Privacy policy: AI Caption Generator for Chrome

1. Who we are and what this policy covers

AI Caption Generator is a browser extension for Google Chrome, published by an independent developer. This policy explains what the extension does with your data, what our website at captiongenerator.page does, and what rights you have. It applies to the extension itself and to the pages of captiongenerator.page that belong to it (the welcome page, the uninstall page and this page). The website's own caption tool has a separate policy at captiongenerator.page/privacy.

The short version: the extension works inside your browser; only the feature described in section 2b sends what you give it to our server.

2. What data the extension handles

Apart from the feature in section 2b, the extension does not send personal data to us or to anyone else, and we do not sell it. The data described below stays on your device.

• Settings and counters. Your default tone and language, whether to add hashtags, where hashtags go (in the caption or for the first comment), a random install ID from our server (section 2b) and today's remaining count are saved with the browser's built-in chrome.storage.local API. They stay in your browser profile.
• The post you are making on instagram.com. The extension adds a Captions button to the post window on instagram.com. It does not read your feed, messages, followers, profile or other posts. When you open the caption panel, it shows a small preview of the photo already in that window. When you press Insert, it puts the caption you chose into the caption box and reads that box once to check that the text went in. This check stays in your browser. The extension never presses Share and never posts anything.
• No accounts. The extension has no sign-up and no login, and it never asks for your Instagram password.
• No tracking inside the extension. The extension contains no analytics, no advertising code and no remote code.

2b. What goes to our server

The caption writer runs on our own server, because it needs an AI model. This is what happens when you use it:

• What is sent. Only what the feature needs: the photo in the post you are making (made smaller, up to 768 pixels on the long side) and the words you type, plus the tone and the language you chose, the random install ID and the version of the extension. In the toolbar popup there is no photo, only your words. Nothing is sent until you press the button that writes captions. We do not send your username, the address of the page or anything else about your account.
• Who processes it. Our server passes it to OpenRouter (openrouter.ai), a service that runs it on a language and vision model made by OpenAI, returns five captions to you and then discards the request. We send every request with OpenRouter's zero-data-retention setting: OpenRouter does not store prompts or answers, and it passes them only to model hosts that do not keep them after processing (for OpenAI models this is currently Microsoft Azure). Neither uses the data to train models. The only exception is content flagged by automated child-safety screening, which may be kept for review and reporting as the law requires.
• What we keep. We do not store the photos or words you send or the captions you get. We keep only: a random install ID that our server gives the extension on first use (it is not linked to your name, email or Google account); daily counters of how many times each install ID used the feature, to apply the daily limit of 5 generations (kept for 8 days); and a one-way hash of your IP address with a key that changes every day, to stop abuse (kept for 2 days). Technical server logs (time, address of the request without its content, status) are deleted after 7 days.
• Photos of people. A photo may show you or other people. We use it only to write captions, the model is told not to name anyone, and the photo is discarded after the answer. Only send photos you have the right to share.
• Deleting it. Removing the extension deletes the install ID from your browser. To delete the counters linked to it on our server, write to [email protected] with the install ID shown in the extension's settings (the gear in the toolbar popup).

The legal basis for this processing is that you asked the extension to perform the feature (performance of a service you requested), and our legitimate interest in preventing abuse of the daily limit.

3. Cookies and analytics on our website

The pages of captiongenerator.page use Google Analytics 4 to count visits and to understand which pages are useful. This happens only on the website, not inside the extension. The uninstall page has no analytics. The welcome page also reports whether the extension's icon is pinned to your toolbar. We never send Google Analytics the photos, text or addresses you enter. Advertising features are off for everyone.

If you are in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom or Switzerland, analytics cookies are off by default. Google works out your country from your IP address. Without your consent, Google Analytics sets no cookies and stores no identifier on your device. The Google script still loads and can send Google a basic signal without a cookie: the page you opened, the time, your browser and device type, and your approximate location.

Everywhere else, analytics cookies are on by default. Google Analytics sets cookies named _ga and _ga_ followed by the property code, which can last up to two years, and processes the same technical data.

