Privacy Policy for Translator

Last updated: April 29, 2026

Overview

Translator ("the Extension") is a browser extension that translates web page content and user-input text using user-configured OpenAI-compatible large language model (LLM) APIs. The Extension does not operate any backend servers, does not collect analytics or telemetry, and does not sell or share any user data with third parties.

Data We Collect

The Extension stores the following data locally on your device:

Data	Storage	Purpose	PII?
LLM provider settings (API keys, endpoints, custom headers, model preferences)	chrome.storage.sync	Authenticate with your configured LLM API	Yes — API keys are secrets
Language preferences & UI settings	chrome.storage.sync	Remember your translation preferences	No
Custom prompt templates	chrome.storage.sync	Personalize translation behavior	No
Translation results (cached)	IndexedDB (local)	Avoid redundant API calls; auto-deleted after 7 days	Potentially — reflects content you translated

Data Sent to External Services

When you translate text, the following is sent only to the LLM API endpoint you configured:

The text to be translated — the original paragraph or input content.
A system prompt — containing your language pair and translation instructions.
Your API key — in the Authorization request header for authentication.
Any custom headers / query parameters / body fields you configured for that provider.

The Extension does not route your data through any intermediary servers. Network requests go directly from your browser to the API endpoint you specified.

Language Detection

By default, the Extension uses franc-min, a local-only N-gram language detection library that runs entirely in your browser. No network requests are made for language detection in this mode.

If you configure a remote language detection provider (e.g., Google Translate free endpoint or a custom API), the text to detect will be sent to that provider's endpoint. This is optional and only happens when you explicitly configure a remote detection provider.

Data Retention

Translation cache entries are automatically deleted after 7 days.
You can clear cached data by using the Extension's settings, which will purge all cached translations.
Settings data persists until you uninstall the Extension or manually clear it.

Data Sharing

The Extension does not share, sell, or transmit any data to any party other than the LLM API endpoints you configure. There are:

No analytics or tracking services (Google Analytics, Mixpanel, etc.)
No crash reporting SDKs (Sentry, Bugsnag, etc.)
No advertising networks
No social media integrations

Settings Export & Import

The Extension allows you to export and import your settings. Exported settings may contain API keys. You have the option to encrypt the export file with a passphrase (AES-256-GCM). Without a passphrase, API keys are stored in plaintext JSON. We recommend always using a passphrase when exporting settings.

Permissions

Permission	Justification
`storage`	Store your settings and preferences in chrome.storage.sync
`activeTab`	Access the content of the current tab when you trigger translation
`alarms`	Schedule periodic cleanup of expired translation cache entries
`<all_urls>` (host permission)	Run the content script on any page to translate visible paragraphs

Third-Party Libraries

All bundled third-party libraries operate locally within the browser and do not make network requests or collect data:

React & React DOM — UI rendering
Dexie — IndexedDB wrapper for local caching
Zod — Schema validation
franc-min — Local language detection
Tailwind CSS — Styling
Lucide React — SVG icons
class-variance-authority — CSS variant utility
@uiw/react-codemirror — Code editor for settings

Children's Privacy

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

Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. Changes will be reflected in the "Last updated" date above. Continued use of the Extension after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

Contact

If you have questions about this privacy policy, please open an issue on our GitHub repository:

https://github.com/HodgeWen/translator/issues