Privacy Policy

Last updated: April 23, 2026

1. Introduction

Welcome to CompoundLadder.com ("we," "our," or "us"). We operate CompoundLadder.com (the "Site"), a free collection of financial calculators covering retirement planning, FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early), savings, debt payoff, mortgages, and related personal finance topics.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard information when you visit our Site. We are committed to protecting your privacy and complying with applicable data protection laws, including the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the UK GDPR, and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) / California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA).

If you do not agree with the practices described in this policy, please do not use the Site.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information You Provide Voluntarily

CompoundLadder.com is designed so that you can use all calculators without creating an account. Any numbers you type into a calculator (income, savings balance, target amount, interest rate, etc.) are processed entirely in your browser and are not transmitted to or stored on our servers.

If you contact us by email, we will receive your email address and the contents of your message.

2.2 Information Collected Automatically

When you visit the Site, our hosting provider and analytics tools automatically collect certain technical information, including:

  • IP address (anonymized by Google Analytics 4 where possible)
  • Browser type and version
  • Operating system
  • Referring URL
  • Pages viewed and time spent on each page
  • Approximate geographic location (country / region level)
  • Device type (desktop, mobile, tablet)

2.3 Cookies and Similar Technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies, including:

  • Google Analytics 4 (GA4) cookies — to understand how visitors use the Site in aggregate (e.g., _ga, _ga_*). Retention: up to 14 months.
  • Google AdSense cookies — to serve advertisements, including personalized ads based on your browsing activity (e.g., __gads, __gpi, IDE, NID).
  • Consent management cookies — to remember your cookie preferences.

Third-party advertising vendors, including Google, may use cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this Site and other websites on the Internet.

3. How We Use Information

  1. Operate, maintain, and improve the Site.
  2. Understand which calculators and content are most useful.
  3. Serve relevant advertisements through Google AdSense.
  4. Respond to inquiries sent to our contact email.
  5. Detect and prevent fraud, abuse, and security issues.
  6. Comply with legal obligations.

4. Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR)

If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA) or the United Kingdom, we rely on the following legal bases:

  • Consent — for non-essential cookies (analytics, advertising personalization). You may withdraw consent at any time via our cookie banner.
  • Legitimate interests — for maintaining Site security, preventing fraud, and performing aggregate analytics.
  • Legal obligation — where required by applicable law.

5. Google AdSense and Advertising

We participate in the Google AdSense program. Google, as a third-party vendor, uses cookies to serve ads on our Site. Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads based on your visit to our Site and/or other sites on the Internet.

You may opt out of personalized advertising by:

For more information review Google's Privacy Policy at policies.google.com/privacy.

6. Your Rights Under GDPR

If you are in the EEA or UK, you have the right to: access, rectification, deletion, restrict processing, data portability, withdraw consent, and lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. To exercise these rights, email yi@compoundladder.com.

7. Your Rights Under CCPA / CPRA

California residents have the right to: know what personal information we collect/use/disclose, request deletion, opt out of sale/sharing, non-discrimination, correct inaccurate info, and limit sensitive info use.

Do Not Sell or Share:Although we do not sell personal information for monetary value, use of advertising cookies may be considered "sharing" under CCPA. Email yi@compoundladder.comwith subject "Do Not Sell or Share".

8. Data Retention

  • Calculator inputs: never stored server-side.
  • Analytics data: up to 14 months (GA4 default).
  • Email correspondence: up to 24 months unless required longer.
  • Log files: up to 90 days.

9. Data Security

We use industry-standard measures (HTTPS, access controls, reputable hosting). However, no Internet transmission is 100% secure. You use the Site at your own risk.

10. International Data Transfers

The Site is operated from outside the EEA. Data may be transferred to and processed in countries with different data protection laws. We rely on Standard Contractual Clauses and the protections offered by Google (AdSense, GA4).

11. Children's Privacy

The Site is not directed to children under 13 (or 16 in the EEA). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

12. Changes

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically. The "Last updated" date reflects the most recent revision.

13. Contact

Email: yi@compoundladder.com
Operator: Yi Liu
Site: CompoundLadder.com