Privacy Policy

YouTube Summary - Chrome Browser Extension

Last updated: April 28, 2026

1. Overview

YouTube Summary ("the Extension", "we", "our") is a Chrome browser extension that extracts YouTube video transcripts and generates AI-powered summaries. This privacy policy explains, in full, what user data the Extension handles, how it is collected, used, stored, and shared. No section is omitted - if a data category does not apply, it is still explicitly stated below.

The Extension is developed and maintained by SoftCreator LLC.

1.1 How this policy is organized

This policy covers, in distinct sections, the four required topics for Chrome Web Store: Data Collection (Section 2), Data Handling (Section 3), Data Storage (Section 4), and Data Sharing (Section 5). No required section is omitted.

The following table maps each user data category disclosed in the Chrome Web Store listing to the sections of this policy that describe how that data is collected, handled, stored, and shared.

Disclosed Data Category (CWS Dashboard)	What it is in this Extension	Collection	Handling	Storage	Sharing
Personally identifiable information	Email address, used only for optional SoftCreator sign-in	Section 2	Section 3	Section 4.1, 4.2	Section 5.3
Authentication information	SoftCreator account password (transmitted at sign-in only, never stored on device) and OAuth2 access / refresh tokens issued by the SoftCreator API after sign-in	Section 2	Section 3	Section 4.1	Section 5.3
Website content	YouTube video transcript text and metadata (title, channel, video ID)	Section 2	Section 3	Section 4.1, 4.3	Section 5.3

2. Data Collection

This section describes every category of user data the Extension collects or accesses, and the source of that data.

Data Category	Source	Collected / Accessed?
YouTube video transcript text	Extracted from the public transcript panel of the YouTube video page the user is viewing	Accessed on demand when the user clicks the "Summarize" button
Video metadata (video ID, title, channel name)	Read from the YouTube page DOM	Accessed on demand when the user clicks the "Summarize" button
User preferences (language, summarization method, custom prompt template)	Provided directly by the user through the Extension's settings UI	Collected only when the user changes a setting
User-created bookmarks (summary text, video reference, user notes)	Created by the user clicking "Bookmark" on a summary	Collected only when the user explicitly saves a bookmark
SoftCreator account email and password	Entered by the user in the Settings panel of the Extension when the user chooses to connect to the optional SoftCreator cloud summarization service	Transmitted to `softcreator.com` over HTTPS at sign-in time only. The password is never stored on the user's device - it is sent once to authenticate and obtain OAuth2 tokens, then dropped.
OAuth2 tokens (access token, refresh token, expiry timestamp)	Issued by `softcreator.com` in exchange for the email + password at sign-in	Stored locally in `chrome.storage.local` for the duration of the session and refreshed automatically until the user signs out
YouTube caption track URL and caption XML	The Extension calls YouTube's public caption endpoint on `www.youtube.com` directly from the user's browser to retrieve the transcript when the YouTube on-page transcript panel is unavailable	Accessed on demand when the user clicks the "Summarize" button; the caption text is processed in memory only

Personally identifiable information (PII): The only PII the Extension collects is the user's email address, and only when the user voluntarily signs into the optional SoftCreator cloud summarization service. No other PII (name, physical address, phone number, age, government ID) is collected. The SoftCreator account password is treated as authentication information (Section 2 table above) and is transmitted, never stored locally.

User activity: The Extension does not monitor, record, or transmit any user activity data. It does not track clicks, mouse position, scroll behavior, keystrokes, page navigation, network requests, or any other form of user interaction analytics or telemetry.

The Extension does NOT collect:

Health, financial, or location information
Authentication information from any website other than SoftCreator
Personal communications (emails, messages, chat content)
Web browsing history, bookmarks, or activity outside of YouTube video pages
Device identifiers, IP addresses, cookies from other sites, or fingerprinting data
Contents of other open browser tabs

3. Data Handling

This section describes how the data listed in Section 2 is used and processed. Data is used strictly for the purposes stated below and for no other purpose.

Data Category	Purpose of Use
Video transcript text and metadata	Sent to the user-selected summarization destination (SoftCreator API, or an AI chatbot tab opened by the user) to generate a summary, which is then displayed in the Extension's side panel
User preferences	Remember the user's chosen language, summarization method, and prompt template across browser sessions
Bookmarks	Allow the user to re-open, search, export, and manage their saved summaries
SoftCreator account password	Used once, at sign-in time, to authenticate against `softcreator.com` and obtain OAuth2 tokens. After the token exchange the password is discarded. It is never written to `chrome.storage`, the local SQLite database, or any log.
SoftCreator OAuth2 tokens	Authenticate requests to the SoftCreator summarization API on the user's behalf; refreshed automatically when expired
YouTube caption track URL / caption XML	Used as the input source for the transcript when the in-page YouTube transcript panel is not available. The caption XML is parsed in memory, converted to plain text, and immediately handed to the user-selected summarization destination.

