Last updated: September 20, 2026
The Short Version
We collect as little as possible: nothing you type into the calculator ever reaches our servers, we never sell personal data, and our ad partners are disclosed openly. The full details follow.
This Privacy Policy explains what information SnapBenefitsCalculator.com collects, why, how long it is kept, and what rights you have. It also describes the cookies and third-party advertising technologies used on this site, because display advertising is how the site is funded. If anything here is unclear, email us at admin@snapbenefitscalculator.com and we will explain it in plain language.
Who We Are
SnapBenefitsCalculator.com is an independent, privately owned informational website operated by Wasim Akram ("we", "us", "our"). It publishes a free SNAP benefit calculator, state-by-state guides, and plain-language explainers about the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. We are not affiliated with USDA, any state agency, or any government body. For the scope and limits of our content, see our disclaimer; for how the site is funded, see our advertising disclosure.
Information We Collect
2.1 Information you provide voluntarily
The only personal information we receive is what you choose to send us in an email — for example, a correction report that includes your name and the details you choose to share. We use it solely to respond to your message and to verify and fix the issue you reported. We do not add email senders to marketing lists, and we do not share correspondence with third parties except where required by law.
2.2 Information collected automatically
Like nearly all websites, our hosting and analytics stack records standard technical data when you request a page: your IP address (truncated in analytics), browser type and version, device category, the page requested, the referring page, and timestamps. This data keeps the site running, security-monitored, and statistically understandable — in aggregate. It is not used to build individual profiles and is never matched to anything you typed into the calculator.
2.3 Information we never collect
We never ask for, and never want, your Social Security number, case number, EBT card number, application documents, bank details, immigration paperwork, date of birth, or home address. Any email or website claiming to need these "to use our calculator" is not us — please report it. We also do not operate user accounts, so there are no passwords or profile data to store.
What Happens to Calculator Inputs
The benefit calculator is built to run entirely in your browser using JavaScript. The household size, income, and expense figures you enter are processed on your device and are not transmitted to our servers, not stored in any database, and not seen by any member of our team. When you close or refresh the page, the inputs are gone. This design is deliberate: you should be able to explore your eligibility anonymously, and we have no interest in holding data we do not need.
Cookies and Similar Technologies
Cookies are small files a website or its partners store in your browser. This site uses three categories:
- Strictly necessary: minimal technical cookies or local storage needed for core functionality (for example, remembering a collapsed menu during your visit). The site functions without personal data collection.
- Analytics: Google Analytics 4 cookies that measure aggregate traffic — page views, session counts, approximate geography (country/state level), device types — so we know which guides to improve. IPs are truncated/anonymized by the platform.
- Advertising: cookies and similar identifiers set by our third-party ad partners to serve and, where permitted, personalize advertisements. Details are in Section 5.
You can clear or block cookies in your browser settings at any time; the calculator and guides will keep working, though ad measurement may be less accurate.
Third-Party Advertising
SnapBenefitsCalculator.com is funded by display advertising. We work with third-party advertising partners — including premium ad-management and monetization networks such as Mediavine and, potentially over time, other display networks such as Google AdSense / Google Ad Manager — who serve banner and in-content advertisements on our pages.
These partners and their downstream advertisers may use cookies, web beacons, and similar technologies to: (a) deliver ads on this site; (b) measure ad performance; and (c) where permitted by law and your settings, personalize the ads you see based on your browsing across websites. This is standard programmatic advertising, and it means the ads you see are chosen at the moment a page loads, in an automated auction, by the ad networks — not by us. We do not control which specific advertiser wins that auction, and we do not receive your personal data directly from them.
If you prefer non-personalized ads, you have several options:
- Google's Ads Settings at adssettings.google.com lets you turn off ad personalization for Google-served ads;
- The aboutads.info choices page (Digital Advertising Alliance) and the NAI opt-out page let you opt out of interest-based advertising from many participating companies;
- Browser extensions and "Limit Ad Tracking" device settings further restrict ad identifiers;
- Our advertising disclosure page explains our ad standards and how to report a bad ad.
Where required by applicable law, a consent management platform presents a cookie consent banner on your first visit, and your choices are honored on subsequent visits. For readers in regions without a mandatory banner, the opt-out links above remain available.
Analytics
We use Google Analytics 4 to understand aggregate audience patterns — which state guides are most visited, which FAQs confuse readers, which pages need updating. GA4 is configured with IP anonymization, and we do not enable Google Signals advertising features or link analytics to ad identifiers. We look at trends, not individuals. You can block Google Analytics with any standard browser extension without affecting site functionality.
