The Tool Signal
Hands-on reviews of AI tools that actually help small businesses

Privacy Policy

Last updated: 30 September 2026

The Tool Signal is a review site. This page says plainly what we collect, why, and what we do not do. If something here is unclear, write to us and we will fix the wording.

What we collect

Visits. We use Google Analytics 4 to count page views and see which articles people read. It records the pages you open, roughly where you are (country or city level), and what browser and device you use. It does not tell us your name or address, and we never try to identify individual readers.

Clicks on outbound links. Some links to tools go through a short address on this site (it starts with /go/). When you click one, we count the click: which link, which article it was on, the country, the browser and the network provider it came from. We do not store your IP address, and nothing in this count tells us who you are. We use it only to see which links readers find useful.

Email — none at the moment. No page on this site asks for your email address right now. If a signup box comes back, the address will be used only to send you what you asked for, and never sold, rented or passed to anyone. This section will say so first.

Nothing else. We do not ask for payment details, we do not run accounts, and there is nothing to log into on this site.

Cookies

Google Analytics sets cookies to tell repeat visits from new ones. You can block or delete them in your browser at any time; the site works the same without them. The click count above uses no cookies.

How this site makes money

Partly through affiliate links, partly through our own product, and here is the full picture.

We buy the tools we test with our own money. Most outbound links on this site point at a source we are citing: a review platform, a benchmark, a product's own pricing page. A small number are affiliate links, which means that if you buy through one, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Those links carry a rel="sponsored" mark in the page source, and the site footer says so on every page.

As of 30 September 2026 that list is one program: NordPass, in the password manager guide. When it grows, this section grows with it.

Some articles also link to our own paid template kit. It is sold through Payhip: the purchase happens on Payhip's site, Payhip handles the payment, and we never see your card details.

Two rules do not move. A commission never changes which tool we recommend or what we say about it, and no one can buy a place in a list here. If a tool we earn from turns out to be the wrong choice for you, the article says that.

Facebook and Instagram

We publish posts to our own Facebook Page "AI for Small Business" and our own Instagram account @smallbizaiops through an app registered with Meta. The app posts only to these accounts and reads statistics for our own posts — how many people saw them. It does not read, collect or store data about other Facebook or Instagram users: not their profiles, not their messages, not their comments.

Pinterest

We publish pins that link back to articles on this site. We use the Pinterest API only to read statistics for our own account — how many people saw our own pins. We do not read, collect or store data about other Pinterest users.

Who processes your data

Each of these has its own privacy policy governing what it does with data on its side.

Your choices

You can ask us what we hold about you, and you can ask us to delete it. For analytics, blocking cookies in your browser stops the collection.

Deleting your data

If you have interacted with our Facebook Page, Instagram account or this site and want anything we hold about you removed, send a direct message to @smallbizaiops on Instagram or to the Facebook Page "AI for Small Business" with the words "delete my data". We will delete it within 30 days and reply to confirm. Our app keeps no data about other users, so in most cases the answer will be that there is nothing to delete, and we will say that too.

Children

This site is written for people running businesses. It is not aimed at children and we do not knowingly collect anything from them.

Changes

If we start collecting something new, this page changes first and the date at the top changes with it.

Contact

Questions about this policy: send a direct message to our Instagram account @smallbizaiops or to the Facebook Page "AI for Small Business". The author works at sea, so a reply can take a few days.