Privacy

Effective 30 July 2026.

Why there is so little to disclose

Most web tools work by sending your query to a server that runs it and sends results back. That server necessarily sees everything you ask. MaudeDash is built the other way round: the site serves static data files, and a database engine compiled to WebAssembly runs inside your browser tab and reads the portions of those files it needs.

The practical consequence is that the operator of this site cannot see what device you looked up, what manufacturer you investigated, what narrative text you searched for, or what results you got. That information is never transmitted. It exists only in your computer's memory and disappears when you close the tab.

What is stored on your device

• A theme preference. If you use the light/dark toggle, the choice is saved in your browser's local storage under maudedash-theme. It contains the single word “light” or “dark”. It is never transmitted. Clearing your browser data removes it.
• Ordinary browser caching. The data files are marked immutable so your browser can reuse them between visits instead of re-downloading. This is standard HTTP caching, not a tracking mechanism, and is cleared with your browser cache.

There are no cookies. Because no cookies or tracking technologies are used, no consent banner is required or shown.

What the web server records

The site is hosted on ordinary shared web hosting, which keeps standard access logs as every web server does. A log entry records the IP address, timestamp, requested file, HTTP status, referring page and browser user-agent string.

These logs record which files were fetched — for example that a particular Parquet file was requested — but not what you were searching for, because the search never happens on the server. Logs are used only to keep the site running and to detect abuse such as automated bulk downloading. They are retained for a short period by the hosting provider under its own policy and are not sold, shared or used for advertising or profiling.

Aggregate visit counts derived from those server logs may be used to describe the tool's reach — for example in a grant report or an academic CV. This uses the same logs described above; no additional collection takes place and no individual is identified.

Third parties

There is no advertising, no analytics provider, no social media widget, no embedded font service and no content delivery network for your data.

Depending on how this deployment is configured, the WebAssembly database engine and the charting library may be loaded from the public jsDelivr CDN, in which case your browser makes a request to that CDN for those two static files. No MaudeDash data or query information is included in that request. This dependency can be removed entirely by self-hosting those files, and the published deployment guide recommends doing so.

Personal data in the underlying database

MaudeDash analyses adverse event reports released publicly by the FDA. The FDA redacts those records before release under exemptions (b)(4) and (b)(6) of the Freedom of Information Act. MaudeDash does not add, enrich or de-anonymise anything; it reformats what the FDA published.

Redaction is imperfect, and narrative free text occasionally retains incidental detail. Attempting to re-identify any individual is prohibited by the terms of use. If you believe identifying information is present, please report it to the FDA, which controls the source record, and notify the project so the affected extract can be withheld.

Children

MaudeDash is a professional research tool and is not directed at children. No personal information is knowingly collected from anyone, of any age.

Your rights

Because no personal data is collected, there is generally nothing to access, correct, export or erase. If you are in a jurisdiction with statutory data rights — such as the EU or UK GDPR, or the CCPA — and you believe your personal data has nonetheless been processed by this site, contact the project and it will be addressed. Server logs are the only category of data that could plausibly relate to you, and they are held by the hosting provider under its own retention policy.

Changes

If this statement changes, the effective date above will change with it. A material change — for example the introduction of any analytics — would be announced on the home page and in the source repository. There is no intention to introduce one.

Contact

Privacy questions and security reports: open an issue, or see security.txt.