Privacy

This page describes what the site actually does today. It has not had a legal review, and it does not claim that HomeStartPage complies with the GDPR, UK GDPR, PECR, CCPA, or any other law.

No account

HomeStartPage does not ask you to sign in, and it does not run its own database of visitors. Preferences stay in this browser with localStorage. Clearing site data for this domain removes them. The keys in use are:

• hsp.theme — light or dark
• hsp.engine — the search engine id only
• hsp.shortcuts — shortcut names, links, and order that differ from the built-in set
• hsp.weather.enabled — whether weather is switched on
• hsp.weather.cache — the latest forecast and the rounded location, for up to 30 minutes

An untouched browser stores nothing for shortcuts. Search text is never one of these keys.

Search

When you search, the browser leaves this site and opens the engine you selected. The query is sent to that engine, not to a HomeStartPage server. This site does not store searches or keep a search history. The words you type are not written to localStorage. The engine's own policy applies after you leave:

• Google Privacy Policy
• Microsoft Privacy Statement (Bing)
• DuckDuckGo Privacy

Shortcuts

Names and links you change stay on this device, separate from the built-in shortcut list. The page only allows http and https destinations, and it refuses executable links such as javascript: URLs. Icons are a letter or a small built-in symbol, unless you choose a site icon. Get icon, in the shortcut form, and Logo, on a saved tile, first ask that site for its favicon. If the site blocks that image, the browser asks Google for a copy, and Google sees the site address. HomeStartPage does not store the image. If neither image loads, the tile shows a letter. None of the built-in shortcuts use an affiliate tracking link. If the publisher later adds an approved tracking address for a shortcut, that tile is labelled Commercial and opens the address exactly as the programme supplied it. The page does not add its own tracking parameters.

Weather

Weather stays off until you choose Show weather. Turning it on asks the browser for your location. The page rounds that location to about a kilometre and requests a forecast from Open-Meteo. That request reveals the approximate location, and the connection reveals your IP address, to Open-Meteo. A copy of the latest reading can remain in localStorage for 30 minutes so the page does not ask again on every visit. Hide weather to stop new requests. Removing site data deletes the saved reading. If the forecast cannot be loaded, search and shortcuts still work.

Sponsored links

The advertisement section is ordinary links chosen by the publisher. It is omitted when no placement is active. The page does not load an advertising network, tracking pixel, or advertising cookie, and it does not request remote advertisement images. A site you open from an advertisement has its own privacy policy. The fictional sample in the configuration is disabled and is not shown.

Analytics

No analytics provider is installed. The site does not send page views, clicks, or a visitor identifier to an analytics service. A configuration flag for analytics exists and is off. Changing that flag does not load a provider, because no collector is included.

If a provider is added later, this page needs to name it and describe what leaves the browser. That often includes pages viewed, a rough location derived from the IP address, device or browser type, and any cookie or identifier the provider sets. Cookieless beacons can still be personal data.

Cookies and consent

This site does not set cookies. Preferences use localStorage on this device, and that storage is not sent to a HomeStartPage server. There is no consent banner, because no non-essential cookie or similar tracker is loaded.

Check the following before enabling a third-party service. This is a reminder for the operator, not a compliance certificate:

• Search engines can set their own cookies after a visitor leaves this site. Their policies are linked above.
• Weather, once turned on, sends an approximate location and the connection's IP address to Open-Meteo. Confirm whether that request needs extra notice in the operator's country.
• An approved affiliate or advertisement link can let the destination set its own cookies after the visitor chooses to open it. Check the programme's disclosure rules before enabling a tracking URL. The page does not add tracking parameters of its own.
• Analytics are not installed. A provider such as Google Analytics, Plausible, or Cloudflare Web Analytics would be a new third party. In the UK and the EEA, non-essential cookies and similar storage usually need consent before they run. Do not enable one until you know what it stores, where it is sent, and whether a consent control is required. Advertising networks and tracking pixels need the same check, and none are installed now.
• The company that hosts the files may log IP addresses and browser types. This site's code does not read those logs.

Contact

Privacy questions can go to hello@homestartpage.com.