Keep the data story simple.

Calculator inputs

The current browser-based calculators — including the Tax Drag Reality Check — are designed to process the numbers you enter locally and do not require brokerage credentials. The tax estimator may ask you to type figures from tax documents, but the current site does not require you to upload those documents.

My Terra local storage

My Terra stores deliberately saved calculator summaries, selected calculator inputs — including quick-calculator scenarios — and up to eight checkup records in the browser's local storage. Those saved items remain on that device/browser and are not synced to a Terra account or sent to a Terra server. Clearing browser/site data can remove them.

Course progress

The Money & Investing Basics course can remember which modules you mark complete using browser local storage. Quiz answers are not stored as a learner profile, and course progress is not synced to a Terra account or server. Clearing browser/site data can remove the progress.

The optional My Money System completion worksheet does not automatically save the text a visitor types into its fields. Those worksheet entries remain on the current page only unless the visitor chooses to print or save a copy using the browser.

Site search

Terra's site search uses a local search index downloaded with the website and performs matching in your browser. Search words are kept out of the page URL and are not intentionally sent to Terra, Google Analytics, Google Search, Algolia, or another search provider. Terra may still measure ordinary page views of the Search page, but the search phrase itself is not included in Terra's custom analytics events.

Read Aloud and prerecorded article audio

Knowledge Library and selected Money Now articles may offer an optional Read Aloud control using the browser's Web Speech / speech-synthesis capability. Terra does not create or store a recording of browser-generated speech and does not send article text to a Terra speech server. The player can remember the current reading section, selected speed and selected device voice in browser local storage so a visitor can resume on the same browser/device. Terra may rank the English voices that the browser/device exposes and label one as “Best available”; that recommendation uses browser-provided voice metadata and does not send article text or voice choices to a Terra speech server. Those preferences are not synced to a Terra account or server and can be removed by clearing browser/site data. The available voice and the way browser speech is produced are controlled by your browser, operating system, and device, so behavior can vary by device and some system voices may rely on services provided by the browser or operating-system vendor. Mobile browsers may also pause browser speech when a tab is backgrounded or a screen is locked.

Selected articles may also offer a prerecorded narration file generated by Terra before publication using an external text-to-speech service. Terra currently uses owner-generated Amazon Polly narration on selected articles and stores the resulting MP3 as a static Terra website asset. Playing that file does not send the article text, playback position, or voice choice to Amazon Polly. The browser requests the MP3 from Terra's web host like another site asset. Terra may remember that audio track's playback position and speed in browser local storage on the same device so listening can resume later.

Website analytics

Terra uses Google Analytics 4 (measurement ID G-W94PJNWH9X) to understand aggregate website usage. With Enhanced Measurement enabled, Analytics may record events such as page views, scrolling, outbound-link clicks and file downloads, along with technical and referral information used to produce usage reports. Google Analytics may use cookies or similar browser identifiers as part of this measurement.

Terra does not intentionally send the numbers you type into calculators, tax-form figures, or values saved in My Terra local storage to Google Analytics. The current Google tag is configured with Google Signals and ad-personalization signals disabled.

Terra also records a small set of privacy-safe interaction events to learn whether the site is useful: whether a visitor marks a selected page helpful or not helpful, intentionally updates a calculator or reality-check tool, completes the Start Here path finder, saves a supported scenario to My Terra, or follows a Learn article into a Terra tool or research page. The Money & Investing Basics course may also record privacy-safe course-start, module-completion and course-completion events; these events do not include quiz answers or personal financial values. These events identify the action and normal page context; Terra does not attach calculator values, questionnaire answers, My Terra values, names, email addresses, or free-text comments to these events.

If Terra's data practices change

Terra may add services such as advertising, email updates, accounts or paid features. Before a service materially changes the data practices described here, this policy will be revised to explain what data is collected, why it is used, how it is handled and what choices users have.

Monetization

Core educational tools are currently free. Terra may support the site through clearly labeled advertising or optional paid features. Any related data practices will be disclosed in this policy before they are introduced. Calculator input values are not sold.