Your browser connects to Google to load the script, so Google sees your IP address. Google says Google Analytics 4 uses it to estimate location and does not store it. Statistics are kept for 14 months (see section 8).

Your choice. If your browser's time zone is in Europe, tool, article and privacy pages ask "Allow analytics cookies?" Yes and No take one click each. We save your answer in your browser's local storage and apply it to the whole website, including pages that do not ask. The "Cookie settings" button at the bottom of those pages lets anyone, in any country, change the answer at any time. Choosing No stops analytics cookies and deletes the ones already set.

You can also block cookies in your browser settings, use a content-blocking extension or install Google's opt-out add-on (tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout). The website keeps working without them. Google's own privacy policy describes how Google processes this data.

Server logs. Like any web server, ours keeps a technical log of requests to these pages: IP address, the address requested, the time, the browser type and, if your browser reports it, the page you came from. We use it to keep the site running and safe, and it is deleted automatically after a short time. What you type, paste or add in the tools does not reach this log.

4. How we use data

The only data we receive is described in section 2b, the aggregated website statistics and server logs described above and, if you choose to send them, your answer on the uninstall page and any email you write to us. We use the statistics to see how many people reach the welcome page and which pages are visited, the logs to keep the site running and safe, and your answers and emails to reply to you and to improve the extension. We do not build individual profiles and we do not combine this data with any other source.

When you remove the extension, Chrome opens a short page on our website that asks why. Answering is optional. Only if you press Send, the reason you picked and the text you typed (up to 500 characters) go to our server, which passes them to us as a message in Telegram with the name of the extension and does not store them. To stop spam, the server counts answers per day by a one-way hash of your IP address with a key that changes every day; the hash is kept for 2 days and is never part of the message. The uninstall page has no analytics and sets no cookies. Please do not put personal details in your answer.

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

5. Who we share data with

We do not sell or rent data, and we share it only with the services named here. They process data for us: Google Analytics, as a service provider for the website statistics in section 3; Telegram, which delivers answers from the uninstall page to us (it receives the extension name, the reason and the text you send, but not your IP address or any install ID); and our hosting and email providers, which store the server logs and the emails you send us. Please do not put personal details in your answer on the uninstall page. For the feature in section 2b, OpenRouter (openrouter.ai) and the model host it uses (currently Microsoft Azure) process the data you send as our service providers and do not keep it; see section 2b.

6. Your rights, including under the GDPR

If you are in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom or Switzerland, you have the right to access, correct or delete personal data about you, to restrict or object to its processing, and to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority. Settings stay on your device, so you can delete them yourself at any time (see section 8). For website analytics, you can opt out as described in section 3. For the counters in section 2b and anything else, write to [email protected] and we will answer within 30 days.

The legal basis for analytics cookies in those places is your consent, which you can withdraw as described in section 3. The legal basis for the basic signal without cookies, for website analytics elsewhere and for server logs is our legitimate interest in understanding how the website is used and keeping it safe. The legal basis for emails and uninstall page answers you send us, and for counting those answers by the IP hash, is our legitimate interest in replying to you, improving the extension and preventing spam. The legal basis for storing your settings is that you asked the extension to remember them.

7. Children

The extension and the website are not directed at children under 13 (or under the age set by your country's law). We do not knowingly collect data from children. The only thing our server keeps about an installation is a random install ID and a daily counter (section 2b).

8. Data retention and deletion

Settings live in your browser only. Removing the extension from Chrome deletes them and the install ID. Counters on our server are deleted after 8 days, the IP hash after 2 days, server logs after 7 days (section 2b). Website analytics data is kept by Google Analytics for the retention period set in our account (14 months) and then deleted automatically. Website server logs are deleted automatically after a short time. We keep emails only as long as we need them to reply or to improve the extension, and you can ask us to delete them. Answers from the uninstall page stay in our private Telegram chat until we delete them; our server keeps only the daily counts and the IP hash described in section 4, for 2 days.

9. Changes to this policy

If we change this policy, we will update the text on this page and the date at the top. Please check this page from time to time if you want to stay informed.

10. Contact

Questions about this policy or about your data: [email protected].