Why a Class List Should Never Leave Your Browser
Plain-language student-name privacy for teachers: three questions to ask any worksheet tool, and how a browser-only class set maker answers them.
Season 1 · Episode 3 · 2:01 · October 12, 2026
In this episode
- Do the names leave my device? Are they in the web address? What is in the file name?
- TraceTheName builds previews and PDFs in your browser; names are not in the URL, sent to the server or saved to an account.
- Batch ZIP files use numbers instead of student names; closing the tab clears the roster.
- The site records counts of print and download actions — never names, worksheet text or email addresses.
- Try today: ask the three questions; check your browser’s network tab.
Links from this episode
Transcript
You paste a class list into a website. Where do those children’s names go?
Most of us never check. In five minutes, you’ll have three questions that make it easy to find out.
A class roster is a list of children’s names. That’s worth a second thought. Some online tools send what you type to a server to build the file. That’s not always a problem. But with a whole class list, you should know.
Ask these three questions about any worksheet tool. One. Do the names leave my device? Or is the file built right in my browser? Two. Are the names in the web address, where they can end up in history and logs? Three. What’s in the file name? A download named with a child’s full name is easy to spot, and easy to share by accident.
Here’s how Trace the Name answers. The names you type are used by JavaScript in your browser, to draw the preview and make the PDF. They’re not in the web address. They’re not sent to our server. They’re not saved to an account.
In the batch tool, the zip files use numbered file names instead of student names. Your downloads folder won’t spell out your class list. And closing the tab clears the roster.
In full honesty, the site does record counts of print and download actions: which tool, which page, how many pages. That’s how we learn what’s useful. Those events never include the names you enter, worksheet text, or email addresses. The privacy policy has the details.
Your one thing to try today. Before you paste a roster into any tool, ask those three questions. Want proof? Open your browser’s developer tools, watch the network tab, and see whether the names ever show up in a request.
The class tool is at trace the name dot com, slash teacher dash batch. The privacy policy is at slash privacy. Both links are in the description. A child’s name should stay with the adult making the worksheet.
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