Privacy policy
The short version: we have no accounts and no database. Your alarm settings live in your own browser. The data that does get collected comes from advertising, analytics and hosting providers, and this page explains exactly what that is and how to control it.
Who we are
BestAlarmClock.com ("we", "us", "our") operates the website at https://bestalarmclock.com. We provide free, browser-based time tools — an alarm clock, timer, stopwatch, bedtime calculator and nap timer — together with written guides about sleep and waking.
This policy explains what personal data we collect, why, what we do with it, and the rights you have. It is written to meet the requirements of the UK and EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the California Consumer Privacy Act as amended by the CPRA (CCPA/CPRA), and comparable laws elsewhere.
For data protection purposes, BestAlarmClock.com is the data controller. Contact: hello@bestalarmclock.com.
What we collect
Information you actively give us
Almost nothing. The site has no accounts, no sign-up, no newsletter and no forms that transmit data to us. The only way you deliberately send us personal information is by emailing us, in which case we hold your email address and whatever you write, for as long as needed to deal with your enquiry.
Information stored on your own device
Your alarm time, label, chosen sound, theme preference and recently used alarms are saved in your browser's local storage. This data stays on your device. It is not transmitted to us, we cannot read it, and clearing your browser's site data deletes it permanently.
Information collected automatically
Like virtually every website, our hosting provider and our advertising and analytics partners automatically receive certain technical information when you visit, which may include your IP address, browser type and version, operating system and device type, the pages you visit and time spent on them, the referring website, and approximate location derived from your IP address (typically city or region level, not a precise location).
Cookies and advertising
This site is funded by advertising. We use Google AdSense, and Google and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to serve and measure adverts.
- Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this website or other websites.
- Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to you based on your visit to this and other sites on the internet.
- You may opt out of personalised advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings.
- You can opt out of some third-party vendors' use of cookies for personalised advertising at aboutads.info and Your Online Choices.
If you are in the EEA, the UK or Switzerland, you will be shown a consent notice before non-essential cookies are set, in line with Google's EU user consent policy. You can change or withdraw your choice at any time. Where consent is the basis for processing, withdrawing it does not affect processing that already happened.
Full detail, including how to control cookies in your browser, is in our cookie policy.
Affiliate links and Amazon
Some outbound links on this site are affiliate links to Amazon. When you click one, Amazon may set cookies to attribute any subsequent purchase to us. We receive aggregate commission reports from Amazon that tell us how many items were ordered and the commission earned. We do not receive your name, address, payment details or any information that identifies you personally.
Once you click through, you are on Amazon's site and Amazon's own privacy notice applies to everything you do there. See our affiliate disclosure for the commercial detail.
Why we process data, and our legal basis
| Purpose | Data | Legal basis (GDPR) |
|---|---|---|
| Serving and securing the website | IP address, browser data, server logs | Legitimate interests — operating a functioning, secure site |
| Understanding how the site is used | Aggregate usage and page data | Consent, where analytics cookies are used |
| Serving advertising | Advertising identifiers, cookies, approximate location | Consent for personalised ads; legitimate interests for non-personalised ads |
| Affiliate attribution | Referral identifiers set by Amazon | Legitimate interests — funding a free service |
| Replying to your email | Your email address and message | Legitimate interests — responding to an enquiry you initiated |
We do not sell personal information in the ordinary sense of the word. Note that some privacy laws, including the CCPA, define "sale" and "sharing" broadly enough to capture the transfer of advertising identifiers to advertising partners. To the extent that applies, California residents may opt out — see your rights below, or use the ad settings links above.
Who we share data with
We do not sell your data to anyone. Data may be processed by the following categories of provider, each acting under their own privacy terms:
- Cloudflare — hosting, content delivery and security. Processes IP addresses and request data to serve pages and block abuse.
- Google (AdSense) — advertising delivery and measurement.
- Google Fonts — serves the typefaces used on this site; your browser makes a request to Google's servers, which involves your IP address.
- Amazon — affiliate link attribution, if you click a product link.
Some of these providers are based in, or transfer data to, the United States and other countries outside the UK and EEA. Where that happens, transfers are made under appropriate safeguards such as the EU Standard Contractual Clauses, the UK International Data Transfer Addendum, or applicable adequacy decisions including the EU-US Data Privacy Framework.
We may also disclose information where we are legally required to do so, or to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.
How long we keep things
Server and security logs are typically retained for a short period, generally no more than twelve months, and then deleted or aggregated. Email correspondence is kept for as long as needed to handle your enquiry and for a reasonable period afterwards in case you follow up. Advertising and analytics data is retained according to the relevant provider's own retention schedule. Data stored in your browser's local storage stays until you clear it.
Your rights
If you are in the UK or EEA
You have the right to be informed about how your data is used; to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you; to have inaccurate data corrected; to request erasure; to restrict or object to processing, including objecting to processing based on legitimate interests and to direct marketing; to data portability; and to withdraw consent at any time where consent is the basis for processing.
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. In the UK that is the Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk).
If you are in California
You have the right to know what personal information is collected, used, shared or sold; to delete personal information held about you; to correct inaccurate information; to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information and of targeted advertising; to limit the use of sensitive personal information; and not to be discriminated against for exercising any of these rights.
Other jurisdictions
Residents of Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah and other states or countries with comprehensive privacy laws have broadly similar rights, and we will honour equivalent requests regardless of where you live.
How to exercise them
Email hello@bestalarmclock.com with what you would like us to do. We will respond within one month (GDPR) or forty-five days (CCPA), and will tell you if we need longer. Because we hold very little identifiable data, the honest answer to most access requests is that we hold nothing beyond any email you have sent us — but we will check and confirm.
Children
This site is intended for a general adult audience. It is not directed at children under 13 (or under 16 in parts of the EEA and UK), and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children. Some of our content is written for parents about children's sleep, which is not the same as being directed at children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, email hello@bestalarmclock.com and we will delete it.
Security
The site is served exclusively over HTTPS, is a static site with no user database and no login system, and stores no payment information of any kind. This architecture removes most categories of risk, though no method of transmission over the internet is completely secure and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
Do Not Track and global privacy signals
There is still no industry consensus on how to respond to browser Do Not Track headers. Where our providers support the Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal, we rely on their handling of it. You can also use the advertising opt-out links above for direct control.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy to reflect changes in the site, our providers or the law. The date at the top always shows the current version. Material changes will be flagged prominently on the site. Your continued use after an update means you accept the revised policy.
How to contact us
For any question about this page — or anything else on this site — email hello@bestalarmclock.com. We read everything sent to that address and aim to reply within five working days. It is the only contact address for BestAlarmClock.com; we do not operate a phone line or a postal enquiries desk.