What the GIF is a video-to-GIF converter that runs entirely in your browser. This page explains what we do and don't collect, and your rights as a visitor.
The short version
- Your videos and GIFs never leave your browser. All conversion happens locally on your device. We never see, receive, store, or transmit the videos you convert or the GIFs you make.
- We don't run accounts, signups, or logins, and we ask you for no personal information. The only measurement we do ourselves is cookieless, aggregate page-view counting (GoatCounter) that can't identify you. Details below.
- The site itself is a normal web page: loading it contacts our host (Netlify), Google Fonts, Google AdSense, and our page-view counter (GoatCounter). Those can involve your IP address and, for ads, cookies. Details below.
What we never collect or receive
The core of the tool touches none of your content. We do not collect, store, receive, or transmit:
- The videos you drop in (they are decoded and processed entirely in your browser)
- Tab or screen recordings you make with the Record a Tab button (captured and handled entirely by your browser on your device, never sent to us or anyone else, and discarded when you close the page)
- The GIFs you generate
- Any name, email address, or account, because there are none
What does happen automatically, as with essentially any website, is that loading a page sends your device's IP address and browser user-agent to the servers that deliver it. We do not use that to identify you, and we keep no database of our own.
Cookies and local storage
The site uses browser storage and cookies in these ways:
- Your cookie preference is stored in your browser's
localStorageso the banner doesn't reappear. You can clear it any time in your browser's storage settings. - Advertising cookies (Google AdSense). When ads are served, Google and its partners may set cookies to deliver and measure them. See how Google uses ad cookies. For visitors in the EEA, UK, and Switzerland, ad consent is collected through Google's certified consent tool before personalized ads are shown.
We do not set any analytics or tracking cookies of our own; the page-view counting described below works without cookies or any browser storage.
Page-view counting (GoatCounter)
To know which pages are useful, we count page views with GoatCounter, an open-source, privacy-first counter. For each page view it records the page URL, the referring site, your browser and operating system type, screen size, and a country code derived from your IP address. It sets no cookies, stores no unique identifier, and does not retain your IP address, so it cannot follow you across visits or across sites. We see only aggregate numbers ("this page got N views"). GoatCounter's privacy policy.
Google AdSense
This site is ad-supported through the Google AdSense program, which is how the tool stays free. Google and its partners may use cookies and similar technologies to serve and measure ads, and, where permitted, to personalize them based on your prior visits to this and other sites. You can control this at My Ad Center / Google Ads Settings, and EEA/UK/Swiss visitors are asked for consent via Google's consent tool. Blocking ads (for example with an ad blocker) does not affect the converter.
Third parties
Loading this site involves the following third-party services, each with its own privacy policy:
- Netlify, hosting and content delivery; receives your IP and user-agent in standard request logs. Privacy policy.
- Google Fonts, web fonts loaded from Google's servers, which receives your IP address when a page loads. Privacy policy.
- Google AdSense, advertising. Privacy policy.
- GoatCounter, cookieless page-view counting as described above. Privacy policy.
Your rights
We hold no account or profile about you to export or delete, because we don't create one. Depending on where you live (for example under the GDPR or CCPA/CPRA) you may have rights over data held by the third parties above; use their controls, or contact us and we'll help point you to the right place. You can also:
- Manage or withdraw ad-cookie consent through Google's consent tool and My Ad Center.
- Clear this site's stored cookie preference in your browser at any time.
- Block advertising with your browser or an ad blocker; the converter still works.
Children
This site is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect information from children.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy occasionally. The "Last updated" date at the top reflects the most recent change.
Contact
Questions about this policy? Email hello@whatthegif.com.