Frequently Asked Questions

it.you is a free platform of IT tools and technical guides for developers, sysadmins, students, and IT support professionals. It gives you instant access to 80+ browser-based utilities — from JSON formatters and subnet calculators to image converters and password generators — alongside a growing library of technical articles.

Yes, completely. Every tool on it.you is free to use, with no paywalls, no trial periods, and no credit card required. Most tools run entirely in your browser without any account or sign-in. An account lets you save tools and access a few extra features, but it's also free.

No. The vast majority of tools work immediately without any sign-in. An account is only needed for features like saving favourite tools, viewing your usage history, and personalising your dashboard. You can browse all tools right now without signing in.

it.you currently offers 80+ tools across eight categories: Developer Tools, Networking & Sysadmin, Security, Data Tools, Productivity & Time, Image Tools, Reference, and Learning & Checklists. New tools are added regularly — check the changelog to see what's new.

Absolutely. Use the contact page or the feedback button on any tool page to send a suggestion. Tool requests are reviewed and prioritised based on demand.

it.you is built for anyone who works with technology: web developers, backend engineers, DevOps and sysadmin teams, IT support staff, cybersecurity students, and everyday users who need a quick utility without installing software or uploading files to unknown sites.

Almost all tools run entirely in your browser using JavaScript — no data is ever sent to any server. This applies to every image tool, encoder/decoder, formatter, validator, password generator, and timer. The handful of tools that require a server call (IP Lookup, DNS Lookup, WHOIS) are clearly labelled and only send the minimal input required (e.g. the IP address or domain name).

Only three tools currently make server-side network requests: IP Lookup, DNS Lookup, and WHOIS Lookup. These need to query external databases that cannot be reached from a browser. All other tools are fully client-side.

PNG is a lossless format. The browser's Canvas API re-encodes PNG without the optimisation passes that specialist tools (like pngquant or oxipng) apply, so the output can be slightly larger than the original. The Image Compressor warns you about this and suggests switching to WebP or JPG for meaningful compression. For PNG-to-WebP conversion, use the dedicated PNG to WebP tool.

The image tools support JPG/JPEG, PNG, and WebP. You can convert between all three formats, compress JPG and WebP files with a quality slider, resize images by pixel dimensions or percentage, and convert any image to a Base64 data URI. Conversion tools include: JPG to PNG, PNG to JPG, JPG to WebP, PNG to WebP, WebP to JPG, and WebP to PNG.

There is no server-imposed limit because image processing happens in your browser. In practice, very large files (over ~50 MB) may be slow or cause your browser to run out of memory. For typical web images and photos, performance is instant.

Yes. All tools are fully responsive and work on modern mobile browsers (Chrome, Safari, Firefox on iOS and Android). The drag-and-drop zones on image tools fall back to a tap-to-upload button on touch devices.

The Stopwatch and Countdown Timer use Date.now() to track absolute elapsed time, so they remain accurate even if the browser throttles the tab. The Pomodoro Timer and Meeting Timer also behave correctly when minimised.

Some tools support URL parameters for pre-filling (e.g., the DNS Lookup and IP Lookup tools accept a query in the URL). More tools will gain shareable state links in a future update — see the roadmap.

Click Sign up and continue with Google. it.you uses Google OAuth exclusively — there are no email/password accounts. This means no password to remember and no separate verification email.

Google OAuth gives you a fast, one-click login with strong security (including your existing Google 2FA if enabled), without it.you ever storing or handling a password. It eliminates the risk of weak passwords, credential stuffing, and phishing via fake reset emails.

When you sign in with Google, it.you receives your email address, display name, and profile photo. it.you does not receive your Google password, contacts, calendar, Gmail, or any other Google data. The scope is limited to openid email profile.

Yes, as long as your Google Workspace administrator has not restricted third-party OAuth app access. If sign-in fails with a work account, ask your IT admin to allowlist it.you in Google Workspace Admin Console.

You can request account deletion from your dashboard settings, or use the data deletion page. All stored data (saved tools, preferences, usage history) is permanently removed within 30 days of the request.

A free account lets you: save favourite tools for quick access, view your tool usage history, personalise your dashboard, and receive optional weekly digest emails. All features are free — there are no paid tiers.

