Privacy Policy

AI Helper — Highlight to Thread (Chrome extension)
Effective date: October 7, 2026

This policy explains what user data the AI Helper — Highlight to Thread Chrome extension (“the Extension”, “we”) collects, how it is used and handled, where it is stored, who it is shared with, how long it is kept, and how you can delete it.

1. Summary

The Extension collects the text you highlight, the questions you type in its sidebar, and the replies to those questions.
This data is stored only on your device, in Chrome’s extension storage. We do not operate any server, and we never receive your data.
When you send a question, it is shared only with the AI chat site you are using (ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini) so that site can answer it.
We do not sell, rent, or trade user data. We do not use it for advertising, analytics, profiling, or credit decisions.

2. Data we collect

The Extension only runs on these three sites: chatgpt.com, claude.ai, and gemini.google.com. On those sites it handles the following data:

Data	When it is collected	Why
Highlighted text from an AI reply, and its position in that reply	When you highlight text and click “Ask about this”	To start a thread and re-draw the highlight later
Questions you type in the sidebar	When you send a question	To get an answer and show it in the thread
Answers returned by the AI chat site	When the answer arrives	To show the thread history
A short excerpt of the visible conversation around the highlight	When you send a question	Sent with your question so the answer has context
Technical identifiers: the chat page’s conversation ID, message IDs, and the ID of the temporary side chat (for Claude, also your organization ID)	When a thread is created or answered	To attach threads to the right chat and continue side chats
Session credentials the chat site already gave your browser (for example, the ChatGPT access token or Gemini page tokens)	Only while sending a question	To send your question through your existing logged-in session. These are used in memory for that request and are never stored or sent anywhere else.

We do not collect:

your name, email address, passwords, or payment information;
your browsing history, or any data from other websites;
your location, device identifiers, or analytics or usage tracking data.

3. How we use the data

The data above is used only to provide the Extension’s single purpose:

showing the “Ask about this” button and highlight marks;
sending your question to the chat site you are on and showing the answer;
saving your threads so they reappear when you return to that chat.

It is not used for any other purpose.

4. How the data is handled

All processing happens inside your browser, in the Extension’s code on the chat page.
Requests to ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini are sent over encrypted HTTPS (and, for ChatGPT, a secure WebSocket) directly from your browser to that site.
There is no AI Helper server, so your data never passes through us.
No humans at AI Helper can read your data.
The Extension does not load or run code from outside its package.

5. Where the data is stored

Threads (highlighted text, positions, questions, answers, and the technical identifiers listed above) are stored locally with Chrome’s chrome.storage.local API, in your Chrome profile on your device.
This storage is not synced to your Google account and is not uploaded to us.
The sidebar width you choose is saved in the same local storage. It is a display preference, a single number, with no personal data.
If you turn on debug logging, an on/off flag is saved in the chat site’s local storage. It contains no personal data.
Session credentials are never stored.

6. Sharing and disclosure

When you send a question, the Extension shares the highlighted text, the conversation excerpt, your question, and your earlier questions and answers in that thread with the AI chat site you are using:

OpenAI (chatgpt.com) — OpenAI privacy policy
Anthropic (claude.ai) — Anthropic privacy policy
Google (gemini.google.com) — Google privacy policy

This is the same kind of request those sites receive when you chat with them directly. The answers come from them, and they handle that data under their own privacy policies. The Extension asks them to use temporary or incognito chats, so side threads do not appear in your chat history there.

Other than this, we do not share, sell, rent, or transfer user data to anyone. That includes advertisers, data brokers, and analytics providers. We would only disclose data if required by law, and since we never receive your data, we have none to disclose.

7. Data retention

Threads stay on your device until you delete them, clear the Extension’s data, or uninstall the Extension.
Session credentials are discarded as soon as each request finishes.
Data shared with OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google is kept according to their policies. Temporary and incognito chats are typically deleted by those services after a short period.

8. How to delete your data

Uninstall the Extension at chrome://extensions: Chrome permanently deletes everything the Extension stored.
You can also email us (see Contact). Since we hold none of your data, the only copy is in your browser, and uninstalling removes it.
For data held by ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini, use the controls those services provide.

9. Security

Data stays in Chrome’s sandboxed extension storage on your device. Network requests go only to the three chat sites, over HTTPS. The Extension asks for the minimum permissions it needs: storage, plus access to chatgpt.com, claude.ai, and gemini.google.com.

10. Permissions and why they are needed

storage — to save your threads on your device.
Access to chatgpt.com, claude.ai, and gemini.google.com — to show the highlight button and sidebar on those pages, and to send your questions through your logged-in session there.

11. Limited Use disclosure

The use of information received by the Extension follows the Chrome Web Store User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements. Data is used only to provide the Extension’s single, user-facing feature. It is never transferred to third parties except the chat site you choose to send a question to. It is never used for advertising, and it is never read by humans.

12. Children

The Extension is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

13. Changes to this policy

If this policy changes, we will update the effective date at the top of this page. Big changes will also be noted in the Extension’s release notes.

14. Contact

Questions or requests about this policy:
Email: ethanjohnastle@gmail.com
GitHub: github.com/Ethan7778/ai-helper/issues