Effective August 8, 2026 · applies to benefitsdecoder.com and the Benefits Decoder apps (which are the same service)
The short version: The decoder is anonymous by design. No accounts, no login, and no email needed to run it or to buy a report. Your benefits guide is read once and never stored, and your report lives in your own browser, not on our servers. The only places we ever ask for contact details are the optional reminder list and the employer enquiry form, both described below. We don't sell data, we don't run ads, and we don't use tracking cookies.
Using the decoder requires no name, no email address, no account, no login. The questions we ask (who you're covering, age bracket, expected care, savings comfort) stay in your browser and are used only to run the math. They're never tied to an identity, because we don't have one for you.
If you upload a PDF, it's read inside your own browser. The file itself never leaves your computer. Only the extracted text is sent, over an encrypted connection, to be analyzed once. That analysis uses Anthropic's Claude API as a processor; under the commercial terms we use, your text is not used to train AI models. The decoded result is delivered to your browser once and then deleted from our systems. We keep no copy of your guide or your report.
Your finished report is stored in your browser's local storage on your device. Clearing your browser data deletes it. We can't see it, and we couldn't recover it for you. That's the tradeoff of keeping it off our servers.
On the website, the unlock is handled entirely by Stripe, our payment processor. Stripe collects your card details and email (for your receipt) under Stripe's privacy policy. We never see your card number. In the iOS app, the unlock is bought through Apple's In-App Purchase instead, under Apple's privacy policy; Apple never shares your payment details or identity with us. Either way, what we receive is an anonymous transaction code confirming payment, and we keep a simple decode count against that code to prevent abuse. We can't connect it to your name.
We use Plausible, a privacy-first analytics service: no cookies, no personal data, no tracking across sites, just aggregate counts like "how many people visited today." If you'd rather not be counted at all, visit the opt-out page.
If you write to support@benefitsdecoder.com, we'll have whatever you send us, and we use it only to help you. Writing to us does not add you to any list.
There is now one optional mailing list: the open enrollment reminder. You are on it only if you typed your address into that form yourself. It is used for two emails a year, one at the start of open enrollment season and one when the figures behind the math change, and nothing else. The list is stored on our systems; sending is handled by Kit, our email provider, under Kit's privacy policy. Every email has a one-click unsubscribe, and unsubscribing removes your address. We do not sell, rent or share the list.
This list is entirely separate from the decoder. Using the calculators, running a decode, or buying a report still requires no email address and no account.
The employers page has a contact form that asks for a name, an email address, and a message. We keep what you send so we can reply and follow up, and for nothing else. It never joins a mailing list, and we don't share it. If you'd like an enquiry deleted, say so in it or write to us and it's gone.
The Benefits Decoder apps for Android and iOS are the website in an app wrapper. They collect nothing beyond what's described above, request no device permissions, and have no ads.
Benefits Decoder is for adults making workplace benefits decisions and isn't directed at children under 13.
If this policy ever changes, the new version will be posted here with a new effective date. Given how little we collect, we don't expect much to change.
Benefits Decoder is operated by Decoder Labs LLC, which is the entity responsible for the handling described above. Written questions or requests about your data can go to the address below and will reach a person, not a queue.
Ask a human: support@benefitsdecoder.com.