Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

Video Transcriber (the “extension”) and this website are operated by the developer of Video Transcriber (“we”, “us”). For privacy questions and requests, write to [email protected].

2. Short version

• Transcripts, summaries, your questions to a video with their answers, and translations are stored only in your browser.
• For a cloud summary or a question to the video, we send the video title and the transcript text (not the audio) to Google Gemini through our server. We do not store or log them.
• For fast transcription (Pro Transcription of a whole video, and of a live stream that Chrome speech recognition cannot transcribe), the extension compresses the video’s soundtrack in your browser into short pieces and sends them to Google Gemini through our server to turn speech into text. We do not store the audio or the text.
• To translate a transcript, we send its text to Google Gemini through our server. We do not store or log it.
• When Pro Transcription uses Chrome speech recognition, we send the recognised text (not the audio) to Google Gemini through our server to add punctuation and capital letters. We do not store or log it.
• Chrome speech recognition runs on your device when Chrome has the language installed. Otherwise Chrome sends the video’s audio to Google’s speech service. Local Whisper, which the extension switches to by itself when Chrome’s recognition is unavailable, never sends audio anywhere.
• To count free uses and manage plans, our server keeps a small account record: an anonymous id or your Google e-mail, which videos you used your free uses on (site + video id), your plan, and hashed IP addresses for abuse limits.
• We have no ads, no analytics and no tracking, and we do not sell data.

3. Data processed on your device

The extension stores the following in your browser’s extension storage. We cannot access it.

• transcripts (from captions or Pro Transcription), with the video title, site and thumbnail link, any summaries you generated, your questions to the video with their answers, and translations of the transcript;
• your settings (theme, font size, languages, engine choices, disabled sites, panel position) and the colour scheme last received from our server (section 4j);
• a random device identifier, your sign-in session, and your last known plan status;
• Local Whisper model files, if you use Local Whisper.

This data is removed when you uninstall the extension.

To show the panel and read captions, the extension runs on the pages you visit and reads the page’s video player and caption data. Caption files are loaded from the video site the same way its player loads them. This page data is not sent to us, except as described in section 4.

4. Data processed on our servers

Our backend runs on Supabase (database, authentication and server functions, hosted in the EU (Ireland)).

a) Account. The first time the extension needs our server (for example, the first Pro Transcription, summary or contact message), it creates an anonymous account (a random id) so free uses and daily limits can be counted. Opening the panel alone does not create one. If you sign in with Google, we receive your e-mail address, name, profile picture link and Google account id (scopes: openid, email, profile). The extension uses the e-mail to show who is signed in and to prefill checkout.

b) Free-use records. For each free use we store: your account id, device id, the feature (Pro Transcription or Summary), a video key (the site plus the video’s id, e.g. “youtube.com|<id>”, or a hash of the page address when the site has no id), the time, and a salted hash of your IP address. We do not store raw IP addresses. Paid plans do not create these records.

c) Cloud summaries and questions. When you generate a summary (short, detailed or by chapters) or ask the video a question, the extension sends our server the transcript text (the whole transcript up to about 380,000 characters; a longer one is shortened on your device first), the video title, the duration, the summary language, the video key and the device id, and for a question also the question and up to three earlier questions with their answers. The server checks your free uses and limits, then sends only the title, duration, time range, language, transcript text and, for a question, the question and those earlier questions and answers to the Google Gemini API and streams the answer back. We do not store or log the transcript, the title, the questions, the summary or the answers. For daily limits, we record the time of each summary or question with your account id and a salted IP hash.

d) Payments. Payments are handled by Stripe. You enter payment details on Stripe’s page, and we never see your card number. We store your plan, its status and renewal date, and Stripe’s customer, subscription and checkout ids.

e) Contact form. If you write to us, we store your e-mail address (as you typed it), your message, the extension version, your account id and a salted IP hash. If you tick “Attach technical details”, we also receive your browser name and major version, the interface language and the domain of the current site. We never receive the page address or the transcript. If e-mail notifications are enabled, the message is also delivered to our inbox through Resend.

f) Security logs. Supabase keeps technical logs (such as IP address and time of requests to its authentication service) for security and operations, under its own retention.

g) Punctuation for Pro Transcription. When Pro Transcription uses Chrome speech recognition, the extension sends our server the recognised text a few lines at a time, with up to about 600 characters of the text before them and 300 after (for context), and its language. The server sends only this text and the language to the Google Gemini API to add punctuation and capital letters, and returns the result. We do not store or log the text. For daily limits, we keep a count of calls per day for your account id and for a salted IP hash, deleted automatically after a few days.

h) Fast transcription. When you press *Transcribe audio* on a video that is not live, or on a live stream that Chrome speech recognition cannot transcribe (it is missing or fails, or your device or browser cannot use it for a stream), the extension reads that video’s soundtrack in your browser (it fetches the audio from the video site the same way the site’s player does, and notes the addresses of the streams the player loads, in memory only), compresses it into short pieces of about two minutes (about 30 seconds on a live stream, from the moment you press the button) and sends them to our server, together with the video key, the device id and the likely spoken language. The server forwards only the audio pieces and the language hint to Google’s Gemini API to turn speech into text and returns the text. We do not store the audio or the text; our server keeps only counters (seconds transcribed per day for your account id, for a salted hash of your IP address and in total) to enforce limits, deleted automatically after a few days. The resulting text is stored only in your browser. The extension never saves the video or its audio. For YouTube videos, if we enable this path, we send Google the public video address and a time range instead of audio.