Each Google account maps to exactly one it.you account. If you need to access it.you under a different identity, sign in with a different Google account.

This usually means your session cookie was cleared (browser privacy mode, clearing cookies, or a very long inactivity period). Simply sign in again with Google — it takes one click.

No. it.you does not sell, rent, or trade any user data to third parties. Read the full Privacy Policy for complete details.

For anonymous visitors: page views and tool usage counts are aggregated (no personally identifiable data). For signed-in users: email, display name, profile photo from Google, saved tools list, and tool usage events tied to your account. IP addresses are one-way hashed (SHA-256) and never stored in plain text.

No. For client-side tools, inputs never leave your device. For server-side tools (IP/DNS/WHOIS lookups), the query input (e.g., an IP address or domain) is used to fetch results and is not stored beyond the request.

it.you uses a minimal set of cookies: a session cookie to keep you logged in, a CSRF token for form security, and optional analytics. No third-party advertising cookies are used. Read the Cookie Policy for the full list.

it.you uses lightweight first-party analytics (page view counts and tool use counts stored in its own database). There is currently no third-party tracking script such as Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, or similar.

Session cookies expire after 30 days of inactivity. Usage event logs are retained for 12 months and then aggregated. Account data is retained until you request deletion. Anonymous hashed IP data is retained for 90 days.

it.you is designed with GDPR principles in mind: minimal data collection, no selling of data, the ability to export or delete your account data, and transparent cookie usage. For specific GDPR requests, contact us via the contact page.

The it.you blog covers practical IT topics: networking concepts, Linux and sysadmin guides, cybersecurity fundamentals, developer tutorials, cloud computing, and career advice for IT professionals. Articles are written for clarity and depth, not SEO fluff.

New articles are published on a rolling weekly schedule — typically three articles every Monday. The homepage always shows the four most recently published posts. You can browse all articles by category on the blog index.

Guest contributions are not currently accepted, but the editorial team is open to pitches from subject-matter experts. Use the contact form with "Guest article pitch" in the subject line.

Use the category pills at the top of the blog page to filter by topic, or use the sitewide search to find articles and tools by keyword.

Yes. Over time, older articles receive refreshed introductions and an updated "Modified on" date to ensure the content stays accurate and relevant. Major factual updates are flagged in the article.

it.you supports all modern evergreen browsers: Chrome 90+, Firefox 88+, Safari 14+, and Edge 90+. Most tools also work in recent versions of mobile browsers on iOS and Android. Internet Explorer is not supported.

Most client-side tools will continue to work after the page has loaded even if your connection drops, since they run entirely in JavaScript. However, the site itself cannot be loaded or navigated offline. A Progressive Web App (PWA) offline mode is on the roadmap.

it.you is built with accessibility in mind: semantic HTML, keyboard navigability, ARIA labels on interactive elements, and sufficient colour contrast. Full WCAG 2.1 AA compliance is an ongoing goal. Report any accessibility issues via the contact page.

A public API is on the roadmap. Some internal endpoints exist (for the quiz, autocomplete, etc.) but are not currently documented for public use. Watch the changelog for updates.

Embedding via iframe is not officially supported and may break with site updates. The intended use is direct linking to the tool page. If you have a specific embedding use case, contact us to discuss options.

First try a hard refresh (Ctrl+Shift+R / Cmd+Shift+R) to clear any cached scripts. If the issue persists, report it via the feedback button on the tool page, including your browser version and a description of the input/output. Bugs are typically fixed within a few days.

The source code is not currently open source. Making select tool components open source is under consideration for the future.

Yes. it.you has no paid plans, no premium tiers, and no features hidden behind a paywall. Every tool, every article, and every account feature is free. Read more on the pricing page.

it.you may in the future display non-intrusive contextual advertising and/or offer optional professional features for teams. Any advertising will be clearly labelled — see the advertising disclosure. There are no current paid plans.

Core tools will remain free. If premium features are introduced in the future, they will be additions — not replacements for what is already free. Any such changes will be announced on the blog and changelog well in advance.

There are no usage quotas for any tool. Rate limits exist only to prevent automated abuse (e.g., a bot hammering the DNS lookup endpoint hundreds of times per second). Normal human use is never throttled.