Privacy & cookies
Last updated: 22 September 2026
MerchForge is a free, browser-based tool for print-on-demand designers, from Philip Anders (YouTube). This page explains, in plain English, what data the tool handles and why.
MerchForge is operated by Anders Creative Ltd(company number 15031293), registered in England & Wales at Lytchett House, 13 Freeland Park, Wareham Road, Poole BH16 6FA. Anders Creative Ltd is the data controller for the personal data described below, and is registered with the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), registration number ZB734667. Questions? Email philip@philipanders.com.
Your images stay on your device
The core tools — upscale, remove background, vector trace, halftone, distress textures, the refine brush, resize and compress — run entirely in your browser. Your designs are not uploaded to any server for these. They never leave your computer. The AI upscaler models and their runtime are downloaded to your browser from our host and from the jsDelivr content delivery network; like any download, those servers see your IP address, but never your images.
The optional AI feature
One feature is off by default and only sends data when you switch it on:
- AI SEO filename sends a small, downsized copy of the image to Anthropic (Claude) to suggest a keyword filename. We record a small usage log (no image) to keep the free feature within its daily limits and budget.
The email sign-up
To download a design (or to run your first search in the Amazon Merch Filter), you enter your name and email once. We always record your email as a lead so the download works, and your browser remembers the email locally so you aren't asked again on that device. Unless you tick "No thanks, I'll skip the tips," we also add your name and email to Philip's print-on-demand newsletter, sent via MailerLite. You can unsubscribe from any email at any time. Our legal basis is your consent (for marketing emails) and our legitimate interest in running and improving the tool.
Cookies & local storage
MerchForge does not use advertising or third-party tracking cookies. It uses your browser's local storage only to remember functional things on your own device: that you've signed in, your saved settings (download size, light/dark mode) and daily AI usage counts. Our host, Vercel, may set essential cookies needed to serve the site securely.
Anonymous usage analytics
To understand which tools are useful and improve MerchForge, we record anonymoususage events — for example "a design was processed" or "a file was downloaded," along with non-identifying details like which tools ran and how many files. These records contain no name, email, filename or image, and can't be tied back to you. We don't store your IP address — it's received transiently to rate-limit abuse, then discarded. There's no advertising or cross-site tracking. Our legal basis is our legitimate interest in running and improving the tool.
Feedback you send
If you use the in-app Feedback button, we store your message — and any screenshots you choose to attach — in our database so we can read and act on it. Screenshots are held in privatestorage and are never made public; a screenshot can capture whatever was on your screen, so please only attach what you're happy to share. Adding your email is optional and used only if we need to follow up (on the Merch Filter, the feedback form offers to include the email you signed up with — untick it to send anonymously). Our legal basis is our legitimate interest in improving the tool.
The Amazon Merch tier-up survey
The survey ran in September 2026 and is now closed. Answers were stored without any name or email and are only ever published in aggregate. If you asked for the results by email, that address is stored in a separate list with no link to your answers and used only to send you the results.
How long we keep it
Your newsletter subscription lasts until you unsubscribe (any email has an unsubscribe link). Our own lead record (name, email, your marketing choice) is kept for up to 24 months after your last download, then deleted automatically; if you unsubscribe, MailerLite keeps your address only as a do-not-contact record. Feedback and its screenshots are kept for up to 6 months, and anonymous usage analytics for up to 24 months. Deletions run monthly. We also keep encrypted weekly backups of the database for up to 4 months, so a deleted record can survive in a backup for that long before it is gone for good.
Who we share data with
Only the service providers that make the tool work: MailerLite (newsletter), Supabase (our database host for lead, feedback and usage records), Anthropic (only when you use the AI SEO filename feature), Vercel (hosting) and jsDelivr (delivers the AI runtime files to your browser). We do not sell your data.
Your rights
You can ask to see, correct or delete the personal data we hold about you, or withdraw consent for marketing, by emailing philip@philipanders.com. If you're in the UK or EU and aren't happy with how we've handled your data, you can also contact your local data protection authority (in the UK, the ICO).
This notice may be updated as the tool changes; the date at the top shows the latest version.