Catchline – Privacy Policy

1. Information We Collect

Catchline ("the Extension") collects and processes the following information:

Content Data

When you use Catchline's AI-powered features, the Extension sends page content (such as forum posts, chat conversations, or article text) to our backend servers for processing. This content is analyzed by AI to generate outlines, topics, and keywords.

Important: We only process content from public forums and chat platforms. We do not access, collect, or process:

Login credentials or passwords
Private messages or direct messages
Personal email content
Banking or financial information
Any data from sites not explicitly supported by the extension

Usage Analytics

To improve the product and manage licenses, we collect:

A unique, randomly generated installation identifier (jid) that distinguishes your extension installation but contains no personal information
Usage events (e.g., when you open the extension or activate features)
URLs of pages where you use the extension
Extension version and browser information

Payment and Contact Information

When you purchase a subscription or submit feedback, you may voluntarily provide:

Email address (for license key delivery and account recovery)
Name (for payment processing)
Payment information (processed securely through PayPal; we do not store credit card details)

No cookies, third-party tracking scripts, or advertising tools are used in the extension itself.

2. How We Use Information

We use collected information to:

Generate AI-powered outlines, summaries, and navigation insights from page content
Cache generated insights to improve performance and reduce redundant processing
Validate paid licenses and prevent fraud
Understand usage patterns and improve the extension (using aggregated, anonymized analytics)
Respond to user feedback and support requests

We do not use your data for advertising, marketing emails (unless you opt in), or selling to third parties.

3. Data Storage and Retention

Local Storage (In Your Browser)

User preferences, settings, and cached insights are stored locally in your browser using Chrome's storage.local API. This data never leaves your device unless you use a server-side feature.

Server Storage

Our backend servers store:

Generated insights cache: AI-generated outlines, topics, and keywords along with the source page URL and a content digest (hash). This cache improves performance by avoiding redundant AI processing for the same content.
Usage analytics: Installation IDs (jid), usage events, URLs, and timestamps to understand how the extension is used and improve the product.
Payment records: Order IDs, license keys, payment status, and optionally your email/name if provided during purchase.
Feedback submissions: User feedback, optional email addresses, and optional installation IDs.

Data Retention

We retain server-stored data as follows:

Insights cache: Indefinitely, to improve performance for all users
Usage analytics: Retained for product improvement; older data may be aggregated or deleted periodically
Payment and license data: Retained as long as necessary for tax, legal, and customer support purposes
Feedback: Retained until resolved or upon user request for deletion

4. Sharing and Disclosure

Catchline does not sell, rent, or share your data with third parties for marketing purposes.

We may share data only in the following limited circumstances:

Payment processing: Payment information is processed through PayPal. We do not store credit card details on our servers.
AI processing: Page content is sent to Google's Gemini API for AI analysis. This is covered under Google's data processing terms.
Legal requirements: We may disclose information if required by law, court order, or government regulation.

5. User Control and Data Rights

You have the following rights regarding your data:

Local data: Clear all locally stored data at any time by uninstalling the extension or clearing Chrome's extension storage.
Server data: Request deletion of your server-stored data (analytics, feedback, etc.) by contacting us at the email below. Note that insights cache is shared across users and cannot be selectively deleted.
Opt-out: Stop using server-side features by uninstalling the extension. Local-only features (if available) do not send data to our servers.

6. Security

We take reasonable precautions to protect your data:

All communication between the extension and our servers uses HTTPS encryption
Database access is restricted and secured
We do not store credit card information (handled by PayPal)
Email addresses and personal information are stored securely and not shared with third parties

However, no system is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security of data transmitted over the internet.