Google API Limited Use Disclosure. The use of information received from Google APIs will adhere to the Chrome Web Store User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.

Limited Use commitment - in detail:

Single purpose only: All collected data is used exclusively to provide the Extension's single stated purpose - summarizing YouTube video transcripts. Data is never used for any unrelated purpose.
No advertising: User data is never used for personalized advertising, retargeting, or to serve targeted ads of any kind.
No sale or transfer to data brokers: User data is never sold, rented, or transferred to advertising platforms, data brokers, information resellers, or any third party for purposes unrelated to the Extension's core functionality.
No creditworthiness or lending: User data is never used to determine creditworthiness or for lending purposes.
No human access: SoftCreator LLC employees and contractors do not read, view, or access individual user data, except (a) with the user's explicit consent, (b) as needed to investigate a security incident, (c) to comply with applicable law, or (d) when data has been aggregated and anonymized for internal operational reporting.
No machine learning training: User data is never used to train machine learning models operated by the Extension or its developer.

4. Data Storage

This section describes where user data is stored, for how long, and how it can be deleted.

4.1 Local Storage (on the user's device)

chrome.storage.local - stores user preferences, the custom prompt template, the currently active summarization method, and SoftCreator OAuth2 tokens (if the user signed in). This storage is encrypted by Chrome at the operating-system level and is isolated to the Extension.
Local SQLite database (WebAssembly) - stores user-created bookmarks (summary text, video ID, title, channel name, tags, user notes). The database file lives entirely inside the browser profile and never leaves the user's device.
In-memory only (not persisted) - the currently extracted transcript text during an active summarization request. It is discarded when the side panel is closed unless the user explicitly bookmarks the summary.

4.2 Remote Storage (SoftCreator API - optional)

If - and only if - the user selects the SoftCreator summarization method and signs into SoftCreator:

The user's email and password are transmitted to softcreator.com at sign-in to authenticate the user and obtain OAuth2 tokens. The password is not retained server-side beyond what is required to verify the credentials and issue the tokens.
The video transcript text, video ID, video title, and target language are transmitted to softcreator.com for summarization. The generated summary is returned to the user's browser.
SoftCreator's server-side data handling, retention, and deletion practices are governed by SoftCreator's own privacy policy at softcreator.com. To request deletion of SoftCreator-side account data or processing logs, contact support@softcreator.com.
SoftCreator LLC operates the softcreator.com service on behalf of the Extension. The Extension does not connect to any other server operated by the developer, and no transcripts, summaries, or activity logs are kept in any other server-side database.

4.3 Retention and Deletion

Preferences, tokens, bookmarks: Retained on the user's device until the user removes them, clears extension data from chrome://extensions, signs out, or uninstalls the Extension.
Transcripts in memory: Retained only for the duration of a single summarization request.
User-initiated deletion: The user can delete individual bookmarks, sign out (which removes OAuth2 tokens), or wipe all Extension data by uninstalling the Extension from Chrome.
Export / portability: The Extension provides a built-in Backup/Restore feature so users can export their bookmark database to a file and restore it later.

5. Data Sharing

This section explicitly lists every third party with which user data may be shared, and the conditions under which sharing occurs.

5.1 We do NOT sell user data

SoftCreator LLC does not sell, rent, lease, or license any user data to any third party under any circumstances.

5.2 We do NOT transfer user data for unrelated purposes

User data is never transferred to third parties for advertising, analytics, profiling, credit scoring, or any purpose unrelated to producing a transcript summary the user explicitly requested.

5.3 Data sharing that does occur, only when the user initiates it

Third Party	Data Shared	When	Why
SoftCreator (`softcreator.com` and its subdomains)	At sign-in: email + password (one-time, to authenticate and obtain OAuth2 tokens). At summarization: video transcript text, video ID, video title, target language, and the OAuth2 access token (Authorization: Bearer ...).	Only when the user selects "SoftCreator API" as the summarization method and has signed into SoftCreator from the Settings panel	To authenticate the user and generate an AI summary on the SoftCreator cloud service
YouTube (Google LLC) (`www.youtube.com`)	An HTTP GET to a public caption track URL on `www.youtube.com` (no body, no credentials beyond the cookies already attached by the user's own browser session)	When the in-page YouTube transcript panel is unavailable and the Extension needs to fetch the caption track directly	To retrieve the transcript text required for summarization
OpenAI (ChatGPT)	Video transcript text (pasted into ChatGPT's input field in a tab opened by the Extension)	Only when the user selects "ChatGPT" as the summarization method	To generate an AI summary in the user's own ChatGPT session
Anthropic (Claude)	Video transcript text (pasted into Claude's input field)	Only when the user selects "Claude" as the summarization method	To generate an AI summary in the user's own Claude session
Google (Gemini)	Video transcript text (pasted into Gemini's input field)	Only when the user selects "Gemini" as the summarization method	To generate an AI summary in the user's own Gemini session
xAI (Grok)	Video transcript text (pasted into Grok's input field)	Only when the user selects "Grok" as the summarization method	To generate an AI summary in the user's own Grok session