How We Use Information (and What We Never Do)
The limited information described above is used to: operate and secure the website; measure aggregate traffic; respond to your emails; and display advertising that funds the site. We never: sell or rent personal data; build advertising profiles ourselves; use your information for automated decisions with legal effect; or combine calculator inputs with anything else, because we never receive them.
Your Rights (CCPA, GDPR, and Other Laws)
8.1 California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA/CPRA)
California residents have the right to know what personal information is collected, the right to delete personal information, the right to correct inaccurate information, the right to opt out of the "sale" or "sharing" of personal information, and the right to non-discrimination for exercising these rights. Because our advertising partners' cookies may constitute "sharing" for cross-context behavioral advertising as defined by California law, the opt-out tools in Section 5 (particularly the DAA and Google settings) are how you exercise that choice; our consent banner provides an equivalent control where presented. We do not sell personal information for money. To exercise know/delete/correct rights, email admin@snapbenefitscalculator.com — although note honestly that the only personal data we hold about you is correspondence you have sent us.
8.2 General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
If you are in the EEA, UK, or Switzerland, we process data on these legal bases: legitimate interest (site security, aggregate analytics, and non-personalized advertising) and consent (personalized advertising cookies and analytics where the consent banner offers them and you accept). You have the right to access, rectify, erase, restrict, or port your personal data, and to object to processing — write to admin@snapbenefitscalculator.com. Because we collect almost no personal data, most requests concern email correspondence. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority.
8.3 Other regions
Readers in Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, and other U.S. states with comprehensive privacy laws have similar rights to know, delete, correct, and opt out of targeted advertising — the same tools in Section 5 apply, and the same email reaches us.
International Data Transfers
Our hosting, content-delivery network, analytics, and advertising partners operate globally, which means the limited technical data described above may be processed in the United States and other countries whose data-protection laws differ from your own. Where required, transfers rely on recognized safeguards such as the European Commission's standard contractual clauses implemented by our service providers. Because we collect so little personal data, transfers are limited to the technical and aggregate categories described in Sections 2 and 5.
Automated Decision-Making
We make no decisions about individuals by automated means, and nothing on this site produces legal effects for you. Ad auctions and ad personalization run on our partners' systems under their own policies and your consent choices — not ours. The calculator's arithmetic is transparent, published, and performed at your direction on your own device; it is a tool you control, not a system that evaluates you.
Children's Privacy
This site is intended for a general adult audience and is not directed to children under 13 (or under 16 in the EEA). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has sent us personal information, email us and we will delete it promptly.
Data Retention
Analytics data is retained by Google Analytics for the standard retention period configured in the property (currently 14 months) and then automatically deleted. Server logs are kept for a short technical window (typically up to 30 days) for security and troubleshooting. Email correspondence is kept only as long as needed to handle the thread — correction reports are retained with the fix they produced so future editors understand why a page changed.
Data Security
The entire site is served over HTTPS. Because we operate no accounts, store no calculator inputs, and hold no sensitive datasets, the practical attack surface for personal data is small by design. Hosting and CDN infrastructure are kept current with security patches, and administrative access is limited. No method of transmission over the Internet is 100% secure, but the architecture of this site minimizes what any incident could expose.
Changes to This Policy
We update this policy when our practices, partners, or the law change — for example, when a new advertising partner is added. The "Last updated" date at the top always reflects the current version, and material changes are summarized at the top of the page. Continued use of the site after an update constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.
Contact
Privacy questions, requests, and complaints: email admin@snapbenefitscalculator.com with "Privacy" in the subject line. See our contact page for response times and more ways to reach the editorial team.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the SNAP calculator collect my information?
No. The calculator runs entirely in your browser. Your inputs are used to compute an estimate on your device and are never sent to us, stored, or seen by anyone.
Does this site sell my data?
No. We do not sell or rent personal information. Third-party ad partners may use cookies to serve and personalize ads as described in Section 5, and the standard industry opt-out tools let you control that.
How do I stop personalized ads on this site?
Use the opt-out links in Section 5 — Google Ads Settings, the DAA choices page, or the NAI page — or turn on your browser or device's tracking protections. You can also decline advertising cookies in our consent banner where presented.
Do you comply with GDPR and CCPA?
Yes, as described in Section 8. Our collection is minimal by design, which makes compliance straightforward: the main personal data we ever hold is the email you choose to send us.
