Privacy Policy

About Solar Panda and this policy

Solar Panda provides free, educational tools and content for homeowners and DIY enthusiasts in the Philippines who want to plan home solar systems. Our services include solar and battery calculators (for example, estimates based on Meralco-style electricity bills or monthly consumption), wiring and safety references, a hybrid inverter finder, mini-calculators, charts, a solar glossary, and blog articles about DIY solar, maintenance, and equipment. Most features do not require you to create an account.

This policy applies to information processed through our website. It is intended to meet common expectations for privacy transparency, including for visitors and for partners such as Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, and, where enabled, Google AdSense or similar advertising technologies. If you do not agree with this policy, please discontinue use of our site.

Information we collect

When you browse Solar Panda, we and our service providers may collect certain information automatically:

• Log and device data: Such as your Internet Protocol (IP) address, browser type and version, operating system, referring URLs, pages viewed, time and date of access, and approximate location derived from IP (for example, country or region).
• Cookies and similar technologies: Small files or storage on your device used to remember preferences, measure traffic, support site functionality, and deliver or measure advertising where applicable.
• Browser local storage for app functionality: We store certain values locally in your browser (for example, calculator inputs, selected rate preferences, and recently viewed tool items) so your entries can persist when you navigate back or reload pages. This data stays on your device unless shared through analytics/advertising technologies as separately described in this policy.
• Usage and analytics events: Aggregated or pseudonymous data about how visitors interact with calculators, links, and content — for example, which sections are used most often — collected through analytics and tag management tools.

If you contact us by email or through a form, we may collect the information you choose to provide (such as your email address and message content) solely to respond to your inquiry.

How we use your information

We use collected information to:

• Operate, maintain, and improve Solar Panda's calculators, articles, and user experience.
• Understand audience trends, traffic sources, and feature usage so we can prioritize fixes and new content.
• Measure performance and diagnose technical issues (for example, errors or slow pages).
• Comply with applicable law, enforce our terms, and protect the security and integrity of our services.
• Where advertising is displayed, to support free access to our tools through contextually relevant or personalized ads, subject to your settings and this policy.

We do not sell your personal information in the traditional sense of exchanging a mailing list for money. Some analytics and advertising partners may process data under their own policies as independent controllers or processors, as described below.

Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager

We use Google Analytics (Google LLC) to analyze how visitors use our website. Google Analytics uses cookies and similar technologies to collect information such as how often users visit, which pages they view, and what other sites they used prior to arriving. We use this information to improve Solar Panda.

We also use Google Tag Manager to manage measurement tags and related scripts in a consistent way. Tag Manager itself is a deployment tool and may process limited technical data when tags fire.

Google's use of data collected through Google Analytics is described in the Google Privacy Policy. You can learn more about how Google Analytics collects and processes data at Google's partner policy page.

You may install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on to prevent Google Analytics JavaScript from sharing visit activity with Google Analytics.

Advertising and Google AdSense

Solar Panda may display advertisements served by Google AdSense or other advertising partners. Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on a user's prior visits to our website or other websites. Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to users based on their visits to Solar Panda and/or other sites on the Internet.

Users may opt out of personalized advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings. You can also visit aboutads.info for additional choices regarding interest-based ads. We encourage you to review Google's policies for publishers and advertisers for the most current rules governing ad delivery and data use.

Advertising helps us keep calculators and educational resources free for the public. We aim to place ads in a way that does not interfere with the clarity of our solar safety and sizing information.

Cookies and your choices

You can control cookies through your browser settings (block, delete, or receive warnings before cookies are stored). Blocking all cookies may affect how certain features of Solar Panda work.

In addition to cookies, we use browser local storage for essential functionality (for example, remembering calculator entries and certain tool preferences). You can clear this data from your browser's site data settings at any time.

For European Economic Area users, where required, consent mechanisms may apply to non-essential cookies and similar technologies. We strive to respect applicable regional requirements as our audience grows.

Data retention, security, and sharing

We retain analytics and log-related information only as long as needed for the purposes described above or as required by law. Analytics providers apply their own retention schedules as described in their documentation.

We implement reasonable technical and organizational measures designed to protect information against unauthorized access, alteration, or destruction. No method of transmission over the Internet is completely secure.

We may share information with service providers who assist us (for example, hosting, analytics, or advertising) under contracts that limit use to providing services to us. We may also disclose information if required by law, court order, or to protect rights, safety, and security.

Children's privacy

Solar Panda is a general-audience site focused on home solar education and tools. It is not directed at children under 13 (or the minimum age required in your jurisdiction), and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe we have collected information from a child, please contact us and we will take steps to delete it promptly.

Third-party links and embedded content

Our site may link to third-party websites (for example, social profiles, manufacturer pages, or reference materials). We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those sites. We encourage you to read their privacy policies before providing any personal information.

Your rights and contact

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, or restrict certain processing of your personal information. To exercise these rights or ask questions about this policy, contact us at solarpanda.ph@gmail.com. We will respond within a reasonable timeframe.

Solar Panda is operated with a focus on users in the Philippines; international visitors should note that information may be processed on servers or by vendors located in other countries where data protection laws may differ.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or site features. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page will be revised when we post changes. Continued use of Solar Panda after updates constitutes acceptance of the revised policy, to the extent permitted by law. We encourage you to review this page periodically.