Privacy Policy
What we collect, why we need it, who helps us and the choices you have. No small print.
Effective from 31 October 2026
This policy explains what personal data PLC Gym collects, why, who helps us handle it and the choices you have. “Personal data” means anything that can identify you, like your email address.
The short version
- You can learn without an account. Your progress then stays in your browser, not with us.
- If you create an account, we keep your email address, username and progress, so they follow you to any computer.
- Stripe handles payments. We never see your full card number.
- Google Analytics and Microsoft Clarity only use cookies if you click Accept.
- We don’t run ads, and we don’t sell your data.
- You can ask to see, correct or delete your data at any time.
Who we are
PLC Gym is the “controller” of your personal data. That means we decide how it’s used, and we’re responsible for looking after it. We’re based in Scotland.
- Name
- PLC Gym
What we collect and why
When you visit the site
Vercel hosts PLC Gym. Like any website, its servers see your IP address and browser details, so they can send you pages and keep the site secure. Vercel Web Analytics also counts page visits, without cookies.
Google Analytics and Microsoft Clarity only use cookies if you say yes. See “Cookies and similar tools” below.
Progress kept on your device
Without an account, your progress, saved code and settings are kept in your browser’s own storage. So is your cookie choice. None of this is sent to us. Clearing this site’s data in your browser removes it, so export a backup from Your progress first.
If you create an account
Clerk runs our sign-in, using an emailed code or a password. Clerk keeps your email address and sign-in details. In our own database we keep:
- your account ID from Clerk, and your email address;
- the username you choose;
- your progress: XP, level, passed missions and saved code;
- your plan: when a trial ends, and the state of any Pro subscription.
Your username shows on your account. In future it may also appear on your team’s leaderboard. The database is run by Neon and hosted in the US, on Amazon Web Services in the Washington DC area.
If you pay for Pro
Stripe runs our checkout and billing page. Stripe collects your card and billing details, and we never see your full card number. Stripe tells us your customer ID, your plan, whether it’s paid, and when it renews or ends.
If you contact us
The contact form asks for your name, email address, company (if you want to give it), a topic and your message. Web3Forms delivers it to us as an email. Before it sends, hCaptcha checks that you are a person rather than a spam bot. Our email is hosted by Zoho Mail in the EU. We use what you send only to reply and help you.
The Feedback button opens your own email app, so anything you send that way also reaches us by email.
Hiring tests
A hiring test runs in the candidate’s browser. Before it starts, the candidate sees a notice called “What is recorded”, which lists exactly what the test records. In short:
- the code and written answers the candidate gives;
- the timing of edits, runs, checks and submission;
- how many characters were pasted, but not what was pasted;
- when the test window lost and regained focus.
The test doesn’t record the screen, camera, microphone or browsing history. It sends nothing to our servers. The report stays on that device unless someone exports and shares it.
The employer who invited the candidate sees their answers and activity record. The employer decides how the results are used and how long they’re kept. Questions about a hiring decision are best sent to the employer.
Team plans
On a Team plan, your employer gives us your work email address so you get Pro. Your team’s manager can then see your username, level, XP, missions passed, lessons read and when you were last active. They can’t see your saved code or your quiz answers. Your progress page tells you when you’re on a team.
You can ask your manager, or us, to take you off the team at any time. Your account and your progress stay yours.
Our legal reasons
UK data protection law (UK GDPR) says we need a lawful reason for each use of your data. Ours are:
- Our contract with you: to run your account, save your progress and provide Pro.
- Legitimate interests: to keep the site working and secure, count visits without cookies and reply to messages. These are sensible uses you’d expect, which we weigh against your rights.
- Your consent: for Google Analytics and Clarity cookies. You can change your mind at any time.
- Legal duty: to keep payment records for tax.
Cookies and similar tools
Cookies are small files a website saves in your browser. Browser storage works in a similar way. This is everything PLC Gym uses:
| Tool | What it does | Cookies? |
|---|---|---|
| Clerk sign-in | Keeps you signed in and your account secure. | Yes, essential ones, once you sign in. |
| Your cookie choice | Remembers whether you clicked Accept or Reject. | No. Kept in browser storage. |
| Your progress | Keeps your progress, code and settings on this device. | No. Kept in browser storage. |
| Vercel Web Analytics | Counts page visits, so we can see which pages help. | No. Always on. |
| Google Analytics 4 | Shows how people find and use the site. | Only after you click Accept. |
| Microsoft Clarity | Heatmaps and recordings of clicks and scrolling, so we can spot what’s confusing. It masks what you type. | Only after you click Accept. |
The cookie banner asks before Google Analytics or Clarity use cookies. If you click Reject, or don’t choose, both stay cookie-free. They then can’t recognise you from page to page or between visits. We don’t use advertising cookies.
To change your choice, use “Cookie settings” at the bottom of any page, or this button.
Who helps us run PLC Gym
| Provider | What they do for us |
|---|---|
| Vercel | Hosts the website and counts visits without cookies. |
| Clerk | Sign-in and account security. |
| Neon | Our database for accounts and progress, hosted in the US. |
| Stripe | Payments, subscriptions and the billing page. |
| Google Analytics | Visit statistics, only with your consent. |
| Microsoft Clarity | Heatmaps and session recordings, only with consent. |
| Web3Forms | Delivers contact form messages to our inbox. |
| hCaptcha | The “I am human” check on the contact form, which keeps out spam bots. It loads only on that page. |
| Zoho Mail | Our email, hosted in the EU. |
Each one has its own privacy policy. We only share what each needs to do its job.
When data leaves the UK
Some of these providers store or handle data outside the UK. Our database, for example, is in the US.
When data leaves the UK, it’s protected by safeguards our providers offer. These are contracts approved under UK law, such as the UK International Data Transfer Agreement (IDTA) or the UK Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs). Ask us if you’d like to know more.
How long we keep it
- Account data (email, username, progress and plan): for as long as your account exists. We delete it when you delete your account.
- Payment records: for as long as tax and accounting law requires.
- Messages you send us: for as long as we need them to help you.
- Google Analytics: 14 months, then deleted automatically.
- Microsoft Clarity and Vercel Web Analytics: as set by each tool’s own retention settings.
- Data on your device: until you clear it in your browser.
Your rights
Under UK GDPR, you can ask us to:
- give you a copy of the data we hold about you;
- correct anything that’s wrong;
- delete your data;
- stop or limit how we use it, or object to how we use it;
- give you your data in a form you can take elsewhere.
You can change your username, email address and password yourself, from your account menu. You can withdraw your consent for cookies at any time, using Cookie settings.
To ask for anything else, email . It’s free, and we’ll reply within one month.
If you’re unhappy with how we’ve handled your data, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK’s data protection regulator, at ico.org.uk. We’d be grateful for the chance to put things right first.
Deleting your account
Sign in, open Your progress and choose Delete account at the foot of the page. That deletes your username and saved progress from our database and your sign-in from Clerk, and clears your progress from that browser. If you have Pro, the subscription stops straight away and you aren’t charged again.
You can also email from the address on your account and ask us to do it for you. We’ll confirm by email when it’s done.
Stripe keeps payment records for as long as the law requires. Progress saved in another browser stays there until you clear this site’s data in that browser’s settings.
Changes to this policy
If we change how we use your data, we’ll update this page and the date at the top. If a change matters, we’ll tell you by email or on the site before it applies.
Contact us
Questions about your privacy? Email or use the contact page.