How chatbot sharing works: For ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Grok, the Extension simply opens a tab in the user's own browser session, types the transcript into the chat input, and clicks Send - exactly as the user would do manually. No data passes through any server operated by SoftCreator LLC. Each chatbot's own privacy policy governs the data once it is submitted.

5.4 Legal disclosures

The only server operated by SoftCreator LLC that receives user data from the Extension is the SoftCreator API at softcreator.com, used exclusively for the optional sign-in and summarization flows described in Section 4.2. Any legally compelled disclosure relating to data processed by that service is governed by SoftCreator's own privacy policy. Data stored locally on the user's device is under the user's sole control and is not accessible to SoftCreator LLC.

6. Permissions Used by the Extension

The Extension requests only the permissions strictly necessary for its stated single purpose. Each permission is used as follows:

storage - save user settings, OAuth2 tokens, and the bookmarks database locally on the user's device
activeTab - identify the currently active YouTube tab so the side panel can be opened alongside it and to access tab properties for tabs on declared host domains
sidePanel - display summaries, bookmarks, and settings inside Chrome's built-in side panel
notifications - show a notification when a transcript is ready, as a fallback if the side panel cannot open automatically
host permissions for youtube.com, softcreator.com, chatgpt.com, claude.ai, gemini.google.com, grok.com, x.ai, x.com - required to read YouTube transcripts, to open the user's selected chatbot in a new tab, to inject the transcript into the chatbot input, and to access tab URL for navigation state verification on these domains

7. Security

All network communication with SoftCreator and with chatbot sites uses HTTPS (TLS 1.2 or higher).
OAuth2 tokens are stored in chrome.storage.local, which Chrome encrypts at the OS level and isolates to the Extension.
The Extension contains no remotely loaded code: all JavaScript and WebAssembly is bundled inside the Chrome Web Store package.
The Extension does not request access to other browser tabs, the file system, the clipboard, the camera, the microphone, or geolocation.
No server-side logging: The Extension itself does not operate any server, proxy, or analytics endpoint. No HTTP logs, server logs, IP addresses, or telemetry are collected by the Extension or by SoftCreator LLC on behalf of the Extension. (SoftCreator's optional summarization API is a separate service governed by its own policy.)

8. User Rights and Control

Because all user data is stored either locally on the user's device or on SoftCreator's servers (governed by SoftCreator's policy), users have full control at all times:

Access: View all stored bookmarks and settings directly inside the Extension's side panel.
Export: Use the built-in Backup feature to export the bookmark database to a file.
Deletion: Delete individual bookmarks, clear extension storage via chrome://extensions → Details → Site settings, sign out to remove OAuth2 tokens, or uninstall the Extension to wipe all local data.
Account deletion on SoftCreator: SoftCreator account holders can request deletion of their SoftCreator account, processing logs, and any associated server-side data by emailing support@softcreator.com from the address registered to the account. Account deletion takes effect within 30 days of the verified request.

8.1 Affiliation disclosure

The Extension is developed independently by SoftCreator LLC. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Google LLC, YouTube, OpenAI, Anthropic, or xAI. References to those services describe only the destinations the user may choose for summarization.

9. Children's Privacy

The Extension is not directed at children under 13. The developer does not knowingly collect information from children. If a parent or guardian believes that a child has used the Extension and wishes to have any locally stored data removed, they can uninstall the Extension, which deletes all local data.

10. International Users

The Extension runs entirely in the user's browser. The only cross-border data transmission occurs when a user voluntarily selects the SoftCreator API (in which case transcripts travel to SoftCreator's servers) or a chatbot provider (in which case transcripts travel to that provider's servers, as the user directed). Each recipient's privacy policy governs the data once received.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time to reflect changes in the Extension or in legal requirements. Changes will be reflected in the "Last updated" date at the top of this document. Continued use of the Extension after an update constitutes acceptance of the revised policy. Significant changes will also be announced in the Extension's release notes on the Chrome Web Store.

12. Contact

For any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this privacy policy or the handling of user data by the Extension, please contact:

SoftCreator LLC
Email: support@softcreator.com
Website: softcreator.com