Privacy Policy

Plain English. No dark patterns. No surprises.

Last updated: September 22, 2026

TL;DR

The images and videos you upload never leave your browser. There is no server that sees, stores, or processes your media, everything runs on your own device. ASCII Magic has a free tier and an optional paid Pro plan; Pro needs an account and is billed through Dodo Payments. We use privacy-friendly analytics to count usage and find broken features. We don't sell your data and we don't have advertisers.

1. Who runs this site

ASCII Magic is an independent, browser-based tool built and maintained by one person. There is no company, no team, and no parent organization. More on the maker on the About page. Reach out via the Contact page or email kailash@ascii-magic.com.

2. Your images and videos

This is the part people ask about most, so it gets a clear answer:

Nothing you upload is ever sent to a server. The file you drag in, paste, or pick from your computer is read directly into your browser's memory and rendered there. No upload step. No copy on disk. No copy in the cloud.
When you close the tab or refresh, the image is gone. We have no way to recover it because we never had it.
This is true for every Style, every effect, every export (PNG, JPG, GIF, MP4), exports are generated in your browser and downloaded straight to your device.
The demo gallery images are public assets served from this site. They are not images other users uploaded.

3. Usage analytics

To understand which features get used and which ones break, the site loads PostHog, a self-hostable analytics tool. It runs in your browser and sends event data to PostHog Cloud (United States). We have configured it in anonymous mode (person_profiles: 'identified_only') and we never call identify(), so no profile is ever created tying events to you personally.

The site also runs a small first-party analytics beacon of our own. It records the same kind of non-identifying events (which feature was used, whether something failed) to our own backend (Supabase) rather than a third party. When you are signed in, these events are tagged with your account's internal id (a random identifier, never your email or name) so we can see how signed-in users use the product and measure things like active use. Signed out, the beacon stays anonymous. This data is never sold or shared with advertisers.

Each event captures the type of action and a few non-identifying parameters. The full list of events:

file_uploaded style_changed char_preset_changed custom_chars_modified animation_toggled animation_preset_changed lights_toggled light_added lights_perf_warning_shown effect_toggled mask_toggled crop_opened crop_saved crop_cancelled export_clicked export_completed export_failed inspire_clicked gallery_background_selected backgrounds_supply_toast_shown backgrounds_supply_clicked theme_toggled menu_opened about_opened privacy_opened bug_report_opened feature_suggestion_opened feedback_submitted

For file_uploaded we record the file type (image/video), upload method (drag, paste, picker), extension (jpg, png, mp4…), and size in megabytes. We do not record the file name or any image data.

PostHog also automatically records standard web metadata: page URL, referrer, browser and OS, screen size, approximate region derived from IP (then discarded), and an anonymous random ID stored in a first-party cookie so repeat sessions can be counted as one visitor. We do not use this ID to look you up, and it is anonymous and separate from your ASCII Magic account.

You can opt out of analytics by blocking us.i.posthog.com in your browser (any ad-blocker does this), enabling Do Not Track, or by running this once in your browser console: posthog.opt_out_capturing().

4. Bug reports and feature suggestions

When you click "Report a Bug" or "Suggest a Feature" in the hamburger menu and submit the form, the following is sent to a private Google Apps Script endpoint:

The message you typed
The timestamp
Diagnostic context: browser and OS, screen and window size, current theme, network type, current Style and render settings (font size, character set, coverage, blend mode, animation state, mask state, active effects)
If you had a file loaded: file name, type, size, and source dimensions (e.g. 1920×1080), used so we can reproduce the bug. The image bytes themselves are never sent.

This is opt-in, nothing is sent unless you write a message and click Send. The technical context is visible in the form before you send it (click "Show technical details").

5. What we store on your device

The site uses your browser's localStorage to remember tiny preferences. These never leave your machine:

ascii-magic-theme, whether you picked light or dark mode
ascii-magic-attribution, a flag so the "backgrounds by Backgrounds Supply" toast only shows once
ascii-magic-auth, your sign-in session, present only if you have an account so you stay logged in
am_anon_id and am_session, random ids used to count analytics without identifying you

Clearing site data in your browser settings removes these instantly.

6. Cookies

The only cookie set on this site is PostHog's anonymous distinct-ID cookie (typically named ph_*_posthog). It contains a random ID, not personal information. There are no advertising cookies, no third-party tracking cookies, and no marketing pixels.

7. Third parties that may receive data

Vercel, hosts the site. Like any web host, it sees each request's IP address, browser user-agent, and the URL requested, and keeps short-lived server logs. See Vercel's privacy policy.
PostHog, receives the anonymous analytics events listed in section 3. See PostHog's privacy policy.
Google Apps Script, receives bug reports and feature suggestions, only when you submit one (section 4).
Supabase, our backend. If you create an account it stores your account email and your plan and credit status, and it also receives the first-party analytics events described in section 3. See Supabase's privacy policy.
Dodo Payments, our payment processor and Merchant of Record for Pro purchases (section 8). See Dodo Payments' privacy policy.
Brevo, sends account and product emails if you sign up, for example the welcome email. See Brevo's privacy policy.

That is the complete list. No advertisers, no data brokers, no social-media trackers.

8. Accounts and payments

You can use ASCII Magic without an account. If you want the Pro plan, you create an account, and we store your account email and your plan and credit status in our backend (Supabase) so the app knows what you have access to. We do not store card numbers, security codes, or bank details anywhere.

Payment is handled by Dodo Payments, which acts as our payment processor and Merchant of Record. Your card details are entered on Dodo's checkout and handled by Dodo. ASCII Magic never sees or stores your full card number. To process a purchase, your email address and purchase details (the plan, amount, currency, and subscription status) are shared with Dodo so they can bill you and confirm your access. See Dodo Payments' privacy policy and our Refund Policy.

If you sign up, we add your email to Brevo to send the welcome email and occasional product updates. You can unsubscribe from product updates at any time.

9. Children

The site is suitable for general audiences but is not specifically directed at children under 13. We don't knowingly collect data from children. If you believe a child has created an account, contact us and we will delete it.

10. Your rights

If you have an account, you can ask us to access or delete your account data, meaning your email and your plan and credit status. Email kailash@ascii-magic.com and we will action it (some billing records are held by Dodo Payments as Merchant of Record under their own retention rules). If you want to stop analytics collection, follow the opt-out steps in section 3. If you want a feedback message you previously submitted to be deleted, email us with the approximate date and we'll remove it.

11. Changes to this policy

If this policy materially changes, the "Last updated" date at the top of this page will change and the most relevant changes will be summarized in the changelog. If you have an account, we may also email you about material changes.

12. Contact

Questions, deletion requests, or anything else: kailash@ascii-magic.com.