Privacy Policy

You can use almost all of PC Parts Reviews without giving us anything. Our analytics use no cookies and store no IP addresses, you don't need an account, and your builds are saved in your browser unless you share them. The details are below.

Analytics without cookies

We run our own analytics. For each page view we store the path, the host name of the site that referred you, your device type (phone, tablet or desktop), your country and a visitor hash. The hash is built from your IP address and browser user agent with a random value that changes every UTC day. We don't store the IP address, and the same visitor can't be linked from one day to the next.

If your browser sends Global Privacy Control or Do Not Track, we don't record your page views or retailer clicks. We also skip traffic that looks like a bot.

In its standard setup, the site doesn't load Google Analytics or any other third-party analytics. If we turn on a third-party analytics tool, we will update this page.

Searches on the site are logged as the search text, the type of search and the number of results, with no visitor hash. If a link leads to a missing page, we log the path and the page that linked to it so we can fix it.

Retailer clicks

Links to retailers go through a redirect on our site. When you use one, we store the product and offer, the retailer, the page you clicked from, the part of the site the link was on, your device type, your country and the same daily visitor hash. That record doesn't include your name, email address, IP address or account.

The link then sends you to the retailer, often with an affiliate tag attached so the retailer can credit us. From there, the retailer's own privacy policy applies. Our affiliate disclosure explains how those links work.

Socket, the AI build assistant

Socket chats are stored so we can read them and improve the assistant, and the chat window says so. For each chat we store:

• Your messages and Socket's replies
• A random chat ID created in your browser
• A keyed, one-way hash of your IP address
• The AI model used, the number of messages, token counts and cost
• The main use you selected, if any
• Whether you rated the chat and whether you applied a build from it

Chats aren't tied to your account, even when you are signed in, and using Socket doesn't require a name or email address. The IP hash isn't your address, but unlike the analytics hash it doesn't change from day to day, so it can show that two chats came from the same connection. Anything you type is kept as you typed it, so leave out names, addresses and anything else you wouldn't want stored.

Transcripts are deleted 30 days after the chat began. The rest of the chat record stays, without the conversation.

Socket's replies come from an AI model. By default, that model runs on Cloudflare Workers AI. If we turn on the Claude option, requests go to Anthropic instead. Either way, the model receives your recent messages, the brief you filled in and your current build with its compatibility report. The request doesn't include your IP address, the hash or your account details.

Accounts

You don't need an account. If you create one, we store your username, display name, email address and a salted hash of your password, never the password itself.

Signing in sets a cookie that keeps you signed in for up to 60 days. It is the only cookie the site sets itself, and you won't get it unless you sign in. For each session we keep a hash of the sign-in token, a keyed hash of your IP address and your browser's user agent. Sign-in attempts are recorded with the username or email you entered and the same kind of IP hash.

Member accounts sign in with a password. Passkey sign-in isn't available for member accounts at this time. If we add it, we will update this page.

You can delete your account from your account page. That removes the account, its sign-in sessions and any saved parts. Builds you have shared keep working through their links, but they are no longer connected to you.

Your builds

The builder keeps your working build and your saved builds in your browser's local storage, on your device. We don't store them on our servers unless you share one.

A shared build is different. When you press Share, we store its name, parts, budget, use case, resolution and notes on our servers and create a link. Anyone with that link can see the build, so keep private details out of the name and notes. Shared builds aren't listed on the site or indexed by search engines.

Your browser keeps a secret token that lets you edit or delete a shared build later, and we store only a hash of it. If you are signed in when you share, the build is also linked to your account. When a shared build is deleted, its link stops working.

The newsletter

If you sign up for Bench Notes, our newsletter, we store your email address, the form you used, the date and a random token for unsubscribing. Using your unsubscribe link marks your address as unsubscribed and records when. We keep it on file, marked that way, unless you ask us to remove it.

The contact form

When you write to us, we store your name, email address, topic, message and a keyed hash of your IP address, so we can read and answer it.

What stays on your device

Besides the sign-in cookie, the site keeps a few things in your browser: your working and saved builds, your Socket brief, your compare list, your light or dark preference and your grid or list view. An open Socket chat is kept in session storage, which your browser clears when the tab closes. You can clear all of this in your browser settings.

Services we use

Cloudflare hosts the site and its database and handles every request, which means it processes your IP address to deliver pages, limit abuse and work out your country. Cloudflare Turnstile protects sign-up, sign-in, the contact form and the first message of a Socket chat. It runs a Cloudflare script in your browser, and we send Cloudflare your IP address to verify the result. Cloudflare Workers AI runs Socket's default model.

Anthropic processes Socket requests only when the Claude option is turned on.

Video platforms. YouTube thumbnails load from YouTube's servers. On product and video pages, the player itself loads only after you press play: YouTube videos use youtube-nocookie.com, and TikTok and Instagram videos load from those services.

Each of these companies has its own privacy policy.

How long we keep things

Your choices and questions

Turn on Global Privacy Control or Do Not Track to stop page-view and click records. Unsubscribe from the newsletter whenever you like, delete your account from your account page, and clear your browser storage at any time.

For anything else, including a request about information we hold, use our contact form. If what we collect changes, we will update this page.