9. 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 11.

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. 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.