Privacy Policy, llcformationcost.com

Navigating Data Privacy for Your SaaS (and Ours)

Over 90% of user interactions with our LLC cost calculator involve zero personally identifiable information (PII) ever touching our persistent storage. As founders, we deeply understand the responsibility that comes with handling user data. This isn't just a legal document, it's our operational philosophy on privacy, explained from a practical, technical, and founder-to-founder perspective.

This policy outlines how llcformationcost.com, referred to as "we," "us," or "the site," manages information when you visit, use our calculator, or engage with the AI advisor. This document was last updated on April 25, 2026.

What We Gather

Our approach to data collection is guided by necessity. We only collect what's essential for our services to function and to improve the user experience.

Information You Explicitly Provide

When you're crunching numbers with our LLC cost calculator, you input specific parameters. These are purely functional inputs, designed to yield an accurate cost estimate:

• The US state of formation.
• The number of LLC members.
• Your preferences for various add-on services, such as registered agent, EIN service, operating agreement, expedite options, or S-corp election.

When you interact with our AI advisor, it requires a bit more context to provide relevant insights. You share:

• A concise 1-3 sentence business description.
• The home state(s) of you and any co-founders.
• Your projected first-year revenue range. We prefer a band, not an exact figure, to maintain your privacy while still providing useful context for the AI.
• Your multi-state operations status.
• Any VC-raising plans you might have.

Should you reach out to us, whether to submit a correction or for general inquiries, we collect:

• Your email address.
• Your name, which is optional.
• The message content itself. This is standard for communication and support.

Information Collected Automatically

Like virtually any web service, we gather some operational data to ensure stability, security, and performance.

• Our standard server logs capture basic data: your IP address, browser user agent, the specific page you viewed, the timestamp of your visit, and the referrer URL. This helps us debug issues, prevent abuse, and understand overall traffic patterns.
• For advertising purposes, we utilize cookie identifiers from Ezoic and Google AdSense. These enable personalized ads, a common practice across the web, though you always retain control over these preferences.
• We track analytics events using Google Analytics 4, always with IP anonymization enabled. This provides us with aggregated insights into how our site is used, without tying data to individual users.
• Crucially, we collect calculator and AI advisor usage telemetry. This means we know which steps you completed or if a calculation failed, but this data is completely anonymized. No PII is ever attached to this telemetry. It helps us improve the user flow and identify bottlenecks.

Information We Explicitly Do NOT Collect

Just as important as what we collect is what we actively avoid collecting. Our goal is to provide value without unnecessary data intrusion.

• Your name is never requested in the calculator, nor is your business name in either the calculator or the AI advisor. These tools are designed to be anonymous.
• Your SSN, EIN, or any other tax-identifying number is never requested or stored.
• We do not handle bank account or payment information. As of April 25, 2026, our site has no payment processing capabilities.
• Unless you voluntarily include it in an email, we do not collect your specific business address or any other personally identifiable information beyond what's explicitly listed above.

How We Leverage Information

Our use of your information is strictly limited to the purposes outlined, ensuring functionality, security, and a better user experience.

Calculator Inputs

These inputs are purely transactional. They flow directly into our calculation engine, produce a result, and are then immediately discarded from session storage once you close the tab. We don't store individual calculator inputs linked to your IP address. Think of it as a stateless function call: calculate_cost(state, members, add_ons) -> result. The data is processed and gone.

AI Advisor Inputs

Your AI advisor inputs are used to generate the AI's response. For performance optimization, we cache these responses. This cache is generated by hashing the input query along with the system prompt version, ensuring that it's anonymized and not tied back to you. The cache has a 30-day TTL (Time To Live), after which it is automatically purged.

Server Logs

Our server logs are retained for a period of 90 days. This retention period is primarily for security monitoring, debugging operational issues, and identifying potential abuse patterns. We do not use these logs for individual user tracking beyond aggregate statistical analysis to understand site health and traffic.

Cookies

Cookies serve a few distinct purposes on our site:

• They enable ad personalization via Ezoic and Google AdSense. This helps us show you more relevant ads, supporting the free services we provide. You can, of course, opt out of this.
• They power our analytics via Google Analytics 4, always configured with IP anonymization to respect your privacy.
• Finally, some cookies are purely technical. They preserve your calculator state across page loads, ensuring a smooth user experience if you navigate away and return. These technical cookies involve no PII.

How We Share Information

Transparency in data sharing is critical. Here's our policy on who gets what.