i) Translation. When you translate a transcript, the extension sends our server the text of its rows a batch at a time (with a little of the neighbouring text for context), the target language, the video key and the device id. The server sends only the text, the context and the target language to the Google Gemini API and returns the translation. We do not store or log the text. For daily limits, we keep a count of translated characters per day for your account id and for a salted IP hash, deleted automatically after a few days.

j) Colour scheme. The extension (when the browser starts, when you open its menu, and otherwise at most every 15 minutes) and this website (when a page opens) ask our server which colour scheme to show. The request contains no information about you or how you use the extension or the website; like any request, it shows Supabase your IP address. The answer is kept in your browser.

5. Chrome speech recognition and Chrome built-in AI

• The “Chrome speech recognition” engine uses the Web Speech API built into Chrome. When Chrome has an on-device language pack, recognition happens on your computer. Otherwise Chrome sends the tab’s audio to Google for recognition. This happens between Chrome and Google, under Google’s terms and privacy policy; we do not receive the audio.
• When Chrome speech recognition transcribes a live stream and hears sound but returns no words for a while, the extension checks whether Google’s server can be reached: one request to www.google.com that carries no data and no cookies. Only when it cannot be reached does the stream move to fast transcription.
• “Chrome built-in AI” (Gemini Nano) runs entirely on your computer, and nothing is sent to us or to Google.
• “Local Whisper” runs entirely on your computer. On first use, it downloads model files from Hugging Face, which sees a normal download request (such as your IP address) but no content from you.

6. Why we process data (legal bases)

• To provide the service you ask for (contract): accounts, free-use counting, summaries and answers to your questions, punctuation of Pro transcripts, fast transcription, translation, paid plans, support.
• Legitimate interests: preventing abuse (usage limits, hashed IPs), security, and bookkeeping of purchases.
• Consent: the optional technical details in the contact form, and signing in with Google.
• Legal obligations: keeping payment and tax records.

7. Who receives data

We use the Gemini API on Google’s paid tier, under which Google does not use prompts and responses to improve its products. We do not sell personal data or share it for advertising.

8. International transfers

Our providers may process data in the United States and other countries. Where required, transfers rely on the providers’ Standard Contractual Clauses or equivalent safeguards.

9. How long we keep data

• Data in your browser: until you uninstall the extension.
• Account, free-use and summary-limit records: while your account exists, or until you ask us to delete them.
• Purchase records: as long as needed for your plan and as required by tax and accounting law.
• Contact messages: as long as needed to handle your request and follow-ups, or until you ask us to delete them.
• Transcripts, summaries, questions and answers of cloud summaries, text sent for punctuation or translation, and audio pieces sent for fast transcription: not stored on our servers.
• Daily counters for punctuation (calls), fast transcription (seconds) and translation (characters), per account id and per salted IP hash: deleted automatically after a few days.

10. Security

Data is encrypted in transit (HTTPS). Database access is restricted by row-level security, so you can read only your own records, and only our server functions can write them. IP addresses are stored only as salted hashes. Your sign-in session is kept in extension storage that web pages cannot read.

11. Your rights

Depending on where you live (for example under the GDPR, the UK GDPR or US state laws), you may have the right to access, correct, delete or export your data, and to object to or restrict processing. You can also withdraw consent at any time. To use these rights, including deleting your account, write to [email protected] from the e-mail address you signed in with, or describe your device if you never signed in. We answer within 30 days. You may also complain to your local data protection authority.

You can also act yourself: uninstall the extension to delete local data, sign out in the account menu, or use only the captions tab, which never sends us audio or text.

12. Children

Video Transcriber is not directed at children under 16, and we do not knowingly collect their data.

13. Chrome Web Store User Data Policy and Google API Services

Video Transcriber’s use of information received from Google APIs, including Google Sign-In, adheres to the Chrome Web Store User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements, and to the Google API Services User Data Policy. In particular, we use this data only to provide and improve the extension’s single purpose (transcripts, transcription and summaries of videos). We do not transfer it except as needed for that purpose, for security, or to comply with law. We do not use or transfer it for advertising, and we do not sell it. No human reads it except with your consent, for security, or to comply with law.

14. This website

This website does not use advertising or analytics cookies and has no trackers. It remembers your theme choice (light or dark) and the current colour scheme (section 4j) in your browser’s local storage. Our hosting provider (Cloudflare) processes standard server logs (such as IP address and pages requested) to deliver and secure the site.

If you use the contact form on this website, it opens a temporary anonymous session with our backend (it is not saved in your browser) and sends your e-mail address, your message, the page language and the page path, which we store as described in section 4e.

After you uninstall the extension, Chrome may open our feedback page. If you answer there, we receive the reason you pick, your comment, the extension version and interface language taken from the page address, and your e-mail address only if you enter one. It is stored like a contact message (section 4e). If you don’t send the form, none of this reaches our backend.

15. Changes

If we change this policy, we will update the effective date above. If the changes are significant, we will tell you in the extension or on this website.

16. Contact

Operator: the developer of Video Transcriber. Contact: [email protected].