Privacy & cookies
Last updated: 1 July 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 (colour picker), halftone, resize and compress — run entirely in your browser. Your designs are not uploaded to any server for these. They never leave your computer.
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, you enter your name and email. We always record your email as a lead so the download works. 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.
Who we share data with
Only the service providers that make the tool work: MailerLite (newsletter), our database host for lead and usage records, Anthropic (only when you use the AI SEO filename feature), and Vercel (hosting). 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.