Privacy Policy

Last updated: January 2025

RTL Studio is an open-source web-based EDA tool. This page explains what data is collected when you use the site, why it's collected, how long it's kept, and what rights you have over it. No user accounts exist — we don't ask for your name, email, or any personal identifier.

1. What we collect

Data	When	Purpose	Retention
HDL source code you paste or upload	When you click `Generate`	Compiled by Yosys in a temporary sandbox. Also stored in Google Cloud Firestore for debugging, abuse prevention, and understanding what kinds of designs users submit.	7 days (auto-deleted via Firestore TTL policy)
IP address, browser user-agent, request timestamp	Every HTTP request	Standard server request logs for debugging and reliability	Held in the running process's log buffer only; not persisted to disk
Google Analytics 4 identifiers (`_ga`, `_ga_LT20GTPEL1`)	Page load	Anonymised usage statistics — page views, session duration, device type	14 months (Google default)
Browser `sessionStorage`	While a tab is open	Remembers your uploaded files, circuit, and zoom state across page navigations (e.g. when returning from the STA report)	Cleared automatically when the browser tab closes

2. What we do NOT collect

No name, email, phone number, or account credentials — there are no user accounts
No payment information — the tool is free and open-source
No location data beyond the city-level granularity that Google Analytics derives from IP
No cross-site tracking — GA4 is configured without advertising features enabled by default

3. How the source code you submit is handled

When you click Generate, your HDL source is sent over HTTPS to the backend server, written to a temporary directory that exists only for the duration of that request, compiled by Yosys, and deleted as soon as compilation finishes. The temporary directory is destroyed immediately after.

In addition, the submitted source code and basic request metadata (IP address, user-agent, top module name, timestamp) are written to a Google Cloud Firestore database. This is used to diagnose compilation failures, investigate abuse, and understand what kinds of designs users are submitting. Each entry is automatically deleted 7 days after it is written via Firestore's TTL policy.

The compiled result (netlist JSON) is returned to your browser and cached only in your browser's sessionStorage for the duration of your visit. It is not stored on the server beyond the duration of the request.

4. Third parties

Google Cloud Firestore — submitted code and request metadata are stored in a managed database operated by Google. Entries are auto-deleted after 7 days via Firestore's TTL policy. See Google Cloud's Data Processing Addendum.
Google Analytics 4 — used for aggregate usage statistics. Google may process your IP address and set the cookies listed above. See Google's Privacy Policy and How Google uses information from sites that use its services.
Google Fonts — Inter and JetBrains Mono are loaded from fonts.googleapis.com. Google receives your IP as part of serving these fonts.
jsDelivr CDN — the ELK graph layout library is loaded from cdn.jsdelivr.net.
Render — this site is hosted on Render's infrastructure. Render may collect request metadata (IP address, request path, timestamp) as part of operating its platform, subject to Render's Privacy Policy.

We do not sell, rent, or trade any data. No data is shared with advertisers.

5. Cookies

The following cookies may be set when you visit this site:

Cookie	Set by	Purpose	Duration
`_ga`	Google Analytics	Distinguishes unique users	2 years
`_ga_LT20GTPEL1`	Google Analytics	Persists session state for this specific property	2 years

You can block these cookies in your browser settings or with an ad blocker. The site will continue to function normally.

6. Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to:

Know what data is held about you
Request deletion of that data
Object to processing
Withdraw consent for analytics cookies at any time

Because we don't store any per-user data (no accounts, no user profiles), most requests can be satisfied simply by clearing your browser cookies and session storage. For anything else, or to request deletion of a specific submitted design from our Firestore logs, contact us using the address below.

7. Data security

All traffic to and from RTL Studio uses HTTPS. Submitted code is compiled in a sandboxed subprocess with a 30-second timeout and no network access. Firestore access is restricted to project maintainers via Google Cloud IAM, and Firestore security rules block all browser-side reads. Server request logs are not persisted to disk on our hosting platform.

8. Children's privacy

RTL Studio is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

9. Changes to this policy

This policy may be updated from time to time. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision. Continued use of the site after a change constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

10. Contact

Questions about this policy or data handling can be raised by opening an issue on the project's repository: github.com/Raghavan-04/rtl-studio/issues .