Privacy Policy

1. Overview

This Privacy Policy explains how thegroupgenerator.com ("we", "us", or "our") treats information when you access and use our website. We believe that user privacy should be the default, not an afterthought. Our website is built from the ground up as a client-side web application that requires no user account, no email address, and no personal profile.

2. How Client-Side Processing Works

When you paste a list of names, drag-and-drop a spreadsheet (.xlsx, .csv), or import a roster (.pdf, .docx):

• The file parsing logic executes entirely within your browser using JavaScript.
• The Fisher-Yates randomization algorithm and the constraint solver execute in your device's memory (RAM).
• PDF generation and print layout calculations happen on your local machine using client-side rendering engines.
• No data stream containing participant names ever travels across the internet to our backend.

3. Local Storage Usage

We use your browser's built-in localStorage solely to save non-sensitive user interface preferences between visits:

• Theme Preference: Whether you selected light mode or dark mode (theme).
• Custom Team Names: Optional custom team names you manually typed, stored locally so you don't have to retype them (rgg_custom_group_names).
• Canvas Layout State: Custom card positions on your whiteboard canvas (rgg_custom_canvas_layout_v1).

This data never leaves your browser. You can clear this data at any time simply by clearing your browser's cache and cookies.

4. Student Privacy & Educational Compliance (FERPA & COPPA)

We recognize that teachers frequently use group generators with student names. Because thegroupgenerator.com does not collect, transmit, store, or sell any student names or personal records:

• FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act): Using our tool does not constitute a disclosure of educational records, as no records are transferred to our possession.
• COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act): We do not knowingly collect or solicit personal information from children under 13.

5. Server Logs & Anonymous Technical Metrics

Like all web hosting platforms, our content delivery network (CDN) may automatically log basic, non-personally identifiable technical information when your browser requests web assets (such as HTML, CSS, and SVG icons). This information includes:

• Browser type and version
• Operating system
• Referring URL
• Date and time of the page request

These logs are used exclusively for security monitoring, server health, and bandwidth management. They are never linked to any user identity.

6. Third-Party Libraries & Content Delivery Networks

To provide fast load times globally, our website loads static font files and open-source JavaScript utilities via reputable CDNs (such as jsDelivr and Google Fonts). These external CDNs only serve static files and have no access to the rosters or data you enter into the application.

7. International Rights (GDPR & CCPA)

Because we do not store, process, or sell any personal data on servers, we adhere inherently to data minimization principles under GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) and CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act). You do not need to request deletion of your roster data because we never possessed it in the first place.

8. Contact Information

If you have questions or concerns regarding our privacy practices, please contact us at:

Email: support@thegroupgenerator.com
Website: https://thegroupgenerator.com