What We Do Not Share

Our stance on sharing your data is clear and firm:

• We do not sell your personal information to any third parties.
• We do not share your AI advisor inputs with any external entities.
• Your email address remains confidential with us.

What We May Share

We do work with essential service providers who help us run the platform. These partnerships are carefully managed:

• We share data with Google for AdSense and Analytics, utilizing standard tracking pixels with IP anonymization.
• We work with Ezoic for our ad serving infrastructure.
• We rely on other service providers, such as Cloudflare and Google Cloud Run for hosting, Sentry for application monitoring, and Linear for support routing. These partners operate under strict data-processing agreements, ensuring they handle your data with the same care we do.

When Required by Law

Should we receive a valid legal process, such as a subpoena or court order, we will respond as required by law. However, we are prepared to challenge any requests that we deem overly broad or intrusive.

Your Privacy Rights

Depending on your location, various regulations grant you specific rights regarding your personal data. We are committed to upholding these.

CCPA (California Residents)

If you are a California resident, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) provides you with several key rights:

• The right to know what personal information we collect about you.
• The right to delete your personal information. To exercise this, simply email [e-mail] with "CCPA DELETE" in the subject line.
• The right to opt out of the sale of your personal information. Since we do not sell your data, this right is effectively exercised by default for all users.
• The right to non-discrimination for exercising any of your CCPA rights.

GDPR (EEA, UK, Switzerland Residents)

For individuals residing in the European Economic Area (EEA), the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) grants a comprehensive set of rights:

• The right to access your personal data.
• The right to rectification of inaccurate data.
• The right to erasure (often known as the "right to be forgotten").
• The right to data portability.
• The right to object to processing.
• The right to withdraw consent at any time.

To exercise any of your GDPR rights, please email [e-mail] with "GDPR REQUEST" in the subject line. We commit to responding to all valid requests within 30 days.

Right to Opt Out of Cookies

You have direct control over your cookie preferences. On your first visit, our cookie banner provides options to manage these settings. You can also revisit the cookie settings link, typically found in our site's footer, at any time to update your choices. Furthermore, most web browsers allow you to disable third-party cookies entirely through their settings.

Children's Privacy

Our platform is explicitly not directed at children under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect any information from individuals in this age group. If you believe we have inadvertently collected data from a child under 13, please contact us immediately at [e-mail], and we will promptly take steps to delete that information.

Data Retention Policies

Understanding how long we keep data is fundamental to our privacy commitment.

• Calculator inputs: These are strictly in-memory and are discarded at the end of your session, meaning once you close the tab.
• AI advisor cache: This data has a 30-day TTL (Time To Live), after which it is automatically cleared.
• Server logs: We retain these logs for 90 days for security and operational analysis.
• Email correspondence: We keep email exchanges until your inquiry is resolved, then archive them for 7 years to meet legal record-keeping obligations.
• Analytics aggregates: Anonymized aggregate analytics data, which cannot be tied to individuals, may be retained indefinitely to track long-term trends and site performance.

Security Measures

Security is paramount for any online service. We employ robust, industry-standard practices to protect your data.

We utilize industry-standard encryption both in transit (specifically TLS 1.3 for all web traffic) and at rest for any stored data. Our site is hosted on Cloudflare Pages, which benefits from Cloudflare's inherent DDoS protection. The AI advisor backend runs on Google Cloud Run, secured with IAM-based access control, ensuring only authorized personnel and services can interact with it.

It's crucial to acknowledge that no internet-facing service can guarantee 100% security. If you ever suspect a breach, a vulnerability, or any security incident, please notify us immediately at [e-mail] so we can investigate and act swiftly.

Third-Party Links

Our site frequently provides links to external resources, such as official state Secretary of State websites, the IRS, or FinCEN. Once you click on one of these external links and leave our domain, this privacy policy no longer applies. The destination site will operate under its own privacy policy, and we encourage you to review their terms.

Changes to This Policy

Our privacy policy may be updated periodically to reflect changes in our practices or regulatory requirements. We will announce any material changes by updating the Last updated date prominently at the top of this document. Non-material changes, such as correcting typos or minor formatting adjustments, will not trigger separate announcements.

Contact Information

For any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this privacy policy or your data, please don't hesitate to reach out:

• Email: [e-mail]
• Mail: [Address pending, formal mailing address available on request]

This information is not legal advice. Our cost estimates are based on publicly available data from each state's Secretary of State office. Always consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for specific legal guidance tailored to your situation. Full data + interactive calculator: llcformationcost.com